USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynn > Lynn in the Revolution, Part II > Part 12
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The house which became Samuel Mansfield's home was finally sold, and he moved into the old house still standing just beyond, to the east, and in the latter house he died. Mr. Hudson spent the last night with him before his death. Samuel Mansfield was a tall, very plain, even homely man, with face smooth-shaven and in his later years wrin- kled with age. His hair was invariably worn in a queue. One of his fingers became stiff in later life, and Mr. Hudson said that it was painful to see the old man try to sew with his finger out straight. He finally gave up his work as a tailor, and earned a small pittance at the popular trade of shoemaking.
MANSFIELD, THOMAS,-private, son of Thomas and Mary (Hawkes) Mans- field, was born in Saugus, August 25, 1761. His home was in the ancient Mansfield house, still standing. On the morning of April 19, 1775, he went with his two brothers, Thomas Mansfield Benjamin and Samuel, to the meeting- place of the minute-men in Saugus, and marched with the company. He was at this time but thirteen years of age, and was one of the youngest, if not the youngest member of Captain Parker's company. During the
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summer of 1778 the captured army of General Burgoyne was en- camped at Cambridge. On the 13th of July Thomas Mansfield en- listed in Captain Samuel Huse's company, Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment of guards, and was assigned to guard duty over the convention troops. Ile remained until after they had been sent to Charlottesville, Va., and was discharged on the 14th of December of that year. In the fall of 1779 a call came for men to reinforce the northern army, under General Washington, and young Mansfield enlisted in the company of ('aptain Addison Richardson, of Salem, in Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment, which was detached from the Essex County militia to march to New York State. He left Lynn October 18, 1779, and marched to Claverack, N.Y., and was discharged there, November 22, the alarm being over. He was allowed for 240 miles' travel back to Lynn, where he arrived about December 1.
Thomas Mansfield married Hannah Brown, May 26, 1786, daughter of Ephraim, born 1755. Their children were Mary, Sarah, and Thomas. Ile died July 16, 1821, and his wife died November 28, 1832, aged seventy-five. They are buried in the old ground at Saugus Centre, where gravestones have been erected. The epitaph on his stone is,-
" But though his breathless body lies Consigned to dust and food for worms, Yet Christ shall call him from the skies, All glorious in celestial form."
MANSFIELD, WILLIAM,-private, son of Deacon Daniel and Lydia (Newhall) Mansfield, was born in South Lynnfield, May 20, 1749. He was mar- ried by Rev. Benjamin Adams, May 31, 1770, to Betty Townsend, born 1750, probably daughter of Deacon Daniel Townsend, and sister of Lieutenant Thomas and Daniel, of the Lynnfield company. William Vitiamanfred Mansfield was a farmer, and lived on the road from Montrose to what is now the Lynnfield Ilotel. On the 19th of April, 1775, he responded to the call to arms, and went with his neighbors in the company of Captain Bancroft. He enlisted, May 16, in the company of Captain Enoch Putnam, of Danvers, Colonel John Mansfield's 19th regiment. He was in camp with his company during the fall and winter of 1775-76. and received an order for a bounty coat. April 22, 1776, having en-
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listed for eight months. It is very probable that he served later, for several records appear which might be his; but, as no residence is in- clicated on the muster-rolls, no statement can be made.
His children were Betty, William, Lydia, Sarah, Polly, Levi, Bethia, Elijah, Dorcas, and Timnah. He and his wife were admitted as mem- bers of the Lynnfield church, February 12, 1786. He was a well- known figure in Lynnfield in the olden days, was familiarly known as "Uncle Bill," and signed his name as "Williamsfield." He died in Lynnfield, September 28, 1809, aged sixty, and his wife died March 30, 1808, aged fifty-eight. They are interred in the old cemetery at South Lynnfield, where they lie side by side in graves marked with slate stones. His gravestone indicates that he died November 28, but this is evidently an error, inasmuch as his will was probated October 17, 1809. His estate consisted of a farm of one hundred and seventeen acres at Rindge, N.H., which he gave to his son Levi. His homestead in South Lynnfield consisted of one hundred acres, dwelling and barn, together with one hundred and nineteen acres of other land, amount- ing in all to $13,102,-a goodly sum in those days. His tall clock was appraised at $45. It is still ticking in the home of Benjamin S. Skinner, of Lynn, who married his grand-daughter. It was previously owned by Rev. Joseph Mottey, of Lynnfield.
MARBLE, JAMES,-was a private in Captain Parker's Saugus company, and saw service with it on the 19th of April, 1775, No record has been found of his birth or death, but he was married February 19, 1776, by Rev. Mr. Roby to Mary Hutchinson, daughter of Nathaniel and Catherine Hutchinson. Her brothers, Nathaniel and Thomas, were also in Captain Parker's company. When the call for men came to repulse the advance of General Burgoyne, Mr. Marble enlisted, August 15, 1777, to the credit of the town of Lynn. He was assigned to Cap- tain Zadock Buffinton's Salem company, Colonel Samuel Johnson's regiment, and marched with his company to the northward. He was present and no doubt did good service at the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga, and was present at the capture of Burgoyne. He was then detailed with others to act as guard to the British prisoners, and marched with them to Cambridge, where he was discharged, November 10, 1777, having served three months and sixteen days. Elsewhere, under the name of James Marvel, further service is indicated which may
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belong to him. On the church records his name appears as Marble, but Marvel is the name signed to a receipt for advance pay in the state archives. Both names were foreign to Lynn, but it is probable that the two belonged to the same man.
MARSHALL, BENJAMIN,-descriptive list of the officers and crew of the ship "Thomas," commanded by Captain Samuel Ingersoll, dated Salem, August 7, 1780; age, twenty-four years; complexion, light; residence, Lynn .- Mass. Rolls.
MARTIN, DOMINGO,-receipt dated Boston, June 21, 1782, signed by John Popkin, muster-master, stating that he had received said Martin of Joseph Hart and Frederick Breed, constables of Lynn, to serve in the Continental Army for the term of three years, "for the people called Quakers."-Mass. Rolls.
MARTIN, JESSE,-private, Captain Stephen Wilkins's company, Colonel Wigglesworth's regiment; pay abstract for travel allowance from Albany home sworn to June 15, 1777; 210 miles allowed said Martin .- Mass. Rolls.
MARTIN, JOSIAH .- Mr. Lewis in his history thus speaks of Josiah Martin: " In some respects an eccentric and unworthy man, he was the imme- diate predecessor of Landlord Newhall in the old Saugus tavern, hav- ing married the wife of Zaccheus Norwood. Ile appeared in town about the year 1760, and is supposed to have been an English advent- urer. At times he assumed great polish of manner and made preten- sion to extraordinary piety; and at other times he exhibited the char- acteristics and breeding of a gross villain. He was famous for indulging in practical jokes as well as witticisms, and in whimsical displays of every kind, with the only apparent object of eliciting the gaze of his neighbors. He is said among other feats to have ridden two miles in a double sleigh, with a span of horses, the dust flying and the runners grating horribly, and striking fire at every step, with his wife a forced passenger at his side. He enlisted for the war, and never returned to Lynn.”
His patriotism seems to have been of somewhat doubtful character, as would appear from the following which was sent to the selectmen of Lynn :-
"Whereas, Josiah Martin has, under guard, been brought before this com- mittee (Council of War) to be inquired of touching condnet respecting his ap-
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pearing in favor of carrying into execution the tyrannical designs of administration for the enslaving of this province, upon examination of the evidence produced, Resolved that the said Martin's conduct, in some instances, has been unfriendly to this country. and that so long as he evinces this disposition, by his conduct, and does not any more attempt to go into the town of Boston, that he be received with the favor of his countrymen and that no insult or injury be offered him or his property."
The following was sent by the Committee of Correspondence in Lynn to the Massachusetts Committee of Safety :-
LYNN, May 16, 1775.
Gentlemen :- The bearer, Captain Barker, will bring before your Honour, Mr. Josiah Martin, as a person whom we have considered to have acted as an enemy to the Province, and have sent the evidences that appear against him.
JOHN MANSFIELD, Chairman.
Evidences names: Harthorn Ramsdell, John Bancroft, James Bancroft.
Josiah Martin to the Committee of Safety:
CAMBRIDGE, May 11, 1775.
Gentlemen of the Committee of Safety:
1 was sent from Lynn by a guard of soldiers to be examined, and am sorry that myself or any other faithful and loyal subject to his country should be treated as I am. Methinks it would give a check to the spirit of an Alexander. Humanity is the least we may expect of one another.
Your true and loyal Whig,
JOSIAH MARTIN.
He appears as a private on the muster-roll of Captain Abraham Dodge's Ipswich company, Colonel Moses Little's 12th regiment; enlisted March 10, 1776; discharged April 24, 1776; service, one month, fourteen days; residence, Lynn .- Mass. Rolls.
One of the petitioners to the General Court, May 26, 1773, that Saugus be set off from the First Parish, was Josiah Martin. The wife, Lydia, to whom he was married by Rev. Mr. Roby, May 20, 1763, was Lydia Burriage, widow of Zaccheus Norwood. She was born November 25, 1723, daughter of John and Mehitable Burriage, and sister of Deacon John, who was born November 23, 1730.
MASSAY, BENJAMIN,-son of Benjamin and Sarah (Hart) Massay, was born July 18, 1762; married Susannah Quiner, February 20, 1785, daughter of John and Priscilla (Williams) Quiner, born July 2, 1761.
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Benja Malsay
He was a blacksmith, and had his shop at the corner of Federal Street and Western Avenne, where the drug store of C. S. Bird now stands. Ile lived in the east half of the old house which stood at the corner of Moulton and Boston Streets. Ilis children were Benjamin, born 1786. Susannah, Priscilla, Samuel, Sarah, Jane, and Nathaniel. His will was filed April 22, 1806, and mentions his wife, Susannah, and son, Benjamin, to whom he gave $100 when he should arrive at the age of twenty-one years. His wife died January 18, 1842, in Roxbury. Both are buried in the old Western Burial Ground. The grave pointed out by the grandson, S. Oliver Breed, is now marked by a marble stone and marker of the S. A. R.
The Revolutionary record is given as follows: Private, Captain Addi- son Richardson's company, Colonel Wade's detachment of Essex County militia, enlisted July 12, 1780; discharged October 10, 1780; service, three months, eleven days, including twelve days' travel home.
McDONALD, DONALD,-died at the almshouse, October 3, 1830, aged one hundred and eight. Ile was in the British service at the taking of Quebec in 1759, with Braddock at his defeat, and was one of the few whom Washington, then a major, conducted from the field. Ile served several years under General Greene .- Lynn Record.
MEACHEM, ISAAC,-son of Isaac and Lydia (Layton) Meachem, was born in 1726; married October 29, 1751, by Rev. Mr. Henchman, to Ruth Dunnell, daughter of David and Keziah (Ramsdell) Dunnell, born December 31, 1732. Their children were Lydia, Susannah, John, Isaac, and William. He died suddenly of an attack of pleurisy, Novem- ber 6, 1794, aged sixty-eight, and his wife died December 15, 1814. aged eighty-four, according to the Lynn records, which does not quite correspond with the date of her birth recorded also in the Lynn records. If these dates are correct, she was eighty-two at the time of her death. Both are buried in the old Western Burial Ground, and their graves are marked.
Isaac Meachem served in the French and Indian War as well as in the War for Independence. Ilis record in the latter is as follows: Private, Captain Rufus Mansfield's company of militia, which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, to Concord: service, two days; also
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Captain Simeon Brown's company, Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment of guards; service from July 2 to July 12, 1778, ten days; roll dated camp at Winter Hill; also Captain Samuel Huse's company, Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment of guards; enlisted July 13, 1778; discharged December 14, 1778; service, five months, three days, at Cambridge .- Mass. Rolls.
MEAD, BENJAMIN,-son of Benjamin and Susannah (Thompson) Mead, was born in Woburn, January 29, 1723. Was assessed in Lynnfield, as was also John Mead, in 1758. His name appears as follows in the records of the Revolution :
List of men raised in Essex County for the term of nine months from the time of their arrival in Fishkill, returned as received of Jonathan Warner, commissioner, by Brigadier-General John Glover, at Fort Arnold, July 8, 1778; residence, Lynn; arrived at Fishkill, July 4, 1778; also list of men returned as mustered by Henry Rutgers. Jr., deputy muster-master, dated Fishkill, August 1, 1778; engaged for the town of Lynn; also Captain Ezra Newhall's company, Colonel Mansfield's regiment; order for advance pay signed by said Mead and others, dated Cambridge, June 8, 1775; also order for bounty coat or its equiva- lent in money dated camp at Winter Hill, November 4, 1775; also Captain Miles Greenwood's company, Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regi- ment of guards; enlisted November 11, 1777; service to April 3, 1778. four months, twenty-three days; rolls dated camp at Winter Hill .- Mass. Rolls, under name of Mard, Mead, and Meads.
Private, Captain Ezra Newhall's company of minute-men which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, seventeen days; also Captain Ezra Newhall's company, Colonel Mansfield's regiment, com- manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Hutchinson; company return dated October 6, 1775; also private, Captain Ezra Newhall's company, Colonel John Mansfield's regiment; muster-roll dated August 1, 1775; enlisted May 6, 1775; service, three months, two days .- Mass. Rolls. MEAD, JOHN,-probably nephew of the above Benjamin, was born in 1754; married by Rev. Mr. Roby, according to the Saugus church records, July 3, 1782, and according to the Lynn records July 9, 1781, to Rebecca Sherman, daughter of Nathaniel and Rebecca Sherman. He died May 2, 1817, aged sixty-three years. He was assessed in Lynnfield in 1758. His service in the Revolution began when he marched as a
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private in Captain Ezra Newhall's company of minute-men on the 19th of April, 1775. He is credited with seventeen days' service at that time. On the 10th of May of the same year he enlisted, and served two months; in August he was a corporal in Colonel Mansfield's regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Hutchinson; in October he was given an order for a bounty coat or its equivalent in money for having enlisted for eight months. During 1780 and 1781 he was in service much of the time on the Hudson, and in February, 1782, he was discharged on account of his having been relieved by another man. In a descriptive list of July 11. 1780, his age is given as twenty-seven years, bis stature as five feet, ten inches, and his com- plexion dark.
MELZARD, CAPTAIN JOHN,-was born in Marblehead and died in Lynn. He is buried in the Eastern Burial Ground, at the top of the hill, near the rear fence, beside his daughter, Hannah Russell. He was one of Washington's body-guard, serving at the battles of Trenton and Valley Forge. He was one of the crew that brought General Lafayette to America, and one of the boat's crew that rowed him from the vessel to the shore.
The date of his death given in the Lynn records, is May 4, 1834. MOULTON, EZEKIEL,-son of Joseph and Sarah (Little ?) Moulton, horn November 17, 1740, was of the fifth generation from Robert Moulton, who came from England to Salem village in 1629, in the ship "George Bonaventure," one of the first sent over to Governor Endicott with settlers and supplies. Joseph Moulton, grandson of Robert, was the father of Ezekiel and Ezra. Joseph Ezekiel Moulton purchased land in the rear of the city farm in 1733, and took up his residence there. Ezekiel received quitclaim deeds from the other heirs, October 6, 1766. He occupied the prem- ises while he lived, pursuing the occupation of shoemaking, as his father had done before him. He was married November 2, 1771, to Cather- ine Hudson, who was born in the old Hudson house on Boston Street, on the westerly side of Tower Hill. Their ten children were Joseph, Solomon, Ezekiel, Mary, Catherine, Moses, John Lilley (buried in marked grave in the old Western), Moses, Aaron, Solomon. Ezekiel Moulton died November 23, 1810, and his wife died January 1, 1833.
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They are without doubt buried near John Lilley, their son, in the old Western Ground. There his grave is indicated by a marble stone and marker of the S. A. R. The only Revolutionary record found is that of April 19, 1775, when he marched on the Lexington alarm in the company of Captain Rufus Mansfield. Service, two days.
MOULTON, EZRA,-son of Joseph and Sarah (Little ?) Moulton, was born on the old homestead at the rear of the city farm, January 25, 1730. He was married by Rev. Mr. Henchman, July 22, 1751, to Deborah Johnson, and died April 19, 1816. Buried in the old Western Burial Ground. He was in the regiment with Henry Hallowell, and was evidently in the campaign which resulted in the capture of General Burgoyne. The Massachusetts rolls contain the following under his name :---
Appears in a descriptive list of men raised to reinforce the Continental Army for the term of six months, agreeable to resolve of June 5, 1780; age, fifty-one years; height, 5 ft. 9 in .; complexion, ruddy; residence, Lynn; arrived at Springfield July 13, 1780; marched to camp same day under command of Captain Thomas Pritchard; also on list of six months' men raised by Lynn in 1780; marched June 27, 1780; dis- charged December 5, 1780; service, five months, twenty-five days, in- cluding 220 miles' travel home.
MUDGE, ENOCH,-private, son of John and Mary (Waite) Mudge, was born in Lynnfield, August 1, 1754, to which place his father had re- moved from Malden after the birth of his son Simon. John Mudge died in Lynnfield, of "numb palsey," November 26, 1762, aged forty- nine. He had eight children, seven sons and one daughter. Samuel, the eldest, born March 22, 1739, Enoch Mudge served in the French and Indian War under Lord Amherst, and was killed in Canada in 1758; Mary, born April 20, 1740, married Andrew Mansfield, who was a Revolutionary soldier; John, born December 3, 1743, served in the Revolution from Vermont; Simon, born April 8, 1748, enlisted from Danvers; Ezra, born April 7, 1752, was in the army from Deerfield; Enoch, the subject of this sketch, Nathan, born September 21, 1756, and Samuel, born February 1, 1759, all served in the War for Independence to the credit of the town of Lynn. These were all descended from Thomas Mudge, who was in
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Malden as early as 1657. James, the son of Thomas and great-grand- father of these children, was a soklier in Captain Lothrop's company. "the flower of Essex," and was killed at Bloody Brook, South Deer- field, September 18, 1675, during King Philip's War. The record of this family was not excelled in Lynn, and the patriotic spirit of the times was well upheld in this sturdy New England home where every son was in the service of his country.
Enoch Mudge was married by Rev. Mr. Treadwell, January 6, 1773, to Lydia Ingalls, daughter of John and Abigail (Stocker) Ingalls. born in Lynn, May 22, 1756. She was a direct descendant of Edmund Ingalls, the first settler of Lynn. Enoch Mudge was a member of Captain Farrington's company, and performed active service on the memorable 19th of April. While his name does not appear on the muster-rolls later, it is probable that he was present during the siege of Boston and entered the town upon its evacuation by the British. In later years he often spoke with much pride of having stood as sen- tinel at the door of General Washington's headquarters.
He was a farmer and shoemaker, living on South Common Street, near Vine. His children were John, Enoch, Joseph, Lydia, Samuel, James, Benjamin, Sally, Patty, Daniel, Daniel Lee, Polly, Abigail, and Wesley. Enoch, born June 28. 1776, became the first native Metho- dist preacher in New England. Captain Joseph, born March 22. 1778. was prominent in the War of 1812. He fitted out the privateer "In- dustry," of Lynn, and brought in two hrigs and one sloop as prizes. It is said that the live oak used in the Quaker meeting-house was part of the cargo of one of these vessels. He was afterward com- mander of the privateer "Gov. Plumer." of Portsmouth, and. after capturing several vessels, was himself captured and sent to Halifax. Benjamin, born September 1, 1786, was postmaster of Lynn from 1843 to 1849.
Enoch Mudge, Sr., and his wife were among the very early members of the First Methodist Church, and in 1820 their son, Rev. Enoch, became its pastor. Mr. Mudge was a man of commanding presence. being over six feet in height. Ile was highly respected by his fellow- citizens, and his descendants to-day are among the very best of Lynn's people. Ile died in Lynn, January 30. 1832, aged seventy-seven years. His wife died April 25. 1833. aged seventy-six. They are interred in
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the Mudge tomb in the old Western Burial Ground. A marble stone and bronze marker of the S. A. R. were erected to his memory in 1904. MUDGE, NATHAN,-son of John and Mary (Waite) Mudge, was born in Lynnfield, Mass., September 21, 1757; died in Lynn, February 8. Nathan mudge 1831, aged seventy-four years, four months, and seventeen days. He was a farmer, and lived and died much respected. A notice taken from a paper of the day is as follows :--
"Died, in this town, on Monday morning last, Mr. Nathan Mudge. in the 75th year of his age.
"This good man, full of years, and mature in virtue, like an ear of corn, perfectly ripe, has descended to the earth whence he rose, and his spirit has gone to God who gave it.
'Dust unto dust, To this all must! The tenent hath resigned The faded form To earth and worm; Corruption claims its kind.'
" For many years the inhabitants of this town have remarked him as an industrious and peaceable man, a good citizen, a faithful hus- band, a kind father, and a friendly neighbor. The church of which he was a member, esteemed hin an humble follower of Him who was meek and lowly; and though the time had come when, having fulfilled the allotted space of man, his threescore years and ten, it was natural to look for decay, yet he went not down to the grave without many tears, and the mourning of numerous friends, who had respected him through life. In the arduous struggle for our country to obtain Inde- pendence, he faithfully sustained the portion of the toil allotted him. He was for some time a soldier in the army of the Revolution; and when he left it, it was to return to the peaceable abode of industry. During the long period which has elapsed since that time, it may perhaps be said of him with perfect truth, that he injured no one. He went to his long repose in peace, without an enemy, and with the character of an upright, honest man."
Ile served in the Revolution in Captain Simon Brown's company,
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Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment, at Winter Hill from April ? to July 3, 1778. His name also appears in the Ticonderoga rolls.
He was married, first, by Rev. John Treadwell, to Hannah Ingalls, October 30, 1777. She was the daughter of John and Sarah Ingalls, born June 12, 1758, died of small-pox, December 19, 1792, at the age of thirty-four. Children, Nathan, Ezra, John, Mary, Samuel, Hannah, and Joseph. He married, second, Widow Elizabeth Burrill, July 24, 1794. She was the widow of Shubael Burrill, born July 16, 1765; died August 28, 1848, at the age of eighty-three. Her children were Joseph, Enoch, Hepzibah, Simon, Hepzibah B., Lydia, Shubael, Ann Alden, and Caroline.
Hon. Ezra, son of Nathan and Hannah, born April 10. 1780, was a representative sixteen years, and captain of a Lynn artillery company in 1813. Captain Samuel, born May 15, 1787, was captain of an Essex company of drafted militia, at Winter Island, Salem, 1814.
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