Nathaniel Colburn (1611–1691) was an early settler and selectman in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

Early life

He was baptized in 1611 in Woolverstone, Suffolk, England. His parents were Leonard Colborne and Sara (née Lewes) and he had a sister named Sarah. In 1630, Governor John Winthrop organized a group of men to move to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and Colburn joined the group.

Dedham

Colburn arrived in Dedham shortly after it was incorporated in 1636. Colburn married Priscilla Clarke on July 25, 1639, and together they had 11 children. He signed the Dedham Covenant and was an original proprietor. In addition to being selectman for five years, he held a number of roles and positions of responsibility within the new town including tithingman. He had 11 children, the youngest of whom was Joseph. Colburn was admitted to the

First Church and Parish in Dedham First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

on January 29, 1641, "after long and much inquisition into his case," nearly a year after his wife was. They lived nearby, on the west side of what is today Wigwam Creek. Part of

Mother Brook Mother Brook is a stream that flows from the Charles River in Dedham, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Massachusetts. Mother Brook was also known variously as East Brook and Mill Creek in earlier times. ...

ran through his land. He owned considerable property. Ten years after

King Phillip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, question arose as to whether or not the town of

Wrentham, Massachusetts Wrentham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,178 at the 2020 census. History In 1660, five men from Dedham were sent to explore the lakes near George Indian's wigwam and to report back to the ...

was on land legally purchased from the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...

people. In March 1667, Colburn testified that he personally witnessed

Metacomet Metacomet (1638 – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,Waldo Colburn Waldo Colburn (November 13, 1824 – September 26, 1885) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Colburn was originally a member of the Whig party and after that party dissolved he became a Democrat. ...

References

Works cited

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colburn, Nathaniel People from colonial Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham, Massachusetts selectmen People from Woolverstone 1611 births 1691 deaths English emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony Signers of the Dedham Covenant