• General Notes

  Henrye's Son was Henry Dunster, the first President of Harvard College, from 1640. He resigned over the controversy of him disagreeing with infant baptism.
  
  This letter, which is referred to in a manuscript sketch of the Dunster family prepared by the Rev. John Marrett, [Harv., 1763, ] was long supposed to be lost. It was found in the year 1853 by my son, Edward S. Dunster, at that time a student in Harvard College, in the house of Miss Hannah Dunster, of Pembroke, Mass., and was by her presented to him, with other papers and books which had been the property of President D. She was great grand-daughter of President D., and was then eighty-four years of age, the sole living descendant of her branch of the family. The letter, herewith appended, was published, together with the other papers, under the editorship of the Rev. Samuel Sewell, of Burlington, Mass., in the Mass. Hist. Coll., IV Series, Vol. II., p. 190.
  
  THE BALEHOULT LETTER.
  Grace mercy and peace bee multiplyed in Christ Jesus vppon you Amen Kind and Louinge Sonns I am very glad of your wellfare and good psperity I haue receiued 4 letters from you since you Ariued in new England the first dated the 17th of August by Robte Haworth of Boulton the second dated the 21th of August both wch came to my hands in seauen weekes after you sent them the Redd wheat I receiued but ye Indian wampenpegs (The wampenpeg was the Indian money, each piece being of the value of about the sixth of a penny) weare lost out of your letter the third was dated ye 29th of 8ber wch I receiued on christms eue wth a letter of Richards inclosed in the same the last dated the 12th of 8ber wch I receiued of one Millns that had beene wth you in new England who lodged with me about mid January but it seemes it should haue come by Colier your Sisters remember theire loues vnto you both but you must not expect them so longe as your mother and I do liue your brother Thomas remembers his loue and hath sent you 2 dozen of Almanacks but now he is a widdower for both wyffe and chyln are deade since michaellms I pray god he take good wayes I do not know of any that you sent for that entend to come as yett Touchinge Richard I would aduise him not to come over againe as yett for what soeuer is his due shall bee left in the hands of his sisters for I haue taken a generall aquitance of Robte so that Richard and his sisters may haue what wee two ould folke leaue and wee shall make no willfull wast now concerninge our England since you went ouer wee have beene sore troubled for the Scotts came into England a month afore michaellms and came to Tyne watter where some of our Troupers laye the Scotts proffered to come over and our men wthstood them for a while but ours beinge but 500 weare not able to wthstand 30 Thousand but fledd amaine insomuch as one Constable a gentleman of a company cryed to his band Ryde theeues Ryde for your lyues and he himselfe for his pte Ridd so fast yt he lost his capp and mist it not of rydinge two myles Then the Scotts came pedentim towards newcastle in some 203 [2 or 3 ?] dayes where ye yealded the towne immediatly Then was England in a fright for the did not knowe what to doe but att last all the freehoulders and trayned bande weare caled togather every Hundred by itselfe and trayned for a fortnight togather also all betwixt 16 and 60 weare caled togather so that vpon the 8th of 7ber beinge Bury fayre there was at Burye 40 Thousand wth such weapons as ye could gett and those that had no better tooke euery one a great clubb and it was caled Club fayre att Burye and all the prouision for the fayre was eaten vpp that daye So that ye 800 which trayned there weare scanted for a fortnight after of vituals the Buchers and Allewyues made a gayne of them Then great troups of Souldiers weare sent into yorkeshire and it was thought that there would haue beene some Batayle speedely Butt the Lord turned all to peace and
  
  Holanders meetinge wth them gaue them a great shake and scattered them sore so that wee may well say that man purposseth but god disposseth my lord saye and my lord Brooke are sworne of the kings priuy Counssell whose lyves ye byshops had ment to haue taken away not long since your ould friend doctor Cossins for his honesty is put in the cage to see if he can singe well or no All the monepolies for lycencesses are disanulled so that euery man may buye and sell att theire pleasure wthout controule we haue gotten ould Mr Horocks to bee lecturer att Burye euery thursday he begun afore christms and hath promised for a tweueluemonth if god spare him health and abilitie Mr Ashton of Midleton is one of our knights for the Parliment who hath wth him for aduise and counssell your friend ould Mr. Rathband who hath beene wth him since it began The Scotts assone as the came to new castle sange the 74th psalme: why art thou lord so longe from vs &c [Sternhold and Hopkins's version.] many great men are thought to bee faulty as I writt afore Thus committinge you bothe to the ptection of the Allmighty I rest
  
  Your louing father
  HENRYE DUNSTER
  from Balehoult(*) this
  20th of March 1640
  This letter comes
  by London.
  
  
  Married: ABT. 1615
  Children
  Dorothy DUNSTER b: BET. 1615 - 1618
  Henry DUNSTER
  Mary DUNSTER b: 1630
  Elizabeth DUNSTER b: 1619
  Richard DUNSTER
  Thomas DUNSTER
  Robert DUNSTER

Details of Henrye's family with Elizabeth