Captain John Underhill

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name = John Underhill


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birth_date = 7 October 1597
birth_place = England
death_date =21 July 1672
death_place = Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY
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nationality = American
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known_for = Early settler of American colonies, Captain of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Militia
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occupation = Military Officer
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spouse = Helena de Hooch (died)Elizabeth Feake
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parents = John Underhill (1574-1608), Leonora Underhill
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John Underhill (7 Oct, 1597-21 July, 1672) was an early English colonist in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a soldier in that and other colonies. He is most noted for his part in two wars with Indians; one in the Pequot War of 1637, the other on Long Island in 1644.

The Bay Colony

As a young man he lived with his mother as part of the group of English Puritan exiles in Holland. While there he received military training in the service of Philip William, the Prince of Orange. He also married a Dutch girl, Helena "(Heylken)" de Hooch on December 12, 1628 in The Hague.

In 1630 the couple emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony with John Winthrop. Underhill was to have the role of organizing the colony's militia. He was named Captain of the militia. In May of 1634 he was appointed to the General Court, and in July was elected a selectman for Boston. He started the first construction of the fortification on Castle Island at Boston.

Early in 1636 he was sent to Salem to arrest Roger Williams who was viewed by the Puritans as a heretic. But, Williams had already fled to Rhode Island.In August he led an expedition to Block Island.

The Pequot War

In September of 1637 he headed the militia as it marched out to the Pequot War. They first went to the Fort at Saybrook. Joining with Mohegan allies, and Connecticut militia under Captain John Mason, they attacked the Pequot fortified village near modern Mystic. They set fire to the village, killing any who attempted to flee. About 400 Pequots died in what came to be called the Mystic Massacre. He led other expeditions that joined in hunting down the surviving Pequots. Underhill published an account of his service as [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/37/ "Newes from America; Or, A New and Experimentall Discoverie of New England; Containing, A Trve Relation of Their War-like Proceedings These Two Yeares Last Past, with a Figure of the Indian Fort, or Palizado" (London, 1638)] .

The Wandering Years

But, within a year of these exploits, he in his turn, fell to the Puritan drive for conformity. He had signed a petition supporting minister John Wheelwright, who had been censured for a sermon. After briefly returning to England, he joined Wheelwright in his colonial venture at Dover, New Hampshire.

He didn't last here, in spite of a brief term as governor of the Dover Colony. By 1642 he had settled at Stamford, Connecticut. In 1643, he represented them in the assembly of the New Haven Colony. But this location also didn't work out, and he moved on to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.

Dutch Service

In May of 1644 he took up residence in New Amsterdam. His plot of land is now the site of Trinity Church in Manhattan. Later that year he led New Amsterdam's forces in a reprise of his attack during the Pequot War. The Indians on Long Island built a fort called Fort Neck in what is now Massapequa. Underhill attacked and burned the Massapequan fort, killing about 120 Indians. The war started because the leader of the Indians Tackapausha claimed he sold the Dutch use to the land, but not the land. In 1648 he moved to Flushing, since the colony's director Peter Stuyvesant had appointed him sheriff of Flushing. He served as magistrate there starting in 1651.

Then, he turned against Stuyvesant, accusing him of being a tyrant. As Flushing's leader, Underhill issued a proclamation calling for the overthrow of the government: "We declare that it is right and proper to defend ourselves and our rights, which belong to a free people, against the abuses of the above named government." Just as many of his descendants would enumerate George III's wrongdoings, so he described Stuyvesant's; he had for example, imposed magistrates on the people of Flushing "without election or voting." In conclusion, he declared, "This great autocracy and tyranny is too grievous for any brave Englishman and good Christian any longer to tolerate Accept and submit ye, then, to the Parliament of England."

Return to English Service

In 1653 he learned of Dutch plans to ally with some tribes to attack English settlements. He brought word of this to the colonies in Connecticut, and led Connecticut militia in seizing the Dutch post called Hope House at Hartford. When the First Anglo-Dutch war was finally resolved (in 1654), he returned to Long Island, living out his years at Oyster Bay.

He served as a sheriff, magistrate, and representative at various times in his later life. He also served as an advisor to remaining Indians on Long Island. He presented a petition to the court on behalf of The Matinecock Indians in October of 1666. He died on July 21, 1672 and is buried at Locust Valley, New York.

Modern Revisionism

John Underhill has been the subject of a recent trend toward historically revised accounts of the Pequot War. ("See: Pequot War#Controversy about the war"). He has been described as mercenary, in service to the English and the Dutch. He was a professional soldier, so at times was paid for his service. He did serve in both English and Dutch armies, but remember that he grew up while in exile in Holland with other Puritans and that his wife was Dutch. He tried to be a legitimate pioneer in both the Plymouth Colony and New Amsterdam, but when the Anglo-Dutch war forced his decision, he held true to his English roots.----"John Underhill" is the title of a poem, by John Greenleaf Whittier. The poem is a somewhat allegorical account of his career.

Personal life

John married his first wife Helena (Heylken) De Hooch on 12 Dec 1628 in The Kloosterkerk, The Hague, Holland [Boyer, Carl, 3rd, Ancestral Lines, 144 Families in England, Germany, New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (Newhall, CA 1975). ] . They had three children, Deborah, Elizabeth, and John. Helana died in 1658 in Southold, Long Island. [At that time (1658), New York did not exist and eastern Long Island was part of Connecticut.]

John married Elizabeth Feake (May 1633- Nov 4 1675) in 1658 in Oyster Bay, New Netherlands. [New York, Nassau County, and the USA did not exist at that time (1658)]

Elizabeth was the daughter of "The Winthrop Woman", Elizabeth Fones and her second husband Robert Feake. Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallet was the subject of much scandal for her promiscuity and for marrying her third husband, William Hallet, while her second husband, Robert Feake was still living. Although Robert Feake had abandoned Elizabeth, and was considered mentally ill, they had not obtained a divorce.

Elizabeth Fones was the subject of a book, "The Winthrop Woman", by Anya Seton, published by Coronet, London, 1959.

John and Elizabeth had five children, Deborah, Nathaniel, Hannah, Elizabeth, and David.

John eventually converted to Quakerism and retired to a large estate (Kenilworth or Killingworth) at Oyster Bay, Long Island. Son Nathaniel settled in Westchester County, New York where he became a prominent citizen and the progenitor of a large number of descendents. There are several streets in Westchester County named for descendents of John Underhill who lived there in colonial times.

John Underhill's many descendents are represented by the Underhill Society. [http://www.underhillsociety.org/]

External links

* [http://underhillsociety.org/ More information on Captain John Underhill in the Underhill Society of America website]