John Crandall

John married Mary Crandall on 30 Nov 1730 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. Mary (daughter of Eber Crandall and Mary Cottrell) was born about 1710 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Nathan Crandall was born about 1732 in Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island; died before 1774 in Charlestown, Washington, Rhode Island.

John married Mary Yeomans about 1703. Mary (daughter of Samuel Yeomans and Mary Ellis) was born on 28 Aug 1685 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut; died in 1728 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island; was buried in James Ross Lot, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1729, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1661, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island

Notes:

"Elder Joseph Crandall, son of Elder John, married (first) Deborah Burdick and was of Newport, Westerly, and Kingstown respectively. Mr. Crandall became a very useful man, and filled the desk in the church at Newport to the great satisfaction of its members for many years. He was called to the office of Elder there, and ordained May 8, 1715. During his administration the church was at the height of its prosperity, many of the most wealthy and influential citizens being among its members." [Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island, Volume III, Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1908.]

From The Seventh-Day Baptist Memorial, 1852 (citation details below):

Joseph Crandall was the third pastor of the Seventh-day Baptist Church in Newport, R.I. He was a member of that church as early as the year 1692, at which period the earliest existing records of the church commence. He was probably a son of Eld. John Crandall, of Westerly, but at what time he was born, or when he was baptized, we have no present means of ascertaining. He appears to have been an active member, frequently serving the church as messenger to brethren residing in different parts of the Colonies, and generally being appointed to perform the most difficult duties in the disciplinary measures of the church; and in July, 1703, he was selected to accompany the pastor, Elder Hiscox, on a journey to Pennsylvania, as counsel to the brethren there, in a matter requiring the best judgment of the congregation. He also acted as treasurer of the church for a long time, and continued in the performance of this trust after the Westerly church was set off, he being a member of that branch, after the separation in 1708. He resided in Westerly, yet the church of Newport often requiring the services of an elder to assist their pastor, or serve in his absence, made such service a condition of the final arrangement of separation. From the following extract of the minutes of the church in Westerly, we discover that he was already a deacon, empowered to administer the ordinance of baptism, such power being often conferred upon the deacon by that church, at that as well as at subsequent periods.

Westerly, 9th of the 10th month, 1708: "The church met by appointment at the house of Brother John Maxson, Jr. to hear and consider the letter received from the church at Rhode Island, bearing the date ye 27th of ye 9th month, 1708, in which they say: If Brother Joseph Crandall may at the least for the present perform the administration of baptism to both them and us, they can and do consent, that we may be henceforward two distinct churches in association. The church taking into consideration, and the said Mr. Crandall manifesting himself to be willing to grant their desire, the church do consent that he may administer baptism among them, and that our result in the same be drawn up in a letter to them, and signed in behalf of the church, which was done the same day."

It will be seen, among the resolutions of both churches at the period of their separation, that full consent was not at first given to divide and organize at Westerly. There was a provision requiring those not present at Westerly, from Newport, to give their consent in writing, which it seems they were willing to do, upon the above-named condition; thus securing the services of a most useful man, whom thay had formerly relied upon to serve them, as occasion might require. It was like the parting of old friends, when the brethren at Newport came to strike from their roll the names of so many well-tried soldiers of the cross of Christ, especially considering that they had struggled together nearly forty years to build up the cause of the Sabbath in New England. Therefore they seized upon the present contingency to secure a link of visible connection, that their loneliness might be somewhat abated.

The records of the church do not inform us particularly of the number and standing of Mr. Crandall's children. There were several members of his name, and a daughter is mentioned as having been baptized on the 9th of February, 1709, at Westerly, who was the wife on Nathaniel Wells.

The doctrine of imposition of hands was generally entertained by the Seventh-day Baptist Churches, though it was not universally practiced, and the exceptions sometimes grew out of the fact, that persons were baptized by the deacons in the absence of the pastor, and not being authorized to perform the laying on of hands, the individuals would become members in full communion without receiving the token of that ordinance. Mr. Crandall being anxious to have a greater uniformity in this respect, took occasion, at a church meeting held on the 3d of July, 1709, to submit a proposition on the subject, which was as follows:

"Whereas, I have been formerly chosen and ordained to the place of deacon in this congregation, and appointed to administer baptism, now therefore should the pastor or elder not be present, and the person baptized should request me to administer the ordinance of laying on of hands, ought it not to be performed by the free voice of the congregation?"

After debating the question, the congregation not being unanimous, it was deferred for consideration.

Mr. Crandall was however proposed for an eldership on the 16th of the same month by the church, but after conversation with him upon the subject, and he not being inclined, the subject was deferred.

There is no further expression of the church recorded, in relation to his proposition, yet he was suffered to administer the ordinance of laying on of hands, and did so the next month at New London, Jonathan Rogers and Mrs. Newbury being admitted by him, as were several others afterward.

In 1710, the church at Westerly called upon six of the brethren to "improve their gifts" with the pastor alternately: Joseph Crandall being one of them, began to preach. He however removed to Kings Town (now South Kingstown) in 1712, and not approving of the liberty given by the church to one of the gifted brethren, refused to meet with the church for some time, though urged to do so repeatedly. The next year, however, the breach was healed, and Mr. Crandall entered with his customary zeal upon the duties of his station, and a letter was given to William Davis, the obnoxious brother, to one of the churches in England, whither he desired to go.

On the 8th of May, 1715, Mr. Crandall, in compliance with the call of the church at Newport, was ordained an elder of that church. The charge was given by the venerable Pastor, Eld. William Gibson, according to the 1st Epistle of Peter, 5th chapter -- "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

He continued in the service of the church in Newport, as colleague of Eld. Gibson, until the death of that eminent servant of God, in 1717, when he was invested with the office of pastor.

The society of Newport was generally well informed; but during the period of his administration there was a constellation of intelligent and literary characters there, never before equaled in New England. Among them were John Callender, Dean Berkley, Richard Ward, Henry Collins, and Thomas Ward, some of them members of his congregation. The meeting-house now standing in Newport, on Barney-st., was built in his time, and was then one of the finest public buildings in the place.

Mr. Crandall was an unpretending but industrious man. He had not the learning of his venerable predecessor, but was a sound and faithful preacher of the gospel; strict in his discipline, yet courteous to all. Having a large and expensive family, he was poor, yet the liberality of the members of the congregation was sufficiently manifest for his comfort; all their contributions for his support were, by a vote of the church, to pass through the hands of the deacons, and they were charged to visit him as often as necessary, to see that all his wants were supplied. He died on the 12th of Sept. 1737.

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Joseph Crandall (d. 1737) = Deborah Burdick
Joseph Crandall (1684-1750) = Ann Langworthy
James Crandall (b. 1719) = Damaris Kenyon (1721-1767)
James Crandall (1766-1842) = Martha Maxson (b. 1767)
John Aldrich Crandall (1790-1863) = Mary Hill (d. 1840)
Martha Maxson Crandall (b. 1819) = Solomon Champlin Burdick (1813-1891)
Charles Herbert Burdick (1839-1903) = Almina Emily Bailey (1841-1886)
Hugh Abram Burdick (1864-1952) = Grace Elizabeth Downing (1876-1962)
Almina Emelie Burdick (1907-1981) = Ernst Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax (1938-2008)

——

Joseph Crandall (d. 1737) = Deborah Burdick
Joseph Crandall (1684-1750) = Ann Langworthy (d. 1773)
James Crandall (b. 1719) = Damaris Kenyon
Christopher Crandall (1755-1814)
Pardon Crandall (1778-1838) = Esther Carpenter (1784-1874)
Prudence Crandall (1803-1890)

Joseph married Deborah Burdick about 1681 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. Deborah (daughter of Robert Burdick and Ruth Hubbard) was born on 1 Jan 1662 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island; was christened on 11 Apr 1685 in Newport Sabbatarian Church, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island; died in 1717 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island; was buried in Old Crandall Cemetery, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The record of the baptism of Deborah Burdick on 11 Apr 1685 at the Sabbatarian Baptist church at Newport, Rhode Island may refer to this Deborah Burdick, or to her daughter who was also named Deborah Burdick.

see note below.

Notes:

Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 gives wedding dates of both 9 Oct 1684 and 19 Oct 1684.

Common ancestors of TNH and of PNH's sister-in-law Laura (Wightman) Hayden:

Samuel Yeomans (1655-1704) = Mary Ellis (d. 1697)
Edward Yeomans (1690-1758) = Thankful Bidwell (b. 1695)
Hannah Yeoman (b. 1732) = Titus Wightman (1733-1800)
Edward Wightman (1754-1836) = Keziah (1758-1800)
William Wightman (1796-1877) = Martha Woodard (1806-1878)
Monroe Alphonso Wightman (1848-1910) = Sarah S. Chisman (1848-1918)
Frank Logan Wightman (1887-1959) = Iva Faye Covington (1894-1985)
John Stephen Wightman (1918-1990) = Alise Emma Evans (1918-1995)
Robert Alan Wightman (1941-2007) = Joyce Ann Marie Dixon (1941-1997)
Laura Marie Wightman (1962- ) = Benjamin Titus Hayden (1962- )

Making Laura and TNH eigth cousins twice removed.

Samuel married Mary Ellis on 19 Oct 1684 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut. Mary died after 7 Nov 1697. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Possibly a daughter of Richard Ellis and Susanna Chapman. Susanna Chapman's brother Hope Chapman, of Westerly, Rhode Island, left to his "sister Ellis of Stonington" certain property and the upbringing of his son.

Notes:

From Wikipedia:

John Crandall, one of the founding settlers of Westerly, Rhode Island, was born in 1618 (baptized February 15, 1617/8) in Westerleigh, Gloucestershire, England to James Crandall, a yeoman of Kendleshire in that parish, and his first wife Eleanor. The origin of the name is undoubtedly a place-name, Crundelend, in Abberley, Worcestershire, where people bearing the name were concentrated in the 16th century. [...]

While the exact date of Crandall's arrival is not known, it is believed to be 1637 when he arrived in Providence, Rhode Island, then a new settlement and a refuge for dissident Puritans from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

From Providence he came to Newport, Rhode Island, as early as 1651. (The first actual documentation for Elder John Crandall in American is in 1643 when he appears as a grand jury member in Newport.) He became a prominent member of the First Baptist Church in Newport there, subsequently the first elder of the denomination at Westerly, Rhode Island. With John Clarke and Obadiah Holmes he went to Lynn, Massachusetts, to hold services for the Baptists, was arrested there July 21, 1651, and sent to prison in Boston. Ten days later he was convicted of breaking the law by holding services and fined five pounds, in default of which he was to be publicly whipped. Upon his promise to appear at the next term of court he was released.

In 1655, he was a freeman of Rhode Island; in 1658-59, 1662–63, he was a commissioner.

With eight others he signed a letter to the court of commissioners of Rhode Island, dated August 27, 1661, in relation to a tract of land at Westerly, where they and others desired to settle.

He was a deputy to the general assembly in 1667, and in the fall of that year was living at Westerly. He and Joseph Torrey were appointed commissioners to treat with Connecticut as to jurisdiction over disputed territory, May 14, 1669, and he was supplied with thirty-five shillings by the colony of Rhode Island to pay his expenses to Connecticut.

On November 18, 1669, he received a letter from the governor and assistants of Connecticut, complaining that he and others had appropriated a large tract of land belonging to Stonington, Connecticut. He and Tobias Saunders answered the complaint for the Westerly people. He was conservator of the peace at Westerly in 1670, and deputy to the general assembly again in 1670-71.

He was arrested by the Connecticut authorities, May 2, 1671, and was advised by the Rhode Island government to decline to give bond. The Rhode Island colony promised to pay his expenses and defend him.

The name of his first wife (by whom he had at least seven children) is not known, but it was not Mary Opp as was previously thought and is widely mentioned. He married, as his second wife, Hannah Gaylord (born 1647), daughter of William Gaylord and Ann (Porter), of Windsor, Connecticut. She died in 1678. He died at Newport, where he had moved because of King Philip's War, in 1676.

John married (Unknown first wife of John Crandall). (Unknown died on 2 Aug 1670 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From Wikipedia:

Note that there is no record of the name of Elder John [Crandall's first] wife in any Rhode Island records nor has a record of the marriage ever been found. Based on the approximate dates of birth of their children (with the eldest, John, born ca. 1649 based on the date he appears as a freeman in Westerly) it would appear likely that Elder John married his first wife in the latter part of the 1640s. It also would seem to indicate that he probably married her in America. Since she is referred to as a "Sabbath keeper" in communications from Samuel Hubbard, it is likely that she was of the Seventh Day Baptist faith, and perhaps she was a daughter of one of the SDB families in Rhode Island at the time.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 25 Oct 1692

Notes:

[The following text about Robert Burdick appears on many different genealogical sites. We've been unable to identify its original author, but it seems to economically narrate the events that are found in other accounts of Robert Burdick.]

Robert Burdick, the immigrant ancestor of the Burdick family [...] came to Newport, Rhode Island from England in 1651. Robert Burdick was admitted a Freeman of Newport on May 22, 1655, and a Freeman of the Colony of Rhode Island on May 20, 1657. He married Ruth Hubbard, the first white child born at Agawam (now Springfield), Massachusetts, on November 2, 1655.

Robert Burdick gained early notoriety during a land dispute between the colonies of Rhode Island and Massachusetts over a tract of land known as the Pequot Country -- land taken by the English colonists in the Pequot War of 1637 -- which is now situated, largely, within New London County, Connecticut. Boundary disputes had been going on for some time between Massachusetts and Connecticut over land within the Pequot Country, but the conflict in this instance was primarily between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The dispute was centered upon a small settlement located in Pequot Country, between Mystic and Pawcatuck, which, in 1658 was named Southertown, and which, today is mostly contained within Stonington, Connecticut and a small part of Westerly, Rhode Island. In October 1658, the colony of Massachusetts laid claim to this settlement, declared it to be a plantation with the name of Southertown, annexed it to Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and appointed special commissioners and a constable to administer the new plantation.

In the meantime, the colony of Rhode Island purchased land in a transaction known as the Westerly Purchase to add to its Narrangansett settlement. Included in the Westerly Purchase was some of the land within the boundaries of Southertown. A group of Rhode Islanders, including the Newport farmer, Robert Burdick, and his neighbors Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke, laid claim within the new settlement. In retaliation for the Massachusetts claim to Southertown, the Rhode Island Assembly sent out the warning to all settlers within the area of dispute that their land would be confiscated if they put it under the governance of another colonial government (e.g. Massachusetts).

On September 30, 1661, William Cheseborough, an early settler of Southertown from Plymouth Colony, testified before the General Court of Massachusetts of his concern that some thirty-six inhabitants of Rhode Island had come into Southertown and had divided and laid out lots. The General Court of Massachusetts issued a warrant to apprehend the Rhode Island men who had settled in Southertown. A stand-off ensued, and Robert Burdick, Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke were arrested (although Joseph Clarke was "upon extraordinary occasion...set at liberty.") For two years, the colony of Rhode Island attempted, unsuccessfully, to negotiate the release of Burdick and Saunders. As a last resort, Rhode Island authorities abducted two Massachusetts officials, who were then exchanged for the release of Robert Burdick and Tobias Saunders.

The issuance of the Charter of Connecticut by King Charles II on April 25, 1662 fixed the eastern boundary of Connecticut at the Pawcatuck River. Southertown was situated within this boundary, and thus under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. Later, the British Crown settled the conflict by dividing the disputed land between Connecticut and Rhode Island. The land where Robert Burdick had settled was awarded to Rhode Island, and became part of the area known as Westerly. The land that was awarded to Connecticut became part of the area known as Stonington.

After his release from prison, Robert Burdick settled on the same land he was taken from and imprisoned over. He and his wife, Ruth, had eleven children, nine of whom survived to adulthood and had children of their own. He served as a deputy to the General Court of Rhode Island from Westerly for the years 1680, 1683 and 1685, and he was one of the earliest members of the Seventh Day Baptist Church (the Sabbatarians).

Robert married Ruth Hubbard on 2 Nov 1655 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. Ruth (daughter of Samuel Hubbard and Tase Cooper) was born on 11 Jan 1640 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts; died after 17 May 1691 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island; was buried in Burdick Ground, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

First child of European ancestry born at Agawam (now Springfield).

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1632

Notes:

First recorded at Charlestown, then Haverhill, then Stonington in 1669, where he was voted an inhabitant 24 Jul 1672. He later moved to Plainfield, Windham County, where he was listed among the freeholders living on the east side of the Quinebaug River on 24 Dec 1702.

Contrary to some online family trees, he was not a sea captain, or indeed a sailor of any kind. In Haverhill he appears to have been a farm laborer for several farms.

Edward married Mary Button on 6 Dec 1652 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts. Mary (daughter of Matthias Button and Letice) was born before 23 Feb 1634 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; was christened on 23 Feb 1634 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Edward Yeoman's marriage to Mary Button may have taken place in Plainfield, Connecticut instead of Haverhill. Source for both: Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700.