B. 21 Feb 1657 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
M. 6 Sep 1677 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Wife: Sarah Richardson
D. 23 May 1712 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
William Fletcher spent his entire life in Chelmsford, Massachusetts raising a large family and serving his town. He was born on February 21, 1657 to William Fletcher and Lydia Fairbanks, one of their eight children; his mother also had a son by a previous marriage. William’s father had been one of Chelmsford’s original settlers in 1652, and the house where the family lived was said to be the first wood-frame dwelling in town.
On September 6, 1677, William married Sarah Richardson, the daughter of another of the town’s founders. The couple started a family with the birth of a daughter in 1679, and by 1702, they produced a total of 14 children; it’s believed that four of the children died young.
Along with operating a farm, William took a role in serving the common interests of the town. In 1692, he was paid a bounty for working with another man to kill a wolf. Such predatory animals were a threat to both sheep and people (there were at least 17 wolves killed in Chelmsford that year).
William was made a selectman on the town council in 1701, and from 1705 to 1707, he served as Chelmsford’s treasurer. One of his duties as treasurer was to see that money was paid to men who had committed time and money to the town, and sometimes that included his own service. In the account book of the church, William was told to pay himself £2 for several trips to neighboring towns when he brought ministers to Chelmsford to preach, and also 4 shillings that he had loaned to the town for an unknown reason. In another note he was told to pay himself £5 for “entertaining Mr. Goodhue.” This probably meant that he had taken a man into his home while visiting Chelmsford on official business.
In 1704, William was commissioned as a lieutenant by the governor in Boston, Joseph Dudley. The timing of William’s appointment seems to suggest he was involved in Queen Anne’s War, a conflict between English colonists and the French in Canada. The French were thought to have been using Indians to raid towns on the New England frontier, and when Deerfield was attacked in February 1704, the governor raised troops to invade Acadia in retaliation. This is likely when William was made lieutenant; if so, he may have participated in the effort to take Acadia from the French.
One of the last civic activities of William was to serve on a committee to build a new meetinghouse in Chelmsford. He was chosen to help supervise the project in 1710, which was due to be completed in June of 1712. But William didn’t live to see it—he died on May 23, 1712. He was buried in Forefathers Burial Ground in Chelmsford.
William was the great-great grandfather of President Franklin Pierce.
Children:
1. Sarah Fletcher — B. 26 May 1679, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 14 Jun 1734, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Nathaniel Butterfield (~1676-1749), 18 Jan 1697, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
2. Esther Fletcher — B. about 1685, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 20 Sep 1767, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Stephen Pierce (1678-1749), 5 Jan 1707, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
3. Reuben Fletcher — B. about 1685, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
4. Josiah Fletcher — B. 8 Apr 1687, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 30 Jan 1760, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Joanna Spaulding (1689-1768)
5. Mary Fletcher — B. about 1684; D. 23 Feb 1768, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. William Fletcher (1673-1744), 10 Dec 1701, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
6. William Fletcher — B. 1 Apr 1688, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 27 Jan 1742, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Tabitha Pierce (1689-1742)
7. Lydia Fletcher — B. about 1690, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 27 May 1736
8. Robert Fletcher — B. 9 Jan 1691, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 20 Sep 1773, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts; M. Sarah Swan (1704-1774), 8 Jan 1724, Dunstable, Massachusetts
9. Bethiel Fletcher — B. about 1693, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
10. Ezekiel Fletcher — B. 24 Nov 1694, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. Jan 1742, Tyngsborough, Massachusetts
11. Daniel Fletcher — B. 3 Mar 1697, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
12. Deborah Fletcher — B. 18 Mar 1699, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
13. Phoebe Fletcher — B. 24 Nov 1700, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 21 Jan 1743, Westford, Massachusetts; M. Joseph Hildreth (1695-1780), 29 Mar 1720, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
14. Rebecca Fletcher — B. 29 Jan 1702, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; D. 1 Jan 1791, Chelmsford, Massachusetts; M. Joseph Parker (1694-1738)
Sources:
Fletcher Genealogy: An Account of the Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass., Edward H. Fletcher, 1871
History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Rev. Wilson Waters, 1917
A Great and Noble Scheme, John Mack Faragher, 2005
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