Individual Details
Rachel
(Ca 1590 - 15 September 1651)
Rachel Brackett Saunders’s maiden name and place of origin are unknown. She was born around 1590 in England. She married Peter Brackett (1585-1616) of Sudbury, Suffolk, England and had four children with him, one of whom died in infancy. After the death of Peter, Rachel married Martin Saunders. Rachel had seven more children with Martin, and one of those children died very young.
In April 1635, Rachel and Martin loaded up their minor children on the ship Planter and headed to Boston. Also with them were Rachel’s adult daughter and her husband. Her two oldest children, Richard and Peter Brackett, had made the trip in 1630. Rachel and Martin were in Boston for a few years prior to settling in 1639 in what would become Braintree. At the time they settled there, it was called Mount Woolaston after an earlier settler who left the area in 1625. Braintree was not controlled by the Pilgrims and was known to have a more liberal lifestyle. Of course, that did not prevent those Puritans from trying to interfere. In 1627, they became upset with the wild ways of settler Thomas Morton who erected a Maypole to dance around. The Puritans had Morton arrested and expelled from the colony, even though they had no authority over that settlement.
Rachel and Martin Saunders were among the first permanent settlers in Braintree. In 1639 the General Court at Boston gave permission to a Martin Saunders to "keepe a house of intertainement at Mount Woolaston." The next year Saunders was "alowed" to"draw wine" there. So, it seems he ran a pub.
Rachel’s nine living children(Brackett and Saunders) all settled in the area of Braintree. By 1800, many of the residents of Braintree were her descendants which lead to her being considered the grandmother of Braintree. Rachel died in Braintree on September 15, 1651.
Source: Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Project.
In April 1635, Rachel and Martin loaded up their minor children on the ship Planter and headed to Boston. Also with them were Rachel’s adult daughter and her husband. Her two oldest children, Richard and Peter Brackett, had made the trip in 1630. Rachel and Martin were in Boston for a few years prior to settling in 1639 in what would become Braintree. At the time they settled there, it was called Mount Woolaston after an earlier settler who left the area in 1625. Braintree was not controlled by the Pilgrims and was known to have a more liberal lifestyle. Of course, that did not prevent those Puritans from trying to interfere. In 1627, they became upset with the wild ways of settler Thomas Morton who erected a Maypole to dance around. The Puritans had Morton arrested and expelled from the colony, even though they had no authority over that settlement.
Rachel and Martin Saunders were among the first permanent settlers in Braintree. In 1639 the General Court at Boston gave permission to a Martin Saunders to "keepe a house of intertainement at Mount Woolaston." The next year Saunders was "alowed" to"draw wine" there. So, it seems he ran a pub.
Rachel’s nine living children(Brackett and Saunders) all settled in the area of Braintree. By 1800, many of the residents of Braintree were her descendants which lead to her being considered the grandmother of Braintree. Rachel died in Braintree on September 15, 1651.
Source: Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Project.
Events
| Birth | Ca 1590 | England | |||
| Immigration | 1635 | on the ship Planter; first in Boston, then Braintree, Boston, Massachusetts Bay | |||
| Death | 15 September 1651 | Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay | |||
| Marriage | Martin Saunders | ||||
| Alt name | Saunders |
Families
| Spouse | Peter Brackett (1585 - 1616) |
| Child | Rachel Brackett (1614 - 1684) |
| Child | Peter Brackett (1608 - 1688) |
| Child | Captain Richard Brackett (1610 - 1690) |
| Child | Jonathan Brackett (1616 - 1616) |
| Spouse | Martin Saunders (1595 - 1658) |
| Child | Martin Saunders (1621 - 1622) |
| Child | Leah Saunders (1623 - 1707) |
| Child | Judith Saunders (1625 - 1651) |
| Child | Daniel Saunders (1632 - 1634) |
| Child | John Saunders (1627 - 1689) |
| Child | Martin Saunders (1630 - 1706) |
| Child | Mary Saunders (1619 - 1697) |