John Cogswell

1592 - 1669  (77 years)

• Name	John Cogswell  [1, 2]
  Born	1592	Westbury Leigh, in the County of Wilts, England
  Gender	Male
  Immigration	15 Aug 1635	Pemaquid, Maine
  	The family was on the Angel Gabriel before it was sunk by a hurricane.
  Biography	He came to America on the "Angel Gabriel" which was wrecked off of Pemaquid, ME (near Boothbay Harbor) in 1635. He lost a considerable amount of property. After the wreck he lived on shore in a tent until he was taken away in a boat commanded by Captain Gallerys. He moved to Ipswich where he received a grant for 300 acres (an unusually large amount) in an area called Chebasco in October of 1636. At the time there were only two families in the parish. He became wealthy. Outside the Lighthouse at Pemaquid Point in New Harbor, Maine, there is a plague honouring John Cogswell. The plague reads: Near this site on August 14, 1635 John Cogswell and family from Westbury Leigh, Wiltshire, England, first set foot in America. They arrived on the ship Angel Gabriel which was wrecked here on the following day in a violent storm. The family settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Dedicated on September 28, 1991 at Pemaquid point, Maine by the Cogswell Family Association. Below is a deposition given 1676 about John Cogswell. I do not know why or where the deposition was given, but a photo copy of the original is in the museum in the lighthouse at Pemaquid Point. [ The Deposition of William Furber Senr. aged 60 years or there abouts: This Deponent testefyeth and saith, that in the year of our lord 1635 I the said Deponent did come over in the ship (called the Angell Gabriel) along with Mr. John Cogswell Senr. from Old England, and we were cast ashore at Penmayquid; and I doe remember that there was saved several Casks both of Dry Goods and Provisions which were marked with Mr. Cogswell Senr. Marks and that there saved a tent of Mr Cogswell Senr. which he had set up at Penmayquid; and Lived in it (with the goods that were saved in the wracke) and afterwards Mr. Cogswell Removed to Ipswich; And in november after that ship was cast away I the said Deponent doe well remember that there were several feather beds and I together with Deacon Haines as servants lay upon one of them, and there were several dozen of pewter platters, and that there were severall brass pans besides other pieces of pewter and other household goods as Iron worke and others necessary as for house Repairing and have in the house then. I the said Deponent doe further testify that there were two maires and two cowes brought over in another ship which were landed safe ashore and were kept at misticke till Mr Cogswell had ym. I doe furhter testify that my master, John Cogswell Senr. had three sons which came over along with as in the ship (called Angell Gabriell) the Eldest sones name were William, and he were about fourteen years of age, and the second sonne were called John and he was about twelve years of age then, and the third was about six years of age at that time, and further saith not. William Farber Senr. came and made oath to all the above written this first of October. 1676. Before me Richard Martyn, Comisr. From Jameson: JOHN COGSWELL. John Cogswell, son of Edward and Alice Cogswell, was born, 1592, in Westbury, Leigh, County of Wilts. He married, Sept. 10, 1615, Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of the Rev. William and Phillis Thompson. Vid. John Cogswell. The Rev. William Thompson. Rev. William Thompson, Mrs. Cogswell's father, was the Vicar of Westbury Parish, Wiltshire, for twenty years, from 1603 to his death in 1623. His wife, Mrs. Phillis Thompson, died in 1608. The Westbury Register records her burial thus: “Phillis, uxor of Mr. William Thompson., Vicar., Sepult. 19 July, 1608.” Of this marriage were Elizabeth, who married John Cogswell, Maria, who was baptized in 1604, and other children, as mention is made in his will of five daughters. After the death of Mrs. Cogswell's mother, her father married 2Elizabeth _____, who survived him. Of the second marriage were two sons: William, who was baptized April 23, 1615, and Samuel, whose baptism is thus recorded in the Westbury Register: “1616, Samuell, filius Willmi. Thompsonn., Vicarie de Westburie., baptizat Novemb. 30." Samuel Thompson, Mrs. Cogswell's youngest brother, became the Rev. Samuel Thompson, D. D., of London. His son, William Thompson, lived with his uncle, John Cogswell, for many years in Ipswich, Mass. Vid. p. 12. In the Public Record Office, London, appears the following conveyance : II Charles First, Trinity Term., 1635. Anthony Selfe and Henry Allyn, Plaintiff, and John Cogswell and Elizabeth., his wife. Defendants, whereby Anthony and Henry give to John and Elizabeth £4o sterling for one messuage, two Cottages, one barn, two gardens, two orchards, 4 ½ acres of land, one of meadow and four of Pasture, with the appurtenances in Westbury and Westbury Leigh, Co. Wilts. This was undoubtedly the sale of John Cogswell's homestead just on the eve of his departure for New England. THE COGSWELLS ON THE OCEAN. May 23 TO August 15, 1635. The Angel Gabriel was the ship on board of which John Cogswell and FAMILY crossed the Atlantic. This vessel, it appears from the Letters of John Aubreys the celebrated antiquary of Wiltshire, was built by Sir Charles Snell for Sir Walter Raleigh, “for the designe for Guiana, which cost him the manor of Yatton Regnell, the farm of Easton Piers, Thornhill, and the Church-lease of Bp. Cannings, which ship upon Sir Walter Raleigh's attainder was forfeited." Vid. Aubrey's Letters, Vol. 2, p. 514, Mss. Bodleian Library, Oxford, Eng. Sir Walter Raleigh, who was executed Oct. 29, 1618, doubtless made his second and last voyage, A. D. 1617-18, to Guiana, S. A., in the same ship in which the Cogswells came to America in 1635, and which became a wreck off Pemaquid, as Mather says : “was burst in pieces and cast away.” John Cogswell, with his wife Elizabeth and eight children, embarked May 23, 1635, at Bristol, England, on the Angel Gabriel, for New England. Mr. Cogswell had with him his three sons, William, John, and Edward, and five of his six daughters. One daughter was left in England, who afterward married and resided in London. Mr. Cogswell took with him several farm and household servants, an amount of valuable furniture, farming implements, housekeeping utensils, and a considerable sum of money. They were detained many days after going on board the Angel Gabriel for lack of wind, so that not until June 4 did they actually set sail from Bristol. On the same day another vessel, The James, sailed, having on board emigrants for America, among whom was Rev. Richard Mather, fleeing religious intolerance in England to find the home of religious freedom in the New World. He became the minister of Dorchester in the Colony of Massachusetts. Rev. Richard Mather was the father of Rev. Increase Mather, D. D., President of Harvard College, and the grandfather of Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, minister of Boston, and the distinguished author of the Magnalia Christi Americana. Richard Mather's tombstone was thus inscribed : “Under this stone lies Richard Mather, Who had a son greater than is father, And a grandson greater than either.” The Angel Gabriel was commanded by Capt. Andrews, who had on board with him two nephews, John and Thomas Burnham, sons of Robert and Mary (Andrews) Burnham, and ancestors of the Burnhams in America. There were on board also Samuel Haines, ancestor of Hon. Andrew Mack Haines, of Galena, Ill., William Furber, and others seeking homes in New England.Both ships touched at Milford Haven, Pembroke Co., South Wales, and June 22, they put to sea again and proceeded on their way, and many on board saw the English coast fade from view, never to be seen by them again with mortal eyes. The vessels kept company for about two weeks, when they became separated, but arrived about the same time on the coast of New England. The James lay at anchor off the Isles of Shoals, and the Angel Gabriel off Pemaquid, Me., where the great storm and gale of Aug. 15 of that year struck them. The James was torn from her anchors, and obliged to put to sea, but after two days of terrible battling with storm and wave, she reached Boston Harbor with " her sails rent in sunder, and split in pieces, as if they had been rotten ragges." The passengers of the James landed in Boston, Aug. 17, having been twelve weeks and two days on the passage. The Angel Gabriel fared still worse. "The storm was frightful at Pemaquid, the wind blowing from the northeast, the tide rising to a very unusual height, in some places more than twenty feet right up and down ; this was succeeded by another and unaccountable tidal wave still higher." The Angel Gabriel became a total wreck, passengers, cattle, and goods were all cast upon the angry waves. Among those who reached the shore with their lives were Mr. Cogswell and his family. Three or four passengers and one seaman perished, and there was the loss of cattle and much property. Thus ended the passage of The Cogswells on the Ocean, and thus became a fact : The Cogswells In America. Journal of Rev. Richard Mather. Rev. Richard Mather, already mentioned as a passenger on the James, kept a journal in which are found frequent references to the ship Angel Gabriel, and to the events of the voyage, so interesting and quaint that the author cannot forbear to quote somewhat at length from this old and curious record. Rev. Richard Mather in his reflections, says : “ ‘And let everything that hath breath praise the name of the 'Lord for ever and ever.’ Who gave unto us his poore servants such a safe and comfortable voyage to New England" "The particular passages whereof were as followeth : The ship James was commanded by Captayne Taylor. They fell in with the ship Angel Gabriel, also bound for New England, before leaving Bristol Harbor, England." May 27, 1635, while at anchor, Capt. Taylor, of the James, accompanied by Mr. Maud, Nathaniel Wales, Barnabas Fower, Thomas Armitage, and Richard Mather, went on board the Angel Gabriel. Mr. Mather says : “When we came there wee found divers passengers, and among them some loving & godly Christians that were glad to see us there." The next day, May 28, 1635, being still detained, "the master of the Angel Gabriel & some of their passengers came aboard our ship, and desired to have our company, etc. June 4. Thursday morning, the wind serving us, wee set sayle and began our sea voyage with glad hearts, y' God had loosed us from our long stay wherein we had been holden, and with hope & trust that Hee would graciously guide us to the end of our journey. We were yt set sayle together yt morning five shippes, three bound for Newfoundland, viz. : the Diligence, a ship of 150 tunne, the Mary, a small ship of 80 tunne, and the Bess (or Elizabeth), and two bound for New England, viz. : The Angel Gabriel, of 240 tunne, the James, of 220 tunne." " And even at our setting out we yt were in the James had experience of God's gracious providence over us, in yt the Angel Gabriel haling home one of her ancres, had like, being carried by the force of the tide, to have fallen foule upon ye forep't of our ship, w'ch made all the mariners as well as passengers greatly afraid, yet by the guidance of God and his care over us, she passed by without touching so much as a cable or a cord, and so we escaped yt danger." They were detained at Lundy by adverse sea and winds from June 5 to June 9. On the 9th of June the five ships made for Milford Haven, Pembroke Co , Wales, where they anchored, with rough sea and seasick passengers. June 14. Sabbath. Still lying at Milford Haven. "Mr. Maud, Mathew Michel of the James, and many of the passengers of the Angel Gabriel went to church on shoare called Nangle, where they heard two comfortable sermons, made by an ancient, grave minister, living at Pembroke, whose name is Mr. Jessop. His text was Ps. xci 11 : ‘ For He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.'' And his coming was purposed for the comfort and encouragement of us yt went to New England." " I was exercised on shipboard both endes of the day, remayning there for helpe of ye weaker & infirm sort that could not go on shoare." On the afternoon of Thursday, June 18, "there came to the Angel Gabriel and to our ship, Mr. Jessop, to see the Christians bound for New England. He was a grave and godly old man, one y' had lost a good living because of his nonconformity, and wished us all well, and we were much refreshed with his godly company & conference." Still at Milford Haven Mr. Mather speaks of being " exercised both ends of the day," "besides," he says, "the day was more comfortable to us all in regard to ye company of many godly Christians from ye Angel Gabriel, and from other vessels lying in the haven with us, who, wanting means and home, were glad to come to us, and we were also glad of their company, and had all of us a very comfortable day, and were much refreshed in the Lord." By lack of wind having been delayed at Milford Haven for 12 days, they sailed on June 22, Monday. On the evening of the Tuesday, June 23, they "lost sight of the 3 ships bound for Newfoundland, but the master of the James thought it best to stay for the Angel Gabriel, being bound for New England as wee were, rather than to leave her & go with the other three. The Angel Gabriel is a strong ship & well furnished with fourteene or sixteene pieces of ordnance, and therefore our seamen rather desired her company ; but yet she is slow in sailing, and therefore wee went sometimes with three sayles less than wee might have done, yt so we might not overgoe her." On Wednesday, June 24, "We saw abundance of porpuyses leaping & playing about our ship." "And wee spent some time that day in pursuing with the Angel Gabriel what wee supposed was a Turkish pirate, but could not overtake her." Mr. Mather speaks of the Sabbath, June 28, 1635, and says, "I was exercised in the forenoon, and Mr. Maude in the afternoon." "This eve'g wee saw porpuyses about ye ship, and some would fayne been striking, but others dissuaded, because of the Sabbath, and so it was let alone." The next day by seven o'clock the sailors had a great porpoise on deck. Mr. Mather says: "The seeing him haled into the ship like a swyne from ye stye to the tressle, and opened upon ye decke in viewe of all our company, was wonderful to us all, and marvellous merry sport and delightful to our women & children. So good was our God unto us in affording us the day before, spiritual refreshing to our soules, and ye day morning also delightful recreation to our bodyes, at ye taking and opening of ye huge and strange fish." In the afternoon, June 29, " Captayne Taylor went on board ye Angel, and took Mathew Michel & mee along with him." They found that there had been much seasickness on the Angel Gabriel, and two cases of "small pockes well recovered again." "Wee were intreated to stay supp, there with their Master, &c., and had good cheese, mutton boyled & rosted, rested turkey, good sacke, &:c." Saturday, July 4, 1635. "This day ye sea was very rough, and we saw ye truth of yt Scripture, Ps. cvii. Some were very seasicke, but none could stand or go upon ye decke because of the tossing & tumbling of the ship." "This day (July 4) we lost sight of the Angel sayling slowly behind us, and we never saw her again any more." Mr. Mather speaks of Sabbath, Aug. 2. "And ye wind blew with a coole & comfortable gale at south all day, which carried us away with great speed towards or journeyes end, so good was or loving God unto us as always so also this day. Mr. Maud was exercised in ye forenoone & I in the afternoone" Aug 3. "But lest wee should grow secure and neglect ye Lord through abundance of prosperity, or wise & loving God was pleased on Monday morning about three of ye clock, when wee were upon the coast of land, to exercise us with a sore storme & tempest of wind & rain, so ye many of us passengers with wind & rain were raised out of our beds, and our seamen were forced to let down all ye sayles, and ye ship was so tossed with fearfull mountayns and valleyes of water, as if wee should have beene overwhelmed & swallowed up. But ye lasted not long, for at or poore prayers, ye Lord was pleased to magnify his mercy in assuaging ye winds & seas againe about sun rising." He then speaks of "taking abundance of cod & hollibut, wherewith oe bodyes were abundantly refreshed after they had beene tossed with ye storme." . "Aug. 14. While ancored at the Ile of Shoales, when wee had slept sweetly ye night till breake of day," Mr. Mather adds : "But yet ye Lord had not done with us, nor yet had let us see all his power & goodnesse which he would have us take knowledge of, and therefore on Saturday morning (Aug. 15), at about breake of day, ye Lord sent forth a most terrible storme of raine & easterly wind, whereby wee were in as much danger as I thinke ever people were. For we lost in ye morning, three great ancres & cables, of wich cables, one having cost £50, never had been in any water before, two were broken by ye violence of ye waves, and ye third was cut by ye seamen in extremity & distress to save ye ship & or lives. And ye Angel Gabriel being yn at ancer at Pemmaquid, was burst in pieces & cast away in ye storme & most of the cattell & other goodes, with one seaman & 3 or 4 passengers did also perish therein, besides two of ye passengers yt died by ye way, ye rest having ye lives given ym for a prey. But ye James & wee yt were therein, with our cattell & goods, were all preserved alive, viz. : 100 passengers, 23 seamen, 23 cowes & heyfers, 3 sucking calves & mares." “ The Lord's name be blessed forever.” A touching incident is narrated of one of the passengers of the Angel Gabriel, more amusing to the reader than it could have been to the parties concerned. The name of this passenger was Bailey. He was a young man and lately married. He embarked, leaving his young bride in England, wishing to acquaint himself somewhat with the new country, and make arrangements for a home in America, and then return for his wife. But alas ! the frightful disaster from which he had narrowly escaped so wrought upon his mind that he was too timid ever again to risk himself upon the ocean, and the doleful account which he wrote home so intimidated his young bride that she could never be persuaded to undertake the voyage. And so it came to pass, that between this loving couple the broad Atlantic continued to roll, and this married twain, poor souls, remained separated from each other all the rest of their mortal lives. Rev. Dr. Increase Mather states as a historical fact that : "The Angel Gabriel was the only vessel which miscarried with passengers from old England to New, so signally did the Lord in his providence watch over the plantation of New England." John Cogswell and family having crossed the ocean and disembarked at Pemaquid, in the unceremonious fashion narrated, were at last in America. They were the first of the name to reach these shores. The elapse of two hundred and fifty years has given to them a numerous posterity, some of whom in each generation have lived in eventful periods, have risen to eminence, and fulfilled distinguished service in the history of the country. John Cogswell, the ancestor of the Cogswells in America, as already narrated, was the son of Edward and Alice Cogswell, of Westbury Leigh, in the County of Wilts, England. At the age of twenty-three years he married the daughter of the parish vicar, succeeded to his father's business, and settled down in the old homestead. His parents died soon after his marriage, and he received by inheritance "The Mylls called Ripond, situate within the Parish of Frome Selwood," together with the home place and certain personal property. Like his father, he was a manufacturer of woollen fabrics, largely broadcloths and kerseymeres. The superior quality of these manufactures gave to his "mylls" a favorable reputation, which appears to have been retained to the present day. There are factories occupying much the same locations and still owned by Cogswells, which continue to put upon the market woollen cloths that in Vienna and elsewhere have commanded the first premiums in the world exhibitions of our times. John Cogswell doubtless found in London a market for his manufactures. He may have had a commission house in that city, which would account for his being called, as he sometimes has been, a London merchant. Mrs. Cogswell's father was the Rev. William Thompson, vicar of Westbury from 1603 to his death, in 1623. Her younger brother was the Rev. Samuel Thompson, D. D, of London. About twenty years after their marriage, with a family of nine children about them, and having the accumulations of a prosperous business, Mr. and Mrs. Cogswell determined to emigrate to America. The particular reasons which led them to leave England may have been much the same that influenced others in their times. It appears that early in 1635 Mr. Cogswell made sale of his "mylls" and other real estate, and soon after, with his wife, eight children, and all their personal effects, embarked at Bristol, May 23, 1635, for New England. Their passage was long and disastrous. Vid. "The Cogswells on the Ocean." Their arrival in America was after a most unexpected fashion. Having reached the shores of New England, they were landed very unceremoniously at a place called Pemaquid, in Maine, being washed ashore from the broken decks of their ship "Angel Gabriel," which went to pieces in the frightful gale of Aug. 15, 1635, when such a "sudden, dismal storm of wind and rain came as had never been known before by white man or Indian." Traces of this storm remained for years. It was on that terrible 15th of August, 1635, that Parson Avery perished, with these words upon his lips: "Lord, I cannot challenge a preservation of life; but according to thy covenant, I challenge heaven." "Which words," says Hubbard, "as soon as he had ever expressed, the next wave gave him a present dismission into his eternal rest." The easy verse of Whittier has made the story of that August storm familiar : "There was wailing in the shallop; woman's wail and man's despair; A crash of breaking timbers on the rocks so sharp and bare ; And through it all the murmur of Father Avery's prayer. The ear of God was open to his servant's last request. As the strong wave swept him downward the sweet hymn upward pressed, And the soul of Father Avery went singing to its rest." Mr. Cogswell and his family escaped with their lives, but well drenched by the sea and despoiled of valuables to the amount of five thousand pounds sterling. They were more fortunate than some who sailed with them, whom the angry waves gathered to a watery grave. On leaving England Mr. Cogswell had taken along with him a large tent, which now came into good service. This they pitched, and into it they gathered themselves and such stores as they could rescue from the waves. The darkness of that first night of the Cogswells in America found them housed beneath a tent on the beach. The next day they picked up what more of their goods they could, which had come ashore during the night or lay floating about upon the water. As soon as possible Mr. Cogswell, leaving his family, took passage for Boston. He there made a contract with a certain Capt. Gallup, who commanded a small barque, to sail for Pemaquid and transport his family to Ipswich, Mass. This was a newly settled town to the eastward from Boston, and was called by the Indians "Aggawam." Two years earlier, March, 1633, Mr John VVinthrop, son of Gov. John Winthrop, with ten others, had commenced a settlement in Aggawam. An act of incorporation was secured Aug. 4, 1634, under the name of Ipswich. The name Ipswich is Saxon, in honor of the Saxon queen Eba, called " Eba's wych," i. e., Eba's house; hence Yppyswich or Ipswich. Some derive it from Gippewich, meaning "little city." In the early records are found the following enactments of the General Court : ''April 1st, 1633. It is ordered that noe pson wtsover shall goe to plant or inhabitt att Aggawam, withoutt leave from the Court, except those already gone, vz : Mr. John Winthrop, Jun'r, Mr. Clerke, Robte Coles, Thomas Howlett, John Biggs. John Gage, Thomas Hardy, Willm Perkins, M. Thornedicke, Willm Srieant." " June 11, 1633. There is leave graunted to Tho: Sellen to plant att Aggawam. 5 August, 1634. It is ordered that Aggawam shal be called Ipswitch." "At Ipsidge a plantation made upe this yeare. Mr. Ward P _____, Mr. Parker T _____, James Cudworth, 1634." It was probably near the last of August, 1635, when Capt. Gallup sailed up the Agawam River, having on board Mr. and Mrs. Cogswell, their three sons and five daughters, and whatever of household goods his barque would carry, the rest of their effects being taken by another ship. The settlers of Ipswich at once manifested an appreciation of these new-comers. They made John Cogswell liberal grants of land, as appears from the following municipal records : ''1636. Granted to Mr. John Coggswell Three Hundred acres of land at the further Chebokoe, having the River on the South east, the land of Willm White on the North west and A Creeke romminge out of the River towards William White's farme on the North east. Bounded also on the West with a Creek and a little (creeke)." "Also there was granted to him a parsell of ground containinge eight acres, upon part whereof ye sd John Coggswell hath built an house, it being the corner lot in Bridge street and hath Goodman Bradstreet's house-Lott on the South East." This was doubtless Humphrey Bradstreet, son of Gov. Simon and Ann (Dudley) Bradstreet. Ann Dudley was daughter of Gov. Thomas Dudley. " There was granted to him five acres of ground," which is thus described : "Mr. John Spencer's buttinge upon the River on the south, having a lott of Edmond Gardiner's on the South East, and a lott of Edmond Sayward's on the south west; with six acres of ground, the sd John Cogswell hath sold to John Perkins, the younger, his heirs and assigns." The grant of " three hundred acres of land at the further Chebokoe” was some five miles to the eastward, in a part of Ipswich that was constituted, May 5, 1679. Chebacco Parish; and Feb. 5, 1819, incorporated the town of Essex. A settlement had been commenced in the Indian Chebokoe, in 1635, by William White and Goodman Bradstreet. This grant to John Cogswell embraced a swell of land, the western boundary of which is the main road which runs from Ipswich to Gloucester. On the south flows the Chebacco River ; on the north is a brook, which marks the boundary of a farm lately owned by Col. John P. Choate ; and to the eastward is an arm of the sea. The grant of " a parsell of ground containinge eight acres, upon part whereof ye sd John Coggswell hath built an house," embraced land located near the present site of the court-house. This house, which Mr. Cogswell built soon after his arrival, stood on the site occupied by the residence of the late Hon. Charles Kimball, where Edward L. Kimball, Esq., now, 1884, resides. Mr. Cogswell, some time in 1636, put up a log-house and removed to "further Chebokoe," where he spent the rest of his days. His descendants for eight generations, through a period of two hundred and fifty years, have continued to cultivate these ancestral acres. A few rods from where stood the log-house of the first settler now stands an ancient dwelling-house, which is the third in succession built on or near the same spot to domicile Cogswells in America. This house was erected by William Cogswell in 1732, and is still occupied by Cogswells, the lineal descendants of John Cogswell, of Westbury, England. For more than one hundred and fifty years " The Cogswell House " has withstood time and change. Within its walls have dwelt six generations of the name. In it are carefully treasured many relics and articles of household use, which were brought over in 1635, and survived the wreck of the "Angel Gabriel." These have been handed down from father to son as having belonged to their great ancestor, and are enshrined in various and quaint traditions. This ancient dwelling-house, which is well preserved, is represented by an engraving on the following page. This engraving is the work of Miss Charlotte Broome Cogswell, of Brooklyn, N. Y., who for some years has been a teacher in drawing and engraving in that city and in New York. She is a lineal descendant of John Cogswell in the eighth generation. Miss Cogswell visited Essex, Mass., in 1882, made a sketch of the Cogswell homestead, and on her return completed the engraving with her own hands. It appears that John Cogswell was the third original settler in that part of Ipswich which is now Essex, Mass. His comparative wealth, intelligence, and piety gave him an acknowledged prominence in the town and church. On the records of Ipswich his name often appears. It is uniformly distinguished by the appellation of Mr., which in those days was an honorary title given to but few, who were gentlemen of some distinction. There were only about thirty of the three hundred and thirty-five original settlers of Ipswich who received this honor. Very soon after his arrival, March 3, 1636, by an act of the Court, John Cogswell was admitted freeman, to which privileges none were admitted prior to 1664 except respectable members of some Christian church. To freemen alone were the civil rights to vote for rulers and to hold public office. For several years Mr. Cogswell and family lived in the log-house with its thatched roof, while many of their goods remained stored in boxes, awaiting some better accommodations. It is said there were pieces of carved furniture, embroidered curtains, damask table linen, much silver plate ; and that there was a Turkey carpet is well attested. As soon as practicable Mr. Cogswell put up a framed house. This stood a little back from the highway, and was approached by walks through grounds of shrubbery and flowers. There is an English shrub still, 1884, enjoying a thrifty life, which stands not far from the site of the old Cogswell manor. This shrub, tradition says, John Cogswell brought with him from England in 1635. Among other relics of their ancestor still treasured by his descendants are articles of personal attire and ornament. A quaint mirror and many other curious things are in the possession of Messrs. Albert and Jonathan Cogswell, brothers, who occupy the ancient Cogswell house in Essex. Mrs. Mary (Cogswell) Choate had the old clock which struck off the time for John and Elizabeth Cogswell two centuries and a half ago. Not long since, Mrs. Aaron Cogswell, of Ipswich, had in her possession, it is said, the famous coat of arms which has been widely copied in the family. This is described as “ wrought most exquisitely with silk on heave satin.” A few years ago a stranger borrowed the curious relic of this too obliging lady, and, like the jewels of the Egyptians, borrowed by Israelites, it was never returned. As a matter of family interest, although purely traditional and not found anywhere recorded, a fac-simile of the Cogswell escutcheon is here inserted. For some years after the completion of their new dwelling house Mr. and Mrs. Cogswell lived to enjoy their pleasant home, surrounded by their children, well settled, some of them on farms near by, made of lands deeded to them by their now aged parents. There is found this record : “ Nov. 1651, John Cogswell and Elizbeth, his wife, gave to William Cogswell, their son, a deed of land on the south side of the Chebacco River.” At the same date was given a dwelling-house at Chebacco Falls to his son-in-law, Cornelius Waldo. By these and other similar gifts Mr. Cogswell distributed much of his property among his children, while living. The time came at length, after a life of change, adventure, and hardship, yet of piety, respectability, and divine blessing, and Mr. Cogswell died Nov. 29, 1669, at the age of seventy-seven years. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. Mr. Hubbard, then pastor in Ipswich, and since known as “ The historian fo New England.” The funeral procession traversed a distance of five miles to the place of burial. They move under an escort of armed men, as a protection against the possible attack of Indians. He was buried in the Old North graveyard of the First Church, but the exact spot is unknown. Mrs. Cogswell survived her husband but a few years. She died June 2, 1876. The record that remains of her is : “ She was a woman of sterling qualities and dearly beloved by all who knew her.” Side by side in the old churchyard in Ipswich have slept for more than 200 years the mortal remains of this godly pair, whose childhood was passed near the banks of the river Avon ; who, leaving behind the tender associations of the Old World, came with their children to aid in rearing on these shores a pure Christian state. They did a greater work than they knew, and died in the faith of the Gospel ; and while their grave are unmarked by monument of stone, their souls are save forever in Heaven, their memory blessed, and their names honored by a posterity in numbers hardly second to that of Abraham.
  Died	29 Nov 1669	Ipswich, Massachusetts
  Person ID	I1014	Our Family
  Last Modified	15 Dec 2016

  
  

  Father	Edward Cogswell,   b. Westbury Leigh, County of Wilts, England ,   d. 1615
  Mother	Alice,   d. Abt 1615
  Family ID	F390	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Thompson,   d. 2 Jun 1676
  Married	10 Sep 1615
  Children	1. Cogswell Cogswell,   b. Bef 1619   2. William Cogswell,   b. 1619, Westbury Leigh, County of Wilts, England ,   d. 15 Dec 1700  (Age 81 years)   3. John Cogswell, Jr.,   b. 1622, Westbury Leigh, County of Wilts, England ,   d. 27 Sep 1653  (Age 31 years)   4. Edward Cogswell,   b. 1629   5. Sarah Cogswell,   b. Abt 1646, Ipswich, Massachusetts ,   d. 24 Jan 1732  (Age ~ 86 years)   6. Mary Cogswell,   b. Westbury Leigh, County of Wilts, England   7. Hannah Cogswell,   b. Westbury Leigh, County of Wilts, England   8. Abigail Cogswell,   b. Westbury Leigh, County of Wilts, England   9. Elizabeth Cogswell
  Last Modified	18 Dec 2016
  Family ID	F352	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Immigration - 15 Aug 1635 - Pemaquid, Maine Died - 29 Nov 1669 - Ipswich, Massachusetts  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S49] Jameson, E. O., Cogswell. [S34] Tuttle, Descendants Tuttle (Reliability: 0).