Francis Wyman House, Burlington, Massachusetts
Every fall for over 100 years, the Wyman Family Association hosts a gathering of the clan at the Francis Wyman house in Burlington, Massachusetts. The homestead still stands at 56 Francis Wyman Road, built in 1666, and is one of the three oldest houses in Massachusetts. Unlike most old, historical homes, the Wyman house is owned by the family association, not a museum or historical society. The house was originally built as a garrison, where families could flee in case of war or Indian attacks. It was used as a prison for captured British soldiers in 1775, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The house has suffered through fire and damage over the years, but the family association has taken on the burden of insuring, restoring and displaying the house to the public. A fire in 1996 caused major damage to the interior of the house. They are reconstructing an old Burlington barn on the property for rental purposes, to help fund the completion of the restoration.
Francis Wyman and his brother John came to America in 1636 with their uncles, Samuel and Thomas Richardson. They settled at Charlestown Village, now known as Woburn. The part of Burlington where the historic house sits was part of the larger settlement of Woburn in those times. Francis Wyman owned a tannery near the center of Woburn, on Wyman’s Lane. He lived to testify at the Salem Witch trials, and was buried in the Old Burial Ground in 1699.
The Wyman family had many descendants, and you can see the genealogy database at http://www.wyman.org/ The official website of the Francis Wyman Family association also has many photographs, documents, web links, and minutes from past Family association meetings. There are two groups of Wyman descendants that made a large impact on New Hampshire history.
Wyman Tavern, Keene, New Hampshire
First, descendant Captain Isaac Wyman built a tavern in Keene, New Hampshire in 1762, and operated it as a public house for over 40 years. The first meeting of the trustees of Dartmouth College was held In the Wyman tavern on October 22, 1770. In April 1775 twenty nine Minute Men braced themselves for a long march to answer the call to fight at Lexington with a strong drink at the Wyman Tavern. The Wyman Tavern is run by the Historical Society of Cheshire County, and guided tours are available from May to mid-November. http://www.hsccnh.org/wymantavern/default.cfm
Captain Isaac Wyman’s lineage from Francis Wyman the immigrant:
- Gen. 1. Francis Wyman, b. 2 May 1617 in Westmill, Hertfordshire England, d. 28 Nov. 1699 Woburn (now Burlington), Massachusetts, married 1. Judith Pierce 30 Jan. 1643/4 in Woburn (no children), married 2.. Abigail Reed on 2 Oct. 1650 in Woburn. She was born on 30 Dec. 1634 in Dorchester, the daughter of William Reed and Mabel Kendall. (Seven children)
- Gen. 2. William Wyman, b. 22 Feb. 1655/6 at Woburn, d. 1705, married on 25 Feb. 1681/2 at Salem to Prudence Putnam, b. 28 Feb. 1661/2 at Lynn, d. after 1745 at Medford. She was the daughter of Thomas Putnam and Ann Holyoke.
- Gen. 3. Joshua Wyman, b. 3 Jan. 1692/3 at Woburn, d. 1770, married in 1722 to Mary Pollard. She was the daughter of Thomas Pollard and Sarah Farmer, b. 20 Aug. 1693 in Billerica.
- Gen. 4. Colonel Isaac Wyman b. 18 Jan 1724/5 at Woburn, d. 31 Mar. 1792 in Keene, New Hampshire, married in 1747 at Deerfield, Massachusetts to Sarah Wells. She was the daughter of John Wells and Sarah Allen, b. 16 Mar. 1731/32 at Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Colonel Joshua Burnham m. Jemima Wyman, Milford, New Hampshire
Second, in Milford, New Hampshire, the homestead of Colonel Joshua Burnham stands on River Road. It is a privately owned house, not open for tours. Colonel Burnham’s wife was Jemima Burnham, who outlived her husband. Joshua started as a private in the American Revolution, but by the time he witnessed Washington taking command of the Army, he was at the rank of Colonel. The house was built by Joshua Burnham as a hotel, and sold to the Jesse Hutchinson family in 1822, and the sixteen children raised there became the famous “Hutchinson Family Singers”. The Hutchinson singers, also known as the “Tribe of Jesse,” were the original protest group of the 1800s. They sang all over the United States, Canada and England about abolition, temperance and the Civil War. You can read about them at the website http://www.geocities.com/unclesamsfarm/hutchinsons.htm
Second, in Milford, New Hampshire, the homestead of Colonel Joshua Burnham stands on River Road. It is a privately owned house, not open for tours. Colonel Burnham’s wife was Jemima Burnham, who outlived her husband. Joshua started as a private in the American Revolution, but by the time he witnessed Washington taking command of the Army, he was at the rank of Colonel. The house was built by Joshua Burnham as a hotel, and sold to the Jesse Hutchinson family in 1822, and the sixteen children raised there became the famous “Hutchinson Family Singers”. The Hutchinson singers, also known as the “Tribe of Jesse,” were the original protest group of the 1800s. They sang all over the United States, Canada and England about abolition, temperance and the Civil War. You can read about them at the website http://www.geocities.com/unclesamsfarm/hutchinsons.htm
Jemima Wyman’s lineage from Francis Wyman the immigrant:
- Gen. 1. Francis Wyman, b. 2 May 1617 in Westmill, Hertfordshire England, d. 28 Nov. 1699 Woburn (now Burlington), Massachusetts, married 1. Judith Pierce 30 Jan. 1643/4 in Woburn (no children), married 2.. Abigail Reed on 2 Oct. 1650 in Woburn. She was born on 30 Dec. 1634 in Dorchester, the daughter of William Reed and Mabel Kendall. (Seven children)
- Gen. 2. Nathaniel Wyman, b. 25 Nov. 1665 in Woburn, d. 8 Dec. 1717 in Woburn, married Mary Winn on 28 Jun 1692 in Woburn. She was born on 1 May 1670 in Woburn, the daughter of Increase Winn and Hannah Satell. (Twelve children)
- Gen. 3. Increase Wyman, b. 1 Mar. 1706/7 in Woburn, d. 5 Sep. 1739 in Woburn, married Deborah Pierce on 11 Mar. 1729/30 in Woburn. She was b. 4 Nov. 1709 daughter of Ebenezer Pierce and Mary Wilson. (Five children)
- Gen. 4. Increase Wyman, b. 4 Jun 1732 in Burlington, married to Catherine Unknown. (Ten children)
- Gen. 5. Jemima Wyman, b. 10 Feb. 1757 in Billerica, d. 6 Sep 1843 in South Boston, married on 21 Jan 1799 to Colonel Joshua Burnham. He was b. 26 Jan 1754 in Gloucester, d. 7 Jun 1835 in Milford, New Hampshire. (Eleven children)
The 109th Annual Meeting of the Francis Wyman Association will take place on September 26th, 2009 at the homestead in Burlington. The house will be open all day, and at noon the annual Family Gathering Photo will take place on the front steps, followed by a bring your own picnic on the front lawn. Starting at about 1 PM will be the business meeting, followed by a presentation by re-enactors portraying “Abel and Ruth Wyman”. This year the FWA Meeting will coincide with the Burlington Town Fair held on the Town Common. A trolley will be leaving the common, making ten stops at historic sites around town (one will be the Francis Wyman house!) See the FWA website mentioned above for more information.
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http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-hampshire-descendants-of-francis.html
Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
The Col Joshua Burnham and Hutchinson house is currently owned by my Mother and Brother as their residence. Inside the house is hand writing on the attic stairway walls. It is signed by one of the Hutchinsons and dated. It is reputed to be part of the underground railroad of the 19th century. Dad bought the house in 1986 and lived there untill he died in December of 2013. The house will be for sale this spring, it was a wonderfull home to visit and live in. I will surely miss it almost as much as I miss Dad.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing. We drive by the house often and think about our ancestors. It's a wonderful house!
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