My 11th Great Grandfather ~ Juror At The Peach Gang Trial

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 33 (LEGAL TROUBLES)

My 11th great grandfather, William Pontus, served as a juror for the first capital trial in Plymouth Colony. 

4 men known as the Peach Gang murdered a local indigenous man, and were charged with murder. 

"...in 1638, authorities in Plymouth Colony tried Arthur Peach, along with three codefendants, for the murder of a Nipmuc man called Penowanyanquis. The court found the men guilty and sentenced them to death. Three of the four men that were convicted, including Peach, died by hanging. The fourth escaped before trial to Maine, whose people openly refused Plymouth’s requests for his extradition. ..." 1

"...By early September the trial of Peach, jackson and Stinnings began. The court selected twelve men to sit on the jury and hear testimony. The records of the proceedings are sketchy and provide only a miniscule amount of detail. A5 soon as the trial began, all three defendants confessed to committing the murder of Penowanyanquis. yet these admissions did not completely satisfy the court. Consequently, the Plymouth jurists summoned various individuals to testily. Overriding every other concern, the court worried about its authority to hear the case at all. And the court 76 MURDER magistrates confronted a rather knotty question - no one had actually seen Penowanyanquis die. No one could be sure if these men should be tried for murder or a lesser charge of assault. The testimony soon ended any doubt..." 2

"From the Old Colony Memorial. TRIAL FOR MURDER. The following is the first capital trial on the Records of Plymouth Colony, which took place in 1638, eighteen years after the first settlement of the Colony. The execution of three white men for the murder and robbery of an Indian, shews a disposition, as well as determination on the part of the fathers to distribute equal justice to all, and goes to disprove the charge which some have brought against them, of endeavoring to extirpate the natives from the land. It was their constant with to live in peace and They barmony in fact with had the tribes around inducement to preserve the friendship of the Indiacs, and nothing but repeated violations of their treaties and attacks upon their property and lives, would have compelled them to take up arms a- gainst numerous tribes of savages.
At a General 1638. New Plymouth reign lord the Court of our soveKing, held at New Plymouth the fourth day | of September, in the 14th year of the reign of our said Sovereign Lord : Charles, by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. before Thomas Prince, Gent. Governor -William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Capt. Miles Standish, John Alden, John Jenny, Joba Atwood, and John Brown.
Gentlemen, and Assistante of the said Government. Arthur Peach, Richard Stinnings and Daniel Crosse, were indicted for murder and robbing by the highway. They killed and robbed one Penowanyanquis, an- lodian, at Misquamyanquie, and took from him five fathoms of wampeny, and three coats of woollen cloth. The jurys' names that went upon them were theseSworn. William Hatch, John Winslow, Willium Pontus, Edward Foster, Richard Derby, John Holmes, | John Peabode, Richard Sillis, Humfrey Turner, Samuel Hinckley, Giles Rickett, Gabriel Fallowell.
They found the said Arthur Peach, and Richard Stinnings guilty of the said felonious murdering and robbing of the said Poncwanyanquis, but say that they nor auy of them had any lands or tenements, goods or chattels at the time of the said felony committed that they know of and so they say all. Daniel Crosse made an escape, and so had not his trial, but Peach, and Stinnings had sentence of death propounced, viz--to be taken from where they were to the place from whence they came, and thence to the place of execution, and there to be hanged by the neck until their hodies be dead, which was executed upon them accordingly. This is a true copy from the Recorde of the Colony of Plymouth, 1st book of Court Orders. page 69. Attest.
ROSSETER COTTON. Register of Deeds for the County of Plymouth.." 3

..."Plymouth Colony jurors to court. Edward Foster, William Hatch, John Winslow, William Pontus, Richard Derbye, John Holmes, John Paybody, Humfrey Turner, Samuell Hinkley, Giles Rickett, and Gabriell Fallowell made up eleven of the twelve men needed to serve as jurors. Clues in the historical record suggest that Prence and Reverend Lothrop managed to agree that if the religious leader kept his congregation in the colony until the end of the trial, the governor would support their relocation.
The jurors were an austere group. No sketches, visual or verbal, survive to reveal how the jurors looked or acted as they convened, but their biographies help fill in the blanks. Though all married or widowed, none wore wedding rings, an affectation disdained by Puritans. Their work-worn hands would have rested unadorned on their roughly hewn garments. Juror Pontus may have showed his fifty-three years of age, the skin around his eyes creased. The hardworking farmer likely appreciated getting away from the fields and off his feet, as jurors were among the few in court to enjoy the luxury of sitting on benches. ..." 4

5 sourced below

In researching it was apparent we really are doomed to repeat our mistakes. 

The tale is 387 years old, and yet it reads like to could have happened this week. 

There are parts of the tale that society has left behind - such as indentured servants....well except for human trafficking is still a thing & not all employers of temporary foreign workers treat their workers like free citizens. So I'm not sure we have evolved that far in the past 387 years.

If you want to learn more about this court case check the sources below. 

In looking at research ideas for this week's blog I took this line back a further generation, and peaked my interest to learn more.

My 11th great grandfather:
William Pontus 
Birth 4 Dec 1585 • Holland, Reusel-de Mierden, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Death 9 Feb 1653 • Plymouth, Massachusetts, Colonial America

and 11th great grandmother
Wybra Hanson
Birth ABT. 1590 • Austerfield, South Yorkshire, England
Death 22 DEC 1633 • Plymouth, Massachusetts, Colonial America

For a moment I stopped and pondered 11th great grandparents - did you know we have 8,192 11th great grandparents - well I do, but Chris does not because he has pedigree collapse in at least one of his lines. His father's maternal 5th great grandparents are also his father's paternal 4th great grandparents so he will have less. Then again - with this puritan line I may have pedigree collapse in my line as well.

Finding one of my eight thousand one hundred and ninety-two 11th great grandparents in historical records!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  The Murder of Penowanyanquis and the Trial of Arthur Peach, Plymouth, 1638. Dorn, Nathan. Originally published September 13th 2018,  Retrieved August 13th 2025 from
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2018/09/the-murder-of-penowanyanquis-and-the-trial-of-arthur-peach-plymouth-1638/

2 Rhode Island History Journal, Vol. 38, August 1979.  Retrieved August 13th 2025 from https://www.rihs.org/history_journal/rhode-island-history-journal-vol-38-august-1979/

3  From the Old Colony Memorial: TRIAL FOR MURDER (Peach Gang/Murder of Penowanyanquis, Massachusetts). Woodstock Observer, and Windsor and Orange County Gazette. Woodstock, Vermont. Tue, Jul 5, 1825. Page 4. Retrieved from Newspapers.com August 13th 2025

4 Judgement Day at America’s First Blockbuster Murder Trial. Tobey Pearl on the Trial of the Plymouth Colonists Who Murdered an Indigenous Man. Pearl, Tobey. Originally published  March 16th 2021. Retrieved August 13th 2025 from
https://lithub.com/judgement-day-at-americas-first-blockbuster-murder-trial/

Sources:

1638: Three (of four) English colonists for murdering a Native American.Executed Today.  Originally osted on September 4th 2008. By dogboyHistorical executions, day by day. Retrieved August 12th 2025 from
https://www.executedtoday.com/tag/arthur-peach/

Book Links. Plymouth Colony Records. Retrieved August 11th 2025 from
https://johndunhamsociety.com/library/plymouth-colony-records

From the Old Colony Memorial: TRIAL FOR MURDER (Peach Gang/Murder of Penowanyanquis, Massachusetts). Woodstock Observer, and Windsor and Orange County Gazette. Woodstock, Vermont. Tue, Jul 5, 1825. Page 4
Retrieved from Newspapers.com August 13th 2025

How Big is Your Family Tree?. Retrieved August 12th 2025 from
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~pamonval/genealogy/howbig.html

Judgement Day at America’s First Blockbuster Murder Trial. Tobey Pearl on the Trial of the Plymouth Colonists Who Murdered an Indigenous Man. Pearl, Tobey. Originally published  March 16th 2021. Retrieved August 13th 2025 from
https://lithub.com/judgement-day-at-americas-first-blockbuster-murder-trial/

Line 2 William Pontus, the man who missed the Mayflower. A Long Line of Family Blog. Originally posted January 26th 2011. Retrieved August 10th 2025 from
https://alonglineoffamily.blogspot.com/2011/01/

The Murder of Penowanyanquis and the Trial of Arthur Peach, Plymouth, 1638. Dorn, Nathan. Originally published September 13th 2018,  Retrieved August 13th 2025 from

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2018/09/the-murder-of-penowanyanquis-and-the-trial-of-arthur-peach-plymouth-1638/

The Plymouth Colony Archive Project. From Thanksgiving to War: Native Americans in Criminal Cases of Plymouth Colony, 1630-1675. Aultman, Jennifer L. Originally published 2001.  Retrieved August 13th 2025 from
http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/wampanoag.html

Records of the colony of New Plymouth in New England : printed by order of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. by New Plymouth Colony; Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet, 1810-1874; Pulsifer, David, 1802-1894. Page 96. Retrieved August 11th 2025 from
https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo0102newp/page/n117/mode/2up

Photos:

5 Records of the colony of New Plymouth in New England : printed by order of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. by New Plymouth Colony; Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet, 1810-1874; Pulsifer, David, 1802-1894. Page 96. Retrieved August 11th 2025 from
https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo0102newp/page/n117/mode/2up

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Wide Open Spaces ~ Nestled Safe & Secure

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 32 (WIDE OPEN SPACES)

Wide Open Spaces left me a bit pondered. 

I could write about my great granparents arrival in 1909 from Ukraine to homestead in northern Saskatchewan which is a very flat part of Canada.

When Chris and I travel across the prairie provinces of Canada I am always overwhelmed by how much space is really out there.  

Chris often comments that you can watch your dog run  away for 3 days in Saskatchewan when we travel through those wide open spaces. 

On one of our trips Chris commented that he missed the mountains as we were traveling across Saskatchewan. 

I replied that since we were at an elevation we were actually on the top of the mountains. 

This shifted both of our views.

It really is about perspective.

Surrounded by mountains in British Columbia OR on top of the mountains in the prairies - the mountains are still there.

I remember walking out of the optometrist office with my first pair of glasses at the age of 10, and realizing the mountains had trees on them.

I had never realized the mountains fully surrounging my hometown had trees.

When we first moved away from the mountainous area of BC I really missed the feeling of being snug & secure in the middle of the mountain valley. 

This last weekend I went home for my highschool reunion, and recreated this gem with my highschool friend:

Going home is hard because I have to acknowledge that my mother is not busily living her life with no time to phone me - she really has been gone for 10 years & isn't coming back. BUT I console myself that she is with dad -- who has been gone for 15 years & isn't coming back either.

Where we live now you can see the mountains in the distance - just a bit too much space for me, and I wonder if maybe it is time to think about going home. 

BUT then I arrive home to realize that we created a protected space in the wide open spaces that we have called home for a long time.

Home safe & secure !!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Photos:

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Finding Dutch Roots ~ In The Martime Provinces Of Canada

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 31 (EARLIEST ANCESTOR)

In looking for the earliest ancestor in this Bramble Bush with solid research via documents I arrived back at 1680 New York.

Chris' 9th great grandparents via his paternal grandfather's maternal line are:

Johannes Van Kleeck
Birth 1680 • Albany, Albany, New York, USA
Death 1754 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
and
Aaltje (Alida) Ter Bosch
Birth 13 NOVEMBER 1682 • Ulster County, New York, USA
Death 1744 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA

We know Johannes & Alida were active members of the Dutch Reformed Church. All of their events & documents I have found to date reflect they were followers.

It seems that DNA didn't pass down all of these generations because there is no Netherlands reflected in Chris' results. 

16% Germanic Europe could partly be from this line in addition to the known lines from Germany.

Once the line is tracked further it may become evident that the Netherlands was part of the story, but there may be other areas not yet discovered.

9th great grandparents isn't that far back.

Then again, it's been 345 years since X9 great grandfather Johanne was born, 347 years since X9 great grandmother Alida was born.

By the time they both died they were residents of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA.

"Poughkeepsie, city, seat of Dutchess county, eastern New York, U.S. It lies on the east bank of the Hudson River (there bridged to Highland), 75 miles (121 km) north of New York City. It was settled by the Dutch in 1683; its name, of Wappinger Indian origin, means “reed-covered lodge by the little water place.” Poughkeepsie served as the temporary state capital, and the U.S. Constitution was ratified there in 1788." 1 

Johannes & Alida's son Johannes is Chris' 8th great grandfather

Johannes (John) Van Kleek
Birth 22 JAN 1728 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 18 MAR 1761 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
and
Rachael Van de Bogaardt
Birth 1 JUN 1725 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 1804 • New York, USA

John & Rachael's daughter is Chris' 7th great grandmother
Eleanor (Nelly) Van Kleek
Birth 1750 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 1838 • Malahide, Elgin, Ontario, Canada
and
Peter Mullin
Birth 1750 • Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
Death 1783 • St Mary's Bay, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada

Nelly & Peter are where this line arrives in Canada in about 1781. I haven't found their arrival documents, but their son James was born 1780 in New York, and son John was born 1782 in Nova Scotia.

Born in New York is 6th great grandmother who would have been 6 or 7 when the family immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada.

Rachel Mullin
Birth 3 MAR 1774 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, USA
Death 30 DEC 1807 • Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada
married to 6th great grandpa
George Saxton
Birth ABT. 1766 • Montauk, Suffolk, New York, USA
Death 25 DEC1860 • Weymouth, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada

It is now clear why Chris has DNA matches in the Maritime provinces of Canada along with Ontario.

Now back to the history of Poughkeepsie - While searching I found the quote below, and got curious: 

"Baltus Van Kleeck, who would go on to build what is believed to be the first residence of Poughkeepsie, in 1702, on Mill Street. The drawing that we have of this house was done in 1835, not long before it was torn down to make way for progress. The Dutchess County Historical Society holds a stone lintel that once stood over the doorway of the house and has the initials of Van Kleeck and his wife Tryntie." 2  

Fantastic find - X10 great grandfather's house being the first.

I was able to take this line back on more generation while writing this blog.

10th great grandfather - the immigrant ancestor on this line
Balthus Barentsz Van Kleeck
Birth 6 AUG 1645 • Haarlem, Haarlem Municipality, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Death 1717 • Dutchess County, New York, USA
and 10th great grandmother
Tryntje Jans Buys
Birth 1657 • Flatbush, Kings County, New York, USA
Death 1731 • Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, USA

480 years after Balthus was born his descendants remember.

Direct male line  of first borns for the 4 generations at the bottom of this family line. 

Back: Ron, Chris
Front: Reace, Lyle

When you find answers to questions you never realized you had!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  Poughkeepsie. New York, United States, Britannica, Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Poughkeepsie

2  Early Settlement In Poughkeepsie. Butler, Shannon. Poughkeepsie Public Library. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://poklib.org/early-settlement-in-poughkeepsie/

Sources:

Early Settlement In Poughkeepsie. Butler, Shannon. Poughkeepsie Public Library. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://poklib.org/early-settlement-in-poughkeepsie/

Life In Dutch Albany When The English Took Over. Hess, Peter.  New York Almanac. Originally published December 29th 2021. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2021/12/albanys-charter-of-1686/

Poughkeepsie. New York, United States, Britannica, Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Poughkeepsie

Site of Poughkeepsie Spring. Location: 600 Spring Manor Circle. Town of Poughkeepsie. Retrieved August 30th 2025 from
https://www.townofpoughkeepsie.com/350/Site-of-Poughkeepsie-Spring#:~:text=One%20now%20widely%20accepted%20explanation,accepted%20name%2C%20%E2%80%9CPoughkeepsie.%E2%80%9D

Photos:

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Remembering Ron ~ On His 79th Birthday

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 30 (RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS)

Today, on Ron's 79th birthday, I will write about my father-in-law.

Ronald Clare (Ron) Buchner
Birth 24 JUL 1946 • Tillsonburg, Oxford, Ontario, Canada
Death 6 FEB 2021 • Puerto Vallarta Hospital, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico

Ron will always be remembered as a larger than life man who kept everyone amused. He really was the life of the party.

Chris was Ron's first born child, and only son.

Ron was the grandson on Brethern in Christ Pastor, Alonzo Vannatter.

Alonzo Vannatter with great grandson Chris

Remembering Ron on his birthday

Ron school photo - 2nd row third from the left
1957 1958 school year grade 5 and 6 Rolph St public school

Glendale Football 1961

Now at rest

Gone too soon!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Photos:

Personal

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Twinsies ~ Ann (nee Smith) Franklin & Myself

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025: Week 29 (COUSINS)

According to Family Search Ann Franklin & I share 51% of our looks.

Check out the photo below provided by Family Search

We are 9th cousinx X6 removed via my maternal grandmother's paternal line (Bayes, Merrill). 

"More than 200 years after her death, Ann Smith Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame at the University of Rhode Island. She is also remembered as the owner of the press on which Benjamin Franklin learned to set type." 1

We are also inlaws because Chris is related to her husband James Franklin via his mother's paternal line via marriage.

This mean Chris shares in common relatives with Benjamin Franlin, but a direct connection has not been found at this time. 

We seem to be getting closer to be able to introduce ourselves as cousin!!!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  Colonial Newspaper Printer and Publisher. History of American Women. First Women. Ann Franklin. Retrieved July 15th 2025 from
https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/11/ann-smith-franklin.html

Sources:

Ann Smith Franklin, First Lady of Rhode Island Journalism (and Ben’s Sister-in-Law). She started a newspaper and raised her children in a genteel manner. New England Historical Society. Retrieved July 15th 2025 from 
https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/ann-smith-franklin-first-woman-printer-of-rhode-island/

Colonial Newspaper Printer and Publisher. History of American Women. First Women. Ann Franklin. Retrieved July 15th 2025 from
https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/11/ann-smith-franklin.html

Photos:

Family Search Clip

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________