Abstracted from the Giles Memorial Genealogical Memoirs found in a database at Genealogy.com Many of the comments following the James Gyles Journal were provided by the author of the Giles Memorial Genealogical Memoirs, the Thomas Gyles family researcher. JAMES GYLES, presumed to be brother to the Thomas Gyles. Our knowledge of him is . . . from a manuscript [found] in New Jersey, and in the possession of Hon. Charles S. Olden, the present governor of that state, who is a descendant of James Gyles. . . . the existence of this MS became known to some members of the Maine Historical Society, and a copy of it was furnished by Mr. Olden in Sept. 1853, to Bishop Burgess of Maine, by whom it was given to John McKeen, Esq., of Brunswick, Me., for the Maine Historical Society. "A true account of our travels from Old England to New England in the year 1668, with the several transactions and removes in America. "August 22nd 1668. We took our journey from the Park to Feversham, and so to London, where we staid some days, till the ship was ready, and then fell down to the Downs, where we staid two days for a wind; and the 5th of September, the wind being fair, we hoisted sail and proceeded on our voyage, but the third day after, met with a contrary wind and a storm, which forced us into Cowes in the Island of Wight; where we staid two days, and then proceeded on our voyage. (see footnote 1) "November the 9th we arrived at Boston in New England, having been nine weeks and two days at sea; and winter coming on so fast, as we could not look out for a place to settle, and being unwilling to winter in the town, after three weeks stay, and having refreshed ourselves after our long voyage at sea, November the 30th we went to Braintree, where we hired a house until Spring, in which time I took a voyage eastward to look out for a place to settle. "Winter being over, the 3rd day of May 1669, we went from Braintree to Boston to get a passage eastward. May 10th we hoisted sail from Boston, and proceeded on our voyage eastward. May 17th we arrived at Merrimathing in Kennebec River, and not liking that house, the 14th of October, we removed from thence to Whidby, a house on the same river, and having lived there two years I bought a tract of land of the Indians, and having bought a house upon the same, October 31st 1671, we removed from Whidby to go into our own house; but Muddy river being frozen over, we were fain to go into James Thomas' house. (2) "April 16, 1672, we removed from thence into our own house at Muddy river, and having lived there three years and four months, the Indian war began in New England about June 1675, and in August the Indians rose at the Eastward and forced us to forsake our house and go to Samuel York's house to garrison, where we staid about a month, but the Indians growing too strong for us, killed our cattle and swine, plundered our houses; and having killed several people in Casco bay, several of our men grew faint-hearted and left us, so as we had but nine men left in garrison, and too weak to withstand so great a power of Indians if they should set upon us. About the middle of September, we were forced to forsake our garrison and go down to Rowseck house to the main garrison, where we staid about six weeks, in which time we had some skirmishes with the Indians as we were gathering our corn at Muddy river, and having killed several, the rest ran away, and came no more to trouble us all the winter. (3) (4) "About the latter end of November, the winter setting in so violent, and the house being so full of people, as we could not endure there any longer, five families of us joining together went to Sylvenus Davis house on the westward side of the river, where we staid all the winter. Towards spring, the Indians sent down to make peace with the inhabitants; upon which we gave them a meeting at Pemaquid, and there concluded a peace with them, which continued until they had an opportunity to break it in August after. [The peace was made] about the beginning of April 1676.(5) "All being at peace and quiet, I went down the river to Mr Weaswell's house which stood empty, and there planted some Indian corn and other things, intending in the fall to go up again to our own house at Muddy river, with the rest of our neighbors, if the peace had continued with the Indians; but the Providence of ALMIGHTY GOD had otherwise ordered it, for about the middle of summer, Philip being killed, and most of the chief sachems being killed and driven out of the Narraganset country, such as were left alive came away Eastward to join with these Indians, who were glad of an opportunity to play the rogue; and the ninth of August 1676, early in the morning, when no Englishman thought of any war, they came down to Rouseck, and took it, and killed and took away about fifty people, and burnt down the house and all other buildings about, killing and destroying all that came in their way; so as we were forced to fly for our lives in a canoe and leave all ever we had, and glad that we could save our lives. (5) "We and the rest of Kennebec neighbours, whom God had preserved from the cruelty of the Indians, got to Damoras Cove, a fishing island about two miles from the main land, where we met the people of Shipscut, Pemaquid, and all other places thereabout, who fled thither to save their lives. We staid there a week, in which time we made several attempts into the river to see if we could get off any thing that was left behind; but all in vain, for the Indians lay in ambush and beat us off, so as we could get nothing from the main land but blows, and saw all our houses burnt and our cattle killed, and every thing ruined and destroyed, and no help like to come to us from the Bay; and we being about three hundred souls on a little island, and no meat, drink, or any thing else to relieve us, and being in a poor condition, we thought good to call a council to consult what course to take for relief; and first to consider what vessels and boats there were in the harbour, and finding there was enough to carry all the people away, the 16th day of August at night we set sail and left not one man, woman, or child behind; some for Piscataway, Salem, Boston, and other towns in the Bay, according as they had friends and relations.(5) "August 18, I arrived at Boston, where we found good friends and relief, and there we staid about seven weeks; but the town being very full of people, and winter coming on, and no hope of returning again to our former habitation, we thought it time to look out for some other place of settlement; and consulting with several friends what course to take, I met with one at last that advised me to go westward, and also gave me a letter of commendation to Richard Brown of the town of Southold on Long Island in the Province of New York; and looking out for a passage, I met with a sloop belonging to the same town, with whom I bargained for a passage.(*) "October 11, 1676, we set sail from Boston, and 26th of same month we arrived at the town of Southold at the house of Richard Brown, who received us kindly, and took us into his own house, and provided for us like a father, until we were able to shift for ourselves; the rest of the neighbours being very helpful unto us, with whom we staid one year; in which time I bought a lot of land lying about fourteen miles westward from the place; and being desirous to be as near it as I could, October 26th 1677, we removed from Richard Brown's to Mattetock, a house that was empty and about two miles from my lot, where we staid about one year. "November 1678, we removed to Thomas Mape's house, which was very near to my lot of land, intending to build a house upon it as soon as I possibly could; but after some improvements made upon it, I found the land very poor and barren, and no meadow to be got for my cattle, and having lived there almost a year and a half, I began to dislike the place. In the mean time, Sir Edmond Andross, then governor of New York, sent for me to come to him at the fall of the year to York to wait upon his honor at York, and he promised to give me a lot of land upon Staten Island; but winter coming on so fast, as I could not remove till Spring, and then I hired a small ketch to carry me away; and the 7th of April, 1680, we set sail from Southold for York, where we arrived the 17th day, and were kindly received by Sir Edmond Andross, who provided a place for us for the present. May 22nd we went from York to the Governor's house on Staten Island, where we staid four months. September 7, [1680] we removed to Mr. Witt's house, to look after his land, until Sir Edmond could get a lot of land laid out for me; but he being called home for England so suddenly that I could not get a good lot of land as I did expect, for I did not think it worth building a house upon it, and therefore I sold it to Captain Palmer of Staten Island, who carried me over to New Jersey to see if I could meet with a better lot of land; and meeting with a lot to my mind that was to be sold, lying upon Rariton river, I got Captain Palmer to buy it for me, which he did. "October 14th 1681, we removed from Staten Island to Benjamin Hull's house in Piscataway, where we staid all the winter, until our own house was ready. April 6th 1682, we removed into our own house at the Bound Brook upon Rariton River in Piscataway in the East Province of New Jersey. JAMES GYLES." ================================= (1) "We"--includes himself and wife, and what children he may have had. His wife's name was Elizabeth; she was a second wife. See letter of Gov. Olden, following this journal. Possibly, Thomas Gyles was in his company during the passage from England to America; as he certainly came from England, with his wife, not far from this time. "Feversham" is in Kent; The Park here mentioned seems to have been in the parish of Challock, which lies in the Hundred of Felborough, Lathe of Scray, and County of Kent, on the river Stour, four miles east from Charing, and between Ashford and Faversham. The Gyles family were residents in this parish, possessed considerable estates, and were also owners of land in Sheldwick, another parish, (21/2 miles south from Faversham) as early as the reign of Richard II., 1377-1399. This family is now extinct in that place. A Park is mentioned in the parish of Challock. [Ireland's Hist. of Kent, (London, 1829,) Vol. II., p. 549.] A Lath or Lathe is a division of a County in England. Faversham, sometimes written Feversham, is a seaport and parish, nine miles west from Canterbury, and forty-seven east from London. ---------------- (2) extract from Braintree Records "Amma Giles, daughter of James and Elizabeth, born April 15, 1669." This extract must refer to the writer of this Journal, because the name Giles appears nowhere else on Braintree Records. He doubtless spent the winter in that part of Braintree which is now the town of Quincy, about eight miles from Boston. ---------------- (3) "Whidby" is the same as Whisgeag. It is a creek or arm of the sea, which extends south from Merrymeeting Bay two miles into the land. Thomas Stevens, an Indian trader, who married the widow of Thomas Watkins not long before 1674, lived on Stevens river, two miles above the turnpike bridge, on the road from Brunswick to Bath, and very near Whisgeag. Thomas Purchas lived in the same vicinity, six miles below the Falls in Brunswick. He came there in 1625, and his house was plundered by the Indians, Sept. 5, 1675.[Williamson's History of Maine, pp.33,47,266,520. Thomas Gyles's land had Muddy River on the north, and Merrymeeting Bay on the south and east. James Thomas's land lay on the north side of Muddy River. James Gyles landed, May 17, 1669, on the south side of Merrymeeting Bay. Oct. 14, following, he removed to Whisgeag, on the same side. Two years after, he bought land on the north side of Muddy River, in Topsham, very near to the land of Thomas Gyles, but spent the winter of 1671-2 in James Thomas's house, near by. Muddy River is an arm of the sea, (so to speak,) collateral with Merrymeeting Bay, and uniting with that bay on the northern side of the latter. At the point of confluence is an elevated headland, where Thomas Gyles built his house. James Gyles lived in the near vicinity, and from this circumstance, as well as from their arrival at or near the same time, and coming both of them from Kent in England, there arises a strong presumption that they were brothers. ---------------------- (4) The Indian War, commonly known as "Philip's war," commenced in the Colony of Plymouth, June 24, 1675, in the killing of ten or twelve persons at Swanzey, as they were returning from meeting. "In August, the Indians rose at the Eastward," says James Gyles. This may be true, for all summer long they had been exhibiting uncommon insolence towards the settlers. But the first act of war, committed by them in Maine, so far as I can find, was their hostile visit to the house of Thomas Purchas, on Stevens's River, in what is now Brunswick, some three or four miles from the abode of James Gyles. They killed a calf of his and several sheep,and robbed the house, but offered no personal violence to the inmates. About a week afterwards, viz., on Sept. 12, in Falmouth, they killed Thomas Wakely, an old man, his wife, his son John and his wife, and three children of the latter couple, in all seven persons; and burned the house. These were the "several persons killed in Casco Bay," the first persons in Maine slain in that war, at the news of which several of the garrison in York's house became "faint-hearted." The scene of massacre was 25 or 30 miles distant. ------------------- (5) Capt. Thomas Lake and Capt. Thomas Clark, merchants of Boston, and . . . [other] military officers also, owned Arrowsic Island in the Kennebec or Sagadabock River, and had erected upon it a trading house and a strong fortification, called by James Gyles "the main garrison." Capt. Silvanus Davis, who then resided on the mainland on the west side of the river, was their general agent. There were about fifty dwelling-houses on this island previous to this war. [Williamson, Vol. I., pp. 53, 526. (*) Capt. Silvanus Davis. . . lived on the west side of Sagadahock River, we suppose in the present town of Phipsburg. He afterwards lived in Falmouth. Reportedly, the day before the Indians had killed Richard Hammond, Samuel Smith, and Joshua Grant, in Woolwich, and taken sixteen captives. They landed the night following, in great silence, on Arrowsic Island, approached the fort, and waited till the sentinel retired from his post, early on the morning of. . . , when they rushed in at the gate, taking the garrison completely by surprise. Captains Lake and Davis, and others, roused from sleep, and finding resistance vain, fled by a back passage, and leaping into a canoe, endeavored to reach another island. The savages pursued them, and just as the fugitives were stepping on shore, Lake was slain by a musket shot, and Davis severely wounded,. . . . James Gyles was in Capt. Lake's fort, but made his escape, with perhaps ten or twelve others, by fleeing to the other end of the island, where they found canoes, and escaped with their lives. The ruin of the flourishing plantation of Arrowsic was complete. It was a large and beautiful establishment; there was a mansion house, block-house, mills, dwelling-houses, and out-buildings, fifty or more in number, which had been erected at the cost of several thousand pounds. But all were in a few hours reduced to a heap of smouldering ruins. [Williamson's Maine, Vol. I., pp. 53, 536. . . . . Francis Card, a man who lived on Kennebec River, and was taken, with his family, by the Indians, the same day that Richard Hammond was killed at Woolwich. He was carried to Penobscot, made his escape, came to Boston, where he made a statement of Indian ravages, which is copied by Hubbard in his narrative of the Indian Wars. Card says the whole number of Indians who committed these devastations did not exceed eighty, for he counted them. The Damariscove Islands, to one of which the narrator escaped, are six in number, small in size, lying in the ocean, nine miles west of Pemaquid Point, two or three miles southwest of Damariscotta River, and a mile or two southeast of Boothbay. They were inhabited by fishermen. If we may judge from the apportionment of taxes in 1674, there was more property here than at Pemaquid; Damariscove being assessed five pounds and Pemaquid only two. Seventeen fishing boats were owned here. The settlers at Sheepscot, Pemaquid, &c., having notice of the massacre and destruction of Woolwich and Arrowsic, waited not for the savage foe, but went on board their fishing vessels, and fled to Damariscove. Callicott, Wiswell, and others were also there, from the western side of the Kennebec. No help was to be expected from "the Bay," i. e. from Boston. Thomas Gyles, on his return from England, this same year, "began a settlement on Long Island," says the Narrative of his son, John Gyles. Here is another point of contact between Thomas and James Gyles. Southold is near the eastern end of the Island. It was settled from New England. The war was not brought to a close in Maine till July, 1677. About 300 of the settlers in Maine lost their lives in it, out of a population of about 6000.