Biography
“Dr. Simon Tufts, son of Peter, born in Medford, Jan. 31, 1700, died here, Jan. 31, 1747. He graduated at Harvard College in 1724.”
Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), p. 302–303. Text (Perseus)
Brooks says he was called “the first physician of Medford,” and that the town records call him doctor in May 1724. His obituary, which Brooks reprints, says he “took his degrees at Harvard College in the years 1724 and 1727” and was the youngest son of Captain Peter Tufts by his second wife, a daughter of the Rev. Seaborn Cotton. His sons Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786) and Dr. Cotton Tufts (1732–1815) both became physicians. See Harvard and the Drs. Simon Tufts house.
Service Record
Town: Medford, Mass. · Dates: 1700–1747
Justice of the peace from 1733 (obituary quoted by Brooks, p. 303). His service was medical and civil; he died before the Revolution.
Family Connection
Son of Capt. Peter Tufts and his second wife, Mercy Cotton (Brooks, p. 303). Father of the two doctors Simon and Cotton.
Relatives with profiles on this site: grandfather Peter Tufts the immigrant; son Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786); son Dr. Cotton Tufts (1732–1815); grandson Turell Tufts; grandson Simon Tufts (1750–1801); father Capt. Peter Tufts; sister Sarah Tufts Hinckley.
Spouse(s)
- Abigail Smith (d. 1790, aged 90). Marriage date and place not found.
“He m. Abigail Smith , who d. 1790, aged 90”
Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), Register of Families, p. 545. Page scan · Text (Perseus)
Authoritative IDs / Index Numbers
| Source | ID / status |
|---|---|
| Perseus person index (auth=) | auth=tufts,simon. This is a name-level key shared by every Simon Tufts in Perseus, not a personal ID. Use it with the passages cited on this page. |
| Find a Grave memorial | 26903835 (shown on his son’s memorial as father; not opened) |
| Brooks, History of Medford (1855) register no. | No. 2-23, p. 545 |
| Mass. Soldiers and Sailors | No military entry expected (civil career) |
| 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
Not to be confused with his son Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786). Brooks says his house was built in 1725, and the Medford Historical Register (vol. XVIII, p. 67) says it was demolished in 1867. Sibley sketch not yet read.
Justice, Physician to the College, Death and Burial
“He was honored with three commissions,—one for the peace, in the year 1733; another for a special justice, in 1741; and a third for justice of the quorum, 1743”
Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), p. 303. Text (Perseus), quoting his obituary of Feb. 5, 1747
“He was often called to visit the sick at Harvard College; and, though not rich himself, never demanded fees except from rich students.”
Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), p. 303. Text (Perseus)
“On the 31st of January, died here, of a convulsive asthma, and this day was decently buried, Simon Tufts, Esq., having just completed his forty-seventh year.”
Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), p. 303. Text (Perseus), quoting the obituary dated “Medford, Feb. 5, 1747”
The Medford vital records give his death as Jan. 31, 1746/7, “a. 47 ‘to a day’”; he was born Jan. 31, 1700 (Brooks, p. 302). He died on his 47th birthday.
Burial: Salem Street Burying Ground, Medford, plot 35. Find a Grave memorial 26903835 (user-contributed). The same plot holds his son Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786), memorial 26903836.
⚑ Unverified
The name “Tufts Family Tomb” for plot 35 comes from a private genealogy site, not from a cemetery record. The Brooks obituary says he died “of a convulsive asthma”; no other record of the cause has been seen. The Sibley sketch (vol. VII, pp. 444–446) and Wyman’s Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown have not been checked.
Harvard: Class of 1724
Brooks, p. 303: “He graduated at Harvard College in 1724.” (Clifford K. Shipton, Sibley’s Harvard Graduates, vol. VII, pp. 444–446 (sketch location from Andrew W. Pollock’s Index of Graduates; sketch text not seen)) See Harvard College.
Letters
No letter by or to this Dr. Simon has yet been found. See Letters of the Tufts Doctors.
Salem Street Burying Ground
Buried in plot 35. See Salem Street Burying Ground and its 1930 tablets.
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.
Maps, Surveys and Artifacts
- Letters of the Tufts Doctors — No letter by or to this Dr. Simon has yet been found.
Graves and Memorials
- Find a Grave memorial · 26903835
- memorial 26903836 — Burial: Salem Street Burying Ground, Medford, plot 35. Find a Grave memorial 26903835 (user-contributed). The same plot holds his son Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786)
- Salem Street Burying Ground — Buried in plot 35.
Markers, Plaques and Places
- Harvard — …in the years 1724 and 1727” and was the youngest son of Captain Peter Tufts by his second wife, a daughter of the Rev. Seaborn Cotton. His sons Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786) and Dr. Cotton Tufts (1732–1815) both became physicians.
- the Drs. Simon Tufts house — …and 1727” and was the youngest son of Captain Peter Tufts by his second wife, a daughter of the Rev. Seaborn Cotton. His sons Dr. Simon Tufts (1727–1786) and Dr. Cotton Tufts (1732–1815) both became physicians. See Harvard an
Digitized Books and Journals
- Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), p. 302–303. · Text (Perseus)
- Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), Register of Families, p. 545. · Page scan
- Charles Brooks, History of the Town of Medford (1855), Register of Families, p. 545. · Text (Perseus)
- Index of Graduates — Brooks, p. 303: “He graduated at Harvard College in 1724.” (Clifford K. Shipton, Sibley’s Harvard Graduates, vol. VII, pp. 444–446 (sketch location from Andrew W. Pollock’s