Abt 1630 - 1692 (~ 62 years)
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Name |
Simon Tuttle [1, 2, 3] |
Born |
Abt 1630 |
Gender |
Male |
Baptism |
10 Jan 1630/31 |
Immigration |
1635 |
Massachusetts |
- The family arrived on the Planter.
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Biography |
- Simon was a piece of work. Simon was hot headed when just being hot headed could land you in jail. In letters from her mother we find out that he was cheating his father (see the write-up on Simon’s mother to see the letters) which eventually contributed to his mother to being destitute. Apparently the family, and especially Simon, was involved in trade with Barbados. It also seems that Simon spent time in Barbados. In the first letter from 3 October 1656, Joanna says, “simon deals very bad with his father - he lies at Barbados and sends noe Retorns butt spends all, his father will have no mor goods sent to him.” In the second letter from 6 April 1657 she says her husband’s death “left me disolat In a strang land and in dept by Reson of Simans keeping the Returnes from barbadous”. She even believes that problems with her husband’s only two sons contributed to his death. She says, “grife that [he] hath taken for his to sonns hath brought [upon him] a lingring deseas lost his stomuce and pined away never sick tell the day before he died”. In the third letter from 20 March 1657/8 she concludes with “I pray send no goods to simon I heare that of him which will bring my gray head with sorow to the graue with tears”.
Simon spent a lot of time in court. His first time in court was March of 1659 when he was about 28. He was being sued by John Hasletine for stealing a mare and colt. Even though Simon brought many witnesses in his support including a letter from his mother in Ireland (one of the three above), he lost the case. Then, in September, Simon sued John Hasletine for stealing a mare and colt. This time Simon had more witnesses and two more letters from his mother (the other two above). From the best I can tell, when Simon’s parents moved to Ireland the hired Joseph Jewett to manage the estate and the included taking care of the horses. As it turned out, Mr. Jewett was not too honest. He sold the horse to John Hasletine. Joseph Jewett was forced to repay the money he got for the horses.
By 1662, Simon must have patched things up with his mother because he represented her when she was suing Richard Shatswell for non-payment of rent and damage to the estate.
In September of 1663, Simon was ordered to pay fees when his horse got lose:
Symon Tuttle, presented for a rescue of his horse from Mighill Cresie, was fined, and ordered to pay fees to John Pinder, Aron Pengry and Hernry Osborne.
Aaron Pengry deposed that Goodman Cressy, heading Mr. Tuttle’s horse out of the common gate with him, Mr. Tuttle went hastily up to him and struck the horse with a short stick two or three blows, making the horse start out of his hand and run away. Sworn in court.
Symon Tuttle confessed that Said Cressie told him he was driving the horse to the pound.
Obviously he and Cressie did not get along too well. Simon may have let the horse wander often and Cressie decided to get rid of it.
In March of 1664, Simon had his biggest run in with the law:
Symon Tuttle, for his seditions and mutinous carriages, was sentenced to be committed to prison until he put in a bond of 200 li. (pounds), with sureites in 200 li. more for his appearance at the next General Court of election at Boston, the day after the election, and to be of good behavior in the meantime. Richard Shatswell, William Evans and John Gould, sureties.
It’s interesting that Richard Shatswell is now vouching for Simon after he lost the judgment against him by Simon’s mother for back rent and damages. Apparently on the day before the court was meeting, while the soldiers were parading on the green, Simon was went into a treasonous tirade. According to the testimony of Theophilus Willson and William Pritchett:
the day before the Court being traineing day, we being upon the meeting house greene Symon Tuttle being there looking on the souldyers, the sayd Symon broke out into these words, upon ocation speaking of the libertie of the choise of officers, he sayd it were better to live in turkye than heere, wherupon William Pritchett sayd to him, not soe, for it is better heere then there, and if you weare there, you must be subject to the Laws and Goverment of the same and soe you must heere, whervpon he made slight of or laws heere and spake contemptuously of them, and sayd if he weare in England againe, he would soone have our laws and law makers layd neck and heeles, and further sayd if we cannot have the libertye the King gave us, we would winn it by ye edge of the sword, and further saith, but we have lost our opptunitye, but we hope we shall gaine it againe, though the Friggotts be stopt for the prsent. And that the Gouverment of the Country, was in a few sneakeing fellows hands, and hopt we should have a turne and upon a brush would soone be cutt off and have our necks from under the yoke.
Simon’s call for liberty was about 110 years too early. Instead of getting him a position in the army or the Continental Congress, it landed him in jail with a £200 fine. It’s interesting he mentioned Turkey as an alternative to England or New England. Turkey (or more formally the Ottoman Empire) was the most powerful empire at the time. For hundreds of years they had been encroaching on Europe (this ended in 1683 when the Ottomans failed in an attempted siege on Vienna). But, other than that, his tirade seems awfully familiar. Realizing the err in his ways, Simon issued a formal apology prior to being sentenced:
To the Honered court now sitting at Ipswich Humbly sheweth yt wheras your worships have received a complaint against me, I acknowledge the same to be iust and that what I spake was pverse and sinfull, and of a very haynous nature, and therfore I cast my selfe at ye feete of your justice and mercy, and if [you ] should censure me acording to the demerritt of my great offence I have noe reason to complaine, what I have spoken I confesse is much of the nature of that which sometimes Shimen spake against david, & I may truly take up his words, yt your servants doth know that he hath sinned, and I am hartily sorry for my soe great Folly and with him I humbly request that your worships would not impute iniquitye to me, neither remember what your servant did perversly speake, against the laws & authority of this country & that I (though unworthy of it) may have the benifitt of your Clemency, and I trust by the helpe of God I shall not alow my selfe heerafter, for ever speake well as of your selves psonally, soe of the laws & government heere established, but stir up others to doe the like, and if I shallever speake soe vildly againe, I shall never open my mouth to request the like favour, as desireing the very strictnes of iustice agst me ; be pleased therfore but this once to pitty me, and pas by this my offence and you shall for ever ingage your poore peticioner to honer you & speake highly of your clemency "Symon Tuttle”.
The apology did not work too well. We don’t know how much time he spent in jail or if he ever paid the £200 fine. In May, someone named Caleb Kimball was fined for hitting Simon and for breach of the peace. In November Simon acknowledged a debt to Mr. Eleazer Hathorne of a little over £10. In December Simon is sent to prison for non-payment of that debt. Then in March of 1665, Simon is sent back to jail until he paid his £200 fine. His bond for god behavior was removed. They may have let him off as long as he didn’t get into trouble. The trouble may have been not paying his other debt. We don’t know, nor do we know how long he spent in prison this time and whether he paid the fine or not. This was the last time Simon was in trouble in court. He may have learned his lesson. A couple years later he was helping measure the town boundaries so he must have improved his image.
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Died |
Jan 1691/92 |
Buried |
11 Jan 1691/92 |
Ipswich, Massachusetts |
Person ID |
I827 |
Our Family |
Last Modified |
4 Oct 2016 |
Father |
John Tuttle, b. Abt 1596, England , d. 30 Dec 1656, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland (Age ~ 60 years) |
Mother |
Joanna Antrobus, b. Abt 1592, d. Between 1662 and 1673 (Age ~ 70 years) |
Married |
Abt 1626 |
Family ID |
F358 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
Family 2 |
Sarah Cogswell, b. Abt 1646, Ipswich, Massachusetts , d. 24 Jan 1732 (Age ~ 86 years) |
Married |
1663 |
Children |
| 1. Joanna Tuttle, b. 24 Sep 1664, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 2. Simon Tuttle, b. 17 Sep 1667, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 3. Elizabeth Tuttle, b. 24 Nov 1670, Ipswich, Massachusetts , d. 29 Nov 1752, Haverhill, Massachusetts (Age 82 years) |
| 4. Sarah Tuttle, b. 3 Sep 1672, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 5. Abigail Tuttle, b. 7 Oct 1673, Ipswich, Massachusetts , d. 30 Sep 1756 (Age 82 years) |
| 6. Susanna Tuttle, b. 7 May 1675, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 7. William Tuttle, b. 7 May 1677, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 8. John Tuttle, d. 26 Feb 1715/16, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 9. Charles Tuttle, b. 31 Mar 1679, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 10. Mary Tuttle, b. 12 Jun 1680, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 11. Jonathan Tuttle, b. 11 Jun 1682, Ipswich, Massachusetts  |
| 12. Ruth Tuttle, b. 11 Jun 1682 |
| 13. Tuttle, b. Yes, date unknown |
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Last Modified |
18 Dec 2016 |
Family ID |
F284 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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Sources |
- [S304] Tuttle - Tuthill Lines in America.
- [S34] Tuttle, Descendants Tuttle (Reliability: 0).
- [S306] Exxex Quarterly County Court Records.
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