The Great Allotment: Pullen Point's First Land Owners
Introduction, William Aspinwall, Edward Bates, William Brenton, Thomas Buttolph, Thomas Fayerweather, Edward Gibbons, Valentine Hill, Ralph Hudson, Thomas Matson, Elias Maverick, John Oliver, William Pierce, John Sanford, William Stitson, John Winthrop/Deane Winthrop
Ralph Hudson |
Ralph Hudson was a woolen draper (cloth seller) who came to Boston with his wife Mary (Watts) aboard the "Susan & Ellen" in 1635. Both are shown in the ship's log as being 42 years old. Along with them were three children, Hannah age 14, John age 12 (possibly his brother), Elizabeth age 5, and five servants. In 1636, Ralph was admitted to the Boston Church and also took the Freeman’s Oath. In 1637 was elected a Boston Constable.
Ralph’s allotment of land on Pullen Point is recorded as:
"Ralph Hudson, 50 Acrs: bounded towards the north by the said Allottment of Valentyne Hill, towards the East by the said highway and towards the south and southwest by the common shoare." 1
During the Antinomian Controversy, Ralph had signed the petition in support of John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson, but he recanted that support as was reintegrated in Boston society.
Ralph and his wife Mary both died in 1651. His will, drawn up in 1638, does not mention his daughter Elizabeth, who possibly died on the voyage much earlier, and identifies John as his brother. Their daughter Hannah married John Leverett in 1639, and the one son together, Hudson. She died in 1643. John went on to become the 19th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Ralph's allotment on Pullen Point became the property of Captain John Leverett (the son of Thomas Leverett). The land was purchased by Edward Hutchinson, and then by the descendants of James Bill.
Selected Hudson descendants, locations, and objects of note:
- John Leverett (b. 1662) - Lawyer, politician, educator, and President of Harvard College. The first president that was not a clergyman. He was the son of Hudson Leverett and Sarah Payton. - John Leverett, History of the Presidency
- Abbie Burgess Grant (b. 1839) - The daughter of Matinicus Rock Light keeper Captain Samuel Burgess. In 1856, while her father was on the mainland, she was trapped on the island by a storm. For a month she took care of her mother and her three sisters, and maintained the light. - U.S. Coast Guard
- Annie Haven Thwing (b. 1851). - A noted Boston author and historian, including the 1920 book, The Crooked & Narrow Streets of the Town of Boston, 1630-1822, Annie is not related to Ralph Hudson, rather she is the seventh-generation ancestor of Benjamin Thwing, the 16-year old servant Ralph Hudson had with him on the "Susan & Ellen" in 1635. - Three Chimneys Inn, ffrost Sawyer Tavern
| Selected Ralph Hudson Descendants |
| Ralph (b. c. 1593); m. Mary Watts |
| Hannah Hudson (b. 1621); m. John Levertt |
| Hudson John Leverett (b. 1640); m. Sarah Payton |
| John Leverett (b. 1662); m. Margaret Rogers |
| Mary Leverett (b. 1701); m. Nathaniel Rogers |
| Sara Rogers (b. 1734); m. John Burgess |
| Ezekiel Burgess (b. 1763); m. Lydia Elridge |
| Samuel Burgess (b. 1801); m1. Nancy Smith, m2 Thankful Phinney |
| Abigail Burgess (b.1839); m. Isaac Grant |
Links
- Hudson - A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: D-J, James Savage, 1860, pg 489, Internet Archive
- Hudson - New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, Volume 4
William Richard Cutter, 1914, pg 1665, ebook
- 1 A Documentary History of Chelsea: including the Boston Precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824, Vol. 1, pg. 118 - Mellen Chamberlain, 1908, Internet Archive
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