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| Mary Winne Dexter Logue |
Mary Winne Dexter Logue
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Walter Marshall Dexter
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Lotan Dexter
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Nathaniel Dexter
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Isaac Dexter
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Constant Dexter
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Benjamin Dexter
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William Dexter
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Thomas Dexter
The following story is from this website by Jane Kent:
http://jskent.blogspot.com/2010/04/thomas-dexter-family-us-1629-to-current.html
Generation One:
Thomas Dexter b. 1600; m. wife unknown; d. 1677 at Boston, Suffolk, MA; buried Oliver Family tomb King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston, Suffolk, MA.
Their Children:
1.Thomas b. abt 1620 at England
2. William abt 1622 at England; m. July 1653 Sarah Vincent; d. 1694 aged 72 years.
3. Mary b. abt 1624 at England; m(1) October 1639 John Frend; m(2) James Oliver
4. Frances b. abt 1626 at England; m. 1647 Richard Woode
Thomas Dexter is thought to have arrived either with Mr. Endicott in 1629 or a year later in the fleet of 1630 with Governor Winthrop. He immigrated with three children and servants but there is no listing of his wife. By 1630 he settled on a farm in Lynn, Essex, MA. He was called by those in the area "Farmer Dexter". The land was located on the west side of the Saugus River where later the iron works was built.
By 1633, he built a bridge over the Saugus River, and a mill. He also was the general manager and an investor in the Saugus Iron Works.
He became a freeman in 1631 and was later disfranchised on 4 March 1633,for speaking against the established colonial government. He had many issues with neighbors and towns people. In 1631, he had a quarrel with Mr. Endicott (later governor), : in which the Salem magistrate struck Mr. Dexter, who had him complained of in court at Boston. Mr. Endicott said in his defense: "I hear I am much complained of by Goodman Dexter for striking him. Understanding since it is not lawful for a justice of the peace to strike, but if you had soon the manner of his earrings with such daring of me, with arms akimbo, it would have provoked a very patient man. He has given out that if I had a purse he would make me empty it, and if he cannot have justice here, he will do wonders in England, and if he cannot prevail there, he will do wonders in England, and if he cannot prevail there, he will try it out with me here at blows. If it were lawful for me to try it out at blows and he a fit man for me to deal with , you would not hear me complain." The jury gave Mr. Dexter a verdict of £10.
In 1633, he was ordered by the court to be set in the bilboes, disfranchised and fined £10 In 1637 he and nine others obtained a grant for the township of Sandwich, Barnstable, MA by the Plymouth Court. He built the first grist mill there. In 1638, he returned to Lynn where he had 350 acres assigned to him. He was in Lynn until 1646. He then went to Barnstable, MA where he purchased two farms. One was next to the mill stream and later left to his son, William. The other was on the northeastern side of Scorton Hill. The house was on the north side of the old county road. He still had a taste for lawsuits for in 1648, he had no less than 6 lawsuits in court, all decided in his favor.
His largest lawsuit was with the inhabitants of Lynn over the ownership of the land now called Nahunt. He bought this land from the Indian chief Pognanum (Black Will) and paid for it with "a suit of good clothes". He then fenced in this area for his cows. "The title to this was disputed by the other inhabitants (1657) who, if his claim was denied, would share in the division of the land. The result was a defeat for him and his heirs, although they kept it in court over thirty-eight years."
Thomas Dexter took the oath of fidelity in 1657, and was admitted a freeman to Plymouth Colony on 1 June 1658. He gave his son, Thomas, the large estate and mill in Sandwich, and his West Barnstable barn to his son William. He died at the home of his daughter in Boston, Suffolk, MA in 1677. He is buried in the Oliver tomb in the King's Chapel burying ground.
Sources:1. Genealogy of the Dexter Family in America, Descendants of Thomas Dexter, compiled by William A. Warden and Robert L. Dexter, Worcester, MA. 1905.
Go to the above website and you will see some wonderful photos of the Dexter Grist Mill that has been restored. The mill shown originally was brought into operation in 1654 and the mill and site were restored in 1961. It would be wonderful to travel to Sandwich MA to see this site.
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| Dexter's Grist Mill in its little park at the center of Sandwich MA on Cape Cod. |
The mill (1654) at the intersection of Main and Water streets was fully restored in 1961, and is not just a picturesque attraction: you can go in and see the wooden mill mechanism at work grinding corn, and you can buy bags of fresh cornmeal the same day it's ground.
Thomas Dexter built the first grist mill on this site in 1654 so that the inhabitants of the village of Sandwich would not have to grind their own corn for cornmeal, their staple food.
Today you can buy cornmeal ground in the mill, along with recipes for dishes similar to those the early inhabitants of Sandwich might have made daily.
From: http://caroljbryant.com/genfiles/dexter-fullerfamily.html
Notes:
Facts about Thomas Dexter:
1: b: Bet. 1594 - 1606 in England, perhaps Bristol>Lynn, MA>came to America in 1629-1630 d: February 9, 1676/77 in Boston, MA>King's Chapel burying ground in Oliver tomb
Fact 2: 1633 built bridge over Saugus River
Fact 3: built mill near Lynn, built first Iron works
Fact 4: bought land of Indian Chief Pognanum or Soganum
Fact 5: not a meek man as indicated by frequent altercations
Fact 6: one of the foremost men of his times
Fact 7: called 'Father Dexter'
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| Paul Revere's Ride |
GENEALOGY OF THE DEXTER FAMILY IN AMERICA compiled by WARDEN and DEXTER, Worcester, MA. 1905. pg 6:1637 he and nine others obtained from the Plymouth Colony court a grant of the twp of Sandwich. He went there and built the first grist mill. He did not remain there long, however, for in 1638, he had 350 acres assigned to him as one of the inhabitants of Lynn. He remained in Lynn until 1646. About this time he purchased two farms in Barnstable, one adjoining the mill-stream and afterwards occupied by his son WILLIAM, and the other farm on the northeastern declivity of "Scroton Hill." (much more about THOMAS DEXTER SR. pages 5-9.) _______________________________ SANDWICH: "It is ordered (say the Plymouth Records) that these ten men of Saugus. . . , Thomas Dexter . . . shall have liberty to view a place to sit down on." . . The other (48) proprietors listed included Anthony Besse, John Fish, Nathaniel Fish, Jonathan Fish, Andrew Hallet and John Vincent. from Historical Collections by John Warner Barber, pg 52. ________________________________ THE REGISTER OF THE LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lynn Mass. No X11 SLFH US/CAN 974.45/L2 no. 12-13 1908-1909 pg 63. At Nahant, lived Poquanum or Dark Skin, also called Duke William, Black Will. In 1630 he sold Nahant to Thomas Dexter for a suit of clothes. ________________________________ GENEALOGICAL NOTES OF BARNSTABLE FAMILIES, a reprint of the AMOS OTIS PAPERS, orig pub in the Barnstable Patriot. Revised by D.F. Swift, Vol l, F.P. Gross, Publishers and Printers, Barnstable, Mass. 1888. p 315-326. All regarding "MR. THOMAS DEXTER, SENIOR, and descendants. footnote: "One of Mr. Dexter's descendants writes that the absence of all reference to any WIFE in numerous deeds, dating back to 1639, seems to make it certain that he was a widower when he came over [came over in 1629 or 1630], or lost his wife early in his residence here. The fact that his youngest daughter was marriageable in 1639, would seem also neccesarily to throw back his birth date to 1595 which would make him 81 to 86 when he died." pg 317: "Mar 3, 1645-6, THOMAS DEXTER of Sandwich. . .both (Sr. and Jr) were residents in Sandwich that year. The father did not remain long in Sandwich. Mr. Freeman says he left in 1648, he was certainly of Barnstable in 1651, and was an inhabitant of that town till 1670, probably till 1675. About the year 1646 he purchased two farms in Barnstable. . ." pg 320: "In 1657 MR. DEXTER took the oath of fidelity and was admitted a freeman of the Plymouth Colony June 1, 1658. For the suceeding 18 years he appears to have lived a quiet retired life, on his farm at Scorton Hill. . .During his life, he appears to have conveyed his mill and his large real estate in Sandwich to his son THOMAS, and his W Barnstable farm to WILLIAM, retaining his Scorton Hill farm and his personal estate for his own use. The latter farm he sold about the year 1675 to William Troop and removed to Boston...last days with a married daughter, where he died in 1677 at an advanced age." p 319: "After his death his administrators, Capt. James Oliver, his son-in-law, an eminent merchant of Boston, and his grandson, THOMAS, of Sandwich. . . and in 1695, after the death of THOMAS DEXTER ,3d,. . ." p.317, footnote: "In my investigations, I have been unable to ascertain who built the first mill on the stream now known as Jones's mill stream at West Barnstable. Mr. Dexter's lands were partly bounded by that stream, and I should not be surprised if some future investigator should ascertain that he built the first mill at West Barnstable, also the Old Stone Fort, to which frequent reference is made in the Crocker article. On Wed last I was at Sandwich, and for the first time examined the records of that town for information respecting the Dexter family. I found much that I regret that I had not known before writing this article. The records, in almost every instance, and I am not certain but in every instance, refer to the SECOND THOMAS DEXTER. A deed of his to the town of Sandwich, is an exceedingly interesting document." pg 320: "In 1657 MR. DEXTER [Sr.] took the oath of fidelity and was admitted a freeman of the Plymouth Colony June 1, 1658. For the suceeding 18 years he appears to have lived a quiet retired life, on his farm at Scorton Hill. . .During his life, he appears to have conveyed his mill and his large real estate in Sandwich to his son THOMAS, and his W Barnstable farm to WILLIAM, retaining his Scorton Hill farm and his personal estate for his own use. The latter farm he sold about the year 1675 to William Troop and removed to Boston...last days with a married daughter, where he died in 1677 at an advanced age." p 319: "After his death his administrators, Capt. James Oliver, his son-in-law, an eminent merchant of Boston, and his grandson, THOMAS, of Sandwich. . . and in 1695, after the death of THOMAS DEXTER ,3d,. . ." p321: "It is certain that he [Thomas Dexter SR.] had I. THOMAS, born in England, settled in Sandwich. II. MARY, who md Oct 1639, Mr. John Frend, who died young. Before Aug 1655, as is shown by a deed in Suffolk Registry, she had md Capt. James Oliver. They left no children. And he probably had III. WILLIAM who settled in Barnstable. IV. FRANCIS, who md Richard Wooddy. They had eight children. They lived some years in Roxbury. In 1695 Mary and Frances, who were then widows brought the 4th suit in behalf of their father's claim upon Nahant, against the town of Lynn, once more in vain." p321: SOURCE: (1) From charts prepared by Miriam Dexter; INFORMATION: (1) Resided at Lynn, Barnstable, Plymouth Colony (1629-30);
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