Individual Details
SAMUEL RIDER
(19 Jun 1601 - 2 Dec 1679)
His early life in England
The best record of the life of Samuel Rider is from an untitled manuscript found in the Barnstable MA Public Library, and attributed to Phyllis Ryder Endicott. A slightly abbreviated version of her paper is given here.
"Marriage records at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, show that on 1 Nov. 1600, John Rider was married to Helen Smyth. john was probably the son of William Rider and Alice England, who were married there 7 Oct. 1577. The family goes back at least to 1433."
"The Samuel Rider who appears in the early records of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, was the son of this John Rider. he was baptized at Newport Pagnell 19 June 1601 and he married Anne Gamlett 16 Oct. 1628 in Allhallowes Parish, Northampton, England. Samuel's children, those born in England and those born in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, were named in his will, dated 20 Nov. 1679 in Yarmouth. That the English-born Samuel and the Yarmouth Samuel were one and the same is proved further in the next paragraphs.
"The will of a John Smith, yeoman, dated 7 Oct. 1637, in Kingsthorpe, England, contained a bequest to "Samuel Rider, my godson" of "the house I lived in with yard, outhouses, etc., belonging the leas of grass that adjoins unto them." Twenty-six years later, in 1663, a conveyance of this same property was made by "Samuel Rider of Plymouth in New England, yeoman, son of Samuel Rider heretofore of the Town of Northampton, Moulster, to William Butlyn of Kingsthorpe, miller...of the messuage in Kingsthorpe now occupied by Elenor Hancorne, widow, and a leas of ground shooting against a close belonging to the messuage which said premises were given to the said Samuel Rider by the last will of John Smith."
"Since Samuel appeared in the records of Yarmouth in 1638, the year following the original bequest, it seems likely that he mortgaged the property to obtain money to emigrate.
[Picture - The interior of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Newport Pagnell, England, where Samuel Rider was baptized in 1601]
"There is a deed in the Northampton Public Library that states that Samuel Rider, Jr, "reputed sonne of Samuel Rider, Sr, sometimes lived in the town of Northampton in the County of Northampton in the Parish of Allhallowes in Old England, and the said Samuel Rider Junir hath lived with the said father in the township of Yarmouth in the jurisdiction of Plymouth in the new England in America and in the Towne of Plymouth in the aforesaid jurisdiction, dated 3 Dec. 1662.
"Newport Pagnell where Samuel1 was born is a small market town on the main road some twelve miles from Northampton, England. Samuel was nineteen years of age when the Pilgrams made voyage in the Mayflower, on board which ship was William Brewster, whose 5-great grandson, John Rider. In those days before newspapers, market days were important events for more than marketing purposes. News was exchanged, gossip passed on and speeches made in market places, and undoubtedly Samuel first heard of this sailing on market day in Newport Pagnell. On many other market days in the following years, he probably stood in the crowd listening to impassioned speeches and to talk of better prospects in America. When letters arrived from the Colonies, telling of independence and opportunity there, I imagine him listening intently as they were read aloud and discussed.
"English life was not pleasant under Charles I. Samuel and his family were almost certainly dissenters, and their wish to emigrate was religious as well as economic, for Yarmouth and Plymouth church records show their early membership.
"At some point during this early life in England, Samuel moved from Newport Pagnell to Northampton, twelve miles away. There he married Anne Gamlett 16 Oct. 1628 and started his family. Then, through the will of John Smith in 1637, the move seemed nearer.
[Picture-Eastern Massachusetts, showing the original boundaries of Plymouth Colony. Samuel settled in Yarmouth, his grandson in Chatham.]
The move to the New World
Plymouth colony was seventeen years old, the town of Boston was seven and Samuel was thirty-six when he found that he had the chance to sail. He evidently let no grass grow under his feet, for on 7 Jan. 1638/39, on the other side of the Atlantic, his name appeared on a list of "those who proposed to take up their freedom at Yarmouth.
"Samuel received a grant of land in 1638 for having the first male white child born in Yarmouth. (Poor Anne, what an unpleasant sea voyage she must have had.) this child was Zachariah, who died in 1685 from a gunshot wound at a training." This ends Phyllis Endicott's note on Samuel.
Samuel Rider was first mentioned in the colonial records January 7, 1638-9 as being amoung those proposed to take up their freedom in Yarmouth, Mass. in 1643 or before.
His public duties
Once settled in Yarmouth, Samuel's public activities were busy and varied. In August 1643 he was amongst the "Names of all the Males that are able to beare Armes from xvj Yeares old to 60 Years wthin the sevrall Townshipps" [Shurtleff 194]. He served on a committee chosen to "appoynt a place for defense in case of sudden assault, and forthwith to cause the same to be fortyfied with all speede." On 9 Jun 1653 he was appointed lieutenant of a Military Company at Yarmouth. But this promotion was short-lived, for in 1654/55 he was charged with the offense of "showing sympathy to Quakers" and "ordered to appear before court to answer for affronting a constable" at Yarmouth while pressing men for an extended expedition, and on the 7th was bound over to the next court. He was subsequently demoted from the "office of Lt, 6 March 1654." However, on 1 Jun 1658, he was "restored to the office of Lt."
In 1658 he was a member of the Council of War, and appeared at Plymouth as deputy from Yarmouth to consider with deputies from other towns the danger of war between England and Holland.
In 1649, 1658, and 1659 he sserved as surveyor of highways.
[Picture-Samuel's house was on the northeast shore of Bass Pond, now called Follin's Pond.]
In 1657 he was amongst "the Names of Such of Yarmouth as tooke the Oath of Fidelytye in the year 1657." [Shurtleff 185] On 3 Jun 1657 he served as grand juryman, and again in 1660. In 1659 he was on a jury of inquest at Yarmouth. In 1663 he served as constable. In 1671 he was a collector of Minister's taxes, and in 1676 was one of three makers of a rate "toward the charge of the late war," his own tax fixed at 5 pounds 2 shillings 6 pence.
His homestead and death
The exact location of Samuel's house in Old Yarmouth is not now known, but a descendant, searching the area in the 1960's wrote, "I think I have discovered the general location of the house near a dried up swamp on the northeast shore of Follins [earlier called Bass] Pond about 300 yards from Mayflower Road." [Richard G. Ryder]
Samuel1 Rider died 2 Dec. 1679 at age 78 in Yarmouth and is buried on his home farm at Follins Pond, or in one of the unmarked graves in the ancient Woodside Cemetery in Yarmouth. His widow removed to Plymouth where she died 4 Dec. 1695.
An assessment
Samuel's decision to come to the New World was a good one, and he suffered few setbacks in his life. His demotion for protecting a Quaker is probably to his credit now. He didn't live to know that his son "Zack Rider Senr desesed the 5th of Sept. '85 by a gunshot in Training." Nor did he live to hear the mortifying news that a grandson was caught in "the sin of fornication with Hannah Barnes," and though this couple married and lived happily enough ever after, the embarrassing record has come down to us. The initiative of the grandson, of course, may have been prophetic, as the line of Ryders through Samuel is by far the largest in North America.
The descending child in our line was John2 Rider.
References: Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Miscellaneous Records 1633-1680, Boston 1857; Ruth Wilder Sherman and Robert W. Wakefield, Plymouth Colony Probate Guide, Where to Find Wills and Related Data for 800 People of Plymouth Colony, 1620-1691, 1983; Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, Barnstable MA 1888; an untitled manuscript found in the Barnstable MA Public Library, attributed to Phyllis Ryder Endicott; Nellie Agnes Rider, A Rider Genealogy, a 3-volume manuscript depositied with the NEGHS 101 Newbury St Boston MA, cited as "Nellie Rider"; Fremont Rider, A Rider/Ryder Genealogy, 3 vols 1957, cited as 'Fremont Rider'; LDS IGI; Richard G. Ryder, "Ryder Notes: The European Generations" The American Genealogist, Apr 1967, Vol. 43, pp. 117-123; Archdeaconry of Northampton, series 2, H:263, and Northamptonshire Record Office: NPL 812.
[Below is from Fremont Rider Book:
He settled at Yarmouth, Ms, in 1643 or before. He d. 1679 :Dec 2; his w.d. at Plymouth, Ms. 1695 :De14.
Samuel Rider is first mentioned in the colonial records, 1638-9:Ja7, among those proposed to take up their freedom in Yarmouth. He was on a jury in Yarmouth 1641:Je17. He was among those between 16 and 60 years of age able to bear arms in Yarmouth 1643:Ag. 1643:Oc10 he was one of a committeeappointed by the Court to choose a place for a fort at Yarmouth and to fortify it against a sudden assault. 1649:Je6 he is mentioned as surveyor of highways at Yarmouth.
1653:Ag6 he appears at Plymouth to consider with the deputies from other towns the danger of a war between England and Holland. He is here called "Serg." 1653:Je9 he was appointed Lt of the military company at Yarmouth. 1654:Oc6 he was ordered to appear before the Court to answer for affronting the constable of Yarmouth while pressing men for an intended expedition, and on the 17th was bound over to the next Court. 1654:Mr6 he was for this offence put out of his office as Lt. It is said that his offense was really favoring the Quakers.
1656:Je3, he is mentioned as surveyor of highways at Yarmouth. He took the oath of fidelity in 1657. 1657:Je3, he was on the grand jury. 1658:Je1 he was restored Lt.
1658:Oc2 he was a member of the council of war. 1659:Oc he was on a jury of inquest at Yarmouth. 1663:Je1 he is mentioned as constable of Yarmouth, and 1666:Je5 as suveyor of highways there. 1671:Je5 he was appointed member of a committee to collect the salary of the minister.
In 1676 he was one of three makers of a rate "toward the chargeof the late war," his own tax being fixed at 5 pounds, 2 shillings, 6 pence, the highest being 16 pounds, 3 shillings. His residence in Yarmouth was near Follen;s Pond.
Neither the date of his arrival in his birth is known. He married Anne (?) and died between November 20 (date of his will) and December 9 (date of inventory), 1679. His widow died at Plymouth, 1695:De14.
The inventory of his estate, amounting to 237 pounds, 10 shillings, was taken by Edmond Hawes and John Miller. His will (proved 1679-80:Mr2) mentions his wife Anne, sons Benjamin, John and Samuel, daughters Jane, Elizabeth and Mary, and sons Zachary and Joseph. His wife and Benjamin were made executors.
As to the English antecedents of Samuel Rider, the immigrant ancestor, the following certificate, preserved among the uncalendared deeds in the public library at Northhampton, England, show that he had lived in Northhampton before coming to America; "These may Cartify all whom it may Concerne that Samuell Ryder, Junior, the bearer hereof, is the reputed sonne of Samuell Ryder Senir, sometimes lived in the Towne of Northhampton in the Countey of Northhampton in the Parish of Alhallowes in old England, and the said Samuell Ryder Junir hath lived with his said father in the Township of Yarmouth in the Jurisdiction of Plymouth in new England in America and in the Towne of Plymouth in the aforesaid Jurisdiction the space of thirty years or thereabouts." Duly signed by Wm. Collier, Deputie and Tho. Southworth, Asst. "in the Absence of the Gouernor", and sealed, 1662:De3.
In an article "Rider-Ryder Notes", p.49-53, are numerous bits of data relative to the first three generations of the Cape Cod branch of the Riders. Samuel, the pioneer's will (1679) is fully abstracted. Also Zachariah's will (1685), John's (1703), and Samuel's (1702). (Dutchess:345; Cole Gen:27; Register:4:258; 79:316; King Philip's War:456; Plymouth Landmarks:215; Rider, Nellie)]
The best record of the life of Samuel Rider is from an untitled manuscript found in the Barnstable MA Public Library, and attributed to Phyllis Ryder Endicott. A slightly abbreviated version of her paper is given here.
"Marriage records at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, show that on 1 Nov. 1600, John Rider was married to Helen Smyth. john was probably the son of William Rider and Alice England, who were married there 7 Oct. 1577. The family goes back at least to 1433."
"The Samuel Rider who appears in the early records of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, was the son of this John Rider. he was baptized at Newport Pagnell 19 June 1601 and he married Anne Gamlett 16 Oct. 1628 in Allhallowes Parish, Northampton, England. Samuel's children, those born in England and those born in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, were named in his will, dated 20 Nov. 1679 in Yarmouth. That the English-born Samuel and the Yarmouth Samuel were one and the same is proved further in the next paragraphs.
"The will of a John Smith, yeoman, dated 7 Oct. 1637, in Kingsthorpe, England, contained a bequest to "Samuel Rider, my godson" of "the house I lived in with yard, outhouses, etc., belonging the leas of grass that adjoins unto them." Twenty-six years later, in 1663, a conveyance of this same property was made by "Samuel Rider of Plymouth in New England, yeoman, son of Samuel Rider heretofore of the Town of Northampton, Moulster, to William Butlyn of Kingsthorpe, miller...of the messuage in Kingsthorpe now occupied by Elenor Hancorne, widow, and a leas of ground shooting against a close belonging to the messuage which said premises were given to the said Samuel Rider by the last will of John Smith."
"Since Samuel appeared in the records of Yarmouth in 1638, the year following the original bequest, it seems likely that he mortgaged the property to obtain money to emigrate.
[Picture - The interior of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Newport Pagnell, England, where Samuel Rider was baptized in 1601]
"There is a deed in the Northampton Public Library that states that Samuel Rider, Jr, "reputed sonne of Samuel Rider, Sr, sometimes lived in the town of Northampton in the County of Northampton in the Parish of Allhallowes in Old England, and the said Samuel Rider Junir hath lived with the said father in the township of Yarmouth in the jurisdiction of Plymouth in the new England in America and in the Towne of Plymouth in the aforesaid jurisdiction, dated 3 Dec. 1662.
"Newport Pagnell where Samuel1 was born is a small market town on the main road some twelve miles from Northampton, England. Samuel was nineteen years of age when the Pilgrams made voyage in the Mayflower, on board which ship was William Brewster, whose 5-great grandson, John Rider. In those days before newspapers, market days were important events for more than marketing purposes. News was exchanged, gossip passed on and speeches made in market places, and undoubtedly Samuel first heard of this sailing on market day in Newport Pagnell. On many other market days in the following years, he probably stood in the crowd listening to impassioned speeches and to talk of better prospects in America. When letters arrived from the Colonies, telling of independence and opportunity there, I imagine him listening intently as they were read aloud and discussed.
"English life was not pleasant under Charles I. Samuel and his family were almost certainly dissenters, and their wish to emigrate was religious as well as economic, for Yarmouth and Plymouth church records show their early membership.
"At some point during this early life in England, Samuel moved from Newport Pagnell to Northampton, twelve miles away. There he married Anne Gamlett 16 Oct. 1628 and started his family. Then, through the will of John Smith in 1637, the move seemed nearer.
[Picture-Eastern Massachusetts, showing the original boundaries of Plymouth Colony. Samuel settled in Yarmouth, his grandson in Chatham.]
The move to the New World
Plymouth colony was seventeen years old, the town of Boston was seven and Samuel was thirty-six when he found that he had the chance to sail. He evidently let no grass grow under his feet, for on 7 Jan. 1638/39, on the other side of the Atlantic, his name appeared on a list of "those who proposed to take up their freedom at Yarmouth.
"Samuel received a grant of land in 1638 for having the first male white child born in Yarmouth. (Poor Anne, what an unpleasant sea voyage she must have had.) this child was Zachariah, who died in 1685 from a gunshot wound at a training." This ends Phyllis Endicott's note on Samuel.
Samuel Rider was first mentioned in the colonial records January 7, 1638-9 as being amoung those proposed to take up their freedom in Yarmouth, Mass. in 1643 or before.
His public duties
Once settled in Yarmouth, Samuel's public activities were busy and varied. In August 1643 he was amongst the "Names of all the Males that are able to beare Armes from xvj Yeares old to 60 Years wthin the sevrall Townshipps" [Shurtleff 194]. He served on a committee chosen to "appoynt a place for defense in case of sudden assault, and forthwith to cause the same to be fortyfied with all speede." On 9 Jun 1653 he was appointed lieutenant of a Military Company at Yarmouth. But this promotion was short-lived, for in 1654/55 he was charged with the offense of "showing sympathy to Quakers" and "ordered to appear before court to answer for affronting a constable" at Yarmouth while pressing men for an extended expedition, and on the 7th was bound over to the next court. He was subsequently demoted from the "office of Lt, 6 March 1654." However, on 1 Jun 1658, he was "restored to the office of Lt."
In 1658 he was a member of the Council of War, and appeared at Plymouth as deputy from Yarmouth to consider with deputies from other towns the danger of war between England and Holland.
In 1649, 1658, and 1659 he sserved as surveyor of highways.
[Picture-Samuel's house was on the northeast shore of Bass Pond, now called Follin's Pond.]
In 1657 he was amongst "the Names of Such of Yarmouth as tooke the Oath of Fidelytye in the year 1657." [Shurtleff 185] On 3 Jun 1657 he served as grand juryman, and again in 1660. In 1659 he was on a jury of inquest at Yarmouth. In 1663 he served as constable. In 1671 he was a collector of Minister's taxes, and in 1676 was one of three makers of a rate "toward the charge of the late war," his own tax fixed at 5 pounds 2 shillings 6 pence.
His homestead and death
The exact location of Samuel's house in Old Yarmouth is not now known, but a descendant, searching the area in the 1960's wrote, "I think I have discovered the general location of the house near a dried up swamp on the northeast shore of Follins [earlier called Bass] Pond about 300 yards from Mayflower Road." [Richard G. Ryder]
Samuel1 Rider died 2 Dec. 1679 at age 78 in Yarmouth and is buried on his home farm at Follins Pond, or in one of the unmarked graves in the ancient Woodside Cemetery in Yarmouth. His widow removed to Plymouth where she died 4 Dec. 1695.
An assessment
Samuel's decision to come to the New World was a good one, and he suffered few setbacks in his life. His demotion for protecting a Quaker is probably to his credit now. He didn't live to know that his son "Zack Rider Senr desesed the 5th of Sept. '85 by a gunshot in Training." Nor did he live to hear the mortifying news that a grandson was caught in "the sin of fornication with Hannah Barnes," and though this couple married and lived happily enough ever after, the embarrassing record has come down to us. The initiative of the grandson, of course, may have been prophetic, as the line of Ryders through Samuel is by far the largest in North America.
The descending child in our line was John2 Rider.
References: Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Miscellaneous Records 1633-1680, Boston 1857; Ruth Wilder Sherman and Robert W. Wakefield, Plymouth Colony Probate Guide, Where to Find Wills and Related Data for 800 People of Plymouth Colony, 1620-1691, 1983; Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, Barnstable MA 1888; an untitled manuscript found in the Barnstable MA Public Library, attributed to Phyllis Ryder Endicott; Nellie Agnes Rider, A Rider Genealogy, a 3-volume manuscript depositied with the NEGHS 101 Newbury St Boston MA, cited as "Nellie Rider"; Fremont Rider, A Rider/Ryder Genealogy, 3 vols 1957, cited as 'Fremont Rider'; LDS IGI; Richard G. Ryder, "Ryder Notes: The European Generations" The American Genealogist, Apr 1967, Vol. 43, pp. 117-123; Archdeaconry of Northampton, series 2, H:263, and Northamptonshire Record Office: NPL 812.
[Below is from Fremont Rider Book:
He settled at Yarmouth, Ms, in 1643 or before. He d. 1679 :Dec 2; his w.d. at Plymouth, Ms. 1695 :De14.
Samuel Rider is first mentioned in the colonial records, 1638-9:Ja7, among those proposed to take up their freedom in Yarmouth. He was on a jury in Yarmouth 1641:Je17. He was among those between 16 and 60 years of age able to bear arms in Yarmouth 1643:Ag. 1643:Oc10 he was one of a committeeappointed by the Court to choose a place for a fort at Yarmouth and to fortify it against a sudden assault. 1649:Je6 he is mentioned as surveyor of highways at Yarmouth.
1653:Ag6 he appears at Plymouth to consider with the deputies from other towns the danger of a war between England and Holland. He is here called "Serg." 1653:Je9 he was appointed Lt of the military company at Yarmouth. 1654:Oc6 he was ordered to appear before the Court to answer for affronting the constable of Yarmouth while pressing men for an intended expedition, and on the 17th was bound over to the next Court. 1654:Mr6 he was for this offence put out of his office as Lt. It is said that his offense was really favoring the Quakers.
1656:Je3, he is mentioned as surveyor of highways at Yarmouth. He took the oath of fidelity in 1657. 1657:Je3, he was on the grand jury. 1658:Je1 he was restored Lt.
1658:Oc2 he was a member of the council of war. 1659:Oc he was on a jury of inquest at Yarmouth. 1663:Je1 he is mentioned as constable of Yarmouth, and 1666:Je5 as suveyor of highways there. 1671:Je5 he was appointed member of a committee to collect the salary of the minister.
In 1676 he was one of three makers of a rate "toward the chargeof the late war," his own tax being fixed at 5 pounds, 2 shillings, 6 pence, the highest being 16 pounds, 3 shillings. His residence in Yarmouth was near Follen;s Pond.
Neither the date of his arrival in his birth is known. He married Anne (?) and died between November 20 (date of his will) and December 9 (date of inventory), 1679. His widow died at Plymouth, 1695:De14.
The inventory of his estate, amounting to 237 pounds, 10 shillings, was taken by Edmond Hawes and John Miller. His will (proved 1679-80:Mr2) mentions his wife Anne, sons Benjamin, John and Samuel, daughters Jane, Elizabeth and Mary, and sons Zachary and Joseph. His wife and Benjamin were made executors.
As to the English antecedents of Samuel Rider, the immigrant ancestor, the following certificate, preserved among the uncalendared deeds in the public library at Northhampton, England, show that he had lived in Northhampton before coming to America; "These may Cartify all whom it may Concerne that Samuell Ryder, Junior, the bearer hereof, is the reputed sonne of Samuell Ryder Senir, sometimes lived in the Towne of Northhampton in the Countey of Northhampton in the Parish of Alhallowes in old England, and the said Samuell Ryder Junir hath lived with his said father in the Township of Yarmouth in the Jurisdiction of Plymouth in new England in America and in the Towne of Plymouth in the aforesaid Jurisdiction the space of thirty years or thereabouts." Duly signed by Wm. Collier, Deputie and Tho. Southworth, Asst. "in the Absence of the Gouernor", and sealed, 1662:De3.
In an article "Rider-Ryder Notes", p.49-53, are numerous bits of data relative to the first three generations of the Cape Cod branch of the Riders. Samuel, the pioneer's will (1679) is fully abstracted. Also Zachariah's will (1685), John's (1703), and Samuel's (1702). (Dutchess:345; Cole Gen:27; Register:4:258; 79:316; King Philip's War:456; Plymouth Landmarks:215; Rider, Nellie)]
Events
| Birth | 19 Jun 1601 | Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes Borough, Buckinghamshire County, England |  | ||
| Baptism | 19 Jun 1601 | Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes Borough, Buckinghamshire County, England | | ||
| Marriage | 16 Oct 1628 | All Saints Church, Allhallows Parish, Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England - ANNE GAMLETT | | ||
| Death | 2 Dec 1679 | Yarmouth Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts | | ||
| Burial | unmarked grave, Yarmouth Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts | |
Families
| Spouse | ANNE GAMLETT (1608 - 1695) |
| Child | JANE RIDER (1629 - 1631) |
| Child | BENJAMIN RIDER (1630 - ) |
| Child | JANE RIDER (1632 - 1715) |
| Child | SAMUEL RIDER (1632 - 1715) |
| Child | JOHN RIDER (1636 - 1706) |
| Child | ZACHARIAH (ZACHARY) RIDER (1638 - 1685) |
| Child | JOSEPH RIDER (1644 - 1717) |
| Child | ELIZABETH RIDER (1646 - ) |
| Child | MARY RIDER (1647 - ) |
| Father | JOHN RIDER (1582 - ) |
| Mother | HELEN SMYTH ( - ) |
Endnotes
1. RYDER GENEALOGICAL FILES.
2. RYDER GENEALOGICAL FILES.
3. RYDER GENEALOGICAL FILES.
4. RYDER GENEALOGICAL FILES.
5. RYDER GENEALOGICAL FILES.