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 8
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Dr. Barnabas Binney was senior, and an eminent surgeon in the Revolutionary army, afterwards settled in Philadelphia with a success- ful practice. Born 1751, graduated at Brown, 1774, married Mary,
* From a MS. Genealogy of the "Binney family," by C. J. F. Binney.
120
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
daughter of Henry Woodrow, of New Jersey. He died June 21, 1787. His widow in 1791, married the celebrated Dr. Marshall Spring, of Watertown, Massachusetts, and died there, aged 37, in 1793, leaving one son by that marriage. Her remains and those of her son, John Binney, aged 10, were placed in the tomb of Dr. Spring, in Watertown.
Dr. Binney left four children :
1. Susan, married John B. Wallace, of Philadelphia.
2. Hon. Horace Binney, LL.D., born in Philadelphia 1780, gradua- ted at Harvard College 1797, Senator in Congress twice, invited to a seat in the Supreme Court, Washington, and to a seat in General Taylor's Cabinet. His fame as a jurist and most accomplished gentle- man is unsurpassed in this country. He resides in Philadelphia, in the enjoyment of the result of a successful practice, and surrounded by children and grandchildren. The seal which he uses, and which is on family plate over a century old, is crest, an ostrich with a key or in its beak, shield ar, two bars sa with two scollop shells, on each bar, motto " Tiens Foy."
3. John, died at the age of 10.
4. Mary, born 1786, married Hon. Lucius Manlius Sargent, of Bos- ton, the well-known antiquarian and accomplished gentleman.
At the north-west corner of the Franklin Monument in the Granary Burial Ground, and near together, are these "grave stones."
HERE LIES BURIED
THE BODY OF
CAPT. JOHN BINNEY,
DIED
DEC'R 21, 1765,
Æ. 29.
HERE LIES BURIED
THE BODY OF
KATHERINE BINNEY,
WIFE OF CAPT. JOHN BINNEY,
Æ. 55, WHO DIED JULY THE 14TH, 1758.
HERE LIES BURIED THE BODY OF JOHN MINZIES, ESQ.,
Æ. 42, DIED DEC'R 3D, 1724.
121
BINNEY.
Capt. John Binney, son of -, 6-, died previous to 1758, married in Boston, Dec. 31, 1724 (per Brattle-street Church Records), to Kathe- rine Minze, by Mr. Benjamin Coleman.
Judge John Minzee and Eddy Pain were married in Boston, Janu- ary 1, 1705.
CHILDREN :
1. Eddy (or Edith), born Oct. 11, baptized (B. St. Recs.) Oct. 22, 1727, died single, of dropsy, aged 72, and buried (per Christ Church Records) April 27, 1799. By her will it appears she survived all her family.
2. Ivan, born 1730, married Carter, of Boston.
3. Richard, died, aged 5.
4. Sarah, born 1734, single, 1774.
5. John, also Captain, born 1736, died Dec. 21, aged 29, buried Dec. 24, 1765.
6. Samuel, mentioned in his mother's will, 1758.
Per Church Records, Edith Binney, single woman, will, Boston, March 22, 1799, leaves all her personal property to Rose, a black woman, wife of Albany Cushing, and the use of her house, &c., corner of Fish and Sun Court, to her during her life. Her rings and other jewelry and the estate after Rose's death, to Rev. Mr. Walter, rector of Christ Church.
[NOTE.] On the Brattle-street Church Records are the baptisms of "Catharine, 1 week, Feb. 17, 1706, dau'ter of Eddy Minze, & Eddy, April 4, 1708; Anna, May 18, 1712 ; John, Mar. 21, 1714 ; Thomas (in private), Sept. 23, 1719; Samuel, Aug. 5, 1722, also, Katherine Minze, admitted Dec'r 3d, 1721 ; Edith, March 6, 1720, married Judge Minze, from Scotland, Nov. 14, 1716. John Mynze, Esq., and Mrs. Katherine Lake, married March 25, 1717."
This latter marriage and the births of John Binney's children, except Samuel, are on the Boston Records also.
Katherine Binney's will 1758, mentions among other property left her brothers and sisters, a negro woman, March 2 1774, ROSE, a negro servant of Edith and Sarah Binney's, was baptized. C. J. F. B.
Boston, August 30, 1855.
122
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
Edith Binney survived all her family, which probably came from Scotland or England, as no connection has been found between the Hull, Massachusetts, branch, and this family. [For a more particular account of the family, vide BRIDGMAN's " Memorials of Copp's Hill," page 164, " King's Chapel Memorials," pages 73 and from 216 to 220.]
123
INSCRIPTIONS.
MOSES BASS. IN THIS TOMB REPOSE THE REMAINS OF DR. HORACE BEAN
WHO WAS FOR TWENTY-FOUR YEARS A PRACTISING PHYSICIAN
IN BOSTON.
WAS A GRADUATE OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY
IN THE CLASS OF 1800.
HE WAS BORN IN WRENTHAM, MASS.,
SEPTEMBER 4, 1770.
HIS FATHER WAS THE REV. JOSEPH BEAN,
THE FIRST MINISTER OF WRENTHAM,
(НЕ GRADUATED AT HARVARD IN 1748.)
. AND OF
ELIZABETH MESSENGER
HIS WIFE,
(WHO WAS ALSO A DAUGHTER OF A MINISTER.)
HE WAS A FRIEND TO THE FRIENDLESS, AND A CONSTANT
BENEFACTOR TO THE POOR.
HIS MEMORY STILL LIVES IN MANY HEARTS
HE HAS BLEST,
AND IS A PRECIOUS LEGACY TO HIS
CHILDREN.
124
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
.
HERE ARE ENTOMBED
ALL THAT WAS MORTAL OF
MRS. MARY BEAN,
WIFE OF
REV. JOSEPH BEAN,
FIRST MINISTER OF WRENTHAM, MASS.
BORN MAY 21, 1779,
MARRIED 1806,
DIED JUNE 14, 1852.
SHE WAS DAUGHTER OF MR. GILLAM BASS,
OF BOSTON,
AND GRANDDAUGHTER OF MR. MOSES BASS. SHE WAS A GOOD AND DEVOTED MOTHER,
AND HER MEMORY
IS EMBALMED IN THE HEARTS OF HER CHILDREN.
"THE GOOD AND THE TRUE
NEVER DIE, NEVER DIE,
THOUGH GONE, THEY ARE HERE,
EVER NIGH, EVER NIGH."
125
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LIES BURIED THE BODY OF
MR. JOHN HOOTON, 1 THIS LIFE JUNE 24TH, 1760,
WHO DEPARTED
AGED 71 YEARS.
[Opposite this is the footstone of MRS. SARAH HOOTON.]
[By side of preceding.]
HERE LIES BURIED THE BODY OF
MRS. SARAH HOOTON,
WIFE TO MR. JOHN HOOTON,
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE FEB. YE 24TH, 17 *
JOHN,
SON OF JOHN AND SARAH HOOTON,
AGED 1 YEAR AND 3 MO. DIED AUGUST YE 29TH, 1721.
IN MEMORY OF
MRS. JOAN BURT,
WIFE OF MR. BENJAMIN BURT,
AND DAU'R OF MR. JOHN AND MRS. SARAH HOOTON, DIED OCT'R 31ST, 1785, AGED 54 YEARS.
[Footstone, 1785, MRS. JOAN BURT.]
[Footstone of MR. RICHARD HOOTON.]
BASS.
JOHN BASS, of Braintree, married Ruth, daughter of John Alden of Plymouth, April 12, 1657, and had children-John, born November 26, 1658; Samuel, born March 25, 1660; Ruth, Joseph, Sarah, and perhaps others; Joseph of Braintree, 1648 ; Samuel, Braintree freeman, 1634, the first deacon of the church, and in office more than fifty years, was representative 1641 twelve years, died December 3, 1694, aged 94, having seen one hundred and sixty-two descendants ; Ann, his wife, died September 5, 1693. Samuel, of Massachusetts, was admitted freeman 1656. William, of Massachusetts, freeman, 1638.
Edward Bass, bishop of the Episcopal Church in Massachusetts, was born at Dorchester, November 23, 1726, and was graduated in 1744. In 1752, he was invited to settle over the Episcopal church in Newbury, and was ordained by that great man, Dr. Sherlock, then Bishop of London.
During the Revolutionary war, when most of the Episcopal churches were left destitute, he continued to preach, and, by his prudence, mild- ness, peaceable and inoffensive behavior, he gained the esteem and affec- tion of people who were very different in their politics.
In July, 1789, he received a diploma of doctor of divinity from the university of Philadelphia.
In 1796, he was elected unanimously to the office of Bishop of Massachusetts.
He was consecrated in Christ Church, May 7th, 1797, by the bishop of the Episcopal churches in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York.
127
BASS.
He was also elected bishop of the Episcopal churches in Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Bishop Bass was a sound divine, a critical scholar, an accomplished gentleman, an exemplary Christian. On the 10th of September, 1803, after an illness of two days, he died as he had lived, full of piety, resig- nation, and humility.
SEWALL.
THE following note was kindly furnished by Rev. Samuel Sewall, D. D., who has long been preparing an extended account of the Sewall family.
BURLINGTON, Mass., September 21st, 1853.
THOMAS BRIDGMAN, EsQ.
Dear Sir :- Yours of the 10th inst. was duly received, and I now embrace the earliest convenient opportunity I have had, to furnish you with the desired " article " concerning the Sewall family, and the tomb in the Granary Burying Ground, Boston, which bears their name.
All the Sewalls now known to be in New England and Lower Canada, are descended from Mr. Henry Sewall, a linen-draper, of Coventry, Warwickshire, England, who acquired a large estate by industry and prudence, and was chosen Mayor of that city for 1606, and one or more other years.
Mr. Henry Sewall, a grandson of the above Henry, came to this country 1634, assisted in the settlement of Newbury, Mass., 1635, mar- ried Jane, daughter of Mr. Stephen and Mrs. Alice Dummer of that town March 25, 1646; returned to England with his father and mother Dum- mer the following winter, and after a temporary residence with his family in his native country, came back to New England 1659, took up his resi- dence again at Newbury, and there died, May 16, 1670, at 86, having the character of a true Nathaniel given him by his minister, Rev. Mr. Top- pan, in a sermon preached shortly after his death. His wife died Janu-
129
SEWALL.
ary 13, 1700, æt. 74, and a grave-stone erected to their memory in the old burying ground at Newbury, still remains. Descendants of the five daughters of this worthy couple are numerous in Newbury, Rowley and vicinity, and from their three sons, Samuel, John, and Stephen, great numbers have arisen to bear up their names in Boston, Salem, Newbury, and Marblehead, Mass., at Portsmouth, N. H., at Quebec and Montreal, Lower Canada, and throughout the State of Maine. Two original letters of theirs to their son Samuel, one written by the father in 1671, the 'other by the mother about 1699, are preserved with care by the writer of this article, both as precious relics of the founder of his family in England, and as monuments of their parental love.
Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, of Boston, from whom the "Sewall Tomb," in the Granary Burying Ground in that city, derives its name, was the eldest son of Henry and Jane Sewall of Newbury. He was born at Bishop Stoke, Hampshire County, England, March 28, 1652; came with his mother to this country in 1661, was graduated at Harvard Col- lege (of which he was some time a Fellow, or Tutor), 1671, and married 28th February, 1675-6, Hannah, daughter and only heir of Hon. John Hull, Esq., of Boston, Master of the Mint, who coined the celebrated New England shillings ; Treasurer of the colony for 1676, and subse- quently a member of the Board of Assistants. Mr. Sewall after serving his country faithfully in the Council of the Province thirty-three years in succession, and as a Judge in the principal Court of Judicature under the Colonial and Provincial Governments upwards of forty years, of which ten as Chief Justice, died January 1st, 1729-30, æt. 78. At the Boston Thursday Lecture, January 8th, the day after his funeral, Rev. Mr. Prince, of the Old South Church, preached a sermon in reference to his death, from 1st Samuel vii. 15-17, (" And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life," &c. &c.) in which he gave him a very high character for learning, piety, and humility ; for justice, beneficence, and compassion.
The Tomb in the Granary Burying Ground, Boston, known by his name, was built by his father-in-law, Hon. John Hull, Esq., who was buried therein, October 5, 1683. According to a list prepared by Samuel Sewall, Esq., of Brookline, eldest son of the Chief Justice, No-
9
130
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
vember 9, 1737, there had been deposited in that tomb the bodies of 33 persons, viz. : John Hull, Esq., and Mrs. Judith Hull his wife, a sister of Col. Edmund Quincy, of Braintree, Mr. Daniel Quincy of Boston, a son of Col. Quincy by his first wife, and father of Hon. John Quincy, Esq., of Braintree, Speaker of the House for many years, who was great- grandfather of the late John Quincy Adams, President of the United States; Rev. Joshua Moodey, first Pastor of the Church at Portsmouth, N. H., and sometime assistant minister of first Church, Boston ; Chief Justice Sewall and his first two wives, twenty-five of his children and grandchildren (including Mrs. Elizabeth Hirst his eldest daughter, Grove Hirst, Esq., Merchant, her husband, and their daughter Mrs. Eliza- beth, first wife of Rev. Charles Chauncey, D. D.,) and Miss Ann Pierce, probably a cousin from Newbury, who had died in Boston. To these were doubtless added between then and the Revolution, Rev. William Cooper of Brattle-street Church, who had buried three of their children there before 1737, and Judith his wife, youngest daughter of Judge Sewall, Rev. Dr. Joseph Sewall, son of the Judge and Pastor of the Old South Church, and Elizabeth his wife, a daughter of Hon. Judge Walley, and their only surviving son, Samuel Sewall, Esq., of Boston, Merchant, and Deacon of the Old South Church, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Edmund Quincy, Esq., of Braintree and Boston, and a son of theirs Joseph Sewall, who died in childhood, 1752, making 40 persons in all, who were buried in the Sewall Tomb, in the Granary Burying Ground, Boston, previous to the Revolution.
The above Samuel Sewall, Esq., of Boston, who died in January 1771, and Elizabeth his wife, who died in February, 1770, left seven children, viz. :
Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Salisbury, Deacon of the Old South Church, Boston.
Hannah, wife of Mr. James Hill, Boston.
Sarah, who died 1780, at Cambridge, and was buried there in the tomb of Rev. Dr. Wigglesworth.
Samuel, the late Chief Justice, my honored father, who resided at Marblehead.
131
SEWALL
Dorothy, wife of Capt. Joseph May, of Boston.
Katharine, wife of Henry Gallison, Esq., of Marblehead.
Joseph, of Boston, Merchant, and some time Treasurer of the Com- monwealth.
Of these Mrs. Salisbury was buried at her decease in 1789, in the family tomb in the Granary Burying Ground, but was afterwards trans- ferred to a tomb purchased by her consort, in the Chapel Burying Ground. The rest having changed their place of residence, or being provided with other places of sepulture, at the time of their decease, the old tomb in the Granary, on the part of this branch of the Sewall family, became virtually abandoned.
Within the last forty or fifty years, this tomb was taken possession of by Capt. Philip Ridgway, of Boston, who had married a descendant of Samuel Sewall, Esq., of Brookline, the eldest son of the Chief Justice. This gentleman repaired it, and may not improbably have buried some of his dead there, but he still caused the inscription of " Tomb of Hon. Judge Sewall," (or words equivalent to these) to be engraved on the top. And now, within a few years, Ralph Huntington, Esq., of Boston, who married a connection of the Sewall family, as I have heard, obtained the consent of the late Joseph Sewall, Esq., of Boston, above named, to use the Sewall Tomb in the Granary Burying Ground as his own, on condition, it is understood, that the remains heretofore deposited there, should not be removed. Much precious dust lies buried in that tomb. May it never be disturbed till at the last trump Christ shall awake the sleeping bodies of his saints, and raise them to life and glory above !
The arms of the Sewall family in New England are " Sable Cheve- ron betwixt three Gad Bees argent," and these are the very same as are inscribed by Fuller, in his Worthies of England, to " John Sewall, Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, 4 Rich. II. 1380."
The copy I send you was given me some years since by a kinsman, Rev. Jotham Sewall, of Chesterville, the venerable missionary of Maine, now deceased; who also once told me, I am confident, that the motto to our arms was, " Vivere est agere." This motto suits very well with the " Gad Bees ; " but it is not in a display of these arms accompanying a
132
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
portrait I have of the Rev. Dr. Sewall of the Old South Church, Boston, taken in 1768; nor in any other that I have ever seen. The copy of arms enclosed, I must request you, Dear Sir, to return to me when you have done with it, as I am very choice of it. I shall keep for you the specimen of arms you sent me, as you request, with thanks for your kindness in sending them.
For all the information I can give you respecting the ministers of Groton, I must refer you to the " American Quarterly Register." In the four numbers of Vol. XI. of that work, I published in 1838 and 1839, an account of all the Congregational Churches in the county of Middle- sex, and of their respective ministers from the beginning. To obtain information respecting the Church of Groton, I visited the place in 1834 or 1835, examined Town and Church Records, the records of the separa- tion that had there taken place, went into the old graveyard, &c. &c. The result of my labors respecting Groton you will find in the 3d Num- ber of that volume, page 249, &c. &c.
Yours respectfully,
SAMUEL SEWALL.
133
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MARY COLSON,
DAU'R TO DAVID AND HANNAH COLSON, AGED 14 YEARS AND 11 MO. DIED OCT. YE 14TH, 1721.
-
JOHN BODMAN,
SON OF MR. WILLIAM AND MRS. CATHERINE BODMAN,
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF
MRS. DOROTHY TREADWAY,
AGED 79 YEARS,
DIED MARCH YE 9TH, 1740.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MR.
FRANCIS PETTIT,
AGED 32 YEARS & 5 DAYS, DEPARTED THIS LIFE,
JULY YE 9TH, 1721.
134
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
IOHN HILLS,
AGED ABOUT 26 YEARS, DIED NOUEMBER 21, 1690.
IN MEMORY OF
JAMES OTIS,
WHO DIED JULY 7TH, 1783, AGED 2 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
BARNABAS LEWIS,
SON TO MR. JAMES AND MRS. ELIZ'TH LEWIS, DEC'D APRIL YE 12, 1729, IN YE 23D YEAR OF HIS AGE.
SEYRE DAILLE.
HERE LYES YE BOOY OF
JOANNA WALTERS,
WIFE TO WILLIAM WALTERS,
AGED 25 YEARS,
DEC'D SEPT. YE 8TH, 1717.
135
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LYES THE BODY OF
MR. JOHN KILBY, AGED 54 YEARS AND 4 MO.
DEC'D MAY YE 29TH, 1722.
HERE LYES THE BODY OF
MR. RICHARD KILBY, AGED 40 YEARS, DEC'D DECEMBER YE 4TH, 1736.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
RACHEL INCHES,
WIFE TO THOMAS INCHES,
AGED 26 YEARS & 1 MO. DIED SEPT'R YE 24, 1719.
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF
MRS. HANNAH TUCKERMAN, WHO DIED JUNE 13TH, 1757, Æ. 36.
RUTH CUTLER.
HERE LIES THE BODY OF CAPT. TIMOTHY PARKER, OF FALMOUTH, IN THE COUNTY OF BARNSTABLE, WHO DIED OF THE SMALL-POX, AUGUST 8TH, 1762, IN THE 36TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
PARKER.
THOMAS PARKER, first of Lynn, came in the Susan and Ellen from London, 1635, aged 30, fellow passenger with young Richard Salton- stall, and his wife and child; was freeman 17th May, 1637, removed soon after to Reading, perhaps on his marriage, had Hananiah, born 1638; Thomas; Joseph, 1642, died soon ; Joseph again 24th December, 1645, died at four months old ; Mary, 11th March, but another docu- ment says 12th December, 1647 ; Martha, 14th March, 1649 ; Nathaniel, 16th May, 1651; Sarah, 30th September, 1653, probably died young ; Jonathan, 10th May, 1656; and Sarah, again, 23d May, 1658; beside John, of uncertain date. He was one of the founders of the church at Reading, and deacon to his death, many years, in 1683. In his will, of 3d April, in that year, proved 18th December following, he provided for his wife Amy, sons John, Thomas, and Nathaniel, daughters Mary, and Martha, beside grandchildren Samuel, and Sarah, and made son Hana- niah executor. His widow died 15th January, 1690.
HANANIAH, of Reading, son, perhaps the eldest, of Thomas Parker,
137
PARKER.
married 30th September, 1663, Elizabeth, daughter of Jonathan Brown; had John, born 3d August, 1664; Samuel, 24th October, 1666; Eliza- beth, June, 1668; Sarah, 20th February, 1672, and died next year ; Hananiah, 2d November, 1674, died in a few months; Ebenezer, 13th February, 1676; Hananiah, again, 30th April, 1681, died in a few months; and Mary. His wife died 27th February, 1698; and he married 12th December, 1700, Mary, widow of Deacon John Bright, who outlived him, and he died 10th March, 1724, aged 85.
JOHN, of Reading, brother of Hananiah, married 13th November, 1667, Hannah, probably daughter of Thomas Kendall; had John, born 16th December, 1668; Thomas, 9th November, 1670; Hannah, 25th February, 1672; Rebecca, 18th February, 1675; Kendall, 15th Novem- ber, 1677; Abigail, 10th October, 1679, died in a few weeks; Jonathan, 18th July, 1681; Daniel, 30th October, 1686 ; and Abigail, again, 24th December, 1688, died at six months old. His wife died 8th July, 1689, and by his second wife, Thankful, married 28th January, following, he had Hannah, again, 28th January, 1691; Rebecca, again, 13th Feb- ruary, 1693; Thomas, again, 17th March, 1695; and Elizabeth, 27th March, 1698. Thomas, Hannah, and Rebecca, children of the first wife, had died shortly before their mother, and all within three days. He died 21st February, 1699.
NATHANIEL, of Reading, brother of Hananiah, by wife Bethia, had Bethia, born 23d July, 1678, died in a few weeks; Nathaniel, 4th De- cember, 1679 ; Stephen, 14th June, 1684, died in a few months; Bethia, again, 6th September, 1685; Susanna, 29th December, 1687; Ebenezer, 28th December, 1689; Stephen, again, 21st April, 1692; Caleb, 22d February, 1694; Timothy, 24th February, 1696; Obadiah, 13th Janu- ary, 1698; Abigail, 25th September, 1699; Amy, 1st January, 1701, died soon; Amy, again, 8th November, 1702; and Phineas, 27th Sep- tember, 1704. His wife died 23d August, 1748, in her 90th year.
JOHN, of Reading, son of Hananiah, by wife Deliverance, had Han- aniah, born 10th October, 1691, who died at Port Royal, on service in Queen's Ann's war, 1711; Andrew, 14th February, 1693 ; Josiah, 11th April, 1694; Mary, 4th December, 1695, died at 14 years; a son born
138
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
19th August, 1697, who died at 12 years; and John, 8th November, 1703. Late in life he was of Lexington, where his wife died 10th March, 1718, and he died 12th January, 1741.
THIS STONE ERECTED BY MR. ABEL PARKER, MR. JOSIAH HOLDEN, AND
MR. NATHANIEL LAKIN. ALSO, 1 MR. JOHN BLOOD AND MR. ISAAC WOODS, TO THE MEMORY OF MR. JOSEPH PARKER, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE NOV'R 26TH, 1753, AGED 64 YEARS, 8 MONTHS, AND 26 DAYS. AND BY
MR. JOSIAH PARKER.
"DEAR FRIENDS, FOR ME PRAY DO NOT WEEP, " I AM NOT DEAD BUT HERE DO SLEEP,
"WITHIN THIS SOLID LUMP OF CLAY,
"UNTIL THE RESURRECTION DAY.
"AND HERE, INDEED, I MUST REMAIN, "TILL CHRIST SHALL RAISE ME UP AGAIN."
[NOTE. ] In June, 1852, at the request of that excellent man, the late Hon. Amos Lawrence, we visited his native town of Groton, Mass., and, among other monuments, found one bearing the above inscription. It is a large monument, and was covered with moss, but the letters were cut deep, and it is now quite legible .- ED.
139
PARKER.
The PARKER FAMILY were among the most numerous, and held a place of the first respectability with the most influential and useful of all the families of Old Groton. James and Joseph Parker were proba- bly brothers, and are found among the original proprietors of the town. In the town records, the following names are found as children of Joseph Parker :
Sarah, born Nov. 16, 1666, died Sept. 15, 1704.
Elizabeth, born Aug. 31, 1679.
Simon, born Aug. 27, 1687. Joseph, born March 1, 1689.
Benjamin, born Dec. 3, 1691.
John, born Aug. 26, 1695.
James Parker was one of the most distinguished men of his time, occupying a commanding position as a public man in every place where he resided, and was revered for the sterling excellencies of his character by his contemporaries. His name holds a conspicuous place in the records of Dunstable, Chelmsford, Bilerica, and Woburn. He became an early settler of Groton, and was probably one of the petitioners for the grant of the town, and was elected as a member of the first board of Selectmen in December, 1662. To this office he was elected in nearly all the successive years from 1662 to 1699, during which period he was Moderator of nearly all the town meetings, Chairman of all im- portant committees, and appointed to transact all important business of a municipal, parochial, or public nature.
As an indication of the estimation in which he was held by the public generally, he was elected a Selectman of Dunstable even after he became an inhabitant of Groton. Not only was he thus honored in the general affairs of society, but his standing as a member of the church is also indicated by his being appointed to the office of Deacon, the duties of which he faithfully and efficiently discharged. He was also early made a military Captain, and was a very skilful and brave officer in the Indian wars. No name is oftener mentioned in the scenes and events connected with the difficulties in the early settlement of our country, than that of Captain James Parker. In addition to his other
140
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
arduous and useful offices, he was sometime Town Clerk of Groton, and in the year 1693 he was chosen a representative of the town to the General Court.
His residence was on the principal street near the centre of the town, on the south side of a little stream which bears his name, and he became one of the most extensive owners of real estate in the place. In 1643, he was married to Elizabeth Long, of Woburn, by whom he had eleven children. He married again in advanced life widow Eunice -, by whom he had a daughter. The names of all his children are as follows :
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