Ancestors

George Lawton

George Lawton reached New England in 1634 and was admitted an inhabitant of Aquidneck in 1638. On 30 April 1639 he was among the men who signed the paper that founded Portsmouth: "We whose names are underwritten do acknowledge ourselves the legal subjects of his Majesty King Charles, and in his name do hereby bind ourselves into a civil body politicke, unto his laws according to matters of justice."

He married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Martha Hazard, and her father's will of 1669 names her as Elizabeth, wife of George Lawton, which is the record that ties the two families together. He was granted forty acres next to his brother Thomas, in 1646 or 1648, sat on the Court of Trials in 1648, was made a freeman in 1655, and was a deputy to the Assembly through the 1660s and 1670s.

In the spring of 1676, with King Philip's War burning through the mainland and the island full of refugees, the Assembly asked for his company and counsel by name, and sent him with John Easton to Providence to decide whether garrisons should be kept there at the colony's charge. In 1680 he and two others were empowered to buy a bell from Freelove Arnold for three pounds ten, to call the Assembly and the courts together. He was an Assistant from 1680 to 1690, and in January 1690, with five other Assistants, he signed a letter of congratulation to William and Mary setting out the state of the colony.

He died on 5 October 1693 and was buried in his own orchard at Portsmouth.

If George Lawton is in your family, start your own tree.

Cite: Heirology, "George Lawton (d. 1693)", https://heirology.com/ancestors/george-lawton-1693-bcdd06.