Captain John Locke

Until about 1998, I did not know the name of my paternal grandfather. He went by Kenneth R. Lock-Smith and Lock-Smith is my maiden name but I couldn’t find him in any census or listing. Then my daughter Michelle miraculously found a book linking my father to the “Locke Family” who were early settlers in the East. Here is one account of my eighth great grandfather, Captain John Locke, I found on the internet. "In 1694 John Locke being at Locke's Neck was ambushed and killed by the Indians as he was reaping grain in his field." The spot where this happened is along the seashore, and can be seen by turning off Ocean Boulevard onto Locke Road. The Locke Burial Ground is there, with John and Elizabeth Locke and several generations of Lockes. There is a marker on a granite post, labeled 1934, and a memorial roadside marker, which now reads: “Locke’s Neck- named for Captain John Locke who settled here before 1665 with his wife, Elizabeth Berry, born in London in 1627. He landed in Portsmouth ca. 1644 and according to tradition framed the first meeting house there about 1654. As Captain of militia he was noted for his defensive actions against hostile Indians. He was killed here August 26, 1696 by Indians as he worked in his fields with only a sickle for defense. The best part of the story is not from the archives, nor the memorial markers, but is an anecdote from the Locke genealogy (which means that the best part is probably a myth!) According to the family myth, when the Indians ran up to scalp Locke, he summoned his last breath to cut off the nose of one of the Indians. In the New Hampshire Historical Society Museum, in Eagle Square, Concord, New Hampshire, John Locke’s famous hand sickle, which he was supposedly using as he reaped grain on that fateful day in 1696, is on display in a glass case. The very obliging curator of the museum, Doug Copely, told me that as a descendant, he could also take Captain John Locke’s sword out of storage and show it to me. He also said that although it may be myth, the docents tell the tale of Captain Locke and the Indians to visiting children at the museum. Both items were donated in 1890 by George Locke of Manchester, New Hampshire. I’m sure that many generations of school children have been thrilled by this bloody story and have carefully examined the sickle for any signs of gore. Family Tree (new.familysearch.org) shows that Captain John Locke Senior’s LDS ordinances were performed in 1934. I am one of the branches grafted on this long tree whose pioneers were baptized long before me. Please email your family history story to t roxannaboyer55@gmail.com .