BFM Genealogical Research
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • LOCAL HISTORY
  • LOCAL ARCHIVES
  • ABOUT US
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • LOCAL HISTORY
  • LOCAL ARCHIVES
  • ABOUT US

BACKGROUND CHECK - John Brigham, whose resumé states "First Settler of Northborough"

4/17/2011

2 Comments

 

RECORDS SEARCH IN PROGRESS...

"Who was the first settler in Northborough and what's his story?"

link to www.ancestry.com
Clip of Ancestry.com profile page for John Brigham (1644-1728)
JOHN BRIGHAM (1644-1728):  We know who the first settler was, both from tradition and court records, but I want to know more about the circumstances that brought him here and what happened to his family.  One of the Town Proprietors in 1744 was a Brigham and a family relationship should be confirmed or ruled out. (HINT: There's not a direct line between John and Jesse, but they are actually related.)

BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND:    John Brigham's father Thomas came to Watertown from England when he was 34.  He eventually settled in Cambridge, where all his children, including our John, were born.  After Thomas' death, his widow married a Sudbury man who, with his new family, signed on to be one of those first settlers of the Marlborough Plantation.  John grew up as a Marlborough man, had a well-respected career as a multi-tasking pioneer, and became the very first inhabitant on the land that became modern Northborough.  His story is colorful enough that I have been purposely distracted from the Brigham Street to-do list. Truthfully, though, understanding John Brigham's life circumstances will give us insight into what happened to his family and what life was like for his descendants that stayed here.  His daughters may be mothers of children buried at Brigham Street and their stories should be uncovered as well. 

CURRENTLY READING:  Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony by George Francis Dow (Dover Publications, New York, 1988)

SOURCE:
Brigham, Willard Irving Tyler. The History of the Brigham Family : a Record of Several Thousand Descendants of Thomas Brigham the Emigrant, 1603-1653. New York: Grafton Press, 1907-1927.
2 Comments
Norm Corbin
4/19/2011 01:06:57 pm

Keep up the good work!!!

You should have a conversation with Mr. Bob Ellis, the Historian for the Historical Society. He would be very interested in your work.

Norm C.

Reply
Ashton link
6/28/2023 10:29:40 am

Appreciaate your blog post

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Beth Finch McCarthy
    Professional Genealogist

    Picture


    Subjects

    All
    American History
    Books
    Cemeteries
    Censuses
    Colonial History
    Current Events
    Federalist History
    General Research Tips
    Hidden History
    Libraries
    Local History
    Maps
    Marlborough History
    Massachusetts History
    Military History
    Naming Patterns
    Northborough History
    Old Letters
    Record Collections
    Schools
    Westborough History


    Archive

    November 2021
    October 2021
    February 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2016
    December 2015
    August 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    August 2013
    January 2013
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    August 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

Website created and managed by Beth Finch McCarthy (2025)