BackGround: London Temple, London, England.
Up Dated 6 January 2008
Miles was born about 1617 in Llandaff, Glamorgan, Wales and married first about 1636, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Prudence GILBERT. She was born about 1617 in England and died 14 November 1660 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
He married second 15 February 1669, Elizabeth BLISS the daughter of Thomas BLISS and Margaret HULLYNS. She was born about 1637 in Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts and died 2 October 1683 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Miles died 28 May 1699 in Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut.
Miles Morgan was next to Col. Pynchon the most important and useful of the Springfield Colony. He was made second in command, though he was the youngest of the company. He was the only pioneer in fact who was less than twenty-one years of age when admitted. He was a brave and intrepid Indian fighter in the frequent conflicts on the frontier. He was a wise counsellor and a sturdy tiller of the soil. In civil life Col. Pynchon was the grocer and Morgan was the butcher. A handsome monument was erected at Springfield in 1879 in testimony of the services of Miles Morgan in settling the town, governing the colony, fighting the Indians in 1675 when Springfield was sacked and burned and many of the little colony killed.
With his brothers, James and John, he sailed from Bristol on the ship "Mary" and arrived at Boston in April, 1636. They lived in Roxbury, MA for a time. James subsequently moved to Plymouth Colony and later settled in New Haven, CT, where he became a member of the Colonial Assembly of Connecticut and fought in the Pequot War. John grew disgusted with the bigotry, superstition, and the persecutions (including the witch trials) then taking place in New England and moved to Virginia.
Miles joined the company of Sir William Pynchon in the colonization of western Massachusetts and was one of the founders of the city of Springfield, originally names Agawam after the Indian tribes that lived in the area. One of the company of colonists, Miles, though he was only 21 years of age, quickly became the second-in-command. He was one of the leading citizens of the new town and was regarded as an intrepid Indian fighter, farmer, and town leader. He had been given the title of "Sergeant Morgan" on the journey from Boston. In addition to establishing the farms that meant survival to the colonists he was also the butcher in the community and, in later years, operated a boat on the Connecticut River, trading with other colonists and with the Indians. He was subsequently known as "Captain Morgan." Unable to read or write, his mark on the town records was the sign of an anchor.
On the voyage from Bristol he had made the acquaintance of Miss Prudence Gilbert, who was emigrating to the New World with her family. Once settled in Agawam he had a letter written to Prudence, who had settled in Beverly, north of Boston, and proposed marriage. She accepted and in 1642, accompanied by an Indian guide, a pack horse, and two companions, Miles set out for Beverly, where the couple were married. Prudence, her possessions piled on the horse, walked the 120 miles back to Springfield with her new husband.
Morgan built one of the few fortified houses in town, was active in the militia, and was depended upon in the protection of the frontier town. During the fighting that swept the colony during King Phillip's War in 1675 the Indians attacked Springfield, nearly destroying the town. Many of the citizens took refuge in Morgan's house, and under his command, held off the attack. An Indian servant who worked for Morgan managed to escape and alerted the Massachusetts Bay troops under the command of Major Samuel Appleton, who broke through to Springfield and drove off the attackers. Morgan's sons were also famous Indian fighters in the territory and one of them, Peletiah, was killed by the Indians in battle in 1675.
Miles appears in the records as a selectman, constable, surveyor, fence viewer, and overseer of highways. He was also appointed to sit in the balcony of the church during services and maintain order among the young men in the congregation. ("...up in ye gallery, to give a check to disorders in youth and young men in tyme of God's worship"). Given the piety of the early settlers this was a position of some honor and also attests to his force of personality.
Not all their time was spent in church, however. According to the records, in 1673 Hannah Merrick, unmarried daughter of Thomas Merrick, accused Miles's son Jonathan with the paternity of her child. Miles provided his son's bail and Jonathan fought the charge. The court found him guilty, however, and ordered him to pay two shillings, six pence towards the child's support for four years. Jonathan's second wife eventually got a full confession from Hannah (the records do not indicate how) and Hannah was condemed to pay a fine of seven Pounds or receive twenty lashes as punishment for her perjury. Jonathan, not letting matters lie, then filed a suit charging slander against Hannah's father, but lost. Eight years later Miles was again in trouble over a child. His daughter Lydia worked in the household of the family of Samuel Gaines, who became the father of her child. Miles filed charges and won his suit and Mr. Gaines was ordered to pay child support. The judges declared their "greate Cause to Lament and bewaile ye sore hand of God agst us in suffering such vile inormityes to Breake out amongst us which as a Flood does threaten to overwelm us."
CHILDREN of Miles MORGAN and Prudence GILBERT:
1. JOSEPH b Mar 1640; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
md: Mar 1677; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Tryphenia SMITH
d: ; Brimfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
2. MARY b: 14 Feb 1644; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
md: 1 Nov 1666; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Edward PRYNGRYLAYS
d: 2 Oct 1683; , , .
3. JONATHAN b: 16 Sep 1646; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
md: 15 Jan 1679; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Sarah COOLEY
d: 10 Apr 1714; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
4. DAVID b: 21 SEP 1548; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
md: 16 Jan 1672; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Mary CLARK
d: 30 May 1731; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
5. PELETIAH b: 5 May 1650; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
d: 1676; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
6. ISAAC b: 12 May 1652; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
md: 12 Nov 1673; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Abigail GARDNER
d: 23 Nov 1706; Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut.
7. LYDIA b: 6 Apr 1654; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
md: 1677; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
John PIERCE
d: 30 Jul 1737; , , .
+ 8. HANNAH b: 11 Apr 1656; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
md: 17 May 1682; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Samuel TERRY
d: 17 Jan 1696; Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut.
9. MERCY b: 18 May 1658; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
CHILDREN of Miles MORGAN and Elizabeth BLISS:
10. NATHANIEL b: 14 Jun 1671; Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut.
md: 19 Jan 1691; Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.
Lydia BIRD
d: 30 Aug 1752;
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