Capt. John Granger

DAR# A046933

Captn John Granger was the ancestor of a large family who have lived principally in Mass. and Vermont. He lived in Andover (?) for some time after his first marriage, but after the death of his wife he removed to New Braintree, which was henceforth his home. John, called Captain John by his descendants, was in the fifth generation from Launcelot-the last generation who were born, married, and died at Andover. Witht the death of his unmarried nieces and nephews the name became extinct in that town. John first married in the neighboring town of Methuen, Mass., but his wife lived little more than a year. Whether he lived with her in Andover or Methuen is not quite certain. But after her death he removed to Boston, and finally settled at New Braintree, a few miles out of the city. his older brother Daniel had already grown weary of the Andover Hills and emigrated to West Springfield, and John too was unable to remain on the ancestral acres. At New Braintree he found his second wife in Miss. Haskell, a woman of great beauty. Here he built the comfortable house known as the "old Granger homestead," and now occupied by his grandson, Daniel Granger. It is charmingly situated in that old town, and is one of the features of the place. Here he made his home and here he died, as above. Captain John seems to have been more or less a born soldier. We find him engaged in the Indian wars which swept over the country when he was a young man. In 1755 he joined one of the English expeditions which marched north from Albany toward the Lake Champlain country, and was present at the fierce battle which took place at Halfway Brook, between Forth William Henry and Fort Edward. There is a tradition that he was present at the defeat of General Braddock, buth this is too misty and uncertain to admit of serious consideration, it being a matter of history that the fatal expedition was composed of British regulars, Virginia militia, and 2 independent companies from NY. It is doubtful if any New England men were members of it, much more so that John left his Andover home to fight the French and Indidans in that far-off western country. There were plenty of foes nearer home. On the coming of the news of the Lexington flight in April, 1775, known in history as the Lexington alarm, John Granger formed at New Braintree, a company of soldiers called in the parlance of the time minute men, and hastened to the aid of the imperiled section. As soon as an organized army was formed he was made captain of a regular company in Colonel Larned's regiment and joined the forces at Cambridge. He is said to have taken part in the battle of Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston. But the severities of the campaign proved too great for him, and he was forced to resign after some eight months of service. He withdrew to his New Braintree home and lingered there until he died at the age of only 49.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jul 3 2023, 18:52:11 UTC