The HOUGHTON Family of Lancaster

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First Generation

JOHN HOUGHTON

Parents: Unknown

John Houghton married Damaris Buckmaster.

This is unproven. John may not be related to Ralph.

Children of John Houghton and Damaris Buckmaster:

1. John Houghton died on 29 Apr 1684. He married Beatrix Unknown
2. Ralph Houghton was born about 1624. He died after 1692. [Ref] He married Jane Unknown. [Ref] He was an original proprietor of the town of Lancaster in 1652. [Ref, pp. 30-31] He was one of the 13 inhabitants of Lancaster who signed an agreement with John Prescott for the building of the first corn mill in Lancaster. [Ref] On 30 (9) 1653 lots were laid out in Lancaster. Some of the original inhabitants received 20-acre lots upon the neck lying between the North River and the Penacuck River. Ralph received the third of these lots, his property lying between Richard Linton's and Robert Breck's. [Ref, p. 35] After the original division of land in Lancaster, further divisions were contingent on estate size. In 1654 estates were valued and Ralph's - at about £264 - was the eighth largest of the 30 eligible inhabitants. [Ref] He was given about 11 acres of meadow in 1654. [Ref] At a town meeting on 1 (9) 1654, it was agreed to limit the town to 35 families and 25 men were listed as townsman, one of whom was Ralph. [Ref] At a 25 (4) 1655 town meeting it was agreed that Ralph would be one of four surveyors for the allocation of meadow land. [Ref] Ralph was one of four people chosen to lay out the highway between Concord and Lancaster; the committee made a report on 25 Apr 1656. [Ref] On 24 (8) 1656 Ralph was chosen Clerk of the Writs. [Ref] In 1659 Ralph was the surveyor for the second division of meadow; he was to be paid about three or four acres if he finished the work by 24 Jun. [Ref] He received the second lot in the second division of meadow. [Ref] On 2 (12) 1663 Ralph was part of a three-person committee to resolve a property dispute in Lancaster. [Ref] On 2 (12) 1663 Ralph was chosen to be town clerk for the year and he was to be paid £2 18 s. [Ref] On 26 (9) 1664 he was given liberty to lay down an acre of meadow. [Ref] He was a freeman in 1668. [Ref] He deposed that he was 47 in 1671. [Ref] He was deputy in 1673 and 1689. [Ref]
   some descendants of Ralph Houghton

Second Generation

John Houghton died on 29 Apr 1684. [Ref] His headstone in Lancaster says, 'JOHN / HOUGHTON / DECEASED / APRIL / 29 DAY / 1684'. [Ref] He married Beatrix Unknown. [Ref]

A John Houghton, age 4, is the only entrant on a 20 Jun 1635 list of passengers to be transported to New England on the Abigail. [Ref]

John was an early inhabitant of Lancaster, signing the town covenant on 24 (7) 1653. [Ref, pp. 30-31] He received the 18th lot in the second division of meadow on 5 Feb 1659. [Ref] On 1 (12) 1663 John Houghton, who had been given one and a half home lots, was given permission to lay down another half. [Ref] On 30 (12) 1666 John was given the right to take timber from the commons for his trade use. [Ref] On 7/8 (12) 1670 John was granted 20 acres of second division land to lay down a highway. [Ref]

The family sought refuge in Charlestown after the massacre. [Ref]

On Mar 1675/6, John Houghton, Sr. was one of the inhabitants of Lancaster who petitioned the government for assistance. [Ref][Ref]

Children of John Houghton and Beatrix Unknown, mentioned in John's will [Ref]:

1. Mary Houghton married Thomas Wilder on 25 Jun 1668 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 13]
2. John Houghton was born about 1650. He died on 3 Feb 1736/7, age 87. He married first Mary Farrar. He married second Hannah Wilder.
3. Robert Houghton was born in 1658. [Ref] According to his tombstone in the Old Common Burial Ground in Lancaster, he died on 7 Nov 1723, age 65. [Ref, p. 413] He married Esther Unknown. According to her tombtone, also in the Old Common Burial Ground, she died on 13 Jan 1740/1, age 82. [Ref, p. 412]
   some descendants of Robert Houghton
4. Jonas Houghton married Mary Berbeane of Woburn on 15 Feb 1681. [Ref][Ref, p. 15]
   Jonas was an early member of the First Church of Lancaster. [Ref, p. 270]
   some descendants of Jonas Houghton
   
5. Beatrix Houghton was born on 3 (10) 1665 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 11, d. John and Beatrix] She married John Pope of Lancaster on 20 Sep 1683 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 14]
   some descendants of Beatrix Houghton
6. Benjamin Houghton was born on 25 May 1668 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 12, s. John and Beatrix]
7. Sarah Houghton was born on 30 (5) 1672 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 14, d. John and Beatrix]

Third Generation

JOHN HOUGHTON (abt 1650 - 1737) of Lancaster

Parents: John Houghton and Beatrix Unknown

John Houghton was born about 1650. [Ref] John Houghton, Esq. died on 3 Feb 1736/7, age 87 [Ref cites the Boston Evening Post, 14 Feb 1737.] and is buried in the Old Common Burial Ground in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 404] He married Mary Farrar on 22 (11) 1671 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 14, does not give her first name] She died on 7 Apr 1724 and he married second Hannah Wilder, age 72, on 27 Jan 1725. [Ref]

On Mar 1675/6, John Houghton, Jr. was one of the inhabitants of Lancaster who petitioned the government for assistance. [Ref] On 7 Apr 1683 he was on a jury of inquest investigating the untimely death of John, son of John Whitcomb. [Ref] John was town clerk almost every year between 1685 and 1724. [Ref] He frequently represented the town in the legislature. [Ref] He was on a committee to lay out a highway to Concord in 1691. [Ref] He wrote a petition for assistance on behalf of the inhabitants of Lancaster on 3 Mar 1693/4. [Ref] In 1700 John bought all of the Farrar lands in Lancaster. [Ref] On 20 Apr 1704 he and Capt. Thomas Wilder commanded a garrison in Lancaster; also in the garrison were his widowed sister Beatrix Pope, his son John, Gamaliel Beaman and his son John, Jeremiah Wilson and James Butler. [Ref] On 31 Jul 1704 John lost three swine and a house belonging to him and his wife's son Philip was burned in an Indian attack. [Ref] On 25 Oct 1704 John and Jonas Houghton petitioned for tax relief for Lancaster. [Ref]

John was the most prominent man in Lancaster. [Ref]

Children of John Houghton and Mary Farrar:

1. John Houghton was born 13 (12) 1672/3 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 14, s. John and Mary]
   On 15 Nov 1704 John Houghton, Jr., Thomas Wilder and Jonas Houghton petitioned for assistance for Lancaster. [Ref]
2. Jacob Houghton was born on 17 (2) 1674 in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 14, s. John and Mary] He married Rebecca Whitcomb. [Ref, p. 397]
   some descendants of Jacob Houghton
3. Mary Houghton was born in 1680 in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 114] She died in 1754. [Ref, p. 114] She married William Sawyer of Lancaster in 1700. [Ref, p. 114] William was the son of Thomas Sawyer and grandson of Thomas Sawyer. [Ref, p. 114]
   some descendants of Mary Houghton
4. Anna Houghton was born on 8 May 1684 in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 15, d. John and Mary]
5. Jonathan Houghton was born on 20 Feb 1685 in Lancaster. He died on 8 Apr 1737. He married Thankful White.

Who was William Houghton of Lancaster who married Experience Unknown? She married second as his second wife Timothy Sabin. Timothy married first Martha Johnson.

Fourth Generation

JONATHAN HOUGHTON (1685 - 1737) of Lancaster

Parents: John Houghton and Mary Farrar [Ref, p. 37]

Jonathan Houghton was born on 20 Feb 1685 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref][Ref, p. 15, s. John and Mary][Ref, p. 37] He died on 8 Apr 1737. [Ref][Ref, p. 37] He married Thankful White. [Ref]

Jonathan was an early member of the First Church of Lancaster. [Ref, p. 270] He was town clerk from 1726 to 1728 and from 1730 until his death. [Ref, p. 37] He was the representative from Lancaster in 1732. [Ref, p. 37]

Jonathan signed his will on 7 Apr 1737. [Ref] He names his beloved wife Thankful; his eldest son Jonathan; his second son Rufus; his two eldest daughters, Thankful Whitcomb and Mary Sawyer; his five younger daughters, Keziah, Azubah, Axa, Zerish and Epha. [Ref]

Children of Jonathan Houghton and Thankful White:

1. Thankful Houghton was born on 3 Mar 1713/4 in Lancaster. Thankful Houghton married Simon Whitcomb on 12 Jul 1733. [Ref]
2. Mary Houghton was born on 19 Sep 1715 in Lancaster. [Ref] She married Nathaniel Sawyer. [Ref]
3. Keziah Houghton was born on 31 May 1717 in Lancaster. [Ref]
4. Jonathan Houghton was born on 28 Mar 1719 in Lancaster. [Ref] He married Sarah Houghton in 1746. [Ref] He was a yeoman of Leominster.
5. Azubah Houghton was born on 20 Nov 1720 in Lancaster. She married Israel Whitcomb.
6. Pyrha was born on 17 Aug 1721 in Lancaster. [Ref]
7. Rufus Houghton was born on 9 Nov 1722 in Lancaster. [Ref] He was a yeoman of Leominster.
8. Achsah Houghton was born on 16 Jan 1724/5 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref] She married Ephraim Fairbank. [Ref] Ephraim was born about 1725 in Lancaster and died on 18 Nov 1799 in Bolton. [Ref]
9. Ephah Houghton was born on 26 Jun 1727 in Lancaster. [Ref] She died on 27 Sep 1729. [Ref]
10. Zerviah Houghton was born on 18 Feb 1728/9 in Lancaster. [Ref] She married Samuel Moore.

Fifth Generation

AZUBAH HOUGHTON (b. 1720)

Parents: Jonathan Houghton and Thankful White

Azubah Houghton was born on 20 Nov 1720 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref] She married Israel Whitcomb on 8 May 1738 [Ref] in Lancaster. [Ref]

On 14 Jul 1747 Jonathan Houghton and Rufus Houghton of Leominster, yeoman; Simon Whitcomb, yeoman, and his wife Thankful; Jonathan Whitcomb and his wife Azubah; Keziah Houghton, a single woman; Ephraim Fairbanks and his wife Achsah; Samuel Moore and his wife Zerviah; Ephah Houghton, a single woman; Nathaniel Sawyer and Mary his wife, in return for £100, deeded to Zephaniah William all their rights to the estate of their uncle Houghton, late of Lancaster, deceased. [Ref]

References

Houghton, John W., The Houghton Genealogy: the descendants of Ralph and John Houghton of Lancaster, Massachusetts, New York, Frederick H. Hitchcock, 1912.

Lowell, D. O. S., A Munsey-Hopkins Genealogy: Being the ancestry of Andrew Chauncey Munsey and Mary Jane Merritt Hopkins, the parents of Frank A. Munsey, his brother and sisters, Boston, privately printed, 1920.

A Member of the NEHGS, "Memoir of the Farrar Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 6, 1852, 313-.

Nourse, Henry S., The Birth, Marriage, and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts: 1643-1850, Clinton, MA., W. J. Coulter, 1890.

Nourse, Henry S., Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643-1725, Clinton, W. J. Coulter, 1884, Online: Worcester County Archives, http://www.rootsweb.com/~maworces/wo-gen.htm.

Peach, Joy F., "The Real Wife of Ephraim Fairbank of Lancaster and Bolton, Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 160, 2006, 313-4.

Whitcomb, Charlotte, The Whitcomb Family in America: A biographical genealogy with a chapter on our English forbears "by the name of Whetcombe", Minneapolis, C. Whitcomb?, c1904.

Ward, Andrew, "Lancaster Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 16, 1862, 352-359; 17, 1863, 70-.

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