Posterity OF JOHN RICHARDSON OF MEDFIELD. 713
POSTERITY OF JOHN RICHARDSON OF MEDFIELD.
First Generation
7121.
Among the early inhabitants of Watertown, Mass., were two
men, bearing the names, respectively, of GEORGE RICHARDSON, and
of JOHN RICHARDSON.* Not improbably, they were brothers. Of
this, however, there is no proof, save what may arise from their
residence, for a short time, on the same territory. George Rich-
ardson embarked for New England at London, in the ship Susan
and Ellen, April 15, 1635, being, then thirty years of age. He
doubtless arrived in July, 1635. Of the coming of John Rich-
ardson, nothing is distinctly recorded.
We find them both at Watertown the year following. John
Richardson had a grant of one acre of land, 1636-7, in the Beaver
Brook Plowlands, within the present town of Waltham. George
Richardson was a grantee of twenty-five acres in the Great Divi-
dends, so called, in 1636; a name applied to four ranges or divis-
ions of land in the north part of what is now Waltham, and
bordering on the present town of Lexington, then known as "Cam-
bridge Farms." The Great Dividends belonged, in severalty, to
one hundred and twenty different owners, of whom George Rich-
ardson was one. The Beaver Brook Plowlands were one hundred
and six in number, one acre to each person, and were immediately
south of the Great Dividends, and in the vicinity of Beaver Brook.
They consisted partly of meadow, and partly of upland. They
were mostly on Waltham Plain, and were bounded on the South
by Charles River.
George Richardson, in 1642, had also a grant of a farm of thirty-
nine acres. He also at one time was proprietor of a tract of
Welve acres, which, in 1630 had been granted to Elder Richard
Browne.+
Emigration from Watertown began at a very early date. The
first emigration was to Connecticut River. In May, 1636, several
of the inhabitants of Watertown were dismissed from the church,
and had leave from the General Court to remove to that river,
provided they remained under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.
-----------------------
*Bond's Watertown Genealogies, pp. 411, 912, 1011, 1013, bis, 1015, 1022, 1028,
1090.
+ Bond's Watertown Genealogies, pp. 1013, 1022.
714 THE RICHARDSON MEMORIAL
A number removed that year, and the year following, and laid the
foundations of Wethersfield.
The next emigration was to Dedham, which, until 1711, joined
Watertown, though Dover, Needham, and Weston now lie between.
Measures preparatory to this emigration were taken in
the autumn of 1635, and Dedham was incorporated as a town
Sept. 8, 1636. A very considerable part of the founders of Ded-
ham went from Watertown.
Other emigrations followed to Sudbury, Lancaster, Groton, and
other towns.
We do not find George Richardson in Watertown after 1643,
when be sold his twelve acre lot to John Train, who came over
from England with him in 1635 in the same vessel, the Susan
Ellen, then being twenty-five years of age. Neither his name,
nor that of John Richardson, is found after this time, in a care-
fully kept list of freemen. Besides this negative evidence there
is ample proof, from the document, of which an abstract now fol-
lows, that in the year 1644, he bad left Watertown.
Sept. 28, 1644. George Hawkins, of Boston, by virtue of a
power of attorney from George Richardson, sold for forty pounds
the farm of the said George Richardson, containing two hundred
acres near the head of Bass River, late the possession of Peter
Palfrey.
It is almost certain that George Richardson, about the year
1643, and not later than 1644, left Watertown for Farmington
Ct., to which settlers from Watertown had already gone. He
probably settled in what is now Waterbury. If I mistake not,
he has deseendants there at the present time.
But what became of John Richardson?
A man named John Richardson witnessed a title deed in Exe-
ter, in 1642. But the name did not continue in Exeter; and , in-
deed, is not again found in Exeter or its vicinity, until after the
lapse of several scores of years; we may, therefore, safely con-
lude that he is identical with John Richardson, of Waterton,
who must have left that place not long before. The name, now
so common, was then but little known; and so there is less liabil-
ity to mistake.
It seems probable that John Richardson was to some extent
implicated in the Antinomian controversy of 1637. We know
that such was the fact in the case of Ezekiel Richardson. If this
were so in the case of our John Richardson, it would account for
his leaving Watertown that very year, 1637, as, it seems, some
left Boston that winter to get out of trouble. If our John Rich-
ardson, an ardent, impulsive, indiscreet young man, were a favorer,
of Wheelwright, nothing is more likely than that he should follow
him to Exeter. Mr. Wheelwright having purchased of the In-
dians a tract of land thirty miles square, went thither by water
in the winter of 1637-8, and founded the town of Exeter. Ap-
prehensive that Exeter, a majority of its citizens desiring it, was
about to come under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, whose
charter included it, Mr. Wheelwright, in April, 1643, purchased of
POSTERITY OF JOHN RICHARDSON OF MEDFIELD. 715
Thomas Gorges, cousin and deputy of Sir Ferdinando Gorges,
four or five hundred acres of land, at Webhannet, afterwards
known as Wells, in Maine, and removed thither the same year.
Here they and others formed a church, of which be was chosen
pastor.* It is highly probable that our John Richardson was one
of them.
Mr. James Savage finds a man named John Richardson in Exe-
ter, 1642, with a wife Hannah Tryer, or rather Truair. We hear
nothing of him afterwards. But we find a man of that name in
Wells, in 1673, a young man too, who, it seems to the compiler,
must have been his son, born somewhat about 1645 or 1650.
Mr. Horatio Slocomb, of Sutton, Mass., a son of William and
Jerusha (Richardson) Slocomb, and a descendant of John Rich-
ardson, of Medfield, 1679, visited Dedham and Wrentham about
1840 to make inquiries respecting his mother's ancestry. The
information he received convinced him that be first ancestor in
this country war, John Richardson ; that he came from "England
about 1640; that he settled in that part of Dedham, which in
1651 became Medfield; that he had a son of the same name, and
also a grandson in that town.
The compiler, therefore, cannot avoid the conviction that JOHN
RICHARDSON, whom we find in Watertown in 1635-6, is the pro-
genitor of that branch of the Richardson family which we may
for shortness designate as the MEDFIELD RICHARDSONS. In other
words, he was the father of that John Richardson who in 1679
married Rebecca Clark, in that town, and whose posterity have
been doing so worthily in many parts of our land. In my mind
it amounts to a reductio ad absurdum. While there is no direct,
positive proof of the fact, any other supposition seems impossible.
We have no notice of the first Medfield Richardson till 1679,
when he was evidently a young man, less than thirty years of
age; born, therefore, about 1645 or 1650. The almost invariable
custom in those days was that the eldest son bear the name of
the father. The father of John, the first Medfield Richardson, in
all probability was himself named John. John Richardson, of
Watertown, must have been a young man in 1640. Possibly
he was identical with that John Richardson who, at the age of
eighteen, embarked at London, in the ship Assurance, for Vir-
ginia, in July, 1635, and embarking for Virginia, when he intended
to go to Massachusetts, as was not seldom the case.+ His having
-----------------------------------
*Felt's Eccl. Hist. of N. E., vol i. P. 500
+ Emigration to New England was at first encouraged by the king and his
servile ministry, doubtless with a view of getting rid of the men who could
not rest under the proceedings of an arbitrary government. But in 1634 the
royal government resolved to deprive New England of its chartered rights, to
send a royal governor to that country and as far as possible to stop the emi-
gration to the American strand. Repeated attempts were made to check this
emigration. In March, 1638, an order in council was passed to detain eight
ships then in the Thames, full of passengers, bound to New England; and on
the 6th of April, in the same year, an order in council was passed that no per-
son should be allowed to go to New England without a license. In conse-
quence of this order, many persons embarked ostensibly for Virginia, but
really for Massachusetts. It is at least conceivable that John Richardson in
the text may have come in that way, as, it is certain, many did.
716 THE RICHARDSON MEMORIAL
a grant of only one acre of land in Watertown favors the idea of
his being then unmarried, and his sudden disappearance from
Watertown corresponds with this supposition. We have no rec-
ord of his marriage, for the simple reason that after the departure
of Sir Richard Saltonstall, in the spring of 1631, there was no per-
son in Watertown authorized to solemnize marriages till Novem-
ber, 1646, and our John Richardson had left Watertown long
before. Watertown people, during those fifteen years, must go,
out of town to be married, marriage being regarded as a civil or-
dinance.
There is a tradition amon the Medfield Richardsons that their
ancestor came from Concord. As Concord and Watertown were
then contiguous, the latter, indeed, overleaping the former, this
tradition, so far as it is worth anything, sustains the view already
taken. But that he was a son of Samuel Richardson, of Wo-
burn, as another tradition supposes, or any other Woburn man,
or of either of the Newbury of Connecticut Richardsons, is sim-
ply impossible.
Nor is it at all likely that the father of John Richardson came
from England after 1642, for after the year 1642 till 1662 many
more people went back to England than came from it to this
country.
Further confirmation of the theory now suggested arises from
the fact that Joseph and Benjamin Richardson, sons of John
who was married to Rebecca Clark in 1679, owned a tract of
land in Wells, formerly granted to John Richardson, and in 1751
sent Joseph, their nephew, to Wells to dispose of it.
-----------------
SECOND GENERATION
7122.
JOHN RICHARDSON,2 the first of the name whom we find on
the Medfield records, first appears in a notice of his marriage.
At Medfield, on the first day of May, 1679, before Ralph Whee-
look, a magistrate, as was then the custom, he was married to
REBEKAH CLARK, born in Medfield, Aug. 16, 1660, youngest
daughter of Joseph and Alice Clark, who were early settlers of
that part of Dedham which in 1651 was incorporated as the town
of Medfield. Its Indian name was Boggastow, a name still borne
by a pond there and brook. Joseph Clark, of Medfield, took the
freeman's oath May 18, 1653, and died in 1684.
As there is no indication of any earlier marriage, and as his
wife was at marriage under the age of nineteen, we may assume
that in 1679 he was not more than thirty years of age, and born
1645, or about 1650.
POSTERITY OF JOHN RICHARDSON OF MEDFIELD. 717
The names of Clark, Adams, Chenery Partridge, Plimpton,
Morse occur frequently on the Medfield records about that time
and previously; the name of Richardson never till 1679, as above
stated. And it is a significant circumstance that not long before
"Philip's war" all the citizens of that town, in common with
those of the other towns of the colony, contributed money, corn,
or wheat, "toward the building of the new Collidg at Cambridg,"
and that among the seventy-five names of Medfield men thus re-
corded in the Geneal. Register, vol. x, pp. 49-50, we find no
Richardson. We do not know the exact date of this contribu-
tion. It must have been previous to Philip's war, and not long
previous for several of the contributors, we are told, have "since
been burned out by the Indians." The contribution was for-
warded April 15, 1678, and the total amount was only five
pounds, an indication of the poverty of the inhabitants at that
time.
In October, 1664, the liberties of the colony being threatened
by the encroachments of the British ministry, the inhabitants of
Medfield united in a memorial to the General Court, in testimony
of their "unanimous satisfaction in adheringe to the present Gov-
ernment, and [their] earnest desire for the continuance thereof,
and all the Liberties perteininge thereunto," as granted by royal
charter of Kings James and Charles. Forty names are signed to
this memorial, among whom is no Richardson. [Geneal. Reg-
ister, xiii. 34.]
It is therefore nearly certain that previous to the year 1678
no man of the name resided in Medfield. And as confirm-
ing this view, we find a grant of land in Wells, Me., dated June
20, 1673, to John Richardson, who could be no other than the
person of that name found six years after in Medfield. In ex-
planation of these facts, it may be safe to assume that our John
Richardson, of Medfield, even if born in Dedham, may have been
absent most of the time previous to his marriage in quest of a
settlement either in New Hampshire or Maine, and being disap-
pointed in his hopes elsewhere returned to Dedham or Medfield.
The times were troublesome, and after the restoration of Charles
II everything, even land titles, in this country was put to hazard.
The royal commissioners were in New Enorland from July, 1664,
and during the year following did their utmost to subvert the lib-
erties of the colonies. Not long after, the heirs of Mason and
Gorges were urging their claims on the territory of New Hamp-
shire and Maine. It is not strange, therefore, that John Rich-
ardson found himself greatly embarrassed in his endeavors to
obtain a peaceful abode in the provinces just named.
Medfield, in 1657, six years after its incorporation, had forty
families, and an excellent minister, Rev. John Wilson, son of
Rev. John Wilson, many years pastor of First Church in Boston.
Medfield was attacked by the Indians, in large force, at day-
break, Feb. 21, 1675-6. It is supposed the attack was made by
five hundred Indians. About fifty buildings and two mills were
destroyed, twenty people were killed, and half the town laid in
718 THE RICHARDSON MEMORIAL.
ashes. One of the persons killed was Henry Adams, the eldest
son of Henry Adams, of Braintree. [See Barry's Hist. of Mass.,
i. 434.]
John Richardson, wherever he was at the time, waited till
the Indian hostilities had ceased and peace was established before
he came to Medfield. He was, without any doubt, in Maine
during Philip's war. On the death of Philip, in August, 1676,
the war ceased in Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies; but it
continued to rage with great violence in Maine nearly a year
longer. Wells, York, and Scarborough felt the horrors of In-
than barbarity in April and May, 1677. Before that time, no
doubt, the safety of John Richardson was assured in Medfield.
He now made his home, after many years of wandering, in, or
very near, the present village of East Medway, which until 1713
was included in the town of Medfield. Henry Richardson, one
of his descendants, still owns and occupies, 1869, the place. [See 7314.]
He was by trade a cordwainer, but cultivated a small farm, of
less than fifty acres. He was a church member, but when he be-
came so does not appear. We only know that be was a member
of the church in Medfield April 21, 1697, when Mr. Joseph Bax-
ter was ordained pastor. His wife Rebecca was also a member
at the same time, but no other Richardson than these two.
He died in Medfield, or what was then Medfield, May 29, 1697.
He was probably not much, if any, over fifty years old at that
time, especially as a child was born to him only three months be-
fore. No will of his is found on record. He possessed but little
property. The inventory of his estate, dated Feb. 22, 1699-1700,
includes only a homestead of twenty-six acres, with orchard and
buildings, valued at L30; eight acres of meadow near Boggastow
Brook (which discharges its waters into Charles River), and ten
acres of upland and swamp near Bear Hill.
Power of administration was granted to the widow Rebecca.
July 18, 1700.
The value of the real estate was estimated at L46. The inven-
tory included three cows, one calf, one mare and colt, three swine.
The personal estate is valued at L27. 10. more. Total, L73. 10.
Only two chairs are included in the inventory, doubtless used
only by the parents. The children were contented with home-
made stools and a settle, i. e., a plain, wooden bench with a
straight, upright back. [Suffolk Prob. Rec., xiv. 186.]
Small as the estate was, it was not settled without some diffi-
culty and delay. The second son, Daniel, in 1705, petitioned for
an adjustment. It was not finally settled till June 4, 1711, when
it was divided between the widow, Rebecca Hill (formerly Rich-
ardson), and the children, Joseph, Benjamin, and Rebecca. [Suf-
folk Prob. Rec., xvii. 270.]
The widow Rebecca married John Hill, of Sherborn, an
adjoining town, and died Feb. 17, 1738-9, aged 79.
May 28, 1751. Joseph Richardson, of Medway, gent., by a
power of attorney received from Joseph Richardson, of Medfield,
POSTERITY OF JOHN RICHARDSON OF MEDFIELD. 719
and Benjamin Richardson, of Medway, husbandman, in 1750,
conveys to John Goodale, of Wells, a parcel of land in Wells,
formerly granted unto John Richardson at a legal town-meeting,
June 20, 1673, lying and being between the lot of John Driscow
and Nathaniel Cloyes, his lot containing eleven poles in breadth,
or thereabout, so to run into the country as other lots do, as may
more fully appear in Wells town record, etc. [York Deeds, xxix.
73, 74.]
Joseph Richardson, of Medfield, and Benjamin Richardson, of
Medway, were brothers, and sons of John, as above [7122]. Jo-
seph, of Medway [7136], was their nephew.
The children of John and Rebecca, born in Medfield, were:
+7123. John,3 b. Aug. 25, 1679; m. Esther Breck
7124. Elizabeth,3 b. Sept. 20, 1681; d. previous to 1711, when the es-
tate was settled.
7125. Daniel,3 b. Aug. 31, 1685; m. Hannah Underwood.
7126. Joseph,3 b. about 1687; m. Hannah Barbour.
7127. Mehitabel,3 b. June 16, 1689; d. previous to 1711.
+7128. Benjamin,3 b. 1693 m. Elizabeth ______.
7129. Rebecca,3 b. Feb. 28, 1696-7; m. Eleazar Hill, of Sherborn Aug.
18, 1712. They settled in Douglas.
The two youngest, Benjamin and Rebecca, were baptized Aug. 15,
1697 as the "children of widow Richardson." It was after their
father's death.
--------------------
THIRD GENERATION
7123.
JOHN RICHARDSON3 (John,2 John1), eldest son of John and
Rebecca (Clark) Richarason; born in Medfield, in the part which
is now Medway, Aug. 25, 1679; married, about 1699, ESTHER
BRECK born in Medfield in 1679, probably daughter of John
Breck, of that place. One of the first four settlers of Medfield
was Thomas Breck. One of the others was Henry Adams, who
came in 1650 and was killed by the Indiana at his own door early
on the morning of Feb. 21, 1675-6, aged 72.
Medfield being exposed to Indian incursions, a fortification was
erected on the north bank of Boggastow Pond, by men bearing
the names of Bullard, Breck, Hill, Holbrook, Fairbank, Leland,
Rockwood, Daniels, and Daniels, nine in all, for the protection of
their families. It was built of stone, about seventy feet long, two
stories high, and could not easily be set on fire, though the In-
attempted it. Repeatedly the savages attempted to take it,
but were repelled by its brave defenders, of whom the father of
Esther Breck was one. In after years she well remembered flee-
to this fort for safety upon an Indian alarm, even fifty years
after Philip's war.
720 THE RICHARDSON MEMORIAL
Like his father, John Richardson, her husband, was by trade a
cordwainer; but later in life became a farmer or husbandman.
He refused the real estate left by his father. It was accepted by
Daniel his brother. This appears from several deeds.
June 24, 1712. John Richardson, of Medfield, husbandman,
and Esther his wife, for good and valuable considerations, sell to
Samuel Fisher, of Wrentham, an adjoining town, one acre of land
in Wrentham. The wife makes her mark. His brother Daniel
is a witness. [Suffolk Deeds, lx. 282.]
On the spot where be lived, and probably in the same house, his
great grandson Henry, son of Simeon, was living in 1869. [See
7314].
He was also a carpenter or housewright.
Dec. 25, 1712. John Richardson, of Medfield, in the county of
Suffolk, carpenter, and Esther his wife, sell to Nathaniel Fair-
banks, of Wrentham, husbandman, two parcels of meadow in
Wrentham. [Suffolk Deeds, xliv. 132.]
Oct. 4, 1742. John Richardson, of Medway, housewright, for
L200, sells to his son, Moses Richardson, of Medway, forty acres
of land in Medway, bounded partly on land of Solomon Richard-
son. Solomon and Asa Richardson sign as witnesses. [Suffolk
Deeds, lxxviii. 167.]
The above was reckoned in a depreciated currency worth less
than fifty cents on a dollar.
Of the twelve children recorded below, all save David 1st,
Mary, and Joseph were living at the settlement of their father's
estate, June 25, 1759.
John Richardson, of Wrentham, the part now Franklin, was
appointed administrator of his father's estate, Feb. 13, 1761.
I have before me an original "Agreement," dated June 25,
1759, whereby the following persons "being all the heirs and
representatives of John Richardson, late of Medway, deceased,
except the heirs of Joseph Richardson, agree to divide all the
movable estate that our honored father died possessed of as the
law prescribes, excepting Moses Richardson, who agrees to draw
no part." The signers were, John Richardson, Jonathan Rich-
ardson, Samuel Richardson, Solomon Richardson, Moses Rich-
ardson, Asa Richardson, David Richardson, Sarah Pond, David
Pond, Nathaniel Clark, Esther Clark, James Boyden, jr. The
sons signed in the order of their birth. David Richardson signs
"in behalf of his mother's heirs," which is not explained. His
mother was now eighty years of age, and the other brothers and
sisters were her heirs equally with himself. He was the young-
est son; another David older than himself had died before his
birth. Moses relinquished his claim to the property probably be-
cause his interests had been cared for in some other way. Joseph
had died not long before.
He died in Medfield, i. e. in what is now East Medway, MAY
19, 1759, aged 80. His wife Esther died of cancer, Aug. 17,
1774, aged 95. This made her extremely irritable and trouble-
some. Whether they were in full members of the church does
POSTERITY OF JOHN RICHARDSON OF MEDFIELD 721
not appear. They had children baptized, which might be done
under the half-way covenant.
Children of John and Esther Richardson, born in Medfield, were:
7130. Sarah,4 b. April 25,1700; m. David Pond, of Wrentham.
+7131. John,4 b. Oct. 22, 1701; m. Jemima Gay.
7132. David,4 b. June 19, 1703; d. March 9,1723-4 [gravestone].
+7133. Jonathan,4 b. Feb. 1, 1704-5; m. Ruth Clark.
7134. Esther,4 b. Jan. 2, 1706-7; m. first, May 27, 1728, Thomas Jones,
of Holliston b. May 27, 1706; d. June 23, 1734. Second,
Nathaniel Ciark, probably of Wrentham.
7135. Mary,4 b. Sept. 9, 1709; m. James Boyden, jr., June 4, 1736.
She died before 1759. She had a son James (Boyden), living
1759.
+7136. Joseph,4 b. April 3, 1711; m. Abigail
+7137 Samuel,4 b. Jan. 3, 1713-14; m. first, Mary Allen; second, Sarah
Clark.
+7138. Solomon,4 b. April 21, 1716; m. Rebecca Munn.
+7139. Moses,4 b. Feb. 8, 1717-18; m. Abigail Allen.
+7140. Asa,4 b. Oct. 16, 1720; m. Abigail Barbour.
+7141. David,4 b. Dec. 6, 1724; m. Esther Smith.
Seven at least, of the above children were baptized in Medfield.*
7125.
LIEUT. DANIEL RICHARDSON3 (John,2 John 1) brother of the
preceding; born in Medfield, or in what became Medway August
31, 1685; married HANNAH UNDERWOOD, baptized April 13,
1690.
He lived in Medfield, according to the records of the church in
that town till 1723, and probably some years longer. He and his
wife "owned the covenant," as it was called, June 8, 1712, which
entitled them to the privilege of having their children baptized.
Their son William was baptized the same day. His wife was
"admitted to full communion" March 15, 1712-13. He (Daniel)
was admitted to full communion Oct. 13, 1723.
His wife Hannah was dismissed from the church in Medfield
and recommended to the church in Medway, June 28, 1747,
which probably was not long after the time of their removal to
that place.
Jan. 3, 1745-6. Daniel Richardson, of Medway, gent., for the
natural and parental love that I have and do bear to my loving
and well-beloved son, Daniel Richardson, junior, of said town,
conveys to him one-half of my dwelling-house, where my said
son now lives, with one-half of all my lands, etc., reserving cer-
things during my natural life and the life of my wife, after
which my said son shall have and enjoy the other half. Part of
the land thus conveyed was bounded on land of John Richardson,
brother of the grantee. [Suff. Deeds, lxxv. 265.]
His will is dated 1747. He calls himself "yeoman;" names
sons Daniel and William, daughter Hannah Underwood, wife of
------------------------------
* Medway was incorporated as a town Oct. 24, 1713. Hence, It came to pass
that five of the above-named children, beginning with Samuel, though, doubt-
less, born under the same roof with the preceding seven are recorded as born
in Medway. Samuel was the first male child on the Medway town records.
722 THE RICHARDSON MEMORIAL
Jonathan Underwood, of Westford, and his own wife Hannah.
His brother John Richardson was one of the witnesses. The in-
ventory of his estate amounted to L1,859. 18. 3. This reckoning
was in a depreciated currency, of which two pounds were worth
less than a Spanish milled dollar. He died Aug. 28, 1748.
The children of Daniel and Hannah Richardson were:
+7142. William,4 b. Feb. 3, 1710-11; m. Hannah Ellis, May 21, 1739
7143. Hannah,4 b. Dec. 25,1718; m. Jonathan Underwood, of West-
ford, June 15, 1739.
+7144. Daniel,4 b. June 26, 1721; m. Judith ------.
7126.
LIEUT. JOSEPH RICHARDSON3 (John,2 John1), brother of the
preceding; born in Old Medfield about 1687, his birth not being
on the town record; married, first, in Boston, Oct. 18, 1706,
HANNAH BARBOUR, born Sept. 25, 1683, daughter of Samuel
and granddaughter of George Barbour, one of the early proprie-
tors and settlers of Medfield. June 3, 1703, being about seven-
teen, he chose his uncle, Jonathan Boyden, of Medfleld, to be his
guardian. He was married at the age of seventeen. Second,
ELIZABETH -------.
He passed his life in Medfield. He and his wife "owned the
covenant," Jan. 2, 1710-11. He was admitted to full communion,
March 19, 1726-7. His wife Hannah was thus admitted, Sept. 4,
1748. He was chosen delegate, April 12, 1741, to an ecclesiasti-
cal council, to be held in Chelmsford for the ordination of Rev.
Ebenezer Bridge.
He died in Medfield, Oct. 5, 1768. His wife Hannah died Feb.
6, 1755. His second wife, Elizabeth, died Nov. 26, 1766.
The children of Joseph and Hannah Richardson were:
7145. Joseph,4 b. Sept. 21, 1707; d. Sept, 29, 1707.
7146. Mary,4 b. Aug. 15, 1708.
7147. Samuel,4 b. March 31, 1713.
+7148. James,4 b. March 14, 1715-16; m. Hannah Clapp.
+7149. Seth,4 b. April 3, 1719; m. first, Bathsheba Morse; second, Di-
nah -----.
7150. Ebenezer,4 b. May 23, 1722; d. same day.
7151. Peter,4 b. Aug. 20, 1723; d. June 25, 1748.
7128.
BENJAMIN RICHARDSON3 (John,2 John1), brother of the pre-
ceding; born in Medfield, 1693; his birth not on records; mar-
ried ELIZABEH ------. He was baptized Aug. 15, 1697, as the
"son of widow Richardson." He lived in Medway, and died in
1761, aged 68. He was a husbandman. Administration granted,
April, 1761, to his nephew Asa.
POSTERITY OF JOHN RICHARDSON OF MEDFIELD 723
His children were:
+7152. Benjamin,4 b. March 9, 1730. He was one of the appraisers of
his brother Jeremiah's estate, 1797.
7153. Elizabeth,4 b. Dec. 20, 1740; m. William Penniman, of Brain-
tree.
7154. Ezekiel,4 b. April 3, 1744.
7155. Job,4 b. April 15, 1745; m. Eunice ------; settled in Hubbards-
ton. Will dated Sept. 15, 1818, proved May 19, 1831, leaving
property to brothers and sisters. No children.
7156. Jeremiah,4 b. Nov. 25, 1748. He lived in Sutton. Inventory
dated Oct. 3, 1797.
7157. Catharine,4 b. April 9, 1753; m. ------ Partridge, 1762.
Asa Richardson, son of John and Esther, and nephew of Benjamin,
was appointed guardian of Ezekiel, Jesse, and Catharine, children of
the above.
7129.
REBECCA RICHARDSON3 (John,2 John1), sister of the preced-
ing, and youngest child of John2 and Rebecca (Clark) Richard-
son, of Medfield; born there, Feb. 28, 1696-7; married, Aug. 18,
1712, ELEAZAR HILL, son of Eleazar Hill, of Sherborn. They
resided in Sherborn.
Children:
7158. Asa (Hill), b. Feb. 20, 1712-13.
7159. William (Hill), b. June 23, 1715.
7160. Joseph (Hill), b. Aug. 23,1718.
7161. Rebecca ( Hill), b. March 6, 1721-22; m. first Joseph Cozzens,
of Holliston; second, Patrick Shays, Oct. 20, 1765, father (by
a former wife) of Daniel Shays, the leader in the insurrection
of 1786.
7162. Elizabeth (Hill), b. Jan. 30, 1723-4.
7163. Ruth (Hill), b. Feb. 26, 1726-7.
7163.a Daniel (Hill), b. Feb. 22, 1732-3; d. September, 1735.
FOURTH GENERATION.
7131.
JOHN RICHARDSON4 (John,3 John,2 John1), eldest son of John3
and Esther (Breck) Richardson; born in Old Medfield, in the
part that is now Medway, Oct. 22, 1701; married, May 5, 1730,
JEMIMA GAY, born Sept. 20, 1705, daughter of Edward Gay, of
Wrentham, of that part of it which was incorporated as the town
of Franklin March 2, 1778. Edward Gay was born 1666; mar-
ried Rebecca Fisher, March 25, 1688, and died Dec. 23, 1730, aged
64. He had a son bearing his own name.