USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The Pilgrims of Boston and their descendants: with an introduction by Hon. Edward Everett, LL. D.; also, inscriptions from the monuments in the Granary burial ground, Tremont street > Part 20
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
" Joan Toppinge of Woodbridge, in the county of Suffolk, widow. Will dated 1593. Mentions her late husband, Ralph Toppinge."
In the English records the name is spelled in fifteen different ways : as, Topping, Topinge, Toppin, Toppinge, Topper, Toppan, Tapline, Tur- pine, Turpyn, Typping, Turpin, Tuppin, Tippinge, Tupam, Tawper. Add to these the different orthographies in this country, Tappan, Tappen, Tap- ping, and we have the name in eighteen or nineteen different ways.
THE NEW ENGLAND TAPPANS.
They are descended from Abraham Toppan.
His great, great, great grandson, Lewis W. Tappan, of Boston, when in England in 1855, ascertained that he resided in Yarmouth, and pro- cured, among the records in London, the following :
373
TAPPAN.
" May 10, 1637. The examination of Abraham Toppan of Yar- mouth, aged 31 years, and Susanna his wife, aged 30 years, with two children, Peter and Elizabeth, and one mayd servant, Anne Goodwin, aged 18 years, are desirous to passe to New England to inhabit."
Susanna Toppan's maiden name was Goodale.
It seems that emigrants were obliged to go to London to enter their names, and obtain permission to leave the country.
In October, 1637, as appears by the following extract from the town records of " Ould Newberry," Essex County, Mass., Abraham Toppan was admitted to citizenship :
" Abraham Toppan, being licensed by John Endicott, Esq., to live in this jurisdiction, was received into the towne of Newberry as an in- habitant thereof, and hath heere promised, under his hand, to be subject to any lawful order that shall be made by the towne."
ABRAHAM TOPPAN.
The year following he was chosen one of the Selectmen. He was by trade a cooper, and was also engaged in merchandise.
Abraham and Susanna Toppan had the following children : Peter, b. in England, 1634, and - - b. in England, - and Abraham, jr. b. 1644, emigrated to Woodbridge, New Jersey, and m. Ruth Pike. He died 1704, without issue. Jacob, b. 1645. John, b. 1651. Susanna, b. 1649. Elizabeth, b. 1665. Isaac.
Abraham d. Nov. 5, 1672, aged 64; Susanna d. March 20, 1689.
Dr. Peter Toppan, son of Abraham, m. Jane, daughter of Christopher Batt, April 3, 1661. Children : Peter, Dec., 1662; Elizabeth, Oct. 16, 1665 ; Peter, Dec. 22, 1667; Samuel, Nov. 5, 1670; Christopher, Dec. 15, 1671; Jane, Jan. 4, 1674.
Jacob, son of Abraham, m. Hannah Sewall, Aug. 24, 1670. He d. Dec. 13, 1717. Children : Jacob, May 20, 1671; Samuel, Sept. 30, 1672, and d. Aug. 25, 1691; Jane, Sept. 28, 1674; John, Jan. 29, 1677; Hannah, March 4, 1679; Elizabeth, Dec. 20, 1680; Abraham, June 29, 1684; Ann, May 16, 1686.
John, son of Abraham, m. Martha -. He was wounded by the
374
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
Indians at Bloody Brook in 1676, and d. in Salisbury Dec. 26, 1723, leaving a son, James, b. March 15, 1702.
Jacob, Jr., son of Jacob, m. Sarah Kent, 1696. Children : Sarah, Sept. 23, 1697 ; Hannah, Nov. 23, 1699; Samuel, Jan. 6, 1702.
Peter, Jr., m. Sarah Greenleaf, April 28, 1696. Children : Peter and Timothy, Feb. 2, 1698; Jane, Jan. 24, 1700 ; Elizabeth, April 25, 1702.
Samuel, son of Dr. Peter Toppan, was a farmer, and m. Abigail Wigglesworth in 1702. Her father was minister of Malden, and her brother Edward, Professor of Divinity in Harvard College. Children : Samuel, Joseph, Wigglesworth, Abigail, Martha, Mary, Ebenezer, Lydia, Benjamin, and Joseph.
Samuel settled in Newbury. Children : Samuel, Amos (graduate of Harvard University), Sarah, Mary, Abigail, and Ebenezer.
Abigail m. Samuel Noyes, of Newburyport. Children : John, Ebe- nezer, Abigail, Mary, and Judith.
Martha m. John Smith, of Newburyport. Children : John and Abigail.
Lydia m. Jesse Smith, of Newburyport. Children : Moses, Mary, Michael, Jane, John, Richard, Abigail, Samuel, Joseph, and Martha.
Joseph's children : Joseph, and -
Benjamin, b. 1720, graduated at Harvard College, m. Elizabeth Marsh,* of Haverhill; was settled in the ministry at Manchester, Essex County, in 1745, where he died, aged 70, greatly lamented. They had twelve children : Benjamin, Samuel, David, Wigglesworth, Mary, Abi- gail, Samuel, Ebenezer, Patty, Elizabeth, Michael, and Amos.
Benjamin Tappan was born Oct. 21, O. S., 1747. He was a gold- smith, and afterwards a merchant; married Sarah Homes, of Boston, daughter of William Homes, Esq., whose mother was Mary, sister of Dr. Franklin. They lived at Northampton, Mass. Children : Sarah,
* The longevity of the Marsh family is remarkable. Elizabeth was the oldest of twelve children. Including their parents, the average age of the fourteen was eighty- four years two months and seventeen days !
375
TAPPAN.
Benjamin, Rebecca, Lucy, William, John, Charles, Arthur, Lewis, Elizabeth, and George. Grandchildren, 72.
B. T. died 1830, aged 83; S. T. died 1826, aged 76. They lived together happily fifty-nine years, honored in their day and generation. Nine children survived them. When young he spelled his name Tap- pen, while his father and the rest of the family spelled the name, Top- pan. At a family meeting after the decease of their father, it was agreed henceforth to spell the name Tappan.
Sarah, b. 1771, m. Solomon Stoddard, Esq., of Northampton, Mass. Children : Solomon, Charles, William H., Lewis T., John, Arthur Francis, Sarah, and David T. She died aged 80.
Benjamin, b. 1773, m. Nancy Wright, of Farmington, Conn., and afterwards Mrs. Lord. Children : Benjamin, and Eli T.
Rebecca, b. 1775, m. William Edwards .* Children : William W., Henry, Ogden, Alfred, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Sarah H., Ann Maria, Amory, Elizabeth, and Richard C.
Lucy, b. 1777, m. John Pierce, D.D. Children : Sarah T., Eliza- beth, Abigail L., Lucy, Feroline W., John T., Robert, William B., Ben- jamin T., and Mary W.
William, b. 1779, m. Sarah Patterson. Children : Elizabeth, Sarah H., Lucy P., Ann, Jane, Charles, Mary, and Rebecca.
John, b. 1781, m. Sarah Salisbury. Children : John G., Samuel S., Sarah S., Rebecca W., Lewis W., Mary S., Francis W., Elizabeth P., Lucy P., Henry E., Henry M., and Josiah S. In 1844 m. Mrs. Hannah Edwards.
Charles, b. 1784, m. Ann Maria Long. Children : Charles L., Ann Maria, and George F.
Arthur, b. 1786, m. Frances Antill. Children : Charlotte L., Edward A., Frances A., Sarah S., Elizabeth, Mary L., and Arthur.
Lewis, b. 1788, m. Susanna Aspinwall. Children : Susanna, Julia
* We wish to express our grateful remembrance of Colonel Edwards, who was the friend of our father and grandfather, and who honored us with his friend- ship .- ED.
1
376
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
A., Susan A., William A., Lewis H., Elizabeth, Lucy Maria, Georgiana B., and Ellen A. In 1854, married Mrs. Sarah J. Davis.
Elizabeth, b. 1790, m. Rev. Alexander Phoenix. Children : Rebec- ca, who m. Rev. David B. Coe.
David Tappan, D.D., son of Rev. Benjamin Toppan, was born 1753; graduated at Harvard College; was minister of West Newbury; after- wards Professor of Divinity in Harvard College; m. Mary Sawyer. Children : Sarah, Enoch, David, Mary, Benjamin, Hannah, George W., Mary, and Eliza.
Dr. Tappan died Aug. 27, 1803, aged 51, greatly beloved and widely lamented.
Benjamin Tappan, D.D, of Augusta, Me., is the only surviving son of Professor Tappan.
Wigglesworth, b. 1754, and d. 1794, m. a daughter of Deacon Chase, of Saco. Children : Sarah, and Samuel.
Mary, b. 1751, d. 1810, m. Josiah Fairfield, of Pepperelboro. Children : Priscilla, and William. Afterwards m. Aaron Burnham, of Scarborough.
Abigail, b. 1757, m. - Chase, of Portsmouth. Children : Stephen, Benjamin T., and John. Afterwards married John Baker. Child : Mary.
Samuel, b. 1759, d. 1806, m. Aurelia Bingham, of Manchester. Children : Aurelia, Amos, William B. Eliza (wife of Rev. Jonathan Bigelow), Daniel D., and Samuel.
Ebenezer, b. 1761, m. Betsy Foster, of Manchester. Children : Ebenezer, Benjamin, Samuel, Israel, Betsy, Betsy, Sally, and Mary.
Elizabeth, b. 1765, m. - Chase, of Saco. Child : David T.
Michael, b. 1763, m. -. Children : Nancy, and Abigail.
Amos, b. 1768, graduated at Harvard College 1788, m. Isabella Buckminster, sister of Rev. Dr. B., of Portsmouth, d. 1814. Both he and his brother Samuel were teachers, and active Christians, and were much beloved.
Very many of the surviving members of these families, were they
377
TAPPAN.
consulted, would, in grateful recollection of the divine goodness and mercy, adopt, as the concluding sentiment of this catalogue of names and dates, the words of the poet :
"Father of all, thy care we bless, Which crowns our families with peace ; From thee they sprang, and by thy hand They have been, and are still sustained."
Brooklyn, N. Y., Jan. 20th, 1856. L. T.
378
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
THIS MONUMENT, ERECTED JUNE 4, 1848, BY ROBERT G. SHAW, SON OF FRANCIS SHAW, JR., AND HANNAH NICHELS, AS A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT TO THEIR MEMORY.
MAJOR SAMUEL SHAW, THIRD SON OF FRANCIS AND SARAH,
SERVED AS AN OFFICER IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT TO ITS CLOSE.
ON THE
22D OF FEBRUARY, 1784, HE SAILED FROM
NEW YORK IN THE SHIP EMPRESS OF CHINA, FOR
CANTON, AS SUPERCARGO AND PART OWNER.
THIS BEING THE FIRST VESSEL THAT
SAILED FROM THE UNITED STATES
FOR THAT PLACE, HE WAS APPOINTED BY
WASHINGTON CONSUL TO CHINA, WHICH OFFICE HE HELD UNTIL HIS DEATH, IN 1794.
IN MEMORY OF FRANCIS SHAW,
BORN IN BOSTON, 1721, DIED OCTOBER 18, 1784, AGED 64.
SARAH BURT, HIS WIFE, BORN IN BOSTON, 1726, DIED SEPTEMBER, 1799, AGED 74.
THEIR CHILDREN WERE : FRANCIS, JR.
DIED AT GOULDBORO', MAINE 1785, AGED 37.
I Andrews Sc
/ ,Johnston Pin'
Than
379
INSCRIPTIONS.
JOHN, DIED AT GOULDBORO', MAINE, 1780, AGED 30. SAMUEL, DIED ON HIS PASSAGE FROM CANTON, 1794, AGED 39.
WILLIAM, DIED WHILE ON A JOURNEY AT CHARLEMONT, 1803, AGED 46. ABIGAIL, WIFE OF JOHN CROCKER,
DIED AT WASHINGTON D. C. AUGUST 12, 1797, AGED 49. NATHANIEL, DIED ON HIS PASSAGE FROM CANTON, 1791 AGED 30. JOHN BURT, DIED JANUARY 7 1745, AGED 54. WILLIAM BURT, DIED FEBRUARY, 1752, AGED 26. SUSANNAH BURT,
DIED FEBRUARY, 1752, AGED 21. SAMUEL BURT, DIED SEPTEMBER, 1754 AGED 30.
ABIGAIL BURT, DIED AUGUST, 1778, AGED 90.
BENJ. BURT, DIED 1803 AGED 75.
NATH. HOWLAND, DIED JULY, 1766, AGED 62, AND
ABIGAIL, HIS WIFE, DIED 1766, AGED 49.
[The above inscriptions are from a Monument standing on Copp's Hill ]
SHAW.
THE PILGRIM FATHERS WHERE ARE THEY ? THE WAVES THAT BROUGHT THEM O'ER STILL ROLL IN THE BAY AND THROW THEIR SPRAY, AS THEY BREAK ALONG THE SHORE,- STILL ROLL IN THE BAY AS THEY ROLLED THAT DAY WHEN THE MAY-FLOWER MOORED BELOW ; WHEN THE SEA AROUND WAS BLACK WITH STORMS, AND WHITE THE SHORE WITH SNOW.
THE PILGRIM FATHERS ARE AT REST ; WHEN SUMMER'S THRONED ON HIGH, AND THE WORLD'S WARM BREAST IS IN VERDURE DRESS'D, GO STAND ON THE HILL WHERE THEY LIE. THE EARLIEST RAY OF THE GOLDEN DAY ON THAT HALLOWED SPOT IS CAST ;
AND THE EVENING SUN AS HE LEAVES THE WORLD, LOOKS KINDLY ON THAT SPOT LAST .- PIERPONT.
ABRAHAM SHAW of Dedham, was a freeman in 1637. Anthony Shaw of Boston, whose son William was born in 1654. John Shaw was of Plymouth in 1638. John Shaw, of Boston, was a member of the ancient and honorable Artillery Company in 1646 ; had sons, John, born in 1648, was a freeman in 1681; Samuel, born in 1651; Joseph born in 1657. He died July 23, 1687. Joseph Shaw, of Hingham, removed to Bridge- water, and was among the settlers of that town. Joseph Shaw, of Ded- ham, in 1636, was a freeman in 1639, and probably of Weymouth in 1643. Roger Shaw of Cambridge, in 1636, was a freeman in 1638.
Rougeshang
THORNDIKE.
He was there --
Swathed in that linen vesture for the grave-
The same loved one in all his comeliness-
And with him to the grave her heart must go.
What though he talk'd of her to angels ? nay-
Hover'd in spirit near her ?- 'twas that arm,
Palsied in death, whose fond caress she knew !
It was that lip of marble with whose kiss,
Morning and eve, love hemm'd the sweet day in .- WILLIS.
JOHN THORNDIKE settled in Ipswich in 1633, returned to England in 1668, and there died in 1670, leaving six daughters and one son, Lieut. Paul Thorndike, a representative of Beverly in 1680, where he resided. He married Mary Patch, in April, 1668, and had sons, John, born Jan. 22, 1674, Paul, and Herbert. John married Joanna Dodge, 1696, and had six sons. Paul married, and had ten sons, of whom Andrew, born Nov. 12, 1719, was father of Hon. Israel Thorndike, a wealthy merchant, of Boston, who was born in Beverly, Mass. In the Revolutionary war he was in part the owner, and commander of an armed ship. His cruises were successful. For many years he was a partner with his brother-in-law, Moses Brown, and afterwards engaged in com- merce to the East Indies and China, which he continued till his death. He was a large owner in manufacturing establishments. After a long residence in Beverly, he passed his last years in Boston, where he died, May 11, 1832, aged about 75 years. He purchased in 1818, the library of Professor Ebeling, of Hamburgh, of more than three thousand
382
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
volumes, of great value in relation to American history, and presented it to Harvard College. It includes three hundred and fifty volumes of newspapers printed in this country. To three sons he bequeathed each about half a million of dollars, and other sums to another son, to his widow, and daughters ; in all about eighteen hundred thousand dollars to his relations. Some poor man may be inclined to say that were he the owner of one or two millions of dollars, he would bequeath much to the great charities of the world ; but perhaps on gaining the power he would lose the disposition to benefit others beyond his own family, and would forget that of them to whom much as the stewards of Heaven had been given, much will be required.
PALFREY.
'Tis a harsh world, in which affection knows
No place to treasure up its loved and lost But the foul grave ! Thou, who so late wast sleeping Warm in the close fold of a mother's heart, Scarce from her breast a single pulse receiving But it was sent thee with some tender thought, How can I leave thee-here !- WILLIS.
WILLIAM JOHN PALFREY, of Cambridge, 1658, was a constable in 1674. His children were : Rebecca, John, and Elizabeth. Peter, of Salem, 1836, one of the first inhabitants of that ancient town, and its representative in 1636. His children were : Jonathan, baptized in 1636; Jehodan, born 1636; Remember, born 1638; Mary, born 1639; and perhaps others. He removed to Reading, and there died, Sept. 15, 1663. De- scendants remain in the same place settled by him two hundred years ago, and one of them, Warwick Palfrey, Esq., has filled the same place in the government occupied by his ancestor.
BARRETT.
" As the long train
Of ages glide away, the sons of men,
The youth in life's green spring, and he who goes
In the full strength of years, matron and maid, The bowed with age, the infant in the smiles And beauty of its innocent age cut off,- Shall, one by one, be gathered to thy side,
By those, who in their turn shall follow them."-BRYANT.
HUMPHREY BARRETT, of Concord, Mass., 1640, freeman in 1657. He died in November, 1662. His children were: Thomas, drowned in Concord River, 1660; Humphrey, a representative of Concord 1691, who had sons, Joseph and Benjamin ; and John, who settled in Marl- borough. Thomas died at Chelmsford, Oct. 6, 1668, leaving a son Thomas, and others.
GREENLEAF.
EDMUND GREENLEAF was a freeman in Newbury in 1638. He is mentioned by Johnson as "ancient and experienced lieutenant " under Captain Gerrish in 1644. He removed to Boston, and died there. Stephen, his son, was born about 1630, he may have been of Boston in 1657, but resided in Newbury, and was admitted freeman in 1677; elected Representative in 1676, and in 1686 he was Captain of the militia, and died Dec. 1, 1690. His sons were : Stephen, born Aug. 15, 1652; John, born 21 June, 1662, died 24 May, 1734 ; Samuel, born Oct. 30, 1665; Tristram, born Feb. 11, 1668; Edmund, born May 10, 1670. He had three daughters, who, with the sons, were all married.
No. 16. TOMB OF HANCOCK .*
" We must be unanimous," said Hancock, on signing the Declaration of Indepen- dence ; "there must be no pulling different ways." "Yes," answered Franklin, " we must all hang together, or most assuredly we must all hang separately."
GOVERNOR HANCOCK.
JOHN HANCOCK, LL. D., Governor of Massachusetts, the son of Mr. Hancock of Braintree, was born 1737, graduated at Harvard College 1754. On the death of his uncle, Thomas Hancock, he received a very considerable fortune, and soon became an eminent merchant. In 1766, he was chosen a member of the House of Representatives for Boston, with James Otis, Thomas Cushing, and Samuel Adams. The seizure of his sloop Liberty, in 1768, for evading the laws of trade, occasioned a riot, and several of the Commissioners of Customs narrowly escaped with their lives. As the controversy with Great Britain assumed a more seri- ous shape, and affairs were hastening to a crisis, he evinced his attach- ment to the rights of his country.
He was President of the Provincial Congress in 1774. June 12th of the following year, General Gage issued his proclamation, offering pardon to all the rebels, excepting Sam'l Adams and John Hancock,
* The Boston Athenaeum overlooks the cemetery where repose the ashes of Gover- nor John Hancock, and Lieut. Governor Cushing. Though Sumner speaks of "Han- cock's broken column," the idea is merely poetical, for no monument has ever been erected over his remains .- LORING's HUNDRED ORATORS.
HANCOCK. 385
" whose offences," it is declared, " are of too flagitious a nature, to ad- mit of any other consideration than that of condign punishment." Mr. Hancock was at this time a member of the Continental Congress, of which he was chosen President May 24th, in place of Peyton Randolph, who was under the necessity of returning home. In this office, as the head of the illustrious Congress of 1776, he signed the Declaration of Independence. In consequence of the ill state of his health, he took his leave of Congress in 1777, and received their thanks for his unremitted attention and steady impartiality in discharging the duties of his office. Henry Laurens was his successor. On the adoption of the present con- stitution of Massachusetts, he was chosen the first Governor in October, 1780, and was annually re-elected, and continued in that office till Feb. 1785, when he resigned. In 1787, he was again chosen in the place of James Bowdoin, and remained in the chair till his death, October 8th, 1793, aged 56. His administration was very popular.
It was apprehended by some, that on his accession, the dignity of government would not be sufficiently maintained ; but his language on assuming the chair was manly and decisive, and by his moderation and lenity, the civil convulsion was completely quieted, without the shedding of blood by the hand of the civil magistrate.
Fourteen persons who received sentence of death were pardoned. In his public speeches to the Legislature he acquitted himself with a degree of popular eloquence, which is seldom equalled. In one of his last acts as Governor he supported, in a dignified manner, the sovereignty of the individual States. By a process commenced against Massachusetts, in favor of William Vassal, he was summoned by a writ to answer to the prosecution in the court of the United States. But he declined the smallest concession which might lessen the independence of the State, whose interests were entrusted to his care, and he supported his opinion with firmness and dignity. Litigations of this nature were soon after- wards precluded by an amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Mr. Hancock is represented as not possessing extraordinary powers of mind, and as not honoring the sciences very much by his per- sonal attentions. But he was easy in his address, polished in his man-
25
386
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
ners, affable and liberal; and as President of Congress he exhibited a dignity, impartiality, quickness of conception, and constant attention to business, which secured him respect. As the chairman of a deliberative body, few could preside with more reputation. In the early periods of his public career, it has been said that he was somewhat inconstant in his attachment to the cause of his country. Though this representation should be true; yet from the commencement of the war the part which he took was decided and uniform, and his patriotic exertions are worthy of honorable remembrance. By the suavity of his manners and his insin- uating address, he secured an almost unequalled popularity. He could speak with ease and propriety on every subject. Being considered a Republican in principle, and a firm supporter of the cause of freedom, whenever he consented to be a candidate for Governor, he was chosen to that office by an undisputed majority. In private life he was charitable and generous. With a large fortune he had also a disposition to employ it for useful and benevolent purposes. The poor shared liberally in his bounty. He was also a generous benefactor of Harvard College. He published an Oration, which he delivered, on the Boston Massacre, 1774. Thatcher's Serm. on his death ; Gordon I. 508, 231 : II. 31; III. 18- 21, 498; Warren I. 212, 215, 430; Minot's Hist. Insur. 179, 184; Holmes.
STODDARD, BOWES, AND HANCOCK PEDIGREE.
[The following letter will explain the reasons for inserting the accom- panying pedigree. It will be perceived, that, had the author of it been in possession of the previous publications of the register, he would have constructed a much more perfect account ; yet it is valuable as it is, and could not be improved without redrafting, which might do injustice to the ingenious contributor. It is therefore admitted as it comes to hand. -EDITOR.]
VALENTINE HOUSE, BROOK-ST., UPPER CLAPTOWN, NEAR LONDON, ENGLAND, Sept. 25th, 1855. To the Editor of the New England Historical and General Register. SIR :- On visiting the library of the British Museum, with a view
387
HANCOCK.
of tracing the connection of my family (which came from Boston on the rupture of the United States with England) with that of Sir Martin Bowes, Lord Mayor of London, temp. Eliz., I discovered the existence of your Society, the volumes of which seem so full of interesting records of a similar nature, that I have ventured to address you, in the hope of your being able, by making my aim known, to assist me through some of your talented correspondents.
My object is to discover the individual of our name who first settled in America, and I enclose a short pedigree of all I have yet been able to learn of the families of Bowes, Hancock, and Stoddard, from my father's papers. John Hancock, the first President of Congress, and who as such signed the ever memorable "Declaration of Independence," was my grandfather's first cousin ; and William Bowes and John Hancock were left conjoint heirs to Thomas Hancock, Esq., their mutual uncle.
I think that this circumstance will make the enclosed pedigree of in- terest to your readers, and perhaps induce them kindly to aid me in my researches. I know from the arms, that the first Nicholas Bowes men- tioned in the pedigree must have been a descendant of Sir Martin, the Lord Mayor (of whose family I have full accounts from records in this country), and most probably he was the son of the first of the name who emigrated to New England. The most common name in our family is William (no Nicholas occurring in the English pedigrees), and William, you will observe, is the name of the eldest son in every descent of the American family tree. The only relatives I have must be living in America at the present time.
As I may not have sketched the Arms (which I have copied from the old family seals) correctly, I enclose my late father's old Book- Plate. I have made my communication as short as possible, not to en- croach on your valuable pages, and trusting you will have the kindness by inserting this, to aid the object I have in view.
I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
ARTHUR BOWES.
388
STODDARD.
BOWES.
HANCOCK.
[ARMS .- Quarterly. 1. Bowes of London; 2. Stoddard ; 3. Troutbeck; 4. Bowes as the 1st.
Nicholas Bowes. Will = Martha, sister to dated 22 Oct. 1721* 1 Jona Reming- ton, Esq.
Rev. John Hancock, = Minister at Lex- ington. Ob. 1752, æt. 82.
William Stoddard, = Esq, Just. of the Peace at Boston. Ob. 7, Sept. 1775, æt. 82.
William Bowes, Dorcas Nicholas Bowes, = Lucy Hancock, Thos. Hancock, = Lyd- Lyd- Rev. John = eldest son, and Bowes, M. A. of Har- - Han- Minister at Esq., styled ia. named executor a minor vard Col., born ia. Hancock, in his father's in 1721. 4 Nov. 1706. Minister at cock. Braintree. eldest son. Bedford, from 1730 to 1754.
will, together with his mother and John Dix- well, Esq.
[Afterwards m. Rev. Samuel Cooke, Minister at Meenotomy, now W. Cam- bridge. ] Ob.
"the Hon." Will dated 5 March, '1753; proved Aug. 10, 1764, in which he 21 Sept. 1768, left large pro- æt. 55. perty to the chil- dren of his bro. John, and to his nephew Wm. Bowes. Ob. 1 Aug. 1764, æt. 62.
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.