Deacon Edward Converse House, first house built in Woburn, 1640

Deacon Edward Convers (January 20, 1590 – August 10, 1663) was an early Puritan settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was one of the founders of Woburn, MA.[1]

He built the first house and first mill in Woburn. Convers was very active in town affairs, serving as one of its first selectmen. He served on "every committee and had a part in every movement that had this new settlement in view." He also helped establish Charlestown. He was one of the colony's wealthy landowners, and was a farmer, miller and surveyor.[2][3]

Edward Convers was born January 20, 1590. After his first wife died, he married Sarah Parker in 1614. He and his family arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, with the Winthrop Fleet on June 12, 1630, in the early stages of the Great Migration.[4]

He also founded the First Church of Charlestown, and established the first ferry from Charlestown to Boston. The ferry operated where the Charles River Bridge is now located, and was referred to as the "Great Ferry" (to distinguish it from a smaller ferry operating between Charlestown and Winnisimmet). Convers died on August 10, 1663, in Woburn, Massachusetts.[5][3]

References

  1. ^ "A Chronological History of Woburn, Massachusetts" (http://users.rcn.com/woblib/chrnlgy.htm) Retrieved 10 Feb. 2011.
  2. ^ Richardson, Doug. The English Origin and Ancestry of The Parker Brothers of Massachusetts and their Probable Aunt, Sarah Parker, Wife of Edward Converse. NEHGS Register, Vol. 153. January, 1999, No. 609. See http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~converse/sources/nehgs.html. Accessed 20 May 2007.
  3. ^ a b Thompson, Rev. Leander, "Deacon Edward Convers," Winchester Record, October, 1885 (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~converse/bios/edw-bio.html Archived 2012-11-03 at the Wayback Machine) Retrieved 10 Feb. 2011.
  4. ^ Kurtz, Robert J., "The Road to Royalty is Broken," 1998 (http://sites.rootsweb.com/~converse/books/kurtz.html) Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  5. ^ Wynne, Robert L., Ancestry of Deacon Edward Converse, 1590-1663, R.L. Wynne Pub., Houston, TX, 1980.
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