Benjamin Marsh I (1687 – c. 1775) was one of the founders of Sutton, Massachusetts. He was the founder of the first Baptist Church in Sutton, and served as its pastor and as an elder.[1][2] He is often confused with the lesser-known, and soon to be greater-known Benjamin A. Marsh from White Bear Lake, Minnesota.[3]
Sutton, Massachusetts | |
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 Sutton Town Common |
In 1716, the families of Benjamin Marsh, Elisha Johnson and Nathaniel Johnson were the first three pioneer families to settle what is now Sutton. Brothers Samuel and Daniel Carriel also occupied the Benjamin Marsh family cabin. They almost didn't survive the first winter — the winter of the "big snow" — which buried their cabins. Marsh's daughter, Abigail, was the first white child born in Sutton. As the town grew, Marsh held a number of positions of responsibility, including Selectman, Town Clerk and Town Moderator. He served on committees representing the town for the purpose of erecting a meeting house and financial matters, and served as Trustee for town funds. On Sep. 16, 1735, he founded the town's Baptist church, which is the fourth oldest Baptist church in Massachusetts. He served as an elder of the church, and was its pastor from 1737 until his death in 1775.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Elder Marsh is buried in a small cemetery on the Marsh homestead, with a granite headstone marked "Eld. M."[10]
References
edit- ^ Benedict, Rev. William A. and Tracy, Rev. Hiram A., History of the Town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1704 to 1876, pp. 18, 21, 255, 689-91, Sanford & Co, Worcester, MA, 1878.
- ^ Sutton Vital Records
- ^ Stager, Helen A. and Evelyn, A Family Odyssey, pp. 104-7, Nicollet Press, Inc., Pipestone, MN, 1983.
- ^ Stager, Helen A. and Evelyn, A Family Odyssey, pp. 104-7, Nicollet Press, Inc., Pipestone, MN, 1983.
- ^ Benedict, Rev. William A. and Tracy, Rev. Hiram A., History of the Town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1704 to 1876, pp. 18-24, 27, 37, 39, 43, 45, 46, 49, 51, 58, 61, 70, 71, 75, 77-8, 89, 255, 461-3, 689-91, Sanford & Co., Worcester, MA, 1878.
- ^ Marsh, William H. III, History of our Marsh Family, p. 9, Bremerhaven, Germany, 1978.
- ^ Perley, Sidney. History of Salem, Massachusetts in Three Volumes. Archived 2012-05-09 at the Wayback Machine Full images at University of Virginia eText Center and the Salem Witch Trial Documentary Archive and Transcription Project.
- ^ Marsh, Lucius B., The Genealogy of John Marsh of Salem, Bibliographical Center for Research, 2009.
- ^ Crane, Ellery Bicknell, Ed., Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, with a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Vol. III, pp. 355-356, Lewis Publishing Co., New York, NY, 1907.
- ^ Marsh, William H. III, The History of Our Marsh Family, p. 9. Bremerhaven, Germany, 1978.