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Samuel HINCKLEY

Male Bef 1589 - 1662  (> 73 years)


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  • Name Samuel HINCKLEY  [1
    Born Bef 25 May 1589  Harrietsham, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Died 31 Oct 1662  Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I915  Sturgis
    Last Modified 8 May 2005 

    Father Robert HINCKLEY,   b. Harrietsham, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   bur. 27 Mar 1606, Harrietsham, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother Elizabeth 
    Married Y  [2
    Family ID F150  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sarah SOOLE,   d. 18 Aug 1656, Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married 07 May 1617  Hawkhurst, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 3
    Children 
     1. Sarah HINCKLEY,   b. Bef 22 Nov 1629, Tenterden, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 02 Mar 1679/80, Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 50 years)
    Last Modified 14 Oct 2018 
    Family ID F148  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Also father of Thomas Hinckley, the governor of Plymouth Colony. Came to New England in March 1634/5 in the "Hercules", accompanied by his wife and four unnamed children. [1]
    • " SAMUEL, Scituate, from Tenterden in Kent, came in the Hercules of Sandwich, 1635, with w. Sarah, and four ch. Thomas, the future Gov. Susanna, Mary, and Sarah. His w. join. the ch. 30 Aug. 1635, had Elizabeth bapt. next Sunday; Samuel, 4 Feb. 1638, d. soon; Samuel, again, 10 Feb. 1639, d. soon; rem. 1640, to Barnstable, where he had Samuel, 24 July 1642, by Deane call. Sarah; and John, 26 May 1644, bef. ment. beside one d. bur. 8 July 1640, unbapt. and tw. ch. also bur. 1641. His w. d. 18 Aug. 1656; and he m. 15 Dec. 1657, Bridget, perhaps d. but more prob. wid. of [[vol. 2, p. 425]]
      Robert Bodfish, and d. 31 Oct. 1662. His d. Sarah m. 12 Dec. 1649, Henry Cobb, as 2d w. and Elizabeth m. 15 July 1657, Elisha Parker. Other ds. nam. in his will are Susanna, and Mary, wh. were both m." [4]
    • From: The Great Migration Begins:

      ORIGIN: Tenterden, Kent.
      MIGRATION: 1635 on the Hercules (on 15 March 1634/5, "Sam[ue]l Hinckley of Tenterden & Sarah his wife, Susan, Sara, Mary children and El[e]zab[eth] a kinswoman" were enrolled at Sandwich for passage to New England on the Hercules [NEHGR 75:219]).
      FIRST RESIDENCE: Scituate.
      REMOVES: Barnstable 1639.

      CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: On 30 August 1635, "Goody Hinckley" was admitted a member of Scituate church [NEHGR 9:280].
      FREEMAN: On 2 January 1637/8, "Samuell Hinckley" was admitted a freeman of Plymouth Colony, and so was added to the colony list of freemen begun on 7 February 1636/7 [PCR 1:53, 74]. "Samuell Hinckley" appears in both the Scituate and Barnstable sections of the 1639 Plymouth Colony list of freemen (although his name was not crossed off in the Scituate section) [PCR 8:175, 177]. In the Barnstable section of the 1658 Plymouth Colony list of freemen [PCR 8:200].
      OFFICES: Plymouth petit jury, 3 September 1638, 17 June 1641, 4 June 1645 [PCR 1:96, 7:21, 41]. Grand jury, 4 June 1639, 1 June 1641 [PCR 1:126, 2:16].

      Barnstable highway surveyor, 5 June 1644, 1 June 1647, 5 June 1651, 3 June 1656 (as "Mr. Samuell Hinckley"), 3 June 1657 [PCR 2:72, 115, 168, 3:101, 116].In the Barnstable section of the 1643 Plymouth Colony list of men able to bear arms [PCR 8:193].
      ESTATE: "Samuell Hinkly" received several grants of land at Scituate: "the second lot on the south side of Grenfeld Lane being five acres," 12 June 1635; "a portion of marsh & upland lying adjoining together on the other side of the highway over against his houselot," 7 February 1636[/7?]; "upon the Third Cliff five acres," 6 February 1635[/6?]; "a portion of marsh land on the south side of Humpherey Turner's lot on the Third Cliff being nine acres," 7 February 1636[/7?];"a portion of marsh lands lying on the south side of Herring Brook," 7 February 1636[/7?]; and "a portion of upland being twenty-four acres," no date given [ScitTR 1:240-41].

      On 7 September 1642, in "the controversy betwixt Samuell Hinckley and Mr. Joseph Hull, about the lands the said Hinckley bought of the said Hull in Barnstable, it is ordered, by the consent of both parties and by the town of Barnstable, being referred to the bench, that the said Mr. Hull, according to his own proffer, shall abate forty shillings of that the said Samuell Hinckley should have paid him for the said land, and that the town of Barnstable shall return the one-half of the lands they took away from the said Samuell Hinckley to him again, and so a final end to be of all suits & controversies about the same" [PCR 2:44, 7:30, 31]. On 5 March 1660/1, "Mr. Samuell Hinckley" was one of five men "added to the purchasers at Saconeesett and places adjacent" [PCR 3:208, 216]. On [blank] [blank] 1645, "Mr. Timothy Hatherley of Scituate" sold to "Mr. John Floyde" of Scituate "all that his house, barn, orchard and homelot in Scituate aforesaid with the marsh meadow belonging thereunto together with the great lot up the North River both upland and meadow, videlicet all the housing and lands both upland and meadow which formerly belonged and was the proper right of Samuell Hinckley in Scittuate sometimes inhabitant of the said town of Scittuate" [PCR 12:204-5].

      In his will, dated 8 October 1662 and proved 4 March 1662/3, "Samuell Hinckley Senior of Barnstable" bequeathed to "Bridgett my wife" two cows, "all the household stuff she brought with her, also ... the use of my house and gardens and the use of four acres of my broken up upland ... during the time of her living a widow"; to "son Samuell" and to "son John" and to "son Thomas" a complicated series of bequests, attempting to prevent future contention among the three sons; to "my daughters Susannah, Sarah, Mary and Elizabeth to each of them the value of one shilling and to each of their children the said value"; to "Samuell Hinckley the son of my son Thomas," livestock; to "Mary Hinckley his sister," livestock; to "her brother Thomas," livestock; to "Bathshua Hinckley," livestock; to "the rest of my son Thomas his children," one shilling; to "Samuell the son of my daughter Cobb," livestock; to "his brother Jonathan," livestock; residue to "my executors"; "my son Thomas Hinckley to be my executor and my son-in-law Henery Cobb to be my overseer"; "my sons Samuell and John should attend to the counsel and advice of my sons Thomas Hinckley and Henery Cobb" [PCPR 2:2:2-3]. On 5 May 1663, Plymouth Court ordered "that Samuell Hinckley be summoned to appear at the next Court, to give oath to the will of Mr. Samuell Hinckley, deceased" [PCR 4:36].

      The inventory of the estate of "Samuell Hinckley Senior late of Barnstable deceased," taken on an unknown date and presented at court on 10 March 1662/3, totalled 162lb. 16s., with no real estate listed; to this inventory was appended a list of items not inventoried or valued, the first of which was "housing" [PCPR 2:2:3].

      BIRTH: Baptized Harrietsham, Kent, 25 May 1589, son of Robert Hinckley [NEHGR 65:315-17].
      DEATH: Barnstable "the end of October 1662" [MD 6:98].
      MARRIAGE: (1) Hawkhurst, Kent, 7 May 1617 Sarah Soole [NEHGR 68:186], baptized there on 8 June 1600, daughter of Thomas Soole [NEHGR 68:186-89]. She died at Barnstable on 18 August 1656 [MD 6:97] and was buried there on 19 August 1656 [PCR 8:44].
      (2) Barnstable "about the 15 of December 1657" Bridget Botfish [PCR 8:44; MD 6:98; NEHGR 65:318], widow of ROBERT BOTFISH [GM 2:1:357-58].
      CHILDREN:
      With first wife
      i THOMAS HINCKLEY, bp. Hawkhurst, Kent, 19 March 1619/20 [NEHGR 68:186]; m. (1) Barnstable 4 December 1641 Mary Richards [PCR 8:44]; m. (2) Barnstable 16 March 1659/60 Mary (Smith) Glover [MD 6:98].
      ii JOHN HINCKLEY, bp. Tenterden, Kent, 28 April 1622 [NEHGR 65:315]; bur. there 25 February 1627/8 [NEHGR 65:315].
      iii SUSANNA HINCKLEY, bp. Tenterden, Kent, 6 November 1625 [NEHGR 65:315]; m. by 1644 John Smith (on an unknown date, "John Smith & Susannah Hinckley contracted at our sister Hinckleye's house [in Barnstable]" [NEHGR 10:39]; eldest known child b. Barnstable [blank] April 1644 [MD 12:154]).
      iv MARY HINCKLEY, bp. Tenterden, Kent, 23 March 1627/8 [NEHGR 65:315]; no further record.
      v SARAH HINCKLEY, bp. Tenterden, Kent, 22 November 1629 [NEHGR 65:315]; m. Barnstable 12 December 1649 HENRY COBB [GMB 1:392-95; PCR 8:42; NEHGR 9:287].
      vi MARY HINCKLEY, bp. Tenterden, Kent, 18 September 1631 [NEHGR 65:315]; living 8 October 1662, possibly married, when named in the will of her father. (The claim has been made that Mary married James Houghton of Barnstable, and was the "Mary Haughton,widow," who made her will on 19 January 1685/6, in which she made individual bequests to each of the children of Thomas Hinckley [MD 18:134-36, citing BarnPR 1:77-78]. However, no relationship was stated with the Hinckley children, and, on the other hand, she also made a bequest to "the two eldest children of Joseph Potts my brother Edward Potts his eldest son." Since there is no known connection between the Hinckley family and any Potts family, we do not believe that the wife of James Haughton was Mary Hinckley.)
      vii ELIZABETH HINCKLEY, bp. Tenterden, Kent, 10 March 1632/3 [NEHGR 65:315]; bur. there 18 June 1633 [NEHGR 65:315].
      viii JOHN HINCKLEY, bp. Tenterden, Kent, 1 June 1634 [NEHGR 65:315]; d. soon.
      ix ELIZABETH HINCKLEY, bp. Scituate 6 September 1635 [NEHGR 9:281]; m. Barnstable 15 July 1657 Elisha Parker [PCR 8:47].
      x SAMUEL HINCKLEY, bp. Scituate 4 February 1637/8 [NEHGR 9:281]; d. soon.
      xi SAMUEL HINCKLEY, bp. Scituate 10 February 1638/9 [NEHGR 9:281]; bur. Barnstable 22 March 1640/1 [NEHGR 9:285].
      xii Daughter HINCKLEY; bur. Barnstable 8 July 1640 ("a daughter upon their coming hither buried unbaptized") [NEHGR 9:285].
      xiii Child HINCKLEY (twin), b. late 1640 or early 1641; bur. Barnstable 6 February 1640/1 [NEHGR 9:285].
      xiv Child HINCKLEY (twin), b. late 1640 or early 1641; bur. Barnstable 19 March 1640/1 [NEHGR 9:285].
      xv SAMUEL HINCKLEY, b. Barnstable 4 July 1642 [PCR 8:44], bp. Barnstable 24 July 1642 [NEHGR 9:282]; m. (1) Barnstable 14 December 1664 Mary Goodspeed [MD 6:99]; m. (2) Barnstable 15 January 1668[/9?] Mary FitzRandolph [MD 6:99].
      xvi JOHN HINCKLEY, b. Barnstable 24 May 1644 [PCR 8:44], bp. Barnstable 26 May 1644 [NEHGR 9:282]; m. (1) Barnstable [blank] July 1668 Bethia Lothrop [MD 6:135]; m. (2) Barnstable 24 November 1697 Mary Goodspeed [MD 14:87].

      COMMENTS: On 4 December 1638, "Samuell Hinckley" was one of eight Scituate men who were "presented for receiving strangers & foreigners into their houses & lands, without license of the Governor or Assistants, or acquainting the town of Scittuate therewith" [PCR 1:106]. On 7 October 1651, the grand jury presented "Samuell Hinckley and Jonathan Hatch for hiring land of the Indians" [PCR 2:173]. On 20 October 1646, "upon complaint of Thomas Star, of Yarmouth, about fees of Court, in an action prosecuted in the Court at Yarmouth aforesaid against Samuell Hincley, the Court ordereth, that the jury repay what they have received from the said Thomas Star as their fees in that case, & that Sam[uel] Hincly pay all the [blank] belonging to the clerk of the Court" [PCR 2:109].

      Thomas Hinckley, the eldest son of this immigrant, attained great prominence, serving as the last governor of Plymouth Colony, from 1681 to 1692.

      BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE: In 1911 Elizabeth French published wills, parish register abstracts from a number of parishes in Kent, which included the baptisms of the immigrant himself and of several of his children, and concluded with a compiled genealogy of several generations of the agnate ancestry of the immigrant [NEHGR 65:315-19]. In 1914 she added parish register entries which include the marriage of the immigrant and the baptism of his eldest child [NEHGR 68:186-89].

      An excellent recent account, including facsimiles and transcriptions of important early documents, was published in 1993 by Marlene Alma Hinkley Groves [Hinckleys of Maine]. [3]

  • Sources 
    1. [S46] NEHGS Register, v.65; p.318.

    2. [S46] NEHGS Register, v.65; p.317.

    3. [S45] Great Migration Begins, Anderson, Robert C., (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995).

    4. [S94] Savage, Savage, James.