William Underwood

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William Underwood (say 1612–1697)

Sarah Unknown (d. 1684)

William Underwood was born say 1612, based on the birth of his first child. He died on 12 August 1697 in Chelmsford. [1, 452] He married first Sarah Unknown. He married second Ann Kidder of Billerica on 17 March 1684/5 in Chelmsford. [1, 338] She was probably the widow of Ensign James Kidder.

Sarah died on 5 November 1684 in Chelmsford. [1, 452]

William was present at the first town meeting in Chelmsford on 22 (9) 1654. [2, 12] He was an original member of the church in Chelmsford in 1655. [2, 11] William Underwood's wife was an early member of the church in Chelmsford in 1655. [2, 12] She owned the covenant there on 11 (4) 1656. [2, 26]

William was a selectman from 1667 to 1682. [2, 754–6]

William is on a 1671 tax list in Chelmsford. [2, 59–60]

On 20: 3: 1673 William Underwood, William Fletcher and Abraham Parker were appointed to lay out a highway in Chelmsford. [2, 40]

William was on a 1 September 1674 list of able-bodied men in Chelmsford. [2, 89]

William Underwood of Chelmsford made his will on 14 March 1693, signing it with his mark. He mentioned his son Samuel, his daughter Remembrance Richardson, his grandsons Nathaniel and William Spaulding, his grandson Samuel Richardson and his grandson Joseph Butterfield. Inventory on his estate was taken on 24 August 1697. [3]

Children of William Underwood and Sarah Unknown: Baptisms of the children, as children of William, in Chelmsford [1, 158]

i. Remembrance Underwood was born on 27 (12) 1639 in Concord. She was baptized on 1: 12m: 1656, age about 15, in Chelmsford. She married Josiah Richardson.

ii. Sarah Underwood was born on 25 (7) 1641 in Concord. [4, 6] She was baptized on 1: 12m: 1656, age about 14, in Chelmsford. She married Daniel Blodgett on 10 March 1669 in Chelmsford. [5]

iii. Priscilla Underwood was born on 16 (12) 1646 in Concord. [4, 6] She was baptized on 1: 12m: 1656, age about ten, in Chelmsford. She married Edward Spaulding on 6 July 1663 in Chelmsford. [5]

iv. Aquilla Underwood was born on 3 (5) 1647 in Concord. [4, 6] He was baptized on 1: 12m: 1656, age about eight, in Chelmsford. He drowned on 17 June 1657 in Chelmsford. [1, 452]

v. Rebecca Underwood was born on 25 (10) 16__ [48 or 49?] in Concord. [4, 6] She died on 6 (2) 1650 in Concord. [4, 6]

vi. Deborah Underwood was born about 1652. She was baptized on 1: 12m: 1656, age about four, in Chelmsford. She married Nathaniel Butterfield on 31 December 1668 in Chelmsford. [1, 338]

vii. Samuel Underwood was born on 14 February 1655 in Chelmsford. [1, 158] He was baptized on 1: 12m: 1656 in Chelmsford.

Endnotes:

1. Vital Records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Salem: Essex Institute, 1914).

2. Wilson Waters, History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts (Lowell, MA: Courier-Citizen, 1917).

3. "Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records," database with images, Ancestry > Middlesex > probate records, vol. 7–10, 1689–1704, image 431.

4. Concord, Massachusetts: Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635–1850 (Concord: Beacon Press, 1895).

5. Emily W. Leavitt, "Chelmsford Marriages,"New England Historic and Genealogical Register 51 (1897), 308.

Revised 08-Jun-2023