The HOUGHTON Family of Lancaster, Worcestor, MA

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John Houghton 1 was the father of John Houghton 2, who was the father of John Houghton 3, who was the father of Jonathan Houghton, who was the father of Azuban Hougthon.

AZUBAH HOUGHTON

Parents: Jonathan Houghton and Thankful White

Azubah Houghton married Israel Whitcomb.

JOHN HOUGHTON 3 (abt 1650 - 1737) of Lancaster

Parents: John Houghton 2 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.] He married Mary Farrar on 22 (11) 1671 in Lancaster. [Ref] 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 1. [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. Jonathan Houghton was born on 20 Feb 1685 in Lancaster. He married Thankful White.
  2. John Houghton was born 13 (12) 1673 in Lancaster. [Ref] On 15 Nov 1704 John Houghton, Jr., Thomas Wilder and Jonas Houghton petitioned for assistance for Lancaster. [Ref]

JOHN HOUGHTON 2 (d. 1684) of Lancaster

Parents: John Houghton 1 and Damaris Buckmaster

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] 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]
  2. John Houghton 3 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]
  4. Jonas Houghton married Mary Berbeane of Woburn on 15 Feb 1681. [Ref]
  5. Beatrix Houghton was born on 3 (10) 1665 in Lancaster. [Ref] She married John Pope of Lancaster on 20 Sep 1683 in Lancaster. [Ref]
  6. Benjamin Houghton was born on 25 May 1668 in Lancaster. [Ref]
  7. Sarah Houghton was born on 30 (5) 1672 in Lancaster. [Ref]

JOHN HOUGHTON 1

Parents: Unknown

John Houghton married Damaris Buckmaster.

Children of John Houghton and Damaris Buckmaster:

  1. John Houghton 2 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] 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] 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] Ralph and Jane had the following children, all but the first two born in Lancaster: Ralph, James, Mary (11 (4) 1653), John (28 (2) 1655 - Oct 1679 Charlestown), Joseph (1 (5) 1657), Experience (1 (8) 1659), Sarah (17 (12) 1661), Abigail (15 (5) 1664), Hannah (16 Oct 1667 - Oct 1679 Charlestown). [Ref]

JONATHAN HOUGHTON (b. 1685)

Parents: John Houghton 3 and Mary Farrar

Jonathan Houghton was born on 20 Feb 1685 in Lancaster. [Ref] He married Thankful White.

Children of Jonathan Houghton and Thankful White:

  1. Azubah Houghton married Israel Whitcomb.

References:

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

No Author, The Birth, Mmarriage, and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts: 1643-1850, Lancaster, Mass., unknown, 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.

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