Ancestor Report
Ancestor Report
Tenth Generation
768. Dea. Zachary FITCH12, 7G Grandfather, son of 1536. Hugh FITCH & 1537. Anne (Agnes) SMITH. was baptized 16 Jan 1591/2 in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Died in Reading, Massachusetts, on 9 Jun 1662. Immigrated abt 1637.
The Massachusetts immigrant Zachary Fitch was from St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England. The most comprehensive account of his ancestry and descendants is found in Roscoe Conkling Fitch’s History of the Fitch Family.235 This work reprints in its entirety the earlier paper of Stearns,12 which remains the authority on Zachary’s descendants, although Stearns’ information about Zachary’s immediate family is superseded by Roscoe Conkling Fitch.
The parish registers of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, suggest that “Zachary Fitch emigrated to America between the date of the burial of his son Robert at St. Albans, Feb. 18, 1636-7, and Sept. 7, 1638, the date when he was admitted a freeman of Massachusetts, this later date being the earliest reference to him in America.”236 Stearns’ earlier conjecture (see below) that Zachary emigrated in 1633 was in error. Roscoe Conkling Fitch also supplies nearly complete details on the birth of Zachary’s children, information that was missing from Stearns’ earlier account. No connection has yet been established between the Fitches of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, and the well-known Fitch family of Essex, England (reports to the contrary notwithstanding).237
Stearns had earlier reported238 that “ZACHARY1 FITCH, the emigrant ancestor, of one branch of the Fitch Families of New England, came to Lynn about 1633. It is understood that he lived in Lynn a few years, and settled about 1640 in the South Parish of Reading, now Wakefield, where he lived until his death. The boundary lines of Lynn and other early towns were not clearly defined -- Zachary Fitch with others received grants of land from Lynn which fell within the town of Reading when that town was organized. It is probable that he occupied the land in Reading, now Wakefield, a few years earlier than the date assumed by Eaton’s History of Reading. He was admitted freeman in 1638. He was an original member of the Church of Reading, and a Deacon from 1645 until he died; and a selectman, 1649, ’51, ’61. In the records of Reading he is frequently named, and in the colonial papers of his time the good character of the man is fully confirmed. A facsimile of his autograph is found in the REGISTER, Vol. xxxiii, page 61, and other autographs are found in original papers. He wrote his name Zachrie, and his contemporaries frequently wrote it Zachary and Zachery, but the name of his son and many of his descendants has taken the full form of Zachariah. The name of his wife was Mary, but a record of the marriage has not been found. It is certain that he was married about the time he emigrated to America, and, so far as known, the marriage could have been consummated in England or immediately after his arrival in America. He died in Reading, June 9, 1662. His will is dated March 18, 1662. To his sons Benjamin, Joseph and Samuel, who were farmers remaining in Reading, he devised lands in Reading; and to his sons Jeremiah, Thomas and John he gave money. It is known that Jeremiah and Thomas were merchants in Boston, and as this is the only mention we have of John, it is presumed from the character of the bequest that he had removed from Reading, and possibly was engaged in business. In naming the children of Zachary and Mary Fitch, the order of age is not fully known.”
Zachary Fitch’s “occupation in England was that of a glover, as appears by a bond which he signed at St. Albans about 1620.”236 His son Jeremiah is also described as a glover, and his son Thomas as a cordwainer.239
The following items from Eaton’s Reading240 all pertain to the life of Zachary Fitch:
The early settlers of Reading probably received land grants from Lynn, but these early records are missing. Eaton gives a list of the persons who were believed to be residents at or about the year of incorporation, and the list includes “Zackery Fitch, who settled on Salem Street, near where Mrs. Elizabeth Aborn was in 1868.”241
Zackery Fitch and Mary Fitch were included in the list of brothers and sisters of the church at Reading from the 29th of September, 1648, to 1650, inclusive, which was prepared by the newly-ordained minister, Samuel Haugh of Boston.242
The town of Reading ordered “that Goodman Fitts (Fitch) shall have full sattisfacson for a towne hieway downe his Lot in land contiguous.”243
In 1651, “Nicholas Brown, Edward Taylor, Zackery Fitch, and Jonas Eaton, were fined 6d. each for being late at town meeting; and Geo. Davis was fined 1s. 6d. for absence.”244
In 1662 the town ordered “That the lottes that was to be laid out to be on Wouburn line, is to be laid out on the Playne, and are to begin at the end next to Birchen Playne; and if the Playne will not be enough for all, the rest to be laid out in the Pine Playne at Dirty Breech meadow, and to begin at the hither end next to the town.” The grants ranged from 10 to 20 acres in size, and Zachary Fitch received a grant of 18 acres.245
In 1653, “Capt. Richard Walker, Thomas Marshall, and Nicholas Holt, being appoynted by the Court to lay out the County highway from Andevour to Reddinge, have thus agreed to follow the cart-way from Andevour to Goodman Holt’s farm, leaving his howse about a quarter of a mile on the left hand, and so on in a strayte South, or nere a South lyne, to the falls of Ipswich river, according to the marked trees, and so from a river uppon the like strayght lyne to the head of a meddow, called the Great Meddow, to the Saw Mill [original footnote: “Said saw-mill stood where ‘Newcomb Saw-Mill recently stood.”] in Reddinge, and from thence through common cornfields to the Meeting house, leaving the lott of Josias Dustin on the right hand, and Zackariah Fitts, his lott, on the left hand; and we agree that the said highway shall be fower rods wide at the least in all places, except through the common fields of Reddinge, and there not to be less than two rods wide.”246
In 1654, “‘Zachariah Fitch and Joseph Dustin,’ over whose land the road from Andover was laid in 1653, ‘having petitioned the Court for the removing of a highway layd out through their planting ground,’ received this answer: ‘The said highway shall be and hereby is suspended from being made us of for the present, and that the first highway formerly layd out shall be made use of, and accounted the only Country highway till this Court take further order.’ N.B. The piece of highway suspended as above was that part of the present Salem Street that is west of Daniel Nichols’, and was early known and long called Fitch’s Lane; and the ‘first highway’ referred to above extended from the present Vernon Street westerly, over the present Sweetser Street to Main Street, near the house of Wm. White; and this last named way was long the main road to Andover and Salem.”247
In 1657 the town ordered “that a town way be laid out from the Common, in the middle of the town, to the Country Way, at the other end of Goodman Dustin’s Lott, -- one pole upon Josias Dustin and one pole upon Goodman Fitch.”248
Zachary Fitch’s name is listed, among others, as having been alloted a plot of land on the north side of Ipswich river, the number of acres in which was illegible on the original record book.249
In 1659, “‘A highway was laid out this year through Zackery Fitch’s lott, for a Town Highway for Cart and horse and foot -- this highway is layd out from the Common to County highway, at the lower end of the lotts; is to be a pole broad from the Common up to the white oak stump; and from thence to the other end of the lott, it is to be one pole and three quarters broad. Furthermore, it is agreed that Brother Fitch is to have the gate that the town made, and to hang it up, but the town to maintain it; and Brother Fitch is to make another gate at his own charge, and to sett it up at the other end of the lott, and to maintain it at his own charge.’.... N.B. -- This is the highway over Fitch’s Hill from Main to Vernon Streets.”250
Eaton’s entry on Zachary Fitch from his genealogical list of early settlers reads: “FITCH, Dea. (Zachery), settled first at Lynn; was a freeman in 1638; removed to Reading about 1644; lived in South Parish, on Salem Street, then called Fitch’s Lane; owned ‘Fitch’s Hill,’ so-called; his house stood near where D. Swett, Jr., now lives; was a deacon and selectmen. His wife’s name was Mary; had children: Zachery, who d. 1647; Joseph, Sarah, Benjamin, John, Jeremiah, Thomas. He d. 1662.”251
Zachariah Fitch heads the list of the deacons of the First Church of Reading. He was appointed deacon in 1645 along with four others; he died in 1662.252
Zachariah Fitch was a selectmen of Reading in 1649, 1651, and 1661.253
The following is a passage from “A Poem Delivered at the Reading Bi-Centennial Celebration, May 29, 1844, by Lilley Eaton, of South Reading”:254
<blockquote>
I farther look’d; and on the hill,
Where now the heirs of John Gould dwell,
Upon the western slope or pitch,
There liv’d old Zachariah Fitch,
His name he gave to hill and lane,
A name they both as yet retain;
’T was said, ‘so narrow was that street,
That loaded teems could not there meet!’
This Goodman Fitch was deacon too,
And I have heard the story true,
That when his neighbors were attack’d
As with first settlers is the fact,
With chills and heat, with cold and shiver,
Sure consequence of the aguean fever,
And so desisted from their labors,
And crawled about among their neighbors,
Old Father Fitch would laugh to scorn
Their shiv’ring pains and looks forlorn,
Would call them lazy, ’fraid of work,
And thus crack on the cruel joke;
But soon it happened, we are told,
The aguean fever, and the cold,
Seiz’d Mister Fitch, to his great grief,
And set him shiv’ring like a leaf.
His neighbors then, with roguish haste,
Came to console their friend’s distress:
‘O, Deacon Fitch! you lazy, too!
Come, go to work, we’ll venture you!’
‘Ah,’ cried old Zachery, with a sigh.
‘You were not half so sick as I.’
</blockquote>
770. Job LANE256, 7G Grandfather. Born in 1620.12 Will dated on 28 Sep 1696. Died on 23 Aug 1697. Buried in Malden, Massachusetts.257 Immigrated abt 1644, abt 1656. in 1656.
According to Savage,258 Job Lane of “Rehoboth 1644, was in Eng. in June 1647, when his kinsm. Thomas Howell, of Marshfield, made his will, nam. him to be excor. but he decl. that trust, yet aft. some yrs. came back, and sett. at Malden, freem. 1656, had by w. Sarah, wh. d. 19 May 1659, Rebecca, b. Apr. 1658, d. young. He m. Sept. 1660, Hannah, or Ann, d. of Rev. John Reyner, had John, b. Oct. 1661; Ann, Sept. 1662, d. in a few wks.; Jemima, 19 Aug. 1666; Dorothy, 24 July 1669; and Rebecca, again, 6 Apr. 1674; rem. to Billerica, was rep. 1676, 9, and for Malden 1685, and under the new chart. in 1692. His will is of 28 Sept. 1696, and he d. 23 Aug. foll. His wid. d. 30 Apr. 1704. From the will we learn that he had other ds. Mary, w. of William Avery, wh. with ch. Mary and Sarah, are rememb.; Eliz. w. of Robert Avery (m. 13 Apr 1676), with her d. Rachel; ano. Ann, w. of James Foster of Dorchester; and Sarah, w. of Samuel Fitch; and that Jemima m. Matthew Whipple; and Dorothy m. 24 Nov. 1683, Edward Sprague.”
Note that it is not certain which of Job Lane’s wives was the mother of some of his children; some of the assignments made here may be incorrect.
Job gave one fourth of “the Winthrop farm” to his grandson, Samuel Fitch, upon Samuel’s marriage to Elizabeth Walker. “This farm was in Billerica, and in the incorporation of Bedford, 1729, it was included in the new town.”259
According to May’s Petapawag,260 when the early settlers came to Groton, the “Concord River had to be crossed and at Billerica there was a bridge. In the History of Billerica it is stated that this bridge was built at the Fordway, a half-mile above North Billerica. It is uncertain when it was built but probably it was about 1657. It was known to be in use two years later. The ‘great bridge’, as it was called, was rebuilt by Job Lane and his contract was dated 1667. Mention is made of the bridge in 1676, and then nothing was heard about it until twenty years later when it was carried away by a flood.”
Information to be entered from Forbes261 regarding his gravestone, cut by James Foster of Dorchester. The stone is #1951 and #HF0677 in the Farber Collection:
http://luna.davidrumsey.com:8280/luna/servlet/deta...3Blc%3AFBC%7E100%7E1
This Samuel Walker is thought to be related to Richard Walker of Lynn, who was perhaps his brother or father. The treatment of Samuel here follows Threlfall’s GMC26265, which does not specify the relationship of Samuel to Richard of Lynn. Richard of Lynn is treated thoroughly by Anderson266, who notes that there were at least three Richard Walkers in Massachusetts at the time, and that they are often confused in the earlier literature.
According to Threlfall265, “SAMUEL WALKER was born about 1615 to 1617 in England. He probably was a brother of Richard Walker who came to New England by 1630, probably with the Winthrop fleet. Samuel, at that time, would have been a mere fifteen years old, or less. Perhaps he came with Richard, perhaps he followed a few years later. Possibly they both came with parents. If so, their parents must have died shortly, for there is no record of them in New England. [Information about Richard Walker follows.]
“[p. 308] In 1642 Samuel Walker appeared in Reading, to be joined two years later by Richard Walker. Samuel was a proprietor of Reading in 1643. Sometime after 26 March 1650 Samuel and his wife were admitted to church membership there. He next moved to Woburn where he is first mentioned in its records on a tax list of 1655. On 25 February 1661/2 he was appointed Surveyor of Highways for that year. He was a Selectman in 1668. Testimony he gave in court 28 December 1658 indicated he was 43 at that time, but he deposed 2 April 1661 as about age 44. Thus, he was born about 1615 to 1617.
“In April 1662, after the following petition was submitted, he was licenced to sell liquor, becoming the first licensed tavern keeper in Woburn. [A transcript of the petition appears here.]
“[p. 309] Henry Summers succeeded him as innkeeper in 1682. The inn was located at what is now 616 Main Street.
“In 1667 Samuel Walker was appointed by the town to a committee for making a ‘list of the persons and estates of the right Proprietors’, among whom it had been voted to divide a large proportion of the common lands. Ten years later certain grants of land were made to the members of the committee as a reward for their services. Samuel Walker received seven acres.
“The name of his first wife is unknown, but he married, secondly 1676-7, Ann Alger, widow of Lieutenant Arthur of Scarborough, Maine, who had died 14 October 1675 as a result of wounds received a few days earlier in battle with Indians at Dunstan. She was the daughter of Godfrey and Alice (Frost) Sheldon. She and her first husband brought up three sons of Giles Roberts her brother-in-law. Apparently Samuel Walker finished that duty for two of them settled in Woburn.
“Samuel Walker died 6 November 1684, ‘aged about 70’. His sons Samuel of Woburn and Joseph of Billerica were appointed executors of his estate.
“After his death, Ann became the school dame.
“[p. 310] ‘The Widow Walker is appointed to be a school dame for the year 1686, and to have ten shillings for her labor as the other had.’
“Ann died 21 March 1715/16 at Woburn.” A list of Samuel’s children by his two wives follows.
774. Lieut. John WYMAN172,267, 7G Grandfather, son of 1548. Francis WYMAN & 1549. Elizabeth RICHARDSON. was baptized 3 Feb 1621/2 in Westmill, Hertfordshire, England. Died in Woburn, Massachusetts, on 9 May 1684. Immigrated ? .
According to The Wyman Journal, Issue I, Winter 1998, on www.wyman.org: “Most Wymans trace their ancestry back to Francis Wyman (spelled Wymant) and Elizabeth Richardson, who were married at St. Mary the Virgin Church in Westmill, Hertfordshire, England May 1, 1617. Their sons Francis (b. 1618) and John (b. 1621[sic]) were sent overseas, as teenagers, accompanied by their Richardson relatives. When the town orders of Woburn were signed in 1640, the Richardsons and the two Wyman brothers signed them. By that date Francis was 21 and John 18 years of age. They built their homes in the center of the town of Woburn. From 1640 to 1655 Francis and John worked primarily in their tanning business. Tanning is a process by which animal pelts are transformed into leather. They probably learned their trade in England since Buntingford, two miles north of Westmill, had been a tanning center. Their business was the origin of the tanning industry for which Woburn would become renowned. It would also make them wealthy and influential.
“Their wealth allowed them to acquire much land. In 1655 for L 100 they purchased the 500-acre grant of the Rev. Henry Dunster located in Billerica which adjoined their land in Woburn. Dunster, having adopted Baptist beliefs had been removed as president of Harvard College and, in need of funds, sold his grant at this time. Later, in addition to their home in town, the two brothers John and Francis had farms near to each other. John’s house is no longer standing. Francis’ house still exists.
“In 1665 the Wymans purchased the Coytemore grant of 500 acres for 150 sterling. There was a dispute with the town of Woburn and the General Court at the time. It was decided that the land was to be laid out next to the Billerica-Woburn line, ‘near their (the Wymans’) houses.’ This is the evidence that dates the age of the present Wyman homestead.”
NOTE: Threlfall’s GMC50268 gives different dates for many of the events recorded here from the Wyman website.
775. Sarah Ruth NUTT172,267, 7G Grandmother, daughter of 1550. Miles NUTT & 1551. Sarah BRANSON. was baptized on 19 Sep 1624 in Barking, Suffolk, England. Died in Woburn, Massachusetts, on 24 May 1688. Immigrated by 1636.
778. George BLANCHARD178, 7G Grandfather, son of 1556. Thomas BLANCHARD & 1557. Elizabeth _____. Born abt 1618 in England. Will dated on 16 Oct 1689. Died 18 Mar 1699/1700. Buried in Medford, Massachusetts. Of Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1658. Immigrated in 1639 “Jonathan” from London to Boston.
George Blanchard had two wives according to Wyman: _____ Hills (perhaps Elizabeth), and Mary _____. Wyman does not identify which was the mother of daughter Elizabeth; several websites make her mother Elizabeth Hills, in which case her pedigree can be traced further. Her mother, Rose, may have been Rose Dunster, sister to Henry Dunster, the first President of Harvard, but she may also have been a Rose Clarke.
There is some question as to whether this George Blanchard was the father of Elizabeth (as Wyman reports), or whether her father was a John Blanchard. This requires further investigation.
Child:
389i.
Elizabeth, 6G Grandmother
780. William SIMONDS, 7G Grandfather, son of 1560. William SIMONDS & 1561. Alice (_____) ROSEBLADE? was baptized on 20 Nov 1612 in Winchester, Hampshire, England (St. Peters). Died in Woburn, Massachusetts, on 7 Jun 1672. Immigrated abt 1635.
Simonds ancestry here taken from http://sml.simplenet.com/smlawson/simonds.htm which cites History of the Simonds Family by Robert & Rollo Simonds (Barre, Vt., 1985). This ancestry is rather upper-class for this immigrant; these sources should probably be examined carefully.
781. Judith PHIPPEN269,270, 7G Grandmother, daughter of 1562. William PHIPPEN & 1563. Judith _____. Born abt 1619 in Wedmore, Somersetshire, England. Died in Woburn, Massachusetts, 3 Jan 1689[/90?]. Of Woburn, Massachusetts. Of Charlestown, Massachusetts. Immigrated in 1635 “Planter” from London.
Data from Anderson to be entered.
782. John TODD (TIDD, TEAD)4, 7G Grandfather, son of 1564. John TIDD & 1565. Alice CLAYTON. Born in 1618. Died in Lexington, Massachusetts, on 14 Feb 1689. Immigrated ? .
There seems to be some confusion concerning a father and son both named John Tidd (or some variation thereof). The entry below from Savage seems to combine the birth information for a son with the death information for a father. This requires further investigation.
According to Savage,271 John Tead (or Teed, or Ted) of “Charlestown 1637, emb. 12 May of that yr. at Yarmouth, aged 19, as serv of Samuel Greenfield of Norwich, but perhaps was not desir. by his master to accomp. him, aft. reach. this side of the ocean, if, as seems prob. he be the person call. Todd, in Frothingham, p. 88, may have rem. aft. 1640 to Woburn, there was one of the true-spirited petnrs. to the Gen. Ct. 30 Aug. 1653 in fav. of liberty of proph. had w. Margaret, wh. d. 1651, and he d. 24 Apr. 1657. By his will made 15 days bef. we find he had sec. w. Alice, and ds. Mary, and Eliz., beside gr. ch. Benjamin, Hannah, and ano. d. of one Savil; and John and Samuel Savil, of ano. Thomas Fuller, and John Kendall, also a s. of his own name. See Tidd. Yet one of this name was propound. for freem. in 1664, tho. no more heard of.”
783. Rebecca WOOD4, 7G Grandmother. Died in Lexington, Massachusetts, on 10 Jun 1717. Immigrated ? .
784. William LAKIN108, 7G Grandfather, son of 1568. Thomas LAKIN. Born say 1595 in England. Will dated 7 Feb 1632/3 at Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, England. Buried on 22 Apr 1633 in Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, England. Will proved in 1633.
The most recent study of the origin of the Massachusetts Lakin family is the 1995 paper of Richardson108 which supersedes all previous work, including the 1909 paper of Manning32 (which remains useful for the later descendant generations). This William Lakin, father of William and John Lakin who settled at Groton, Massachusetts, died in England in 1633; Richardson transcribes his will in its entirety.272 “William Lakin’s widow, Mary, married second in St. Nicholas, Nottingham, on 22 July 1637, William Martin, husbandman, of Bradmore in the neighboring parish of Bunney, Nottinghamshire. The bondsman for the marriage license was Richard Plant if St. Nicholas parish in the city of Nottingham; his connection to the Lakin or Martin families, if any, is unknown. (Orig. marriage bond on file with the Dept. of Manuscripts and Special Collections, Univ. of Nottingham, Nottingham, England; pub. abstract cited above.)
“About 1644, William and Mary Martin and her two Lakin children immigrated to New England. In that year, William Martin appeared as a proprietor at Reading, Massachusetts. He and his wife were admitted as members of the Reading church in 1648. In 1655, he and several other men successfully petitioned the General Court for the creation of the new town of Groton. That same year, he was named one of the first selectmen of Groton by the General Court; and soon afterwards, he became one of the first inhabitants there. (Caleb Butler, History of the Town of Groton [Boston, 1858], hereafter Groton Hist., 9-14.) His wife, Mary, died at Groton on 14 August 1669 (VR, 2: 244). He died there on 26 March 1672, aged about 76 years (VR, 2: 244).”179
He married Mary _____108, 7G Grandmother say 1622.
785. Mary _____108, 7G Grandmother. Born say 1600. Died in Groton, Massachusetts, on 14 Aug 1669. Immigrated abt 1644.
According to Shattuck’s Memorials110, Mary and her second husband, William Martin, along with Mary’s children by William Lakin, first settled in Reading, Massachusetts, but then removed to Groton where they lived near Martin’s Pond. For more details see the comprehensive account by Richardson179 under the entry for her first husband, William Lakin.
786. Abraham BROWNE273, 7G Grandfather, son of 1572. Edmund BROWNE & 1573. Mary CRAMPHORNE. was baptized on 22 Oct 1588 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England. Died in Watertown, Massachusetts, bet 1645-8. Immigrated in 1631.266 Will proved on 1 Oct 1650.274
The immigrant Abraham Browne has been studied by many genealogists. The most comprehensive account is that of Smith275, which supersedes all earlier works (including Anderson’s,266 who notes Smith’s results in an addendum, p. 2087). Abraham Browne was a surveyor and a prominent settler and office-holder of Watertown, owning substantial property and playing an important role in the early establishment of the town. See Smith and Anderson for many details of his life and for transcripts of documents relating to him and his family.
Rodgers276 transcribes Abraham Browne’s undated and apparently nuncupative will along with a collection of other documents (some as late as 1694) relating to the lengthy settlement of his estate.
787. Lydia _____273, 7G Grandmother. Born say 1609 in England. Died in Watertown, Massachusetts, on 27 Sep 1686. Immigrated ? 1631.
790. Matthias FARNSWORTH201, 7G Grandfather, son of 1580. Richard FARNSWORTH & 1581. Elizabeth MARSHE. Born abt Jul 1615. was baptized on 20 Jul 1615 in Eccles (Farnworth), Lancashire, England. Will dated 15 Jan 1688/9 at Groton, Massachusetts. Died 21 Jan 1688/9. Immigrated ? .
According to Butler’s History of Groton278, “The first [Farnsworth] at Groton was Matthias. He was an early settler, an original proprietor, and owned a twenty acre right. His house lot and uplands were situated on both sides of the present travelled road to Harvard, on the south side of James’s brook, where Ephraim Sawtell and Alvah Wright now live. It appears by the county records, that he had three children born at Groton, and upon examining and comparing Groton records, it is evident that he had other children born probably before he came to Groton, viz. Matthias, Jr., John, Benjamin, and Joseph. If reliance can be placed on the correct use of Jr. and Sen., Matthias Sen. died between 1681 and 1684. And as the name Matthias is not to be found on the records after 1692, till others of the name came of age, it is presumed that Matthias, Jr., died young, not, however, till he had several children, viz., Joseph, Matthias, Ebenezer, Josiah and perhaps others.”
Green’s Epitaphs279 transcribes Matthias Farnsworth’s will in its entirety. Green also gives a list of children for Matthias, but he assigns only one wife, Mary, to Matthias and attributes all the children to her. Matthias Farnsworth’s family is a complicated one and requires further study.
792. Capt. Joseph PARKER280, 7G Grandfather, son of 1584. John PARKER & 1585. Ann/Anna _____. was baptized on 1 Sep 1622 in Great Burstead, Essex, England. Died in 1690. Immigrated by 1652.
According to Shattuck’s Memorials281, “(3.) Capt. JOSEPH PARKER was the ancestor of the most numerous branches of the Parker families in Groton and its vicinity. He is supposed to have been a brother of James above mentioned. He owned a large estate in Groton, but he was considered an inhabitant of Dunstable, probably in that section of the town, which was originally a part of Chelmsford, and subsequently included within the bounds of Pepperell. The official seal of Groton, or ‘town’s brand marke’ was adopted by the State on his petition. (Massachusetts Records, Vol. IX., Part II., p. 301.) In 1675 he and his son were attacked by the Indians. (N. H. Hist. Col., Vol. III., p. 91.) He was constable of Dunstable from 1675 to 1682. In the latter year the town voted ‘Yt Joseph Parker have 20 shillings allowed him for his seven years’ service as constable.’ He was chosen one of the selectmen and a member of the ‘committee for managing town affairs.’ In 1681 he bought of the town of Groton 300 acres of the common land for £15, a part of which was in the vicinity of Babatasset Falls. He died intestate in 1690, leaving a large property. About 700 acres of land, lying in Chelmsford and Groton, was valued in 1698 at £178 sterling. (Probate Records.) Six of his [p. 376] children by MARGARET, his wife, are entered upon the Chelmsford Records” and Shattuck lists them here.
According to Richardson,282 “Joseph Parker resided successively at Woburn, Chelmsford, Groton, Dunstable, and again at Chelmsford, Mass. He had children with both wives.”
The late immigration date of Joseph Parker and his wife Margaret merits study, as most immigration to New England ceased by the mid-1640s. Perhaps they simply came over at this late date to join other family members who had migrated earlier.
