Richard Pettingell

Richard Pettingell was received into the church at Wenham, Essex, Massachusetts on August 4, 1649. Born in Shottesham, Suffolk, England in 1610 to Matthew Petingale and Mary Cooke, Richard emigrated to America in 1641. His first American residence was in Salem. It was likely his search for affordable land that compelled him to purchase ten acres in Wenham in 1642. A year later, he married Joanna Ingersoll, the daughter of Richard Ingersoll, a ferry operator in Salem.

The Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm in Newbury, Mass. This is a
preserved 17th century farmhouse located just a
few hundred feet from where Richard Pettingell's land was.
(From: Historic New England) 

I've not yet determined why it took Richard seven years to be accepted into the Wenham church. In 1644, he was appointed with his brother-in-law John Ingersoll to a church-related town office: "At a general towne meeting held the sevent day of the fifth month 1644, ordered,--That twoe be appointed every Lords day to walke forth in the time of Gods worshippe, to take notice of such as either lye at home, or in the fields wthout giving good account thereof, and to take the names of such psons, to present them to the magistrate, whereby they may be accordinglie pceeded against; the names of such as are ordered to doe this service are: [here follows a list] on the seventh day Richard Pettingell and John Ingersoll." Richard and Joanna raised their young family of two sons, Samuel and Matthew, in Wenham. However, by the time of his reception into the church, he had his sights set northward.

In April 1651, Richard bought fourteen acres of marsh land in the new "plantation" town of Newbury, Essex, Mass. His land was located to the east of the present-day intersection of High Road and Rolfe's Lane in Newbury. In Newbury, Richard and Joanna added two more children, Mary and Nathaniel, to their family. Richard spent the rest of his life in Newbury, passing away there in July 1695. 

Of course, I have only scratched the surface of Richard's life here. There is still a great deal of information about his life to discover and digest. He is frequently mentioned in histories of Salem and Newbury--often for random facts such as jury service. But putting all these facts together should eventually tell us more about Richard. There is also a need to contextualize his life in the broader history of the region. This would enable us to make guesses at answering the many questions raised by even the small quantity of information above. Why did Richard decide to emigrate to America? Why did he choose Salem, rather than Boston or New Haven? If he was a Puritan, all would have been reasonable options. How did he respond to major regional events that occurred during his lifetime, such as King Philip's War? How did owning salt marsh land change the practices of a 17th century New England farmer?
By the next time I write about Richard Pettingell, I hope to have answered many of these questions! At this point, I think there is one point of gratitude I would like to stress: I am glad I do not live in 1640s Wenham, because I think Richard would have to take action against me on many a Sunday morning.    


*Richard Pettingell was my 10th great-grandfather.