Increase Nowell
Encyclopedia
Increase Nowell, was a colonial administrator, original patentee
of the Massachusetts Bay Company, founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts
and first ruling elder of the First Church in Charlestown.
He was baptized in 1593 at Sheldon
, Warwickshire
, on the estate bought in 1575 by his grandfather Laurence Nowell. He married at Holy Trinity, Minories
, London.
He was named within The Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company and in 1629 was created assistant to the Massachusetts Bay Colony being re-elected annually up until 1654.
He was an eminent member of the Puritan Great Migration
of the 1630s. As a result of the Cambridge Agreement, emigrating shareholders bought out those not emigrating thus allowing the proposed colony autonomy from London. Nowell had dealings with transatlantic merchants and as the Winthrop Fleet
was being assembled, he was recommended as good counsel concerning buying a ship
In 1630 Nowell sailed with John Winthrop
as a part of the original Puritan expedition to Massachusetts
. Soon after arriving in the New World, Nowell became one of the original settlers of Charlestown, one of Massachusetts' earliest Puritan communities.
He was first ruling elder of the First Church in Charlestown, now The First Congregational Society of Charlestown, which was founded in November 1632 with Nowell named first on the covenant of the original members. The original meetinghouse is believed to have been in the vicinity today’s Thompson Square. Nowell conducted marriages but declined further ecclesiastical office. In 1637 John Harvard
, benefactor of Harvard University
was appointed minister for the church.
Nowell worked as a lay magistrate, military commissioner and colonial secretary (1636–50). On his death, his estate was valued at £592. In 1656 the General Court
, sensible of the low condition of the family, initially granted 2000 acres (8.1 km²), with a further 3200 acres (12.9 km²) grant later
in King Philip's War
.
The founder of Radcliffe College
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
, Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, was a descendant of Nowell
Land patent
A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...
of the Massachusetts Bay Company, founder of Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
and first ruling elder of the First Church in Charlestown.
He was baptized in 1593 at Sheldon
Sheldon, West Midlands
Sheldon is an area of eastern Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It is close to the border with the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull and Birmingham International Airport....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, on the estate bought in 1575 by his grandfather Laurence Nowell. He married at Holy Trinity, Minories
Holy Trinity, Minories
Holy Trinity, Minories was a church outside the eastern boundaries of the City of London; but within the Liberties of the Tower of London. The liberty was incorporated in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1899, and today is within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.The district lay within the...
, London.
He was named within The Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company and in 1629 was created assistant to the Massachusetts Bay Colony being re-elected annually up until 1654.
He was an eminent member of the Puritan Great Migration
Great Migration (Puritan)
The Puritan migration to New England was marked in its effects in the two decades from 1620 to 1640, after which it declined sharply for a while. The term Great Migration usually refers to the migration in this period of English settlers, primarily Puritans to Massachusetts and the warm islands of...
of the 1630s. As a result of the Cambridge Agreement, emigrating shareholders bought out those not emigrating thus allowing the proposed colony autonomy from London. Nowell had dealings with transatlantic merchants and as the Winthrop Fleet
Winthrop Fleet
The Winthrop Fleet was a group of eleven sailing ships under the leadership of John Winthrop that carried approximately 700 Puritans plus livestock and provisions from England to New England over the summer of 1630.-Motivation:...
was being assembled, he was recommended as good counsel concerning buying a ship
In 1630 Nowell sailed with John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
as a part of the original Puritan expedition to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Soon after arriving in the New World, Nowell became one of the original settlers of Charlestown, one of Massachusetts' earliest Puritan communities.
He was first ruling elder of the First Church in Charlestown, now The First Congregational Society of Charlestown, which was founded in November 1632 with Nowell named first on the covenant of the original members. The original meetinghouse is believed to have been in the vicinity today’s Thompson Square. Nowell conducted marriages but declined further ecclesiastical office. In 1637 John Harvard
John Harvard (clergyman)
John Harvard was an English minister in America whose deathbed bequest to the Massachusetts Bay Colony's fledgling New College was so gratefully received that the school was renamed Harvard College in his honor.-Biography:Harvard was born and raised in Southwark, England, the fourth of nine...
, benefactor of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
was appointed minister for the church.
Nowell worked as a lay magistrate, military commissioner and colonial secretary (1636–50). On his death, his estate was valued at £592. In 1656 the General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
, sensible of the low condition of the family, initially granted 2000 acres (8.1 km²), with a further 3200 acres (12.9 km²) grant later
Descendants
His eldest surviving son Samuel Nowell (1634–1688) graduated from Harvard College in 1653, and was chaplain under General Josiah WinslowJosiah Winslow
Josiah Winslow was an American Pilgrim leader. He served as governor of Plymouth Colony from 1673 to 1680.Born in Plymouth Colony , he was son of Edward Winslow and Susanna White. In 1651 in London, with his father, he married Penelope Pelham, daughter of Herbert Pelham, the first treasurer of...
in King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
.
The founder of Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, was a descendant of Nowell