| Notes |
- WE have no record of the time when Thomas Wilder first settled in
Charlestown, or of his business relations. He was there, a citizen in
1640, and remained until 1659. We do not know that he held any public
office. That he was a substantial, capable man, respected in the
community, an active member of the church, a thorough Puritan, jealous
of the rights of the brotherhood, and willing to resist the
encroachments of the ministry, as he estimated them, there are
indications in the old records.
In 1652 a settlement was made on the Nashawena River, about forty
miles westerly from Charlestown, by purchasing from the Indians a
tract of land, eight miles by ten, which in 1653 was confirmed by the
General Court, which the legislative power of the colony was then
called. After sending a committee to inquire respecting the character
of the settlers and the suitableness of the land for a settlement, and
receiving a favorable report, the purchase was confirmed and they were
incorporated as a town. There were then but nine families, but they
were soon increased to thirty. A church was gathered and a minister
employed.
It was on the first day of July, 1654, that Thomas Wilder arrived with
his family, and took up his abode with them. His farm, of five hundred
acres, was situated near to, and easterly from the center of the
present town of Lancaster, as indicated by the "Burial Ground" given
to the town by his son Thomas, and in which the father's remains were
the first deposited.
In 1660, Thomas Wilder was elected one of the selectmen, an office
which, it is said, he held until his death, in 1667.
|
1618 - 1667 (49 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set