A website from the Massachusetts Historical Society; founded 1791.

Papers of the Winthrop Family, Volume 3

The Company of Husbandmen to Members in New England1
Company of Husbandmen Dye, John Roach, John Hardwin, Grace Jupp, Thomas Massachusetts-Bay Company

1632-03-08

Grace and pese be mullteplyd for eure

from london 8 march 1631/32 Cristen Bretheren,

mr. Crispe John Cermen John Smith and the rest of our Sosiate: Wee as members of the sam bode send gretinge in the nam of our lord and Safiour Jesus Crist: hopinge and wishinge your hellth as our one: and as at this tim wee all are thainkes be vnto god mane thinges we haue to wright vnto you of but our tim hath bin so taken vp with fordringe, hillpinge and providinge thinges fittinge for these our bretheren that are now to com vnto you, that wee shall not posible exprese, or put that to incke and paper which wee desiared, but wee hope they will relate vnto you anne thinge matteriall that wee forget to wright: and furst let vs not forget to remember you of yours and our dute that wee return humble and harte thainkes vnto all mighte god, that hath filld the hart of our reuerent paster so full of selle, of loufe and extreordenare affection towards our pouer sosiate, that not with standinge all the oposition, all the suttell persawations of abundens of oposers that hath bin sturd vp against vs partly through sellfe loufe not affectinge this genarall serfetud and partly through that vntimly brech of our brother cermen: yet he remayneth constent, perswadinge and exortinge: yee and as 68much as in him lyeth, constrayinge all that lufe him to joyn together with this sosiate; and seinge the cumpane is not able to bere his charges ouer, he hath straynd him sellfe to prouid prouision for him sellfe and his famally and hath dun his vttermost indeuer to hellp ouer as mane as posible he can for your further strainketh and incurigment: and allthough it may be if he had stayd one yer longer, you mayt haue better bin prouided to haue receued him, yet through his gret car of all your good, will by no mense stay longer from you. 6 let vs neuer forget this unspakeable marce of god towerds vs: wee hope the lord will mak him an espeshell instrement to vnit you all together in trew loufe vnto god, and vnto one another which will be our strongest wallse and bullworkes of defens against all our enemise; and wee hope you will not forget to shew your loufes vnto him and to tak nottes of the charges he is now at, and to apoint for him or his as he shall desier such shares or parts of shares as shall belong vnto him for the charges he is now at, and that his man seruent and his mayd saruent may be receued as members of the cumpane and haue such shares or parts of shares as is in that case prouided for euer membr as for his naibours that now cum with him, they proumise all to joyne with you, but becase they do desier furst to see how you agre together in loufe, they are not joyned to our bode, and therfor wee haue toak no pertickuller nottes of them nor therse desiaringe you to do it ther if they joyn with you: and the lord of his merce grant that ther may be no ocation one your parts but that they may joyn with you Mr. Dumers promise is allso to joyn with you if ther be anne resen for it. the lord vnit you all together if it be his will: then shall you put to sham and silanse mane that do now shamfulle ris vp against vs Thomas Jupp hath allso sent you a pledg of his one cuminge in du tim his Eldest Sonn vpon his last 20li in goods and monese disburst for the Cumpanes vse ther is allso Nathanell Harrese which wee haue sent you vpon a new adventure of ten pounds by his father whoe is now sargent of the roall and a member of our cumpane ther is allso John Smith sunn of Frances Smith miller vpon a new adventer of ten pounds by one John Asten mellman and ther is nathenell mereman vpon the adventur of petter wouster beinge now mad vp ten pounds all which beinge members of the Cumpane, acordige to ther yers and adventures wee desier you to recefe them and emply them 2 of them are vere able to work, and wee hop will be willinge wee desier they should be put vnto it acordige to ther abillets and the other 2 allso acordige to ther strainckte wee desier they shulld be emplyed ther is allso Ann Smith our brother John Smiths wife and hur daughter; shee beinge incuriged by mr. dumers promise to giue hur hur pasige in part hath resolued to cum vnto hur husband whom wee can not 69deny and haue put hur in vpon the oalld adventur of Mr. Dy for hur sellfe and hur dauther.

all these are cuminge in the whalle with mr. dumer they are all furnished with bedinge and aperell vere soffeshently and beinge all able to labor wee hope will be hellp full to the cumpane ther is allso one Thomes Payn of sandwige experensed in the makinge of sallt which hath braught in ten pounds and cumeth in the William and Frances whom wee desier you to recefe as a member of the cumpone only in regard he hath a wife and 4 small chilldren which he desierth to be transported 12 month hense: wee haue only conditionly receud him that if betwen this and that tim you do find that he will not be a mor hellp vnto the cumpane: then his charge will be hindarns beinge he can bringe in but 20li mor for his wife and 4 chilldren that then he haueinge sarued the cumpane one wholl yer for his pasige, the Compane shall pay him his ten pounds again and so let him shift for him sellfe.

sum prouisions for these wee haue sent you: what prouisions you ellse want wee desier you to tak of mr. Dumer and send vs ouer your Comodetes: that wee may pay both for that and sum oulld dets which wee haue mad hard sheft for vnto this tim pray necklect not but by what mesenger so euer Mr. Thomes master of the William and Frances doth send ouer his letters to haue his Fraight payd let vs by the sam mesinger if not befor recefe sum goods from you for wee wer constraynd to mak vse of the tunige mone of 20 pasingers to pay oulld dets tell a sertefecat be sent ouer: the goods you shall recefe in the William and Frances that is the cumpanes is 4 hogshds of pese which cost cask and all 6li 5s od the caske as markt with 2 plouse markt one one hed wher as all ther goods haue 1 plou one ech hed and

li s d
12 yards of brod cloth at 5s 6d cumes vnto 360 3 6 0
200 yards of list at 7s 6d per hundred which lest wee think may be good to mak indin briches or blankits I pray send woard if it be a comodete worth sendige anne mor 0 15 0
1 fryes coat 1 payr of briches boath at 0 19 0
5 0 0

these thinges are packt vp into hogseds amonkst sum of mr. Bachellers thinges and sum thinges of Thomas Juppes which he hath sent vpon his pertiquller adventur so soun as you can sell them ther is to the valle of ten pounds ad mone as you shall see by his pertiquller letters mr. hardige hath sent allso a persell of comodets vpon his pertiquler as by his letter you shall recefe derection wee gaue you nottes by mr. Allertun and wee hope you 70haue long since receued it that wee haue had much ado abought our patten and that ther was one bradshaw that had proquired letters patten for a part as wee soposed of our former grant; and so wee think stell but he and Sir Fardinando think it is not in our bouns: he was frustrat of his furst purpose of cuming ouer but is now joyned with 2 vere able Captens and marchants which will set him out and wee sopowse will be ther as soun as this shipe, if not befor wee can not posible relat vnto you the labur and truble that wee haue had to establishe our former grant: mane rufe words wee haue had from Sir Fardineando at the furst and to this houer he douth afferm that he never gaue consent that you should haue aboufe forte mills in lenkth and 20 millses in bredth and sayeth that his one hand is not to your patten if it haue anne mor whe haue dun our good wellse and haue proqured his loufe and mane promases that wee shall haue no wronge: wee bestoud a suger lofe vpon him of sum 16s prise and he hath promisd to do vs all the good he can wee can proquer nothinge vnder his hand: but in our heringe he gaue order vnto mr. Aires to wright vnto Capten Neyle of pascatoway that bradshew and wee maight be bounded that wee mayght not truble ech other and hath giuen the Capten comand to serch your patten what it is you haue vnder my lords hand and his. wee ned not counsell you what to do in that case only wee giue you nottes of it: desierige god to derect you that no just ocation may be giuen one our parts to be euell spoken of.

wee gaue Sur Fardingand this resen whey wee desierd so larg a patten: becase that the grettest part of it was not habetable beinge rocke wer no man could life and he ansored wee should not dout but be allowed enofe for vs all and in the best part of it acordige to our desier: but if wee should haue so much as wee say they haue granted vs then do wee includ difers of ther former plantations which they neuer intended this conterfers must be ended betwen your sellfes and such guferners of thers of pimequed as they haue apointed: wee will pray to god to derect you and to hellp you: this besenes doth requer the astens of all of you to joyn together in one wee hope the lord in marce will so dispose of it.

li s d
wee haue sent in the Whalle 70 ston of ocum at 10d and the carig 2 19 8
3 C wayt of rassell all charges cost 1 14 0
1 Ferken of flouer of 5 peckes and a ferken of pese 0 14 0

ther is allso a vere pour Yorksher man is nam is John banester he hath mad such extreordenary mone to com ouer that mr. bachellr and mr. Dumer hath had sum compasion and payd for his pasage if you thinke you be able 71to receue him and do so think good of it wee then do desier you to let him be the cumpense saruent and put him to such emplyment as you thinke good and vpon such conditions as you shall see mit: goodman Tamage and his wife tak it vere vnkindly that you should kip his mollt and not let his sunnes haue a small quantetie of plattewer at his requst to be payd at return: how you will answer this vnkindnes wee know not we would desier you to giue no ocations of such vnkindnes her is now the people them sellfes com vnto you: wee asuer you they be vere honest playn doun right dellinge people if they find you louinge and kinde and vp wright towerds them then will you haue ther cumpone if not I pray consider you will not only lise them but wounderfully discurigment it will be vnto diuers others for tim to cum: it may be vpon furst fue you may sopose them to be a charg in regard the men louck aged and the chilldren younge but yet wee sopose they haue porfessd to bring it for to anser that wee refer the acount to tak of them if they do joyn: and by the next ship you shall haue our acount for the wholl yer and so the lord proteckt you and defend you now and euer. your louinge brethern

John Dye John Rogh Grace Hardwin Tho. Juppe
1.

John Davis MSS., M.H.S., 1; 4 Collections , VII. 91n.–94n. For the Company of Husbandmen or the Plough Company, see 4 Collections , VII. 88, n. 2; Journal, I. 65; also printed in D.J.W. in the entry for July 6, 1631 . This is undoubtedly the letter which Stephen Bachiler (referred to in the letter as “our reuerent paster”), writing to John Winthrop on June 3, 1633, said he was enclosing. See below, pages 101–103 and 122–124.