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- Doty, Ethan Allen, The Doughty Family of Long Island, in Genealogies of Long Island Families, 1600s-1800s [database online], Genealogy.com, Genealogies of Long Island Families, Volume I, The Doughty Family of Long Island, pp. 336-342.
In offering this record of the descendants of Rev. Francis Doughty, the emigrant to Taunton, Mass., and Maspeth, Long Island, I am aware that it is by no means complete, but it furnishes a foundation and a frame work on which any one interested may build a more satisfactory record. . . .
I. REV. FRANCIS DOUGHTY was the son of a Bristol, (England) Alderman. He had been Vicar of Sodbury, Gloucester, Eng. (See English Colonization of America, by Edward D. Neill, London, 1871.)
From Genealogical Gleanings in England, by Henry F. Waters.
(Will) "Francis Doughtie of Hempsteed in the parish of Oldsbury and County and Diocese of Gloucester, gent., 16 May, 1634, proved 31 October, 1634.
To my son Francis my white horse or nag. To Spencer Achley, my daughter Frances' son, twenty shillings, to be paid by my executrix within six months next after my decease. To John Dauyes, the son of my daughter Margaret, ten shillings, to be paid in like manner. To the three children of my son Francis, that is to say, Mary, his daughter and Francis and Eliah, his sons, thirty shillings to be paid in like manner. The rest of my goods, moveable and unmoveable whatsoever, I give and bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth (excepting what I have passed by my deed, bearing date 15th May 1634 made to certain uses to Humfrey Hooke, Alderman of the City of Bristol, Thomas Lloyd of the same, Adam Baynham of Yate gent. and William Maye of Cherefield gent. this excepted) and I make my daughter Elizabeth my whole and sole executrix etc."
One of the witnesses was Fr. Doughtie, minister.
Mr. Waters adds:
"The above will and the deed to Humphrey Hooke and others, to which it refers, gave rise to a great contention in New England, as appears from Lechford's Note Book, pp. 133-5, 137, 171-3 and 256 (I refer to the pages of the printed book) Elizabeth Doughtie, the daughter and sole executrix of the above testator, became the wife of William Cole in the parish of Chew Magna, in the County of Somerset, gentleman (as he calls himself in a bill of complaint to the Gov., Council and Assistants of the Jurisdiction of Massachusetts Bay) and brother of John Cole of Farrington, Somerset, Yeoman, who made a deposition about Hempsteed Farm in 1639. William and Elizabeth Cole were then in New England, as was also her brother Francis Doughty, who at that time called himself a planter of Dorchester in New England. He was called a clerk in the bill of complaint by William Cole and his wife, and seems to have been a minister at Taunton, Mass., and afterwards to have removed to Long Island."
About 1637 Rev. Francis Doughty, with others, purchased from the Plymouth Colony a tract of land at Taunton, Mass. He is reported to have come to Massachusetts 1639, and settled at Taunton, preaching there, but having some difficulties with the people he removed to Maspeth (now Newtown) on Long Island in New York State where we find him 1642. The Court Records and Acts of Legislature of Massachusetts Colony show that he had a lawsuit with his sister Elizabeth, wife of William Cole, extending through many years.
In Magazine of Amer. History, Jan., 1885, is an article on "Puritanism in New York" by Rev. Chas. A. Briggs, D.D., in which occurs "The Third Puritan minister (in State of N. Y.) was Francis Doughty. He had probably been Vicar of Sodbury, Gloucester, England. where he was silenced for Nonconformity. He emigrated to Taunton, Mass., 1637." (Then follows an account of his differences there with the Church leading to his expulsion with his wife and child. This is taken from Thomas Lechford, Plain Dealing, 1642, p. 40.) Doughty secured the conveyance of Mespat (near Newtown), L. I., with the view of establishing a Presbyterian colony there. The settlement was begun in 1642, but the Indian War broke up the colony in 1643, and the minister and flock went to Manhattan Island for shelter during the war. He became the first Puritan, and, indeed, Presbyterian minister in New York City. He ministered here from 1643 to 1648 and was supported by voluntary contributions from the Puritans and Dutch of the city. He also preached at Flushing for a while.
"Owing to the failure of the colony Govs. Kieft and Stuyvesant sought to recover, the claime upon Mespat, but Doughty declined to restore it. He was at last glad to escape from the wrath of Stuyvesant and fled to Maryland, where he preached to the Puritans for many years."
An intelligent correspondent of the Brooklyn (New York) Daily Eagle, signing himself an "OLD BROOKLYNITE," in the issue of June 7th, 1891, says:
"The first notice of Rev. Francis Doughty is found in the annals of Taunton and reads as follows:
['Cohannet, alias Taunton, is in Plymouth patent. There is a church gathered there of late, and some ten or twenty of the church, the rest excluded. Master Hooke, pastor; Master Street, teacher. One Master Doughty (Rev. Francis) opposed the gathering of the church there, alleging that according to the covenant of Abraham all men's children that were of baptized parents, and so Abraham's children, ought to be baptized, and so spake in public, or to that effect, which led to a disturbance, and the ministers spake to the magistrate to order him out, the magistrate commanded the constable who dragged Master Doughty out of the assembly.']
"But for this disagreeable incident the Doughty family probably would never have played their part in the history of Brooklyn. Much excitement followed the church wrangle, and it resulted in about one hundred families leaving the Cohannet colony and following the fortunes of Mr. Doughty. By this it was determined to leave the English colonies and apply to the Dutch for a grant of land upon which they could settle and enjoy that freedom of conscience which the straight laced Puritans demanded for themselves, but were unwilling to accord to anyone else. With his wife and children Doughty proceded [sic] to the Island of Aquetneck, the present site of the city of Newport, R. I., where his friends soon joined him. A regular association was organized and Mr. Doughty sent to New York to interview Governor Kieft. So successful was this visit that the Dutch authorities immediately granted Mr. Doughty a tract of land of 13,332 acres at Mespat, which embraced nearly the whole of Newtown, Maspeth and a part of Flushing. Here the Doughtyites settled in the year 1642, and from their efforts a successful colony was soon established. Indeed, its success was so great that it excited the jealousy of Kieft, as will presently be seen. The Doughty patent is recorded in the Secretary of State's office at Albany, book of patents, C. G., p. 49. It bears date March 28, 1642. Mr. Doughty seems to have been a chronic objector and a man of most decided opinions. Preaching to his flock weekly he took occasion to severely criticise certain acts of Governor Kieft's, and trouble was the result. The director and Council of the New Amsterdam colony in April, 1647, rescinded the Doughty patents, dividing the property among members of the association, leaving Mr. Doughty only his bouwery and the lands he had in possession. The Doughty bouwery occupied the land on the east of Flushing Bay, now known as Stevens' Point.
"To the decision of Kieft Mr. Doughty strongly objected, regarding it as not only unjust, but in direct violation of his patent, therefore he appealed from the sentence, which offended Kieft who had previously cut off the right of appeal to the courts of Holland, and, telling Doughty that his judgment was final and absolute, the despotic governor fined the defenseless clergyman $10 and locked him up for twenty-four hours in the common jail. Discouraged at this, Mr. Doughty requested the director-general of New Netherland 'that as he had lived and done duty a long time without suitable support and as his land was now confiscated' he might be permitted to take ship for the West Indies or the Netherlands. The request was refused, as the director-general had no desire to have his acts laid before the diet. Later Mr. Doughty was minister at the Flushing church, where he preached a year for the sum of 600 guilders. He finally departed for the ' English Virginias' in 1648."
This is one side of the story--Doughty's side.
The colonial records show the Dutch view of the case to be different. Without going into this in detail, we will simply state that the Dutch claimed a debt of 1,100 florins from Mr. Doughty, which he refused to pay. It was out of this that the trouble arose. The last notice of this man is found in Dr. O'Callaghan's Colonial Documents where it reports a commissioner sent from New York to Maryland colony as saying that during a visit to Cecil, Lord Baltimore, he met Mr. Doughty at a dinner given by the Maryland governor and found him "looking much the same" as when he last saw him in New Amsterdam and very bitter against the Dutch. After the burning of Mespat village by the Indians in 1643, Mr. Doughty sought refuge in New Amsterdam with all his followers. Here they resided for several years, Mr. Doughty purchasing property just outside the fort. Within the fort he established an English church and preached regularly to his flock. Thus the Rev. Francis Doughty was the first preacher in the English language in New York city--"a fact we never saw commented on in any history of New York."
From the Calendar of N. Y. Hist. Mss. in the Secretary of State's Office at Albany, N. Y., Part I of Dutch Mss., we learn that 1642, March 28, a patent of 6666 (Dutch) acres of land at Maspeth was issued to Rev. Francis Doughty and his associates, page 49, vol. G. G.
1645, June 10, Rev. Francis Doughty sued Wm. Gerritson, an Englishman, for libel consisting of a defamatory song against plaintiff and his daughter. The defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced, &c., page 224, vol. 4.
1646, March 22, Rev. Mr. Doughty appointed a referee.
1649, Feb. 7, Wm. and Richd. Smith vs. Rev. Francis Doughty. Defendant ordered to declare who are his partners. Vol. 4, page 283.
Soon after this probably, he removed to Maryland, where his brother-in-law, William Stone, was Governor. He married Bridget?(?Stone). Children:
+2 i. Mary, b. about 1628.
+3 ii. Francis, b. about 1630.
+4 iii. Elias, b. about 1632.
Since writing the above account of Rev. Francis Doughty, whose record was mainly obtained from official records in New York State and in England, I have received this further information through Mr. P. G. Burton of Washington, D. C., who for some time has been interested in the history of the Doughty family:
Quoting Mr. Burton's letter it is as follows:
"Rev. Francis Doughty went to Northampton County,Virginia, in 1655 (the year that his son-in-law, Adriaen Vanderdonck died) and became the Rector of an Episcopal church there. He was apparently well thought of, and one wealthy and influential woman (parishioner) directed in her will that he have charge of the rearing of her children.
Just what took Rev. Francis Doughty to Virginia I do not know, but I have a theory that the Rev. Samuel Drisius, who was a minister in New Amsterdam, and who was sent on a special mission to Virginia in December, 1653, may have had something to do with the move.
It is known that Drisius, while in Virginia, preached in the church of which Doughty was later Rector. There is a reference to the choosing of Doughty in the Northampton County records, but I have not yet been able to get a copy of it.
In 1658 Doughty married Ann Eaton, a widow with some property, and shortly after moved into Rappahannock County, where in 1662 he bought 200 acres of land. (In 1692 Rappahannock County was divided into what are now Essex and Richmond Counties).
For several years Doughty was rector of two parishes, one on each side of the Rappahannock River.
In the summer of 1668 he had a lengthy "argument" with two of his parishioners, both prominent in political and social circles.
He refused to allow them to "communicate in the blessed ordinance of the Lord's Supper" and they brought charges of non-conformity and scandalous living, the particular kind of scandal not being specified.
The matter was before Gov. Berkeley, and referred by him to the County Commissioners for trial. What decision, if any, was reached, does not appear in any record that has survived.
In March, 1668-9, Doughty placed his farm in the hands of trustees for the benefit of his wife during her lifetime, and announced his intention of departing for "some other Countrey and Clymate that may prove more favorable to my aged, infirm and decayed body, than the said Countrey of Virginia wherein I now reside," his wife, however, being "unwilling to depart the said Countrey, she finding the same best agreeing with her health, besides her loathness and unwillingness to bidd farewell to her most deare and beloved children and to her beloved kindred and relacons, all or at least most of them, residing in the said Colony of Virginia, and the neighboring Province of Maryland."
On the same day, Rev. Francis Doughty deeded the reversion of this property to his son Enoch Doughty, who seems to have heretofore escaped the eye of the historian.
Enoch Doughty died in Virginia between 1675 and 1677 and willed his property to his children (not named) with instructions to his brother Francis, who was one of the executors, to sell all his property, because he wanted his children to move out of the country.
A memorandum attached to the will seems to show that in 1677 Francis Doughty, Jr., was in England, and among other things had some tobacco to sell for joint account of himself and his brother Enoch.
I have found a record of Enoch Doughty in Maryland as early as Sept., 1658. He had then a wife, Mary, and a daughter, Joy. Joy Doughty was living in 1668, but I have found no record of the names of the other children.
After the 18 of March, 1668-9, I find no record of Rev. Francis Doughty. Whether he went to Long Island and joined his son Elias, or went back to England, is yet to be learned.
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