Digory Sargent
Welcome to the Digory Sargent website.
Following is a brief account of Digory Sargent and his family. There is
of course much more detail that can be added to this story, but it is intended
to just to introduce you to the man and his family. The account of Digory and
the Indian raid may be found in many Massachusetts source books. We can also send you a list of
some of these books if you desire to read the accounts for
yourself. If you have any specific questions, we would be very
happy to answer them for you.
Digory Sargent
His
children
Genealogy in Progress
Checking your line
Where to find information
Contacts
Digory Sargent
Digory SARGENT was christened 22
Jun 1651 at Saint Germans, Co. Cornwall,
England. He was
the son of John SARGENT and Martha AXFORD. Digory died in the winter of
1703/1704 in Worcester MA.
He was scalped and killed by the Indians and buried somewhere on his land at
the foot of an oak tree by his belated rescuers.
He married (1) Constance JAMES 13
Oct 1693 in Boston MA.
They were married by the famous Rev. Cotton Mather; he of Worcester,
she of Boston. Constance
was born about 1673. She was not mentioned in her husband's will of 17
Mar 1696, so it is believed that she had died before that date, probably
in Worcester, Worcester, MA
Digory married (2) Mary ___________ about 1696. Her surname is
unknown. She has traditionally been called Mary PARMENTER. However,
we can find nothing to substantiate this claim. Her son Daniel, at his baptism
in 1707, called her Mary or Marie OBEN; there is even less evidence to
substantiate this. Mary died in the winter of 1703/1704 near Worcester
MA.
Note that some researchers have erroneously given Digory a third wife during
this time period. We do not agree; contact us for further information if
desired.
Mural of the Indian attack on the
Digory Sargent Family in Worcester.
This mural was painted by
artist Will S. Taylor in the main entry of Vernon Hill School in Worcester
Mass.
The school is said to stand on the
land once owned by Digory Sargent. Map
Digory came from England
to Boston and was a carpenter
there. He was a soldier in King Philip's War and then settled in Worcester
MA. The settlers there were warned of
Indian attacks and were encouraged to leave their homes. Digory, who had
lived there for a ten years, flatly refused. They were fine for a time,
but the day came in the winter of 1703/04 when the Indians attacked.
During the attack, Digory was killed and his wife and children were
"carried" off by the Indians to Canada.
Not too far away from their home, the Indians killed Digory's wife who was weak
and probably unable to continue for the long journey. It was reported
that a baby was killed too.
The children were taken to Canada
and held there. Martha, John, and Thomas were eventually ransomed
from the Indians and were returned to Massachusetts.
Martha married and had a family that lived in southern Vermont
and New Hampshire. John
married and lived in southern Vermont
and it is through him that most of the "Sargent's" of today are
descended. There is no record of a marriage or children for Thomas.
Daniel and Mary stayed in Canada
with the Indians and the French. No one has known what happened to Mary,
although she is recorded as being with the Indians. Recently we have found some
evidence indicating who she may have been; this is currently being
investigated. The story of Daniel has for a long time been a silent one
as well. In recent years, however, it has been discovered that he was the
man known as Louis-Philippe Serien dit Langlais of Riviere Ouelle, Kamouraska
Co., PQ and his "Langlais" descendants in number probably far surpass
that of his brother, John.
Children of Digory and
Constance (James) Sargent:
- Martha SARGENT,
was born about 1694 in Worcester MA.
She died 1722 in Worcester, MA.
She married Capt. Daniel SHATTUCK on 6 Apr 1719 in Westborough, Middlesex,
MA (VR).
Children of Digory
and Mary (---) Sargent:
- Lt. John SARGENT, was
born 1696/1697 in Worcester MA.
He died 29 Mar 1748,
about age 54 years, at Fort Dummer, Windham Co., VT. He married Abigail
JONES on 4 Jul 1727
in Springfield, Hampden Co.,
MA.
- Daniel SARGENT, born
Aug 1699, and died before 3 Aug
1728. As stated, Daniel was carried away by the Indians
and was probably about 4 years old at the time. He lived for a while
with the Abenaki [Abenaquis] Indians. It is said that they
"gave" him to the governor, Philippe de RIGAULT VAUDREUIL (or
was perhaps "redeemed" by the him). Daniel was
baptized on 6 Nov 1707,
at the age of 8 and given the name Louis-Philippe Sargeant. This
became corrupted to Serien, which is how it would have been
pronounced. He had been given by this time, by the governor,
to Robert POITIER to raise and he grew up in Poitier's household.
Daniel married Marguerite DeLAVOYE on 22 Jan
1718 in Riviere Ouelle, PQ, as Louis-Philippe Serien, Anglais de nation;
marriage contract registered by JANNEAU on 14 Jun 1718, as Louis-Philippe
Langlais, natif des cautes de Boston. Marguerite was the daughter
of Jean DeLAVOYE and Madeleine BOUCHER. She died 4 Feb 1773 and was buried the next day, as
"the Serien widow."
- Mary SARGENT {24},
born 1700 in Worcester MA,
died after 3 Aug 1728.
- Thomas SARGENT {23},
born 1701/1702 Worcester MA,
died after 3 Aug 1728;
no record of him after that date.
- _____ SARGENT {25},
born 1703/1704 Worcester MA,
died in infancy 1703/1704 in Worcester MA.
Taken captive by Indians 1704 and killed by them.
Descendancy
Chart of John Sargent of Cornwall, England
Genealogy in Progress
We are currently working on a genealogy of this family. If you are
interested in having your family included, please send the equivalent of Family
Group Sheets and Pedigree charts, indicating your line to Digory Sargent, as
you know it. If you are not sure what to send, please ask for more
instruction. If you want to add any historical or personal type of
information on individuals, please feel free to do so. However, we
recommend that you don't overwhelm yourself getting into too big of a project
to start with. Begin with the basics and send that and we will add it to
our database. You can then add to it if you desire. If you are
interested in receiving notification upon the publication of the genealogy,
please let us know and include your snail mail address. Again, please
feel free to contact me, Marge Howe at jmhowe1@cox.net
Checking your line
If you will supply me with the information you do have on your family, I
will check my database to see if I have further information or can make the
connection, which will extend your line to Digory. I do have other information
on Digory and also on Daniel that is not here. Tell me what you would
like to know. I would be glad to share. Please contact me, Marge Howe at jmhowe1@cox.net
Where to find
information on Digory Sargent
Some Sargent References
Colonial
Settlers of Worcester Massachusetts
Worcester History Page
Sargent Family Genealogy Forum
Contacts:
Marge Howe
If you are a descendant of Digory Sargent,
please send your name and email address to Marge and it will be added here.
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Brattleboro Dummerston
Windham County
Email: jmhowe1@cox.net
Marjorie Valliere
Howe
Digory Sargent by
Marjorie V. Howe, © Copyright 1999, All Rights Reserved
Please obtain permission
before duplicating this site in any way other than for personal records.
Page last updated May 8, 2003
