vital records sources
go to Mercy Warren's page

Although Jonathan isn't in Philip's will, circumstantial evidence leaves little doubt they were father and son. Philip lived in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony and bought a proprietary right to land in Dartmouth in 1627. Jonathan had settled in there, presumably on land laid out to him by his father's right, by the time he married in 1678. His wife, Mercy Warren, lived in Plymouth. It's possible Jonathan lived in Plymouth until he intended to marry Mercy, set up his homestead in Dartmouth and moved there about the time they married. In any case, a Plymouth marriage would be expected, so the chronology here can only be guessed. As for not being in Philip's will, Jonathan settled in Dartmouth before his father wrote the will in 1681. If this was his portion of his father's estate, there was no need to include him in the will. The Delano/Delanoy name was unique to this family in early New England, so if Philip and Jonathan weren't related, it would be an unreasonable coincidence.

This is a synopsis of second hand information about Jonathan:

     By the 1670's, Jonathan was a militia lieutenant in the company of Benjamin Church during King Philip's War. An account of the company during an attack includes references to Jonathan. They started out from John Cook's "ruined" house at "Cushnet" (Acushnet, now the northern part of the town of Dartmouth). At some point William Fobes, brother of another Smith ancestor, alerted Church to the presence of Indian women gathering hurtleberries. Their "sachem" lived in the swamps after being driven from their land in Rhode Island. Church asked "Mr. Dillano, who was acquainted with the ground and the Indian language," and Mr. Barnes to approach the group with him. One of the women, who planted an orchard and lived in a house on Sanford's land knew Church as a former neighbor. She ran to him, calling his name. Church asked Delano to tell them not to run, but to surrender. Most did, but some were killed while running away. Jonathan gathered the prisoners, who, with the dead, numbered 66. They belonged to the sachem of "King" Philip. Apparently Philip and Qunnappin, with other men of the sachem, had gone to Sconticut neck. Church sent Jonathan to meet their Indian allies and capture the men. There were hundreds of Indians on the neck. 63 were captured and 3 killed. All the prisoners were taken to Plymouth.

Jonathan's gravestone in Acushnet Cemetery, Acushnet, MA.

children of Jonathan Delano and Mercy Warren:1

daughter b. 25 November 1678, d. 28 November 1679
Jonathan b. 30 January (1679/?)1680
Jabez b. 8 November 1682
Sarah b. 9 January (1683/?)1684, d. 27 February 1690
Mary b. 27 October 1686
Nathan b. 29 October 1688 m. Elizabeth Miller
Bethia b. 29 November 1690, d. 19 July 1693
Susannah b. 3 September 1693 m. Abraham Sherman
son b. 22 October 1694, d. same day
Nathaniel b. 29 October 1695
Esther b. 4 April 1698
Jethro b. 31 January (1700/?)1701
Thomas b. 10 May 1704

vital records sources: I choose about 1648 as his birth year rather than the generally accepted 1647. On his gravestone, "in his 73rd year" means he was 72, and since he died in late December, he very likely would have turned 73 the next year (1721), putting his birth in 1648. 1647 is based on a common misunderstanding of this phrase. The latter eventually was used interchangeably with "aged X years," but not this early. His marriage is in Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Vol. 2 (Boston:1929), 155. All references to his death originate with his gravestone (see photo above).

1. Vital Records of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Vol. 1 (Boston:1929), 76-79.