Notes for Henry Gilbert

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Notes for Henry Gilbert

He took the oath of allegiance at Springfield Jan. 1, 1678, at the same time as his brother Thomas Gilbert did. He lived in Springfield until 1689 or 1690. His three oldest children were born there. He was a hayward for the Longmeadow district for several years. He was perhaps living on the grant given to him in 1679, said to have been in the present Enfield, Conn., then a part of Springfield.

He was a soldier and was sent to command a squad of men, among whomwas his brother Thomas, who was a builder or carpenter, to build a fort or blockhouse at Quabaug (Brookfield), starting Sept. 16, 1688. It was called Gilbert's Fort, perhaps because he took a house lot and lived adjoining it on the west, on the south side of the road. The fort was on the (later) schoolhouse lot in Brookfield, at the intersection of North Main and Maple Streets, of convenient size, having barracks for soldiers and their families and was surrounded by a stockade. It was a defense against Indian attacks from the northward, northwestward and northeastward.

Note: From History of North Brookfield, in 1688 Henry Gilbert commanded a scouting troop sent by Pynchon during King Phillip's War. He built "Gilbert's Fort" a fort of considerable size with barracks for soldiers and families surrounded by a stockade.