USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Holliston > Genealogical register of the inhabitants and history of the towns of Sherborn and Holliston, 1856 > Part 30
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Sherborn > Genealogical register of the inhabitants and history of the towns of Sherborn and Holliston, 1856 > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
I. Betsey, Apl. 2, 1773, m. Capt. Lewis Wheeler, of Med., '93 ; 107. 88. II. Joseph, Apl. 24, '75, m. Anna, dg. of Oliver Adams ;
89. III. Abijah, Nov. 21, '81, m. Olive, dg. of Doct. Pond, of Frank. ;
IV. Mercy, May 2, '83, m. John Stedman, r. Hol. ; v. Charlotte, Jly. 28, '85, d. Oct. 5, '95; VI. Abigl., Jly. 31, '87, m. Asa Thayer ; 2d, Zachariah Lovell, of Med., had Abijah, Asa C., and Davis Thayer (all d. yg.), and Francis Alexr. Lovell, b. June 5, 1830 ;
VII. Mary, Mar. 29, '89, r. um. w. her mother, in Med. ; VIII. Eliza, Jly. 2, '91, m. Sylvanus Adams, r. Med. ; Ix. Tryphena, June 9, '94, m. J. Perry Leland, of Sh. ;
90. x. Daniels, 1796, m. Laurana Beals, r. homestead, and has Francis and Chs., and Clarissa, w. of Wm. Leland, of S.
67. 91. Simeon, w. Elizabeth Jones, dg. of Tho. J., r. Med., I. Abigl., July 24, 1774, d. Sep. 17, '78; II. Elizabeth, Jly. 22, '76, d. Sep. 18, '78; III. Matilda, Nov. 18, '78, d. yg. ; Iv. Solomon, Mar. 8, '83, m. Olive Morse, 2d, - Rice ; 3d, - Rice, r. Brookfield ; v. Elizabeth, Nov. 12, '85, m. Lowell Cooledge ; 2d, Cpt. Samuel Sanger ; vi. Henry, Mar. 30, '88, m. Rebecca Adams, inherits the ancient homestead ; VII. Perley, June 22, '90, in. Joseph L. Richardson, Esq. ; VIII. Simeon, May 16, '99, m. Abigl. Richardson ; Ix. Orinda, d. Mar. 31, 1800; x. Irene, m. Obed. Turner ; 2d, Lewis Hawes, r. Med.
68. 95. Oliver, w. Vashti Ramsdel, r. Med., I. Priscilla, Dec. 2, 1775, m. Danl. Allen ; 2d, - Manning, of Lex. ; II. Oliver, Mar. 16, '78, m. Matilda Patridge, '97, had Oliver ; III. Chs., May 26, 'S0, m., and had Francis and others ; Iv. Ira, Dec. 27, '82, d. yg. ; v. Abigl., May 30, '86, m. Joel Brown, r. Brookfield.
27
1
210
RICHARDS, RIDER.
66. 99. Moses, junr., Landlord and Esq., m. Abigail Daniels, 1774, dg. of Jeremiah D., I. Moses, Apl. 3, 1776, m. Patty, dg. of Doct. Aaron Wight, '97 ; II. Jabez, Apl. 15, '78, pr. d. yg. ; III. John, Feb. 9, '82, m. Mary (Harding) Daniels, fell a victim to mental derangement.
101. Asaph, ? w. Hannab, r. Med., I. Chs., Mar. 22, 1777, d. Oct. 25, '78 ; II. Hannah, Mar. 1, '80; III. Silence, (also) Mar. 1, '80 ; d. Mar. 16, '80. 783. 103. Elisha, m. Sarah Ellis, 1773, had at Med., I. Elisha, Feb. 4, '79, d. Mar. 16, '79 ; II. Marcus, Oct. 30, '80, m. Prudence Hill, dg. of Simon H. ; III. Sarah, Mar. 19, '85, d. yg., a cripple ; IV. Hannah, Nov. 23, '87, m. Oliver Phillips, r. Med. ; v. Anna, Oct. 7, '89, d. yg. ; VI. Aaron, d. Nov. 3, 1803, a cripple ; VII. Silas, m. Mary Carlton, r. Med., had I. Ama, m. Rev. - White ; 2d, Addison.
88. 107. Joseph, w. Anna Adams, 1795, r. near Richardson's mills, Med.,
1. Horace, Sep. 23, 1795, m. Catherine Draper ; II. Charlotte, Feb. '97, m. Cpt. Eleazer Daniels ; III. Anna, m. Cpt. Elisha A. Jones, r.Med .; IV. Richard, an orchardist, m. Eliza. Bullard ; 2d, Elizabeth Baker ;
v. Joseph, d. um. ; VI. Adams, m. Bingham, rs. Bos.
72. 110. Ezra, w. Jemima Lovell, m. 1786, r. Med.,
113. 111. 1. Joseph Lovell, Hon., Mar. 29, 1787, r. Med., succeeded his revered grd. father, Joseph Lovell, Esq., as Town Clerk, for 20 ys., and has been much in public service ; II. Jemima, Nov. 30, '88, m. Hon. Nathan Jones, of Med. ; III. Abigl., Dec. 4, '90, at Holl., m. Aaron Wight ; Iv. Ezra, Feb. 16, '93, at Med., m. Mary Goodell, fr. Newfane, who d. 1853, r. Med. and Natick ; v. Asa, Jan. 2, '95, d. um. at Med .; vI. Sarah, Sep. 24, '96, m. Rev. Alvin Bond, D. D., of Sturb. ; VII. Eli, Mar. 20, 1800, d. 1800.
111. 113. Joseph Lovell, Hon., w. Perlee Richardson, b. June 22, '90, m. June 20, 1811, had in Med., I. Elizth., Aug. 14. '12, d. Oct. 15, '33, m. Adams Daniels ; II. Jemima, Mar. 20, '14, d. June 21, '50, m. Doct. Lyman B. Larkin, r. Wrenth. ; III. Joseph L., Jly. 11, '15, m. Sylvia Partridge, has Geo. Lovell, Joseph H., and Allen M .; IV. Stephen Baxter, Jly. 15, '18, m. Lorette How, r. Nashua, N. H. ; v. John Perlec, Mar. 18, '24, d. Jan. 12, '27.
Joseph Richards, ? w. Chloe, had at S., Willard, Feb. 15, 1800.
1. Wm. Rider, previously of Watertown and Cambridge, moved to S. after Philip's war, and on 13, (3), 1679, had a home lot of 20 acres assigned him, S. E. of Peter's Hill, where Benj. Dowse rs. In 1686 he was rated for the Indian title, and in 1715 drew land in Doug. He was selectman 1696-98, and d. Aug. 27, 1724. He. m. Hanb. Lovet, Aug. 11, 1674, who d. Nov. 23, 1715. He had at Cambridge,
5. 2. I. Wm., Jly. 29, 1675 ; II. Hannah, Apl. 4, '78, d. yg. ; III. Hannah, May 28, '80, m. Wm. Johnson, of S., 1699 ; Iv. Daniel, pr. m. Elizabeth Adams, May 16, 1711, 9. 4. v. Eleazer, Jan. 22, 1687; VI. Esther, pr.
2. 5. Wm., jun., m. Deborah Morse, Nov. 27, 1701, dg. of Joseph M., of Medfd., by w. Priscilla Colburne, s. in S., and became one of her most distinguished
211
ROCKWOOD.
and useful citizens. He served the town 19 years as selectman, represented her in the Gen. Court, and was 13 years Town Clerk. His chirography for neatness and plainness was not surpassed in the Colony. He acted as surveyor and draftsman in this and bordering townships, and particularly in Natick, to which town he removed ab. 1734, and there served as T. Clerk.
16. 6. I. Theodore, Oct. 15, 1702 ; II. Mary, Aug. 13, 1706, m. Asa Morse, and s. in N. ; III. Deborah, June 22, '10, m. Richard Sanger, jun.
19. 7. IV. Wm. Oet. 24, '15 ; v. John, Jan. 15, '18-19.
4. 9. Eleazer, m. Hannah (Badcock) Learned, Sept. 22, 1713, and had at H., I. Eleazer, Oct. 21, 1714.
25. 11. II. Gideon, Oct. 9, '21, m. Lucy Smith, of Hopk., '44; III. Ebenezer, Dec. 14, -; Iv. Jonas, Dec. 27, '25 ; v. Preservet, Mar. 16, '28; 15. VI. John, Aug. 12, '29; VII. Hannah, Jly. 18, '31, d. '44.
6. 16. Theodore, m. Sarah Bacon, of Needh., 1726; I. Sarah, Feb. 1, '26-7.
28. 17. II. Joseph, May 19, '29, d. Dec. 3, 1819; III. Mary, Dec. 23, '31, m. Asa Daniels, of HI., '58 ; Iv. Theodore, '33-4, d. '45; v. Deborah, '36.
7. 19. Wm. m. Elizabeth Hill, of S., Apl. 10, 1746, and had at S., I. Aaron, Oct. 30, 1748, m. Feb. 14, '71, Hannah Goulding, and had at S., I. Mary, Aug. 30, '71 ; II. Moses, Aug. 9, '73; III. Martin, Mar. 8, '76.
II. Wni., Mar. 9, '50, m. Malady Cozzens, Feb. 24, '74, had Elizabeth, Mar. 7, '75, at Nat.
III. Peter, Nov. 20, '51; IV. Moses, Jan. 29, '53, m. Mary Twitchell.
11. 25. Gideon, m. Lucy Smith, 1744, and had at S., I. Hannah ; II. Elizabeth, Jan. 3, '45-6; III. Jonas, Mar. 2, '48-9; IV. Gideon, Sept. 28, '51.
17. 28. Joseph, m. Sarah Morse, dg. of Heury, of Med., by w. Sarah Kibby, was a clockmaker, and r. on the Milford road, in the W. of II. ; had I. Hannab, Aug. 8, 1751, m. Ephraim Chapin, of Milford.
30. 29. II. Asa, Sept. 17, '55, d. June 30, 1825; III. Theodore, Jan. 12, '59, d. Mar. 3, '59 ; Iv. Molly, June 8, '65, d. ab. '86, um.
29. 30. Asa, inherited the homestead in H., m. Margaret Johnson, Nov. 4, '76, d. May 11, 1805; 2d, Dinalı Wheeler, Oct., 1805, d. Jan., 1823; 3d, Sabrina Osgood, June 2, '23, and had I. Olive, Aug. 14, 1777, in. Amariah Daniels; II. John, Dec. 27, '78, d. '79 ; III. Betsey, June 27, '80, m. Japhet Daniels ; IV. James, Apl. 22, '82, m. Lucy Thayer, of Milfd. ; v. Jolm, Oct. 16, '84, m. Lucy Corbett, of HI. ; VI. Polly, Jan. 3, '87, m. Solomon Wright, of Bel.
Rockwood .* The names Rockwood and Rocket were formerly identical, and the latter a corruption of the former. For in the mother country the Rockwoods are an ancient and somewhat numerous race, while the Rockets are almost unknown, there being lately only one in London, and he unacquainted with the existence of the name out of the circle of his relatives in the interior of the kingdom. The name of Rockwood was no doubt local, derived from Rocky Woods, the place of the exploits, or of the abode of the first who assumed it; and if " there is not an ancient town,
* Tradition says that a page by the name of Rockwood, at the court of Henry VIII, in a game of chess with his king, won a manor belonging to one of the monasteries distributed in his reign ; and that, in commemoration of the victory, received from the king for his arms 6 chessrooks. Tradition, like other great liars, sometimes speaks the truth, and perhaps in this instance does so. The above estate is said to be still occupied by Rockwoods who are of the gentry.
.
212
ROCKWOOD.
village or hamlet in England or Normandy, that did not give name to some family in England ; " if John de Hill and James of under the Hill ; if Peter of the sandy Ford, and John of the lay [Plain] Land ; if Nicholas of the woods, and Joseph of under the Woods derived their names from land marks, no marvel if, while the English were assuming lower or surnames, some Nicholas, Richard or John should have taken his from the Rocky Woods, once so common in the W. of England ; and when the customs of another age and country are considered, none need fear for the rank or dignity of their ancestor in conceding that his name came out of the woods. In this country it was first recorded Rocket, and this orthography was generally pre- served until 1728, when Dea. Nathaniel R., of Wrentham, and brothers, restored the original spelling of Rockwood. This they did 19 years before the death of their revered unele Benjamin, who was born in 1651, and whose grandfather and perhaps father were both from England, and who must have known the true orthography of the name, and might have influenced his nephews to the contrary if they were attempting an innovation. Besides, I am inclined to believe that he, rather than his nephew, Benj., who was then jun., was the " Benj. Rockwood " who subscribed a petition to the General Court in 1737, on account of " services and sufferings in the late Indian wars ; " and if so, then he joined with his nephews, or preceded them in restoring the true spelling. But this was not the first resort to the original orthog- raphy. The corruption of the name seems to have been resisted far earlier, and from the first, at the very place where they first settled : for I have recently found it spelt " Rockwood " upon a very ancient record at Braintree, from whence the entire race had removed in 1664, so that I am satisfied that in the further pursuit of their genealogy, the Rockwoods of New England must explore the history of their Puri- tan sire, not among the Rockets, but the Rockwoods of England, and in Dorset. and Suffolk Co's, rather than in other parts of the kingdom .*
Of the number of Rockets who carly arrived in New England, and of their pre- vious history, nothing reliable can be gathered from tradition. The names of only two have been preserved, only one of whom left issue ; and from whom all the Rockwoods of New England origin have sprung. Of their history prior to their arrival nothing is yet ascertained, and almost nothing but their names occurs on our records. Yet if we regard them as following the uniform custom of their times, of naming the first son after the paternal grandfather, and the second after the father, or the reverse, then one of them has told us that their father was Nicholas Rock- wood. Other circumstances add more. The high and holy character of the com- munity which attracted them, and in which they first appear ; the striet morality exacted of all who entered or tarried in it, and the silence of all town, church and colonial records as to anything amiss, indicate that in conduct they were moral, and in heart, pious ; while their early arrival excuses them from the sinister motives that drew later emigrants, and proves them to have been men of enterprise and moral courage. Their names were,
1. John Rocket,1 who was enrolled as a planter in Dorchester, in 1636, indi-
* Further examination and reflection convince me that the name was never spelled Rocket by the family. It was so pronounced, as it still is, and so written by others, and answered to by the Rockwoods. But on no petition, deed, will, or certificate, ancient or modern, signed by either of them, have I ever found it subscribed otherwise than Rockwood ; and both Nicholas2 and John,2 as if mindful of the importance of the true orthography, had their marriages in 1656 and 1662 recorded by the name of Rockwood. Such precaution in their day and circumstances was anomalous and significant Other families yielded to innovations, adopted without resist- ance the misspelling of clerks, and seldom, if ever, recovered the original orthography of their names when thus publicly corrupted. But the Rockwoods (some, if not all, of the 4 first gen- erations) withstood the corruption, [universal on Town Records until 1728,] continued to sub- scribe their names Rockwood; and they seem finally to have effected the correction everywhere, though at different and wide intervals. None of the race are known to retain the more con- venient spelling of Rocket, which further indicates that such was never the name. A rule, however, of antiquarians requires a literal transcript from records.
-
213
ROCKWOOD.
cating that he had passed a previous probation of at least one year. Nothing more is recorded of him. He either returned to England with some others from D. about this time, or more probably d. without issue.
2. Richard "Rocket,1" alias " Rockwood," probably the brother of John, was also a planter in Dorchester, in 1636. Ile and his wife the same year sold a house and 20 acres of land at Weymouth, formerly "Zachary Bicknell's, (" after Bicknell's death,") which belonged to their child ; [pr. Nicholas]; and the General Court, Mar. 9, 1636-7, bound the son when of age, either to ratify the sale or " allow all such costs as the Court shall think meete."
Richard1 m. two, and perhaps three wives. His first is supposed to have been the daughter of Zachary Bicknell, to whom he must have been m. as early as 1627, three years prior to the settlement of Dorchester. This leads to the presumption that he had previously lived at Weymouth, where the marriage had taken place, or more probably at Weymouth in Dorsetshire, from whence the early planters of our Wey- mouth came ; and that he and his brother John were among the number who re- moved from W. to D. after the arrival of their former neighbors, and perhaps kins- men from Dorchester, 8 ms. from Weymouth in Dorsetshire. But however this might have been, his carliest connections and company point us to one of these towns or their vicinity, as his natal place ; so that the Rockwoods of New England need not despair of further knowledge of their Puritan sire, and of their ancestors of remote antiquity.
Richard m. Agnes -, who d. at Braintree, 9 (5), 1643; and 2d, Ann -, who d. 1664. He d. 1660, intestate, and Dec. 15, 1660, his wid., Ann " Rock- wood " and E. Kingsbury made oath to an " Inventory of the estate of Richard Rockwood." His wid., "Ann Rockwood" d. four years after, and administration on her estate was granted John Taylor, Apl. 28, 1664, [Suff. Prob. ] He had,
5. 3. I. Nicholas,2 b. as early as 1628, m. Jane -; 2d, Margaret Holbrook ;
12. 4. II. Jobn,2 1, (10), 1641, after the recognition of his brother's right to land, formerly Bicknell's ;
III .? Lydia, who pr. m. Edward Adams, of Medfield, and pr. other daus. who s. in Medfield and Mendon.
3. 5. Nicholas Rocket,2 first located at Braintree. In 1650, the enterprise of settling the new town of Medfield, drew him and the sons of Henry Adans1 senr., from B. ; and he became one of the first settlers and proprietors of that town. He drew lots from time to time, most of which, by a division of the township in 1713, fell into Medway. In 1663, a company of 15 of his former townsmen, with others from Weym., having undertaken the settlement of Mendon, he and the Adamses at Medfield proposed to join them ; and he actually presented his request for acceptance as a proprietor ; but the Adamses finally declined, and his proposal seems not to have been acted upon, he having most likely withdrawn it. He finally settled, it is presumed, about one quarter m. S. W. of Richardson's mills, in the N. E. part of Medway, and was with most of his family in the stone house, at Bogistow Pond, ir 1676, when Philip and his warriors met with their "notorious repulse." He became a member of the chh. in Medfield, and took the freeman's oath, May 23, 1666. He m. 1st, Jane, pr. Adams ? who d. Dec. 15, 1654; 2d, Margaret Holbrook, Jly. 16, 1656, who d. Apl. 23, 1670 ; and 3d, Silence -- , who d. Nov. 9, 1677. He d. Jan. 26, 1680.
His estate was inventoried 26, (11), 1680, and appraised by Edward Adams and John Harding, the husband of Elizabeth Adams. Administration was granted Mar. 18, 1680, to his son, Josiah, and his estate harmoniously settled. He owned lots at Bear Hills, in Medfield, in and adjacent to Broad Meadows,
·
214
ROCKWOOD.
on Long Plain, and 85 acres on the New Grant, now W. Med. ; and he seems to have been a husbandman in common circumstances, and a worthy and re- spected citizen. He had,
I. Samuel,3 Dea., b. pr. at Braintree, m. Hannah Ellis, Dec. 15, 1671 ;
II. Benj.,3 Sep. 8, 1651, at Medfd., d. Dec. 5, 1747, at Wrenth., " in his 97th year."
20. S. III. Josiah,3 a soldier in Philips' war, m. Mary Twitchell, May 9, 1677; IV. Elizabeth,3 b. Aprl. 3, 1657, m. John Partridge, jun., of M., '79 ;
21. 9. v. Joseph,3 b., pr. ab. 1659, m. Hanh. Partridge, Apl. 2, '79, and d. at Swansey, July 21, 1693 ; supposed to have been a Baptist ;
22. 10. vi. John,3 Rev., b. Feb. 12, 1662, d. Dec. 16, 1746, at Medway ; 29. 11. VII. Nathaniel,3 Dea., Feb. 23, 1665, d. Sep. 24, 1721, at Wrenth ;
VIII. Isaac,3 Jly. 22, 1677, d. Oct. 11, 1677, at Medfield. On the death of
their father, John3 and Nathl." chose Edwd. Adams their guardian. Nicho- las,2 the father, seems to have named no child after himself, and what is very remark- able in that age of filial respect, none of his sons named any after him. But this may be accounted for without any distrust of his character, or of the respect of his sons. Perhaps he had adopted the principle of selecting Scriptural names according to his admiration of Scriptural characters, which excluded his own and that of his father ; or, he wore the name of some oppressor whom all wished to forget; or, to call a child after a tutelar saint, might to them have savored of Romanism; or, to give a name identical in use with that of the god of the North sea, might have seemed idolatry ; or, perhaps, the heralded Nicholas Rockwood, of Kirby, in Suffolk Co., (who might have been his grandfather, ) or some other Nicholas R. had denied him an expected bequest, or proudly disinherited his Puritan father, or supplanted him in his birthright, which he had not funds to recover, and which, if it existed, may per- chance on the extinction of the inheriting line, or by an earlier revival of the claim, yet be the inheritance of some of his posterity in this country .* Still, this dropping out of a patriarchal name is an anomaly not explained, but suggestive.
4. 12. "John Rockwood,?" m. 15, (7), 1662, Johanna Ford, at Braintree. Fifteen of his townsmen and ten others from Weymouth, were that year accepted to
be settled at Mendon, before the 7th mo. 1663, and he seems to have joined them on their setting out, or as soon as the condition of his family admitted. He no doubt expected his brother Nicholas at Medfield to accompany him, who had made application to the company, and whose greater age and acquaintance with the country and people, would have rendered him peculiarly helpful. But he encountered the disappointment, and remained with the settlement at Mendon, until the destruction of that town, at the beginning of Indian hostilities, in 1675. To him, Philip's war was disastrous. Twice must he and his have fled for their lives, as appears from a petition of his, on file at Boston, and dated at Milton, 1678, praying the General Court to abate a tax of 19s., on the ground that the Indians had burnt his house, barn, corn and bedding, at Mendon, and all that he had saved afterwards at Medfield, so that he had been forced to Milton to work to support a wife and 6 children. In 1678 -- 9, he purchased of James Albee, at Mendon, a dwelling lot of 4 acres, with 20 acres more adjacent, and bounded E. by Muddy Brook, with a ten rod highway crossing it. This shows that his 2d dwelling place in Mendon, was on the flat, a short distance S. E. of the centre of the present village. IIe had,
* Claims in Europe 500 years old, have been legally established; but they perish in reference to those who will not recover and keep their genealogy. The claim of an American to an entail- ment pronounced sure 60 years ago, by legal authority upon the ground, was not prosecuted for want of funds to commence. The claimant returned, and d., leaving no records of the births of his children, or the location of his claim ; and neither his grandchildren nor great-grandchildren are yet recorded. Thousands who would censure this, may be equally faulty in reference to claims that may arise or be discovered.
215
ROCKWOOD.
I. John,3 18, (6), 1663, at Braintree, and pr. d. unm. ; II. ? Richard,3 ? pr. for whom Joseph named a son.
207. 14. III. Joseph,3 b., pr. at Mendon, inherited his father John's place, at M. ; IV. ? Johanna,3? pr., and who seems to have been commemorated in 1693; v. ? Priscilla,3 pr., who m. Robert Corbett, Feb. 23, 1682.
16. VI. Trial,3 Feb. 28, 1677, at Medfield, and a trial he must have been, if we read 1676-7 ; for his existence commenced while his parents were in destitu- tion and distress from Philips' war. He pr. d. yg. ; VII. Deliverance,3 (b. pr. after succor had arrived), d. at Medfield, Oct. 31, 1678, a few months be- fore the father's return to Mendon.
6. 17. Samuel Rocket,3 Dea., m. Dec. 15, 1671, Hanh. Ellis, b. Apl. 9, 1651, dg. of John E. of Ded. and Medfield, and was with her admitted to full com- munion in the chh. at M., 1697. She d. May 7, 1717. He m. 2d, Sarah -, who survived him at his death, Dec. 17, 1728. He took the freeman's oath, Oct. 11, 1682 ; inherited 85 acres in W. Med., on which have since r. Dr. Wight and N. Twiss, which had been assigned to his father Nicholas in 1659, and which was at his own death assigned to his dg. Hanh., w. of John Hill, of Sherborn. Dea. Samuel had I. Hanh.,4 Oct. 1, 1673, d. Feb. 7, 1729-30, was recd. to the chb. Nov. 21, '97 ; II. Susanna,4 Oct. 31, '75; III. Samuel,4 Apl. 11, '77, d. Apl. 25, '84 ; Iv. Abigail,4 May 17, '79, m. Nov. 30, '96, Joshua Wight, of M. ; v. Eleazer,4 Apl. 18, '81, d. May 16, '93 ; vI. Patience,4 May 14, '82, d. Feb. 4, '82-3; VII. Joseph,4 Sept. 8, '86, pr. d. yg. ; VIII. Deliverance,4 Mar. 10, '86, d. Jan. 16, '92.
7. 19. Benj. Rocket,3 m. Judith -, and early settled in Wrentham, where he soon rendered a service that must have secured him during his long life the respect and gratitude of the community. "In the beginning of Philip's war, when searching in the wilderness for a stray horse, he discovered, about sun- set, a trail of 42 Indians ; and suspecting that they intended to attack the town the next morning after the men had dispersed to their work, he followed them until they halted for the night. He then returned to the settlement and reported the discovery ; whereupon Capt. Jobn Ware, with a company of 13 men, after securing their women and children in the garrison, went out and attacked them in the morning as soon as it was light, while they were preparing to decamp, killing from 20 to 24 of their number. The rest fled, some leaping down a precipitious rock from 10 to 20 feet high ; and others attempting to conceal themselves in Mill Brook. One of the fugitives was brought down at the distance of 80 rods, by a bullet from Woodcock's famous gun, called the Buccaneer .* This occurred at a place now called Indian Rock, about 2 m. S. E. of Franklin Depot. Benj. had at W.
I. Bethia,4 Jly. 4, 1679, at Medfield ; II. Judith,4 Mar. 17, 1680, at Wrenth. ; III. Mary,4 Oct. 2, '83, d. Apl. 12, 1763, m. Samuel Fisher, Dec. 16, 1707; Iv. Patience,4 20 (3), '86; v. Hezekiah,4 Aug. 26, '88, d. '89.
8. 20. Josiah Rocket,3 was a soldier in Philip's war. He m. Mary Twitchell, May 9, 1677, who d. Sep. 15, 1699. He m. 2d, Sarah Wheelock, Nov. 10, 1703, grd. dg. of Rev. Ralph W., of Medfield, and rm. with his family to Mendon. Land was assigned him by the proprietors of Mend. 1720-1, on N. side of Bear Hill. He had, I. Israel,4 Feb. 25, 1677-8, who covenanted Aug. 22, '97, and d. June 25, 1704, at Medfd. ; II. Mary,4 Aug. 3, '81, at Medfd. ; III. Bethia,4 Feb. 21, '83, m. Daniel Lawrence, Nov. 19, 1711 ;
* Daggett's History of Attleboro'.
216
ROCKWOOD.
IV. Mehetabel,4 Oct. 14, '86, m. Dr. John Corbet, of Bell, and had, I. Dr. John C.,5 jun., 1704, who d. at B. 1794; and II. " chia, who In. Dr. Sam. L. Scammell, of Millfd., and had Dr. John S., who in- herited and settled on his grd. father, Dr. Corbett's place in N. Bell, now HI. Barbour's.
v. Hanh.,4 Aug. 24, '91 ; VI. Johanna,4 Dec. 28, '93.
9. 21. Joseph Rocket,8 m. Hannah Partridge, Apl. 2, 1679, who d. Mar. 8, 1680. He removed to Swansey, where he or another of the same name d. Jly. 21, 1693. He had at Medfield, I. Hannah,4 Feb. 22, 1679 -- 80 ; II. Mary,4 (by a 2d w.), d. at Swansey, Dec. 14, 1693.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.