My Revolutionary War Patriots, Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts

 This is Patriot #3 in this series of blog posts about my ancestors in the Revolutionary War.

My 5th great grandfather Jonathan Flint was born on 11 August 1730 in Reading, Massachusetts, the son of Jonathan Flint (b. 1689) and Mary Collston Hart.  Mary was the daughter of Elizabeth Collston, who was only 16 when she was accused of being a witch during the 1692 witchcraft hysteria.  She was arrested along with her mother, Mary Duston Collston, and grandmother, Lydia Dustin.  Lydia died in prison in Cambridge, Massachusetts before being exhonorated. Elizabeth escaped twice, once from the Cambridge prison, and a second time while being transported to the courthouse in Charlestown.  

On 1 August 1751 Jonathan Flint married Lydia Proctor in Salem, Massachusetts.  By coincidence, Lydia was the great granddaughter of John Proctor who was hanged as a witch in 1692.  John Proctor was the protagonist in the famous play "The Crucible" written by Arthur Miller. Lydia had several relatives involved with the witch hysteria, including the grandparents William Buckley and Sarah Smith.  Her grandmother Sarah was arrested on 14 May 1692 for witchcraft and imprisoned. Two pastors spoke to her innocence, but she still spent eight months in prison until found not guilty in January 1693.  

Jonathan and Lydia had eight children between 1751 and 1767.  They lived in North Reading, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, not far from Lexington and Concord.  When the alarm rang out for the British regulars attacking Lexington on 19 April 1775 Jonathan was 44 years old.  As a corporal in Captain John Batchelder's Company, his militia responded to the alarm and marched towards Lexington.  The company arrived after the battle, but Jonathan re-enlisted again in 1776.  The musket he used in the American Revolution was supposed to be preserved in the collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society, but they have no record of this artifact. 

Captain John Batchelder's Company was part of Ebenezer Bridge's Regiment, also known as the 11th Massachusetts Regiment. This regiment fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and served in the Siege of Boston until it was disbanded in December 1775. This regiment had eleven companies, including Batchelder's company.  I don't know if Jonathan Flint saw action at Bunker Hill. 

Jonathan returned to his life as a farmer in the North Precinct, now called North Reading and died around 1800 at about age 70.  The exact date is unknown and I have not found a grave for Jonathan.  I descend from his son, John Flint, who was born in North Reading on 3 April 1761 and died there on 26 August 1836. John married his cousin, Phebe Flint, daughter of George Flint and Hannah Phelps.  Phebe had eight children with John, and died in 1846.  John was also married to Mehitable McIntire, daughter of Archelaus McIntire and Abigail Felton, who had two children with John Flint.  

My 5th great grandmother, Lydia Proctor,  must have died before 1794.  I have found no death record for her, nor a grave site.  On 24 June 1794 Jonathan Flint remarried to Sarah Smith.  They had no children.  I have not found a death record for Sarah, or a grave site. She did not apply for a widow's pension for Jonathan's Revolutionary War service. 

For the truly curious:

A Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Thomas Flint, of Salem, by John Flint and John H. Stone, published by Warren F. Draper, Andover, Massachusetts, 1860, see pages 9 and 14. 

#1 in this series Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

#2 in this series Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Woburn, and Danvers (now Peabody), Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots, Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 24, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ HART of Watertown, Reading and Lynnfield, Massachusetts

Examination of a Witch
T.H. Matteson, 1853

HART / HARTT / HARTE

There was a Samuel Hart living in Lynn, Massachusetts at the same time as Isaac Hart, but they are not known to be kin – even though Isaac Hart had a son named Samuel.

Isaac Hart, my 8th great grandfather, arrived in Watertown aboard The Rose in 1636 as the servant to Richard Carver.  In 1642 he had five acres in Watertown. He then removed to Reading by 1648 when his wife was listed as member of the church.  He had married Elizabeth Hutchinson, sometimes recorded as Hutchins, the daughter of Thomas Hutchins and Anne Browne.  Isaac bought land from his father-in-law near the border of the Saugus, Reading and Lynnfield lines, which he later left to his son Samuel.  The Isaac Hart homestead is still standing in Lynn. 

Elizabeth was brought before her church in Reading in 1652 for not harboring travelers that had requested aide.  In 1655 she was brought before the Puritan church deacons again for “contempt of authority”.   Elizabeth Hart was accused of being a witch in March of 1692.  In October her son, Thomas, petitioned for his mother’s innocence, but she was not released until December.

I descend from Isaac’s son Adam.  Adam’s sister, Deborah Hart, married my 7^th great uncle, Benjamin Proctor. I descend from Benjamin’s two siblings, Abigail Proctor Varney (1639 – 1732) and John Proctor (1631 – 1692) who was hanged as a witch during the witch hysteria.

Adam Hart, my 7th great grandfather,  married Elizabeth Collston, daughter of Adam Collston and Mary Dustin.  Elizabeth, her mother, aunt, and grandmother were all accused and arrested for witchcraft in 1692.  Elizabeth, only sixteen years old, escaped imprisonment twice!  Adam married second to Abigail Deal, and third to Dorcas Brown. .  You can read more about Elizabeth and the Collston family at this link: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-collston-of-reading.html

Adam Hart was named the father of Elizabeth Collston's illegitimate baby a short time before they married.  After marriage about 1704, he was named the baby's guardian, but the child was known in records as Mary COLLSTON not Mary Hart.  See Genealogical History of the town of Reading, Mass., by Hon. Lilley Eaton, page 85. 

Witchcraft accusations abound in this family!  In 1692 Adam Hart's mother, his wife and the women of her family were all accused of witchcraft and imprisoned.  And these families of witch trial victims tended to intermarry.  Adam and Elizabeth’s grandson, Jonathan Flint (my 5^th great grandfather) married Lydia Proctor, the great granddaughter of the John Proctor, mentioned above, who was hanged in 1692.  But strangely, Jonathan’s own grandfather was William Dounton, who was infamously known as the cruel jailor of the Salem Gaol where many victims were imprisoned.  Some intermarriages cannot be explained.

Some HART resources:

Genealogical History of Samuel Hartt from London, England to Lynn, Mass., 1640 And Descendants, by James Morrison Hart, Pasadena, CA, 1903

“Isaac Hart and Samuel Hart”, The Essex Genealogist, Volume 18, pages 40 – 46.

My HART genealogy:

Generation 1:  Isaac Hart, born about 1614 in England, died 10 February 1699 in Lynnfield, Massachusetts married about 1650 to Elizabeth Hutchinson, daughter of Thomas Hutchinson and Anne Browne.  She died 28 November 1700.  Seven children.

Generation 2:  Adam Hart, born 4 February 1666 in Lynnfield, died 17 September 1745 in Reading; married about 1703 to Elizabeth Collston, daughter of Adam Collston and Mary Dustin.  She was born 9 October 1676.  Two children.

Generation 3:  Mary Collston, born 22 September 1704 in Reading; married on 18 February 1723 in Reading to Jonathan Flint, son of Thomas Flint and Mary Dounton.  He was born 8 November 1689 in Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts).  Two children.

Generation 4: Jonathan Flint, born 11 August 1730 in Reading, died 1800 in Reading; married on 1 August 1751 in Salem to Lydia Proctor, daughter of John Proctor and Lydia Waters.  She was born 31 March 1730 in Salem.  Eight children.

Generation 5:  John Flint, born 3 April 1761 in North Reading, died 26 August 1836 in North Reading; married Phebe Flint as his second wife.  She was the daughter of George Flint and Hannah Phelps, born 8 March 1763 in North Reading, died December 1846 in North Reading.  Eight children.

Generation 6: Olive Flint, born 27 July 1805 in North Reading, died 26 November 1875 in Peabody, Massachusetts; married on 3 September 1826 in Reading to Luther Simonds Munroe.  He was the son of Andrew Munroe and Ruth Simonds, born 10 May 1805 in Danvers, died 23 December 1851 in Danvers.  Six children.

Generation 7: Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilson

Generation 8:  Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

UPDATE 26 October 2022 - 

Click here for a link to "My Hartt - The Descendants of Isaac and Elizabeth Hartt"  http://www.myhartt.com/  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ HART of Watertown, Reading and Lynnfield, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 19, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/11/surname-saturday-hart-of-watertown.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ HUTCHINSON of Charlestown, Massachusetts

HUTCHINSON

I wrote a blog post on 5 November 2016 about Richard HUTCHINSON (1602 – 1682) of Salem Village, Massachusetts , my 9^th great grandfather.  I have another 9^th great grandfather, Thomas HUTCHINSON of Charlestown, Massachusetts who came to New England in 1630 with the Winthrop Fleet.  He was listed as a member of the church in Charlestown on 30 July 1630.  He must have died soon after, and his wife, Anne, remarried to Adam Hawkes in 1631.   Anne, with her Hutchinson children, and her new husband all removed to Lynn as one of the first settler families in the area.  Anne died in 1669 and Hawkes remarried to Sarah Hooper in 1670.  Sarah was 19 years old and Hawkes was 65 years old.

Their only daughter (they also had four sons), was my 8^th great grandmother, Elizabeth Hutchinson, who married Isaac Hart of Lynnfield.  They had seven children.  Elizabeth was accused by Ann Putnam of being a witch.  She was imprisoned in May 1692.  Her son, Thomas, sent a petition for her release five months later stating she was “inflicted from lying in Miserie, and death rather to be Chosen than a life in her Circumstances”.  Another daughter, Deborah Hart, was married to Benjamin Proctor, son of the accused witches, John and Martha Proctor (famous from the play “The Crucible”)and also my 10th great grandparents in another lineage - see the genealogy below.  Elizabeth stayed in jail in Boston until December of 1692, when the trials and arrests were stopped by the Governor.

I descend from their son, Adam Hart (1666- 1745), the youngest son and my 7^th great grandfather.  He married Elizabeth Collson, and was made guardian to Elizabeth’s illegitimate daughter, Mary (who was named as his child).  Not only was Elizabeth Hart, his mother arrested for witchcraft, but also arrested were Elizabeth (Collson) Hart,  Adam’s wife, and her mother, Mary (Dustin) Collston,  and her grandmother, Lydia Dustin.  You can read about the Collston family arrests HERE.  Elizabeth was only 16 years old, and she made a daring escape from jail and was recaptured twice. Lydia, Mary and Elizabeth (all accused and imprisoned, were my 9th, 8th and 7th great grandmothers. 

This branch of the family oozes with witch craft accusations and imprisonments, but the only one who was actually hanged was John Proctor.

For more information on this HUTCHINSON family see the Great Migration Begins, Volume II, page 1056, and also Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634 - 1635, pages 253 - 257 (sketch of Adam Hawkes).  Annals of New England, by Thomas Prince, 1755, Part II, page 69.  Salem Possessed, by Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1974.  There is an article "Isaac Hart and Samuel Hart (Both of greater Lynn but not related)" in the Essex Genealogist, Volume 18, pages 40 - 46. 

My HUTCHINSON genealogy:

Generation 1:  Thomas Hutchinson, died about 1631 in Charlestown, Massachusetts; married Ann (possibly Browne?).  She was born about 1600 and died 4 December 1669 in Lynn.  Five children.

Generation 2: Elizabeth Hutchinson, died 28 November 1700; married about 1650 in Habstown (now Reading), Massachusetts to Isaac Hart.  He was born about 1614 and died 10 February 1699 In Lynnfield.  Seven children. 

Generation 3: Adam Hart m. Elizabeth Collston

Generation 4: Mary Collston m. Jonathan Flint

Generation 5: Jonathan Flint m. Lydia Proctor (great grandson of John Proctor, hanged as a witch)

Generation 6:  John Flint m. Phebe Flint

Generation 7: Olive Flint m. Luther Simonds Munroe

Generation 8: Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10:  Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ HUTCHINSON of Charlestown, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 12, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/11/surname-saturday-hutchinson-of.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ Collston of Reading, Massachusetts

COLLSTON

Adam Collston’s origins are unknown.  He settled in Reading, Massachusetts before 1668, and was the schoolmaster from 1679 to 1681.  This will was found in England and reprinted in the NEHGS Register in January 1884, page 68.

"Elizabeth Bretland, late the wife of William Bretland, deceased, Barbados, 6 October 1687.  Legacies to daughters Elizabeth Taylor and Millecent Acklam; to grandson Peter Jones; to grandsons John and Jacob Legay.  I give and bequeath to my brother Adam Coulson's children, of Reading near Boston, in New England, the sum of one hundred pounds, to be equally divided among them or the survivor of them.

            Cousin Edward Munday and Mr. John Mortimer of London, merchants, to be executors of the will.

            Item, I give unto my brother Adam Coulson's chilren, of Reading, near Boston, In New England, one negro woman, by name Sarah, being my own proper purchase, or to the survivor of the, to be sent to them the first opportunity after my decease.  I leave, according to the desire of my dear husband, Mr. Edward Munday, to my three daughters, Elizabeth, Millecent and Mary, thirty five pounds of silver, at twelve ounces to the pound. 

            Friends, Capt. Elisha Mellowes and Mr. John Hooker, to be executors for that portion of the estate in the Barbados.

            The witnesses made depostion as to this will 3 April 1689.  It was entered and recorded in the Secretary's Office, 17 February 1689.  Proved in London 5 December 1690.”

Adam’s daughter, Elizabeth, is my 8x great grandmother.  At sixteen she was arrested on a charge of witchcraft, along with three other women in her family (Lydia Dustin her grandmother, Sarah Dustin her aunt, and Mary Collston her mother).  Young Elizabeth was very brave and escaped twice!  The first time was from Cambridge jail, and the second while she was being transported to Charlestown.  Grandmother Lydia Dustin died in prison in Cambridge.

Elizabeth had an illegitimate daughter, Mary Collston my 7x great grandmother.  Her husband Adam Hart was made guardian to Mary. I don’t know when Elizabeth died, but Adam had two more wives- Abigail Deal and Dorcas Brown.  Adam Hart’s mother, Elizabeth (Hutchinson) Hart, had also been arrested for witchcraft.

Mary (Collston) Flint’s son, Jonathan Flint (1730 – 1800) married Lydia Proctor, a great granddaughter of the John Proctor (1631 – 1692) who was hung as a witch (also my 8 x great grandfather).  As you can see, this holds up my theory that the families of accused and executed witches formed a very tight bond in the generations immediately following the 1692 witch hysteria.

There have been no books or articles written about the early Collstons.  All my Collston information came from vital records, the Reading town histories and records, and from documents produced around the witch trials in the 1690s (except for the will mentioned above).

My lineage from Adam Collston:

Generation 1: Adam Collston, died 1 March 1686 in Reading, Massachusetts; married on 7 September 1668 in Reading, Massachusetts to Mary Duston/Dustin/Dastin.  She was the daughter of Josiah Dustin and Lydia Unknown.  Six children.  Mary remarried on 26 September 1701 to Cornelius Brown as his third wife.

Generation 2: Elizabeth Collston, born 9 October 1676, married about 1703 to Adam Hart as his first of three wives.  She had a daughter, Mary, as an illegimate child.

Generation 3: Mary Collston, born 22 September 1704 in Reading; married on 18 February 1723 in Reading to Jonathan Flint, son of Thomas Flint and Mary Dounton.  He was born on 8 November 1689 in Salem Village (now Danvers).  At least two children.

Generation 4. Jonathan Flint married Lydia Proctor

Generation 5: John Flint married Phebe Flint

Generation 6: Olive Flint married Luther Simonds Munroe

Generation 7: Phebe Cross Munroe married Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 8: Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ Collston of Reading, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 16, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-collston-of-reading.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ Flint of Massachusetts

FLINT  (see comments and link below for an update to this blog post)

This is a tale of two brothers, and I descend from both!

Thomas Flint, probably of Wales, settled in Salem Village, which is now the town of Danvers, Massachusetts.  He was a freeman in March 1637/8 and he bought land in 1654, and another lot in 1662.   According to a Flint genealogy book he came to the New World with his mother, who lived with his brother, William.   I descend from two of Thomas’s sons.

Brother William Flint settled in Salem, Massachusetts around 1640.  Tradition says he left a wife in England, and married again in 1644 to Alice Williams.  Over the years he left records as members of juries, as overseer of fences and as overseer of highways.  He owned land and at the time of his death in 1673  his estate was worth 911 pounds and 15 shillings.  He left his land to his sons and a son-in-law, but nothing to his daughters stating he “had given them enough”.  There was a suit over the will which was not resolved until 1694!   I descend from one of these daughters, Hannah (Flint) Southwick.

There are several resources for Flint family information:

The Family Histories of Charles Edwin Flint, Jr. and Bessie Hazel Lee, by Rosalie V. M. Flint & Kathleen A. B. Hedrick, Quincy, WA, 1981.  

Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Thomas Flint, of Salem, complied by John Flint and John H. Stone, Boston: NEHGS, 1994. 

History of Salem, by Sidney Perley, 1924 - 1928 (three volumes)

My Flint lineages:

A.

Generation 1: Thomas Flint, born about 1603 in Wales, died 15 April 1663 in Salem Village, Massachusetts; married about 1644 in Salem to Ann Unknown.  Six children.  Ann remarried to John Southwick. 

Lineage A1:

Generation 2: Thomas Flint, born about 1645 in Salem Village, died 24 May 1721; married first on 22 May 1666 to Hannah Moulton, daughter of Robert Moulton and Abigail Good (two children); married second on 15 September 1674 to Mary Dounton (my 7x great grandmother), daughter of William Dounton and Rebecca Unknown (nine children); married third on 12 June 1677 to Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of John Johnson and Elizabeth Maverick.   

Generation 3: Jonathan Flint, born 8 November 1689 in Salem Village; married on 18 February 1723 to Mary Collston, daughter of Elizabeth Collston, born on 22 September 1704 in Reading, Massachusetts. Two children.

Generation 4: Jonathan Flint, born 11 August 1730 in Reading, died 1800 in Reading; married  first on 1 August 1751 In Salem to Lydia Proctor, daughter of John Proctor and Lydia Waters, great granddaughter of John Proctor, hung as a witch in 1692, She was born 31 March 1730 in Salem.  Eight children.   Jonathan Flint married second to Sarah Smith, no children.

Generation 5: John Flint, born on 3 Aril 1761 in North Reading, died 26 August 1836 in North Reading; married first on 22 July 1783 to Mehitable McIntire. Two children.  John Flint married second to Phebe Flint, daughter of George Flint and Hannah Phelps, his distant cousin, and my 4x great grandmother.  Eight children.

Generation 6: Olive Flint, born 27 July 1805 in Reading, died 26 November 1875 in Peabody, Massachusetts; married on 3 September 1826 in Reading to Luther Simonds Munroe, son of Andrew Munroe and Ruth Simonds.

Generation 7: Phebe Cross Munroe married Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 8: Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts

Lineage A2:

Generation 2: George Flint, born 6 January 1652 in Salem, died 23 June 1720 in the North Precinct (now North Reading, Massachusetts); married first to Elizabeth Putnam, daughter of Nathaniel Putnam and Elizabeth Hutchinson.  She was born 11 August 1662 in Salem, died 6 March 1697, and had 10 children.  She was my 7x great grandmother.  George Flint married second on 2 March 1699 to Susannah Gardner, daughter of Thomas Gardner and Elizabeth Horne.  No children.

Generation 3: George Flint, born 1 April 1686 in Reading; married on 9 July 1713 to Jerusha Pope, daughter of Joseph Pope and Bethshua Folger (first cousin to Benjamin Franklin, statesman).  She was born on 1 Apri 1695 in Salem and died 29 June 1781.  Seven children.

Generation 4: George Flint, born 16 November 1728 in North Reading, died 31 August 1808; married on 13 November 1753 in Andover, Massachusetts to Hannah Phelps, born 27 April 1728 in Andover, died 5 May 1805 in North Reading.  Seven children.

Generation 5: Phebe Flint (see generation 5 above)

(see an update to this blog post at this link:  
 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/untangling-blog-post-mistake.html )

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ Flint of Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 2, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-flint-of-massachusetts.html: accessed [access date]).