Excerpt from Capt. Samuel Flint and William Flint

Of the Flints who served in the War of the Revolution, history records but two as citizens of Danvers, Samuel and William. These were descend ants respectively of two brothers, Thomas and William, who emigrated to Salem probably previous to 1640. It is apparently well established that they came from the maritime town of Flint, Flintshire, in the extreme northern portion of Wales.

On the rocky coast close by the shore, stand the ruins of the ancient castle of Flint, said to have been built by Edward the First. This castle is historic as being the place where Percy betrayed Richard II to Bolingbroke in 1399, who put him in the tower of London, where he died. It is not said of what disease or if he had medical attendance. Let us hope that he died of natural causes. After the death of Richard, Bolingbroke was crowned as Henry IV, King of England. In 1643 the castle surrendered to the Roundheads and four years after, was dismantled by order of the House of Commons. The old castle ruins even now show it to have been no mean cit adel, but a strong fortress of defence, with a moat and other preparations for resolute resistance. Mr. David B. Flint of Boston, one of the descend ants of Thomas Flint, has in his possession a fine old painting of this old castle. It was said to have been the abode of those who were likely to be in rebellion against the government of the times. These were evidently in favor of Free Trade and had no marked respect for the revenue of the Crown. Surely they were not high Protectionists. The railroad from Chester to Holyhead runs very near to the ruins, a huge pile of rocks, the only ruins of the kind on the coast. The town was once a flourishing seaport, but like many others the old harbor has been filled with sand so that it now only has a depth for small vessels.

Without doubt the early ancestors of Thomas and William Flint were a hardy set, full well accustomed to warfare of the roughest and bloodiest kind.

Whatever may have been the degree of loyalty of the English ancestors, it is evident that their descendants in 1775 held slight respect for British rule.

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