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32. Robert Proctor (say 1619–1697)

Robert Proctor was born say 1619, based on the date of his marriage. He died on 28 April 1697 in Chelmsford. [1] He married Jane Hildreth "the last" (1) 1645. [2]

33. Jane Hildreth (say 1627–aft. 1697), daughter of Richard Hildreth

Jane was born say 1627, given the date of her marriage and the birthdate of her father.

The origins of Robert Proctor are unknown. He first appears in the records of New England when he became a freeman, along with his associates William Fletcher, Benjamin Butterfield and Thomas Adams on 10 May 1643. [3]

Robert Proctor was one of the petitioners for a grant of land for the town of Chelmsford on 19 May 1653. [4, 2–3] He was chosen constable in 1660 in Chelmsford. [4, 22]

Joseph, the five-year-old son of John Blanchard was unfortunate enough to fall into a kettle of lye, and on 27 March 1669 Robert Proctor was a juror in the coroner's inquest. [5, 2:91]

Robert is on a 1 September 1674 list of able-bodied men in Chelmsford. [4, 89]

On 16 March 1691/2 Robert Proctor was in a garrison in Chelmsford with Thomas Chamberlain, Thomas Chamberlain, Jr., Abraham Byum, Peter Proctor, Gershom Proctor and their families. [4, 135]

Robert Proctor of Chelmsford made his will on 4 March 1696/7. He left bequests to his wife Jane, his sons Gershom, Peter, James, John, Samuel and Israel and to his daughters Dorothy Barrett, Elizabeth Proctor, Sarah Chamberlin and Mary Bourne. He also left a bequest to his "beloved son Thomas Proctor [if] he returns from sea to New England.] [6, 18220:1–3]

The will of Robert Proctor of Chelmsford, Jane Proctor, executrix, was probated on 13 July 1697. [7]

Children of Robert Proctor and Sarah Unknown: [1][2][8]

i. Sarah Proctor was born on 12 (7) 1646 in Concord. She married Thomas Chamberlin on 10 August 1666 in Chelmsford. Thomas was the son of Thomas and Mary Chamberlain of Woburn and Chelmsford. He may have been born in England; he died on 28 March or May in Chelmsford. [9]

ii. Gershom Proctor was born on 13 (3) 1648 in Concord. He died on 8 November 1714, age 66, in Chelmsford. He married Sarah Wittaws on 4 July 1690 in Chelmsford.

His gravestone in Chelmsford says that he died on 8 November 1714, age 74 years, six months. [4, 740]

Inventory was not finalized on Gershom's estate until 14 November 1735. It amounted to 1,683 pounds and seven shillings. [6, 18176:23]

iii. Mary Proctor was born on 8 (2) 1650 in Concord. She married James Bourne on 3 April 1685 in Chelmsford.

iv. Peter Proctor was probably born about 1652/4. He died on 1 August 1730. [8] He married Mary Patterson on 30 January 1688/9. [10] Mary, the dauhter of James and Rebecca (Stevenson) Patterson, was born on 22 June 1666 in Billerica. [10][11] She died on 12 October 1724 in Chelmsford.

v. Dorothy Proctor was probably born about 1652/4. She married John, the son of John Barrett, on 18 December 1679 in Chelmsford. John died in 1694 and Dorothy may have married second Samuel Robbins. [12]

vi. Elizabeth Proctor was born on 16 December (or 21 January) 1656 in Chelmsford. She married Samuel Fletcher [as his third wife] on 20 December 1705 in Concord.

vii. James Proctor was born on 8 January 1658 in Chelmsford. He married Esther [Fletcher] Parker [as her second husband] on 3 December 1691 in Chelmsford. Esther died on 6 December 1693 in Chelmsford.

viii. Lydia Proctor was born on 19 February 1660 in Chelmsford. She died on 13 August 1661 in Chelmsford.

ix. John Proctor was born on 17 August 1663 in Chelmsford. He married Miriam Unknown. The widow Miriam died on 19 January 1767, age 99, in Chelmsford and was buried the following day.

x. Samuel Proctor was born on 15 September 1665 in Chelmsford. He died on 12 April 1740. He married Sarah Unknown.

xi. Israel Proctor was born on 29 April 1668 in Chelmsford. He married [his first cousin] Margaret Hildreth on 10 January 1689 in Chelmsford. Margaret, the daughter of James and Margaret (Ward) Hildreth, was born on 22 May 1660 in Chelmsford.

xii. Thomas Proctor was born on 30 April 1671 in Chelmsford. He went to sea by 1697 and, apparently, never returned.

Endnotes:

1. Vital Records of Chelmsford. Births of the children (as. ch. Robert and Jane, except Samuel who is recorded as s. Robert and Sarah[!]), pp. 122–7. Marriages of Sarah, Gershom, Mary ( her first, as d. Robert and Jane), Dorothy, Elizabeth, Israel and James, pp. 299–301. Death of Robert, death of Gershom (66 y. 6 m.), death of Peter's wife Mary (w. Peter), death of James's wife Esther (w. James), death of Lydia (d. Robert and Jane), death of Miriam, pp. 429–31. Hildreth: Birth of Margaret (d. James and Margaret), p. 82.

2. Concord, Massachusetts, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635–1850 (Boston: Beacon Press, n.d.). Robert and Jane's marriage, p. 6. Sarah, Gershom and Mary's births (ch. Robert and Jane), p. 6.

3. Lucius R. Page, "List of Freemen," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 3 (1849): 190.

4. Wilson Waters, History of Chelmsford (Lowell, MA: Courier Citizen Co., 1917).

5. "Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643–1674," database with images, Ancestry.

6. "Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871," database with images, Ancestry > Middlesex Cases 18000-19999.

7. "Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records," database with images, Ancestry > Middlesex > probate records, vol. 7–10, 1689–1704, image 425.

8: Proctor and Proctor, Proctor Genealogy. Peter's death, p. 6. John's wife's first name, p. 7.

9. George W. Chamberlain, One Branch of the Descendants of Thomas Chamberlain of Woburn, 1644 (Weymouth, MA: Weymouth and Braintree Publishing Co., 1897), 8.

10: Joseph Alfred Harwood, comp., Records of Littleton, Massachusetts (Littleton: Patriot Press, 1900). Marriage of Peter, birth of Mary, Mary's father's name and mother's first name.

11. John R. Rollins, "Patterson Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 56 (1883): 46–47. Marrige of Peter, birth of Mary, Mary's parents' names.

12: Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, vol. 1 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 95.

Revised 10-Dec-2019

©2019 A. Buiter