145), and at the time of the making of their mother's will, on the 7th day of April, 1734, viz.:

(19) I.

13

(H) II.

(12) III.

JOHN,3 born in 1670, died in 1748.

THOMAS,3 born in 1672, died Aug. 26, 1737.

PATIENCE,3 who married Nathaniel Clark, and had grandchildren living at the time her mother's will was made. (13) IV. SARAH,3 who married first Samuel Sibley, of Salem, who was killed by the Indians in their assault upon Haverhill, August 29, 1708, and secondly, about December, 1710, John Sayer, of Newbury.

The ages of John3 and Thomas3 appear in a deposition made by them on the 19th of November, 1734, and on record in York Co. Registry of Deeds, vol. 16, pages 261 and 262, in which John's3 age is then stated to be sixty-four years, and Thomas'3 sixty-two years. I find no evidence that John2 ever had any other children than those above mentioned, though Savage states that he had Nehemiah and Nathaniel, which I wholly discredit.

John (3) died on the 11th of April, 1677, as above stated, and before the 6th of November following his widow married William Sayer,* of Wells. The Probate record of that date reads as follows: "Nathall Wells of Ipswich, ad Tho: Wells of Amesbury, ad Saraih Sayer, late wife of John Wells, deceased, are hereby appoynted joint administrators to ye estate of the aforesd John Wells." (Appendix, p. 15.) Her children by William Sayer were:

I. JOSEPH, born Aug. 14, 1678, who, with his family, was killed by the Indians on the 10th of August, 1703, at the same time that the family of his half-brother Thomas Wells3 were massacred, as hereafter stated.

II. FRANCIS, born 1681.

III. DANIEL, born 1683.

IV. HANNAH, born 1685, afterward Hannah Chesley.

V. RUTH, born 1687, afterwards Ruth Sampson.

She lived in Wells, and died there in 1735, having survived her

*The orthography of the name was subsequently changed to Sawyer.

second husband. When he first became a resident of Wells I have not been able to ascertain. He was Surveyor of Highways in 1685, and one of the Selectmen in 1706. His descendants have been among the leading inhabitants of the town. It will be seen that she particularly mentions in her will her children by each husband, except her son Joseph, who was then dead. (Appendix, page 17.)

JOHN3 (10), the eldest son of John,2 and grandson of Thomas of Ipswich, became a "mariner." He went to Boston- was there in 1702 and 1707. He returned to Wells-was there in 1723, and is described in a deed of that date as an "innholder,” and in 1740 and thereafter as a "yeoman." He married, probably while a resident of Boston, Mary · · (perhaps Mary Peck, February 18, 1697). He made his will May 10, 1748, and died in that year. His estate inventoried £2000, a large sum for that time, including one negro, inventoried at £100.

He left three children:

(4) I.

(15) II.
(16) III.

JOHN, Jr., who is described in deeds as a "blacksmith."
MARY, who married Maddock.

HANNAH, who married Thomas Goodwin.

THOMAS, (II), second son of John, was born in 1672. After his father's death, in 1677, we hear nothing of him till his first marriage, at Newbury, in 1696. We next hear of him at Wells, in 1700, at which time, the town records state "that Thomas Wells requested to have the line run between him and his neighbor." The church records of that town state that on the 14th day of December, 1701, "Thomas Wells, from the church of Newbury, was admitted," etc. It is, therefore, very evident that he had been a resident of Newbury, and a member of the church there, and came from that place to Wells about 1700.

I am inclined to think that after the death of his father he went to live with his uncle Thomas, minister at Amesbury, or with some other relative near Newbury, and remained there until he returned to Wells in 1700. Immediately after the massacre of his family by the Indians, as hereafter stated, he returned to Newbury, as if it was an

old home. I also refer to the order appointing the administrators of his father's estate, which provides for the contingency of some one else beside the mother maintaining some of the children. (Appendix, page 15.) His brother John3 was in Boston; his sister Sarah was married to Samuel Sibley of Salem; and his father's land had not been divided. It might, therefore, well be expected that when he returned to his native town his first business would be to ascertain the condition of the land left by his father. Hence his first public act on record is to request the town authorities "to run the line between him and his neighbor," and his second to join the church.

It appears by the town records of Newbury that in 1696 Thomas Wells married Sarah Browne, and had children:

(17) I.

(18) II.

(19) III.

4

SARAH, born March 9, 1699, at Newbury, as appears by

the records there.

JOSHUA, born October 9, 1701, at Wells, as appears by the town records there, and baptized September 12, 1702, as appears by the church records of Wells. Another child was born about the 9th of August, 1703.

The old tradition is, that on the 10th of August, 1703, "just after the birth of the fourth child, while the father was absent in search of a nurse to take care of his wife, the Indians came to the house and killed mother and all the children; that a neighbor who was acting as nurse, in taking care of the children during the absence of the father, on seeing the Indians approach the house made her escape by a back door and concealed herself in a field of corn near by, where she saw the Indians as they dashed out the brains of the children; that after scalping mother and children the Indians set fire to the house and outbuildings, and all were consumed together."

66

The account of the transaction as given by Judge Wells, vol. Massachusetts Historical Collections, under the head of a Topographical Account of Wells," is in these words:. "At the commencement of the next war (August 10, 1703), and on the day it began, the Indians burnt the dwelling-house of Mr. Thomas Wells, killed his wife and all his children, he being absent from home. At the same time the Indians killed Mr. Sayer and his family, who lived in

the next house, with sundry other persons, and retired. The day before this destruction Mr. Sayer assisted the Indians in grinding their hatchets."

In Sullivan's History of Maine the above transaction is stated to have occurred in 1696. In this he is in error. Thomas Wells3 (11) at that time was a resident of Newbury, and it was the first year of his marriage with his first wife, and before he had any children. He did not return to Wells prior to 1700. It also appears by the partition of the land belonging to the estate of John Wells2 among his children, that the part allotted to Thomas Wells3 adjoined, on the southwest, the land of Joseph Sayer. Administration was granted on Joseph Sayer's estate in 1704. It is evident that he was the Mr. Sayer who, with his family, was killed on the day of the massacre of Thomas Wells'3 family; and if that had occurred in 1696, administration would probably have been granted on his estate before 1704.

Soon after the murder of his family by the Indians, Thomas Wells3 (11) returned to Newbury, and made that his residence for some years.

The town records of Salem state that "Thomas Wells, of Newbury, and Lydia Gale, of Salem, were married Oct. 12, 1704." She was the widow of Abraham Gale (who died about the year 1702), and daughter of John Ropes and Lydia Wells2 (9), youngest daughter of Thomas Wells of Ipswich, who were married March 25, 1669. The daughter, Lydia, was born December 26, 1672. John Ropes was the son of George Ropes, who was in Salem in 1637, and of his wife Mary. John was baptized July, 1647. It thus appears that Thomas Wells3 (11) married his cousin for his second wife.

It appears by the town records of Newbury that Thomas3 (11) and Lydia Wells had children born there :

NATHANIEL, born August 21, 1705. He was the first
Deacon Nathaniel Wells, of Wells, and was Town
Clerk for many years.
He is described in deeds as a
"tanner." He died in Wells in July, 1776, having
made his will on the 3d day of that month. (App. p. 30.)
JOSHUA, born March 17, 1707.

LYDIA, born May 29, 1709. She married Samuel Clark.

Thomas,3 with his wife Lydia and children, returned to Wells the second time probably about 1713, though perhaps not till 1717. He was chosen Deacon of the church at Wells, March 3, 1718. He carried on a tannery in company with his son Nathaniel. One or two years before his death he conveyed several tracts of land in Wells to each of his sons, Nathaniel and Joshua. He died in Wells, Aug. 26, 1737. His will was dated July 19, 1737, and proved September 22, 1737. (Appendix, page 25.) He mentions in his will his wife Lydia, his sons Nathaniel and Joshua, and his daughter Lydia Clark. One clause in his will reads thus: "I. give and bequeath unto my dearly beloved wife Lydia my negro, man Jeff.” This “ negro man was bought of Nathan Hale October 21, 1718, for £55. The original deed or bill of sale of that date, from Nathan Hale to Thomas Wells, of a 66 negro boy named Jeffy," for £55, was in the possession of Abigail Wells, daughter of Judge Wells, at the time of her death a few years ago. That deed, with other ancient deeds and documents, had been handed down for several generations, and had been carefully kept by her after her father's death. After her death these papers fell into the hands of those who felt little interest in "ancient documents," and unfortunately they were consigned to the "rag-bag." The "negro man Jeff" continued in the family for four generations. I have often heard my father, Daniel (69), relate the sayings and doings of "old Jeff."

JOHN, Jr. (14), son of John,3 married Deborah, the daughter of Dependence Stover, of York, Me., October 11, 1733, and had children :

(33) I.

5

JOHN, born October 7, 1736. He is named in his grandfather's will, made May 10, 1748 (Appendix, page 23),

and his widow and children are named in his father's will, made March 31, 1779. (Appendix, page 28.) SAMUEL,5 born October 18, 1738.

SUSANNA,5 born Nov. 7, 1740, who married

(26) IV.

SAMUEL, born October 14, 1742.

Gould.