John Oldham (colonist)
John Oldham | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 1592 |
| Died | July 20, 1636 |
| Nationality | English |
| Other names | "Mad Jack" |
| Occupation(s) | landowner, magistrate |
| Known for | Founder of Wethersfield, Connecticut |
| Spouse | Jane Bissell |
| Children | Richard, Mary, John Jr. |
John Oldham (July 1592 – July 20, 1636) was an early
Early life
Oldham was born in
Banishment from Plymouth Plantation
Some of those who sailed on the
Oldham and Lyford secretly wrote letters back to England disparaging and slandering the Pilgrims. Bradford intercepted some of these letters but did not mention it immediately to Oldham or Lyford. Oldham next refused to stand his scheduled watch (a communal duty expected of all the men) and began to be insolent to the Pilgrims' military advisor
After Plymouth
Oldham recovered and prospered from coastal trade with colonists and with the Indians. He became a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts from 1632 to 1634, and was the overseer of shot and powder for Massachusetts Bay Colony. [citation needed]
As a trader, Captain Oldham sailed to Virginia and England, but by 1630 he was back in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He took up residence on an island in the Charles River and was a member of the church at Watertown. He represented Watertown in the colony's first General Court or assembly in 1634. He continued in the Indian trade, sailing the coast from Maine to New Amsterdam.[citation needed]
In 1634, Oldham led a group of ten men (which included Captain Robert Seeley) along the Old Connecticut Path to establish Wethersfield, Connecticut, the first English settlement on the Connecticut River.[8]
Death
On July 20, 1636, Oldham was on a voyage to trade with Indians on Block Island when Indians boarded his ship, possibly Narragansetts.[9] The Indians killed him and five of his crew, captured his two young nephews, and looted the ship's cargo. A fishing vessel rescued the nephews and tried to tow his sloop to port, but adverse winds affected them. They scuttled the ship but brought home the two boys.[citation needed]
The Narragansetts convinced the colonists that the Pequot Indians were responsible for killing Oldham. Oldham was known for his difficult ways and may have provoked the fight that killed him, but ministers across Massachusetts condemned the murders. Massachusetts Governor John Endecott was ordered to retaliate.
References
- ISBN 1-57607-678-4.
- ^ Alden House Historical Site, "First Comers," ("First Comers". Archived from the original on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2013-09-16.).
- ^ Parker, Dana T., "Reasons to Celebrate the Pilgrims," Orange County Register, Nov. 22, 2010 (http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/first-277221-pilgrims-america.html).
- ^ Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, ed. by Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 148-57, 165-6, 169, 209, 226, 292 and 374, The Modern Library, Random House, New York, NY, 1967.
- ^ Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, ed. by Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 148-57, The Modern Library, Random House, New York, NY, 1967.
- ^ Philbrick, Nathaniel, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, pp. 161-162, Viking, New York, NY, 2006.
- ^ Stager, Helen and Evelyn, A Family Odyssey, pp. 169-170, 309-310, Nicollet Press, Inc., Pipestone, MN, 1983.
- ^ "Wethersfield: A History". Wethersfield Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ^ a b Mad Jack Oldham Starts the Pequot War
- ^ Allen, Zachariah (10 April 1876). Bi-centenary of the Burning of Providence in 1676: Defence of the Rhode Island System of Treatment of the Indians, and of Civil and Religious Liberty. An Address Delivered Before the Rhode Island Historical Society. Providence: Providence Publishing Company. p. 18. Retrieved 11 Feb 2019.