Deane Winthrop

Deane Winthrop
Deane Winthrop House (1675)
Born	23 March 1623 Groton, Suffolk, England
Died	16 March 1704(1704-03-16) (aged 80) Pullen Poynt, Town of Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony which is today Winthrop, Massachusetts
Nationality	English
Occupation	Farmer
Known for	Youngest son of Governor John Winthrop and an early settler of what is now the Town of Winthrop, Massachusetts
Religion	Puritanism
Spouse(s)	Sarah Glover, Martha Mellowes

Deane Winthrop (23 March 1623 - 16 March 1704) was the sixth and youngest son of the English Puritan John Winthrop, a founder and the 2nd, 6th, 9th and 12th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Deane was born in the village of Groton in Suffolk, England. At the age of 12, he departed London, England with his older brother John Winthrop the Younger, age 29, on the ship the Abigail in July 1635. He later settled and farmed in an area of the Town of Boston known as Pullen Poynt (Pulling Point), part of the area known to the native Massachusett tribe as Winnisimmet, which is today the Town of Winthrop, Massachusetts. At the age of 25, he married Sarah Glover (1629-1684) in 1648. They had nine children together. After her death in 1684, he married Martha Mellowes (1625-1716).

In the 1650s, he was involved in the project of settlement in the Nashoba Valley that became known as the Plantation of Groton (1655), named in honor of his birthplace. The area of the Plantation today comprises the Massachusetts towns of Groton, Ayer, almost all of Pepperell and Shirley, large parts of Dunstable, Littleton, and Tyngsborough plus smaller parts of Harvard and Westford, as well as Nashua, New Hampshire and Hollis, New Hampshire. Deane served as one of the original selectmen of the settlement, but his permanent residence was always Pullen Poynt.^[1]

The last house he built for his family in 1675 still exists as the Deane Winthrop House as maintained as a both a single family home and a museum in present day Winthrop, Massachusetts. This building is one of the oldest extent wood frame houses in the country. It is also the oldest continuously inhabited house in the United States.

He died on 16 March 1704 just a week before his 81st birthday in Pullen Poynt. He was buried in the Rumney Marsh Burying Ground which is today located in Revere, Massachusetts and is still maintained. The inscription on the grave stone reads: HERE LYETH BURIED ye BODY OF MR. DEANE WINTHROP OF PULLIN POINT, AGED 81 YEARS WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE MARCH THE 16 1703/4. His widow Martha died 12 years later in Boston in 1716.^[2]

Coat of Arms

This was the coat of arms used by John Winthrop, Second Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his sons. It was presumably confirmed by the College of Arms, London, to his paternal uncle in 1592.

Deane Winthrop used the same coat of arms as his father John Winthrop as displayed here. These arms appear today on the Deane Winthrop House and are also used as the coat of arms for Winthrop House at Harvard University. The heraldic blazon of arms is: Argent three chevronels Gules overall a lion rampant Sable.^[3]

Name of the Town of Winthrop

The Town of Winthrop, Massachusetts, originally known as Pullen Poynt and part of Boston, was incorporated a town in 1852 after separating from what was then known as North Chelsea and is today the City of Revere. It is a long standing and understandable myth that the town was named in honor of Deane Winthrop, who resided in what is now the town for his entire adult life. However, while his presence in what is now the Town of Winthrop may have influenced its naming when it incorporated, the town is in fact named after his far more famous father, John Winthrop, as the town's website also confirms.^[4]

References