See also

Family of Stephen * + BACHILER and Anne + * BATES

Husband: Stephen * + BACHILER (1561-1656)
Wife: Anne + * BATES (1561-1624)
Children: Nathaniel * BATCHELDER (1590-1645)
Deborah BACHILER (c. 1592- )
Stephen BACHILER (c. 1594- )
Samuel BACHILER (c. 1596- )
Anne +* BACHILER (1601-1634)
Theodate + BACHILER (1610-1649)
Marriage 15861

Husband: Stephen * + BACHILER

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Stephen * + BACHILER

Name: Stephen * + BACHILER
Sex: Male
Father: -
Mother: -
Birth 23 Jun 1561 Ormesby, Norfolkshire, England
Occupation Reverend
Education 3 Feb 1586 (age 24) B.A.; St. John's College
Oxford University
Immigration 9 Mar 1632 (age 70) to Boston, Middlesex, MA, US from London, Middlesex, England
sailed on the vessel "William and Francis"
Residence 1634 (age 72-73) Middlesex County, MA, US2
Religion -3
Member of Lynn, Newbury, and Hampton churches during his ministry
Will 20 Apr 1647 (age 85)
Steven Bachiler late of Hampton in the County of Norfolk in New England and now of Strabery Bank for .... love and affection towards my four grandchildren John, Stephen and William Sanborn and Nathaniell Batchiller all now or lately of Hampton deeded to grandson John Samborne "all of my dwelling house and land or ground whether arable, meadow & pasture or other ground with their appurtenances together wtih all the buildings, commons, profits, privileges & immunitieswhatsoever to the same or any part thereof being now or lately in the tenure, possession or occupation of the said John Samborn & other part thereof not yet particularly appointed by the town &c. (ecepting out of this grant the land with the appurtances which I formerly sold to William Howard and Thomas Ward); said John Samborne to pay 20 pds apiece to each of the other three grandchildren.
Death 31 Oct 1656 (age 95) Hackney, London, England
Burial 31 Oct 1656 New Churchyard, Allhollows Staining Tower, London, England

Wife: Anne + * BATES

Name: Anne + * BATES
Sex: Female
Father: John + * BATE (1540-1563)
Mother: Ann + BRAY (1543-1603)
Birth 1561 Wherwell, Hampshire, England
Death 7 Oct 1624 (age 62-63) St. Giles, London, Middlesex, England4

Child 1: Nathaniel * BATCHELDER

Name: Nathaniel * BATCHELDER
Sex: Male
Spouse 1: Hester * MERCER (1594- )
Spouse 2: Margery (c. 1595- )
Birth 1590 Wherwell, Hampshire, England
Immigration
Occupation Merchant
Death 9 Apr 1645 (age 54-55) Southampton, Hampshire, England

Child 2: Deborah BACHILER

Name: Deborah BACHILER
Sex: Female
Spouse: John WING (c. 1590- )
Birth 1592 (est)

Child 3: Stephen BACHILER

Name: Stephen BACHILER
Sex: Male
Birth 1594 (est)
Education 18 Jun 1610 (age 15-16) -; Magdalen College
Ordination 19 Sep 1613 (age 18-19) Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Ordained Deacon

Child 4: Samuel BACHILER

Name: Samuel BACHILER
Sex: Male
Birth 1596 (est)

Child 5: Anne +* BACHILER

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Spouse: John + * SAMBOURNE

Name: Anne +* BACHILER
Sex: Female
Spouse: John + * SAMBOURNE (1600- )
Birth 1601 Wherwell, Hampshire, England
Baptism Nov 1601 (age 0) Kingsclere, Hampshire, England
Death 1634 (age 32-33) Hampton, Rockingham, NH, US

Child 6: Theodate + BACHILER

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Theodate + BACHILER

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Spouse: Christopher HUSSEY

Name: Theodate + BACHILER
Sex: Female
Spouse: Christopher HUSSEY (1599-1685)
Birth 1610 England
Immigration 1632 (age 21-22)5
Lynn, Essex, MA, US
Death 16 Aug 1649 (age 38-39) Hampton, Rockingham, NH, US
Burial High Street Cemetary6
Hampton, Rockingham, NH, US

Note on Husband: Stephen * + BACHILER

According to historians, Stephen's parentage is unknown and any references you may find to his father on the internet are said to be false and disproven. Authorities report that Stephen spelled his surname as BACHILER, but spelling was based on sound, and variations of Stephen's name include BATCHELER, BACHELDER and BACHELLOR.

 

Rev. Stephen Bachiler was born ca 1561 in England, completed his education at University of Oxford St. John's College about 1581.1 His B. A. degree was granted in 1586 following which he may have served briefly as chaplain to Lord de la Warr (Delaware) before becoming vicar of Wherwell in Hampshire, "on presentation of" his lordship, in 1587. All six of his children --three sons and three daughters--by his first wife, were born during the eighteen years he was at Wherwell. During this period, he adopted the Puritan beliefs and was often at odds with church leaders. He and other English reformers were encouraged by the success of the Plymouth Pilgrims of 1620, and decided to seek in the New World a freer atmosphere for their religious opinions. He emigrated to New England in early 1632 on the ship "William and Francis".

 

His controversial career, both in Old and New England, before and after his arrival in Hampton, makes him one of the most colorful men of his times.

 

 

 

The William and Francis left London March 9, 1632 with Master Mr. Thomas, landing

New England on June 5, 1632. Passengers: Rev. Stephen Bachiler (71 years of age) and

his third wife, Helena; his widowed daughter, Deborah Wing, and her three sons, Daniel,

John, and Stephen; also three Sanborne grandsons (Stephen, John, and William).

 

He went immediately to Lynn, where his son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, was already resident. There he began his ministry in New England, his church, organized in Holland, uniting with others, previously at Lynn, without asking permission, and without ceremony.

 

From Lynn, Mr. Bachiler removed to Ipswich. In 1637, he had his company undertook to form a settlement at Matakeese [Yarmouth] on Cape Cod. Governor Winthrop says that he was then "about seventy-six years of age; yet he went thither on foot in a very hard season," the distance from Ipswich being nearly one hundred miles. This enterprise was relinquished on account of the poverty of the company, and the difficulties that they had to encounter. In 1638, Mr. Bachiler and some or all of his company were at Newbury, and in the fall of that year settled at Winnacunnet. (Source: Joseph Dow, History of Hampton)

 

 

Rev. Bachiler was the founder of Hampton, NH, (originally still part of Massachusetts). He returned to England ca 1651 after his disastrous 4th marriage, and died in London in 1656. Although his origins in England are unknown, he led a long and colorful life. Much has been written about him, a lot of which is untrue or inaccurate. Several short biographies of him can be found online at the Lane Memorial Library

 

 

The plaque on the stone in Hampton's Founder's Park commemorating the founding of the town in 1638. This triangular piece of land across the street from the Tuck Museum was laid out as a memorial to the founders of Hampton and in the center was placed a twelve-ton boulder & plaque.

 

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SOURCE: Sanborn, Hampton, New Hampshire, Vital Records through 1900, pg 74, 117, 556, 557, (The following was copied from THE BATCHELOR FAMILY NEWS-JOURNAL, pg. 6-9)

 

In discussing sexual morality in colonial New England, author J. C. Furnas writes the following in his 1969 book, The Americans: A Social History of the United States:

 

The Reverend Stephen Batchelor of Hampton, New Hampshire, husband of 'alusty comely woman' and eighty years old to boot, nevertheless 'did solicit the chastity of his neighbor's wife,' she told her husband, saving him at least from actual adultery. They barred the old gentleman from his pulpit for two years and then reinstated him, possibly on the ground that by then he was old enough to know better.

 

SOURCE: Joseph Dow's History of Hampton; Chapter 19 - part 1 The Interwoven Pastorates--Rev. Stephen Bachiler, 1638-1641

 

"...what follows is a matter of record. Accompanied by some of his family, Mr. Bachiler sailed from London on the 9th of March, 1632, in the William and Francis, and arrived at Boston on the 5th of June. He went immediately to Lynn, where his son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, was already resident. There he began his ministry in New England, his church, organized in Holland, uniting with others, previously at Lynn, without asking permission, and without ceremony.

 

Now it must be premised, that many of the Puritans, persecuted in England, fled to these western shores, where they became in turn persecutors, as intolerant as their enemies across the sea. The ministers and magistrates formed a religious aristocracy, bigoted and domineering. Mr. Bachiler, a LIBERAL Puritan, zealous for popular rights, and possibly too independent in maintaining them, soon became odious to this persecuting power. They sought a quarrel against him, and found it in the manner of establishing his church. And now the magistrates of the colony required him 'to forbeare exercising his guifts as a past or teacher publiquely,' in Massachusetts, 'unless it be to those hee brought with him; for his contempt of authority, & till some scandles be removed.' The term SCANDAL has been wrongly supposed to imply immoral conduct in Mr. Bachiler. It was probably nothing more than petty quarrels, growing partly out of his partiality, in baptizing his own grandson before another child, born a week earlier. This injunction was openly and strongly condemned by the liberal party, which was no inconsiderable one in the colony, and five months later, the magistrates felt compelled to rescind it, though it does not appear that the victim had, in the meantime, made any acknowledgement of faults, to prepare the way for such an act.

 

Mr. Bachiler remained pastor of the church at Lynn till about the close of 1635. The church at that time had been considerable enlarged, and a controversy had arisen between him and a majority of the members. From Lynn, Mr. Bachiler removed to Ipswich. In 1637, he had his company undertook to form settlement at Matakeese (Yarmouth) on Cape Cod. Governor Winthrop says that he was then about seventy-six years of age, yet he went thither on foot in a very hard season, the distance from Ipswich being nearly one hundred miles. In 1638, Mr. Bachiler and some or all of his company were at Newbury, and in the fall of that year settled at Winnacunnet.

 

In the spring of 1639, Mr. Timothy Dalton was associated with Mr. Bachiler in the work of the ministry, the latter holding the office of PASTOR, and the former, that of TEACHER. Ther great age of the pastor was probably the reason for employing another minister. But the connection was not an harmonious one. Both of the ministers were orthodox in sentiment, but they differed widely in practice, Mr. Bachiler being open and independent, and Mr. Dalton, inaccord with the magistrates and elders. Mr. Bachiler was charged with immorality, but whether justly or unjustly is 'not proven.' He was excommunicated in 1641, and restored to the church in 1643, but not to the pastoral office.

 

Mr. Bachiler did not much longer remain in Hampton. His house and most of the contents having been destroyed by fire, he removed to Strawberry Bank (Portsmouth) where he lived from 1647 to 1650, and probably somewhat later. During this time he sued the town of Hampton for 'wages' due for his services, and obtained a verdict in his favor, for it appears from the Records of the Norfolk Courts that the town sent a petition to the General Court 'concerning Mr. Bachiler's executyon.'

 

Concerning Mr. Bachiler's domestic relations in all these years, we know absolutely nothing. His wife, Helena, died, whether before or after his removal from Hampton is not certain, and he married, probably about 1648, his third wife, Mary, a widow (with children), who from mercenary motives, inveigled him into marriage, in his extreme old age. But she proved to be a disreputable woman, and he separated from her. His old enemy, the civil power, ordered him to live with her, and fined him for not publishing his intention of marriage. Weary and disheartened, he could endure no more, and (probably in 1655), escorted by his grandson, Stephen Sanborn, returned to England.

 

Not even yet was the tongue of calumny silenced, for his bad wife sued for a divorce, in 1657, in order that she might be free to marry again, should oportunity offer, alleging that she was 'credibly informed' that he (Stephen) had married a fourth wife in England.

 

The Rev. Bachiler was buried on 31 Oct. 1656 in the Allhallows Staining Church cemetery, in London, England! (N.H. Genealogical Record, 8:1, 1991)

 

It is difficult to form a just estimate of Mr. Bachiler's character. Much of our information concerning him comes through the records of the acts of the magistrates and the General Court, or the writings of Governor Winthrop, with whom he was no favorite. His refusal to bow to unreasonable mandates made him enemies in high places, and his misfortunes followed as a natural sequence. But that he was a good and useful man, there can be no reasonable doubt."

 

Rev. Stephen Bachiler of Hampton: Some Additonal Information by George Feeman Sanborn, Jr.; Jan 1991- Vol. 8, No.1:

 

"There is no evidence that he did, in fact, marry again in England, and he could not have been there more than two years. It is not clear whether the divorce (from Mary) was ever granted. Perhaps word of the old man's death arrived before the Court could consider the petition, thus making it redundant.

 

Evidently, then, Rev. Stephen Bachiler was buried in the new churchyard of Allhallows Staining on 31 October 1656, presumably aged above 90 years, as he had matriculated at St. John's College, Oxford, on 17 November 1581, and would later give is age as 71 years upon his arrival in Massachusetts Bay Colony aboard the William and Francis on 5 June 1632."

 

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b. about 1561, matr. St. John's coll. Oxford, Nov. 17, 1581, B. A. Feb. 3, 1586-7, vicar of Wherwell, Hants, 26 Jan. 1587-8 to 1601; came in the William and Francis June 5, 1632, ae. 71, with wife Helen and others of his family. Settled at Saugus, (Lynn). Frm. May 6, 1635. Entered at once upon church life, drawing down the suspicions and oppositions of some in power for such independency. Undertook a scheme for founding a plantation at Yarmouth, but the winter season and the poverty of his associates caused the brave attempt to fail. Rem. to Newbury; thence in 1638-9 joined in the settlement of Hampton, N. H. to which he is said to have given the name, and whose first minister he became. He was on the ground before Oct. 9, 1638 with others, planning for the settlement, and was the real leader of the enterprise.

 

After earnest service, mingled with injudicious (if not erring) conduct, which brought conflicts with his associates and the Mass. government, he rem. to Strawberry Bank, (Portsmouth,) whence he returned to England not far from 1647. Deeded land 8 (7) 1647, to his three grandsons, John and William Sanborne and Nathaniel Bachiler, Jr.

 

Admin. of his estate in N. H. granted in Pisc. Court March 26, 1673, to "Wm. Richards, husband unto Mary ye daughter of Mr Steven Batchelor deceased."

 

He m. first ---; he m. 2, Helen ---, who was ae. 48 in 1631, when he visited ch. at Flushing; she came hither and died; he m. 3, widow Mary ---, at Strawberry Bank, from whom he separated, leaving her here to a sad and unsavory life. Ch. Theodate, (m. Christopher Hussey,) Deborah, (m. Rev. John Wing,) Stephen, (ae. 16 on entering Oxford in 1610,) Ann, (ae. 20 in 1630; m. John Sandburn,) Nathaniel, (m. Hester Mercer; son Nathaniel came here early and was a citizen of Hampton; Mary (m. Wm. Richards.) [See W., Reg. XVII, XXXVII, XLV, XLVII and Genealogy.]

 

See also Colcord and Woodward.

 

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This is a memorial stone and plaque to Rev. Stephen Bachiler and the first settlers of Hampton in 1638. It reads: A little band of pioneers under the leadership of Rev. Stephen Bachiler of Southhampton, England, seeking a larger liberty, in October 1638 settled in the wilderness near this spot to plant a free church in a free town. They were joined in 1639 by others and in that year the town was incorporated. To do honor to the founders and fathers of Hampton, to exalt the ideals for which they strove, and as an inspiration to posterity, this memorial is dedicated, October 14, 1925.

 

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From "Wing: An American Family" http://worldcupcafe.pbwiki.com/Stephen+Bachiler

 

Stephen Bachiler (c. 1561 - 1656) was an English clergyman who was an early proponent of the separation of church and state in America.

 

An early graduate of Oxford (St. John's College, 1586), he was vicar of Wherwell, Hampshire (1587-1605) when ousted for Puritanical leanings under James I. In 1630 he was a member of the Company of Husbandmen in London and with them, as the Plough Company, obtained a 1,600 mile² (4,000 km²) grant of land in Maine from the Plymouth Council for New England. The colony was called "Lygonia" after Cecily Lygon, mother of New England Council president Sir Ferdinando Gorges. Bachiler was to be its minister and leader. Although the settlers sailed to America in 1631, the project was abandoned.

 

Bachiler was 70 years old when he reached Boston in 1632, and gathered his followers to establish the First Church of Lynn (then Saugus). He incurred the hostility of the Puritan theocracy in Boston, casting the only dissenting vote among ministers against the expulsion of Roger Williams (a notable proponent of religious toleration and an advocate for fair dealings with Native Americans). Despite his age, Bachiler was uncommonly energetic, and throughout some two decades pursued settlement and church endeavors, always engaged in controversy and confrontation with Bay Colony leaders.

 

In 1638, Bachiler and others successfully petitioned to begin a new plantation at Winnacunnet, to which he gave the name Hampton when the town was incorporated in 1639. His ministry there became embroiled in controversy when Timothy Dalton was sent to the town as "teaching assistant" by the Boston church after New Hampshire was absorbed by Massachusetts in 1641. Shortly thereafter, Bachiler was excommunicated by the Hampton church on unfounded charges of "scandal", but protested to Governor Winthrop and was later reinstated. In other respects, Bachiler's reputation was such that in 1642, he was asked by Thomas Gorges, deputy governor of the Province of Maine, to act as arbitration "umpire" (deciding judge) in a Saco Court land dispute between George Cleeve and John Winter.

 

By 1644 Cleeve had become deputy governor of Lygonia, a rival province to that of Gorges' in Maine established from a resurrected Plough Patent, and asked Bachiler to be its minister at Casco. Bachiler deferred, having already received a call to be minister for the new town of Exeter. Once again Massachusetts intervened in his affairs when the General Court ordered deferral of any church at Exeter. Frustrated in his attempts at a new ministry, Bachiler left Hampton and went as missionary to Strawbery Banke (now Portsmouth, New Hampshire) probably that same year 1644. While there, he married in 1648 (as fourth wife) a young widow, Mary Beedle of Kittery, Maine. In 1651, she was indicted and sentenced for adultery with a neighbor. Denied a divorce by the Massachusetts Court, Bachiler finally returned to England about 1653. He died near London, and was buried at All Hallows Staining on October 31, 1656.

 

Bachiler's many descendants include James Dean, Winston Churchill, Daniel Webster, and presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Perhaps the best summation of his career is in the biographical entry in Robert Charles Anderson's The Great Migration Begins (NEHGS, Boston 1995): "Among the many remarkable lives lived by early New Englanders, Bachiler's is the most remarkable."

 

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Rev. Stephen Bachiler of Hampton:Some Additional InformationBy George Freeman Sanborn, Jr.The New Hampshire Genealogical RecordJanuary 1991 - Vol. 8, No. 1 (reprinted with permission of the author)Return to Rev. Stephen Bachiler table of contents

 

A great many people descend from Rev. Stephen Bachiler, the founder of Hampton, New Hampshire, who came to the area then called Winnacunnet with a group of settlers in October 1638 from nearby Newbury in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His controversial career, both in Old and New England, before and after his arrival in Hampton, has become legendary, and much detail can be found in Frederick Clifton Pierce's, Batchelder, Batcheller Genealogy (Chicago, Ill.: The Author, 1898), although this work contains many errors; in V. C. Sanborn's, Genealogy of the Family of Samborne or Sanborn in England and America. 1194-1898. (Concord, N.H.: The Author, 1899 [reprinted Boston, 1969]); and in Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby, and Walter Goodwin Davis', Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (Portland, Me.: The Anthoensen Press, 1928-1939 [reprinted Baltimore, 1972], hereafter Genealogical Dictionary). That he was married a total of four times is now well known. Further evidence that his first wife and mother of all his children was probably a sister of Rev. John Bate, Bachiler' successor at Wherwell, Hampshire, was discovered by Charles Edward Banks in an English court record (Court of Requests, Public Record Office, London. REQ2/678/64, dated 2 November 15 Charles I [1639]), and preserved by Charles Hull Batchelder in his extensive manuscript collection on the family at the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord. A photocopy of the original large vellum document of this suit, and a careful transliteration of it, have recently been received by the writer.

 

The fourth Mrs. Bachiler apparently had two children while she was married to the aged minister, but in view of her propensities and the fact that she and Mr. Bachiler did not live together, it seems highly likely that those children were not his; George Rogers of Kittery, Maine, may have been their father. One of them is never seen by name and may have died young, while the other, Mary, survived and married William Richards (Genealogical Dictionary, 82; Province and Court Records of Maine. Vol. I. [Portland, Me.: Maine Historical Society, 1928], 146, 164, 170 and 176).

 

That Mr. Bachiler returned to England in old age, after the collapse of his fourth marriage, has long been known. Reports that he died in Hackney, Middlesex, in 1660, aged 100 years, appeared in print, but were long ago disproved. These were based partly on tradition that he lived to a great age and died in England, and partly on a hasty conclusion made in error by someone reading material published in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Vol. VIII. - Fourth Series. (Boston, Mass.: The Society, 1868), 583-584. This error showing him dying in Hackney aged 100 years was caught many years ago and corrected in the "Additions and Corrections" to the Genealogical Dictionary (supra, 781). People still, however, persist in carrying on this incorrect information which actually pertains to a Rev. John Bachiler who died in Hackney in 1674!

 

Some years ago, Philip B. Simonds of Little Compton, R.I. (who discovered that he had nine lines of descent from Stephen Bachiler, as does the present writer), engaged the services of Brooks & Simpson, Ltd., of London, a highly reputable genealogical research firm, to discover more about Mr. Bachiler's origins and his death. The results were published by Rosemary E. Bachelor in Machias, Maine, in The Batchelor Family News-Journal, 4[April 1974]:5, and show that a very comprehensive search was made to verify previously known or surmised facts respecting the aged minister. Nothing promising was found until they searched Boyd's index to London burials and found several Stephen Bachilers. One of these appeared to be the correct one, and they wrote: "However, a 1656 entry at Allhallows Staining, London, states ‘Steeven Batchiller, minister, that died at Robert Barbers, was buried in the new churchyard Oct. 31, 1656.' John Goode was parish rector 1654-1662, so this entry does not relate to a rector of the parish and would appear to be our client's ancestor."

 

The Sanborn Family Association in its continuing search among English records for the father of the three Samborne brothers who settled in Hampton with their maternal grandfather, Rev. Stephen Bachiler, is naturally interested in the Bachiler ancestry as well. Bachiler's daughter, Ann, widowed by the time she was 30, married secondly (by a license issued at Rochester) in Strood, Kent, on 20 January 1631/2 (Strood, Kent, parish register, Kent Record Office, Maidstone, Kent), as "Mrs Anne Sanborne," to "Mr Henry Atkinson," and they brought the suit mentioned earlier against John Bate, son of Rev. John Bate, thus establishing the basis of these family connections between Bate, Bachiler, and Mrs. Atkinson, among others. What became of the Atkinsons is still not known. They do not appear to have come to New England. The Rochester marriage licenses do not survive for the period in question, from which further information might have been found. However, it has been established that this Henry Atkinson was not the girdler of that name in London who Charles Hull Batchelder thought must be the second husband of Ann (Bachiler) Samborne (supra).

 

The present writer, a founder and first president of The Sanborn Family Association, has from the start of that organization in 1984 directed the English research carried out by Michael J. Wood, Esq. of London, and Mrs. Mary Rumsey of Alton, Hampshire. Among many other things, I asked Mr. Wood to look up the Court of Requests record and transcribe it in its entirety. I also asked him to verify the Brooks & Simpson report. His research on this matter adds to our knowledge. At the Guildhall Library in London, Mr. Wood read the earliest surviving parish register of Allhallows Staining (MS 17824), covering baptisms 1642-1710, marriages 1653-1710, and burials 1653-1710, for the burials only, between the years 1653 and 1670. Since it is known from records here that Rev. Stephen Bachiler was still in New England in 1654, the date of commencement of the burial register of Allhallows Staining was not a problem. Mr. Wood found the following:

 

"Steeven Batchiller Minester that dyed att Robert Barberswas buryed in the new church yard Octob 31th 1656"

 

Because the alumni directories of both Oxford and Cambridge universities reveal only two people named Stephen Bachiler (our Rev. Stephen Bachiler and his son), it is concluded that in all probability the above record refers to the aged founder of Hampton, New Hampshire.

 

The Churchwardens' Accounts for Allhallows Staining survive from a very early date, and reveal another bit of information (MS 4956/3, Guildhall Library, London). Receipts include payment for burials, and the payments took the form of donations, poor relief, and the like, as well as routine expenses. On page 193, for the year 1656, Mr. Wood found:

 

Receipts by Richard Pockley, churchwarden:

 

£ s. d. "Received for Stephen Bachilers knell 000 - 01 - 06"

 

The receipt of Is. 6d. for Stephen Bachiler's knell is in the midst of receipts described as for burials, and there is no mention of payment for his burial also. It would thus seem (were this not contradicted by the parish register itself) that he was buried elsewhere, and only the tolling of the bell was performed for him at this church. Very few other entries are for knells.

 

Evidently, then, Rev. Stephen Bachiler was buried in the new churchyard of Allhallows Staining on 31 October 1656, presumably aged above 90 years, as he had matriculated at St John's College, Oxford, on 17 November 1581, and would later give his age as 71 years upon his arrival in the Massachusetts Bay Colony aboard the William and Francis on 5 June 1632 (Genealogical Dictionary, 81).

 

The church of Allhallows Staining was rebuilt in 1674, three years after it had collapsed while the sexton was digging a grave. It is believed that centuries of burials inside the church and near the foundation on the outside had actually undermined the otherwise sturdy edifice. The tower, and that part of the west end of the old church immediately attached to it, did not fall (Rev. Alfred Povah, D.D., The Annals of the Parishes of St. Olave Hart Street and Allhallows Staining, in the City of London [London: The United Parishes, 1894], 317-320]). The church of Allhallows Staining stood on the west side of Mark Lane near its northern end, just south of Fenchurch Street. The church was taken down in 1870 when the parish was united with the parish of St Olave Hart Street. The tower, built in the 15th Century, was preserved and a small but pleasant garden created around it. An engraving showing the interior of the church, and one showing a splendid view of the outside, may be seen on pages 319 and 330, respectively, of the above-cited work. In 1873, when the churchyard, situated in Star Alley, Mark Lane, was laid out as a garden, the old gravestones, with three exceptions, were covered with earth, but an accurate plan had been made of the churchyard, indicating the gravestones in their several positions, and a copy of all the legible inscriptions was annexed to the plan. A copy of the plan, with the inscriptions, was preserved among the parish records of Allhallows Staining (ibid., 329). Evidently, none could be found for Mr. Bachiler.

 

It is ironic that Mr. Bachiler was apparently buried just seventeen days after his fourth wife petitioned for a divorce in New England, alleging that he had gone to England many years since and married again (Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D., Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England. Vol. IV.-Part I. 1650-1660. [Boston, Mass.: The Legislature, 1854], 282; Massachusetts Archives, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, 9:28; , 81-82 [which would date the petition thirteen days before the minister's burial]). There is no evidence that he did, in fact, marry again in England, and he could not have been there more than two years. It is not clear whether the divorce was ever granted. Such matters were then heard by the Court of Assistants of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the records for the relevant period of time are missing and presumed destroyed. Perhaps word of the old man's death arrived before the Court could consider the petition, thus making it redundant. The Sanborn Family Association is continuing its research on both the Samborne and the Bachiler families, and welcomes the assistance of all persons interested in these early New Hampshire settlers.

 

P. 0. Box 706, Derry, NH 03038-0706

 

 

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Notes copied from: The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, 1623-1660:

b about 1561, matr St. John's Coll, Oxford, Nov 17,1581, B.A. Feb 3,1586-87, vicar of Sherwell, Hants, 26 Jan 1587-8 to 1601; came in the Willamd and Francis June 5 1632, ae 71, wiht wide Helen and othersof his family. Settled at Sagugs (Lynn). Frm May 6, 1635. Entered at once upon church life, dwaring down the syspicions and opposition of some in power for such independency. Undertook a scheme for founding a plantaton at Yarmouth, but the winter season and the poverty of his associates caused the brave attempt to fail. Rem to Newbury; thence in 1638-9 joined in the settlemnt of Hampton, NH to which he is said to have given the name, and whose first minister he became. He was on the ground before Oct 9, 1638 with others, planning for the settlement, and was the real leader of the enterprise.

After earnest service, mingled with injudicious(if not erring) conduct, which brought conflicts with his associates and the Mass. government, he rem to Strawberry Bank (Portsmouth) whence he returned to England not far from 1647. Deeded land 8(7) 1647 to his three grandsons, John and William Sanborne and Nathaniel Bachiler, Jr.

Admin of his estate in NH granted in Pisc Court March 26, 1673 to "Wm Richards, husband unto Mary ye daughter of Mr. Steven Batchelor, deceased".

He m first -------------, he m, 2, Helen --------------, who was at ae 48 in 1631 when he visited ch. at Flushing; she came hither and died; he m. 3, widow Mary -------, at Strawbery Bank, from whom he separated, leaving her here to a sad and unsavory life. Ch Theodate (m, Christopher Hussey), Deborah (m. Rev John Wing), Stephen (ae 16 on entering Oxford in 1610), Ann (ae 20 in 1630, m John Sandburn), Nathaniel (m. Hester Mercer); son Nathaniel came here early and was a citizen of Hampton; Mary (m. Wm. Richards)7,8

Sources

1"US and International Marriage Records, 1550-1900" (on-line, Yates Publishing, Provo, UT).
2"MA Census, 1790-1890".
3Robert Charles Andeson, "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1632" (New England History Genealogical Society, 200).
4"London England - Baptisms Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812".
5"Passenger and Immigrations Lists Index 1500-1900".
6"Find a Grave".
7"ME Pioneers 1623-60".
8"Wing: An American Family" (http://worldcupcafe.pbwiki.com/Stephen+Bachiler).