Friday, February 12, 2021

52 Ancestors - Week 369: #580 Jonas Prescott (1678-1750) of Groton, Massachusetts

Jonas Prescott (1678-1750)   is number 580 on my Ahnentafel List, my 7th great-grandfather, who married #581 Thankful Wheeler (1682-1716)  in 1699  in Concord, Middlesex County,  Massachusetts.

I am descended through:

*  their son #290 Jonas Prescott (1703-1784) who married #291 Elizabeth Harwood (1701-1739) in 1731.
*  their daughter #145 Elizabeth Prescott (1734-1812)  who married #144 Zachariah Hildreth (1728-1784) in 1753.
*  their son #72 Zachariah Hildreth (1754-1829) who married #73 Elizabth Keyes (1759-1793) in 1777.
*  their son #36 Zachariah Hildreth (1783-1857) who married  #37 Hannah Sawtell (1789-1857)  in 1810.
*  their son #18 Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) who married #19 Sophia Newton (1834-1923) in 1852.
*  their daughter #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920) who married  #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) in 1874.
*  their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.
*  their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)  in 1942.
*  their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)

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1)  PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
 
   
*  Name:                     Jonas Prescott[1–9]

*  Sex:                        Male

*  Father:                    Jonas Prescott (1648-1723)
*  Mother:                   Mary Loker (1653-1735)    
 
2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Birth:                       26 October 1678, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[1–3]    

*  Distribution:            27 March 1724 (age 45), father's will proved; Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[6]    

*  Death:                      12 September 1750 (age 71), Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[7–8]    
*  Burial:                     after 12 September 1750 (after age 71), Old Burying Ground, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[8]    

*  Probate:                   23 September 1751, administration granted; Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[9]  
 
3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
 
*  Spouse 1:                 Thankful Wheeler (1682-1716)    
*  Marriage 1:              5 October 1699 (age 20), Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[1-2,4]    

*  Child 1:                    Ebenezer Prescott (1700-1771)    
*  Child 2:                    Jonas Prescott (1702-1784)    
*  Child 3:                    Thankful Prescott (1705-????)    
*  Child 4:                    Mary Prescott (1711-1793)    
*  Child 5:                    Sarah Prescott (1712-1737)    

*  Spouse 2:                 Mary Page (1674-1749)    
*  Marriage 2:              30 April 1718 (age 39), Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[5]  
4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):  

Jonas Prescott and his family are briefly described in The Prescott Memorial book[1] and in the White Family Quarterly[2] .  

Jonas Prescott was born 26 October 1678 in Groton, Massachusetts, the third child and eldest son of Jonas and Mary (Loker) Prescott[1-3] .  

He married, first, to Thankful Wheeler (1682-1716) on 5 October 1699 in Concord, Massachusetts at age 20[1-2,4] .  Thankful was the daughter of John and Sarah (Larkin) Wheeler.  They had five children:

*  Ebenezer Prescott (1700-1771), married 1721 Hannah Farnsworth (1702-????).
*  Jonas Prescott (1703-1784), married 1731 Elizabeth Harwood (1701-1739).
*  Thankful Prescott (1705-????), married (1) 1726, Timothy Spaulding (1700-1734); (2) 1741 Joseph Baldwin (1702-1747); (3) 1752 John Marshall (1700-1757)
*  Mary Prescott (1711-1793), married 1728 Joseph Stone (1702-1777).
*  Sarah Prescott (1712-1737), married 1732 Samuel Minot (1706-1766).

After Thankful (Wheeler) Prescott died on 16 November 1716, Jonas married, secondly, Mary (Page) Ashton (1675-1749)[5].  They had no children.

Jonas' father, Jonas Prescott, bought land from Andrew the Indians in Groton (in what is now Westford, Massachusetts), and held the water privilege and grist mill at Stony Brook in Forge Village. According to a Westford history book:
"Members of the Prescott family of Groton began occupying Forge Village during the Colonial Period for the purpose of operating their grist mill on Stony Brook and, later, manufacturing iron from bog-ore they mined in Groton."
Jonas Prescott, Jr.  enlarged and improved the works at Stony Brook, by erecting additional forges for manufacturing iron from ore, as well as for other purposes[2].

Jonas Prescott Jr. was captain of the militia and justice of the peace, and represented the town of Groton in the General Court in 1720[2].

Jonas Prescott's father, Jonas Prescott (1648-1723) died on 31 December 1723, and his will dated 28 December 1723 was proved on 7 March 1724.  In his will, he bequeathed to his son Jonas Prescott[6]:
"Item  I give to my Son Jonas Prescott besides what I have all Ready given him by a deed and other ways my silver tancard at ye deceas of my wife."
Upon the petition of Jonas Prescott and others, a part of Groton, including Forge Village, was set off to form the town of Westford in 1730[2].

Jonas received extensive land holdings from his father during his father's lifetime, and bought and sold other properties in Groton and Westford. 

Jonas Prescott died intestate on 12 September 1750 at age 71 in Groton, Massachusetts[7], and was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Groton[8].  The inscription says:

"Here lies buried the 
body of 
Cap Jonas Prescott 
who departed 
this life 
September 12th AnnoDomini 
1750 Age 71 years 
10 mo 17 Ds"

The probate records for Jonas Prescott (1678-1750) are in Middlesex County Probate Court packet 18,081[9].  On 23 September 1751, Ebenezer Prescott, the eldest son, was named administrator of the estate of his father, Jonas Prescott.  An inventory of the real and personal property was taken on 15 November 1751, and presented to the Probate Court by the administrator on 25 November 1751.  The real property totaled over £7500 old tenor, and the personal property about £690 old tenor.  The inventory notes that most of the real property was given by deed to his children before he died.  In a series of affidavits, Ebenezer Prescott agreed to give money (in lawful money of New England) to his siblings: 

*  Joseph Stone and Mary Stone of Groton - £150
*  John Marshall and Thankful Marshall of Nottingham, New Hampshire - £150
*  Samuel Minott of Concord - £100 for his children
*  Jonas Prescott of Groton - £200
 
5)  SOURCES

1. William Prescott, MD, The Prescott Memorial, or a Genealogical Memoir of the Prescott Families in America (Boston, Mass. : Henry W. Dutton & Son, 1870), page 53, #57-3, Jonas Prescott Jr. sketch.

2. Almira Larkin White (editor), "Children of John Prescott," White Family Quarterly (Haverhill, Mass. : Nichols, 1903-1905), Volumes 1-3, pages 104-134, page 126, #61 Jonas Prescott sketch.

3. Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (Salem, Mass. : The Essex Institute, 1926-1927), Two volumes, Births, page 191, Jonas Prescott entry, 26 October 1678.

4. George Tolman (compiler), Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635-1850 (Concord, Mass. : Committee on Printing, 1894), page 50, Jonas Prescott and Thankful Wheeler entry.

5. Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Marriages, page 153, Jonas Prescott Jr. and Mary Page entry, 18 April 1718.

6. Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Probate case files, Estate file 18080 (11 images) Jonas Prescott of Groton, 1724; "Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871," indexed database and digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.AmericanAncestors.org, accessed 11 February 2021).

7. Vital Records of Groton, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Deaths, page 157, Capt. Jonas Prescott entry, age 71-10-17.

8. Find A Grave, indexed database and digital image,  (http://www.findagrave.com), Old Burying Ground (Groton, Mass.), Jonas Prescott memorial # 29051425.

9. Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Estate file 18081 (10 images) Jonas Prescott of Groton, 1751.

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NOTE: In 2014, Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog. I have extended this theme in 2021 for an eighth year to 416 Ancestors in 416 Weeks. The list of 52 Ancestors biographies from my great-grandparents to the 7th great-grandparents (in work) is in https://www.geneamusings.com/p/ancestor-biographies.html.

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Copyright (c) 2021, Randall J. Seaver

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