Early European settlers in the American colonies were mostly farmers and craftsmen. They had to work hard to provide daily neccesities for themselves.
Lancaster was first settled as "Nashaway" in 1643. It was officially incorporated as "Lancaster on the Nashua" in 1653. It originally included many current towns in central Massachusetts. It was the home of Mary Rowlandson. During King Philip's War the town suffered several massacres. It was abandoned in 1680 and resettled several years later.
Samuel Waters was born on November 14, 1651 in Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts. His parents were Lawrence Waters and Ann Linton.
He married Mary Hudson on January 21, 1682 in Lancaster. Mary was the daughter of Daniel and Joanna Hudson. She was born on September 7, 1653.
When they married, Samuel was a carpenter in Lancaster. During King Phillip's War the family went to his brother, Stephen's, home in Charlestown. They moved to Woburn after the war. On July 12, 1682, he traded three tracts of land in Lancaster with James Snow for Snow's house and two acres in Woburn.
Samuel and Mary lived in Charlestown. Their children included:
Mary Waters (October 19, 1675),
Sarah Waters (January 15, 1678),
Daniel Waters (November 30, 1679),
Samuel Waters (November 4, 1681),
Abigail Waters Cleveland (November 27, 1683),
John Waters (September 23, 1685),
Ephriam Waters (October 12, 1687),
John Waters (December 11, 1689),
Nathaniel Waters (October 10, 1691),
Daniel Waters (October 10, 1691),
Josiah Waters (September 19, 1694), and
Joanna Waters (November 28, 1696).
Mary's parents, two of her sisters, and two children of her brother, Nathaniel, were killed by indigenous warriors in 1697.
Samuel died on March 2, 1728 in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Mary was buried at First Burial Ground in Woburn. The inscription on her tombstone reads:
Here lyes ye Body of Mary Waters,
wife of Samuel Waters,
deceased December 10th 1721,
in ye 68th year of her age.
Mary White Rowlandson,Talcot
was captured by Native Americans
during King Philip's War
(1675-1676).
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.
King Philip’s War was a bloody and costly series of raids and skirmishes in 1675 and 1676 between the Native American people and the colonials. King Philip was the Native American leader Metacom.
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.
European and indiginous American fought fierce battles as the Europeans expanded their territory.
Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts was settled early by the English as a frontier outpost of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
History of the Town of Marlborough by Charles Hudson, Joseph Allen published by Press of T. R. Marvin & son, 1862
Daniel Hudson, the ancestor of the Marlborough Hudsons, came from England about 1039. He was in Wat. 1040, and settled in Lancaster about 1665. He purchased of Maj. Simon Willard, a Proprietor's Right, for £40, situated on Gibson's Hill, in Lancaster. He m. Johanna, and had six or seven children before he came to Lancaster, where their births are recorded. He and his wife and two of their daughters, and two children of his son, Nathaniel, were killed by the Indians in one of their incursions into that ill-fated town in 1697. Though he died in Lancaster, he appears to have been absent from that town some portion of the time between the date of his settlement and that of his death.
In 1673, "Daniel Hudson, of Concord, sometimes of Lancaster," purchased 20 acres of land in Lancaster, of John Moore, of Sud.; and in 1674, Daniel Hudson, "late of Lancaster, but now of Cambridge Village," (Newton,) deeded to his oldest son, Daniel, "who is about to be married to Mary Maynard, of Sud., dau. of John Maynard," the same 20 acres of land. And in 1688, he and his wife deeded to their son, William, land near Gibson's Hill, in Lancaster. Daniel Hudson's will, dated 1695, and proved Oct. 14, 1697, mentions wife Johanna, and sons William, Nathaniel and Thomas. An Agreement connected with the settlement of the estate is signed by Nathaniel Hudson for himself and his brother Thomas; and by Samuel Waters, in right of his wife Mary (Hudson,) Jacob Waters, in the right of his wife Sarah (Hudson,) and James Atherton, in right of his wife Abigail (Hudson.)
Most of the male members of the family appear to have left Lan. soon after the death of their parents. The destruction of the Lancaster Records, and the migratory character of the family, deprive us of most of the information necessary to give a connected view of his descendants. The name in the ancient records is frequently spelt with a t—Hutson. Daniel, b. May 26, 1051; m. July 21, 1674, Mary Maynard. Mary, b. Sept. 7, 1653; m. Samuel Waters.
Sarah, b. June 1, 1056; m. Jacob Waters.
Elizabeth, b. June 11, 1658; killed by the Indians.
Johanna, b. June 6, 1060; killed by the Indians.
John, b. May 10, 1002; probably d. young.
Amt, b. Jan. 1, 1064; probably d. in infancy.
William, b. June 12, 1005; probably moved to Bridgewater.
Abigail, b. Sept. 7, 1067 ; m. Jan. 6, 1084, James Atherton.
Nathaniel, b. March 15, 1071.
Thomas, birth not recorded.
American colonists continued to use British monetary units, namely the pound, shilling and pence for which £1 (orli) equalled 20s and 1s equalled 12d. In 1792 the dollar was established as the basic unit of currency.
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.
