USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Groton > Epitaphs from the old burying ground in Groton, Massachusetts > Part 9
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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 I leaue in the hand of my exsectters to daspose of to my wif or children as thay think to be most Rason I 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 ( 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 yt 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 Hutchins
as att. Sam". 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-
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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 II, 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
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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."
haben. 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.
Dincklen. 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-
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position be correct, he was the Governor of Plymouth Colony from the year 1681 to 1692.
Zattin. 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 Macawy, 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 1753, and was on the 20th Day of July the same Year, Captivated by the Indian Enemy, suffered many &
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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 &c"
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, viz. 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. He 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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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, canie 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. He 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-II.
Longley. 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 -. He was town clerk in the year ros,
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and from 1692 till his death in 1694. William lived on the east side of the Hollis road, about a mile from 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 John, 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 Afgary. 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.
Their grandmother, the widow of Benjamin Crispe, April 13, 1698, made her will, which was admitted to probate on the 28th of the following December, and in it she remembered these absent children as follows : -
" I give and bequeath Vnto my three Grand-Children yt are in Captivity if they returne Vizdt three books one of y" a bible another a Sermon booke treat- ing of faith and the other a psalme book."
John Longley returned about the time that his grandmother died.
In the month of July last, I was in Montreal, where I pro- cured, through the kindness of the Mother Superior, a copy of the record from the Congregation of Notre Dame, of which the follow- ing is a translation : - .
"On Tuesday, April 24, 1696, the ceremony of baptism was performed on an English girl, named Lydia Longley, who was born April 14, 1674, at Groton, a few miles from Boston in New England. She was the daughter of William Long- ley and Deliverance Crisp, both Protestants. She was captured in the month of July, 1680 [1694 ?] by the Abenaqui Indians, and has lived for the past month in the house of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame. The godfather was M. Jacques Leber, merchant ; the godmother was Madame Marie Made-
u
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leine Dupont, wife of M. de Maricourt, Ecuyer, Captain of a company of Marines : she named this English girl Lydia Madeleine.
[Signed] LYDIA MADELEINE LONGLEY MADELEINE DUPONT, LEBER, M. CAILLE, acting curate."
NOTE. - The date of capture in this record is written out in full, and the omission of one word would cause the mistake ; i.e., " mil six cent quatre-vingt," omitting quatorze.
Martin. The name of William Martin heads the list of petitioners for the plantation of Groton. He was an original pro- prietor of the town, owning a twenty-acre right. He came here at an early date from Reading, where he had been one of the select- men. He married the widow of William Lakin, Jr., - though neither the date nor the place of marriage is known, - and he lived near Martin's Pond, which was named after him. His wife died August 14, 1669, and he died March 26, 1672, aged about 76 years. He left a will, dated twenty days before his death, in which he bequeathed ten pounds " towards purchasing a meeting house bell for the town's use." It was sixty years, however, before the town obtained the legacy, and even then only by a suit brought against one of the legatees, who had wrongfully received a portion of Martin's estate.
Moors. Abraham Moors, the progenitor of various families bearing the name in this neighborhood, came from England, near the beginning of the last century. He was a weaver by trade, and lived in the south part of the town. He married, November 21, 1717, Elizabeth Gilson, and they had six sons and three daughters. Mr. Moors died in March, 1780, aged 87 years, and his wife December 4, 1770, aged 72 years. Their youngest son, Joseph, was in active service during a part of the French War, and served with distinction as an officer in the Revolution. He filled many posi- tions of trust and responsibility among his townsmen, and died July 25, 1820, aged 82 years.
Nutting. John Nutting, the common ancestor of the different families in Groton bearing this name, was an original proprietor of the town, and owned a seventeen-acre right. His land lay on the northerly side of James's Brook, and his house, which was one of
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the earliest garrisons, stood near the present site of Liberty Hall. It was from this garrison house that the Indian chief, on the night of March 13, 1676, " did very familiarly in appearance, call out to Capt. Parker that was lodged in another Garrison house," situated near where Captain Asa S. Lawrence now lives.
John Nutting married, August 28, 1650, Sarah Eggleton [?], at Woburn, where a son was born, who may have been John, men- tioned below, and probably other children. A daughter, Mary, was born January 16, 1656, at Chelmsford, at which place, John, James, and Mary were baptized August 3, 1656 ; also Sarah, born Janu- ary 7, 1660, and died soon afterward.
He was one of the petitioners for the town of Chelmsford, and he removed probably from that town to Groton, where three of his children were born, - Sarah, May 29, 1663 ; Ebenezer, October 23, 1666 ; and Jonathan, October 17, 1668.
Parish. John Parish was an original proprietor of the town, and owned a five-acre right. He was one of a committee with John Page and Ensign Lawrence, chosen December 23, 1683, to prove the proprietors' title to their land. In the year 1693, he represented the town in the General Court. Thomas Parish, a son of Thomas Parish, of Cambridge, and a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1659, was living in Groton at an early date.
Parker. In the early history of Groton, this was the most numerous family in town. James Parker and Joseph Parker, prob- brothers, were original proprietors, the first named owning a fifty-acre right, and the other a twenty-acre right. James was a distinguished man, and a leader in all public affairs. A sketch of his life and a copy of his will are given in Mr. Butler's " History " (pages 281-285). He was living at Woburn in the year 1640, and he married, May 23, 1643, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Long, of Charlestown. Their children were Elizabeth, born March 12, 1645, married - Gary ; Ann, born March 5, 1647; John, born February 18, 1649 ; Sarah, born August 29, 1650, died next year ; Joseph, born, 1651 ; James, born April 15, 1652 ; Josiah, born 1655 ; Samuel, born 1656 ; Joshua, born March 13, 1658, married Abigail (Shattuck) Morse, widow of Jonathan Morse ; Zechariah, born January 14, 1659 ; and Eleazer, born November 9, 1660. He
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married, for his second wife, Mrs. Eunice (Brooks) Carter, widow of Samuel Carter, and had a daughter Sarah, who was born December 12, 1697, after the father had reached the age of 80 years. His six oldest children were born at Woburn; before coming to Groton, he lived for a while at Chelmsford, where several others were born. He died in the year 1701, aged about 84 years. James's house lot lay on both sides of the principal street in the village, just south of the small stream which to this day is called James's Brook, named after him. His house was one of the garrisons during King Philip's War, and it was with Captain Parker that the Indian chief, on the night of March 13, 1676, talked, as mentioned in Hubbard's "Nar- rative." In the assault made on the town, July 27, 1694, his son James and Mary, his son's wife, were killed by the Indians, and " several " of their children carried away captives. Another son, Josiah, was a captain, and served in the war against the Indians ; he was in command at Groton, July 21, 1706, when Nathaniel Healy, of Newton, one of his company, was "waylaid " and slain, together with Ebenezer Seger, also of Newton, " as they were going to Meet- ing On the Sabbath day." A brother of Seger's was taken captive at the same time. Joseph Parker, the other original proprietor, was probably a brother of James, and the ancestor of the most numer- ous branches of the family in this neighborhood. He was a large landowner in Groton, Chelmsford, and Dunstable. The town's brandmark, used probably for marking cattle, was approved by the Governor and. magistrates, on his petition dated May 31, 1666. He married Margaret -, and had the following children, born at Chelmsford, on the dates set against their names : Joseph, March 30, 1653 ; Anna, February 2, 1655, died young ; Mary, October 28, 1657 ; John, November 4, 1660, died October 8, 1661 ; Anna, November 16, 1663 ; Sarah, November 16, 1666, died Sep- tember 15, 1704. Joseph, the father, died in the year 1690, leaving a large estate. Joseph, the son, married, first, Elizabeth -, and, secondly, November 19, 1684, Hannah Blood ; he had three chil- dren by his first wife, and four by his second. He died about the year 1725.
Isaac Parker, of this town, was one of the early settlers of Charlestown, New Hampshire, where he went about the year 1740. He was taken prisoner by the Indians, April 19, 1746, and re- mained in captivity until the following winter, when he was released.
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Prescott. This is the most distinguished name in the annals of Groton, and the families bearing it have been numerous. Jonas, the progenitor, was the son of John and Mary (Platts) Prescott, and was born at Lancaster, in June, 1648. He was a blacksmith by trade, and owned the mill in the south part of Groton, now within the limits of Harvard. It is said that a grant of land made by the town, about the year 1675, when it was much in need of a black- smith, induced him to remove nearer to the village. He built a house and shop on the lot, which was situated on the easterly side of James's Brook, perhaps a third of a mile south of Lawrence Academy. He bought lands, until he became one of the largest owners of real estate in the town. Two years ago, a piece of wall was removed, which separated a part of this lot from the highway, near where it forks from the Boston road, and which contained a stone bearing this inscription : -
I. P. 1680 Rebuilt by
O. P. 1784 Rebuilt by S. J. Park 1841.
The initials I. P. are those of Jonas Prescott, and O. P. those of his grandson, Dr. Oliver Prescott.
Jonas married, December 14, 1672, Mary, daughter of John and Mary (Draper) Loker, of Sudbury, and they had four sons and eight daughters. Two of the sons died young, but all the other children lived to grow up and have families. The eight daughters, with one exception, married Groton men, and were blessed with a numerous offspring. Jonas filled many important positions in the town, and represented it in the General Court dur- ing the years 1699 and 1705 ; he died December 31, 1723, aged 75 years.
His youngest son, Benjamin, was a man of strong character and commanding appearance, and like his father filled many places of usefulness. He married, June 11, 1718, Abigail, daughter of the Honorable Thomas and Mary (Wilson) Oliver, of Cambridge, and
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they had three sons and four daughters. He lived on the old homestead, where he died August 3, 1735, at the age of 42 years, after a short illness caused by over-exertion while haying. His three sons were all remarkable men, and exerted much influence in shaping public affairs during an important period.
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