RICHARD GALE 1614-1679

[Ancestral Link: Lura Minnie Parker (Stagge), daughter of Minnie May Elmer (Parker), daughter of Mark Alfred Elmer, son of William Elmer, son of John Elmer, son of Mary Kibbe (Elmer), daughter of Mary Pratt (Kibbe), daughter of Ebenezer Pratt, son of Mary Flagg (Pratt), daughter of Mary Gale (Flagg), daughter of Richard Gale.]

RICHARD GALE (about 1614 - 1679) of Watertown
Parents: Unknown

Richard Gale was born about 1614, based on a 12 May 1656 deposition that he was 42. [Ref, p. 8] He died on 22 March 1678/[9] in Watertown. [Ref][Ref, p. 8] He married Mary Unknown. [Ref] Mary is sometimes referred to as Mary Castle. She died on 2 August 1681 in Watertown. [Ref, p. 8]

Richard purchased six acres in Watertown in 1640. [Ref] On 2 December 1640 he purchased 250 acres from Richard Dummer. [Ref]

Richard never joined the Watertown church. [Ref, p. 17]

Richard Gale signed his will on 25 February 1678/9; it was proved on 1 April 1679. [Ref]

Children of Richard Gale and Mary Unknown:
Sarah Gale was born on 8 September 1641 in Watertown. [Ref][Ref] She married Joseph Garfield on 3 April 1663 [Ref] in Watertown. [Ref, p. 19-20] Joseph, the son of Edward and Rebecca Garfield, was born on 11 September 1637 in Watertown. [Ref, p. 20]

Abraham Gale was born about 1643. He died on 15 September 1718. He married Sarah Fiske.

Mary Gale married John Flagg on 30 March 1670. [Ref] John, the son of Thomas Flagg of Watertown, died on 6 February 1696/7. [Ref]

John Gale married Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry and Mehitable (Bartlett) Spring on 27 September 1677. [Ref]
found on ancestry.com

(I) Richard Gale, the founder of the Gale family in this country, purchased nine acres of land at Watertown in 1640. His will, dated February 25, 1678, and proved in April, 1679 considerately provided that his well-beloved wife should enjoy his "Whole estate, both houses and lands and cattle of all sorts and all his household goods, for her comfort and maintenance during her natural life," after which he proceeds to designate the manner in which the property shall be divided after her death, among his four children and their heirs. Richard Gale and his wife had children, as follows: Abraham, John, Sarah, wife of Garfield; Mary, married Flagg.

(II) Abraham Gale, eldest son of Richard Gale, was born in 1643, in Watertown, Middlesex county, Massachusetts. He occupied the old homestead, situated in what is now Waltham, and was a selectman of Watertown in 1706 and 1718. He died in the latter year. His name in his will is spelled "Gael." He married Sarah, a daughter of Nathan Fiske, of Watertown. and they were the parents of sixteen children, of whom nine lived to maturity and married.

(III) Abraham Gale. Jr., eldest child of Abraham and Sarah (Fiske) Gale, was born in 1674. married. December 6. 1699, Rachel, daughter of John and Abigail (Garfield) Parkhurst, and granddaughter of George Parkhurst, one of the pioneer settlers of Watertown, and had children, eight in number.

(IV) Abraham Gale, eldest son of Abraham, Jr. and Rachel (Parkhurst) Gale, was born November 28, 1700. He was a blacksmith by trade and settled in Weston. He married Esther Cunniugham. and they had eight sons and one daughter who grew to maturity. Seven of the sons served in the French and Indian wars, and Abraham, the seventh son, died in the winter of 1757-58 from the effects of wounds received while on the field of battle.

(V) Abijah Gale, fourth son of Abraham and Esther (Cunningham) Gale, was born July 25, 1737. He married (first) Abigail Amsden, by whom he had six children. He married (second) Susannah Allen, of Weston, by whom he had eleven children. Several of these children died young, and some of those who lived to maturity did not marry. Abijah Gale and his family lived at Westboro.
(VI) Cyrus Gale, Sr., sixteenth child of Abijah and Susannah (Allen) Gale, was born October 7. 1785. When still a young man he engaged in business as a grocer and provision dealer, both wholesale and retail, in Boston, Massachusetts. During the war of 1812 he was captain of a company of militia in that city. In 1814 he removed to Northboro and was postmaster there for five years, and for fifty years served as justice of the peace. He engaged in mercantile business in Northboro in 1815, and continued this until 1843. He was a member of the state legislature in 1844, and of Governor Boutwell's council in 1852. The last years of his life were spent on his farm. His death occurred September 10, 1880. Hon. Cyrus Gale was married three times. He married (first) Eliza Davis, sister of Hon. John Davis, United States senator, and had children as follows: Frederick W., born June 22, 1816, married Mary S. Utley, of Boston; Hannah D., born January 14, 1818, married George Barnes, and died July 15, 1851; Cyrus, born November 25, 1821, died February 17, 1822. Mrs. Davis died in 1822. Mr. Gale married (second) Sarah Patrick, born March 16, 1795, died December 4, 1849, and had children as follows: Cyrus, see forward; George A., born February 19, 1827. died September 10, 1857; Walter, born November 13, 1833; Susan M., born June 16, 1835, died June 22, 1842. He married (third) Susan G. Holbrook, who died in 1888. Walter Gale, the youngest of the surviving sons, is a resident of California. He studied law in the office of Hon. George F. Hoar, of Worcester, Massachusetts, later United States senator. During the civil war, Walter Gale served as an officer in the Fifteenth Massachusetts Infantry, being commissioned second lieutenant in January, 1862; captain, October 24 of that year; and major, July 14, 1864. He was in nineteen engagements and several skirmishes, was slightly wounded at Antietam, and received two bullet wounds at Gettysburg. His gallant conduct was highly commended.

(VII) Cyrus Gale. Jr., eldest surviving son of Cyrus, Sr. and Sarah (Patrick) Gale, was born in Northboro, Worcester county, Massachusetts, March 6, 1824. He received his education in the schools of Northboro and Berlin, Massachusetts, and in 1830 entered Amherst Academy. He was still very young when he commenced his business career by working in the general store of his father in Northboro. Here he remained until 1844, when, although not yet twenty-one years of age, he bought out his father's share in the business and established himself in it having formed a business partnership with Henrv G. Maynard under the firm name of Gale and Maynard. In 1863 Mr. Gale sold his interest in the business to his brother-in-law, Samuel Wood, his private interests requiring his undivided attention. He had large real estate holdings, was actively engaged in forwarding schemes for the public improvement, and devoted much time to unostentatious works of charity. Desirous of erecting an enduring, costly and attractive monument to the memory of his father, and to confer on his town a lasting benefit, he built at an expense of thirty-one thousand dollars, and presented to the town of Northboro, June 8, 1895, the beautiful Gale Public Library. This is a substantial structure of Milford granite, finished in quarter oak, and will he enjoyed by many generations yet to come. Mr. Gale is the principal stockholder of the Northboro National Bank, of which he is still a director and has been for many years. He has been an ardent Republican ever since the organization of that party. In religion he is a Unitarian, having been brought up in the faith under the teachings of the late Rev. Dr. Joseph Allen, an exponent of liberal Christianity of the Channing type. Mr. Gale has for many years been a stanch supporter of the First Congregational Church. In his many trips to the Pacific coast and throughout the United States, Mr. Gale has amassed a vast amount of interesting information, and made a collection of valuable paintings and other works of art, as well as natural curiosities, interesting relics, well-selected books, etc., which mark his home as the abode of refinement and taste.

Mr. Gale married, December 5, 1850, Ellen Maria Hubbard, of Concord, Massachusetts, daughter of Cyrus and Susannah (Hartwell) Hubbard, and sister of Mrs. Samuel Wood, of Northboro.
found on ancestry.com

THE SANDERS AND THE GALES
The Sanders and the Gales first crossed paths when the author’s grandmother, Hattie Louisa Gale, daughter of Elbridge Gale, met a handsome young man with a guitar strapped across his back who stepped off a train in 1887 at the Union Pacific railroad station in Manhattan, Kansas. That young man was the author’s grandfather, William Henry Sanders.

Though the branch of the Gale Family of Devonshire, England and Watertown, Massachusetts, has been well documented, the author has uncovered many interesting facts about our Gale ancestors, from conversations with members of other branches of the family, and from written documentation and publications of the Gale Family.

The information collected here by the author is drawn primarily from: Gale Family Records in England and the United States by Judge George Gale, LL.D, pub. 1866 by Leith and Gale, Galesville, Wisconsin; Richard Gale, Yoeman of Watertown in the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1614-1678, by Edward Chenery Gale, privately printed, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1932; and Soldiers, Sailors and Patriots of the Revolutionary War in Vermont, by Major Gen. Carelton Edward Fisher and Sue Gray Fisher, Picton Press, Camden, Maine, 1992; conversations with Jeanne Gale of Swansea, Massachusetts and Dorothy Sanders Roush of Missouri; the written recollections of Hattie Gale Sanders; and the Sanders/Gale Family Bible.

There are indeed fascinating stories in all the Gales, whether in our direct line or not - those who served at Breed’s Hill and in Shay’s Rebellion, three who sent their signatures to the Capital in Philadelphia hoping to add their names to the Declaration of Independence “for the good of the Republic” and those who fought Indians, the French, Hessions and more Indians. Many served and gave their lives in the Revolution, marching on the alarm at Lexington and Concord and for the relief of Fort Henry. No less than thirteen Gales fought in the Revolution from the State of Vermont alone. The same can be said for the War of 1812, the Civil War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the conflict in Iraq.

The Gales as a whole were deeply religious, patriotic and strongly believed in education not only for the men but also the women in the family. Some were men of the cloth, some founded cities, universities, colleges, others were farmers and merchants. Some did nothing much at all, one chased follies girls and practically all fostered more Gales.

The ancestor of the Gale Family in America, Richard Gale, helped found Watertown, Massachusetts, then a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. After a time, Watertown was getting overrun with Gales. They started Gale businesses, and hired Gale sons, daughters, cousins and aunts and uncles. Things were crowded. Many spread throughout the Northeast. One of Abraham Gale’s sons, John (born 1687) is credited with being one of the founding fathers of Exeter, New Hampshire and started a school there (Exeter Academy) to educate more Gales.
As the author’s eighth cousin, Jeanne Gale of Massachusetts, likes to say: “If there is one thing the Gales ain’t, it’s boring”.

The Family Tree of Richard Gale of Watertown, Massachusetts and connections with the SANDERS family of East Grinstead, Sussex, England and the United States
Abraham Gale = Margaret ?_________ married Devon, England 1567 born 1543- Devonport, Devonshire, England.
Richard Castle = Elizabeth Smith / married January 18, 1559 - St. on Avon, England born 1534 Stratford On Avon, England/ born 1537 Stratford on Avon died 1594
Richard Gale (Sr.) = Alice Atwood born August 18, 1585, Devonshire, England
Richard Castle = ?_____ married January 18, 1559 Str. On Avon born August 18, 1577 Str. On Avon
Richard Gale == Mary Castle / married July 16, 1640 - Watertown, Massachusetts, born February 16, 1618 / Devonshire, England, born April 4, 1624 / Stratford on Avon died April 1, 1679 / Watertown, Massachusetts, died August 2, 1681 / Watertown,
Abraham Gale == Sarah Fiske married September, 1673, Watertown, Massachusetts, born 1643 born Feb 1, 1653 Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown, Massachusetts died May 14, 1728 Watertown, Massachusetts died September 15, 1718 Watertown, Massachusetts
Abraham Gale, Jr. == Rachael Parkhurst born 1674 born December 30, 1678 Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown, Massachusetts died ? died January 30, 1767 Waltham, Massachusetts Watertown, Massachusetts
Isaac Gale == Judith Sawyer married 1731 Framingham, Massachusetts born January 15, 1708 born October 16, 1701 ­Framingham, Massachusetts Watertown, Massachusetts died October 1793, Sutton, Massachusetts
Nehemiah Gale == Ruth Marsh married January 24 1760 born February 12, 1736 born about 1739 Sutton, Massachusetts Sutton, Massachusetts died December 17, 1820 died September 1814 Bennington, Vermont
Solomon Gale == Phebe Hays married July 6, 1800, Bennington, Vermont born September 12, 1763, Sutton, Massachusetts borh February, 1779, Bennington, Vermont died August 13, 1845, Bennington, Vermont died October 10, 1847, Bennington, Vermont
Isaac Gale == Lydia Gardner married January 1824 born June 17, 1801 born November 9, 1806 Bennington, Vermont Bennington, Vermont died September 6, 1861 died August 26, 1861 Pavillion, Illinois Pavillion, Illinois
Elbridge Gale == Elizabeth Carpenter married March 14, 1853 at Johnson, Vermont born December 25, 1824 born August 27, 1830 Bennington, Vermont Johnson, Vermont died November 5, 1907 died February 10, 1893 West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach, Florida
Hattie Louisa Gale == William H. Sanders married August 24, 1890 at Lake Worth, Florida born January 20, 1870 born June 3, 1868, Clay Center, Kansas died August 1, 1955 died September 18, 1967 Inverness, Florida St. Joseph, Missouri
Elbridge Gale Sanders == Edwes Maycele Montgomery married May 27, 1933 at Parkville, Missouri born June 25, 1891 born November 23, 1902, Tampa, Kansas Lake Worth, Florida died January 17, 1967, Topeka, Kansas died February ___, 1977, Topeka, Kansas
John Elbridge Sanders == Linda Louise Pape married August 8, 1964. Topeka, Kansas born September 2, 1942 born April 15, 1944 Topeka, Kansas Topeka, Kansas

The Gale Family Tree RICHARD GALE
RICHARD GALE, the ancestor of the family in the United States, was one of the founders of Watertown, Massachusetts. A memorial stone plaque has been erected in that city honoring its founders. Richard’s name appears thereon. He was born in Devonshire, England, February 16, 1618. The exact date of his migration to the colonies is unknown. He married Mary Castle on July 16, 1640, in Watertown. Mary was born April 4, 1624, in Stratford on Avon, England. An interesting fact concerning his marriage is the discovery of a time stained scrap of paper among the personal papers of Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which reads as follows:

“ Sir: It hath beene three times published at Watertowne meeteinge howse that this bearer Richard Gale and Mary Castle intended to enter into a covenaunt of marriadge not having els I rest.Watertown e ye 16th of ye 7th 1640 your Worshipps to command THOMAS MATHEW Jn Wynthropp Junior Esquire”

This paper is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society. A facsimile may be seen here.

Edward Gale writes: “The Watertown colony was not only a theocracy like most of the early New England settlements, but a close corporation as well as the following Town Records attest:

“January 3, 1635. Agreed that no man being foreigner coming out of England or some other Plantation shall have liberty to sett downe amongst us, unless he first have the Consent of the Freemen of the Towne…..it being our reall intent to sitt down there close together, and therefore these Towne Lotts were granted to those Freemen of the Congregation yt inhabited most remote from ye meetinghouse and dwell most scattered….It be further ordered that all those Inhabitants yt have beene by Common Consent or vote taken in amongst us, or have had Dividents granted to them shall be accepted for Townesmen, and no others.

“ Richard Gale appears never to have been a member of the Watertown Church, and therefore never a “freeman” or entitled to vote in the affairs of the Town. He was one of the residents of the Town who were classed simply as Townsmen. They were suffered to remain as residents and even to receive grants of land thought on a less favorable basis.

“ July 17, 1638. Ordered yt all those Freemen yt have no Lotts at ye Towneship shall have 12 Acres Lotts beyond Bever plaine, and all other Townesmen shall have 6 Acre Lotts in ye said place.

“They could however buy outright from some freeman as did our Richard. It is a tribute to his persistence, perhaps obstinacy, that he was able to and did squeeze himself into this tight little Colony, be considered a founder, and acquire by purchase a “homestall” of even six acres. Much has been said of the intolerance of the early Puritans. They never intended and they never pretended to establish an asylum for the oppressed of mankind, either in religion or politics. They did their best to keep out such persons as were not of their liking, and they made no secret about this purpose.

“And so it was that into this closely knit little community still English at heart as well as in form, hard-headed, thrifty, intolerant and yet essentially kindly, Richard Gale entered and became one of them, tilled his stubborn farm, reared his family of five children, lived out his days and passed on.

“Of his social position in England and in the New England Colony there can be no doubt. His own description of himself in his will as “yeoman” and the same description of him in the deed to him of the “homestall” determines that. He was a yeoman” and such description referred not merely to occupation but to a definite social status. A “yeoman” corresponded to a middle class farmer of today.

“When we find therefore that Richard Gale was a yeoman, we know the social class to which he belonged not only in the Massachusetts Bay Colony but also in England before emigrating. It is therefore certain that he did not have the right to bear arms or use a crest or coat of arms in any form. Very few of the New England Colonists did. The descendants of Richard Gale need not study Burke’s Landed Gentry therefore for armorial bearings but will have to content themselves with having a good honest Yoeman for an ancestor.

“But if Richard Gale was not of the gentry nor conspicuous in the affairs of the Colony, he very evidently pursued the even tenor of his way as a law-abiding citizen, representative of a cross-section of that sturdy, sound, thrifty stock which peopled the early Colonies. While he evidently did not take any part in public affairs,he was one of those rare persons who stay at home and mind their own business. He evidently agreed with the poet Longfellow that ‘Home keeping hearts are happiest.’ And the same may be said of his children save for poor Ephraim, who of course was not responsible.” His fourth child, Ephraim, who died young, appears to have been ‘discomposed in his head’ and seems to have caused his parents considerable annoyance and some expense as shown by several entries in the Court and Town records.”

Judge Gale, in his book, adds the following information on Richard: “On December 2, 1661, Richard Gale purchased of Richard Dummer, the northeast half of the “Oldham Farm”, containing 250 acres, on which a part of the village of Waltham now stands. This was one of the most level and fine tracts of land in old Watertown, and was occupied by Richard until his death and his posterity after him until about 1854.

“However modest Richard might have been in everything else, we observe that he was not particularly so in the size of his farm which he evidently loved, or he would not have been so careful in his Will to preserve it for his posterity.

“Whether Richard could read and write cannot be determined, but the fact that he signed his Will with a mark might lead one to believe that he could not write. This, however, does not necessarily follow, for even at the present day, the Author knows from professional experience, that many men who were good writers at a previous day from their weakness, prefer to sign their Wills with a mark. As he never conveyed any land, held town office, had church membership, nor carried on any trade, the question probably can never be resolved.

“But if we conclude that he could not either read or write, it was not at that day considered any particular discredit, for the majority of our New England ancestors were suffering under the same misfortune.

“We have no record of the physical size or shape of Richard, but if we are allowed to judge of him by the average of his posterity, we may safely make him five feet and eleven inches in stature, strong and muscular, black eyes, black hair, rather long favored, and dark complexion, modest in his demeanor, of few words among strangers, social, domestic and temperate in his habits, fond of a good joke, liberal in his benevolence, firm in his will and as a Christian never bigoted.

“As a race, the Gales have been more distinguished for their athletic powers than for the culture of their minds, but the late generations are fast changing in this particular, and the learned professions have a fair proportion of the present generation.

“They have ever been reasonably jealous of their rights, but strong friends to a well-ordered government; and in our Revolutionary struggle, they were a unit in taking up arms and marching to the fields of strife, from which several of them never returned alive. They were nearly as unanimous in the support of the War of 1812. In the war of the Great Rebellion, prosecuted to restore the Union as established by our Fathers of the Revolution, we can only point to the long list of those named in nearly every family, who have both periled and sacrificed their lives for their flag and the Constitution.

“It is a common remark that the whole race never produced a criminal, but the Author can only say that he has never yet found one, unless Abraham and Henry, who took part as captains in Shays Rebellion are to be considered as such.

According to Bond’s Genealogies of Watertown (page 229) Richard and his wife Mary had the following children:
1. Sarah, born September 8, 1641; married Joseph Garfield.
2. Abraham, born 1643; married Sarah Fiske.
3. Mary, married March 30, 1670, John Flagg.
4. John, married Elizabeth Spring
5. Ephraim, May 1673, a vagrant, “distempered in his mind,” according to the court files and probably died before his father, unmarried since he is not mentioned in Richard’s will.”

ABRAHAM GALE
Abraham Gale, the second child of Richard Gale was born in 1643 in Watertown, Massachusetts. He married Sarah Fisk, born February 1, 1653, daughter of Nathan Fiske of Watertown on September 23, 1673. He was admitted freeman October 11, 1682, and a selectman of Watertown in 1706 and 1718. According to Judge Gale he was a captain in Shays Rebellion, but we have no further information in that regard. Abraham died September 15, 1718 in the occupancy of the family homestead. Sarah Fisk Gale died May 14, 1728.

Abraham and Sarah had 16 children as follows:
1. Abraham, Jr., born 1674, married Rachel Parkhurst.
2. Sarah, born February 15, 1675, died young.
3. Richard, born September 25, 1677; married Sarah Knight.
4. Hopestell, born and died December 1678.
5. Mary, born March 27, 1680, died young.
6. Abigail, born March 12, 1681, died November 21, 1696.
7. Mercy, born September 16, 1683, married April 13, 1708, Samuel Sanderson.
8. Ebenezer, born April 30, 1686, married Elizabeth Green.
9. John, born April 23, 1688, married Lydia _____.
10. Mary, born April 1689, married Michael Pratt.
11. Sarah, born August 29, 1694, married ____ Pratt.
12. Jonas, baptized November 14, 1697, died March 17, 1718.
13. Joshua, born February 22, 1696-7, died September 15, 1719.
14. Elizabeth, } twins, born July 9, 1699
15. Lydia, } twins, born July 9, 1699.
16. Abigail, born ____, married Edward Jackson, Jr.

ABRAHAM GALE, JR.
Abraham Gale, Jr. was born in 1674 in Watertown, Massachusetts, the first child of Abraham Gale. On December 6, 1699, he married Rachael Parkhurst, the daughter of John and Abigail Garfield Parkhurst, of Watertown, and grand daughter of George Parkhurst, a native of England and early settler in Watertown. Sarah was born December 30, 1678, and died January 30, 1767.
Abraham Gale, Jr. was an extensive farmer on the old Gale homestead and Selectman in 1718. On March 10, 1726, he sold the homestead to his son Samuel and took back a mortgage conditioned for the support of himself and his wife during their natural lives. Judge Gale notes:
“No record has been preserved of his death. But few parents ever raised a more important family of sons. Nearly all became well off in the world; part served in the French, Indian and Revolutionary wars and each became the head of a very extensive generation”.

Abraham Gale, Jr. and his wife Rachel, had the following children:
1. Abraham, born November 28, 1700; married Esther Cunningham.
2. Rachel, born December 14, 1702; married Gershom Bigelow.
3. Samuel, born January 31, 1704/5; married Rebecca _____.
4. Isaac, born January 15, 1708; married Judith Sawyer.
5. Eunice, born July 30, 1711; married Benjamin Allen.
6. Abigail, born August 15, 1714; married Samuel Phillips.
7. David, born April 7, 1717; died young.
8. Josiah, born April 8, 1722; married Elizabeth _____.

Captain Isaac Gale
ISAAC GALE, the 4th child of Abraham Gale, Jr. was born in Watertown, Massachusetts on January 15, 1708. He married Judith Sawyer of Framingham, Massachusetts in 1731. The couple lived in Millbury, Massachusetts.

The muster rolls of the French and Indian Wars mention him as a Lieutenant making a campaign in August, 1757 for the relief of Fort William Henry. His brother Josiah, son Nehemiah and nephew Daniel were in the same company from Sutton, Massachusetts. On March 1, 1763 Isaac was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts, Captain of the same company. He held that post until he resigned in September, 1769. In those days of wars with the French and constant Indian raids, the Captain of the Militia was regarded as the most important office in town.

On October 1, 1776, Captain Gale sold his farm and most of his property to his son Nehemiah. He and his wife had eight children:
1. Isaac, born 1732; married Mehetable Dwinel.
2. Judith, born April 12, 1734; married Abel Chase.
3. Jonas, born April 23, 1735; married 1st Tamar Marsh; 2nd Hannah Bancroft; 3rd. Widow Rebecca Guy - had daughter Lydia who married Josiah Styles of Millbury
4. Nehemiah, born February 12, 1736/7; married Ruth Marsh.
5. Sarah, born 1741; died young.
6. Elisha, born November 26, 1743; married Mary Singletary.
7. Anna, born December 4, 1746; died an infant.
8. Anna, born November 11, 1748; married James Leland of Hopewell, New York.

Captain Gale died at Millbury/Sutton, Massachusetts in October, 1793.


NEHEMIAH GALE
NEHEMIAH GALE, was born February 12, in either 1736 or 1737, in Sutton, Massachusetts. He married Ruth Waters Marsh of Sutton on January 24, 1760. He had the homestead of his father, Captain Isaac Gale, and took care of his father and mother from October 1, 1776 until their deaths.

He accompanied his father in the military expedition for the relief of Ft. William Henry in August of 1757. On April 6, 1759, he enlisted in the regiment commanded by Co. Timothy Ruggles. He also served under Gen. Amherst during the balance of the French and Indian War.
Judge Gale, in his book, describes Nehemiah's service in the Revolutionary War as follows: "He was an ardent patriot of the fighting class, and on the Lexington Alarm in April 1775, he drew his sword, as First Lieutenant of the Company of Artillery, of Sutton, and marched with the company for the relief of Concord and Cambridge. The following year he served as a private in Col. John Holman Regiment in the expedition to Providence, Rhode Island. He was also in the battle of White Plains on October 28, 1776." He also served with Captain Bucknam's Company in 1775.

Nehemiah and his wife, Ruth, had 12 children as recorded by Judge Gale:
1. Benjamin, born April 18, 1761; died unmarried in 1785 at Sterling. He was finely educated and a physician.
2. Solomon, born September 12, 1763; married 1st Rachel Wodward, and 2d, Phebe Hays.
3. Elizabeth, born December 9, 1764; died unmarried in 1806, of consumption.
4. Jonas, born March 6, 1765; married Elizabeth Grout.
5. Ruth, born October 12, 1767; married December 17, 1788, John Greenwood.
6. Anna, born July 3, 1769; died 1797, unmarried
7. Tamer, born February 27, 1771; married 1st. Henry Dwinel, and 2d. Levi Page.
8. Rufus, born July 5, 1773; married 1st. Louisa Livermore, 2d. widow Knox.
9. Nehemiah, born January 1775; died young.
10. Isaac, born September 1, 1777; married Persis Stiles.
11. Andrew, born April 8, 1780; died 1797.
12. Mehetable, born September 9, 1782; married David Chase.

Nehemiah's wife, Ruth, died in October, 1814. Nehemiah died on December 17, 1820, in Bennington, Vermont, while on a visit to his son Solomon.

DEACON SOLOMON GALE
SOLOMON GALE was born September 12, 1763, in Sutton, Massachusetts. In 1787 he married Rachel Woodard of Sutton, born 1767, died December 27, 1799. On July 6, 1800, he married Phebe Hays, born February 13, 1779. After his first marriage, he moved to Stratton, Vermont and soon after to Hoosick, New York and then to Bennington, Vermont. According to Judge Gale's book, Solomon was a very devoted member of the Baptist Church and a prominent Deacon.
Maj. Gen. Fisher's book Soldiers, Sailors, and Patriots of the Revolutionary War - Vermont records that Solomon served in the Revolution but the years of his service and unit are not identified. It is interesting to note that Solomon would have been but 13 years old in 1776, and 18 when the war ended in 1781.

Solomon had nine children, as follows:
1. Nehemiah, born August 24, 1788; married October 10, 1810, Lucy Parker, died June 9, 1844.
2. Esther, born July 15, 1795; married January 23, 1815 to Ira Wood.
3. Betsy, born December 29, 1798; died June 20, 1820.
4. Isaac, born June 17, 1801; married January, 1824, Lydia Gardner; died September 6, 1861.
5. Solomon, born January 10, 1803; died October 25, 1805.
6. Sabrina, born January 2, 1806; married April 1, 1831, Elijah Harrington.
7. Laura, born January 28, 1808; married May 3, 1829, Elias Johnson.
8. Solomon, born October, 1810; married December 28, 1835, Emily Stone.
9. Harriet, born September 14, 1814; married September 1848, Austin Jones.

Solomon died on August 13, 1845, in Bennington, Vermont. His wife, Phebe, died October 10, 1847.

ISAAC GALE
ISAAC GALE, the 4th child of Nehemiah and Phebe Gale, was born June 17, 1801 in Bennington, Vermont. On Jan 19, 1824, he married Lydia Gardner at Hoosick, New York and settled on a farm in Bennington near his birthplace. He loved to study and hoped to pursue higher education. However, the financial circumstances of his father did not allow him to pursue his interests. He was a deeply religious man and a devout member of the Baptist Church in Bennington. He succeeded his father as Deacon of the church.

In 1856, he moved to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin where he went into trade. The financial crisis of 1857 and 1858 left him bankrupt and he moved to Morris, Illinois where his wife died on August 26, 1861. He was stricken with grief and his son Elbridge took him into his home at Pavillion, Illinois. Isaac took to his bed and died on September 6, 1861 only eleven days after his wife.

Deacon Gale was greatly respected in Bennington, Vermont and during his short stay in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

Isaac and Lydia had 7 children:
1. Elbridge, born December 25, 1824, in Bennington, Vermont, married Eliz. Carpenter
2. Phebe,born _____
3. Mary, born _____
4. Isaac, born June 2, 1832; married Julie Dutcher, March 1, 1854, and became a farmer in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
5. Nelson G., born August 14, 1837; married January 26, 1860, to Ann Haymond, and became a farmer in Morris, Illinois
6. Harriet N., born _____
7. Ansel H., born _____
found on ancestry.com

RICHARD GALE, the ancestor of the family in the United States, was one of the founders of Watertown, Massachusetts. A memorial stone plaque has been erected in that city honoring its founders. Richard’s name appears thereon. He was born in Devonshire, England, February 16, 1618. The exact date of his migration to the colonies is unknown. He married Mary Castle on July 16, 1640, in Watertown. Mary was born April 4, 1624, in Stratford on Avon, England. An interesting fact concerning his marriage is the discovery of a time stained scrap of paper among the personal papers of Governor Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which reads as follows:

“ Sir: It hath beene three times published at Watertowne meeteinge howse that this bearer Richard Gale and Mary Castle intended to enter into a covenaunt of marriadge not having els I rest.Watertown e ye 16th of ye 7th 1640 your Worshipps to command THOMAS MATHEW Jn Wynthropp Junior Esquire”

This paper is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society. A facsimile may be seen here.

Edward Gale writes: “The Watertown colony was not only a theocracy like most of the early New England settlements, but a close corporation as well as the following Town Records attest:

“January 3, 1635. Agreed that no man being foreigner coming out of England or some other Plantation shall have liberty to sett downe amongst us, unless he first have the Consent of the Freemen of the Towne…..it being our reall intent to sitt down there close together, and therefore these Towne Lotts were granted to those Freemen of the Congregation yt inhabited most remote from ye meetinghouse and dwell most scattered….It be further ordered that all those Inhabitants yt have beene by Common Consent or vote taken in amongst us, or have had Dividents granted to them shall be accepted for Townesmen, and no others.

“Richard Gale appears never to have been a member of the Watertown Church, and therefore never a “freeman” or entitled to vote in the affairs of the Town. He was one of the residents of the Town who were classed simply as Townsmen. They were suffered to remain as residents and even to receive grants of land thought on a less favorable basis.

“July 17, 1638. Ordered yt all those Freemen yt have no Lotts at ye Towneship shall have 12 Acres Lotts beyond Bever plaine, and all other Townesmen shall have 6 Acre Lotts in ye said place.

“They could however buy outright from some freeman as did our Richard. It is a tribute to his persistence, perhaps obstinacy, that he was able to and did squeeze himself into this tight little Colony, be considered a founder, and acquire by purchase a “homestall” of even six acres. Much has been said of the intolerance of the early Puritans. They never intended and they never pretended to establish an asylum for the oppressed of mankind, either in religion or politics. They did their best to keep out such persons as were not of their liking, and they made no secret about this purpose.

“And so it was that into this closely knit little community still English at heart as well as in form, hard-headed, thrifty, intolerant and yet essentially kindly, Richard Gale entered and became one of them, tilled his stubborn farm, reared his family of five children, lived out his days and passed on.

“Of his social position in England and in the New England Colony there can be no doubt. His own description of himself in his will as “yeoman” and the same description of him in the deed to him of the “homestall” determines that. He was a yeoman” and such description referred not merely to occupation but to a definite social status. A “yeoman” corresponded to a middle class farmer of today.

“When we find therefore that Richard Gale was a yeoman, we know the social class to which he belonged not only in the Massachusetts Bay Colony but also in England before emigrating. It is therefore certain that he did not have the right to bear arms or use a crest or coat of arms in any form. Very few of the New England Colonists did. The descendants of Richard Gale need not study Burke’s Landed Gentry therefore for armorial bearings but will have to content themselves with having a good honest Yoeman for an ancestor.

“But if Richard Gale was not of the gentry nor conspicuous in the affairs of the Colony, he very evidently pursued the even tenor of his way as a law-abiding citizen, representative of a cross-section of that sturdy, sound, thrifty stock which peopled the early Colonies. While he evidently did not take any part in public affairs,he was one of those rare persons who stay at home and mind their own business. He evidently agreed with the poet Longfellow that ‘Home keeping hearts are happiest.’ And the same may be said of his children save for poor Ephraim, who of course was not responsible.” His fourth child, Ephraim, who died young, appears to have been ‘discomposed in his head’ and seems to have caused his parents considerable annoyance and some expense as shown by several entries in the Court and Town records.”

Judge Gale, in his book, adds the following information on Richard: “On December 2, 1661, Richard Gale purchased of Richard Dummer, the northeast half of the “Oldham Farm”, containing 250 acres, on which a part of the village of Waltham now stands. This was one of the most level and fine tracts of land in old Watertown, and was occupied by Richard until his death and his posterity after him until about 1854.

“However modest Richard might have been in everything else, we observe that he was not particularly so in the size of his farm which he evidently loved, or he would not have been so careful in his Will to preserve it for his posterity.

“Whether Richard could read and write cannot be determined, but the fact that he signed his Will with a mark might lead one to believe that he could not write. This, however, does not necessarily follow, for even at the present day, the Author knows from professional experience, that many men who were good writers at a previous day from their weakness, prefer to sign their Wills with a mark. As he never conveyed any land, held town office, had church membership, nor carried on any trade, the question probably can never be resolved.

“But if we conclude that he could not either read or write, it was not at that day considered any particular discredit, for the majority of our New England ancestors were suffering under the same misfortune.

“We have no record of the physical size or shape of Richard, but if we are allowed to judge of him by the average of his posterity, we may safely make him five feet and eleven inches in stature, strong and muscular, black eyes, black hair, rather long favored, and dark complexion, modest in his demeanor, of few words among strangers, social, domestic and temperate in his habits, fond of a good joke, liberal in his benevolence, firm in his will and as a Christian never bigoted.

“As a race, the Gales have been more distinguished for their athletic powers than for the culture of their minds, but the late generations are fast changing in this particular, and the learned professions have a fair proportion of the present generation.

“They have ever been reasonably jealous of their rights, but strong friends to a well-ordered government; and in our Revolutionary struggle, they were a unit in taking up arms and marching to the fields of strife, from which several of them never returned alive. They were nearly as unanimous in the support of the War of 1812. In the war of the Great Rebellion, prosecuted to restore the Union as established by our Fathers of the Revolution, we can only point to the long list of those named in nearly every family, who have both periled and sacrificed their lives for their flag and the Constitution.

“It is a common remark that the whole race never produced a criminal, but the Author can only say that he has never yet found one, unless Abraham and Henry, who took part as captains in Shays Rebellion are to be considered as such.

According to Bond’s Genealogies of Watertown (page 229) Richard and his wife Mary had the following children:
1. Sarah, born September 8, 1641; married Joseph Garfield.
2. Abraham, born 1643; married Sarah Fiske.
3. Mary, married March 30, 1670, John Flagg.
4. John, married Elizabeth Spring
5. Ephraim, May 1673, a vagrant, “distempered in his mind,” according to the court files and probably died before his father, unmarried since he is not mentioned in Richard’s will.”

Richard Gale, who came to Massachusetts, doubtless from England, within twenty years of the landing of the Pilgrims. Search for the origin of the family in the past has resulted in a variety of opinions. Some think it to have been of Welsh, and others of Scotch Highland antecedents. From this latter source comes one form of the name — "Gael" or "Gaell." Burke's "Landed Gentry of England" speaks of "the family of Gale" as of importance in Yorkshire, in the early days of the sixteenth century. There were many New England settlers of this name, among them being Hugh, of Kittery, Maine; Ambrose, of Marblehead; Bartholomew, of Salem; and Edmond of Beverly — the last three are supposed to have been sons of Edmond of Cambridge, who died in 1642. (I) Richard Gale, the founder of the Gale family in this country, purchased nine acres of land at Watertown, in 1640. His will, dated February 25, 1678, and proved in April, 1679. considerately provided that his well-beloved wife should enjoy his "Whole estate, both houses and lands and cattle of all sorts and all his household goods, for her comfort and maintenance during her natural life," after which he proceeds to designate the manner in which the property shall be divided after her death, among his four children and their heirs. Richard Gale and his wife had children, as follows: Abraham, John, Sarah, wife of Garfield; Mary, married Flagg.
found on ancestry.com