Charles Frost Esq. (1631 - 1697)

Born 30 Jul 1631 in Tiverton, Devon, England

Husband of Mary (Bolles) Frost — married 27 Dec 1665 in Kittery, York, Maine

Descendants

Died 4 Jul 1697 at age 65 in Kittery, York, Maine

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jenny Outerbridge [send private message]

Biography

Charles Frost, born July 30, 1631; married Mary Bolles, Dec. 27, 1675. She was a daughter of Joseph Bolles who was the son of John. She was born Aug. 7, 1641, and died Nov. 11, 1704.

In 1647, Charles shot and killed Warwick Heard while hunting geese. Charles was indicted for intentionally killing Heard, but a jury in July 1647 found that the shooting was accidental.^[1]

Charles Frost was killed by the Indians July 4, 1697, at what is now Eliot, Maine, and a tablet marks the spot. He was a soldier at 16 and rose to the rank of Major, and commanded all the troops in the Province of Maine. His commission was dated Aug. 23, 1689, and was signed by President Thos. Danforth. (See "Old Eliot," Vol. 2, Page 137.) Major Chas. Frost was a Representative to the General Court, 1658-1663, 1672 1674 and 1678-1693; Town Clerk, 1669-1670; Selectman, 1667-1670; Councillor to Pres. Danforth 1680-1685, and a Justice of Peace at the same time. He was a Councillor from 1693, until his death in 1697.

Williamson in his "History of Maine" said, "Charles Frost was one of the most eminent and public spirited men of his age within the Province of Maine. His death was deeply lamented as it occurred in the height of his usefulness and fame, and at a time when his services were greatly needed."

Much about him can be found in the publications, "Old Eliot;" N. E. Historic-Genealogical Register," II., 249-262; X., 30; XII., 139 and 258; "Maine Wills;" Maine Hist. Soc.^[2]

Charles Frost of Kittery, Province of Maine, made his will on 7 January 1690/1 and probated 3 November 1697, in which he named his wife Mary, eldest son Charles, second son John, youngest son Nicholas, son-in-law John Shipway lately deceased, brother John Frost, daughters Mehetable, Lidia, Mary and Elizabeth, daughters Sarah Shipway & Abigail Fryer, granddaughter Mary Shipway, brother-in-law Joseph Hammond, Capt. Francis Hooke and kinsman John Leighton both of Kittery, wife Mary to be sole executrix, friends Capt. Francis Hooke and Capt. Joseph Hammond & John Leighton as overseers and executors in the case of Mary's death. Wittnesses were Geo: Jaffray, John Belcher, Sarah Chadbourn.^[3][4][5]

Name

Name: Maj. Charles /Frost/ Esq.

"[1753] Mrs. Lydia Greenleaf, relict of John Greenleaf & formerly relict of Benjamin Pierce & daughter of Maj. Charles Frost Esq. died 13 May 1752 in her 78th year."^[6]

Birth

Date: 1631/1640 Tiverton,Devonshire,England

Marriage

Mary Bolles December 27, 1665 in Kittery, York, Maine

Death

Date: 4 JUL 1697 Kittery, York, Maine, USA

Age: 65

Children

Parsons says that Charles Frost married Mary Bolles, daughter of Joseph Bolles of Welles, when he was forty-four years old, and that they had nine children. ^[7] For a discussion of some of the children of Charles Frost and Mary Bolles, see the 1851 article at Internet Archives.

The Kittery, Maine Town records have his son Charles' birth recorded.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Records of the Courts of the Province of Maine, Vol 1, Book A, 1636-1671 (transcribed copy). pp. 109-110. FHL Film #005654542, images 115-116. Link to images at familysearch.org.
2. ↑ New England family history : a magazine devoted ... v.1 (1907-08)., p. 7.
3. ↑ William M. Sargent, Maine Wills 1640-1760, (Portland, ME: Brown Thurston & Co., 1887) Vol. 1:114-118.
4. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99HJ-C7P?i=880&cc=2094226&cat=1043918 York County Probate file #6294]
5. ↑ York County, Maine Probate Records, No. 1, 1687-1707, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89JS-L9ZM-F : 6 April 2021), FHL microfilm 007600380, image 55-57, Page 44-46.
6. ↑ Massachusetts, Town Records, 1620-1988, Ancestry.com, "Newbury Births, Marriages and Death records," Deaths 1752, p. 43 (daughter of Maj. Charles Frost)
7. ↑ Usher Parsons, "Memoir of Charles Frost," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (NEHGR) (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-) Vol. 3(July 1849):249-261, at 261 (Link at Archives.org). (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.)
8. ↑ Kittery, Maine, Town Records, page 8.

See also:

• The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (NEHGR) Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.)

• Ancestry Family Trees (Apr. 2017 - now a private tree)

• Old Kittery and Her Families by Everett S. Stackpole, Press of Lewiston Journal Co., 1903. Pages 168-9.

• Charles Frost on Wikipedia

• 1778 - Biography of the Ancestors of Timothy Frost. Kennebunk Town and vital records, 1727-1892. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89NW-R8F. Accessed 13 May. 2023. [see top of 2nd page]

• WikiTree FreeSpace Deceit of Captain Waldron — In September 1676, Captain Joseph Syll and Captain William Hathorne, marching under orders from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, to round up 'strange Indians' who had recently fled from the southern theatre of King Philip's War, arrived at Cocheco on 6 September 1676. They enlisted the aid of the Dover magistrate, Major Richard Waldron, who had only recently signed a peace treaty with Wonolancet and Squando, with explicit provision "That none of said Indians shall entertain at any time any of our enemies..." Waldron, in turn, enlisted the aid of his compatriot, Captain Charles Frost of Kittery, to trick the Indians and then, together with the captains and their companies, to surround and capture them. This event had the effect of prolonging King Philip's War, in the north-eastern theatre of New Hampshire and Maine, until 1678.