1658 Deposition - Thomas Osman

Transcript

The Deposicon of Thomas Osman
March ye 18th, 1658.
Swearinge be Ye Holy Evangelists that he with his now father-in law, William Purrier, and his brother in ye law, James Reeve did go adventuringe in ye Chowan country for sperrits resin in ye yeare 1636 and there did meet William Salmon, Thomas Reeve, Thomas Terrill, Thomas Benedict, Henery Whiteney and others who had come hither from ye Summer Islaes and ye said adventure failinge through ye overplus of adventurers, who had come thither prior to their coeing. They did set sale with one Sunderland to a country the said Sunderland had from his master one James ffarrett by letters patent from ye Earle of Starlinge. Osman does farther depose that ye said company with others whose names he has forgotten did set downe on ye necke called Hashammomack and did ingage in distillinge sperrits resin from ye trees in ye greate swampe and further Sunderland, Salmon, Whiteney and Benedict did from ye beginning owne ye said necke in equal shares and did so from our first sittinge downe in ye yeare 1636-7.
(Signed) Thomas Osman
in ye presence of
Barnabas Horton
Thomas Moor

Commentary

For further discussion of this record, see the article by Beverly on her blog: A Tale of Adventuring in Chowan Country. Also see the discussion on talk_NY_Southold_Area_Families.

Note that while this record always referred to as a deposition from 1658, it's likely that the record was using Old Style dates where the New Year was Lady Day, March 25, in which case this record is from 1659.

Source

Southold Town, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Mattituck, N.Y.: Mattituck Press, 1938., p8
Baker, Wesley L. (1969). Study of the 1658 and 1686 Depositions of Thomas Osman, p2