# Thomas Wiswall

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name                      = Thomas Wiswall
| image                     = <!-- just the name, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [brackets](/source/brackets) -->
| image_size                = 
| alt                       = 
| caption                   = 
| birth_date                = <!-- 1601 -->
| baptised                  = 30 September 1601
| birth_place               = [Warrington](/source/Warrington), [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), [England](/source/England)
| death_date                = 6 December 1683
| death_place               = [Cambridge Village](/source/Newton%2C_Massachusetts), [Massachusetts Bay Colony](/source/Massachusetts_Bay_Colony), [British America](/source/British_America)
| resting_place             = [East Parish Burying Ground](/source/East_Parish_Burying_Ground), [Newton, Massachusetts](/source/Newton%2C_Massachusetts)
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| monuments                 = [First Settlers Monument](/source/East_Parish_Burying_Ground)
| citizenship               = [Kingdom of England](/source/Kingdom_of_England)
| known_for                 = early settler of Cambridge Village, Massachusetts, founder of Cambridge Village Church
| children                  = 10, see text
| footnotes                 = 
}}
'''Thomas Wiswall''' (1601–1683) was an early settler of [English America](/source/British_America), a prominent early citizen of the [Massachusetts Bay Colony](/source/Massachusetts_Bay_Colony), and a key figure in the founding of Cambridge Village, now known as the city of [Newton](/source/Newton%2C_Massachusetts), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts).

==Early life==
Wiswall was baptised in [Warrington](/source/Warrington), [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), [England](/source/England) on 30 September 1601. He married Elizabeth Berbage in 1632, and had ten children:<ref name=Clapp>{{cite book|title=The ancient proprietors of Jones's Hill, Dorchester|author=David Clapp|year=1883|publisher=David Clapp & Son|location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientpropriet00clapgoog/page/n58 48] |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientpropriet00clapgoog|quote=Schollers.| access-date=2010-03-06}}</ref>
* Enoch Wiswall (born 8 September 1633, England; died 28 November 1706)
* Esther Wiswall (born 1635, [Dorchester](/source/Dorchester%2C_Boston), [Suffolk County, Massachusetts](/source/Suffolk_County%2C_Massachusetts)), married William Johnson<ref name=Cutter>{{cite book|title=Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Volume IV|author1=William Richard Cutter|author-link=William Richard Cutter|author2=William Frederick Adams |year=1910 |publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company|location=New York |page=2358 |url=https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalpers04cutt#page/n9/mode/2up|access-date=2010-03-07}}</ref>
* [Ichabod Wiswall](/source/Ichabod_Wiswall) (born 3 June 1637, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 23 July 1700)
* [Noah Wiswall](/source/Noah_Wiswall) (born 30 December 1638, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 6 July 1690)
* Mary Wiswall (born 1640, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
* Ebenezer Wiswall (born 8 December 1641, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 1691)
* Thomas Wiswall (born 1642, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
* Sarah Wiswall (born 19 March 1643, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
* Elizabeth Wiswall (born 15 April 1649, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)
* Benjamin Wiswall (born 15 April 1649, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts)

Wiswall arrived in [New England](/source/New_England) on August 16, 1635 (leaving behind him brothers Adam, Abiel and Jonathan), and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts with his twin brother John, who had arrived in 1633. He was a grantee of land in 1637, subscriber to the school fund in 1641, and served as a [selectman](/source/Board_of_selectmen) in Dorchester from 1644–1652.<ref name=Clapp/><ref name=Cutter/><ref name=Reynolds>{{cite book|title=Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs|author1=Cuyler Reynolds|year=1911|publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company|location=New York|pages=1802–03 |url=https://archive.org/stream/hudsonmohawkgene00cuyl#page/1801/mode/2up/search/wiswall |access-date=2010-03-27}}</ref>

==Founding of Cambridge Village==
Wiswall left Dorchester and resettled in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts), some time in 1654.<ref name=Smith>{{cite book|title=History of Newton, Massachusetts|author=Samuel Francis Smith|year=1880|publisher=The American Logotype Company|location=Boston, Massachusetts|page=[https://archive.org/details/historynewtonma00smitgoog/page/n52 40]|url=https://archive.org/details/historynewtonma00smitgoog|quote=wiswall.|access-date=2010-03-09}}</ref> In 1654, he sublet a {{convert|400|acre|km2|adj=on}} tract of land there from Captain Thomas Prentice. This land had been the property of the recently deceased [John Haynes](/source/John_Haynes_(governor)), former [Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony](/source/List_of_colonial_governors_of_Massachusetts) and later [Governor of the Colony of Connecticut](/source/List_of_colonial_governors_of_Connecticut), and Prentice was the lessee and not the owner.<ref name=NCIA/> Wiswall built a new homestead that year, beside the Dedham Trail (now Centre Street), on the south shore of a lake located on that tract of land. This was the first house to be built on the shore of what would be known—for 150 years—as Wiswall's Pond.<ref name=NCIA/><ref name=NewtonGIS1855>{{cite web|title=Plan of the town of Newton in 1700|work=Historic Maps of Newton|publisher=City of Newton Geographic Information System|location=Newton, Massachusetts|url=http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=39616|access-date=2012-06-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514153944/http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=39616|archive-date=2012-05-14}}</ref> The lake is now known as [Crystal Lake](/source/Crystal_Lake_(Newton)), in [Newton, Massachusetts](/source/Newton%2C_Massachusetts).

John Jackson (the first settler in the area)<ref name=Smith/><ref name=settler>[http://www.interment.net/data/us/ma/middlesex/oldeast/buryinglist.htm Old East Parish Burying Ground], [http://www.interment.net/data/us/ma/middlesex/oldeast/settlers.htm 1st Settlers Monument]</ref><ref>Smith, p.85</ref> donated an acre of land to be used as a burying place and for a meeting house.<ref>[http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/jackson/research/history/burial-treasure.asp Burial Treasure: Newton’s first cemetery offers insight into the city’s history]</ref> Wiswall built this meeting house, where today the [East Parish Burying Ground](/source/East_Parish_Burying_Ground) (also known as the ''Centre Street Cemetery'') and the [First Settlers Monument](/source/East_Parish_Burying_Ground) are currently located.

In 1656, Wiswall and John Jackson signed a petition for release from supporting the church at Cambridge.<ref name=Cutter/><ref>Smith, p. 60</ref> This was the beginning of a movement for the area to become a separate and distinct entity from Cambridge. After a struggle that lasted for 32 years, these efforts were ultimately successful. In 1688, the area became formally known as ''Cambridge Village''.<ref name=NCIA/><ref>[http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/jackson/pdf-files/jackson-homestead.pdf The Jacksons and their homestead in Newton, Massachusetts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518163314/http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/jackson/pdf-files/jackson-homestead.pdf |date=2011-05-18 }}, page 6</ref> Cambridge Village was renamed ''Newtown'' in 1691, and finally ''Newton'' in 1766.<ref>{{cite book |last= Ritter |first= Priscilla R. |author2=Thelma Fleishman  |title= Newton, Massachusetts 1679-1779: A Biographical Directory |year= 1982 |publisher= New England Historic Genealogical Society |ISBN=978-0-88082-001-1}}</ref>

Wiswall started the Cambridge Village Church, and was installed first ruling elder and assistant pastor on 20 July 1664.<ref name=Cutter/> He also served as [fence viewer](/source/fence_viewer) and surveyor of roads for the area.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wiswall, Bert|title=The Desecration of our Founding Fathers|journal=The New Media Journal.us|date=24 October 2009|url=http://www.newmediajournal.us/guest/wiswall/2009/10242009.htm|access-date=2010-03-06}}</ref>

==Death and burial==
Wiswall died in Cambridge Village on 6 December 1683. He is buried in the [East Parish Burying Ground](/source/East_Parish_Burying_Ground) in Newton.<ref>[http://www.interment.net/data/us/ma/middlesex/oldeast/buryinglist.htm Old East Parish Burying Ground], Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.</ref> His second wife, Isabella Farmer (a widow from [Ansley, Warwickshire](/source/Ansley%2C_Warwickshire), England), survived him and died in [Billerica, Massachusetts](/source/Billerica%2C_Massachusetts), in May 1686.<ref name=Reynolds/>

==Notable descendants==
* Wiswall's son, [Ichabod Wiswall](/source/Ichabod_Wiswall) (born 3 June 1637, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 23 July 1700) was third pastor of the church in [Duxbury](/source/Duxbury%2C_Massachusetts), [Plymouth Colony](/source/Plymouth_Colony). Officiating at the burial of Captain Jonathan Alden, he gave the first known funeral sermon in British America.<ref>Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts: [http://www.town.duxbury.ma.us/Public_Documents/DuxburyMA_Cemetery/standish/history.pdf Standish Burial Grounds]</ref>
* Wiswall's son, [Captain](/source/Captain_(United_States_O-3)) [Noah Wiswall](/source/Noah_Wiswall) (1638–1690), was killed in battle at Wheelwright Pond at [Lee, New Hampshire](/source/Lee%2C_New_Hampshire), during events leading up to the [Battle of Quebec](/source/Battle_of_Quebec_(1690)) during [King William's War](/source/King_William's_War) on July 6, 1690.<ref name="Reynolds"/><ref name=NCIA>{{cite book
|title=A Comprehensive Historical Sketch of Crystal Lake in Newton Centre, Massachusetts
|author=Newton Centre Improvement Association|year=1911|publisher=Stetson Press|location=Boston, Massachusetts|page=6|url=http://www.newtonconservators.org/images/crystallakebook1911.pdf|access-date=2010-03-06}}</ref><ref name=settler/>
* [Noah Wiswall](/source/Noah_Wiswall) (1699–1786), grandson of Noah Wiswall (1638–1690). In 1776, at 76 years of age, he marched {{convert|28|mi|km}} from Newton to [Lexington](/source/Lexington%2C_Massachusetts), where he was wounded at the [Battle of Lexington](/source/Battles_of_Lexington_and_Concord).<ref name=Cutter2>{{cite book|title=Genealogical and Personal Memoirs relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Volume IVF|author1=William Richard Cutter|author2=William Frederick Adams|year=1910|publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company|location=New York|pages=2359–60|url=https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalpers04cutt#page/n9/mode/2up|access-date=2010-03-07}}</ref><ref name=Reynolds/><ref name=Wiswall>{{cite book|title=A Wiswall line: ten generations in descent from Elder Thomas Wiswall, of Dorchester, 1635, to James Boit Wiswall, Wakefield, Massachusetts, 1925|author=Clarence Augustus Wiswall|year=1925|publisher=the author|location=University of Wisconsin - Madison}}</ref><ref name=Coburn>{{cite book|title=The battle of April 19, 1775|author=Frank Warren Coburn|year=1912|publisher=the author|location=Lexington, Massachusetts|page=[https://archive.org/details/battleaprilinle02cobugoog/page/n204 158]|url=https://archive.org/details/battleaprilinle02cobugoog|quote=wiswall.|access-date=2010-03-07}}</ref><ref name=Frothingham>{{cite book|title=History of the siege of Boston|author=Richard Frothingham|year=1903|publisher=Little, Brown & Company|location=Boston, Massachusetts|page=[https://archive.org/details/historysiegebos02frotgoog/page/n100 81]|url=https://archive.org/details/historysiegebos02frotgoog|quote=History of the Siege of Boston.}}</ref>
* [Jeremiah Wiswall](/source/Jeremiah_Wiswall) (1725–1809), Captain, East Newton Company of [Minutemen](/source/Minutemen), [Concord](/source/Battles_of_Lexington_and_Concord) and [Dorchester](/source/Fortification_of_Dorchester_Heights), [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War). He was the son of Noah (1699–1786), and was his commander on the battlefield.<ref name=Cutter/><ref name=Reynolds/><ref name=Wiswall/><ref name=Coburn/><ref name=Frothingham/>
* Alexander Eugene Wiswall
* Lauren Marie Wiswall
* [Jonathan Trumbull](/source/Jonathan_Trumbull)
* [Benjamin Silliman, Jr.](/source/Benjamin_Silliman%2C_Jr.)

==See also==
* [Oak Hill Park](/source/Oak_Hill_Park)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiswall, Thomas}}
Category:1601 births
Category:1683 deaths
Category:People from colonial Massachusetts
Category:People from Warrington
Category:17th-century English people
Category:English emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thomas Wiswall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wiswall) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wiswall?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.