Benjamin Atherton (1701 - 1786)

Born 19 Apr 1701 in Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Eunice (Priest) Atherton — married 23 Mar 1727 in Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 15 Apr 1786 at age 84 in Bolton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Bob McDonald [send private message]

This profile is part of the Atherton Name Study.

Biography

BIRTH:

BENJAMIN ATHERTON was born to James & Abigail Hudson Atherton on 9 May 1701 in Massachusetts.^[1]

MARRIAGE:

Benjamin Atherton married EUNICE PRIEST, the daughter of Daniel & Elizabeth Boltwood Priest.^[1] They were married on March 23, 1727 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. ^[2]

ISSUE:

1. Jonathon Atherton ( b. June 14, 1729; married Ruth)

2. Elizabeth "Bettey" Atherton (b. Oct. 8, 1731; married Peter Atherton, Jr on May 26, 1756 in Harvard, Massachusetts.)

3. Eunice Atherton (b. Nov. 28, 1733; married Peter Snow, Jr in Worcester Co., Massachusetts )

4. Relief Atherton (b. May 29, 1736; married Ezra Hudson on July 23, 1764 in Petersham, Massachusetts)

5. Abigail Atherton (b. Feb 24, 1740; married first to Nathaniel Holzman on Feb 13, 1792 in Bolton, Worcester, Massachusetts; married second to Levi Houghton on September 23, 1813 in Lunenberg, Massachusetts)

6. Silence Atherton (b. June 12, 1745; married to Benjamin Gould on 8 Jul 1767 in Bolton, Worcester, Massachusetts)

7. Benjamin Atherton, Jr. (b. Aug 26, 1747) [unsure: married Lucretia? died 1826?]

8. Mary Atherton (b. Oct 3, 1749; married to Ephraim Munrow on Jan 12, 1778 in Lancaster, Massachusetts)

DEATH:

Capt. Benjamin Atherton died on 15 April 1786^[3] Æ 84y 11m 26d at Bolton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States and was buried at Old South Burying Ground, Bolton, Worcester County, Massachusetts. His memorial has a photo of his headstone and links to those of family members.^[1]

Children: ^[4]

1. Jonathan Atherton b. June 14, 1729
2. Bettey Atherton b. Oct. 8, 1731
3. Eunice Atherton b. Nov. 28, 1733

PROBATE:

Hon. Judge Joseph Dorr, Esq. prosiding over the probate of CAPT. BENJAMIN ATHERTON of Bolton, Massachusetts; dated May 16. 1786

Widow Eunice Atherton appointed Simon Houghton to be the administrator of the estate.

April 20, 1786: In a letter to the Judge, the widow Eunice Atherton cautioned the Judge that she suspects that her son, Jonathon Atherton, intends to take administration of her deceased husband's estate. She asks the Judge to not grant it to him due to her "sufficient reasons against it."

Inventory appraisors: John Whitney, Jonathon Houghton, and Phinogan Warner. Items inventoried were typical for the time with the items of greater worth being a "great coat", the "first" and "second" bed and bedding, a cow and calf, "notes of hand with interest thereon", and "desperate notes", all totaling £ 34.12.8.

Probate inventory completed and signed on May 16, 1786, by executors Simon Houghton (administrator), Nathaniel Holzman, and John Whitney of Bolton in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for 6,000 pounds in the presence of Jedediah Bailey and Theophilus Wheeler (sp?) to be delivered by Simon Houghton at the widow's recommendation.

Source

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} MEMORIAL ID 31501005 Capt Benjamin Atherton
2. ↑ Lancaster - Marriages - Massachusetts Vital Records
3. ↑ Bolton - Deaths Image of page 193
4. ↑ Lancaster Births

• MA Town & Vital Records, 1620-1988

• Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Estate Files; Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Worcester County); Slides 477-490 sourced from Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:Massachusetts County, District and Probate Courts.

• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPCC-MWKP : 31 October 2019), Ephraim Munrow and Mary Atherton, 12 Jan 1778; citing Marriage, Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007011279.

• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH95-FQD : 24 January 2020), Levi Houghton, 1813.

• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZKR-383 : 15 January 2020), Benjamin Atherton in entry for Releaf Atherton, 1736.

• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH7H-893 : 24 January 2020), Relief Atherton in entry for Ezra Hudson, 1764.

• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH7D-FJJ : 24 January 2020), Betty Atherton in entry for Peter Atherton, Jr., 1756.

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of McDonald Family Tree.ged on 02 December 2010.