Peleg Lawrence

Notes:

Peleg was the sixth son and may have been disabled as his father filed the following petition which probably refers to him: "Groton - 22 - 7 - 1665 To the Hon'ed the County; Co't at Cambridge, Octob. 3. 65.
The humble request of Jno Lawrence of Groton, That I having a son being now neere upon age & being called upon to attend service in training, I wld crave libertye to request that hee may be considered and if your Worspps see cause freed from training: his Infirmitye is a losse of more than two joynts on his left Thumb which is his hand he is most active with & [he] is much disnabled fro doing any activity by it: I am not unwilling in my spheare to bee beneficial to ye publig service, yet I psume this may be a disoblig[em]ent upon this acct; The case of ye Lad or chiefe officer is able to informe you of further & yrfore not any; farther to trouble yor Honrs depending upon yr equabl determination
I leave my selfe with you & Rest
Yors Humbly engaged
Jno' Lawrence " [from Historical Sketches of the Lawrance Fam.]
He purchased a tract of land adjacent to the SE boundry of old Groton township which is now in Littleton from the Nashobah Indians without the town of Groton's approval. He also owned other lands in the neighborhood.
He and his brother, Nathaiel, were among the inhabitants of Groton who sought a temporary refuge in Concord when Groton was destroyed by the Indians in 1676. He served 2 years as selectman, and held some minor offices. He lived on a farm along the great road to Boston, about a mile east of his brother, Nathaniel who lived on the "Mill-Highway", now the road to Ayer, and about 3/4 mile south of the centre of the town and near the "Indain Hills". His name firs appears in the Groton Records in 1669. In 167o he sold to his brother Nathaniel 13 acres of upland lying upon Gibbet hill, formerly the property of his brother, Joseph. From the land records of Groton:
"Lands Layd out to Pelleg Lawance on the west end of Stonny Brook Pond, (1) Seaventy acres be it mor or Lesse Bounded as followth [:] northerly by the Lands of Sergt Knop [also a White line ancestor] and towns comon westerly by the Lands of Jonas Prescot Southerly by ye Ridge of ye hill on the south sid[e] of the Brook that Runes out of Spectackle Pond into Stonny brook pond and easterly by Stonny brook pond. (2) forty acres be it mor of Lesse Bounded as ffolloweth [:] easterly ptly by the Lands of Jonas Prescot westerly by the medow of Capt Parker northerly by the Pond at Stonney Brook and southerly by Nashoba [became Littleton] Line and towns comon Land.... (5) ffour acres and thre[e] quarters mor or Lesse upon which his house standeth formerly Layd out to thomas Boydon Bounded southward by the Countrey highway westward with the lands of matthias ffarnworth sen: nothward by fferney medow eastward by the highway."





The following are some of the articles mentioned in the inventory of his estate: -- "Wearing cloaths; arms, ammunition and cutlash; Bookes; cart, ploughs, chaine, yoak, siths [scythes], houghs [hoes], spun-yarn, 2 steel traps, one swine." Sum total was L 140 4s. Dated 13 Mar 1693.

Peleg married Elizabeth Morse on 22 Dec 1668 in Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Elizabeth (daughter of Joseph Morse and Hannah Phillips) was born on 01 Sep 1647 in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

They had nine children.

1. Eleazer Lawrence was born on 28 Feb 1673/74 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts; died on 09 Jul 1754 in Pepperrell, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Notes:

He came to New England about 1630. It is probable that he was one of the large party under Gov. Wintrup, which sailed from England that year. About 1635 or earlier, he became a resident of Watertown. At about the age of 28, he was admitted a freeman on 17 Apr 1637. He was a carpenter by trade. His first land purchase was probably a lot on the east side of Fresh Pond. He also bought 35 acres from Isaac Cummins, which the latter had received in the earliest general land-grants in 1636, called the "Great Dividends." He also owned 15 acres of land at "Pequusset Common", later called "King's Common" in the northerly part of the township. On 28 Feb 1636/37, he received a grant of three acres of plough-land on the west side of Beaver Brook, with in the present borders of Waltham. From the Watertown lists of possessions in 1642, it seems that he then owned more than 150 acres. His homestead was "bounded on the E. by the highway; N by Timothy Hawkins and John Hammond [the latter a Lena STEARNS McEuen ancestor];W. by the meadow of John Biscoe; S. by land of John Flemming, deceased; widow Dix and her sonne; widow Bartlett, and said Biscoe." From comparisons to modern maps, it appears to the author of this genealogy [Historical Sketches of the Lawrence Family by Robt Lawrence, M.D. , pub 1888]
that the estate was situated in the present town of Belmont, on the W. side of Common St., 1/5 of a mile from its junction with Belmont St. John Lawrence was a member of the Grand Jury during the County Court session held a Cambridge beginning 1 Apr 1662. On 23 Oct of that year, he sold several pieces of real estate; and on the same day "John Lawrance of Water-Towne, Senior, & Carpenter," conveyed to John Biscoe his homestead , consisting of a dwelling-house, barns, and other buildings and 13 acres of land, including garders, orchards,, pastures, meadows, and plough-land, 'being the now mansion-place of mee the said John Lawrance, ' " He then removed to Groton where his name appears on the records in the following Dec. His homestead there was situated SW of Gibbet Hill, a short distance E. of the First Parish Meeting-house and near where Love Lane joins the present road to Lowell. As one of the early settlers of Groton, he was nan original land proprietor, and owner of a 20 acre right. He was twice chosen as a selectman, served one year as a surveryor of highways, and was a useful and honored citizen.

John married Elizabeth Cooke about 1635 in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Elizabeth died on 29 Aug 1663 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

No record has been found to give the precise date and place. Most of their 13 children were born in Watertown, before they removed to Groton, MA in the late autumn of 1662.

Notes:

He came to New England, and settled in Charlestown about 1635. Came to Charlestown, MA in 1630 with son John and wife Elizabeth.

Henry married Mary in Wisset, Suffolk, England. Mary was born in in Wisset, Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet]