Sheldon

1. Mary Sheldon: Born 24 Jul 1687, Deerfield, Franklin, MA; Died September 1763; Married 17 March 1708; Samuel Clapp Sr.: Born 1677. Mary was captured by the French and Indians in their raid on Deerfield, 29 February 1704. (See Clapp) She was forced to march back to Canada where she remained as a prisoner for quite some time. While she was adopted by an Indian squaw. When her father eventually rescued her she returned to Massachusetts and moved to Northampton. In later years her adopted Indian mother would come to Northampton to visit. While there she would not sleep indoors. She would insist on going outside of the limits of the town to a hill where an old Indian settlement had once stood. Despite the fact that she was a prisoner in Canada she must have been treated fairly well. She clearly developed a lasting relationship with the squaw who adopted her and maintained that relationship long after her bondage ended. Mary and Jonathan Strong were childhood sweethearts. They both expected to marry the other, though they were not engaged to be married at the time of the Deerfield massacre, when Mary was carried off to Canada as a captive of the French and Indians. Supposing her to be dead, Jonathan married Methitable Stebbins. When she was freed from bondage her first question was whether Jonathan was married. Since he was married she likewise found a mate. So strong was their love (if you'll pardon the pun), that after both were left widowed, in 1761, they married each other (1762). He was 79 and she was 75.

2. Deacon John Sheldon, Ensign: Born 8 December 1658, Northampton, Hampshire., MA; Died 7 June 1725, Hartford, CT; Married 15 November 1679/1685, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts; Hannah Stebbins: Born 8 Jul 1664, Northampton, Hampshire, MA; Died 29 February 1704, Deerfield. Hannah was 15 years old when they married. They moved in the mid 1680s to Deerfield MA. On 29 February 1704, the town of Deerfield was desolated by the French and the Indians and Hannah and her daughter Mercy, then aged about three years, were both killed. His door was found the next morning pierced by bullets and chopped by tomahawks. After the massacre at Deerfield he moved, with his family, to Hartford CT. The colorful life of John Sheldon is well detailed in The history of Deerfield.

Hannah's Parents and both sets of Grandparents--

• I. John Stebbins: Born 1626, England; Died 7 March 1678, Northampton, Hampshire, MA; Married 17 December 1657, Northampton, Hampshire, MA; Abigail Bartlett: Born 6 September 1660, of Northampton, Hampshire, MA; Died 10 October 1710, South Hadley Falls, Hampshire, MA; Abigail later married Jedediah Strong, son of Elder John Strong. John was active in town and church affairs, chosen to measure land and lay out highways. He was also chosen to see to the building of the new meeting house in 1661. He was a Selectman of Northampton--the highest New England town office. In 1672-3 he was one of the contributors to Harvard College. He is buried in the Bridge Street Cemetery at Northampton. In all John had sixteen children. By Abigail he had Samuel Clapp who married Mary French, Abigail Clapp Jr. who married William Phelps, Thomas II Clapp who married Elizabeth Wright and Sarah Strong, Hannah Clapp who married John Sheldon, Mary Clapp who married Thomas Strong Jr., Sarah Clapp who married William Southwell, Joseph Clapp, Deborah Clapp who married Benjamin Alvord, Benjamin Clapp who married Mary Ashley, and Rebecca Clapp who married Jeriah Strong.

• John's Parents--
  • A. Rowland Stebbins Married Sarah Whiting. (See Stebbins)

• Abigail's Parents--
  • B. Robert Bartlett: Died 14 March 1676, Northampton, Hampshire, MA. Married Anne (Bartlett): Died 3 Jul 1676. He came to America on The Lion in Thomas Hooker's company in 1632. He located in Hartford in 1636 where he was the First Selectman of that city. In 1640 he moved to Northampton and in 1653 he was made the first Selectman of that town in 1653-4. He was killed by the Indians in King Philip's War. His death came about when the Indians broke through the palisades surrounding the village of Northampton. He was a farmer and his estate was appraised at £654--a very large sum. His name can be found on the Founders of History Monument in Hartford CT.

John Sheldon's Father--

3. Isaac Sheldon: Born 1630, of Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died 27 Jul 1708, Northampton, Hampshire, MA; Married 1653, Windsor, Hartford, CT; Mary Woodford: Born 1638, probably in Roxbury, Norfolk, MA; Died 17 April 1684, Northampton, Hampshire, MA. (See Woodford & Blott) Isaac lived in Windsor CT, possibly as early as 1640. In 1654, he moved to Northampton MA where he lived out his life. Isaac married twice. Following the death of his first wife he married Methitable Gunn, the widow of David Ensign of Hartford, CT. The exact date of his immigration to New England is unknown. The most likely date for his crossing is 1651 or 1652. The last record of him is England in 10 June 1651 and the first record of him in New England is on 13 September 1652, at a meeting of the townsmen of Windsor CT.

4. Ralph Sheldon: Born 1605, Ashford, Derby, England; Died 1651, probably at sea; Married 27 April 1629, Bakewell, Derby, England; Barbara Stone: Born about 1607, of Bakewell, Derby, England. On 10 January 1650/1 a license was issued to him to pass beyond the seas. On immigration licenses of that period, destinations in Europe were typically named. "Beyond the sea" typically refers to immigration to America. If he started in the spring of 1651 for New England it is probable that he never arrived there, and either died on the voyage or was lost at sea. No mention of him has been found of him in New England, nor is he to be found in Derbyshire in the rolls of the hearth tax for that County in 1663, in which every householder is named. Thus his loss at sea seems the most likely explanation.

5. Arthur Sheldon: Born 1575, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died 1651, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Married about 1600, Stanton, Staffs, England; Mrs. Arthur Sheldon: Born 1585, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. When his father died he inherited the cottage at Lowefield. His will follows:

The Will of Arthur Sheldon of Ashford, Co. Derby, Yeoman, Weak in body, dated 10 June 1651. To be buried in the chapel of Ashford, Near William Lowe his seat there. To my son Ralph Sheldon 2s. 6d., and to his wife Barbara 2s. 6d. To my grandchild Isaak Sheldon £8. To [grandson] Samuell Sheldon £4. My Grandson Solomon Sheldon is to be kept one and one half years with meat and drink after my decease, at the cost of my executor. To my grandsons William, Thomas and John Wright 5s. Each. To [daughter] Anne White, Wife of Ralph White of Sheldon, £20. All the residue of my goods to [daughter] Elizabeth Lowe, wife of William Lowe of Ashford, and she is to be sole Executrix. Supervisor: Ralph White of Sheldon. [Signed] The mark of Arthur Sheldon. Witnesses: John Wright and John Ragge. Proved at Westminster 20 May 1653 by the executrix, Elizabeth, the wife of William Lowe.

5. Roger Sheldon: Born 1550, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died 30 September 1623, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Married 1592, Derby; Helen Woodcock: Born about 1554, Ashford, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. The earliest mention of Roger Sheldon is made in the Court Rolls of the Manor of High Peak Hundred, in 1566. He was assaulted by a young, distant cousin, George Sheldon, who was fined 3S. 4d. for the offense. When his father died he inherited a little cottage in Ashford called Lowefield which had belonged to his great-grandfather.

6. Richard Sheldon: Born 1525, Monyash, Ashford, Derbyshire, England; Died March 1590, Ashford, Bakewell, Derby, England; Married 1547, Bakewell, Derby, England; Mrs. Richard Sheldon: Born about 1529, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. In 1572 his father gave to him, as the eldest son, the house and land in Monyash (which had been previously contested in his father's lifetime.) When his brother died without issue he became his brother's heir. This caused quite a stir in the family as his other brother Henry believed that he should be Roger's heir.

7. John Sheldon II: Born about 1495, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died after 1572; Married Mrs. John Sheldon II: Born about 1505, of Bakewell, Derby, England; Died about 1525. John married twice though the names of neither of his wives are known. Numerous legal records of his life exist. He was frequently called to service as a juror. Several times his purchases of land were also recorded in court records when they were contested on legal grounds. In 1563 he is listed as a Yeoman.

8. John Sheldon: Born about 1470, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Died about 1523, Bakewell, Derbyshire, England. John Sheldon and his brother Richard were each fined 2d. for Brewing (presumably without a license) on 4 October 1514. His brother was frequently fined for this.

9. Richard Sheldon: Born about 1440, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England; Married Elizabeth (Sheldon): Born about 1442. "On Thursday next after the Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, 5 Edward IV (8 May 1465), Richard, son of Hugh Scheledon, and Elizabeth, his wife, Conveyed to William Smyth a cottage and 7 acres of land in Monyash, Co. Derby." (Derbyshire Charters, Vol 2, No. 5) On 12 Nov. 1494 Richard Sheldon surrendered to his son John Sheldon a cottage and 4 acres of land in Ashford, Co. Derby (Vide infra, No. 5.)

10. Hugh Sheldon: Born about 1410, Monyash Bakewell, Derbyshire, England.