Part Two:
Biographies
"... all that we are today inevitably depends (on) our
ancestry, our past."
Walt Whitman
"Do we know the stories of our ancestors? Are we aware of the
trials and triumphs
of the previous generations? Those stories are worth retelling because they
remind us of our past and teach us something about who we are."
John R. Bucka
Biographies Part 1
The Sill Fathers
Most of this information was found in previously published family genealogies and on the internet. Bios of the more recent ancestors are compiled from discussions with current generations of the family. This section will focus mainly on the male ancestors. A section devoted to our female ancestors follows.
"It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the
glory belongs to our ancestors."
Plutarch
John Sill arrived in America, from England, sometime between June and December of 1637. Family history states that he came either from Lyme Regis or Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I have also seen his home recorded as Northumberland, which is the county Newcastle is located in. He probably left England due to the religious persecutions which were going on at that time, and which led to the English Civil Wars. With him were his wife Joanna and his two children, Joseph, born in England in 1636, and Elizabeth, born in England in 1637. They settled in Newtowne, Massachusetts, known as Cambridge, Massachusetts since 1638.
John Sill was admitted to the privileges of a Freeman on May 2, 1638. Being a Freeman gave a man political privileges, such as the right to vote. Also in 1638, he and his wife Joanna were received as members in full communion of the Congregational Society of Cambridge. John's occupation is not known. It is thought that he likely was a farmer. In 1638 he bought a house and lot on the southeast corner of Eliot and Winthrop Streets in Cambridge. In 1642, he owned an additional four and a half acres, and in 1645 was granted four acres more.
The exact date of John's birth and death are not known. Early family historians have stated they believe John was born about 1610. He died sometime before June 9, 1652, when Joanna, known as "widow Sill", received an allotment of 40 acres of land in Cambridge. The location of John's gravesite is unknown.
Son Joseph married first Jemima Belcher, on December 5, 1660. They had six children. Jemima died in 1675. On February 12. 1677, he married Sarah Clark. Joseph and Sarah had two children. Joseph died August 6, 1696.
Daughter Elizabeth Sill was married to Zechariah Hicks on October 28, 1652. They had five sons and two daughters. Elizabeth died September 12, 1730. As of 1912, her gravestone was still standing in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Judith Sill married Abraham Shepard of Malden, Massachusetts on January 2, 1673. They had one son and six daughters. Early family historians state that Judith was born to John and Joanna while living in Cambridge. Although there appears to be no proof of her ancestry, I have also never seen any proof that she is not the daughter of John Sill. Her husband Abraham Shepard is related to the Sill's through the Lord family. So at the very least, Judith is an in-law due to her husband's connection. I have therefore included Judith here because one way or another she is in fact a member of the family.
Joseph Sill, the only son of John Sill of England, was born in England in 1636. He came to America with his family in 1637. The family lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Joseph owned thirty acres of land. He married Jemima Belcher on December 5, 1660. They had four sons and two daughters. Three of the sons died young, two supposedly lost at sea. The fourth son, Thomas, married and had two daughters. Upon Joseph's death, Thomas inherited all of Joseph's share of land in Cambridge. Thomas died in May of 1709. Daughter Jemima, born in 1667, married John Hall on December 21, 1687. They had seven sons and three daughters. Jemima died December 12, 1712. Daughter Elizabeth, born September 12, 1668, married Samuel Green on November 18, 1685. They had one son. Elizabeth Died in 1690. Jemima (Belcher) Sill died in1675. I do not know what became of the children after Jemima's death. They were all still very young at this time and Joseph was busy fighting in the Indian Wars. They must have gone to live with other relatives.
Joseph Sill was known as Captain Sill due to his service in the military. In the family genealogy Old Silltown it is stated that "On the roster of officers of the first American army as organized for the Narragansett Colony, mustered at Pettiguamscot, December 19th, 1665, was the name of Captain Joseph Sill." His name is mentioned in a number of books which deal with the early Indian wars fought in this country, including Soldiers in King Philip's War. His most noteworthy service was during King Philip's War. He fought in that war from early in 1675 until it's close late in 1676. In February of 1676 he captured 300 Indians. Another time Joseph, with a company of only fifty troopers, conducted a long train of wagons from Groton to Boston, successfully resisting Indian attacks along the way.
At the close of King Philip's war, Joseph petitioned the General Court, assembled at Boston, for a grant of land in return for his service in the military. The original letter is supposedly in possession of the Boston Historical Society. I have discovered differing accounts of the outcome of his petition, none of which I can verify with any degree of certainty at this time. However, earlier family hisorians agree that he was granted a tract of land. He did not ever live on this tract of land though. Friends of Joseph's, fearing retaliation for the Indian wars in which he took part, convinced him to move away from the area. He moved to an area north of Lyme, Connecticut, which eventually came to be known as Silltown due to the large number of Sill families living there. His tract of land in Massachusetts was inherited by his daughter Jemima.
On February 12, 1677, Joseph married his second wife, Sarah Clark in Lyme, Connecticut. Joseph and Sarah had two sons: Joseph, born January 6, 1678 and Zechariah, born January 1, 1682. Joseph spent the remainder of his life as a farmer and an elected official. He died August 6, 1696 and is buried in the "Sill Enclosure" in the Duck River Cemetery in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Son Zechariah married Elizabeth Mather. They had three sons and three daughters. Zechariah's date of death is unknown. Probably the most notable descendant of Zechariah is General Joshua Woodrow Sill, the namesake of Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Another interesting historical note is that Zechariah's wife Elizabeth Mather was a cousin of a man named Cotton Mather. Cotton and his father Increase Mather were two of the most prominent Congregational clergymen of the period and they both urged continued persecution of the accused "witches" at the Salem witchcraft trials.
Below is the signature of Joseph Sill, taken from the 1688 Hamburg, Connecticut town record.
In 1706 Joseph married Phebe Lord. Joseph and Phebe had seven sons and five daughters. In 1716 Joseph and Zechariah purchased more land in the area and built separate homesteads for their families. The original homestead from 1698 eventually was passed to Joseph's son Thomas. In 1730 Joseph purchased more land in the North Parish of Lyme, now known as Hamburg. In 1733 he moved there, leaving his homestead to his eldest son John. Joseph died November 10, 1765. At the time of his death, his son Jabez took possession of his house and farm in the North Parish. Joseph is buried in the "Sill Enclosure" of the Duck River Cemetery in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Elijah Sill was born November 8, 1724 in Lyme, Connecticut. He attended Yale and received his B. A. degree in 1748. He then studied theology with his pastor Rev. George Beckwith. In 1751 he became pastor of the North Society in New Fairfield, Connecticut.
Elijah married Dorcas Bennett on August 29, 1754. Elijah and Dorcas had one son and one daughter. Dorcas died one day after the birth of their son Elijah. Elijah married Mary Hubbell on November 15, 1759. Mary was born in 1734. Elijah and Mary had one daughter. Mary died a week later, on August 30, 1761. She is buried in Sherman, Connecticut. Elijah married for a third time, but the wife's name is not known. It is suspected that her surname may have been Southmayd, but I do not know if that has ever been proven. They had four sons and two daughters.
In 1779 Elijah was dismissed as pastor due to difficulties regarding his salary. He then moved to Dorset, Vermont. He organized a Congregational church there and became it's first pastor in 1784. In 1790, no Sill was shown in the Vermont census, so he apparently had left the church at Dorset by that time. In 1789, Elijah was described as "a good friendly man" but "extremely poor." Perhaps salary difficulties caused him to leave his church in Dorset as well.
From Vermont, Elijah moved to New York. He preached for a time in Saratoga Springs. He then moved to Chenango, located in Broome County. He soon moved again to Burlington Township in Otsego County. He died there in 1792 and is buried near the Church at the Green in Burlington, New York. No monument marks his grave, however, the church is still standing and being used. It can be found at the intersection of State Highway 80 and County Highway 16 in Otsego County, New York.
Elijah Bennett Sill was born October 2, 1757 in New Fairfield, Connecticut. He was originally named Elijah Lord Sill but his name was changed to honor his mother, Dorcas Bennett, who died shortly after his birth. Throughout his adult life he went by the name of Bennett Sill. In 1779 he was listed on the payroll for the 16th Regiment Militia.Elijah Bennett married Chloe Barnes about the year 1781. Elijah and Chloe had four sons and two daughters. They originally settled near Pawlings, New York, where all of their children were born. He moved for a time to Sherman, Connecticut. Around 1809 he moved back to New York, this time to Chenango County. He lived there until his death in 1814. Elijah is probably buried in the burying ground near North Gulford, New York which was purchased by his son Deodatus. However, many of the old gravestones there have decayed and have been removed, so it will probably never be determined for sure.
Deodatus Sill was born May 4, 1784 in Pawlings, New York. Deodatus married Margaret McNitt on October 31, 1811. Deodatus and Margaret had six sons and four daughters. In 1820, Deodatus and his brothers and sister all moved to Cattaraugus County, New York and settled in the Ischua Valley, near Franklinville. On October 20, 1825, Deodatus and Margaret became charter members of the Baptist Church of Franklinville. The 1850 census listed Deodatus' occupation as farmer. He also held a number of town offices. No pictures of Deodatus are known to exist as he was "opposed to the sitting up of an image of one's self." Deodatus died at Franklinville, New York on May 29, 1852 and is buried in the Baptist Church Cemetery there. Nelson Sill was born in Franklinville, New York on June 19, 1829. According to Nelson's obituary, he came to Avon, Wisconsin in 1848, however, I believe this is a typo. U.S. Census records show that Nelson was still living with his parents in Franklinville, New York in 1850. I believe he probably came to Avon in 1858. Nelson's uncle, John McNitt, was farming in Avon at that time. John and his wife Lydia had no children that I am aware of, so it appears that Nelson went to Avon to farm with them as they grew older. John and Lydia continued to farm with Nelson until their retirement. Nelson eventually either inherited or purchased all of the land owned by his uncle.Nelson married Adelia Brown, daughter of Henry and Rebecca Brown, on December 25, 1859. They had a daughter named Ella in September of 1860. Ella married William V. Ballou in 1881. In 1863 Adelia's father died and her 13 year old sister, Susan Ellen Brown, came to live her and Nelson. Adelia Sill died April 28, 1870 in Avon and is buried in the cemetery there. The 1870 census shows that after Adelia's death, Nelson's brother Alexander and his sister in law Ellen Brown were living with him and helping with the farm and household chores.
Nelson married his second wife, Charlotte Emily Harper, on May 7, 1871 in Avon, Wisconsin. Nelson and Charlotte had five sons and one daughter. An 1873 plat map shows that Nelson had become a fairly prominent land owner. He owned a number of parcels of land in the area which totaled over 200 acres. He also owned 6 lots within the village of Avon, which is where his house was located.
In 1882 the family moved to Spring Bank, Nebraska to "engage in farming and stock raising." This area of Nebraska is where Charlotte's brothers had moved previously. He originally rented his farm to Mr. E. E. Breed, but in 1884 decided to sell it because he "wished to remain west." At some point he decided to move back because in 1893 he was again mentioned in the Brodhead newspaper. The December 12, 1900 edition of the Brodhead Register reported that "Quite a good many hogs died round and about Avon. Mr. J. T. Barker lost about 40, Mr. Nelson Sill lost all he had."
In 1904 Nelson and Charlotte moved to Salem, Missouri where they lived on an 80 acre farm. They were members of the First Baptist Church of Salem. Nelson died December 28, 1914 at Salem and is buried at the Cedar Grove Cemetery there.
Nelson Alexander Sill was born March 5, 1879 in Avon, Wisconsin. The January 24, 1900, edition of the Brodhead Independent reported that "N. Sill Jr. has a fractured ankle, the effect of a horse falling on him." Nelson married Edna Alfreda Freedlund on September 20, 1900. They took the family's carriage to go to the county fair but went to the courthouse in Janesville, Wisconsin and got married instead . Nelson and Edna had two sons and two daughters.
Nelson and his family moved to Salem, Missouri sometime after 1903 and probably in 1904 when his parents moved there. Before 1909, they moved again, leaving their farm in Salem with a tenant who had agreed to pay the taxes for them. They traveled by covered wagon to Anadarko, Oklahoma, a distance of approximately 500 miles, covering 20 miles per day. It is believed that while the family lived in Anadarko, Nelson was a traveling salesman of pots and pans. According to my Uncle Milton Sill, Nelson met another family of Sill's while traveling through the state. Whether or not they were related is not known. Eventually the family moved to the country and farmed some land that was "as flat as a tabletop." Before long the family returned to Missouri only to find that their farm had been lost because the tenant had not kept up with the taxes. They purchased another farm in Missouri and stayed there until 1915. That year they moved to Rockford, Illinois, where Nelson worked at Atwood Vacuum Machine Company. In the late 1920's, the family moved to the Atwood Farm near Roscoe, Illinois. In March 1932 they moved yet again, to Durand, Illinois, where they rented a 507 acre farm. They stayed there until 1947, when they moved in with their daughter Viola's family. In the early 1950's they moved to a small house that he built on son Arthur's farm in Roscoe.
In June of 1942, Nelson was struck by lightning while planting corn. He was knocked backwards off the planter and was unconscious for some time. He suffered a dislocated vertebra, cuts and burns and was hospitalized for approximately one week. The clothes he was wearing at the time were saved by the family for a number of years. I can remember as a youngster seeing the hat he was wearing. There was a large, black burn hole right through the top. It is amazing that anyone could survive a lightning hit like that. Unfortunately, the clothes have now been lost or discarded and are no longer able to be viewed by anyone.
Nelson liked to do jigsaw puzzles. My father remembers going to his Grandpa's house and the kids would help out by finding where a few of the pieces went. It is also known that Nelson and Edna made molasses. I have seen pictures of the family and their neighbors making molasses from the sorghum they grew on their farms. Nelson died on February 24, 1957 in Rockford, Illinois and is buried in the Willwood Cemetery in Rockford.
Arthur Vernon Sill was born July 14, 1903 in Avon, Wisconsin. He was still very young when his family moved to Oklahoma. When he lived there, some Indian girls helped take care of the family. It has been said that they had never seen a white boy with white hair like Arthur's before. Arthur was in the Boy Scouts. A picture of his Boy Scout troop appears in the Family Photos section. Arthur remembered the flu epidemic from approx. 1918. He remembered the bodies being stacked up at Camp Grant, the present Rockford Airport.
While living with his family on the Atwood farm, Arthur met Vida May Johnson. The Johnsons lived on the opposite corner of the road from the Sills. The Johnsons had moved there after leaving the Atwood farm, where they had lived previously. Arthur married Vida on March 18, 1930 in Rockford, Illinois. They had two sons and four daughters. Arthur and his family,
along with his brother Nelson Allen, worked on the family farm in Durand. In 1947 Arthur moved to Roscoe, Illinois and began farming approximately 200 acres of land. While farming, he always did his own repairs on his machinery. He farmed at Roscoe until retiring in 1969. They sold the farm and part of it is now the Roland Olson Park near Roscoe. He and Vida then moved to Ocala, Florida. For awhile, they spent the winters in Florida and the summers living with their daughter Margaret near Rockton, Illinois. In 1977 they moved to their son John's house near South Beloit, Illinois. A few years after Arthur's death, Vida once again lived with her daughter Margaret, this time in Roscoe, Illinois.
Arthur was an avid reader. On Sundays he would read three newspapers, two from Chicago and one from Rockford. During the week he read the Beloit, Rockton, and Rockford papers. His magazine subscriptions, including Argosy, Playboy, Sports Afield, and The Saturday Evening Post showed he was a man of varied interests. He also read many books. He liked Westerns and Mysteries but would read anything, including books his kids brought home from the school library. He would read them at night when the kids were in bed. He would even read them over a second time if another child brought home the same book.
After his retirement, Arthur kept busy in his workshop. I remember him making plaster figures, such as ladybugs and half dollars. I still have the half dollar he made for me that had my year of birth on it. After they came out of the mold, Vida would paint them for him. Another thing I remember him doing was making lamps out of glass pop bottles. Arthur and Vida also did a lot of traveling. I have seen pictures from Maine, Vermont, and Niagara Falls New York. I know they also traveled west to Oklahoma and to Mount Rushmore. Unfortunately, Arthur was stricken with Alzheimer's disease later in his life. He died January 12, 1985 in Rockford, Illinois and is buried in Sunset Memorial Gardens in Rockford.
Here is a special section about Joseph Sill, published in 1896, by George Madison Bodge.
Soldiers in King Philip's War
Chapter XIX
Capt. Joseph Sill And His Men
JOSEPH SILL (or as it is variously spelled, Syll, Scill and Scyll) was the son of John and his wife Joanna, of Cambridge, 1637-8, and was born there about 1639. He married, December 5, 1660, Jemima, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Danforth) Belcher, of Cambridge, and had children -- Andrew, born February 5, 1665-6, died June 12, 1666; Joseph, bpt. 11 Mar. 1666, d. young; Jemima, born September 21, 1667, who married, December 21, 1687, John Hall, of Medford, and inherited for him her father's Narraganset claim; Elizabeth, born September 12, married, November 12, 1685, Samuel Green, Jr.; Andrew and Thomas, of whose births no record is found. Mr. Savage says that he removed to Lyme, Conn., at the close of Philip's war, and there married, February 12, 1678, his second wife, Sarah Marvin, widow of Reynold, and daughter of George Clark, by whom he had Joseph, born January 6, 1679; Zachariah, born January 1, 1682; perhaps others.
Capt. Sill was called into military life early in the war, and served almost continually, in important times and places, till its close. When Capt. Richard Beers marched with his company up to relieve the garrison at Brookfield, Aug. 5th, 1675, Sill was his lieutenant, and shared the fortunes of the company in that campaign; was probably in the fight at "Sugar-Loaf Hill" on August 25th; but was probably left at Hadley in command of the rest of the company when Capt. Beers, and his twenty-six men, marched to the relief of Northfield on September 3d, and were ambushed and nearly all slain on the 4th, on what is since known as "Beers's Plain." After that disaster he remained in command of the remnant of the company for the rest of the campaign, and up to October 5th, when he is mentioned in Capt. Mosely's letter as having gone with Captain Appleton and a company of one hundred and ninety men to protect Springfield. On October 4th a letter from the Council to Major Pynchon directs that "Lieut. Scill be dismissed home to his family," and his soldiers to make up some of the other companies as the Major thinks best.
In a letter from Capt. Appleton at Hadley, October 17th, Capt. Sill is mentioned as being still in command of a company of sixty men; but he had evidently returned home before November 1st, as upon the 2d he was called out again and given commission with the following instructions:
Orders and Instructions for Capt. Joseph Syll. By virtue of An order pr. Council impowring mee to give you Instructions &c.
1) You are to Take charge of the soldiers raised from Charlestown, Wattertown & Cambridge; which are about sixty men; & being fitted & furnished with Arms, Ammunition & provision for a weeke; you are to march away; forthwith to Naticke & there take such trusty indian guides with you (as Corporall watson hath prpared for that purpose) & then march away wth all conv'nt speed to Hassanamesitt (an indian plantation neare nipmuck River) from whence you are to send intelligence unto Captain Daniel Henchman who with his company is marched to Mendon; informing him yt you are ordered to joyne with him to pursue the enimy, whom we heare is come down to a place called Packachooge about 7 miles from Hassanamesit Norwest, & hath killed and surprised some of or neighbour Indians that were gathering corne there; and as wee have ground to feare hath lately Attacked marlborow.
2) Being joyned with Capt. Henchman you are to be under his order and joyntly to seeke out for the enimy at ye said place or any other place where you can understand hee is; and if you meet the enimy you are to use your best skill & force to surprise, sease kill and destroy the enimy; and to receive and release any of our friends either English or Indians yt are taken or injured by him;
3) You are to be very careful to send forth scouts; before you to discour the enimies quarters & if it may bee to com upon him in the night.
4) You are carefully so to march yr men in the woods so yt if it be possible to avoide or shunne or well serch before you com to neare all thick places as swamps or thicketts wher the enimy uses with subtility to lurk in Ambushments.
5) You are in all yor Attempts & enterprises to have yor harts lifted up to God in Cht Jesus; who is the Lord of hosts & God of armies that hee will give his prsence with you & assistance unto you & yor Company in all yor undertakings not trusting or relying upon the Arme of flesh but upon the Lord alone from whose greatness Blessing & prsence all good comes.
6) And you are carefully so to demeane yorselfe in yor convrsation yt you may give yor soldiers a good example in piety & vertue & so govern the soldiers under yor command yt yor campe may bee holynes to ye Lord & to this end you have ye military laws printed and published, which are for yor rule & direction in that matter.
7) If you finde a considerable quantity of corne at Packachooge if yu can save it wee give it you and yor soldiers together wth Capt. Henchman and his soldiers for plunder.
So desiring the ever living Lord God to accompany you & yor company with his gratious conduct and presence, And that he will for Chts sake approve in all the mounts of difficulty; & cover all yor heads in the day of Battle & deliver; the blood-thirsty & cruel enimy of God & his people into yor hands, & make you executioners of his just Indignation upon them and returne you victorious unto us We comitt you & yor company unto God & remaine Yor very Loving freind
DANIEL GOOKIN, Senr.1
November the 2d 1675.
These orders & Instructions past by the Councill November 2, 1675.
E. R. S.
[Mass. Archives, vol. 68, p. 40.)
The account of this expedition has been given in part in connection with Capt. Henchman's company, but many additional particulars, and, indeed, the most reliable account attainable now is given in Gen. Daniel Gookin's account of the "Praying Indians." It would seem by his account that the chief cause of this expedition of Henchman and Sill was the capture by the hostile Indians of three of the villages of the "Praying" or "Christian" Indians, viz.: Magunkog (Hopkinton), Hassanamesit (Grafton) and Chobonokonomum (Dudley). Capt. Sill was at Hassanamesit on November 6th, having with him as guides six of the Natick "Praying Indians," of whom the principal were James Quannapohit and Eleazer Pegin. These two, with about a dozen of the company, went out to scout, and discovered seven hostile Indians leading away a white boy captive. The hostiles fled, but were so closely pursued by the Natick scouts that they were forced to abandon the boy, who was taken by our Indians and brought back to Capt. Sill. This boy's name was Christopher Muchin, a servant or apprentice of Peter Bent, a miller at Marlborough; and he told the Captain that he was seized the day before at Bent's mill, and that Bent's son, a lad of about nine years, was taken at the same time, scalped and left for dead -- who, however, recovered. After this Capt. Sill's company joined with Capt. Henchman's, and under the latter's command all marched to a place called Packachooge (southerly part of Worcester), and there encamped for one night in two large wigwams recently left by the Indians. In this place, as well as in others on the way, quantities of corn were discovered, and much of it burned, but no Indians were found except by the small scouting parties led by the Naticks. The companies marched back to Hassanamesit and there separated before November 10th, and Capt. Sill marched with his company to Marlborough and Sudbury, where he was located on November 16th, but marched to Springfield immediately, and on the 20th, in the disposal of the troops by Major Appleton into the garrisons for the winter, thirty-nine of his men were left at Springfield under command of Lieut. Niles. Capt. Sill was thereafter employed in guarding the supplies and conducting
(1 Thus signed, and then scratched out and the Council's authority substituted by the Secretary, as shown on next page.) affairs, under Major Willard's orders, at the various garrisons as there was need, and was with the army at Narraganset after the Swamp Fight. He was sent with a company of dragoons, with some sixty carts, to bring off the inhabitants of Groton. The line of carts was said to be over two miles long, and the convoy of some fifty men very inadequate when stretched out to that length. This line was ambushed and attacked, but either the Indians were too few in number, or the long line of carts, with their guard, was too formidable or awkward to handle, so that having killed two of the advance guard at their first fire, and the guards not being thrown into confusion by the attack, but quickly rallying under their captain and preparing for defence, the Indians, after a few desultory shots from their safe covert, retired.
The following paper will show something of the kind of service in which Capt. Sill was engaged during this time.
At a Councill held at Boston the 21st of 1 : Month, 1675-6
It is ordered that Capt. Syll give forth his orders to the several Constables of Charlestowne, Cambridge, Watterton, Sudbury & Marlboro forthwith to send in to him the horses & men yt were under his command formerly for the carriage of Ammunition and provision from Northbrow to Brookfield (or in default yrof to impresse so many) & Majr Willard is ordered forthwith to appoynt said Capt. Syll : twenty troopers & Dragoones of Essex & Norfolke men to guard the said to the place appointed; and after the delivery of the said provisions & Ammunition at the Garrison there the said Syll is ordered to returne home and dismiss the said Horses & men & Returne the troopers & dragoones to Majr Willard & attend his further orders.
It is further ordered yt Capt. Syll cause the Coopers at Cambridge & Charlestowne to make so many 4 gallon runletts to put powder in as may suffice to carry 200lb powder from Marlborow to Brookfeild for the Country service.
Past E. R. S.
It is ordered by the Council, That the Commissary of Marlborow deliver to Capt. Syll such Ammunition and Provisions as his horses and Company can carry to Brookfield & after ye delivery of ye same to him, the said Commissary is to returne home, comitting what is remaining of the magazine at Marlborough unto Decon William Ward's care.
E. R. S.
[Mass. Archives, vol. 68, p. 170.)
Mr. Hubbard, in his History, says:
After this April 17. Capt. Sill being appointed to keep Garrison at Groton, some Indians coming to hunt for Swine, three Indians drew near the Garrison-house supposing it to have been deserted; two of them were slain by one single shot made by the Captain's own Hands, and the third by another Shot made from the Garrison.
On April 27th six companies were raised, three of foot under Capts. Sill, Cutler and Holbrook, the horse under Capts. Brattle, Prentice and Henchman, and sent to repress certain "Insolencies" of the enemy, and to range the woods towards Hassanamesit. There, guided by the Natick scouts, our horsemen fell upon quite a large party of the enemy and captured or killed sixteen, account of which has heretofore been given in the chapter devoted to Capt. Henchman.
These forces were released on May 10th, owing to the troublesome distempers resulting from an "epidemical cold" at that time prevalent throughout the country; but the release was only till such time as the troops had generally recovered and were needed. The occasion came, and on May 30th the same forces were called out again and marched to Brookfield, where they were to meet the forces of Connecticut; but they came upon a body of Indians, "fishing in Weshacom Ponds towards Lancaster," of whom they killed seven, and captured twenty-nine, the latter mostly women and children. This affair occurred on May 7th, and necessitated delay and a return to Marlborough for supplies, so that when they arrived at Brookfield the Connecticut forces had marched to Hadley, where ours joined them on the 14th, two days after that place had been attacked by a large body of the enemy, who, busily watching the advance of our forces from Marlborough, seemed to have missed the Connecticut companies coming into the town, and were surprised at their presence, and fled precipitately when a shot from a small cannon struck an outlying house which some of them were plundering.
The Connecticut soldiers pursued them for some miles up the river, and killed several, but could not overtake or flank them. The Massachusetts troops arrived on May 14th, and the united forces, with the Mohegans, amounted to about one thousand men. Major Talcott, with the Connecticut troops, on the 16th, marched up on the west side of the river, and Capt. Henchman with those of Massachusetts on the east side. A heavy rain-storm prevailed during several days, drenching them, and spoiling most of their ammunition and provision. They returned to Hadley on the 18th, and Major Talcott two days later marched homeward with his force, while Capt. Henchman with his troops remained several days diligently searching for the enemy; but not finding them, and fearing they were gathering towards the eastern towns, he marched homeward about June 24th. Capt. Henchman's letter (ante, page 57) gives an account of the experiences on this march home. Capt. Sill was selected to command a force consisting of about one hundred foot, a troop of horse and the company of friendly Natick Indians, and to scout from Quonsigamon pond towards Wachuset and thence to "Nashaway and the Weshakem Ponds," and join the main force, awaiting probably at Brookfield or Marlborough. The result of this scouting expedition under Capt. Sill is not found recorded. The enemy were now scattered towards Plymouth Colony and into the eastern parts, about Dover, Wells, and as far as Casco Bay.
The main part of the troops in this campaign was dismissed early in July, but about the first of September we find Capt. Sill again in command of a company and marching to the eastward to protect the frontier settlements now threatened by the many hostile Indians who had taken refuge with the tribes in those parts. At Dover, on September 6th, his company, together with that of Capt. Hathorne, found four hundred Indians who were gathered at Dover at Major Waldron's, with whom the neighboring tribes had made peace. The Captains Hathorne and Sill were commissioned to seize and kill all Indians who had been concerned in the war, and there were many of these mixed in with the peaceful tribes and had come hither under their protection and pledge. The Captains urged their commission, and Major Waldron urged his duty and pledge of hospitality; but finding them determined he compromised the matter by planning a stratagem by which some two hundred of the hostile Indians were made prisoners, while Wannalancet and his Pennacooks, Ossipees and Pequakets were allowed to depart unharmed. The account of this transaction will properly fall under the chapter concerning Major Waldron.
Two days after this affair these companies, together with some of Major Waldron's and Capt. Frost's men, marched on to the eastward as far probably as Falmouth, but, finding no enemy and all the settlements deserted or destroyed, they returned to Piscataqua, and were in these parts on October 3d, as mentioned in a letter of Gen. Denison to the Council. Capts. Sill, Hunting and Frost are said to be there under command of Capt. Hathorne. It was there, about this time, that some insubordination or other objectionable conduct occurred, which occasioned the following action of the Court on October 17th, 1676:
Whereas Capt. Joseph Scyll hath therefore binn imployed in the countrys service, as commander of a company, & that information is given that of late he hath carried himself offencively in that place, this Court doth therfore order, that the said Scyll be forthwith dischardged from that imploy, & some other meet person appointed in his room. (Colony Records, vol. vi. p. 126.)
I find no explanation of this in any other place, and no subsequent action by the Court concerning Capt. Sill, save that indicated in the answer to the petition below, which appears also in Colony Records, vol. v. p. 506. Mr. Hubbard's account indicates that Capt. Sill still held his command, and went with Capt. Hathorne on the march in November, 1676, to Ossipee and Pequaket. Sometime before November 7, 1681, Capt. Sill removed to Lyme, Conn., where he was living at that date. He died at Lyme, August 6, 1696. His son Thomas was a shipmaster, lived in Boston in 1699, and was probably the Capt. Sill who died there in May, 1709.