John Underwood was born on March 6, 1676 in Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America. John married first Rebecca Shattuck on November 19, 1701, in Watertown and second Abigail Flagg around 1715 presumably in Watertown. John Underwood died on June 22, 1754, in Natick, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.
John Underwood was born March 6, 1676 in Watertown located on the Charles River west of Boston, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America. He was the 3rd of 10 known children of Joseph Underwood and his wife Elizabeth and their oldest surviving son.
In 1691 when John was 15 years of age, his father died. John's father devised his estate in Watertown to be equally divided between John and his next oldest son Joseph when they reached the age of majority. The estate consisted of a dwelling house with a barn, uplands, meadows and orchards as well as 28 acres of woodland and 7 acres of meadowland. Within 2 years, John's mother Elizabeth married again, William Bull. William Bull and Elizabeth along with John's younger siblings moved to Sherborn, west and slightly south of Watertown. John appears to have remained in Watertown while his brother Joseph was sent to live with a relative, Thomas Hodgman and Thomas' wife Mary, in Reading Massachusetts. Since his sister Elizabeth married in Reading, likely she was also sent to Reading, possibly to live with oldest sister Mary, who was married and lived in Reading with her husband John Phipps.
In 1701 John married Rebecca Shattuck, daughter of physician Phillip Shattuck and Rebecca Chamberlain. John and Rebecca had the following known children:
- John Underwood
- Rebecca Underwood
John's wife Rebecca died in April of 1709.
In April 1712, John sold 68 acres of land which he had likely inherited from his father, a 30 acre home lot, a 30 acre woodlot and an 8 acre meadow.
In January of 1714 John Underwood purchased 150 acres of land in Needham on the Natick township line.
In April and May of 1714, John sold the homestead where he lived in Charlestown, 27 acres including a house and barn, and a piece of upland in Watertown and relocated to Needham.
In July of 1714 John Underwood was summoned to court in Cambridge along with Abigail Flagg. Abigail was an unmarried 29 year old woman, the daughter of Michael Flagg and Mary Bigelow. Abigail Flagg testified under oath that John Underwood was the father of her bastard son Jonathan. Jonathan was born in April of 1714. Abigail was found guilty of fornication and fined 40 shillings. The court adjudged that John Underwood was the father of Jonathan and ordered John to pay the costs and give a 50 pound bond to hold the town harmless in the raising of the child.
John and Abigail eventually married sometime after July of 1714 and prior to 1719. John Underwood and Abigail Flagg had the following known children:
- Jonathan Underwood
- Joseph Underwood
- Abigail Underwood
- Isaac Underwood
- Mary Underwood
- Elizabeth Underwood
- Hannah Underwood
The year 1714 was also notable due to the scarcity of paper money in the Massachusetts Bay Colony which hindered the ability of residents, the government and tradesmen to conduct business. To try to correct the situation, the General Assembly resolved to print and emit £50,000 in bills of credit and place them in the hands of individuals across the colony willing to provide a security, or mortgage. The terms were that the mortgagor had 5 years to repay the mortgage with interest or could repay the whole principal at any time. John participated and mortgaged 100 acres of his Needham property. John's brothers, Joseph in Charlestown and Joshua in Sherborn also participated. The economic policy had unintended consequences and according to The Yale Law Review, by 1719 the economy had deflated and currency was scarce again. However all three brothers profited as a result of their decision to participate.
In 1716 John built his house in Needham on his property which was located in a part of the township known as “The Leg”, today in Natick north of Bacon Street between Walnut and Marion Streets. In 1716 only six families lived in “The Leg”, the Underwood family along with the families of Stephen Bacon, Samuel Morse, Timothy Bacon, John Goodenow and Thomas Frost. The land in “The Leg” was considered the best in Needham. In 1724 the families petitioned to be annexed to Natick since they were much closer to the meeting house in Natick than they were to the one at Needham. They were denied and over the next two decades the families in “The Leg” petitioned several times. In June of 1743 a petition was finally approved to allow “The Leg” to be annexed to Natick. After the annexation the area became known as “The Needham Leg”. This explains why some records show that John Underwood lived in Needham and some records show that he lived in Natick. John Underwood never moved; the town line did.
When Phillip Shattuck wrote his will in 1722, he remembered his son-in-law and granddaughter. John Underwood received 5 shillings and Rebecca Underwood received a cow.
Around 1724 daughter Rebecca married Samuel Gale of Watertown. Also in 1724, John's oldest son John died at 21 years of age.
In 1740 son Jonathan married Priscilla Bailla [or Bailey, Bullen, or Bullard], of Framingham and in 1741, he purchased 28 acres of land in Needham from Samuel Morse adjoining his father's land.
In 1744 John purchased 50 acres of land from Ebenezer Frost bringing the size of his estate to about 200 acres of land.
In July 1749 John, age 73, began settling his affairs. He sat down at the end of a table and signed several deeds that were written for him by Ebenezer Felch. The deeds were to be executed upon his death. He divided his land between his sons Jonathan, Joseph and Isaac, although the exact acreage that each was to receive was left blank in the deeds. The deeds included provisions which required his sons to pay cash to his daughters and grandchildren, who were unnamed, in exchange for the land. When he had finished and the deeds were signed, witnessed and sealed, John held them up one at a time and declared each time “I deliver this as my last Deed”. The deeds were given to his wife Abigail and stored in their chest.
In January 1752 daughter Elizabeth married Moses Johnson.
In April and May of 1752, son Jonathan entered into several deeds that were not recorded until July 1754, after the death of his father. In April Jonathan sold to Joseph Drury the 28 acres he purchased in 1741 plus an additional 5 ½ acres. He next purchased 70 acres in Sudbury on the western side of the Sudbury River. In May Jonathan “of Sudbury” sold to his brother Isaac 36 ½ acres which lay between his brother Joseph Underwood's land and Joseph Drury's land and on the southeast corner of Jonathan Underwood's own land called “his 34 acres”. This deed was witnessed by his brother Joseph and by Ebenezer Felch. Priscilla Underwood, Jonathan's wife, relinquished her right of dower in the two deeds.
John Underwood died intestate on June 22, 1754, in Natick, Massachusetts Bay Colony and was buried in the North Cemetery in Natick. He was 78 years old.
John may have thought that he had simplified the probate process by writing the deeds or maybe he was protecting his son Jonathan, who was born a bastard.
In July of 1754, John's wife Abigail began to administer his estate. When the inventory was taken it included his real estate and a slave, negro girl Jenny, as well as livestock and a few personal belongings. The inventory contained a special notation that “he [John] made over by deeds to his sons Joseph and Isaac almost 5 years before” his land immediately following his death. Curiously a deed to son Jonathan was not noted. Since Jonathan was born out of wedlock, possibly he was not considered a legal heir at law.
Before Abigail finished the administration of the estate she died in March of 1755, and the administration was granted to son Isaac.
Samuel Gale, John's grandson by his daughter Rebecca, took Isaac to court, claiming that he and his 3 sisters did not receive their share of their grandfather's estate as was instructed in the deeds written in 1749. There were several depositions given regarding the deeds likely as a result of the court case. Ebenezer Wilson, who witnessed the deeds when they were signed and sealed, testified that John Underwood had given Abigail deeds written for his sons Jonathan, Joseph and Isaac, and for his daughter Hannah. Samuel Gale won the case and Isaac paid the cost of the case as well as the amount due to Samuel and his sisters.
Daughter Hannah received Jenny, the administration papers bearing another special notation which appears to read “The negro girl Jenny given to Hannah to be struck out of the Inventory in case her brother to her shall be deemed good in Law.”
Genealogical Research and Life Sketch Completed: June 2023
Sources:
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, John Underwood, 6 Mar 1676; citing Birth, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009514.
“Probate Records, 1648 - 1924,” Middlesex County Massachusetts, Probate Court. Probate papers 23100-23228. Family Search, FHL microfilm 007553794.
"Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch,. Suffolk County. Deeds Vol 32 Folio 199; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.
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Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007011107.
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, John Underwood in entry for John Underwood, 10 Jul 1704; citing Birth, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009514.
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, John Underwood in entry for Rebecca Underwood, 22 Mar 1706; citing Birth, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009514.
“Massachusetts, Court Records, 1686 - 1748, Middlesex County, Clerk of Courts.” Folio 297. FHL microfilm 007902602.
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Clarke, George Kuhn, “History of Needham, Massachusetts”, The University Press, Cambridge, 1912.
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"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4PZ-VZD : 16 August 2021), John Underwood in entry for Abigail Underwood, 24 Jan 1721; citing Birth, Needham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007579558.
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, John Underwood in entry for Isaac Underwood, 26 Jan 1723; citing Birth, Needham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007579558.
"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch, John Underwood in entry for Hannah Underwood, 1724.
“Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Needham, Vital Records,Needham Deaths, 1711-1800” FHL microfilm 107028864.
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, John Underwood in entry for Mary Underwood, 7 May 1727; citing Birth, Needham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007579558.
"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch, John Underwood in entry for Elizabeth Underwood, 1729.
"Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch, John Underwood in entry for Hannah Underwood, 1730.
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