The Bagley Family in Berkshire, Columbia, and Litchfield Counties

Introduction

In the middle of the 18th century, western Massachusetts was the frontier. What would become Berkshire county was being settled by people from New England from the east and people from New York from the west. Records are thin for this period, but there is evidence individuals with the name Bagley settled and/or owned land in the area. Records for this area during this era can be found in the neighboring counties in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. i.e. Hampshire county prior to 1761, Berkshire County after 1761, Fairfield county prior to 1751, Litchfield county after 1751 and the part of Albany county that would become Columbia.

Savoy and the descendants of Joseph Bagley

In the land records of Berkshire County, there are references starting in 1773 to Samuel Bagley of Smithfield, Rhode Island. The original rights came from James Bagley and John Bagley._1,2,3,4,5 Samuel Bagley and his heirs sold portions of the land through 1803. At least some of the land stayed in the family. David Jenks, the son of Margaret (Bagley) Jenks purchase land rights in Savoy from his parents and aunts and uncles._2,3,4

Samuel is the only documented child of Deacon Joseph Bagley of Providence.₆ The relationship between James, John and Samuel is not clear. Joseph has older brothers, James (b 1663) and John (b.1668)._7,8,9 John is believed to have moved to Fairfield, Connecticut. This raises the following questions:

• Who are James and John?
• Are they related to Samuel Bagley of Smithfield? If so, how?
• When and how was the land transferred to Samuel?

Following the Land

The land in question was part of Bullock's Grant. Bullock's Grant was "Granted in Lieu of a Township formerly Granted to Capt. Samuel Gallup Anno Domini..1690."₁₀ Captain Samuel Gallup lead a regiment during an English expedition to conquer Quebec in 1690. This land was then a military grant to the soldiers of Samuel Gallup's regiment. John Bagley is listed as a private in this regiment.₁₁ This is possibly the brother of Joseph Bagley, who would have been about 22 at the time of the expedition. On 22 June 1772, the proprietors of the Bullock's Grant assigned lots.₁₂ John Bagley was assigned lots 22, 84, 140, and 41; James Bagley was assigned lots  39, 155, 106, and 24. 

In the 22 May 1781 proprietors' meeting notes, the owners of John Bagley's lots are the heirs of Samuel Bagley.₁₃ The lots granted to James are owned by the heirs of Samll Bagley and Stephanis Attwood. Samuel Bagley of Smithfield's children and grandchildren sold lots in both groups. At some time between 1772 and 1781 the rights to the grant were transferred. Samuel Bagley died in 1773, so the rights may have been transferred before then. The rights could have been transferred one of two ways:

• The rights were inherited
• The rights were purchased

The shared family name may indicate a relationship between the three men. The method of transfer impacts how we would interpret the relationship between Samuel, John, and James. If the rights were inherited we would need to show how the family relationship or legal documentation supporting the inheritance. If the rights were sold, no family relationship would be implied by the transfer.

Identifying James and John Bagley

James and John Bagley could be related to Samuel. Samuel's father Joseph had brother's named John and James. The men would have been in over 100 if they where still alive in 1772. This makes it unlikely these two men receiving lots in 1772 are the brothers of Joseph. If they are the brothers of Samuel, there are several gaps - there are no records for James or John in Rhodes Island or the neighboring parts of Massachusetts after 1694.₁₄ Records for John Bagley in Fairfield start in 1698.₁₅ John's children recorded in Fairfield are:₁₆

• Joseph bp. 1700
• Josiah bp. 1702
• James bp. 1704
• Mary bp. 1707
• Sarah bp. 1709
• Ann bp. 1711 

The son James could plausibly be still alive in 1772; he would be around 68. There is no John listed in this group of children. If the lots are being passed to John the private, the only recorded grandchildren for this group is Lydia and Bathia Bagley daughters of James Bagley and Bethia his wife.₁₇  We have records for Lydia, James, and John Bagley in the Berkshire county region from about 1757. I have argued James, John, and Lydia are possibly the children of James and Bethia.₁₈ James and John could possibly be the heirs of John Bagley through his son James Bagley.₁₉

Determining how Samuel received the right to the land

If Samuel Bagley inherited the land from James and John, it is plausible Samuel received the land because James and John were dead and had no heirs. This would make sense if it were his uncle John, born in 1668 and Mary Dikeman is not the daughter of John. Josiah would have died in  New York without heirs indicating he is not the father of Josiah and William. However, we don't have a good identification for James, nor can we explain why the rights transferred to Samuel and not to his first cousins the descendants of Samuel Bagley Jr and Mary Thayer. 

If  Samuel purchased the land we have more flexibility to interpret the transfer. We still may question the absence of the possible heirs of John through Mary Dikeman and Josiah Bagley of Manhattan; however, the families do not need to be related. If James and John are the grandsons of John, Samuel would be their father's first cousin. It is plausible that James the son of John had died - he is not given the lots. James and John sold their shares in Bullocks purchase to a family member who has more cash, in this case their father's cousin. After Samuel's death the land goes to his heirs. This seems especially likely since Samuel sold land in 1773 to Joseph Brigham shortly before his death.₂₀ 

Summary Conclusions

Based on the available records. Samuel likely purchased the land in Berkshire county from James and John Bagley. James and John are possibly the grandsons of private John Bagley. Plausibly they sold the land to a relative, in this case their father's cousin, who had more readily available cash. 

Notes and Sources

¹"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Z8-2QNH?cc=2106411&wc=MCBT-FP8%3A361613101%2C362672601 : 22 May 2014), Berkshire > Deeds 1788-1793 vol 1-2 > image 362 of 500; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts. 

²"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9Z8-2Z2B?cc=2106411&wc=MCBT-VNR%3A361613101%2C362736101 : 22 May 2014), Berkshire > Deeds 1839-1843 vol 52-53 > image 317 of 586; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.

³"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89Z8-2JX?cc=2106411&wc=MCBT-NM3%3A361613101%2C362673501 : 22 May 2014), Berkshire > Deeds 1791-1796 vol 3-4 > image 423 of 546; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.

⁴"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Z8-2XF?cc=2106411&wc=MCBT-NM3%3A361613101%2C362673501 : 22 May 2014), Berkshire > Deeds 1791-1796 vol 3-4 > image 425 of 546; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts. 

⁵"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Z8-2H72?cc=2106411&wc=MCBT-JWL%3A361613101%2C362674201 : 22 May 2014), Berkshire > Deeds 1796-1799 vol 5-6 > image 269 of 631; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.

⁶The source connection Joseph to Samuel are secondary. They consist of references to the family in town histories, letters and notes from family historians. 

⁷Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades, editors. Colonial Families of the United States of America: in Which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. 7 volumes. 1912. 

⁸Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield. (Clearfield : Baltimore), 2007. p. 22

⁹Jacobus, Donald Lines. Additions and corrections to History and genealogy of the families of old Fairfield : supplement to the American Genealogist, October 1943. p. 4.

¹⁰ "Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4Y-7SHG?view=fullText : May 17, 2025), image 430 of 894; . Image Group Number: 007901760

¹¹Watkins, Walter Kendall. Soldiers in the expedition to Canada in 1690 [microform] : and grantees of the Canada townships. (Boston : Printed for the author), 1898. p. 80-84

¹²Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4Y-7SHN?lang=en?view=fullText : May 17, 2025), image 431 of 894; .
Image Group Number: 007901760

¹³"Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4Y-7SHV?lang=en?lang=en?view=fullText : May 17, 2025), image 432 of 894; .
Image Group Number: 007901760

¹⁴"Bristol, Massachusetts, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YT-98H4?view=explore : May 18, 2025), image 221 of 745; . Image Group Number: 007703530

¹⁵Abstract of probate records at Fairfield, Connecticut, down to 1721. n.d. pp 48, 55, 88, 208 

¹⁶History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield. p.22

¹⁷History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield. p.22; Fairfield Episcopal Church Records. Bathia's baptism might show the family's move to the Anglican Church. James and John Bagley's children were baptized in the Anglican church in Berkshire. John's later children were baptized in the Collegiate Church. This is especially surprising given Anglicans in New York and New England were largely loyalist and the families of James and John were staunchly patriot. 

¹⁸James Bagley of Westmoreland Revisited

¹⁹The absence of other heirs is interesting. Some researchers identify Mary Dikeman, the wife of  Cornelius Dikeman as Mary Bagley. See Judd, Peter Haring,  Four Amercian Ancestries. p.748. Other researchers have suggested Josiah and William Bagley of Manhattan are the children of Josiah Bagley and Anna Lockwood. See A Wildly Speculative Reconstruction of the Descendants of Josiah Bagley and Ann Lockwood of Fairfield, Connecticut. None of the heirs of either Mary Dikeman or Josiah Bagley are listed.

20Berkshire, Massachusetts land records.