Daniel Thurston (March 1, 1719,

Bradford, Massachusetts Bradford is a village and former town, in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Eastern Bradford is the current town of Groveland, while western Bradford was annexed by the city of Haverhill, and today consists of the part of Haverhill o ...

- July 14, 1805, Bradford, Massachusetts), was an Officer during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, a member of the Committee of Safety and a member of the committee drafting the Massachusetts State Constitution.

Family

He was the eldest son of Benjamin Thurston and Mary Gage, whose family had a history of military service in America dating back to MG

Humphrey Atherton Major-General Humphrey Atherton, (c. 1607 – September 16, 1661), an early settler of Dorchester, Massachusetts, held the highest military rank in colonial New England.Adams, William Frederick, William Richard Cutter. ''Genealogical and pers ...

. He married first on 3 September 1741 Hannah Parker, second on 10 September 1761 Judith Gerrish, and third on 17 September 1767 Elizabeth Rolfe. His son Nathaniel Thurston (January 17, 1755 - October 21, 1811) was also a member of the Massachusetts Legislature.

Military and political career

Thurston was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Bradford Militia as early as 1765. Only one web source actually attributes to him the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. However, at least three of his brothers-in-law held that rank (Joseph Gerrish, Samuel Gerrish and Jacob Gerrish all commanded

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

s) during the Revolution. Multiple sources list him as a member of the Committee to Draft the

Massachusetts State Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. As a member of the Massachuset ...

Sources

''Vital Records of the Town of Bradford Essex Co. Mass. to the Year 1850''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, Daniel Continental Army officers from Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts 1719 births 1805 deaths People from Bradford, Massachusetts