John Larkin (Boston deacon)
Encyclopedia
Deacon John Larkin was an ordained minister of the First Congregational Church
in his hometown of Charlestown, Massachusetts
. He was also a merchant, in the tea trade, for the East India Company
, having in his possession chests of tea that he readily concealed to avoid England's Stamp Tax
. John Larkin is most notable for aiding Paul Revere
to obtain the horse he used in his "Midnight Ride". The horse was owned by John's father, Samuel Larkin. John Larkin's will is among Charlestown Records. He amassed a large fortune before he died in 1807. His estate was probated for $86,381.99.
. Genealogist William Ensign Lincoln, recorded a Larkin family tradition that the horse was a mare named "Brown Beauty" belonging to Samuel Larkin, John Larkin's father. According to Lincoln, in 1930, he wrote: "The mare was borrowed at the request of Samuel's son, Deacon John Larkin, and was never returned to the owner."
During the Battle of Bunker Hill
, some British troops marched through the Boston suburb of Charlestown, Massachusetts, where the Larkin families lived. John's brother, Ebenezer Larkin (1740-1794), fired a musket from a window of his home at the British troops, who in reprisal, burned the Larkin homes to the ground. John Larkin and his family fled, unscathed, to Cambridge
where they lived in a house once occupied by General Washington and later by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
.
as early as 1634, descendants of Edward Larking, an English settler of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
.
First Congregational Church
First Congregational Church, or variations such as First Congregational Church, Former, may refer to:-Alabama:*First Congregational Church of Marion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Marion, Alabama-Arizona:...
in his hometown of Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
. He was also a merchant, in the tea trade, for the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, having in his possession chests of tea that he readily concealed to avoid England's Stamp Tax
Stamp Act 1765
The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp...
. John Larkin is most notable for aiding Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
to obtain the horse he used in his "Midnight Ride". The horse was owned by John's father, Samuel Larkin. John Larkin's will is among Charlestown Records. He amassed a large fortune before he died in 1807. His estate was probated for $86,381.99.
Aiding Paul Revere
On April 17, 1775, British troops were dispatched by Governor General Sir Thomas Gage to seize weaponry held by suspected rebels. Paul Revere and Richard Devens combined efforts with John Larkin, to borrow his father's large horse in order to deliver intelligence to the towns of Menotomy (now Arlington) and LexingtonLexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
. Genealogist William Ensign Lincoln, recorded a Larkin family tradition that the horse was a mare named "Brown Beauty" belonging to Samuel Larkin, John Larkin's father. According to Lincoln, in 1930, he wrote: "The mare was borrowed at the request of Samuel's son, Deacon John Larkin, and was never returned to the owner."
During the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
, some British troops marched through the Boston suburb of Charlestown, Massachusetts, where the Larkin families lived. John's brother, Ebenezer Larkin (1740-1794), fired a musket from a window of his home at the British troops, who in reprisal, burned the Larkin homes to the ground. John Larkin and his family fled, unscathed, to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
where they lived in a house once occupied by General Washington and later by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
.
Larkin Genealogy
John Larkin was the son of Samuel Larkin (1701-1784) and Mary Hicks (1700-1751). John married Ruth Kettell (1738-1816), daughter of Deacon William and Ruth (Stimpson) Kettell by whom he had ten children. The First Church of Charlestown contains baptisms and marriages of the Larkin family. The Larkin family resided in CharlestownCharlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
as early as 1634, descendants of Edward Larking, an English settler of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
.
- Edward Larking (c. 1615 - c. 1652), English immigrant
- John Larkin (1640 - 1678) m. Joanna Hale (1646 - 1694)
- Edward Larkin (1668 - 1738) m. Mary Walker (1670 - 1734)
- Samuel Larkin (1701 - 1784) m. Mary Hicks (1700 - 1751)
- Dea. John Larkin (1735 - 1807) m. Ruth Kettell (1738 - 1816)
- Samuel Larkin (1701 - 1784) m. Mary Hicks (1700 - 1751)
- Edward Larkin (1668 - 1738) m. Mary Walker (1670 - 1734)
- John Larkin (1640 - 1678) m. Joanna Hale (1646 - 1694)
See also
- Old North ChurchOld North ChurchOld North Church , at 193 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent...
- Paul ReverePaul ReverePaul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
- Paul Revere's Ride (poem)Paul Revere's Ride (poem)"Paul Revere's Ride" is a poem by an American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775.-Overview:...
- American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
- Province of Massachusetts BayProvince of Massachusetts BayThe Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in North America. It was chartered on October 7, 1691 by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England and Scotland...
- Suffolk County, MassachusettsSuffolk County, MassachusettsSuffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
- Thomas O. LarkinThomas O. LarkinThomas Oliver Larkin was an early American emigrant to Alta California and a signer of the original California Constitution. He was the United States' first and only consul to the California Republic.-Early years:...
, John Larkin's grandson
Sources
- Weckle, Paul J. "The Webb Ancestry of Austin Parker Webb and All His Connected Families". P.J. Weckle, 1987; p. 250
- Waters, Henry Fritz-Gilbert. "The New England Historical and Genealogical Register". New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1875; p. 71
- Fischer, David Hackett. "Paul Revere's Ride". Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0195098315, 9780195098310; p. 389
- Frothingham, Richard. "The History of Charlestown, Massachusetts". C.P. Emmons, 1845; p. 315-16
- Lincoln, Lincoln & Fisher. "In Memoriam: John Larkin Lincoln, 1817-1891". Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1894; p. 619
- Whittier, Charles Collyer. "Genealogy of the Stimpson Family of Charlestown, Mass., and Allied Lines". Press of D. Clapp & Son, 1907; p. 23