Nathaniel Phelps (1625 - 1702)

Born 6 Mar 1625 in Crewkerne, Somerset, England

Husband of Elizabeth (Unknown) Phelps — married 17 Sep 1650 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 27 May 1702 at age 77 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Loren Fay [send private message], Kim Elder [send private message], and Dorothy Phelps [send private message]

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

Biography

Nathaniel was the son of William Phelps and his first wife Mary, whose maiden surname is unknown. He was born on 6 Mar 1624/25 in Crewkerne, Somerset, England. ^[1], ^[2] (The correct way to show the birth year it is that he was born in 1625, not in 1624.)

Nathaniel and Elizabeth resided in Windsor on the Orton place, near his father, but removed about 1656 to Northampton, Massachusetts and were founders of the town. Nathaniel was one of the first deacons of the Northampton church, freeman 11 May 1681.

DEACON NATHANIEL PHELPS (I) was born on 3/6/1625 in Crewkerne, Somerset, England. He was the son of William Phelps. His father brought the family to America in 1630 and William became a prominent man in New England. They first lived in Dorchester, Massachusetts and in 1636 they moved again to create the town of Windsor, Connecticut. He married Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) (unknown-12/6/1712) on 9/17/1650 in Windsor, Connecticut. She was the widow of Thomas Copley and came to America with her children Thomas Copley and Elizabeth (Copley) Langton. Nathaniel and Elizabeth had 6 children: Mary; Nathaniel (6/2/1653-6/19/1719); Abigail; William; Thomas; and Mercy. Nathaniel moved his family to Northampton, Massachusetts by 1656. His land was located near Park Street. He was likely chosen to be Constable in 1656 and 1657. He sold his plot of land in Windsor to Robert Hayward in 1657. By 1658 he had accumulated 4 acres for his home lot and 29 acres of meadow land. He was offered the position of Constable in 1658. The following year in 1659 he donated 4 acres of land to Northampton for the minister. While he was living in Northampton, he was still paying for slip rent in Windsor in 1659. In 1660 he was elected as Constable. He also was a signer of the town’s first church covenant in 1661, creating the First Church of Christ in Northampton. In 1672 he donated 2 bushels of wheat for the building of Harvard College. In 1676 Nathaniel’s wife Elizabeth, and a few other individuals, were fined flaunting around nice clothes and “extravagances.” On 2/8/1679 he, with his sons Nathaniel Jr. and William, took the Oath of Allegiance before Major Pynchon. Also in 1679 he was elected as a tithing-man for the town. While he was previously noted a freeman in 1663, he was again made a freeman in 1681. By 1688 he was noted as a Deacon of the church. He died on 5/27/1702 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Sources

1. ↑ The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995).
2. ↑ Parish Records of St Bartholomew Church, Crewkerne, Somerset, England

• Crewkerne Parish.
• Great Migration Series, 1995.

Secondary Sources

• The Phelps family of America and their English ancestors Vol I by Judge Oliver Seymour Phelps and Andrew T. Servin. Page 89-91
• Stiles, The history and genealogies of ancient Windsor, CT (1891) 1:159, 179, 478 & 2:565
• Hull, History of Eastern Vermont (1858) Pg. 689-90
• Savage, A genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England (1861) 1:456 & 3:406
• Trumbull, History of Northampton, MA (1898) Vol. 1, Pg. 27, 33, 37, 54, 57, 59, 78, 107, 145, 291, 374, 391, 571
• Historical catalogue of the Northampton First Church, 1661-1891 (1891) Pg. 6, 9, 16,
• Find-A-Grave Virtual Cemetery memorial #37414831
• Ancestry DNA Tree, lymankd53. Nathaniel Phelps, born bet 1624 and 1627 in Crewkerne, Somerset, England. Died 27May1702 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA. Son of William Phelps and Elizabeth Marshall. Husband of Elizabeth Copely (1628-1712). Father of Nathaniel (1653-1719). Married 17Sep1650. Although the listing of his mother does not match this profile, everything else matches. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that Steve Selbrede has multiple DNA matches with William as a MRCA, who is also a common ancestor with lymankd53.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Kim Elder, Loren Fay and Kitty Smith for contributions to this profile.