In memory of Capt. John Underhill, my Maternal 10th Great-Grandfather on the DECKER branch.
Bibliography:
- John Underhill, captain of New England and New Netherland, by Henry C. Shelley, 1932.
- Colonial Families of the United States of America, Vol. VII, p. 464-465.
- The Frost genealogy; descendants of William Frost of Oyster Bay, New York, showing connections never before published with the Winthrop, Underhill, Feke, Bowne and Wickes families, p. 374-376. [Link]
- A journal of the transactions and occurrences in the settlement of Massachusetts and the other New-England colonies, from the year 1630 to 1644 [Link] or [Link]
- John Underhill (captain) [Wikipedia]
Advertisement:
Disclaimer:
Genealogy is my hobby and the information provided here is a work in progress. I have loads of information to add and new finds are continually being discovered. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments to contribute, please use the comment box below. Visit the Latest Updates page to see when this Ancestor Profile page is updated.
Capt. John Underhill
Hero of the Pequot War
Maps & Research Links:
Birth:
1597 Oct 5
Netherlands
Marriage:
1658
Flushing, New York
Death:
Burial:
1672 Jul 21
Matinecock, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York
Underhill Burying Ground (likely)
Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York
Biography
Capt. John Underhill was reportedly born in Bagington, Warwickshire, England, on Oct. 5, 1597, according to the 1908 monument in Underhill Cemetery. Other sources suggest he was an Englishman born in 1609 in Holland. He "landed in Boston May 18, 1630, from the vessel over which he had command named John and Mary from his father and mother." His son John and wife, Helena (Kruger or de Hooch), a Dutch woman, came with him. He was banished from the Puritan Colony in 1638 and moved to New Hampshire where he was made governor for a short time. From there he went to Stamford, Connecticut, and by 1644 he was in Southold, Long Island, New York. Helena died there in 1658 and soon after, John sold his property to Thomas Moore and moved to Oyster Bay, Long Island. He was made High Sheriff of the North Riding on Long Island in 1665. He purchased land from the Matinecock Indians in 1667. The Underhill Cemetery was made on his property.
He married, second, to Elizabeth Feake (or Feke), daughter of Robert Feake and Elizabeth Fones. She was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1633 and died in 1674-75. Copies of their children's births are recorded in the Fifteenth Street Meeting House, New York City.
Notable descendants of Capt. John Underhill include Amelia Earhart, Tom Selleck, Johnny Depp, and former U.S. Secretary of State, John F. Kerry.
Children
Capt. John Underhill & Elizabeth Feake were the parents of my ancestor,
With first wife, Helena (Kruger):
- John Underhill, born Apr. 11, 1642, probably in Boston, married Mary Pryer at Oyster Bay, Aug. 11, 1668, and died May 29, 1698. Issue: John, Daniel, Samuel, Abraham, and Jacob.
With second wife, Elizabeth (Feake):
- Deborah Underhill, born Sept. 29, 1659, married Henry Townsend.
- Nathaniel Underhill, born Dec. 22, 1663, married Mary Ferris. [Link]
- Hannah Underhill, born Oct. 2, 1666, married Richard Alsop.
- Elizabeth Underhill, born May 2, 1669, married Isaac Smith.
- David Underhill, born Feb. 1676, married Hanna Forman.
Records, photos, and memorabilia pertaining to the life of Capt. John Underhill:
John Underhill in Ancestral Records, Colonial Dames
John Underhill in Long Island Genealogies
John Underhill in Winthrop's Journal
John Underhill's legacy
News From America by Capt John Underhill
The Underhill-Mayo Connection
Underhill Burying Ground
Underhill Burying Ground map
Underhill Burying bust
Underhill Genealogy
DNA Notes:
I chose AncestryDNA for my DNA test. You can get yours on Amazon and have it in your hands in a couple days! Click here!
Your tributes, comments, corrections and additions are welcome!
Comments
Rebecca Boudreau
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
24fada90-18a8-4605-854b-1b52738bfdc0
Please reconsider using the subtitle “hero of the Pequot war”.
This man committed genocide on those island people simply because of Dutch greed. He also believed that anyone of non white race was inferior, and thus, should be exterminated as a natural process of elevating humanity.
I have horrible racists in my genealogy, but I am not proud of them.
paalbrecht64
Friday, December 17, 2021
cc1e7808-06c1-4fae-88d9-c474fe01c165
Capt John Underhill is my 10th great grandfather through his son Nathaniel and daughter-in-law Mary Ferris.
Our ancestors were a part of their time and did not live in the same culture as we do. We acknowledge the deeds of our ancestors not as a point of pride but to accept who they were rather than present a sanitized version of their life.
As Daniel Diehl, author of "Nothing Left Sacred" wrote in his introduction: "one of the great dangers historians must constantly work to avoid is judging people from another time period by today's standards: as the author L. P. Hartley once wrote, 'The past is like a foreign country, they do things differently there'."
Please login to leave a comment. Then reload this page!
6c740751-6832-43c3-91c0-58c5a6d5a3b4
Before implementing the site's latest in-site comments platform, two different 3rd-party apps were used to allow users to comment. Click View to view comments posted (if any), on this page. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT COMMENTS OR REPLY TO COMMENTS USING THESE AS THEY WILL SOON BE REMOVED FROM THE SITE. Use the new comments section above instead! Thank you!
Sign up or log in to save this page to your Site Favorites.