Peter Tufts (1697–1776)

Biography

Peter Tufts, a housewright, was the “Peter of Milk Row” from whom the Somerville Tufts farms descended. A grandson of the immigrant through his son John of Malden, he farmed in Charlestown west of the Neck, the district now Somerville, and settled farms on his sons Peter, Timothy and Samuel.

“Peter, b. in Charlestown, 10 May, 1697.”

Larkin T. Tufts and Edward C. Booth, “Tufts Genealogy—Earlier Generations,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 51 (July 1897), p. 301. Page (Internet Archive) (Among the children of John Tufts of Charlestown and Malden and Mary Putnam.)

“PETER 36. Son of John 28; housewright; m. LYDIA BUCKNAM, who d. Oct. 31, 1776, in 72d yr., g. s.; d. Dec. 5, 1776, in 80th yr., g. s.”

Thomas Bellows Wyman, The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, vol. II (1879), p. 964. Page (Internet Archive)

He was taxed in Charlestown from 1727 and bought twenty-two acres of Jonathan Dowse in 1729 (Wyman, pp. 964–965). His will, dated August 9, 1774, with a codicil of April 26, 1776, and proved August 18, 1777, left his son Peter fifty-five acres bought of E. Cheever, his son Samuel the forty acres “given me by father,” and lots in Cambridge and Medford to Timothy, who was executor (Wyman, p. 965).

“Timothy, the third son of Peter of Milk Row, who was born in 1735, received from his father a farm on Elm street, at the corner of Willow avenue.”

Edward C. Booth, “The Tufts Family in Somerville,” Historic Leaves (Somerville Historical Society), vol. 1 (1902–03), p. 25. Text (Perseus)

He and Lydia lived through the first year of the Revolution on the edge of the siege lines and died within five weeks of each other in the autumn of 1776.

Service Record

Town: Charlestown (Milk Row, now Somerville), Mass. · Dates: 1697–1776

No military service found. The WikiTree story that he fought at Lexington aged 78 is not supported (see Unverified).

Family Connection

Father: John Tufts (c. 1665–1728) of Charlestown and Malden. Mother: Mary Putnam, daughter of Lieut. Nathaniel Putnam of Salem Village (NEHGR 51, p. 301). Grandfather: Peter Tufts the immigrant.

Children: Nathan (b. May 14, 1724; m. Mary Adams); Peter of Winter Hill (b. April 24, 1728; m. Anne Adams); Lydia (b. June 5, 1731); Timothy (b. Jan. 20, 1734); Samuel (b. Nov. 24, 1737; m. Martha Adams); Aaron (b. Dec. 16, 1739; m. Mary Stone); and Susanna (1742–1746) (NEHGR 51, pp. 304–305; Wyman, p. 964). Grandson: Peter Tufts Jr. (1753–1832), son of Peter of Winter Hill.

Relatives with profiles on this site: grandfather Peter Tufts the immigrant; son Timothy Tufts; grandson Peter Tufts Jr.; daughter-in-law Anne Adams Tufts; grandson John Tufts; grandchild Ann Tufts Richardson (b. 1757); grandchild Elizabeth Tufts Swan (b. 1758); grandchild Joseph Tufts (b. 1760); grandchild Lydia Tufts Gray (b. 1762); grandchild Asa Tufts (1764–1828); grandchild Thomas Tufts of Lexington (1766–1830); grandchild Lucy Tufts Osgood (b. 1767); grandchild Rebecca Tufts Adams (1769–c. 1848); grandchild Sarah Tufts Adams.

Spouse(s)

• Lydia Bucknam, daughter of Joses and Judith (Worth) Bucknam of Malden. Born 170–; died October 31, 1776, “in 72d yr.” (NEHGR 51, p. 304; Wyman, p. 964). Marriage date and place: Note: Pending further work. WikiTree gives August 1723, Malden, which is not in the printed sources checked.

Authoritative IDs / Index Numbers

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.