Richard Hassell (1622 - 1690)

Born 1622 in Axbridge, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Joanna (Bateman) Hassell — married before 1643 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 17 Jan 1690 at about age 68 in Dunstable, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

RICHARD-1 HASSELL, born abt 1622 probably in England, and settled in Cambridge. He was admitted freeman in Cambridge MA 1647.

He and his wife, Joan (or Joanna or Jane in some records), were early members of the church of Cambridge.

In the division of Shawshin, now Billerica, by Cambridge in 1652, he received lot 69, of 60 acres. Court files of Middlesex County MA, 1662 shows "Test: Richard Hassall aged abt 40 yrs." He removed to Billerica in 1676, and April 12, 1678, he was chosen "to inspect the lads on the Sabbath days." He removed from Billerica to Dunstable in 1679.

He was an intelligent man and a worthy citizen. There is no record of his death. One source states Joan d. Sept 1691 (although this may be conflagrated with the date of his son Joseph and daughter-in-law's death), and after Richard's death remarried to William Borlase.

Note: This seems unlikely. If Richard died in 1690, Joan would have been 68 at the time of his death; hardly of re-marrying age. There is also no known record of a William Borlase in early New England.

Name

Richard Hassell ^[1]

Christening

BEF 1643 New England

Marriage

Torrey, in New England Marriages Prior to 1700, provides the following entry:

• Hassell, Richard (1622-) & Joane __?__; b(efore) 1643; Cambridge

Note that Torrey provide a "married second" for Joane.

Immigration

John Farmer^[2] and Lucas Paige^[3] both state that Richard immigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1647.

However, the births of his eldest children are recorded in Cambridge: Elizabeth in 1643 and Joseph in 1645. It is therefore reasonable to believe that Richard and Joan immigrated and were married prior to 1643.

Disputed Wife

One source states her surname was BANKS, and that she was b. 1625 in Cambridge MA, dau of John BANKS.

Other sources, including trees at Ancestry, state that her surname was Bateman.

Thus far, no reliable primary sourcing has been found for either assertion.

Disputed Parents

Thus far, no reliable sourcing has shown that Richard's parents were William Hassell and Sarah Seward.

Mention in R.C. Anderson's Puritan Great Migration

While Anderson has no sketch of a Richard Hassell or Hadsell, there is a passing mention of Richard in the sketch for Dolor Davis, who describes Richard as a "loving and respected friend" and designates him an overseer of his will, dated 13 Sep 1672 and proved 2 July 1673.

Children of Richard & Joan HASSELL

• ELIZABETH, born September 20, 1643 Cambridge MA; married November 1, 1661, Joseph Wright, born in Woburn about 1639, son of Dea. John and Priscilla Wright. He was a deacon and a selectman of Woburn. He died March 31, 1724; she died June 28, 1713. Eleven children b. in Woburn MA [WRIGHT]: including Benjamin, Elizabeth, Sarah, John, Joanna, James, Timothy, Stephen, Jacob, and Ruth.
• JOSEPH, born September 20, 1645; married Anna Perry (sister to Obadiah, his sister Hester's husband). [Boston recs: "Joseph Hassall sonne of Richard & Joan borne 20 (7) 1645.
• ESTHER / HESTER. born December 6, 1648; married 21 Aug 1667 to Obadiah Perry; married, second, 30 Aug 1693 to Martin Townsend of Watertown MA. See Perry family in book, "Old Dunstable, Maine and New Hampshire Founders" [Boston recs: "Hester Hassall dau of Richard & Jane borne 6 (10) 164[].
• ALICE, born about 1665, married Christopher Temple; married, second, 10 Jan 1694-95 to Jacob Kendall (as his 2nd wife, his first being Persis Haywood). See Temple family in book, "Old Dunstable, Maine and New Hampshire Founders"
• ANNAH [from the "Watertown MA Genealogies and History"] daughter of Richard and Anna Hassell of Waterbury, b. 6 Oct 1669. Possibly she is a child of another family

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S1711 Page: 10-25, "Wright"
2. ↑ FARMER, JOHN. A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New-England
3. ↑ PAIGE, LUCIUS R. List of Freemen of Massachusetts, 1630-1691

• "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/SY2R-7XD : accessed 2014-11-14), entry for Richard /Hassell/.
• S1711 Title: The Wrights: A Genealogical Study of the First Settlers in Canada'sNational Capital Region, Edition: revised edition Abbreviation: The Wrights: 1st Settlers in Hull Author: Evans, Patrick M. O. Publication: National Capital Commission, Ottawa, Ontario, 1978
• Early New England Families. (Original Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. (By Alicia Crane Williams, Lead Genealogist.) Richard Hassell

• He died before 19 Oct 1681.

• Galbraith clan