Thomas Wilder

1618 - 1667  (49 years)

• Name	Thomas Wilder
  Birth	1618	Berkshire, England
  Gender	Male
  Death	23 Oct 1667	Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts
  Burial	Old Common Burial Ground, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts
  	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43341681/john-wilder
  		Thomas Wilder (1618-1667), Lancaster,MA Plot: Wilder
  Notes	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.
  Person ID	I15694	OurNorthernRoots | Andrew's Ancestor
  Last Modified	19 Jun 2026

  
  

  Father	Thomas Wilder,   b. 1584
  Mother	Martha Higgs
  Family ID	F5053	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Anna Eames,   b. 1622
  Marriage	Apr 1640
  Children	+ 1. Captain Thomas Wilder,   b. 14 Sep 1644, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts d. 7 Aug 1716, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts (Age 71 years) + 2. Lieutenant John Wilder,   b. 1646, Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts d. 1722, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts (Age 76 years) + 3. Nathaniel Wilder,   b. 3 Nov 1650, Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts d. 31 Jul 1704, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts (Age 53 years)
  Family ID	F5055	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 1618 - Berkshire, England Death - 23 Oct 1667 - Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts Burial - - Old Common Burial Ground, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set