David, Stephen

Stephen Davis was an Indian man from Middleborough, Massachusetts.  Sometime prior to 1740, he was imprisoned for debt in Newport, Rhode Island.  To repay the sum, he was required to enter the maritime service for a year,  When he returned, his wife Betty had become ill, requiring medical care.  Moreover, all of his children, but one, died.  To pay for his wife’s medical bill plus his own care, in 1740, David petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to sell a portion of his land.  In the summer of 1753, he was charged and indicted with the murder of his wife, she having been found dead having been stomped and hit with a stick.  That same year, his name was among those Indians who donated 39 acres of land to Titicut Precinct for the encouragement of establishing a Gospel ministry.  David lived at least to 1754 when he deeded land to Elkhannah Leonard.  Petition of Stephen David, 1740.11.00.01.  Pulispher, Homicides of Adults in Massachusetts Database, NNRC Files.  Find A Grave.  Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 for Stephen David, Plymouth Probate File Papers, Case No 6036-6102, Box 107116.