Benjamin Crisp1 
b. circa 1610, d. between 5 November 1683 and 21 December 1683
7th great-grandfather of Louise Underwood.
9th great-grandfather of Laura Jane Munson.
- Family Background:
- Underwood and Allied Families
- Appears on charts:
- Pedigree for Louise Underwood
Benjamin Crisp was born circa 1610: He deposed aged forty-five in 1656, fifty-two in 1662 and seventy-seven in 1683.2 Medford, Massachusetts, is possibly where he married, by 1636, his first wife Bridget.1,2 As his second wife, Benjamin Crisp married Joanna Goffe?, widow of a prominent citizen of Groton, William Longley Sr., after 29 November 1680 in Groton.1 He died between 5 November 1683 and 21 December 1683 in Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. This range of dates is suggested because on the latter date he was replaced in his duties at the meetinghouse, but no mention was made at a town meeting on the former date that a replacement was needed.3
Benjamin Crisp immigrated to America in 1631: On 7 October 1656 Benjamin Crisp, aged about forty-five, deposed that he was a servant to Major [Edward] Gibbons "25 years agone."2,1 His first residence was in Watertown.1 In 1636, Benjamin Crisp is recorded once as living in "Misticke alias Meadforde" [Medford].2
Benjamin Crisp became a proprietor of Watertown on 25 July 1636 when he was granted twenty acres in Great Dividend.4 He was granted three acres in Beaverbrook Plowlands, 28 February 1636/37.5 He was granted three acres in Remote Meadows on 26 June 1637.6 He was granted a sixty-four acre farm on 10 May 1642.7
His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; one acre of meadow at Beaver Brook; four acres His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; one acre His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; one acre of meadow at Beaver Brook; four acres His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upla[sic] of Remote Meadow; and three acres of plowland in the Hither Plain [Beaverbrook Plowlands].8 In the 1644 Composite Inventory, Benjamin Crisp held four parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in the Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; and a sixty-four acre farm.9
Benjamin Crisp took the Freeman's Oath on 6 May 1646. Admission to Watertown church prior to this date is implied by freemanship.2,10
On 25 September 1666 "Benjamin Crispe of Watertown, mason," joined by "Bridget Crispe, his wife," for a valuable sum of money sold to Thomas Boyden of Groton four parcels of land in Watertown: seven acres of upland and buildings; twenty acres of Great Dividend; twelve acres in Lieu of Township; and a fifty-three acre farm. These were the same lands inventoried twenty years before as finally surveyed.11
They moved to Groton probably soon after the sale of the Watertown lands.1 He probably witnessed the Indian attack on the town on 13 March 1675/76, as two of his sons were among the defenders. This was during King Philip's War, and his wife Bridget is thought perhaps to have been a casualty of the attack.12
The family returned to Watertown before 13 April 1681 when selectmen ordered that "Benjamin Crispe" have "the charge of the meeting house committed to him to sweep and ring the bell and what else is needful to be done to fasten the doors and windows when the exercise is done."13 He sold his son Jonathan's property on 31 October 1682. This is the last he is found in any record.14
Benjamin Crisp immigrated to America in 1631: On 7 October 1656 Benjamin Crisp, aged about forty-five, deposed that he was a servant to Major [Edward] Gibbons "25 years agone."2,1 His first residence was in Watertown.1 In 1636, Benjamin Crisp is recorded once as living in "Misticke alias Meadforde" [Medford].2
Benjamin Crisp became a proprietor of Watertown on 25 July 1636 when he was granted twenty acres in Great Dividend.4 He was granted three acres in Beaverbrook Plowlands, 28 February 1636/37.5 He was granted three acres in Remote Meadows on 26 June 1637.6 He was granted a sixty-four acre farm on 10 May 1642.7
His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; one acre of meadow at Beaver Brook; four acres His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; one acre His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; one acre of meadow at Beaver Brook; four acres His Watertown lands were listed in two town inventories. In the Watertown Inventory of Grants, he was credited with six parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in Great Dividend; nine acres of upla[sic] of Remote Meadow; and three acres of plowland in the Hither Plain [Beaverbrook Plowlands].8 In the 1644 Composite Inventory, Benjamin Crisp held four parcels of land: seven acre homestall; twenty acres of upland in the Great Dividend; nine acres of upland beyond the Further Plain; and a sixty-four acre farm.9
Benjamin Crisp took the Freeman's Oath on 6 May 1646. Admission to Watertown church prior to this date is implied by freemanship.2,10
On 25 September 1666 "Benjamin Crispe of Watertown, mason," joined by "Bridget Crispe, his wife," for a valuable sum of money sold to Thomas Boyden of Groton four parcels of land in Watertown: seven acres of upland and buildings; twenty acres of Great Dividend; twelve acres in Lieu of Township; and a fifty-three acre farm. These were the same lands inventoried twenty years before as finally surveyed.11
They moved to Groton probably soon after the sale of the Watertown lands.1 He probably witnessed the Indian attack on the town on 13 March 1675/76, as two of his sons were among the defenders. This was during King Philip's War, and his wife Bridget is thought perhaps to have been a casualty of the attack.12
The family returned to Watertown before 13 April 1681 when selectmen ordered that "Benjamin Crispe" have "the charge of the meeting house committed to him to sweep and ring the bell and what else is needful to be done to fasten the doors and windows when the exercise is done."13 He sold his son Jonathan's property on 31 October 1682. This is the last he is found in any record.14
Children of Benjamin Crisp and Bridget (—?—) (Crisp)
- Elizabeth Crisp15 b. 8 Jan 1636/37, d. 28 May 1681
- Mary Crisp16 b. 20 May 1638
- Jonathan Crisp1 b. 29 Jan 1639/40, d. b 25 Oct 1680
- Eleazer Crisp17 b. 14 Jan 1641/42
- Zachariah Crisp+1 b. s 1644
- Mehitable Crisp18 b. 21 Jan 1645/46
- Mercy Crisp+ 1 b. s 1648
- Deliverance Crisp19 b. c 1650
Citations
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-16?? (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996-200?). The Great Migration Study Project is ongoing. Several volumes have been published in hardcopy, and new sketches appear frequently in the "Great Migration Newsletter" (online subscription or hardcopy). The database is online and may be viewed at New England Ancestors.org or Ancestry.com, both of which are subscription sites. It is also available in hardcover and CD-ROM from NEHGS.
- [S171] Walter Goodwin Davis, "Crisp, of Watertown," Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis (1885-1966): A Reprinting in Alphabetical Order by Surname, of the Sixteen Multi-Ancestor Compendia, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996), Vol. 1, 1: 319, originally published in The Ancestry of Sarah Hildreth (1958).
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Records of Town Proceedings - First and Second Books,' Section One in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 2: 15.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Lands, Grants, Divisions, Allotments, Possessions and Proprietors=squot Book,' Section Two in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 4.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Lands, Grants, Divisions, Allotments, Possessions and Proprietors=squot Book,' Section Two in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 6.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Lands, Grants, Divisions, Allotments, Possessions and Proprietors=squot Book,' Section Two in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 9.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Lands, Grants, Divisions, Allotments, Possessions and Proprietors=squot Book,' Section Two in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 12.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Lands, Grants, Divisions, Allotments, Possessions and Proprietors=squot Book,' Section Two in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 88.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Lands, Grants, Divisions, Allotments, Possessions and Proprietors=squot Book,' Section Two in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 31.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing MBCR: Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1628-1686, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., 5 volumes in 6 (Boston 1853-1854), 2: 294.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Deeds, 3: 173.
- [S171] Walter Goodwin Davis, "Crisp, of Watertown," Massachusetts and Maine Families, Vol. 1, 1: 320, originally published in The Ancestry of Sarah Hildreth (1958).
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing 'Records of Town Proceedings - First and Second Books,' Section One in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings ... (Watertown 1894), 2: 7, 8.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Deeds, 8: 227.
- [S169] Watertown Historical Society, Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings with the Lands Grants and Possessions also the Proprietors' Book and the First Book and Supplement of Births Deaths and Marriages (Watertown: Press of Fred G. Barker, 1894), First Book and Supplement, 4.
- [S169] Watertown VR (published), 5.
- [S169] Watertown VR (published), 9.
- [S169] Watertown VR (published), 12.
- [S170] Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, citing The American Genealogist, Volume 9 to present (1932 ), 62: 27.
