John Lamb (abt. 1642 - 1704)

Born about 1642 in Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (French) Lamb — married about 1677 in Braintree, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England

Descendants

Died 10 Jan 1704 at about age 62 in Stonington, New London County, Connecticut Colony, New England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Susan Anderson [send private message]

Biography

John Lamb was born in about 1742, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Since his family moved there from Waterton, Middlesex County, at some point in the 1640s, and since his later history as an adult began in Braintree, Suffolk County, he may have been born there or in Watertown. He was most probably the son of Edward Lamb and his wife, Margaret (---).^[1]

John married Mary French, the widow of Samuel Poole,^[2] in Braintree by November of 1677, when their eldest child was born. They ultimately registered the births and baptisms of six children in Braintree:^[3][4][5]

1. John Lamb (b. 5 Nov 1677;^[6] bp. 15 Sep 1685)^[7]
2. Margaret Lamb (b. 26 Feb 1678/9;^[8] bp. 15 Sep 1685)^[9]
3. Mary Lamb (twin, b. 15 Oct 1680;^[10][11] bp. 15 Sep 1685)^[12]
4. Grace Lamb (twin, b. 15 Oct 1680;^[13] bp. 15 Sep 1685)^[14]
5. Hannah Lamb (b. 19 Oct 1683;^[15] bp. 15 Sep 1685)^[16]
6. Samuel Lamb (b. 17 Feb 1686/7;^[17] bp. 17 Feb 1687;^[18] d. before 12 May 1703)^[19]

Mary (French) Poole Lamb died in Braintree between 17 Feb 1687, when her youngest child was born and (probably) September of 1689, given the birth of John's eldest child with his second wife in June of 1790, also in Braintree. An undated memorandum attached to the marriage contract (dated 8 Jul 1683) of John French (deceased) and Eleanor (---) Veazie lists Mary Lamb, his daughter, as deceased, with her children as heirs to their grandfather's estate, for which John French, son of the deceased John French, and his brother Dependence had been named administrators: "... children of Mary Lamb dec'd are Mary Poole, Aliis [sic] Thayer by her first husband Poole & John Lamb Samuell Lamb Margarett Lamb, Mary Lamb, Grace Lamb, Hannah Lamb...."^[20]

John remarried in Braintree, probably by the end of 1689 but certainly by June of 1790. His second wife was Lidiah (---).^[21] They had at least six children, five of whom were living at the time of their father's death in 1704:

1. Joseph Lamb (b. 25 Jun 1690, Braintree)^[22]
2. Jemimah Lamb (b. 14 Jun 1693, Braintree)^[23]
3. David Lamb
4. [Unnamed Daughter] Lamb
5. [Unnamed Daughter] Lamb

On 16 Feb 1690 (or 1691?), the Selectmen of Braintree granted a request from a group of Braintree's residents in the Menaticut (Manaticutt?) area, including John and his late wife's brother John French, that they establish public roads through several properties to the community's common lands.^[24] Later, in 1693, Corporal John Lamb and Dependance French (another brother of John's first wife) were jointly named as Viewers of Fences by the town for the area called Manaticutt (Menaticut?).^[25]

After 1793, John left his four eldest daughters by Mary French to be raised by their uncles in Braintree^[26] when he relocated with his second wife, their children and, possibly, his sons, John and Samuel, to Stonington in New London County, Connecticut Colony.

Death and Probate

John Lamb died in Stonington on 10 Jan 1704.^[27]

His Last Will and Testament, dated in Stonington on 12 May 1703, was accepted by the Probate Court in New London County, Connecticut Colony on 7 Jun 1704. In his Will, he named his wife, Lidiah, his executor and made his minor sons, Joseph and David, the principal heirs to his farm, although he also gave his wife a life interest and his son John (from his marriage to Mary French) the option to purchase a specified portion of his land, if John returned to Stonington. (His son Samuel, mentioned in the Braintree memorandum cited above, had apparently died before 1703, since he went unmentioned in the Will.) For his seven surviving daughters,^[28]

"I give unto my seven Daughters three pounds apece aquivilent to money as followeth when Joseph comes to be of age he shall pay or cause to be payed unto the four eldest Daughters if then surviving there three pound apece only margrat having allredy Reciued thirty shillingsthe [sic] so joseph Lamb shall pay or caus to be payd unto her thirty shillings more to make her aquall withe rest of her sisters all so when David comes to be of age then joseph Lamb and David Lamb shall aqually between them pay or cause to be payed unto the three youngist Daughters their three pounds apece as money all so the Reason why i have given Nomore to my foure eldest Daughters is as followeth their mother diing while they ware young they ware brought up by there unkels and also have recaued all that was there mothers ...."

Research Notes

Location: Braintree, Suffolk County:

The area where John Lamb settled in Braintree, Suffolk County, became the town of Quincy, Suffolk County, in 1792. Braintree and Quincy became part of Norfolk County in 1793.^[29]

The name of John's mother:

Torrey stated with some degree of confidence that Edward Lamb's wife was born Margaret French.^[30] Anderson, on the other hand, indicated that her birth name was unknown.^[31]

Fates of daughter, Mary Lamb, and of son, John Lamb:

The son, John Lamb, who was missing from Stonington in 1703, may be the John Lamb who appeared in the Chebacco Parish Church records in Ipswich, publishing an intention to marry Rebeckah Tilton on 6 Apr 1717.^[32] This would tend to support the theory that the Mary Lamb who married David Low in Ipswich was Mary Lamb of Braintree, daughter of John Lamb and Mary French.

There is, however, already a profile for the John Lamb who married Rebeckah Tilton: John Lamb, b. 1684, in Roxbury, son of Caleb Lamb and Mary Wise. Since his and Mary (Lamb) Low's marriage records, both recorded in Chebacco Parish, are the only two such records in the Ipswich collection, it is hard not to suspect that this John has also been misidentified.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Children of Edward Lamb: "(prob.) JOHN, say 1742 ...:" Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Page 1152 (accessed 10 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
2. ↑ "2. SAMUEL[2] POOLE ... His wife was Mercy or Mary French, daughter of John and Grace French of Braintree. She married (2) John Lamb:" Chamberlain, History of Weymouth, Massachusetts, Volume 4, Page 474 (accessed 10 Nov 2020).
3. ↑ Sprague, Genealogies of the Families of Braintree, Mass., 1640-1850, "John Lamb," Card Nos. 2970-2971, Pages 984-985, esp. 2971, Page 985 (accessed 9 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
4. ↑ For Mary French and her marriage to John Lamb, see also: Sprague, Genealogies of the Families of Braintree, Mass., 1640-1850, "John French," Card Nos. 1761R, 1761, 1762R, 1763, 1764, Pages 586-588, esp. 1764, Page 588 (accessed 9 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
5. ↑ "Lamb, John & 1/wf Mary (FRENCH) [POOLE] w Samuel; by 1677; Braintree/Stonington CT? {Weymouth 4:474; Reg. 12:353; Hale (1952) 479}: Torrey, New England Marriages to 1700, Volume 2, Page 913 (accessed 10 Nov 2020).
6. ↑ "John Lamb, the son of John Lamb, & Mary his wife born upon the 5th November 1677:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 663.
7. ↑ Database entries only: "15-9, John, Margaret, Mary, Grace, Hannah, the children of John & Mary Lamb," baptisms, 1685: Quincy, MA: Vital and Church Records, 1672-1870, Page 3899 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
8. ↑ "Margarett the daughter of Jno. Lambe, & Mary his wife born the 26th February 1678:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 654.
9. ↑ Database entries only: "15-9, John, Margaret, Mary, Grace, Hannah, the children of John & Mary Lamb," baptisms, 1685: Quincy, MA: Vital and Church Records, 1672-1870, Page 3899 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
10. ↑ "Mary Lamb the daughter of John Lamb, and Mary his wife was was borne 15th. of October 1680:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 663.
11. ↑ Transcript only: "Mary Lamb" b. 15 Oct 1680, Braintree, parents: John and Mary Lamb: Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, FamilySearch.org (accessed 8 Nov 2020).
12. ↑ Database entries only: "15-9, John, Margaret, Mary, Grace, Hannah, the children of John & Mary Lamb," baptisms, 1685: Quincy, MA: Vital and Church Records, 1672-1870, Page 3899 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
13. ↑ "Grace Lamb, the daughter of John Lamb, and Mary his wife was was borne upon the 15 of October 1680:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 663.
14. ↑ Database entries only: "15-9, John, Margaret, Mary, Grace, Hannah, the children of John & Mary Lamb," baptisms, 1685: Quincy, MA: Vital and Church Records, 1672-1870, Page 3899 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
15. ↑ "Hannah the daughter of Jn'o Lambe, & Mary his wife borne October 19th. 1683:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 662.
16. ↑ Database entries only: "15-9, John, Margaret, Mary, Grace, Hannah, the children of John & Mary Lamb," baptisms, 1685: Quincy, MA: Vital and Church Records, 1672-1870, Page 3899 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
17. ↑ "Samuel Lamb, the son of John Lamb & Mary his wife borne upon the 17 of February 1686:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 663.
18. ↑ Database entries only: "17-2, Samuel son of John Lamb," baptisms, 1687: Quincy, MA: Vital and Church Records, 1672-1870, Page 3902 (accessed 9 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
19. ↑ Not mentioned in his father's Last Will and Testament, dated 12 May 1703, Stonington, New London County, Connecticut Colony: Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999, No. 2986 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
20. ↑ Transcript of contract and memorandum: Alden, "Ancient Marriage Contract," NEHGR, Volume 12 (1858), Page 353.
21. ↑ "LAMB, John, (-1704) & 2/wf Lydia _____; by 1690; Braintree/Stonington CT {New London Hist. 328; TAG 12:132}:" Torrey, New England Marriages to 1700, Volume 2, Page 913 (accessed 10 Nov 2020).
22. ↑ "Joseph Lamb the son of John Lamb, & Lidiah his wife was born 25th. day of June, 1690:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 669.
23. ↑ "Jemimah Lamb, the daughter of John Lamb, & Lydia his wife was born 14th of June 1693:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 669.
24. ↑ "At the request of John French, Nehemiah Hayden, John Lamb and several of y'e Inhabitants Living at Menaticut ...:" Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 159.
25. ↑ "Vewors of fences for the year 1369 [sic], for manaticutt--Corporall John Lamb, Dependance french;" Town Meeting held 6 Mar 1692/3: Bates, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Page 28.
26. ↑ "... my foure eldest Daughters ... their mother diing while they ware young they ware brought up by there unkels ...:" Last Will and Testament, John Lamb, dated 12 May 1703, Stonington, New London County, Connecticut Colony: Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999, No. 2986 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
27. ↑ "... John Lamb of stonintown who Deceased the :10: of geniwarey :1703/4 ...:" Inventory of goods and chattels, dated 26 Jan 1704: Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999, No. 2986 (accessed 10 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
28. ↑ Last Will and Testament, John Lamb, dated 12 May 1703, Stonington, New London County, Connecticut Colony: Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999, No. 2986 (accessed 8 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
29. ↑ "Braintree, Massachusetts, Wikipedia.org (accessed 8 Nov 2020).
30. ↑ "LAMB, Edward (-1649?) & Margaret [FRENCH], m/2 Samuel ALLEN ca 1650?; by 1633; Watertown/Boston {Dewey-French 4; Smith-Bryant 99; Agard Anc 4; Watertown 329; Seeley-Vail 55; Sv. 1:35; Clapp Anc 2:30; Dunham-Boyd 116; Tracy (1936) 103}:" Torrey, New England Marriages to 1700, Volume 2, Page 913 (accessed 10 Nov 2020).
31. ↑ "MARRIAGE: By 1633, Margaret _____ (birth of first child in 1633):" Anderson, The Great Migraton Begins, Page 1151 (accessed 10 Nov 2020 - subscription required).
32. ↑ "Lamb, John and Rebeckah Tilton, int. Apr. 6, 1717," citing Chebacco Parish Church records: Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts, Volume 2, Marriages and Deaths, Page 269; also available online at ma-vitalrecords.org (accessed 29 Mar 2017).

Sources

• Alden, Ebenezer, transcriber, "Ancient Marriage Contract," New England Historical and Genealogical Register [NEHGR], Volume 12 (1858), Page 353.
• Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995) (subscription required).
• Bates, Samuel Austin, editor, Records of the Town of Braintree, 1640 to 1793, Randolph, Massachusetts: Daniel H. Huxford, Printer, 1886.
• "Braintree, Massachusetts, Wikipedia.org (accessed 8 Nov 2020).
• Chamberlain, George Walter, History of Weymouth, Massachusetts, Volume 4, Genealogy of Weymouth Families, Published by the Weymouth Historical Society,Howard H. Joy, President, under Direction of the Town, Boston, Massachusetts: Wright & Potter Printing Company, 1923.
• Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015 (subscription required).
• Quincy, MA: Vital and Church Records, 1672-1870. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org., New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016), (Unpublished transcription by Waldo C. Sprague from original records held at the Randolph Town Hall, donated from the estate of Mr. Sprague to NEHGS in 1962)
• Sprague, Waldo Chamberlain, Genealogies of the Families of Braintree, Mass., 1640-1850: Including the Modern Towns of Randolph & Holbrook and the City of Quincy, after the Separation from Braintree in 1792-3, transcr. Frank E. Dyer, Jr., ed. Robert J. Dunkle, Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001 (NEHGS Digital Library & Archives - subscription required).
• Torrey, Clarence A., New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015 (subscription required).