From THE PIONEERS OF MASSACHUSETTS: A DESCRIPTIVE LIST, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns and Churches and other Contemporaneous Documents, by Charles Henry Pope, pastor First Church, Charlestown, Boston, compiler of the Dorchester Pope Family, the Cheney Genealogy, etc., Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. Originally published Boston 1900. p 372 PRESCOTT John, blacksmith. Watertown, bought house and land at Lancaster, (Nashaway), 5 (8) 1647. Took oath of fidelity 1652. Petitioned Gen Court 10 June 1650. He finished his mill and began to grind corn 23 (3) 1654 [Mdx De III, 406]. Wife Mary. Dau Mary m 1648, Thomas Sawyer. Will dated 8 (8) 1673; in old age; prob. April 4, 1682; beq to wife, sons John, Jonathan and Jonas; to James Sawyer his gr ch and servant; to daus Mary, Sarah and Lydia; to gr ch Martha Ruge. From HISTORY OF THE WHEELER FAMILY IN AMERICA, DESCENDANTS OF RICHARD WHEELER, LANCASTER, MASS. p 498 Richard Wheeler who was massacred by the Indians Feb 9 1675-6 married at Lancaster, June 2, 1658, Sarah Prescott, dau. of John Prescott and Mary (Platts) Prescott, of Medfield. Her father, John Prescott, was a blacksmith from Sowerby, in the parish of Halifax, west-riding, Yorkshire, England. From ANCESTRY OF HAZELTON & RELATED FAMILIES: Including: Austin, Belding, Church, French, Hall, Houghton, Leathers, Prescott, Sawyer, Whitcomb, White, & Winslow (plus many more) Compiled by Harriet Hazelton Fredrickson U.S. / Can 929.273 H338f p 109 JOHN PRESCOTT, son of Sir James, was a blacksmith. He married 21 January 1629 MARY GAWKROGERS in Wygan, Lancashire, England. He sold his lands in the parish of Standish and moved into Yorkshire, in the parish of Halifax, where several of his children were born. John Prescott emigrated in 1638 to Barbadoes, W.I. where he became an owner of lands. In 1640 he came to New England, landing at Boston, then settling in Watertown, Mass. In 1654 he built the first grist mill in Lancaster, Mass. and later a saw mill. He and his family escaped the Indian massacre of 1676 when Lancaster was destroyed. It was told of him that he would put on a suit of armor (which he brought with him from England; and scare away the Indians that were about to attack. (From "Eight Lines of Descent of John Prescott, Founder of Lancaster, Mass. 1645"). Children of John & Mary Prescott: 1. Mary baptized at Sowerby, Eng. 24 Feb. 1630. m. Thomas Sawyer, Lancaster. 1648. 2. Martha 1632-1656, m. John Rugg. 3. John Jr. 1635. m. 1668 Sarah Haywood. Blacksmith. 4. Sarah 1637. m. Richard Wheeler, who was killed by Indians Feb. 1676; m2 Joseph Rice. 5. Hannah 1639. m. John Rugg, 4 May 1660. 6. Lydia 15 Aug 1641. Watertown, Mass. m1 Jonas Fairbanks, who was killed by Indians along with Richard Wheeler. m2 Elias Barron. 7. Jonathan bc 1645. m1 Dorothy ... 1670; m2 Elizabeth Hoar, 1675; m3 Rebecca Bulkley, 1689; m4 Ruth Brown, 1718; Jonathan died 1721. He was always designated as "Capt. Prescott". 8. Jonas June, 1648. m. 1672 Mary Loker. Jonas ran a mill in Groten; he was one of the largest landowners in Groten. He was Captain in the militia and was justice of the peace. Died 31 Dedc. 1723.[barnes6-4-2004.FTW] From HISTORY OF THE WHEELER FAMILY IN AMERICA, DESCENDANTS OF RICHARD WHEELER, LANCASTER, MASS. p 498 Richard Wheeler who was massacred by the Indians Feb 9 1675-6 married at Lancaster, June 2, 1658, Sarah Prescott, dau. of John Prescott and Mary (Platts) Prescott, of Medfield. Her father, John Prescott, was a blaksmith from Sowerby, in the parish of Halifax, west-riding, Yorkshire, England. NEHGS REGISTER Vol 22 July 1868 #3 MEMOIR OF WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT, HISTORIAN OF SPAIN, MEXICO AND PERU The Prescott family belongs to the original Puritan stock and blood of New England. John, the first emigrant, came from Lancashire, England, and settled in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about the year 1640, twenty years only after the first settlement at Plymouth, and ten years after that of Boston. The death of this John, who was a blacksmith, is placed in 1683. He had by his wife, Mary (Plat) Prescott, four daughters and three sons NEHGS REGISTER p 274 July John went first to Barbadoes (it is said) and owned lands there in 1638. About 1640 he came to New England, and after remaining some time in Charlestown and Watertown, settled in Lancaster, where he had a good estate. He was one of the first settlers of Lancaster, which is said to have been so named in compliment to him. NEHGS REGISTER 1959 pp 70-71 Parentage of John Prescott, who settled in 1645 at Lancaster, Mass.-- At page 238 of the Jul 1958 REGISTER, the Society records receipt of a Prescott genealogy dated 1957, wherein Frederick Lewis Weis presents "eight lines of descent of John Prescott, founder of Lancaser, Mass., 1645, from Alfred the Great, King of England, 871-901." The aforesaid eight lines record some of the ancestors of Ralph Prescott of Shevington, parish of Standish, Lancashire, who died testate in 1608/9; in his will he named his wife Elene, daughters Elene, Alice, and Cecile, and son John. Dr Weis has identified the aforesaid legatee, John, with John Prescott, settler in 1645 of Lancaster, Mass., for the following reasons: i. Prescott is claimed to have founded Lancaster (in which case, he or his father probably came from Lancashire). ii. His wife in 1678 identified him with Halifax, Yorkshirek, where their children were baptized. iii. His father's will is claimed to identify him with the Prescott family of Standish Parish, Lancashire. While Prescott was a founder, he should not be called "the founder" of Lancaster, for others were associaed with him in the purchase and settlement of that town. An identification by his wife, showing that Prescott had lived in Halifax, cannot be held to prove association with Standish parish, some 40 miles away from Halifax. A will of a testator who died in 1608/9 can hardly be held to prove any connections with an emigrant who left England several decades afterwards, in the absence of other factors. The published Parish Register of Standish Parish, in Lancashire, fail to record the baptism of a John Prescott of Shevington. However, that register includes the following entry: "Buried 28 Oct 1616, John Prescott of Shevington". In the absence of contrary proof, the preceding entry must be held to record the interment of the legatee, John Prescott, son of Ralph Prescott, of Shevington, the above testator. In the light of this evidence, it would seem that we who descend from Prescott of Lancaster, Mass., must reject the parentage of Prescott, advanced by Dr. Weis. It is significant that there were several persons named John Prescott in Standish parish, as indicated by the following entries from the printed registers: John Prescott of Shevington, buried 20 July 1579 John Prescott buried 1563/4; John Prescott buried 1570 John Prescott buried 1585; John Prescott buried 1611 John Prescott buried 1614; John Prescott buried 1615. John Prescott baptized in 1612, son of John John Prescott baptized in 1613, son of Thomas John Prescott had wife Margaret in July 1628 John Prescott had wife Grace, 26 Nov 1637 Cecile, bap 1602 and Ellen bapt 1607 daughters of John Prescott Cecile Prescott was buried in 1628 Further, it would seem to be highly significant that John Prescott of Lancaster had no known issue named Ralph, Roger, Alexander, Ellen, Helen, Cecile or Alice, which are the names one would expect to be commemorated in the family of a descendant of the armigerous Prescotts of Shevington. Moreover, the only son of that gentle English family would probably not have been a blacksmith, as was our John Prescott of Lancaster. Since the foregoing was prepared, the following records have come to my attention: In Errington (adjoining Sowerby, Halifax Parish) one Bridget Prescot was buried 12 July 1624 ("Heptonstall Parish Registers", printed). Chances are that she was sister or mother of John Prescott who settled in Lancaster in 1645. The following records are from printed Lancashire Parish registers: Christened 27 Nov 1606, John, son of Henry Prescot (at Prescot). Christened 20 Apr 1606, John Preskot, son of James (at Ornshirk). Further, wills at Halsall, Heskin, Ince in Makerfield, Standish, Newton, Upholland, Wigan, Gorton, Coppul and Selton. The will of Robert Orrell the elder of Wigan, dated 1623, names his cousin William Molyneux, gent, and leaves legacies to Cicely, Jane, Agnes, and Elizabeth, daughters of John Prescot (Chetham Soc., vol 37 (1897), pp 22 through 23), In my opinion, one would have to search the registers of all the parishes named above as well as of the parishes in Lancs. that adjoin Yorkshire, before he could venture an opinion as to who was the father of John Prescott, in 1645 of Lancaster. My own thought is that the latter John, a blacksmith, whose will, dated 1633, is at Chester. There is reason to suppose that this blacksmith, Richard, lived at Ince in Makerfield, not Ince Blundell, Ince in Makefield is (or was) a hamlet adjoining Wigan lying toward Halifax from Wigan, according to an old map of Lancashire (in the front part of Gregon's "Portfolio of Fragments" concerning Lancashire. Arlington, Va.John G. Hunt.