Jonathan Willard

Narrative:

     Jonathan Willard was born on 26 Oct 1720 in Roxbury, Massachusetts.^4,5,6 Jonathan and John were twins.^1,17
     His mother died on 4 Jul 1728, when Jonathan was 7 years old.^18,19,20
     Jonathan married first Sarah Childs.^7,3,8 They settled in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, after their marriage, and at least two of their children were born there.²¹
     Jonathan and Sarah moved to Colchester, Connecticut, between 1746 and 1750.^22,23 While in Colchester he owned and commanded a vessel engaged in coastal trading between ports in New England and New York.^24,25
     His wife died on 3 Apr 1750 in Colchester, Connecticut.^26,27
     While in Colchester Jonathan made a number of puzzling transactions involving a one-acre lot with a house and barn on Town St., the main street in town. No record has been found of how he came to own the lot. But on 16 Apr 1750 he sold it for £600 to John Chamberland, who owned the property on three sides.²⁸ For reasons totally unclear, he sold it again less than a month later, on 7 May 1750, to Bartholomew Kneeland of Boston.²⁹
     Jonathan married second Sarah Loomis, daughter of Nathaniel Loomis and Sarah Skinner, on 21 Dec 1752 in Colchester, Connecticut, with Rev. Ephraim Little officiating.^9,10,11
     Jonathan bought the Town St. property back from Bartholomew Kneeland in Town St. on 13 Apr 1753, taking a mortgage on the property for £126-13-4 from John Kneeland, of Boston. The mortgage was due one year later.³⁰
     His second wife died on 25 Dec 1754 in Colchester, Connecticut.³¹
     Finally, he sold the property again to John Chamberland, for £112 on 1 May 1755, apparently as he prepared to move to New York. A possible explanation for the series of transactions was that he lived in this property the whole time, and the transactions were intended to finance business deals. But it is also possible they were related to the death of his first wife, his re-marriage, and the death of his second wife.³²
     Shortly after the death of his second wife he moved to Albany, New York, where he kept a public house, the only English tavern in the city.^33,34
     Jonathan married third Sarah Hough, daughter of John Hough and Hannah Denison. No marriage record has been found but her first husband died between 1753 and 1759 and they probably were married shortly afterward.^12,13,14
     Jonathan was described in 1867 by a descendant as "strong, elastic, wiry, and enduring; mentally he was a quick discerner of the intentions of men, shrewd and sound of judgment... He was a through business man, and in testimony of his uprightness, it is said that he was universally respected by those with whom he did business. His name is held in great veneration by his numerous descendants." Even if his descendant may be thought a bit over-enthralled with his ancestor, Jonathan seems to have been a remarkable individual.³⁵

Becoming a Proprietor of New Hampshire Townships --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     In 1749 Benning Wentworth, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, began a program to settle the area of the colony west of the Connecticut River, that is, the present state of Vermont, by making grants of townships. By 1760 the form of these grants was well established. The grants were typically six miles square, or 23,040 acres, and each was made to a group of 62 "proprietors." Each proprietor received an undivided 1/68th share. In addition, two shares were reserved for the Governor and four for the benefit of the church and a school. There was a fee for the charter but no reliable report of what it was have been found. Other than that, terms seem modest:      The proprietors initially each held an undivided 1/68th share in the whole town. The towns typically made a number of "divisions" over several years in which lots were drawn up, generally 50 or 100 acres each, and assigned to individuals. Often proprietors sold their rights, and could sell any lots after they divided. The owners of the rights continued to own a share in any land not yet divided into lots.
     The issuance of grants was suspended during the French and Indian War. When they were resumed the first grant in present-day Vermont was for the town of Pownal, issued 8 Jan 1760. Jonathan was one of the grantees.³⁷ No evidence has been found that he took any active part in the development of this town. He sold his entire interest there on 24 Sep 1771.^38,39
     Jonathan was apparently more interested in obtaining his own grant. A group of investors in Nine Partners, Dutchess Co., New York, was also trying to obtain a grant. After a previous attempt had failed, at a meeting on 15 Oct 1760 they appointed Jonathan as their agent to procure a charter. They collected £58-6 to cover his expenses in traveling to New Hampshire to obtain charters for two townships.⁴⁰
     The town of Pawlet, six miles square, in the southwest corner of present day Rutland Co., Vermont, was granted by Governor Wentworth on 26 Aug 1761.⁴¹ The town of Danby, also six miles square and immediately east of Pawlet, was granted the next day.⁴² The next day the town of Harwich, later re-named Mount Tabor, also six miles square and immediately east of Danby, was chartered.⁴³ (See map.) In each charter Jonathan was the first-named grantee, followed by 61 others. He was the only one to appear on all three charters. Six others appeared on two charters.⁴⁴

Family Tradition Embellishes History a Bit --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     According to family tradition Jonathan and two partners claimed the three townships, then drew lots, with Jonathan winning the Pawlet township. He then supposedly entered the names of his old neighbors in Connecticut to fill out the required number of grantees. Then, the tradition continues, he went to Colchester where he told them what he had done and proceeded to purchase the rights of many of them for a mug of flip or a new hat, until he owned two-thirds of the town. Another version continues that he also had large rights in Danby and Mount Tabor. Like most such family traditions, examination of the records show they contain a kernel of truth but are largely embellished.^45,46
     If indeed Jonathan had "two partners" one would appear to be the group of investors in Nine Partners. All of the known participants in the meeting there were among the grantees to only one town, Darby. If any drawing of lots was done it must have been done before the charters were drawn up. The other partner, if fact he was one, was Jonathan Moulton of Hampton, New Hampshire. Jonathan Willard and three other grantees to Harwich sold their interests in that township to him on 30 Aug 1761, just two days after it was awarded, for £20 each and the charter fees. This strongly suggests they had obtained it on his behalf.^47,48,49
     Jonathan did indeed set out to buy additional rights to Pawlet, particularly in Jan and Feb 1762, but he certainly paid more than a pint of flip or a hat. According to the deeds he paid £10 for most of them and more for a few. Of the 23 recorded purchases only three sellers were from Colchester, and nine were from other towns in Connecticut. The balance were from Massachusetts and New York, and in later years from Pawlet. Records have been found for his purchase of 23 rights, and the eventual sale of 24, including his own, so he owned at most about one third, not two thirds of the rights. He sold by the time of his death about 7,000 acres out of a total in the township of 23,000, or about 31%.⁵⁰
     Among the rights Jonathan purchased for £10 was one owned by John Willard, of Claverack, New York, on 15 Jan 1762. That may have been his twin brother, but no records have been found of that brother after he and his wife became members of the church in Sudbury, Massachusetts, in Sep 1742.⁵¹ Jonathan did buy a right, and a lot, from his older brother Benjamin, of Brookfield, Massachusetts, on 3 Jun 1771, again for £10.⁵²
     Jonathan acted as moderator of the first meeting of proprietors of Danby as required by the charter, which was held 22 Sep 1761 at Nine Partners, New York. He was elected to the committee charged with making the first division of land and other business, but there is no record of his further participation. At a meeting 12 Jan 1762 the proprietors voted to pay him $2 each for obtaining the grant. It seems he never owned more than his one share in Danby. He sold that, including the two lots already laid out, to Jesse Irish Jr. on 2 Mar 1771, for £50.^53,54
     While he had sold his initial rights to Harwich two days after being granted them, he sold two more 24 Sep 1771, one of them identified as that of Charles Foot and the other, strangely, his own which he had sold ten years before. No record of how obtained these two rights has been found. This sale was part of a transaction that also included his right in Pownal and one right in Pawlet for a total of £100.³⁸

Managing His Pawlet Properties from Afar --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Anxious to consummate the claim for Pawlet by settling the town, the first two settlers arrived in 1761 and began clearing land. Jonathan arrived in 1762 with nine hired men and several horses, and by fall had cleared several acres and sowed it with wheat. He then returned to his home on the Hudson.⁵⁵
     Initially the new town, like most of them, was governed from afar. On 14 Nov 1763 there was a meeting of the proprietors of the township at Jonathan's home in Albany. At that meeting a tax of £3 5s 7p, York Currency, was set on each right in the township. A collector was appointed, who placed advertisements notifying the proprietors that if they failed to pay the tax their lands would be sold at a meeting at Jonathan's home on 26 Apr 1764.⁵⁶
     Jonathan moved to Saratoga about 1764, where he was engaged in the lumber business.^57,58,59 At some point, whether while he was in Albany or after moving to Saratoga is unclear, he contracted with the Government to furnish stores to the army at Lake George, supposedly employing 40 yoke of oxen.^60,61 According to family tradition, he made a large amount of money, and at one point fearing an invasion, filled a cask with silver and sealed it beside the chimney.⁴⁵

Settling in Pawlet --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     It seems Jonathan had never intended to settle in Pawlet, but had obtained the grant for speculation. But he met heavy losses in the lumber business, reportedly losing half his capital, so moved to Pawlet about 1771.^62,63 He was probably the first innkeeper in Pawlet. The town and freeman's meetings were held at his inn for some years.⁶⁴
     Jonathan began selling lots in Pawlet about the time he moved there, continuing from time to time as long as he lived. He sold in total some 7,000 acres in nearly 80 transactions. In 1779 alone he sold 650 acres, after which he sold at a reduced rate until 1800, when heavy selling resumed. He sold three of the rights to undistributed land during this period, then sold all 20 remaining rights in a single transaction in 1800. His sales totaled £4,600 during the period that currency was in use, and after that over $10,000. Those totals would buy over $3 million worth in today's money.^65,66 One of those sales was a mill lot and pond totaling 14 acres he sold to his son Samuel on 15 Feb 1777, for £141.⁶⁷ Two years later Jonathan sold two parcels totaling 300 acres in Pawlet to Simeon Edgerton, husband of his wife's sister, for £100.⁶⁸
     In 1777 he began buying lots which had been distributed to others, continuing from time to time as long as he lived there. He bought in total over 1,000 acres in 15 transactions, most of that by 1788, but some later. Three of the rights to undistributed land he acquired were also purchased after he moved there.⁶⁵ (For details of all his purchases and sales that have been found, see the extracted Pawlet Deeds for Jonathan Willard.)
     Jonathan was a captain in the infantry company of the Pawlet militia, which was formed before the Revolution. His unit was active in the alarm of Oct 1780. He collected £12-2-10 22 Jun 1781 for expenses incurred to supply men and horses in that exercise.^69,70 He served as a Pawlet selectman (equivalent of today's town council member) from 1781 through 1789.⁷¹
     On 30 Apr 1788 Jonathan sold to his son-in-law, Elkanah Cobb, lot no. 11, containing 50 acres, for £60. On the same day he bought from him, for £3 15s, a parcel which appears to be a part of lot no. 4. The size of the parcel is not stated in the deed, but it measures to about 25 acres.^72,73
     Jonathan appeared on the 1790 Federal Census of Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont, (which was enumerated 4 Apr 1791, after Vermont became a state in Mar 1791) with a household consisting of one male over 16 (himself), and one female (wife Sarah.)⁷⁴
     Jonathan was a delegate to the State Episcopal Convention in the early 1790s, representing the Episcopal church in Pawlet.⁷⁵
     His third wife died on 28 Sep 1794.^76,77,78 After the death of his wife, Jonathan seems to have been primarily cared for by his namesake grandson, Jonathan Jr., son of his son Samuel who had died in 1788. He expressed his appreciation in two deeds in which he gave the young man property. In one he mentioned "his diligent and faithful service in waiting on me in my old age and decline of life and in providing nursing for my comfortable support." In the second he recognized his "unvaried pains and diligence in supporting protecting and comforting in the decline of life and under the infirmities of age."⁷⁹

Taking Care of Family --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     In Mar 1798 through Jan 1800 he gave Jonathan Jr. and his brothers Samuel and Benjamin several pieces of property. Jonathan Jr. received five 50-acre lots, including his own original home place. Samuel received a 50-acre lot, which he sold the next day for $500, and Benjamin received a 100-acre lot. In addition Samuel paid $66.66 for a small two-acre lot, and Jonathan Jr. paid $166 for another 50-acre lot and $2,500 for a 100-acre lot.⁸⁰ On 29 Mar 1802 and the next day Jonathan gave his surviving son, Joseph two parcels of land, size not specified.⁸¹
     Jonathan left a will dated 19 Mar 1803 stating he was of Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont. In it he left his son Joseph $1 in addition to what he had already received, and made bequests to the children of his late son Samuel. To Jonathan he left $50 in addition to his 45-acre home place in Pawlet which he had previously given the boy, less any other amounts he had received. To Samuel, Benjamin and Archibald he left each $1,200 but required they account for any amount previously given so they could be deducted. He also left $1,200 to Robert, to be paid as needed for his support until he reached age 21, and the balance then. To his granddaughter Sarah he left $600 less any money she had already received and to Rachel $500 in addition to support that had been paid for her education, clothing, and maintenance. He left his daughter Mary $600, again less any amounts previously paid her. In each case when the bequest was in addition to what had previously been received the heir was required to account for those previous gifts to the executors. After the bequests and expenses were paid, all remaining real estate and personal property was to be sold and the proceeds used to support Samuel, Benjamin and Archibald, the wife of his grandson Jonathan, and their children. He named Capt. Samuel Rose, Reuben Smith, and Capt. Wm. Potter as executors.⁸²

His Estate Unravels --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     However it seems his deteriorating financial situation had become desperate before this. Exactly what the cause was is not now apparent, but it obviously caused serious resentment among his descendants. A family historian recorded half a century later what he had been told by a descendant: "From a state of great prosperity he was reduced by the prodigality of one or more of his grandchildren to actual poverty."²⁴
     A series of strange land transactions seems to have been intended to resolve the situation. On 11 Oct 1802 Jonathan Jr. bought from his grandfather, for $3,000, the same five lots he had already been given in 1798. Then on 3 Mar 1803, he sold to his grandfather, for $200, all his land in Pawlet, Danby, and Timouth. Ten days later Jonathan sold his grandson Benjamin 100 acres for $1,000. Three days after that Benjamin Jr. sold his grandfather, for $600, a lot in Pawlet and Danby.⁸³
     On 5 Apr 1803 Jonathan's son Joseph made application to the Probate Court to "take into consideration the circumstances" of his father. He told the court that his father was non compos (if unsound mind) and not capable of taking care of himself. The court ordered the selectmen of Pawlet to inquire. They reported that they agreed. On 16 Apr 1803 the court appointed Simeon Edgerton, his brother-in-law, as Jonathan's guardian to care for his person and property until he was restored to sound mind. Edgerton posted a bond of $1,000.⁸⁴
     On 24 Nov 1803 Jonathan sold "all my land and tenements in Pawlett, Danbly, Wells, and elsewhere in Vermont" to William Potter, one of his executors, for $1,000.⁸⁵ It was not enough, and Jonathan was declared bankrupt. A notice dated in Rutland 14 Jan 1804 stated that the commissioners in his bankruptcy were meeting on 1 Feb, and invited his creditors to attend to choose an assignee to manage their interests.⁸⁶
     Jonathan died on 5 Apr 1804 in Rutland, Vermont, at age 83.^15,16 He was living in Rutland at the time of his death.⁸⁷
     His will was probated on 14 May 1804 in Rutland District Probate Court, Rutland Co., Vermont, by Reuben Smith and Capt. Wm. Potter, the surviving executors.⁸⁷
     An inventory of his estate was filed on 8 Jul 1804 reflecting personal property valued at $173.22. It included two feather beds, valued at $13 each; blankets and other bedding; two coats, a pair of britches and a vest; tables and other furniture; and dishes kitchen equipment. No accounting has been found but the executors declared the estate insolvent, so it would appear that the heirs received nothing.⁸⁸