| Notes |
- Death record:
Early Records of Lancaster Massachusetts by Henry Nourse 1884, p 325.
Ancestors of Eleanor Igleheart
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/r/o/David--Broad/GENE2-0023.html?Welcome=1021771767
Notes for John Prescott:
"JOHN PRESCOTT (C1604-1681) was born about 1604" in England. John "become a blacksmith, and eventually appeared in Sowerby in Yorkshire to ply his trade, marry, and establish his family." Several families that ended up in Lancaster, MA had connections with this area in England
. "Eventually, probably to avoid persecution, and to seek further opportunity for economic growth and security for their family, John and Mary emigrated to the New England Colonies, landing at Watertown, Massachuset about 1640. Their is much in writing to state that they travelled first to the Barbados and came from there to New England, but recent documentation hasproven that although there was a John Prescott there, baptisms of his children appear in that locality long after our John was firmly established in Massachusetts. Accordingly, there must have been another John Prescott involved, a fact that helps to muddy the waters of our research.
"John and Mary, together with their children Mary, Martha, John Jr. Sarah, and possibly Hannah, settled first in Watertown in 1640. Their daughter Lydia was recorded as having been born there on August 15, 1641.
"Their first task was to find land for a farm. There were nine divisions of land at Watertown, according to the Book of Lands and Possessions. The first division was made in 1636, but John Prescott's name first appears in the 9th division when he was granted, in 1641, 90 acres "for a farme" - lot 13, Bond, History of Watertown, page 1028
"John Prescott bought his homestall of three acres, probably about 1642, from Daniel Peirce, a blacksmith, and later he bought from his six acres more adjoining his homestall. His home was situated near the First Church in Watertown. After the sale of his lands and homestall, Peirce removed to Newbury (Bond, History of Watertown, pages 1012, 1013, and 1027.)
"Prescott also bought 25 acres of John Griggs, (lot no. 29), in 1641, after which Griggs removed from town (Bond, 263). This was in the Great Dividends and Beaver Brook Ploughlands. (Bond, 910 and 1012). The inventory of Prescott's lands reveals the following:
90 acres, 9th Division (lot 13)
25 acres, bought of Griggs (lot 29)
3 acres, homestall.
6 acres of upland bought of Peirce
1 acre of Ploughland in the further Plain in the 63rd lot.
1 acre of Meddow in the Remote Meddowes
Total 126 acres.
"Also, since the previous blacksmith had moved away, it seems only logical that John would have installed himself as his successor, and thus had a ready cash (or barter) business to sustain his family before crops were available
. "This layout apparently did not fully satisfy John Prescott, and he remained alert for further opportunity as it might develop. A look at the history of the Nashaway area gives us an insight into what had been happening in the years just prior to this, leading to events that would profoundly affect the Prescott family.
"From the Prescott Memorial, page 35, which quotes from material originally published in The History of Lancaster we read:
""Early in the seventeenth century, some eight years before the settlement of Plymouth, many of the tribes of Massachusetts Indians had been swept over by a dreadful pestilence reducing their numbers from many thousands to a few hundreds. In this severe affliction the Nashaway tribe suffered, though not equally with the others. The Nashaways had also been greatly reduced by the wars and incursions of the Maquas or Mohawks, a powerful and warlike tribe on the Mohawk River (in the now New York State). This tribe had become the scourge and terror of all the New England Indians. These circumstances induced the peaceful Sholan, the Sachem of the Nashaways, to seek the friendship and protection of the English.
"Sholan occasionally visited Watertown for the purpose of trading with Mr. Thomas King who resided there. He recommended Nashawogg as a place well suited for a plantation. He told King of the choice intervales, the woods and waters aboundinn supplies - that the Great Spirit had been very bountiful to the place, and that his people would rejoice in the presence of that great people who had come from a distant world.
"Finally King decides to visit the place, perilous though the undertaking might seem. He accordingly takes the journey through the wilderness, and becomes enamored with the place and returns to Watertown. He makes such a favorable report of the adaptation of the territory to agricultural and mechanical purposes, etc., that in 1643 he enters into an association and agreement with John Prescott of Watertown, Harmon Garrett of Charlestown, Thomas Skidmore of Cambridge, Stephen Day of Cambridge (the earliest printer in any of the colonies), a Mr. Simonds and sundry others whose names have not been transmitted, for the purpose of purchasing thetract, (ten miles by eight). The purchasers entered into an agreement to appear and begin the plantation at a specified time. The deed of Sholan was sanctioned by the General Court, but there were many circumstances which combined to retard the growth of the plantation, all the associates except Mr. Prescott refusing or neglecting to fulfil their contracts, though choosing to retain their interest in the property purchased. John Prescott was "faithful among the faithless".
"The Prescott Memorial continues the description. "Mr. Prescott, having chosen this for his future home, petitioned for a bridge to be built over the Sudbury River but did not get it. He tried to ford it on horseback one time but in the process he lost his horse and everything he was carrying. His wife and children tried the same technique a week later and very nearly drowned."
"We have a birth date for Jonathan Prescott of c1643 which may indicate that he was either born at Watertown shortly before their departure, or he was born at Lancaster shortly after their arrival.
""Mr. Prescott has the reputation of being the first settler in Nashaway, now Lancaster, although it has been stated that RICHARD LINTON, LAWRENCE WATERS and *JOHN BALL were the first inhabitants, and that they had tilled the soil and were ready to receive Mr. Prescott on his arrival. If correct, they might have been hired and sent there by Mr. Prescott and others to prepare for their own accommodation when they should remove there. The phrase that "they had tilled the soil and were ready to receive Mr. Prescott on his arrival" is significant of this fact."
(Presc. Memorial, page 37.).
"John was the most faithful in doing his part to develop the area, whereas the others found one excuse after another to delay their share of the work. When it came time for incorporation as a village, the settlers wanted to call it "Prescott", but the Court refused to name it that, saying that it smacked of "Man-worship", but they compromised and named it Lancaster after the county of John's birth in England." "One may sense from research into Lancaster history that there was something a little unorthodox about John's religious views which postponed his becoming a freeman for many years, and this may have been the real reason why they hedged at naming the town after him, in spite of their admiration of his industry. At the same time, the name of Lancaster instead of some other reference to Yorkshire, would tend to identify John with an English county of origin prior.
"John's sharp shooting ability and ingenuity saved his house, barn and sawmill from being burned many times when he had no one to help him but Mary. With her to reload, one time he held off a band on Indians who were convinced there were several men inside. John was busy firing form all sides and shouting orders to imaginary soldiers while Mary reloaded for him.
"Trouble with the Indians continued, and finally came to a head in 1676. Major Simon Willard was in charge of the Middlesex County militia, and was doing his best to station soldiers in strategic areas where they could patrol and keep guard, but the numbers of them were few, the area large, and no one knew for sure where the Indians were likely to strike. In February, 1676, some 1500 Indians descended on Lancaster in a surprise attack. In Marvin's History of Lancaster there is a gruesome description of the massacre that took place at Rev. Rowlandson's garrison house. The building was set on fire from the rear and the people slaughtered as they came out the front way, - women, children, babies, dogs, everyone, except those they saw fit to take as prisoners. A few of them, including Mrs. Rowlandson, the minister's wife, survived the ordeal of captivity and returned, and we have her to thank for the account of it all.
"In the meantime, fighting was going on around the other garrison houses - Wheeler's Prescott's and Sawyer's. This Prescott family lost two sons-in-law, Jonas Fairbank married to Lydia Prescott, and Richard Wheeler who was the husband of Sarah Prescott. Also, two grandsons were killed -Joshua Fairbanks and Ephraim Sawyer. Richard Wheeler, and Jonas and Joshua Fairbank(s) were killed at Wheeler's garrison house, and Ephraim Sawyer was killed at Prescott's garrison house. Those who were left gathered at Sawyer's garrison house and a runner was dispatched with a note pleading for a company of soldiers to come to their rescue. Captain Wadsworth's Company arrived with wagons, and after about two weeks' speculation as to what to do, finallytransported the remaining villagers to towns farther east, such as Watertown, where they scattered to stay at the homes of various friends and relatives.
"It is felt that the "Old Burying Ground" does not have the 50 or so people killed there at this time. An historian "Hosmer" has said of the burial of those who died in the massacre detailed in Mrs. Rolandson's diary, "We're positive they dug a common grave." A study of the Wilder family reveals that it was only later that Thomas Wilder III, son of the pioneer Thomas Jr., donated the land from his farm surrounding his father's grave, for the town burying ground.
"With the burning of this town, of which only one house was left standing and all but a fragment of the town records destroyed, nearly every personal record of the families was lost. As a result, all clues that might have been available from personal family knowledge to link any of them with earlier generations in England were gone. The research required to replace and prove these links has been painfully slow and expensive since then.
"Three years passed, during which time the refugee families probably came to feel as though they were a burden on their friends and were anxious for their own homes again. By 1679 it seemed safe to return and the first planters to do so were the Prescotts, the Houghtons, the Sawyers and the Wilders. A Samuel Carter family came along shortly afterwards.
"John and his sons set about rebuilding the grist and saw mills, which became the beginning of the industrial activity which later became the town of Clinton. (Towns of the Nashaway Plantation). The other families rebuilt their own homeplaces, or sold to others who did, and the town was "in a fair way to being in a prosperous condition again before he died on December 1, 1681, but unfortunately he left no written account of his life and family in England to replace anything he might have had in the way of documents prior to the fires.
"Although we do not know whether Mary survived him, we do know that she was living in 1678 at which time she made a legal deposition, and it is this document that officially validates her own age and identity and provides the connection between the family of Lancaster, Massachusetts and Sowerby in Yorkshire, England.
"John did leave a non-cupative will which has survived, dated Aug. 8, 1673, and probated April 4, 1682. This identified all of his children but a Hannah who is supposed to be his daughter. A Hannah, (allegedly Prescott), married John Rugg following the death of his first wife, Martha Prescott, daughter of John and Mary. The will also mentioned a granddaughter Martha Rugg, of whom The Prescott Memorial gives no record.
(Ref: Pope: Pioneers of Massachusetts, page 372).
"John Prescott is buried in the Old Settlers' Burying Ground there in Lancaster, Mass. On John's grave is a rough field stone with the carving on it:
"John Prescott,
Deceased"
"Behind it is an historical marker erected much later by citizens and descendants describing the man. It reads:
"HERE
WITH HIS CHILDREN AROUND HIM LIES
JOHN PRESCOTT
FOUNDER OF LANCASTER AND FIRST SETTLER
OF WORCHESTER COUNTY.
BORN AT STANDISH, LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND.
DIED AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS, DEC. 1681.
INSPIRED BY THE LOVE OF LIBERTY AND THE FEAR OF GOD
THIS STOUT-HEARTED PIONEER
FORSAKING THE PLEASANT VALES OF ENGLAND
TOOK UP HIS ABODE IN THE UNBROKEN FOREST
AND ENCOUNTERED WILD BEAST AND SAVAGE
TO SECURE FREEDOM
FOR HIMSELF AND HIS POSTERITY.
HIS FAITH AND VIRTUES
HAVE BEEN INHERITED BY MANY DESCENDANTS
WHO IN EVERY GENERATION HAVE WELL SERVED THE
STATE IN WAR, IN LITERATURE, AT THE BAR, IN
THE PULPIT, IN PUBLIC LIFE AND CHRISTIAN HOMES."
"To visit the "Old Burying Ground", one must go to the Middle Cemetery, just south of the Nashua River bridge on Route 70. At the far northeast corner of that cemetery, a path enters the woods between two evergreens. The path goes to railroad tracks and 20 paces north continues east to the "Old Burying Ground."
(From: the Sunday Telegram, Worcester, Mass. August 28, 1983, by Donald Swinton of the Regional Staff. Quoted in "PRESCOTTS UNLIMITED" Vol. V. #2 (June 1984), page 5.)
"The text on the large Memorial Stone was prepared by U.S. Senator, George F. Hoar."
_________
Notes for John Ball:
John Ball was born in England probably about 1585 and came to America between 1630 and 1640. He settled in Watertown where he was made freeman 22 May 1650 and later moved to Concord where he lived with his son Nathaniel until his death in 1655. John Ball is reported to the the son of William Ball of Wiltshire, England, whose six sons emigrated to New England. If this was the case, no proof can be found to support the report. In the scanty records no mention is made of his wife (by some authorities his wife was Joanna King). It is thought that she did not come to this country and had probably died before embarkation. The records show only two children, sons John and Nathaniel, although there may have been others.
The son *John Ball later removed to Lancaster, a town on the western frontier at the time of King Phillips's War. It was originally called Nashaway Plantation when Cholan, cashem of the Nashaway Indians, deeded an 8 by 10 mile tract to Henry Symonds and Thomas King. Sholan offered to sell this tract, which is 35 to 40 miles west northwest of Boston, if King and Symonds would build a trucking house on the land and trade with the Indians. The General Court confirmed the deed, and the trucking house was built on the southeast side of George Hill.
Three mem were sent out to occupy the land and take care of the trucking house. These men were LAWRENCE WATERS, RICHARD LINTON, and John Ball, all three of whom are ancestors of Hattie Bruce. The first two built houses and settled with their families, but John Ball disappeared from the records. He evidently moved back to Watertown and possibly was the John Ball who died in Concord in 1655, although it was more likely his son John.
A petition to incorporate Nashaway Plantation as a town was sent to the General Court. The people wished the place to be called Prescott, after John Prescott who went there in 1647, but the Court gave it the name West Towne. The petitioners were unhappy with the name and petitioned for the name of Lancaster, which was approved. Thus Lancaster became a town in 1653. John Ball's son John was an inhabitant of Lancaster and played a part in its history. For more on Lancaster, see the text on him.
The inventory of John Ball's estate was taken on 6 October and totaled 30.6.10.[3/1:73]
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http://www.tomclough.com/p164.htm#i4099
James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692, 4 vols. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1860-1862; reprint Rio Vista, California: American History and Genealogy Project, 2000). Online version used. Alphabetical by surname. [WATERS], "LAWRENCE, Watertown, 1634 or earlier, by w. Ann, d. of Richard Linton, had Lawrence, b. 14 Feb. 1635; Sarah, 7 Dec. 1636; Mary, 27 Jan. 1638; Rebecca, Feb. d. 1 Mar. 1640; Daniel, 6 Feb. 1642; in 1638, he or his w. or both, were warned for hav. danced, and may have been induc. to rem. early to Lancaster, where the high authty. of Willard makes him build the first ho. in that settlem. See Centenn. Celebr. 75. There prob. he had, Bond thinks, Joseph, Ephriam, Jacob, and Rachel; was blind in 1676, but happily rem. bef. the Ind. whirlw. fell on L. and resid. at Charlestown, there d. 9 Dec. 1687, aged near 85. Adam his s. d. 15 Sept. 1670 at Charlestown."
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1601 - 1687 (86 years)
