John Houghton (abt. 1650 - 1737)

Born about 1650 in England or Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (Farrar) Houghton — married 22 Jan 1671 in Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Husband of Hannah (Atherton) Houghton — married 27 Jan 1725 in Lancaster, Worcester, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 3 Feb 1737 at about age 87 in Lancaster, Worcester, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

"John Houghton, Jr. and Mary Farrar” were married in Lancaster, Massachusetts on November 22, 1671 (11,22,1671).^[1]

John's wife Mary died April 7, 1724. At the age of 75 John married Hannah Wilder, then 72. The children of John Houghton, Jr. and Mary Farrar are listed as^[2]:

1. Lieut. John, born 12, 13, 1672 Lancaster, Mass; d. 4, 5, 1724, married and left two daughters, one of who married a Mr. Trowbridge of Groton, Mass.
2. Jacob, born 2, 17, 1674; d. 1752; married 12, 16, 1704 Rebecca Whitcomb, born 1671; died 1752. The wife survived him though she died the same year. He was the first town clerk of Bolton.
3. Henry, b 2, 23, 1675; died 12, 17, 1756; married 1, 2, 1700 Abigail Barron of Watertown, Mass., born 11, 14, 1676. Res. Woburn, Mass.
4. Joseph, b 2, 26, 1678
5. Benjamin, b. 2, 26,1678
6. Mary, b. 6, 18, 1668
7. Mercy, b. 1682
8. Anna, b. 5, 8, 1684; died 4,3,1771; married John Priest, of Lancaster, Mass.
9. Jonathan, b. 2, 20, 1885 [1685? -- apparent misprint in book]; died 4, 3, 1737; married 11, 6, 1712, Thankful White, born 3, 27, 1689. Daughter of Mary Rice White. He was the first County Treasurer of Worcester, Mass., and settled in the homestead on the Common near his father.
10. Hepsibeth [married Joseph Brabrook about 1713]
11. Rebecca, married 11, 17, 1726 Joseph Moore. They were married by John Houghton, Esquire.
12. Beatrix
13. William, b. 1695, died 7, 15, 1745; married 6, 4, 1724, Experience Houghton. Res. Lancaster.

Note: The 1912 genealogy lists his children numbered i to xiv, but number iv is missing. (This is most likely just a misprint, as is the date of 1885 for Jonathan's birth)

After the war with the Indians in 1675, John and Mary, along with her parents, moved temporarily to Woburn, Massachusetts. In 1700 John bought the property his father-in-law had owned (in Lancaster?). He also inherited property in Lancaster from his father. John became a leader in Lancaster, serving as magistrate and as delegate to the general court. He was an expert at preparing legal papers. In 1704 he was in command of a garrison on the east side of the Nashua River in Lancaster.

John and his brother Jonas petitioned for aid after the town of Lancaster was raided by Indians in 1704.

John was town clerk of Lancaster from about 1686 to 1725.

John Houghton was a member of the First Church of Lancaster in 1708, apparently one of only eight male members.

On 5 May 1718, John deeded land to the heirs of his late son Joseph Houghton,^[3]

John was blind the last 12 years of his life.

John was buried in the Old Burial Ground, Lancaster, Massachusetts^[4]

Probate

His inventory was taken on 24 January 1737/38 in Lancaster.^[5]

In 1740, an account of his estate by his son Jacob Houghton was recorded which included the inventory sold, debts paid, funeral for his wife, his funeral charges, and administration fees.^[6]

In 1746, an estate settlement agreement was signed by the heirs, Jacob Houghton, William Sawyer, Benjamin Houghton, Caleb Trowbridge, Bethseda Brabrook, Henry Houghton, John Priest, David Wilder, and Samuel Whitcomb.^[7]

Notes

Henry Houghton, born 23 February 1676; died 17 December 1756.

Abigail Barrow, born 30 May 1680; died 1711. (is Abigail Henry's wife?)

Research Notes

Establishing a connection between Hepsibeth, daughter of Justice John Houghton, and Hepsibeth Brabrook, wife of JosephBrabrook:

In a deed dated January 4, 1733 a John Houghton gave his youngest daughter Hepsibeth and her husband Joseph Brabrook several parcels of land in Lancaster: "I John Houghton of Lancaster in the County of Worcester in his majesties province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Esq for love good will I bear unto my Son in Law Joseph Braybrook and Hepsibah Brabrook my youngest daughter Wife of the said Joseph Braybrook both of Brookfield in the County and province aforesaid..." The deed also mentions "...Some Lands I have Given to my son Wm Houghton..." ^[8]

The writer of the deed and father of Hepsibeth appears to be Justice John Houghton. Lieutenant John Houghton, the first son of Justice John Houghton, is old enough to be the father of Hepsibeth, and he has two daughters, only one of which John W, Houghton's book has identified. The writer of the deed also mentions that he has a son Wm Houghton. If Lieut. John Houghton had no sons as the book suggests, it is further evidence that the writer of the deed is Justice John Houghton and that he is the father of Hepsibeth who married Joseph Brabrook.

Sources

1. ↑ Annals of Lancaster in The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725 edited by Henry S. Nourse, Published 1884, digitized by Google [1]
2. ↑ The Houghton genealogy : the descendants of Ralph and John Houghton of Lancaster, Massachusetts; with an introduction giving the Houghton families in England from the time of William the Conqueror, 1065, to Lord Henry Bold Houghton, 1848" by John W. Houghton, Digitizing sponsor Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center [2]
3. ↑ Middlesex, MA, Deeds, v.25, p.429
4. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=41845343
5. ↑ "Probate records v. 1 1731-1739, 1778-1814, 1863-1870" database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9Y5-BDJQ  : 9 February 2024), Film# 00774407, Worcester, Massachusetts, image 242, Vol 1, Page 439.
6. ↑ "Probate records v. 2 1739-1748, 1790-1827" database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YY-KFC6 : 9 February 2024), Film# 007704427, Worcester, Massachusetts, image 25, Vol 2, Page 10-11.
7. ↑ "Probate records v. 2 1739-1748, 1790-1827" database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YY-KX1Q : 12 March 2024), Film# 007704427, Worcester, Massachusetts, image 327, Vol 2, Page 595-596.
8. ↑ Deed filed by John Houghton in 1733/4, copy obtained from the Worcester, Massachusetts County Courthouse.

See Also

• Burr, Annie Lane, and Gage, Thomas Hovey. John Houghton of Lancaster, Mass. and Some of His Descendants. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 79 (1925), pages 392ff.
• American Marriages Before 1699. Original data: Clemens, William Montgomery. Pompton Lakes, NJ, USA: Biblio Co., 1926. Ancestry.com online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997. Repository R-1992163608 http://www.Ancestry.com.
• American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI). Original data - Godfrey Memorial Library. Middletown, CT, USA: online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

• Vella, Charles J., Houghton Surname Project, 2023: https://www.houghtonsurnameproject.com/g0/p48.htm#i1438

• Family Data Collection - Individual Records. Edmund West, comp. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
• Ancestry Family Trees online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com.
• Ancestral File Number: 3HQ4-3G
• Lancaster vital records
• Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records,1620-1988. Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Provo, UT, USA
• Middlesex County, Massachusetts Probate Index, 1648-1870. Flint, James, comp Note Index to the Probate Records of the County of Middlesex, Massachusetts. Cambridge, MA, USA: 1912. Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2000. Provo, UT, USA
• U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-CurrentAuthorAncestry.comPublisherAncestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher Date2012. Publisher Location Provo, UT, USA
• Jacobus, Donald Lines. An American Family, Botsford-Marble Ancestral Lines (Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, Connecticut, 1933) Page 241
• Massachusetts http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=b4ad7b3f-a493-4405-907e-12b8da37675a&tid=24279608&pid=1685596721
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCSH-V4H : 28 September 2017), John Houghton and Mary, 22 Nov 1671; citing Marriage, Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 892,249.
• Davis, Mavis F., Research on the French Family of West Hartland, Connecticut, Including the Wilder and Tiffany Families, Connecticut Nutmegger (Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Glastonbury, Conn., July 2016) Vol. 49, No. 1, Page 61.