Stephen BACHILER, REV.

                   CHRISTENING:

MARRIAGE:

BURIAL:

PUBLISHED SOURCES:
    Joseph Foster, ALUMNI OXONIENSES: THE MEMBERS OF THE
    UNIVERSITY   OF OXFORD, 1500-1714: THEIR PARENTAGE, BIRTHPLACE, AND YEAR OF
    BIRTH  , WITH A RECORD OF THEIR DEGREES, early ser., vol. 1 (Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus Reprint Limited, 1968), 53: "Bachiler, Stephen, St. John's Coll., matric circa 1581; B.A. 3 Feb 1585/6, rector of Wherwell, Hants, 1587. See Foster's Index Ecclesiasticus."

    Warren Brown, HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAMPTON FALLS, NEW HAMPSHIRE, FROM THE
    TIME OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT WITHIN ITS BORDER, 1640 UNTIL 1900 (Manchester,
    N.H.: John B. Clark Co., 1900), 151-59: "REV. STEPHEN BACHILER.
    MR. BATCHILER was born in England in 1551 [b. 1560/1, d. 1660/1] and
    received orders in the Established Church.  In the early part of his life he
    enjoyed a good reputation, but being displeased with some of the ceremonies of
    the church and refusing to continue his conformity, he was deprived of his
    permission to perform her services.  On leaving England, Mr. Bachler went with
    his family to Holland, where he resided several years.  He then returned to
    London, from which place he sailed on the 9th of March 1632, in the William &
    Francis, Mr. Thomas, master, with sixty passengers, including Mr. Bachiler and
    his family.  They arrived at Boston on the 5th of June, after a tedious passage
    of eighty-eight days.  He was 71 years of age when he arrived in this country,
    and removed with his family to Lynn, were his daughter, Theodate Hussey, wife
    of Christopher Hussey, resided.  In his company were six persons who had
    belonged to a church with him in England, and of those he constituted a church
    at Lynn, to which he admitted such as were desirous of becoming members, and
    immediately commenced the exercies of the ministerial duties without
    installation.  One of his first ministrations was to baptize four children,
    born before his arrival, two of whom, Thomas Newhall and Stephen Hussey, were
    born the same week.  Thomas, being the older, was first presented.  Mr.
    Bachiler put him aside, saying "I will baptized my own child first."  Mr.
    Bachiler had been in the performance of his pastoral duties about four months
    when a complaint was made of some irregularites in this conduct.  He was
    arraigned before the court in Boston, on the 3d of October, when the following
    order was passed:

    Mr. Bachiler is required to forbear exercising his gifts as a paster, or
    teacher publiquely in our patent unless it be to those he brought with
    him, for his contempt of authority, and till some scandals be removed.

    In the couse of a few months Mr. Bachiler so far succeeded in regaining
    the esteem of the people that the injunction that he should not preach in the
    colony was, on the 4th of March, removed, which left him at liberty to resume
    the performance of his public services.
    The dissension, which had commenced in Mr Bachiler's church at an early
    period, began again to assume a formidable appearance.  Some of the members
    disliked the conduct of the pastor, and, withal, making question whether there
    were a church or not, withdrew from the communion.  In consequence of this a
    council of minsters was held on the 15th of March.  Being unable to produce a
    reconsiliation, they appointed another meeting and went to attend a lecture in
    Boston.  Mr. Bachiler then requested the disaffected members to present their
    grievances in writing, but as they refused he resolved to excommunicate them,
    and wrote to the ministers at Boston, who immediately returned to Lynn.  After
    a deliberation of three days, they decided that although the church had not
    been properly institued, yet the mutual exercise of their religious duties had
    supplied the defect.
    The difficulties in Mr. Bachiler's church did not cease with the decision
    of the council, but continued to increase till Mr Bachiler, perceiving no
    prospect of their termination, requested dismission for himself and first
    members, which was granted.
    Winthrop's history says he was convened before the magistrates.  "The
    cause was for that coming out of England with a small body of six or seven
    persons, and having since received as many more at Saugus (Lynn) and contention
    growing between him and the greatest part of his church who had at first
    received him for their paster, he desired dismission for himself and his first
    members, which, being granted, upon suppositon that he would leave town (as he
    had given out), he, with the six or seven persons, presently renewed their old
    covenant, intending to raise another church in Saugus, where at the most and
    chief of the town being offended for that it would cross their intentions of
    calling Mr. Peters or some other minister, they complained to the magistrates,
    who, foreseeing the distraction which was like to come by this course, had
    forbidden him to proceed in any such church way until the cause were considered
    by the other ministers, etc.  But he refused to desist, whereupon they sent for
    him and, upon his delay day after day, the marshall was sent to fetch him.
    Upon his appearance and submission and promise to move out of town within three
    months, he was discharged."
    He was admitted a freeman on the 6th of May 1635, and removed from Lynn to
    in February, 1636.  He went to Ipswich, where he received a grant of fifty
    acres of land and had the prospect of a settlement but, some difficulties
    having arisen, he left the place.  In the very cold winter of 1637, he went on
    foot, with some of his friends, to Matakees, now Yarmouth (he then being 76
    years of age), a distance of about one hundred miles.  There he intended to
    plant a town and establish a church, but, finding the difficulties great and
    his company being all poor men, he relinquished the design.
    He then went to Newbury where, on the 6th of Jly, 1638, the town granted
    him and his son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, two portions of land, which had
    formerly been given to Edward Rawson, secretary of state, and Mr. Edward
    Woodman.  On the 6th of September the General Court of Massachusetts granted
    him permission to commence a settlement at Winnecumett, now Hampton.  In 1639
    the inhabitants of Ipswich voted to give him sixty acres of land on
    Whortleberry hill and twenty acres of meadow if he could relinquish their
    previous grant of fifty acres and reside with them three years, but he did not
    accept their invitation.  On the 5th of July he and Christopher Hussey sold
    their lands in Newbury to Mr. John Oliver for "Six score pounds," and went to
    Hampton, where a town was begun and a church gathered, of which Mr. Bachiler
    became the minister.  His company consisted of himself as pastor; Mr. Timothy
    Dalton, teacher; Christopher Hussey, Mary Hussey, his mother, and twelve others.
    Mr. Bachiler had a grant of 10 acres for a house lot; 21 acres of fresh
    meadow by Taylor's river, and 17 acres between the beach and the East field;
    15 acres of planting ground, part of it being near his house and the rest in
    the East field; 200 acres for a farm next to Salisbury line, 16 acres of which
    was fresh meadow, 120 acres upland, the residue in salt marsh.  The residue of
    his 200 acres, given the 24th of October, 1639, is yet to be appointed.  It
    appears from the town recods that he presented the first bell to the town early
    in 1640.
    That he was a man of good judgement and was considered upright, upon his
    first settling in Hampton, may be inferred from his having been selected umpire
    in an important controversy existing between George Cleaves and John Wreiter,
    involving the title of some real estate in Sperwink, and also defamation of
    character on the part of Cleaves.  This dispute was referred to Mr. Bachiler
    and four others, and the parties were severally bounded in the sum of 1,000
    pounds sterling to submit to their award.  These referees reported on the same
    day at Saco, June 28, 1641, where Mr. Bachiler seems to have been at that time.
    Mr. Bachiler, the pastor of the church at Hampton, who had suffered much
    at the hands of bishops in England, being about 80 years of age, and having a
    lusty and comely woman to his wife, did solicit the chastity of his neighbor's
    wife, who acquainted her husband therewith, whereupon he was dealt with, but
    denied it, as he had told the woman he would do, and complained to the
    magistrates against the woman and her husband for slandering him.  The church
    likewise dealing with thim, he stiffly denied it, but soon after, when the
    Lord's supper was to be administered, he did voluntarily confess the attempt
    and that he did intend to have defiled her if she would have consented.  The
    church being moved with his free confession and tears, silently forgave him and
    communicated with him, but after finding how scandalous it was they took advice
    of other elders, and, after long debate and much pleading and standing upon the
    church's forgiving and becoming reconciled to him in communicating with him
    after he had confessed it, they proceeded to cast him out.
    After this he went on in a variable course, sometimes seeming very
    penitent, soon after excusing himself and casting blame upon others, especially
    his fellow elder, Mr. Dalton (who indeed had not carried himself in this case
    so well as became him, and was brought to see his failing and acknowledged it
    to the elders of the other churches, who had taken much pains about this
    matter).  So he behaved himself to the elders when they dealt with him.  He was
    off and on for a long time, and when he seemed most penitent, so as the church
    was ready to have received him in again, he would fall back again, and, as it
    were, repent of his repentance.  In this time his house with nearly all his
    substance was consumed by fire.  When he had continued excommunicated nearly
    two years, and much agitation had been about the matter, and the church was
    divided so he could not be received in, at length the matter was referred to
    some magistrates and elders, and by their mediation he was released of his
    excommunication, but not received to his pastor's office.  Upon occasion of
    this meeting mediation, Mr. Wilson of Boston wrote a letter to him, which
    Governor Winthrop speaks very hightly of, but it is not now known to be in
    existence.
    The contentions in Hampton were grown to a great height, the whole town
    was divided into two factions, one with Mr. Bachiler, their late pastor, and
    the other with Mr. Dalton, their teacher.  Both men were passionate and wanting
    in discretion and moderation.  Their differences were not in matters of
    opinion, but of pracitice.  Mr. Dalton's party being mostly of the church, and
    so freeman, had great advantage of the other, though a consideralbe party, and
    some of them of the church also.  The former carried all affairs, both in
    church and town, according to their own minds, and not with that respenct to
    their brethren and neighbors which had been fit.  Divers meetings had been
    held, both of magistrates and elders, and parties had been reconciled, but
    broke out again, each side being apt to take fire upon any provaction;
    whereupon Mr. Bachiler was advised to remove and was called to Exeter, whither
    he intended to go, but they were divided and at great difference also.  When
    one party had appointed a day of humiliation to gather a new church and call
    Mr. Bachiler, the court sent order to stop it, for they considered they were
    not in a fit condition for such a work, and Mr. Bachiler had been in other
    places before and through his means, as was supposed, the churches fell to such
    divisions as no peace could be had until he was removed.  At this court there
    came petition against petition, both from Hampton and Exeter, whereupon the
    court ordered two of the magistrates to be sent to Hampton with full power to
    hear and determine all differences there.
    He probably contined in Hampton until 1647.  He was living in Portsmouth
    on the 20th of April of that year, and resided there three years.  In 1650 he
    married his third wife, being then nearly 90 years of age (89).  In May he was
    fined by the court ten pounds for not publishing his marriage according to law,
    half of which fine was remitted in October.  In the same year the court passed
    the following order in consequence of a matrimonial disagreement:

    As is ordered by the Court, that Mr. Bachiler and his wife shall live
    together as man and wife, as in the Court they have publiquely proffessed
    to do, and if either desert one another then hereby the Court doth order
    that ye Marshall shall apprehend both ye said Mr. Bachiler and Mary his
    wife and bring them forthwith to Boston.  There to be kept till the next
    quarter Court of assistants, that further consideration may be made.--Both
    of them moving for a divorce, and this order shall be sufficient warrant to
    do so.  Provided notwithstanding that if they put in 50 pounds, Each of
    them for their appearance with such sureties as the commissioners or any
    one of them for the County shall think good to accept of,--That then they
    shall be under their bail to appear at the next Court of assistants.  An
    in case Mary Bachiler shall live out of the jurisdiction, without mutual
    consent for a time, that then the Clark shall give notice to the
    magistrate at Boston of her absence that further order may be taken theron.

    Soon after this order, Mr. Bachiler returned to England, where he married his
    fourth wife, his third wife, Mary, being still living. In October 1656, she
    petitioned the court, in the following words, to free her from her husband:

    To the Honored Gov. Deputy Governor, with the magistrates and Deputies at
    the General Court at Boston.--The humble petition of Mary Bachiler sheweth,
    Wheras your petitioner having formerly lived with Mr. Stephen Bachiler in
    this Colony as his lawful wife & not unknown to divers of you as I
    concieve, and the said Mr. Bachiler upon some pretended ends of his own
    has transported himself unto Old England, for many years since and betaken
    himself to another wife, as your petitioner hath often been credibly
    informed, and there continued.  Whereby your petioner is left destitute
    not only of a quide to herself and her children, But also made incapable
    therby of disposing herself in the way of marriage to any other without a
    lawful permission, and now having two children upon her hands that are
    chargable to her in reguard to a disease God has been pleased to lay  upon
    them both, which is not easily curable, and has so weakend her estate in
    prosecuting the means of cure That she is not able longer to subsist
    without utterly ruining her estate, or exposing herself to the common
    charity of others which your petitioner is loth to put herself upon, if it
    may be lawfully avoided as is well known to all or most part of her
    neighbors.  And were she free from her engagement to Mr. Bachiler might
    probably so dispose of herself as that she might obtain a meet helper to
    assist her to procure such means for her livelihood and the recovery of
    her children's health as might keep them from perishing, which your
    petitioner to her great grief is much afraid of, it not timely prevented.
    --Your petitioner's humbly request therefore is that this Honored Court
    would be pleased seriously to consider her condition for matter of her
    relief in her freedom from the said Mr. Bachiler and that she may be at
    liberty ot dispose of hereself in resp