Deacon Francis Parratt, Esq.

Biography

Deacon Francis Parrat was christened 25 May 1615 in Melton Ross, Lincolnshire with both parents Francis and Faithe listed[1] original image [2]

His sisters Anne, Joan and Faith all appear in the same parish registers with the same parents listed (see father Francis Parrat for sourcing on all)

He came to America around 1640, bringing his sisters Ann and Faith. Ann married Deacon Thomas Mighill and Faith first married John Smith then William Law. "The Aged widow Faith Law" died 30 Mar 1705.

Deacon Parrat married Elizabeth Northend in Rowley, Ripplingham, Yorkshire, England in 1639.

He was one of the first settlers of Rowley, Mass. He was a man of ability and influence, with an unusual amount of education for the time. His penmanship showed this on Rowley records he scribed. He became freeman May 13, 1640, and served as the town clerk from 1641 thru 1655. He was one of those who made the first town survey and assigned houselots, he having two of two acres each, and was one of the Town Committee to contract with the early settlers on the "Merrimack Lands,". He was the first Rowley representative to the Massachusetts General Court in 1640, and again in 1642. In 1652, he was the Commissioner of Rowley, and in 1655 was ordained Deacon. Parrat's houselot was on Wethersfield Street: "To ffrancis Parrat two acres, bounded on the south side by John Jarrat's house Lott, the West End and the North side by the streets".

He was a deacon of Rowley Church, though his name has never appeared on the printed lists. In a paper on file in Essex Probate, being the return of the division of the estate of Mrs. Ann Hobson, dated 3 Dec., 1694, a parcel of the land is described as bounded "by ye land yt was Deacon parrats"; the division was made by Ezekiel Northend, Jr., Nehemiah Jewett and Capt. Joseph Jewett, men who would have known who had been deacons of their church.

Deacon Parrat made his will Nov 18, 1655, before leaving for England on business. He mentioned his "Loveing wife Elizabeth Parrat" in the amount of £100 in land, goods, and cattle, also the house and land during her lifetime. He also bequeathed to his six daughters.

Apparently, he made his will as a precaution, and unfortunately, he died in 1656 while in England. His will, proved on Sep 30, 1656 mentions himself as "intending to take a journey to England"; wife Elizabeth, and six daughters (unnamed) (Essex Co., Probate, 1:244). He was buried in Sutterton, Lincolnshire, England.

After Deacon Parrat’s death, Elizabeth Northend Parrat married Thomas Tenney on 24 Feb 1658.

Research Notes There has been some interest in Sutterton, Lincolnshire as his place of origin. There was a Francis Parratt buried in Sutterton, Lincolnshire on 5 Jan 1655 but without a known connection to this family.[3] It seems more likely that it was the man who married Agnes "Jrbie" (that's how it's transcribed) in Sutterton on 3 Mar 1630[4]

Sources
↑ England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N68H-TZ4
↑ Lincolnshire Archives 28 Record set Lincolnshire Baptisms https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record/browse?id=gbprs%2flincs%2fme...
↑ England, Lincolnshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1990 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZ5-ZYY6
↑ England, Lincolnshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1990 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP2C-XSKT
Blodgette, George Brainard; Early Settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts. Revised, Edited and Published by Amos Everett Jewett, 1933. Reprinted by the New England History Press, Somersworth, New Hampshire, 1981. Pgs 266, 373.
"A Genealogical History of the Clark and Worth Families", by Carol Clark Johnson, priv. printed, 1970.
Hoyt, David W. The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, Volume II, 1897, 1902, 1916, 1919 (reprinted New England History Press, Somersworth, Massachusetts, 1981), Pg. 652
New England Historical and Genealogical Register, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, Volume 151 (1997), pgs. 339, 340
Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, The Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts, Volume 1, 1928, pgs. 361, 413.
Hadley, Samuel Page; Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Moses Hadley and Rebecca Page, of Hudson, N. H., Together with Some Account of George Hadley, of Ipswich, Mass., and His Descendants, Morning Mail Print, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1887, Pg 22.
History of an American Family
Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.,1912) Vol. 2: 1656-1662, Page 5: Inventory of the estate of Francis Parrat of Rowley.
Original will is slide 33 of (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/9069/004481030_00042/3592194).
Pope, Charles Henry: "Pioneers of Massachusetts"; page 346 (Parrat)
New England Marriages prior to 1700; page 561. (1640, Rowley)
Anderson, Robert Charles: "The Great Migration Directory"; page 255
England, Lincolnshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1990, database, FamilySearch (17 January 2020), Francis Parratt, 1655.