Today Watertown, Massachusetts was in the news. I kept hearing the name of the town over and over again and it kept ringing a bell. When I got home I decided to look in my genealogy program and see if I had ancestors that had lived there. I found out that I do have ancestors that lived in Watertown. I have not done much research on them, as I only found out about them in the last few years.

Watertown, Massachusetts – Google Maps

Watertown, Massachusetts was founded in 1630 by Richard Saltonstall. Within a few years, two of my ancestors had moved their families to Watertown.

John Traine and his wife Margaret came to Massachusetts from England in 1635 and by 1640 they were in Watertown for the birth of their first child.

Robert Jennison was in Watertown in 1637 when his first daughter was born.

A grandson of John Traine married a granddaughter of Robert Jennison. Their great granddaughter was the mother of my great, great grandfather Solomon Row.

Watertown, Massachusetts – Google Maps

At one time Watertown had a larger population than Boston. Watertown also played an important role in the Revolutionary War, especially when the British occupied Boston. Shortly after his famous ride Paul Revere moved his family to Watertown for safekeeping. I also remember reading about Watertown in a book that I read that tells the story of Paul Revere from the point of view of his horse. You can read about this book in my post: Mr. Revere and I

I also found that John Traine is an ancestor of Calvin Coolidge, so at least one ancestor of a President lived in Watertown.

Another interesting thing that I found out about John and Margaret Traine, is that they came to Massachusetts as servants. I found myself reflecting on the reasons why our ancestors came to America from Europe. Many of them came because of religious or political persecution, but they also came to take jobs and build a new and better life. They had to work hard to make a life in a new place. Unfortunately, this is not always the case today.

I found out a lot of interesting little facts about Watertown but will not share all of them here. I will however share that Helen Keller attended school at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown and also that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is buried in Watertown.

Steven