Here is an excerpt about my 10th great grandfather (on my mother's side), Robert Waterman with my notes in [brackets]:
Robert Waterman first appears in Plymouth County [Massachusetts] records in 1638, when he married a daughter [Elizabeth] of Mr. Thomas Bourne, an original Marshfield settler, and a citizen of standing. Through this marriage, he became brother-in-law of John Bradford, eldest son of [Mayflower Pilgrim] Gov. William Bradford [and Dorothy May Bradford], and also of Josiah Winslow, a brother of [Mayflower Pilgrim] Gov. Edward Winslow.
Ten months later, Robert was fined for intemperance [drinking enough alcohol to be under the influence! At that time, everyone drank alcohol - mostly beer - even for breakfast, but not being able to handle it was illegal!], and since the other three who fell under the displeasure of the Court at the same time for the same offense were all called "Mister," the prefix of respect for social standing, it appears that the young Waterman fell into error in good company. No further entry of this kind has been found, and he was not long after honored by his fellow-townsmen with important offices, so it seems fair to attribute the one lapse from sobriety to inexperience. [This is Pilgrim talk for one and done!]
A letter written by Edward Winslow to John Winthrop [Puritan leader and another of my 10th great grandfathers], dated Plymouth, 7 July 1640 shows that Winslow was indebted to Winthrop, and discharged the debt by payment in cattle [which Robert delivered by boat].
"Concerning your acceptance of the five cows I am willing to send them, & becawse the wether is so
hott, the flies so busie, & the woods so thick, I have agreed with Robert Waterman to bring them by water. I pray you send me a receipt under your hand for them upon the back of the note or bill I left with you."
He was made a freeman of the Colony, 7 Mar 1642, and immediately became one of the two Grand Jurors for Marshfield. He served the town as Committee Deputy in the General Court of the Colony, 1643 to 1644 and 1646 to 1650.
On 27 Sep 1643, Mr. Thomas Bourne, Robert Waterman, John Bourne, Roger Cook, and John Russell were appointed to keep watch at Thomas Bourne's house. Robert was a member of the military company in Marshfield.
In 1645 he was one of the twelve men in Marshfield to establish a public school, one of the earliest in New England.
Early in 1651 he was found guilty of an offense, the exact nature of which is not known, save that the charge was made by Sarah wife of James Pitney of Marshfield. The wording of the record is not pleasant, but should not be construed too harshly, remembering that comparatively trivial episodes, such as a kiss in fun or a casual caress, were serious infractions of Puritan manners. The [small] size of the fine indicates that Waterman sinned against the manners of the period rather than against morality.
There is little on which to base a characterization of Robert Waterman. Well connected by marriage, he possessed some native ability, sufficient to warrant his neighbors in returning him to the General Court for several terms. He seems to have been of a social disposition, and perhaps was too jovial or exuberant in temperament to suit the staid manners of the period. [I inherited this trait!]
He died in the prime of life, probably under forty years. [Since then, we know his death was in 1642 at age 36 leaving behind his young widow Elizabeth and their 10-year-old son John who grew up to marry Ann Stuartevant and have 6 healthy children who survived to adulthood!]
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