Harvard Student in the 17th Century — James Minot

B. 14 Sep 1653 in Dorchester, Massachusetts¹
M. about 1684 in (probably) Concord, Massachusetts²
Wife: Rebecca Wheeler
D. 20 Sep 1735 in Concord, Massachusetts³

In a family of boys, James Minot must have stood out academically, because his father chose him to receive a higher education. And in early colonial Massachusetts, there was really only one place get one.

James was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on September 14, 1653 to John Minot and Lydia Butler,¹ the second child of five children. When he was 12 years-old, his mother passed away,⁴ and his father remarried,⁵ but he also died a couple years later.⁶ John Minot had left provisions for his four sons in his will, and for James he wrote he was "to be kept at learning."⁷ The boy lived up to this by enrolling at Harvard College to study medicine and theology as a member of the Class of 1675.¹

Excerpt from John Minot's will.

Harvard had been originally founded for the purpose of training colonists to become clergymen, but by the time James attended, there was a somewhat more varied curriculum. Interestingly, after he graduated, authorities came after him for non-payment of school debts — it seems that whatever his father had left in his will didn’t cover everything. In October 1677, James was ordered by the court to give 5 pounds 7 shillings and 5 pence to the Harvard treasurer, and records show that he paid.⁸

In 1679, James became a grammar school teacher in Dorchester.⁹ The following year, he moved to Concord, continuing to teach, as well as serving as a physician.⁹ He also preached in the town of Stowe in 1685, earning 12 shillings six pence per day, "one half cash and one half Indian corn."¹ James served as captain in the militia,¹ represented his town in the legislature,¹ and he was named justice of the peace in 1692.¹

Sometime around 1684, James married Rebecca Wheeler,² daughter of Timothy Wheeler, an early settler of Concord. The couple had ten children born between 1685 and 1706. After his father-in-law died in 1687, James and his wife inherited a plot of land in town,¹⁰ and he built a house for his family.¹¹ In 1716, he deeded the place to his son James,¹¹ who got married that year.¹² It’s not known if James Sr. continued to live there after his son owned it.

James lived out the rest of his years in Concord. Rebecca died on September 23, 1734,¹³ and James died a year later on September 20, 1735.³ His grave has a long epitaph:

Here is interred the remains of
James Minott Esq. A.M. an
Excelling Grammarian, enriched
with the gift of prayer and preaching
A Commanding officer, a Physician of Great Value,
a Great Lover of Peace as well as of justice and,
which was His greatest Glory, happy in a Virtuous Posterity,
and living religiously died Comfortably,
September 20, 1735 Aet 83³

James' house may have become haunted

The place James called home is perhaps inhabited today by a ghost or two. The house stayed in the family for many years, eventually ending up in the possession of Timothy Minot, who was a doctor.¹¹ During the Battle of Concord in 1775, some of the wounded were brought to the house to be treated by Dr. Minot.¹⁴ By now, renovations had doubled it in size, but it was said that the injured soldiers were cared for in the original part of the house. One of the rooms became a surgery, and it was said that some of the men died in that room.¹⁴

Because of its history, James' house was never torn down and survives today as a quaint hotel in Concord. And many who stayed there have reported mysterious apparitions that appeared to be human-like.¹⁴ This, along with instances of lights turning on by themselves, have created stories that the place is haunted. It may be the power of suggestion that hotel guests think they see something, but who knows?

The Colonial Inn in Concord, Massachusetts.

Children:
1. Rebecca Minot — B. 9 Feb 1685, Concord, Massachusetts;¹⁵ D. 23 Jun 1738, Concord, Massachusetts;¹⁵ M. Joseph Humphrey Barrett (1678-1763), 27 Dec 1701, Concord, Massachusetts¹⁶

2. Lydia Minot — B. 12 Mar 1687, Concord, Massachusetts;¹⁷ D. 14 Feb 1743, Marlborough, Massachusetts;¹⁷ M. (1) Benjamin Barrett (1681-1728), 3 Jan 1705, Concord, Massachusetts;¹⁸ (2) Samuel Stow (1680-1769), Oct 1728¹⁷

3. Mary Minot — B. 16 Nov 1689, Concord, Massachusetts;¹⁹ D. 3 Sep 1760, Concord, Massachusetts;¹⁹ M. Ebenezer Wheeler (1682-1748), 26 Dec 1706, Concord, Massachusetts²⁰

4. Timothy Minot — B. 18 Jun 1692, Concord, Massachusetts;²¹ D. 30 Nov 1778, Concord, Massachusetts;²¹ M. (1) Mary Brooks (1699-1760), 1724, Concord, Massachusetts;²¹ (2) Beulah Stone (1695-1786), 24 Nov 1763, Sudbury, Massachusetts²²

5. James Minot — B. 17 Oct 1694, Concord, Massachusetts;²² D. 6 Feb 1759, Concord, Massachusetts;²² M. (1) Martha Lane (1694-1734), 14 Nov 1716, Concord, Massachusetts;¹² (2) Elizabeth Wilder (~1706-1746), 9 Oct 1735, Brookfield, Massachusetts²²

6. Elizabeth Minot — B. 29 Jan 1697, Concord, Massachusetts;²⁴ D. 12 Nov 1764, Lincoln, Massachusetts;²⁴ M. Daniel Adams (1690-1780), 23 Apr 1715, Concord, Massachusetts²⁵

7. Martha Minot — B. 3 Apr 1699, Concord, Massachusetts;²⁶ D. 18 Jan 1738, Bedford, Massachusetts;²⁷ M. James Lane (1696-1783), 30 Apr 1719, Billerica, Massachusetts²⁸

8. Mercy Minot – B. 15 Apr 1702, Concord, Massachusetts;²⁹ D. 25 Jul 1793, Sudbury, Massachusetts;³⁰ M. Samuel Dakin (1700-1758), 13 Dec 1722, Concord, Massachusetts³¹

9. Love Minot — B. 15 Apr 1702, Concord, Massachusetts;³² D. 21 Oct 1772, Lincoln, Massachusetts;³² M. (1) John Adams (1697-1725), 13 Dec 1722, Concord, Massachusetts;³³ (2) Edward Flint (1685-1754), 1725³²

10. Samuel Minot — B. 25 Mar 1706, Concord, Massachusetts;³⁴ D. 17 Mar 1766, Concord, Massachusetts;³⁴ M. (1) Sarah Prescott (1712-1737), 7 Mar 1731, Westford, Massachusetts;³⁵ (2) Dorcas Prescott (~1714-1803), 17 Apr 1738, Acton, Massachusetts³⁶

Sources:
1    A History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Lemuel Shattuck, 1835
2    Estimated marriage date based on birth of oldest child Rebecca
3    Find-a-Grave listing of James Minott  
4    Find-a-Grave listing of Lydia (Butler) Minot 
5    Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Vols. I-III, Robert Charles Anderson
6    Find-a-Grave listing of John Minot  
7    A Genealogical Record of the Minot Family in America and England, Joseph Grafton Minot, 1897, p. 11
8    John Richard, treasurer of Harvard College vs. John & James Minot, court records of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, FamilySearch.org
9    Samuel Minot Jones: the story of an Amherst boy, Charles Swan Walker, 1922, pp. 4-5
10  Newton Genealogy, Genealogical, Biographical, Historical: Being a Record of the Descendants of Richard Newton of Sudbury and Marlborough, Massachusetts 1638, 1915, p. 717
11  Historic Buildings of Massachusetts: Concord’s Colonial Inn (1716) 
12  Marriage record of James Minot and Martha Lane, Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
13  Find-a-Grave listing of Rebecca (Wheeler) Minot 
14  The Ghosts of Concord’s Colonial Inn
15  Find-a-Grave listing of Rebecca (Minot) Barrett
16  Marriage record of Joseph Barrett and Rebecca Minot, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
17  Find-a-Grave listing of Lydia (Minot) Stow
18  Marriage record of Benjamin Barrett and Lydia Minot, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
19  Find-a-Grave listing of Mary (Minot) Wheeler
20  Marriage record of Ebenezer Wheeler and Mary Minot, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
21  Find-a-Grave listing of Timothy Minot  
22  Marriage record of Timothy Minot and Beulah Brown, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
23  Find-a-Grave listing of Col. James Minot  
24  Find-a-Grave listing of Elizabeth (Minott) Adams 
25  Marriage record of Daniel Adams and Elizabeth Minot, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
26  Birth record of Martha Minot, Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1815, FamilySearch.org
27  Find-a-Grave listing of Martha (Minott) Lane 
28  Marriage record of James Lane and Martha Minot, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
29  Birth record of Mercy Minot, Concord Births – Massachusetts Vital Records Project
30  Death record of Mercy (Minot) Dakin, Concord Deaths – Massachusetts Vital Records Project
31  Marriage record of Samuel Dakin and Mercy Minot, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
32  Find-a-Grave listing of Love (Minott) Flint  
33  Marriage record of John Adams and Love Minot, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
34  Find-a-Grave listing of Deacon Samuel Minott 
35  Marriage record of Samuel Minot and Sarah Prescott, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
36  Marriage record of Samuel Minot and Dorcas Prescott, Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925, FamilySearch.org