USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. IV > Part 30
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(IV) Thomas Baker. son of John Baker (3), born about 1715, settled in Westboro with his brother Edward ( ?), who seems to have been older. He married Azubah died March 25, 1742, at Shrewsbury, and their children were: I. Mary, born in Westbero, May 13, 1738, married George Earle, of Leicester April 26. 1757. 2. Catherine, baptized in Shrewsbury, May 21, 1740, married Elisha Keyes, July 19, 1757. Thomas Baker married (second) Eunice -, and they had: 3. Daniel, born 1751, died December 12, 1821, married Deborah Rand, 1774. 4. Asa, born Shrewsbury, March 25, 1754. 5. Reuben. baptized March 14, 1756.
(\') Reuben Baker, son of Thomas Baker (4), born Shrewsbury, March, 1756, baptized March 14. 1756. He was a soldier in the revolution in Captain Joh Cushing's company, Col. Jonathan Ward's regi- ment, and fought at the battle of Bunker Hill, where he was wounded in the leg. He married Miriam Smith, October 15, 1778: second, Charlotte, daughter of Gideon Howe, January 4, ITSI ; third, Betsey Woodbury, June 16, 1789, in Harvard. He bought the place in Lunenburg where W. H. Baker, his great-grandson, now lives, in 1806. Children of Reuben and Charlotte Baker: 1. Emma, born June 27, 1781, married Elijah Hapgood, 1802. 2. Luke, born June 27. 1784. 3. Charlotte How, born Decem- ber 2, 1786. Children of Reuben and Betsey (Wood- bury) Baker: 4. Miriam, born February 3. 1791. 5. Jesse. born January 21, 1794. 6. Edith. born April 16, 1798.
(VI) Jesse Baker, son of Reuben Baker (5). born in Shrewsbury. January 21, 1794, died in Lunenburg, 1838. He was a farmer, and owned a saw mill and grist mill on Baker's Brook. He mar- ried Sophia Wetherbee. Five generations of the Wetherbee family have lived on the same farm in Lunenburg. John Wetherbee, the immigrant, inar- ried Lydia Moore. Their son Ephraim married Elizabeth Hall. Captain Ephraim was prominent in organizing the town, and his son Paul Wetherbee was one of the pioneers in 1745. Paul Wetherbee married Hannah, daughter of Daniel and Eleanor (Boynton) Pierce, granddaughter of Jolin Pierce.
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great-granddaughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Pierce, great-great-granddaughter of Anthony and Sarah Pierce. Anthony was the son of the immigrant, John Pierce. David, son of Paul and Hannah ( Pierce) Wetherbee, was a soldier in the revolution at the siege of Boston. In 1770 the first flour mill in the county was built by Ephraim Wetherbee, his brother, and the business was conducted there for a hundred years. David Wetherbee married Eunice, daughter. of Josiah and Mary (Williams) King- man; granddaughter of John and Desire (Harris) Kingman; great-granddaughter of John and Eliza- beth Kingman; great-great-granddaughter of Henry and Joanna Kingman. Desire Harris was the daugh- ter of Isaac and Mercy (Latham) Harris, and grand- daughter of Arthur and Martha Harris. Mercy Latham was daughter of Robert and Susanna (Winslow) Latham. Susanna Winslow was daugh- ter of John and Mary (Chilton) Winslow. Mary Chilton was the daughter of James Chilton, both of whom came over in the "Mayflower." Mary Chilton is buried in King's Chapel, Boston. Jolin Winslow was the father of Gov. Edward Winslow.
Mary Kingman Williams, who married Josiah Kingman, was the daughter of John and Mary (Howard) Williams, granddaughter of Benjamin and Rebecca ( Macy) Williams; great-granddaughter of Richard and Frances (Dighton) Williams; great- great-granddaughter of Sir Henry Williams, in England, the son of Sir Richard Williams. Rebecca Macy, who married Richard Williams, was daughter of George Macy. Martha Howard, who married Josiah Williams, was daughter of Ephraim and Mary (Keith) Howard, granddaughter of John and Martha (Haywood ) Howard, who was the daughter of Thomas Haywood and wife Susanna. Mary Keith, who married Ephraim Howard, was the daughter of Rev. James Keith and wife, Susanna Edson, daughter of Samuel and Susan Edson.
The children of Jesse and Sophia (Wetherbee) Baker were: I. Charles, died before his father. 2. William, born September 2, 1821, died September 18, 1896, at Lunenburg. 3. Martha A., married Charles F. Rockwood, who was register of deeds at Fitchburg. 4. Mary L., died about 1865, married F. A. Whitney, of Leominster.
(VII) William Baker, son of Jesse Baker (6), born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, September 2, 1821, died there September 18, 1896. He took charge of the farm and mill after his father's death in 1838. In 1862 he was appointed assistant assessor of internal revenue under Assessor Amasa Nor- cross, of Fitchburg, and had to devote most of his time to that office until 1872, when the system was abolished. He was then made deputy collector of internal revenue under B. F. Wallis. When this office was abolished in 1878 he declined the offer of a similar office in Worcester, as he preferred not to remove to that city. In 1879 he purchased the fire insurance agency of Silas Holeman, and devoted his attention to the insurance business. He was one of the original trustees of the Worcester North Sav- ings Institution, incorporated 1868, was a member of the board until his death, and for many years one of the investment committee. He was one of the oldest directors of the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and after the death of Lewis H. Bradford, in 1887, was the vice-president and treasurer for a year, when he found the duties too arduous and resigned. lle was selectman and over- seer of the poor for several years, and served in
other public capacities in Lunenburg, where he kept his residence while doing business in the adjoining city of Fitchburg. He represented his district in the legislature in 1873. At the time of his death, September, 1896, Hon. Amasa Norcross said: "He was a valuable man for Lunenburg and for this community. He was faithful and trustworthy. My relations have been of a very agreeable and con- fidential character for more than forty years." He married, November 11, 1847, Olive Rebecca Boutwell, sister of Governor George S. Boutwell who recently died, and daughter of Sewell Boutwell. The house to which he took his bride, built in 1847, stands on the old Wetherbee homestead near the old house in which he was born. His wife was descended from the immigrant James Boutwell and his wife Alice. Their son John Boutwell married Hannah, daughter of George and Barbara Davis. John, son of the last named John Boutwell, married Sarah -, and had a son Jonathan. Jonathan Boutwell married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Roberts) Foster. The latter was the daughter of Abraham and Sarah Roberts. Jonathan, son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Foster) Boutwell, married Abigail, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Roberts) Eames, granddaughter of Samuel and Mary Eames ; great-granddaughter of Robert and Elizabeth Eames. Sewell Boutwell, father of Mrs. William Baker, was a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Rebecca, daughter of Jacob Marshall, a descendant of John Marshall, who married Mary, daughter of John and Mary Burrage; granddaughter of Timothy and Frances (Day) Burrage, great-granddaughter of Richard, son of Robert and Rose Burrage. John Marshall, son of John and Mary (Burrage) Mar- shall, married Eunice, daughter of John and Mary Rogers; granddaughter of John and Priscilla (Dawes) Rogers; great-granddaughter of John and Mary ( Shed) Rogers. Mary Shed was daughter of Daniel and Mary Shed. Isaac, son of John and Eunice (Rogers) Marshall, married Rebecca, daugli- ter of Samuel and Deborah Hill; granddaughter of Ralph and Martha (Toothaker) Hill; great-grand- daughter of Ralph and Margaret Hill. Martha Toothaker was daughter of Roger and Margaret Toothaker. Jacob, son of Isaac Marshall and his wife Rebecca Hill, married Mary, daughter of Sam- uel and Hannah (Walker) Richardson ; granddaugh- ter of Nathaniel and Mary ( Peacock) Richardson ; great-granddaughter of Thomas and Mary (Stimp- son) Richardson ; great-great-granddaughter of Thomas and Mary Richardson. Mary Stimpson above mentioned was the daughter of Andrew and Jane Stimpson. Hannah Walker, who married Samuel Richardson, above mentioned, was daugh- ter of Jacob and Hannah Walker; granddaughter of Joseph and Sarah (Wyman) Walker; great- granddaughter of Samuel Walker; great-great- granddaughter of Richard Walker. Sarah Wyman was daughter of Jolin and Sarah (Nutt) Wyman, granddaughter of Miles and Sybil Nutt of Water- town and Woburn, Massachusetts. Rebecca, daugh- ter of Jacob Marshall last mentioned, married Sewell Boutwell as stated above.
The children of William and Olive Rebecca (Boutwell) Baker were: I. William H., born March 22, 1849. 2. Charles F., born December 4, 1850. 3. Edith Boutwell, born November 19, 1860; graduate of Fitchburg high school and Framingham Normal School; now senior teacher at Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, Massachusetts.
L' LIC
Charles@ Baker.
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(VIII) William Herbert Baker, son of William Baker (7), was born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, March 22, 1849. He spent his youth in his native town, where he attended the public schools, went to Leicester Academy for two years, and was grad- uated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy in 1869. He practiced his profession of civil engineering for twenty-five years, chiefly on western railroads. He was engaged in the location of the Northern Pacific in Montana from 1870 to IS76, and then for a time worked on government surveys. He was assistant and division engineer of the Atchi- son. Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company for about seven years, chief construction engineer of the Gulf, Beaumont and Kansas City and Pan- American Railroads of Texas; and had charge of work in Kansas, Mexico, New Mexico, Colorado, as well as Texas and Montana. He returned to Fitchburg in 1895 and entered the fire insurance busi- ness with his father under the firm name of William Baker & Son, and since his father's death he has continued the business under the same firm name. He is a Free Mason, a member of Hiram Lodge, of New Mexico, and a member of the Odd Fellows order, hut unaffiliated. He was formerly a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is a Republican in politics. He resides on the old homestead in Lunenburg. He is unmarried.
( VIHI) Charles Francis Baker, son of William Baker (7), was born at Lunenburg. December 4, 1850. He attended the district school in Lunenburg where his father lived. In 1864 he entered the Fitchburg high school and was graduated 1868, and was graduated from Harvard College 1872. He taught for two years in the Fitchburg high school, and then entered the law office of Amasa Norcross. He was admitted to the bar in IS75. and has since been engaged in the practice of his profession in
Fitchburg. He was admitted to partnership in Mr. Norcross's firm. the partners being Amasa Norcross, Harris C. Hartwell and Mr. Baker, under the name of Norcross. Hartwell & Baker. He served as assistant district attorney for the Middle District of Massachusetts, under Francis T. Black- mer for several years. After the death of Mr. Hart- well. Herbert Parker, subsequently attorney general of the commonwealth, was for two years from Jan- tary 1, 1892, a member of the firm, the name of the firm being Norcross. Baker & Parker. From 1894 until the death of Mr. Norcross the firm name was Norcross & Baker. Mr. Baker took into the firm Walter Perley Hall, August 1, 1898, and since then the firm has consisted of Mr. Baker and Mr. Hall under the firm name of Baker & Hall. This law firm has had a high standing under all conditions and has had an honorable history. Mr. Baker has engaged throughout in the general practice of law. He was for several years one of the bar examiners of Worcester county with Herbert Parker and Rock- wood Hoar. As a lawyer and as citizen Mr. Baker commands the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens to an exceptional degree. He was a director of the the Rollstone National Bank of Fitchburg, and is now a director of the Fitchburg Safe De- posit and Trust Company; of the Fitchburg & Leominster Street Railway Company; and of the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He is a trustee of the Worcester North Savings Institu- tion. He is a Republican in politics, but has avoided public office. He was an alderman of Fitchburg in 1893. He is a member of the Park Club ; a promi-
nent Mason. belonging to Aurora Lodge, Thomas Chapter, and Jerusalem Commandery, and is a mem- ber of the Unitarian Church. Mr. Baker has been a resident of Fitchburg since 1872. He married, April 24, 1879, Henrietta Woods, of Winchester, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Jonas and Nancy ( Hill) Woods. The only child of Charles Francis and Henrietta (Woods) Baker is Emerson Woods, born in Fitchburg, February 28, 1882; grad- uate at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, 1900; Harvard University, 1904; and is in Harvard Law School, class of 1907.
EDWIN AARON WELLS, one of the well known and influential residents of Rochdale, Worcester county, Massachusetts, and one of the most successful farmers in that section of the state of Massachusetts, is a representative in the eighth generation of one of the earliest colonial families. (I) Thomas Wells, the emigrant ancestor of the Wells family in this country, was born in England in 1605. He sailed for New England in 1635, on the sailing vessel, the "Susan and Ellen," settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where all his children were born, and immediately became a proprietor. He received other grants of land in 1651, and was admitted a freeman May 17, 1637. Like all the other settlers of that time and place he became a farmer, and seems to have been very successful. He died October 26, 1666, and his will was proved Novem- ber 15, of the same year. The greater number of those bearing the name of Wells in this country are descended from him. He married Abigail Warner, died July 22, 1671, daughter of John Warner, of Ipswich. Her will was proved Septem- ber 26, 1671, and in it she mentions George Greeley, who had lived with her son Nathaniel since his birth, and Mary Greeley, a maid in the family of her son Nathaniel. The children of Thomas and Abigail (Warner) Wells were: I. Nathaniel, see forward. 2. John. settled in Maine, married Sarah Littlefield, and had numerous descendants. 3. Thomas, born January 1, 1646 or 1647, was a minister and settled in Amesbury, Massachusetts. He re- ceived the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Harvard College in 1703, the only honorary degree granted in that year. He married Lydia Warner. daughter of William Warner. 4. Sarah, married John Massey, of Salem, Massachusetts. 5. Abigail, married, June 19, 1661, Nathaniel Treadwell, and died June 16, 1677. 6. Elizabeth, married, June 9, 1669, John Burnham. 7. Hannah. 8. Lydia, mar- ried Rogers.
(II) Nathaniel Wells, eldest child of Thomas (1) and Abigail (Warner) Wells, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts. about 1640. He was a farmer all his life in the place of his birth, and died December 15, 1675. He married, October 29, 1661, Lydia Thurley (the name was variously spelled Thorla, Thorlo, Thurlow, and Thurley), born April I, 1640, daughter of Richard and Jane Thurley, and granddaughter of Francis Thurley, of Newbury- port, Massachusetts. Richard Thurley was a planter at Rowley, Massachusetts, and later removed to Newbury. where he built a bridge at his own cost across the Newbury river. The general court fixed a rate of toll for animals on May 3. 1654. He had two sons-Thomas and Francis. The children of Nathaniel and Lydia (Thurley) Wells were: I. Abigail, born August 17, 1662, married Edmund Potter. 2. Martha, born January 13, 1664, died
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February 12. of the same year. 3. Sarah, born March IO, 1665, married John Day, published January 27, 1691. 4. Nathaniel, see forward. 5. Thomas, born June 19, 1673, married Elizabeth 6. Eliza- beth. married George Hart, published May 5, 1698. 7. Lydia, married Richard Kimball.
(11]) Nathaniel Wells, fourth child and eldest son of Nathaniel (2) and Lydia (Thurley ) Wells, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, about the year 1670. His entire life was spent in the town of his birth, where he married. about 1690, Mary -, who died August 19, 1721. Their children were: I. Abigail, born April 12, 1693, married, 1715, John Yell. 2. Mary, born May 7, 1697, married, 1717, Thomas Bennett. 3. Nathaniel, see forward. 4. Moses, born March 16, 1701, married, November 20. 1724, Eunice Kinsman. 5. Sarah, born January 23, 1703 or 1704. married, 1721 or 1722, Nathaniel Kimball, of Wenham, Massachusetts. 6. Lydia, mar- ried Jacob Smith. 7. Daniel, born May 4, 1709, mar- ried Sarah -
(IV) Nathaniel Wells, third child and eldest son of Nathaniel (3) and Mary Wells, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, April 24. 1699. He served as an ensign in the army during the Indians wars, and died May 26, 1790. Ile married Sarah Kinsman, published July 7, 1723, and had children: 1. Sarah, born September 27, 1724, imarried, 1745. Nathaniel Lord. Jr. 2. Elizabeth, born May 10, 1726, married, 1748. Adam Smith. 3. Mary, born June 16, 1728, married. July 28, 1753. Gideon Parker. 4. Susannah, born May 3, 1730, married, January 3, 1755. Ephraim Smith, of Sudbury, Massachusetts. 5. and 6. Lydia and Lucy (twins), born August 27. 1732. Lucy died young. 7. Nathaniel. see forward. 8. Abigail, baptized April 2, 1736, married. 1759, John Kinsman. 9. Hepsibah, baptized June 11, 1740, married, 1763, Nehemiah Patch. 10. Simeon, baptized August 22, 1742, married, September 15, 1769. Martha Burn- ham. 11. Hannah, baptized August 4, 1745. 12. John. baptized May 2, 1748. was the first child baptized in the first meeting house in the South Parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts, on the first day of worship within its walls.
(V) Captain Nathaniel Wells, seventh child and eldest son of Nathaniel (4) and Sarah (Kinsman) Wells, was baptized at Ipswich, Massachusetts, May 2, 1734, died in the same town, January 24. 1810. He settled in Maine, where his descendants have resided since that time. He married, and was puh- lished February 25, 1769. Lucy Goodhue, born in 1741. died March 26, 1821. The names of all of their children have not been preserved: those that have are as follows: I. Nathaniel. see forward. 2. Sarah, married William Lakeman, Jr. 3. Susannah, married, 1796. William Seward.
(VI) Nathaniel Wells, son of Captain Nathaniel (5) and Lucy (Goodhue) Wells, was born in Ips- wich. Massachusetts, about the year 1770. He settled in Maine, and died in Cornville, Maine, where he was residing with his son John, at the age of one hundred years. He married (first), 1791. Betsey Harris, daughter of John and Rebecca (Souther) Harris, who were married April 9. 1769. John Har- ris was born September 16, 1744. and had children : I. Elizabeth (or Betsey), born March 31. 1771, mar- ried Nathaniel Wells. 2. Polly, born October 22. 1774. 3. Nathan, born March 12, 1777. 4. Sally, born July 19. 1779. 5. John, born August 1. 1781. 6. Edward, horn December 6, 1784. 7. Rebecca. born January 25. 1787. 8. Sally, born June 30. 1789.
9. Susannah, born February 8, 1792. 10. Prudence, born October 16, 1794. 11. Jemima, born April 2, 1799. 12. Nathaniel, died young. The children of Nathaniel and Betsey ( Harris) Wells were: I. Elizabeth, born May 9, 1792. 2. Nathaniel, born June 17, 1794. Mr. Wells married (second), 1795, Sarah Lakeman, and had children: 1. Daniel, born April 20, 1797. 2. John. born June 22, 1800. 3. Lucy, born March 22, 1802. 4. Abigail, born November 3. 1803. 5. Moses, born August 21, 1808, lived to a ripe, old age. 6. Aaron, twin of Moses, see for- ward. 7. and 8. Susan and Job (twins), born May 20, 1806.
(VII) Aaron Wells, eighth child and fourth son of Nathaniel (6) and Sarah (Lakeman) Wells, was born in Maine, August 21, 1808, died in Mad- rid. Maine, May 12. 1801. He resided in Madrid, Maine, for many years, and was prominent and in- fluential in the public affairs of the town, holding several public offices, among them being that of treasurer of the town for seven years, and select- man for a long period. He married Elmira Pel- ton, born May 13, 1809. died 1860, a sketch of whose family is subjoined. Their children were: I. Maria J .. born July 3. 1831, died unmarried at Madrid, Maine, May 10, 1858. 2. Aaron, born November 21, IS33. died November 24, of the same year. 3. Lucy, born April 27, 1835, married B. T. Barker, resided at Phillips, Maine, died May 28, 1892. 4. Hannah Eliza, born April 29, 1837. married Sumner Robinson, a stone contractor, and resides at Nor- ridgewock, Maine (1906). 5. Mary Robbins, born July 16, 1839, married Wilson Beal, a farmer of Avon, Maine, died December 28, 1893. 6. Orrin D., born June 8, 1841, died. unmarried, June 8, 1858. 7. Rinda H., born April 19. 1843, married Thomas Rivals, resided in Boston, Massachusetts, died Octo- ber 6. 1902. 8. Edwin A., see forward. 9. Elmira H .. born September 22, 1848, married George F. Butler, an industrious man. and resides at 43 Austin street. Worcester, Massachusetts. IO. Chester E., born April 5. 1851, is an armorer by trade, employed by the Harrington & Richardson Arms Company, Worcester. Massachusetts, and resides at No. 43 Irving street in that city. He married Alice Davis, of Leominster, Massachusetts. 11. Joel C., born August 16. 1854, is a brick mason and resides in Madrid. Maine. He married Sarah Berry.
(VIH) Edwin Aaron Wells, eighth child and third son of Aaron (7) and Elmira ( Pelton) Wells, was born in Madrid, Maine, October 21, 1845. Hc attended the schools of his native town until he had attained the age of nineteen years, and then engaged in farming on the homestead with his father. He removed to Princeton, Massachusetts, where he was employed as foreman on the Boyls- ton place for twelve years. He next worked at the steam fitting trade, but finding that farming was a more congenial occupation. he purchased a farm at Avon. Maine, which he cultivated for two years. He then sold this property and went to Fairbury, Nebraska, where he purchased another farm. on which he lived for eight years. He bought the farm at Rochdale. in the town of Oxford. in 1892, lived upon it for fourteen years, then sold it, and removed to Worcester. Massachusetts. He is a very snc- cessful farmer, and a citizen of high standing in the community, He married. October 1, 1882, Emma Vance, born December 4. 1851, daughter of George C. and Susanna ( Hanscom) Vance, the former born in Barre. Maine, April 22, 1816, and holding the
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rank of quartermaster in the Union army during the civil war. The children of Edwin Aaron and Emma (Vance) Wells are: 1. Winnie Vance, born De- cember 26. 1883. She attended the common schools of the town, from which she was graduated at the age of fourteen years. She entered the English high school of the city of Worcester the following fall, and upon the completion of her course there entered college and was graduated with honors, June 28, 1901. She is now (1906) filling very capably a position as bookkeeper and stenographer. 2. Edwin Aaron, Jr., born October 23, 1885. Was graduated from the grammar school at the age of fifteen years, then entered the Boston Telegraph Institute, from which he was graduated in June, 1904. The following fall he was offered and ac- cepted a position as operator with the Boston & Albany Railroad Company, Templeton, Massachu- setts. 3. Lucy May, born October 27, 1888, was graduated from the grammar school at the age of thirteen years, entered college the following fall and was graduated from the latter institution with high honors. She is now filling very acceptably a position as bookkeeper.
(1) John Pelton was the emigrant ancestor of the mother of Edwin Aaron Wells, the subject of this sketch. He was born in England, probably in 1616, and in all probability is descended from the Pelton family of Essex, England. He came to Bos- ton, Massachusetts, between 1630 and 1633. The first appearance of his name in the records of Boston is in the "Book of Possessions," made by order of the general court in 1634. He removed to Dorches- ter, where in 1635 or the year following, he was a proprietor. His death occurred in Dorchester, January 23, 1681, and his will was proved January 31, of the same year. He married, about 1643, Su- sannah -, who died May 7, 1706, and their chil- dren were : I. John, born, about 1645, baptized March 2, 1645, married about 1673, died prior to 1699. 2. Samuel, see forward. 3. Robert, born about 1649 or 1650, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, was a mariner by occupation, and was lost at sea in July. 1683. It is presumed that he was unmar- ried, as his brother Samuel was administrator of the estate. 4. Mary, born about 1653 or 1654, bap- tized February 18, 1654.
(II) Samuel Pelton, second son and child of John (1) and Susannah Pelton, was born in Dorches- ter, Massachusetts, about 1647. He resided in Dorchester until 1687, when he removed to Mount Hope, and cultivated a farm at Bristol. Rhode Island. While living in Dorchester his wife joined the Dorchester church, October 22, 1682. He died in 1713 or 1714, in Rehoboth . or Seekonk, Massa- chusetts. He married, July 16, 1673, at Stoughton, Mary Smith, daughter of John and Katherine (Mor- rill) Smith. John Smith was a parishioner of the Rev. Richard Mather, at Toxteth ( Prince) and came with Rev. Mather from Bristol, England. He and his wife and Mary Smith were mentioned by Rev. Mather as having been on board. He settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he was ad- mitted a freeman, May 25, 1636. He was a herds- man and one of the proprietors of the town of Dorchester. He made repairs on the meeting house in 1653, and was chosen quartermaster of the troop of Suffolk County Regiment, and this was con- firmed by the general court, October 19. 1652. He died April 29, 1678, and his will was dated Decem- ber 10, 1676, and was proved July 25, 1678. In it iv-8
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