Note
John Tisdale: In the region of Yorkshire, England, along the River Tees, a family lived and thrived. They lived on the dale or flat land near the river. Therefore they became know as the family from Teesdale; or the Tisdale family. A man named John had a son whom he christened Thomas sometime before 1596. Thomas married a woman named Ruth. Together Thomas and Ruth had at least one child, whom they named after his grandfather: John Tisdale. John Tisdale ws born in 1614 and baptized on 7 Nov 1614 in Ripon, England in the region of Yorkshire. In approximately 1634 John Tisdale immigrated to Plymouth Plantation reportedly bringing with him the Tisdale coat of arms (which has since been passed down through the generation and is with a descendant in Canada) and a great table of carved English oak. This table is mentioned in the wills of later generations. It was required, per the early laws of the colony, to get permission of the magistrates before any person was allowed to live alone or keep house or plant for himself. In 1636, in accordance with this law, "John Tisdale upon good report made of him and his good carryage is allowed to keep house and plant for himself provided he shall continue his carryage still." He was granted 10 acres at Green Harbour of the Old Massachusetts Bay Colony, had land at Hounds Ditch and at Namasakeeseet in Duxbury. Early on in his stay at Plymouth, John Tisdale had cause to sue Stephen Hopkins, one of the original Mayflower passengers, for assault. Stephen Hopkins was found to be at fault and ordered to pay John 40 shillings. Around the year 1640, John, a yeoman (or farmer) married Sarah Walker. Sarah, whose mother was widowed, (thus known as "Widow Walker") was born in 1618 in Weymouth, England. She came from England on the ship "Elizabeth" either in 1633 as a servant of her uncle John Browne or in 1635 with her brother James, as reports vary. In March 1642 John Tisdale took the Freeman Oath, and in Sept of that year, the General Court admitted him as a "freeman", a position secured only by attachment to the church and by a very exemplary life. It gave him standing in the community and a place in the town meeting. Around that same time, their son, John Jr. was born. The following year - Mar 1643 John Tisdale was admitted to the church. He also sold his land in Duxbury and moved his family to Taunton. He built his home on the east side of the Great River at Assonet, about three and one-half miles from Taunton Green, and bordering what is now Berkley. Above the site rose Mount Hope, the home of the Indian known as King Philip. The second son James was born 1644. In June 1645 John was appointed Constable of Duxbury. Their third son Joshua was born 1646. In 1650 their first daughter Sarah was born and John was named a selectman in Taunton. During this time he served on a jury to inquire into the death of Thomas Cook. During either this year or the next, his daughter Sarah was born. John found himself in court again in 1653, this time he was the defendant. He appeared before Gov. Bradford, Miles Standish, John Alden and Captain Willitt and was fined 20 shillings in a dispute over a cow. Now that John was established in Tuanton, he served as constable of that town in 1655. His and Sarah's fifth child and fourth son Joseph was born in 1656, followed in 1657 by Elizabeth their sixth child and second daughter. In 1658 John was again elected Constable and also selectman of Taunton and his daughter Mary was born. The last child of John and Sarah, a daughter, Abigail was born 1659. That was the year that John and 25 others organized "Yee Freeman's Purchase" and bought, from the Indians, the settlement that was known as Freetown. The purchase price included coats, rugs, pots, kettles, shoes, hatchets and cloth. John had plot #23. In Oct 1670, Ensign Leonard and John Tisdale were appointed to a committee to see to the execution of the Court order prohibiting the transportation of planks, boards, bolts or bark out of the area. These items were in such great demand in the West India trade that they brought high prices, but were needed for homes in Taunton. There were problems with some of the Indians who lived in the area. In 1671 soldiers assembled at the Tisdale home to prepare for war against hostile Indians. This war would come to be known as King Philip's War. John was once again voted as selectman in1672 and in 1674 he was a representative of the General Court at Plymouth. He served his last year as selectman in 1675. In 1675 King Philip's war came to Freetown. Either on June 27 1675, as reported to the Plymouth Court by Shadrach Wilbore or on 4 April 1675, as sstated in a letter by John Freeman, an officer in the war, John Tisdale was killed by Indians. It was reported that three men were slain: John Tisdale, Sr., John Knowles and Samuel Atkins. John Tisdale's house was burned as was the house of his brother-in-law James Walker. John's gun was carried off by the Indians. The gun was retaken at Rehoboth on 1 Aug 1675, where it was found with the body of an Indian who was slain there. The gun was later used as evidence in court. Sarah Walker Tisdale did not outlive her husband by much. She died 10 Dec 1676 in Taunton. John's estate was settled 6 Mar 1677. That same day, three Indians: Timothy Jacked, Massamaquat and Pompachonshe were indicted for the murder of John Tisdale and the other two men, on the eveidence of having John's gun. Charges against one were dropped for lack of evidence. The other two were deemed probably guilty. All three were sold into slavery and removed from the country. In June of that year John and Sarah's youngest daughter, Abigail, only 14, was given into the guardianship of James Browne of Swansea. He was the son of her mother's uncle, John Browne. In 1677 the Tisdale's oldest son John committed suicide.
Phyllis Dearbornadded this on 27 Jan 2012
JAHalvorsenoriginally submitted this to The American Shull Family Tree on 27 Sep 2009
biography of John Tisdale 1615-1675
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John Tisdale was murdered by Indians in King Phillip's War. His will was administered 1 November, 1676, but was not settled until 1677, the eldest son taking a double portion, and the residue being equally divided among the sons and daughters.
Joseph got left the house but as the Indians burned it I'm not sure what was settled on.
Will of John Tisdale, Sr. Taunton, (1675)
I, John Tisdale, Sr., of Taunton, being sick and weak yet of perfect memory, doe dispose of estate as followeth:---
I give to my eldest son, John Tisdale, all my tract of land on the east side of Taunton River, bound on the south by Meadow Brook, on the north by Stone Bridge Brook, on the west by the Great River and higway and on the common on the east, with the housin that is on it to him and his heirs forever, being six score acres, more or less.
Also to James Tisdale land on which his house stands and about five acres east of Great River, and four lying by Stone Bridge, and also land called new lot west of Great River (six acres) only the mowing meadow that is in it his mother shall enjoy while she lives, and also my lot at Swansey and my meadow at Sakegegunsett (Segreganset?), and my share in Iron Works after the death of his mother.
Also I give to my son, Joshua Tisdale, my share of land at Assonett and the meadow that appertaineth to it and my two acres of meadow in Assonett lying near John Hathaways house.
Also to my son, Joseph Tisdale, the house I now live in and the housin about it, and the lands and meadows adjoining to it, and the old orchard with the two acres of land that joynes it, and three acres of swamp lying by James Burte's land and my Apes meadows with two acres of land on the west side of it, to him and his heirs forever, but Joseph shall help Joshua to build for him as good a house as that I now live in.
To my daughter Elizabeth 5 pounds.
To my daughter Sarah, 5 pounds, of which she has received 300 of iron for that there is but 5 shillings due.
To my daughter, Mary, my share in North purchase and my lot at Rumford.
To my daughter, Abigail, my land on north-west side of Three Mile River. To my grandchild, John Tisdale, 30 acres of land on southeast side of Apes Meadow, and the remainder of my estate wholly to my wife as my sole executor.
APPRAISAL OF ESTATE OF JOHN TISDALE, SR.
"The inventory of the estate of John Tisdall, Sr., of Taunton, late deceased, exhibited to the Court of His Majesty hell'd at Plymouth the 2d of November, 1676, on the oaths of John Tisdall and Joshua Tisdall:
Item. 4 oxen 17 pounds
Item. A cart and a paire of wheeles and three yoaks with the irons 4 pounds
Item. 6 Swine and three Little piggs 4 pounds, 6 shillings
Item. 4 Calves and three yearlings 5 pounds
Item. 1 Steer and 2 two year old heiffers 5 pounds
Item. 6 Kine 17 pounds
Item. Brass Kettle and a Brass skillett, 1 Feather bed and 2 paire of sheets,
3 blankets, 2 bolsters, 2 feather pillows, 1 Rugg and a towell ton
Item. 1 Chamber pott and a platter and a porringer and two spoons 6 shillings
Item. 1 Chamber pott more, an apple roaster and an Indian bagg 2 shillings, 6 d.
Item. 1 paire of loomes and what belongs to them 1 pound
Item. 1 tubb, 1 paile and other timber ware 16 s.
Item. 4 borers (augers?) 4 s.
Item. 3 glass bottles and pound and a quarter of wool, 1 small bar iron
Item. 2 Guns and his wearing apparil 4 pounds, 16 s.
Item 8 yards of Bedticking and table napkins and pillow beares 2 pounds 12 s.
Item. 2 board clothes 5 s.
Item. 2 Beds, bolsters and ropes 3 pounds 17 s.
Item. Wollen yarn and a paire of Stilliyards 2 pounds 1 s.
Item. 3 Hoes 5 s.
Item. 6 platters and other small pewter 2 pounds, 5 s., 9 d.
Item. 1 Iron skillett, two brass pans 14s. 6 d.
Item. 1 brass kettle, 1 Iron Pott and Pott hooks 1 pound 4 s.
Item. 1 Copper, 1 Iron Pott and a seive 1 pound 4 s.
Item. 2 Barrell and a paile and butter tub 7 s.
Item. An axe, one paire of andirons and a spitt 1 pound 5 s.
Item. 1 frying pan, 2 plow chains and a log chain 1 pound 4 s.
Item. 2 shares and Coulters 10 s.
Item. 3 paire of pitchforks and a warming pan 6 s. 6 d.
Item 4 seives and troughs and pole rings 13 s.
Item. 1 Horse and Saddle 2 pound 5 s.
Item. 4 sheep and beif the country had for souldiers 3 pound 10 s.
Item. 2 hydes 1 pound
Item. debts owing to him by others 8 pounds
Item. 3 spinning wheels 10 s.
Item. his share in the Iron Works 20 pounds
Item. 1 hyde and a bar 1 pound 16 s.
Item. hinges for dores and half of a wheel plow and pot hangers 1 pound 16 s.
Item. a barn and other small buildings 20 pounds
October (76)
George Macy
William Wetherell
Debts owing from the estate:
Item. to rate for souldiers wagers 9 pounds
Item. To things found out since the aforenamed particulars, as horse traces,
a cross cut saw, and old harrow, and old cheese press, one half an
hundred of cedar boards, and part of a chain.
The lands of John Tisdall deceased:
Item. Meddow land, plowed land, pasture land where his house was, eighteen acres.
Item. 20 more at the Three Mile River and 2 acres of meddow
Item. his part in the North Purchase.
Item. seaven more below his house lying upon the great river.
Item. more meddow and upland, 6 acres
Item. his lands at assonett whichis well know.
Item. three acres of meddow that hee bought, being at the foot of it (three more neare untothat, right in meadow)
(Here the record is missing.)
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Edward Bobbitt and John Tisdale, were killed on June 25, 1675 in Swansea during the very first Indian raid of King Philip’s War.
Bobbitt and his family were warned at the outset of hostilities and took refuge in the garrison at Swansea. Accompanied by his dog, he returned briefly to his home to collect necessities, safe in the assumption that the dog would warn him of any prowling Indians. On his way back Bobbittdiscovered that he was being pursued. He climbed a tree and was well hidden, but his faithful dog kept barking, disclosing his location to the Indian war party.
Bobbitt’s grave is in a private yard near Berkley Bridge, and is thought to be the spot where he was killed.
Narragansett warriors who survived the Great Swamp Massacre soon sided with Philip, and their rage knew no bounds. Medfield, Groton, Sudbury, Plymouth, Rehoboth, and Providence were just some of the towns that they raided and burned.
The Nipmuck Indians, who lived in what is now central Massachusetts, soon joined forces with Philip's Wampanoags. They attacked several towns in the area, including Marlborough.
Attac k on Marlborough
O n March 26, 1675, a band of Nipmuck Indians made an attack in force on Marlborough. Several of our ancestors— William Ward, Solomon Johnson, and Edmund Goodenow– played prominent roles in the town’s defense.
It was Sunday morning, and the inhabitants were assembled in the Meeting House on the Common for church services. Reverend William Brimsmead was suffering from a toothache and left this pulpit to go outside where he could apply some temporary remedy. Looking out from the doorway he discovered armed Indians taking positions to surround the church. The minister cried out “Indians! The Indians are upon us!”
The assembly quickly fled to William Ward’s house, which had been fortified for such an emergency. Flanked by men with muskets, the congregation reached the Ward house in safety; all except Moses Newton who was struck at the elbow by a musket ball while helping an elderly woman.
With almost the entire population confined at William Ward’s garrison, the Indians were free to burn nearly all the other buildings in the town, which they did, and they slaughtered all livestock and hacked the fruit trees. The Meeting House was among the first properties to be destroyed.
The English managed to send a messenger to Sudbury for help. Before daybreak a considerable troop of Sudbury and Marlborough men found the Indians encamped in the north part of Marlborough, where they had gone to sleep from the effects of the food and drink they had plundered from the homes they burned. At dawn, after choosing their positions, the English fired into the Indian camp and killed over one hundred warriors. The rest fled back to Mt. Wachusett.
Victory and Defeat
The winter of 1675 was a difficult time for Philip and his allies. At the time, Algonquin natives grew most of their food in garden plots. The crops had gone untended with the constant movement during the first few months of the war. Now hunger, as much as skirmishes with the English, took its toll.
The English, meanwhile, were also becoming desperate with the central and western part of Massachusetts firmly in the hands of the natives. In May 1676 Captains Turner and Holyoke (for whom Turners Falls and Holyoke, Massachusetts are named) launched a surprise raid on an Indian war camp located on the Connecticut River. Surprising the Indians at dawn, they slaughtered scores of natives as they fled their wigwams. Others tried to swim across the Connecticut River to escape the soldiers' fire power but drowned as the swift current swept them over the falls.
A major war camp of the Wampanoags and Nipmucks had been wiped out, and the Indian alliance soon collapsed. The few Native Americans who survived either fled north or west or went on fighting in a lost cause.
With only a few warriors left, Philip made his way back to his tribal headquarters at Mount Hope near Swansea, where the war had first started. Philip had become a fugitive, constantly moving camp to remain one step ahead of his pursuers. A famous Indian fighter, Benjamin Church, used friendly Indians as scouts to track Philip throughout the summer of 1676 as he made hit and run attacks on isolated farms in the region.
Church eventually caught up with Philip on August 12, 1676, and an Indian scout named Alderman killed him with a musketball through the heart. Philip's corpse was beheaded, drawn and quartered. His severed head was displayed on a pole in Plymouth for more than two decades. His wife and son were sold into slavery in Bermuda, and his other relatives were forced into servitude in homes throughout New England.
The Fallout
The outcome of King Philip’s War was devastating to the Native People in New England. They had lost three thousand men, and hundreds more were sold into slavery abroad. Others, especially women and children, were forced to become servants in New England households. As their traditional base of existence changed, the Wampanoag and other local Native communities had to adapt their culture in order to survive. King Philip’s War virtually exterminated their tribal way of life in southern New England.
King Philip’s War took a terrible toll on the colonies as well. Thirteen towns had been laid in ashes; the wilderness was marked on every side with desolate farms and ruined homes. A thousand brave, young men had fallen, and there was scarcely a fireside that was not a place of mourning. The public debt had risen to an enormous figure, falling most heavily on Plymouth in proportion to population. In Plymouth alone the debt reached £15,000; more, it was said, than the entire property valuation of the colony – but this debt was paid to the last shilling.