Essex Co, MA

Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Several of my ancestors, in different parts of my tree, lived in Essex County. This page describes the early history of Essex County, with an emphasis on my ancestors, who had left the area by 1725.

Three branches in my tree consist of ancestors spanning several generations in Essex County. My 8g-grandfather John CUMMINGS was born in 1657, Boxford. His CUMMINGS, HOWLETT and FRENCH grandparents were immigrants to Essex County. My 10g-grandparents Thomas HOWLETT (1606 - 1678) and his wife Alice FRENCH (1610 - 1666) both immigrated about 1630, and were in Ipswich by 1635. They are my earliest known immigrant ancestors. My 6g-grandmother, Elizabeth PEARSON, was born in 1677, Haverhill. Her PEARSON grandparents were immigrants to Rowley in 1643. My 6g-grandmother, Joanna BOYNTON (a 3g-grandmother of Adelbert HUNTLEY) was born 1712 in Rowley. Her BOYNTON, SWAN, SPOFFORD, JEWETT, WOOD and HUNT ancestors lived in Rowley many generations, as 6 of her g-grandparents and about 7 of her gg-grandparents immigrated.

Early History of Essex County

The Agawam tribe inhabited most of Essex County before Columbus. In 1616 the tribe had been almost wiped out by diseases, brought by the early traders and explorers, to which the natives had no natural immunity. The English colonists found many empty villages, and fields cleared for agriculture, abandoned. The river called Agawam by the Indians was later named Ipswich by the English settlers. (Note that Springfield, in western MA, was also originally called by the Indian name Agawam.) The remaining Agawam people were often viciously attacked by neighboring tribes, and were generally allied with the English.

The first English settlement in the area now called Essex County, MA was begun in 1623 on Cape Ann, near present-day Gloucester. This was just 3 years after after the Mayflower pilgrims settled at Plymouth in 1620, The settlement on Cape Ann was established by the Dorchester Company, organized by Rev. John WHITE, of Dorchester, England, and supervised by Roger CONANT. With about 50 members, including the families of John WOODBURY, John BALCH, and Peter PALFREY, the settlement removed in 1626 to Naumkeag (now Salem), Essex County. The Agawam chief, Masconomet, ceded a large part of Essex County to John WINTHROP the Younger for £20.

In 1628 John ENDICOTT arrived in Naumkeag with a small group of immigrants, and became Magistrate and Governor of the colony, which numbered about 100 by the end of 1628, mostly from the area of Dorchester, England. This was about the time that the settlement began to be known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Before the arrival of Winthrop's Fleet in 1630, the colony had grown to over 500, with about 100 in Charlestown, near Boston, and the remainder in Naumkeag. Thus the Colony can be said to have its early origins in the area that became Essex County. In 1630 Winthrop's Fleet of 11 ships brought about 700 passengers to New England, mostly Puritans from eastern and central England.

Incorporation of towns which were in Essex County before 1680:

Salem - 24 June 1629
Ipswich - 5 Aug 1634
Newbury - 6 May 1635
Lynn - Nov 1637
Gloucester - 22 May 1639
Rowley - 4 Sep 1639
Hampton - 4 Sep 1639 was in Norfolk until 1680
Enon (afterwards Wenham) - 10 May 1643
Haverhill - 1645 in Norfolk until 1680
Chochicawick (afterwards Andover) - 6 May 1646
Topsfield - 1650 (previously part of Salem and Ipswich)

On the 3d of March, 1635-36 it had already been enacted that "there shall be four courts kept every quarter,—one at Ipswich, to which Newbury shall belong; two at Salem, to which Saugus shall belong; two at Newtown, to which Charlton, Concord, Medford and Waterton shall belong; four at Boston, to which Roxbury, Dorchester, Weymouth and Hingham shall belong." [HEC, Vol. I, p. ii]

In 1643 the Massachusetts Bay Colony was divided into 4 shires (later called counties): Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Names and boundaries were changed several times. In 1680 Norfolk county was dissolved, with Amesbury, Haverhill and Salisbury going to Essex county, and the rest becoming part of the Colony of New Hampshire.

My ancestors lived in towns formed from Ipswich and Rowley, in central Essex County. I will concentrate on these areas.

Ipswich (Naumkeag) was incorporated 5 Aug 1634. Topsfield was formed from parts of Ipswich and Salem in 1650. The southern part of Ipswich, known as "the Hamlet", was incorporated as a separate town called Hamilton on 21 Jun 1793. The southeastern part of Ipswich, known as "Chebacco Parish", became the town of Essex in 1819.

Rowley was incorporated 4 Sep 1639. It originally included portions of modern-day Byfield, Groveland, Georgetown, and Haverhill. The Parish of Byfield is now in the west corner of Newbury. In 1672 the northwest part of Rowley became Bradford. Then in 1838 the southwest part of Bradford became Georgetown, and 1850 the eastern part of Bradford became Groveland, and in 1897 the city of Bradford joined with Haverhill.

1861 map of east central Essex County, MA showing the towns (townships) of Topsfield, Ipswich and Rowley.

Ipswich

About 1632, a rumor was circulating among the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay Colony, that the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order, was planning to start a mission, a few miles north of Naumkeag (Salem). To prevent this, Gov. WINTHROP gathered a company of 13 men, led by his son, John WINTHROP the Younger, and in Mar 1633 sent them to establish an outpost. This outpost and surrounding area became the town of Ipswich, incorporated on 5 Aug 1634.

One of the original 13 men was Thomas HOWLETT Jr, my 10g-grandfather, who would have been about 27 in 1633. Thomas married my 10g-grandmother, Alice FRENCH, at about the same time, 1633-4, and they became among the first settlers in Ipswich. By 1635, Alice's parents, Thomas FRENCH and Susan RIDDLESDALE, and most if not all of Alice's siblings, were all settled in Ipswich.

Map of Ipswich from [TFW, p. 480].

In [TFW] we find a description of the properties in Ipswich, starting with the earliest times. Along with these descriptions are 5 diagrams of neighborhoods in the village of Ipswich, with earliest property owners labeled. Unfortunately, there is no master diagram showing how the diagrams are placed relative to each other. To make it more interesting, each of the 5 diagrams has North in a different direction on the page. There is a large map of Ipswich on p. 490, but it appears to be for a later date, and many of the street names are changed. Fortunately, a few features, like "Hunt's Cove" and "Meeting House Green" are recognizable.

Above: Ipswich Diagram No. 1, [TFW, p. 320]

Right: Ipswich Diagram No. 2, [TFW, p. 338]

Thomas FRENCH Jr, son of Thomas Sr and Susan, owned a house lot in Ipswich village, on Bridge St, between Thomas SCOTT and Robert MUZZEY. (Diagram No. 1) This lot was inherited by his son, Constable Thomas FRENCH. Thomas Jr was also entitled to a share in Plum Island in 1664.

George SMITH had a small lot next to the cemetery on High St/West End (Diagram No. 2.) George was the husband of Mary FRENCH, daughter of Thomas FRENCH and Susan RIDDLESDALE.

Above: Ipswich Diagram No. 3, [TFW, p. 387

Right: Ipswich Diagram No. 4, [TFW, p. 445] (N is upper left)

Thomas HOWLETT had a small lot on the north bank of the Ipswich River, next to Thomas HARDY and John PERKINS Jr. (Diagram No. 3)

John PERKINS Jr was probably a brother or uncle of Mary PERKINS, who married William HOWLETT, son of Thomas.

Also nearby was Robert ANDREWS, father of Mary Andrews, who married Isaac CUMMINGS Jr.

Isaac COMINGS [CUMMINGS] had a home lot that bordered the School House Green and Ipswich River, next to Nathaniel ROGERS and John WINTHROP. (Diagram No. 4) These were both leading citizens, so it was the high-class part of town.

Ipswich Diagram No. 5, [TFW, p. 478]

Rowley

Capt. Ezekiel Rogers founded the Town of Rowley in 1639 when he came with a company of about twenty families from Hull, England, on the ship, “John.” Before lots in Rowley could be assigned and recorded, sixteen additional families arrived. John PEARSON and his family were among these sixteen families. He lived in that part of Rowley that is now Georgetown. [NCP, p. vii]

The settlement at Rowley had been founded in 1639, led by the Puritan minister, Rev. Ezekiel ROGERS, who had left England to avoid being forced to read from The Book of Sports. This was a statement by the English crown, detailing the sports and activities that were to be permitted on the Sabbath. Rev. ROGERS led 20 families of followers, from his church in Rowley, Yorkshire, England, on the ship "John of London", to America in 1638. They spent the winter in Salem, and founded the settlement of Rowley in the Spring of 1639. Along with the 20 families and their belongings came the first printing press in the English colonies, which was set up in Cambridge, and operated by the printer Stephen DAYE. A grist-mill and a saw-mill were constructed in 1640 by Thomas NELSON, and later purchased by John PEARSON, who founded a bakery that his descendants greatly expanded.

Deacon John PEARSON's fulling mill was not only the first in the Western Hemisphere, but it remained the only fulling mill in eastern Massachusetts for nearly 50 years.

GLEN MILLS, BAY ROAD

Site of gristmill built about 1640 by Mr. Thomas NELSON, later owned and operated by Dea. John PEARSON. The first fulling mill in the English colonies, built in 1643 by Dea. John PEARSON, was located nearby. [RHS, No. 3, p. 24]

DEACON JOHN PEARSON AND HIS FULLING MILL AT ROWLEY

Amos E. Jewett

In 1930 the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission erected a marker having on it the following inscription:

“TEN RODS WEST IS THE SITE

OF THE FIRST FULLING MILL IN

THE ENGLISH COLONIES, BUILT ABOUT

THE YEAR 1643 BY JOHN PEARSON”

John Pearson came to Rowley as early as 1643 and perhaps earlier. The birth of his first child is recorded here “26 :3 mo. [May] 1643.” Like nearly all the first settlers of the town he came from Yorkshire. With him came his wife, Dorcas, whose maiden name is unknown. His house lot was on the easterly side of Holme (now Central) Street, south of Richard Leighton’s lot and about one hundred rods north of the first meeting house. Here his children were born 1 and here he lived until 1667 when he moved to “The Mills” the chief seat of his business and property. Where the old county road (Bay Road) leading from Rowley to Newbury crosses Mill River and where the fresh water mingles with the salt is the site of the first mills in Rowley. Here soon after the settlement of the town, probably as early as 1642, Mr. Thomas Nelson erected a gristmill and a sawmill, and here, by 1643, John Pearson had built a fulling or clothiers mill, the first in New England. There are many references to this mill in the early records.

Edward Johnson, a contemporary of the Rowley settlers, says: “These people being very industrious every way, soon built many houses, to the number of three-score families, and were the first that set upon the making of Cloth in this Western World; for which end they built a fulling mill, and caused their little ones to be very diligent in spinning cotton-wool, many of them having been clothiers in England.”

Governor John Winthrop, under date of “12th of Fourth month [June] 1643” says: “Our supplies from England failing much men began to look about them, and fell to a manufacture of cotton; whereof we had great store from Barbadoes, and of hemp and flax, wherein Rowley, to their great commendation, exceeded all other towns.”

“The development of textiles was largely domestic in the 17th century. A small woolen and fulling mill was established in Rowley in 1643.”

“Massachusetts forbid the export of wool after the West-riding men established the textile industry in Rowley.”

John Josselyn, who first arrived in Boston, in 1638, after making a number of trips to New England, writes: “six miles from Ipswich North-East is Rowley, most of the Inhabitants have been Clothiers.”

Edward Jewett, ancestor of those of the name who came at the settlement of Rowley, 1639, says in his will, dated 2nd February, 1614, which is on file at York, England, “I Edward Jewett of Bradford within the dicos of York, Clothier . . . .”

In 1654 John Pearson purchased one half of the gristmill which had been built by Nelson, and in 1667 he leased the remaining half and the sawmill, eventually owning and operating all the mills, but before he obtained a clear title to the property he became involved in considerable litigation.

In the Court at Ipswich, 29th March, 1692, Richard Holmes, aged about 88 years, testified:

That about 50 years ago M^r Thomas Nelson Father to Capt. Phillip Nelson of Rowley Deceased built y^e Grist mill that now John Pearson Improveth & had a Saw Mill neer y^e South end of y^e above said Grist Mill which stood upon y^e Same Spott of land y^t y^e ffulling mill Stands on (At y^e Southerly End of said Grist Mill) which is now in y^e hands of John Pearson sen^r, & I never knew that said Nellson, nor his heires had any Molestatio about said place to this Day. & further said Richard Testifieth that I wrought at the above Mills, at M^r Nelsons Charge, to build said Mills & Dams & make y^e stones for said mill & y^t y^e above said Saw Mill was driven with y^e head of water that drives y^e Grist mill.

Ezekiel Northend, aged 64 years, testified at the same hearing “that y^e affirmation given by Richard Holmes as written, is Truth to his knowledge, & of late years said John Pearson, hath had Two ffulling Stocks.”

It will be seen by the foregoing that in 1692 all the mills were owned and operated by John Pearson. They passed from father to son in undisturbed possession to John Pearson, fifth in descent from Deacon John. The fulling mill was in operation as late as 1809, the sawmill until the middle of the 19th century, and the gristmill, which passed by sale from the Pearsons to the Dummers in 1817 and in later years was known as “Glen Mills,” until 1916, when it was destroyed by fire.

The quantity of cloth the Rowley people made can never be accurately known, but as Deacon Pearson’s mill for fulling cloth was the only one in Eastern Massachusetts for nearly fifty years, an account of some of the work done there is of interest. Two ledgers for the years between 1672 and 1688 have been preserved and show the number of yards of cloth fulled by him, except such as was paid for on delivery. The quantity charged between the above dates was 64,087 yards, and probably that paid for at the time of delivery was half as much more, making a total of about 100,000 yards. Of the 104 families named by Gage as forming the entire population of Rowley in 1680, 103 had accounts with Deacon Pearson for cloth dressing. Although his best patrons, these were not the only ones. His ledgers contain accounts with 618 individuals from almost every town in Essex County and vicinity.

Among the largest patrons of the mill from Rowley were the following with the number of yards charged:

Leonard Harriman 2117 yards between 1673 and 1686

John Todd 2247 “ “ “ 1682

James Dickinson 569 “ “ “ 1687

Dea. Maximilian Jewett 937 “ “ “ 1683

Dea. Ezekiel Jewett 490 “ “ “ 1687

Even the families of the ministers and doctor of the parish clothed themselves by their own handiwork. Thus Mrs. Rogers, widow of the first minister, had had dressed 35 yards between 1673 and 1676.

Rev. Samuel Phillips 779 yards between 1673 and 1687

Rev. Edward Payson 55 ” ” 1685 ” 1688

Rev. Jeremiah Shepard 72 ” ” 1674 ” 1675

Dr. David Bennet 85 ” ” 1673 ” 1675

John Pearson was by trade a carpenter and in all recorded deeds, with one exception, he is so designated, never clothier or cloth-dresser. After the purchase and occupation of the Nelson saw and grist mills he was once styled "miller.” Coming as he did from the same section of England as many of the Rowley settlers, some of whom had been engaged in the manufacture of cloth in the old country, he conceived the idea of setting up a cloth mill here.

In possession of the writer are three documents pertaining to the mill property which Pearson purchased of the Nelsons. One was written and signed by Edward Rawson, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 16th October, 1660; “Referring to the sale of a mill & certain lands some time Posessed by M^r Nelson of Rowley deceased & now sold by the sayd Richard Dummer executor of the will of Mr. Thomas Nelson to y^e sayd pearson for the use of sayd m^r Nelsons children. . . .” Another document by Rawson, dated 1673, mentions the sale of the mill by Philip Nelson (son of Mr. Thomas Nelson) to John Pearson, and a third document, dated 1678, is signed by John Pearson, Sr.

From the many and responsible civil offices with which his townsmen honored John Pearson we infer that he was highly esteemed as a prudent man in the management of affairs. He was often moderator of town meetings, selectman and assessor, and for nine sessions of the Great and General Court at Boston he attended as deputy from Rowley. In the year 1687 he, with others, in resisting the tyranny of Governor Andros, was cited to appear before the Court at Salem, where he was fined, but upon his petition to the Court the fine was remitted.

He died at “The Mills” 22nd December, 1693. His widow died 12th January, 1702-3. Their descendants are numerous and many of them, not only here and in neighboring towns, but wherever they have migrated have followed the business of miller to this day.

With the widening of the Newburyport Turnpike (Route 1) the probability is that the entire topography about the “Mills” may be changed; very likely the mill site, dam, canal, and perhaps the Pearson-Dummer house itself will be obliterated and their location known only by the records.

[RHS, No. 3, pp. 24-6]

https://sites.google.com/site/gapinskiancestry/home/pearson-john/Rowley%20Map%201650%20-%20Early%20Settlers%20of%20Rowley%20MA%201933%20-%20John%20Pearson%20north%20center%20-%20crop.jpg

Village of Rowley, MA in 1650. From [GBB].

The location of the 1.5 acre lot laid out for John PEARSON is above the center of the map, on Holme Street (now called Central), which leads northward to The Mills, a.k.a. Glen Mills.

John BOYNTON and Joseph JEWETT owned property on Bradford Street, near the Rye Field, on the west side of Rowley village.

Richard SWAN owned property on the north side, near Towns End.

ROWLEY FIRST SETTLERS (alphabetical order) [TG, pp. 130-1]

Settler Made Freeman Died

George ABBOT - 1647
William ACY - -
James BARKAR 7 Oct 1640 1678
Thomas BARKAR 13 May 1640 1650
William BELLINGHAM 12 Oct 1640 1650
Matthew BOYES 22 May 1639
John BOYNTON - 1670
William BOYNTON 1640 1665
Edward BRIDGES - -
Sebastian BRIGGAM - -
Jane BROCKLEBANK - 1668
John BURBANK 13 May 1640
Edward CARLETON 1642 -
Hugh CHAPLIN 1642 1660
Peter COOPER - -
Cushins CROSBY - -
Thomas DICKINSON - 1661
John DRESSER - 1672
Thomas ELLETHROP - 8 Jun 1689
Jane GRANT - 1696
John HARRIS 26 May 1647 -
Thomas HARRIS - -
William HARRIS - -
John HASELTINE 13 May 1640 in Bradford
Robert HASELTINE 13 May 1640 27 Aug 1674 in Bradford
Michael HOPKINSON 13 May 1640 1648
Robert HUNTER 7 Oct 1640 1647
William JACKSON - 1 May 1688
John JARRAT 13 May 1640 1647
Joseph JEWETT 22 May 1639 26 Feb 1660/61
Maximilian JEWETT 13 May 1640 1684
George KILBOURNE 13 May 1640 -
Francis LAMBERT 13 May 1640 1647
Thomas LEAVER - -
Thomas LILFORTH - -
Thomas MIGHILL 13 May 1640 1654
John MILLER 22 May 1639 12 Jun 1663 in Groton
Thomas MILLER - -
Richard NALAM - -
Mr. Thomas NELSON 23 May 1639 Aug 1648 in England
John NEWMARCH - -
Thomas PALMER - 1669
Francis PARROT 13 May 1640 1656 in England
John REMINGTON 1639 in Roxbury
Humphrey REYNER - 1660
Mr. Ezekiel ROGERS 23 May 1639 Jan 1660/61
Henry SANDS 7 Oct 1640
William SCALES 13 May 1640
Margery SHOVE
Hugh SMITH 1642 1656
John SPOFFORD - 22 Apr 1696
Margery STANTON - 1646
William STICKNEY 7 Oct 1640 1664
Thomas SUMNER - -
Richard SWAN 13 May 1640 1678
Thomas TENNEY - -
William TENNEY - -
Richard THORLAY - 26 Nov 1703 in Newbury
John TRUMBLE 1640 1657
William WILDES - 1662 in Ipswich

As mentioned above, my 6g-grandmother, Joanna BOYNTON (a 3g-grandmother of Adelbert HUNTLEY) was born 1712 in Rowley. Her BOYNTON, SWAN, SPOFFORD, JEWETT, WOOD and HUNT ancestors lived in Rowley many generations, as 6 of her g-grandparents and about 7 of her gg-grandparents immigrated.

Almost all place names in New England are taken from England. I don't want to keep specifying the continent in every case. For the list of ancestors below, for brevity: Yorkshire, Norfolk, Warwickshire and Lincolnshire are in England, and MA refers to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Rowley and Ipswich are in Essex County, MA.

............ 10 William 21 BOYNTON (b. 1580-Knapton, Yorkshire)
......... 9 John BOYNTON (b. 1614-Knapton, Wintringham, Yorkshire d. 18 Feb 1670-Rowley)
...... 8 Capt. Joseph BOYNTON (b. 13 May 1644-Rowley d. 16 Dec 1730-Rowley)
............ 10 Joseph PELL (b. 1603-England d. 1650-Boston, Suffolk, MA)
......... 9 Eleanor PELL (b. 12 Nov 1620-Boston, Suffolk, MA d. 5 Aug 1689-Rowley)
............ 10 Elizabeth WIGHT (b. 1606-Hareby, Lincolnshire d. 1671-Boston, Suffolk, MA)
... 7 Hilkiah BOYNTON (b. 19 Nov 1687-Rowley d. 16 Nov 1745-Lunenburg, Worcester, MA)
......... 9 Richard SWAN (b. 15 Sep 1595-Rowland, Derbyshire, England d. 14 May 1678-Rowley)
...... 8 Sarah SWAN (b. 30 Mar 1644-Rowley d. 27 Feb 1717/1718-Rowley)
......... 9 Anna SPOFFORD (b. 15 Jan 1603-Kirk Ella, Yorkshire d. 4 Apr 1658-Rowley)
6 Joanna BOYNTON (b. 17 Aug 1712-Rowley d. 1806-Lunenburg, Worcester, MA)
............ 10 Edward JEWETT (b. Abt 1580-Bradford, West Riding, Yorkshire d. 1615-Bradford, West Riding)
......... 9 Joseph JEWETT (b. Bef 31 Dec 1609-Bradford, West Riding d. Bef 26 Feb 1660/1661-Rowley)
............ 10 Mary TAYLOR
...... 8 Joseph Capt. JEWETT (b. 1 Feb 1656-Rowley d. 30 Oct 1694-Rowley)
......... 9 ANN (d. Bef 8 Feb 1660/1661-Rowley)
... 7 Priscilla JEWETT (b. 1 Feb 1690-Rowley d. 13 Apr 1777-Lunenburg, Worcester, MA)
............ 10 Edward WOOD (b. Oct 1598-Nuneaton, Warwickshire d. 27 Nov 1642-Charlestown, Middlesex, MA)
......... 9 Thomas WOOD (b. 7 Apr 1633-Rowley d. 9 Sep 1687-Rowley)
............ 10 Ruth Lee MOUSALL (b. 1602-Norwich, Norfolk d. 29 Aug 1643-Charlestown, Middlesex, MA)
...... 8 Ruth WOOD (b. 21 Jul 1662-Rowley d. 29 Oct 1734-Rowley)
............ 10 Enos HUNT (b. 1605-Ipswich d. Oct 1677-Marlboro, Middlesex, MA)
......... 9 Ann HUNT (b. 17 May 1635-Rowley d. 20 Dec 1714-Rowley)
............ 10 Mary HUNT (b. 1609-Ipswich d. 1661)

Many of Joanna BOYNTON's immigrant ancestors came to Rowley from Yorkshire, but a few came from Norfolk, Warwickshire and Lincolnshire in England. Most stayed in Rowley, and some went to other parts of MA.

Since these families lived in Rowley for several generations, there were many intermarriages. If I visited Rowley today, I would probably be surrounded by 9th and 10th cousins!

My 9g-grandfather John BOYNTON (1614 - 1670) and his older brother William BOYNTON (1606 - 1665) came from Knapton, Wintringham, Yorkshire, England to America in 1638. John was single, and William brought his wife, Elizabeth JACKSON. They traveled with the party of Rev. Ezekiel ROGERS, and were among the first settlers in Rowley.

Sir Matthew BOYNTON, one of the financial backers of the expedition led by Rev. Ezekiel ROGERS, was probably related to John and William, although the exact relationship is unclear. John and William were citizens in good standing, but they did not seem to have been among the wealthier men in Rowley, MA.

Also arriving with the ROGERS party in 1638 was my 9g-grandfather Joseph JEWETT (1609 - 1661) from Bradford, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. He came with his wife, Mary MALLINSON and 1 or 2 children. Joseph and his brother, Maximillian, stayed briefly in Dorchester, MA, but went to Rowley, where they were among the first settlers. Joseph was made a Freeman on 22 May 1639, and became a large landowner and leading citizen of Rowley. He was representative to the General Court in 1651, 52, 53, 54 and 60. He was called a clothier in 1656, and later a merchant. Joseph and Mary had 4 or 5 more children, but Mary died in 1652. Presumably, Ann brought her 5 to 7 children with her to Rowley. Along with Joseph's 5 children from his previous marriage, they must have had quite a household. Joseph and Ann had 3 more children in Rowley, including my 8g-grandfather, Joseph JEWETT Jr.

Joseph remarried in 1653, to Ann, widow of Bozoan ALLEN (1617 - 1653), of Hingham and Boston, MA.

Topsfield

The area now known as Topsfield was called Shenewemedy by the Agawam Indians, and New Meadows by the first English settlers. In this area, by 1642, was established a village called Topsfield, which was then within the town of Ipswich.