My 8th-great-grandfather, William Shurtleff, was born c. 1624, and died 23 June 1666 in Marshfield, Massachusetts. He married (as her first husband) 18 October 1655 in Plymouth Colony, Elizabeth Lettice, who was born c. 1636, and died 31 October 1693 in Swansea, Massachusetts, daughter of Thomas & Anne (—) Lettice.
William lies buried in the Old Winslow Burying Ground in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth married (as her second husband and his second wife) 18 November 1669 in Plymouth, Jacob Cook, who was born c. 1618, and died 11 December 1675 in Plymouth, son of Francis & Hester (Mahieu) Cooke, and widower of Damaris (Hopkins) Cook.
Elizabeth married (as her third husband and as his second wife) 1 January 1689 in Swansea, Sgt. Hugh Cole, who was baptized 29 June 1628 in Barnstaple, England, and died 22 January 1699 in Swansea, son of James & Mary (Tibbes) Cole, and widower of Mary (Foxwell) Cole.
The following is from Descendants of William Shurtleff of Plymouth and Marshfield, Massachusetts, Vol I, by Benjamin Shurtleff:
Nothing is known concerning the parentage of William Shurtleff, the exact time of his arrival in New England or the causes that led him to leave his native land at such a tender age. He was so young on his first appearance in Plymouth that he was bound apprentice there to Thomas Clarke [a carpenter] for the term of eleven years commencing on May 16, 1634. …
In 1643 Mr. Shurtleff was certainly an inhabitant of Plymouth, where he was enrolled as being of the required age to perform military service for the colony. Undoubtedly he remained there during the whole term of his apprenticeship, which terminated in May 1645. …
In 1646 Mr. Shurtleff appears in a list of names comprising the townsmen of Plymouth and at the General Court of the Colony held at Plymouth, June 3, 1656, he first appears in public life, being chosen one of ‘the Surveyors for the highwaies’ for the town of Plymouth. In recording this event his name is written ‘William Shirtley’; and again he is found serving as juryman on Oct. 6, 1657, in a controversy between two residents of Plymouth. On June 7, 1659, ‘William Shurtley’ was chosen constable for Plymouth and on the same day, as ‘William Shirtley,’ he was first on a list of names of ‘such as stand propounded to take up their freedom.’ …
He probably moved to Marshfield about this time [1660] …
While in Plymouth he resided on his estate at Strawberry Hill near the Reed Pond and not far from the present bounds of Kingston, after which he dwelt in the easterly part of Marshfield in the neighborhood of White’s Ferry, near the mouth of the North River, where his dwelling house was destroyed by fire in the early part of the year 1666; and on this account he was sojourning at the house of his near neighbor, John Phillips, at the time of the occurrence of the lightning which caused his death. From the several accounts of Mr. Shurtleff’s death that have been preserved, together with facts which have been transmitted from generation to generation in the family, and other data obtained from authentic sources, the following particulars regarding this event have been deduced:
While he was partaking of the hospitality of Mr. Phillips, it appears that one of those dreadful droughts occurred which were so very distressing to our early planters and which threatened to destroy all the the fruits of their spring labor. On this account the good people of several neighboring congregations observed a day of fasting and prayer as they were wont to do in those days when suffering afflictive dispensations. Soon after this, on June 23, 1666, happened the terrific thunderstorm which is so graphically described in a letter of Rev. Mr. Arnold. At the time of this storm there were fourteen people in the common sitting-room of the house of Mr. Phillips. … They were mostly seated around the room. Mr. Shurtleff was sitting beside his wife, holding her hand in his and having one of their children in his arms, the other being between him and a table, under which was a dog. The storm of rain came on with great violence and Mrs. Phillips requested to have the door closed. Whereupon a stroke of lightning passed down the chimney, which it rent to pieces, smote down most of the people if not all, instantly killing Mr. Shurtleff, Mrs. Phillips and Jeremiah Phillips, and then passed out through the door, splitting it into fragments. This occurred on Saturday and they were buried on the following day, being the twenty-fourth, according to an entry made in the Marshfield town records.
Elizabeth & William were the parents of three sons:
1. Capt. William Shurtleff (my 7th-great-grandfather), born c. 1657, died 4 February 1730 in Plymouth. He married 20 October 1683 in Plymouth, Susanna Lothrop, who was born 28 February 1664 in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and died 10 August 1726 in Plymouth, daughter of Barnabas & Susanna (Clark) Lothrop.
2. Thomas Shurtleff, born c. 1659, died c. 1733. He married (as her second husband) 21 May 1713 in Plympton, Massachusetts, Sarah (Jolls) Kimball, who was born c. 1670, daughter of Thomas & Abigail (—) Jolls, and widow of Capt. Christopher Kimball.
3. Abiel Shurtleff (my 7th-great-grandfather), born 23 June 1666 in Marshfield, died 28 October 1732 in Plymouth. He married 14 January 1696 in Plymouth, Lydia Barnes, who was born there 4 July 1674, and died 10 September 1727 in Plympton, daughter of Jonathan & Elizabeth (Hedges) Barnes.
Elizabeth & Jacob were the parents of two daughters:
1. Sarah Cook, born c. 1671, died 18 February 1745 in Plymouth. She married (as his second wife) 1 April 1691 in Plymouth, Robert Bartlett, who was born c. 1663, and died 3 January 1718 in Plymouth, son of Joseph & Hannah (Pope) Bartlett, and widower of Sarah (Bartlett) Bartlett.
2. Rebecca Cook, born c. 1673, died 11 December 1675.
Last Revised: 15 October 2024