The Brackett Family of Billerica

 

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NICHOLAS
VINCENT

(prob. b. c. 1500)
m. Agnes Unknown
 
WILLIAM BRACKETT (d. 1575) m. Alice Unknown
 
|
ANDREW
VINCENT

(prob. 1520/30 - 1581)
m. Alice Unknown
 
|
RICHARD BRACKETT (b. prob. c. 1550/4)
THOMAS BLOWER
(d. 1597)
|
SUSAN
VINCENT

(prob b. c. 1560)
Edward Frost m.
Thomasine Belgrave
|
PETER BRACKETT (prob. c. 1585 - 1616) m. Rachel Unknown
|
THOMAS BLOWER (bp. 1587)
|
ALICE FROST (bp. 1594)
|
CAPT. RICHARD BRACKETT (bp. 1610 - 1690)
|
ALICE BLOWER (bp. 1615 - 1690)
|
HANNAH BRACKETT (bp. 1634 - 1706) m. Samuel Kinsley

Generation 1

NICHOLAS VINCENT (prob b. c. 1500)

Parents: Unknown

Nicholas Vincent was probably born in Bilsden, county Suffolk about 1500. [Ref] He signed his will on 12 Nov 1553. [Ref] He married Agnes Unknown. [Ref]

Nicholas was a substantial yeoman farmer in Bilsden. [Ref]

Children of Nicholas Vincent and Agnes Unknown:

  1. Nicholas Vincent was probably born 1520/30. [Ref] He was living in 1553. [Ref]
  2. Andrew Vincent was probably born 1520/30 in Bilsden, county Suffolk. He died between 3 Dec 1581 and 5 Dec 1581. He married Alice Unknown.
  3. Agnes Vincent was born after 1523. [Ref]
  4. Elizabeth Vincent was born after 1523. [Ref]
  5. Alice Vincent was born after 1523. [Ref]

Generation 2

WILLIAM BRACKETT (d. 1575)

Parents: Unknown

William signed his will on 4 May 1575; it was proved on 5 Jul 1575. [Ref] He was buried on 6 May 1575. [Ref] He married Alice Unknown on 11 Sep 1575. [Ref] Alice married Richard Mowlls on 11 Sep 1575. [Ref]

William had brothers George and Thomas. [Ref]

Children of William Brackett and Alice Unknown:

  1. Edmond Brackett was apparently the eldest surviving child. [Ref]
    Edmond had five known children. [Ref]
  2. Richard Brackett was probably born about 1550/4 at Sudbury. He married an unknown first wife. He married second Alice Harper. He married third the widow Greengrasse.
  3. William Brackett was born about 1560. [Ref] He probably died about 1581/2. [Ref] He married Alice Bull. [Ref] She married John Goslen on 29 Aug 1585. [Ref]
    William had a son. [Ref]
  4. Possible Daughter Brackett married Peter Halliwell. [Ref]
  5. Maud Brackett was probably born about 1562. [Ref] She married George Goldyng in 1585/6. [Ref]

ANDREW VINCENT (prob. 1520/30 - 1581)

Parents: Nicholas Vincent and Agnes Unknown [Ref]

Andrew Vincent was probably born 1520/30 in Bilsden, county Suffolk. [Ref] He died between 3 Dec 1581, when he signed his will, and 5 Dec 1581 when he was buried in the churchyard at Bilsden. [Ref] He married Alice Unknown. [Ref]

Children of Andrew Vincent and Alice Unknown:

  1. Andrew Vincent apparently died young. [Ref]
  2. Nicholas Vincent was perhaps born about 1556. [Ref] He married first Susan Unknown. [Ref] She was buried on 26 Aug 1583. [Ref] He married second Agnes (Anne) Unknown. [Ref]
  3. Alice Vincent was probably born about 1558. [Ref] She married first Edmund Reicroft about 1558. [Ref] She married second Erasmus Coree or Carew on 2 Feb 1664/5. [Ref]
  4. Susan Vincent was probably born about 1560. She married as his second wife Thomas Blower.
  5. Bridget Vincent was probably born in 1561/2. [Ref] She was living in 1581. [Ref]
  6. Joan Vincent was baptised in 1563. [Ref] She was buried on 26 Nov 1579 in Bilsden. [Ref]
  7. Mary Vincent was baptised on 13 Jan 1565/6. [Ref] She married Henry Cooe on 27 Feb 1587. [Ref]
  8. Elizabeth Vincent was baptised on 13 Jun 1568. [Ref] She died before 1581. [Ref]

Generation 3

RICHARD BRACKETT (b. prob. c. 1550/4)

Parents: William Brackett and Alice Unknown [Ref]

Richard was probably born about 1550/4 at Sudbury. [Ref] He married an unknown first wife. [Ref] He married second Alice Harper in 1589. [Ref] She died in 1595. [Ref] He married third the widow Greengrasse on 4 Feb 1601/2. [Ref]

Children of Richard Brackett and his unknown first wife:

  1. Richard Brackett was probably born about 1580. [Ref] He married Margerie Weeden on 30 May 1607. [Ref]
  2. Peter Brackett was probably born about 1585 in Sudbury, county Suffolk. He died in 1616. He married Rachel Unknown.
  3. Margerie Brackett was baptised on 17 Feb 1582/3 in St. Peter's. [Ref]

Children of Richard Brackett and Alice Harper:

  1. Robert Brackett was baptised on 30 Sep 1593. [Ref] He was buried on 6 Dec 1598. [Ref]

Children of Richard Brackett and the widow Greengrasse:

  1. Edward Brackett was baptised on 24 Dec 1603. He married Frances Unknown. [Ref]

THOMAS BLOWER (d. 1597)

Parents: Unknown

Thomas Blower died between 28 Sep 1597, when he sighed his will, and 27 Oct 1597, when it was proved. [Ref] He married first Alice Sparpoint in 1575 in Long Melford. [Ref] She died in 1579/81. [Ref] He married second Susan Vincent on 27 Feb 1581/2. [Ref]

Thomas Blower was a tanner of Lavenham, county Suffolk. [Ref]

Children of Thomas Blower and Alice Sparpoint:

  1. Thomas Blower was baptised on 10 Oct 1576 in Stanstead. [Ref] He was buried on 20 Oct 1576. [Ref]
  2. Margaret Blower was baptised on 17 Nov 1577 in Stanstead. [Ref] She was buried on 16 Dec 1577. [Ref]
  3. John Blower was baptised on 1579 in Stanstead. [Ref]
    He is probably the John Blower who was a clergyman. [Ref]

Children of Thomas Blower and Susan Vincent:

  1. Susanna Blower was probably born 1582/5. [Ref] She was living in 1597. [Ref]
  2. Thomas Blower was baptised on 15 Dec 1585 in Stanstead. [Ref] He died young. [Ref]
  3. Thomas Blower was baptised on 23 Apr 1587 in Stanstead. He married Alice Frost.
  4. Caleb Blower was baptised on 7 Jul 11588 in Stanstead. [Ref] He died before 1597. [Ref]
  5. Alice Blower was bapised on 15 Mar 1589/90 in Stanstead. [Ref] She was living in 1597. [Ref]
  6. Rachel Blower was baptised on 25 Feb 1592/3 in Stanstead. [Ref] She was living in 1597. [Ref]
  7. Unknown child Blower was baptised in 1597 in Stanstead. [Ref]

SUSAN VINCENT (b. prob. c. 1560)

Parents: Andrew Vincent and Alice Unknown [Ref]

Susan Vincent was probably born about 1560. [Ref] She married as his second wife Thomas Blower on 27 Feb 1581/2. [Ref]

Generation 4

PETER BRACKETT (prob. c. 1585 - 1616)

Parents: Richard Brackett [Ref]

Peter Brackett was probably born about 1585 in Sudbury, county Suffolk. [Ref] He died in 1616. [Ref] He married Rachel Unknown. [Ref] He signed his will on 18 Aug 1616 and it was proved on 28 Aug 1616. [Ref] He was buried on 28 Aug 1616 in the All Saints Church in Sudbury. [Ref]

Children of Peter Brackett and Rachel Unknown:

  1. Peter Brackett was probably born in late 1608. [Ref] He married Martha Ray on 4 Oct 1632 in Cavendish. [Ref] He married second Priscilla Unknown. [Ref] He married third Mary, the widow of Nathaniel Williams. [Ref]
    Peter went to New England. [Ref]
    some descendants of Peter Brackett
  2. Capt. Richard Brackett was baptised on 16 Sep 1610 in St. Gregory, Sudbury, county Suffolk. He died on 3 Mar 1690, age 80, in Braintree. He married Alice Blower.
  3. Rachel Brackett was baptised on 28 Apr 1614 in the All Saints Church in Sudbury. [Ref]
  4. Jonathan Brackett was baptised on 4 Oct 1616. [Ref]

THOMAS BLOWER

Parents: Thomas Blower and Susan Vincent [Ref]

Thomas was baptised on 23 Apr 1587. [Ref] He married Alice Frost. [Ref]

Thomas sailed on the Truelove, arriving in Boston in Nov 1635. [Ref]

Children of Thomas Blower and Alice Frost:

  1. Alice Blower was baptised on 30 Jun 1615 in St. Gregory, Sudbury. She died on 3 Nov 1690, age 76, in Braintree. She married Richard Brackett. [Ref]
  2. John Blower signed his will on 9 Sep 1675. [Ref] He married Tabitha Unknown. [Ref]
  3. Pyam Blower died on 1 Jun 1709, age 71. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Andrew Belcher, on 31 Mar 1668 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She died on 29 May 1709, age 69. [Ref]

ALICE FROST (bp. 1594)

Parents: Edward Frost and Thomasine Belgrave [Ref]

Alice Frost was baptised on 1 Dec 1594 in Stanstead. [Ref] She married Thomas Blower. [Ref]

Generation 5

CAPT. RICHARD BRACKETT (bp. 1610 - 1690)

Parents: Peter Brackett and Rachel Unknown [Ref]

Richard Brackett was baptised on 16 Sep 1610 in St. Gregory, Sudbury, county Suffolk. [Ref] Capt. Richard Brackett died on 3 Mar 1690, age 80, in Braintree. [Ref] He married Alice Blower on 6 Jan 1633/4 in St. Katherine by the Tower, London. [Ref]

Richard signed his will in 1688/9. [Ref, 157; 201]

Children of Richard Brackett and Alice Unknown:

  1. Hannah Brackett was baptised on 4 Nov 1634. She died on 3 Jul 1706. She married first Samuel Kinsley. She married second John Blanchard.
  2. Peter Brackett (twin) was baptised on 7 May 1637 in Boston. [Ref, p. 205] He married first Elizabeth Bosworth on 7 Aug 1661 in Braintree. [Ref][Ref, p. 205] She died in 1686. [Ref, 157; 201] He married second Sarah Foster, widow of Cambridge, on 30 Mar 1687 in Billerica. [Ref, p. 205] She married first Unknown Parker. [Ref, 157; 201] Sarah, the widow of Peter, died in 1718. [Ref, 157; 201]
    some descendants of Peter Brackett
  3. John Brackett (twin) died in 1686. [Ref, 157; 200] He married Hannah French on 7 Aug 1661 in Braintree. [Ref] She died in 1674. [Ref, 157; 200]
    some descendants of John Brackett
  4. Dea. Josiah Brackett was born on 8 May 1652 in Braintree. [Ref][Ref, baptised, p. 121][Ref, 157; 201] He died before 14 Jan 1681/2, when inventory on his estate was taken. [Ref, 157; 201] He married Elizabeth Waldo on 4 Feb 1672/3 [Ref, p. 121] in Billerica. [Ref, 157; 201] Elizabeth was the daughter of Cornelius [Ref, p. 121] and Hannah (Cogswell) Waldo of Chelmsford. [Ref, 157; 201] She was born about 1648/51, probably in Ipswich. [Ref, 157; 203] She died on 6 Nov 1742, age 94, in Bristol. [Ref, 157; 203] It is possible that Elizabeth married second Unknown Parris. [Ref, 157; 204] She married, possibly third, Thomas Walker, supposedly on 4 Nov 1684. [Ref, 157; 204] Thomas was born about 1645/5 and died on 7 Aug 1724 in Bristol. [Ref, 157; 205]
    Josiah was deacon of the Chelmsford church. [Ref, p. 121] He is said to be an early settler of Billerica but to have left the town about 1675 when it was threatened by the Indians. [Ref, 157; 204] He apparently returned to Braintree. [Ref, 157; 204] In 1677 Josiah and six other men who had left were ordered by the General Court to pay their war tax at Billerica. [Ref, 157; 204]
    Elizabeth, the wife of Josiah, was dismissed from the Chelmsford church on 12 Nov 1676 and admitted to full communion in the Braintree church on 31 Dec 1676. [Ref, 157; 204] Mrs. Walker was received into the Bristol church before 25 Jun 1695. [Ref, 157; 204]
    some descendants of Josiah Brackett
  5. James Brackett (conjectured son) died on 8 Apr 1718 in Braintree. [Ref] He married Sarah Unknown. She died on 6 Oct 1727, age 77, in Braintree. [Ref]
    some descendants of James Brackett

 

ALICE BLOWER (bp. 1615)

Parents: Thomas Blower and Alice Frost [Ref]

Alice Blower was baptised on 30 Jun 1615 in St. Gregory, Sudbury. She died on 3 Nov 1690, age 76, in Braintree. [Ref] She married Richard Brackett on 6 Jan 1633/4 in St. Katherine by the Tower, London. [Ref]

Generation 6

HANNAH BRACKETT (bp. 1634 - 1706)

Parents: Capt. Richard Brackett and Alice Unknown [Ref]

Hannah Brackett was baptised on 4 Nov 1634. [Ref] She died on 3 Jul 1706. [Ref] She married first Samuel Kinsley. [Ref] He died on 21 May 1662 in Billerica. [Ref] She married second, as his second wife, John, son of Joseph Blanchard, of Dunstable in about 1663, probably in Charlestown. [Ref] John died in 1693 in Dunstable. [Ref] John married first Elizabeth, the daughter of Joseph and Rose (Clark) Hills about 1658. [Ref] Elizabeth was baptised on 21 Oct 1627 in Great Burstead, Billerica, England. [Ref] She died about 1662. [Ref]

Hannah was killed by Indians, along with her daughter Elizabeth Kinsley Cummings, her son Nathaniel and his wife and daughter. [Ref]

Children of Hannah Brackett and John Blanchard:

  1. Joseph Blanchard was born about 1664, probably in Charlestown. [Ref] He died on 18 Mar 1669. [Ref]
    "Joseph Blancher, aged about five years, son of John Blancher of Chelmsford, fell backward into a kettle of hot lye as it stood in a corner of the chimney, the seventeenth of March last, and departed this life the night following." [Ref, from the coroner's inquest]
  2. Josiah Blanchard (twin) was born on 115 Mar 1665 and died young. [Ref]
  3. Benjamin Blanchard (twin) was born on 15 Mar 1665 and died young. [Ref]
  4. James Blanchard was born on 10 Mar 1666 in Chelmsford. [Ref] He died of exposure on 8 Feb 1704 while a member of the first snowshoe expedition to Lake Winnepesaukee. [Ref] He married Anna, the daughter of Nathaniel and Hannah (Parker) Blood, on 1 Mar 1671. [Ref] Anna was born on 1 Mar 1671. [Ref] She was the granddaughter of Abraham Parker.
  5. Thomas Blanchard was born about 1668. [Ref] He died on 9 Mar 1727 in Dunstable. [Ref] He married first Tabitha Lepingwell on 13 Feb 1689 in Woburn. [Ref] She was born on 8 May 1661 in Woburn and died on 29 Nov 1696. [Ref] He married second Ruth, the daughter of Pelatiah Adams on 4 Oct 1698 in Dunstable. [Ref]
  6. Sarah Blanchard was born about 1670 in Chelmsford. [Ref] She married Robert, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Usher, on 23 Jan 1694. [Ref] Robert was born about 1662 and died before 1710. [Ref]
  7. Joseph Blanchard was born on 1 Nov 1672. [Ref]
  8. Nathaniel Blanchard (twin) was born on 23 Sep 1674 in Chelmsford. [Ref] He was killed by Indians on 3 Jul 1706. [Ref] He married Lydia Unknown. [Ref] She was killed by Indians, along with her husband, his mother, his half sister and their daughter on 3 Jul 1706. [Ref]
  9. Mary Blanchard (twin) was born on 23 Sep 1674 in Chelmsford. [Ref] She married first John Darbyshire. [Ref] He died before 1725. [Ref] She married second, as his fourth wife, Nathaniel, the son of Samuel and Alice (Rushton) Woods on 14 Sep 1725. [Ref] Nathaniel was born on 25 Mar 1667 in Groton and died on 20 Jun 1738. [Ref]
  10. Martha Blanchard died on 16 Nov 1676 in Chelmsford. [Ref]
  11. Daughter Blanchard was born on 30 Nov 1678. [Ref] She died between 1678 and 1680 in Chelmsford. [Ref]

References

Brackett, Herbert Ierson, Brackett Genealogy: Descendants of Anthony Brackett of Portsmouth and Captain Richard Brackett of Braintree with biographies of the immigrant fathers, their sons, and others of their posterity, Washington, DC, H.I. Brackett, 1907.

Hartman, J. Crawford, "Joseph Blanchard of Boston, Mass., and some of his Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 93, 1939, 162-170.

Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850. Online Database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2007.

Saxbe, William B. Jr., "Elizabeth (Waldo) (Brackett) (Parris?) Walker of Ipswich, Chelmsford, Billerica, Braintree, and Bristol, Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 157, 2003, 199-208.

Threlfall, John Brooks, "The English Ancestry of Richard and Alice (Blower) Brackett of Braintree," The American Genealogist 52, 1976, 65-75.