OF JOH N WILLIAMS 5 as with prow turned westward she furrowed the smooth m sea ; su mer , while they discuss the situation and the out look . There must have been sadness and regret at the enforced breaking of old associations and old ties , not withstanding the goodly number in company ; but a note of exultation ran through all at the new sense of freedom and expansion of their minds as they looked out at the boundless untrammelled space about them . Here was room to breathe at will , and to safely express their satis faction that Bishop Wren and hi s Oppressions were each hour farther and farther behi nd . As to what lay before them , they had no fears ; the hand that was leading them out of bondage would provide . l The clusters of mothers , with an eye upon their todd ing hi U c ldren , are in earnest conference pon what they have left behi nd and what was before them . What of their household goods ? Had they brought on board or left behi nd those whi ch would be o f the most advantage to them in their new homes ? What would their new homes ? be like In any event , their most precious possessions — hi were secure , their c ldren and the right to think for themselves . With what awe would Samuel Williams , Thomas Metcalf , and the older boys watch with bated in breath the agile sailors the dizzy rigging , as they swung upon the halyards or balanced upon the yard arms , or, standing by the low bulwarks , they watched the waves and the denizens of the sea , calling their mothers to see w the sights , and plying ith questions those as ignorant as themselves of the wonders of the deep ! How the heart of Elizabeth Williams would have swelled with pride and thankfulness , could she have foreseen that she was to be the fountain- head of an endless flow of gospel ministers , who were to occupy a prominent 6 HEREDITY A ND EARLY ENV IRONMENT place in the hi story of a New England to whi ch they n were speedi g , one of whom was to be for forty years the leading figure of the old hi storic town of D eerfield ! ” Curiously enough, there were others on board the Rose who became connected with the same town . Tommy i Metcalf, the playfellow of Sammy Will ams , was in due o f i time to be one her earl est land holders ; Ephraim Ropes , i hi s hi s n son of John , the em grant , gave life for cou try ’ in the defence of D eerfield during Philip s War ; and o f n Edward , the son Joh Towne , was a soldier under the - 1 675 ill fated Captain Thomas Lothrop in , and was laid D rfi ld i to hi s last rest in ee e soil w th the flower of Essex . o f Sad indeed would have been the heart Alice Roper, w had she the foreknowledge that both her t in sons , Ben i o n jam n and Ephraim , would fall in Indian combat the o f o ld Po c um t uc k . a r andso n banks Thomas , g of John Baker the grocer , who settled in Roxbury , was a play o f . mate John Williams , and but four weeks younger o f He must have been of heroic blood , for at the age eleven 1 9 years he was in the Great Swamp Fight , December , 1 675 ll w , and was ki ed ith Captain Wadsworth in the fatal n ambush at Sudbury the next year . Thomas Lincol , o ut i who came from Norw ch as a servant , settled in Hing o f ham , and became the ancestor two New England governors . Could we have overheard the talk o f the leading exiles grouped at the stern of the “ Rose ” on one of those calm June days , as they were discussing their grievous con di in tion at home , or , later years , the same subject re call ed among those gathered in the shoe sh0 p of Robert l hn i Wi liams at Roxbury , where young Jo Will ams was an ul a earnest listener , we sho d have learned the re sons which caused them to leave the prosperous city for the deso OF JOH N WILLIAMS 7 — late wilderness , learned that it was to breathe an air no t untainted by oppression , to benefit their financial condition . li While Wil am Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury , 1 63 5 i in , he had found , as he said , something in Norw ch “ ” much out of order ; and he appointed Matthew Wren r di as Bishop in the district cove ing that town , and rected “ ” di d i hi m to take care of it . Wren th s so effectually “ 2 that , says Laud , in % years he roused the Puritans to ” “ o a dangerous pitch of religious fury . He had s pas sio nat el y and furiously proceeded against them , says “ Clarendon , that many left the kingdom , to the lessening ” of the wealthy manufacture . Of these were the No r no w o f wich exiled passengers , comparing notes the past “ ” and planning for the future on the deck o f the Rose . At the confabs to be held in later years in the shoe sh0 p o f hi s hi grandfather , young Williams could hear that w ch “ ” — no t o n we could learn from the talk the Rose , that , when the fates willed , the wheel turned ; and Archbishop hi s Laud lost head upon the block , while the impetuous Wren languished fo r some tw o score years in the Tower . John Williams , it will be seen , did not fail to take in useful lessons from the reminiscences o f Grandfather Robert and his cronies . He saw that it was the int o le r ance of the Church of England whi ch forced these men and women to pay the price o f expatr iation fo r the Oppo r tunity of worshi pping the Deity according to the prompt ing of the conscience . Their forefathers had blindly bowed to authority , but for them there was at least a rift in the cloud of superstition , and for them a new day was beginning to dawn . He saw that , despite the efforts of the mother church , old things were passing away . It is true that the change was gradual , but the rift in the cloud never entirely closed ag ain . 8 HEREDITY A N D EARLY EN VI RONMENT t a li m im Lit le can be le rned about Robert Wil a s , the . t in 1 63 7 s migrant He set led in Roxbury , and seem to Of his i have pursued the even tenor way , work ng at his trade Of shoemaking . He and his wife are both enr oll ed r o f . as members Of the chu ch Eliot , the apostle There is o ne incident in this connection wort h noting . It is a v matter Of record that for some ser ice to the town Mr . “ Williams w as granted t w o acres o f land . He sub se t a as s quently peti ioned the town to t ke it back , it occa ioned “ ” him too much worldl y care . The presum ption is w as i o f hi that he rel eved t s care , and left to peg away hi s e hin ir . at bench , and meditat upon t gs sp itual He 1 1 693 . H is f i a died September , wi e , El zabeth St lham , 6 4 di 2 8 1 7 . 3 1 675 ed July , He married , November , , a V I wi f T ido w B ar ar et rin o f n . second e , g Fea g , Hi gham She di 2 2 1 690 . r Wi ed December , He married , thi d , dow 7 -I A art h a i in 1 708 . H i s Parke , who d ed children were 6 in m . 1 44 . Elizabeth , b . England ; , , Richard Robinson . in m . 1 648 n . Deborah , b England ; , , Joh Turner . 6 66 . n in di 3 . O 1 8 Joh , b England , ed p ctober , . 1 63 2 . Samuel , b in England , . in 1 1 63 8 . Isaac , b Roxbury , September , in 8 1 64 In . 0 Stephen , b Roxbury , November , ; Sarah l “ . Wise , sister Of Rev . John ise i in 1 63 2 Samuel , the fourth ch ld , born England , , came as I a hi s in 1 63 7 . over , h ve said , with father He set t led in i hi s . Roxbury ; and . l ke father , was a shoemaker w as m i He became a large land holder , and pro nent in the o f affairs Of the town . He joined the church at the age ft in 1 677 w as l fi een , was elected deacon , and made Ru ing . e 2 8 1 69 8 . Elder He died S ptember , He married , 2 1 653 - 4 Th eo da o f li March , , , daughter Deacon Wil am and Mart ha Parke . Their children were OF JOHN WILLIAMS 9 — — . 6 4 . 1 6 4 1 1 5 5 0 1 5 5 . Elizabeth , b February , ; d March , 2 7 1 656 . Samuel , b . April , , bapt the same day ; m . o f Sarah May, Roxbury , and , second , Sarah Adams , of M e dfie ld.