DANIEL CRESSEY I

DANIEL CRESSEY I


Sergeant Daniel CRESSEY I (Yeoman) was born on 11 Jul 1698 in Royal Side of Cape Ann (now Beverly), Essex, MA. He was cordwainer (shoemaker) and leather tanner. In 1716 he became a member of First Church of Boston. On 21 Mar 1736, he Takes out 3-year motgage on land and house in Andover from James Fry at £40 per annum for 3 years in Andover, Essex, MA. He lived on a 13 acre lot with a house and barn purchased by his father in Beverly, Essex, MA before 1737. In 1737 he moved to Andover, Essex, MA. In 1740 he moved to Methuen, Essex, MA. In this year, Daniel sold his property in Beverly and he and his wife moved to Connecticut. He purchased land and buildings in Methuen and lafter moved to NH. In 1740 he became a member of First Church of Boston. Between Mar 1741 and 7 Jun 1742, there are over a dozen court records on the matter of Daniel Cressy vs. James Fry in Salem, Rockingham, NH at the Massachusetts Archives In short, Cressey got behind in his mortgage payments but believed he had reasons that the court should consider. One issue was that he built a long stone wall on the property. Another is that he alleged that Fry beat up his wife Sarah and caused her to miscarriage. The upshot is that each of the courts (Inferior at Salem, Superior at Salem, General at Boston) rejected all of Daniel's charges and considerations and ordered him to pay Fry what was owed to him plus court fees.

He died on 1 Apr 1747 in Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Canada. While some call it an accident, others call it murder. According to Ernest Cressey, author of "Story of Your Ancestors: CRESSEY, 286 Years in America" (1935) Lieutenant Daniel Cressey of Massachusetts was part of Roger's Rangers and among the soldiers who, in 1745, attacked and defeated the French at Fort Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. "About the close of the war in 1748 [presumably in Louisbourg], he was shot and murdered for his money by an English officer from England,

Leut. James Hadley [who changed his name] and fled to England." I have learned that much of Cressey's account is incorrect. Not only had Roger's Ranger's not yet formed at this time, but the actual Louisbourg Court Martial Records tell a different story. The record was hand transcribed for me by staff of the New Hampshire Historical Society. According to the record, a Lieutenant SAMUEL Hadley shot dead Sergeant Daniel Cressey of Colonel Shirley's Regiment in a duck hunting accident on 1 Apr 1747. Hadley was court martialed, but the court, after hearing witnesses, ruled the death an accident and Hadley was acquitted. But the story does not end there. Over 80 years later, a grandson of Daniel, Benjamin Cressey, wrote his opinion of what happened. He believed that Hadley shot and murdered Cressey for the considerable money that Cressey had saved to buy a farm, was falsely acquitted and fled to England.

Submitted by: Peter Blood, Urbana, MD. Researching New England and New York families including BRAY, DIBBLE, CARY/CAREY, BROWN, HALLADAY, SPENCER, WHITNEY, SPEAR, BLOOD, HERRICK, FRISBIE/FRISBEE, and TYLER.