Richard SAWTELLE

Abt 1610 - 1694  (~ 84 years)

• Name	Richard SAWTELLE
  Born	Abt 1610	Somersetshire, England
  Gender	Male
  Immigrant?	Y
  Died	21 Aug 1694	Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  Buried	Old Burying Ground, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts   [1]
  Person ID	I15856	Main
  Last Modified	29 Nov 2023

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth MNU,   b. Abt 1615, England ,   d. 18 Oct 1694, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts  (Age ~ 79 years)
  Children	1. Elizabeth SAWTELLE,   b. 1 May 1638,   d. 6 Feb 1675, Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts  (Age 36 years)
  Last Modified	29 Nov 2023
  Family ID	F11361	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Died - 21 Aug 1694 - Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  Richard arrived in Watertown, MA in 1636 (or 1639?) and as of 25 Jul he was reported to be proprietor there; he stayed for more than 25 years. He was granted only one acre of land and, as married men received much more, suggesting he was not with a wife at the time. Richard moved to Groton MA as an original proprietor and settler. He was quickly assigned to become the town clerk. He served in this office from 1662-1664. Richard's first child was born 1 May 1638, so it is thought he married after shortly after 28 Feb 1636. In 1670 (or 1671) Richard and his wife took the illegitimate child of the deceased Zachariah Smith and their daughter Ruth Sawtelle into their home. In 1672 he won £10 in a suit against Thomas, John and Joseph Smith for the child's keep out of the estate of the boy's father (in addition Richard charged them with illegally administering the estate). On 13 Mar 1676, during King Philip's war, Richard's Groton house, which was being used as one of the five garrison houses, was torched, and burned along with the rest of the town. The encompassing blaze drove Groton's inhabitants to desert their home. Richard returned to Watertown, where in 1689 he became a selectman. There, he executed a will on 16 May 1692 and died there about 21 Aug 1694. It is thought he was buried in the Old Burying Ground, in Groton, where his widow Elizabeth joined him soon after her death on 18 Oct 1694. [1]

  
  

• Sources

  [S151] WikiTree, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sawtell-28.