The Gallup family has been exceptionally well researched. Part of it is thanks to the fact that they are one of the early settlers of the "New World" with John Gallop having arrived in 1630 on the "Mary & John". In addition, if you are doing any genealogical research, you have to be thankful to have New England ancestry because there is a wealth of records to draw from. Not only that, these families have numerous connections and one never knows when you will run into another "cousin!" That can be both a good thing and bad thing.
John Gallop was born about 1591 in Mosterne, Dorset, England to John Gallop and Mary Crabb. He married Christobel Bruschett on 19 Jan 1617 at St Mary's, Bridport, Dorsetshire, England. Their family started fairly quickly, and they had the following six children:
Joan b. 1618 d. 1691 m. Thomas Joy
John b. 1619 d. 1675 m. Hannah Anna Lake
William b. 1622 d. ?
Francis b. 1625 d. 1625
Nathaniel b. 1629 d. 1676
Samuel b. 1629 d. 1667-1679
Most of the American Gallup's that I have seen are descended from John, but there are a few descended from Nathaniel. I have talked about John Gallop and the endeavor to get his wife and family to join him in America from England. (See John Gallop - 10th Great Grandfather) There is much more to the story of John Gallop though. He was an important man in America early in its history. John Gallop was a talented ship captain and explorer of early New England. It wasn't too long after he arrived, that he began exploring the coast near Boston and is considered to be one of the early explorers of the Connecticut coast. During one of his exploratory forays up the coast, he discovered a shorter and safer course through the islands that were in Boston harbor. The coastal areas were uncharted, and John Gallop helped provide valuable knowledge for future sailors.
You have to remember that John Gallop's entry into America was almost 10 years after the Mayflower had landed. During that time, the population in America had grown and the colonists were running out of space. John Gallop's forays up the coast provided much needed exploration for the colonists and potential land for the new arrivals as well as opportunity trade with the Native Americans. At first, these traders were welcome because they brought items that were welcomed because they provided items that made the Native American's lives easier. These traders who traveled and brought goods and food from the Rhode Island and Connecticut coasts back to Boston. They also provided communication as weJohll as goods and services to new settlements in Maine. Eventually the colonists would begin to make new settlements in Connecticut and Rhode Island and captains like John Gallop were extremely important to the success of some of these early settlements.
When the possibility of profit, it was well apparent that there were going to be those who took advantage of the situation. Some of the new settlements in Maine (whose land was claimed by the French) experienced the results of those wanting to take advantage of the profit. An English captain named Dixy Bull was robbed by French privateers of beaver skins that were being transported for trade. This English captain upset at being robbed decided to turn pirate raid ships bringing goods into Boston harbor. John Gallop was sent out with his friend John Mason to attempt to find and stop Dixy Bull. They ended up stranded because of a storm in Cape Ann harbor. When they started again in the Spring, they spent several months patrolling the Maine coast for Dixy Bull. He had decided to escape the pursuit and traveled to Virginia where he was eventually captured.
John Gallop was one of the early grantee's of land in the northern part of Boston and had land on the southeastern portion of a penninsula called Gallop's point. He also owned Nix Mate Island and Gallop's Island. After John Gallop's family arrived in 1933, the colonies were beginning to change rapidly. Conneticut became the "land of opportunity" for many of the settlers. Soon Dutch traders began to venture into the mix as well as English explorer, John Oldham. In addition, there were tribal wars that was definitely going impact the area. The small relatively friendly Connecticut tribes lost in battle to the Mohegans, a branch of the Mohawks and the new colonists were about to land right in the middle of local rivalries. It was apparent that the Natives were no longer to be considered necessarily friendly.
During the spring of 1636, John Gallop was sailing with his three sons (John, Samuel & Nathaniel) with goods on a trading trip. He saw a ship anchored off of Block island and noticed that the rigging was loose and the ship appeared to be deserted. As he got closer to the ship, he recognized it as John Oldham's ship and noticed that there were men who appeared to be Native American's laying asleep on the deck. As he hailed them, some of the Natives slipped over the side on a canoe and headed to shore. Others loosened the anchor and tried to slip away. John Gallup and his sons pursued the ship and the boys armed the guns and shot them towards the ship. Some of the Natives tried to hide below and John Gallop pursued the ship and rammed it with his own and tied the two ships together. Some tried to escape and John and his son took a few prisoners. They found John Oldham in his cabin murdered with his skull bashed in. John Gallop took the valuables off of the ship attempted to tow the ship to shore, but was unable to do so and eventually had to let it loose.
When news of the murder spread throughout the colonists, it spread a lot of fear but also a quest for revenge. You could argue that this incident was a turning point. No longer would the colonists view the Natives as friends or vice versa. The upcoming battles would eventually escalate into a war that we know today as "King Philip's War!" It is interesting to note that John Gallop was not a man who was necessarily allied with the Puritans and their religious beliefs. He was considered by the language of the day a "God Fearing" man and had a good relationship with the Puritan community as well as a good relationship with the local Native Americans. I believe that John Gallop can be considered to be one of the most important men of the young colony. He was an experienced sailor who navigated and charted the waters of the New England coastline as well as discovering route through the maze of Boston channel to the city of Boston that made the route safer and easier to navigate.
John Gallop doesn't really appear in the records much after the incident with Oldham and his ship. It assumed that he lived out his life still sailing his ship and living in his home on Gallop's point with his family. We know that he died in 1649 because his will enter's probate. We also know that his wife, Christobel Bruschett is still alive and that he is survived by his oldest son John Gallup, Jr, daughter, Joan Gallup (Joy) as well as sons Samuel and Nathaniel. His son William Gallop returned to England and is reported as dying while fighting for Cromwell.
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