PRESCOTT
John Prescott was a blacksmith in Sowerby, in the parish of
Halifax, Yorkshire, England. He came to
Barbados in 1628, and then to Watertown Massachusetts about 1640 with his wife
and first four children. In about 1645
or 1646 they removed to the Nashaway Plantation, which became the town of
Lancaster, Massachusetts. He was
admitted as a freeman in 1669. He built
the first gristmill and sawmills in Lancaster. In 1900 a bronze marker was placed near where
John Prescott’s mill once stood.
Lancaster was several miles inland from the Massachusetts coast, in an isolated area of Worcester County. Because of the remote location it was attacked by the local Indians during King
Phillip’s War on 10 February 1676, and the town was abandoned for several
years. Eventually the Prescott family
removed back to Lancaster. There are
legends of John Prescott going about in his chain mail and sword to defend
himself against another Indian attack.
Unfortunately he was killed in another Indian massacre in 1681, along
with his grandson, Ephraim Sawyer. There were many Indian raids through the years, killing many members of the Prescott family in Lancaster.
One of those legends is in the book The Wheeler Family of Rutland,
Massachusetts by Daniel Merrick Wheeler, 1924 : “John was a sturdy, strong man of stern countenance, and whenever he
had any difficulty with the Indians he would clothe himself with his coat of
mail, helmet, cuirass, and gorget, which gave him a fierce and frightful
appearance. They having once stolen from
him a horse, he put on his armour and pursued them; and in a short time
overtook the party. They were surprised
to see him along, and a chief approached him with uplifted tomahawk. John told him to strike, which he did, and
finding the blow made no impression on his cap, he was much astonished… They
gave him up his horse, thinking him to be a supernatural being.”
John Prescott has no surviving headstone, but a memorial was erected at the Old Burial Ground in Lancaster and it reads:
“Here with his
children about him lies John Prescott Founder of Lancaster and first settler of
Worcester County Born at Standish Lancashire England Died at Lancaster
Massachusetts Dec. 1681 Inspired by the love of liberty and the fear of God
This stout hearted pioneer Forsaking the pleasant vales of England And
encountered wide beast and savage to secure freedom for himself and his
posterity His faith and virtues have been inherited by many descendants who in
every generation have well served the state In war, in literature, at the bar,
in the pulpit, in public life, And in Christian homes”
There are many books about John Prescott and his family
history. There is an old book The
Prescott Memorial or a Genealogical Memoir of the Prescott Families in America
in Two Parts, by William Prescott, MD, 1870 that is fairly
reliable. You can read it at Google
Books. There is another book The
Descent of John Prescott, Founder of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1645, from
Alfred the Great, King of England by Frederick Lewis Weis, 1948 is less
reliable on the English origins of this family, as is the update published in
1957. You will have better luck reading
up on the descendants of John Prescott in the town histories of Lancaster, the
town military annals, and in the various vital records of the town.
Randy Seaver, author of the genealogy blog “GeneaMusings”
www.geneamusings.com is also a
descendant of John Prescott, and has written several blog posts about him. Another descendant is genealogy blogger Bill
West at “West in New England”
http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/
There are many famous Prescott
descendants including Colonel William Prescott of the Battle of Bunker Hill, Doctor
Samuel Prescott who accompanied Paul Revere during the Lexington alarm, and
William H. Prescott, historian of Mexico and Peru.
My Prescott genealogy (note that at least five people named
below died in massacres):
Generation 1: John
Prescott, born about 1604 in Standish, Lancastershire, England, died 20
December 1681 in Lancaster, Massachusetts; married on 11 April 1629 in Sowerby,
Halifax, Yorkshire, England to Mary Platts alias Gawkroger. She was born 15 May 1607 in Halifax,
Yorkshire, England and died after 1678 in Lancaster, England. Eight children, the first four baptized in
England.
1. Mary, (see below)
My 8th great grandmother.
2. Martha, bap. 11 March 1632, m. John Rugg, died after
childbirth in 1656
3. John, bap. 1 Paril 1635, m. Sarah Hayward
4. Sarah, bap. 1637, m1. Richard Wheeler who was killed in
the Lancaster Indian massacre of 1676, m2 Joseph Rice
5. Hannah, probably b. Barbados 1639, m. John Rugg her
sister’s widower. He was killed in the Lancaster Indian
massacre of 1697.
6. Lydia, b. 15 August 1641 m1 Jonas Fairbank who was killed
with son Joshua in Lancaster Indian massacre of 1676. (see below) She is my 8th great aunt and also
my 9th great grandmother.
7. Jonathan, b. about
1640 m1. Dorothy Unknown, m2 Elizabeth Hoar, m3 Rebecca Bulkeley, m4 Ruth Brown
8. Jonas, b. 1648 in Lancaster, m. Mary Loker
1st lineage:
Generation 2: Mary Prescott, baptized on 24 February 1630 in
Sowerby, died in April 1716 in Lancester, Massachusetts; married on 2 July 1648
in Rowley, Massachusetts to Thomas Sawyer, born 1616 in England, died 12
September 1706 in Lancaster. Thirteen
children.
Generation 3: Joshua
Sawyer m. Sarah Wright
Generation 4: Mary Sawyer m. Robert Converse
Generation 5: Susanna
Converse m. Caleb Simonds
Generation 6: Ruth
Simonds m. Andrew Munroe
Generation 7: Luther
Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint
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)
2nd lineage:
Generation 2: Lydia Prescott, born 15 August 1641 in
Watertown, d. 31 December 1723 in Watertown; married Jonas Fairbanks on 28 May
1658 in Lancaster. He was the son of
Jonathan Fairbanks and Grace Smith, born 6 March 1625 in Dedham, Massachusetts,
died in the Lancaster Indian massacre of 10 February 1676, along with his son Joshua. Six children.
Lydia remarried to Elias Barron.
Generation 3: Grace
Fairbanks m. Ephraim Bullen
Generation 4: John Bullen m. Sarah Underwood
Generation 5: Grace Bullen m. Ebenezer Healey
Generation 6: Comfort Healey m. Abigail Allen
Generation 7: Comfort
Healey m. Rebecca Crosby
Generation 8: Joseph Edwin Healy m. Matilda Weston
Generation 9: Mary Etta Healey m. Peter Hoogerzeil
Generation 10:
Florence Etta Hoogerzeil m. Arthur Treadwell Hitchings
Generation 11: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer
Allen (my grandparents)
This means that I am descended from John Prescott on both my maternal and paternal side!
UPDATE: There is a great blog post with lots of photos of John Prescott's gravesite and other views of the Old Settler's Burial Field in Lancaster at Michael Auger's blog:
http://michaelsgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/old-settlers-burial-field-lancaster.html
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To Cite/Link to this post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ Prescott of Lancaster, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 9, 2013, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/03/surname-saturday-prescott-of-lancaster.html: accessed [access date]).
