John Phillips and Elizabeth Drake

Town Records

Family Registry for John Phillips of Easton (the place for this registry and the other registeries below indexed incorrectly in the database as Easthampton):
John Phillips's family registered

Family Registries for Samuel, William, and John (Jr.) Phillips' families (Easton):
Samuel, William and John Jr.'s families registered

John Phillips Jr.'s family continued:
The rest of John Phillips Jr.'s family registry

Family Registry for Joshua Phillips's family (Easton):
Joshua Phillips's family registered

Family Registries for Joshua, Caleb, and Thomas Phillips' families (Easton):
Family Registers of Joshua, Caleb, and Thomas Phillips' families, page 1

Family Registers of Joshua, Caleb, and Thomas Phillips' families, page 2

Name:    Hannah Packard
Event Type:    Birth
Birth Date:    13 Jun 1710
Birth Place:    Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Father Name:    Israel Packard
Mother Name:    Hannah Packard
Israel and Hannah Packard family

Name:    John Phillips
Event Type:    Birth
Birth Date:    18 Feb 1692
Birth Place:    Weymouth, Massachusetts
Father Name:    John Phillips
Mother Name:    Elizabeth Phillips
Birth record of John Phillips

Name:    Richard Phillips
Event Type:    Birth
Birth Date:    25 Nov 1693
Birth Place:    Weymouth, Massachusetts
Father Name:    Jno Phillips
Mother Name:    Eliz Phillips
Birth record of Richard Phillips

Name:    Caleb Phillips
Event Type:    Marriage
Marriage Date:    6 Feb 1731
Marriage Place:    Easthampton, Massachusetts
Spouse Name:    Hannah Packard
Marriage record of Caleb Phillips and Hannah Packard

Marriage record of Caleb Phillips and Hannah Packard

Name:    Richard Elles
Event Type:    Marriage
Marriage Date:    6 Oct 1728
Marriage Place:    Easthampton, Massachusetts
Spouse Name:    Jane Phillips
Marriage record of Richard Elles and Jane Phillips

Marriage record of Richard Elles and Jane Phillips

Name:    Catharine Liscom
Event Type:    Marriage
Marriage Date:    20 Dec 1735
Marriage Place:    Stoughton, Massachusetts
Spouse Name:    Thomas Philips
Marriage intention of Thomas Phillips and Catharine Liscom

Marriage intention of Thomas Phillips and Catharine Liscom

Name:    Katharine Liscom
Event Type:    Marriage
Marriage Date:    22 Jan 1735
Marriage Place:    Stoughton, Massachusetts
Spouse Name:    Thomas Philips
Marriage record of Thomas Phillips and Katharine Liscom

Marriage record of Thomas Phillips and Katharine Liscom

Name:    Hannah Phillips
Event Type:    Death
Death Date:    18 Aug 1743
Death Place:    Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Spouse Name:    William Phillips
Death record of Hannah Phillips

Name:    Damaris Phillips
Event Type:    Death
Death Date:    13 Mar 1795
Death Place:    Easthampton, Massachusetts
Death record of Damaris Phillips

Source: Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
Note: Vital records for the Phillips family have been indexed in the above database as taking place in Easthampton, MA but in Easton, MA in other sources (Easthampton and Easton are two different towns and are not close together). However, in the images accompanying the indexed records, it is clear that Easton is the correct town, not Easthampton.

Name:    Capt. John Phillips
Gender:    Male
Spouse:    Mrs. Bridget Southworth
Marriage Date:    19 Apr 1749
City:    Bridgewater
County:    Plymouth
Source:    Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0164691.

Name:    William Phillips
Gender:    Male
Spouse:    Hannah Pryer
Marriage Date:    16 Jan 1718
City:    Bridgewater
County:    Plymouth
Source:    Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0164691.

Name:    Joshua Phillips
Gender:    Male
Spouse:    Mary Hunt
Marriage Date:    3 Nov 1730
City:    Milton
County:    Norfork
Source:    Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0945618.

Name:    Caleb Phillips
Gender:    Male
Spouse:    Hannah Packard
Marriage Date:    6 Feb 1732
City:    Bridgewater
County:    Plymouth
Source:    Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0164691.

Source: Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850.

Phillips, Caleb of Easton & Packard, Hannah of Bridgewater Feb 6, 1732 Easton, Massachusetts

Source: Easton, MA : Marriages, 1720–1802 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003.) Original typescript: Marriages at Easton, Massachusetts from Earliest Entry Down to 1802. R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA.

Name:    William PHILIPS (see Phillips)
Spouse:    Hannah Pryor
Marriage Date:    1718
Marriage Place:    Bridgewater
Source:    Vital Records of Bridgewater
Full Text:    PHILIPS (see Phillips), William and Hannah Pryor, -, 1718,

Source: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Massachusetts, Town Marriage Records, 1620-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Name:    Jane Phillips Ellis
Death Date:    1760
Burial Place:    Ashfield
Source:    Ashfield

Name:    Hannah PHILLIPS (see Philips)
Death Date:    18 Aug 1743
Burial Place:    Bridgewater
Source:    Bridgewater

Name:    Richard Ellis
Death Date:    7 Oct 1797
Burial Place:    Ashfield
Source:    Ashfield

Source: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Massachusetts, Town Death Records, 1620-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Ashfield
Ellis
Births:
Richard, "The first settler in Ashfield," h. Jane Phillips, Aug. 16, 1704, G.R.6.
Jane Phillips [____], w. Richard, July 1, 1709, G.R.6.
Phillips
__, w. Thomas, Feb. 5, 1775, a. 58.

Milton
Hunt
Mary, Dau. of Joseph and Margerit, Aug. 22, 1712

Source: Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Publisher Date: 2001-2010.

PHILLIPS (Philips).
Joshua Phillips of Easton and
Mary Hunt of Milton..........................................................................................Nov. 3, 1730

Source: Milton Records: Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1662-1843, Boston: Alfred Mudge & Son, 1900, p. 158.

Names.                                                                                               Married by                                                            Date of Marriage.
Joshua Philips of Easton & Mary Hunt of Milton                             Sam Checkley Esq. J. P.          Nov. 3, 1730

Source: Whitmore, William H., Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Vol. 28, City Document No. 150 (Boston Marriages 1730), Boston, 1898, p. 156.

Packard
Hannah and Caleb Phillips of Easton, Feb. 6, 1731-2, in Easton.*
* Intention not recorded.

Source: Scott, Henry Edwards (ed.), Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, vol. 2 (Marriages and Deaths), Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916, p. 276.

Probate Records

Source: Probate Records 1687-1916; Index, 1687-1926 (Bristol County, Massachusetts); Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Bristol County); Probate Place: Bristol, Massachusetts, Notes: Probates, Vol 31-32, 1786-1794; Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Massachusetts County, District and Probate Courts.

Biographical Sketches of Richard Ellis

Pages 6-25:
RICHARD ELLIS, the subject of this sketch, was, according to his own account, born in Dublin, Ireland, August 16th, 1704. His father was a native of Wales, England, and his mother may have been a Welsh or Irish woman.

Richard said that his father was an officer in one of the many armed forces which at that time were numerous throughout the British dominions. Just at what time his father went to Ireland does not appear from any record which is now accessible.

Richard's youth was spent in Dublin, and he mentioned having traveled in other portions of Ireland. This unhappy country then, as now, was the scene of much disorder. The strife was mostly between Catholics and Protestants, or those in favor of or against whoever happened to occupy the throne. Richard said that it was a common occurence, seemingly enjoyed as a pastime, for the officers of the army to order, in the morning, before breakfast, a squad of prisoners "drawn in quarters," hanged or shot. Such scenes were made public spectacles, and were said to give the officers a relish for their meals.

When Richard was thirteen years of age, his father having died, his mother undertook to send him to Virginia where he had an uncle with whom she expected he would find a home. With this view she paid for him a cabin passage to this country, but the captain of the vessel violated his trust, and landing at a sea-port in Massachusetts, he, in accordance with a custom then somewhat prevalent, sold the boy, or his services, until he became of age, ostensibly to pay for his passage.*
* For a slightly different version of this, see Appendix, Note 2.

Richard said that he became a member of the family of a miller who was a very stern man, and often harsh with his own children, consisting of several daughters, yet to him he always showed the utmost consideration and kindness.t Of his mistress he always spoke highly, especially of her efforts for his mental and moral improvement. He had made some progress in education in Dublin, but of this he said nothing, thinking thereby that his new teacher would give him more attention. On several occasions he excited her surprise by pronouncing difficult words in advance of her instructions.
t See Appendix, Note 3.

After Richard attained his majority, he went to Easton, Bristol county, Mass., where in 1728 he married Jane Phillips, daughter of Capt. John Phillips, and sister of Thos. Phillips, who afterwards was the second settler in Ashfield. Richard lived in Easton until about 1740, when he removed to Deerfield in the same State. Six of his children were born in Easton, and one or more in Deerfield. Altogether he had nine children, but one — Benjamin — died at two months of age.

Richard's father-in-law, Capt. John Phillips of Easton, was one of the soldiers in the expedition against Quebec in 1690, and consequently was among those who became entitled to "rights" of land mentioned in another part of this work. This fact probably was what led Richard and family, and his brother-in-law, Thomas Phillips, to settle in Ashfield, (then called Huntstown,) which he, Richard, did about 1745. (Richard's son John, born in Deerfield, 1742, said his father removed to Ashfield when he was three years of age.) Ashfield was then a wilderness and Richard was the first settler* The locality where he selected his "right " and made his home is about one and one-half miles north-east of what is now known as Ashfield Plain, and is in the north-east part of the township. At this point two roads cross at right angles, and Richard's house and farm was on the southeast corner where, forty years ago, Hiram Belding, Esq.,t lived, and where Mr. Leonard D. Lanfair now resides. Richard's house was about six rods south easterly from Mr. Lanfair's home. One-half mile, or less, west of this point is Bellow's Hill, and eighty rods north, Bear river runs from west to east. Opposite Richard's house on the north side of the road, and about forty rods east, is an ancient burying ground where lie the earthly remains of Richard Ellis and wife and several of their descendants.
* There is some evidence that Richard began his settlement in Ashfleld one or two years earlier than this date, while his family was yet in Deerfield. See Appendix, Note I.
t Hiram Belding was the father of "Belding Brothers," the most extensive manufacturers of sewing silk in this country. See Appendix.

Of the scenes and incidents among the pioneers of this rough and rugged country, much has come down by tradition to the present time. The country was mountainous, being on the eastern slope of the Hoosac range. The roads consisted mostly of trails and cow-paths; the snows were deep and the winters most rigorous. Added to all the other obstacles which the early settlers had to encounter, was the greatest of all, the danger from the tomahawk and scalping-knife of the Indians. On one occasion Richard was alarmed by the Indians while in his sugar-bush, and, it is said, he made quick time to a place of safety with his five-pail kettle on his back.

Richard related that, not unfrequently, messengers would ride swiftly through the country giving warning to the inhabitants that the Indians were coming down upon them. At such times the women and children would be quickly placed on pack-horses and started for the old fort at Deerfield, some ten or twelve miles easterly from the Ellis settlement. Then the men and boys would rally with their guns and drive back the savage foes. These Indians were from New York and Canada, and were very jealous of the encroachments of the white man. The old Fort at Deerfield was constructed in early times, as a defense against the Indians, and did good service for more than a century.

Few of this generation can realize the privations and dangers encountered by the heroic men and women who pushed their way into these wilderness regions. Nearly all the conveniences of modern life were unknown among them. Simple and rude were all their implements. Going to church, to town, to mill, or on a neighborhood visit, was either on foot or horseback. Sometimes, in the spring of the year, from backwardness of the season, provisions became exhausted, and some of the inhabitants were obliged, it was said, to subsist for a time on the buds and tender leaves of basswood trees until crops could be grown. Not all even had salt for such a repast as this, and those who had were regarded as quite fortunate. But in spite of all their privations, they grew up a most vigorous race of men and women, whose posterity have gone out and made a creditable mark on all the institutions of this country, and the wealth of character developed by these sturdy men and women, has been a rich inheritance for their children. No privations or obstacles seemed to daunt them, and in some ways unnecessary exposures were sought and encouraged as evidences of manly strength and in the belief that their systems were improved thereby. It is related that with some it was a lifetime custom, even in mid-winter, to jump out of bed in the morning, and without dressing, rush out to the wood pile, kick off the snow, and gather wood and kindling for the morning fire. They fancied that by such means their constitutions were invigorated; and certain it is that many of them lived to a great age.*
* The subject of this sketch was a good example of the sturdy race from which he sprang. Plutarch, a Roman historian of the first century, says "The ancient Britons were so habitually regular and temperate that they only began to grow old at one hundred and twenty years."

Richard Ellis was a true and loyal subject of the King of England, and in 1754 when war broke out between England and France and extended to this country, and known as the "French and Indian War," Richard was for about three years an officer in the commissary department of the English or Colonial service in New England and New York. Richard Ellis, it is said, was a man of strong will and remarkable memory; his physical vigor and mental powers were retained in a high degree up to the last years of his life. His grandson, Dimick Ellis, who was born in Ashfield in 1776, was familiar with Richard during the last twenty years of his life, and from him the writer (his grandson) obtained most of the items for this sketch. About the year 1764, Richard kept a country store and ashery in the north-east part of Colerain, a town about 15 miles in a north-easterly direction from Ashfield. His ledger or book of accounts covering the period from 1764 to about 1777, together with some correspondence had with him and others before and during the great Revolution, are now in possession of his great grandson, Mr. Lewis Ellis, of Belding, Mich. These books are quite a curiosity at this late day and give one quite an insight into what constituted articles of consumption in those times.* In them are found the names of nearly two hundred persons who were residents at that time, of Colerain and adjoining towns. Rum and tobacco were articles then, as now, of too frequent use, judging from the charges in these books. It is probable that this mercantile experience of Richard's was not a financial success, which may be accounted for from the fact that, according to his books, the largest part of pay for his goods he took in ashes, which he converted into pot and pearlash in his ashery.
* For specimens of these accounts, see Appendix.

It also appears that Richard engaged in the milling business, in company with Mr. Chileab Smith, Sr., who was the third settler in Ashfield. Their mill was the first one built in that section, and was located on Bear river, about one hundred rods north of Richard's house, and about twenty rods east of the bridge on the roadway running north toward "Baptist Corners," as the neighborhood where Mr. Smith lived was called. This grist mill was a very primitive structure, as were all similar mills in those times. The grinding stones were run by water power, but the bolting and elevating was done by hand or manual labor.

In later years this mill came into the ownership of Richard's son Lieut. John Ellis and one of the Smiths, son of Chileab Smith,* who conducted it for a number of years. It would seem that the milling business was hereditary among Richard Ellis' descendants. Besides Lieut. John, Richard's youngest son Caleb, who settled at Ellisburg, Jefferson County, New York, about 1795, built mills there.
* This was Chileab Smith, Jr., who was born in 1742, and died in Ashfield, in 1843.

Also Richard's grandsons (sons of Reuben), Benjamin and Richard, and Benjamin's sons, Stephen, Moses and Benjamin Jr., were millers nearly all their lives. The latter built and operated grist and saw-mills, in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, as do several of their descendants down to the present time.

About the year 1760 Richard's wife, Jane Phillips, died, and some twelve years afterwards he married Mary, widow of John Henryt of Deerfield, a town adjoining Colerain where he then lived, and had his store and ashery. Some years later, probably during the period of the Revolution, Richard returned to Ashfield, where he spent the remainder of his days with his son John and grandsons Benjamin, Richard and David Ellis (sons of Reuben), and grand-daughter Jemima Smith Annable, wife of Lieut. Edward Annable of Ashfield.
t For an account of Mrs. Henry and her family, sec Appendix, Note 4.

That Richard Ellis' father was Welsh admits of no doubt, for besides Richard's own statement to that effect most of his descendants resemble that people and some of them show marked peculiarities of the Welsh race down to the sixth generation.*
*The writer of this sketch was once asked "how long he had been over,"' by a Welshman, who said that he strongly resembled Ellises in Wales whom be knew.
...
Of Richard Ellis' religious proclivities the writer knows little more than that he was an ardent Protestant, and it is fair to surmise that the ideas of religious liberty which brought the pilgrims to this country fully impressed him as a youth and extended to his manhood as well as through his entire life. Among the first settlers in Ashfield and even in the same neighborhood where Richard made a settlement, the Baptists were the first to organize their church and erect a meeting house, and from that time to the present that denomination has held a leading part in the religious sentiment of that part of the town of Ashfield. Three-fourths of a mile north of Richard's house was located the meeting house of this sect, and from that time to this that locality has been known as "Baptist Corners." The first minister located there was Rev. Ebenezer Smith, who married, in 1756, Remember, the second daughter of Richard Ellis.

Richard died Oct. 7, 1797, in his 94th year, at the house of his grandson Richard, the fourth son of Reuben Ellis. This Richard was born 1760 in Ashfield, and soon after his grandfather's death moved to the northern part of Pennsylvania, where he engaged in milling and founded the town of Ellisburg, Potter Co., where he died in 1841. His daughter Lucretia, who was born in 1806, and who is now the wife of Rev. John Stipp, a Presbyterian minister of Scio, Oregon, gives the following account of the last days of Richard Ellis, the subject of this sketch. The letter is dated Scio, May 26, 1884:

"I do not know how old my great grandfather was when he came to live with my father in Ashfield, but I have heard my father say that he was very spry and at 80 years of age could jump upon a horse from the ground as easily as a boy. He always appeared well: the night before he died he called my father, at least father thought so, but when he went to him he said he had not called him. The second time likewise he thought he heard him call, but was again mistaken but at the third time my great grandfather said. 'Well, go to bed, child, it is a token of my death, I have not called you?' He died in the morning about nine o'clock apparently without pain."

[For an account of the Ellises of the old country, as well as some in this country not related to Richard Ellis, see Appendix.]

JANE PHILLlPS, who married Richard Ellis in Easton, Mass., in 1728, was born July 1, 1709. Her parents were Capt. John Phillips and Elizabeth Drake, his wife, and her grandparents (on her father's side), were Richard and Elizabeth (Packer) Phillips of Weymouth, near Boston, and Richard was a son of Nicholas Phillips.

Jane Phillips' sister and brothers were as follows: Experience, born 1699; Samuel, 1702; Joshua, 1704; Caleb, 1707; Thomas, 1712; Richard, 1713.

It does not appear whether Jane Phillips was born in Easton or Weymouth, but more probably the latter place.

It is said that she was a good woman and devoted to her family. She died in Ashfield about 1760. The Phillips family, of which she was a member, were numerous and influential in Easton and in Ashfield. For a more full account of them see Appendix.
* In the town records of Easton and of Capt. Phillips' family, this name is written Jane, Jean and Joan.

Genealogical Record of Richard and Jane Ellis and their Descendants.

Following this Record there will be Personal Sketches of every one mentioned herein, so far as the same can be obtained. The numbers at the head of each name in the Record refer to the same number and person in the Sketches.

FIRST GENERATION.

(I.) RICHARD ELLIS Born, 1704; Died, 1797
(2.) JANE PHILLIPS " 1709; " *1760

Married in Easton, Mass., in 1728.

SECOND GENERATION.

CHILDREN OF RICHARD AND JANE ELLIS

4. Reuben Ellis                                                        Born, 1728;               Died 1786
6. Benjamin                                                           "      1730;                   "    1730
7. Mary                                                                      "      1732;                   "     ....
9. Remember                                                           "      1735;                  " 1795
11. Jane    " 1737;                  " 1832
13. Matthew                                                             "       1739;                  " ....
15. John                                                                    "       1742;                  " 1827
17. Hannah                                                              "        1750;                  "    1839
19. Caleb                                                                 "        1754;                  "    1813

The first six of these children were born in Easton. The record is found in the handwriting of Mrs. Ellis' father (Capt. John Phillips), who was town clerk. He adds to the above the following : "John Ellis, son of Richard Ellis of Huntstown, born of his wife Jean in Deerfield." Hannah was probably born in Huntstown, (afterwards Ashfield,) as her parents resided there at that time. Caleb may have been born there, or elsewhere, as it was about this time that the French and Indian war began, when all the settlers left Huntstown, and went to the older settlements east and south for three years. See Appendix, Note I.

Names or dates with this mark (*) may not be exactly, but are very nearly, correct.

Page 297:

NOTE II.*

In the traditions of the Annable family, (Lieut. Edward Annable's wife, Jemima Smith, was a granddaughter of Richard Ellis. See No. 38, page 92,) it was related of Richard Ellis, of Ashfield, "that his parents were Welsh, his father being an officer under Cromwell, who overturned the English government, which at that time was strongly Catholic. After the downfall of Cromwell many of his adherents had to leave the country, among whom was Officer Ellis, who fled to Ireland, where the son Richard was born."
*See page 10.

It is hardly probable that such was the fact, so far as Richard's father being an officer under Cromwell.

Oliver Cromwell, one of the most noted personages in English history, was the son of a country gentleman, and was born in 1599. He was a strict Puritan, a sect or class of people who desired a wide departure from both the English and Roman Catholic churches. Charles I. was on the English throne from 1625 to 1649, and he attempted to crush the Puritans. This created civil war. Cromwell was a leader against Charles, and when the latter was dethroned and beheaded, in 1649, Cromwell was elected head of the government under the title of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. Charles II., Prince of Wales, was the rightful heir to the crown, but did not succeed in establishing his cause until 1660, after Cromwell's death. The latter died in 1658, when his son, Richard Cromwell, was at the head of the Commonwealth about one year, when he abdicated.

Charles II. was then crowned and reigned until 1685. He died without heirs, when his brother, James II., was crowned, and reigned until 1685.
James was a thorough Catholic, and through religious dissensions he was overthrown, and William of Orange, a Holland Prince, was invited to the English throne. Prince William was a leading Protestant, and he had married, in 1688, Mary, eldest daughter of King James II., just dethroned. They were jointly crowned, as William and Mary, in 1689. Very soon thereafter war arose between England and France, on account of the King of France, Louis XIV., espousing the cause of James II. of England. This was called King William's war, mentioned on page 277. The conflict extended to the American Colonies, and led to the expedition against the Canadas by those who were afterwards granted rights of land in Ashfield. In 1694 Mary died, and William was sole monarch of England. During the last quarter of the seventeenth century was the bloodiest era in English history. Protestants and Catholics were in constant strife. King William had many conflicts with James II. and his supporters, who were trying to recover the throne. James was driven into Ireland, whence he and many of his followers fled to France and never returned. Celebrated among their battles were Boyne and Aughrim, William died in 1702, and, as he had no heirs, Anne, sister of Mary and daughter of James II., became Queen.

In 1692 William and his army followed James into Ireland, and it is more reasonable to believe that Officer Ellis (Richard's father) was connected with him than that he was a soldier under Cromwell, whose career ended nearly forty years before.

The account of Richard Ellis' boyhood, as given by Rev. Mr. Shepard, in his Sketches of Ashfield (see page 278), does not differ materially from that above, nor that on page 10, which the writer derived from those closely related to Richard, and which may be taken as very nearly, if not exactly, the true account of him. While he was born in Dublin, there is no doubt that his father was Welsh.

Pages 303-305:

LAND SOLD BY RICHARD ELLIS, 1751.

No. 1. — Warranty deed by which Richard Ellis conveyed fifty acres of land in Ashfield to his eldest son, Reuben, in 1751. The same being the 56th lot or "Right."

Know all men by these Presents, that I, Richard Ellis, of Hunts Town, so Call'd, in ye County of Hampshire, in his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, for and in consideration of Twenty pounds Lawful money, To me in hand before Sealing and Delivering hereof, well and truly Paid by Reuben Ellis of Sunderland in ye County and Province aforesaid, the Rec't w'rof I do hereby acknowledge. Have Given, Granted, Bargained, Sold and Confirmed, and by these Presents Do Give, Grant, Bargain, Sell, make over and Confirm unto him the s'd Reuben Ellis, his Heirs and Assigns, A Certain Lot of Land Lying and Being in ye Township of Hunts Town Afore S'd, and is the fifty-sixth Lot in Number known by the name of fifty acre Rights: To Have and To Hold the s'd Granted and Bargained premises with the Privileges and Appurtenances Including, but Half of the after Draughts belonging or may hereafter be drawn upon S'd Lot and No more: and he the S'd Reuben Ellis Doth by these Presents Promise to pay to his Brethren when they come of age the Sum of Thirteen pound Six Shillings and Eight pence of Lawful money in Dollars* at Six Shillings apiece: and I the said Richard Ellis, for my Self, my Heirs, Executors and Administrators, Do
hereby Promise and Covenant all and Every the S'd Granted and Bargained premises unto him ye S'd Reuben Ellis his Heirs, Executors and Administrators Against the Lawful Claims and Demands of any Person or Persons Whatsoever for Ever hereafter to Warrant and Defend.

In Witness Wr of— I the S'd Richard Ellis have hereunto set my hand and affixed my Seal this Twenty-tifth Day of Decem'r, Anno Dom. 1751, and in ye Twenty-fourth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the faith, &c.

RICHARD ELLIS, [seal.]

Signed, Sealed and Delivered
          in Presence of us,
                Isaac Hubbard,
              *Simeon Scott.
Hampshire, ss., April ye 27, 17(52. Taen Richard Ellis appeared and acknowledged the above Instrument to be his free act and deed.

ELIJAH WILLIAMS,

Justice of the Peace.

Hampsh'r, ss.

Springfield, May 14, 1765.

Rec'd and Recorded in Libr. 6, folio 3. and Examin'd,

Per EDW'D PYNCHON, Reg'r.

*The Dollar was originally a German coin, which is said to have been first coined at a town called Dale.
*This Simeon Scott was probably Reuben Ellis' brother-in-law.

LAND BOUGHT BY RICHARD ELLIS, 1753.

No. 2. — To All People to whom these Presents shall come. Greeting: Know ye that I Joseph Melton of Hull in the County of Suffolk in New England, yeoman, For and in Consideration of the sum of five pounds to him in hand before the ensealing hereof, well and truly paid by Richard Ellis of Huntstown in ye County of Hampshire and Province of ye Massachusetts Bay in New England, yeoman, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge and myself therewith fully satisfied and contented, and thereof and of every part and parcel thereof, have given, granted, sold, conveyed and confirmed unto him the said Richard Ellis, his heirs and assigns forever, one single lot of land, excluding all other lands, lying and being in the Township of Huntstown in the County of Hampshire in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay aforesaid, being Number Seven containing fifty acres be it more or less, it being a house lot and no other lands or Rights but that only. * * * In witness hereof I now set my hand and seal ye first day of March in the year 1753 and in the twenty-sixth year of his Majesty's Reign George the Second.

JOSEPH MELTON.

Caleb Loring,
Joseph Melton, Jr.,
Witnesses.
No. 3. — December 6th, 1782, Reuben Ellis deeded to John Ellis 50 acres, being the north half of lot No. 53, in the third division of house lot No. 9.
No. 4. — October 27th, 1790, Nathaniel Beale, of Braintree, sold to John Ellis and Edward Annable, lot No. 12, in the second division, containing 100 acres by estimate, bounded south by George Ranney, northerly by Seth Waite and John Sherwin. Consideration, 200 pounds.
No. 5.— January 25th, 1798, Barnabas A unable sold to John Ellis about seven acres of Land, being a part of lots Nos. 12 and 13, lying on the north side of highway, by which it is bounded, the north side of the same piece of land is the land of Philip Phillips and John Ellis' bounds, excepting the dwelling-house now on it, which I engage to move off. Consideration, $200.
April 23d, 1763, Nathaniel Gunn, and Hannah Gunn, his wife, sold to John Ellis fifty acres. [This was probably the old Ellis homestead, where John, Jr., Edward and Dimick were born.]

Page 306:

LATER YEARS OF RICHARD ELLIS' LIFE.

About the close of the Revolution Richard Ellis returned from Colerain to Ashfield, where he lived the balance of his days, with his son, Lieut. John Ellis, and his grandchildren. The latter consisted of Richard and David Ellis (sons of Reuben), aud Jemima Smith Annable, wife of Lieut. Edward Annable. Jemima was a daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Smith and his wife, Remember Ellis (Richard's daughter. See page 71).

It is probable that Richard's ashery and mercantile business in Colerain had not proven a success; at least, not sufficient to have given him a competency for the remaining years of his life. The disorder and instability of all business pursuits, consequent upon the prolonged war for independence, would account for this. Hence his return to his children and grandchildren in Ashfield, to pass his remaining years in quietude with them.

It is apparent that they formed an agreement among themselves to provide for him a home, and at the same time leave him in perfect freedom to pass his time among them or others, and come and go at his pleasure. According to this agreement each one rendered his account at stated times and was allowed by the others due compensation therefor. They associated together under the name of "The Brethren," evidence of which is found among their accounts of the time, one of which is as follows:
                                                                                                                                                     £    s. d.
July ye 6, 1790.           The Brethren Dr. to keeping Father Ellis four weeks.........................*1 : 4 : 0
Oct. 2,        "                To 4 weeks' and 2 days' keeping.......................................................*1 : 5 : 6
Feb. 26, 1791.              " 8 weeks' keeping by Edward Annable............................................2 : 8 : 0
Aug. 10,     "                 " 8   "           "..........................................................................................*2 : 8 : 0
Jan. 2, 1792.                " 8   "           " by David Ellis....................................................................2 : 8 : 0
Jan. 27,      "                 " 8   "          board.................................................................................*2: 8 : 0
Oct. 13,      "                 " 8   "              "      by Richard Ellis.........................................................1 : 16 : 0
Apr. 3,1793.                  " 8   "              "......................................................................................*2 : 8 : 0
Sept. 25,   "                   " 8    "             " by Richard Ellis.............................................................
Mar. 5,1794.                 " 8    "             " by David Ellis................................................................
                                      " Squire Phillips, for charges................................................................t0 : 12 : 0

Page 328:
Map of Ashfield

Page 377-378:

THE PHILLIPSES.

Of all the families of Ashfield, whether in early or later times, the Phillipses were the most numerous.

In the settlement of the town in 1745, Thomas Phillips, son of Captain John Phillips, of Easton, Mass., was the second settler, his brother-in-law, Richard Ellis, being the first. Thomas married in or near Easton. He and his wife, Katharine, lived at Deerfield a time previous to settling in Ashfield. He was born in Easton, Jan. "25, 1712. He located in Ashfield at No. 32 on the map (page 328), or possibly his first cabin, as many of the dwellings were then called, was about 80 rods further south, and at or near the Ellis and Phillips fort, No. 30.

Capt. John Phillips, of Easton, father of Thomas, was a soldier in 1690 in an expedition undertaken by the Colonies for the reduction of Quebec, Canada. For this service he became entitled, about 40 years afterwards, to "Rights" of land in what is now Ashfield. Undoubtedly this fact is what led Thomas Phillips and Richard Ellis, a son-in-law of Capt. John Phillips, to seek homes in this then wilderness region.

Of Capt. John Phillips, of Easton, it is said that he was a man of unusual ability and integrity of character. He was one of the earliest settlers in Easton in 1694. He removed from Weymouth, Mass., to Easton, with his wife, Elizabeth Drake, daughter of Thomas and sister of Benjamin Drake, residents of Weymouth, who settled in Easton about 1700. Capt. Phillips was a prominent man in the early town history, and was the first town clerk, serving for twelve years. In his bold handwriting is found on the records of Easton the marriage of his daughter, Jean, to Richard Ellis in 1728, and the names and date of birth of seven of their children. The writer is greatly indebted to Rev. Wm. L. Chaffin, of Easton, for these reports, without which he could have made little or no progress in tracing the descendants of Richard Ellis. (Mr. Chaffin has searched the records of Easton thoroughly, and has lately published a volume of over 800 pages of the history of that town).

Capt. John Phillips is noted as the first person in Easton who held a commission as captain. He was a son of Richard and Elizabeth (Packer) Phillips, and grandson of Nicholas Phillips.

Capt. John Phillips' children were John, Jr., William, Experience, Samuel, Joshua, Caleb, Jean (or Jane), Thomas and Richard (see page 16).

John, Jr., was born at Weymouth in 1692. He died in Easton in 1758. His son. Deacon Ebenezer Phillips, lived there after him. Samuel, son of
Capt. John, was born 1702. He married Damaris Smith, of Taunton. He lived and died in Easton, and his son, Samuel, also.

William Phillips, son of Capt. John, was born about 1695. He was a carpenter, and built and owned a saw mill in Easton.

A few years after the settlement of Ashfield there were Joshua, Caleb and Richard Phillips's names on the town records. It is not now certain whether these were all sons of Capt. John, of Easton, or not. However, such is probably the fact, as Thomas and Jane (Richard Ellis's wife), children of Capt. John, had become permanent residents there, which would naturally lead others of their kin to the same locality. Jean or Jane, daughter of Capt. John Phillips, of Easton, married Richard Ellis, the first settler in Ashtield (see page 16).

Thomas Phillips, Sr., son of Capt. John, was born in Easton, Jan. 25, 1712. He lived in Deerfield for a time, and then followed Mr. Ellis to Ashfield about 1745, where he remained the rest of his life. His children were: Philip, born Feb. 3, 1739 (one account gives the year as 1738); Simeon, April 15, 1742; Charity, Oct. 10, 1744; Thomas, Jr., June 7, 1747; Elizabeth, Oct. 31, 1749; Sarah, 1752, and Caleb?

Source: Ellis, Erastus Ranney, Biographical sketches of Richard Ellis, the first settler of Ashfield, Mass., and his descendants, Detroit, MI: W. Graham, 1888.

Legislators of Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780

John PHILLIPS Easton HR 1754; selectman 1726, 34, 44, 46-49; town clerk 1716-32, 34-39; 53; moderator 1733, 34, 37, 40, 41, 44, 51; capt. 1725; M Elizabeth Drake (1670-1748) in 1690 and Bridget Southworth ( -1764) in 1749, 9 ch; farmer. Owned much land. He was not seated as a representative. His election was investigated, and the HR unanimously denied him the seat because of illegal procedures of selection by the town's selectmen. Start Date: 1672 Location: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States Record Type: Birth Start Date: 1760 Location: Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States Record Type: Death Bibliography: 1983 Phillips g 32; Weymouth VR 1:209

Source: Legislators of Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002), (Orig. Pub. by Northeastern University Press , Boston, MA. John A. Schutz, Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court 1691–1780 A Biographical Dictionary, 1997.)

History of Weymouth

7. JOHN³ PHILLIPS (Ensign Richard²) was called a son by Ensign Richard Phillips, 27 Oct. 1695. He married, near 1690, Elizabeth -----.
Children, born at Weymouth:
John⁴, b. 18 Feb. 1692.
Richard, b. 25 Nov. 1693.

Source: Chamberlain, George Walter, History of Weymouth, Massachusetts in Four Volumes, vol. 4, Weymouth, MA: Weymouth Historical Society, 1923, p. 467.

Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography

Mr. Phillips traces paternal descent from Nicholas Phillips, born in England, who settled in Dedham, Massachusetts, as early as 1636. Later he moved to Weymouth, where he was a deacon of the church. He was succeeded by his son, Richard Phillips, who was made a freeman of Weymouth in 1678, and he, by his youngest son. Captain John Phillips, who settled in Easton, Massachusetts, was a prominent town official, captain of the first military company in that town, served in the expedition to Canada in 1690, and forty years later, on account of that service, received a grant of shares in Huntstown, later Ashfield, Massachusetts, where his son Thomas was one of the first settlers.

Captain John Phillips was succeeded by his son, Joshua Phillips, a member of the Easton Church in 1747, member of the committee on correspondence at Easton in 1776, and there died in 1792, aged eighty-seven years.

Source: Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography, vol. 2, Boston: The American Historical Society, 1917, p. 138 (entry for Ebenezer Sanborn Phillips).

Mitchell's History of Bridgewater, Massachusetts

PRYOR OR PRIOR.— John Pryor (probably from Duxbury, and s. of Joseph, who d. there 1692) settled early in E. B.; m. Bethiah, d. of Samuel Allen, and had Joseph, Hannah, Sarah, Bethiah, and d. 1742. Hannah m. William Phillips 1718. — Sarah m. Theodosius Moore 1725.

Source: Mitchell, Edward C., Mitchell's History of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Bridgewater, MA: Henry T. Pratt, Printer, 1897, p. 293.

The Drake Family in England and America

Source: Drake, Louis Stoughton, The Drake Family in England and America, 1360-1895: and the Descendants of Thomas Drake of Weymouth, Mass., 1635-1691, Boston: privately printed, 1896, pgs. 1-3.

Gravestones and Memorials

Gravestone of Hannah (Pryor) Phillips, Old Graveyard, East Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts (Click here for photo of the gravestone by Chip5610 (#46997557), findagrave.com)

Memorial (placed later) of Richard and Jane (Phillips) Ellis, Beldingville Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts (photo credit: Beth Bandy, findagrave.com):
Monument to Richard and Jane Ellis

Memorial (placed later) of Thomas Phillips, Beldingville Cemetery, Ashfield, Franklin, Massachusetts (photo credit: Anonymous (#47283828), findagrave.com):
Memorial of Thomas Phillips