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ONE LINE OF DESCENDANTS 
 
 FROM 
 
 Dolar Davis and Richard Everett 
 
 Including Numerous Marriage Connections] 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 MRS. WILLIAM SUMNER CROSBY 
 
 173 Gardner Road 
 
 BROOKUNE, MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 PRESS OF GEO. H. ELLIS CO. 
 
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WILLIAM SUMNER CROSBY 
 
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The writer has been for many years interested in genealogy. 
 Therefore, she has taken every opportunity to learn something 
 of her own family. And she has been fortunate in having had 
 an acquaintance with those who have been intimately associ- 
 ated with ancestors of her own, born in the last half of the 
 eighteenth century. 
 
 She presents these records to her descendants, feeling assured 
 that they are of such value to them as to be worthy of their 
 careful consideration. 
 
 It is so clearly pointed out where these heads of the different 
 families have resided that with comparatively little effort the 
 records may be verified. 
 
 ELEANOR [DAVIS] CROSBY. 
 Bbookline, Mass., 1911. 
 
He is a coward who would borrow 
 
 A charm against the present sorrow 
 
 From the vague future's promise of delight: 
 
 As life's alarums nearer roll. 
 
 The ancestral buckler calls. 
 
 Self -clanging, from the walls 
 
 In the high temple of the soul. 
 
 James Russell Lowell. 
 
 Endurance is the crowning quality. 
 And patience all the passion of great hearts; 
 These are their stay, and when the leaden world 
 Sets its hard face against their fateful thought. 
 And brute strength, like a scornful conqueror. 
 Clangs his huge mace down in the other scale. 
 The inspired soul but flings his patience in, 
 And slowly that outweighs the ponderous globe, 
 One faith against a whole earth's unbelief. 
 One soul against the flesh of all mankind. 
 
 Jaues Russell Lowell, in Columbus. 
 
DOLOR DAVIS. 
 
 The writer has taken the Hberty to present largely the 
 main facts contained in the narrative of Dolor ^ Davis, his 
 son Samuel ^ Davis, and grandson Lieut. Simon ^ Davis, as 
 given in the pamphlet of Hon. Horace Davis of San Fran- 
 cisco, Cal., in 1881. 
 
 The career of Dolor Davis, in New England, is that of a 
 pioneer who by his energy and industry in subduing the 
 wilderness was a type of those enduring qualities which 
 distinguished his descendants in later generations. By trade 
 he was a house-builder, added to which was farming. 
 
 Dolor Davis was born late in the sixteenth century, for 
 he died in June, 1673, "at the ripe age of 80," says one 
 chronicler. His birthplace was probably in Kent County, 
 England. His wife was from Kent, his associates in New 
 England were largely with Kentish men, and the name of 
 Davis is very common in Kent County. 
 
 Dolor Davis was twice married, first to "Margerye 
 Wilerd" on March 29, 1624. She was the daughter of 
 Richard Willard, "by second wife Margery," who was 
 buried at Horsmonden, Dec, 1608, when Margery, the 
 daughter, was six years old; for she was christened Nov. 7, 
 1602. Richard Willard was of Horsmonden, County of 
 Kent. He died 1617, leaving a large estate, mostly in 
 lands, part of which came to his daughter Margery Willard 
 and another part to the son, Simon Willard, who was later 
 the founder of Concord, in New England. 
 
 The first record we have of Dolor Davis, in New England, 
 is on the Proprietors' Records in Cambridge [New Towne], 
 of a grant of twenty-five acres on Aug. 4, 1634; also a 
 house-lot, June 4, 1635. The wife Margery is supposed to 
 be the "Margerett Davies, age 32, who with three children, 
 John Davies (9 years old), Marie Davies (4), Elizabeth 
 Davies (1), sailed on the Elizabeth, from the port of London, 
 April 17, 1635, Wm. Stagg, master." 
 
There is much uncertainty about Dolor Davis and family 
 ever having had a residence in Cambridge. He sold the 
 above-named house-lot in August, 1635. He moved, with 
 considerable persistence, from place to place during nearly 
 all of his life, possibly because this frequent change in 
 residence gave him a better opportunity to pursue his 
 trade as a carpenter. 
 
 In 1638 he was in Duxbury. In 1640 he took part in 
 founding Barnstable. In 1643 he was an inhabitant of 
 Barnstable, "able to bear arms"; freeman 1645. In 1655 
 he removed to Concord. In the same year he petitioned 
 with others to the General Court of Massachusetts Colony 
 for a grant of land in what is now Groton, Mass., and on 
 the 29th of May was made one of the new selectmen. In 
 1656 his name appears on a petition for remission of taxes 
 in Groton; but he seems never to have made Groton his 
 home, for on Aug. 20, 1655, "he bought of Roger Draper 
 his house and farm in Concord." In the conveyance he is 
 called "Husbandman." Meanwhile he sold his property in 
 Barnstable for "corn and cattle," the documents recording 
 the various payments and the transfer itself being in the 
 Plymouth Records. In them he is styled "house-carpen- 
 ter." Margery Davis joined in the acknowledgment, 
 which is the last record we have of her. She probably died 
 in Concord before 1666, in which year Davis left Concord. 
 
 Dolor Davis had lands granted to him in Concord in 
 1659, and in 1664 he signed a petition to the General Court 
 as "an inhabitant of Concord." 
 
 Of the three children brought over from England, John 
 and Mary were married and settled on the Cape, Eliza- 
 beth probably died young. Three more children were born 
 in America, and they, too, were married and settled, but 
 in or near Concord. 
 
 In 1666 Davis left Concord and returned to Barnstable, 
 and was again admitted as an inhabitant, where his name 
 appears on various documents. He married, after his re- 
 turn to Barnstable, Mrs. Joanna Bursley, born in England, 
 1620, daughter of Rev. Joseph Hull and widow of Capt. 
 
9 
 
 John Bursley. She was living in 1683. Dolor Davis ac- 
 cumulated a large property for those times, which he dis- 
 tributed mostly among his children during his lifetime. 
 On the 13th of September, 1672, he made his will, which 
 has his autograph signature, showing that he had some 
 education. He always wrote his Christian name Dolar. 
 The will was proved July 2, 1673. He probably died late 
 in June. 
 
 The will recites that he has already provided for his 
 sons Simon and Samuel; and then he bequeaths his house 
 and land in Concord to his son John, adding, "I also be- 
 queath to him my carpenters tools and serge suit and cloke." 
 The inventory of estate in Concord was "125 5s. 7d,'* 
 That he made a favorable impression on others is shown by 
 the following: 
 
 "Perhaps of all the families which came to New England, 
 not one can be selected more worthy of our esteem, and 
 unqualified approbation than that of Dolor Davis. As a 
 man he was honest, industrious and prudent; as a chris- 
 tian tolerant and exact in the performance of his religious 
 duties; as a neighbor kind, obliging, and ever ready to 
 help those who needed his assistance; and as a father 
 and the head of his family he was constantly solicitous 
 for the welfare of all its members, cultivating those kindly 
 feelings and amenities of life which render home delight- 
 ful." (Amos Otis, in Barnstable Families.) 
 
 Samuel 2 Davis, b. 1639; m. at Lynn, Mass., Jan. 11, 1665, 
 Mary Meaddows; settled in that part of Concord which 
 afterwards was set off as Bedford. Mary [Meaddows] 
 Davis d. at Concord, Oct. 3, 1710. He m. second, Oct. 
 18, 1711, Ruth Taylor. She d. Aug. 6, 1720. He was 
 the father of seven children. 
 
 Samuel Davis was made freeman March 21, 1689-90. 
 He was with Major Simon Willard at the Brookfield fight 
 on Sept. 28, 1675. (King Philip's War, p. 121.) 
 
 His farm was on the back road from Concord to Bedford, 
 about three miles from Concord town, on the edge of the 
 
10 
 
 river meadow. A well is there which he is said to have dug. 
 The property is still owned by one of his descendants. 
 He does not appear to have served in civil life. 
 
 June 20, 1690, petitioned Concord authorities for "a 
 bridal path from his house to Billerica road." In 1706 
 conveys houses and lands to his "two well beloved sons." 
 On May 8, 1713, he sells house, barn, and 9 acres to Eleazer 
 Davis for 50. His signature is autograph, signing him- 
 self as "farmer." The date of his death and place of 
 burial are unknown. It appears that he gave his property 
 to his family while living. 
 
 Simon ^ Davis, h. at Concord, Aug. 9, 1683; m. at Stow, 
 Mass., 1719, Dorothy Heald, 
 
 dau. of Israel Heald by wife Martha. He lived in Stow, and was a 
 blacksmith; d. Sept. 7, 1738, aged 78. His will is on record at 
 East Cambridge, and mentions daughter Dorothy Davis and 
 grandson Joseph Davis. Wid. Martha d, June 14, 1746. 
 
 "Lieut." Simon Davis lived at Concord until about 1721, 
 when he moved to Worcester County, and settled in Rut- 
 land; selectman 1721; innkeeper 1723; waylaid and nearly 
 killed by the Indians in the same year. Petitions with 
 others to the General Court on May 13, 1740, to be set off 
 in a separate township to be named Holden. This request 
 was granted, and Mr. Davis was made moderator of the 
 first town meeting in Holden, May 4, 1745; chairman of 
 board of selectmen for several years; also juryman. He 
 was closely identified with the church. He d. Feb. 21, 
 1763; wid. Dorothy d. July 21, 1776. Eight children. 
 He was the ancestor of three Massachusetts governors: 
 "Honest" John Davis, John Davis Long, and George D. 
 Robinson. 
 
 The ancestry of Hon. Horace Davis separates here from my own. 
 
 Joseph ^ Davis, h. at Concord, July 16, 1720; m. at 
 Weston, May 24, 1743, Catherine Jones. Joseph Davis 
 was grad. Harv. Coll. 1740. He was the first ordained 
 minister at Holden, preaching from 1743 to 1773. He was 
 
11 
 
 a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts 
 1781; a member of the convention held in Boston, 1788, 
 for the ratification of the Federal Constitution by Massa- 
 chusetts. He d. at Holden, March 4, 1799; wid. Catherine 
 d. May 15, 1815. From his monument: 
 
 "He was a man of science, 
 A zealous, pungent preacher.'* 
 
 Simon ^ Davis, h, at Holden, March 10, 1745; m. at 
 Andover, Mass., June 2, 1771, Ehzabeth Clarke. 
 
 Simon Davis first of Holden, then of Andover, had the 
 pioneer spirit of his ancestors. Soon after his marriage he 
 moved with his friends into the wilderness, and became one 
 of the first settlers in what is now Woodstock, Vt. Here 
 he built a log house, in which his children were born. He 
 was the first deacon in the newly organized church, and, 
 being a man of education, he also organized a school board, 
 and was himself the head of it. He had several grants in 
 land; was selectman and juror; prudent and industrious, 
 adding to farming the trade of Dolor ^ Davis, that of house- 
 building. He built and owned the first mill for grinding 
 corn and the first saw-mill in Woodstock. 
 
 My father, his grandson, had the facts relating to Simon ^ Davis 
 recorded in a note-book, with his descendants. 
 
 They had seven children: John, Simon, and Abner settled 
 in Illinois, and were men of influence; William and Oilman 
 Davis removed to Boston, where the youngest son, Gilman, 
 married Sarah Tuttle of Dorchester, and had his home in 
 Cambridge. 
 
 They had three daughters. 
 
 Simon Davis d. at Woodstock, Jan. 17, 1793; his wid. 
 Elizabeth d. at Boston, March 11, 1816. 
 
 WilHam Davis, 6. at Woodstock, Vt., Feb. 2, 1789; m. 
 at Waitsfield, Vt., March 9, 1815, Sarah Gilbert Wait. 
 
 Mr. Davis moved to Boston, where his life was unevent- 
 ful. He was one of the leading building contractors in the 
 
12 
 
 city. Both he and his wife were deeply interested in the 
 Baptist church and in their pastor, Rev. Dr. Rowland 
 Neal. Dr. Neal preached the funeral sermon for William 
 Davis in the church on Jan. 10, 1830. The son remem- 
 bered the text, "In my Father's house are many mansions." 
 The body was interred in the basement of the church. 
 Mr. Davis was highly esteemed by all who knew him. 
 He accumulated a good property. Of his children six 
 died young. Three children survived, the son, Almon 
 Hemenway Davis, and two daughters, Martha Jane 
 and Phidelia Davis, who married Eben Jones Mathes of 
 Rochester, N.H. 
 
 Almon Hemenway ^ Davis, b. at Boston, April 12, 1816; 
 m. at Dedham, Mass., June 2, 1844, Elizabeth Everett. 
 
 Mr. Davis was liberally educated. He had a rare com- 
 bination of gifts. Not only was he a fine classical student, 
 but he was also a mathematician of unusual excellence. 
 It was at the Baptist Theological School, at Newton Centre, 
 that he was suddenly called upon to teach Greek and 
 Hebrew; in such an acceptable manner that he was urged 
 to become a professor instead of entering the ministry, so 
 admirable was his teaching. He had three parishes. Of the 
 last two, one in Providence, R.I., and one in Boston. He 
 left the ministry in 1851 to become an editor. In 1866 
 he received a call to become associated, on the editorial 
 sheet of the Chicago Tribune, with his personal friend, 
 Joseph Medill, Esq. 
 
 Mr. Davis d. in Chicago, 111., Oct. 20, 1891; wid. Eliza- 
 beth d, in California, Dec. 6, 1904. 
 
 Children: 
 
 1. Eleanor Francis. 
 
 2. Edward Everett Davis, b. Jan. 9, 1849; m. at Boston, 
 Sept. 1, 1881, Margerett Adamson. Children: Elizabeth 
 Everett Davis, b. Oct., 1882, d. in few days; Margerett Everett 
 Davis, b. Sept. 20, 1885; Alice Everett Davis, b. April 16, 
 1892. 
 
13 
 
 Eleanor Francis ^ Davis, b. at Dedham, Mass., March 
 14, 1845; received her middle name of Francis from her 
 mother's brother, Francis Everett; m. at Boston, Mass., 
 Oct. 11, 1877, William Sumner Crosby, b. at Boston, April 
 22, 1844. The officiating clergyman was Rev. James 
 Freeman Clarke, D.D. Eleanor Francis Davis was given 
 in marriage by Wendell Phillips. It was a home wedding. 
 Mr. Crosby has been for many years a prominent Boston 
 merchant. 
 
 Sumner^ Crosby, b. at Boston, Nov. 12, 1878; m. at 
 Alameda, Cal., Aug. 6, 1901, Idolene Snow Hooper, dau. 
 of Charles Appleton and Ida Geneva [Snow] Hooper. 
 Mr. Hooper is one of the notable merchants of California. 
 Mr. Crosby is grad. Harv. Coll., A.B. 1900, M.A. 1901; 
 Law School, 1901-02; councilman, city of Alameda, 1909- 
 10; assemblyman, California State Legislature, 1910-12. 
 
 Children: Charles Hooper Crosby, b. Nov. 28, 1902; Bar- 
 bara Appleton, b. May 8, 1904; Beatrice Blanchard, b. 
 March 17, 1907; Sumner Crosby, b. June 10, 1911. 
 
 Jones. 
 
 Lewis 1 Jones, 6. at Watertown, 1651; d, at Watertown, 
 April 11, 1684. Will, dated Jan. 7, 1678-9, mentions 
 wife Anna and son Josiah. 
 
 Josiah 2 Jones, b. at Roxbury, Mass., 1642; admitted 
 freeman, at Watertown, April 18, 1690; m. at Watertown, 
 Oct. 2, 1667, Lydia Tread way; selectman at Watertown 
 six years; removed to Sudbury, Mass.; selectman; d. at 
 Sudbury, Oct. 9, 1714; wid. Lydia d. Sept. 18, 1743. 
 
 Lydia Tread way, dau. of Nathaniel Tread way, 9 yrs. se- 
 lectman at Watertown. Treadway m. Sufferance Haynes, dau. 
 of Walter 1 Haynes, settled in Sudbury, Dec. 22, 1639; freeman 
 1640; selectman 10 yrs.; representative 4 yrs.; d. at Sudbury, Feb. 
 14, 1665, age 82. 
 
14 
 
 James ^ Jones, b. Sept. 4, 1679; m., at East Sudbury, 
 Sarah Moore. Capt. Jones d. Sept. 14, 1770, at Weston, 
 Mass.; wid. Sarah d. at Weston, Sept. 28, 1774, aged 90. 
 
 Catherine* Jones, b. at Weston, April 23, 1721; m. 
 May 24, 1743, Rev. Joseph * Davis of Holden, Mass. 
 
 Phillips. 
 
 Rev. George ^ Phillips, the first settled minister at Water- 
 town, came to New England in ship Arbella, with his friends 
 Gov. Winthrop and Sir Richard Saltonstall. He was grad. 
 of Gains Coll., Cambridge, A.B. 1613, A.M. 1617; landed 
 at Salem, Mass., June 12, 1630; wife Elizabeth [Sergent] 
 Phillips d. soon after arrival, and was buried in Salem by 
 the side of Lady Arbella Johnson. Mr. Phillips was min- 
 ister at Watertown fourteen years; d, at Watertown, July 
 1, 1644. "A godly man, specially gifted and very peaceful 
 in his place." (Winthrop.) 
 
 Samuel 2 Phillips, b. at Boxstead, England, 1625; grad. 
 Harv. Coll. 1650; m. at Ipswich, Mass., Oct. 15, 1651, 
 Sarah Appleton, 
 
 dau. of Samuel Appleton, who was in Ipswich 1634; one of the 
 first town officers; deputy 1637; m. in England Sarah Everard. 
 
 Mr. Phillips was minister at Rowley, Mass.; preached 
 the Artillery Election Sermon 1675, Election Sermon 
 1678; d. April 22, 1696; wid. Sarah d, July 15, 1713. He 
 was considered one of the first men in the New England 
 colonies. (See Gage's History of Rowley.) 
 
 Samuel 3 Phillips, b, at Rowley, March 23, 1657-8; m. 
 at Gloucester, Mass., May 22, 1687-8, Mary Emerson, 
 
 dau. of Rev. John and Ruth [Symonds] Emerson of Gloucester. 
 Ruth Symonds was dau. of Samuel Symonds of Ipswich, Mass., 
 deputy and assistant 1638, later deputy governor. 
 
15 
 
 Mr. Phillips was a goldsmith [banker] at Salem; wife 
 Mary d. Oct. 4, 1703; m. second, 1704, wid. Sarah Mayfield. 
 He d, at Salem, Oct. 13, 1722. 
 
 Samuel^ Phillips, h. at Salem, Feb. 17, 1690; grad. Harv. 
 Coll. 1708; m. at Haverhill, Mass., Jan. 17, 1711-12, 
 Hannah White, h. at Haverhill, 1691, 
 
 dau. of John White, Esq., by wife Lydia Gilman, dau. of Hon. 
 John Gilman of Exeter, N.H. John White was dea. in the Haver- 
 hill church, capt. of town company. He was the grandson of 
 William ^ White, who was one of the first settlers at Haverhill, 
 and was one of the grantees of the Indian deed, dated Nov. 15, 
 1642, which instrument was, it is said, both written and signed 
 by him. "The Haverhill town records show that he held a very 
 respectable social position." He d. Sept. 28, 1690. The grand- 
 son, John, was brought up in his family. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Phillips was minister of the "Old South 
 Church" at Andover, Mass., for sixty years; 
 
 He was an excellent man, so economical, it is said, as to blow 
 out the candle when he began his evening prayer, and yet punc- 
 tilious in distributing among the poor one-tenth of his income, 
 of which he kept account. 
 
 d, at Andover, June 5, 1771; wid. Sarah d, at Andover, 
 Jan. 7, 1773. 
 
 Lydia ^ Phillips, h. at Andover, June 10, 1717; m. at 
 Andover, May 18, 1742, Dr. Parker Clarke of Andover 
 and Newbury. Lydia [Phillips] Clarke d, at Andover, 
 Nov. 4, 1749, age 32. 
 
 EHzabeth^ Clarke, h. at Andover, Aug. 18, 1746; m. 
 June 2, 1771, Simon ^ Davis; d. at Boston, Mass., March 
 11, 1816, in the home of her son, WilHam Davis. 
 
 I am indebted to Wendell Phillips for the line of my Phillips 
 ancestors, and to Bond's Watertown for facts relating to their 
 lives. 
 
16 
 
 Wait. 
 
 Richard ^ Wait, b. at Watertown, Mass., 1637; farmer in 
 
 Watertown; m. Mary ; d. at Watertown, Jan. 16, 
 
 1668-9; wid. Mary d. at Watertown, Jan. 21, 1678. 
 
 Thomas 2 Wait, b. at Watertown, March 3, 1641-2; m. 
 Sarah, dau. of James Cutler of Lexington, Mass. Thomas 
 Wait was a farmer; d. at Weston, Mass., Jan. 3, 1722-3; 
 wid. Sarah d. at Weston, Jan. 17, 1743-4, aged 91. 
 
 Joseph 3 Wait, b. at Watertown, Feb. 4, 1682-3; m. 
 Sarah, wid. of Joseph Stone; in Sudbury, Mass., 1715; 
 constable 1735; removed to Worcester, Mass., 1743; d. 
 at Worcester, Oct. 5, 1753; wid. Sarah d, at Worcester, 
 April 24, 1754. 
 
 John * Wait, b. at Watertown; bap. at Watertown, Sept. 
 26, 1708; m. first at Watertown, 1727-8, Hannah Wel- 
 lington, d. before March 17, 1764, the date on which John 
 Wait m. second, Eunice Morse of Sherborn, Mass., 
 
 dau. of John and Hannah [Morse] Wellington, descended from 
 Roger ^ Wellington, "Planter," selectman at Watertown seven 
 years. He m. Mary, dau. of Dr. Richard Palgrave of Charles- 
 town, Mass. 
 
 John Wait removed to Brookfield, Mass., 1746, having 
 bought a farm of 300 acres on Foster's Hill. He was a vet- 
 eran in the Indian Wars. Five of his sons were officers 
 in the Revolutionary War. He d. at Brookfield, Jan. 27, 
 1761. 
 
 See Temple's North Brookfield for explicit information of the 
 service of the five sons as officers. 
 
 Benjamin^ Wait, b. at Sudbury, Mass., Feb. 13, 1736; m. 
 first, Jan. 11, 1767, Lois Gilbert, dau. of Capt. Thomas and 
 Martha [Barnes] Gilbert of Brookfield. She d. at Waits- 
 field, Vt., April 3, 1804; m. second Mehitable, wid. of John 
 Burdick. 
 
17 
 
 Benjamin Wait was a soldier in the last French War, 
 1755-61; ensign in Rogers' Rangers; settled in Windsor, 
 Vt., 1767, and became a leader in the State among the 
 Green Mountain Boys; capt. in Hoisington's Rangers 1776; 
 major in Herrick's Rangers 1777; col. 1778; brig. -gen. of 
 Vt. militia 1786; maj.-gen. 1788; sheriff Cumberland Co., 
 Vt., 1779-86; Cumberland Committee of Correspondence 
 1774-5; Vt. Const. Convention, 1777; rep. from Windsor, 
 Vt., 1779, 1782, 1783, 1785; first settler of Waitsfield, Vt., 
 1789, and chief man of the town until his death; rep. 1795- 
 99, 1801-2; first justice of the peace 1791; treasurer 1795; 
 selectman 1794-96 and 1799. 
 
 The following is from the History of Waitsfield, Vt., by 
 Matt Bushnell Jones, copyright 1909. Some of the facts 
 herein stated had already appeared in the Brookline 
 Chronicle over the writer's signature, and were in part the 
 result of frequent conversations with her grandmother, 
 who was the grand-daughter of Gen. Benjamin Wait, in 
 whose home she lived from 1799 until the year of her mar- 
 riage to William ^ Davis in 1815. Before printing her 
 sketches, she had verified the different statements in various 
 records, histories, etc. : 
 
 "The eastern range of the Green Mountains cleft the 
 town from north-east to south-west, and for miles on every 
 side the wilderness of forest lay unbroken. To the east 
 of this mountain range the land presented few attractions, 
 but to the west a big basin lay between the hills, fertile, 
 well watered, and easily accessible through passes cut by 
 the little river that followed its winding course to the north- 
 ward. 
 
 "Benjamin Wait, whose name was given to the town, had 
 early marked this valley for his own, but other duties claimed 
 him for the time, and not until the spring of 1789 did he 
 come hither, with his children and his sons' children, to 
 establish a home in the meadows north of the present village. 
 He was a veteran of two wars, almost, it might be said, 
 a soldier by profession, for the French War, the conflict 
 of the Green Mountain Boys against New York, the Revo- 
 
18 
 
 lution, and, after its close, the active command of forces 
 engaged in the internal conflict that culminated in Shays 's 
 Rebellion had taken more than twenty of the best years 
 of his life. He was a well-to-do and highly respected citi- 
 zen of the then populous and important town of Windsor. 
 He had for seven years been high sheriff of Cumberland 
 and Windsor Counties, and had but just resigned the high- 
 est military office in the gift of the State, that he might free 
 himself for his fresh struggle with the wilderness. He had 
 sat in the convention that adopted the constitution of the 
 new State, and had taken high rank among the founders of 
 the little republic that was still knocking ineffectually at 
 the doors of the Union. 
 
 "He was of the type of pioneer who builded well, and, the 
 impress of his strong character may still be traced in the 
 town of which he became in every sense its first citizen. 
 It is therefore appropriate that at the threshold of this 
 little work we pause a moment to trace the story of his 
 earlier years. 
 
 "Benjamin Wait, third son of John and Annah Wait, was 
 born in Sudbury, Mass., Feb. 13, 1736. His mother died 
 when he was but a child, and his father, marrying again, re- 
 moved to Brookfield, Mass., about 1745. Here he kept 
 a tavern on Foster's Hill. His home stood on the old 
 Boston-Albany highway, and, as its proprietor was himself 
 a veteran, this hostelry was for years famous among the 
 soldiers of the French Wars, who were wont to linger there 
 upon their journeys. We can picture Benjamin and his 
 brothers lying of a winter evening before the great fire- 
 place in the living-room, while in the dim light of the open 
 fire the father and his guests related over the steaming 
 punch-bowl tales of warfare, suffering, and Indian barbarity 
 that sent the youngsters shivering to their attic beds. 
 
 "Environment seldom shows its influence more strongly 
 than upon this family of six boys. John, the eldest son, 
 saw service in the campaign of 1757 and with the Massa- 
 chusetts troops during the Revolution. Joseph, enlisting 
 in 1754, became the captain of a company of Rogers' Ran- 
 
19 
 
 gers, and was continuously in service until 1761. Remov- 
 ing to Claremont, N.H., he became, upon the outbreak of 
 the Revolution, lieutenant-colonel in Bedel's Regiment of 
 New Hampshire troops, and received a mortal wound dur- 
 ing the fighting around the fort of Lake Champlain, just 
 previous to the naval battle at Valcour. Richard, next 
 younger than Benjamin, enlisted at the age of seventeen 
 in the French War, and was a captain in Herrick's Rangers 
 at Bennington; while two half-brothers, enlisting in the 
 Massachusetts troops on April 19, 1775, saw practically 
 continuous service in the army under Washington until 
 the close of the war. 
 
 **The military experiences of Benjamin Wait began with 
 the campaign of 1755, for which he had enlisted at the 
 age of 18. The plan of that campaign involved attacks 
 upon the French at four points simultaneously. Brad- 
 dock was to advance upon Fort Duquesne ; provincial 
 troops from New England, New York, and New Jersey were 
 to seize Crown Point, and another body, drawn wholly 
 from New England, was to subjugate Acadia; while 
 Shirley was to reduce Niagara with two regiments raised 
 wholly in the provinces, but taken into the king's pay and 
 designated as Shirley's and Pepperell's respectively. These 
 forces, with one New Jersey regiment, pushed forward through 
 the wilderness to Oswego, but, checkmated by want of 
 provisions and the presence of a strong French force at 
 Frontenac, the little army waited until the approach of 
 winter made further action impossible. 
 
 "Here, shivering in the chill winds of winter and suffer- 
 ing the pangs of hunger, young Wait saw more than half 
 his regiment die of the attacks of these twin enemies. Re- 
 enforcements were started in the spring, but, ere they reached 
 the Great Carrying between the head-waters of the Hudson 
 and Ontario, the French, under Montcalm, had descended 
 on Oswego, and had taken it with its garrison of some 
 fourteen hundred men. 
 
 "A scene of drunkenness and plunder followed, and 
 several prisoners were butchered by the Indian allies. 
 
20 
 
 More would have fallen but for the efforts of Montcalm. 
 Here or on some preliminary skirmish [on this point only 
 there seems to be some doubt] young Wait was taken pris- 
 oner, and by his Indian captors compelled to run the gaunt- 
 let. Other prisoners had received hard usage, so when 
 his turn came, believing, as stated by a grandson who 
 heard him tell the story, that 'spunk' would be a good 
 antidote for savage barbarity, he [still in the words of his 
 grandson] 'ran through with clenched fists as vicious as 
 a wild bull, knocking them from one side to the other, 
 and when they see him approaching they had little time 
 enough to take care of themselves.' Rescued from the 
 Indians by a French woman, who hid him under a cask 
 in her cellar, he was turned over to the French, and held 
 for some months as prisoner of war. Later he was sent 
 with other prisoners to France, only to be rescued by a 
 British man-of-war and brought back to his native shores. 
 "Immediately he enlisted under his brother Joseph, 
 then captain of a company of Rogers' Rangers, of whom 
 Parkman has said in one of his matchless descriptive pas- 
 sages: 'The best of them were commonly employed on 
 Lake George; and nothing can surpass the adventurous 
 hardihood of their lives. Summer and winter, day and 
 night, were alike to them. Embarked in whale-boats or 
 birch canoes, they glided under the silent moon, or in the 
 languid glare of a breathless August, when islands floated 
 in dreamy haze, or the hot air was thick with odors of 
 pine, or in the bright October, when the jay screamed from 
 the woods, squirrels gathered their hoard, and congregated 
 blackbirds chattered farewell to their summer haunts; 
 when gay mountains basked in light, maples dropped their 
 leaves of rustling gold, sumacs glowed like rubies under 
 the dark green of the unchanging spruce, and mossed 
 rocks with all their painted plumage lay double in the 
 watery mirror; that festal evening of the year when jocund 
 nature disrobes herself, to wake again refreshed in the joy 
 of her undying spring; or in the tomb-like silence of the 
 winter-forest, with breath frozen on his beard, the ranger 
 
21 
 
 strode on snowshoes over the spotless drifts, and, like 
 Durer's Knight, a ghastly death stalked ever at his side.' 
 
 "In the spring of 1758 a powerful force was gathered for 
 the reduction of the French fortress at Louisburg, and 
 placed under the command of the newly created general, 
 Jeffrey Amherst. To this army were assigned several com- 
 panies of rangers, the only provincial troops in the com- 
 mand. 
 
 "On June 2 the fleet of Admiral Boscawen sailed into 
 Gabarus Bay, and at daybreak on the 8th the troops at- 
 tempted a landing. In the division under General Wolfe, 
 the future hero of Quebec, which was to make the real 
 attack, were the New England rangers. We cannot enter 
 into details of that conflict. Suffice it to say that under 
 heavy fire the boats were driven to the shore, a landing 
 made, and the French batteries captured. Young Wait 
 was, if his own relation of the story is to be credited, in 
 command of one of these boats, and, when his men faltered 
 and lay down to screen themselves from the French fire, 
 he told them to stand up to their work or take to the water. 
 After the fall of Louisburg he returned with those troops, 
 which Amherst led immediately to the re-enforcement of 
 Abercrombie at Lake George, where he arrived early in 
 October, 1758. Here until the close of the war he was 
 engaged directly under Rogers in the capacity of ensign in 
 his brother's company. 
 
 "July, 1759, saw a slow advance, with Ticonderoga, 
 Crown Point, and Montreal as its objectives. The French 
 successively abandoned Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and 
 fell back to the foot of the lake, while Amherst dawdled 
 away the summer. In August he attempted to communi- 
 cate with Wolfe at Quebec, but the St. Francis Indians, 
 who throughout the war had been the scourge of the New 
 England frontiers, seized the messengers and carried them 
 to Montreal. Rogers was straightway ordered to destroy 
 their village, which lay on the St. Francis River near its 
 junction with the St. Lawrence, a journey of more than 
 two hundred miles through an unbroken wilderness. Tak- 
 
22 
 
 ing about 200 of his best men [among them Joseph and 
 Benjamin Wait], he set out in boats on September 13, and 
 on the tenth day reached Missisquoi Bay, his force reduced 
 by accident to 142. Hiding the boats, these men struck 
 boldly into the forest, but on the second day two friendly 
 Indians brought the news that a party of French, superior 
 in numbers, were on their track. Rogers, nothing daunted, 
 kept on, outmarched his pursuers for nine days through 
 swamp and forest, fell upon the village, killed 200 Indians, 
 took 20 prisoners, and released 5 English captives, with 
 loss of 1 killed and 7 wounded. Then, as his return was 
 blocked, and waiting but an hour for rest, he plunged 
 southward up the St. Francis, intending to return by way 
 of Lake Memphremagog and the Connecticut River. The 
 scanty provisions failed as they reached the lake, and, 
 closely pursued, the men separated into small parties, the 
 better to obtain game. Several were killed or captured, 
 and others perished from starvation. So reduced were 
 they that powder-horns and leathern accoutrements were 
 boiled to furnish sustenance. The loss was more than 
 one-third of the total number. It was anticipated that 
 succor would reach them at the mouth of the Ammonoo- 
 suc River, to which place Rogers had requested provisions 
 to be sent, but, when that point was reached, the famished 
 soldiers found only the still warm ashes of the camp-fires 
 deserted by their rescuers, who, waiting but two days, had 
 retreated in a panic, taking the provisions with them. 
 Leaving the others to follow as best they could, Rogers 
 with three companions pressed on, and after five days of 
 almost incredible suffering reached No. 4 [Charlestown, 
 N.H.], and despatched provisions to the sufferers, many of 
 whom soon returned to service on Lake Champlain. 
 
 "Meanwhile Quebec had fallen, and in the summer of 
 1760 the British advanced upon Montreal from east, 
 west, and south. The rangers were with Haviland, who 
 advanced down Champlain from Crown Point. 
 
 "The French fell back upon the St. Lawrence, abandon- 
 ing St. John's, and Haviland followed, with the rangers 
 
23 
 
 leading the way. The various English forces formed their 
 junction at Montreal, and on September 8 Vaudreuil signed 
 the capitulation by which Canada passed to the British 
 crown. Here Wait saw once more in British hands the 
 colors of his regiment captured by the French at Oswego, 
 four years before. 
 
 "Four days later Amherst ordered Rogers to proceed 
 westward with Capt. Wait's and Capt. Hazen's company 
 of rangers to take possession of Detroit, Michilimackinac, 
 and other forts in that district. The next day [September 
 13] they left Montreal in whale-boats, and Rogers's journal 
 follows in detail the movements of the party. Reaching 
 Detroit, Lieut. Butler and Ensign Wait with twenty men 
 were sent westward to bring in the French troops at Forts 
 Miami and Gatenois. This service, performed in dead of 
 winter, made a lasting impression, and in later years Wait 
 related how the men, becoming disheartened and benumbed 
 with cold, would beg of him to shoot them, instead of which 
 he switched their legs with sticks until, aroused by anger, 
 they resumed their march. 
 
 "Not until the spring of 1761 did these troops reach 
 New York, and not until October were they disbanded, 
 so that at the age of twenty-five Wait found himself a 
 veteran of six years of constant and exacting warfare, hav- 
 ing participated in more than forty skirmishes and battles. 
 
 "Returning to Brookfield, he seems to have interested 
 himself with his brother Joseph in urging forward settlers 
 to towns on the Connecticut River, but it was not until 
 1767 that he married, and with his girl-wife pushed out to 
 the frontier to make himself a home. He chose a farm in 
 Windsor West Parish, and here he remained for more than 
 twenty years, marked from the beginning as one of the 
 leading men of Eastern Vermont. 
 
 "Windsor was a hot-bed of sympathy with the New 
 Hampshire Grants, and her citizens, prominent among 
 whom were Benjamin Wait and his brother Joseph, met the 
 New York authorities with open defiance and not infre- 
 quently with actual violence. In May, 1770, Benjamin and 
 
24 
 
 his brother Joseph were arrested on a New York warrant, 
 but rescued by their friends. Before the end of the month 
 the New York sheriff, Daniel Whipple, had gathered a posse 
 of some fifteen men and attempted a recapture, but the 
 brothers, having collected a party of friends, gave battle 
 and took the sheriff and his entire party prisoners, and held 
 them so for several hours, until better judgment prevailed 
 and they turned the captives loose. 
 
 "It occasions no surprise that a man of these character- 
 istics was prompt to volunteer upon the outbreak of the 
 Revolution. It has been said that Wait was with Allen 
 at the capture of Ticonderoga, but this at best is doubtful. 
 
 If the grand-daughter's statement is correct, that General Wait 
 said he was there, and if miHtary records in my possession prove 
 anything, then he was there. E. D. C. 
 
 Certain it is, however, that in June, 1775, in spite of his 
 opposition to that colony, he joined with William Williams 
 and Joab Hoisington in a letter to the New York authori- 
 ties urging that a regiment of 'good, active, enterprising 
 soldiers' be raised for the defence of the section, and ten- 
 dering his services as lieutenant-colonel. Two months 
 later he was chosen major of the upper regiment in Cum- 
 berland County, but confirmation was refused, presumably 
 because of his former opposition to New York. 
 
 He said to his grand-daughter that such was the case; that 
 his promotions were deferred because he had defied the New 
 York authorities, but that he won his spurs in spite of them. 
 E. D. C. 
 
 Not until October, 1776, was he commissioned, and then 
 received appointment as captain of the first company of 
 Joab Hoisington's Rangers, raised for service on the north- 
 ern frontiers with headquarters at Newbury. These troops 
 performed a varied and somewhat uncertain service, some- 
 times acting under and sometimes in open defiance of the 
 New York authorities. In fact, the spirit of hostility to 
 New York had become so great that not only were the 
 rangers slow to act under her orders, but when in February, 
 
25 
 
 1777, an attempt was made to enlist a regiment for ser- 
 vice at Ticonderoga, the recruiting officer was obliged to 
 report *the men are averse to go out under the State of 
 New York; neither do I think it possible for me to raise 
 any more.' It may be truly said that after the campaign 
 of 1775 Vermont's position was defensive: she did not fight 
 except to defend her own borders from invasion, and with 
 good reason, for she was an outcast, strained to the utmost, 
 and maintaining her existence as best she might by force 
 or by diplomacy against the foreign enemy upon the north 
 and still more bitter opponent upon her western border. 
 
 "Hoisington died early in 1777, and Wait, with rank of 
 captain, took command of the battalion. In May the 
 New York Council of Safety ordered the rangers to Kings- 
 ton, but, as there were no funds to support the men on the 
 march, they refused to go. A month later (June 27), 
 aroused by the advance of Burgoyne, the council resolved 
 that the rangers be peremptorily ordered to repair to Kings- 
 ton, N.Y., and funds were sent to Wait to defray the ex- 
 pense. In obedience to orders he proceeded to Newbury, 
 only to find that his men had marched to Ticonderoga. 
 A few days later the evacuation of that fort dispersed them, 
 and on July 14 he ordered them to proceed to Kingston. 
 The men refused to go, however, on the ground that their 
 own frontiers and families must be protected. This situa- 
 tion Wait reported to the council, who declared their sat- 
 isfaction with his conduct, but declined action on the 
 conduct of the rangers. 
 
 "Amidst all these activities Wait found time for civil 
 service. Elected on the Standing Committee of Corre- 
 spondence for the County at the Cumberland Convention 
 at Westminster in February, 1775, he was now called to rep- 
 resent his town in the convention which met at Windsor 
 to adopt a constitution for the new State. In the midst 
 of its deliberations came the news of St. Clair's retreat, 
 and at once confusion reigned, but, after a short delay, 
 work was resumed and the draft under consideration 
 adopted. Forthwith the newly organized Council of the 
 
26 
 
 State voted to raise a regiment of rangers under Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Herriek. In this regiment many from the older 
 companies of rangers seem to have enlisted, and among 
 them were Benjamin Wait and his younger brother Richard, 
 with the rank of major and captain, respectively, Benja- 
 min receiving his commission under date of Sept. 3, 1777. 
 
 "Three weeks later Col. Brown and Major Wait, with 
 some 500 men, were ordered to the vicinity of Ticonderoga 
 to cut Burgoyne's lines of communication, a service so 
 eflSciently performed that Wait was commended for * spir- 
 ited conduct' by the Council. 
 
 "In February, 1778, an expedition into Canada was pro- 
 posed, and Vermont was requested to furnish a regiment of 
 rangers. Herriek and Wait were at once commissioned 
 as colonel and lieutenant-colonel, respectively, but the 
 project was abandoned, and we know no more of Wait's 
 activities until October 23, 1779, when the Council ap- 
 pointed him as sheriff of Cumberland County, an office 
 that was then little less than military, and which he con- 
 tinued to hold for seven years, except during his absence 
 on the frontiers. In the same month he became a mem- 
 ber of the State's Board of War, of which body he seems 
 to have continued an active member until the close of the 
 Revolution. In 1780, with rank of major, he was in the 
 field at the time of the attacks on Royalton and New- 
 bury, and in January, 1781, he was commissioned major 
 of the First Regiment of Vermont Militia, and immediately 
 detailed for service on the frontiers. 
 
 "Throughout the war, disturbances continued between 
 the partisans of New York, who were particularly numer- 
 ous in Windham County, and those who sought to uphold 
 the authority of Vermont. In 1783 these dissensions 
 reached their height. Guilford was entirely in control of 
 the New Yorkers, and their resistance to Vermont authority 
 became so determined that Governor Chittendon was driven 
 to adopt stringent measures. In October the Assembly 
 provided for raising 'one hundred able and effective men 
 to assist the civil authority in carrying into effect the law 
 
27 
 
 in the southern part of the County of Windham,' and to 
 Wait was intrusted the command with the rank of colonel. 
 
 "Negotiations having failed, Wait's regiment and other 
 militia gathered at Brattleboro on Jan. 20, 1784, but, 
 after a slight show of resistance, the Yorkers fled and the 
 authority of the State was upheld. 
 
 "Early in November, 1786, a mob, led by citizens of 
 Barnard and Hartland, gathered to prevent the sitting of 
 the court at Windsor, an outbreak that was but a part 
 of Shays's Rebellion. Wait, as sheriff, read the riot act and 
 dispersed them, but, one of the number being tried for riot 
 on November 14, a second mob collected. Wait, acting 
 not only as sheriff, but as colonel of the Third Regiment, 
 ordered a company of his men from Weathersfield to come 
 to Windsor. With 40 of these men he set out before light 
 on the 17th, and, deceiving the guards by taking a circui- 
 tous route, attacked the house in Hartland at which the 
 rioters were assembled. Twenty-seven of the leaders were 
 captured, but not until Wait had received a wound that 
 incapacitated him for nearly a month. This experience 
 lingered in his memory, and in old age he used to lament 
 the fact that, after passing through many years of military 
 service without a scratch, he was finally nearly killed by 
 some of his old companions-in-arms while engaged in the 
 enforcement of the laws. 
 
 "March 1, 1767, he was elected brigadier-general in 
 command of the Third Brigade of militia, and on the records 
 of the Governor and Council for Aug. 24, 1788, appears 
 this minute : 
 
 "'A letter received from General Wait resigning his 
 ojffice as Brigadier-General being read, the Secretary is 
 directed to inform the General that they are unwilling to 
 discharge him until further consideration, and request his 
 continuance in service.' 
 
 "Here ends a soldiery that covered a period of more 
 than thirty years. It was an honorable service, and marked 
 Wait as an efficient military leader. He was equally a 
 leader in other things, as he was yet to demonstrate. 
 
28 
 
 "In 1788 his town of Waitsfield was first surveyed and 
 lotted, and in the following spring he made preparation 
 to begin its settlement. Let us consider for a moment his 
 situation. He was fifty-three years old. He was leaving 
 the first home his hands had made, and in which his chil- 
 dren had all been born. Poverty did not drive him forth, 
 for he ranked high among the well-to-do citizens of the 
 thriving town of Windsor, which then ranked tenth in pop- 
 ulation in the State. He was not seeking cheap land. His 
 fortune in the drawings had been poor, and he had purchased 
 six hundred acres within the limits of the town. He was 
 at the head of the military affairs of Vermont, had repre- 
 sented his town for four years in the General Assembly, 
 and was well and favorably known throughout the State. He 
 could look forward with reasonable certainty to an honorable 
 old age, spent in such comfort as the times afforded. 
 
 "Just what reasons urged him to take the step we cannot 
 now know, but it is probable that the welfare of his children 
 was the primary cause. The care with which he settled 
 them around him and endowed them with his lands would 
 seem to show it. He may have been a pioneer by nature, 
 as his children were pioneers after him, but, whatever the 
 reason, we may congratulate ourselves that he saw fit to 
 stamp upon our town the impress of his character. 
 
 "No sooner was he fairly settled here than he began to 
 draw about him old neighbors and companions-in-arms, anch 
 one likes to think that his strong character drew hither the 
 men of sterling qualities so numerous among our early 
 settlers." 
 
 It is very true that General Wait was a pioneer in spirit, his 
 life had forced him to be such, but Mr. Jones has not touched 
 upon the main fact which is connected with General Benjamin 
 Wait's leaving Windsor, Vt. He had been one of the first settlers 
 in this town, the first town meeting was held in his home, and 
 he was elected at this meeting the chairman of the Board of 
 Selectmen. He was a forceful, independent citizen, fearless and 
 outspoken, and ready for action at any moment. He never 
 recovered from the fact that he was nearly killed by his old 
 friends and neighbors, and this is the reason why he went again 
 
29 
 
 into the wilderness for an environment that would make him, in a 
 degree, forget old injuries and animosities. 
 
 "In his former home he was a leader. Here he was the 
 leader. At his call the town was organized. He was the 
 first selectman. He first represented it in the General 
 Assembly of Vermont. In his barn the first church ser- 
 vices were held, and in his home the voters of his district 
 provided for the schools. He died in Waitsfield, Vt., June 
 28, and was buried with Masonic honors June 30, 1822, age 
 86 years and 4 mos." 
 
 The writer has related the principal facts connected with his 
 life, not to distinguish him as a remarkable man, that the reader 
 can judge for himself, but in reading of him one learns of the 
 conditions which were to be met with in the beginning of the 
 settlement of the State of Vermont. General Wait never cared 
 for fame. E. D. C. 
 
 Lois Gilbert, h. at Brookfield, Mass., March 8, 1748; m. at 
 Brookfield, Mass., Jan. 11, 1767, Benjamin Wait; d. at Waits- 
 field, Vt., April 3, 1804. She was the daughter of Capt. Thomas 
 and Martha [Barnes] Gilbert, whose farm of four hundred acres 
 was in Brookfield, where he was prominent in the church and 
 town (he held public office); grand-dau. of Thomas Gilbert, who 
 m. Dec. 2, 1718, Judith Goss, dau. of Philip and Judith pSayward] 
 Goss of Lancaster; great-grand-dau. of John Hay ward of Concord, 
 Mass., who m. June 2, 1671, Anna White, dau. of Resolved White, 
 who m. April 8, 1640, Judith, dau. of Capt. William Vassall, one 
 . of the assistants in the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Salem, 
 Mass. Resolved White came in the Mayflower. He was 6 yrs. 
 old, and was son of Mr. William ^ White, who came in the May- 
 flower, signed the compact, and died in Plymouth, Mass., Feb. 
 21, 1621; his. wid Susanna m. second Gov. Edward Winslow. 
 She was the mother of Peregrine White, the first white child 
 born in this country, and of Gov. Josiah Winslow, the first gov- 
 ernor born in Plymouth Colony. (See Temple's North Brookfield 
 and Potter's Old Concord Families.) 
 
 John 6 Wait, b. at Windsor, Vt., Dec. 29, 1767-8; m. at 
 
 the eldest son of Gen. Benjamin Wait; 
 
 Winchester, N.H., Jan. 7, 1791, Eunice Lawrence. John 
 Wait lived in Windsor, Vt. He was a farmer; witnesses a 
 
30 
 
 deed for his father on Jan. 29, 1799. He d, at Windsor, 
 Dec. 25, 1799, age 31; his wid. m. in 1800 Solomon Ware of 
 Niagara Falls, N.Y. John Wait was the father of Eunice 
 Wait, who m. Rev. John Taylor, and Sarah Gilbert Wait; 
 also sons John and Joseph, who settled in Ohio. A public 
 record speaks of him as "the son of Gen. Benj. Wait, a 
 man of honorable character; public-spirited, he gave much 
 attention to schools," etc. 
 
 Sarah Gilbert ^ Wait, 6. at Windsor, Vt., Jan. 4, 1793; 
 m. at Waitsfield, Vt., March 9, 1815, William ^ Davis of 
 Woodstock, Vt. 
 
 She was the grandmother of the compiler of these records, and 
 it is to her that the writer is indebted for information relating to 
 her parents and grandparents. 
 
 Sarah Gilbert Wait, after her father's death in 1799, 
 became an inmate in the home of the grandfather, Gen. 
 Benjamin Wait, and she kept in constant touch with him 
 until his death in 1822. She had a great admiration for 
 his character, and frequently spoke of him as "a wonderful 
 man." He evidently told her a great deal relating to his 
 military service, for her memory was filled with incidents 
 connected with this remarkable career. 
 
 Sarah [Wait] Davis was an unusually interesting woman. 
 She was petite in figure, erect, with charming manners. 
 She spoke intelligently, and with ease, on a variety of sub- 
 jects; was interested in the world of affairs. She was dainty 
 and fastidious to a great degree. She had received un- 
 usual advantages from the years she lived with her grand- 
 father. Gen. Wait. She met the foremost men in the State. 
 She had seen Gen. Washington and Lafayette. She was vi- 
 tally interesting. To the writer she was a grandmother who 
 was most helpful in many ways, and will always be held 
 in her memory with admiration for her character and with 
 tender reverence. Sarah [Wait] Davis d. Oct. 22, 1880. 
 She was the mother of Almon Hemenway Davis, who m. 
 Elizabeth Everett. 
 
31 
 
 Lawrence. 
 
 The Lawrence family, in New England, claim to be related to 
 the George Washington family in England. This is probably 
 correct, as the Christian Register, cautious in its statements, in- 
 dorses it as a fact. 
 
 John ^ Lawrence was first at Watertown, Mass., where he 
 was freeman 1637, afterwards at Groton, Mass., where he 
 
 was a leading citizen; m. in England Elizabeth , by 
 
 whom he had eleven children; she d. at Groton, Aug. 29, 
 1663; m. second Susanna Batchelder. By her he had two 
 daughters. John Lawrence d. at Groton, July 11, 1667; 
 wid. Susanna d. July 8, 1668. From his will: "to the town 
 of Groton I give 100; to ye Church of Christ in Groton 
 I give 40 to be laid out for ye procuring of some silver 
 vessel or vessels for ye churches use as ye shall order; also 
 20 ye income to be annually paid or accounted for ye 
 settled or ordained minister." Another clause relating to 
 his children: "I will that after my lawful debts and en- 
 gagements are paid ye residue to be disposed to every of 
 my children born to me by my former wife to each and every 
 one of you in equal portions." 
 
 Will has his autograph signature. 
 
 Sons Joseph and Nathaniel executors. 
 
 NathanieP Lawrence, b. Aug. 15, 1639, at Watertown; 
 m. March 13, 1660-1, Sarah Moss, b. at Sudbury, Mass., 
 Sept. 16, 1643, 
 
 grand-dau. of Samuel ^ Morse, propr. at Dedham, Mass., 1638; 
 town oflScer; d. in Medfield, Mass., 1654; mentions in will wife 
 Elizabeth, dau. of Hannah, wid. of son John. 
 
 John 2 Morse m. Hannah Phillips, dau. of Ensign Henry Phillips 
 of Dedham, who d. in Boston, "leaving a good estate and a fine 
 character." 
 
 Dea. Nathaniel Lawrence buried his first wife in Groton, 
 1684; m. second Hannah , who witnessed a deed 1701, 
 
32 
 
 d. afterwards. He was made freeman May 15, 1672; a 
 deacon; much employed in town business; a representa- 
 tive of Groton. In advanced life he lived at Charlestown 
 Farms, where he d. April 14, 1724. Will prob. May 8, 
 1724, mentions son John. 
 
 John 3 Lawrence, b. at Groton, July 29, 1667; m. at 
 Groton, Nov. 9, 1687, Anna Tarbell, b. at Groton, June 10, 
 1670. 
 
 She was grand-dau. of Thomas ^ Tarbell of Watertown, to whom 
 was granted with four persons, in 1665, 20 acres of land for erect- 
 ing a mill, to be exempt from taxation for 20 years [Butler, p. 36], 
 and dau. of John ^ and [Anna Longley] Tarbell. 
 
 John Lawrence was a farmer and blacksmith. 
 
 He was the ancestor of Amos and Abbott Lawrence, the dis- 
 tinguished merchants and philanthropists, for whom the city of 
 Lawrence was named. 
 
 He removed from Groton to Cambridge Farms [Lexington] 
 1698-9. His wife Anna d. Dec. 19, 1732; he d. March 
 12, 1746-7. From his estate his sons John, WilHam, 
 Benjamin, and Amos received 120 each. His son Amos 
 m. Abigail Abbott; son Jonathan Lawrence was made 
 sole executor of the will, receiving, besides money, "the 
 land in the township of Townsend." 
 
 Jonathan ^ Lawrence, b. Feb. 24, 1705-6, at Cambridge 
 Farms; m. Feb. 22, 1726-7, Elizabeth Swain, 6. 1707. 
 
 She was descended from William Swain, representative of 
 Watertown 1635-36; appointed by the General Court of Massa- 
 chusetts Colony, March 3, 1635-6, with Andrew Ward, both of 
 Watertown, as the two commissioners to govern the people of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Jonathan Lawrence settled first in Sudbury, afterwards in 
 Framingham, where he was residing in 1736. In this year 
 his father John Lawrence executed a deed in favor of him. 
 Soon after this he returned to Lexington. "Dec. 28, 1761, 
 an order was passed [in town meeting] to pay Jonathan 
 
33 
 
 Lawrence 2. 135., 4cZ. for his wifes keeping one of the 
 womens schools." He d. March 19, 1773; his wid. d, July 
 4, 1790. 
 
 The following is a clause in his will: "I give my negroes 
 among all my children, to be settled among them as they 
 shall agree, as soon as may be after my discease." 
 
 Micah 5 Lawrence, h, March 15, 1738-9; m. at Win- 
 chester, N.H., 1765, Eunice Willard, dau. of Col. Josiah 
 Willard. She d. at Keene, N.H., Oct. 20, 1788, age 44 
 years. 
 
 Micah Lawrence was grad. Harv. Coll. 1759; taught 
 school in Worcester; ordained at Winchester, N.H., Nov. 
 4, 1764, as successor of Rev. Thomas Ashley [the first 
 minister]. He had trouble with his people, who thought 
 him "unfriendly to the war"; after a third council he was 
 dismissed. After 1777 he preached in different places. 
 He d. in Keene, N.H., Oct. 20, 1798, age 60 years. 
 
 Eunice ^ Lawrence, 6. at Winchester, N.H., July 22, 1767; 
 m. at Winchester, Jan. 7, 1791, John ^ Wait; m. second, 
 1800, Solomon Ware of Niagara Falls, N.Y. She was the 
 mother of Sarah [Wait] Davis, wife of William ^ Davis. 
 
 My grandmother, Mrs. William Davis, remembered having 
 seen her grandfather, Rev. Micah Lawrence. She always spoke 
 with much feeling when referring to the treatment her grand- 
 father received from this church in Winchester. And she was 
 probably correct in saying, ''He was loyal,'* for no public record or 
 church record has been found that would discredit her statement. 
 She received this impression from her grandfather. Gen. Wait, who 
 certainly was capable of forming a correct estimate of loyalty, or 
 disloyalty, in another in the days of the American Revolution. 
 
84 
 
 WiLLARD. 
 
 The Willard Memoir [Joseph Willard], Soldiers in King 
 Philip's War [George M. Bodge], History of Cambridge 
 [Paige], History of Concord [Shattuck], History of Groton 
 [Butler], New England Historical and Genealogical 
 Register, all give interesting accounts of Major Simon 
 Willard, one of the finest types of a Puritan, living in 
 New England in the middle of the seventeenth century 
 [1634-76]. 
 
 Simon ^ Willard was b. at Horsmonden, County Kent, 
 England; bap. April 17, 1605. He was the son of Richard 
 Willard by wife Margery, and brother of Margery [Willard] 
 Davis, who married, in England, Dolar Davis. The 
 family name in England is very old. It may be found 
 in the Domesday Book. 
 
 Simon Willard m., in England, Mary, dau. of Henry 
 and Jane [Ffielde] Sharpe, who was the mother of nine 
 children. She was b. at Horsmonden; bap. Oct. 16, 1614; 
 she d. at Newtowne [Cambridge]. He m. second Elizabeth 
 Dunster, who d. in six months; m. third Mary Dunster, 
 sister of Henry Dunster, first president of Harvard College. 
 He mentions in his will "my sister Willard, and all her 
 children." Mary [Dunster] Willard was living when her 
 brother Henry's will was probated. She was the mother 
 of eight children, by Willard, born between 1649-66. She 
 m. second, July 14, 1680, Dea. John Noyes of Sudbury, 
 Mass., and d. in that town, Dec, 1715. 
 
 Simon Willard was living in Cambridge [New Town] 
 1634. His house was on the south-east corner of what is 
 now Winthrop and Dunster Streets. He moved to Con- 
 cord in 1635. 
 
 In the summer of 1635 Rev. Peter Bulkeley, "a man of 
 great learning, of large heart, of noble family, possessed of 
 wealth, and distinguished as a divine, arrived in Cambridge, 
 and to him Willard attached himself with affectionate re- 
 gard." This alliance with Bulkeley shows that Willard had 
 
36 
 
 no disposition to follow the Hooker congregation to Hart- 
 ford, and that his mind was so constructed as not to be- 
 come a recipient of those somewhat mystical dogmas which 
 became rife the following year in the Antinomian contro- 
 versy. 
 
 In describing this emigration from Cambridge to Con- 
 cord in 1635, Johnson in his Wonder Working Providence 
 [second edition, p. 5] says, "The band of Concord is led by 
 Capt. Simon Willard, being a Kentish souldier." 
 
 Again quoting from Johnson: 
 
 "0/ the laborious worke Christs people have in planting 
 this wildernesse set forth in the building of the Towne of Con- 
 cord being the first inland Towne. 
 
 . . . "Upon some enquiry of the Indians who lived to 
 the North-west of the Bay, one Captaine Simon Willard 
 being acquainted with them by way of Trade became a 
 chiefe instrument in erecting this Town, the land they pur- 
 chase of the Indians, and with much difficulties travelling 
 through unknowne woods and watery scrampes [swampes] 
 they discover the fitnesse of the place, sometimes passing 
 through Thickets, where their hands are forced to make 
 way for their bodies passage, and their feet clambering over 
 crossed Trees, which when they missed they sunke into an 
 uncertaine bottome in water, they wade up to the knees, 
 tumbling sometimes higher, sometimes lower, wearied with 
 this toile they at the end meete with a scorching plaine; . . . 
 lying in the open air, while the watery clouds poure down 
 all the night season, and sometimes the driving snow disolv- 
 ing on their backs, they keep their wet cloathes warme with 
 a continued fire, till the renewed morning give fresh oppor- 
 tunity of further travell; after they have thus found out 
 a place of abode, they burrow themselves into the earth for 
 their first shelter." (Ibid., pp. 112-113.) 
 
 And thus was established by Rev. Peter Bulkeley and 
 Major Simon Willard "the first inland Towne." 
 
 Johnson, an Englishman, was contemporary with these times. 
 He was in this country, and his descriptions are from personal 
 observations. 
 
86 
 
 "A beautifully rounded little eminence, following the 
 triangle made by the junction of Sudbury and Assabet 
 Rivers with the woodlands, meadows, and arable land 
 attached to it, made a tract of about four hundred acres, 
 bounded chiefly by the two branches of the Concord River; 
 in the second division of the lands, two hundred and twenty- 
 eight years ago, it fell to the lot of Major Simon Willard.'* 
 (Rev. Grindall Reynolds, D.D.) 
 
 The infant town of Concord probably owed more to 
 Major Willard than to any other single person. He was 
 its chief selectman; for eighteen years he was its clerk; for 
 fifteen years its deputy to the General Court. From the 
 beginning he was the military commander, and with two 
 others made the legal tribunal before which all cases, be- 
 tween man and man, of small importance were tried. He 
 was possibly the most influential man in the county. All 
 through his later life he held the office of assistant. In 
 Massachusetts, in the seventeenth century, an assistant was 
 a person with high and varied duties. In the General Court 
 he was a senator. To the Governor he was a councillor. 
 In the administration of law he was a member of the only 
 Supreme Judicial Court of the period. To all these honors 
 and labors Simon Willard was called for twenty-two suc- 
 cessive years, and just as he died received the largest vote 
 given for any one for his twenty-third term. In 1641 to 
 him and two others was given the whole charge of trade with 
 the Indians. In 1655 he was promoted to the command 
 of all the military force of Middlesex County. He settled 
 innumerable cases of boundaries of land, and in one case 
 that of the bounds between Massachusetts and New Hamp- 
 shire. 
 
 In July, 1658, the selectmen of Lancaster, feeling the 
 need of a ruling mind, thought "meet to order a letter of 
 invitation to be sent to Major Simon Willard to come and 
 inhabit among us." A similar invitation in a previous 
 year had been declined. But eight months before this last 
 call Mr. Bulkeley had died: this may have weakened his 
 affection for Concord. He accepted the invitation, and sold 
 
37 
 
 his farm. For twelve years he was the controUing mind in 
 Lancaster. Then he moved to Groton, where his son was 
 minister. There King PhiHp's War found him. At seventy, 
 with all the fire and vigor of youth, he took command of the 
 Middlesex soldiers. He it was who, with his troopers and 
 friendly Indians, rescued Capt. Thomas Wheeler and 
 Lieut. Simon Davis, in their last extremity, at Brookfield. 
 March 14, 1676, while absent from home, his house at 
 Groton, with sixty-five others, was burned. One month 
 later he died in his new home at Charlestown. "He was a 
 noble specimen of a noble race. Weighty in judgment, 
 versatile, trusty, of kindly temper, of indomitable industry, 
 he filled well almost every conceivable post." 
 
 Major Simon Willard d. April 24, 1676. His funeral 
 was one of great pomp: it was on Thursday, the 27th 
 of April. There was a military escort "of several hundred 
 soldiers, consisting of three companies of foot, under the 
 command of Captains Still, Cutler, and Holbrook; and 
 three companies of horse, under command of Captains 
 Brattle, Prentice, and Henchman, the last being commander 
 of the whole." (Willard Memoir.) 
 
 Henry 2 Willard, 
 
 by wife Mary Dunster, 
 
 h. at Concord, June 4, 1655; m. first, July 18, 1675, Mary 
 Lakin, 
 
 dau. of William Lakin of Groton. 
 
 She d. 1688. He m. second, 1689, Dorcas Cutler, who sur- 
 vived her husband and became the wife of Benjamin Bel- 
 lows of Lancaster. 
 
 Henry Willard had a large estate. At one time he occu- 
 pied one of the garrison houses in Lancaster. He d, Aug. 
 27, 1701. 
 
 His children, some of whom were men of note, speak well for the 
 character of Henry Willard. 
 
38 
 
 Josiah^ Willard, b. at Lancaster, 1693; m., 1715, Hannah 
 Wilder. 
 
 She was b. 1690, the grand-dau. of Thomas ^ Wilder, b. in England, 
 who m. at Charlestown, 1640, Anna Eames; removed to Lancaster, 
 July 1, 1659; "a leading citizen and public officer until his death, 
 
 Oct. 23, 1667." John ^ Wilder m. Hannah , was a farmer in 
 
 Lancaster, and father of Hannah [Wilder] Willard. 
 
 Col. Josiah Willard was the commander of Fort Dummer 
 [Brattleboro, Vt.]. He was one of the settlers and principal 
 oflScers in Lunenburg, Mass. He died on a journey from 
 home, Dec. 8, 1750. "He was the grandson of the re- 
 nowned Major Simon Willard; and was a gentleman of 
 superior natural powers. . . . His death is a great loss to 
 the public, considering his usefulness in many respects, 
 particularly on the western frontiers." The Secretary of 
 State wrote to the son Josiah^ Willard, "I heartily join 
 with you and your family, in the mourning for the death 
 of your father, esteeming it a great public loss." . . . (Willard 
 Memoirs.) His wid. Hannah [Wilder] Willard was living in 
 1751. 
 
 Josiah^ Willard, 6. at Lunenburg, Mass., Jan. 21, 1715; 
 bap. at Lancaster, Aug. 6, 1721; m. at Groton, Nov. 23, 
 1732, Hannah Hubbard. 
 
 Mr. Willard passed many years of his life on the frontiers. 
 He succeeded his father in command at Fort Dummer, 
 and was made lieutenant-colonel. Afterwards he was made 
 colonel. He was in active service in the lines in the cam- 
 paign of 1755, and was stationed with his regiment at Fort 
 Edward in the same year. His father was one of the 
 grantees of Winchester from Massachusetts in 1733. A 
 church was organized in 1736, and Rev. Joseph Ashley, 
 
 a grad. Yale Coll., 
 
 was ordained as minister; but the church was broken up 
 and the town deserted of inhabitants on account of the 
 Indian Wars. 
 
89 
 
 But it was reorganized under a charter obtained by the 
 son Col. Josiah Willard and his brothers in 1753. A new 
 boundary line had been established, placing the town in 
 the jurisdiction of New Hampshire. Col. Willard became 
 the most important man in the town, holding all the offices 
 of any trust or importance. In 1771 he was chosen the 
 first representative of the town in the New Hampshire 
 Legislature. He d. Nov. 19, 1786; his wid. Hannah 
 [Hubbard] Willard d. Aug. 15, 1791. 
 
 Eunice^ Willard, h. at Winchester, March, 1745; m., 1765, 
 Rev. Micah Lawrence, who was the next minister of Win- 
 chester after Rev. Joseph Ashley. Their dau. Eunice 
 Lawrence m. John Wait; and they were the parents of 
 Sarah Gilbert [Wait] Davis, the wife of William^ Davis. 
 
 Hubbard. 
 
 George 1 Hubbard was first in Watertown, Mass., about 
 1633; m. Mary Bishop, who d. at Guilford, Conn., Sept. 14, 
 1675. 
 
 She was dau. of John and Ann Bishop, who moved to Guilford 
 in 1639, where he, Bishop, was one of the seven prop, of the 
 town, and d. there, February, 1661. 
 
 On May 6, 1635, permission from the General Court of 
 Massachusetts was granted to the inhabitants of Water- 
 town "to remove themselves to any place they shall think 
 meete to make choice of, provided they still continue under 
 the government." Among these immigrators was George 
 Hubbard and family and his father-in-law, John Bishop 
 and family. George Hubbard was the representative of 
 Wethersfield, Conn., at the first Colonial General Court, 
 under the Constitution of 1639. He went from Wethersfield 
 and settled at Milford on Long Island, "being assigned 
 Milford Island as his grant. He was one of those persons 
 whose names are hereunto written who are allowed to 
 be free planters, having for the present, liberty to act 
 in the choice of public oflacers for the carrying on of public 
 
40 
 
 affayres in this plantation. Mr. George Hubbard came from 
 Wethersfield." 
 
 Before 1650 he sold Milford Island to Richard Bryan, and 
 moved with his son-in-law John Fowler to Guilford, where his 
 wife's parents, John and Ann Bishop, had become residents. 
 
 George Hubbard was admitted to church membership 
 in Guilford, Oct. 6, 1650. During years 1652-55-57-58- 
 60-62-65-66-67 he was deputy magistrate. In 1666-67 
 he was a member of the Assembly at the union of the Hart- 
 ford and New Haven Colonies. In May, 1670, the Court 
 invested him with authority to " joyne persons in marriage." 
 "He was a person of high standing and prominent in the 
 politics of his times." He d. in Guilford, Conn., 1683. 
 
 The above facts are taken from a manuscript in the town 
 clerk's office in Guilford, Conn. 
 
 George 2 Hubbard, h. in England, 1630; m., before 1650, 
 Mary Merriam. 
 
 Supposed to be the sister of Robert Merriam of Concord, Mass. 
 
 After his father's removal to Guilford, he removed and 
 settled in Wethersfield, Conn., where four children were 
 born. On the 18th of April, 1658, he was one of the signers 
 of the engagement "to remove themselves and their 
 families out of the jurisdiction of Connecticut, into the 
 jurisdiction of Massachusetts," and who went and planted 
 Hadley. He removed afterward to Hatfield, and died there 
 in 1705. 
 
 Jonathan^ Hubbard, h. at Wethersfield, Conn., Jan. 3, 
 1658-9; m. at Marlborough, Mass., Jan. 15, 1681, Hannah 
 Rice, dau. of Samuel and Elizabeth [King] Rice of Marl- 
 borough and grand-dau. of Edmund and Tamezin Rice. 
 
 Edmund ^ Rice was proprietor and selectman in Sudbury, 1639; 
 freeman May 13, 1642; deputy 1643; 1656 removed to Marl- 
 borough; son Samuel was one of the petitioners for church privi- 
 leges there; wife Tamezin d. June 13, 1654; he m. second, March 
 1, 1655, Mercy Brigham; he d. May, 1663. 
 
41 
 
 Jonathan Hubbard went to Concord, Mass., as early as 
 1680 to live with "his uncle Robert Merriam, one of the 
 prominent men of Concord, whose estate the nephew 
 Jonathan Hubbard inherited." He died in Concord, 
 July 17, 1720, aged 70; his wid. Hannah d, April 9, 1741, 
 aged 89 [gravestones]. 
 
 Jonathan* Hubbard, h. at Concord, June 18, 1683; m. 
 by "James Bond Esq., of Watertown," Sept. 26, 1704, 
 Rebecca Brown, h. at Concord, March 5, 1683-4, dau. of 
 Ensign Thomas and Ruth [Jones] Brown. 
 
 Ensign Thomas Brown was son of Boaz ^ and Mary [Winship] 
 Brown; Mary Winship was dau. of Edward Winship of Cambridge, 
 Mass., selectman fourteen years, and representative eight years. 
 
 The mother of Rebecca [Brown] Hubbard was Ruth [Jones] 
 Brown, wid. of Ephraim Jones of Concord and dau. of Capt. 
 Thomas Wheeler, who was wounded in the "swamp fight" at 
 Brookfield in King Philip's War, rescued by Major Simon Willard 
 and his troopers. 
 
 Jonathan Hubbard, Jr., Hved first in Groton, where four 
 of his children were born; removed to Townsend, Mass., 
 where he was selectman 1748-52. He was major, deacon, 
 town treasurer, and one of the original proprietors of 
 Rindge, N.H. Lived also in Lunenburg. His wife Rebecca 
 d. at Townsend, April 2, 1754. Major Hubbard d, April 7, 
 1761, aged 76 [gravestones]. 
 
 Hannah 5 Hubbard, 6. 1712; m. Nov. 23, 1732, Col. 
 Josiah * Willard, whose dau. Eunice ^ Willard m., 1765, Rev. 
 Micah ^ Lawrence of Winchester, N.H. 
 
42 
 
 Everett. 
 
 "Friday. 
 
 "3/2/ dear Cousin, I am quite sure that I saw on your 
 lawn that magnificent Clematis paniculata which I have 
 just now ordered of Farquhar. 
 
 ^'But did I not also see two or three good autumn shrubs 
 of the kind that make no vain glory? And, if I did, what 
 are they.^^ 
 
 "Love from all to all, 
 
 "Yours ever, , 
 
 "Edward E. Hale. 
 
 "The Everett Genealogy has come! 
 
 "Wunderbar!" 
 
 This letter is introduced because of its connection with 
 the Everett Genealogy, which was presumably compiled by 
 the late Edward F. Everett, although it was printed some 
 months after his decease, and was completed by persons 
 incapable of arranging, with accuracy, the records he left. 
 
 In this book my gr.-gr.-grandfather is made to appear under 
 the name of Samuel ^ Everett. There was never a Samuel in our 
 line of ancestors. The record should have read: Ebenezer^ 
 Everett, h. 1734, d. 1808; Isaac Everett, h. 1757, d. 1801 [his 
 wid. Elizabeth [Tower] Everett d. 1842, age 86]; JoeP Everett, 
 h. 1789, d. 1855; Elizabeth Everett, h. 1816, d. 1904; she m., 
 1844, Almon Hemenway Davis, who made a record, now in my 
 possession, in 1844, of our line of Everett ancestors. From a 
 close examination of the dates of births and deaths given above, it 
 will appear how easily this was done; for he conversed with 'parties 
 to the Everett Genealogy whose memories covered all these dates. Mr. 
 Davis was my father. 
 
 The late Dr. C. C. Everett, Dean of the Divinity School 
 at Harvard University, Dr. Hale, and myself frequently 
 talked of our ancestor Richard ^ Everett, and questioned 
 as to his birthplace in England. Dr. Everett believed that 
 
43 
 
 he was born at Dedham, England, which opinion has been 
 adopted in the Everett Genealogy. 
 
 The first positive record we have of Richard Everett 
 is at Agawam, now Springfield, on July 15, 1636, when he 
 witnessed a deed from the Indians transferring land to 
 William Pynchon and others. He is described in the History 
 of Springfield as "Mr. Pynchons trader" {Mason A. Green, 
 p. 24). 
 
 On Aug. 18, 1636, he is at Watertown, and attended the 
 first recorded meeting of the proprietors of the new town, 
 called Contentment, name afterwards changed to Dedham. 
 His name was then spelled, and for several years after, 
 Richard "Euered." 
 
 Richard Everett m. first Mary , no record of birth, 
 
 parentage, or death. He m. second, June 29, 1643, Mary 
 Winch, who came in the ship Francis to Ipswich, April, 
 1638, age 15, a member of the family of Rowland Stebbins. 
 
 The Town Records of Dedham give a complete descrip- 
 tion of the town offices held by him, together with his 
 church membership, the christening of his children, the 
 amount of his yearly taxes, together with the date of his 
 death, which occurred on July 3, 1682; inventory of estate, 
 277 155. lid. Wife Mary lived for several years after. 
 
 John 2 Everett, bap. "15 d. 1 mo. 1642," at Dedham; w. 
 at Roxbury, May 13, 1662, EHzabeth Pepper, 6. at Roxbury 
 May 25, 1645. 
 
 Elizabeth Pepper was dau. of Robert Pepper, freeman May 
 10, 1643, d. at Framingham, Jan. 5, 1684; mentions in his 
 will daughters Elizabeth and Mary Everett of Dedham. The 
 mother of Elizabeth [Pepper] Everett was Elizabeth John- 
 son, dau. of John Johnson, chosen by the General Court, Oct. 
 19, 1630, constable at Roxbury, and "surveyor of all the arms 
 in the Colony." "A very industrious and faithful man in his 
 place" (Winthrop). "His house was burned 2 [6] 1645, with 
 17 bbls. of the country's powder and many arms" (Winthrop). 
 He was town officer and deputy; d. at Roxbury, July 30, 
 1659. His daughter, Elizabeth [Johnson] Pepper, d. Jan. 5, 
 1683. 
 
44 
 
 Capt. John Everett was in active service in King Will- 
 iam's War; stationed at Portsmouth and elsewhere in 
 Maine and New Hampshire. 
 
 See New Hampshire Provincial Papers and Massachusetts Mili- 
 tary Archives. 
 
 He was fence-viewer in Dedham eleven years; constable 
 four years; surveyor of highways and tithingman 1700. 
 
 His wife Elizabeth d. at Dedham, April 1, 1714; Capt. 
 John Everett d. at Dedham, June 17, 1715. 
 
 Will proved July 7, 1715: "To my granddaughter, Hannah 
 Crosbee Ten Pounds." His second child, Hannah Everett, 
 h, 1670, m. Simon Crosby of Billerica, son of Simon and 
 Rachel [Brackett] Crosby. 
 
 John 3 Everett, h, at Dedham, June 9, 1676; m. first, 
 June 3, 1699-1700, Mercy Browne, who d. at Dedham, Nov. 
 27, 1748, aged 70; m. second, Aug. 31, 1749, Mrs. Mary 
 Bennett of Wrentham. 
 
 Mercy Brown was grand-dau. of Thomas and Bridget Brown 
 of Concord. He had 200 acres of land in Sudbury, 300 acres at 
 Worcester, house and land in Cambridge. He d. probably in 1690: 
 will probated in January, 1690, mentions son Boaz. Boaz Brown, 
 h. at Concord, Dec. 14, 1641; m. Nov. 8, 1664, Mary Winship, 
 dau. of Edward Winship, of Cambridge, by wife Jane. They were 
 the parents of Mercy Browne. Edward ^ Winship was proprietor 
 in Cambridge 1635; sergeant 1643; deputy and town officer. He 
 d. Dec. 2, 1688. Will prob. Oct. 1, 1689, mentions dau. Mary 
 Brown. 
 
 John Everett was selectman at Dedham, 1724-32, nine 
 years. His name appears on a petition to the General 
 Court, 1729, for a new parish in the south part of the 
 town. This parish, the second in the town, was established 
 in 1630. John Everett was its first moderator. He was 
 also the first deacon in the new church, and was appointed 
 assessor. His will prob. April 2, 1751, mentions son Ebenezer 
 Everett. 
 
45 
 
 Ebenezer ^ Everett, b. at Dedham, Aug. 5, 1707; m. March 
 9, 1734, at North Andover, Mass., Joanna Stevens, dau. of 
 Ebenezer and Sarah [Sprague] Stevens, b. Sept. 11, 1711, 
 d. June 21, 1791. 
 
 Ebenezer Everett lived for several years at Methuen, 
 Mass. He was dismissed from the First Church in Methuen 
 to the Second Church in Dedham, March 22, 1742. He 
 was chosen deacon of this Second Church, Nov. 30, 1760; 
 selectman 1760-64. He d. June 19, 1778. His will prob. 
 July 17, 1778, mentions son Ebenezer. 
 
 Ebenezer^ Everett, b. at Dedham, Oct. 7, 1734; m. at 
 Dedham, first, Dec. 16, 1756, Abigail Bacon, b. at Dedham, 
 1738; d. at Dedham, June 12, 1789. 
 
 Abigail Bacon was descended from Michael ^ Bacon, one of the 
 original proprietors of Dedham: "Tradition says he held the 
 office of captain of a company of yeomanry in Suffolk County, 
 England." Her father was Capt. William Bacon, who raised a 
 company for the Crown Point expedition in the French and Indian 
 War. He m. Nov. 17, 1736, Abigail Dean, of Dedham. 
 
 Capt. Everett m. second, March 22, 1791, at Dedham, 
 Mrs. Abigail [Fisher] Kingsbury, b. March 8, 1736-7, d. 
 June 14, 1809. 
 
 Ebenezer Everett lived in Dedham, where he was received 
 into the Second Church, March 2, 1760. He was elected 
 deacon July 13, 1778, and was town treasurer in 1780. 
 He served in the French and Indian War and in the Revo- 
 lution. He was ensign, and marched on the alarm of the 
 19th of April, 1775, and served ten days. He was also at 
 Dorchester Heights. 
 
 *' Ebenezer Everett Petition dated Dedham, March 21, 
 1780, signed by said Everett that he had been appointed 
 Captain of 7th co.. Col. WilHam Mclntash's [Mcintosh's] 
 1st Suffolk Co. regt., in May, 1776; that he had been fre- 
 quently called upon to raise and fit men for the army, &c., 
 but that owing to ill health he was no longer able to fulfill 
 the duties of the office and asking that his resignation be 
 
46 
 
 accepted; ordered in Council July 8, 1780, that the resigna- 
 tion be accepted." {Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in 
 the War of the Revolution, p. 424.) 
 Capt. Ebenezer Everett d. at Dedham, Oct. 1, 1808. 
 
 Isaac ^ Everett, 6. at Dedham, Dec. 21, 1757; m. May 
 8, 1786, Elizabeth Tower of "Tower Hill," Braintree. 
 
 John ^ Tower was h. at Hingham, England, bap. 1607: he was the 
 son of Robert and Dorithie [Damon] Tower. The mother, Dorothy, 
 was buried at Hingham, England, Nov. 10, 1629; the father, Robert, 
 was buried in the same place. May 1, 1634^. John Cv^hing of Hing- 
 ham, in New England, made this record: "1637. John Tower and 
 Samuel Lincoln came from Old Hingham and settled in New Hing- 
 ham'^ [Samuel Lincoln was the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln]. 
 
 We do not know the reasons why John Tower left a comfortable 
 home in England for the hardships of a life in the wilderness, prob- 
 ably for the same reasons which induced so many others to emigrate 
 during the period between 1630 and 16^0. 
 
 Among the parishes in England in sympathy with the Puritan 
 movement wa^ that of Hingham, where Robert Peck had been installed 
 as rector a few years before John Tower was born, and under whose 
 ministry John Tower had passed the whole period of his life up to 
 the time of his emigration. Robert Peck had become so decided in 
 expressing his opinions as to receive admonition from his superior. 
 Bishop Wren. He was asked to reform his opinions. Later he 
 came under the censure of Bishop Laud. He was then obliged to 
 retract or leave the country, which he did in 1638, with his wife, two 
 children, and two servants, settling in Hingham, New England, 
 where he was ordained teacher of the church, Nov. 28, 1638. He re- 
 turned to England with his family, October, 164^1. Rev. Peter Hobart 
 (grad. Magdalen Coll., England) came from Hingham, England, 
 with his father Edmund, Sr., who settled in Hingham, New England, 
 where the father was deputy. There was a brother, Josiah, who 
 became a very prominent and useful citizen at Hingham. Rev. Peter ^ 
 Hobart was minister at Hingham for forty-four years. [Rev. Peter 
 Hobart was one of the writer's ancestors, as will appear later.] There 
 were several families that came from their English home at Hingham 
 and settled in New Hingham. It is said that many of these sold out 
 their possessions at a great sacrifice. It does not appear that John 
 Tower made any sacrifice. In those times it was not uncommon for 
 young men without means to secure their passage as "servants'* to 
 some one who was able to pay the passage money. The ancestors of 
 some of our now opulent people came into this country as servants. 
 
47 
 
 John Tower seems to have had means sufficient to pay his passage 
 and to establish himself after his arrival. He received several grants 
 in landy and also land by purchase. 
 
 He was made freeman March 13, 1638-9. His house-lot was a 
 grant of three acres, soon after his arrival, on Batchelor, now Main, 
 Street. In 16^5 he was one of seven men ^'to order the prudential 
 affairs of the town." In conveyances he wa^ called ''Planter." 
 
 John Tower, when he settled at Hingham, was not among strangers. 
 He had known many of them before leaving England, the Hobarts 
 and Lincolns being among these. On Feb. 13, 1638-9, he m. at 
 Charlestown, Mass., Margerett \born in England], dau. of Richard 
 Ibrook: she had two sisters, one of whom became the wife of Capt, 
 Josiah Hobart, and the other was the second wife of the brother. Rev. 
 Peter Hobart. Margerett died at Hingham, May 15, 1700. John 
 Tower d. at Hingham, Feb. 13, 1701-2, age 93. 
 
 John 2 Tower, bap. at Hingham, Dec. 13, 1639; m. at Hingham, 
 May 1^, 1669, Sarah Hardin, dau. of John of Weymouth, 1643. 
 He removed after 1682 to Braintree. He was a farmer. He d. at 
 Braintree, Aug. 30, 1693; his wid. d. Oct. 16, 1729. 
 
 Joseph 3 Tower, b. Feb. 27, 1685-6; m., 1709, Ruth Thayer, b. 
 at Braintree, July 17, 1689, 
 
 dau. of Nathaniel ^ Thayer by w. Hannah Hayden; grand- 
 dau. of Richard ^ Thayer by w. Dorothy Pray; great-grand-dau. 
 of Richard ^ Thayer, settled in Braintree, freeman 164^0. 
 Nathaniel ^ Thayer was a man of property and respectability. 
 He names his uncle, Penn Townsend, judge of the Superior 
 Court of Suffolk, executor of his will, dated May 15, 1703. He 
 was the ancestor of Col. Sylvanus Thayer, ''the father of 
 West Point," who occupied the homestead of his grandfather 
 until his death. 
 Ruth Thayer Tower d. at Braintree, March 28, 1752. Joseph 
 Tower d. at Braintree, 1761. No will. 
 
 Joseph * Tower, b. at Braintree, Jan. 10, 1725; m. three times: 
 first, at Braintree, 1751, Sarah AdaTus, b. at Braintree, March -4, 
 1726, 
 
 dau. of Samuel ^ Adams by w. Sarah Paine; grand-dau. 
 
 Joseph 3 Adams by w. Hannah Bass, dau. of John and 
 
 Ruth [Alden] Bass. Ruth ^ Alden was dau. of John and 
 
 Priscilla [Mullens] Alden, of the "Mayflower" [Mullens was 
 
 one of the "merchant adventurers"]', gr. -grand-dau. Joseph^ 
 
 Adams by w. Abigail Baxter, son of Henry ^ Adams. 
 
 Capt. Joseph Tower lived in that part of Braintree afterwards 
 
 incorporated as " Tower Hill," Randolph. He was a farmer. He 
 
 was a soldier in the French and Indian Wars, and was over fifty years 
 
 old when he marched as sergeant in Capt. Seth Turner*s Company 
 
48 
 
 on April 19, 1775. He was afterwards promoted to captain. (See 
 Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, 
 p. 89Jf.) He d. at Randolph, Sept. 7, 1801; wife, Sarah Adams, d. 
 1756. 
 
 Elizabeth Tower, b. at Braintree, Jan. 15, 1756; m. May 8, 1786, 
 Isaac ^ Everett; she d. in Dedham, Oct. 16, 18Jf2. 
 
 The life of Isaac Everett was one of hardship. At the 
 age of eighteen he was in the fight on Lexington Green, and 
 was wounded: "Isaac Everett, Dedham. Private, Capt. 
 WilHam ElHs's co., Col. Heath's regt., which marched on 
 the alarm of April 19, 1775." {Massachusetts Soldiers and 
 Sailors in the War of the Revolution, p. 421.) "Wounded 
 at the Battle of Lexington, Isaac Everett of Dedham." 
 (Hudson's History of Lexington, p. 212.) The following is 
 a letter from Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D.: 
 
 "Oct. 23, 1893. 
 
 ^^Dear Cousin, The Lexington grandfather was wounded. 
 I have somewhere a copy of the charge of the Doctor who 
 attended him. If I can find it, you shall see it. 
 
 "Yours always, 
 
 "E. E. Hale." 
 
 Isaac Everett continued with the army until the end 
 of the war. He was at Dorchester Heights [service 4 days] 
 when the British evacuated Boston. {Massachusetts Soldiers 
 and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, p. 429.) 
 
 Afterwards he was a teamster with supplies for Wash- 
 ington's army, "journeying long distances, and enduring 
 much suffering with fortitude." 
 
 The writer does not recall the name of any one of her ancestors 
 whose life to her seems quite so pathetic. His life was caught in 
 the grip of the Revolution. At eighteen he was a soldier, wounded 
 at Lexington; and again one of those soldiers who made that 
 tedious march and fortified Dorchester Heights; and then those 
 long years in which he followed Washington's army with sup- 
 plies, witnessing the suffering from sickness, the cold and lack of 
 food, all of which he had an intimate acquaintance with, and was 
 
49 
 
 a sharer in, and which consumed all the years of his young man- 
 hood; waiting for ten years to make the young girl to whom he 
 had been betrothed, now grown beyond her first youth, his bride. 
 Broken in health, but with courage facing the future, he had 
 hardly begun to get hold of the realities of a home life with its 
 joy and its comfort, when he died, "worn out," said his widow, 
 at the age of 46, "from the suffering and exposure of the dreadful 
 war." A beautiful grove in Dedham has for more than a hundred 
 years been known as "Everett's Woods." It was his property 
 when living. 
 
 Isaac Everett d. Nov. 12, 1801. Wid. Elizabeth, executrix. 
 
 In connection with the military service of Capt. Ebenezer Ev- 
 erett and his son Isaac Everett, the writer prints the following 
 relating to Dedham : 
 
 "A little after nine o'clock in the morning, there came a 
 horseman down the Needham road to bring the Lexington 
 alarm. The minute men were ready and knew just what 
 to do. There are traditions still kept of the plough being 
 left in the furrow, and the cart upon the highway, and the 
 drivers mounting their horses and galloping for their muskets 
 and accoutrements." (From 250th Anniversary of the Town 
 of Dedham,) 
 
 "In all, including the minute men and the militia, three 
 hundred men under arms must have marched from Dedham 
 on that historic day. Nor were these all. The gray- 
 haired veterans of the French War, whose blood was stirred 
 anew by the sights and sounds of war, resolved to follow 
 their sons to the battle. Assembled on the Common before 
 this meeting-house, they met Rev. Mr. Gorden, who had 
 just come to Dedham; and he from the eastern porch 
 offered prayer, and then they marched." (Ibid., p. 78.) 
 
 "Well may we believe, as we have been told, that the 
 town was left * almost literally without a male inhabitant 
 below the age of seventy and above the age of sixteen.'" 
 (Haven's Centennial Address, p. 46.) 
 
50 
 
 Joel 7 Everett, b. at Walpole, Mass., Feb. 22, 1789; 
 
 the only child born to Isaac and Elizabeth Everett; 
 
 m. in the Episcopal church at Dedham, Nov. 30, 1811, 
 Miss Catherine Smith. No couple ever entered married 
 life with seemingly fairer prospects. Isaac Everett moved 
 back into Dedham soon after the birth of his son Joel. 
 At twelve years old this father, Isaac Everett, had died. 
 His mother, Elizabeth, was approaching middle life. It 
 was considered the best thing among the family relatives 
 to place Joel Everett in the home of Rev. Peter Thacher, 
 a bachelor minister of the Clapboard Trees Church, Dedham. 
 He was a scholar of repute, who in addition to his preaching 
 had boarders, mostly young men from the Southern families, 
 whom he prepared for college. It was not the school for 
 young Everett. 
 
 Mr. Thacher had much contrition of spirit in later years that 
 he had not been more faithful to this young boy whose people 
 had been his parishioners. 
 
 After a few years he was for some time in the family of 
 his Everett uncles. Rev. and Judge Oliver and Rev. and 
 Judge Moses Everett, at Dorchester. The intimacy thus 
 formed continued in both families until his death. He 
 met with a terrible accident in the winter of 1820, which 
 crippled him for life : he became a recluse, and never visited, 
 excepting with a few of his Everett relatives. He was 
 very distinguished in personal appearance, even after the 
 accident, a gentleman of charming address, and a brilliant 
 conversationalist. 
 
 The writer has always remembered her grandfather Everett 
 with great distinctness. She was with him often during the first 
 ten years of her life. She was a favorite grandchild, who received 
 much instruction from him. His personality was strikingly like 
 that of his cousin, the Hon. Edward Everett. 
 
 His wife Catherine [Smith] Everett d. in Dedham, 
 Dec. 21, 1821, leaving three sons and two daughters. Joel 
 Everett had a small property, which to the end of his life 
 
61 
 
 was sufficient for all his physical needs. He built a house 
 in Natick, Mass., where his daughter, Mrs. Rice, lived, 
 which was burned without insurance. He built again on 
 the same site on North Main Street, bounded on one side 
 by Everett Street. In this house he died on the morning 
 of Feb. 22, 1855, his 66th birthday. The funeral was in 
 the church, the minister preaching from the text, "If a 
 man die, shall he live again .f^" The burial was in Dell 
 Park Cemetery. 
 
 EHzabeth ^ Everett, b. at Dedham, Mass., July 31, 1816; 
 m. at Dedham, May 12, 1844, Almon ^ Hemenway Davis 
 of Boston. Rev. Nathan Rice, who married Catherine 
 Everett, a sister of Elizabeth, was the officiating clergy- 
 man. It was in the boarding-school of Marshall Rice, 
 at Newton Centre, a brother of Nathan Rice, that Mr. 
 Davis made the acquaintance of Elizabeth Everett. 
 
 It is difficult to write of one's mother. You are so closely 
 associated with your mother that you have no perspective. 
 She enters your first thoughts; in youth you cling to her 
 as personal comforter; in age you know that no love ever 
 endures that is quite so loving, unselfish, and patient. This 
 is the good mother. 
 
 Elizabeth [Everett] Davis was of medium height; she 
 had the complexion of her mother [this her father told her] ; 
 she had a very fair skin, with light brown hair and blue 
 eyes [her father's eyes were called "hazel"]; the contour 
 of her face was like her father; the same aquiline nose, the 
 deep-set eye, the high rounded forehead, the firm-set lips; 
 a speech that gave the impression of a beautiful, honorable 
 character. Yes, she was like her father: she had all of 
 his reticence with his geniality. Her father never spoke 
 to her more than once or twice of her mother. She had 
 but one memory of this mother, and that of the morning 
 before she died, when, putting her hand on the little 
 daughter's head, and gently stroking it, the mother said to 
 her, "I am going far away, and after I am gone you must 
 remember to be very good." Then there was the funeral, 
 
62 
 
 with the long walk to the grave, and herself dressed all in 
 black. She never forgot this one interview with her mother, 
 which she interpreted to mean an injunction laid upon her 
 to be faithful and devoted to the family; and such she 
 proved herself to be. She adored her father. 
 
 My mother had large generosity. She was extremely 
 kindly to the poor and suffering. In her last days she said, 
 "I am glad I have never allowed any one to go away hungry 
 from my door." And so she passed through life, performing 
 kindly acts, a real lover of mankind. She was like her father, 
 liberal in religious thought. One peculiarity she had above 
 other women: she always held a youthful expression; no 
 one ever thought of her as being old. She was clear in 
 her thought until the end, holding no fear of death. She 
 died in the home of her son, Edward Everett Davis, at 
 Dehesa, San Diego County, Cal., on the 6th of Decem- 
 ber, 1904, wishing to go to her mother and father. At 
 her funeral her grandson, Sumner Crosby, read by her 
 request verses from which the following is one: 
 
 *'And so for me there is no sting to death, 
 And so the grave has lost its victory; 
 It is but crossing with abated breath, 
 And with set face, a strip of sea, 
 To find the loved ones waiting on the shore. 
 More beautiful, more precious than before." 
 
 "Washington, D.C, 
 "Senate Chamber, Dec. 8, 1906. 
 
 ^^My dear Cousin, I have just read in the Transcript the 
 death of your dear mother, which has come as a great shock 
 and surprise, for we did not know that she was ill. Do please 
 write at once the particulars. I hope you will be able to say 
 that she passed on without suffering. There is nothing 
 to compare with the death of your mother. I was never 
 anything but the boy, Edward, to my mother so long as 
 she lived, and the same was true of your mother. You 
 never grew up in her mind, you were always her child. 
 
 *' Yours with affection and sympathy, in which Emily 
 joins, "E. E. Hale." 
 
53 
 
 "The Last Word. 
 
 'Fate takes the pen and with resistless hand 
 Sets down man's sum of life, so many days. 
 So many journeys along destined ways. 
 So many hopes wrecked on a foredoomed strand, 
 So many griefs that none shall understand. 
 And strivings none shall pity or shall praise. 
 So many joys from brief and passionate blaze 
 Trampled to blackness, all foreknown, foreplanned. 
 Yet man, not fate, decides life's final word; 
 Still must he add what doubles all the rest 
 Or make it nothing still despairing write, 
 *Woe is me unhappy!' or, with courage stirred 
 To an unfaltering flame, sum up each test. 
 And set down calmly, 'I have fought the fight.'" 
 
 Smith. 
 
 Rev. John ^ Smith, born at Brinspittie, Dorsetshire, 
 England, about 1614; minister at Barnstable, Mass., 1643; 
 juryman; deputy. Appointed to attend meetings of the 
 Quakers and hear their defence; reported in their favor, and 
 so displeased his brother-in-law. Governor Thomas Hinckley. 
 Withdrew from communion with the church for conscien- 
 tious reasons. In September, 1661, he led in organizing a 
 church which the council would not approve. (MS. in 
 Mass. Hist. Coll. quoted by Felt.) 
 
 In 1673 he was called to Sandwich, and was the minister 
 in this settlement until 1689. He d. in 17 , [last two fig- 
 ures not deciphered]; m., about 1643, Susanna, dau. of 
 Samuel and Sarah Hinckley, who came in the Hercules, 
 March, 1634. 
 
 Samuel Hinckley was in Barnstable in 1638; town oflScer; his 
 son Thomas became governor of Plymouth Colony; will prob. 
 March 4, 1663, names dau. Susanna Smith and son Thomas 
 Hinckley. 
 
64 
 
 Joseph 2 Smith, b. Dec. 6, 1667, at Barnstable; m. April 
 29, 1689, Anne Fuller. "He was an important man in the 
 county; selectman, town treasurer, and representative"; d. 
 March 4, 1746. 
 
 Edward ^ Fuller came with his wife in the MayUower, and signed 
 the compact. Res. Plymouth. Both he and the wife died in 
 the winter of 1621, and their bodies were interred on Burial Hill. 
 
 Edward Fuller was of the Leyden Company who set sail on the 
 Speedwell, and was afterward on the Mayflower, the Speedwell 
 proving unseaworthy. 
 
 Mathew ^ Fuller, b. in England, place and date of birth un- 
 known. "He did not come to New England until after his father's 
 death. Little is known of his early history, which is to be re- 
 gretted, because we like to trace successive steps by which an 
 orphan boy became eminent. Captain Mathew Fuller was one of 
 the earliest physicians of Barnstable County." . . . {Barnstable 
 Families, p. 376.) 
 
 In 1642 he is in Plymouth, and has a grant of land. In 1653 
 he was deputy from Barnstable to the Colony Court. June 20, 
 1654, he was appointed lieutenant under Captain Miles Standish 
 of a company of fifty men, the quota of Plymouth Colony in the 
 proposed expedition against the Dutch Colony of Manhattoes, 
 now New York. Oct. 2, 1658, he was elected one of the council 
 of war, and in 1671 its chairman and one of the magistrates of 
 the colony. Dec. 17, 1673, he was appointed surgeon-general of 
 the colony troops, and also of Massachusetts, if the colony 
 approved. (Plymouth Colony Records.) 
 
 "Capt. Mathew Fuller was appointed to be surgeon-general of 
 all the forces of the Colony." (Bodge's King Philip's War, p. 462.) 
 
 "In 1675 he was allowed 4 shillings a day for his services as 
 Surgeon-General." (Colony Records.) He was the physician who 
 attended Miles Standish in his last sickness. 
 
 Mathew Fuller m. Frances . The will of Dr. Fuller was 
 
 probated Oct. 30, 1678; mentions second wife Frances and Anne, 
 wid. of son Samuel. 
 
 Samuel ^ Fuller, no record of birth; m. Mary . He was 
 
 a member of the Colony Committee in 1670, appointed to view 
 the injury done to the Indians by the attack of the English and 
 assign damages. He was a town officer, also a lieutenant in the 
 Plymouth Colony forces, in King Philip's War, and was killed in 
 the first battle of that dreadful war, at Rehoboth, March 25, 
 1675. His dau. Anne, b. 1669, m. April 29, 1689, Joseph ^ Smith. 
 {Barnstable Families, vol. i.) 
 
 Anne [Fuller] Smith d. July 2, 1722. 
 
56 
 
 Rev. Thomas 3 Smith, b, at Barnstable, Feb. 6, 1706; 
 grad. Harv. Coll. 1725; ordained minister at Yarmouth, 
 Mass., April 16, 1721; m. Aug. 29, 1734, Judith Miller. 
 
 "Rev. Thomas Smith was a man of note in his day, and 
 sprang from an honored ancestry, while the family into 
 which he married was of even more distinguished extrac- 
 tion." (New Eng. His. and Gen. Reg., vol. 31, p. 68.) 
 
 "After preaching in Yarmouth for twenty-five years, Mr. 
 Smith's religious views had so advanced and liberalized as 
 to be no longer in accord with the church. Consequently 
 he asked for his dismission from the church, which was 
 granted. The same year, 1754, he settled in Pembroke, 
 Mass., where he remained until his death July 7, 1788." 
 He was spoken of as a fine scholar and "the most distin- 
 guished man who had ever been settled in the town." 
 (Rev. Morrill Allen, one of his late successors.) 
 
 Rev. John ^ Miller came to New England, 1634, with wife 
 Lydia and son John; grad. Gains Coll., Cambridge, A.B. 1627; 
 included in Mather's Magnolia in his "first classis"; was an 
 elder in the Roxbury church, with Rev. John Eliot, who labored 
 in converting the Indians and translated the Bible into the Indian 
 language. Mr. Miller was an assistant from 1639 to 1641 to the 
 Rev. Ezekiel Rogers at Rowley, Mass., and was also town clerk in 
 this place. In 1641 he received and declined a call to become the 
 minister at Woburn. In 1646 he was called to Yarmouth to 
 succeed the "famous Marmaduke Mathews." His wife Lydia 
 d. in Boston, "at the home of Thomas Bumstead, Aug. 7, 1658." 
 (Boston Records.) 
 
 After the death of his wife he was settled in Groton, whither he 
 seems to have gone with the first settlers. "A vote passed in 
 Groton March 18, 1662-3, requested Rev. John Miller to con- 
 tinue with them, if he was moved to do so." Land was granted to 
 him in this same year. He d. in Groton, June 12, 1663, and was 
 succeeded by Rev. Samuel Willard [son of Major Simon ^1 who was 
 ordained July 13, 1664. "Mr. Miller is said to have been a man 
 of high literary attainments." 
 
 John 2 Miller, h. in England, 1631-2; m. Dec. 24, 1659, Mar- 
 gerett Winslow, h. 1640, dau. of Josiah and Margerett [Bourne] 
 Winslow and niece of Gov. Edward Winslow. (Josiah Winslow 
 was h. in England, bap. Feb. 16, 1605[6], son of Edward Winslow, 
 Esq., and Magdalen, his wife, of Droitwich, Worcestershire, Eng- 
 
56 
 
 land. Josiah Winslow lived in Scituate, and afterwards in Marsh- 
 field, where he was town clerk in 1643 and many years after, also 
 representative. "He was 'Assistant' to his brother. Gov. Edward 
 Winslow." He d. in Marshfield, Dec. 1, 1674; his wid. Mar- 
 gerett d. in Marshfield, Oct., 1683; of their children whose mar- 
 riages are recorded, Martha m. John, son of Gov. William Brad- 
 ford, and Margerett m. John Miller.) 
 
 John Miller settled in Yarmouth, where he filled various offices 
 of trust, and was frequently its representative to the General 
 Court; d. at Yarmouth, June 10, 1711. 
 
 Josiah 3 Miller, h. at Yarmouth, Oct. 27, 1679; m. Aug. 13, 1708, 
 Mary Barker, h. April 14, 1674, dau. of Isaac and Judith [Prince] 
 Barker. Her grandfather was Gov. Thomas Prince, who came 
 in the Fortune to Plymouth, Nov., 1621. His first wife was 
 Patience Brewster, dau. of Elder William Brewster, who d. 1634; 
 m. second, April 1, 1635, Mary Collier, she was the grandmother 
 of Mary [Barker] Miller. [Thomas Prince was chosen governor 
 of Plymouth Colony 1633, and re-elected repeatedly.] Josiah 
 Miller was a prominent man in the county. He d. in Yar- 
 mouth, April 15, 1729; his wid. Mary [Barker] Miller died in 
 the home of her son-in-law, Rev. Thomas Smith, in Pembroke, 
 Feb. 15, 1772, nearly 94 years old. 
 
 William Collier of Duxbury, immigrant. A merchant of London, 
 one of the ''"Merchant Adventurers,'^ came over before 1632 with 
 four daughters. 
 
 In 1632 petitioned General Court for incorporation of Duxhury 
 as a town. In Jan., 1633-4, on board of assessors for the colony. 
 "He became a leading man in the Pilgrim government." {The 
 Mayflower and her Log, p. 372.) "In 1660 William Collier was 
 the richest man in the Colony." {The Pilgrim Republic, p. 436.) 
 Not only was he a man of substance, but also of great influence and 
 position. In 163 Jf he was made assistant, serving in that capacity 
 for twenty -eight years, in the period from 163 Jf, to 1665. In 16JiS 
 he was one of the two commissioners sent from Plymouth to the 
 United Colonies. In 1657 he presided over the General Court for 
 two periods. "Collier was rigid, narrow and illiberal in his views; 
 with three others he tried and convicted Howland for harboring 
 a Quaker preacher and resisting an officer who tried to arrest 
 the preacher; at another time he declared he would not remain 
 in the General Court, if Cudworth, the Quaker's friend, was 
 admitted." He d. in 1670. Children, all b. in England: 
 
 1. Sarah, m., 1634, Love Brewster. 
 
 2. Rebecca, m., 1634, Job Cole. 
 
 3. Mary, m. [second wife], 1635, Thomas Prince. 
 
 4. Elizabeth, m. Nov. 2, 1637, Constance Southworth. 
 
67 
 
 Joseph* Smith, b. at Yarmouth, Nov. 22, 1740; m. first 
 Lucia Wads worth, date of marriage and death unknown to 
 writer. He m. second, Jan. 2, 1782, Bathsheba Torrey, 
 dau. of William and Mary [Turner] Torrey. 
 
 Bathsheba Torrey was descended from Elder William Brewster 
 and from Rev. Peter Hobart of Hingham, in New England. 
 
 Ancestry of William and Mary [Turner] Torrey: Parents: 
 Haviland Torrey w. Elizabeth Croade; Ezekiel Turner m. Bath- 
 sheba Stockbridge. Grandparents: William Torrey m. Deborah 
 Green; John Croade m. Deborah Thomas; Major Amos Turner 
 m. Mary Highland; Joseph Stockbridge m. Margerett Turner. 
 Great-grand: William Torrey m. Jane Haviland; John Green m. 
 Ann Almy; John Croade m. Elizabeth Price; Nathaniel Thomas 
 m. Deborah Jacobs; John Turner m. Mary Brewster, dau. of 
 Jonathan Brewster by W. Lucretia Oldham; gr.-dau. of Elder 
 William Brewster (see Elder William Brewster's Descendants); 
 
 Thomas Hiland m. Elizabeth ; Charles Stockbridge m. 
 
 Abigail ; Joseph Turner m. Bathsheba Hobart, dau. of Rev. 
 
 Peter Hobart of Hingham, Mass. Great-great-grand: Philip 
 Torrey m. Alice Richards; John Green m. Joan Tattersall; William 
 
 Almy m. Audrey ; Nicholas Jacobs m. Mary ; Humphrey 
 
 Turner m. Lydia [Gainor or Gower]; Jonathan Brewster m. 
 
 Lucretia Oldham; John Stockbridge m. Ann ; Humphrey 
 
 Turner m. Lydia [Gainor or Gower]. 
 
 Rev. Peter Hobart by 2d wife. 
 
 William Brewster was educated at Cambridge, in Latin 
 and Greek; private secretary to Davison [Secretary of 
 State]; appointed charge of the port at Scrooby, England. 
 The Pilgrims met at his house. He was a leader in the 
 removal to Holland. He was Ruling Elder of the church 
 at Delfshaven, Holland. "Elder Brewster was the chief 
 figure of the departing Pilgrims gathered on the SpeedweTs 
 deck as she took her departure from Delfshaven." {The 
 Mayflower and her Log, Azel Ames.) 
 
 Elder Brewster was a printer and publisher. "Had the 
 Pilgrims gone to London to embark for America, many, if 
 not most of them, would have been put in prison, especially 
 William Brewster." {The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers, p. 
 196.) 
 
 Brewster with his family was transferred to the Mayflower 
 
58 
 
 at Southampton. The ecclesiastical authority remained 
 with him on the voyage to Plymouth. He signed the com- 
 pact. He d. April 10, 1634; wife Mary d. 1627. Jonathan 
 and Love Brewster were executors of their father's will. 
 
 Elder Brewster left a library of four hundred volumes, 
 including sixty-two in Latin. Public records and journals 
 give a full account of his life at Plymouth. Among them, 
 that of Governor Bradford's is of the greatest interest. 
 
 Of the articles of furniture said to have been in the 
 Mayflower, "it is altogether probable that what is known as 
 Elder Brewster's chair came with him on that ship. There 
 is even greater probability as to one of his books having 
 his autograph." (The Mayflower and her Log, p. 214.) 
 
 There were four children born to Joseph Smith by his 
 first marriage and nine children by the wife Bathsheba 
 Torrey. Capt. Joseph Smith d. in Pembroke, Aug. 11, 
 1811; his wid. d. Jan. 25, 1844. She was much younger 
 than her husband. 
 
 "Capt. Joseph Smith began in his youth to follow the 
 sea, and steadily progressed until the troublous times of 
 the Revolution. There is a full account of his bravery on 
 the sloop Republic, when on Oct. 24, 1776, as second oflScer, 
 he was instrumental in capturing for Washington's army 
 the valuable cargo of the ship Julius Ccesar/' (See Massachu- 
 setts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, p. 478.) 
 
 At the close of the war he bought a farm in the west 
 parish of Pembroke. This family has been prominent as 
 sea captains, and several of them have lived to great age. 
 
 Catherine ^ Smith, b. at Pembroke, May 24, 1787, dau. 
 of Capt. Joseph Smith by wife Bathsheba Torrey; m. 
 in Dedham, Mass., Nov. 30, 1811, Joel Everett. 
 
 "Mr. Joel Everett and Miss Catherine Smith." (Town 
 Records.) 
 
 At the time of her marriage Miss Smith was living in 
 the family of her uncle, John Dean, in Dedham. The mar- 
 riage service was in the Episcopal church in that town. 
 She has been described as "the most beautiful bride who 
 ever entered the church." This is probably an over-state- 
 ment. 
 
59 - /'.:..: : -' :"'.: ;;"> 
 
 Catherine [Smith] Everett was the mother of two daugh- 
 ters: (1) EHzabeth Everett; (2) Catherine Smith Everett, 
 who married Rev. Nathan Rice; also four sons. 
 
 She was the grandmother of Mrs. William Sumner Crosby. 
 
 "O, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? 
 Like a swift-fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud, 
 A flash of the Hghtning, a break of the wave. 
 He passes from life . . . [mortal life], 
 0, why should the spirit of mortal he proud?" 
 
 The reader is to make the distinction between the Pil- 
 grims and the Puritans. They were a separate body of 
 people with different purposes and aims in coming to New 
 England. The Pilgrims, in their compact, gave us that 
 form of government, the first in the world, which recog- 
 nized a people with equal rights. Later its principles were 
 adopted into the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 From the compact: "by these presents solemnly and 
 mutually in ye presence of God, and one of another, cove- 
 nant and combine our selves together into a civill body 
 politick, for our better ordering and preservation and furth- 
 erance of ye ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enacte, 
 constitute, and frame such just and equall lawes, ordi- 
 nances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, 
 as shall be thought most meete and convenient for ye 
 generall good of ye Colonic, unto which we promise all due 
 submission and obedience. 
 
 "In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our 
 names at Cap-Codd ye 11, of November, in ye year of 
 ye raigne of our soveraigne lord. King James of England, 
 France, & Ireland ye eighteenth, and of Scotland ye fif tie- 
 fourth. An- Dom. 1620." 
 
 The following are the writer's ancestors who signed the 
 compact: William Brewster, John Alden, William Mullens, 
 William White, Edward Fuller, 
 
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