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Subject: [GM-L] Miscellaneous notes on Lancaster's First Settlers by Rev. Abijah White
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 15:46:03 EDT

Subject: Earliest Settlers of Lancaster, Mass ~ Miscellaneous Notes by Rev.
Abijah Marvin
Source: History of Lancaster, Massachusetts by Rev. Abijah P. Marvin, 1879

p.58

Edward Breck entered, in connection with his name on the Covenant, these
words: "I subscribe
to this for myself and for my son Robert, save that it is agreed we are not
bound to come up
to inhabit within a year's time, in our own persons." In fact, Robert Breck
never became a
resident and Edward, the father, was here but a short time.

Edward Breck was from Ashton, Devonshire probably and came to Dorchester in
1636. He re-
turned to Dorchester from Lancaster and died there in November 1662. Joseph
Breck a well
known seedsman of Boston, lived here, and had a fine garden extending from
the house of Mr.
Symmes across the railroad and onwards between the road and the North river.

James Atherton was, perhaps a brother of Major General Humphrey Atherton of
Dorchester. If
so, he came from Preston, in Lancashire, England. He became a resident in
1653 but returned
to Dorchester. His sons James and Joshua were born in this town. The latter
was a resident
and had descendants here within the memory of those now living.

Gamaliel Beaman came over in 1635 when twelve years of age, to Dorchester.
Removed to
Lancaster in 1659, with several children and had several after his removal.
His son John
Beaman left town, but returned and died in the west precinct, now Sterling,
in 1740.

William Billings soon left the place.

Samuel Dean did not remain.

James Draper was from Roxbury, and returned thither.

Richard Dwelley was a transient resident. He served with credit in King
Philip's war.

Jonas Fairbank, son of Jonathan, came from Sowerby, Yorkshire. He married
Lydia, daughter
of John Prescott. Seven children were born to him. He was killed by the
Indians with his
son Joshua in 1676.


[Note: I have transcribed "John Prescott and His Friends by F. L. Weis" and
reports the
origins of many of the settlers of Lancaster, Mass., who followed John
Prescott to MA
It is a Wordpad text file of 74 kb's and freely shared on request.

John Prescott and his Friends by F. L. Weis
John Prescott of Lancaster, MA 1643 - 1681
by F. L. Weis, Th.D, Dublin, NH]

Jacob Farrar was killed in August 1675 by the Indians. His son Jacob was
probably born in
England. He left children here. Some of his descendants through his son
George, became
distinguished.

John Farrar, brother of the first Jacob, came here, perhaps from Woburn. He
died in 1690.

Daniel Gaines was killed in the great massacre, or reserved for torture.
There is no record
of posterity here.

Stephen Gates came from England in 1638 to Hingham. Here he was a freeman in
1656 and a
constable in 1657. He went to Cambridge and died in 1662.

John Houghton came from England. His last will was presented in 1684. His
wife was Beatrix. His sons were Benjamin, Robert, Jonas and John Harris.
Mrs. Beatrix Pope was his
daughter and there were others.

Ralph Houghton was cousin to John and probably older. He left three sons,
John, James, Joseph and perhaps others; and four daughters. He with his
cousin and their families went to Woburn at the massacre but returned. He
was town clerk as early as 1656 and for many years after. In 1668 he became
a freeman and was representtive in 1673 and perhaps in 1689.

p.60

Thomas James died shortly after March 13, 1660, the date of his will, in
which, to his wife
who, if living, was then in England, and cousins named Isaac, Lydia, Mary,
Hannah and
Christopher Lewis, he gave all his estate and made John Lewis, perhaps their
father, his
executor. Yet they may have no relation to our country and he have been only
transient.

John Johnson may be the same as John of Marlboro, who died in 1713. If so,
he came here from Sudbury.

Thomas Joslin came from London in the Increase, 1635. He died in 1661, seven
years after
coming to Lancaster. His widow married William Kerley in 1664.

Nathaniel Joslin, his son, was a freeman in 1673. His brother Abraham was
also here. After
the massacre he moved to Marlboro, where he died, 1694. He had two sons,
Nathaniel of
Marlboro and Peter of Lancaster. The latter had a wife and three children
killed by the
Indians, July 18, 1692, when they took away another child, Elizabeth Howe,
the sister of
his wife, and other prisoners, but killed the child in the woods. He was a
tough old veteran, was a captain, outlived his fourth wife and died in
Leominster at a great age in 1759.

William Kerley, or Carley, senior, after the death of his wife in March 1658,
married Bridget Rowlandson, widow of Joseph and mother of the minister, in
May 1659. She died in
1662. It is supposed that he married Rebecca, widow of Thomas Joslin in
1664. His death
occurred in 1670.

William Kerley, Jr. supposed son of the former, was in Sudbury in 1672 and in
Cambridge in
1683. Probably he removed before the massacre.

Henry Kerley, son of the first William, was born about 1632 and was brought
by his father
to Hingham. He married Nov 2, 1654 Elizabeth the daughter of John White and
sister of Mrs.
Rowlandson. He became a freeman in 1668. His wife and two children, William
& Joseph were
killed by the Indians at the burning of the minister's garrison, in the
spring of 1676. He
went to Marlborough, where he spent his days having married again. The
family disappeard
from this town, except old "widow Kerley," or "Caley," mentioned subsequently
in the records.

p.61

William Lewis was probably from Cambridge. He died in 1671 and left no
children in the
place unless John Lewis which is uncertain.

Richard Linton was here in 1643/4 and became a permanent settler among the
very first.
He was probably of Gov. Craddock's plantation in Medford in 1630 and at
Watertown in 1638.
He died March 30, 1665. His wife was Ann, daughter of Lawrence Waters, his
brother pioneer.
George Bennet, who was killed by the Indians in August 1675 was his grandson.

John Mansfield, son of John and grandson of Sir John Mansfield had five
hundred acres given by his aunt, Ann Keayne.

John Moore, Sr., of 1653 was a freeman in 1669 and representative in 1689 and
1690. He
married Anna, daughter of John Smith and among other children had a son born
April, 1662
named John Moore, Jr, called junior representative in 1689.

Mordecai MacLoud or McLoad or McLoud or Macloud, was killed by the Indians
August 1675. His
wife and two children shared his fate. Probably the whole family was cut
off, as we do
not again meet his name. [That is incorrect. See my report on Mordecai
McLeod.]

Anthony Newton was freeman in 1671. Probably he left at the time of the
massacre in 1678
One of that name was in Dorchester in 1678 when Lancaster was uninhabited.
Willard supposes
him to be the same man.

Edmund or Edmon Parker, was from Roxbury, whither he carried children to be
baptised in
June 1656, before Mr. Rowlandson was ordained. We can easily imagine him
going with his
family on a pleasant visit to his old home and church.

John Pierce of Watertown, freeman in 1638, and a man of very good estate. He
died on the
19th of August 1661 leaving several childdren; but they are not found in the
succeeding
history of the town.

John Prescott, blacksmith, came from Sowerby in the parish of Halifax,
[Yorkshire, England]
where he had married Mary Platts, a Yorkshire girl. But he was born in
Lancashire, as were
Atherton and several others who settled here. [see Weis "John Prescott &
Friends, above]
He came here to stay in 1645 or 1646 with the purpose of building up a town.
Many children
were born to him before and after he came hither. John [Prescott, Jr.] a
blacksmith also,
and Jonathan and Jonas were sons. His daughter Mary married Thomas Sawyer;
Sarah married
Richard Wheeler; Martha married John Rugg; and Lydia married Jonas Fairbank.
He took the
oath of allegiance in 1652 and was admitted freeman in 1669. His family
escaped from the
massacre, and he returned to Lancaster in 1682, when the number of families
was only one-
third as large as seven years before.

To be continued Part 2
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth

Subject: Earliest Settlers of Lancaster, Mass ~ Miscellanious Notes by Rev.
Marvin
Source: History of Lancaster, Massachusetts by Rev. Abijah P. Marvin, 1879

Part 2

Edward and John Rigby seem to have left no trace, unless the "Rigby road," so
called,
from Deers Horns district to Clinton is named for them.

Jeremiah Rogers of Dorchester, married Mehitable, daughter of John Pierce,
not the John
Pierce mentioned above.

John Roper, who was in Charlestown, 1647 to 1658, is thought to be the man of
that name who
came here in 1656 and was killed by the Indians in 1676. Perhaps it was his
son Ephriam
Roper who was the only man who escaped from the minister's garrison.

John Rugg, freeman in 1669, married Martha, daughter of John Prescott and had
two children
who died quite young. She died in 1665. His second wife had eight children.
He died in
1696 and next year his widow was killed by the Indians. His son John had
eight children.
Another son, Joseph, with his wife and three children were killed in 1697 by
the Indians, at
the same time that his mother was murdered.

p.63

Thomas Sawyer one of the first six settlers, became a freeman in 1654. He
married Mary,
daughter of Prescott, and lived next south. His children and descendants
were numerous.
His son, Ephraim Sawyer was killed by the Indians in 1676 at Prescott's
garrison, now in
Clinton.

The Smiths, John and Richard cannot be traced and individualised.

Roger Sumner of Dorchester, was son of William and born in England. He
became freeman in
1657 and came to Lancaster two years later. He married a daughter of Thomas
Joslyn. One
record of him fixes the date of the origin of the church in this town,
formerly a disputed
point. The record reads, "1660, August 26, Roger Sumner was dismissed, that
with other
Christians at Lancaster, a church might be begun there." At the destruction
of the town he
removed to Milton and became a deacon there, where he died May 26, 1698 aged
66.

Richard Sutton of Charlestown and probably of Roxbury, is supposed to have
been one of the
proprietors of of Lancaster.

John Tinker of Windsor, Conn., removed to Boston, where his daughter Sarah
was born 1652.
He was made freeman in 1654. He was a great acquisition to this town, and
was clerk and
selectman. According to Willard his "chirography was very neat." He left
the place in
1659, and settled at Pequid, or New London, where he was held in great esteem.

John Towers of Hingham came from Hingham in Norfolk County, England, in 1637,
and was a
freeman two years later. His wife was Margaret Ibrook, and he had several
children.
Probably the family did not remain here, if they ever came.

Benjamin Twitchell came from Dorchester and probably went to Medfield, where
he was in 1663
with a wife and several children.

Henry Ward of Hingham.

Lawrence Waters has been already mentioned.

p.64

John White of Salem, 1638, had grant of land next year; joined the church in
1643. He with
his son, was one of the first planters of Lancaster. He had children:
Josiah, his executor,
Thomas, besides daughter Joan, Elizabeth, Mary and Sarah, who were married,
and Hannah who
lived with him until after his decease and then married Ensign Divoll. There
is an entry
in the Records of Lancaster in March 1658, which it is not easy to
understand, but seems
to indicate that he was a man who stood up for his rights. The records reads
as follows:
"all the orders of the selectmen passed, except that of goodman White, which
was rejected
because he feared not to speak in his own cause."

John Whitcomb, Senior, of Dorchester, 1635, removed to Scituate and became a
freeman in
Plymouth colony June 1652. He had five sons and daughters. His death
occurred here in
1662 September 24. John Whitcomb, Jr his eldest son was born in England. He
died about
1683. His descendants have been numerous and respectable.

James Whiting or Witton, left no record here.

Thomas Wilder, or Wyellder, of Charlestown, 1639, joined the church on the
13th of March
1640 and was admitted freeman June 2, 1641. Besides daughters he had four
sons, Thomas,
John, Nathaniel and Ebenezer.

Matthew Knight owned quite a tract between the house of Charles L. Wilder and
the center
bridge, on the north west side of Nashua river, which went by the name of
"Knights Pasture"
besides a lot in south Lancaster and perhaps in other parts of the town; but
it is not easy to locate him. His descendant, William Knight, now resides at
Ponakin.

Stephen Day was the noted printer of Cambridge. He never lived here, but had
a connection
with the town which will be noted in the proper place.

Rev. Mr. Rowlandson was a proprietor by the conditions of the grant to
legalise a township.
He became owner of 40 acres either west of Knight's pasture or including it.
But his house
and lot was the garrison and its surroundings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth

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