Biography
The only child of James Tufts, who was killed at Bloody Brook when the boy was about three, James was provided for by his grandfather, Peter Tufts the immigrant. He lived for a time at Salem and in Boston before settling on the family land at Medford.
“James (2), only child of James (1) Tufts, was born in 1672, in Charlestown, and died at Medford, July 19, 1733. His gravestone is standing in the Medford burial ground. He lived at Salem, removing with his family May 12, 1704, to Charlestown.”
Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1198. Page (Internet Archive) (Scanned text; obvious scanning errors corrected.)
“Medford; received by grandfather's will new house near Mystic Bridge, with forty acres, etc.”
Larkin T. Tufts and Edward C. Booth, “Tufts Genealogy—Earlier Generations,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 51 (July 1897), p. 303. Page (Internet Archive)
His later years were troubled. In 1721, the year smallpox killed his wife Ruth, he gave his son James power of attorney, “feeling incapable to act by reason of troubles,” and deeded him fourteen acres at Walnut-tree Hill (Wyman, p. 959; Cutter, p. 1198). His inventory came to £1,279.
“James, July 19, 1733, in 59th y. G.R.1.”
Vital Records of Medford, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (1907), p. 443. Page (Internet Archive)
Service Record
Town: Salem, Charlestown and Medford, Mass. · Dates: 1672–1733
No military service found.
Family Connection
Father: James Tufts (killed 1675). Grandfather: Peter Tufts the immigrant. Children by Ruth: John; James (b. Jan. 16, 1703), a brick-maker; Jonathan; Ebenezer; Ruth; Elizabeth (Mrs. Jonathan Hall); William (b. June 10, 1713); the twins Susanna and Mary; Sarah; and Grimes (NEHGR 51, pp. 303–304; Wyman, p. 959).
Relatives with profiles on this site: father James Tufts; grandfather Peter Tufts the immigrant; uncle Capt. Peter Tufts; son Lieut. William Tufts; granddaughter Lucy Tufts Pritchard; grandson Richard Tufts.
Spouse(s)
- Ruth (surname not given). Admitted to the Cambridge church November 4, 1705; died November 26, 1721, “in her 40th year” (NEHGR 51, p. 303).
- Dinah Morse, probably daughter of John and Dinah (Knight) Morse of Woburn. Married at Woburn, June 16, 1725.
- Mary (Cheney) Dill. Married September 4, 1729 (NEHGR 51, p. 303; Wyman, p. 959).
Authoritative IDs / Index Numbers
| Source | ID / status |
|---|---|
| Perseus person index (auth=) | auth=tufts,james. This is a name-level key shared by every James Tufts in Perseus, not a personal ID. Use it with the passages cited on this page. |
| Find a Grave memorial | Uncertain: 26929748 (Salem Street Burying Ground, as cited by WikiTree; page not opened). Flagged; not used. |
| Brooks, History of Medford (1855) register no. | Checked, no entry confidently matched |
| Mass. Soldiers and Sailors | Not yet checked for this page |
| DAR ancestor no. | Note: Pending further work. |
| FamilySearch ID | Note: Pending further work. |
| Geni profile | Note: Pending further work. |
| WikiTree ID | Tufts-396 (secondary; gives “abt. 1674”) |
| Town / vital records | Medford VRs not yet checked by volume and page |
Only IDs confirmed against dates and family are given as matches. “Not yet checked” means the source has not been searched; “Checked, not found” means it was searched without a match.
⚑ Unverified
Birth year: Cutter gives 1672, and Wyman quotes a Charlestown selectmen’s entry of June 27, 1672, about the “Child of James Tufts and Elizabeth Wells.” But his gravestone (“in 59th y.”) points to 1674–75. Wife Ruth’s surname is not given in NEHGR, Wyman or Cutter; the name Grimes found in online trees is unproven here. Wyman notes that the smallpox items for 1721 “may as well apply to the other James.” Lineage of William: Brooks (p. 550) makes William Tufts (b. 1713) a son of Capt. Peter; NEHGR, Wyman and Cutter all make him a son of this James. The site follows the latter.
Links and Resources
Every source, record, map, survey, marker and artifact tied to this person, gathered in one place. Page numbers are given where a book is cited.
Digitized Books and Journals
- Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1198. · Page (Internet Archive)
- Larkin T. Tufts and Edward C. Booth, “Tufts Genealogy—Earlier Generations,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 51 (July 1897), p. 303. · Page (Internet Archive)
- Vital Records of Medford, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (1907), p. 443. · Page (Internet Archive)
Biographies and Family Trees
Secondary and user-contributed sites; not verified here.
- Tufts-396 — WikiTree ID