Samuel Shrimpton (abt. 1643 - abt. 1698)

Born about 30 May 1643 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 9 Feb 1698 at about age 54 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

Samuel Shrimpton was born about 30 May 1643, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and christened on 25 June 1643. ^{[1][2][3] [4] [5]}

Marriage

Colonel Samuel Shrimpton (1643-1698) was a London and Boston merchant who married Elizabeth Roberts (d. 1713), the widow of Captain Thomas Breedon, and she was a daughter of Captain Nicholas and Elizabeth Roberts of London. Samuel married her on 13 May 1669, in All Hallows Church London Wall in the City of London, England. ^[6]

Children

1. Mary Shrimpton (1666-) ^[7][8]
2. Martha Shrimpton (1672-) ^[9][10]
3. Samuel Shrimpton (1673-abt.1703) ^[11] and
4. Elizabeth Shrimpton (1674-) ^[12][13]

Siblings

1. Elizabeth Mary Shrimpton, 1627–1676

2. Bethiah (Shrimpton) Lidget

3. Sarah (Shrimpton) Hutchinson

4. Abigail Shrimpton

5. Mary Shrimpton

6. Elizabeth (Shrimpton) Sargeant

7. Jonathan Shrimpton

8. Henry Shrimpton

9. Mehitabel Shrimpton

10. John Shrimpton.

Life Story

Samuel Shrimpton (1643-1698) served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the militia and on the Governor's Council under Governor Andros and King James II.

Col. Shrimpton and his wife were in possession of several properties, including Noddles Island in Boston Harbor. Upon the death of Col. Shrimpton, his widow was remarried to widower, Simeon Stoddard (1650-1730). [Their child was Samuel Shrimpton, Jr. (1673-1703). tbc]

Samuel was the son of a wealthy Bostonian merchant, Henry Shrimpton and his wife Elinor Unknown Samuel's father had a taste for an opulent lifestyle in Boston, according to Phyllis Whitman Hunter. Samuel inherited from his father and dressed finely and pursued many cultural activities. ^[14]

Samuel was in his father's will. ^[15]. His brother-in-law, Peter Seargent initiated a law suit against Samuel over the settlement of his father's will. The litigation lasted years. ^[16]

Samuel purchased Noddle Island from the town, it had been of interest to his father who had supported a religious group who met there.

Samuel Sewell in his diaries records Mr Shrimpton and two others travelling in a coach from Roxbury in 1686, singing and fueled by drink. They stopped at Justice Morgan's to drink Healths, curse, swear, talk profanly and baudily... such high handed wikedness has not been heard of before in Boston. ^[17]

An example of the Shrimpton family success as merchants is recorded in Lillian Miller's paper in the Colonial Society of Massachusetts transactions, When, for instance, Henry Shrimpton, Samuel’s father and one of Massachusetts Bay’s first settlers, died in 1666, his estate, which amounted to over £3,313, consisted in part of a warehouse filled with rugs, skins, hats, cloth, curtains, gingham, satin, fustian, leather bags and rum. His personal estate included money, gold and gold rings, a silver box, thirteen pairs of shoes, and books. Thirty years later, when his son Colonel Samuel Shrimpton died, the younger Shrimpton’s estate ranged from properties that included Exchange Tavern, Noddle Island, and brick warehouses to eight small pictures and five alabaster images. The inventory of his wife’s estate when she died in 1714 consisted of jewelry— three diamond rings, a diamond girdle buckle, a gold locket and watch chain, and a pearl necklace— and twenty-eight pictures. Of the latter, four were the family pictures of the Robertses and Bakers sent from England, one was a portrait of her grandson, Master Yeomans, valued at £28, three were pictures painted on glass, and the others were probably engravings. ^[18]

In the summer of 1689, some Boston sailors seized a ship and turned pirate. Led by Thomas Pound, they terrorized the coast of Massachusetts for several months, taking a couple ships as prizes. Samuel had been at the 30 September 1689 Council Meeting that instructed Captain Sam Pease to surprise and capture Hawkins and his ship of pirates. ^[19] They were caught tried and sentenced to be hung. Epaphras Shrimpton and 'quality women' (Hawkin's sisters), with Col Samuel Shrimpton helped reprieve the pirate, Thomas Hawkins from his sentence of hanging. Thomas was a son of Mary, his father, Henry's last wife and some of Thomas' sisters had married influential town folk so there was considerable pressure applied in high society to release the pirates much to the consternation from ordinary Bostonians. ^[20]

Captain George RN of the HMS Rose was imprisoned and the ship's sails seized in Boston to stop it sailing to support King James II, who had fled to France when William of Orange and his army had landed in Torbay. Captain George stayed ashore as a house guest of Col Samuel Shrimpton. It was a tense period with civil unrest. At one point, after a town fire was attributed to the crew of the Rose, a mob tried to break down Samuel's door to get Captain George. This resolved when the crew later acknowledged their loyalty to King William III with a 21 gun salute. Samuel had been instrumental in changing the crew's mood. Samuel was reliant on the Rose to protect merchant vessels from pirates. ^[21] Although it was widely held that Samuel consorted with and traded with pirates. ^[22]

The Shrimpton family papers provide a comprehensive view of Samuel and his son and other family members' business dealings, land acquisitions and ships. Samuel owned ships including, John and Thomas, 1674-1676; John and Anne, 1674-1682; Orange Tree, 1684; Loyall Society and Larke, 1685; Dolphin, 1691-1696; Elizabeth, 1691-1695; Barron, 1692; Good Hope, 1694; St. Iago, 1695; and a second Elizabeth purchased from father-in-law, Nicholas Roberts in 1698. ^[23]

A portrait of Samuel Shrimpton (1643–1703), Dominion Councillor, Member of the Council for the Safety of the People and Preservation of the Peace by an unknown artist exists with the Massachusetts Historical Society. ^[24]

Samuel was involved in a dispute with His Majesty's Customs over the seizure of a parcel of iron. The matter was brought by Jahleel Brenton (customs collector) against Col Samuel and wife Elizabeth before the Boston County Courts in 1692 and the disposition dismissed. Brenton then appealed to the Privy Council in London. Brenton v Shrimpton being heard in 1698 after Samuel had passed and not resolving until 1702. ^[25]

Death and Burial

Samuel passed away on 9 February 1698, and was buried with arms on 14 February 1698, as noted in the Sewall Diary. ^[26] Samuel died in his hometown, at the young age of 55.

Research Notes

Where is the evidence he married Elizabeth Usher and she is mother of their children? Evidence for his wife & children's mother being Elizabeth Roberts seems reliable.

Sources

1. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch : 14 January 2020
2. ↑ : 14 January 2020 Samuel Shrimpton, 1643.
3. ↑ Boston Vital Statistics, 1630-1699. Boston Records Commissioners Reports (Rockwell & Churchill, Boston, 1883) Vol. 9. Page 16. City Document 130: 1643, "Samuel of Henry Shrimpton, aged about 26 days, 25 day 4 mo."
4. ↑ Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCWP-8M4 : 14 January 2020), Samuel Shrimpton, 1643.
5. ↑ Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHTB-CJF : 15 January 2020), Samuel Shrimpton, 1643.
6. ↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 for Samuell Shrimpton. City of London. All Hallows London Wall. 1653-1675.
7. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DCTQ-ZDMM : 10 November 2020), Samuel Shrimpton in entry for Mary Shrimpton, 5 Dec 1666; citing Birth, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004329324.
8. ↑ Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCWK-SVX : 14 January 2020), Samuel Shrimpton in entry for Mary Shrimpton, 1666.
9. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch : 10 November 2020 Samuel Shrimpton in entry for Martha Shrimpton, 21 Jan 1671; citing Birth, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004329324.
10. ↑ Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCWK-LVS : 14 January 2020), Samuel Shrimpton in entry for Martha Shrimpton, 1671.
11. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DCT6-VL3Z : 10 November 2020), Samuel Shrimpton in entry for Samuel Shrimpton, 20 Apr 1673; citing Birth, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004329324.
12. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch : 10 November 2020 Samuel Shrimpton in entry for Elizabeth Shrimpton, 21 Apr 1674; citing Birth, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004329324.
13. ↑ Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCWK-V84 : 14 January 2020), Samuel Shrimpton in entry for Elizabeth Shrimpton, 1674.
14. ↑ Hunter, Phyllis Whitman, Ship of Wealth: Massachusetts merchants, foreign goods, and the transformation of Anglo-America, 1670-1760 (1996). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623879. William and Mary College, Virginia. [1]
15. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. 1861. Vol XV. Abstract of Early Wills Henry Shrimpton. Pg 68 Boston. Samuel G. Drake publisher 13 Bromfield Street. [2]
16. ↑ Hunter, Phyllis Whitman, Ship of wealth: Massachusetts merchants, foreign goods, and the transformation of Anglo-America, 1670-1760 (1996). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1539623879. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-skdp-cf18
17. ↑ The Diary of Samuel Sewell Vol 1. 1674-1709 Ed M Halsey Thomas. New York. publisher Farrer, Straus and Giroux. 1973 pg 121
18. ↑ Miller, Lillian B. The Puritan Portrait: Its Function in Old and New England Colonial Socierty of Massachusetts Volume 63. pg 153 [3] accessed 9.4.2023
19. ↑ Colonial Society of Massachusetts Vol 20 Transaction 1917-1919 January Meeting 1918 [4] accessed 10.4.2023
20. ↑ Baker, Emerson. Piracy and Witchcraft: Salem 1692 guest post on The Seventeenth Century Lady 10 Feb 2015 ed. Andrea Zuvich. [5] accessed 10.4.2023
21. ↑ Pitt, Steven John James. City Upon the Atlantic Tides: Merchants, Pirates and the Seafaring Community of Boston 1689-1748. PhD thesis Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. [6] accessed 9.4.2023
22. ↑ Pitt, Steven J. J. Cotton Mather and Boston’s ‘Seafaring Tribe. The New England Quarterly 85, no. 2 (2012): 222–52. [7](membership to JSTOR required), accessed 10.4.2023.
23. ↑ Shrimpton family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society. [8] accessed 10.4.2023
24. ↑ Colonial Society of Massachusetts. The Glororius Revolution in Massachusetts , Selected Documents,1689-1692 Vol 64 [9] accessed 10.4.2023
25. ↑ Ames Foundation, Harvard University Law School. Appeals to the Privy Council from the American Colonies: An Annotated Digital Catalogue. pg 73. Compiled by Sharon Hamby O'Connor, Mary Sarah Bilder and Charles Donahue Jr. Cambridge, 2014. The Ames Foundation. William S. Hein & Co., Inc. Buffalo, New York [10] accessed 15.4.2023
26. ↑ Sewall, Samuel. Diary of Samuel Sewall, 1674-1729, Vol. 1, 1674-1700, Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society (The Society, Boston, 1878) Fifth Series, Vol. 5. pg 470 Page 470

• U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, for Samuel Shrimpton; p.672.
• Third Supplement to Torrey´s New England Marriages Prior to 1700, p. 235.
• O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey. Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York (Weed, Parsons & Co., Albany, 1853-1887) Vol. 3, pg 365 See footnote #1 Page 365.
• Hyslop, William H. A History of East Boston : with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix; Boston Massachusetts: J. E. Tilton and Company, 1858, 161 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts.