Biography
Samuel Colby Sr. was born 10 August 1638 in Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts to Anthony Colby (1605-1660) and Susannah Haddon (1610-1689) and died circa 1716 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts of unspecified causes. He married Elizabeth Sargent (1648-1736) 1667 in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts.
A Chronological Record of the Principal Events That have occurred in Amesbury, Massachusetts From the Organization of the Township of Merrimac in 1638 to 1900, Smith, Emily B., Amesbury, 1901 pg 8 & 9
1678 - first public house at corner of "Mill" and Haverhill road, kept by Samuel Colby 1704 - Samuel Colby allowed 20s. for ringing the bell and sweeping the meeting house.
He was made a freeman in 1660. This title gave a man the right to vote in town affairs. It was necessary to own property and be a church member in order to receive it.
He was fined in 1665 for "abusing a wench". They owned a public house. He represented Salisbury in general court in 1689.
He fought in King Phillip's War, in the Falls Fight under Captain Turner and in 1696 helped bury Captain Turner after the Deerfield Massacre. In 1686, he was prosecuted for selling drink without a license, but was acquitted. In 1689, he was a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts and in 1696 was chosen assessor of his native town. ��
He lived first at Amesbury, but like many others, he took up a lot in the Ox Common at East Haverhill without asking leave. The contest for ownership between the squatters and the legal proprietors continued for forty years. Before it was settled, he returned with his family to Amesbury. In 1678, he opened an inn at Bartlett's Corner near the old homestead and continued as the proprietor until his death in 1715. ��
Samuel was a planter and innholder at Amesbury and later settled at Haverhill between 1664 and 1667. He received land in Amesbury, 1659 & 1662; townsman of Amesbury in 1660, lived in Haverhill, 1668, 1672 and 1674, but had returned to Amesbury, 1676, where he died. Among the few affidavits that were made to sustain claims for land near Turner's Falls, found in the Massachusetts M. S. Archives, is one from John Chase, in which he states that he and Samuel Colby were in the fight and helped to bury Captain Turner, and in 1689 served as representative from Amesbury. ��
He made his will 6 March 1715, which was proved 2 July 1716.
1692 Salem witch trials
On July 22, 1692, Samuel Colby signed a petition in favor of Mary Perkins Bradbury (his wife's aunt). Samuel also testified on behalf of Susannah Martin, the only executed witch from north of the Merrimac River. _The Salem Witch Crisis_ by Larry Gragg (NY: Praeger 1992)
1704 Deerfield Massacre
The 1704 Raid on Deerfield (also known as the Deerfield Massacre[9]) occurred during Queen Anne's War on February 29 when French and Native American forces under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville attacked the English frontier settlement at Deerfield, Massachusetts, just before dawn. They burned part of the town and killed 47 villagers. The raiders left with 112 settlers as captives, whom they took overland the nearly 300 miles to Montreal. Some died or were murdered along the way, and 60 were later ransomed by family and community. Others were adopted by Mohawk families and became assimilated into the tribe. In this period, the English and their Indian allies were involved in similar raids against French villages along the northern area between the spheres of influence.
Samuel Colby fought in King Phillip's War, in the Falls Fight under Captain Turner and in 1696 helped bury Captain Turner after the Deerfield Massacre.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Sarah Colby (1665-1758) | |||
| Dorothy Colby (1668-1740) | 13 November 1668 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | 1740 Essex County, Massachusetts | William Hoyt (1660-1728) |
| Elizabeth Colby (1670-1702) | |||
| Samuel Colby (1671-1746) | 9 March 1671 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States | 29 September 1746 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | Dorothy Ambrose (1673-1759) |
| Phillip Colby (1676-1715) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| John Colby (1633-1674) | 9 August 1633 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts | 11 February 1674 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | Frances Hoyt (1636-1720) |
| Sarah Colby (1635-aft1721) | 1635 Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts | 1721 | Orlando Bagley (1623-1663) |
| Child Colby (1636-1636) | |||
| Samuel Colby (1638-1716) | 10 August 1638 Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | 1716 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | Elizabeth Sargent (1648-1736) |
| Isaac Colby (1640-1682) | 6 July 1640 Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | 1684 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | Martha Parratt (1649-1730) |
| Rebecca Colby (1643-) | |||
| Mary Colby (1647-1716) | 19 September 1647 Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | 27 September 1716 Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts | William Sargent (1645-1712) |
| Thomas Colby (1651-) | |||
Residences
See Also
- Samuel Colby
- Colby in Essex County, Massachusetts