Collections

Photographs

Medford Minute Men Monument (1925)

Roster of the First Company of Minute Men, April 19, 1775, including nine men named Tufts.

All page scans: Sources: Page Scans.

Artifacts

“One heirloom of the family, a tankard (now belonging to the First Congregational Society of Quincy, Mass.), made by John Edwards, was the gift of Elizabeth Quincy to her daughter, Lucy (Quincy) Tufts, who married Dr. Cotton Tufts in 1755.”

Jay Franklin Tufts, Tufts Family History 1633–1963 (secondary source), p. 35 · page scan

Family artifacts Note: Pending further work.

The Tufts Coat of Arms

The “By the Name of Tufts” armorial painting, the English Tufnell shield it uses, the Historic Deerfield needlework, and Tufts College heraldry. Read about the coat of arms →

Revolutionary-Era Tufts in Perseus and the Adams Papers

A search of the full texts of Brooks’s History of Medford, the Medford Historical Register (vols. 1–30) and Historic Leaves (vols. 1–8) on the Perseus Digital Library, and of the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Adams Papers digital edition, turned up these Revolutionary-era references. Each is cited separately.

Perseus Digital Library

Adams Papers

Letters of the Tufts Doctors

Three Tufts physicians are easy to confuse. In this section each letter is assigned to one of them by name and dates:

• Dr. Simon Tufts the elder (1700–1747), Medford’s first physician;
• Dr. Simon Tufts the younger (1727–1786), his eldest son, of Medford;
• Dr. Cotton Tufts (1732–1815), the younger son, of Weymouth.

Dr. Cotton Tufts: letters on smallpox, fevers and other diseases

The Adams Papers digital edition of the Massachusetts Historical Society lists 188 letters by or to Cotton Tufts: 90 written by him and 98 written to him. These 21 touch on disease in the letter text. Topics were read from each letter; a quotation is given where one is short.

Dr. Simon Tufts the younger (1727–1786): letters with Col. Isaac Royall

No letter by or to either Dr. Simon appears in the Adams Papers. The surviving references are to the younger Simon’s letters with the Loyalist Isaac Royall, for whom he acted as agent:

Dr. Simon Tufts the elder (1700–1747)

No letter by or to the elder Dr. Simon has yet been found in print. His obituary of February 5, 1747, printed “in the public papers,” is quoted by Brooks (pp. 303–304).

Simon Tufts, the doctor’s son (not a physician)

The Medford Historical Register prints “Extracts from letters written by Simon Tufts Son of Dr. Simon Tufts” (vol. VI, p. 96, “A Package of old letters”. Perseus), and a letter he wrote from Cape Town on March 20, 1801, to his brother-in-law Benjamin Hall Jr. (vol. XVI, p. 30. Perseus). He is not either doctor.

Manuscript collections (not yet read item by item)

• Cotton Tufts papers, 1751–1805, B MS c30, Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard: correspondence “with his older brother, Simon Tufts (1726/7–1786), and other physicians, regarding medical matters, and the founding of a medical society,” with manuscripts on vaccine, inoculation and the 1772–73 measles. ArchiveGrid · Harvard Contagion exhibit
• Simon Tufts, correspondence, 1751–1778, New England Historic Genealogical Society; which Simon is not stated. SNAC record for Cotton Tufts
• Cotton Tufts diaries, 1748–1794 (interleaved almanacs), Massachusetts Historical Society. SNAC description
• Abigail Adams to Cotton Tufts, 2 March 1788 (original, MHS). MHS Collections Online
• Also listed by SNAC: John Adams to “Dr. Tufts,” Nov. 18, 1797 (Morgan Library); Caleb Gannett to Cotton Tufts, Apr. 20, 1781 (Duke Medical Center Archives); John Avery to Cotton Tufts, Apr. 9, 1790 (Harvard University Archives).

The Tufts Muskets

The Arlington Historical Society, which keeps the Jason Russell House, holds two muskets catalogued as the property of Ephraim Tufts. The Society’s online catalog lists both. The museum’s own photographs carry no reuse license, so each entry shows a public-domain image of a similar musket, clearly labeled, with a link to the real object.

Musket, catalog no. 1907.11.1: French Charleville pattern, about 1763–1773

“Flint lock musket - With bayonet c. 1763-1773, French Barrel rings missing. American -made muskets were patterned after this French model. Formerly the property of Ephraim Tufts - inherited from his father. Bayonet is probably British, added later. Lock Plate ‘Charleville R’”

Arlington Historical Society, catalog no. 1907.11.1. Source: Omar Whittemore. Catalog record

Tufts association: Owned by Ephraim Tufts, who inherited it from his father. The catalog links the record to Ebenezer Tufts and Ephraim Tufts Whittemore. (catalog no. 1907.11.1)

Musket, catalog no. 1907.11.3: British India pattern, about 1810–1830

“This appears to be a 3rd-pattern/India pattern British musket from ca. 1810-1830. … This dating is also consistent with ownership by Ephraim Tufts”

Arlington Historical Society, catalog no. 1907.11.3. Source: Omar Whittemore. Catalog record

Tufts association: Catalogued as owned by Ephraim Tufts. This is a militia arm of the early 1800s, not a Revolutionary weapon. (catalog no. 1907.11.3)

Related: Capt. Benjamin Locke’s musket, catalog no. 1924.5.1

“This gun was carried by Capt. Benjamin Locke (Aug 5, 1738 - Dec. 7, 1791). Capt. Locke was born at the ‘Feet of the Rocks’ Menotomy, now Arlington. he was captain of a company of minutemen at Lexington and Bunker Hill.”

Arlington Historical Society, catalog no. 1924.5.1. Catalog record; see also “Benjamin Locke: Menotomy Minute Man”

The Society also holds a portrait catalogued as “Mrs Amos Locke nee Sally Tufts” (no. 1915.7.1B). Catalog record.

Letters: The Adams Correspondence

Dr. Cotton Tufts of Weymouth was Abigail Adams’s uncle by marriage, and the Adamses’ physician, adviser and, while John Adams served abroad, their business agent. His name runs through their letters. The quotations below have been checked against the Adams Papers editions.

• John Adams to Abigail Adams, 7 July 1775: “I am grieved for Dr. Tufts's ill Health: but rejoiced exceedingly at his virtuous Exertions in the Cause of his Country.” Massachusetts Historical Society
• Abigail Adams to John Adams, 16 July 1775: “Dr. Tufts, Col. Quincy, Mr. Tudor, Mr. Thaxter all have wrote you now.” Adams Papers · Founders Online
• Abigail Adams to John Adams, 13 July 1776: “My Sister Betsy and her Little Neice, Cotton Tufts and Mr. Thaxter” were among the household gathered for smallpox inoculation. The editors identify this Cotton Tufts as Cotton Tufts Jr. (1757–1833). Adams Papers
• Cotton Tufts to John Adams, 6 August 1776: “Last Week I received Yours of July the 20th. also Dr. Rushs Letter on Inoculation for which You and the learned and benevolent Dr. have my sincere Thanks.” Adams Papers
• John Adams to Abigail Adams, 22 March 1797: “As to the farms I must leave all to you and Dr. Tufts.” Massachusetts Historical Society
• John Adams to Abigail Adams, 7 April 1797: “If Dr. Tufts has any Money of mine in his hands, I should be glad if he would Supply my Nephew and take his Security.” Massachusetts Historical Society
• Abigail Smith to Cotton Tufts, 2 April 1764: a letter from the future Abigail Adams to her “Dear Unkle,” written during the 1764 smallpox inoculations. Adams Papers

See Dr. Cotton Tufts.

Further Research Links

Outside resources for further research. Secondary and user-contributed sites (blogs, family trees, memorial sites, Wikipedia) are not verified here.

• Full Letter – Founders Online (National Archives) (Founders Online (National Archives))
• Full Letter – Founders Online (National Archives) (Founders Online (National Archives))
• Arlington Historical Society – Ephraim Tufts Painting and Musket (Catalog #1907.11.1) (arlingtonhistorical.pastperfectonline.com)

In the Newspapers: The Massachusetts Spy

Isaiah Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, printed in Boston until April 1775, is the paper sometimes called the “Boston Spy.” A full-text search of its digitized issues finds a Simon Tufts in three kinds of notice. The quotations come from the OCR text, with the long s and obvious misreadings corrected. Each should be checked against the linked scan.

Instructions to the representative, January 1773

“To Simon Tufts, Esq.”

The Massachusetts Spy (Boston), January 7, 1773, p. 3, col. 1 (column approximate, from OCR position). Issue scan (Digital Commonwealth)

The heading above, garbled in the OCR, appears to read “Instructions to their Representative.” Check the scan.

The notice prints a town’s instructions to its representative to back constitutional measures in the House of Representatives to redress the province’s grievances, part of the town replies to Boston’s Committee of Correspondence.

A store near Faneuil Hall, autumn 1774

“To be SOLD, by SIMON TUFTS, At the Store adjoining Mr. Henry Prentiss, near Faneuil-Hall, Choice Jamaica Spirits, West-India and New-England Rum, Loaf and Brown Sugars”

The Massachusetts Spy (Boston), October 6, 1774, p. 1, col. 2 (column approximate, from OCR position). Issue scan (Digital Commonwealth)

The same advertisement runs in the issues of October 13, October 20, October 27 and November 10, 1774 (p. 4 in each).

List of letters, July 1774

“Tufts, Simon”

The Massachusetts Spy (Boston), July 21, 1774, p. 2, col. 4 (column approximate, from OCR position). Issue scan (Digital Commonwealth)

The name appears in a list of letters waiting at the post office. Identity Unverified.

In the Newspapers: The Boston Gazette

Edes and Gill’s Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal was the leading Whig paper of Boston. A search of the 385 issues from 1768 to 1776 digitized on the Internet Archive finds the Tufts notices below. The OCR is poor, so each quotation is given in modern spelling and should be checked against the linked scan.

A Harvard master’s degree, July 1770

“Masters of Arts … Simon Tufts”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, July 23, 1770, scan image 1 (page number not confirmed). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

His name is in the commencement list of those taking the Master of Arts at Harvard in 1770, three years after the Simon Tufts of the class of 1767. See Harvard College.

Justice of the peace, September 1770

“Simon Tufts, Esq; to be a Justice of the Peace for the County of Middlesex.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, September 3, 1770, scan image 1 (page number not confirmed). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

The line comes from a list of new commissions issued by the governor. It matches the 1770 justiceship given for Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786) of Medford.

William Tufts Jr. and Louisbourg, June 1771

“Mr. William Tufts, jun. an account of whose Death we mentioned the Third Instant, was the first Person that inlisted in the Massachusetts Service, in the Expedition against Louisbourg in 1745.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, June 17, 1771, p. 3 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

Cotton Tufts’s mare, November 1771

“Stolen or Stray’d … of October, from the Pasture of Cotton Tufts, Esq; in Weymouth, a black Mare … Whoever will bring or give information of the said Mare … shall be handsomely Rewarded, by Mr. John Bishop, of Medford, or Cotton Tufts, of Weymouth.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, November 25, 1771, p. 4 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

The owner is Dr. Cotton Tufts of Weymouth.

Medford’s representative, May 1772

“Medford, Simon Tufts, Esq.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, June 1, 1772, p. 2 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

The entry is in the list of those who “were returned to serve as Members of the Honorable House of Representatives” when the General Court met at Cambridge in May 1772. This is good evidence that the “Simon Tufts, Esq.” to whom a town sent its instructions in the Massachusetts Spy of January 7, 1773 (above) was Medford’s representative, Dr. Simon Tufts.

Executor of Thomas Seccombe, May 1773

“All Persons who have Demands on, or are indebted to the Estate of Thomas Seccombe, late of Medford, deceased, are desired to apply to Simon Tufts, Esq; an Executor, or to Jonathan Patten, Attorney to Mrs. Rebeccah Seccombe, Executrix of the said Will and Testament of the Deceased, for Settlement.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, May 24, 1773, p. 4 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

Estate of William Tufts of Charlestown, November 1773

“All Persons having Demands on the Estate of William Tufts, late of Charlestown, in the County of Middlesex, deceased, are desired to lodge their Accounts with the Subscriber; and those who are indebted to said Estate are requested to make immediate Payment to Nehemiah Rand, Administrator.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, November 29, 1773, p. 3 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

Mary Tufts’s horse, Medford, October 1774

“TWO DOLLARS REWARD. Strayed or Stolen out of the Pasture of Mary Tufts, in Medford, a large dark bay Horse, about 11 Years old, 15 Hands high … Whoever will bring said Horse to me the Subscriber, shall have the above Reward, and all necessary Charges paid by MARY TUFTS.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, October 17, 1774, p. 1 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

The notice ran again on October 24, 1774 (p. 4).

Simon Tufts and the tea, March 1775

“I have purchas’d no Tea since the First of March … I had no Intention from the Beginning of militating with the Association of the Continental Congress, and declare I will not buy or sell any more of said Article till a general Permission therefor takes place. If by the above imprudent Step I have given any Offence to my Countrymen, am sorry therefor; and hope for a Restoration to their Favour and Confidence. … 20 March 1775. SIMON TUFTS.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, April 3, 1775, p. 3 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

Below it, the declaration is sworn before Belcher Noyes, justice of the peace. Buying tea after March 1, 1775 broke the Continental Association’s boycott, and this is his public apology. The merchant is probably the Simon Tufts who advertised from a store near Faneuil Hall in the Massachusetts Spy in 1774 (above).

Soldiers’ guns at Samuel Tufts’s house, Medford, May 1776

“A List of guns belonging to the following men, formerly soldiers in Col. John [Stark]’s regiment, and left by the subscriber at Mr. Samuel Tufts’s house in Medford. The owners may have them again by applying to said Tufts, paying him for his trouble of storage and advertising them.”

The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, May 9, 1776, p. 4 (page from the scan order). Issue scan (Internet Archive)

The notice, repeated on May 16, 1776 (p. 4), lists guns by number and owner and is signed by a quartermaster.