"Daniel Chute was born in Byfield-Newbury, Massachusetts May 6, 1722; became a man of considerable note in his day and generation and was styled "Captain Daniel Chute", married April 20, 1742, Hannah, daughter of Richard Adams of Newbury."

Source: Chute, William Edward. A Genealogy and History of the Chute Family in America: With Some Account of the Family in Great Britain and Ireland, with an Account of Forty Allied Families Gathered from the Most Authentic Sources. Salem, Massachusetts, 1894. Pages 22-25.

"Chute, Daniel. Captain, order dated Newbury, April 15, 1777, signed by Amos Poor and payable to said Chute, for reimbursement for losses at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775."

Source: Office of the Secretary of State, State of Massachusetts, Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the revolutionary war, A compilation from the archives by Massachusetts. Vol. 3 CAAL - CORY. Wright and Potter Printing Co., State Printers in Boston, pages 464-465, "Chute" entries. 1896.

From the same source:

"Chute, Daniel. Capt. Caleb Kimball's co.; receipt for wages for 4 months 20 days service at Winter Hill [year not given]"

Without a date, and without a roster of Caleb Kimball's company for reference, it is impossible at this point to determine if Daniel is the Sr. Daniel Chute, or his son, Daniel, Jr., who would have been approximately 15 or 16 in 1775-76. Winter Hill is located in Somerville (adjacent to Cambridge), and does appear in the periphery of battle maps for Bunker Hill, which is connected with Daniel, Sr. Until further detail is found, this entry will appear under both Daniel, Sr. and his son.

February 21, 1753: Daniel Chewte of Rowley sold to Jeremiah Jewett, blacksmith, for �48, nine acres of land in Rowley, near Byfield meetinghouse, bounded - beginning at the county road, at a stake and stones by land now in possession of the said Jewett, then running by said land to a stake and stones by the great swamp so called, then by said swamp to a stake and stones by Andrew Duty's land, then by said Dute's land to a stake and stones by said road and to the first mentioned bounds."
Daniel Chewte & seal
In presence of James Chewte, Andrew Duty
Jos. Gerrish, Jun., J. P.
Nov. 10, 1760

May 31, 1757: Daniel Chewett was one of a troop of horse under Captain John Pearson in Rowley.

From 1762 to 1764, Daniel Noyes, John Pearson and Humphrey Hobson were a committee in Byfield Parish; Daniel Chute, Parish Clerk.

"In the Byfield parish records, 1764, it is recorded that "Benj. Coleman, Daniel Chewt, and Samuel Northen, was a Committee."

In 1768, "Daniel Chute, Jer. Poor, and Henry Adams was a Committee."

"Byfield, Dec. 14, 1768, at a leagel meeting of the inhabitants of the Parish of Byfield, at said meeting voted to the Rev. Mr. Moses Parsons for his salary �80.0.0; at the same time voted to give him �4.13.4 to enable him to pirchis his fire Wood this year, at said meeting voted to Eliphalet Tenny and others their several amounts that have demands on said parish, at said meeting voted the parish committee shall receive what money is in Mr. Joshua Noyeses hands that belongs to said parish to be appropriated to discharge the parished debts, at said meeting voted to reconsider the vote for raising the money to defray the Parish Debets (viz) so much of it as the parish Committee shall receive from Mr. Joshua Noyes; also voted that the Parish Committee render an account to said Mr. Joseph Noyes. Also voted that a number of such as are skilled in musick are desired to assist the Congregation in that part of Divine Worship singing praises to God on the sabbath and other seasons of public worship; voted that a number of such as are skilled in singing are desired to set in the square pew before the pulpit (viz) Jacob Gerrish, Benj Stickney, Jos. Hale, jun., Nat Tenney, Stephen Lunt, Lot Pearson, Joseph Brown, Tim Jackman ye 3rd & Step. Gerrish.

1769: Daniel Chute, Henry Adams and Jacob Gerrish, Committee for Byfield

May 27, 1765. Bemsle Plumer of Rowley, in the County of Essex and Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, yeoman, for & in consideration of the sum of two hundred & eight pounds eight shillings lawful money to me in hand paid by Daniel Chute of Rowley, &c., sell to David Chute about 50 acres lying low & between the farms of James Chute, Moses Wheeler, Abram Brown & Timothy Jackman.

July 30, 1768. Daniel Chute of Rowley, yeoman, for �14.10.8. sold to Jonathan Wheeler of Rowley, yeoman, the one half of a certain wood lot for quantity and quality, the other half belonging to Moses Wheeler, situate in the town of Newbury. The whole of said lot containing by estimation 12 acres, be it more or less & is bounded southerly on the Falls River, westerly on Longfellow's land, northwardly on the rate lots so called and eastwardly on lands of Moses Wheeler. Daniel Chute & a seal. In presence of Samuel Wheeler, James Chute.

Nov 30, 1770. Daniel Chewte of Newbury, for �30, sold to John Searl jun of Rowley 15 acres and 150 rods in Rowley, near Byfield meeting house, bounded westerly & southerly on land of said John Searl, eastwardly on land of Moses Hale, northwardly on land of said Hale & Moses Lull & said Chute to a locust tree marked & near the road. Northwestardly on said road to the westwardly part first mentioned. Daniel Chewte & a seal, Jacob Rogers, William Chandler

May 28, 1790. Nathaniel Perkins of Salem, Rockingham Co., N.H. blacksmith, for �12, sold to Daniel Chute & Daniel Chute, jun of Rowley, Essex Co., Mass., 3 acres of saltmarsh in Rowley. Nat (his mark) Perkins & a seal, Bethiah (her mark) Perkins & a seal. Tim. Ladd, J.P., Evan Jones, Hezek. Jones

(Daniel and Hannah Chute's signatures are from the signature page of the Church Covenant, signed by pastor and congregation when the Reverend Elijah Parish assumed the pastorship of the Byfield Parish Church. The covenant was signed in 1788. Hannah's signature is below.)

"Capt. Daniel Chute was an influential and worthy parishioner in the pastorates of both Mr. Parsons and Dr. Parish. He was parish clerk for thirty-three years. He was born in 1722, and died in 1805. His home was that of the late James C. Peabody, who was his great-grandson. His wife, Mrs. Hannah (Adams) Chute, must have been a woman of queenly mind and heart, for Dr. Parish said of her, that "next to Geo. Washington he knew none more fit to govern this nation than she."

Source: The Story of Byfield, John Louis Ewell. Page 226.

This brief entry may be understating - or at least prematurely truncating - Daniel's military service just a bit. "Captain, order dated Newbury, April 15, 1777, signed by Amos Poor and said payable to Chute, for reimbursement for losses at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775."

Source: Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution

Daniel may have been within hearing distance the first time �Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes!� was spoken: he was reimbursed on April 15, 1777 �for losses at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.� The story behind that famous saying stemmed from the Americans being short of ammunition when they faced a much larger British army at Bunker Hill (actually Breed�s Hill), north of Boston. In order not to waste an ounce of precious gunpowder, the men were ordered to hold their fire as the British advanced towards them, and only fire their muskets when the British were 40 or 50 feet away. The plan worked. �With magnificent discipline and courage, they waited . . . fired . . . and thus began the War for Independence.� At least 1,000 British troops were killed at the famous opening battle (although not the skirmish) of the Revolutionary War, �The Battle of Bunker Hill�.

Most historians consider that earlier �skirmish� to be the confrontation of American �rebels� and British troops on April 19, 1775, the night of Paul Revere�s famous ride.

"April 27, 1778, the inhabitants of Byfield were startled by a phenomenon usually termed the "Flying Giant." The following description is from the diary of Deacon Daniel Chute;

"Yesterday, being the Lord's day, the first Sunday after Easter, about five of the o'clock in the p.m., a most terrible, and as most men do conceive supernatural thing took place. A form as of a giant, I suppose rather under than over twenty feet high, walked through the air from somewhere nigh the Governor's school, where it was first spied by some boys, till it past the meeting-house, where Mr. Whittam, who was driving home his cows, saw it, as well as the cows also, which ran violently bellowing. Sundry on the whole road from the meeting-house to Deacon Searles' house, saw and heard it, till it vanished from sight nigh Hunslow's Hill, as Deacon Searles saw. It strode so fast as a good horse might gallop, and two or three feet above the ground, and what more than all we admired, it went through walls and fences as one goes through water, yet were they not broken or overthrown. It was black, as it might be dressed in cloth indeed, yet were we so terrified that none observed what manner if at all it was habited. It made continually a terrifying scream, "hoo, hoo", so that some women fainted."

Extracts from Richard Adams' Will, August 3, 1770.

"My da Mary to have �4 of my household goods, and the remainder of my household goods to Mary Adams and Hannah Chute to grandson Nat. Adams, son of Enoch, dec'd �200: to grand da Hannah, of son Daniel, dec'd, �70, to be paid by sons Moses and Edmund: to son John �267: to sons Moses and Edmund all my homestead in Newbury, with buildings tools utensils cattle sheep horses and othe lands meadows & c. Wearing apparel to 4 sons Richard John Moses and Edmund: and to Moses my loom, and to Edmund blacksmithshop and things belonging: and to Richard �100 and him to be my sole executor."

Nov 21, 1778 the will being delivered to Richard jun as executor his father being dead. Inventory taken Nov 24, �3907.15.7.

1783. "BETWEEN PASTORATES. AFTER the death of Mr. Parsons [14 DEC 1783] repeated fasts were observed for divine guidance in "Resettling the Gospel." The arrangements were somewhat elaborate; six ministers were invited to participate in the services. For one of these fasts a committee was appointed to secure "a Suitable House as near the Meeting House as conveniently may be to accommodate the Revrd Gentlemen who are to lead." At about this time it was Voted that Capt. Daniel Chute and Capt. Joseph Poor be desired to read the Psalm or Hymn which may be sung on Lord's Day or on other Days except on the last time singing on said Days, when Dea. Searl is absent also that they be desired to set in the Pew by the Pulpit. We may suppose that hymn-books were not generally owned, and that the custom of deaconing the hymns, that is, giving them out by the deacons line by line still continued, and that good Deacon Searle could not always be at "meeting" because of the infirmities of age, and so these two worthy Captains were requested when he was absent to sit in the deacons' pew and officiate in his place, one probably in the morning and the other in the afternoon." The Story of Byfield, John Louis Ewell. Chapter: FROM THE DEATH OF THE REV. MOSES PARSONS, DEC. 14, 1783, TO THE DEATH OF THE REV. ELIJAH PARISH, D.D., OCT. 15, 1825. Page 190.

"Dr. Elijah Parish of Newbury said of Mrs. Hannah Chute that 'Next to George Washington, he knew none more fit to govern this nation than she." - Rev A.P. Chute

When Samuel Moody became the first preceptor of Dummer Academy ... "he also, to the horror of the Puritan community, introduced dancing as a school exercise, a French dancing master being hired to give the boys instruction. ... This project, which no one but the omnipotent and favorite Master Moody could have carried out, caused a great commotion. Mrs. Daniel Chute, who had two sons in the school, wrote a long poem, commencing: