Nicholas Phelps (abt. 1620 - abt. 1663)

Born about 1620 in England

Husband of Hannah (Baskel) Smith — married 1650 in Salem, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died about 1663 at about age 43 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

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Nicholas Phelps migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disambiguation: There are two men named Nicholas Phelps in this period who are frequently conflated. The other is Nicholas Phelps, born Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, who is at least thirty years older than the Nicholas Phelps of this profile. The man born in Tewkesbury is often seen to take on the life of this Nicholas Phelps in the colonies. That Nicholas would have been 64 years of age at the time of Hannah Baskel's first marriage. Numerous records clearly show they are different men.

Biography

Nicholas was a Friend (Quaker)

Nicholas Phelps was born about 1620, perhaps earlier, in England. Researchers Pope, Savage and Anderson show brothers Henry and Nicholas aboard the Hercules in 1634^[1], however, Alicia Crane Williams does not agree with this noting that the first record of Nicholas in the colony is in Salem on 23 Jun 1645 when his brother Henry is in court for selling his servant Henry Glass to Nicholas to transport him 'beyond the seas' (meaning the West Indies). Williams states this shows Nicholas had business interests in the West Indies and that his likely route to New England was via them. Williams believes it possible Henry also had interests in the West Indies and that the brothers possibly came on the same ship.^[2]

Nicholas married Hannah Baskel (also seen Bassett) between 1645-1652^[2] in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts. Hannah was born before 1630 in England. She died after 1696 in Perquimans County, North Carolina.

Nicholas was called "a weak man, and one whose back was crooked..." by some historians, “but it can be argued that he had a strong spirit". Nicholas and Hannah had two children with whom they lived on the Trusler farm in the woods about five miles from the meeting house in Salem. It was situated at the site of modern town of West Peabody. The farm was devised to Nicholas and Henry jointly, by their mother in 1655. Nicholas' half of the house was forfeited for fines he and Hannah incurred for holding Quaker meetings in their home. However, Henry brother of Nicholas, managed to obtain control of the entire farm and allowed Hannah and the children to remain there.

The first Quaker meeting in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was held in the home of Nicholas and Hannah Phelps.^[2] "Nicholas and Hannah Phelps became Quakers, and the meetings in Salem were held at their home in the Woods. They were repeatedly fined for absence from the Puritan meeting (the only one allowed) and for entertaining Quakers. William Hathorne had issued an order to" search for Quakers and report their names to Ipswich Court... "Both Hannah and Nicholas were arrested; Hannah was put into jail and Nicholas was banished from the colony."^[3]

An early court record reads, "Nicholas Phelps is sensured by this court to pay 40s to the treasurer of this county for defending a quakers meeting & allsoe to be sent to the house of correction at Ipswich for owning himselfe to be a quaker & there to continue at this Courts pleasure: to pay costs 20s."

In Salem the path of Quaker conversion followed women. Gardner, Southwick, and Buffum women accounted for thirteen out of twenty-five women in the meeting. In June 1658, John Smith had helped the Salem constable arrest Quakers at the homes of Lawrence Southwick and Nicholas Phelps. One of the Quakers was Tamosin Buffum. Within a year Smith himself was in jail with his wife for Quaker-related crimes. His wife was Tamosin's daughter; another daughter was Deborah Wilson, who had walked naked down Salem's main street and the Essex County Court called the young woman "distempered on mind." and remanded her to the custody of her Quaker husband. Buffum also had two sons, Joshua and Caleb, who were also active in the Friends.^[4]

On 27 Jun 1658 the Salem constables learned of another Quaker meeting, this time at the home of the Phelps. Upon investigation the constables discovered the presence of two visiting Quakers, William Brend and William Leddera. Apparently aware of Brend's notoriety, the constables arrested him and Leddera and sent them to Boston for further punishment and ordered all the local participants to appear in court on June 29. The men appeared and refused to remove their hats, symbolically declaring their affiliation with Brend and Leddera and denying their obedience to the authority of the court. Shattock, Joshua Buffum, and Samuel Gaskin openly admitted that they were Quakers. This admission forced the court to act. It cited Shattock, Buffum, Gaskin, Phelps, the three Southwicks, and twenty-two other town residents for absence from regular church services. The courts also ordered that Shattock, Buffum, Phelps and the three Southwicks be sent to Boston with Brend and Leddera.^[4]

"Nicholas and Samuel Shattuck went to England in 1660 and stayed long enough to obtain from Charles II the order to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to desist from killing Quakers."^[3] They returned to New England, but Mr. Phelps, being weak in body died soon after, between1662-64 it is thought.

Shattock, Buffum, Southwick and Phelps refused to conform. The care of family, the arguments of John Norton, a minister in Boston, and the threats of General Court failed to bring about any minimal conformity by the six Quakers. Martyrdom, however, was avoided. In an apparent exchange for dropping the threat to sell Daniel and Provided Southwick into servitude, the older Southwicks agreed to leave the colony and presumably precipitated the departure of the other three Salem Quakers.^[5]

Hannah Baskel/Baskett married 2nd Henry Phelps, the brother of Nicholas, 3rd James Hill between 1672-1676 Perquimans. Hannah married 4th Joseph Smith on 7 Mar 1695/6 at Perquimans Quarterly Meeting.

See Hannah's profile for additional information.

Children

Nicholas and Hannah had the following children:

• Jonathan PHELPS was born about 1649^[2] and died on 21 Feb 1688/1689

• Hannah PHELPS was born about 1652^[2] in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts. She died between 1687 and 1689 in Perquimans County, North Carolina. Hannah married 1st James Perisho about 1672 and 2nd George Castleton in 1679/80, son of George and Mary Castleton of New Castle on Tyne, England. Hannah and George had a daughter Hannah born 13 Mar 1679.

Sources

1. ↑ The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 1-6. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011. Vol V:450
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Williams, Alicia Crane, Early New England Families, NEHGS, $ubscription
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Moore, Margaret B. The Salem World of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Columbia[u.a.]: University of Missouri Press, 2001), P. 34 from GoogleBooks .
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Perley, Sidney, The History of Salem Massachussetts, 1924-28
5. ↑ Chu, Jonathan M., Neighbors, Friends, or Madmen, The Puritan Adjustment to Quakerism in Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts Bay, Greenwood Press

Acknowledgements

• This profile was re-sourced and rewritten 1 Nov 2018 by T Stanton with the aid of research from Heirs And Roots Phelps Family and others. Updated 21 Feb 2021.
• This person was created through the import of Weaver.ged on 03 January 2011.
• WikiTree profile Phelps-1629 created through the import of Allen_Nauman_Achey_Jahr.ged on Oct 11, 2012 by Michael Allen.