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Stephen Northup (roughly 1630 – after 1687) was an early settler of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and built what may be the oldest house still standing in Rhode Island. Northup was a fairly early settler of Providence in the Rhode Island colony, but accounts claiming that he settled the area with Roger Williams are inaccurate, since Northup was an infant or child when Williams first came to Providence in the spring of 1636. Northup lived in Providence from 1655 to 1666, after which he moved to the Narragansett country (what is now North Kingstown, Rhode Island), which land was claimed by both the Rhode Island and Connecticut colonies. He may have owned or operated a grist mill, and is credited with building a house that still stands and is used as a private residence. Northup was married, had six known children, and lived until at least 1687, when he was taxed. == Providence == The origins of Stephen Northup are unknown. Published sources are silent as to his provenance, but online sources have offered two possibilities. One is that he was born in 1633 as the son of Hampton Northup of Flintshire, Wales. The other is that he was born in 1625, the son of Henry Northup of Whaddon, Cambridgeshire, England. Though there is no marriage record, and the name of his wife does not appear in any public record, online sources indicate that Northup married about 1654 Elizabeth Harrington, the daughter of Benjamin Harrington, and genealogist Virginia Chappell also says that his wife was a daughter of Benjamin Harrington. Austin's ''Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island'' does not show a Benjamin Harrington, but does show a Benjamin Hearnden with wife Elizabeth and nine children, but no daughter Elizabeth. As it turns out, these two Benjamins are the same person, and though the name of the family in the early records favors "Hearnden", most descendants use the name "Harrington" or "Herrington" with a few other intermediate spelling variants such as "Herrendine" or "Herrendeen". Despite no record showing Northup's wife to be a Hearnden/Harrington, there is a connection between the two families that is significant. In southern North Kingstown Rhode Island is a cemetery that is called the Ancient Northup Burial Ground (Rhode Island Historic Cemetery North Kingstown #51), and though most of the graves are only marked with field stones, there are some Northups that have inscribed markers, and there is also a crude handwritten inscription on a marker that reads "Ebenezer Hearrandain, desesed June 17, 1713. He worse borne June 21, 1681." The ''Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island'' shows this Ebenezer to be a grandson of Benjamin ''Hearnden''. So, here is a connection between the two families that lends credence to the supposition that Northup's wife may have been a Hearnden/Harrington. To make the relationship between the two families even more plausible, Staples, in 1843, published a list of 28 early Providence settlers who each received 25 acres of land, beginning in 1646. On this list of names is Stephen Northup, as well as Benjamin "Herendeen", the latter with his name signed by a mark, this very likely being Northup's father-in-law. There has been misinterpretation as to when Stephen Northup arrived in Providence. The list in Staples' book giving the names of some early Providence settlers is dated "The 19th of 11 mo. 1645," which means 19 January 1646, since in the Julian calendar in use, March was the first month, and January the 11th. The list consists of 28 individuals "whose names are hereafter subscribed, having obtained a free grant of Twenty-five acres of land, apiece..." However, Staples then notes that "The appearance of the signatures to the original document indicates they were not made at the same time." Staples states that adjustments, written in the margin, were made to the original agreement "after the establishment of the Commonwealth of England," which took place in 1649 and lasted until 1660. Therefore, the placement of Northup's name on the document may have taken place at a date later than 1646. The next record indicates that it was later, in fact many years later. With the exception of the preceding document, the first time Northup's name appears in a public record is on 2 October 1655 when "the town meetinge of Providence, in the Colony of Rhode Island, granted to Stephen Northup, twenty-five acres of land". This 1655 date should be considered his earliest arrival in Providence. On 27 August 1656, at another town meeting, "it was ordered that Stephen Northup have a home-lot laid out to him over against Christopher Smith's lot; also, that he have commonage equal to any other townsman; and that he be allowed to vote with the other inhabitants of the town." He built his house at the north end of the town, between the main street and the Moshassuck River. Austin states that he was made a freeman in Providence in 1658, but this may just mean that his name appears on a list of freemen, because he had already been given the privilege of voting two years earlier. On 27 July 1659 Northup sold 60 acres of land at Rocky Hill to William Carpenter, and on 4 June 1660 he was selected as the Town Sergeant for Providence. During his service as sergeant John Clawson, a Dutchman and protege of Roger Williams, was murdered by an Indian not far from Northup's house. Northup then went about "warning the town about the prisoner," and was paid three shillings for his efforts. Northup spent four days taking the prisoner to Newport and attending the trial. In 1662 Northup sold all of his rights to land between the Pawtucket and Pawtuxet Rivers to William Hawkins, and in 1665 he obtained a lot in a division of lands in Providence. The last record for him in Providence occurred when on 28 March 1666 he witnessed a deed there, but two months later his name does not appear on a list of those in Providence taking an oath of allegiance to the King, thus he had likely moved to Kingstowne by then. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stephen Northup」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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