Benjamin Marsh

Benjamin Marsh I (1687 – c. 1775) was one of the founders of Sutton, Massachusetts. He was the founder of the first Baptist Church in Sutton, and served as its first pastor and elder.[1][2]

Sutton, Massachusetts
Sutton Town Common

In 1716, the families of Benjamin Marsh, Elisha Johnson and Nathaniel Johnson were the first three pioneer families to settle what is now Sutton. They almost didn't survive the first winter - the winter of the "big snow" - which buried their cabins. Marsh's daughter, Abigail, was the first white child born in Sutton. As the town grew, Marsh held a number of positions of responsibility, including Selectman, Town Clerk and Town Moderator. He served on committees representing the town for the purpose of erecting a meeting house and financial matters, and served as Trustee for town funds. He founded the town's Baptist Church, and served as its first pastor and elder until his death.[3][4][5][6]

Elder Marsh is buried in a small cemetery on the Marsh homestead, with a granite headstone marked "Eld. M."[7]

References

  1. ^ Benedict, Rev. William A. and Tracy, Rev. Hiram A., Town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1704 to 1876, Worcester, Sanford County, MA, 1878.
  2. ^ Sutton Vital Records
  3. ^ Perley, Sidney. History of Salem, Massachusetts in Three Volumes. Full images at University of Virginia eText Center and the Salem Witch Trial Documentary Archive and Transcription Project.
  4. ^ Marsh, Lucius B., The Genealogy of John Marsh of Salem, Bibliographical Center for Research, 2009.
  5. ^ Stager, Helen and Stager, Evelyn, A Family Odyssey, pp. 104-107, Nicollet Press, Inc., Pipestone, MN, 1983.
  6. ^ Crane, Ellery Bicknell, Ed., Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, with a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Vol. III, pp. 355-356, Lewis Publishing Co., New York, NY, 1907.
  7. ^ Marsh, William H. III, The History of Our Marsh Family, p. 9. Bremerhaven, Germany, 1978.

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