Samuel Munger (Samuel, Nicholas). b. East Parish of Guilford, Conn., Feb. 7, 1689-90; d. --; m. Dorothy Evarts, at Guilford, Conn., Apr. 6,1710, dau. James and Lydia Evarts (?); b. --, 1686; d. --.

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CHILDREN (4th Generation).

Submit            b. E. Parish of Guilford, Jan.  5, 1711
Samuel 
Nathaniel (twins) b. E. Parish of Guilford, Oct.  5, 1712
Elnathan          "  "  "      "  "         Jul. 14, 1714
Dorothy           "  "  "      "  "
Joseph            "  Hampton, Conn.,        Jul. --, 1719
Rebecca           "
Sarah             "

Samuel Munger was a miller and farmer, living in the East Parish of Guilford, until after birth of his son Elnathan, when it appears he removed from the town. The following appears on land records at Guilford:

"Know ye all men by these presents, that whereas I, Samuel Munger Jr. of Guilford, have received a deed of gift of several tracts of land wt house and barn of my Honoured father Samuel Munger of Guilford bearing date of the 9 of Sept. 1713; know ye that I, the sd Samuel Munger Jr. have received the above sd deed and what is conveyed therein for and as one hundred pounds of money of my portion beside what I have down to the building of the house where my father Samuel Munger now dwells, I have received the above said deed of lands and buildings as an hundred pounds of my portion of my Honoured father's estate, as witness my hand this third day of Feb. 1713/14, in presence of us:"

(Signed) SAMUEL MUNGER JR. Witness: SAM'L CRUTENDEN. CALEB STONE.

Records in possession of descendants of his son Joseph state that this son was bom in Hampton, Conn., Records at Northampton, Mass., bearing date of 1725, mention him as "Samuel Munger, now of Brimfield." An old deed bearing the above date shows that he sold to Robert Moulton, "part of a tract of meadow and swamp land, lying at a place called 'Munger's Meadow.'" "The original Munger place was east of the 'South Meadow' in (what is now) Wales." (Annals of the church in Brimfield.)

The exact time of his settlement in Brimfield is unknown. He was here contemporaneous with John Bullen, who "Lived on the way from the 'South Pond' to the 'South Meadow,"' their farms adjoining. He was among those who first received grants of land from the "General Court," his holdings comprising a considerable portion of territory in the south part of the now town of Wales. The site of what we believe to have been his habitation is on the southwest slope of Rattlesnake Mountain, overlooking the "meadow." A few foundation stones, an old grape vine, lilac bushes, briars and weeds now mark the spot. (See Nathaniel Munger, No. 14, 4th Gen.)

The early settlers were not secure in their original grants. Efforts were made by interested parties in Boston to annul these grants, and to oust the [page 205] occupants of the lands from their holdings. Frequent petitions were sent to the "Great and General Court" for relief from these conditions. A petition to the "General Court" signed by John Stebbins and others, "To be quieted in their grants" was sent to that body Feb. -, 1730. Sept. 9, 1730, a committee on this petition returned an itemized report to His Excellency Jonathan Belcher, Esq., Gov: Gen: In this report is found the following: "8thly-one 40 acre Lott to Samuel Munger." On petition to the "General Court" that body, June 8, 1731, confirmed the title to the occupants of the land granted by the original committee. By this act, it was decreed "That there be allowed and confirmed unto Samuel Munger, a home lott of Sixty acres in the place they have been laid out and if more land contained in the Home lott than Sixty acres, he shall hold the same, but surplis to be accounted for a part of his after rights or division." In 1732, in a drawing for lots, Samuel Munger drew lot NO. 54. This lot was situated "Under the E. side of Mt. Pisgah, so called."

The family were evidently of that persuasion called Anabaptists, which sect were not in favor with the "Standing order" (Congregational). This may have been the primary cause of the removal from Guilford. ("The same spirit of intolerance from which the Puritan had come to America to escape, was exercised by them against the Quaker and Anabaptist.") In Brimfield they found congenial religious associates. "Some of the settlers did not adhere to the 'Standing order'; those in that part of Brimfield now called Wales, were from the very first of a different religious persuasion. Nov. 22, 1734, the following persons 'Signed off' from the parish.":

"We whose names are Under-written, Do own and Acknowledge Ourselves to Be of that persuasion commonly called Anabaptist:

"Nathaniel Munger, Dorothy Munger, Elnathan Munger, Robert Moulton, Ebenezer Moulton, Anthony Needham, Humphrey Needham, John Bullen, John Bullen, Jr., Thomas Green, Thomas Green, Jr." (Annals of the church.)

Gardner says the Needhams and Mungers were from Salem. This statement may be true as regards the Needharns, but as applied to the Mungers is utterly without foundation. That Samuel and his wife, Dorothy, were from Guilford, Conn., seems proven by the recording of the birth of three of their children in that town. Further evidence which proves him identical with Samuel, son of Samuel and Sarah (Hand) Munger, is here added: "Samuel Munger of Brimfield, in the county of Hampshire, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay," in 1726, "Sold to Joseph Munger of the East Parish of Guilford, interest in his father's estate." "Samuel Munger of Brimfield, in the county of Hampshire, within his Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England," Mar. 26, 1726, sold land ."To his brother James Munger of Guilford."

No record has been found of the death of Samuel Munger or that of his wife, Dorothy. The first burial place in the south part of the town was laid out in 1732, but has long been abandoned, and the site is now plowed [page 206] under. It is possible they were buried here, or they may have found a resting place in the rude graveyard on the "Coburn Farm."