NOTES
FOR CAPTAIN JOB SHATTUCK (1736-1819) FROM PAGES 121 TO 131
OF
MEMORIALS
OF THE DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM SHATTUCK
BY
LEMUEL SHATTUCK, 1855
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARGARET SHATTUCK--JOB
SHATTUCK. Page 121
DESCENDANTS OF THE GROTON BRANCHES.
72. MARGARET SHATTUCK, dau. of William, (p.
96, ) , was b. in Groton,
July 4, 1732, and d. after a short illness, in her native town, ,while visiting
her brother, Jan. 29,1802, re. 69 y. 6 m. 25 d.
She m. 1, May 26, 1752, JOSEPH BENNETT, by whom she
had one child. The
father and child d. soon after in Groton.
She m. 2, Jan. 24, 1759, JOSEPH METCALF. They lived with her parents during their lifetime;
but about 1770 they sold to Job Shattuck their rights in the estate of their
father and brother Ezekiel, and removed to Ashburnham, where he d. March 19,
1793, age 59. In 1771 they were dismissed from the church in Groton to that of Ashburnham.
HER CHILDREN, BY JOSEPH METCALF,
BORN IN GROTON
AND ASHBURNHAM.
1. Ezekiel Shattuck, b. Oct. 13, 1759; m. Jan.
10, 1780, Eunice Brooks; and settled about the same time in Groton, N. H., as a
farmer; and had Eunice, Ezekiel, Joseph, Dinah, Jeremiah, Lucy, Rhoda.
2. Samuel, b. March 15, 1761. He settled with his brother in Groton, N. H., where he
was killed by the falling of a barn door. He was twice married, and had 10 sons
by his first wife, and I son and 2 daughters by his second.
3. Margaret, b. March 19,1763 ; m. Nov.
5, 1782, Reuben Townsend, and settled in Ashburnham, as a farmer. Had Dolly,
Eunice, Emma, Reuben, Joshua, Joseph, Lucy.
4. Sarah, b. Sept. 7, 1765; m. J an. 5, 1784, Reuben Rice, a
farmer in Ashburnham. Had Sarah, Reuben, Joseph, Anna, Eunice, Amos, Zebulon,
Lucy, Matilda, Emma.
5. Rebecca, b. Aug. 14, 1767; m. Oct. 30, 1788, Wm. Meriam, a
blacksmith; settled in Ashburnham; had William, Ezekiel, Rebecca, Bradford,
Margaret, Joel, James, Asa.
6. Thankful, b. Sept. 29, 1769; probably d. in infancy, in Groton.
7. Joseph, b. 1772; d. unmarried, March 29, 1791, age 19 years.
8. Thankful, b. May 18,1775 ; m. March
21, 1797, James Laws, a farmer, settled in Westminster. Had James, David, Joseph,
Thankful, Hosea, Ann, Harvey, Sylvia, Newell.
73. Capt. JOB SHATTUCK, s. of William, (p.
96,) was b. in Groton,
Feb. 11, 1736, and d. at the residence of his son Noah Shattuck, Esq., Jan. 13,
1819, age 82 y. 10 m. 2 d. His name has been handed down in the historical
annals of the country in connection with the insurrection of 1786, known as
"Shays' Rebellion;" and since he was one of the greatest sufferers in
that movement, it is deemed proper in this place to give more in detail the
leading facts of his life and character. Many of these
Page 122 FIFTH GENERATION AND
CHILDREN
facts
are not now matters of published history, of have been un-fairly presented or
imperfectly understood.
He was bred a farmer, and came into possession, by
inheritance or purchase, of the real estate previously owned by his father. To
this he made large additions, until he acquired more than 500 acres of land
bordering on Nashua
River. For several years
prior to 1786 he was the largest farmer in Groton. In 1779 he had 40 acres of rye in one
field, which was then of unusual extent. On his father's farm were two
dwelling-houses. The one which he first occupied stood a little south of the
house which he built about 1782, now standing near Wattle's Pond, and occupied
by H. Holmes; the other stood on the high ground westerly towards the river,
and was occupied by his brother Metcalf.
He
was one of the selectmen of Groton
in 1778, 1779, and 1781; often chosen on important committees; and otherwise
received public evidence of his respectable social standing among his
fellow-townsmen.
His first public military service was in 1755, at the age
of 19, as a soldier in a company of Col. Monkton’s troops in the French War in Nova Scotia. He was one
of the Minute Men under Capt. Asa Lawrence, engaged on the 19th of April, 1775,
at Concord and Lexington,
and on the 17th of June at Bunker Hill. He was
afterwards first Lieutenant in a Groton
company, of which Josiah Sawtell was Captain, and Shattuck Blood was second
Lieutenant,
(p. 96.) In 1776 he
commanded a company which went to Boston,
when that town was evacuated by the British troops. In 1777 he commanded a
company raised in Groton
and its vicinity, which marched to Ticonderoga
at the surrender of Burgoyne. In 1779 he was appointed Captain of the military
company in Groton,
and continued in office until after peace was declared. He was at the head of
the committee to raise men and money for the war. During the whole period of
the revolution he spent much time and money, performed very important public
services, and at all times exhibited great bravery, energy, and
self-sacrificing patriotism. On one occasion, in 1780, finding it difficult to
obtain men, he consented that his two sons should volunteer for the service,
notwithstanding the demand for labor upon his farm. Ezekiel went to Rhode Island; Job, Jr. went to West Point, and was there
when Arnold
deserted and Andre was exe-
JOB
SHATTUCK. Page
123
cuted.
The father's conduct on this occasion was so highly approved, that his townsmen
" made a bee," by which some thirty men reaped and gathered about 400
bushels of rye in one day.
The
five years immediately succeeding the close of the revolutionary war was a most
gloomy and trying period in the history of Massachusetts. A great amount of personal
service, of treasure, and of blood, had been expended in the war to gain
independence; the soldiers who had served their country long and faithfully had
returned home penniless; the continental paper money issued to pay continental
debts had become worthless; the public credit was destroyed; the State, and
every town in the State, were deeply in debt; and contracts between
individuals, entered into on the basis of paper money, had to be executed on
that of silver or its equivalent - then an article of extreme scarcity. These
and other causes produced embarrassments unparalleled in the history of the
country, and threatened universal bankruptcy and ruin. The fond anticipations
of those who had pledged everything for liberty had not only
not been realized, but a worse state of affairs was produced than had
ever before existed. "The hearts of all were filled with dismay." At
this juncture too a State tax of £140,000 was imposed in one rear, equal to
nearly $500,000, and payable in currency valued as silver - a tax enormously
large at any period, and particularly at that time, when the State contained
only about one third of its present inhabitants, and those who were
comparatively poor. To fulfil private contracts and satisfy public demands was
to all inconvenient, and to many impossible; and the
burdens fell with their most crushing weight upon farmers and mechanics. The
consequence was a great multiplication of lawyers and expensive lawsuits, and
the additional burdens they imposed; and the attachment and sacrifice, by
public sales of property, to discharge heavy, distressing executions. Many were
reduced to utter destitution. The last acre of land, the last cow, and the last
necessity of life, were often taken to satisfy the demands of the public tax
gatherer. Often, too, the body itself was incarcerated for unsatisfied debts.
It was then thought by many persons that the measures of the government and of
its executive officers were arbitrary, oppressive, and an "infringement of
injured rights and privileges;" as well as unwise, impolitic, and
unnecessary. Town-meetings
Page
124 FIFTH GENERATION AND
CHILDREN.
and county conventions
,were held, and earnest petitions from individuals and from public bodies, for
relief from their "grievances" as they were then called, went up to
the Executive and to the Legislature, but ,with unsatisfactory results. As
early as the 27th of June, 1786, a town-meeting was held in Groton, called at the written request of
sixty-eight -a very large majority of its legal voters - to take into
consideration the condition of the country. The warrant for the meeting
contained fifteen articles to be acted upon;* and they were all referred to a
Committee, chosen for the purpose, consisting of Dr. Benjamin Morse, Capt. Job
Shattuck, Ensign Moses Childs, Capt. Asa Lawrence, and Capt. Zachariah Fitch,
to whom "discretionary powers" were given to act as they pleased; and
"to correspond with other Committees of any towns in the Commonwealth
relative to our public grievances; and to draw up a petition to lay before the
General Court for a redress of the same. At length the people in the western
counties of the State met, organized under Daniel Shays,**
and resolved to resist, under arms if need be, the further issue and the legal
enforcement of executions originating under the circumstances to which
we have referred. The Court of Common Pleas, the principal source from which
these executions were derived, had become particularly obnoxious; and it was
determined to prevent its sessions, until some relief could be obtained; and
the courts in Hampshire and Worcester counties were actually stopped. The
excitement was not however, confined to those counties, but extended to every
other part of the Commonwealth. Many of the suffering people everywhere sympathized
in the movement. In Middlesex, the discontent was particularly manifest in Groton and its
neighborhood. A considerable number of persons organized under Capt. Nathan
Smith of Shirley and Benjamin Page of Groton, and on the 12th of September proceeded to Concord, partly under
arms, to pre-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Four of these articles ran thus;-
6. To see if the town will vote not to have any Inferior Court.
7. To see if the town will vote not to have more than one attorney in a
county to draw writs, and that he be paid the same as
the State's Attorney.
8. To see if the town will vote that there be a stop put to all law
suits of a civil nature, until there is a greater circulation of money than
there is at present.
15. To see if the town will vote to choose a Committee of Safety, to see
that there are no more infringements made on our injured rights and privileges,
and transact any thing relative to the above articles, or any other things
which may be necessary for the good of the public at large."
** General Shays, the leader in this rebellion, died in Sparta N. Y. Sept. 29,
1825, age 84. Notwithstanding the prominent part he acted, he was never
arrested, having fled from the State, He, however, received a general pardon,
and was afterward a pensioner of the United States government. Several
others, convicted of “Treason” and under sentence, were also pardoned.
JOB SHATTUCK. Page
125
ent the usual
September session of the Court. The number at 11 o'clock was about seventy, but
increased in the afternoon to about two hundred and fifty, by the arrival of
others from Worcester
county; and from other towns in Middlesex, among whom Col. Robinson of Westford was
conspicuous. Capt. Shattuck, who had been chosen their principal leader and
commander, drew up and presented to the Court the following paper:-
" To the Honorable Justices of the Court of General
Sessions of the Peace and the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Middlesex.
"The voice of the people of this County is that
the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Court of Common Pleas, shall not
enter this court-house until such time as the people shall have a redress of a
number of grievances they labor under at present, which will be set forth in a
petition or remonstrance to the next General Court. Job
Shattuck.
"Concord,
September 12th, 1786."
A "Pacific
Committee," composed of delegates from several towns in the county, were
then in session in Concord, and a consultation took place between the different
parties and the Court, which resulted, by way of compromise, in entering upon
the back of this paper the following endorsement :-
" 1/4 past 3 o'clock.
Since writing the within,
it is agreed that the Court of Sessions may open and adjourn to the last
Tuesday of November next, without going into the courthouse.
Job
Shattuck. “
The
Court was accordingly opened and adjourned. Having accomplished their object;
and stayed the further issue of executions by this Court to be levied upon
property and to increase the general distress, the people returned peaceably to
their homes, to await the result of their petition to the General Court. Some
plans were devised to prevent the adjourned session of the Court in November,
at Cambridge,
but they were never executed. This act then, constituted Capt. Shattuck's
principal, if not his only public offence.
Two months and a half later, on
the 28th of November, Oliver Prescott of Groton- from what cause does not
appear-presented paper to the Governor and Council, certifying that Job
Shattuck, Oliver Parker, and Benjamin Page, of Groton, and Nathan Smith and
John Kelsey (town clerk) of Shirley, "have been active in the late rebellion,
and stirring up the people to oppose government, and are therefore dangerous
persons, and pray a
Page 126 FIFTH GENERATION AND CHILDREN.
warrant
may be issued to restrain them of their personal liberty." In consequence
of this communication, an Executive warrant for their arrest was issued the
same day to Aaron Brown and Wm. Scott. For their assistance a volunteer company
of horsemen, under command of Col. Benjamin Hitchborn, left Boston
the next day, Nov. 29th, and were joined at Concord
by another party under Capt. Henry Woods of Pepperell, and proceeded
immediately to Groton.
The whole numbered about one hundred men. They searched Capt. Shattuck's house,
but did not succeed in finding him. They however took Parker and Page, and sent
them to Boston
jail. The search was renewed the next morning, but being again unsuccessful
they were about to return, when twelve men under Sampson Reed of Boston went to the house
of Samuel Gragg, where it was supposed Capt. Shattuck had spent the night, and
by threats and the offer of money, ascertained that he had been there, but had
just left. By tracks in a light snow, which had fallen the previous night, he
was traced about two miles to the river in sight of his own house. Here, while hesitating ,whether to go home, he discovered the twelve men
on horseback, in full speed, near him. He retreated to the river, and they
pursued and overtook him. Some resistance having been made, F. C. Varnum of Boston gave Capt. Shattuck
a terrible blow with his sword, making a wound about twelve inches long,
diagonally, across his knee and leg, dividing the knee-pan into two parts. His
own sword was not arrested from his strong muscular grasp until his pursuers
had cut the fingers of the hand in which it was held nearly off. These acts effected his surrender and capture.
He was taken, delivered to Loammi Bald win, sheriff
of the county; and the next day, Dec. 1st, was committed to prison in Boston, with Parker and
Page. The governor gave directions to the jailer "not to suffer any person
to speak to them or to have any communication with them, and not to permit them
the use of pen, ink, or paper, without the special leave of the governor."
He continued in jail over four months, during the winter and spring; his wounds
in the meantime, owing to their severity, to bad accommodations and bad
attendance, threatened the extinction of his life. They made him so lame for
the remaining thirty-three years of his life as to require the use of crutches
to
JOB SHATTUCK. Page 127
assist
his locomotion. On the 2d of April, 1787, he petitioned "to be admitted to
bail," saying, " his wounds have never been
healed, and his bodily health is greatly impaired for want of exercise and
fresh air; and he is fearful of the consequences, if he is not soon
liberated." On the back of this petition the select- men of Groton, on the
3d of April, indorsed-" We have no objection to the prayer of the within
petition being granted, as we believe the public will not be injured thereby.”
He was liberated April 6th, under bonds of £200, with two sureties of £100
each, for his appearance at Court, and returned to his family in Groton.
At the term of the Supreme Court, commencing at Concord , Tuesday, May 9, 1787, he was indicted for the "Crime
of Treason." The Governor had previously instructed the several towns to
permit the name of no man who had spoken against the government to be put into
the jury box! The consequence was, a packed jury was
empanelled. On his trial, feeling conscious of the integrity of his purpose,
and of having committed no intentional crime, and certainly not the one charged
upon him, he employed no counsel himself, and made no defence. The Court,
however, directed that Christopher Gore and Thomas Dawes, Esqrs.,
attorneys, should appear in his behalf. He was tried on the 23d of May, and
convicted, of course, under the circumstances; and his offence being by law a
capital one, the sentence of death was pronounced upon him. He was remanded to
the jail in Concord.
Five days later, on the 28th of May, the proceedings of the Court were laid
before the Governor and Council, and an Executive warrant, dated the same
day, was issued for his execution, to take place "on Thursday, the
twenty-eighth of June next, between the hours of twelve and three o'clock"!
-In one month !! This was one of the last acts of
Bowdoin's administration; and he seems to have made haste to accomplish it
before the term of his official life expired, which took place two days
afterwards. On the 27th of June, Capt. Shattuck was reprieved to the 26th of
July; on the 25th of July, to the 20th of September; and on the 12th of
September, he received from Governor Hancock an unconditional, " full,
free and ample pardon" for all his offences.
Whatever
opinion may be entertained as to the conduct of
Page 128 FIFTH GENERATION AND CHILDREN.
Capt. Job Shattuck in the movement of 1786, there is no doubt that he
was moved by conscientious, honest and patriotic motives. He was a man
of great physical abilities, possessed more than usual strength and athletic
power, had strong common sense, sagacious, energetic business habits, and was
highminded and just in all his dealings. He was independent in his feelings;
relied upon himself; and made others feel that they might rely safely upon him.
Though his educational privileges had been scanty, yet he could express his
ideas effectively before an assembly of his townsmen, and was well qualified to
be conspicuous and influential as a popular leader. In political principles he
was thoroughly democratic. He was also a member of the church, and an habitual attendant on religious worship. His offence, so
far as it was an offence, was a political, not a moral one; and it was not more
nullifying, revolutionary, or treasonable, than many that are committed with
impunity in our own day, and in our own State. He felt that the crisis and the
occasion justified what he did; and he never regretted it himself, but often
said he looked upon no act of his life with more satisfaction. Honest,
respectable and patriotic men were on opposite sides on questions which then
engaged public attention. Each party thought it was doing the very best thing
it could for the good of the country; but either might have been mistaken in
some of its measures. Much might have been said at the time and under the
circumstances in favor of both. A very large majority of the citizens of Groton agreed with Capt.
Shattuck in opinion, and advised to the course he took. He acted as their agent
to carry into effect their wishes, expressed in public town meeting. Though
more prominent, he was not more guilty than Parker and Page who were acquitted,
nor than many others who were not arrested; but he was convicted under the
forms of a legal trial; and made a victim to be held up under sentence, by the
Executive of the State, as a warning to others, until tranquillity should be
restored. Though his family were apprehensive, owing to the highly excited
state of public opinion, and the animosity that existed between the different
parties, that extreme measures might be resorted to, yet we can scarcely
believe that even Bowdoin and his advisers, much less Hancock and his advisers,
ever entertained a serious determination to push them so far as his
JOB SHATTUCK. Page
129
execution. Capt. Shattuck, however, ever felt
that he was greatly indebted to Hancock for the preservation of his life.
The harsh and brutal treatment he received was
justly condemned by a large majority of the people; and, combined with other
causes, produced a great popular excitement. Parties were formed of
"Bowdoin Men," and "Opposition;" and a political tornado,
such as never swept over the Commonwealth, and has scarcely any counterpart
even in modem party changes, completely revolutionized the government.
In 1786, the whole vote of the State was 8,234;
and Bowdoin was reelected by 6,001, or 72 per cent of these votes. In the next
year, 1787, the whole vote of the State was 24,588, of which Bowdoin received
5,395, only, or 21 per cent! and Hancock, the
candidate of the " Opposition," was elected by 18,459 votes! In the
aggregate votes of Groton,
Pepperell, and Shirley, Bowdoin received 30 and Hancock 159 votes! A most
emphatic demonstration that public opinion was in condemnation of the policy
and measures of Bowdoin's administration, and in favor of the party that
sympathized with Capt. Shattuck, coincided in his views, and approved his
doings. The returns to the Legislature were equally decisive. Three fourths of
the House of Representatives, and two thirds of the Senate and Council
were new members, and belonged to the Opposition, "some of whom,"
says Minot, the historian of the Insurrection," had been thrown into
prison as dangerous to the Commonwealth, or had fled from State warrants into
neighboring states, or had presided at county conventions, or otherwise
manifested their opposition to the ruling authority." Dr. Benjamin Morse
was chosen a Representative from Groton, though eleven individuals- a
very small minority indeed of the voters- were found in town who entered their
protest against his election, on account of the prominent part he had acted as
Chairman of the Committee of Correspondence in the Insurrection, Even Capt,
Shattuck, himself, at the first public town meeting held after his conviction
and pardon, was chosen the grand-juryman of the town, then an elective officer
of honor and responsibility, This is an additional evidence that his acts were
not disapproved by the citizens of Groton; and it was highly complimentary to
him, especially under the circumstances in which it was conferred.
Page 130 FIFTH GENERATION AND CHILDREN.
The
peculiar crisis in the affairs of Massachusetts
which originated the movement here referred to, was an
extraordinary one in the history of the State; and it was not without its
influence upon the country generally. It impressed upon the people many useful
lessons. While it taught the hazards and futility of resisting public law and
authority, it taught also the necessity of administering this law and authority
wisely for the welfare and happiness of the people. And that this might be done
effectually, it taught, furthermore, the necessity of a more efficient national
government. The State Constitution adopted six years before, though excellent
in itself, was insufficient for the general
protection. Public tranquillity was soon, however, restored; and the people
became more and more contented under returning individual prosperity, milder
and wiser State measures, a better understanding of the mutual rights and
duties of the governed and the government, and the adoption, in 1787, one year
later, by the several United Colonies, of the Federal Constitution.*
Capt. Shattuck m. 1, in Pepperell, May 25, 1758, SARAH
HARTWELL.** She was b. in Groton, March 19, 1738, and d. May 5, 1798, age 60 y.
1 m. 16 d., after a long confinement by sickness. She was a member of the
church, and, like her parents and brother, eminently worthy and pious. : She
was one of those patriotic women known in her neighborhood as " Mrs. David Wright's Guard." A few days after the
19th of April, 1775, it was expected that Leonard Whiting of Hollis, N. H., a
noted tory, would pass through Pepperell to Groton; and a number of noble
women, partly clothed in their absent husbands' apparel, and armed with muskets,
pitchforks, and such other weapons as they could find, collected at the bridge
over the Nashua River, between these two towns, now known as Jewett's Bridge.
They
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The facts here stated are derived principally from the records and
papers on file in the office of the Secretary of State.
** Her father Samuel Hartwell, s. of John and Sarah, a
descendant of William Hartwell of Concord,
was b. April 30, 1702, and d. May 26, 1782, age 80. He m. 1,
in 1728, Sarah -----, who d. in 1733, leaving one child, Sarah, b. July 29,
1733.
He m. 2, June 9, 1737, Sarah Holden, b. Sept. 5, 1717,
and d. March 5,1798, age 80, the eldest of ten children of John Holden who d.
Dec. 27,1753, probably a descendant of Justinian Holden, (p, 87.)
He m. Nov. 26, 1715 Sarah Davis, who
d. Dec. 21, 1753.
Samuel Hartwell had 10 children, the youngest born
when he was 60, and his wife 44.-
1. Sarah, b. March 19, 1738, m. Job
Shattuck;
2. Rachel b Dec. 19, 1739, d. Aug. 16, 1758 ;
3. a dau. B. May 21, 1742, d.
age 6 d.;
4. Priscilla, b. Feb 20, 1745; m. Sept. 9, 1766, James
Green, Jr.; he d. Feb. 23, 1825;
5. Samuel, b July 11, 1748 d. Oct. 22, 1753;
6 Hannah, b. Sept. 27, 1751;
7. Mary, b. July 7, 1754, d. Oct. 2, 1758;
8. Levi b. Dec. 19, 1758;
9. Samuel, b. Aug. 7, 1761, m. Aug.. 15, 1791, Caroline Matilda Wright b.
Aug. 21, 1772, dau. of David Wright and
Prudence Cummings, and had 8 children.
JOB
SHATTUCK--MARTHA SHATTUCK. Page 131
elected Mrs. Wright as their commander; and resolved
that no foe to freedom should pass that bridge. Soon Whiting appeared, and he
was immediately arrested and searched; and despatches from Canada to the British in Boston were found in his boots. He was taken
to the house or Solomon Rogers in the neighborhood, and there detained,
securely guarded by the women over night. He was afterwards conducted to Groton, and the
treasonable correspondence was forwarded to the Committee of Safety. Mrs.
Wright had named her son, born in 1774, "Liberty." It had just then died; but, to
perpetuate the noble sentiments she entertained, she gave the same name to
another son born three years later.*
He m. 2, May
26, 1800, ELIZABETH, widow of John Gragg, and dau. of William Lakin.
She d. June 1, 1824, age 81.
HIS CHILDREN, BY SARAH
HARTWELL, BORN IN GROTON.
l. Job, b. Dec. 10, 1758; m.
Elizabeth Blood, ... Family 174
2 .Sarah, b. Dec. 27,
1760; m. Benjamin Simpson. … Family
175
3. Ezekiel, b. April 12, 1763 ; m. Prudence
Blood, … Family 176
4. William, b. March 8, 1765; m.
Eunice Blood,... Family
177
5. Rachel, b. July 12, 1767; m. Oliver
Hartwell,… Family
178
6. Daniel, b. Feb. 11, 1770; m.
Abigail Sheple, … Family
179
7 Noah, b. Aug. 30, 1772; m. Anna
Sheple,... Family 180
8 Margaret, b. Mar. 13, 1774; m.
Jonathan Bennett,… Family 181
9. Anna, b. Feb. 6, 1779; m. Thomas
Bennett,… Family
182
74. MARTHA SHATTUCK,
dau. of Daniel, (p. 98,) was b. in Northfield, April 2, 1725, and d. in Bernardston,
Nov. 12, 1802, age 77 y. 7 m. 10 d.
She
m. about 1745, Lieut. David RIDER, who first settled as
* SAMUEL WRIGHT, the father of David, m. Jan. 13,
1733, Hannah (or Anna) Lawrence,
b. July 3, 1708, dau. of Nathaniel, (p. 71.) They lived in Pepperell, and had
1 .Samuel, b. Oct. 15, 1733; m. March 15, 1757, Abigail Flagg,
and had, 1. Samuel, b. Aug. 10, 1757; 2. Edmond, b. Aug. 9, 1760; 3. Abigail , b.
Sept. 12, 1762 ; 4. Elizabeth, b. May 28, 1764; 5. Winslow, b. Oct. 3, 1766.
2.
David, b. Aug. 19, 1735; m. Prudence Cummings of Hollis, the heroine above
mentioned. They lived and d. in Pep., and had, 1. David, b. March 28, 1763, m. Polly Lowell, Dau. of John Lowell of Dunstable; 2. Prudence, b. Aug. 29, 1764,
d. unm., age 85 ; 3. Cummings, b. March 17, 1766, went
to Thompson, Ct.; 4. Mary. b.
Dec. 27, 1767, d. July 1, 1774; 5. Wilkes, m. a Coffin of Newbury, went to sea
and d. without issue; 6. Caroline Matilda, b. Aug. 21, 1772, m. Aug. 15, 1791,
Samuel Hartwell, (p. 130;) 7. Liberty, b. July 19, 1774, d. March 11, 1775; 8. Devera,
b. Feb. 10, 1776, m. Nathan Corey of Brookline,
N. H.; 9. Liberty, b. May 30, 1778, m.
Betsey Blanchard of Pep., and d. in Nashua; 10. Artemas, b.
Aug. 4, 1780, m. Prudence Corey, and d. in Milford, N. H.; 11. Daniel, b. April
26, 1783, went to Norfolk, Va , where he m.; d. at sea.
3.
Josiah, b. July 31, 1737; m. Dolly Shattuck, (See Family 108)
4.
Jonas, b. Aug. 12, 1739; m. Feb. 12, 1770, Anna Parker, and had, born in
Pepperell, 1. Anna, b. Dec. 1, 1770, m. Asa Shattuck, (Family 105;) 2. Jonas, b. Oct. 26, 1772.
5 . Nathaniel, b. Aug. 5, 1741;
d. March 6, 1743.
6.
Daniel: b. Sept. 20, 1743.
7.
Nathaniel, b. Sept. 26, 1746.
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Scanned
and edited by Robert Kline 31 July 2006