The identification of NICHOLAS SNOW is not certain. He was possibly baptised at St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, London, England, on Jan. 25, 1599, the son of Nicholas Snow of Hoxton, Middlesex, England. The parish of St. Leonard's adjoins St. Mary's, Whitechapel, where STEPHEN HOPKINS married his second wife in 1617/18.

NICHOLAS came on the "Ann" in 1623. It arrived in Plymouth in July, 1623, accoompanied by the "Little James", bringing new settlers along with many of the wives and children that had been left behind in Leyden when the "Mayflower" departed in 1620.

NICHOLAS was made freeman at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA, in 1633. He was named in 1634 to lay out highways at Plymouth, and he served there as arbitrator, surveyor of highways and on juries. By 1645 he had settled at Eastham (then Nausett) where he served as clerk, selectman, deputy, constable, highway surveyor, excise collector, and on court committees.

CONSTANCE HOPKINS came on the Mayflower with her family. The date of her marriage does not appear in the records, but they were married before 1628, as the record of May 22, 1628, regarding the division of cattle, shows that NICHOLAS and CONSTANCE received their share, they belonging to Mr. STEPHEN HOPKINS' Company, which was composed of thirteen persons.

The will of Nicholas Snow of Eastham, dated Nov. 14, 1676 and proved Mar. 5, 1676/77, left livestock and household goods to wife Constant for life use and then to son Jabez, and devided various parcels of land to sons Mark, Joseph, Steven, John and Jabez. The description of land near the testator's house mentioned "son Thomas Paine" (actually son-in-law) as an abutting owner. NICHOLAS also gave, after the death of his wife, the sum of ten shillings "to the Church of Eastham for the furniture of the Table of the Lord, with pewter or other Necessaries." He named Deacon Samuel Freeman and John Mayo as executors. Letters of administration were granted to Constant, Mark, John Snow on Mar. 6, 1676/77. A lengthy inventory, including many cooper's and carpenter's tools, was sworn to by widow Constant on Mar. 22, 1676/77.

NICHOLAS was probably buried in the old yard at Eastham, though no stone with inscription marks the place. His son, Mark, who married the daughter of Gov. Thomas Prence, and son-in-law Thomas Paine, were distinguished men in their day. NICHOLAS resided not far from Gov. Prence's homestead, as far as can be ascertained from the records.

Early Settlers of Eastham, MA In 1644, dissatisfied with Plymouth, the directors of Plymouth Colony sent a seven-man delegation to Eastham to scout for a new site for the Plymouth government. Upon their return it was decided to not relocate to that site. Independent of that decision, the seven men decided on their own to move their families there. Thus, in early 1645, the town was established. Originally called Nauset, for the Nauset tribe, the name was changed to Eastham in 1651. The seven founding families were: Bangs, Cook, Doane, Higgins, Prence, Smalley, and Snow.

It is not proven that CONSTANCE is a daughter of NICHOLAS and CONSTANCE. the daughters were not mentioned by name in NICHOLAS' will. Josiah Paine, town clerk and historian of Harwich, wrote that NICHOLAS and CONSTANCE had a daughter named for her mother who was the first wife of Daniel Doane of Eastham. Daniel was born probably in Plymouth about 1636 and died in Eastham Dec. 20, 1712 in his 76th year.

The record of Josiah Paine is in a notebook he kept which is now possessed by the Eastham Public Library. Mr. Paine did not cite sources in his notebook, unless the information came from individuals, so it is assumed he had evidence for this particular fact, but corroborating documents have never been discovered.

Governor Bradford wrote between Mar. 6 and Apr. 3, 1651 that "Constanta is also maried, and hath 12 children all of them living, and one of them married."