Richard Dummer
Encyclopedia
Richard Dummer was an early settler
in New England
who has been described as "one of the fathers of Massachusetts
".
He made his fortune as a trader, operating out of the port of Southampton
, England. He was a Puritan
, which at times was contrary to the Established Church
and the monarch. He emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony
, becoming a founding father there, setting up a stock company, acquiring estates, and establishing a milling business. His eldest son was slain by Indians
. Another of his sons was the first American-born silversmith
. His grandson William
was Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
and instrumental in bringing to an end the Indian Wars, and bequeathed his estates to trustees for the establishment of what became the Governor Dummer Academy, the first school of its kind in the province.
, Hampshire
, the son of Thomas and Joane Dummer; as the parish registers have been lost, there is no record of his birth or baptism, although it is likely that he was born at Bishopstoke around 1589.
He trained as an attorney
, and was involved with his brothers in maritime import and export
from the nearby port of Southampton, becoming a competent seaman and attaining the status of "master
".
, who wanted to take his flock at Newton Stacey
(near Wherwell
, Hampshire) to New England. Bachiler married Helena Mason, the widow of Revd. Thomas Mason
of Odiham
, and Dummer married Mary Jane, the daughter of Helena and Thomas Mason.
Dummer was involved with Bachiler and others in the setting up of a joint stock company
, "The Plough Company", to plant working colonists in New England. Although not a member of the religious Company of Husbandmen, Dummer was persuaded by Bachiler to help finance the enterprise. Described as "a man of breadth and ability", his connections must have been valuable to the struggling company. Accordingly, he outfitted a small ship, The Plough, which sailed for Massachusetts with 80 people in 1631. He then sailed with his new wife, Mary, for Boston
on The Whale, arriving on 24 May 1632.
Upon his arrival he found that the project had collapsed; he set out to salvage the company, and through the Massachusetts courts he seized the remaining material and assets of the whole group, and eventually all the Plough Company's patents, to the anger of some of the investors back in England. In 1643, Dummer sold the patents through George Cleeve
to Alexander Rigby
, one of Cromwell
's commanders; thus Dummer was the only person who derived a profit from the defunct Plough Company.
The next year he built a water powered gristmill
in Roxbury, the first water-powered mill built to grind corn in New England. By order of the General Court on 4 March 1634, the tax on his real estate in Roxbury and Saugus
was reduced, probably because of his enterprise for the public good. The same day he contributed £30 toward a fund authorized for the construction of a moveable fort (the Sea Fort) for the defence of the colony. Dummer and several other freemen in the colony were chosen as overseers of the powder and shot and all other ammunition in the several plantations where they lived. It was ordered that Dummer and John Johnson build a bridge over the Muddy River before the next General Court, and that the towns of Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, New Town
and Watertown
contribute towards it.
Later in 1634, Dummer, with Richard Saltonstall
, Henry Sewall and others in England (including Richard Dummer's brother Stephen and John Winthrop the Younger), contracted for the importation of large numbers of cattle. They had settled on the territory bordering on the Parker River
as a suitable place for the keeping of the cattle because of the fertility of the upland and the large quantity of salt marsh
, considered of special value for the forage.
In England a great body of people from the Hampshire Avon and Test
valleys of all trades assembled at Southampton and London
to sail in an initial convoy of 10 ships. The fleet left in 1634, arriving later the same year. Early in 1635 the Elizabeth arrived from London with Richard's sister Sarah, now married to John Brown. Other ships carried cattle. By the end of 1635 over 100 ships had made the journey, and Dummer's stock-raising colony was in being.
. The Massachusetts General Court
of 3 March 1636 ordered that Dummer and Spencer be given power to "To presse men to build there a Bound house".
Dummer was attracted to the area around Hampton by the abundance of salt marsh needed for the grazing of his cattle. Spencer was a partner in the cattle importation venture, and they "spotted what an asset to a prosperous settlement would be the several thousand acres of fine salt hay, just waiting to be cut or even fed off in pasture".
, and on 8 July, Dummer and Mr. Bartholomew were authorized to set out a convenient quantity of land within the bounds of Newbury for the keeping of sheep and cattle that were to come over in the Dutch
ships that year and belong to the owners of those cattle.
Liberty was also granted to Dummer and to John Spencer to build a mill and weir at the falls at Newbury, to enjoy to them and their heirs forever.
Dummer ingratiated himself with the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
, John Winthrop the Elder, and was appointed a member of the Governor's Council in 1635 and 1636. On 25 May 1636 he was elected Treasurer of the Colony, serving until 17 May 1637. He was a member of important committees of the Council and was one of the two magistrates to hold the first Quarter Court at Ipswich
in 1636.
who set harsh rules to ensure compliance with Puritan principles. Others in the colony, such as Roger Williams
, questioned Puritan rule including promoting women's rights. Williams believed in tolerance for others, including Quakers, Anglicans, Jewish and even Indian
beliefs.
Dummer's wife, Mary, was a follower of Williams and Anne Hutchinson
, leading to her and Richard becoming banished to Boston. Soon after the birth of their son Shubael
, Mary became ill and died in February 1636. The Revd. John Eliot
said this of her later:
Of Dummer, Eliot said "no man more deserved the praise of doing well". Following Mary's death, Dummer, having been disenfranchised with many others as result of his support for Williams and Henry Vane
, left the province and returned to Southampton.
.
The royalist High Sheriff, Sir John Oglander, kept his eye on happenings and noticing Richard's ship, the Bevis of Hampton, at anchor at Southampton, put a detention order on it while he investigated what was going on. He sent his men to search the homes of the Dummer brothers, John, Thomas and Stephen. Although they failed to turn up any contraband or evidence of tax evasion on exports, the searches did reveal the provision the family were making for their forthcoming voyage.
Nonetheless, the ship was allowed to sail and it departed for New England in May 1638 with nearly 70 people aboard, including: Richard, his brother Stephen, Stephen's wife Alice, and their children Jane aged 10, Dorothy aged 6, Richard aged 4, and Thomas aged 2; plus Thomas aged 19 the son of Richard's brother John, Joan aged 19 the daughter of Richard's brother Thomas, and ten servants to Stephen.
where he had previously lived for a little over a year. He had been granted a 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) house lot in the town lots and he also owned land on the Neck, which was afterwards purchased by Rowley
when it became a plantation in 1639. In October 1638, Dummer purchased a dwelling house from Thomas Hale, with land on both sides of Merrimack
Ridge. Here he lived for several years until he moved to the farm.
The mill that he was permitted to build was not finished until after 6 August 1638; on that date the selectmen of Newbury agreed that in case Richard Dummer "doe make his mill fit to grynd corne" they would send their grain to his mill and also "there shall not be another mill erected within the said town". Dummer received other grants of land until he was the owner of most of the uplands and marshes on the south side of the Parker River
to the Rowley line, from Wheelers Brook above the falls of the Parker to the confluence of the Parker and Mill rivers at Oyster Point, except about 80 acres (32.4 ha) granted to Henry Sewall (the Hale Farm), and 100 acres (40.5 ha) granted to Dr. John Grant (the Buckley, Burnes, and Moynihan farms). Dummer's land embraced the farms later known as the Fatherland, Mrs. Sandford's, Walter Hill's, Ambrose Caldwell's, Coleman's, and most of the Noyes' farms, Capt. Knight's, and the Dummer Academy farms. On 7 October 1640, he bought from Thomas Mayhue of Watertown a farm of 500 acres (202.3 ha); the north-east corner of this farm he sold on 2 December 1640 to Richard Gale.
In 1643 or 1644, Dummer married again to Frances Burr, widow of Revd. Jonathon Burr of Dorchester who had died in August 1641. Her late husband had been a rector at Reckingshall in Suffolk
, England, but when silenced by Archbishop Laud
, had crossed to New England, where he was a colleague of Richard Mather
at Dorchester. With Frances, Dummer had a further five children.
Dummer represented Newbury in the General Court of 1640–45 and again in 1647. He was elected Deputy for Salisbury
in 1644 and was one of the Associate Justices of the Quarter Court at Ipswich in 1644 and again in 1671–72.
In 1650–51, he visited England to prove at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury
the will of Thomas Nelson, husband of his niece Joane.
Dummer died in Newbury on 14 December 1679. His widow, Frances died on 12 November 1682, aged 70.
and Lady Day
forever.
In 1640, Governor Winthrop became impoverished as a result of the dishonesty of his English agent, and an appeal was made to the generosity of the colonists. In the subscription that followed, Dummer made the largest contribution with a donation of £100, one fifth of the total, in spite of having suffered under Winthrop in earlier years.
Dummer's generosity was also noted when he paid the Indian "Old Will" £12 for 10 acres (4 ha) of land, far in excess of the fair market rate.
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
who has been described as "one of the fathers of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
".
He made his fortune as a trader, operating out of the port of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England. He was a Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
, which at times was contrary to the Established Church
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and the monarch. He emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, becoming a founding father there, setting up a stock company, acquiring estates, and establishing a milling business. His eldest son was slain by Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Another of his sons was the first American-born silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
. His grandson William
William Dummer
William Dummer was Acting Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1723 to 1728.-Family:Dummer was born in Boston and died in Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Jeremiah Dummer, the first American born silversmith, and Anna Atwater...
was Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in North America. It was chartered on October 7, 1691 by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England and Scotland...
and instrumental in bringing to an end the Indian Wars, and bequeathed his estates to trustees for the establishment of what became the Governor Dummer Academy, the first school of its kind in the province.
Early life
Dummer was born in BishopstokeBishopstoke
Bishopstoke, a village recorded in the Domesday Book, is a civil parish in the borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. Bishopstoke was also mentioned when King Alfred the Great's grandson King Eadred, granted land at "Stohes" to Thegn Aelfric in 948 AD. The village is about a mile east of...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, the son of Thomas and Joane Dummer; as the parish registers have been lost, there is no record of his birth or baptism, although it is likely that he was born at Bishopstoke around 1589.
He trained as an attorney
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
, and was involved with his brothers in maritime import and export
International trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...
from the nearby port of Southampton, becoming a competent seaman and attaining the status of "master
Master (naval)
The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...
".
The Plough Company
Dummer became closely associated with the radical Puritan malcontent Stephen BachilerStephen Bachiler
Stephen Bachiler was an English clergyman who was an early proponent of the separation of church and state in America.-Early life:...
, who wanted to take his flock at Newton Stacey
Newton Stacey
Newton Stacey is a hamlet and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Stockbridge, which lies approximately 4.5 miles south-west from the hamlet....
(near Wherwell
Wherwell
Wherwell is a village on the River Test in Hampshire, England. The name may derive from its bubbling springs resulting in the Middle Ages place name “Hwerwyl” noted in AD 955, possibly meaning “kettle springs” or “cauldron springs.” Pronunciation of the name has ranged from “Hurrell” to “Wer-rel”...
, Hampshire) to New England. Bachiler married Helena Mason, the widow of Revd. Thomas Mason
Thomas Mason (clergyman)
-Life:On his own account, he was the grandson of Sir John Mason. Mason was admitted at Magdalen College, Oxford, on 29 November 1594, matriculated on 7 January 1595. He may not have graduated; there is possible confusion with another Thomas Mason at Magdalen of the period.From 1614 to 1619 Mason...
of Odiham
Odiham
Odiham is a historic village and large civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The current population is 4,406. The parish contains an acreage of 7,354 acres with 50 acres of land covered with water. The nearest...
, and Dummer married Mary Jane, the daughter of Helena and Thomas Mason.
Dummer was involved with Bachiler and others in the setting up of a joint stock company
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
, "The Plough Company", to plant working colonists in New England. Although not a member of the religious Company of Husbandmen, Dummer was persuaded by Bachiler to help finance the enterprise. Described as "a man of breadth and ability", his connections must have been valuable to the struggling company. Accordingly, he outfitted a small ship, The Plough, which sailed for Massachusetts with 80 people in 1631. He then sailed with his new wife, Mary, for Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
on The Whale, arriving on 24 May 1632.
Upon his arrival he found that the project had collapsed; he set out to salvage the company, and through the Massachusetts courts he seized the remaining material and assets of the whole group, and eventually all the Plough Company's patents, to the anger of some of the investors back in England. In 1643, Dummer sold the patents through George Cleeve
George Cleeve
George Cleeve was an early settler and "founder of Portland, Maine"; Deputy President of the Province of Lygonia from 1643 until the final submission of its Maine towns to Massachusetts authority in 1658....
to Alexander Rigby
Alexander Rigby
Alexander Rigby was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1650. He was a colonel in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War.-Life:...
, one of Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's commanders; thus Dummer was the only person who derived a profit from the defunct Plough Company.
Roxbury
Dummer settled in Roxbury, where he took an active part in the affairs of the young colony, being made a Freeman on 6 November 1632. He and his wife Mary are listed among the founding members of the first church at Roxbury.The next year he built a water powered gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
in Roxbury, the first water-powered mill built to grind corn in New England. By order of the General Court on 4 March 1634, the tax on his real estate in Roxbury and Saugus
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...
was reduced, probably because of his enterprise for the public good. The same day he contributed £30 toward a fund authorized for the construction of a moveable fort (the Sea Fort) for the defence of the colony. Dummer and several other freemen in the colony were chosen as overseers of the powder and shot and all other ammunition in the several plantations where they lived. It was ordered that Dummer and John Johnson build a bridge over the Muddy River before the next General Court, and that the towns of Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, New Town
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
and Watertown
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
contribute towards it.
Later in 1634, Dummer, with Richard Saltonstall
Richard Saltonstall
Sir Richard Saltonstall led a group of English settlers up the Charles River to settle in what is now Watertown, Massachusetts in 1630....
, Henry Sewall and others in England (including Richard Dummer's brother Stephen and John Winthrop the Younger), contracted for the importation of large numbers of cattle. They had settled on the territory bordering on the Parker River
Parker River
The Parker River is a river in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It lies wholly within Port Campbell National Park in the Otway Ranges and enters Bass Strait near Cape Otway....
as a suitable place for the keeping of the cattle because of the fertility of the upland and the large quantity of salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
, considered of special value for the forage.
In England a great body of people from the Hampshire Avon and Test
River Test
The River Test is a river in Hampshire, England. The river has a total length of 40 miles and it flows through downland from its source near Ashe, 10 km to the west of Basingstoke , to the sea at the head of Southampton Water...
valleys of all trades assembled at Southampton and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to sail in an initial convoy of 10 ships. The fleet left in 1634, arriving later the same year. Early in 1635 the Elizabeth arrived from London with Richard's sister Sarah, now married to John Brown. Other ships carried cattle. By the end of 1635 over 100 ships had made the journey, and Dummer's stock-raising colony was in being.
Hampton
In March 1635, Dummer and John Spencer, came round in their shallop, came ashore at the landing at a spot known by the "Indians" as Winnicunnet and were much impressed by the location. Dummer, who was a member of the General Court, got that body to lay its claim to the section and plan a plantation here, at what was later to be the town of Hampton, New HampshireHampton, New Hampshire
Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,976 at the 2010 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination....
. The Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
of 3 March 1636 ordered that Dummer and Spencer be given power to "To presse men to build there a Bound house".
Dummer was attracted to the area around Hampton by the abundance of salt marsh needed for the grazing of his cattle. Spencer was a partner in the cattle importation venture, and they "spotted what an asset to a prosperous settlement would be the several thousand acres of fine salt hay, just waiting to be cut or even fed off in pasture".
Newbury
On 6 May 1635, a farm of 500 acres (202.3 ha) was allowed to Dummer at the falls in NewburyNewbury, Massachusetts
Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,666 at the 2010 census. Newbury includes the villages of Old Town , Plum Island and Byfield, home of The Governor's Academy , a private preparatory school.- History :Newbury Plantation was settled and incorporated...
, and on 8 July, Dummer and Mr. Bartholomew were authorized to set out a convenient quantity of land within the bounds of Newbury for the keeping of sheep and cattle that were to come over in the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
ships that year and belong to the owners of those cattle.
Liberty was also granted to Dummer and to John Spencer to build a mill and weir at the falls at Newbury, to enjoy to them and their heirs forever.
Dummer ingratiated himself with the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, John Winthrop the Elder, and was appointed a member of the Governor's Council in 1635 and 1636. On 25 May 1636 he was elected Treasurer of the Colony, serving until 17 May 1637. He was a member of important committees of the Council and was one of the two magistrates to hold the first Quarter Court at Ipswich
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
in 1636.
Puritanism
Governor Winthrop was a strict PuritanPuritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
who set harsh rules to ensure compliance with Puritan principles. Others in the colony, such as Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
, questioned Puritan rule including promoting women's rights. Williams believed in tolerance for others, including Quakers, Anglicans, Jewish and even Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
beliefs.
Dummer's wife, Mary, was a follower of Williams and Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
, leading to her and Richard becoming banished to Boston. Soon after the birth of their son Shubael
Shubael Dummer
Rev. Shubael Dummer was an American Congregational church minister who was killed in the Candlemas Massacre in York, Maine. Described as a man of "beautiful Christian character", Dummer founded the First Parish Congregational Church of York, the oldest church congregation in the U.S...
, Mary became ill and died in February 1636. The Revd. John Eliot
John Eliot (missionary)
John Eliot was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the Indian apostle.”-English education and Massachusetts ministry:...
said this of her later:
She was a Godly woman but by the seduction of her acquaintances she was led away into the new opinions in Mrs Hutchinson's time, and her husband removing to Newbury, she there declared herself and did also with others endeavours, seduce her husband and persuaded him to return to Boston, where she being young with child and ill; Mr. Clarke (one of the same opinions) unskillfully gave her a vomit, which did in such manner torture and torment her with the rising of the mouth, and other violences of nature, that she died in a most uncomfortable manner. But we believe God took her away in mercy from worse evil which she was falling into. We doubt not but she is gone to Heaven.
Of Dummer, Eliot said "no man more deserved the praise of doing well". Following Mary's death, Dummer, having been disenfranchised with many others as result of his support for Williams and Henry Vane
Henry Vane the Younger
Sir Henry Vane , son of Henry Vane the Elder , was an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor...
, left the province and returned to Southampton.
The Bevis
On his return to the family home at Bishopstoke, Dummer found his brothers packing and storing goods and provisions for their forthcoming journey to New England. At the time, there was political and religious unrest in England with the Puritan Parliament holding the purse strings to the frustration of King CharlesCharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
.
The royalist High Sheriff, Sir John Oglander, kept his eye on happenings and noticing Richard's ship, the Bevis of Hampton, at anchor at Southampton, put a detention order on it while he investigated what was going on. He sent his men to search the homes of the Dummer brothers, John, Thomas and Stephen. Although they failed to turn up any contraband or evidence of tax evasion on exports, the searches did reveal the provision the family were making for their forthcoming voyage.
- At John Dummer's house at SwaythlingSwaythlingSwaythling was once a village but over the years it has gradually become a suburb and electoral ward of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,394....
: six bushelBushelA bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
s of oatmeal and one brewstock of beer containing five bushels of malt, set aside for John's son Thomas.
- At Thomas Dummer's house at Chickenhall, North StonehamNorth StonehamNorth Stoneham is a settlement and ecclesiastical parish in south Hampshire, England. It was formerly an ancient estate and manor. Until the nineteenth century, it was a rural community comprising a number of scattered hamlets, including Middle Stoneham, North End, and Bassett Green, and...
: one hogsheadHogsheadA hogshead is a large cask of liquid . More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial units or U.S. customary units, primarily applied to alcoholic beverages such as wine, ale, or cider....
of beef, set aside for Richard and for Thomas's daughter Joan.
- At Stephen Dummer's house at Townhill ParkTownhill ParkTownhill Park is a suburb of Southampton, England, bordering Swaythling, Bitterne Park and West End. It is built on land which once belonged to the house which carries the same name.- History :...
: two hogsheads of beef, five hogsheads of meal, four hogsheads of bacon and malt together, two barrels of beer and six cheeses set aside for Stephen Dummer's family and their servants and wards.
Nonetheless, the ship was allowed to sail and it departed for New England in May 1638 with nearly 70 people aboard, including: Richard, his brother Stephen, Stephen's wife Alice, and their children Jane aged 10, Dorothy aged 6, Richard aged 4, and Thomas aged 2; plus Thomas aged 19 the son of Richard's brother John, Joan aged 19 the daughter of Richard's brother Thomas, and ten servants to Stephen.
Return to Newbury
On his return to New England, Dummer returned to NewburyNewbury, Massachusetts
Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,666 at the 2010 census. Newbury includes the villages of Old Town , Plum Island and Byfield, home of The Governor's Academy , a private preparatory school.- History :Newbury Plantation was settled and incorporated...
where he had previously lived for a little over a year. He had been granted a 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) house lot in the town lots and he also owned land on the Neck, which was afterwards purchased by Rowley
Rowley, Massachusetts
Rowley is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,500 at the 2000 census.Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley.-History:...
when it became a plantation in 1639. In October 1638, Dummer purchased a dwelling house from Thomas Hale, with land on both sides of Merrimack
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
Ridge. Here he lived for several years until he moved to the farm.
The mill that he was permitted to build was not finished until after 6 August 1638; on that date the selectmen of Newbury agreed that in case Richard Dummer "doe make his mill fit to grynd corne" they would send their grain to his mill and also "there shall not be another mill erected within the said town". Dummer received other grants of land until he was the owner of most of the uplands and marshes on the south side of the Parker River
Parker River
The Parker River is a river in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It lies wholly within Port Campbell National Park in the Otway Ranges and enters Bass Strait near Cape Otway....
to the Rowley line, from Wheelers Brook above the falls of the Parker to the confluence of the Parker and Mill rivers at Oyster Point, except about 80 acres (32.4 ha) granted to Henry Sewall (the Hale Farm), and 100 acres (40.5 ha) granted to Dr. John Grant (the Buckley, Burnes, and Moynihan farms). Dummer's land embraced the farms later known as the Fatherland, Mrs. Sandford's, Walter Hill's, Ambrose Caldwell's, Coleman's, and most of the Noyes' farms, Capt. Knight's, and the Dummer Academy farms. On 7 October 1640, he bought from Thomas Mayhue of Watertown a farm of 500 acres (202.3 ha); the north-east corner of this farm he sold on 2 December 1640 to Richard Gale.
In 1643 or 1644, Dummer married again to Frances Burr, widow of Revd. Jonathon Burr of Dorchester who had died in August 1641. Her late husband had been a rector at Reckingshall in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England, but when silenced by Archbishop Laud
William Laud
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
, had crossed to New England, where he was a colleague of Richard Mather
Richard Mather
Richard Mather , was a Puritan clergyman in colonial Boston, Massachusetts. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston divines.-Biography:...
at Dorchester. With Frances, Dummer had a further five children.
Dummer represented Newbury in the General Court of 1640–45 and again in 1647. He was elected Deputy for Salisbury
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Salisbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,827 at the 2000 census. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston on the New Hampshire border....
in 1644 and was one of the Associate Justices of the Quarter Court at Ipswich in 1644 and again in 1671–72.
In 1650–51, he visited England to prove at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
the will of Thomas Nelson, husband of his niece Joane.
Dummer died in Newbury on 14 December 1679. His widow, Frances died on 12 November 1682, aged 70.
Family
Dummer had six children:- With Mary
- ShubaelShubael DummerRev. Shubael Dummer was an American Congregational church minister who was killed in the Candlemas Massacre in York, Maine. Described as a man of "beautiful Christian character", Dummer founded the First Parish Congregational Church of York, the oldest church congregation in the U.S...
(1636–1692), who founded the first Congregational church at York, MaineYork, MaineYork is a town in York County, Maine, United States at the southwest corner of the state. The population in the 2000 census was 12,854. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort. It is home to three 18-hole golf clubs, three sandy beaches, and...
in 1672 and was killed by Abenakis in the Candlemas MassacreCandlemas MassacreThe Candlemas Massacre took place in early 1692 during King William's War, when an estimated 150 Abenakis commanded by officers of New France entered the town of York , killing about 100 of the English settlers and burning down buildings, taking another estimated 80 villagers hostage,...
of 1692.
- Shubael
- With Frances
- JeremiahJeremiah Dummer (silversmith)Jeremiah Dummer was the first American-born silversmith, whose works are today highly valued.-Life:Dummer was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, the first son of Richard Dummer and his second wife, Frances Burr....
(1643–1718), who became the first American-born silversmith and was the father of WilliamWilliam DummerWilliam Dummer was Acting Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1723 to 1728.-Family:Dummer was born in Boston and died in Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Jeremiah Dummer, the first American born silversmith, and Anna Atwater...
, who became Governor of the Province of Massachusetts BayProvince of Massachusetts BayThe Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in North America. It was chartered on October 7, 1691 by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England and Scotland...
, and JeremiahJeremiah DummerJeremiah Dummer was an important colonial figure for New England in the early 18th century. His most significant contributions to American history were his A Defense of the New England Charters and his role in the formation of Yale College.-Background and early life:Jeremiah Dummer's family...
, who was involved in the foundation of Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. - Hannah (1647–1668), married Revd. James Allen, former Oxford undergraduate, in 1663. He was minister of the First Church, Boston. She died in March 1668, leaving no children.
- Richard (1650–1689), who became a Captain in the army at the age of 33 and a Justice of the Peace at 37.
- Nathaniel (c.1652–1658), who drowned as a small boy when playing alone in a canoe.
- William (1657–1678), who died of smallpoxSmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
.
- Jeremiah
Benevolence
In 1631, prior to his first going to New England, he settled a rent-charge of 40 shillings per annum, out of his lands in Bishopstoke, for the use of the poor of the parish at MichaelmasMichaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
and Lady Day
Lady Day
In the western Liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin in some English speaking countries. It is the first of the four traditional English quarter days. The "Lady" was the Virgin Mary. The term derives from Middle English, when some...
forever.
In 1640, Governor Winthrop became impoverished as a result of the dishonesty of his English agent, and an appeal was made to the generosity of the colonists. In the subscription that followed, Dummer made the largest contribution with a donation of £100, one fifth of the total, in spite of having suffered under Winthrop in earlier years.
Dummer's generosity was also noted when he paid the Indian "Old Will" £12 for 10 acres (4 ha) of land, far in excess of the fair market rate.