vitals sources
.....Due to his last name, Jonathan has been called the son of Philipe Delanoy/Philip Delano of Plymouth Colony since genealogical publications appeared in the 19th century. While the name is unusual and they may have been related, no evidence has been found to support the father/son theory. Most compelling is that Philip didn't include Jonathan in his will, even though Jonathan outlived him. It's possible that Jonathan was born in Europe and possibly came to Massachusetts Bay in a military capacity.
By the 1670's, Jonathan was a militia captain in the company of Benjamin Church during King Philip's War.(1) An account of the company during an attack includes references to Jonathan. They started out from John Cook's "ruined" house at "Cushnet" (Acushnet, now the northern part of the town of Dartmouth). At some point William Fobes, brother of another Smith ancestor, alerted Church to the presence of Indian women gathering hurtleberries. Their "sachem" lived in the swamps after being driven from their land in Rhode Island. Church asked "Mr. Dillano, who was acquainted with the ground and the Indian language," and Mr. Barnes to approach the group with him. One of the women, who planted an orchard and lived in a house on Sanford's land knew Church as a former neighbor. She ran to him, calling his name. Church asked Delano to tell them not to run, but to surrender. Most did, but some were killed while running away. Jonathan gathered the prisoners, who, with the dead, numbered 66. They belonged to the sachem of "King" Philip. Apparently Philip and Qunnappin, with other men of the sachem, had gone to Sconticut neck. Church sent Jonathan to meet their Indian allies and capture the men. There were hundreds of Indians on the neck. 63 were captured and 3 killed. All the prisoners were taken to Plymouth.
Jonathan Delano's gravestone in Acushnet Cemetery, Acushnet, MA
children of Jonathan and Mercy (Warren) Delano:()
daughter b. 25 November 1678, d. 28 November 1679
Jonathan b. 30 January (1679/?)1680
Jabez b. 8 November 1682
Sarah b. 9 January (1683/?)1684, d. 27 February 1690
Mary b. 27 October 1686
Nathan b. 29 October 1688 m. Elizabeth Miller
Bethia b. 29 November 1690, d. 19 July 1693
Susannah b. 3 September 1693 m. Abraham Sherman
son b. 22 October 1694, d. same day
Nathaniel b. 29 October 1695
Esther b. 4 April 1698
Jethro b. 31 January (1700/?)1701
Thomas b. 10 May 1704
Jonathan is widely said to have been born in 1647 based on his gravestone, but the words "in his 73rd year" mean he was 72 and would be 73 on his next birthday. He died on 28 December, virtually assuring that he would turn 73 in 1721 and that he was born 1648 (that is if the stone is accurate).
1. Entertaining Passages Relating to King Philip's War…, comp. by Thomas Church from Benjamin Church's diary and private correspondence (1716).
all text and photographs © 1998-2005 by Doug Sinclair unless where otherwise noted