M. 7 Oct 1645 in Concord, Massachusetts
Wife: Lydia Fairbanks
D. 6 Nov 1677 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford, Massachusetts can trace its origins to a small group of 17th-century people. Among them was William Fletcher, who offered up his home for the first ever town meeting.
William was born in 1622 in England, to Robert and Sarah Fletcher, possibly in Yorkshire. He was one of five children, and in 1630, the family migrated to America as part of the Winthrop Fleet. They settled in Concord, Massachusetts where Robert was said to be a "wealthy and influential man." On October 7, 1645, William married Lydia Bates, the widow of Edward Bates. They had 8 children together; Lydia also had a son, John, from her first marriage who became a part of the family.
In 1652, William joined with others from Concord and the town of Woburn to start a new settlement on the other side of the Concord River, the town of Chelmsford. He was one of 29 men who petitioned the General Court for a grant of land in 1653, and also helped in recruiting a minister in 1654. William's most noted involvement in the founding of Chelmsford was that on November 22, 1654, the first town meeting was held in his house. This event was viewed as the "formation of local government in Chelmsford." Although most settlers built their homes of logs, William's house was said to be the first wood frame structure in the town.
In 1652, William joined with others from Concord and the town of Woburn to start a new settlement on the other side of the Concord River, the town of Chelmsford. He was one of 29 men who petitioned the General Court for a grant of land in 1653, and also helped in recruiting a minister in 1654. William's most noted involvement in the founding of Chelmsford was that on November 22, 1654, the first town meeting was held in his house. This event was viewed as the "formation of local government in Chelmsford." Although most settlers built their homes of logs, William's house was said to be the first wood frame structure in the town.
William was made selectman in 1654. He and his wife Lydia were among the first to join the church in Chelmsford in about 1655. He was also named first constable that year. In 1669, he built a sawmill with two other town members. William died on November 6, 1677 and was buried in the Forefathers' Burial Ground in Chelmsford. The property where William had lived stayed in the family for generations, though the original house was demolished sometime during the 19th century. After that, the land where the house stood was used for cultivation for another hundred or so years.
William's 1677 will.
With the story that Chelmsford's first town meeting was held at William's house, a team of archaeologists set up a dig in 1980 to find remnants of it. The project lasted nine days and the results were not very successful. "In the process of attempting to locate 1 structure, the William Fletcher house, we found traces of at least 2 and perhaps, as many as 5 structures. However, we found very little evidence that the area we investigated was occupied prior to the late 18th or early 19th century. We recovered only 1 item — a piece of kaolin tobacco pipe stem — certain to be of 17th century origin." The archaeologists felt that they had been searching in the wrong location on the property, but it was impractical to tear up the whole lot and the effort was abandoned.
William's descendants include Franklin Pierce, George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Barbara Bush, Dick Cheney and actor Orson Bean.
Children:
1. Lydia Fletcher — B. 30 Jan 1647, Concord, Massachusetts; D. 13 Jan 1730, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. John Fiske (~1740-~1700), 27 Mar 1666, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
2. Joshua Fletcher — B. 20 Mar 1648, Concord, Massachusetts; D. 21 Nov 1713, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. (1) Grissel Jewell (1652-1682), 4 May 1668; (2) Sarah Willey (1658-1761), 18 Jul 1682, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
3. Paul Fletcher — B. about 1654, (probably) Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 9 Aug 1676, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
4. Sarah Fletcher — B. about 1656, (probably) Chelmsford, Massachusetts
5. William Fletcher — B. 21 Feb 1657, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 23 May 1712, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Sarah Richardson (1660-1748), 6 Sep 1677, Massachusetts
6. Mary Fletcher — B. 4 Oct 1658, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 14 Jan 1714, Malden, Massachusetts; M. Thomas Parker (1656-1698), 21 Oct 1678, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
7. Esther Fletcher — B. 12 Apr 1664, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 6 Dec 1693, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. (1) Isaac Parker (1660-1689), 11 Apr 1681, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; (2) James Proctor (1658-1709), 3 Dec 1691, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Sources:
The Richardson Memorial, John Adams Vinton, 1876
History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Wilson Waters and Henry Spaulding Perham, 1917
Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, William Richard Cutter, 1908
Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Ellery Bicknell Crane, 1907
Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33, Robert Charles Anderson, 1995
Chelmsford Historical Commission Presentation, 1980
GeneaStar: Famous Family Tree and Genealogy (website)
WikiTree
