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| SCOTTISH PRISONER TO NEW ENGLAND AND SUCCESS WILLIAM CAHOONE of the Scottish clan COLQUHOUN, fought at the Battle of Dunbar, 3 Sept. 1650, on the side of the royalist against Oliver Cromwell and was taken prisoner. |
| During the fall and winter of 1650, 5100 Scottish prisoners of war made a perilous 120 mile march from their defeat at the Dunbar battlefield in Scotland to Durham Cathedral in the north of England, with as many as 1500 dying of sickness and starvation along the way. 1400 more died before they left Durham. From there most were sent to staff labor starved English colonial ventures in the West Indies, Virginia, Massachusetts, Maine, and Ireland. WILLIAM was among the those who were sent aboard the Unity across the wintry seas of the Atlantic. The Unity was built by BEN GILLIAM of Bostom in 1649 and skippered by AUGUSTINE WALKER of Charlottstown, AM. They arrived at Saugus (Lynn) Ironworks in early April 1651. WILLIAM was purchased as an indentured servant by Bex and Co. to work bog iron in New England. He spent six months at Taunton before assisting in the construction of a shallop at Braintree. In April of 1661 he was one of the fifteen men who sailed from Taunton to Cow Cove and became the first settlers of Block Island, Rhode Island. His period of servitude presumably expired before the end of 1662, and on Jan. 13, 1662/63 WILLIAM CAHOONE bought from THOMAS TERRY 40 acres on the "hieway" that then divided Block Island . On May 4, 1664, he was a freeman at New Shoreham; in 1665 he served on a Newport grand jury, and on 20 Feb. 1669/70 he was named a freeman and permanent resident of Swansea, Massachusetts. On 13 Nov 1670, WILLIAM COHOUN sold his 38 acres on Block Island to SAMUEL HAGBOURNE. On Block Island there is a plaque with the names of the original settlers including WILLIAM. WILLIAM married DELIVERANCE PECK in 1664/65. In 1673 he was made the official town Brickmaker, Swansea [per original town meeting ledger in Swansea town offices], and one of the bricks from Cahoone Brickworks is still in the Luther Museum Swansea, MA. At the coming of King Phillip's War, WILLIAM CAHOONE was killed by the Wampanoag Indians near East Rehoboth, MA, on 22 June 1675, when he went to get a doctor for the wounded at Swansea, and he was buried at Swansea two days later. The official records of "Swansey's" report to Plymouth Colony says "WILLIAM LOHUN [COHUN] was buried 24th of June 1675." [Dates per Boddie and official record.] The William Cahoone Society in their material state that 24 June 1675 had been designated by the government of Plymouth Colony as a "solemn humiliation before the Lord", a day of prayer. Residents of Swansea, MA, gathered with the Rev. JOHN MYLES at the local Baptist Meeting House to pray for peace with the Indians who had become vengeful for their stolen homeland and the breaking of treaties by the white settlers. On leaving the gathering the group were attacked, leaving some dead and others seriously wounded. They took refuge at the Rev MYLES' home for safety and medical treatment. Among those gathered were WILLIAM, DELIVERANCE and their 7 children. When it became apparent that more professional medical help was needed, WILLIAM volunteered to go to Rehoboth to secure a doctor. He was murdered not far from Lake St. in Rehoboth. The next day his remains were found by the 3 government emissaries sent from Boston to King Philip's headquarters in Mt. Hope [today Bristol, RI] on a peace treaty mission. Today there still is a commenorative plaque with WILLIAM'S name at the Myles Garrison House, Swansea, MA. For more information on WILLIAM, pictures of the plaques, and the places he lived check out the William Cahoone Society web site. On 3 June 1685 WILLIAM'S son SAMUEL CAHOONE [1665 - ?], a shoemaker, and his family were living in Boston, MA. He appears in Virginia, 8 June 1694, when he appointed JOHN GILES to act as his attorney in Isle of Wight Co., VA. Boddie says in his "Historical Sketches": "His known character was incompatible with the pious environment of New England. SAMUEL was JOHN WILLIAM'S 4th great grandfather. SAMUEL'S great granddaughter, CHARITY COHOON [1771-1852], daugher of John N Cohoon and Priscilla Flowers, married DRURY BRIDGES [1765-1840] and went to Trigg Co., KY. Her brothers JOEL and SIMON also went to Trigg Co. and were the ancestors of many of the Kentucky CALHOUNS. |
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| Cromwell @ Dunbar, A C Gow |