Dea. James Moulton
James Moulton was born in Norfolk, England, about 1602. Moulton Annals thought his parish was probably Ormsby. He was made an inhabitant of Salem, Massachusetts, on 7 June 1637. He became a freeman the same year and joined the Salem church in December. His wife was Mary. Her surname is not known.
Salem granted him eighty acres on 9 October 1639, and three-quarters of an acre more in 1640. His land lay in the part of Salem that became the separate town of Wenham. In 1646 he was sworn as Wenham's constable, the town officer who kept the peace. In 1654 he was chosen granary-man, and in 1674 he became a deacon of the Wenham church.
In 1654 the town settled the minister's pay. The Wenham book records the order "that the minister have fortie pounds a year whether Mr. Fiske stays & settle amongst us or we another," with the names "Mr. Gott, James Moulton & John Fiske." In 1657 he paid the largest tax in Wenham.
His children were James, baptized at Salem in 1638; Samuel, christened at Salem on 25 October 1641; and Mary, who married James Friend of Wenham. Samuel served as Wenham's town treasurer and was drafted for the Narragansett expedition of King Philip's War, then moved to Rehoboth.
He made his will on 28 February 1678. The inventory was taken on 6 January 1679. His estate came to 456 pounds 12 shillings 6 pence, with one exception the largest in town. He left five pounds to Harvard College, five pounds to the Wenham church and five pounds to its pastor, the Rev. Mr. Gerrish.
His house stood on the south side of the road from Wenham to Topsfield, just north of the hill that still bore his name in 1906. Moultons lived in it until 1821. That year Daniel Moulton sold it to Col. Paul Porter, who pulled it down.
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Cite: Heirology, "Dea. James Moulton (b. 1602)", https://heirology.com/ancestors/dea-james-moulton-1602-13518a.