Author: Donncha

The gravestone of Richard Frances, in Cambridge, Massachusetts near Boston as photographed in 2003 when I visited Cambridge. I remember looking up his name back then but didn’t find anything but years later there are a few traces of him online here and here.

The first resident of Massachusetts by the name of Francis that can be found on the records of that state is Richard, who was born in 1606, in England; and who located at first in Medford, afterwards in Dorchester, and, in 1636, settled in Cambridge, where he was made freeman in 1640. He married Alice Wilcox, 1644. They had five children.

There seem to have been several other parties by the name of Francis in the Massachusetts Colony. Savage in his history states that Francis Francis, of Reading, had a son John, born Feb. 4, 1657. Savage also refers to a John Francis, living at Braintree in 1650, with his wife Rose, who died 1659. He had two daughters: Elizabeth, b. 1657; and Susanna, b. 1659. Reference is also made to a Richard Francis, living at Northampton in 1675, “who came from the East” and was “clerk” of Turner’s Company in King Philip’s war, and “wrote a very good hand.” So far, nothing further has been brought to light concerning these parties, nor has their relationship to Richard of Cambridge been established, yet probably a relationship did exist.

Here lyeth buried the Body of
RICHARD FRANCES
Aged 81 year or There about
died March ye 24 1686-7.
(Richard Francis, Cambridge, freeman 1640, member of the church; his wife’s name was Alse (Alice).