Walter Gendall (died September 19, 1688) was a 17th-century English
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
owner in and prominent citizen of
North Yarmouth,
Massachusetts Bay Colony (now
Yarmouth, Maine
Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, it was part of Massachusetts, and remained as such for 213 years. In 18 ...
). He was also a captain in
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
of 1675–1678 and
King William's War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
of 1688–1697. He lost his life in the second conflict.
[''Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History'', ]William Hutchinson Rowe
William Hutchinson Rowe (March 6, 1882''Maine Biographies'', Harrie B. Coe (before 1937), p. 135 – 1955) was an American author and historian who lived in Yarmouth, Maine. The town's elementary school, built the year he died, is now named for ...
(1937) His name is also spelled Walter ''Gendle'' in literature.
Early life
Gendall, a native of
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, England,
[''Bibliotheca Cornubiensis: Comprising a supplementary catalogue of authors, lists of Acts of Parliament and Civil war tracts, &c., and an index to the contents of the 3 vols'', George Clement Boase, William Prideaux Courtney (1874), p. 1192] arrived on American shores from England around 1640. There was a record held at the
Trelawney Plantation on
Richmond Island
Richmond Island, or Richmond's Island, is an island off the coast of Cape Elizabeth in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States. The island is named for Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond. Privately owned and uno ...
, off
Cape Elizabeth
Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, Cape Elizabeth had a population of 9,535. ...
, Massachusetts Bay Colony (now in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
), that he was resident in the area. From that point, however, nothing is known of Gendall for around two decades.
[''Captain Walter Gendall: A Biographical Sketch'']
- Doctor Charles E. Banks (1880), p. 2
Career
During
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
, while at Fort Lyall in Falmouth in August 1676, Captain Gendall decided that the "furious
natives
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
" were of sufficient anger that he sent word to Boston for reinforcements. He was granted a detachment of 130 soldiers.
[''Captain Walter Gendall: A Biographical Sketch'' - Doctor Charles E. Banks (1880), p. 7] A short while later, he was held captive, for
ransom, by the natives, with whom he had been on good terms for years. He had visited their settlements and traded with their chiefs for animal skins. "He was much esteemed by all the tribes," wrote Charles Banks.
[''Captain Walter Gendall: A Biographical Sketch'' - Doctor Charles E. Banks (1880), p. 8]
In October 1676, Gendall escaped a capture of his Blackpoint garrison on
Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...
. He reached
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
,
Province of New Hampshire
The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was n ...
, where he took possession of a thirty-ton
ketch
A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...
. He and a crew of seven sailed to
Scarborough, Massachusetts (now in Maine), with the aim of recovering what possessions of his remained. Upon dropping anchor at Richmond Island in
Saco Bay, a group of
Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...
Indians, led by Chief
Mog of
Cape Porpoise
Cape Porpoise, Maine is a small coastal village in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, and was the original English settlement of the town. It is northeast of Dock Square and southwest of Goose Rocks Beach. The village occupies the ma ...
, captured the vessel and its crew. Under Mog's orders, the ketch and its crew (minus Gendall) was sailed up the
Sheepscot River
The Sheepscot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Its lower portion is a complex island estuary with connections to ...
and berthed for the winter. One crew member died from injuries sustained during the capture; the others were divided amongst the Indians and taken, by canoe, to
Penobscot Bay via
Damariscotta. Gendall, meanwhile, was retained as a hostage. He was taken from Scarborough to
Wells and, while being used as a human shield, to New Hampshire. Mog visited Major
Richard Waldron
Major Richard Waldron (or Richard Waldern, Richard Walderne; 1615–1689) was an English-born merchant, soldier, and government official who rose to prominence in early colonial Dover, New Hampshire. His presence spread to greater New Hampshire ...
, the English militia commander in
Dover. Mog "announced himself as empowered to negotiate peace with the English on behalf of
Madockawando Madockawando (born in Maine c. 1630; died 1698) was a sachem of the Penobscot, an adopted son of ''Assaminasqua,'' whom he succeeded. He led the Penobscot on the side of the French against the English during King William's War.
Biography
The Penobs ...
and Cheberrina, allied '
Sachems
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Algon ...
' of
Penobscot
The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic ...
and
Kennebec" and released Gendall after the Englishman arranged for Mog to be given a safe-passage permit to Boston. Around two weeks later, Mog negotiated terms of a treaty between the Colony and a coalition of Abenaki and
Etchemin chiefs.
In September 1677, a court in Boston found Gendall guilty of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
for his relationship with the Native Americans. In the ensuing three days, Gendall escaped and returned, it is believed, to Scarborough.
[''Captain Walter Gendall: A Biographical Sketch'' - Doctor Charles E. Banks (1880), p. 12] A bond was paid by Gendall's friend Nathaniel Fryer as part of an agreement with the court, and the incident came to a conclusion.
[''Captain Walter Gendall: A Biographical Sketch'' - Doctor Charles E. Banks (1880), p. 14]
Peace was reached with the Indians on August 12, 1678, when three English commissioners met chief
Squanto
Tisquantum (; 1585 (±10 years?) – late November 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto Sam (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and ...
and two other sagamores to sign a treaty.
[
]
On July 12, 1681, Gendall founded Casco Mill at the eastern side of the First Falls in Yarmouth, on land formerly occupied by Henry Sayward's mill. Gendall's dwelling was beside the mill. He built a boarding home "of rude construction" for his mill workers on the opposite shore.[ Three years later, he claimed all of the owned by fellow Englishman, early settler George Felt. He had purchased from Felt a few years prior.][
Gendall was selected to a committee in charge of laying out the town of North Yarmouth, which was incorporated on September 22, 1680. Also on the committee were ]Bartholomew Gedney Bartholomew Gedney (June 14, 1640 – February 28, 1698)''Collections of the Maine Historical Society'', Volume 2 (1902), p. 179 was a merchant, physician, military officer, and native of Salem, Massachusetts. He is best known as one of the mag ...
, Joshua Scotton and Silvanus Davis. The town was designed on a location then known as Maine's Point. The committee was superseded by the appointment of Gendall and three others as trustees of the town.[
]
Personal life
It is believed Gendall was married to Joane Guy, with whom he had a family.[ He had lived with them during his time as a military officer in Scarborough (from around 1661)][''Collections of the ]Maine Historical Society
The Maine Historical Society is the official state historical society of Maine. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown Portland. The Society currently operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, a National Historic Landmark, Longfellow ...
'', Volume 3 (1853), p. 83 and Falmouth, Massachusetts (now Portland, Maine).[''Collections of the Maine Historical Society'', Volume 3 (1853), p. 135] His father-in-law was John Guy, a fisherman in Falmouth.[
His farm incorporated Duck Cove, at the western end of Broad Cove, beyond Town Landing Road in today's Cumberland Foreside.][''Collections of the Maine Historical Society'', Volume 2 (1902), p. 175] The dry-stone
Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from Rock (geology), stones without any Mortar (masonry), mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable ...
boundary wall is still intact. This land is now partly traversed by a connecting trail system as part of an easement arranged by Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust with local property owners.
In 1687, Gendall was granted land on Clapboard Island, off of today's Falmouth Foreside.
Death
Gendall, "one of the bravest and foremost men of the early days",[ died on September 19, 1688,][ shortly after the outbreak of ]Second Indian War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
, having been shot by Indians near Callen Point
Callen Point is a promontory in Yarmouth, Maine, United States. It is located east-southeast of Yarmouth Village, on the southern banks of the Royal River, east of Larrabee's Landing and near the river's confluence with Casco Bay.
It was an imp ...
while taking supplies to his troops building a fort on the southern side of the Royal River
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a c ...
. He had mistaken the cessation of the Indians' gunfire to mean that they were out of ammunition, and he set out to cross the river. He made the journey without incident, but was shot upon reaching the opposite shoreline. His last words were: "I have lost my life in your service."[''Captain Walter Gendall: A Biographical Sketch'' - Doctor Charles E. Banks (1880)] The Indians burned three houses and two barns of Gendall's.[''Collections of the Maine Historical Society'', Volume 2 (1902), p. 174]
Gendall's estate was not probated until 1700, twelve years after his death.[''Captain Walter Gendall: A Biographical Sketch'' - Doctor Charles E. Banks (1880), p. 24]
A stone marker honoring Gendall stands to the north of 28 Lafayette Street in the area of Yarmouth that came to be known as Grantville.[Architectural Survey Yarmouth, ME (Phase One, September, 2018]
- Yarmouth's town website) It was installed by Yarmouth’s Village Improvement Society in 1939.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gendall, Walter
1688 deaths
People from Cornwall
17th-century English businesspeople
American textile industry businesspeople
English emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony
People of colonial Massachusetts
People from colonial Boston
People from North Yarmouth, Maine
King Philip's War
King William's War
Military personnel killed in action