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ancestor of a large New England family.
Major Willard was an extensive trader
with the Indians, and acquired a thousand
acres of land on the Charles river
in Cambridge adjoining the town of Bos-
ton. Subsequently he had several grants
of land, and was one of the founders and
first settlers of Concord, Massachusetts;
its first deputy to the General Court,
elected September, 1636, and continued
with the exception of four years until
1664. In 1654 he was elected, but declined
to serve. For fifteen years he was
a member of the Council, twenty-two
years assistant and served as magistrate,
attending over seventy terms of the
County Court between November, 1654,
and April, 1676. For forty years he was
active in military affairs, attaining the
rank of major, and commanded the Massa-
chusetts troops against the Indians. In
1655 he led the expedition against the
Narragansetts, and was a Brookfield and
Hadley in King Philip's War, leading
the Middlesex Regiment. He was offered
lands and privileges to become a citizen
of the town of Lancaster, and decided to
locate there, selling his Concord estate in
1657. His first home in Lancaster was on
the Nashua river commanding a superb
view of the valley. After twelve years
he removed to a more extensive farm in
the south part of Groton, where he was
prominent in civil and church affairs. He
also had a fine farm at Still river in what
is now the town of Harvard. By occupation
he was a surveyor, and often was
engaged in fixing town boundaries. His
death occurred April 24, 1676, during an
epidemic of influenza. He was a stalwart
Puritan, conscientious and of sound un-
derstanding, of brave and enduring spirit.
After giving large amounts of land to his
children, he left thirteen hundred acres
and much other property at his death.
After this event the General Court
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
376
granted a thousand acres to be divided
among his six youngest children because
of his losses in the Indian Wars. His
first wife, Mary (Sharpe) Willard, was
born in 1614, at Horsmonden, daughter
of Henry and Jane (Filed) Sharpe. His
eldest son, Josiah Willard, probably born
in Concord, lived six years in Hartford,
Connecticut, and was admitted an inhabi-
tant of Wethersfield in September, 1662.
He settled in that part which is now
Newington, where he kept school, and
died in July, 1674, leaving an estate valued
at two hundred and eighty-five pounds,
sixteen shillings. He married, March 20,
1657, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Hosmer,
of Hartford. Their third son, Simon
Willard, born 1661-62, in Wethersfield,
lived in Newington, was one of the petitioners
for a separate parish in 171 2, and
died January 8, 1727. He was the first
male buried in the Newington Cemetery.
He married, February 12, 1691, Mary Gilbert,
born November 18, 1670, died December
5, 1712, fourth daughter of Josiah
and Elizabeth Gilbert. Their fifth son,
Ephraim Willard, born in 1707, received
by will of his uncle, Stephen Willard, the
latter's land and estate valued at four
thousand and twelve pounds, three shill-
ings and eleven pence. The uncle sought
to fix the succession of the estate, under
the English law of entail. Ephraim Wil-
lard was a farmer, and died March 30,
1766. He married, August 17, 1738, Lydia
Griswold, born September 4, 1707, died
April 1, 1770, daughter of Jacob and
Mary (Francis) Griswold. His second
son, Stephen Willard, born February 9,
1740, was a prosperous farmer in Wethersfield,
and died April 29, 1817. He
married, March 24, 1768, Anna Harris,
born in 1741, died June 1, 1824, daughter
of Thomas and Anna (Knott) Harris.
Deacon William Willard, fifth son of
Stephen and Anna (Harris) Willard, was