John HOUGHTON

                   SOURCES:
    1. From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
    2. 1998 Ancestral File
    3. 1997 Ordinance Index
    4. Descendants of John Houghton of Lancaster, B15 A 69 p. 5;
    5. Will of John Houghton pr 17 Jun 1684
    6. Joseph W Porter, Newbury Historical Society; Vol. 79, p 393

Buried at the Old Grainery Burial Ground.  Historical informaiton included in notes

According to tradition, this John Houghton,Esq., came to America along with  his cousin, Ralph Houghton.  It has never been proven that they were actually cousins.  They resided for a time in Charlestown, then later in Dedham,Massachusetts,before leaving to found the town of Prescott, later renamed Lancaster, Massachusetts.  In 1650/1651, it was noted in the ships log that they arrived on the good ship "Abigail" from England which docked in 1647. Ralph was first to arrive atLancaster. From the 'Story of Colonial Lancaster"  by Marian Fuller,[pr 1937,pg #6] "He 'bot' the land of John Prescott called 'the Centre' which was on the north side of Dean's Brook, east of the Nashua River on the south side of Prescott. "The Centre" was later (within one year) to be known as the township of Lancaster. Prescott, who married Mary Gawkroger-Platte, was the first settler in  the region and came from Lancashire,England, as did John and Ralph. Preston and Ralph were lifelong friends. Ralph became the town clerk. John arrived in Lancaster shortly after the settlement was established (doubtless, soon after the birth of daughter Mary) and became a prominent citizen. John Houghton signed the Town and Church Covenant in Lancaster, September 24, 1653 along with Samuel Dean, and was therefore a freeman. He possessed a very large estate for the time in the (now) present towns of Lancaster, Bolton, Clinton and Berlin, Massachusetts. The Houghtons boast a baronetcy in England and is not without the  usual intrigue associated with the royalty.  It seems the 63 year old baronet, holder of the second oldest baronetcy in England, married his 19 year old secretary, Philomena Simmons.  It was the first war-time wedding to crash the front pages of British newspapers. "I am proud of being a true Tory Democrat and can see no social reason why a marriage of this character should not take place" Sir Cuthbert Houghton toldthe press, recalling that his grandfather had married a kitchen maid to the great benefit and pleasure of all concerned.  Another of his ancestors, he said, was Lady Godiva. Sir Cuthbert Houghton seems to agree  withold Sir Henry Bold Houghton  that Ralph was actually Radcliffe Houghton, a soldier in Cromwell's Army who kidnapped his brother's wife, Jane, and set Houghton Tower afire before setting out for America. Mrs. Amelia Telford who submitted this information to the 'S (From the files of Alice Barlow Jones)