Genealogy of the Olmsted family in America : embracing the ...

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FIRST GENERATION
JAMES OLMSTED, the ancestor of the Hartford, Ct., branch of the Olmsted
family, was the son of James and Jane (Bristow) Olmsted of Great Leighs,
Essex Co., England, where he was bap. Dec. 4, 1580. He married at Great
Leighs, Oct. 26, 1605, Joyce Cornish, who died and was buried at Fairsted,
Essex Co., April 21, 1621.
1, Faith; bap. Jan. 7, 1606, at Great Leighs, Essex Co., Eng.; she was
buried at Fairsted, Mar. 3, 1627. 2, Frances; bap. at Fairsted, Feb. 14,
1609. 3, Mabel; bap. at Fairsted, Sept. 30, 1610; buried there Feb. 18,
1621. 4, Nicholas +. 5, James; bap. at Fairsted, Jan. 22, 1615; probably
died young. 6, Nehemiah + 7, Mary; bap. at Fairsted, April 18, 1621;
buried Apr. 24, 1621.
" In a large volume bound in vellum, now in the Rolls Office, Chancery
Lane, London, are records of a few of the early emigrants to New England.
On the cover of the volume containing the earliest of such records yet discovered,
is this inscription:
" A booke of Entrie for Passengers by y^ Comission, and Souldiers
according to the Statuti" passing beyond the Seas, begun at Christmas,
1631, and ending at Christmas, 1632."
xxij" Junij 1632.—The names of such Men transported to New England to the
Plantacon there p'r Cert, from Capten Mason have tendred and taken the oath
of allegeance according to the Statute."
(There follow 33 names of men. Among them is)
James Olmstedd
From the New England Hist. & Genealogical Register. Vol. XIV, pp. 300-301.
The family were Puritans, and James Olmsted came to New England
with two sons, two nephews and a niece, in the ship Lyon, Capt. Pierce, which
arrived at Boston, Mass., on the Lord's Day, Sept. 16, 1632, with 123 passen-
gers, of whom 50 were children, after a voyage of 12 weeks from Braintree,
England.
They settled first at Mount WoUaston, now Quincy, near Boston, but
in the course of the year, " by order of the Court they removed to New Town,
now Cambridge, where James Olmsted had his house lot on the northerly
side of Harvard St., upon or near the spot occupied by what has long been
known as the ' President's House,' now called the Wadsworth House. This
was the second piece of land acquired by Harvard College.
" James Olmsted was made a freeman Nov. 6, 1632, and was chosen
Constable by a popular vote (the first one so chosen) Nov. 3, 1634. At a
general meeting of the whole town, Feb. 3, 1634-5, it was agreed upon by a
joint consent that seven men should be chosen to do the whole business of
the town, and so continue until the first Monday in November next, and until
new men be chosen in their room; so there were then chosen John Haynes,
Symon Bradstreat, John Taylcott, William Westwood, John White, William
Wadsworth and James Olmsted. Also there was chosen to join (with) James
Olmsted, Constable, John Benjamin, Daniel Denison, Andrew Warner and