Samuel Maverick (colonist)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samuel Maverick (c. 1602 - c. 1670) was a 17th century English colonist in what is now Massachusetts, the United States. Arriving ahead of the famed Winthrop fleet, Maverick became one of the largest landowners and one of the first slave-owners in Massachusetts. He signed his name Mavericke.
Much of Maverick's past is wreathed in mystery. He was born around 1602 to a family of Episcopal priest John Maverick and Mary Gye Maverick. His father John became a Puritan and emigrated to Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he served as the first minister of of the First Church in Dorchester. John Maverick would later be eulogized by Cotton Mather and Governor John Winthrop. John Maverick's son Samuel turned up in 1622 in America, prior to his father's arrival in Dorchester, and first settled at Winnissimet, the area of previously failed colony of Wessagussut.[1]
Maverick settled in the area of modern-day Boston. He built a fortified house to ward against Indian attacks and armed it with four guns. It is said to be the first permanent house in Massachusetts.
In 1628 Maverick married Amias, widow of fellow colonist David Thompson and heiresss to Thompson's holdings, including Noddle's Island, the site of present-day Logan Airport. They had three children, and Amias had a son from her previous marriage.
In 1631 the first ferry ran from the Maverick farm to Charlestown and Boston. In April 1633 general court granted Maverick property rights to most of the area of modern-day Chelsea excluding Prattville. In March 1635 Maverick sold his holdings outside his farm in Winnisimmet to Richard Bellingham, the deputy governor of Massachusetts, and moved to Noddle's Island. The same year he visited Virginia to buy seed corn and remained there for a year. When he returned he had two pinnaces and had also bought lots of livestock.
In 1638 Maverick bought black slaves, becoming one of the earliest slave-owners in Massachusetts. In 1640 Boston granted him 600 acres (240 ha) of land from Boston and 400 acres (160 ha) from Braintree. In 1664 he visited England and was granted an audience with the King Charles II on April 23. When he stated that he had been persecuted because he was an Anglican and a royalist, the king appointed him as one of the four commissioners to arbitrate disputes in New England. He was also to reduce Dutch influence in the colonies.
The commission was granted both military and civil powers in Massachusetts but was eventually unsuccessful. Maverick eventually gave up his possession in Noddle's Island and moved to New York.
The exact date of Maverick's death is unknown; the last sign of him is a letter signed October 15, 1669. He presumably died the following year.
