Dewey, Samuel
Samuel DEWEY (1670 - 1734) and Rebecca ASHLEY (1685 - ?)
my 7g-grandparents
6g – Mabel DEWEY (1718 – 1760)
5g – Sarah HUBBELL (1742 – 1763)
4g – Nathniel LEE (1764 – 1845)
3g – Sara LEE (1803 – 1888)
2g – Festus EATON (1829 – 1909)
1g – George W EATON (1870 – 1928)
Dora EATON (1905 – 1970)
Private
Gary Lee GAPINSKI (1956 – )
Samuel DEWEY was born on 25 Jun 1670 in Westfield, Hampden, MA, son of Thomas DEWEY and Constant HAWES, and died 11 May 1734 in Sheffield, Berkshire, MA. He married twice, and had 11 children, all in Westfield. [DFH, p. 244]
He married on 19 Dec 1695 to Sarah WELLER, daughter of Nathaniel WELLER and Deliverance HANCHETT. He was 25 and she was 18. Sarah was born on 6 Jun 1677 in Westfield, and died 21 Jul 1709 in Westfield. At least 2 of her 6 children died before her.
Samuel next married, about 1714, to Rebecca ASHLEY, daughter of David ASHLEY and Hannah GLOVER. He was about 44 and she was about 29. Rebecca was born on 30 May 1685. Samuel and Rebecca had 5 children, including Mabel, my 6g-grandmother.
He was a husbandman at Westfield, owner of 12 acres in the General Field in 1722. He was granted land in the fourth division at Sheffield, and soon located south of the bridge in what became Great Barrington, Berkshire, MA. He was one of 8 men enlisted by Capt. John ASHLEY, by order of Col. Samuel PARTRIDGE, Esq., which soldiers were "Improved in Guarding the Inhabitants of Westfield, etc.," from May 13 to Oct. 25, 1725. He earned 12 s. per week for this service.
Westfield, a few miles west of the Connecticut River, was inhabited initially by the Pocomtuc Indians, who called the place Woronoco. Trading posts were established as early as 1639, and the English settlement was founded in 1660. Westfield was so named because it was on the western edge of English civilization. It was settled by hardy Puritans who put their faith in the will of God, and refused to live under any laws that were not derived from the Bible. Westfield was included in Hampshire County, formed in 1662, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, which in 1692 joined the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and in 1788 became a county in the state of Massachusetts. Although politically attached to MA, it was culturally and economically allied with the communities in western CT. Also, being on the west side of the great river, it was much more vulnerable to Indian attacks than Springfield, 10 miles to the east. In 1812, the southern part of Hampshire County, including Westfield and Springfield, became Hampden County, MA. An 1871 map of Westfield and the surrounding area can be seen on the John ROOT 2819 page, and a 1796 map appears on the Thomas ROOTE page.
Sheffield is in the southwest corner of MA, about 30 miles west of Westfield. It was first settled in 1725, long after Westfield. It was in the western part of Hampshire County, which became Berkshire County in 1761. Also in 1761, the north part of Sheffield became the town of Great Barrington.
1796 map of the SW corner of MA. Sheffield is lower left, Great Barrington upper left, and Westfield just right of center. [source]
1 Samuel DEWEY b: 25 Jun 1670 in Westfield, d: 11 May 1734 in Sheffield, age 63
+ Sarah WELLER b: 06 Jun 1677 in Westfield, m: 19 Dec 1695, d: 21 Jul 1709 in Westfield, age 32
......2 Sarah DEWEY b: 26 Jan 1697 in Westfield
...... + William SMITH b: 16 Sep 1680 in Haverhill, Essex, MA, m: 15 Jun 1720 in Westfield, d: 06 Apr 1749 in Springfield, age 68
......2 Elizabeth DEWEY b: 13 May 1699 in Westfield
...... + Nathaniel ELY b: 21 Oct 1694 in Springfield, m: 16 Feb 1721 in Westfield, d: 29 Dec 1787 in West Springfield, age 93
......2 Hannah DEWEY b: 14 Oct 1701 in Westfield d: 31 Oct 1701 in Westfield, age 17 days
......2 Samuel DEWEY b: 12 Apr 1703 in Westfield, d: Aft. 1750, age 47+
...... + Elizabeth YOUNGLOVE b: 05 Apr 1707 in Suffield, Hartford, CT, m: 30 May 1730 in Westfield, d: 1752, age 44-5
......2 Deliverance DEWEY b: 04 Aug 1706 in Westfield, d: 14 May 1707 in Westfield, age 9 months
......2 Jonathan DEWEY b: 03 Jun 1708 in Westfield, d: 1759 in Westfield, age 50-1
+ Rebecca ASHLEY b: 30 May 1685, m: Abt. 1714
......2 Miriam DEWEY b: 14 May 1713 in Westfield
......2 Jerusha DEWEY b: Bef. 18 Jun 1715 in Westfield, d: 1755, age 39+
...... + Joseph HANMER b: 11 Nov 1716 in Scituate, Plymouth, MA, m: 11 Nov 1742 in Sheffield, d: 1798 in Pittsfield, Berkshire, MA, age 82
......2 Asael DEWEY b: 22 May 1718
......2 Mabel DEWEY b: 22 May 1718 in Westfield, d: 28 Dec 1760 in Sheffield, age 42
...... + Major Ithamer HUBBELL b: 1718 in CT, m: 09 May 1738 in Sheffield, d: 14 Dec 1760 in Sheffield, age 42
......2 Sarah DEWEY b: Bef. 1722
...... + William JOYNER b: 1719 in East Haddam, Middlesex, CT, m: 11 Jun 1747 in Sheffield, d: 15 Dec 1760 in Egremont, Berkshire, MA, age 41
Sources
p. 205 The family history
p. 211 Prelude (discusses the Church of England)
p. 216 Thomas DEWEY the Settler
p. 230 Thomas DEWEY (1)
p. 241 Adijah DEWEY (12)
p. 244 Samuel DEWEY (14)
p. 255 Mabel DEWEY (35)
Last updated 3 Sep 2022 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.