Biography
The eldest son of Peter Tufts the immigrant carried the family name across the Mystic into Medford. Brooks calls him “Peter Tufts, of Medford, commonly called Capt. Peter.” In 1680 his father deeded him half of the 350-acre Medford farm bought from Richard Russell’s executor (Wyman, p. 957), and the land the immigrant had bought of Mrs. Nowell later “descended to his son, Capt. Peter Tufts” (Brooks, p. 543).
“Peter, of Medford, who lived upon a portion of the three hundred and fifty acres of the original Cradock farm, which his father had bought of Richard Russell's estate in 1677.”
Deloraine Pendre Corey, The History of Malden, Massachusetts, 1633–1785 (1899), p. 215, note. Page scan (Internet Archive)
“Peter2 (Peter1), (Capt.), Medford; commissioned lieutenant of cavalry-troop 17 October, 1699”
Larkin T. Tufts and Edward C. Booth, “Tufts Genealogy—Earlier Generations,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 51 (July 1897), p. 300. Page (Internet Archive) (Scanned text; obvious scanning errors corrected.)
He was married three times and had seventeen children, most of whom died young. Among the sons who lived were the Rev. Thomas Tufts (Harvard 1701), the Rev. John Tufts of Newbury (Harvard 1708), author of the first American instruction book for singing by note, and Dr. Simon Tufts (1700–1747), Medford’s first physician (NEHGR 51, pp. 302–303).
His will, dated July 24, 1719, and proved October 2, 1721, left his son Peter the house in Malden; his sons Thomas and John shares of six hundred acres “between Quaboag (Brookfield) and Springfield”; his son Simon woodland at Spot Pond; and legacies to his daughters, among them the unmarried Sarah (Wyman, p. 958).
“TUFTS, Peter, Capt., Sept. 19, 1721. [Sept. 20, a. 73, G.R.1.]”
Vital Records of Medford, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (1907), p. 445. Page (Internet Archive)
Service Record
Town: Malden and Medford, Mass. · Dates: c. 1648–1721
Lieutenant of a troop of horse, commissioned October 17, 1699 (NEHGR 51, p. 300). The rank of captain by which Brooks and the town records know him is not dated in the sources checked.
Family Connection
Father: Peter Tufts the immigrant. Mother: Mary (Pierce). Brother: James Tufts, killed at Bloody Brook (profile). Children by Elizabeth Lynde: Elizabeth (Mrs. Jacob Hurd), Anna (Mrs. John Brocas), Peter, Mary (Mrs. James Austin) and the Rev. Thomas. By Mercy Cotton: the Rev. John, Mercy (Mrs. John Bradshaw), Dr. Simon, Sarah (Mrs. Job Hinckley), Dorothy (Mrs. Tristram Coffin) and Lydia, with eight who died in infancy (NEHGR 51, pp. 300–301; Wyman, p. 958).
“Peter, born about 1648.”
Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1198. Page (Internet Archive) Cutter names him only in the list of the immigrant’s children.
Relatives with profiles on this site: father Peter Tufts the immigrant; brother James Tufts (killed 1675); son Dr. Simon Tufts; daughter Sarah Tufts Hinckley; nephew James Tufts (1672–1733).
Spouse(s)
- Elizabeth Lynde, daughter of Ensign Thomas and Elizabeth Lynde of Malden. Married August 26, 1670. She died in 1684 “in 33d year” and is buried at Malden (NEHGR 51, p. 300; Wyman, p. 958).
- Mercy Cotton (1666–1715), daughter of the Rev. Seaborn and Dorothy (Bradstreet) Cotton. Married December 16, 1684. Died June 18, 1715; gravestone at Medford (NEHGR 51, p. 300).
- Prudence (—) Wyman, widow of William Wyman. Marriage agreement June 11, 1717. She was living in 1745, when she testified in court as a midwife (Wyman, p. 958).
Authoritative IDs / Index Numbers
| Source | ID / status |
|---|---|
| Perseus person index (auth=) | auth=tufts,peter. This is a name-level key shared by every Peter Tufts in Perseus, not a personal ID. Use it with the passages cited on this page. |
| Find a Grave memorial | Note: Pending further work. |
| Brooks, History of Medford (1855) register no. | No. 2 (Capt. Peter), p. 544 |
| 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 | Note: Pending further work. |
| Town / vital records | Brooks’s register (above) is drawn from Medford town and church records; printed VR volume and page not yet checked |
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: no birth record has been found; “about 1648” (NEHGR, Cutter) and 1648 (Brooks) agree with “a. 73” at death. The exact date 5 May 1648 seen in online trees has no source here. Death date: the Medford record says Sept. 19, 1721; the gravestone, NEHGR and Wyman say Sept. 20. First wife’s death: NEHGR gives 15 June 1684; Wyman and Brooks give July 15, 1684. Second wife’s name: Brooks prints “Mary Cotton” but then calls her Mercy; NEHGR and Wyman have Mercy. Third wife: NEHGR calls her Prudence, widow of William Wyman; online trees give “Prudence Putnam,” which is not in the sources checked.
Salem Street Burying Ground
His gravestone, with that of his wife Mercy, is recorded at the Salem Street Burying Ground (Vital Records of Medford, 1907, p. 445, G.R.1). He is the “Honorable Peter Tufts” on the 1930 gate tablet. Brooks (1855, p. 484) placed the stone at Malden; the later records do not. See Salem Street Burying Ground and its 1930 tablets.
Further Details from Additional Sources
“Elizabeth married Peter Tufts of Charlestown, Aug. 26, 1670, and died July 15, 1685, in the 33d year of her age.”
The Bi-centennial Book of Malden (1850), p. 233. Book scan (Internet Archive) (Of Elizabeth Lynde, daughter of Thomas Lynde of Malden.)
“The children of Peter were Peter, afterwards known as Capt. Peter of Medford, and who lies buried in that town”
The Bi-centennial Book of Malden (1850), p. 250. Book scan (Internet Archive)
⚑ Unverified
Elizabeth Lynde’s death year: the Malden book gives July 15, 1685; NEHGR gives 15 June 1684 and Wyman and Brooks July 15, 1684. The Malden book’s statement that Capt. Peter “lies buried” in Medford agrees with the Medford vital records (p. 445) against Brooks.
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.
Graves and Memorials
- Salem Street Burying Ground — …recorded at the Salem Street Burying Ground (Vital Records of Medford, 1907, p. 445, G.R.1). He is the “Honorable Peter Tufts” on the 1930 gate tablet. Brooks (1855, p. 484) placed the stone at Malden; the later records do not.
Digitized Books and Journals
- Page scan (Internet Archive) — Deloraine Pendre Corey, The History of Malden, Massachusetts, 1633–1785 (1899), p. 215, note.
- Larkin T. Tufts and Edward C. Booth, “Tufts Genealogy—Earlier Generations,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 51 (July 1897), p. 300. · Page (Internet Archive)
- Vital Records of Medford, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (1907), p. 445. · Page (Internet Archive)
- Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. II, p. 1198. · Page (Internet Archive)
- The Bi-centennial Book of Malden (1850), p. 233. · Book scan (Internet Archive)