USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Lancaster > The early records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725 > Part 26
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MASSACHUSETTS. 1643-1725.
The descriptions of Prescott's lands as above given are transcribed from volume III of the Middlesex Registry, being much more complete than the Jater copies in the Book of Lands. The records of Prescott's special grants from the General Court, and his sale of a twenty acre house lot upon the Neck to Ralph Houghton, have been set down in previous pages. The title to the homestead where he lived until his removal to the vicinity of his mills, was de- rived from Symonds & King through John Cowdall, a Boston trader, by deed duly recorded in the Suffolk Reg- istry, a copy also being recorded in volume III of the Middlesex Registry.
A Coppie of a deed from John Cowdall
Bee it Knowne by these presents that I John Cowdall of Boston, for good & valluable consideration, by mee in hand received, haue giuen, granted, bargained & sold and by these presents do gine grant, bargain, & sell vnto John Prescott late of Watertown my house at Nashaway, and twenty acres of land therevnto belonging and adjoyneing, bounded with John Prescotts owne lott on the east, Steeven Day on the North, and George Adams south, as also twelue acres of wett meadow belonging to It, and fifty acres of Intervale bounded with Penycooke riuer west, and still riuer east, vpon which parcell of land Richard Linton, and Lawrance Waters haue planted corne, together with all appurtenances, conueniences and priueledges. comunes, pastures, mindalls &c belonging & apperteyne- ing to the said lands to haue and to hold the said house & Lands with all other the appurtenances & priuelidges to him and his heyres for euer, witnes my hand & seale this 5th of the Smo. 1647.
JOHN COWDALL
Sealed ond delived In the presence of WALTER ASPINWALL RICHARD BAILY
Recorded 5 .. 8 .. 1647 WALTER ASPINWALL Recorder
James Wisers deed of Washacum lands
Know all men by these prsents that I James Wiser of Washakim in the countie of midlesex, Indian, in New England, for good consideratione and mouinge therevnto, but especially for & in consideratione of fouer pounds teen shillings allredy recd by me haue giuen grantted bargined sold alinated & confirmed & do by these psents giue grant bargine sell alinate & confirme vnto John Prescott of Lancaster scine nintie accers of vnim- proued land be it more or lesse lyinge vpon a plaine & twentie accers be
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ANNALS OF LANCASTER,
it more or lesse beinge a corne feilld lyinge vpon a hill weastward of this plaine bounded by a pond a littill remote casterly frome the plaine: Washa- Lim fort beinge aboutt fifteene rods frome the neerest pt of this plaine & the hill whear on the Indian fielld is, weasterly of this plaine. only Ada- gunapeke & his Aunt & his sister reserue one accer a yere, the hill beinge called by the name of moantuhcake, this land joynes to the farme that the Country gaue John Prescott which allso is bounded by a hill to the south runinge downe to his meadow belonginge to his farme & the countryes land ellsewhear aboutt it, the sayde bargined Pmisses withall and singular ther puiledges & apertananses to be to the sayde John Prescott & his heyers for euer to haue & to hold for his or their pposes & Uesies without any lawfull lett molestatione or disturbance from by or vnder me or any my heyers executors or asignes or any other pson or psons what soeuer fermely bindinge my sellfe my heyers executors & asignes heervnto, & we whose names arre vnder written, Pummannommon & Pompoweagon do afirme and testifte that the aforesayde Jam'es Wiser hath full power & right to alinate thes lands & in wittnesse heerto I ye aforesayde Times Wiser do putt to my hand and scalle.
The 3 acc's of brok ypland expressed heerin that is reserved lyes at the northerly end of the feilld. datted this 224 of the first mo. 1669/70
the marke O JAMES WISER
Read signed & sealled & delivered in the presence of ye marke of (M) MARY WILLARD SIMON WILLARD Jr. the marke of C PUMMANNOMMON the marke of C; POMPOWEAGON
[From Shattuck Manuscripts in possession of the New England Historie Genea- logical Society.]
See page gi of this volume.
John Prescott died in December, 1681, possessed of about 700 acres of land, having moreover given lands and a mill at Nonaicoicus to his son Jonas. Three hundred acres of this estate lay about the Washacum Ponds, includ- ing the Sterling camp-grounds; he owned nearly all the lands upon which the manufactories and most densely peo- pled streets of Clinton are located, and one hundred acres in South Lancaster, stretching from the summit of George Hill to the meeting of the rivers. But the sworn inventory of his estate amounted to only 330 pounds 8 shillings. Af-
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MASSACHUSETTS. 1643 -1725.
ter the completion of his corn mill, he took up his residence near it, and the site of his garrison house has been hereto- fore noted as near the southeast corner of High and Water streets, in Clinton. The location of his carlier home is important, because from it as a starting point, all the home lots west of the rivers were laid out. Luckily we are left neither to conjecture nor tradition regarding its position. The site of the Symonds and King trucking house, bought of Cowdall, was sold to Nathaniel Wilder for twenty pounds by Jonathan Prescott, in 1697, and is thus de- scribed :
Twenty acres . . . . being in the south end of ye Town where John Prescott Sent and John Prescott Junt some time Lived, being the first Lott in number in that Range of Lotts butting westerly vpon the stated com- mon near Georges Hill, and easterly vpon a highway yt goeth between the two Ranges of Lotts and southerly it is bounded partly by ye Lott of Jonas ffairbanke and part by a halfe Lott of Daniel Gaines now in ye pos- session of said Jonathan Prescott, And northerly it is bounded by the Lott of ye said Nathaniel Wilder.
In the settlement of Lieutenant Nathaniel Wilder's estate his son Ephraim received " all the house Lott that formerly belonged to the Prescotts," except one acre, which was set apart for the widow. The direct descendants of Captain Ephraim Wilder have resided upon the property until within the memory of some now living. William Toombs bought it, and the estate is by our older residents often called the Toombs place. This land has lately come into possession of H. A. Marshall.
Reference to the record of Daniel Gains' grant will show that he had "ten acors lying on the top of George Hill . . . and northardly it is bounded by the house lott of John Prescott, and it buts easterly upon the Lott of Jonas Fair- banks." The description of Jonas Fairbank's home lot reads : "it buteth west upon a hill called George Hill and it is bounded north by the Lott of John Prescott." Fairbank's lot, now included in the farm of Jonas Goss,
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ANNALS OF LANCASTER,
extended forty rods along the highway, and from east to west was eighty rods long ; that of Prescott, his father-in- law, being half as wide and twice as long, extending to or beyond the crest of the hill.
The Rye-field, with Roper's " Brooke runeing cross the west end of it" as of old, is mostly included in the lands of G. F. Chandler, John A. Rice, W. H. Graham, and Rufus Eager, the road to George Hlill forming its northern bound- ary. May 1, 1698, Jonathan Prescott, in a deed of gift to his son Samuel, transferred "my house Lott known by the name of the Rye ffield ..... conteyning one Dwelling house and barne." June 1, 1708, Samuel Prescott, having removed to Concord, sold to Reverend John Prentice all his " houseing, lands, and meadows," including the Rye- field fully described and stated to be "the lott where y" said Samuel Prescott formerly Lived,"-also the intervale "bounded easterly by Nashua River for the most part aud Northerly by the burying place . . .. and North East it butts on the meeting of the Rivers". This intervale now belongs to the Thayer estate, and the existing ditch that separates it from the old burying ground and other uplands was first dug by John Prescott, and is mentioned as early as 1659. A few acres of Prescott's intervale were located a little higher up the south branch of the Nashaway, near the place long familiarly known as the Old Rock, but formerly, probably, called John's Jump, as that suggestive name is frequently found in old land records attached to some place in that immediate vicinity.
John Prescott, the founder of Lancaster, was the young- est son of Ralph and Ellen of Shevington, Lancashire, England, born about 1604, and married to Mary Platts, Jan. 21, 1629. He is supposed to have been a Cromwellian soldier, and to have left England to avoid religious perse- cution. He first sailed to Barbadoes in 1638, and thence to Boston in 1610. Soon thereafter he became the holder of one hundred and twenty-six acres of land in Watertown.
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MASSACHUSETTS. 1643-1725.
and in 1643 we find him prominent among the associates of the Nashaway Company. His invincible energy, manual skill, and fertility of resource pushed the enterprise to final success, in spite of dangers and discouragements which soon drove all his copartners from the undertaking. Such as the town became, it was his building. For nearly forty years he was its very heart and soul, and after the massa- cre he came back to die at his post, enjoining in his will, that the worn out mortal part of him should be committed "to the comon burying place here in Lancaster." Over his grave stands a rude fragment of slate rock, and few are the eyes that can readily read the characters rudely cut upon it : "JOHN PRESCOTT DESASED." The footstone with the date has crumbled away.
John Prescott's children were eight in number : 1, Mary, baptized at Sowerby, England ( Halifax Parish), Feb. 24, 1630 ; married Thomas Sawyer in 1648. 2. Martha. bap- tized at Halifax Parish, March II, 1632 : married John Rugg in 1655. 3. John, baptized at Halifax Parish, April 1, 1635 ; married Sarah Hayward, 1668 ; he lived with his father and succeeded him at the mills. 4. Sarah, baptized at Halifax Parish in 1637; married Richard Wheeler in 1658. 5. Hannah, probably born in Barbadoes in 1639; she became the second wife of John Rugg, May 4. 1660, her Sister Martha, with her twin babes, having died in 1656. 6. Lydia, born in Watertown, August 15, 1641 : married Jonas Fairbank, May 28, 1658. 7. Jonathan, born probably in Lancaster about 1646; he removed to Concord after the massacre and became a man of note there, dying Dec. 5. 1721. 8. Jonas. born June, 1648, in Lancaster ; married Mary Loker of Sudbury, 1672, and was a promi- nent citizen of Groton. John Prescott's grandchildren numbered fifty.
THE LANDS OF PHILIP KNIGHT
his house Lott his house Lott being twenty acres Lying on the west side of Nashway Riuer and the south end of the town being the second
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ANNALS OF LANCASTER,
Lott from Goodman Prescuts in that Range of Lotts buting east upon a Streat or highway that Runs betwen two Ranges of Lotts in that end of the town bounded south by the Lott of Goodman Prescutt and north by a Lott of John Johnsons buting west upon the stated Common upon which Lott Goodman Knight sum time erected a house and Lined thare being 160 Rods in Length and twenty Rods wide Lying for twenty acors be it more or Less -
his enteruail Lott His enteruail Lott Lying on the east Side of Peni- cook Riuer In a common feild in the uper end of that enteruail buting west upon penicook Riuer and east upon the Still River bounded south by a Lott of John Rigbees and north by sum Land of John Ruggs which was Laid out to him to make up his enteruail Lott this Lott was Laid out to Goodman Knight for twenty acors
Philip Knight did not sign the covenant. He was prob- ably that Philip who was admitted an inhabitant at Charles- town in 1637, and had wife Margery, and children Jonathan. Philip, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Mary. He died in 1668, the inventory of his estate being found in the Essex Regis- try. Knight sold all his rights here, and there is no evi- dence found to show that when the family name was brought to Lancaster again, after an absence of one hundred years. it was borne by a direct descendant of Philip Knight. The Knight lot was first sold to John Tinker, and purchased of him by Thomas Wilder, who probably established his resi- dence there at his first coming, in 1659. It remained in the hands of his direct descendants until the present century.
THE LANDS OF JOHN JOHNSON.
The first land grants to John Johnson, by an omission of the copyist, have no page in the Book of Lands. This proprietor signed the covenant in 1654, was alloted the twenty acres next. north from the Knight lot, and built and lived there. May 20, 1667. John Johnson and wife Mary, of Cambridge, deeded to John Roper, carpenter. "all my Home Lott whereon I sometime lived . . . . bounded south by a house lott of Thomas Wilder and northerly by a highway that runes up into the woods, and it butts East
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MASSACHUSETTS. 1643 -1725.
upon a high way or street that lyes between two ranges of lotts and west upon a stated comon, with fruit trees, build- ings, fences &c". In 1670, John Roper deeded to Arche- laus Courser, a "potter" from Boston, who had married his daughter Rachel, sixteen acres of the John Johnson lot, and after the death of Archelaus, his son, John Courser, sold it to Nathaniel Wilder. In 1729 the second Nathaniel Wilder transferred to his brother Oliver, "Land on which I formerly dwelt. & is the Lott that was granted to John Johnson and part of the Lott that was Phillip Knights and afterwards Thomas Wilders." Johnson came to Lancaster from Watertown. His wife was Mary, daughter of Thomas King of Marlborough. His house lott, twenty rods in width, bordered the southern side of the highway over George Hill by the school-house.
THE LANDS OF JOIN ROPER
his house Loft his house Lott is the fourth Lott from John Prescuts in that Rang of Lotts that Lyeth west of the Street or highway that Lyeth betwen two Ranges of Lotts in the south end of the town buting east upon that highway and west upon the stated Common bounded south by the countie high way that Goeth in to the woods, and so wbare need shall Require and bounded north on the Lott of John Rugg upon which Lott Goodman Johnson the taylor who sum time Liued at Sudbury bult a house and Liued thare for sum space of time which Lott was sumtime in the possesion [of ] Master day of Cambridge it being a hundred and Sixty Rods Long and twenty Rods wide and Lyeth for twenty acors be it more or Less.
his enteruail Lott His enteruail Lyeth in the north enteruail about the middel of it buting east upon the North Riuer and west upon the upland bounded South by the Lott of John Johnson and north by the Lott of John Moore which Lott is Laid out and Lyeth for twenty acors be it more or Less.
"Goodman Johnson the taylor," was Solomon of Sudbury and Marlborough. He exchanged, in 1652. "forty acres of land lying at Nashaway plantation with one Dwelling house uppon it," for a grant of three hundred acres of Stephen Day's. Day was one of the first proprietors, and an ener-
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ANNALS OF LANCASTER,
getic promoter of the interests of the plantation ; but his energy so often outran his discretion that he was constantly in debt. He signed the covenant, but never came to Lan- caster to live. His land rights either went to satisfy credi- tors, or as in this case, lapsed by non-improvement. The town assigned the Solomon Johnson lot to Roper. John Roper was of Norfolk County, England, coming to Amer- ica when twenty-six years old, in 1639. with wife Alice and two children, Alice and Elizabeth. He for some time lived in Dedham where were born to him Rachel, 1639; Han- nah, 1642 ; Ephraim. 1644 ; and Benjamin, 1647. He was a carpenter by trade, and a man respected of his neigh- bors and of good standing in the church, for he was chosen one of the selectmen in 1664. He was killed by the Indi- ans in 1676. Roper's Brook perpetuates his name. In a deed from John Moore to Daniel Hudson, A. D. 1682, the right is reserved "for the occupiers of John Roper's house for ever free liberty to fetch water from the Brook." The George Hill school-house now stands on the southeast cor- ner of the Roper lot. Ephraim Roper succeeded his father in possession of it, and had a garrison house here. which was destroyed and its inmates slaughtered or carried cap- tive in 1697. Nathaniel Wilder, who was administrator of Ephraim Roper's estate, is found in possession of the lot later, and in 1722 the second Nathaniel sold it to Oliver, whose descendants occupied it until the death of Joel Wil- der, 2d .. James Keyes bought a portion of Roper's town right and had lands laid out near the Marlborough line in I723.
THE LAND OF JOHN RUGG
House Lott His house Lott Lyeth in the South End of the town in A Rang of Lotts on the West Side of a Street or highway that Runs'betwen two Ranges of Lotts being the fifth Lott in that Range bounded Southerly by the Lott of John Roper and Northerly by the Lott of Daniel Gains and It buts Easterly upon the said Street or highway afores and Westerly it buts upon the stated Common and Lyeth for twenty acres be it more or Less.
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MASSACHUSETTS. 1643-1725.
Entervail Lott More he hath his Enteruail Lott in the first deuision Lying on the East side of Nashaway Riuer butting westerly upon the Riuer and Easterly upon the upland and It is bounded Southerly by the Lott of Jacob farrah Sener and Northerly it is bounded by a Lott which was sum time the Lott of Richard Smith now in the possession of Majer Willard and was Laid out for twenty acres
John Rugg had for his first wife Martha Prescott, who died, with her twin babes. in 1656. His second wife was Hannah Prescott, by whom he had children : John, 1662 ; Mercy, 1664; Thomas, 1666; Joseph, 1668; Hannah, 1670: Rebecca, 1673 ; Daniel, 1678 ; Jonathan, 16SI. He was made freeman in 1669. John Rugg's will was proved in February, 1697, and his widow was slain by the Indians the same year, together with her son Joseph, with his wife and three children. The Rugg house lot had been as- signed to Henry Kerley in the first allotment, but he refused it, and built on church lands not far from the Rowlandson garrison.
THE LAND OF DANIEL GAINS
his house Lott his house Lott part of [it] Lyeth in a peice of Land that was Left by the Lott of John Rugg and Goodman Kerley where now the Said Daniel hath built an house there being ten acors or thare abouts be it more or less bounded Southardly by John Ruggs Lott and northardly by the Lott of old Goodman Kerley and it buts easterly by the Street or hyway that Runs betwen two Ranges of Lotts and it buts westerly by the stated Common and more he hath ten acors Lying on the top of George Hill be it more or Less bounded Southardly upon the Common and north- ardly it is bounded by the house Lott of John Prescutt and it buts easterly upon the Lott of Jonas fairbanks and westerly it buts upon the Stated Common both the said peaces of upland Lyeth for his full house Lott of twenty acors be thay more or Less ---
his enteruail Lott His enteruail Lott Lyeth on the east side of peni- cook Riuer and is bounded southardly by the Lott of Jonas fairbanks and northardly it is bounded by sum Enteruail of Lawrence Waters and it buts Easterly upon the enteruail Swamp and west it buts upon the said peni- cook River A high way runing Cros the Lott to the meadows and to the plumtrees and Lyeth for his full Lott of twenty acors be it more or Less.
Daniel Gaines was a late comer, appearing here in 1660. There is no evidence that he had wife or children, but a
Arab
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ANNALS OF LANCASTER,
brother, "Samuel Gaynes," was appointed administrator of his estate. Ile was slain in the massacre of the Rowland- son garrison. John Prescott bought the ten acres on the top of George ITill.
THE LANDS OF WILLIAM KERLEY SENER
house Lotts, his own 20 acors the house Lott of William Kerley Sener is the Sixth Lott from John Prescutts house Lott northward contains more or Less twenty acors --
his purchased house Lott 20 acors of Richard Smith The house Lott of Richard Smith first Granted to the said Richard and afterwards pur- chased of him by the said William Kerley and now in his possession is the Seuenth Lott from John 'Prescutts aboue said Containing more or Less twenty acors : These two house Lotts Containing as aforesaid more or Less : fourty acors ioyning the one to the other are Scittuat Lying and being in that Rang of Lotts on the west side of the North Riuer bounded by the Street highway or Common Eastward the woods or Commons westward the house Lott of John Smith northward and the house Lott of Henery Kerley Southward in bredth and Length acording to the order of the town in the Book of Records for that Range
enteruail lotts his own 20 acors and Richard Smiths 20 acors The enteruail Lott of William Kerley Contains twenty acors more or Less is scituate Lying and being in the north enteruail west of the North Riuer also twenty acors more or Less Granted to Richard Smith and purchesed by the said William Kerley next adioyning to the said twenty acors South- ward this fourty acors of enteruail of and belonging to the said William Kerley is bounded by the North Riuer eastward the Commons or common Land westward the enteruail Lott of John Smith north and the enteruail Lott of William Kerley Juner Southward-
William Kerley, "husbandman," from Ashmore, Eng- land, came over in "the good Shipp the Confidence of London," April, 1638. We find the family in Hingham first, but of Sudbury in 1641. In 1647 he became freeman. His first wife, Ann, died in Lancaster, 1658. The next year he married Bridget Rowlandson, mother of the minis- ter. She dying, 1662, he took for his third wife Rebecca. widow of Thomas Joslin, A. D. 1664. He died July 14, 1670. It would seem that he had been a soldier, for in the inventory of his personal effects were "Iron cloathes " and
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MASSACHUSETTS. 1643-1725.
a "cutlash." William Kerley was appointed one of the first prudential managers of the town, and seems to have been a very strong willed if not influential member of the board. The Kerley lots are now the homesteads of F. D. Taylor and H. B. Stratton. A deed dated April 30, 1688, from Henry Kerlev, then of Marlborough, to Samuel Car- ter of Woburn, "clerk," transfers "the 6" house lott & three quarters of the 7th house lott," in all thirty-five acres.
Richard Smith's deed of his dwelling-house and twenty acre house lot to William Kerley, senior, is dated June 4, 1658. Smith was of Sudbury, son of John. His first wife, Mary, and her infant, died 27 .. 3" .. 1654, and August 10 of the same year he married the widow Joanna Quarlls, by whom he had in Lancaster. John, 1655, and Francis, 1657. He appears in 1656 among the proprietors of Groton, but perhaps did not become resident there, although he disap- pears from Lancaster.
LANDS OF MR SAMUEL CARTER
40 acors of Land Granted to Mr Samuel Carter Mr Samuel Carter hath fourty acres of Land Laid out to him which was a proper Gift of the town Lying at the east end of sum Second deuision Land of John farrahs now in the possession of Mr. Thomas Swift buting west upon st Swifts Land and easterly apon Swampie Low Land and Southardly it is bounded upon Second deuision Land of William Kerley Sener and northardly by Common plain Land.
Thomas Swift seems to have been a transient resident, perhaps from Milton. He was a non-resident proprietor in 1684, and disappears from the records thereafter. Samuel Carter, a teacher and clergyman, was the son of the Rev- erend Thomas Carter of Woburn, born 1640, graduated from Harvard College in 1660, died as minister of Groton, 1693. He sometimes preached in Lancaster, between 1681 and 1688. By wife Eunice Brooks he had four sons and four daughters : Mary, 1673; Samuel, 1678; John. 1681; Thomas. 1682 ; Nathaniel, 1685 ; Eunice, 1687 ; Abigail,
1
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ANNALS OF LANCASTER,
1690. None of these births are found in Lancaster Rec- ords. The widow Eunice married John Kendall of Wo- burn, who, with his brother Samuel, were the progenitors of numerous descendants bearing the name Kendall in Lancaster, Leominster and Sterling. John Kendall re- ceived a forty acre grant from the town, January 26, 1714, "on the easterly side of Wecapeket Brook." John, Samuel and Thomas Carter occupied the paternal estate purchased of William Kerley's heirs, and there the two last named had large families, which so multiplied the number bearing the family name that it was soon rivalled only by the Wil- lards and Wilders in the Lancaster census.
THE LANDS OF JOHN SMITH
house Lott The upland Lott of John Smith being the Eighth Lott In that Range of Lotts that Lyes on the west Side of the North Riuer and on the west side of the Street or hyway that Lyes betwen the Ranges of Lotts on the South end of the town being by estamation twenty acors being eight score Rods in Length and twenty Rods wide buting East upon the highway or Street that Runs betwen the Ranges of Lotts and west upon the Commons bounded south by the Lott of William Kerley Sener which he bought of Richard Smith and north by the Lott of William Kerley Juner lying for twenty acors be it more or Less.
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