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Edward Rawson
1615 - 1693 (78 years)-
Name Edward Rawson Born 16 Apr 1615 Gillingham, Dorset, England, United Kingdom 
Gender Male Buried Aug 1693 Died 27 Aug 1693 Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States Person ID I3977 Wagner-Thomas | Hallmark Last Modified 11 Jan 2014
Father David Rawson, b. 1587, Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom , d. 25 Feb 1617 OR 1618, England, United Kingdom (Age 31 years) Mother Margaret Wilson, b. 1588, London, London, England , d. 1627 (Age 39 years) Married 1612 Family ID F1331 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Rachel Perne, b. Abt 1619, Gillingham, Dorset, England, United Kingdom , d. 11 Oct 1677 (Age ~ 58 years) Married Bef 1634 Children 1. Miss Rawson, b. Abt 1634, Gillingham, Dorset, England, United Kingdom , d. Yes, date unknown2. Rachel Rawson, b. 1636, Gillingham, Dorset, England, United Kingdom , d. Yes, date unknown3. Edward Rawson, b. 1638, Newbury, Essex, England , d. Yes, date unknown4. Mary Perne Rawson, b. 14 May 1640, Newbury, Essex, England , d. 10 Sep 1692 (Age 52 years)5. Susan Rawson, b. Abt 1642, Newbury, Essex, England , d. 1654 (Age ~ 12 years)6. David Rawson, b. 6 May 1644, Newbury, Essex, England , d. Yes, date unknown7. Perne Rawson, b. 14 Sep 1646, Newbury, Essex, England , d. Yes, date unknown8. Grindall Rawson, b. 23 Jan 1648 OR 1649, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States , d. Yes, date unknown+ 9. William Rawson, b. 21 May 1651, Gillingham, Dorset, England, United Kingdom , d. 20 Sep 1726, Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States (Age 75 years)10. Hannah Rawson, b. 10 Oct 1653, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States , d. 27 May 1656 (Age 2 years)11. Rebecca Rawson, b. 19 Oct 1654, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States , d. Yes, date unknown12. Rebecca Rawson, b. 23 May 1656, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States , d. 26 May 1692 (Age 36 years)13. Elizabeth Rawson, b. 12 Nov 1657, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States , d. Yes, date unknown14. Grindall Rawson, b. 14 Jul 1659, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States , d. 6 Feb 1715 (Age 55 years)15. John Rawson, b. 14 Jul 1661, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States , d. Yes, date unknownLast Modified 22 Nov 2014 Family ID F1329 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Event Map 
Born - 16 Apr 1615 - Gillingham, Dorset, England, United Kingdom 
Died - 27 Aug 1693 - Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States = Link to Google Earth
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Notes - BIR,MG,DTH: Fam Group Record: "Rawson Fam Memorials pg 8-9, Braintree Town rcds pp 674-676; Mass W 1 Vol 7 pp 4-Utah Gen Archives" subm by Lois Owen Chapman from pg 215 Rawson Gen Book-copy of Pam Hallmark Wagner. Also FGR with Edward as a child, "Ancestry of Edward Rawson, pg 9/13 of pg 217 Rawson Gen Bk. Shows Birth as Gillingham and under on Chr line says "of London, London, England".
NOTES: "Early Life & Hist of Eward Rawson, Secretary of Massachusetts Bay Colony," pg 267 of Rawson-Coffin Fam Rcd. The following is an extract:
At the time of a publication of the Revised Rawson Family Memorial in 1875, little was known about the ancestry of Edward Rawson, Sec of Mass Bay Colony. The write was strolling through the monuments in an old church yard in Mendon, Mass, when he discovered a figure that proved to be a fam armorial. A drawing was carefully made and steps toward finding the name of the original owner immediately taken.
The armorial was borne by Sir John Rawson, Knight of Rhodes & St John of Jerusalem. He was elected Prior of Kilmainham in 1511; in 1517 by order of King Henry VIII, sworn Privy Councillor of Ireland & Lord Treasurer of that kingdom. In 1542 he surrendered the Priory to the King for a pension of 500 marks and was created Viscount Clontarff. This title became extinct at his dth in 1560. The armorial was placed in a window of the Parish of Swingfield, & the Parish was included in the property of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, located 5 miles north of Folkstone, Co of Kent. Sir John Rawson left a daughter, Catherine, who md Rowland Whyte, son of Patrick Whyte, 2nd Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland.
Sir John had 4 bro & sis: Avery, Christopher, Richard & Nicholas. Avery & Christopher were citizens & merchants of London. Avery was styled of Aveley, a Parish 14-15 miles east of London in Essex Co. His son Nicholas was an owner of an estate in Aveley & held lands there in fee simple by copy of Court Roll. He md the widow of William Copley, Beatrix Cooke (dau of Sir Phillip Cooke, Knight of Giddea Hall, Essex Co) Copley. Nicholas died in 1529, leaving 4 children: Anne bn abt 1512-a courageous mother inspite of widowhood, became wife of Sir Michael Stanhope, Knight of Shelford, Nottingham Co (& who was apparently highly favored by King Henry VIII, as he bestowed land, parishes, & many appurtenances, including tenants, etc. in Nottingham Co to him-see story for more on his own father, Sir Edward Stanhope); no names given for other 3 children. Out of their 11 children, 3 dd in infancy: Margaret, William & Edward.
Thomas, their eldest, was knighted at Kenilworth in 1575. He md Margaret, dau of Sir John Port. They had a son, Sir John, who was father of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield. Edward, their 2nd son, became one of the Queen's Council in the north of England; dd in 1608. The 3rd son, Sr John Stanhope of Harrington, gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth, was created Lord Stanhope in 1605. Edward, the 4th son, became a Doctor of Civil law & Master in Chancery. The 5th son, Sir Michael Stanhope of Sugbourn, Suffolk Co, was knighted by King James in 1603, also gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth. The 6th a dau-Eleanor md Thomas Cooper, Esq. The 7th-Julian, md John Hotham, Esq. & the 8th, Jane, md Sir Roger Townsend. Many prominent & illustrious personages have come from this line & have adorned the pgs of English Hist, notably the Earls of Chesterfield, Harrington & Stanhope.
Richard, bro to Sir John Rawson, bore the title of Dr of Divinity & Dr of Laws; was Prebendary of Durnsford in Salisbury; Archdeacon of Essex, 1502; Canon of Windsor, 1521; Vicar of the church at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, presented in 1525. He rebuilt the Parsonage House, where his arms remained in 1728. He died in 1543.
Another bro, Nicholas, became master of the Free Chapel at Fressenhall, Norfolk Co. He dd leaving 2 sons, John & Walter.
The 3 sisters of Sir John Rawson were: Anne, wife of Richard Cely of London; Elizabeth, wife of John Foxe, merchant of London; & Alice, of whom we have no mg rcd.
Christopher, 4th bro to Sir John Rawson, as well as a merchant, owned Old Wool Quay, in Petty Sales (Lower Thomas Street), having received it by his mother's will. He died in 1518 & was bur at Allhallow's Barking, Great Tower St. He md twice: Margaret, then Agnes Burke, dau of Wm Burke. Margaret bore him: John, Thomas, Richard, Margaret (first wife of Henry Goodrick, bro of Thomas, Bishop of Ely and Lord Chancellor of England, secondly, the wife of Mr Crompton of Stone), and Catherine, who md Oliver Richardson.
Richard Rawson, son of Richard, a merchant in London, was made Alderman of Farringdon Extra in 1475 & Sheriff London in 1476. He md Isebella Craford, a descendant of the Crafords of Northumberland. He dd in 1483, bur at church of St Mary Magdalen, Milk Street, London. By his will, he gave many charitable and devotional legacies, including the church at Fryston & repairing highways in Yorkshire. Isabelle, his wife, dd in 1497, bur on Milk St by the side of her husband. By her will,she gave sev legacies, one to the free Chapel of Gressenhall, Norfolk Co,of which her son, Nicholas, was master.
Richard Rawson, Sheriff of London, son of Richard of Fryston, Yorkshire, England, and Grandson of Robert of the same place, who md Agnes dau of Thomas Mares and lived during the time of Richard II & was probably born previous to the 14th century.
LIFE OF EDWARD RAWSON, Grandfather and DAVID RAWSON, father of EDWARD RAWSON,
Secretary Mass Bay Colony:
Edward, grandfather of Edward, was a merchant, dealing in silks & woolen goods & lived in Colnbrook, Langley Marsh Parish, Buckinghamshire-abt 17 miles west of London. A man of considerable property, dd at an early age & left 2 sons: Henry and David. His wife, Bridget Warde, remd Thomas Woodward, Esq of Lincoln's Inn, Middlesex Co. His will was dated 16 Feb 1603 & proved 4 May 1604. His children were born in Colnbrook.
Henry, the eldest, received a magnificent gift from his father's estate & established himself in London as a Merchant tailor. David was to receive 200 pounds upon reaching 21 & again at the dth of his mother, to have the homestead in Colnbrook. Bridget & Henry were executors of the estate. David
served as apprentice tailor & established a home in London, md Margaret Wilson (Minister Wilson of Windsor's dau). He too died early, leaving 3 small children: William, Edward and Dorothy.
Margaret the dau of Rev William Wilson, DD of Merton College, Oxford, Prebendary of St Paul's & Rochester Cathedrals. He held the rectory of Cliffe in the county of Kent & in 1584 became Canon of St George's chapel, Windsor Castle. She was the sis to Edward Wilson, MD of London, who abt 1633 gave 1000 pounds sterling to Bay Colony & sis to Rev John Wilson, Minister of the first church in Boston; also grand-niece of Edmond Grindall,DD, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Edward was surrounded by relatives at his young age, who enjoyed the
benefits of education and occupied high positions in life. Gillingham,Dorset-
shire, England is presumed to be his birthplace, but in 1616, his Father rcded himself as citizen & merchant tailor of London, Edward being 14 mo. At 13, Edward's mother dd. 2 yrs later, his Uncle Rev John Wilson removed to New England, arriving in Salem, Mass in 1630. Within 4 yrs Uncle Edmond Wilson died, leaving only Henry residing at the old homestead in Colnbrook. Edward may have resided here while attending school.
Edward next appears in Gillingham, Dorsethsire, at the home of Richard
Perne, whose dau he md. Their 1st child bn here & Mr Perne dd here in April, 1636. He left a will, executed April 10, in which he names Edward as one of the overseers and his wife Rachel to be executrix. Within 2 yrs Edward & his family left for America, arriving at Newbury in 1657.
April 19, 1638, Edward chosen as Pub Notary & Registor of Newbury, was annually elected until 1647. He assumed many other pub duties & as early as 1638 was one of the deputies to represent the town at general ct & re-elected nearly all successive yrs until 1650. He was then chosen as Sec of Mass Bay Colony & held this position for 36 yrs. Taking his seat at the May session, 1638, he & sev other deputies were fined $5.00 each for being absent when court was called. On Sep 6 he was appointed commissioner for Newbury, also one of a committee to settle the plantation of Winnicumet (Hampton, N.H.), also on a committee to levy taxes.
June 18, 1645, he was chosen Clerk of the House of Deputies, on a committee to investigate & collect debts due, to look after rattlers at Hampton & Salisbury, to lay out the bounds of Exeter, etc. (See story for
details). Many grants of land, amounting in total about 4000 acres, were from
time to time assigned to him for special services rendered the country. He was demanded most of his time, but he also was overseer for many wills: Henry Webb, a rich Boston merchant, Capt Robert Keayne, a wealthy merchant & one of the founders of Mass (Captain Keayne's wife was sis to Rev John Wilson, 1st minister of Boston, so he probably knew Edward at a young age and knew of his
character).
Edward's rcds show constancy 7 faithfulness as Clerk, while his plain legible style of penmanship brings a sense of relief & satisfaction to all its readers. He was early styled as "eloquent Inditer." He obviously had his pecularities, but the rcd he left behind of srvcs rendered will bear comparison with many other of workers during those early & trying experiences in Colony life.
Col Joseph L Chester, in his gen of the Taylor fam, referred to Sec Rawson, saying, "He became one of the most important men in New England. The only blot on his memory was his being among the most forward & relentless of the persecutors of the Quakers, a fact owing perhaps partly to his official position, but which also shows that in spite of his great abilities & otherwise irreproachable career, he could not escape the popular fanaticism of the time."
By the fact that he, so soon aft arriving at Newbury & taking the Freeman's oath, was among other public trusts, Commissioner for the trila of
Causes, Revisor of the Laws, etc., we may reasonably conclude that he possessed considerable knowledge of the law (perhaps acquiring it in the ofc of Thomas Woodward, Esq of Lincoln's Inn, 2nd husb of his grandmother, Bridgett Warde Rawson Woodward).
On the news reaching Boston of the dth of Charles II & orders having been received to proclaim James II as King, preparations were made to perform the ceremony with usual pomp & display customary on such occasions, & on Monday, April 20, 1685, surrounded by the Gov & assistants, all on horseback, with thousands of people and 8 foot companies, amid the beating of drums, sounding of trumpets, and the discharge of musketry and cannon, the proclamation was announced by Mr Edward Rawson.
55 yrs aft his death, & as old is replaced by new, this time the object being to rcd an expression of esteem for Justice Edward Bromfield, whose residence was on "Rawson Lane", the "street going to Roxbury" was named "Malborough St", then later to "WA St", & Tremonton St now devided the tract of land once owned by Secr Rawson.
On 6 May 1674, Edward & Rachel Rawson deeded a lot to their "now eldest son Wm." In 1676, they presented him with another, upon which was probably dry goods store of Wm Rawson, where he conducted business for sev yrs Mr Rawson was fully in sympathy with the inhabitants of Mass, in their decided opposition to the unwelcome & contemptible trio: Andros, Dudley & Randolph. He took a firm stand in the interest of the people, that they might not lose their Charter privileges, held in his personal custody the books & papers to prevent their going into the hands of this trio. We believe this to be his last closing act in his long & valuable career as a public servant.
Rachel Rawson dd before 11 Oct 1677 & Edward dd 27 Aug 1693. They had 12 children. 20 years after the their marriage in England, Rachel's widow mother dd, leaving a will, dated 31 March 1656, including a lease which was to hold for 99 yrs. It showed her maiden name as Green. At the time of their mg a deed given in trust to Thomas Danford et al, showed Edward Rawson receiving 300 pounds frm Rachel's fthr, to which he was to add 600 pounds of his own funds, to purchase lands, held jointly, so that in the event of his dth, Rachel wd be cared for. Mr Perne dd before contributing his part, but he gave his word to Rachel's mthr that he would still do as his fthr/law had asked, Mrs. Perne giving him the sum, and in Dec 1660, he executed a mortgage deed of his homestead to Thomas Danforth, et al, in trust for the use of his wife, Rachel.
In 1692 Rawson suffered the loss of this dau, Rebecca, whose tragic fate is record by Whittier in his leaves from Margaret Smith's Journal. She had been deceived in her mg with Thomas Rumsey, who claimed to be a son of "Lady Haile, according to an affidavit still preserved in the State House, & who deserted her immediately upon arrival in England. While on her voyage home to rejoin her fthr, aft living some yrs in England, the ship was wrecked by an earthquake in Jamaica & all aboard perished. Her fthr survived her but a short time, passing away Aug 1693, prob at home of his son Wm, who then lived in Dorchester.
A portrait painted when Rawson was 55, is in possession of the New England Historic Genealogical Soc.
This was from the Mass. Pub. H. Vol. 7 pgs 280 3/4 295 inclusive, UT Gen Society "Hist of Edward Rawson". Compiled by Fern R Morgan, Provo UT.
In Coffin's History of Newbury, there are various public acts & employments are more fully narrated. Undoubtedly, he must have possessed more than ordinary talent for business, as well as a large share of public spirit to be so soon honored by his fellow townsmen, & to have taken his seat at the age of 23 among the legislature of the colony. From 1650 he was annually re-elected sec until the usurpation of the gov by Sir Edmund Audios, in 1686, when Randolph succeeded him.
In 1649, Mr Joshua Pilsbury lived on the farm which was owned & occupied by Edward Rawson in Newbury. The meadow near the hill, known as Turkey Hill, still bears the name of "Rawson Meadow". After his removal to Boston, his residence was on "Rawson's Lane," & here he is supposed to have dd. This lane bore his name until near 1890, when it was changed to "Broadfield St." Here he owned somed acres of land, which bordered on the common or training field, out of which he sold a no. of house lots.
He & his wife were members of what was called the First Church, over which Rev John Wilson was pastor. After Mr Wilson died, the Synod of 1662 was divided on the question"Who are subjects of Baptism?" & this divided the group, out of which grew the old South Society of Boston; so popularly known.
He is believed to be author of a bk published in 1691, entitled "The Revolution of New England Justified," also one called, "The Gen Laws & Liberties Concerning the Inhabitants of the Mo. etc., fal., 1660."
2 sons went back to England to live, 2 daus cannot be traced, & 2 sons settled in this country, Wm & Grindal. The Rawson Coat of Arms is a proof that the name is ancient and bears distinction. The origin of this emblem is accounted for by the following legend: "Far back in the blood-stained history of England, there was a strong fortress or castle in possession of the enemy, which it was desireable to capture. Some attempts had been made but without success. There was a bold, energetic, patriotic young officer in the King's army by the name of Rawson, who voluntiered to organize an expedition for its reduction, if allowed a certain number of men. The proposition was accepted, the expedition was successful, & to reward the young officer for his daring skill & bravery, he was presented with this coat of arms." Whether the story is true or not cannot be affirmed,but it is a fact that it has existed for several hundred years & is on rcd at Herald's College of Arms. It is composed of an escutcheon, representing an old knightly shield, the lower 1/2 black, the upper 1/2 azure blue; the center a castle, with 4 towers in gold; crest over a raven's head black bearing on the neck drops of gold. The motto underneath, "Lous Virtutis Actio" may be freely rendered,"The deed of bravery is its own praise". The sentiments seems to be Strength, Strategy, Watchfulness. The Raven obtained possession by force & hold the precious reward in its beak.
- BIR,MG,DTH: Fam Group Record: "Rawson Fam Memorials pg 8-9, Braintree Town rcds pp 674-676; Mass W 1 Vol 7 pp 4-Utah Gen Archives" subm by Lois Owen Chapman from pg 215 Rawson Gen Book-copy of Pam Hallmark Wagner. Also FGR with Edward as a child, "Ancestry of Edward Rawson, pg 9/13 of pg 217 Rawson Gen Bk. Shows Birth as Gillingham and under on Chr line says "of London, London, England".