Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 79

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 886

USA > Massachusetts > Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 79

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(IV) Jonathan, fourth son of John and Mary (Smith) Towne, was born March II, 1691, in Topsfield, and settled in Oxford, Massachusetts, where he was a deacon of the church, and died in 1771. His wife, who bore the baptismal name of Katherine, died June 8, 1757. Children: Jacob, mentioned below ; Tamar, February 22, 1722 ; Simon, March 26, 1724; Jonathan, April 26, 1727 ; John, Decem- ber 15, 1728; Mary, June 4, 1731. The last named married (first ) Curtis Holden; (sec- ond) Israel Phillips.

(V) Jacob (2), eldest child of Jonathan and Katherine Towne, was born October 20, 1720, in Oxford, and served as a soldier in the old French war, dying at Fort Edward, New York, October 18, 1755. He married Mary, daughter of Rev. John Campbell, first minister of Oxford, born February II, 1724. After his death she married Joseph Twiss, of Charles- town. Children of Jacob: Esther, Jonathan, Salem, John, Sylvanus, Isabel, William and Jacob.

(VI) Salem, second son of Jacob and Mary ( Campbell) Towne, was born October 21, 1746, in Oxford, and died there July 23, 1825. He was a very prominent man in his day. He was among the first to respond to the call of the colonists when the news of the battle of Lexington came ; the morning of the twenti- eth of April, 1775, found his company on its way to Boston. He was soon made quarter- master of his regiment, an office which re- quired ability, energy and foresight. He was a major general of militia; a member of the constitutional convention of 1780 ; and as rep- resentative of his town was guarding and up- holding its interest, as well as those of the state. He married ( first ) July 11, 1771, Elizabeth Mayo, who died March 15, 1772, leaving no offspring. He married (second) Ruth Moore, who was the mother of his chil- dren, and died September 25, 1790. He mar- ried (third) the Widow Comer. Children :

Polly, Ruth, Elizabeth, Salem, Pamelia, Au- gusta and Lucy M.

(VII) Augusta, fifth daughter of General Salem and Ruth (Moore) Towne, was born January 23, 1784, in Oxford, and became the wife of Dr. Dan Lamb, of that town, and of Charlton, Massachusetts. (See Lamb, VI.)

(The Flagg Line).

The family name is found in the English records spelled (as it was by the earlier mem- bers in America) Flegg. Another form is Flegge, used often in English records, and we also find Flag, Flege, Flegh, Fleght, Fleggh and Flight. And it is not until about 1700 that we find it spelled Flagg. At that time the family in New England seems to have gener- ally adopted this form. Tradition says that the family had its origin in one, Rowl Flegg, a Norman viking, who ravished the eastern coast of England and made a settlement in Norfolk about 868. The family has been traced many generations in England before its arrival in this country. It is of undoubt- edly Norman origin, as in the early generations it is used with the French prefix de. In the latter part of the twelfth century, the family of De Flegg was seated in the county of Nor- folk on the east coast, where are found the hundreds of East and West Flegg, and where they held grants of land in the reign of Henry II. In the southeast corner of Norfolk there is a dense Danish settlement, occupying the hundreds of East and West Flegg. The norse word Flegg (Danish, Vlak) means flat, and this territory occupies a space some eight miles by seven, well protected on every side by the sea. That the family was not of Saxon origin is indicated by its residence in this Danish set- tlement and its affiliation with Norman fami- lies so soon after the reign of William the Conqueror. It is probable that it was of either Danish or Norman origin and took its name from the Danish hundreds when it held grants of land : De Flegg meaning, of Flegg. In the reign of King Stephen, East and West Flegg were granted by him to his nephew, Henry, then abbot, and the monks of St. Ben- nett. Flegg Hall, the seat of the family in Norfolk in feudal times, was occupied by Sir John De Flegg, lord in the right of Margaret, his wife. In the reign of Henry II the fam- ily had an interest in the town of Winteron. At this time there were living in the county of Norfolk two brothers, Alger and Henry De Flegg. The latter was prior of Norwich in 1168, and the former was living in 1160.

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Henry, son of Alger De Flegg, of Flegg Hall. and Hickling in the hundreds of West Flegg in 1204. is mentioned in records in the first year of King John, 1199, as holding patents to three divisions of land. John, son of Henry De Flegg, had wife Beatrix and three sons : Sir John, Thomas and William. Sir John (2), son of John and Beatrix De Flegg, was lord of Flegg and Bassingham manors in 1228. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir Piers De Bassingham, lord of Bassingham Manor. Sir William, son of Sir John (2) and Margaret (De Bassingham) De Flegg, was living in the fifty-third year of Henry VIII, and sold Flegg manor. William, son of Sir William De Fleght (or Flegg), released to Walter D. Montelry all his right and title in the manor of Bassingham, that of West Beck- ham and Matalak, in the sixth year of Ed- ward 1277.

(I) William Flegg died in 1426, leaving sons, William and Thomas.

(II) Thomas, second son of William Flegg, resided in Norfolk county, where he died in I47I.

(III) William (2), son of Thomas Flegg, resided in Swafield, county Norfolk, in 1521, in the reign of Henry VIII, and had five sons : William, Richard, Thomas, John and James.

(IV) Richard, surviving son of William (2) Flegg, resided in Shipdham, county Nor- folk, and left a will which was proved May 28, 1587, in which he mentioned his wife Mar- garet. They had children : William, Richard, John, Alice and Ralph.

(V) John, third son of Richard and Mar- garet Flegg, resided in Foxham, county Nor- folk, and made a will dated September 3, 1613, proved in Norwich, February 16, 1617. He married Aveline, widow of J. Robinson, deputy of Bennington, and had children: Allan, Bartholomew and Rebecca.

(VI) Bartholomew, second son of John and Aveline Flegg, of Whinbergh, had a wife Alice, and sons : Samuel, Thomas, Francis and John.

(VII) Thomas (2), second son of Bar- tholomew and Alice Flegg, was baptized in 1615, at Whinbergh, and sailed for America in 1637, being then twenty-one years of age, and settled at Watertown, in the province of Massachusetts Bay. He came as a servant of Richard Carver from Scratby in the hun- dred of East Flegg, a few miles north of Yar- mouth. Tradition says that a love affair brought him to England, and he may have registered as a servant of Richard Carver in

order to avoid the difficulties which were thrown in the way of immigration to the non- conformist colonies of New England. He set- tled at Watertown as early as 1641, and was selectman there in 1671-74-75-76-78-81-85-87. He was proprietor of two lots in 1644, one of which covered twenty acres previously granted to John Rose, and the other a home- stall of six acres. He was not the original grantee of either. His homestall was in the extreme southwest part of Watertown, one- half mile north of the Charles river and not far from the present line of Waltham, being on the Sudbury road, now Main street. He was never admitted freeman, but· was released from training before 1660 by paying the com- pany five shillings per annum, and was fully released by the court, April 5, 1681, when his eldest son was forty years old. He lost an eye by the accidental discharge of a gun pre- vious to 1659, and died February 6, 1698. He was probably buried in the old graveyard of Watertown, the only cemetery previous to 1704. He married soon after his arrival, but nothing can be learned of this event, save that his wife's baptismal name was Mary. Chil- dren : Gershom, John, Bartholamew, Thomas, William. Michael, Eleazer, Elizabeth, Mary. Rebecca, Benjamin and Allan. The fifth son was killed by the Indians in 1675.

(VIII) John (2), second son of Thomas and Mary Flegg, was born June 14, 1643, in Watertown, where he was admitted freeman on the eleventh of October, 1682, and died February 6, 1697. He served as constable and tax collector in 1685. The inventory of his estate shows a value of one hundred and twelve pounds, six shillings. He married, March 30, 1670, Mary Gale. Children : Mary, Sarah and John. The first married Ebenezer Pratt, of Sherborn, and the second died young.

(IX) John (3), son of John (2) and Mary (Gale) Flagg, was born November 6, 1677, in Watertown, where he made his home. His first wife bore the name of Anna, and he mar- ried (second) May 13, 1712, Sarah Hagar, who survived him, and died February 12, 1755. Children : Martha, born July 11, 1698; John, September 21, 1700; Sarah, May II, 1702; Henry, April 18, 1704; Hannah, baptized De- cember 14, 1707; Asa, born November 18, 1712; Adonijah, mentioned below ; David, bap- tized September II, 1715; Isaac, March 28, 1725; Eunice, March 31, 1728; Huldah, Sep- tember 20, 1730.

(X) Adonijah, second son of John (3)

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Flagg, and eldest child of his second wife, Sarah Hagar, was born April 9, 1713, in Watertown, and settled in that part of the town which is now Waltham. He married (intentions published April 1) in 1749, Mary Corey, of Weston, born February 19, 1724, in Lexington, died January 28, 1767. He died February 20, 1755. Children : Isaac, men- tioned below ; Hannah, February 8, 1755, and an unnamed child.

(XI) Isaac, eldest child of Adonijah and Mary (Corey) Flagg, was born June 14, 1749, in Weston, and lived in that town. He mar- ried, April 15, 1770, Sarah Parkhurst, born September 21, 1747, daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Carter ) Parkhurst, of Weston. (See Parkhurst. VI.) Children : Isaac, Sally, Enoch, Amos, Elisha, Lucy, Marshall and Nahum.

(XII) Isaac (2), eldest child of Isaac (I) and Sarah ( Parkhurst ) Flagg, was born Sep- tember 7, 1770, in Weston, where he made his home, and died January 22, 1847, in Beverly. He married, Elizabeth Wilson, born 1779, died May 8, 1864, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Hopkins) Wilson.

(XIII) Sarah P., daughter of Isaac (2) and Elizabeth ( Wilson) Flagg, was born April IO, 1821, died October 17, 1895. She mar- ried, September 1, 1840, Samuel T. Lamb, of Worcester and Boston. (See Lamb, VII.)

The ancestry of Elizabeth Wilson is noted as follows: I. Thomas Wilson, came from England in 1633, and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman in May of the following year. He was ac- companied by his wife Anne, and sons Hum- phrey, Samuel and Joshua. Being a follower of Rev. John Wheelwright, he was banished with the latter and went to Exeter, New Hampshire, where he was one of the signers of the combination for local government in October, 1642, and was elected ruler or chief of the three magistrates. 2. Humphrey, son of Thomas and Anne Wilson, was born in England, and resided in Exeter, where he mar- ried, October 21, 1656, Judith Hersey, of Kingston. Children: Judith, Elizabeth, John, Hannah, Thomas and James. 3. Thomas (2), second son of Humphrey and Judith ( Hersey) Wilson, was born May 20, 1672, in Exeter, where he resided. He married Mary Light, and had children : Humphrey, Rebecca, Anna, John and Thomas (twins, probably died young ), John, Sarah (died young), Joshua, Sarah, Mary, Jabez, Jonathan, Moses and Judith. 4. Joshua, fifth son of Thomas

(2) and Mary (Light) Wilson, was born March 9, 1708, in Exeter, and resided in that town, where he married Priscilla Odlin, perhaps a daughter of Rev. John and Elizabeth (Clark ) Odlin, of that town. 5. Thomas (3), son of Joshua and Priscilla (Odlin) Wilson, was born 1744, in Exeter, and married for his second wife, Mary Hopkins, of Reading Massachusetts. Their daughter Elizabeth be- came the wife of Isaac (2) Flagg, as above related.

(The James Line).

This is an ancient surname and was prob- ably adopted by some one whose father bore the christian name of James, at the time when surnames were generally adopted in England. It is found early in Massachusetts, there being more than one immigrant bearing the patro- nymic, and it has continued to bear its pro- portionate part in the settlement, and social, moral and material development of this coun- try.

(I) John James is found of record in Scit- uate, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman in 1668, and died after 1676. He was probably a son of William James, who was in Dedham in 1640, and purchased a farm on the North river in Scituate, where he re- sided. He married, in 1675, Lydia, daughter of John and Mary (Brewster) Turner. The last named was a daughter of Jonathan Brew- ster, the first child of elder William Brewster. (See Brewster elsewhere.) Jonathan Brew- ster was a deputy five years from Plymouth in the general court, and resided from 1630 to 1649 in Duxbury, removing in the latter year to what is now Norwich, Connecticut, where he died in 1659. He married, in 1624, Lucre- tia Oldham, a native of Darby, England. Their daughter Mary, born April 16, 1627, in Plymouth, married in November, 1645, John Turner, as above noted.

(II) John (2), son of -John (1) and Lydia (Turner) James, was born in 1676, in Scitu- ate, and succeeded his father upon the estate there. He married, in 1700, Eunice Stetson, and they were the parents of: Eunice (died young) ; Mary, born 1704; Eunice, 1706; John, mentioned below; Benjamin, 17II ; Lydia, 1713; Elisha, 1715: Zipporah, 1717.

(III) Deacon John (3), eldest son of John (2) and Eunice (Stetson) James, was born 1700, in Scituate, where he resided. He mar- ried (first) in 1730, Rhoda, daughter of George and Deborah (Briggs) King, George King was a son of Thomas (2) and Elizabeth (Clapp) King, and grandson of Elder Thomas

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King, of Scituate. Deborah Briggs, wife of George King, was a daughter of Captain John Briggs, and granddaughter of Walter Briggs, who purchased a farm in Scituate, in 1651. He married (second) Prudence Stanton, of Stonington, Connecticut, and had children : Stanton, Prudence, Rhoda, Elisha, William, Eunice, Lydia, Lucy and Thomas.

(IV) John (4), son of Deacon John (3) and Rhoda (King) James, was born in 1731, in Scituate, and was the third in succession to bear the title of deacon. He succeeded to the residence of his grandfather, Deacon George King, in Scituate, where he resided. He mar- ried, in 1758, Sarah Jacobs, and they had children : Sarah, John, Hannah, George, Jo- seph and Charles.

(V.) Joseph, third son of Deacon John (4) and Sarah (Jacobs) James, married Mary Robinson, daughter of Robert and Lydia ( Heath) Robinson, and resided in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

(VI) Samuel, son of Joseph and Mary (Robinson) James, was born August 29, 1810, in Roxbury, and married Catherine A. B. Shedd.

(VII) Eliza A., daughter of Samuel and Catherine A. B. (Shedd) James, was born February 22, 1849, and married, December 17, 1874. Roland O. Lamb, of Boston. (See Lamb, VIII.)

(The Learned Line.

It has been conjectured by some authorities that this is a variation of the name Leonard, which is a very common one in England. The name is found with a great variety of spellings in the early records of the northern country, such as: Lerned, Larnett, Larned, Learned, Leonarde, and has still some other forms in this country, such as: Learn, Learnard and Larnard. The pronunciation seems to have been from the beginning Larned. The name is not found in England previous to its ap- pearance in the parish of Bermondsey, Surrey, about the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury. Tradition says that the first known of the name was a German, residing on the river Rhine, in the district which passed from Ger- man to French control, and left there like many others, because of religious persecution. The name does not appear in England to- day and is not found in France either among the French refugees who resided in England about the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury. It is therefore of foreign origin, unless it be a corruption of the name Leonard.

(I) William Learned was born as early as 1590, and died in Woburn, Massachusetts. March 1, 1646. He was in Massachusetts as early as 1632, and possibly as early as 1630. The records of Charlestown show that he was admitted as an inhabitant there and had a planting lot in 1630. But as these records were made many years afterwards, the time is somewhat uncertain. The admission of him- self and wife to what is now the First Church of Charlestown was the first recorded, De- cember 6, 1632. In this record his wife's name is spelled Gooithe, and is presumed to mean Judith, though some authorities claim it is derived from the Saxon word Goditha. It is possible that William Learned resided for a short time in Ware, England, and it is known that he resided in the parish of Bermondsey, Surrey, from 1612 to 1625. In the latter year his third child was buried there. His eldest child, Sarah, may have been the Sarah Learned, baptized September 30, 1604, at Ware, though records made in Massachusetts indicate that she was born about 1607. Such discrepancy as this is not uncommon, and it may easily be supposable that the baptism at Ware applies to William Learned's daughter. His other children baptized at Bermondsey were: Bertha, October 29, 1612; Mary, Sep- tember 15, 1615 ; Abigail, September 30, 1618; Elizabeth, March 25, 1621; and Isaac, men- tioned below. William Learned was an inhab- itant of Charlestown in 1633-35-36, and re- ceived a share of marsh land there February II, 1637. The record of various parcels granted him makes it appear that he had more than seventy-two acres. He was made a free- man, May 14, 1634, and was subsequently selectman. February 13, 1636, he was made a member of a committee to stint the common lands, and he was on various committees to lay out lots and bounds. Being a friend of Wheelwright, he signed a remonstrance against the treatment of that worthy, and was subsequently compelled by the church to re- nounce such action. He was on a committee to settle with the school master in 1638, and on February 26, of that year, was made a mem- ber of a committee to "consider of some things tending toward a body of laws." He was among those who attended the first meeting for the organization of the town of Woburn, December 18, 1614, and was one of the sign- ers of the town orders of that time. The clerks record of the transaction spells his name Lernedt. He was one of the seven to forni the first church of Woburn, which was gath-

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ered, August 14, 1642. On November 24 of that year he gave up his lot for the use of the town, and received subsequent grants, in- cluding seventy-two acres laid out to his son Isaac, in recompense for abandoning his first lot. On April 13, 1643, he was elected con- stable and selectman, and was again chosen to the same offices, February 9, 1645, and died just before the succeeding election. The office of constable was an important one at that time, as the collection of taxes was made by that officer. His widow appears in subsequent records as Sarah or Jane. The inventory of her estate made in November, 1661, amounted to forty-one pounds, eighteen shillings and eleven pence.

(II) Isaac, only son of William and Judith Learned, was baptized February 25, 1624, at Bermondsey, and died November 27, 1657, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. He was a small boy when he came with his parents to this country, and was not yet of age when they set- tled in Woburn. He appears to have resided in that town until 1652, when he removed to Chelmsford. He sold his house and lands in Woburn, April 2, 1652. The inventory of his estate made in December, 1657, amounted to one hundred and eighty-seven pounds, eighteen shillings and six pence. His widow and her father were administrators of the estate, which was beholden to his father's widow for three pounds per year. She survived him about four years and the inventory of her estate included an item of six pounds still due her from the Widow Learned, of Chelmsford. Isaae Learn- ed married, in Woburn, August 9, 1646, Mary, daughter of Isaac and Mary ( Barker) Stearns, born January 6, 1626, in Mayland, Suffolk, England, died 1663. She married (second), June 9, 1662, John Burge, of Weymouth. Chil- dren of Isaac and Mary Learned: Mary, born August 7, 1647; Hannah, August 24, 1649; William, October 1, 1650; Sarah, October 28, 1653 ; Isaac, mentioned below, and Benoni, No- vember 29, 1657. The last three were born in Chelmsford, and the others in Woburn.

(III) Isaac (2), second son of Isaac (I) and Mary (Stearns) Learned, was born Sep- tember 16, 1655, in Chelmsford, and died Sep- tember 15, 1737, in Framingham, Massachu- setts. It is probable that he lived for a short time in Watertown, and served as a soldier from that town in Captain Davenport's com- pany, and was wounded at the Narragansett fight. He was in Captain Sill's company in 1675. He was received an inhabitant of Sher- born in April, 1679, and settled near the pond

which still bears his name before the town of Framingham was organized. On October 30, 1680, he signed a petition relating to the en- gagement of a minister for Sherborn, and was on the committee to secure the incorporation of Framingham, in 1699. The next year he was made a member of a committee by that town to consult a lawyer with reference to disputes about boundaries. He was fence viewer in 1681-82; selectman in 1692-98, 1706- II. On June 27, 1710, a tax was laid for the purchase of ammunition for the use of the town, and that of Isaac Learned was the largest, being three shillings and two pence. He married, July 23, 1679, Sarah, daughter of John and Mary (Warren) Bigelow, born Sep- tember 29, 1659, in Watertown. John Bigelow was a blacksmith of Watertown, where he served as selectman in 1665-70-71. Children : Isaac, Sarah, Abigail, Mary, William, Eben- ezer, Samuel and Hannah.

(IV) Ebenezer, third son of Isaac (2) and Sarah (Bigelow) Learned, was born August 31, 1690, in Sherborn, and died March II. 1772, in Oxford, Massachusetts, where he was one of the first settlers. His eldest child was the first white born in that town. In the first division of lands there, he drew lot No. 19, in what is now North Oxford, and the house which he built soon afterward was still in good and habitable condition in 1875. Until 1870 the old part on the west side was covered by the original shingles. In the early years of his residence there, this was surrounded by pickets for defense against Indian attacks. Like most houses of the time it has a hugh chimney with fireplaces in the centre. Here he lived and died, here his children were born, and here all were married, save those who died before marriage- able age. From 1717 to 1756 he served thirty- two years as selectman, being much of the time chairman of the board, and was moderator fif- teen years, between 1726 and 1762. In 1718 he was ensign of the local militia, was captain in 1726, major in 1744, and colonel in 1747. He was representative to the general court in 1731 and 1751. He and his wife were among the first thirty-two members of the Oxford church, and in 1748 he gave the land on which the second edifice of that body was located. His pew was valued at fifty-two pounds, six- teen shillings. In 1754, with a son-in-law, he purchased twenty-five hundred acres of land in the northern part of Oxford, mueh of which is in the present town of Charlton. He later purchased three hundred acres in the county Gore from the committee appointed to dispose

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of the same. His homestead contained about one thousand acres, and he was the largest land holder in Oxford. In 1728 he built a dam and saw mill on his estate and this mill continued in operation until 1859, when it was replaced by factories. His will provided for the main- tenance of his widow and of his negro man, Mingo, to wait upon her, and the burial of both. Colonel Learned was a large and power- ful man and gained the respect of the Indians by his physical prowess. On one occasion an Indian who sought lodging in his house was provided for, and in the night threatened to kill his host, who awoke to find the Indian bending over him. He sprang from his bed and threw the Indian outdoors. The latter was not seen again for about a year, when he again appeared and presented the colonel with a deer-skin, at the same time endowing him with the title of "Brave." On another occa- sion, while moderator of the town meeting, he dispersed a number of Indians who were boisterous and creating a disturbance, and was again subsequently rewarded by presents from this group. He married, October 14, 1714, Deborah, daughter of John and Ruth Haynes, of Sudbury, born July 30, 1690, and died Au- gust 21, 1777. She was a woman of unusual ability and was known as Madam Learned. Children : Dorothy, Ruth, Abigail, Deborah, Martha, Mary, Ebenezer, Comfort and Jere- miah.

(V) Mary, sixth daughter of Ebenezer and Deborah (Haynes) Learned, was born Febru- ary 10. 1726, in Oxford, and died there, July 12, 1767. She married, June 16, 1741, Richard (2) Moore, of that town. He was born there January 10, 1708, son of Richard (I) and Mary (Collins) Moore, and inherited the family homestead, caring for his parents in their old age. He was deputy sheriff several years after 1753, and died December 30, 1782. Children : Samuel Collins (died young), Sam- uel, Ruth, William, Nehemiah, Mary, John, Edward, Richard, Rufus and Ebenezer.

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Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, Volume IV, Part 79

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848- Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 886

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918, ed; Adams, William Frederick, 1848-
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 886