John Leavitt facts for kids
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Deacon John Leavitt (born 1608, died 1691) was an important person in early America. He was a tailor (someone who makes clothes), worked for the public, and helped start the Old Ship Church in Hingham, Massachusetts. This church is super old – it's the only 1600s Puritan church still standing in America. It's also the oldest church in the United States that has been used continuously! A street in Hingham is even named after him, and his family has lived there for hundreds of years.
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John Leavitt's Early Life and Move to America
John Leavitt was born in 1608 in Beverly, a town in Yorkshire, England. We first find records of him in America in 1634. He was living in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and was given a piece of land to build a house.
Just two years later, in 1636, John Leavitt moved to nearby Hingham. There, he was given more land. People used to tell a story about how he came to America:
"Family stories say that John Leavitt was an indentured apprentice in England," wrote Solomon Lincoln in 1827. This means he was like a student who worked for a master for a set time, usually to learn a trade. "He supposedly ran away from his master and came to this country when he was nineteen years old."
In 1636, John Leavitt took the Freeman's Oath for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This was a special promise of loyalty to the English King and the colony. By taking this oath, he became a "freeman," which meant he could vote and own land. In early records, his name was sometimes spelled "Levett."
Family Life and Public Service
After moving to Hingham, John Leavitt's first wife, Mary, passed away. He then married Sarah Gilman in Hingham on December 16, 1646. Sarah's father, Edward Gilman Sr., was also a resident of Hingham. Sarah's sister, Lydia, married Daniel Cushing, who became the town clerk of Hingham. Daniel Cushing was a lifelong friend of John Leavitt and later witnessed his will.
John Leavitt became very involved in the town's activities. He was named a Sergeant in the local militia (a group of citizens who act as soldiers). He also served as a Deputy (like a representative) to the Massachusetts General Court from 1656 to 1664. This was the main governing body of the colony. In 1661, he became a Selectman for the town, which meant he was one of the elected officials who managed town affairs. Later, he became a Deacon of the church.
John Leavitt and his wife Sarah had 13 children! Besides his public life and raising a large family, he spent his life buying land. He probably did this because land was hard to get in his home country of England. By 1665, he owned 12 acres (about 48,500 square meters) of land near the border of Hingham and what is now Cohasset, Massachusetts.
John Leavitt and his friend Nathaniel Baker often bought land together. They seemed to have a good relationship with the local Native Americans. Deacon John Leavitt even helped bury a local Native American chief.
The Old Ship Church and Later Years
In 1680, the town of Hingham decided to build a new church. John Leavitt, who was a Deacon by then, strongly supported building the new church. His speeches convinced the townspeople that a new building was needed.
The Old Ship Church was finished on July 26, 1681. It was called "Old Ship Church" because its special hammerbeam roof looked like the inside of an upside-down ship's hull. On that day, the people of Hingham gathered to watch the frame of the new building being put up.
Deacon John Leavitt, who was 73 years old, was there to see the new church. His special pew (a church bench) is still kept in the building today, more than 300 years later.
John Leavitt passed away in Hingham on November 20, 1691, at the age of 83. His will (a legal document about his property) showed how much land he had gathered during his life. It also showed the strong family and social connections he had made in the New World. His friend and brother-in-law Daniel Cushing Sr. was one of the people in charge of his estate.
John Leavitt's wife, Sarah (Gilman) Leavitt, died in Hingham on May 26, 1700.
John Leavitt's Descendants
Many of John Leavitt's children and later family members became important people.
- Two of his sons, Samuel and Moses, moved to Exeter, New Hampshire.
- His son Israel married Lydia Jackson. Lydia's grandfather, Nathaniel Morton, was the Secretary of the Plymouth Colony. He was the first person to publish a list of those who signed the Mayflower Compact. He also wrote about the first Thanksgiving.
- John's daughter Sarah's descendants started the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts, which was made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's book Tales of a Wayside Inn.
Other famous descendants of Deacon John Leavitt include:
- Stephen King, a well-known writer.
- Sandra Day O'Connor, a former Supreme Court Justice (a judge on the highest court in the U.S.).
- Cecilia Beaux, a famous portrait painter.
- Henrietta Swan Leavitt, a brilliant astronomer from Harvard University who made important discoveries about stars.
- Mike Leavitt, a former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- Jon Huntsman, Jr., a former governor of Utah and U.S. Ambassador.
- Ron Darling, a professional baseball pitcher.
Some of John Leavitt's descendants even moved to Germany and became German citizens. His great-great-grandsons, Elisha and David Leavitt, were among the first settlers in an area of New Brunswick, Canada, now called Leavitt's Head. They worked in lumber and fishing, and their families still hold reunions there.
John Leavitt's family has held reunions in Hingham over the years, celebrating their shared history.
Images for kids
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Sita and Sarita (Jeune Fille au Chat). A portrait of Sarah Allibone Leavitt by Cecilia Beaux, 1893–1894.
