Phineas Pratt facts for kids
Phineas Pratt (born around 1593 – died April 19, 1680) was a skilled woodworker from London, England. He was one of the very first English settlers in New England and is known as one of the "First Comers" of Plymouth Colony. Pratt arrived in 1622 on a ship called the Sparrow. He helped start the Wessagusset settlement (now Weymouth, Massachusetts), which unfortunately failed in 1623. Later that year, he joined the Plymouth Colony. He married Mary Priest, whose father, Degory Priest, was a passenger on the famous Mayflower ship. In 1662, Phineas wrote down his memories of the early days of the Wessagusset colony. This helped him get official "First Comer" status from the Massachusetts government.
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Early Life in England
Phineas Pratt was born in London, England, around 1593. His parents were Reverend Henry Pratt and Mary Pratt. Henry Pratt was a Puritan minister. This meant he had different religious beliefs than the main Church of England at the time. Because of his beliefs, Henry was even put in prison for preaching. There's a family story that he wrote letters to his family using his own blood while he was in prison!
Some old family stories say that Phineas's grandfather might have been a Frenchman named Plat or Platt. This ancestor supposedly fled France and became a soldier for the King of England, and his name was later changed to Pratt. However, more recent family researchers believe his grandfather, John Henry Pratt, was likely from Bishopworth, England.
Starting a New Life in America
Phineas Pratt was a professional joiner, which is a type of carpenter who builds things with wood, like furniture and house parts.
The Wessagusset Settlement
Around 1622, when Phineas was about 29 years old, he and his brother Joshua joined a group led by Thomas Weston. Weston was a merchant from London who was involved with the Pilgrims who settled Plymouth Colony in 1620. Weston's group was sometimes called the "Strangers" by the Pilgrims.
This group of about 67 men arrived in New England in 1622 on three ships: the Sparrow, Charity, and Swan. Phineas Pratt was on the Sparrow, the first ship to arrive. The group was not well prepared and many were sick. They first landed in Damarill's Cove (now in Maine) to find a place for a new settlement.
After meeting some Native Americans, Weston's men decided it would be better to settle closer to the Plimoth plantation. Phineas Pratt was sent with a small group to explore the area near Plymouth. They even brought some supplies back to their camp in Maine to help the Plymouth settlers who needed food. Eventually, Weston's whole group sailed to Plymouth and stayed there for the summer of 1622.
In August, after the Swan arrived, the group built a trading post and fort in an old Native American village called Wessaguscus. This place is now Weymouth, Massachusetts. Richard Greene, Weston's brother-in-law, was in charge.
A Difficult Winter
The settlement at Wessagusset faced many problems from the very beginning. Richard Greene died soon after visiting Plymouth, and John Sanders took over. The settlers often acted foolishly and didn't plan well. They also made the local Native Americans very angry by stealing their corn.
One person who visited the colony, Christopher Levett, wrote that the settlers "neither applied themselves to planting of corn, nor taking of fish." This means they didn't try to grow food or catch fish for the future. Instead, they focused on building forts. When winter came, their forts couldn't keep hunger away. They didn't have enough food, gunpowder, or bullets to hunt. Many people starved, and the rest barely survived.
Some members of Weston's group stole from both the local Native Americans, led by Pecksuot, and from the Plymouth settlers. Phineas Pratt's own writings describe how the Native American leader, Pecksuot, confronted them about the stolen corn. The settlers offered to punish the man who stole, but Pecksuot said that leaders should handle justice for their own people. He believed that if the settlers didn't stop the stealing, it meant they all agreed with it.
Pratt's Dangerous Journey
In March 1623, Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag people, warned the Plymouth colonists about a plan among some Native Americans in the Wessagusset area to attack Weston's men. Just as Myles Standish was getting ready to go help the Wessagusset settlers, Phineas Pratt arrived in Plymouth. He had traveled a long way with a small bag on his back.
Phineas had felt uneasy at Wessagusset and told his group that someone needed to warn Plymouth. No one else wanted to go with him. Believing the Native Americans were waiting for the snow to melt before attacking, Phineas pretended to go gather nuts. Instead, he set off walking 25 miles in the snow, without food, for several days. He famously walked backward for part of his journey. He hoped this would trick anyone following him into thinking he was walking in the opposite direction.
Myles Standish and his men went to Wessagusset to protect the settlers there. They ended up fighting and killing several Native American leaders, including Pecksuot. Phineas Pratt didn't go with them because he was too weak. He stayed in Plymouth until things were safer at the other settlement.
When he recovered, Pratt rejoined his group at Piscataqua. But soon after, Weston's group gave up on the Wessagusset settlement. Pratt was involved in other conflicts with Native Americans in different areas. He reported that nine of the Wessagusset settlers died from hunger, two were killed by Native Americans, and one died on his way to fishing ships after the colony was abandoned.
Life in Plymouth
In late 1623, Thomas Weston's business venture ended. Most of his remaining group went back to England. Phineas Pratt and a few others joined the Plymouth settlement. They were accepted, though some Plymouth settlers had mixed feelings about them.
In 1623, Phineas Pratt was given land in Plymouth. He and Joshua Pratt received two acres together. In 1624, when Plymouth was divided into twelve companies, Phineas and Joshua were assigned to Francis Cooke's group. At this time, Plymouth had about 32 homes and was about half a mile wide.
Marriage and Later Years
In 1630, Phineas Pratt married Mary Priest. Mary was the daughter of Degory Priest and Sarah (Allerton) Vincent. Mary was born in England around 1612. Her father, Degory Priest, had come to America on the Mayflower, but he died during the difficult first winter. Mary's mother remarried in Holland and came to Plymouth with Mary, her sister Sarah, and a baby son on the ship Anne in 1623.
When Phineas married Mary Priest, he gained 30 acres of land. They also bought 30 more acres near Phineas's land.
On August 6, 1646, Phineas sold his property in Plymouth. Around May 20, 1648, Pratt bought a house and garden in Charlestown, Massachusetts. This property was located between "windmill hill and that way which goes into Elbow Lane."
Asking for Help from the Court
In 1662, when Phineas was about 69 years old, he asked the Massachusetts government (called the General Court) for financial help. He also wanted to officially be recognized as a "First Comer." This status meant he would receive benefits given to the earliest settlers of Massachusetts. To support his request, Pratt wrote an amazing story of his early days in the settlement. He called it A declaration of the affaires of the Einglish People, that first inhabited New Eingland.
Because of his story, the court gave him 300 acres of land. This land was in a wild area east of the Merrimack River, near where Litchfield, New Hampshire, is today. This land wouldn't be very valuable for many years.
In October 1668, when he was about 75, Pratt asked the Court for help again. He reminded them of his service to the King and how he was one of the first ten men to arrive in Massachusetts Bay. He spoke of the sixty men who were the "forlorn hope" (meaning a small group sent ahead). He mentioned how ten of them died from hunger and how they fought with Native Americans three times. He also described being chased for his life for 30 miles in the snow and frost, like a deer being hunted by wolves. He said it wasn't human strength but God that put fear in their enemies' hearts.
He ended his request by saying, "Now in times of prosperity, I beseech you consider the day of small things; for I was almost frozen in time of our weak beginnings, and now I am lame." He asked for something to help him live for the rest of his life. However, Pratt's request in 1668 was not granted.
Death and Burial
Phineas Pratt died in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1680. His gravestone says he was "about 90 years" old.
Phineas Pratt wrote his will on January 8, 1677. In his will, he left his belongings to his wife, Mary Pratt. He also arranged for his son Joseph Pratt to pay his wife 40 shillings a year and provide her with a comfortable room in their house for the rest of her life.
Among Phineas Pratt's final possessions were:
- Land
- Clothes (wool and linen)
- Household items like pillows, napkins, sheets, blankets, and rugs
- Furniture like cupboards, chests, and a small table
- Kitchen items like pewter, brass skillets, iron pots, and a frying pan
- Tools like a hatchet
- Books
The total value of all his belongings was 32 pounds, 16 shillings, and 6 pence. His living children, Samuel, Daniel, and Mary, were his heirs. His wife, Mary Priest Pratt, lived for about nine more years after he passed away.
