B. about 1616 in England
M. (1) before 1640
Wife: Sarah Pellet
M. (2) 17 Mar 1685, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Wife: Anna Moore
D. 12 Aug 1697 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
William Underwood was one of many New England Puritans who helped found the town where they lived, then took a leadership role during its earliest years. William was born in England in about 1616; there are no records identifying where he came from or who his parents were. One source suggests his birthplace was Chelmsford in Essex County, but there’s no documentation to back this up. It’s also unknown when he migrated to America and when he married his first wife, Sarah Pellet.
The earliest record of William is on the birth of his oldest child, a girl named Remembrance, on February 25, 1640 in Concord, Massachusetts. Over the next 12 years, he and his wife had five more children in Concord, with one dying as an infant. By 1654, William joined a group of settlers who moved their families to the new community that became the town of Chelmsford, and one more child was born there in 1656.
Forming a new community in colonial New England involved the cooperation of groups of men who invested money and effort into securing a grant of land. The next step was to form a town council, and William was one of the men who met on November 22, 1654 to do just that. The meeting took place at settler William Fletcher’s house and the men decided who would be “selectmen” for the first year, naming seven settlers, including William. A selectman was a person who was chosen to serve as a member of the council. Other issues decided that night were to approve a land grant for the new minister, order that the community build his house, and establish his salary.
When William’s term as selectman was up, he didn’t serve again until 1667. Then there was a lapse of one year, and he became selectman again in 1669, remaining in that role for several years. Even without the office of selectman, his name appeared on many town petitions and other documents. On May 7, 1656, he was one of seven men signing a petition to the General Court asking for an extension of the town grant they got two years earlier. This was due to much of the land being too rocky to use, limiting the size of each farm, so they needed more usable farmland.
On May 20, 1673, William, along with two others, were appointed to lay out a road to the Merrimack River. Part of the road was to go through his own meadow. It’s not known if this order was carried out. Two years later, on December 13, 1675, he and two other men signed a letter to the General Court during King Philip’s War. The short letter described the town’s concern that some friendly Indians living among them would attract hostile Indians wanting to recruit them to their side. Towns like Chelmsford were vulnerable to attack because of their location in the north, and they didn’t want to be forgotten with so much of the major action happening in the south.
After the war, life in Chelmsford returned to normal. William’s role with the town council ended in 1682. Two years later, on November 6, 1684, William’s wife Sarah died and he remarried to a widow, Anna Kidder, the following March 17th. His health declined and he made out his will in 1693. William passed away on August 12, 1697 and was buried at the cemetery in Chelmsford.
William was a 4G grandfather of Franklin Pierce.
Children (all by Sarah Pellet):
1. Remembrance Underwood — B. 25 Feb 1640, Concord, Massachusetts; D. 20 Feb 1719, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Josiah Richardson (1635-1695), 6 Jun 1659, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
2. Sarah Underwood — B. 25 Jul 1641, Concord, Massachusetts; D. 1679, Watertown, Massachusetts; M. Daniel Blodgett (1631-1672), 10 Mar 1668, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
3. Priscilla Underwood — B. 16 Dec 1645, Concord, Massachusetts; D. 25 Jun 1681, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Edward Spaulding (1635-1707), 6 Jul 1663, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
4. Aquilla Underwood — B. 3 May 1647, Concord, Massachusetts; D. 17 Jun 1657, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
5. Rebecca Underwood — B. 6 Apr 1650; D. 6 Feb 1651
6. Deborah Underwood — B. 12 Dec 1652, Concord, Massachusetts; D. 25 Jun 1691, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Nathaniel Butterfield (1643-1719), 31 Dec 1669, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
7. Samuel Underwood — B. 4 Feb 1656, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 5 Mar 1733, Litchfield, New Hampshire; M. Sarah
Sources:
The Underwood Families of America, Lucien Marcus Underwood, 1913
History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Wilson Waters, 1917
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