The son of Paugus seeks to avenge his father’s death

After the fight at Seco Pond, the Indians left Pequawket and went to Canada. There was peace for a time. John Chamberlain returned to his family, farm and mill on the Chamberlain homestead at Baddacook in Groton north of Brown Loaf Hill.¹ That fall, however, a son of Paugus came to Dunstable looking for Chamberlain to avenge his father’s death.^2,4  (Butler’s account says he went to Dunstable which really makes sense. Apparently, the Indian would learn there that Chamberlain lived in Groton).

The son of Paugus went to a neighbor in the village with some pretended business that his design might not be discovered. The man thought the Indian resembled the old chief and therefore suspecting his errand. He went directly to the mill and told Chamberlain to look out for young Paugus. Chamberlain thanked the man and went right up to the house and got his gun and went back to the mill.

He took a stick and put his coat on it and then put his hat on top of it and stuck it up by the saw frame. Also, he cut a port-hole above the door so he could conceal himself and command the entrance to the mill. He had only gotten every thing ready when he saw the young Indian step out of the bushes at the edge of the mill pond.  When the Indian saw what he thought to be Chamberlain, he pulled up his gun and put a bullet through Chamberlain’s coat. The smoke from his gun had not passed away when a ball from Chamberlain’s gun pierced his heart, and with a savage yell he fell into the pond.^2,3

 

 

 

 

Fact or Fiction

There are several versions of this story and it is difficult to know fact from fiction. The above story is partially from my own family’s unpublished tradition, which I have modified with excerpts from Caleb Butler’s published edition which seems to be closest to reality. Historian Butler expresses this opinion regarding the story:

If ever young Paugus sought to avenge his father’s death, and it seems pretty evident, from tradition that he did, it was probably at Groton, where tradition places it, and the old dam, near School House No. 9, is said to have been the dam of Chamberlain’s mill and further, a deep hole in the brook, between the lands of Deacon Thomas Hutchins and Merick Lewis, is called “Paugus’ s Hole,” wherein it is said Chamberlain sunk his body after he had killed him.²

Land ownership of John Chamberlain

On May 31, 1727, Massachusetts granted the township of Suncook (now Pembroke NH) on the Merrimack River to sixty grantees who served in Lovewell’s expeditions. As a result, John Chamberlain received a tract of land granted “to the Officers and Soldiers lately in the service of the Province under the command of Capt. John Lovewell, deceased, and others, in an expedition to Pigwacket against the Indian enemy, and which shall hereafter acrue and fall to me as one of the soldiers under Capt. Lovewell.”¹

On January 5, 1729 John sold the Chamberlain homestead and mill at Baddacook to Samuel Woods, Sr., of Groton.¹

12 April 1729 John Chamberlain sold the land he had acquired in 1727 to Joseph Gilson of Groton for twenty pounds and ten shillings.

19 February 1730 He bought another farm at a place called the “Four Acres” in Groton from James Lakin.

John’s father-in-law, Thomas Woods of Groton, died and there was trouble settling the estate. On September 8, 1740, John Chamberlain and Amos Woods, two of the heirs, petitioned the Judge of Probate for Middlesex, to have Samuel Chamberlain, of Chelmsford, a gentleman, appointed administrator. A law suit followed.¹

20 April 1741 John Chamberlain deeded his farm to Samuel Chamberlain of Chelmsford, a gentleman.

20 August 1741 John’s wife Abigail, sold to the same Samuel Chamberlain and Josiah Sartel, of Groton, her share of her father’s estate, located on the north side of Brown Loaf Hill. George W. Chamberlain believes this Samuel Chamberlain is the uncle of Paugus John and the father of Souhegan John. He was also known as Captain Samuel Chamberlain, and is not the contemporary Lieutenant Samuel Chamberlain of Westford.¹

Children of Thomas Chamberlain II

Thomas Chamberlain  b. about 1639; d. 28 March or May 1727, (Grandfather of Paugus John). Sarah Proctor b. 12 October 1646 in Concord MA, d. 27 March 1727). Children of Thomas and Sarah (Proctor) Chamberlain (married 10 August 1666):⁵

1. 1. Thomas, b. 20 May 1667 Chelmsford MA; m. Elizabeth Heald
   2. Samuel, b. 11 Jan 1679, Chemlsford, MA
   3. Jane, b. 19 Nov 1682
   4. Elizabeth, b. 21 July 1685⁵

Children of Thomas Chamberlain III

Thomas Chamberlain b. 30 May 1667 Chelmsford MA; d. 11 May 1709. (Father of Paugus John).

Elizabeth Heald married Thomas Chamberlain 9 Jan 1690. She died at Groton 13 June 1699. Children of Thomas and Elizabeth (Heald) Chamberlain:

1. John, b. at Chelmsford 29 March 1692
2. Joseph, b. at Chelmsford 11 Oct 1693
3. Moses, b. at Chelmsford 3 July 1695 (twin)
4. Aaron, b. at Chelmsford 3 July 1695 (twin)
5. Gershom, b. at Chelmsford 18 October 1697; d. at Groton 29 March 1699
6. Sarah, b. at Groton 23 March or May 1699; d. 14 October 1699

Abigail Nutting  married Thomas Chamberlain 16 August 1699⁶, she was still living in Groton in 1718⁵. Children of Thomas Chamberlain and Abigail (Nutting) Chamberlain:

1. Elizabeth b. 26 May 1700; m. 25 June 1719 Jonathan, son of John Shattuck; lived in Groton until 1724 or 25, she was living in Pepperell, MA in 1738.
2. Abigail, b. 21 June 1701; m. 18 April 1723 to Thomas Woods son of Nathaniel Woods of Groton. Thomas Woods died at fight at Pequawket 8 May 1725.
3. Thomas, b. 3 February 1703; he had two daughters Azubah and Abia.
4. Jane, b. 2 February 1706
5. Mary, m. 9 April 1732 John Scott
6. Dorothy, m. February 1729 Nathaniel Lawrence son of Nathaniel and Anna Lawrence.
7. Sarah, b. 4 August 1709; m. James Shattuck.

Children of (Paugus) John Chamberlain

John Chamberlain b. Chelmsford, MA, 29 March 1692.

John Chamberlain married Abigail Woods, (daughter of Thomas and Abigail Woods of Groton), 13 October 1713).¹ Children of John and Abigail (Woods) Chamberlain:

1. 1. Elizabeth, b. 27 Oct., 1714; m. 23 March 1736, Jeremiah, son of Zachariah and Abigail Lawrence.
   2. Hannah, b. 18 January 1716.
   3. John Jr., b. 24 March 1720; m. 3 Dec. 1746 Rachel the daughter of Zachariah and Abigail Lawrence.
   4. Sarah, b. 27 April 1727.
   5. Abigail, b. 8 Jan. 1732
   6. Thomas, b. 2 Sept. 1735

Children of John Chamberlain, Jr.

John Chamberlain, Jr b. 24 March 1720; d. 17 March 1802.

Rachel Lawrence, daughter of Zechariah Lawrence and Abigail Parker, was born in 1727 and died 6 Oct. 1756, Groton MA).  John Chamberlain and Rachel (Lawrence) Chamberlain, married 3 Dec 1746. Their children were:

1. Rachel Chamberlain, b. 10 July 1747; bapt. 30 Aug 1747, Pepperell, MA; d. 13 Oct 1756, Pepperell, MA.
2. Abigail Chamberlain, b. 8 September 1749; bapt. 17 September 1749, Pepperell, MA; d. 17 March 1786, Groton, MA; 7 June 1770, Pepperell, MA, Edmond Shattuck, son of Benjamin and Dinah (Hunt) Shattuck.
3. John Chamberlain, b. 27 February 1752; bapt. 8 March 1752, Pepperell, MA, d. 30 Dec 1773*, Pepperell, MA. *(This death date would exclude this John Chamberlain as the father of Spencer Chamberlain, however, I have not yet been able to verify this date.)
4. Ede Chamberlain, b. 9 October 1754; bapt. 17 November 1754, Pepperell, MA. She was also known as Eda Chamberlain.⁷

Historic Monuments of Groton

As a High School senior project, Jonathan Pierce of Groton, Massachusetts photographed the historic monuments in Groton. He set up his own website. Some monuments were hard to locate, especially the John Chamberlain Mill location. Michelle Pierce and her son Jonathan finally found the monument and provided the correct photo for The Chamberlain Story. Here is the link to Jonathan’s website: www.grotonhistoricallandmarks.com.

Chapter 9- The Mystery of Chamberlain Lake 

Before he died in 1853, Spencer Chamberlain gave us clues that may help us find his ancestors, and information about the naming of Chamberlain Lake and the origin of Chamberlain Farm in Maine. Why was Chamberlain Farm cleared years before there were any white settlements and long before the logging industry came to the Allagash Wilderness?

If you got this far please go to “Table of Contents”, or click “Good Bye!” This will make my day to know that someone read my post. Thank you, Dennis Chamberlain

© Copyright Dennis D. Chamberlain, The Chamberlain Story, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the written content of this site without express and written permission from the author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Dennis D. Chamberlain and direction to  www.thechamberlainstory.com.

References:

1. George W. Chamberlain, John Chamberlain, The Indian Fighter a Pigwacket. Weymouth, Mass, 1898.
2. Caleb Butler, Paugus, son of Paugus & John Chamberlain of Groton, History of Groton, Massachusetts, 1848 p. 109
3. Alonzo Chamberlain Phillips, Spencer Chamberlain’s Ancestors, unpublished notes he as he remembers from his grandfather Spencer Chamberlain. About 1925.
4.  Samuel A. Green, M.D., Groton and the Indian Wars, Groton Mass. 1883.
5. George W. Chamberlain, One Branch of the Descendants of Thomas Chamberlain of Woburn, 1644, Weymouth, Mass., 1897.
6. The Chamberlain Family-The First Six Generations, http://www.babcockancestry.com/