Honoring My Ancestors on Newbury’s First Settlers Monument

Photographs courtesy of Botteville, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Newbury, Massachusetts, was settled in 1635 by English colonists seeking religious freedom and new opportunities in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Located along the Parker River and near the Atlantic coast, Newbury was well-suited for farming, fishing, and trade. The individuals listed on this monument were among the first settlers who established the community, built homes, organized a church, and laid the foundations for what would become a thriving town. Their descendants erected this memorial to honor the resilience, faith, and pioneering spirit of these early colonists.

As a genealogist, I was thrilled to discover that three of my own ancestors are listed on the First Settlers Monument in Newbury. I can imagine them interacting with their neighbors, supporting one another through the challenges of early colonial life. It’s likely that their families intertwined through friendship and perhaps even marriage. Over generations, their descendants spread far and wide throughout the United States. They now live in family trees across the country, including mine.

Below is the list of those honored on the monument, with my ancestors highlighted:

·       Robert Adams

·       Giles Badger

·       John Bailey

·       Richard Brown

·       Thomas Brown

·       Richard Bartlet

·       John Cheney

·       Aquilla Chase

·       Nathaniel Clark

·       Thomas Coleman

·       Tristram Coffin

·       Robert Coker

·       John Cutting

·       John Davis

·       Richard Dole

·       Richard Dummer

·       John Emery

·       William Gerrish

·       Thomas Hale

·       Abel Huse

·       William Ilsley

·       James Jackman

·       Henry Jaques

·       John Knight

·       Richard Knight

·       John Kent

·       Percival Lowle

·       Stephen Long

·       Richard Morgan

·       Hugh March

·       William Marston

·       Nathaniel Merrill

·       William Moody

·       Anthony Morse

·       William Moulton

·       Edmund Moores

·       Nicholas Noyes

·       James Noyes

·       James Ordway

·       John Osgood

·       Thomas Parker

·       Richard Pettingell

·       Daniel Pierce

·       John Pike

·       William Pillsbury

·       Francis Plumer

·       John Poor

·       Samuel Poor

·       Joseph Noyes

·       Edward Rawson

·       Edward Richardson

·       Robert Savory

·       Richard Sears

·       Thomas Smith

·       Anthony Somerby

·       Henry Short

·       Thomas Swett

·       William Sawyer

·       Steven Swett

·       George Tomson

·       Jonathan Thurlow

·       Daniel Thurston

·       Abraham Toppan

·       Thomas Whittier

·       Edward Woodman

·       Thomas Wiggins