Col. Samuel Thaxter (1665-1740), of

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on B ...

, was one of the most prominent and influential citizens in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

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 ...

. He was a member of the commission to settle the boundary between

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

in 1719. He commanded the

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world. Its charter was granted in March 1638 by the Great and Gen ...

in 1728. His son Samuel Thaxter Junior (1695-1732) married Mary Hawke (1711-1798) who was the mother of

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...

(Signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

Col. Thaxter's grandson

Benjamin Lincoln Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 ( O.S. January 13, 1733) – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrender ...

(son of Elizabeth Thaxter) was the 1st United States Secretary at War and 2nd

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...

. Col. Thaxter was Colonel of the Hingham regiment of militia and one of His Majesty's Council; magistrate,

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

; delegate to the General Court 1697, and from 1708 to 1712 inc., also from 1711 to 1718 inc.; an assistant, and otherwise distinguished in public posts; selectman 1695, 1705, 1706, and 1717. His father Lieut. John Thaxter (1625/26 - 1686/87) served as selectman and representative to the General Court in the mid-1600s. In 1664 while serving against the Dutch at New York, he was made Lieutenant under orders from

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

. Later he was promoted to captain and commanded a troop of cavalry. Col. Thaxter's grandfather, Deacon Thomas Thaxter, was the first person of the name in America. Col. Thaxter had not inherited a very large estate from his family. But by his industry and enterprise, he became Hingham's most wealthy and influential citizen. He died at 76 years old and was buried in Hingham Cemetery (Burials of Note - Hingham Cemetery) In 1878, the

visited and decorated the graves of Gov. John A. Andrew, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln and Col. Samuel Thaxter, the two last named past commanders of the company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaxter, Samuel 1665 births 1740 deaths People of colonial Massachusetts English emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony