Edward and Rebecca Bangs, times two

I'm continuing my series of ancestors who are documented in Robert Charles Anderson's The Great Migration Begins. The history of Edward and Rebecca Bangs is much less salacious than that of Stephen Bachiler, but they are part of the reason that we are descended from basically everyone who lived on the outer arm of Cape Cod in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Edward Bangs was born in England sometime around 1591. He arrived in Massachusetts in 1623 on the Anne. He would have been about 32 years old. He initially lived in Plymouth where he was given four acres of land, which suggests his household consisted of four people. If the other three people were a wife and children, they must have died fairly early. By 1633, he married Lydia Hicks, who had also come to Massachusetts on the Anne. She was baptized at St. Mary Magdalen in Bermondsey, Surrey, September 6, 1612, so she would have been 21 or younger at the time of their marriage. The couple had one son, John, who was born sometime between 1631 and 1634. Lydia died soon after. By 1635, Edward re-married to Rebecca (her last name is uncertain) and they had nine children together. Rebecca may have been the daughter of Edmund Hobart, but there's no proof.

The Nauset Lighthouse in Eastham, Massachusetts, which is
only 300 years too young for Edward Bangs to have ever
seen it.

Edward and Rebecca Bangs moved to Eastham by 1645. Eastham is on the outer arm of Cape Cod. They owned land
around an area called "Warren's Wells". I have no idea where that would be. Edward was an innkeeper at least part of the time. At other times he is referred to as a "yeoman". In 1657 he was granted permission to sell wine and "strong waters" in Eastham, but only "for the refreshment of the English, and not to be sold to the Indians." In 1664, there is a record of him importing six gallons of liquor for his establishment.

Innkeeper Bangs was clearly an engaged citizens. He held a number of offices, including deputy to Plymouth Court for Eastham, serving on juries, and serving  many committees, including committees to divide land, assess taxes, and reunite Plymouth and Duxbury. He must have been known for his integrity or at least his willingness to serve.

It's not certain when Rebecca died, but she died before Edward because she is not mentioned in his will. Edward Bangs died between October 19, 1677, when he wrote his will, and March 5, 1677/8, the probate date. He was buried in the Eastham Cove Burial Ground, along with a large number of distant relatives.

We're related to Edward and Rebecca Bangs through two of their children. First, we're related through their eldest surviving son, Jonathan, not be be confused with John, who was the son of Edward's first wife, Lydia.

Edward Bangs -- Rebecca (unknown) Bangs
             - Jonathan Bangs -- Mary Mayo Bangs
                 - Mary Bangs Nickerson -- Thomas Nickerson
                     - Thomas Nickerson -- Lydia Covell Nickerson
                         - Desire Nickerson -- Elisha Nickerson
                             - Sarah Nickerson Kinney -- Nathan Kinney III
                                  - Thomas Kinney -- Lydia Bartlett
                                      - Simeon Kinney -- Olive Doane Kinney
                                          - Thomas Kinney -- Mary Houghton Kinney
                                              - Julia Kinney Hancock -- Ernest Hancock


We're also related through Edward and Rebecca's daughter, Hannah Bangs Doane.

Edward Bangs -- Rebecca (unknown) Bangs
             - Hannah Bangs Doane -- John Doane Jr.
                 - Hannah Doane Collins -- John Collins
                     - Martha Collins Godfrey -- Moses Godfrey
                         - Joseph Godfrey -- Mehitable Hamilton Godfrey
                             - Sarah Godfrey Kinney -- Isaac Kinney
                                  - Mehitable Kinney Doane -- Israel Doane
                                      - Olive Doane Kinney -- Simeon Kinney
                                          - Thomas Kinney -- Mary Houghton Kinney
                                              - Julia Kinney Hancock -- Ernest Hancock



References:

Anderson, Robert Charles 1995 The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633. New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Reverend Stephen Bachiler, a most notable crank

Bachiler coat of arms

Stephen Bachiler is my 13th great-grandfather. He led quite an interesting life.

He was born around 1560 in England and received a B.A. from St. John's college in Oxford in 1585/6. He was married four times, to progressively younger women, but Deborah was a daughter from his first wife, whose name might have been Anne, and who may have been the sister of Reverend John Bate. They were married by 1590 and she died before 1624.

Reverend Bachiler was frequently in trouble. Scandal and discord followed in his wake. He became the vicar of Wherwell, Hampshire, in 1587. He had puritanical leanings (in the theological sense) and was a notable nonconformist. In 1593 the Star Chamber cited him for making "lewd speeches tending seditiously" about Queen Elizabeth and her government. He was removed from his vicarage during a purge of Puritans in 1605, under James I. In 1614, he was once again before the Star Chamber when Reverend George Wighley accused him, his son Stephen, John Bate (who may have been his brother-in-law and/or cousin), of libeling and ridiculing him in verse. In the 1620s, the Bachilers moved to Newton Stacey a village in Hampshire. Somehow he incited his parishioners to act against the sheriff of the parish, who had to petition for aid to the King in Council.

Reverend Bachiler clearly knew other Puritans. Some of his children moved to the Netherlands, presumably to be part of the Puritan community there. In 1621, Adam Winthrop, father of Governor John Winthrop, made note in his journal of dining with Bachiler. Bachiler would have been well aware of the Puritan colony in Massachusetts.  In the 1630s he joined a group of London merchants to form the Plough Company, which sent two shiploads of settlers to New England.

Stephen Bachiler himself arrived in New England in 1632, aboard the William and Francis, the second of the Plough Company's ships. He was already at least 70 years old. His first wife, Anne, was already dead, and he had married twice more. It's not clear who came with him on this voyage, but his youngest daughter with Anne, Theodate Bachiler Hussey, was already in New England with her husband. Reverend Bachiler first settled at Lynn with her and tried to form a new church. However, there was constant unrest within the congregation. Furthermore, he didn't get along any better with the authorities in New England than he had in England. He is believed to have been the only dissenting vote among the ministers against the expulsion of Roger Williams, the founder of Providence. For these reasons, presumably, Bachiler was pushed out of his position as minister in Lynn by 1636.

He may have moved from Lynn to Ipswitch, but in 1637 he moved to Yarmouth. Rather, apparently, he walked there. In winter. Considering he was about 77 at the time, that's pretty impressive. He didn't stay in Yarmouth long. The next year he left for Newbury. Again, he did  not stay long and moved on to Hampton in 1639. Governor Winthrop noted that "Mr. Batchellor had been in three places before, and through his means, as was supposed, the churches fell to such divisions, as no peace could be till he was removed."

This is the Hussey-Bachiler chair. It is in the Met.
Reverend Bachiler once sat here.

In 1641, Bachiler was pushed out of Hampton when he "did solicit the chastity of his neighbor's
wife." The subsequent scandal kept him from finding employment in other parishes. He moved to Strawberry Bank, which is now Portsmouth. While living there, in 1648, he married Mary Magdalene Bailey, who was some 60 years his junior. Unsurprisingly, the marriage between the 26 year old widow and the 88 year old minister was...rocky. In 1650 they were brought to the Quarterly Court because, essentially, Mary was living with another man. In 1651, when Mary got pregnant despite being estranged from her husband, George Rogers was sentenced to 40 strokes for adultery. His partner, Mary,  "for her adultery shall receive 40 strokes save one at the first town meeting held at Kittery six weeks after the delivery and be branded with the letter A." Some scholars believe Mary Bachiler was the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorn's novel, The Scarlet Letter.

Reverend Bachiler returned to England, probably in 1651. He died and was buried in London on October 31, 1656. He was around 96 years of age.

Because some of his children stayed in New England, he counts a number of famous Americans among his descendants. These include Richard Nixon, Jennie Jerome (Winston Churchill's mother), Gerald Ford, H.H. Dow (founder of Dow Chemical), Meghan Markle (soon to marry into the British royal family), Daniel Webster, and John Whittier.

Our relationship to Reverend Bachiler (down to my great-great grandmother):
Stephen Bachiler -- Anne
     - Deborah Bachiler Wing -- John Wing
         - Daniel Wing -- Hannah Swift Wing
             - Lydia Wing Abbot Hamilton -- Thomas? Hamilton
                 - Daniel Hamilton -- Mary Smith
                     - Samuel Hamilton -- Bethia Stewart Hamilton
                         - Mehitable Hamilton Godfrey -- Joseph Godfrey
                             - Sarah Godfrey Kinney -- Isaac Kinney
                                  - Mehitable Kinney Doane -- Israel Doane
                                      - Olive Doane Kinney -- Simeon Kinney
                                          - Thomas Kinney -- Mary Houghton Kinney
                                              - Julia Kinney Hancock -- Ernest Hancock

References:

Anderson, Robert Charles 1995 The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633. New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Stephen Bachiler on Wikipedia