Tristram Coffin

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From:  www.freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~colby/colbyfam

          /d56.html#P6666.html  

Tristram COFFIN was born about 1605 in England. He died about 1681.

He was married to Dionis STEVENS date unknown. Children were: Tristran COFFIN.

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     My Father’s Shoes – Our Coffin Story, 

                     Pages 1 to 25.

        From:  www.islandregister.com/rcoffin/pg1_25.html

                              TRISTRAM COFFYN

                                     1609-1681

                                  The Immigrant

Tristram Coffyn was born in 1609 in Brixton Parish, town of Plymouth, Devonshire, England and baptized March 11, 1610. He was the eldest child of Peter and Johanna Coffin.

Coffyn’s early years in England were during a very eventful time. Intellectual freedom was being claimed as a right for each individual. This period was during the reign of James I. Among the names of the day were William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon and Oliver Cromwell. It was a period when the Puritans were making large gains in the Parliament.

Tristram had one younger brother, John and four sisters, Johanna, Deborah, Eunice and Mary. When Tristram was 19 his father Peter, died. His will was dated December 21, 1627 and was proved by his widow Johanna on March 13, 1628. In the will it was declared that Tristram was to be provided for according to his degree and calling. Tristram was a farmer and therefore most likely took control of his fathers estate near Plymouth. Two years later Tristram courted and wed Dionis Stevens, daughter of Robert Stevens of Brixton. Dionis Stevens was born in 1609 although other accounts say 1613. Shortly after their marriage, their first child, Peter, was born in 1631 followed by their son Tristram Jr., born in 1632. During the early 1630’s England entered into a storm of conflict with the death of James I and the succession of Charles I. In 1638 the Scots took up arms against the King. The Presbyterians took control of the Commons and this was followed by an all out civil war in 1642. During this period of time Tristram and Dionis had two more children Elizabeth (d.o.b. unknown) and James born August 12, 1639. Dionis was also pregnant with their fifth child.

In 1640 Coffyn was selected as a Warden of Brixton Parish. Shortly after in November 1640, he leased his farm that was located at Butlass. With the civil war closing in on his family and the wounding and eventual death eight days later of his brother John at Plymouth Fort, Tristram decided to take his family, including his mother and two unwed sisters to safety in Colonial America. Tristram’s friend Robert Clement was leaving for America shortly, aboard a small fleet of ships, some of which were owned by Clement. Tristram quickly put his affairs in order and embarked on his journey with his family aboard Clement’s ship named “Hector Clement” in the spring of 1642. This proved to be

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the last time Coffyn was to see his home in England.

The crossing of the Atlantic took between 60 and 90 days before they arrived in Newburyport Massachusetts, during the summer of 1642. It was a mere twenty years since the pilgrims, aboard the Mayflower had landed at Plymouth, and only thirty-five years past the first permanent settlement by the English. Shortly after their arrival, Tristram secured living quarters for his family and started exploring up the Merrimack River with Robert Clement in search of a good location for a more permanent home. He arrived in a soon to be called settlement named Pentucket, now known as Haverhill Massachusetts. The book “The History of Haverhill” by George Chase states that Clements son, Job Clements, had already settled in the area a year earlier, if so, this could be the reason that Coffyn and Clements chose this area. They found the area to have fertile soil with the necessary resources to build a farm, however, it was recorded that the large population of wolves were a problem with the flocks of sheep and a guard had to be posted at all times. In 1641 there were only six homes built in Pentucket. Tristram’s group of settlers negotiated with the Indians for the property rights and secured a twenty square mile area for the sum of three pounds ten shillings. A copy of this deed is still on record and bares witness to the signatures of Robert Clement and Tristram Coffyn, dated November 15, 1642. Not only is this the first record of the first Coffin immigrant in America, but it also indicates how Tristram spelled his surname, Coffyn, with a “y” instead of an “i”. It was also during this period that John, their youngest child fell ill and died. Dionis was also pregnant with their sixth child who was later named Deborah. She was born the first Coffin child in America, and the third child born in the tiny settlement but was destined for the same fate as the other newborns and died three weeks later. These deaths give evidence to the harsh conditions that the first immigrants must have encountered upon their arrival in the new world. The living conditions were primitive and unforgiving and many families suffered greatly. It was noted that Coffyn was the first white settler to plough land in the area, having made his own plough from materials at hand. A few years after his arrival in Pentucket, his daughter Mary was born, becoming the first Coffin child to be born and survive to adulthood in America. Shortly after Coffyn’s arrival, the settlement was threatened when Indian war parties decided to target the settlers homes. They wanted to halt the white invasion but they feared the firepower of the settlers muskets. The Indian plan was to send a small group to each of the settlers homes at the same time and gain entrance to the houses by way of pretending to want to trade with each of the settlers. Upon a predetermined signal, the Indians would then jump the white men, cut their throats and

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ransack the house looking for weapons. What the Indians didn’t know was that one of their members was a Colonial informant who revealed the plan to British intelligence, the British soldiers along with about forty settlers disarmed the Indians before they could set the plan in motion.

After only a few years of farming in Pentucket, Tristram embarked on a new direction. It would seem that not only was he a farmer, but he was also a businessman. When the opportunity arose to operate a ferry back in Newbury, he decided to move his family once again, however he held onto his property in Haverhill which was in an area known as “The Rocks”. The History of Newbury states that in 1644 Tristram Coffin Sr. is allowed to keep an Ordinary (Tavern) which consisted of selling wine and keeping a ferry and Inn on the Newbury side of the Merrimack River. George Carr kept a ferry on the Salisbury side across from Carr Island. Tristram’s ferry crossed from Newbury on the south side, between Carr Island and Ram Island, over to the north side of Salisbury. The ferry was operated by Tristram and most likely his older sons Peter and Tristram Jr. in the early years, and as the older boys developed other interests, James took over. In the 1650’s Peter left Newbury to go to Dover, New Hampshire, where he became involved in the lumber business. Tristram’s daughter Elizabeth wed Stephen Greenleaf in 1651 and resided in Newbury. Tristram Jr. married Judith Somerby in 1653 and became a weaver/tailor and Deacon of the First Parish of Newbury. Tristram Jr. is also the person who brought the Coffin name to the old Coffin house in 1654, which still stands in Newbury, housing over eight generations of Coffin descendants up to the 1850’s. In 1997 I visited Newbury and the Coffin house which is now a historical site. The Coffin house is one of the earliest homes made of wood still standing in New England. It is believed that the father, Tristram Sr., lived here shortly before moving to his new home in Nantucket. In 1735 the first centennial of Newbury was celebrated by the town in the front yard of the Coffin house, under two gigantic elm trees. The Tavern and Inn in Newbury was operated mainly by Dionis, Tristram’s wife, and was called “Coffyn’s Ordinary”. Not only did she serve the patrons but she was also responsible for making the beverages of the day, this eventually got the Coffyns into confrontation with the law. The laws of 1645 stated clearly that “every person licenced to keep an Ordinary (Tavern) shall always be provided with good wholesome beer of four bushels of malt to the hogshead, which he shall not sell above two pence the ale quart, on penalty of forty shillings the first offence and for the second offence shall lose his licence”. Dionis’ ale was made with six bushels, giving it a kick that kept them coming back for more. For her troubles she increased the price by one pence and in turn had to stand before the court to defend her actions. Eventually the charge was

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View Map of Newbury
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dismissed, but word spread quickly through Newbury as to where to go for a quality ale. According to the book “Ould Newbury” by John Currier, the Coffyns owned forty acres across from Carr Island. In later years the road to the Inn was known as Coffin Lane and was on the west side of present day Jefferson St. down by the shore of the Merrimack River.

Toward the mid 1650’s the ferry crossings were replaced by a floating bridge leaving Tristram little choice but to sell his holdings. He moved across the river to Salisbury where records show his name on some documents as Commissioner of Salisbury. It was during these years in the late 1650’s that the first plans to relocate his family to a more desirable location were first laid out. Depending on which source one would believe, there are many arguments that have been brought forward as to why Tristram decided to leave Massachusetts. All would have been valid arguments. It was true that the Puritan rule was harsh and prejudice against freedom of choice both religiously and politically. It was also true that the desire to move to an area where fences were not needed for the livestock (that an Island would provide) would be of some benefit, mainly monetary. In the end, Tristram’s desire to keep his family together around him and in their own community outside of the smothering rules of the Puritans could have been the driving factor behind his decision to locate to a new home. In talking to his friends and neighbours he found he was not alone in his thinking. Others were also anxious to leave, many for the same reasons as Coffyn. After a short time their ideas took shape and later, after meeting, it was decided to form a group of associates to pursue matters further. The idea of common pastures and buildings were appealing to many, especially the farmers who were advancing in age. The back breaking life of maintaining a farm could now be shared among the group with common mills and labour supplied by the Indians. How the Island of Nantucket, thirty miles off the south shore of Cape Cod ever came forth as a choice, is once again debatable. Some point out that the connection lies with Thomas Mayhew, the owner of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, was a cousin of one of the associates in Tristram’s group, a man named Thomas Macy. Others think that Nantucket simply came up in a passing conversation and caught the groups imagination. At one meeting the decision was made to send Tristram Coffyn, possibly his son James, Edward Starbuck and cabin boy Isaac Coleman on a fact finding mission to meet with Mayhew and view Nantucket to assess its suitability as a home. Early in 1659 the men set out for Edgartown in Martha’s Vineyard, the home of Thomas Mayhew.

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Thomas Mayhew came to New England before 1632 from Wiltshire England. By 1637 Mayhew was in the town of Watertown, Massachusetts, where he was operating a grist mill. His business enterprises were flourishing by the time the family of John Folger arrived in Watertown. Mayhew had a son named Thomas Jr. who was very religious. Folger’s son Peter was close to the same age as Thomas Jr. and the two became friends. They both shared an appetite for adventure, so when the opportunity came forth for the Mayhew’s to purchase an Island named Nantucket, from the Earl of Stirling in 1641 for forty pounds, the adventure began. After seeing the Island it was concluded that Nantucket Island was too far off shore and that Martha’s Vineyard would be a more suitable island to inhabit, so shortly after Mayhew also bought Martha’s Vineyard.

Thomas Mayhew Jr. moved quickly to establish his home on Martha’s Vineyard bringing Peter Folger along with him. His mission was to teach the Indians that inhabited the Islands’ Christianity. Folger was to be a school master and surveyor. The work was quite successful and the elder Mayhew came to join them in Edgartown. In 1657 Thomas Jr. found it necessary to go to England to stimulate more financial support, however, his ship was lost in a gale on the crossing and he was never heard from again. Mayhew was devastated by the loss of his son, however he decided to continue with his son’s mission. Folger on the other hand was looking for a change. His chance came in the form of a shallop sailing into the harbour at Edgartown with Tristram Coffyn on board. It’s interesting to note that this simple twist of fate with Coffyn arriving in Edgartown while Folger was searching for a new adventure, brought about the circumstance to which American statesman, scientist and writer, Benjamin Franklin would later be born into. Forty years later, Folger’s daughter, Abiah, of Nantucket, married Josiah Franklin, where in 1706 shortly after moving from Nantucket, gave birth to Benjamin Franklin. In turn this made Peter Folger, Ben Franklin’s grandfather.

Tristram’s preliminary discussions with Mayhew were favourable. However, Mayhew insisted that if Coffyn’s group wanted to purchase Nantucket, the Indians on the Island would have to be included in the negotiations. It was estimated that Nantucket had about 700 Narragansett Indians living in six villages, mostly on the east shore. Today, unfortunately, there is not a single Indian descendant living on the Island. The last Indian descendant died in the 1850’s. Nantucket in Algonquin is interpreted as “far away Island”. Coffyn realized that without an interpreter he would have problems communicating with the Indians. To address this problem he enlisted the services of Peter Folger

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who was also a skilled Surveyor. Shortly thereafter, the group left for the Island. The Indians greeted them favourably and although their interpretation of purchasing land proved to be different than the white interpretation, they agreed on the idea. In later years the Indians were surprised to learn the meaning of ” trespassing”, for in their culture no one ever owns property but instead they only had rights to live upon it, yet anyone could travel through it. After achieving their goal, Coffyn and the rest headed back to Edgartown for further negotiations with Mayhew.

Committed to carrying on with his lost son’s work, Mayhew had no real interest in Nantucket and therefore agreed to very reasonable terms for the purchase of the Island. The sale price of 30 pounds along with two beaver hats, one for him and one for his wife, was a bargain especially if one considers that after owning the Island for close to twenty years Mayhew was selling it for ten pounds less than he bought it for. The beaver hats incidently were made by Tristram Jr. Today one can only speculate on the mood of the negotiations, but judging by the eventual results, Coffyn and Mayhew must have respected each other a great deal in order for things to have gone so smoothly. Mayhew did however retain a one twentieth share of the venture so he could have a voice in how the Island affairs were being handled.

Coffin returned home to Salisbury to organize the purchase of Nantucket. Once there, his eight partners ratified the agreement with Mayhew and ten new partners and ten tenant inhabitants were admitted into the company.