John Houghton

  Noted events in his life were:

• Will. ³⁶³
Dated 8 Apr 1684 and proved 17 Jun 1684, he bequeathed to his wife Beatrix and his children John, Robert, Jonas, Benjamin, Mary and Sarah. On 4 Apr 1721, after the death of the widow, the estate was divided between John ( the eldest son), Robert, Jonas Houghton, John Harris (who had married Mary Houghton), and Beatrix Pope.

• Background Information. ⁶⁸⁸
From The Houghton Genealogy, by John W. Houghton, 1912, p. 8:

"In 1635 John Houghton, aged four years, came from Bedfordshire, England, in the ship Abigail of London, to Salem, and although the name of J. Houghton (and Joseph Houghton) appears in the town records, in some of the subsequent years, still no further trace of him or his descendants can be found." (It has since been ascertained that the John Houghton above mentioned was the father of the John, who, with his cousin Ralph, settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts, in 1647, and that his age was 40 instead of 4 years.)

• Background Information. ⁶⁸⁸
According to The Houghton genealogy, there is no real evidence to when John and Ralph Houghton came to the Americas. John and Ralph, along with eight others bought a tract of land from Native Americans which became the town of Lancaster, Massachusetts. Ralph was chosen the first town clerk; one of the six prudential managers; representative in 1673 and 1689; and held various other offices. Lancaster was incorporated as a town in 1653.

After the burning of Lancaster by Native Americans in 1675, Ralph and John Houghton, who were away at the time, left with others and went to Woburn and Dorchester. Ralph lated moved to Milton, where he settled permanently, while John returned to Lancaster when the town was resettled.

~page 76

• Background Information. ⁶⁸⁸
According to John W. Houghton in The Houghton genealogy, the traditional belief that Ralph and John Houghton were cousins is probably correct, and that John's ancestors were located in Bedfordshire while Ralph's were more likely from Lancanshire. According to the inscription on John Houghton's tombstone, found in the old Granary Burying Gound, John died on the old Common 29 Apr 1684 at the ages of 60 years. This would set his birth date at the time of 1624. It is believed that John was born in Eaton Bray, Bedford, England. Before John settled in Lancaster he lived in Dedham, Massachusetts until after his marriage to Beatrix (about 1648/49), at which time he settled in Lancaster. The graves of both John and Beatrix can be found in the burying ground at Lancaster.

John's will was dated 8 Apr 1684, only a few days before he died. He names his wife, Beatrix and their children John, Robert, Jonas, Benjamin, Mary and Sarah. After the death of Beatrix, the heirs agreed upon a division of his estate.

~pages 296-298

Photo by Gary Howell

John married Beatrix on 24 Feb 1647 in Elland, Yorkshire, England.⁶⁸⁸