Middlesex County, Massachusetts was created on May 10, 1643. The county originally included Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, Wayland, and Reading.
In 1721, Boston had a terrible smallpox epidemic. Citizens fled the city and spread the disease to the other colonies. Inoculation was introduced during this epidemic by Zabdiel Boylston and Cotton Mather.
Sarah Davis Cady was born on August 12, 1667 in Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Her parents were Samuel Davis, Sr. and Mary Waters.
was noted for his giant frame and physical prowess, and gained great influence over the Indians.
Joseph was captain of the colonial troops, under Nicholson and Vetch, that took Port Royal (now Annapolis) in 1710.
Sarah and Joseph's children included:
Joseph Cady, Jr. (1690, married Elizabeth Hosmer),
William Cady (1692),
James Cady (1694),
Isaac Cady (1696/97),
Abigail Cady (1698/99),
Stephen Cady (1701, married Abigail Lee), Captain David Cady (1703, married Hannah Whitmore),
Jonathan Cady (1705, great grandfather of Dr. Stephen Cady), and
Benjamin Cady (1707, married Elizabeth Church).
In 1699/1701 he was given permission to open an inn. They sold their land in Groton on February 22, 1702/03 and bought 150 acres in Killingly. The farm was located north of the old Providence road. Joseph built “a pretentious house" in 1714. The house was two stories with the conventional stone chimney. It had a huge oven and fireplace in the kitchen and fireplaces for the reception and family rooms. There were six rooms on each floor.
Joseph died on December 29, 1742.
As Joseph Cady was one day cutting brush alone, an Indian approached him from the neighboring forest and expressed a strong desire to try the skill of a white man in wrestling. Cady thought to himself that if he could throw the fellow it might operate to deter the Indians from hostilities against the settlements, and accepted the challenge. Both men struggled long and desperately, but Cady at last prevailed and the Indian was prostrated. Unfortunately he fell among the brush, which his antagonist had been cutting, and one of the sharp stumps perforating his skull, he died on the spot.
Old Style Calendar
Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.
Queen Ann’s War was between 1702 and 1713. It was part of the War of Spanish Succession. England, Austria, the Netherlands, and Portugal joined forces to prevent France from becoming too powerful. The war waged on the New England frontier was called Queen Ann’s War.
Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts was settled and incorporated in 1655. During King Philip's War, indigenous warriors burned all but four of Groton's garrisons. Survivors fled, but returned two years later to rebuild the town. Groton was again threatened during Queen Anne's War.
The indigenous peoples in the United States before the arrival of Europeans included many distinct tribes and languages.
An early American tavern(or ordinary) was an important meeting place and they were strictly supervised. Innkeepers were respectable members of the community. Taverns offered food and drink. An inn also offered accommodation.
Elizabeth Fones (1610) was a Puritan woman in New England. She married her cousin, Henry Winthrop, son of John Winthrop. After he died, she married Robert Feake and lived in Watertown and Greenwich, Massachusetts. Robert apparently suffered from mental illness and abandoned his family. She then lived with William Hallett in Long Island.
