Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts was settled in 1635 by English Puritans.
The town common (commons) was a small, open field at the center of the town which was jointly owned. It was used as a marketplace, a place for the militia to drill, or for grazing livestock.
John Shepard was born about 1637, probably in Dedham, Norfork County, Massachusetts. Winfred Shepard in Ancestors and Descendants of Albro Dexter includes John as a son of Ralph and Thanklord Shepard, but he is not included in the Kin of Mellcene Thurman Smith.
He married Sarah Goble in 1661. Sarah was the daughter of Thomas and Alice Goble of Concord.
Their children included:
John Shepard (1661),
Martha Shepard (1663),
Mary Shepard Streight (1663),
Rachel Shepard Stone (married John Stone),
Sarah Shepard Goble (married Thomas Goble),
Dorothy Shepard (1669), and
Daniel Shepard (1671, married Mary Smedley).
In 1661 he was granted 30 acres of land by the town
in consideration of the hand of God upon him in the loss of one of his arms.
On March 21, 1689/90 he was voted freeman by the court.
He died in Concord on December 15, 1699.
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.
Any man entering a colony or becoming a a member the church, was not free. He was not forced to work, but his movements were carefully observed to see if they followed the Puritanical ideal. After this probationary period, he became a "freeman." Men then took the Oath of a Freeman where they vowed to defend the Commonwealth and not to overthrow the government.
Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts was settled early by the English as a frontier outpost of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Early European settlers in the American colonies were mostly farmers and craftsmen. They had to work hard to provide daily neccesities for themselves.
Ralph Shepard, Puritan by Ralph Hamilton Shepard
John Shepard of Concord, b. 1660, Maryland Sarah, dau. of Thomas Goble of Concord, and died 15th Dec., 1699.
It would be impossible to arrive at a complete record of the family of John Shepard. Besides
John,
Mary and
Martha, whose births are recorded, we have
Daniel? who married Mary Smedley 1 May, 1701, and perhaps
Sarah, wife of her cousin Thomas Goble,
Rachel, wife of John Stone: and also
Dorothy, b. 6 Oct., 1669.
Understand the Puritans better:
ye is an archaic spelling of "the."
A Puritan was a member of the religious group in the 16th and 17th centuries that advocated "purity" of worship and doctrine who believed in personal and group piety. Puritans were persecuted in England and came to America so they would be free to practice their religion.
The Record of my Ancestry
by Charles Lyman Newhall
Thomas Goble, as most generally spelled, but sometimes Gobell and otherwise, was doubtless Goebel, German, came from England in 1634 with wife and three children, and settled in Charlestown, New England in 1634. In the division of lands in Charlestown in 1638 he was allowed "15 acres in the Mistickside " and "35 acres above ye Ponds."
He married Alice,who was admitted to the church in Charlestown 30d, 6m, 1634. As Thomas Goble's will was dated Nov. 30, 1657, and probated Dec. 29, 1657, he must have died between those dates, probably at Concord. In 1675 Thomas Goble and wife Mary, Daniel and wife Anna (Hannah), Daniel Dean and wife Mary, John Shepherd and wife and John White and wife were heirs of Thomas Goble, Sr.
The children of Thomas and Alice Goble were:
John, b. in England about 1629; d. Sept. 26, 1676.
Thomas, b. in England about 1631; m. 1st, Ruth ;2d, Mary4, dau.of Ralphl and Alice Mousall of Charlestown; d. in Concord Nov. 22, 1690.
Elizabeth, b. ;m. 1st, John, son of Thomas and Susanna White of Sudbury; m. 2d, in 1682, Thomas Carter of Sudbury.
Mary, bapt. 27d, 12m, 1635; m. Lieut. Daniel Deane of Concord.
Sarah, bapt. 27d, 3m, 1638; m. John Shepherd.
Daniel, bapt. 18d, 5m, 1641; m. Feb. 25, 1664, Hannah, perhaps dau. of John and Anne Brewer of Cambridge, b. Jan. 18, 1644-5; executed
Feb. 26, 1676, for murder of Indians; she m. 2d, in 1677, Ephraim
Roper, and she and her husband and one daughter were killed by
Indians in 1697.
1677 Map of New England
click to enlarge
European and indiginous American fought fierce battles as the Europeans expanded their territory.
Some Puritans gave their children hortatory names (from the Latin for “encourage”) like Thankful, hoping that the children would live up to them. The names were used for several generations.
