USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Brief account of some of the early settlers of Groton, massachusetts > Part 1
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F 74 G9671
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
Chef. F74 The GOG7/ PRESENTED BY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A BRIEF ACCOUNT
OF SOME OF THE
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON,
MASSACHUSETTS.
. BEING THE APPENDIX TO "GROTON EPITAPHS.
By SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D.
٠
Library of longues, from Samuel A. Precis
Boston, April 20, 1878.
A BRIEF ACCOUNT
OF SOME OF THE
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON,
MASSACHUSETTS.
BEING THE APPENDIX TO "GROTON EPITAPHS."
BY SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D.
GROTON: 1878. 1
Fy4 , GGG71
Thirty Copies printed in this form.
No. 10. J. A.G.
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
D' URING many years Groton was a frontier town, situated relatively a long distance from Boston. At that period there were but few settlements in the colony, and the younger generations were wont to live near the home of their childhood. The popula- tion of the town, through the first century of its existence, was made up largely of the descendants of its founders and early set- tlers. In this Appendix, I purpose to give a short account of some of the families living here during that time, including a brief notice of the petitioners for the plantation of Groton, and of a few other persons connected with the history of the town. It will be seen that a considerable number of them came from Watertown and Lynn.
Bancroft. Benjamin Bancroft, the son of Thomas, of Read- ing, is the ancestor of the families of this name, living in Groton and its vicinity. He married Anna, daughter of John and Anna (Tarbell) Lawrence, of Lexington, and had nine children. He lived for a while at Charlestown, but afterward, about the year 1728, removed to Groton, where he died July 21, 1787, aged 86 years, and his widow also, April 3, 1790, aged 87 years. He was a tanner by trade, and lived a short distance south of the Uni- tarian Church, on the east side of the Great Road. His tannery was on the opposite side of the way. The stone powder magazine, used by the State during the Revolution, was situated on his land.
Benjamin, the eldest child, followed the occupation of his father, and lived on the old homestead. He was town treasurer and a dea- con of the church, besides holding other positions of trust. He
2
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
married Alice, daughter of William and Mary (Farnsworth) Tar- bell, and had eight children. His wife died November 29, 1781, aged 51 years, and he died October 27, 1804, aged So years.
Edmund, the second child, removed to that part of Groton, now Pepperell, where he carried on farming. He was town treasurer of Pepperell for twenty years, and a representative in the General Court. He married, December 30, 1747, for his first wife, Elizabeth Atherton, of Harvard, who died October 6, 1755, and he married, in the year 1758, for his second wife, Mrs. Rachel (Howard) Bar- ron, widow of Jonathan Barron and daughter of Samuel Howard, of Chelmsford. She died June 3, 1784, aged 54 years, and he mar- ried, for the third time, Mrs. Phebe (Lawrence) Bancroft, widow of Jonathan Bancroft, of Salem, and daughter of Colonel William and Susanna (Prescott) Lawrence, of Groton. Edmund died October 25, 1806, aged 79 years, and his widow, November 21, 1808, aged 74 years. He had four children by his first marriage, and eight by his second. Dr. Amos Bancroft, a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1791, and for many years a distinguished physician of Groton, was a son of the second wife.
Deacon Benjamin and Edmund were the only sons of Benjamin Bancroft who grew up to manhood.
Barron. Two brothers of this name, sons of Ellis and [Grace ?] Barron, of Watertown, were original proprietors of Gro- ton ; Ellis, the elder brother, owning a fifteen-acre right, and John, the other, a seven-acre right. Ellis married Hannah, widow of Timothy Hawkins, of Watertown, and had several children, before coming to Groton, where others were born. John also had a family, but now for a long time there has been no representative of the name in the town. Elias Barron, of Groton, was in Captain Lovewell's fight, May 8, 1725, at Pigwacket, where he was wounded and afterward lost. The sum of £30 was allowed his family, by the General Court, June 17, 1725 ; and according to the record in the printed " Journal," of December 21, 1726, it appears that his widow's name was Priscilla.
Samuel Barron left a small bequest to the town, which still keeps his name in grateful remembrance. The following is an extract from his will, dated February 5, 1753 :-
" My Will and plesuer is that the first Church of Christ in Groton should have sum thing oute of my Estate for the poore of saied Church and I do hereby
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EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
Give fo the saied Church the sum of thirteen pounds five shillings and four pence Lawfull money to be paied to the saied Church oute of my Estate by my Executer within one year next after my decease to be Lett oute to Interest by the saied Church and the Interest to be approprated for the Bennefit of the poore of saied Church as the Church shall order but the princaple never to be demineshed."
Blood. Three of the petitioners for the plantation of Groton, viz., Richard, John, and Robert, bore this name, and all three were sons of James and Ellen Blood, of Concord. Another brother, James, was an early proprietor of the town. Richard was the only one of these brothers that lived in Groton, and he is the ancestor of most of the name in this neighborhood. He was the largest proprietor in the town, owning a sixty-acre right, and was one of the first board of selectmen chosen by the inhabitants, and also town clerk in the year 1668. He married Isabel -- , and had Mary, who died April 19, 1662 ; James, who was killed by the Indians, September 13, 1692; Nathaniel, who married, June 13, 1670, Hannah, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Long) Parker ; Elizabeth, who married, December 1, 1686, Thomas Tarbell, the third of the name in Groton; and Joseph, who was an original proprietor of the town. Richard, the father, lived in the district called " Nod," and died December 7, 1683.
Bridge. The name of London Bridge will have more interest for the inhabitants of Groton, when it is known that he was a resi- dent of the town, and that he remembered it in his will. This instrument, bearing date May 23, 1775, is on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge, and was presented for probate, January 25, 1776. The following are extracts from it : -
" I do hereby give and Bequeath the sd sum of Thirteen pounds six shil- lings and eight pence to the Church of Christ in Groton aforesd the Interest of which Sum is to be annually given to the poor of sd Chh. at the Discretion of their Comteo .??
He then makes provision for the payment of his debts and a small bequest to Captain Henry Farwell, and adds : -
"and if that should not be sufficient for those purposes my will is that my Executor take so much out of the above given to the Chh. as to Defray the Charges Abovesd and the Remainder be applyed by the Chh. in manner as Aboves! for their poor."
4
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
Cooper. Timothy Cooper was one of the original petitioners for the plantation of Groton, and his name appears in the first list of selectmen, appointed by the General Court. He married Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Hester (Pierce) Morse, of Water- town, and had four children. In the inventory of his estate, on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge, it is recorded that he was "Sleaine by the Indeins the Second day of march 1675-6." This is the date of the first attack on the town in King Philip's War.
Davis. Dolor Davis was a petitioner for the plantation of Groton, and one of the first board of selectmen appointed by the General Court. He came to this country from England, about the year 1640, and lived for a while at Barnstable. He is the ancestor of many of the name now living in Middlesex and Worcester coun- ties. He married Margery, sister of Major Simon Willard, and at one time was a resident of Concord. He probably lived here but a short time ; he died at Barnstable in the year 1673.
Farnsworth. Matthias Farnsworth, the progenitor of the numerous families in Groton bearing this name, came from Lynn. He was an original proprietor of the town, and owned a twenty-acre right. His farm was situated on both sides of the road leading to Harvard, a little south of James's brook, more than a mile from the village. He was living at Lynn in the year 1657, and at Groton in 1664, though he may have been a resident of each place earlier than these respective dates. He died in the latter part of the year 1689, aged 77 years. The following is a copy of his will, on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge : -
Groton Jenewarey 1 5th : 1688-9 and in the 4 yere of the Rain of King Jams the sacond I mathyas farnworth sen of groton in the county of midlsix in new ingland aged about 77 yers being wall considrat and of sound and parfit Judg- ment and understanding thanks be to god for it I being sensabl of my many frailtyes & unsartanty of my natueral lif and knowing what disaduantag many times hapens for want of a Right sating the hous in order being desiras to ackt and satl things that consarns me doe mak conshans and doe daclare this prasant instrement to be my last will & tastement in manar and form as foloweth making uoyd all formar wills ather by word or dead but first I Commit my soul to all myty god my Creater hoping I shal Rasaue full pardon of all my sins throw Jasus Christ and I commit my bodey to the earth from whans it was taken to be beured in such deasant manar as my exsecters shall see meet and
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EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
I. first to the distrebiting my eastat I doe giue to my beloued wif so long as she liues a widow won third of my whol astat and the moueabls within the hous I
2. doe laue to hur to daspose as shee pleases and sacondly I doe giue to my son mathyas farnworth for his full porshan that fiue akker Right which his deed spasefyes and a peese of madow called by the name of half moon madow and twanty akekers of land lying neer a plase called by the nam of Prascots olde mill and this to be counted to be his full porshan unlass he meets with malistation by any ralations of his and if so then f will and giue to my son mathyas my hom stall that I now dwall upon with hous & barn and that hom stall that my son mathyas now liues on to Raturn in seed thare of
3. and thirdly I giue to my son John farnworth that fiue akar Right that his deed spasefyes and tan shilins more to be Payed of the astat for his full porshan
4. fourthly I giue to my son bangeman farnworth that part of my land lying on the out sid of my hom stall fans at the lower end of the lot and twanty ake- kers at the plas neer prescotts old mill and six akkers of madow lying at south madow and this for his porshan
5. fiftly for my son samewall & Jonathan farnworth I doe giue the Rast of my land and madow that is undasposed on lying at the old mill for thare porshan
and I giue my daughter Robison won cow and to my daughter thacher I giue twenty shilins and to my daughter Stoon won cow and twanty shilins and to my daughter abigall farnworth twalue pound for her porshan and as to the Rast of my eastat undasposed of 1 leaue in the hand of my exsectters to daspose of to my wif or children as thay think to be most, Rason f mak Chois of my son mathyas farnworth with nathanil lawrins san & Jonas prescott for exsackters this taken from his own mouth syned and sealed in the prasants of us
his mathyas M farnworth sen mark
nathannil lawrance Jonas Prescott his Nicklas o huchins mark
also I giue my loam & tacklins for waring to my son mathyas farnworth Xbr. 17. 1689 Charlestowne
Nathan" Larrance & Jonas Prescott appearing in Court made oath yt they were prsent when Mathias ffarnworth Deced signed sealed and published this as his last will & Testament, and y' he was of sound judgment and of dispose- ing minde when he did ye same and yt they sett theire hands there to as witnesses wth Nicolas Ifutchins
as att.
Fair
Sam11. Phipps Cler
His wife's name was Mary, and they had ten children. The list of them given below is compiled from different sources. It is probable that his "daughter Robison" was the wife of James Robertson, or Robinson ; and in that case, her name was Eliza-
.
6
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
beth, and probably she was born in England. James Robertson, an original proprietor of the town, married his wife, January 16, 1667, and she died December 22, 1729, aged 82 years. I am not sure about the order of the births of his children, but I suggest the fol- lowing : Elizabeth [?], who probably married James Robertson ; Joseph, born November 17, 1657, at Lynn, and died February 20, 1686-7 ; Mary, born October 11, 1660, at Lynn, and married, April 11, 1676, Samuel Thatcher, of Watertown; Matthias, born at Groton ; John, who married, December 8, 1686, Hannah, daughter of John and Sarah (Eliot) Aldis, of Dedham, and had nine chil- dren ; Benjamin, who married Mary, daughter of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott, and had ten children ; Samuel, who married, December 12, 1706, widow Mary (Whitcomb) Willard, and had three children ; Abigail, born January 17, 1671, and probably married John Hutchins, of Groton ; Sarah [?], who perhaps mar- ried Simon Stone ; and Jonathan, born June 1, 1675, married Ruth --- , and had fourteen children.
John, one of the sons named above, was an influential man in all town affairs. He was an ensign in the militia, a selectman, a representative to the General Court from the year 1708 to 1714 inclusive, excepting 1711, and a deacon in the church. In the autumn of 1711, he was in command of one of the eighteen gar- risons in the town. The name of Matthias Farnsworth, of Groton, appears in a list of prisoners in the hands of the French and Indians in Canada, March 5, 1710-11, though there is nothing in the record to show when he was captured. He was probably the son of Matthias, Jr., and, if so, he was a young man about twenty years old at the date of the list.
The first settlement of Charlestown, New Hampshire, - then known as Number 4, - was made in the year 1740, by three brothers, Samuel, David, and Stephen Farnsworth, natives of Groton. They all became leading men in the town, and dis- tinguished themselves on several occasions in fights with the Indians. Samuel Farnsworth, the eldest brother, was killed in a skirmish, May 2, 1746 ; David was taken prisoner by a party of Indians, April 20, 1757, and carried to Canada. He managed to escape, and reached home, probably soon after his capture. Stephen, the youngest brother, also had his bitter experience with the savages. He was captured April 19, 1746, and taken to Montreal, where he remained seventeen months, when he was
7
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
exchanged. His health was so broken down by the hardships of his captivity that he never fully regained it. He died September 6, 1771, leaving behind him the example of a brave man and a useful citizen.
Farrington. Matthew Farrington was one of the petitioners for the plantation of Groton, and a member of the first board of selectmen appointed by the General Court. He was a son of Edmund Farrington, of Lynn, and was born in England.
Gilson. Joseph Gilson was one of the original proprietors of the town, and owned a nine-acre right. He married, November 18, 1660, Mary Caper, at Chelmsford, and removed from that town to Groton before March 5, 1665-6. He died in the summer of 1676, at Concord, where he went, probably, when Groton was deserted by its inhabitants. An inventory of his estate is on file in the Middle- sex Probate Office at East Cambridge. He left five children, viz., Mary, born November 17, 1662, at Chelmsford ; Timothy ; Joseph, born March 8, 1666-7, at Groton, married twice, and had five children by each wife ; Sarah, born June 25, 1669, at Groton ; and John, born April 23, 1674, at Groton, married Sarah -, and had five children. Both Joseph and John lived and died at Groton, and John's widow married, May 17, 1709, for her second husband, Richard Warner, by whom she had four children. Joseph Gilson, a grandson of the original proprietor, was one of the seven Groton men with Captain Lovewell in his fight at Pigwacket, and the only one of the seven who escaped unhurt. One Joseph Gilson of Groton, presented a petition to the General Court, June 11, 1760, "representing his Services and Sufferings, for his Country praying a Compensation."
Laven. Richard Haven was one of the petitioners for the plantation of Groton. He was living in Lynn as early as the year 1645, and is said to have come from the west of England. His will was proved June 14, 1703.
Dinchien. Thomas Hinckley, one of the selectmen first appointed by the General Court, was probably a son of Samuel Hinckley, of Scituate, and afterward of Barnstable. If this sup-
8
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
position be correct, he was the Governor of Plymouth Colony from the year 1681 to 1692.
Zakin. William Lakin, the ancestor of the numerous families of this name that have lived at Groton, died December 10, 1672, at the advanced age of 90 or 91 years. He was born in England, and came to this country with his daughter-in-law and her two sons, William and John Lakin. Mr. Butler, in his excellent " History," (page 273), says that the family came from Redington, but as there is no such place in England, perhaps the parish of Ridling- ton is meant. They early settled at Reading, where the name was sometimes spelled Laukin. The two brothers were original pro- prietors of Groton, each owning a twenty-acre right.
William Lakin married Lydia, daughter of Abraham Brown, of Watertown, and had Lydia, born 1650; Mary, born 1652 ; William, born May 6, 1655 ; John, born January 3, 1658 ; Jonathan, born June 28, 1661 ; Abraham, born January 10, 1664 ; William, born May, 1665 ; Abraham, born September 11, 1667; and Eliab, born January 8, 1669. The first five were born at Reading, and the others at Groton.
John Lakin married Mary -, and had the following chil- dren, born at Groton, on the dates set against their respective names : Sarah, February 4, 1661-2 ; William, May 12, 1664; Abi- gail, March 13, 1666-7 ; Joseph, April 14, 1670 ; Benjamin, November 6, 1672 ; and Josiah, September 14, 1675.
William Lakin was appointed October 15, 1673, Lieutenant of the military company of the town, and his brother John was con- firmed by the Governor and Council, July 13, 1689, as Ensign of the same company, though they may have acted as officers before these dates.
The murderous assault made by the Indians on the town, July 27, 1694, was begun at the house of Lieutenant William Lakin, who lived somewhere in the neighborhood of Chicopee Row. £ Isaac Lakin, a grandson of William, was wounded in Lovewell's fight with the Indians.
The following entry is found in the printed "Journal " of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, for January 10, 1760 : -
" A Petition of Oliver Laken of Groton, in the County of Middlesex, shewing. that he was a Soldier in the Pay of the Province Anno 1758, and was on the 20th Day of July the same Year, Captivated by the Indian Enemy, suffered many &
9
EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
great Hardships, and was obliged to borrow a Sum of Money to purchase his Freedom from Captivity ; he therefore prays he may be allowed the Sum of Money he borrowed ; also the Charges of his Passage home, and a further Allowance for his Loss of Time and Sufferings &e"
The answer to this petition is found in the proceedings of Janu- ary 12, and is as follows : -
" The Committee appointed to consider the Petition of Oliver Lakin, Re- ported thereon.
" Read and accepted in Part, vis. Resolved. That the Sum of eight Pounds, be allowed and paid out of the public Treasury to William Lawrence, Esq ; for the Use of the Petitioner, in full Consideration for his Services and Sufferings therein mentioned.
"Sent up for Concurrence."
The petitioner was a son of William and Miriam Lakin, and a great-grandson of Ensign John Lakin.
Lawrence. The ancestor of this numerous family was John Lawrence, who was born at Wisset, England, where he was bap- tized October 8, 1609. He married Elizabeth -, and had thirteen children, all with one exception born at Watertown, where he settled on coming to this country. His daughter Elizabeth was born in Boston. The date and the place of his marriage are not known. Ile was an original proprietor of Groton, owning a twenty- acre right ; two of his sons were also original proprietors, Nathaniel having a ten-acre right, and Joseph a five-acre right. His house and land at Watertown were sold about the year 1662, and in the same year the name is found in the Groton records. John's wife, Elizabeth, died August 29, 1663, at Groton, and he married, November 2, 1664, for his second wife, Susanna, daughter of Wil- liam Batchelder, of Charlestown, by whom he had two daughters. John died here, July 11, 1667, and his widow, July 8, 1668, at Charlestown. His second son, Nathaniel, is represented in this neighborhood at the present time by numerous descendants. He held various offices in the church and town, and was one of the first representatives to the General Court, under the charter of William and Mary, in the year 1693. He married, first, March 13, 1660-1, Sarah, daughter of John and Hannah Morse, of Ded- ham, and lived for a while at Sudbury, before coming to Groton. His wife died August 29, 1683, and he married, secondly, Han- nah -. In advanced life he removed to that part of Cam-
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EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
bridge now Lexington, where one of his sons was living, and here he died March 12, 1746, leaving a large family. Subsequently three of his grandchildren, Thomas, William, and Amos, came from Lexington to Groton to live. Two other of John's sons, Peleg and Enosh, lived at Groton, and had families. Enosh was wounded by the Indians, probably in the attack of July 27, 1694- Hle afterward represented in a petition to the Governor and Coun- cil that he was a very poor man by reason of wounds received in his hands, which almost wholly disabled him from earning a liveli- hood for himself and family. In consequence of these representa- tions, he was allowed exemption from taxes, October 17, 1702, and an annual pension of three pounds during life. The name Enosh is a variation from Enos, and not from Enoch, with which it is fre- quently confounded. This will be seen by consulting the Geneva version of the Bible, long used in preference to King James's ver- sion, by the New England men, and out of which Enosh Lawrence was undoubtedly named. In this, " Enosh " will be found where the authorized version has " Enos," in Genesis v. 6, 7, 9-1I.
Longlen. William Longley was among the earliest settlers of the town, and was the owner of a thirty-acre right. He was the son of Richard Longley, of Lynn, where in the town records the name is sometimes spelled Langley. He had been one of the se- lectmen of Lynn, and was clerk of the writs in the year 1655. He removed, about the year 1660, to Groton, where he was one of the selectmen in the year 1665, and town clerk in 1666. He died November 29, 1680, leaving a will dated six days before his death. His widow, Joanna, afterward married Benjamin Crispe, whom she survived ; she died at Charlestown in the year 1698. The following is a list of his children, though probably not in the order of their birth : John, born about 1640, married Hannah -, and had several children ; Elizabeth, married, September 7, 1669, James Blood, and died about 1677, leaving two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, who married brothers named Shattuck; Anna, or Hannah, who married, June 30, 1666, Thomas Tarbell, Jr., and had several children ; Mary, who married Samuel Leaman, prob- ably of Charlestown ; Sarah, born October 15, 1660, married, June 17, 1679, Thomas Rand, of Charlestown ; Lydia, who married James Nutting, and had six children ; and William, who married, May 15, 1673, Lydia -. Ife was town clerk in the year 1687,
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EARLY SETTLERS OF GROTON.
and from 1692 till his death in 1694. William lived on the east side of the Hollis road, about a mile froin the village. A melan- choly interest is connected with the site, as it was here that he and his wife, with five children, were massacred by the Indians in their assault on the town, July 27, 1694. Three more of their children, Lydia, John, and Betty, were carried off by the savages, and taken to Canada. Lydia was sold to the French, and placed in the Con- gregation of Notre Dame, a convent in Montreal, where she embraced the Roman Catholic faith, and died July 20, 1758, at the advanced age of 84 years. Betty died soon after her capture from hunger and exposure, and Jobn, the third child, remained with the savages for more than four years, when he was ransomed and brought away, much against his own will. At one time during his captivity, he was on the verge of starving, when an Indian kindly gave him a dog's foot to gnaw, which for the time appeased his hunger. He was known among his captors as John Angary. After he came home, his sister Lydia wrote from Canada, urging him to abjure the Protestant religion, but he remained true to his early faith.
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