Thomas Richardson

Notes:

Woburn was first settled in 1640 near Horn Pond, a primary source of the Mystic River, and was officially incorporated in 1642. At that time the area included present day towns of Woburn, Winchester, Burlington, and parts of Stoneham and Wilmington. In 1730 Wilmington separated from Woburn. In 1799 Burlington separated from Woburn; in 1850 Winchester did so, too. Woburn got its name from Woburn, Bedfordshire. Woburn played host to the first religious ordination in the Americas on Nov. 22, 1642. Rev. Thomas Carter was sworn in by many of the most prominent men of New England including John Cotton, minister of the First Church of Boston, Richard Mather minister of the First Church of Dorchester, and Capt. Edward Johnson co-founder of the church and town of Woburn. Johnson is regarded as "the father of Woburn." He served as the first town clerk, represented the town in the Massachusetts General Court, made the first map of Massachusetts, and wrote the first history of the colony.

Thomas married Mary Baldwin about 1635-1636 in Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Mary was born about 1612 in England; died on 19 May 1670 in Woburn, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mary married John Baldwin about May 1655 in Woburn, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts. John was born about 1622 in Hertfordshire, England; died on 25 Dec 1687 in Billerica, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Billerica Massachusetts. In the early 1630s a Praying Indian village named Shawsheen was at the current site of Billerica. In 1638, Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop and Lt. Governor Thomas Dudley were granted land along the Concord River in the wilderness which was called Shawshin by the local Native Americans. Most of the settlement was to take place under the supervision of Cambridge; however, financial difficulties in the colony prevented this from taking place, and the issue of settling Shawshin continued to be deferred. Finally, in 1652, roughly a dozen families from Cambridge and Charlestown Village, later Woburn, had begun to occupy Shawshin as well. Wishing to replace the foreign-sounding Shawshin with a name more familiar, the settlers chose the name Billerica, likely due to the fact that the majority of the families living in the settlement were originally from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. The town was incorporated as Billerica in 1655, on the same day as nearby Chelmsford and Groton.

John married Sarah Heywood on 12 Feb 1689/90 in Billerica, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts. Sarah was born on 30 Aug 1666 in Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died on 9 Feb 1739/40 in Billerica, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Dorothy KidderBillerica, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts. Dorothy (daughter of Ephriam Kidder and Rachel Crosby) was born on 2 Sep 1696 in Medford, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died before 1796. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]