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 1644 - 1728 (84 years) Submit Photo / Document
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| Name |
John Brigham |
| Title |
Doctor |
| Born |
16 Mar 1644 |
Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Library book: History of the Brigham Family |
004 |
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John Brigham began in business by erecting a saw mill on the Assabet River rive. While the original site is not known the History of the Brigham Family suggest this photograph may the original location.
The History of the Brigham Family, A Record of Several Thousand Descendants of Thomas Brigham the Emigrant, 1603-1653. By W.I. Tyler Brigham. Published by the Grafton Press, New York, 1907 |
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Brigham Mill.
Northborough History by Josiah Coleman Kent. Garden City Press Inc. Printers. Newton, Massachusetts. 1921. Page (facing 158) |
| Died |
16 Sep 1728 |
Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
 Siblings |
4 siblings |
| 1. Thomas Brigham, b. 9 Mar 1641, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. 25 Nov 1717, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
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| 2. Mary Brigham, b. Abt 1649, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. 1676, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
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| 3. Hannah B Brigham, b. 9 Mar 1649, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. 8 Dec 1719, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
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| 4. Samuel Brigham, b. 12 Jan 1652, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. 24 Jul 1713, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
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| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I249 |
Nagel |
| Last Modified |
20 Jan 2018 |
| Father |
Thomas Brigham, b. Abt 1603, Holme Upon, Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, England , d. 8 Dec 1653, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts (Age ~ 50 years) |
| Relationship |
Birth |
| Mother |
Mercy Hurd, b. Abt 1616, England , d. 22 Dec 1693, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts (Age ~ 77 years) |
| Relationship |
Birth |
| Married |
Abt 1641 |
Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
| Family ID |
F87 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 |
Sarah Davis, b. 10 Apr 1646, d. Abt 1689 (Age 42 years) |
| Married |
Abt 1664 |
| Children |
| | 1. John Brigham, b. 19 Aug 1667, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. 2 Dec 1667 (Age 0 years) |
| | 2. Sarah Brigham, b. 27 Mar 1674, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. Abt 1744 (Age 69 years) [Birth] |
| | 3. Mary Brigham, b. 6 May 1678, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts [Birth] |
| | 4. John Brigham, Jr, b. Nov 1680, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. Abt 1728, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts (Age ~ 47 years) [Birth] |
| | 5. Marcy Brigham, b. Abt 1682, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts , d. 21 Oct 1732, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts (Age ~ 50 years) |
| | 6. Hannah Brigham, b. 27 Mar 1683, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
| | 7. Thomas Brigham, b. 6 May 1687, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts [Birth] |
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| Family ID |
F1281 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Event Map |
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 | Born - 16 Mar 1644 - Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
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 | Died - 16 Sep 1728 - Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts |
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| Pin Legend |
 : Address
 : Location
 : City/Town
 : County/Shire
 : State/Province
 : Country
 : Not Set |
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| Documents |
 | History of Town of Marlborough
History of the town of Marlborough, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1657 to 1861; with a brief sketch of the town of Northborough, a genealogy of the families in Marlborough to 1800, and an account of the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town. By Charles Hudson. Published by Press of T. R. Marvin & son, Boston MA. 1862.
View this by clicking above or save by right clicking here (note the B&W version is searchable):
History of Town of Marlborough
History of Town of Marlborough B&W
Note that the list of people whom I have associated these files with does not begin to cover all of the individuals discussed in this book. |
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| Notes |
- The most brilliant of the Thomas children. Drake (History of Middlesex County, vol II p141) describes him as " one of the most popular and remarkable men of his day, having considerable capacity for public affairs, unusual ability as a surveyor and some ambition as a land speculator." Lewis (History of Worcester County vol II p1332) refers to him as " John Brigham, the doctor, surveyor. Commissioner of the General Court, land speculator and the most enterprising man in town." It is the very exuberance of his activity, his ubiquitous absorption here and there, into this and that problem of the place and hour, that make the fragmentary gleanings of him so fascinating yet unsatisfactory. Drake states that " he was returned as representative from Marlborough in 1688 and from Sudbury in 1706." The first date cannot be verified, as the records are lacking. According to MA State Archives John Brigham was made a freeman 7 Mar 1690. He represented Marlborough in 1689 and 1692. He was represented Sudbury for the term of 30 May 1705 to 12 Apr 1706. He also was a Marlborough delegate to the convention called against the "Tyrant Andros."
He began business for himself by building a sawmill. This mill was erected before Philip's War. It was powered by a flutter wheel turned by a stream which constitutes one of the principal tributaries of the Assabet River. Hudson says (p. 231): "It is difficult to tell when or where the first mill was erected. It is probable, however, that the first was a sawmill and was erected in that part of the town now included in Northborough, by John Brigham." Peter Whitney (History of the County of Worcester 1793 pg 305) placed it on Northbrook Stream, "a mile and a half west" of the meeting-house, and states that "considerable businesses is performed"
Hudson (History of the Town of Marlborough 1862 pg296) says he was the first white settler of Northborough and that the land grant was made to accommodate the sawmill. He surveyed the Marlborough Indian Plantation of about 6000 acres in 1672; was granted the extensive "Coram farm" for his services as surveyor. He surveyed and mapped out Sudbury Township in 1708.
No history of Marlborough or the Brigham's could be complete with out looking at life with the Indians. It is all to easy to look back and make condemnations without considering the age and spirit in which events were taking place. Life on earth as well as civilizations of man has always been a series of successions. As Hudson points out (History of the Town Of Marlborough) Babylon fell to Persia. Persia was conquered by Greece which in turn fell to Rome. It would be pretentious to assume life in the western hemisphere would work any differently When the white man arrived they indeed found the lands to be inhabited. The spirit of the times was that God created man to "cultivate the earth" and "subdue it". The land is capable of supporting a far greater population when man is living in a civilized world. A nomadic existence roaming the forest in search of game may be a way of life, However when a man mixes his labor with the soil in order to build a civilization, all other things being equal that man has a greater claim to that land. That is the spirit of “providence”.
The Massachusetts colony dealt fairly with the natives. They were not displaced from land that they were occupying. The courts were open to them and offered protection. The Plantation, Ockoocangansett was given special protection and it was required that any sale would have to be approved by the court. No doubt there would have been incidences where unscrupulous individuals defrauded the Indians, but the government protected them as best it could. This plantation was inhabited chiefly by the Natick tribe. Many had been converted to Christianity and were commonly (and still today) called the praying Indians. Not only was it a peaceful coexistence the settlers found the Indians quite helpful.
The war known as “King Phillip's War” was more than a significant event. In retrospect in terms of how the population was affected it was arguably the worst war in our history. Latter on wars would affect larger numbers of people but King Phillip's War affected EVERY ONE. So many homes were burned the majority of families were left without a home. Rare was the family who was not directly involved in the fighting and may of those involved perished.
While the colony expanded English-Indian relations were sometimes strained but peaceable. A treaty was signed which placed the Indians in the governance of Massachusetts. The Indians agreed to conform to moral law to the point of not working on the sabbath. Gifts were exchanged and a dinner enjoyed. The peace made it easy for the colonists to become complacent.
Philip chief of the Wampanoags understood that the English would eventually rule everything. He plotted to exterminate the English, gaining allies in other tribes. Wassausmon, a Christian Indian sympathetic to the English warned the colonist of Phillips plans. When Wassaumon was found dead in a pond another Indian claimed to have seen three of King Phillip's warriors put him there. A trial was held. A Jury of twelve whites and and six Christian Indians found the three guilty of murder. When the three were hanged in June of 1675 it was the start of the war. The Wampanoag attacked a number of white settlements, burning them to the ground. The war lasted about a year.
It ended with a early morning raid upon Phillip's encampment. The Indians were caught off guard. Phillip fled but the rout having been predicted was covered by an Englishman and an Indian known as John Alderman. The Englishman fired and missed. The Indian who had loaded his musket with two balls fired. One of his bullets pierced Phillips Heart. Alderman was the brother of the Indian that Phillip had executed.
In retrospect it seems barbaric but one needs to judge the actions in the spirit of the times. The Captain in charge of the raid. Ordered Phillips body to be beheaded and quartered. (a traditional treatment for high criminals in that era) The Indian who carried out the action pronounced a warrior's eulogy: “You have been one very great man. You have made many a man afraid of you. But, as big as you be I now chop you to pieces.” As a reward Alderman received the head and one hand. He sold the head for 30 shillings to a fort in Plymouth where it was placed on a stake and displayed.
John Brigham appears to have been the leader in the attempt of some of the principal citizens of Marlborough to take over the Indian Plantation, Ockoocangansett, which, they alleged, had been forfeited by the Indians through their participation in King Philip's War. The General Court, in 1684, refused the request for permission to purchase the Plantation. On 15 July 1684, they obtained, without consent of the Court, a deed for the Plantation. This deed was promptly declared null and void. Never the less the group proceeded at once to take possession of the Plantation and to lay out and divide the lands. Had the issue been pressed the courts surely would have sided with the Indians and enforced the law. The Indians who made the deal would not have had reason to fight it and the others perhaps shamed by the traitorous Indians living in their midst went along with the deal.
In 1719 all controversy was ended by annexation of the territory to Marlborough.
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