Matthias Farnsworth (abt. 1615 - 1689)

Born about 1615 in Eccles, Lancashire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Farr) Farnsworth — married before 1656 in Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 21 Jan 1689 at about age 74 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

Matthias Farnsworth migrated from England to USA.

This profile is part of the Farnsworth Name Study.

Note: No documentary evidence has been found linking Matthias Farnsworth, an early settler of Lynn, Massachusetts, to Richard and Elizabeth Farnsworth and to birth in Eccles, England in 1612, At this point, these relationships and facts are circumstantial.

Matthias Farnsworth 1612 - 1689

Birth: July 20 1612 Eccles, Lancashire, England ^{[citation needed]}

Occupation: Weaver and farmer

Parents:^{[citation needed]} Richard F Farneworth 1584 - 1621 Elizabeth Marsh 1584 - 1623

Siblings:

1. x Alicia Farnsworth 1610 - 1611
2. Joseph Farnsworth 1612 - 1659
3. x Jonathan Farnsworth 1613 - 1614
4. x Mary Farnsworth, Child 1618 - 1623
5. x Hester Farnsworth 1621 - 1622
6. x Richard Farnworth 1620 -1620
7. Richard Farnworth 1625 - 1666

Family

Wife 1: Unknown, born about 1628, died about 1656. Marriage about 1646.

Children:

1. Ebeneezer 1646 - 1724 (unlikely, he is not mentioned in Matthia's last Will.)
2. Elizabeth, 1647-1729
3. Matthias, 1649-1693
4. John, 1651-1729

Wife 2: Mary Farr Farnsworth b. abt 1636 - 1717. Marriage about 1656 (before birth of Joseph). ^[1]

Children:

1. Joseph 1657 - 1687 (or 1674)
2. Mary 1660 - 1725
3. Sarah 1663 - 1731
4. Benjamin 1667 - 1733
5. Samuel 1669 - 1727
6. Abigail 1671 - 1705
7. Jonathan 1675 - 1748^[2]
8. Josephine 1678 - ? (unlikely, not mentioned in Matthias' will.)^[3]

Name

Name: Matthias Farnsworth ^{[4] [5] [6][7]}

Birth

Birth:

Date: 20 July 1612^[5]/1612^[7]

Place: Eccles, Lancastershire, England^[5]

Christening:

Date: 20 August 1615,^[8]son of Richard Farnworth.

Place: Eccles, Lancastershire, England^[5][6]

Marriage and Children

Husband: Matthias Farnsworth^[5][6]

Wife: Mary Farr^[5][6][7]

Marriage:

Date: 1630 ^[5][7] /1647 ^[6]

Place: Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts ^[5]

Children of Mathias Farnsworth:^[4]

Child: Elizabeth Farnsworth. Apparent oldest child. Born about 1647 (aged 82 years at death). Married James Robinson on 16 January 1667. Died 22 December 1729.

Child: Matthias Farnsworth^[5]

Child: John Farnsworth^[5]

Child: Benjamin Farnsworth^[5]

Child: Joseph Farnsworth^[5]

Child: Mary Farnsworth^[5]

Child: Sarah Farnsworth^[5]

Child: Samuel Farnsworth^[5]

Child: Abigail Farnsworth^[5]

Child: Jonathan Farnsworth^[5][6]

Child: Joseph II Farnsworth^[5]

Note: Matthias had a total of 3 wives, Mary Farr was his 2nd wife.^[5]

Death and Will

Died: Between 15 January 1688/1689 and 21 January 1688/1689

Dates his last Will was made and date of burial.

Burial: January 21 1688/1689 at Old Burying Ground in Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. ^[9]

Will: of Mathyas Farnworth sen of Groton

Made 15 January 1688/1689; proved ; Inventory taken

Summary

Aged about 77 years

Beloved wife

Son mathyas farnworth

Son John farnworth

Son bangeman farnworth

Son samewell farnworth

Son Jonathan Farnworth

Daughter Robinson

Daughter Thatcher

Daughter Stoon

Daughter Abigail farnworth

'Groton Jenewarey 15th: 1688-9 and in the 4 yere of the Rain of King James the second I mathyas farnworth sen of groton in the county of midlsix in new ingland aged about 77 yers being wall considrat and of sound and parfit Judgment and understanding thanks be to god for it I being sensabl of my many failtyes & unsartanty of my natueral lif and knowing what disaduantag many times happens for want of a Right sating the hous in order being desiras to ackt and satl things that consarns me doe make conshans and doe daclare this prasant instrement to be my last will & tastement in manar and form as foloweth making uoyd all formar wills ather by word or dead but first I Commit my soul to all myty god my Creater hoping I shal Rasaue full pardon of all my sins throw Jasus Christ and I commit my bodey to the earth from whans it was taken to be beured in such deasant manar as my exsecters shall see meet and first to the distrebiting my eastat

I doe giue to my beloued wif so long as she liues a widow won third of my whol astat and the moueabls within the hous I doe laue to hur to daspose as shee pleases and

sacondly I doe giue to my son mathyas farnsworth for his full porshun that fiue akker Right which his deed spasefyes and a peese of madow called by the name of half moon madow and twanty akekers of land lying neer a plase called by the name of Prascots old mill and this to be counted to be his full porshan unlass he meets with malistation by any ralations of his and if so then I will and giue to my son mathyas my hom stall that I now dwall upon with hous & barn and that hom stall that my son mathyas now liues on to Raturn in seed thare of and

thirdly I giue to my son John farnworth that fiue akar Right that his deed spasefyes and tan shilins more to be Payed of the astat for his full proshan

fourthly I giue to my son bangeman farnworth that part of my land lying on the out side of my hom stall fans at the lower end of the lot and twanty akekers at the plas neer prescotts old mill and six akkers of madow lying at south madow and this for his porshun

fiftly for my son samewall & Jonathan farnworth I doe giue the Rast of my land and madow that is undasposed on lying at the old mill for thare porshun

and I giue my daughter Robison won cow and to my daughter thacker I giue twenty shilins and to my daughter Stoon won cow and twanty shilins and to my daughter abigall farnworth twalue pound for her porshun and

as to the Rast of my eastat undasposed of I leaue in the hand of my exsectters to daspose of to my wif or children as thay think to be most Rason I mak Chois of my son mathyas farnworth with nathanil lawrins san & Jonas prescott for exsackters this taken from his own mouth syned and sealed in the prasants of us

matyas (M – his mark) farnsworth sen

nathannil lawrance

Jonas Prescott

Nicklas (S – his mark) huchins

also I giue my loam & tacklins for waring to my son mathyas farnworth

Xbr. 17. 1689 Charlestowne

Nathanll Larrance & Jonas Prescott appearing in Court and made oath yt they were prsent when Mathias ffarnworth Deced signed sealed and published this his last will & Testament, and yt he was of sound judgment and of disposeing minde when he did he same and yt they sett theire hands there to as witnesses wth Nicolas Hutchins

as att. Samll. Phipps Cler'

Research Notes

No reliable sources have been found linking Matthias Farnsworth, an early settler of Lynn, Massachusetts, to parents Richard Farnsworth (1584-1640) and Elizabetha (Marshe) Farnsworth (bef.1584-1623). While Richard and Elizabeth did have a son, Matthias Farnsworth (bef.1615-) baptized in 1615, a connection between the two is circumstantial, and without documentary evidence.

The following is quoted from Green, Samuel A. "Epitaphs from the Old Burying Ground in Groton, Massachusetts: with notes and an appendix" (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1878), 238-240^[10].

"Farnsworth. Matthias Farnsworth, the progenitor of the numerous families in Groton bearing his name, came from Lynn. He was an original proprietor of the town, and owned a twenty-acre right. His farm was situated on both sides of the road leading to Harvard, a little south of James's brook, more than a mile from the village. He was living at Lynn in the year 1657, and at Groton in 1664, though he may have been a resident of each place earlier than these respective dates. He died in the latter part of the year 1689, aged 77 years. The following is a copy of his will, on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge:--

His wife's name was Mary, and they had ten children. The list of them given below is compiled from different sources. It is probably that his “daughter Robison” was the wife of James Robertson, or Robinson; and in that case, her name was Elizabeth, and probably she was born in England. James Robertson, an original proprietor of the town, married his wife, 16 January 1667, and she died 22 December 1729, aged 82 years. I am not sure about the order of the births of his children, but I suggest the following: Elizabeth [?], who probably married James Robertson; Joseph, born 17 November 1657 at Lynn and died 20 February 1686-1687; Mary, born 11 October 1660 at Lynn and married 11 April 1676, Samuel Thacker, of Watertown; Matthias, born at Groton; John, who married, on 8 December 1686 to Hannah, daughter of John and Sarah (Eliot) Aldis, of Dedham, and had nine children; Benjamin, who married Mary, daughter of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott, and had ten children; Samuel, who married on 12 December 1706 to widow Mary (Whitcomb) Willard, and had three children; Abigail, born 17 January 1671 and possibly married to John Hutchins of Groton; Sarah [?], who perhaps married Simon Stone; and Jonathan, born 1 June 1675 married Ruth –--, and had fourteen children."^[11]

Occupation: Weaver and Farmer and Constable of Groton

Date: abt 1668

Place: Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

• Matthias Farnsworth's Occupation and Memorial Plague

Lands

Residence: Description of land owned by Matthias

Date: abt 1670

Place: Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

• The Lands of Matthias Farnsworth

Immigration:

Arrival:

Date: 1657 (if Matthias was one of the early settlers of Lynn, then he arrived as early as 1629)

Place: Lynn, Massachusetts

• Matthias Farnsworth in the U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s

Sources

1. ↑ Not strong evidence. No tombstone shown: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41582913/mary-farnsworth
2. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCLD-QHH : 10 February 2018), Mathias Farnsworth in entry for Jonathan Farnsworth, 04 Mar 1675; citing GROTON,MIDDLESEX,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873746 IT 4.
3. ↑ MyHeritage
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Farnsworth, Claudius Buchanan. Matthias Farnsworth and His Descendants in America, (1891).
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18} "Ancestral File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:1:9HTN-6M9 : accessed 2015-04-07), entry for Matthias Farnsworth.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5} Matthias Farnsworth in the Millennium File Heritage Consulting. Millennium File [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Matthias Farnsworth in the U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Source number: 1425.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: RH1 Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
8. ↑ Baptism-Record, County; Lancashire, Place; Eccles, Church name: St Mary the Virgin, Baptism date 20 Aug 1615. Person given name; Matthias, Father given name; Richard, Father surname; FARNWORTH, https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5818697ae93790ec8b6009a3/show_print_version?locale=en
9. ↑ No tombstone shown. Memorial ID 41582800[1]
10. ↑ Epitaphs From the Old Burying Ground in Groton, Massachusetts
11. ↑ Green, Samuel A. "Epitaphs from the Old Burying Ground in Groton, Massachusetts: with notes and an appendix" (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1878), 238-240.

For details on the life of Matthias Farnsworth: "Matthias Farnsworth and His Descendants in America: A Monograph by Claudius Buchanan Farnsworth", Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 1891, pages 19-32. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/matthiasfarnswor00farn/page/n5/mode/2up

See: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KHZ6-BZ8

• Farnsworth, Claudius Buchanan. Matthias Farnsworth and His Descendants in America, (1891).
• Chute, William E., 1894. Genealogy and History of the Chute Family in America. Salem, Mass. page xli (#1)
• https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-299766261-1-500012/matthias-mathhias-matthias-farnsworth-in-myheritage-family-trees?s=216760841
• New England Marriages prior to 1700; page 259 (Mary Farr, 1657)
• Manchester England Church of England Baptisms, Marriages & Burials 1541-1812; (bp 8/15/1815, Eccles St Marys, Lancashire)