Most Tufts in
America can trace their ancestry to Peter Tufts who came to America before
1638. He was clearly from England and according to Herbert Adams, the most
thorough researcher; he was the son of Peter and Elizabeth Tufts of County
Norfolk. Adams devoted a large section
of his book; Tufts Kinsmen to his
research and conclusions including how the name came to be and Peter’s
ancestry. I will save that story for another blog. I somehow like to just
accept he was from England and leave it at that but there is much more to the
story.
Other Tufts did
come from England and from other places including Peter’s sisters who came to
Malden and Charlestown Massachusetts possibly with Peter. Another early record
states that a John Tufts did come to Hingham but apparently left no further
record and may have died with no issue.
Peter’s sister
Elizabeth married Thomas Lynde Jr. so many Lynde families can claim Tufts
ancestry as well as the family of Peter’s sister Mary who married George Fowle
who had eleven children. The first record of Peter was when he was admitted as
a Freeman in Charlestown in 1638. The search for the ship he came on may never
produce a result as the records are few but he may have come with his sister
and the Lynde family in 1632 in the Griffin.
Peter was certainly a man of some status as he had the capitol available to
purchase several lands and farms and became a large landholder in what is now
Medford and Malden but then was Charlestown or Mysticside. Peter was a farmer
and also held some town offices including running the ferry across the Mystic
river. He made enough money from this to purchase more land including some in
Brookfield Massachusetts.
Peter married Mary
Pierce and had a large family in Charlestown. The brick home he had built still
survives as the oldest brick building in America. It can be seen on Riverside
Avenue and is not far from Bell Rock Cemetery where Peter and many other family
members are buried. Peter left many records I will share later.
PETER TUFTS, Goodman, yeoman, planter, ferryman,
tythingman
b. 1617 in Tibenham, {Norfolk} England
d. 13, May 1700 in Charlestown [Somerville], {Suffolk} Mass.
m 1646 in Charlestown, {Suffolk} Mass.
to MARY PIERCE, Gudie, Mother
dau. of Thomas and Elizabeth (?) Pierce
b. 1626 in England
d. 10, Jan. 1702/3 in Charlestown [Somerville], {Middlesex}
Mass.
had 1) Peter, 2) James, 3) Henry, 4) John, 5) Mary, 6)
Jonathan, 7) Jonathan, 8) Martha, 9) Elizabeth, 10) John, 11) Mercy, 12) Sarah,
13) Persis, 14) Lydia
ELIZABETH TUFTS
b. 1612 in Tibenham, {Norfolk}, England
d. 2, Sep. 1693 in Malden [Melrose], {Middlesex} Mass.
m. 1646 in Charlestown, {Suffolk} Mass.
to THOMAS LYNDE, Jr.,
yeoman, Selectman, Ensign, soldier KPW
son of Dea. Thomas and Margaret
( ) Lynde
b. Jan. 1612 in Dunstable, {Bedfordshire}, England
d. 15, Oct. 1693 in Malden [Melrose], {Middlesex} Mass.
had 1) Thomas
(Jr.) b.
25, Mar. 1647 in Charlestown
2) John b.
1648 in Malden, Mass.
3)
Elizabeth b. 20, Apr. 1650 in
Malden, Mass.
4) Joseph b. 13,
Dec. 1652 in Malden, Mass.
5) Mary b.1654
in Malden, Mass.
MARY TUFTS, Marie
b. 1614 in Tibenham, {Norfolk}, England
d. 15, Feb. 1676 in Charlestown, {Suffolk} Mass.
m. 1638 in
to GEORGE FOWLE,
tanner
son of John and Hannah (Fuller) Fowle *
b. 27, Jan. 1610 in Sandhurst, {Kent} England
d. 19, Sep.1682 in Charlestown, {Middlesex} Mass.
had 1) Hannah b.
1638 in Concord, Mass.
2) John b. 1639 in Concord,
Mass.
3) Mary b. 24, Nov. 1640 in
Concord, Mass.
4) Peter b. 2, Dec. 1641 in Concord, Mass.
5) James b. 12, Mar. 1642/3 in
Concord, Mass.
6) Mary b. 9, Feb.
1644 in Concord, Mass.
7) Abraham b. 1647 in Concord, Mass.
8) Isaac † b. 1648 in Charlestown,
Mass.
9) Zachariah b. 1651 in Charlestown, Mass.
10) Jacob b. 1653 in Charlestown,
Mass.
11) Elizabeth b. 27, Jan. 1655/6 in Charlestown, Mass.
