A Life Sketch of Jacob Flynn of Wilmington, Massachusetts

by David Carlsen, Jacob's 4th Great-Grandson

According to The History of Milford, by George A. Ramsdell, p. 689, Jacob Flynn was born 1 September 1757 in Wilmington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Who his parents were is a mystery that has yet to be solved even though there have been researchers working on it for over 100 years. To date, no record has been found of any Flynn families living in Wilmington prior to 1778. Flynn families living in Massachusetts during the mid-1700's include those of Thomas Flinn and John Flin. Thomas married Hannah Calder, Oct. 2, 1746 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Thomas' Estate was taxed in 1739, 1748, and 1756. John Flin and Eliza. Brown published their marriage intention Mar. 22, 1753 in Boston and were married Apr. 5, 1753 in the same city. Although either couple could have been Jacob's parents, neither has children who were recorded in their town's vital records.

The earliest mention of Jacob's relationship to Wilmington appears in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, vol. 5, p. 814, which reads:

Other records published in the same volume read:

From the above records, we see that Jacob served in the Revolutionary War as a fifer and that he had some level of authority over the disposition of supplies, including guns. He probably served in the Quartermaster Corps, because they were responsible for supplies to the troops. According to Jacob's obituary notice in "Farmer's Cabinet" newspaper:

At first, the mention of Gen. Frazer in Jacob's obituary was a puzzle, because there was no Gen. Frazer listed as serving in the Continental Army. Because the "Commissary Department" is mentioned, the most likely explanation is that Jacob served in the Quartermaster Corps under Assistant Quartermaster General John Gizgage Frazer.

The History of the Quartermaster Corps states that the Quartermaster's Department was organized in 1775 with enough personnel to support the three divisions of the Army. The three quartermaster units were located near each of the divisions--the main one in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and two smaller ones in Roxbury and near Prospect and Winter Hills. The one near Prospect Hill and Winter Hill was presided over by Assistant Quartermaster General John Gizgage Frazer. Prospect Hill and Winter Hill are only a few miles from Chelsea, the city that appears in the documents signed by Jacob. John Frazer received the pay of a captain in the Continental Army and employed one clerk and one wagon master. Although Mr. Frazer was not a general in the Army, his position as assistant quartermaster general probably brought him to be called "General Frazer" by some who served with him. The location of Mr. Frazer's quartermaster unit and the documents showing Jacob Flynn's Revolutionary War activities make it likely that Jacob was a clerk to John Frazer during his first enlistment.

Jacob's second enlistment was to fulfill the obligation of David Jaquith, probably of Wilmington, who most likely paid Jacob to serve for him. His third enlistment was at the request of the Wilmington town council. It is not clear from the records above exactly when Jacob served as a fifer--it may have been during all three enlistments.

After Jacob's service in the Army, he settled in Wilmington for a few years. He is listed as paying taxes there four times in 1778, four in 1779, and once in both 1780 and 1781.

From the Wilmington, Massachusetts vital records, we find that Jacob married Mary Pearson in Wilmington on 24 Mar 1778. Jacob and Mary probably moved from Wilmington to Milford, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire within a year of their marriage--the birth of their first child, Mary, was recorded in New Hampshire. Jacob's tax payments suggest that he owned property in Wilmington until 1781, when he disappears from the tax rolls. He may have spent time in both Milford and Wilmington between 1778 and 1781 because the Milford History states that he moved there in 1778.

According to the Milford History, Jacob lived on a place that was later owned by Charles A. Burns, in the northwest part of the township. A map of the Milford area, made in 1858, shows land owned by C. A. Burns in the northwest section of Milford Township, on a road connecting Milford with Wilton and Mont Vernon Townships. The house is about one and one-half miles from the center of the town of Milford and only one mile from the house where the famous Hutchinson Family Singers lived during their early years. Jesse Hutchinson, the father of the Hutchinson Family Singers, started his family in 1800, after Jacob had lived in the Milford area for about 20 years. It is interesting to speculate that, in his later years, Jacob may have had some interaction with the Hutchinson Family Singers because of his musical background as a fifer in the Revolution.

During his early years in New Hampshire, Jacob probably engaged mostly in farming to sustain his growing family. Not too long after moving to New Hampshire, two children were born to Jacob and Mary: Mary, on 25 July 1779 and Jacob, Jr. on 25 June 1781. Unfortunately, Jacob, Jr. died before his third birthday, on 20 Feb 1784. Less than a year later, another son was born, whom they also named Jacob, Jr. On 3 Sep 1788, their youngest son, Loammi, was born. Because we know nothing of Jacob's parents, we can only speculate where the name Loammi came from. It seems likely that Jacob named his son after his regimental commander Colonel Loammi Baldwin, who is mentioned twice in the records of Jacob's Revolutionary War service.

We find Jacob next appearing on the 1790 Census for Duxbury Mile Twp (later Milford) as "Jacob Flinn" and living with him are: 1 free white male 16 & over, including heads of family (probably Jacob himself), 2 free white males under 16 (probably his sons Jacob, Jr. and Loammi), and 2 free white females including heads of family (probably his wife, Mary, and his daughter Mary).

Jacob was active in community affairs, for when Milford was incorporated in 1794, he was elected as one of the first selectmen for the town. He is also included on a list of Resident Taxpayers in Milford, 1 April 1794. At a meeting held in August, of 1794, Jacob and others were appointed as a committee to properly divide the town into school-districts. On 24 April 1806, Jacob was voted as district clerk. According to the Milford History, he also served as town moderator for a number of years.

The Milford town records state that, in addition to farming, Jacob was in business as a taverner and trader and engaged in the settlement of estates. All this on top of serving in his elected offices. We learn much of his public service from his obituary that appeared in the local "Farmer's Cabinet" newspaper:

Jacob and Mary's youngest child, Catherine, was born on 7 October 1795. Sadly, Mary did not live to see Catherine celebrate her second birthday. Mary died on 15 May 1797.

Jacob must have struggled to support his young children alone, because his oldest daughter, Mary, who went by "Polly", had already married James Coburn the year previously on 17 November 1796. Jacob's other three children were 12, 8 and 1 at the time of their mother's death. Polly lived in Wilton with her husband James until he died in 1808. Polly married Isaac Spalding in 1809 and continued to live in Wilton until her death in 1856. Polly and Isaac had two children.

We know nothing of how Jacob met his second wife, Edna Gould, but we do know they were married on 1 July 1798 by Rev. James Chandler and/or Rev. Isaac Braman, pastors of the 2nd Church in Rowley, Massachusetts. Perhaps Jacob had some relatives in Rowley who helped care for his children after Mary's passing, or perhaps Jacob's occupation as taverner and trader allowed him to meet Edna and her family while they were traveling through Milford.

Although, we know little of Jacob and Edna's life together, we could surmise that they combined their two families, because Edna's oldest daughter, Edna, was only 16 at the time of her mother's second marriage. It seems certain that the Jacob and Edna's children grew quite close, because ten years after his father's marriage to Edna, Loammi Flynn married Edna's daughter Betsey Stiles, who was born 22 December 1784 in Middleton, Massachusetts. Loammi and Betsey probably lived in Milford for the early part of their marriage, because the births of all eight of their children are recorded in Milford. They later moved to Pepperell, Massachusetts, where Loammi died in 1838.

Of Jacob's other children, we know that Jacob, Jr. lived in Dorchester, Massachusetts, near Boston. He was a Deacon in one of the Churches there. Jacob, Jr. married Mary Burnam on 16 June 1811. We know of no children born to Jacob, Jr. and Mary. Catherine, Jacob, Sr.'s youngest child, married Solomon Hutchinson on 10 May 1812. Solomon and Catherine had nine children and lived in East Wilton, New Hampshire until about 1837, when they moved to Nashua, New Hampshire. Catherine died in Nashua in 1883.

Jacob's wife, Edna, died on 9 October 1818 in Boxford, Massachusetts. Two years later, on 27 June 1820, Jacob married Abigail Jones, the widow of Samuel Burns. Further research will probably show that Charles A. Burns, the owner of Jacob's land in 1858, was a close relation to Samuel and Abigail--perhaps one of their children.

Seven years after his marriage to Abigail, Jacob died in Milford, on 28 October 1827. His complete obituary, appearing in the Farmer's Cabinet" newspaper on Saturday, Nov. 3, 1827, reads as follows:

A short obituary published in the "New Hampshire Patriot" newspaper, Concord, N. H., Nov. 12, 1827 reads:

To date, the search for Jacob's grave site has been in vain.

Jacob's estate was administered by David Stiles, probably a close relation to Jacob's second wife, Betsey.

Following is the paperwork for the administration of the estate (Jacob Flinn, 1827, Docket 03391, Nashua, New Hampshire):

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This site is maintained by: Dave Carlsen

Last updated: 6 October 2006