USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 59
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(The Weld Line).
The Weld family is of ancient English de- scent, and claims to have descended from Edric Sylvaticus Wild (as the name was also spelled ). He was a Saxon of great renown in the reign of King Harold and William the Conqueror. Humphrey Weld, who married Clara Young Ernst, daughter of Thomas Ernst, Lord Aurondel of Wardor, England, owned Lulworth Castle and other estates in Dorset. England. He is said to be the an- cestor of the American family. Edmond Welde of Sudbury, county Suffolk, England, a mercer by trade, was father of the immi- grant. His will, dated December 5, 1605. proved May 3. 1608, is given as follows :
"I give and bequeath unto Amye my right well beloved wife my mansion house wherein I now inhabit and dwell, in the parish of St. Peter in Sudbury, to hold for life; and after her decease I give the moiety and one part thereof (i. e) the shop, the chamber over it, the ware house &c. to Daniel Welde my eldest son ; the other part of the messuage, being the Westside thereof, I give to John Welde my second son. To the said Daniel fifty pounds at five and twenty years of age and to John forty pounds (at same age ). To Edmund my third son my tenements and houses which I purchased of Mr. John Howe, in the parish of St. Gregory, to have and to hold after he shall be of full age of four and twenty years. To Thomas my fourth son a piece of arable land of six acres in Great Cornard called Church Croftes, at four and twenty. To Ben - jamin my fifth son a piece of arable land of five acres which I purchased of Peter Greene gent. being parcel of the manor of Neale's, lying in a field near the clay pits in the parish of St. Peter in Sudbury, abutting upon the way leading from Sudbury towards Great Waddingfield, to have and to hold at his age of four and twenty. I give to Joseph, my sixth son my piece of meadow in Cornerd and Sudbury containing two acres and three roods which was some time Richard Eden'd gent. and abutteth upon the high way leading from Sudbury towards Corneard right against a certain lane called Cats Lane. To James my seventh son my message or tenement with a croft of land belonging of one acre and a half in North Lopham Norfolk which I purchased of John Lovick. To my eldest daughter Mary Welde fifty pounds at two and twenty. To my youngest daughter Elizabeth my two tene- ments which I purchased of John Drewe, in Ballington Essex, and an acre of land called Stimpcrosse in Cornard. Amye my wife to be sole executrix and my brother John Dereslye to be supervisor. William Howe and Robert Buckstone witnesses."
(VI) Daniel Weld, son of Deacon David Weld (q. v.), was born November 20, 1772 and died July 5, 1852. He was a merchant in Boston. He married, May 29, 1800, Hannah Williams, born July 2, 1781, sister of Moses Williams, who was for many years one of the most prominent citizens of Boston. Children : 1. Daniel, born December 21, 1801. 2. Eliza- beth Williams, December 12, 1803. 3. David. August 25. 1806. 4. John Davis, September 8, 1808. 5. Hannah Davis, December 17, 1810. 6. Betsey Williams, November 14, 1812. 7.
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Edward F., December 30, 1814. 8. Moses Williams, August 15, 1817. 9. Hannah Davis Williams, June 23, 1820. IO. Martha Will- iams, February 22, 1824.
(VII) John Davis, son of Daniel Weld, was born September 18, 1808, and died De- cember 18, 1873. He married, September II, 1833, Hannah Elizabeth Everett, born January 15, 1813, died June 22, 1856, daughter of Otis and Elizabeth Hurd Everett. Children: I. Daniel, born April 3, 1837 ; resides in Brook- line, Massachusetts. 2. Otis Everett, May 14, 1840; died March 17, 1897; for many years one of the junior members of the firm of D. M. Williams & Company of Boston; died un- married. 3. Catherine E., born April 5, 1845; married, November 4, 1873, Major Edward C. Richardson. (See Richardson, IV.) 4. John Davis Jr., born January 15, 1850; died January 17, 1909; unmarried,
KNOWLTON Without taking up tra- ditional stories of the time of William the Conqueror,
and how he knighted two soldiers in his serv- ice during his invasion of Wales, naming them according to their respective residences, Hill- ton and Knoll-ton, we will pass to Domesday Book in which Knowlton Hundred, a hamlet in Dorsetshire, became in 1083 by royal ap- pointment a Fair-Town and which the original hamlet and manor has long passed away the present boundaries of the place, includes Knowlhill, Long Crichel, Crichel-Goves, Cri- chel-Lucy, All Saints, Boroson, Week Farm, Phillipston and Woodlands. This estate was anciently owned by Ansgar and in Domesday Book the name is written Chenoltone, which in subsequent books is spelled Conolton, Knol- ton, Knollton, Knowlton, Knoulton, Knowton, Knowlden (at the foot of the knoll), Noalton. Noulton and Nolton. Knowlton Hall and Knowlton Parish still designate a baronial res- idence and manor in Kent, six miles from the cathedral at Canterbury. In the fifteenth year of the Conqueror, the estate was given to one of his followers, from whom it passed by Knight's service to Perot and thence to other
owners. In the thirty-third year of Edward I., Perot assumed the title of Lord Knollton, an example of the custom of transferring a proper name from the soil to its owner. Lord Knowlton left the estate to his daughter, Chris- tian, who married William de Langley, High Sheriff under Edward III. This was 1327- 77. The son of William de Langley and
Christian ( Knowlton) called himself Willian Knollton, Esq. This was during the reign of Henry VI, 1429-71. In the twentieth year of Henry VII (1505), William's son John, (whose son and successor Edward, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Peyton who was the next owner ), came into possession and he married Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Tyndal, governor of the Tower of London. His grandson and heir, Thomas, had children: Dorothy, Catherine, Willia, Thomas. From the time of Sir Perot adopting the title of Lord Knollton to Sir D'Aeth, the lords of this manor were known both by their surnames and by their adopted titles and this historical fact is attested in the case of Knowlton Hall, Kent, England. The families of Knowlton appear to have been confined extremely to the coun- ties of Middlesex and Kent up to 1728 and the titles Mr. and Esq. appear frequently attached to the name and the fact that marriages in the family were invariably by licenses and not by publishing banns, indicates a social position and a condition of comfort as such licenses were only to be obtained from the archbishop of canterbury at an expense of about fifty pounds. Location, dates of birth, repetition of names of children and the very names given to the children born in the New World fix be- yond reasonable doubt that the Knowltons who came to the New World with the first immi- grants derive their descent from the Knowl- tons of this old Kentish Manor. The English ancestors from whom Captain William, the first immigrant to America, was descended is :
(I) Richard of Kent, born in 1553. He married, July 17, 1577, Elizabeth Cantize and had children as follows: I. George, born in the . parish of Canterbury, Kent, May 6, 1578; made his home in Chadwick. 2. Stephen, born in the parish of Canterbury, May 1, 1580; died young. 3. Thomas, see forward. 4. William.
"(II) Thomas, son of Richard of Kent and Elizabeth (Cantize) Knowlton, married and had children: 1. John, see forward. 2. Rob- ert, see forward. 3. Mary, 1628; married, April 26, 1651, John William. 4. Sarah, 1630, married, February 23, 1656, Augustine Ellis.
(III) John, eldest son of Thomas Knowl- ton, was born in Kent, England, 1620. In 1643 he married Dorothy He died in London, 1664, and was buried from St. James Church, Clerkenwells. He is styled on the church records a householder. John and Dorothy Knowlton had four children born in England as follows: 1. Elizabeth, May 26,
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1644. 2. John, January 14, 1649. 3. James, September 26, 1650. 4. Mary, December 18, 1652.
(III) Robert, second son of Thomas Knowlton, was born in Kent, England, 1622. He was married about 1642 to Susan
and they had four children born in Kent, Eng- land, as follows: I. Ann, January 24, 1644; married, April II, 1728, Marcus Gilmanothe. 2. John, died September 30, 1649. 3. Doro- thy, died January 7, 1650. 4. William, see forward. Susan Knowlton, the mother of these children, died February 10, 1653, and Robert Knowlton married as his second wife Sarah -- -, and had one child, Sarah, born October 2, 1655. Robert Knowlton died De- cember 30, 1655.
(IV) William, second son and fourth child of Robert and Susan Knowlton, was born in England, 1652. He was a West India mer- chant. He married Maria and had two children: I. John, born 1688; married Elizabeth and they had four children. 2. Thomas, 1690: married, in 1726, Elizabeth Rice, and November 17, 1744, Mrs. Elizabeth Stephenson. He was a landscape gardener antigronia and botanist, and a fellow of the Royal Academy. He died November 28, 1781, in Londesborough, England. His only son, Rev. Charles, was a graduate of Cambridge University. William Knowlton died in 1713.
(New England Family).
We have in the Knowltons of England seen that part of one family of the name came to America as early as 1632-34, and as all his children were born in England, their names and the dates of their birth appear in that sketch. This is Captain William Knowlton and in the New England genealogy we will name him as of the first generation.
(I) Captain William, fourth son of Rich- ard of Kent and Elizabeth (Cantize) Knowl- ton, brother of George, Stephen and Thomas Knowlton, was born in the parish of Canter- bury, Kent, England, 1584. He was a well- to-do ship master and part owner and captain of a trading vessel, with which he visited the newly opened parts of the New World, espe- cially Nova Scotia and New England. He was forty-eight years of age, and had a fam- ily of six children when he sailed with his wife and four sons to make a home 'for theni in the New World; it is probable that it was not his first voyage to America and the ob- jective point for which he sailed was proba- bly Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony. As
his family appear as settlers at Hingham as early as 1634, it is probable that he landed his wife and four sons there and continued his trading venture. He may have visited them and as it is recorded that he died at sea off the coast of Nova Scotia and his wife may have accompanied him on his ill-fated voyage as it appears that she directed his burial and sold his share in the ship and returned to Hingham where she owned land and where she died probably at the home of her son Samuel who did not marry and continued to live in Hing- ham and made a home for his widowed mother. John was the only one of the sons who had attained his majority before reaching America. He settled in Ipswich, Massachu- setts, in 1639, and his brothers, William and Thomas, joined him in that town in 1642. Captain William Knowlton, father of the Hingham and Ipswich immigrant settlers, was buried at Sherborne, the first large harbor east of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, and the cemetery in which he was supposed to have been buried is still in use but no stone has been found to mark his grave or give the date of his death which was probably 1634-35, unless his death occurred when he first brought his family to America in 1632, as some genealogists suppose, which would deprive him of having located his family at Hingham, and gives no reason that they should have gone there if his objective point on leaving England was Nova Scotia as is claimed by some. It seems more reasonable that he settled the young boys with their mother in Hingham and returned with his ship to continue his vocation as a sailing master and on a subsequent voyage was taken sick and died on the coast of Nova Scotia. The fam- ily did not break up in Hingham until 1640, when John, the eldest, was induced to go to Ipswich, and two years after his brothers Will- iam and Thomas followed, leaving his mother in charge of their brother Samuel. He mar- ried Ann Elizabeth Smith. Children, born in Kent, England: I. John, born 1610. 2. Sam- uel, 1611 ; emigrated to America, 1632-34 ; died in Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony ; prob- ably unmarried. 3. Robert, about 1613; re- mained in England, where he married and had children. 4. William, see forward. 5. Mary, 1617, said to have died young. 6. Thomas. about 1620; went to Ipswich in 1642.
(II) William (2), fourth son of Captain William (1) and Ann Elizabeth ( Smith) Knowlton, was born at Knowlton Manor Hall, Kent, England, 1615, sailed with her father and family in 1632-34 to make a new home in
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New England. After the death of his father off the coast of Nova Scotia and the settlement of his interest in the ship he commanded, his mother returned to Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where they had originally settled and where she owned a considerable estate. His brother John went from Hingham to Ips- wich in 1639 and William and Thomas joined him there in 1642. William was a bricklayer by trade and he followed that vocation in the new settlement. He took the oath as freeman and church member in 1642, and was allotted pasturage for one cow and a portion of the land comprising Plum Island. He also bought a house and lot of John Andrews which he sold on December 12, 1643, to Edward Bragg, of Ipswich. He was not a man of much wealth and when his estate was administered in the Essex court it was inventoried at thirty- seven pounds, two shillings and one pence, and his debts amounted to twenty-seven pounds, four shillings and one pence. His brother Thomas administered the estate in 1678 but had not completed his settlement in 1692 when he died. William died, intestate, in 1665, and his brother Thomas shared the care of the children with the widow, who was Ann Smith before her marriage to William Knowlton. The children of Captain William and Ann ( Smith ) Knowlton were: 1. Thomas, born 1641 ; married, November 24, 1668, Hannah Green. 2. William, 1643; married Susanna, her surname not being on record, and as his second wife, Mrs. Lydia Griffin Ford. 3. John, see forward. 4. Samuel, 1647; married in April, 1669, Elizabeth Witt. 5. Benjamin, about 1649; married, November 30, 1676, Hannah Merick. 6. Joseph, about 1651 ; mar- ried Mary Wilson, August 14, 1677. 7. Mary, 1653; married, October 12, 1672, Samuel, son of John Abbe, the immigrant, 1635, and had a son Jonathan and resided in Windham, Con- necticut, after 1697, where he died in March, 1698, and his widow married Abraham Mit- chell.
(III) John, fourth child of William and Ann ( Smith) Knowlton, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1645-46, and spent his youthful days in that town. He took the freeman's oath in 1660 and in 1679 removed to Manchester, where he took the oath of alle- giance in 1680. He had learned the trade of carpenter and assisted his father in his build- ing operations in Ipswich; on removing to Manchester he purchased land and built and sold houses and was a man of thrift and in- dustry. Ile took an active interest in town
affairs and was captain of the company of militia from its organization. He removed from Manchester to Hamlet (now Hamilton) in the town of Ipswich, about 1707, where he died in August, 1728. He married (first) Bethia, daughter of Rice Edwards, of Wen- ham, who died after 1707. His second wife was Susanna Hutton and the intention of this marriage was published April 11, 1714, in Wenham, and she survived her husband. The children of John and Bethia (Edwards) Knowlton were: 1. John, see forward. 2. Mary, married James Patch and died before 1713, leaving children, one of whom was prob- ably Hannah who married Nathaniel Potter. 3. Rice, born 1676; married Mary Dodge, of Ipswich, January 2, 1699. Mary Dodge was born June 6, 1680, and after her death her husband married, November 26, 1750, Eliza- beth Smith, of Marblehead. 4. Susanna, mar- ried Samuel Corning Jr., of Beverly, Massa- chusetts, and had six children born of the mar- riage between 1698 and 1715, all baptized in the First Church, Beverly. Samuel Corning Jr. died before 1728. 5. Benjamin, married Susanna and died in 1764. 6. Bethia, married a Mr. Wooden. 7. Thomas, born about 1686; married Martha Conant after March 13. 1711, and died in Middleborough, Massachusetts, "July 22, 1755, aged sixty- nine." 8. Timothy, married Hannah, daugh- ter of Samuel Storey, of Ipswich, published August 30, 1711. 9. Elizabeth, married Mal- achi Corning, of Beverly. 10. Abigail, mar- ried Isaac Geddings and after his death Lieu- tenant William Dodge. 11. Miriam, married Joseph Day, March 26, 1723.
(IV) John (2), eldest child of John (1) and Bethia ( Edwards) Knowlton, and known as "Captain John Knolton," was born in Ips- wich, Massachusetts, about 1670. He removed to Manchester, Massachusetts, with his par- ents when nine years old, and he learned the trade of carpenter in his father's shop ; he con- tributed towards the erection of a school house which shows him to have been a well- to-do and progressive citizen. He married,
December 20, 1697, Abigail, daughter of Jo- seph Bachelor (or Batchelder), of Salem, Massachusetts, and they had cleven children all born in Manchester as follows: 1. Jolin, see forward. 2. Joseph, born December 28, 1701 ; married Emma, her surname not being in record. 3. Abigail, May 2, 1705; married, April 7. 1730, Soloma Parsons, of Gloucester, Massachusetts. 4. Churchill, March 5, 1707, baptized October 3, 1708, in First Church.
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Beverly. 5. Miriam, September 7, 1711 ; un- married. 6. Lucy, February 28, 1714-15; married, February 26, 1739-40, Joseph Knight. 7. Prudence, April 13, 1718; married, January 7, 1737-38, 8. Andrew, March 5, 1720; married Abigail Stone, of Beverly, pub- lished October 31, and November 1, 1741. 9. Hannah, March 13, 1723-24.
(\') John (3), eldest son of Captain John (2) and Abigail ( Batchelder ) Knowlton, was born in Manchester, Massachusetts, August 3, 1699. His intention to marry Elizabeth Hilton was published in Manchester, October 18. 1719, and after their marriage they lived in Manchester up to the time of his death be- tween 1726 and 1728. On November 6, 1829, his widow married John Horsham, of Man- chester, and she died in 1792, aged ninety years. The children of John and Elizabeth ( Hilton ) Knowlton were : I. Elizabeth, born August 28, 1720; married John Horsham Jr., of Manchester, their intention being published December 2, 1752. 2. John, see forward. 3. Anna, June II, 1725 ; married David Lufkin, of Ipswich, August 27, 1747. 4. Mary, De- cember 17, 1726; married Solomon Lufkin, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, February 20, 1745-46.
(VI) John (4), eldest son and second child of John (3) and Elizabeth (Hilton) Knowl- ton, was born in Manchester, Massachusetts, June 17, 1723. He married Lucy and they lived in Wenham and Beverly. They had one child Abraham, who married Widow Anna Taylor.
(VII) Abraham, only child of John (4) and Lucy Knowlton, was born in Wenham, Massachusetts, in 1756. He married Anna Taylor, a widow, and they lived in Wenham and Beverly. He was a soldier in the Ameri- can revolution, his first service being that of a minute-man on the Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775. He saw service at Bunker Hill and was paid for loses sustained in that battle, June 17, 1775, through Captain Nathaniel Wade, he being one of nine subscribers from Ipswich, May II, 1777, to claims for loss as sustained. On May 7. 1776, he was commissioned second lieutenant. He died in Beverly, February 13, 1829, and his widow died March 18, 1839. The children of Lieutenant Abraham and Anna ( Taylor) Knowlton were: I. Mollie or Polly (twin), born January 15, 1778, baptized Sep- tember 26, 1779; married Jonathan, son of Jonathan and Hannah ( Morgan) Knowlton, of Beverly. 2. Caleb (twin), see forward. 3. William, December I, 1779. baptized in
Wenham, May 20, 1781 ; married in Wenham, February 2, 1804, Betsey Andrews. 4. John, April 21, 1781, baptized June 6, 1784. 5. Anna, May 30, 1784; married Mark Saxby, of Beverly, published March. 11, 1804. 6. Abigail or Nabby, May 30, 1784 ; married Will- iam Young Jr., of Beverly, July 3, 1804. 7. Abraham, February 9, 1790. 8. Charity, April 9, 1791 ; married Nathaniel Stanley, No- vember 26. 1807, and made their home in Janesville, New Hampshire. 9. John, March 13, 1797 ; married Betsey, daughter of Gradner Wright, of Sultan, Massachusetts, in Septem- ber, 1826. She was born November 20, 1806, and after her marriage lived in Brandon, Ver- mont.
(VIII) Caleb, second child and eldest son of Lieutenant Abraham and Anna (Taylor ) Knowlton, was born in Wenham, Massachu- setts, January 15, 1778. His intended marriage to Anna Sargent was published in Beverly, December 7, 1800, and his marriage to Rachel Lee, May 14, 1809, in Manchester, Massachu- setts. He subsequently removed to Brandon, Vermont. The children of Caleb and Anna (Sargent ) Knowlton were: I. William, born 1802 ; married Eliza A. Bedney, June 20, 1825. 2. Isaac, 1805, died April, 1840. 3. William S., married Agatha and resided in Salem, Massachusetts, where three children were born to them. 4. James. Anna ( Sargent ) Knowlton died in 1808. The children of Caleb and Rachel (Lee) Knowlton were: I. Eliza, February 13, 1810 ; married Justus Benson and had children born in Iowa. 2. Andrew, No- vember 28. 1811 : married Mary Benson and had children born in Michigan. 3. Mary, see forward. 4. Isaac, December 15, 1815. 5. Martha, April 15, 1818; married Chester Kingsley. 6. Allen, March 8, 1820, died Octo- ber 31. 1839. 7. Cyrus, May 14, 1822 ; married. December 31, 1851. Adaline Dodge. 8. Amanda, May 6, 1824, died August 18, 1840. 9. Daniel, October 17, 1826; married, Septem- ber 4. 1849, Julia Schofield and had children born in Newton, Kansas. 10. Jane, April 20. 1828; married Henry C. Martin, July 6, 1847. II. Maria, August 27, 1830, died young. 12. Caleb C., September 21, 1831, died young.
(IX) Mary, second daughter and third child of Caleb and Rachel (Lee) Knowlton, was born November 15, 1814, died in Springfield, Massachusetts, 1887. She married Epenetus Webster, of Brandon, Vermont, and lived in Springfield, Massachusetts, where their chil- dren were born: I. Henry Caleb Webster. who became the proprietor of a general variety
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3.
store in Montpelier and Windsor, Vermont. He died at Windsor, Vermont. 2. Daniel Epenetus Webster, see forward. 3. Eugene Allen Webster, a patent lawyer and solicitor in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Epenetus Webster was born on his father's farm in Hubberton, Vermont. He went to Delaware when a young man and attended school, but was forced to leave on account of his radical abolition sentiment. Subsequently he was tutor in a family in Natchez, Missis- sippi, where his sentiments were so thoroughly opposed to those of his patrons that he again changed the scene and character of his labors. By this time he was thoroughly convinced that the abolition of slavery must come, and the sooner the better. So he settled near Cincin- nati, Ohio, and engaged in the publication of a paper advocating the freedom of the slaves. His sentiments were evidently ardent and clearly expressed, for it was not long before a mob crossed from Kentucky and destroyed his newspaper plant. Being without means to start another paper, Mr. Webster removed to Philadelphia, and resumed his former occu- pation of teaching school. From there he went to New York City, where he continued teach- ing, and later engaged in the real estate busi- ness. In 1862 he was seriously injured by a fall from a horse and died in March of that year.
(X) Daniel E., son of Epenetus and Mary ( Knowlton) Webster, was born in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, June 12, 1853. He re- ceived his early education in the public schools of Brandon, Vermont, from which he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he spent a year in the preparatory department of the Univer- sity of Michigan, but did not continue his studies farther. In 1878 he entered upon the study of law in the office of Morris & Cope- land, where he continued till his admission to the bar in 1881. Soon afterward he opened an office and has since been successful in the legal business. He is a member of Roswell Lee Lodge of Free and Accented Masons of Springfield ; Morning Star Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Springfield Council, Royal and Select Masters: Springfield Commandery. Knights Templar, and Melha Temple. Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Ile married, January 10. 1887. Alice, daugh- ter of Samuel and Eveline ( Thayer) Hall. of Brandon, Vermont, and they have three chil- dren, born in Springfield, as follows: 1. Rob- ert E., who was fitted for college at Spring- field high school and was graduated at Will-
iams College, A. B. 2. Alice Eveline. Harold Knowlton.
Daniel Epenetus Webster is a descend- ant from Governor John Webster, as was Noah Webster the lexicographer, who pub- lished the first American Dictionary, pub- lished in 1826, and which book, long after Noah Webster's death, May 28, 1843, was the standard dictionary in the United States. While not able to trace the line of descendants un- broken from Governor John to Daniel Epe- netus Webster, it will be profitable to give the history of the founder of Connecticut and of his descendants in the second generation.
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