Benjamin Mills

Son of Samuel Mills and Frances Blossom

Benjamin's Home-Town of Dedham Massachusetts

     On March 20, 1651 Samuel Mills and his wife had a child named Benjamin Mills.  Twenty-two years later Benjamin Mills married Mary Thorne on May 1, 1673 in the town of Dedham, Massachusetts.

    Soon after their marriage Samuel Mills gave Benjamin and Mary twenty acres of land by the Charles River.

In the years that followed we are not quite positive how they were making money. We do, however, know for a fact that he had farm land which tells us that he probably did some farming. 
     We also know that during this time, Benjamin’s town had a lot of wolves, and that the town would pay people money if they killed wolves. Samuel liked to take Benjamin, and his other kids on hunting trips to hunt wolves and then collect the reward.

     We are not sure why, but we do know that in 1675 Benjamin’s town gave him land for free. Maybe he had done something good or maybe the town was being nice. We don’t know.

     Six or so years after his father Samuel died, Benjamin got a job building, planning, and fixing highways. Even though there were no cars in 1702, people still needed good streets to ride horses on.  The next year Benjamin Mills gave his son Joseph the same piece of land his father had originally given him, only it also included extra land.  Two years after this a man named Jonathan Gay sold Benjamin and his brother Samuel farmland. Samuel bought fifty acres of orchard with a house and Benjamin bought fifteen.

Old Barn with Gambrel Roof

     In 1842 Benjamin’s home was still a popular sight.   It had a gambrel roof, something that many 18th century houses had. It was passed down from generation to generation of Mills.  It later burned down.


Written by Isaiah Scoll



Sources:

History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911
      By George Kuhn Clark

American Marriages before 1699
 By Ancestry.com

Samuel Mills

The most elderly confirmed ancestor of the Mills line

The Crest of The Mills

It all began in the year 1620 or at least that is the farthest back we have been able to find records of. The year 1620 was the year when Samuel Mills was born. After this moment we do not know what happened in Samuel’s life until March 11, 1644 when he got married to Frances Pembroke.

But it was a year after his marriage when his life actually got interesting. Because just twenty-five years after the Mayflower landed in Plymouth Rock, Samuel Mills arrived in Massachusetts.  The year was 1645.

After he arrived, he and his wife had several children, one of whom was Benjamin Mills.  On January 7, 1694 when Samuel Mills died of old age.

Sources:

History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911
           By George Kuhn Clarke

U.S and Canada Passenger and Immigration Lists Index 1500's-1900's
       By Ancestry.com

William Palmer Senior

William Palmer Senior

 the Oldest Confirmed Ancestor in our Palmer Line -

       Before the Mayflower could sail, the voyage had to be funded.  The 102 passengers could not afford the costs.  William Palmer was one of the 8 people who helped pay for the journey.  Later, these men were known as "The Purchasers."  William Palmer would later receive 3200 acres of land in the New World because he was a purchaser.

       The Mayflower arrived December 20, 1620. The next year, on November 16, 1621, William Palmer arrived aboard the Fortune, the second ship to reach the colony.  This would have been shortly after the celebrated feasting or "first Thanksgiving" that the pilgrims and indians enjoyed together.

       William was a nailer, a person who makes nails. The Fortune's logbook included the passengers' inventories, or things they packed with them on the ship.  His belongings included bellows, an anvil, a vice, and all the other items used for nail making.  William also brought with him a Bible and a book called The Practise of Christianity.  Most importantly, William brought his 12 year old son, William Palmer, Jr.

      William's wife, Francis arrived in Plymouth Colony the following year on the third ship, the Anne.   For being a passenger, she would later receive an acre of land.

     William was not just a nailer; he was also a trader. He traded beaver skins and other furs and hides.  He was considered a saint along with his father in law.  

 William's wife, Francis arrived in Plymouth Colony the following year on the third ship, the Anne.   For being a passenger, she would later receive an acre of land.

     As was customary at the time, an inventory was taken of William's belongings after his death.  Some of things were:

1 feather bolster and pillow, 1 red rug, 1 yellow rug, 1 pair of flaxen sheets, 2 pairs of hemp sheets, 3 old tablecloths, 1 Bible, 2 iron pots, 2 frying pans, 2 candle sticks, drinking cups, 2 tin pots, 2 stone jugs, 2 sacks, 1 bag, 1 padlock, anvil, 1 hammer, 2 cows, 6 hens, 1 cock, 15 chickens, and hay for the cows. 

Sources:

The Great Migration

A Concise History of Massachusetts, p. 31

The Ancient Family of Palmer of Plymouth Colony