NameDeacon Samuel BASS, 9G Grandfather
Birth30 Mar 1596, Saffron Walden, Essex, England
Death30 Dec 1690, Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts
Misc. Notes
MIGRATION: 1633
FIRST RESIDENCE: Roxbury
REMOVES: Braintree 1640
OCCUPATION: Yeoman.
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: "Samuell Basse" admitted to Roxbury church as member #78, in a group of 1633 immigrants [ RChR 78]. His death record in 1694 tells us that he "had been a deacon of the church of Braintree for the space of above fifty years and the first deacon of that church" [ BrVR 660].
FREEMAN: 14 May 1634 [ MBCR 1:368].
EDUCATION: Signed his will. First Braintree town clerk [ MBCR 1:329].
Deacon SAMUEL BASS and wife and at least two children came to Massachusetts about 1631 or 32.
Samuel Basse was married to Anne Savell 25th April 1625 at St. Mary's Church, Saffron Walden, Co. Essex. His baptism is not on record there but that of Ann Savell is there in the parish register as were also two other children. Ann, daughter of William Savell was baptized 25th April 1601 at Saffron Walden. William Savell also had Elizabeth bapt. 10 Dec. 1598 and Susan bapt. 4 June 1609. He also had a son William bapt. 24 Feb. 1604/5 since the will of William of Braintree Mass. calls Deacon Samuel Bass his brother. (See Register Vol. 107-218).
Samuel Bass & wife were members of the church at Roxbury at an early date, probably by 1632 though no date is given. He is said to have settled near Hog Bridge there. He was made freeman of the colony May 14 1634.
He received no grant of land in Braintree and must have purchased of someone else. He came here previous to July 6 1640 at which time he was elected the first deacon of the church, having been dismissed and recommended to them from Roxbury (Hancock's Century Sermons, 1739 p. 21). His homestead was at the N.W. corner of Granite and Hancock Sts., Quincy and parts of the land on Granite St. remained in the male line of descent until 1951, when Alva Morrison Bass died there single, a space of over 310 years. No records show how this land was acquired.
Will
In his will, dated 11 May 1694 and proved 31 January 1694/5, Samuel Bass of Braintree bequeathed to son John Bass ten acres of salt marsh, a woodlot in the Captain's Plain, the malthouse and the orchard before it, half the well and half the kitchen, some lands in the Stony Field, a quarter of the upland in the farm, and any of the marsh in excess of thirty acres; to son Thomas Bass ten acres of salt marsh, a woodlot in the Captain's Field, and a quarter of the upland in the farm; to son Joseph Bass ten acres of salt marsh (valued at £100), the house he lives in and the orchard on the back side of it, the fresh meadow on the east end of it, a feather bed and the furniture and bedstead belonging to it (all of which is valued at £100), also the barn and two acres on which it stands, "two acres of land at the head of the home lot & one acre adjoining to the two acres which was John Dassitt's part of a five acre lot," half the kitchen and half the well, and seven acres in Stony Field (all of which is valued at £100), also a woodlot already set out to him in Captain's Plain (which, with the stock and movables already given to him, is valued at £100), also a quarter of the upland in the farm, and "what I have given my son Joseph Bass my will is that he shall not alienate or sell it away without the approbation of his two brothers & if he have children he may give it to them or if he have need to spend it he may for his own comfort & supply and if he marry a wife he may give her a hundred pounds of it and no more and the rest which I have not now disposed of he may give to any of his relations by blood as he shall see meet"; to Samuel Bass, carpenter, seven acres of pasture land in Stony Field, the salt meadows he already possesses, a quarter of the upland in the farm, half the woodlot given to son Joseph, and £60 out of the estate of son Joseph, and to Joseph Bass Junior £40 out of the estate of son Joseph, and to grandson Samuel Bass, cooper, £40 out of the estate of son Joseph Bass (all these to be if son Joseph has no children, if he doesn't spend the estate, and after the death of son Joseph); to daughter Mary Capen £40 and to daughter Sarah Penniman £20 out of the upland in the farm, and to these two daughters five cows; to John Bass Junior the malthouse (if he outlive his father), two acres of planting ground in Stony Field, four acres of pasture land in Stony Field, and half an acre where his barn stands; to granddaughters (except Sarah Biling) movable household goods, and Hannah Walsbey is to share with them; and to sons John Bass and Thomas Bass any uplands otherwise undisposed of, they to be executors [ SPR Case #2200, 13:538-41].
The inventory of Samuel Bass, taken 3 January 1694/5, totalled £942 1s. 6d., of which £891 was real estate: house and orchard behind it, fresh meadow at the end of it with kitchen and well, £96; malthouse and utensils for malt and orchard before the malthouse, his part of kitchen and well, £70; barn and two acres of land part of which it standeth on and two acres at the head of it and one acre bought of John Dassett and seven acres in the Slough Field, £100; sixty acres of upland in Captain's Plain, £90; thirty acres of salt marsh, £300; six acres of land lying in the Stony Field, £18; twenty acres of land at the farm at the fourscore acres, £80; twentyone acres of land at the Great Island at the farm, £60; eighteen acres of land at the ox pasture in the farm, £45; eleven acres of land in three parcels at the farm, £22; and eight acres of swamp, £10 [ SPR Case #2200, 13:541].
Estate
On 15 January 1666/7 the heirs of William Tyng sold to Deacon Samuel Bass, Edmund Quinsey, Gregory Belcher, William Savell and Joseph Crosby, all of Braintree, for £1900 "all that farm in Braintree aforesaid, which did belong unto the said Capt: William Tyng, in the time of his life called or known by the name of Salter's Farm, in which the said Gregory Belcher doth now inhabit and dwell, with all the houses, barns, stables, outhouses, yards, gardens, orchards, with all the upland, arable land, woodland, meadows, plains and swamp" [ SLR 5:229-31, 342-43]. On 28 October 1670 "Deacon Samuel Bass of Brantery" sold to John Ruggles of the same town for £16 two acres of salt marsh in Braintree "which formerly was part of a farm called or known by the name of Salter's Farm" [ SLR 11:311-12]. On 18 February 1681/2 the purchasers of this land (or their heirs) confirmed a division of the farm, "which several parts were laid out in several divisions of land & meadow & swamp according to each man's proportion," in which Samuel Bass received one-quarter of the farm [ SLR 12:265-66]. On the same day Samuel Bass Sr., Joseph Crosby and John Savell, executor to the will of William Savell, deceased, all of Braintree, exchanged land with Lt. Edmond Quinsey of Braintree, giving him "thirty & two acres of land and meadow more or less lying and being in Braintery aforesaid and being a part of the farm called Salter's farm ..." [ SLR 12:171].
On 26 April 1668 Joshua Fisher laid out forty acres for Samuel Bass, and on 27 May 1668 the General Court confirmed the grant [ MBCR 4:2:386-87].
On 29 August 1672 Samuel Bass of Braintree, yeoman, sold to John Hull of Boston, goldsmith, for £50 two parcels at Bogastow near Medfield, one parcel being half of a two hundred acre lot, and the other being forty acres; Ann Bass wife of Samuel consented [ SLR 5:15-16]. On 20 June 1674 Thomas Bass of Braintree, yeoman, sold to John Hull for £30 "all that parcel of land at Bogastow being the one half of two hundred acres formerly sold by Daniel Morse unto Samuel Bass and the other half lately sold by said Samuel Bass unto the said John Hull"; Sarah Bass wife of Thomas consented [ SLR 5:16-18].
Obituary
"Deacon Samuel Bass, aged 94 departed this life upon the 30th day of December, 1694, who had been a Deacon of the Church of Braintree for the space of above 50 years and the first Deacon of that church, and was the father and grandfather and great grandfather of a hundred and sixty and two children before he died, the youngest whereof was Benjamin Bas, son of Joseph Bas and Mary his wife born seven days before his Death".
Spouses
Birth15 Oct 1598, Saffron Walden, Essex, ENGLAND
Death5 Sep 1693, Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts
Marriage25 Apr 1625, Saffron, Walden, Essex, England