,,....,l~arlv """' '-,·. ' of 1\f~w England By \Vh1throp Sargent 1922 "So by his tomb I stood~ beside its base, GI andng upon me with a scornful air, 'Who were thine Ancestors?' he coldly asked, Willin~ t0 answer, l did nGt forbear My r,mue or lineage, but the whole u.nrr1&sked." Dente's lnfcrno, Canto X. Early Sargents of New England Early Sargents of New England T,vo of the most distinguished members of the family,­ Professor Charles Sprague Sargent J ohr1 Si~ger Sargent-R. A. From a photograph made by Miss Louisa Putman Loring Prides Crossing, A1ass. August, 1921. Early Sargents of New England l JONATHAN SERGEANT OF Cor,..~~cr1cuT 1644 2 WILLIAM SARGENT OF IPS\VICH 1633 3 \VILLIAM SARGENT OF MALDEN 1638 4 \VILLIAM SARGENT, SENIOR, OF GLOUCESTER 1649 5 WILLIA.\.I SARGENT, 2ND, OF GLOUCESTER Before 1678 6 PETER SERGEA!\11 OF BosToN 1667 7 STEPHEN SARGENT OF MAINE 1649 8 DIGORY SARGENT OF BOSTON 1675 E a r l y S a r g e n l s of 1\T e u, E 11 g l a n d Bet,\·cen 163 3 and 16781 there carne to Ne\v England ten or eleven men by the narne of Sargent. The nan1e ,vas spelt in a nun1ber of ,vays-S2rjant, Sargeant, Sergeant and Sargent, for the first generation or t\vo. The rnost prominent of this n2n1c ,vc n1akc reference to in the f01!0\ving notes: Early Sargents of New England Jonatha11 Sergeant of Connecticut 1644 ONATHAl"1 SERGEANT, in 1644, ··took the Oath.. at Ne\v Haven, Connecticut. According to the J Brandford, Conn. Records, December 17, 1651, occurred the death of the "Good ,vife Sargent.. -in the follo,ving year the head of the family ,vho is described as 0 A member of Ye Church at Brandford.. died. JONATHA.t"l SERGEANT, the oldest of four children of the above immigrant ancestor, left Connecticut about 1668 and settled in Nev, Jersey and became one of the founders of Ne\vark. This second Jonathan had a son nained Jonatha11. 3rd, from whom descended Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant, the eminent Jurist, who settled in Philadelphia in 1777. He ,vas prominently identified with the social and professional life of the Quaker City for more than half a century. One of the sons of the last mentioned Jonathan Sergeant was named John, born in 1716. He ,vas graduated at Yale and became an ordained missionary to the Indians in \\!estem Massachusetts. He established a manual train­ ing school for his ,vards and translated the Ne\v T estamcnt for them. T,vo sons of- Rev. John Sargent were men of distinction, Erastus, born 17 42, studied at Princeton, gradu­ ated in medicine and ,vas recognized as being the most skillful surgeon in a radius of thirty miles about Stock­ bridge, Massachusetts. During the Revolution he served as Major of the 7th Mass. Regt., taking part in the engagement near Lake Charnplain until Burgoyne surrendered. Another son, Page nine E c. r l y S a r g e n t. s o J l\7 e 1v E n g l a n d John Scrgcar!t, Jr., r.orn in l 7-f7, 2lso studied at Princcto:1 6 \Vas ordr:incd as Congrrgat.ional C1crgy1nt!n and to8k up the \\·ork among the Jndians est2blished by his father, first at Stockbridge, iv12ss. and aitcr\vards at Ne\\' Sto~k­ bridgc, N. Y., \\·hen the Indians ,,·e·rc transferred to th?.t ·location, devoting 26 years to this service and bearing the highest repute an1ong the red men. JON!\ Tf--ll\N SERGEA.NT, son of Jonathan Sergeant of Ne,vark and brother of the elder Rev. John Sergeant is dcscrib~d as a n1an of goJd education and \\·ide influence in r:ast Jersey. About 1750 he \Vas chosen Treasurer of the College of Nc\v J crsey, no\v ·knov-.·n as Princeton University, then located in Ne\vark. I-Ic ,vas deput::~d to choose a ne,v location and selected Princeton. 1-Ie ,vas one of the founders of the First Presbyterian Church in Princeton and ,\·as a delegate to the Provincial Con­ gress. I-le died just before the battle of Princeton in 1777. As before mentioned, the Philadelphia branch of the Sergeants had its foundation in Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant, son of JohnJ ~rn in Ne\\·ark in 1746. He ,1.·as graduated from Princeton College at the age of 16 and ,vas duly ad1nitted to th~ bar. I-le \Yas active and con­ spicuous prior to the Revolution, \\·2s clerk and secretary in the Pro\tisional ConYc::-ition to select delegates to the Contincr~tal Congress. I-le made the acquaintance of John Adams ,vhcn the latter passed thru Nc,v J crsey on his ,i.·ay _to ~")hiladclphia. In 1776 '.\'2S cho~en delegate to the Continental Congress. JOI-I~ SER(_;E/\~T, son of Jo:--;2than Dickinson Ser­ geant \\·as born in 1779, graduated f rorn Princeto!1 Coil(·/~ and adrnittcd to the Phil8d-Jphi:1 Dar. I le early cnt\?r(;(~ Early Sargents of New England public life and was actively identified ,vith City, State and National affairs for many years, appointed by Gov. McKean Deputy Attorney General for Chester County, ap­ pointed Commissioner in Bankruptcy by President Jeffer­ son, elected to Congress in 1814 and served for three terms. In 1826 nominated as \\1hig Candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with Henry Clay. In 1840 again sent to C.Ongress. Declined appointment tendered by President Harrison as Minister to England and as Member of President·s Cabinet. THO~1AS SERGEA.1'.JT, son of Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant admitted to Philadelphia bar in 1802. Clerk of Mayor·s Court, Associate Justice of Dist. Court of Phila­ delphia in 1814, sec·y and Att"y Gen·1 of Penna. 1819-1820, Postmaster of Philadelphia 1828-183 3. T'homas Sergeant married Sarah Bache, grandaughter of Benjamin Franklin. ESTHER SERGEANT, daugh~er of Jonathan Dickin­ son Sergeant, married \Villiam C. Barton, ,vho became one of the most distinguished surgeons ·or his day; was also surgeon of the U. S. Navy and held professorship in the University of Pennsylvania and Jefferson Medical College. MARGARETTA SERGEANT, daughter of John Sergeant ·and granddaughter of Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant, became the \vife of General George Gordon Meade of·Civil \Var fame. The third daughter of John Sergeant ,vas the ,vife of Henry Alexander \Vise, one of Virginia·s most distinguished Sons. Thru marriage. these Sergeants are connected ,..,.•ith the Cad\vallader, ~1eade, Dixon, Gerhard, Myers and other \vell kno\vn Philadelphia families. Page eleren E c r l y S a r g (' n t ..~· :.:· f 1\T e u; E n g l a n d There \\·e~e four im1nigrant S2r:;cnts ,vith the baptis1nal nan1e of \\'il1iarn: 0 ne in· I ps\'.·1c· l1, ~11v ass., 1r:-j)· ,, , ,., . ,._ f 1d " " . ,, ·. :, 0 ne 1n rvJ.a1 en, lv12s.s.) i :_._,::; T,vo in Gloucester, l\'!233., 1649 and before 1G78. -p (Tr--,[•·n Pao- ..... c; -•· . Early Sargents of 1Vezv England \Villiam Sargent of Ips\vich 1633. ILLIAM SARGENT-1633, of Ipsv.tich, Mass. In Ed\vin Everett Sargent·s book on this branch Wof Sargents, he says that as far as his researches ,vent, this \\tilliam was the Uson of Richard Sargent who held an office under the Queen.·· ELIZABETH PHILLIPS, a -daughter of Richard Sargent and wife of Rev. George Phillips came over \Vith her husband and t\VO children in the ship ·· Arbella," arriving at Salem, lv1ass., June 12, 1630 in the fleet of seventeen vessels of Gov. \Vinthrop's Colony. She died soon after landing and ,vas buried by the side of the C'...ountess Arbella Johnson, ,vife of Isaac Johnson. It was the most distinguished company that ever came o-c.ter and not one-fourth of the names have been discovered. Salem and \\!aterto\vn \Vere settled by these people and the Rev. George-Phillips \Vas the first minister settled at \Vaterto,vn. The first record of \Villiam Sargent is in the General Court records of Mass. Colony in April 163 3 in an Act by said court protecting certain grantees of land then at Aga,vam, no\v I ps,vich, Mass., in their rights, and ·· Willm -.Srjeant .. ,vas one of them-the next record is his oath of allegiance in 1639. He married, in 1633, Elizabeth, born March 3, 1611, daughter of John Perkins and Judith Gater. The English Ancestors ,vere related to that famous non­ confom1ist divine Rev. \Villiarn Perkins, \vho living in the Page thirteen E a r l )' S a r g c n t s of 1\r e iv E n g l a 11 d reign of Elizabeth 1558-1603, \·.;as a fello'.v of Christ's Coliege, Carnbridge, and an author of n1uch repute an1ong the early fathers of Ne\v England. \\11LI..,I:\lv1 SARGE~T \,·as one of the •. Presidential .. men in Amesbury in 1667. He died in 1675. In his \•::il signed and \\'itnesscd under date of 24th 1\1arch, l 671-2 and S\vorn to at Court 13th of April 1675, his na1ne ,vas spelt ··\\iilliam Sargent:· The genealogy of this f ainily bei!rs tcstirnony to t..l-}e patriotic services rendered by these Sargents in both the Revolutionary and Civil \\Tars. i'v1any have like,vise served in the managen1cnt of civil affairs and been useful and respected citizens. John P~darns1 the second President of the United States, in his diury, as printed in Vol.