Wenham, Essex County, Massachusetts was settled in 1636. The first settlers called it Enon or Salem Village. It was officially set off from the Town of Salem on May 10, 1643.
In 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, the Protestant king and queen,William and Mary, took the English throne from Catholic King James II. The bloodless revolution profoundly impacted the American colonies.
Benjamin married Bethusha Morse on November 6, 1674. She was the daughter of Daniel Morse and Lydia Fisher. She was born May 20, 1653 in Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.
Benjamin and Bethusha lived in Medfield. In 1675 Bethusha's father, Daniel, wrote during troubles with the indigenous people.
...I made bold lately to request your help of four men to be the garrison at my house, which is for my family and my son with me, most being married men. I humbly prosecute my request that so it might be that I might have four men out of Medfield, and that Edward West and Benjamin Fisk (sons-in-law) might be two of them, they living in the remote part of Medfield next my farm and they being willing to come...
Benjamin and Bethusha's children included:
Lydia Fiske (September 18, 1675, died when born),
Mary Fiske (July 22, 1677),
Bethia Fiske Plympton (June 25, 1683, married Jonathan Plympton),
Benjamin Fiske (April. 25, 1684), and
Martha Fiske (January 14, 1685).
Benjamin died in 1689 when he was 39 years old.
Deacons played a respected and important role in early New England churches. They sat in a raised pew near the pulpit and had special duties during communion.
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.
European and indiginous American fought fierce battles as the Europeans expanded their territory.
The New England Meetinghouse was the only municipal building in a town. Both worship and civil meetings were held there. It was customary for men and women to sit separately and the town chose a committee once a year to assign seats according to what was paid, age, and dignity.
Wenham was first settled by English Puritans. The church was formed in 1644 with John Fiske as pastor.
from The Fiske Family by Albert Augustus Fiske
Benjamin Fiske, the youngest son of William, the Emigrant, removed from Wenham to Medfield, Mass., where he married Bethshua, a daughter of Dea. Morse, November 6, 1674, and had by her the following children, and perhaps others:
Lydia, born Sept. 18, 1675.
Bethia, born June 25, 1688.
Mary, July 22, 1677.
Benjamin, April 25, 1684.
Martha, born Jan. 14, 1685.
After the birth of Martha the family wholly disappears from the records of Medfield, and their subsequent history is involved in total obscurity, although there are some reasons for believing they went to Connecticut.
Mary White Rowlandson,Talcot
was captured by Native Americans
during King Philip's War
(1675-1676).
Connecticut's first European settlers were Dutch.
Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts was settled in 1635 by English Puritans.
from An Account of the Ancestry of Arba Thayer Wood by Ann Maria Stearns Wood
Daniel Morse (Samuel) b. in Dedham, England,1613; d. in Sherborn, Mass. 1688; m. Lydia Fisher, b. 1620; d. June 5, 1688; dau. of Anthony and Mary Fisher. Daniel Morse came to New England at a later period than his parents. In 1636 he had a home lot assigned him in Dedham, that part now Medfield, but he settled in Bogistow. About the year 1656 he purchased eight hundred acres of choice land, since called the Farms, situated in the eastern part of what is now Sherborn. He located on the site now owned by Leonard Morse, four miles from Medfield and half a mile from Farm Bridge.
He was a selectman and leader in public meetings as long as he lived. He headed the list on the second petition for the incorporation of Sherborn in 1674. He and his eldest son were appointed commissioners to negotiate with the Natick Indians to exchange four thousand acres of land now in Ashland and Hopkinton for the same amount in Sherborn and Natick. Daniel Morse made his will in 1687. He died in 1688 and was probably interred in the neglected burying ground in the south part of Sherborn.
He had nine children, only one of whom is given. b. Dec. 12, 1697; d. March 10, 1752; dau. of Joshua Clapp and Mary Boydon his wife; m. 2nd. Oct. 11, 1753, Mary Clark, widow of Solomon Clark of Medfield. Eleazer Morse lived upon his father's and grandfather's estate, called the Farms in Sherborn. By his first wife he had seven children, only one of whom is given.
Europeans who made the voyage to America faced a difficult journey of several months.
from A Genealogy and Historical Notices of the Family of Plimpton or Plympton in America
Jonathan [Plympton] (19) b. Apr. 28, 1680, d. 1749; m. 1702 Bethiah, dau. of Banjamin Fiske, d. 1749; settled on her father's farm in the north part of Medfield. He was prominent in town affairs; was selectman eight years, town treasurer two years; and representative three years, 1738-39-40.
