Thomas Wiswall
Encyclopedia
Thomas Wiswall was an early settler of British America
, a prominent early citizen of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
, and a key figure in the founding of Cambridge Village, now known as the city of Newton
, Massachusetts
.
, Lancashire
, England
on 30 September 1601. He married Elizabeth Berbage in 1632, and had ten children:
Wiswall arrived in New England
on August 16, 1635 (leaving behind him brothers Adam, Abiel and Jonathan), and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts with his twin brother John, who had arrived in 1633. He was a grantee of land in 1637, subscriber to the school fund in 1641, and served as a selectman in Dorchester from 1644-1652.
, some time in 1654. In 1654, he sublet a 400 acres (1.6 km²) tract of land there from Captain Thomas Prentice. This land had been the property of the recently deceased John Haynes
, former Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and later Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, and Prentice was the lessee and not the owner. Wiswall built a new homestead that year, beside the Dedham Trail (now Centre Street), on the south shore of a lake located on that tract of land. This was the first house to be built on the shore of what would be known—for 150 years—as Wiswall's Pond. The lake is now known as Crystal Lake, in Newton, Massachusetts
.
John Jackson (the first settler in the area) donated an acre of land to be used as a burying place and for a meeting house. Wiswall built this meeting house, where today the East Parish Burying Ground
(also known as the Centre Street Cemetery) and the First Settlers Monument are currently located.
In 1656, Wiswall and John Jackson signed a petition for release from supporting the church at Cambridge. This was the beginning of a movement for the area to become a separate and distinct entity from Cambridge. After a struggle that lasted for 32 years, these efforts were ultimately successful. In 1688, the area became formally known as Cambridge Village. Cambridge Village was renamed Newtown in 1691, and finally Newton in 1766.
Wiswall started the Cambridge Village Church, and was installed first ruling elder and assistant pastor on 20 July 1664. He also served as fence viewer and surveyor of roads for the area.
, England), survived him and died in Billerica, Massachusetts in May 1686.
British America
For American people of British descent, see British American.British America is the anachronistic term used to refer to the territories under the control of the Crown or Parliament in present day North America , Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana...
, a prominent early citizen of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, and a key figure in the founding of Cambridge Village, now known as the city of Newton
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Early life
Wiswall was baptised in WarringtonWarrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 30 September 1601. He married Elizabeth Berbage in 1632, and had ten children:
- Enoch Wiswall (born 8 September 1633, England; died 28 November 1706)
- Esther Wiswall (born 1635, DorchesterDorchester, MassachusettsDorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
, SuffolkSuffolk County, MassachusettsSuffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
), married William Johnson - Ichabod WiswallIchabod WiswallReverend Ichabod Wiswall was the third pastor of the church in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, British America. Though he is thought to have given the first known funeral sermon in British America at the burial of Capt...
(born 3 June 1637, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 23 July 1700) - Noah Wiswall (born 30 December 1638, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 6 July 1690)
- Mary Wiswall (born 1640, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
- Ebenezer Wiswall (born 8 December 1641, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 1691)
- Thomas Wiswall (born 1642, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
- Sarah Wiswall (born 19 March 1643, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
- Elizabeth Wiswall (born 15 April 1649, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
- Benjamin Wiswall (born 15 April 1649, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
Wiswall arrived in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
on August 16, 1635 (leaving behind him brothers Adam, Abiel and Jonathan), and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts with his twin brother John, who had arrived in 1633. He was a grantee of land in 1637, subscriber to the school fund in 1641, and served as a selectman in Dorchester from 1644-1652.
Founding of Cambridge Village
Wiswall left Dorchester and resettled in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, some time in 1654. In 1654, he sublet a 400 acres (1.6 km²) tract of land there from Captain Thomas Prentice. This land had been the property of the recently deceased John Haynes
John Haynes
John Haynes , also sometimes spelled Haines, was a colonial magistrate and one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony...
, former Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and later Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, and Prentice was the lessee and not the owner. Wiswall built a new homestead that year, beside the Dedham Trail (now Centre Street), on the south shore of a lake located on that tract of land. This was the first house to be built on the shore of what would be known—for 150 years—as Wiswall's Pond. The lake is now known as Crystal Lake, in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
.
John Jackson (the first settler in the area) donated an acre of land to be used as a burying place and for a meeting house. Wiswall built this meeting house, where today the East Parish Burying Ground
East Parish Burying Ground
East Parish Burying Ground, also known as Centre Street Burying Ground or Centre Street Cemetery, is an historic cemetery located at Centre and Cotton streets in the village of Newton Corner in the city of Newton, Massachusetts. On December 23, 1983, it was listed on the National Register of...
(also known as the Centre Street Cemetery) and the First Settlers Monument are currently located.
In 1656, Wiswall and John Jackson signed a petition for release from supporting the church at Cambridge. This was the beginning of a movement for the area to become a separate and distinct entity from Cambridge. After a struggle that lasted for 32 years, these efforts were ultimately successful. In 1688, the area became formally known as Cambridge Village. Cambridge Village was renamed Newtown in 1691, and finally Newton in 1766.
Wiswall started the Cambridge Village Church, and was installed first ruling elder and assistant pastor on 20 July 1664. He also served as fence viewer and surveyor of roads for the area.
Death and burial
Wiswall died in Cambridge Village on 6 December 1683. He is buried in the East Parish Burying Ground in Newton. His second wife, Isabella Farmer (a widow from AnsleyAnsley, Warwickshire
Ansley is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The parish includes Ansley Common, Ansley Hall, Birchley Heath, and formerly Ansley Hall Colliery. The village is just to the west of Nuneaton, and near Arley, Astley and Church End.Ansley Parish...
, England), survived him and died in Billerica, Massachusetts in May 1686.
Notable descendants
- Wiswall's son, Ichabod WiswallIchabod WiswallReverend Ichabod Wiswall was the third pastor of the church in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, British America. Though he is thought to have given the first known funeral sermon in British America at the burial of Capt...
(born 3 June 1637, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 23 July 1700) was third pastor of the church in Duxbury, Plymouth ColonyPlymouth ColonyPlymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. Officiating at the burial of Capt. Jonathan Alden, he gave the first known funeral sermon in British America. - Wiswall's son, Captain Noah Wiswall (1638–1690), was killed in battle at Wheelwright Pond at Lee, New HampshireLee, New HampshireLee is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,330 at the 2010 census. The town is a rural farm and bedroom community, being close to the University of New Hampshire.-History:...
, during events leading up to the Battle of QuebecBattle of Quebec (1690)The Battle of Quebec was fought in October 1690 between the colonies of New France and Massachusetts Bay, then ruled by the kingdoms of France and England, respectively. It was the first time Quebec's defences were tested....
during King William's WarKing William's WarThe first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
on July 6, 1690. - Noah Wiswall (1699–1786), grandson of Noah Wiswall (1638–1690). In 1776, at 76 years of age, he marched 28 miles (45.1 km) from Newton to Lexington, where he was wounded at the Battle of Lexington.
- Jeremiah Wiswall (1725–1809), Captain, East Newton Company of MinutemenMinutemenMinutemen were members of teams of select men from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats, hence the name.The minutemen were among the first...
, ConcordBattles of Lexington and ConcordThe Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
and DorchesterFortification of Dorchester HeightsThe Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city....
, American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He was the son of Noah (1699–1786), and was his commander on the battlefield. - Alexander Eugene Wiswall