Familypedia
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
in: People from Massachusetts

List of people from Massachusetts

Edit
Flag of Massachusetts

State Flag of Massachusetts

Massachusetts in United States (zoom)

Location of Massachusetts in the U.S. map

Flag-map of Massachusetts

This is a list of people who were born in/raised in, lived in, or have significant relations with the American state of Massachusetts. It includes both people born in the Commonwealth, and other people who are from the Commonwealth. People from Massachusetts are called "Bay Staters" after the Commonwealth's nickname.

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness.
Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

A[]

  • Gov. Samuel Adams (1722-1803), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 4th Governor of Massachusetts, 3rd Lt. Gov. of Massachusetts, President of the Massachusetts Senate, Delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, graduated from Harvard College
  • Hon. Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts United States Ambassador to England during the American Civil War
  • Hon. Col. Charles Francis Adams (1835-1915), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Washington, DC, President of the Union Pacific Railroad, Union Army Colonel in the American Civil War,
  • John Quincy Adams (1833-1894), born in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts and died in Washington, DC, 6th President of the United States, 8th United States Secretary of State, 14th Death of the United States House of Representatives, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, United States Senator from Massachusetts, Member of the Massachusetts Senate
  • Dea. Abiel Abbot (1741-1809), born in Andover Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hamphsire, Deacon, American Revolutionary War Soldier, Paymaster for Baldwins Regiment, took 2 companies to Fort Ticonderoga under General Bugoyne for it's defense
  • The Rev. Dr. Abiel Abbot (1770-1828), born in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard in 1787 and received Doctor of Divinity (D.D.), ordained in Oct 1795 as Minister of the First Church of Coventry, Connecticut and left Coventry in 1811, appointed Principal of Dummer Academy in the same year, resigned in 1819 and retired on 9 Sep 1848
  • Abigail Abbot (1734-1807), born and died in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • Anne Wales Abbot (1808-1908), born in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
  • Benjamin Abbot (1661-1703), born and died in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • Benjamin Abbot (1686-1748), born and died in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • Dorcas Abbot (1744-1829), born in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
  • Elizabeth Abbot (1766-1853), born in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • John Abbot (1648-1721), born and died in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • John Abbot (1674-1754), born and died in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • John Abbot (1735-1818), born and died in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • John Abbot (1704-1793), born and died in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
  • William Abbot (1748-1793), born in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
  • Rhoda Abbott (1776-1816), born in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
  • Abraham Abell (1639-1639), born and died in Weymouth, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • Benjamin Abell (1650-1699), born in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts and died in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut
  • Sgt. Caleb Abell (1646-1731), born in Rehboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts and died in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, held the rank of Sergeant, Selectmen of Norwich in 1682, Constable of Norwich in 1684 and 1706
  • Caleb Abell (1763-1842), born Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts and died in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut
  • Experience Abell (1653-1705), born in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts and died in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut
  • Joshua Abell (1649-1724), born in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts and died in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut
  • Joshua Abell (1695-1732), born and died in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts
  • Mary Abell (1642-1716), born in Weymouth, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts
  • Preserved Abell (1644-1724), born and died in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts
  • Robert Abell (1721-1800), born and died in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts
  • Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Ambassador to the United Kingdom
  • Charles Francis Adams (1835-1915), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Washington, DC, U.S. Civil War General
  • Charles Francis Adams (1866-1954), born in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 44th U.S. Secretary of Navy
  • Charles Frances Adams (1910-1999), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Dover, Norfolk County, Massachusetts industrialist, 1st president of Raytheon
  • Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Washington, DC, historian, author, secretary to Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
  • Ivers Whitney Adams (1838-1914), born in Ashburnham, Worcester County, Massachusetts and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Founder of the baseball team, the Boston Red Stockings
  • John Adams (1735-1826), born and died in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Founding Father, 2nd President of the United States
  • John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), born in Quincy, Nofolk County, Massachusetts and died in Washington, DC, 6th President of the United States: 4 Mar 1825-4 Mar 1829, 8th United States Secretary of State: 22 Sep 1817-3 Mar 1825, 14th Dean of the United States House of Representatives: 22 Apr 1844-23 Feb 1848, Member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts: 4 Mar 1831-8 Jun 1848, United States Senator from Massachusetts: 4 Mar 1803-8 Jun 1808, Member of the Massachusetts Senate: 20 Apr 1802-4 Mar 1803
  • John Quincy Adams (1833-1894), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, lawyer and politician
  • Gov. Samuel Adams (1722-1803), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Founding Father of the United States of America, 4th Governor of Massachusetts, 3rd Lt. Gov. of Massachusetts, President of the Massachusetts Senate, Delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, graduated from Harvard College
  • Thomas Amory (1682-1728), born in County Limerick, Ireland and died Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • Thomas Amory, Jr. (1722-1784), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • John Amory (1728-1803), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • Thomas Coffin Amory (1812-1889), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, lawyer, politician, biographer and poet
  • Daniel Appleton (1785-1849), born in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Manhattan, New York, publisher
  • George Swett Appleton (1821-1878), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, publisher
  • Jane Means Appleton (1806-1863), born in Hampton, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, and died in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts, wife of U.S. President Franklin Pierce, First Lady of the U.S.
  • John Appleton (1815-1864), born in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, 4th U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. diplomat
  • Rev. Nathaniel Appleton (1693-1784), born and died in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Congregational minister
  • Thomas Gold Appleton (1812-1884), born in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts and died in Manhattan, New York, writer and art patron
  • Hon. William Appleton (1786-1862), born in Brookfield, Worcester County, Massachusetts and died in Longwood, Norfolk County, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts
  • William Henry Appleton (1814-1899), born in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts, publisher
  • William Sumner Appleton (1874-1947), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, philanthropist, Founder of the Society of the Preservations of New England Antiquities
  • Charles Apthorp (1698-1758), born in England and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Paymaster General to the Royal British Military in Boston, Massachusetts, "He was the wealthiest man in Boston of his time."
  • James Apthorp (1731-1799), born in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • Sarah Wentworth Apthorp (1759-1846), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, poet

B[]

  • James Bowdoin II (1726-1790), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 2nd Governor of Massachusetts
  • Robert Bacon (1860-1919), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Manhattan, New York, U.S. Ambassador to France, 39th U.S. Secretary of State
  • Lt. Col. Robert Low Bacon (1884-1938), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Lake Success, Nassau County, New York, U.S. Congressman, awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
  • Hon. Gasper Griswold Bacon, Sr. (1886-1947), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 51st Lt. Gov. of Massachusetts, President of the Massachusetts Senate
  • Hon. Caspar Griswold Bacon, Jr. (1914-1943), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, Lt. Gov. of Massachusetts, actor
  • Cpl. Loring Bigelow (1837-1862), born in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Corporal in the 13th Massachusetts Regiment during the American Civil War, killed in action
  • Zabdiel Boylston (1679-1766), born and died in Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, physician
  • Nathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838), born in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, mathematician, author
  • Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747-1828), born and died in Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, merchant and philanthropist, benefactor of Harvard University
  • Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (1921-2014), Editor-in-chief of the Washington Post during the Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandal
  • Nathan Bradley I (1631-1701), born and died in Dorchester, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, first family member born in America, in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, in 1631
  • Nathan Bradley, Jr. (1674-1750), born and died in Dorchester, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
  • Nathaniel Bradlee (1746-1813), born and died in Dorchester, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Boston Tea Party participant, member of Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association
  • Samuel Bradlee (1707-1768), born and died in Dorchester, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Constable of Dorchester in 1754
  • Lt. Col. Samuel Bradlee III (-1798), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Lieutenant Colonel in the American Revolutionary War
  • Sarah Bradlee (1740-1835), born in Dorchester, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Dubbed the "Mother of the Boston Tea Party"
  • Josiah Bradlee (1754-1798), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Massachusetts, Boston Tea Party participant m. Hannah Putnam
  • Frederic Hall Bradlee (1807-1888), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Merchant Prince, millionaire
  • Frederick Josiah Bradlee I (1866-1951), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Arlington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Director of the Boston Bank; graduated from Harvard
  • Frederick Josiah Bradlee, Jr. (1892-1970), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts, Chairman of the Massachusetts Parole Board
  • Josiah Bradlee I (1754-1798), born and died in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Founder of whaling firm Josiah Bradlee & Son, Boston Tea Party Participant Private in the American Revolutionary War
  • Josiah Bradlee III (1837-1902), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts, millionaire, graduated from Harvard
  • Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (1921-2014), born in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and died in Washington, DC, Editor-in-chief of the Washington Post during Watergate
  • Hon. John Brooks (1752-1825), 11th Governor of Massachusetts, officer in the American Revolutionary War and present at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Shay's Rebellion and the War of 1812 born and died in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
  • Lt. John Burrill (1631-1703), Commissioner of Assessments, Clerk of the Market, Net Worth: 1, 158 pounds
  • Capt. John Burrill (1657-1721), Treasurer of Salem, Speaker of the House of Massachusetts
  • Col. Theophilus Burrill (1669-1737), Treasurer of Salem, Representative, judge
  • Capt. Ebenezer Burrill (1679-1761), judge, representative, proprietor
  • Samuel Burill (1717-1797), representative
  • Micajah Burrill (1764-1863), businessman (made the first "buffed" bottom shoes)
  • Ebenezer Burrill (1762-1839), representative of Rhode Island, Adjutant General of Rhode Island, businessman

C[]

D[]

  • William Healey Dall (1845-1912), malacologist, paleontologist, and explorer of Alaska
  • Capt. Paul Delano (1745-1842), naval officer
  • Richard Dana (1700-1772), colonial lawyer and politician
  • Francis Dana (1743-1811), Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, U.S. Ambassador to Russia
  • Richard Henry Dana, Sr (1787-1897), writer, poet, critic, and lawyer
  • Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815-1882), lawyer and politician
  • Sen. John Davis (1787-1854), United States Senator from Massachusetts, 14th & 17th Governor of Massachusetts, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th district
  • Capt. Richard Derby (1712-1783), wealthy merchant
  • Elias Hasket "King" Derby (1739-1799): "Father of the East India Trade"
  • Capt. John Derby (1741-1812): Delivered the first news to England of the beginning and ending of the American Revolution in secret
  • Sarah Derby (1747-1774)
  • Joseph Dudley (1647-1720), Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, President of the Council of New England
  • Paul Dudley (1675-1751), Chief Justice of Massachusetts, Member of the Royal Society, Founder of the Dudleian Lectures at Harvard
  • Gen. Joseph Dwight (1703-1765), lawyer, French and Indian War veteran
  • The Rev. Timothy Dwight IV (1752-1817), President of Yale University

E[]

  • William Greenleaf Eliot (1811-1887), educator, Unitarian minister and civic leader
  • Charles William Eliot (1834-1926), President of Harvard University
  • Henry Ware Eliot (1843-1919), industrialist and philanthropist, co-founder of Washington University
  • Charles Eliot (1859-1897), landscape architect
  • The Rev. William Emerson (1770-1811), minister
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), poet
  • Augustus Bradford Endicott (1818-1910), politician
  • William Crowninshield Endicott (1826-1900), 36th United States Secretary of War, politician
  • Gov. William Eustis (1753-1825), 12th Governor of Massachusetts, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, United States Envoy to the Netherlands, 6th United States Secretary of War, American Revolutionary War surgeon and was present at the Battle of Lexington and Concord

F[]

  • Benjamin Franklin, FRS (1706-1790) Founding Father
  • Capt. Robert Bennet Forbes (1804-1889), sea captain, China merchant, ship owner, writer
  • Eliot Forbes (1917-2006), conduction and musicologist

G[]

H[]

J[]

  • Hon. John Coffin Jones, Jr. (1796-1861), 1st United States Consular Agent to the Kingdom of Hawaii

K[]

  • Hon. John Forbes Kerry (1943), 68th United States Secretary of State, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations, Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, United States Senator from Massachusetts, 66th Lt. Gov. of Massachusetts, Vietnam Veteran, receiver of the Silver start, Bronze Star (with Valor), 3 Purple Hearts, Combat Action Ribbon and the Legion of Honor from French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault

L[]

  • Hon. Levi Lincoln (1749-1820), Acting Governor of Massachusetts, 4th United States Attorney General, Acting United States Secretary of State, 7th Lt. Gov. of Massachusetts, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, 4th district
  • Hon. John Amory Lowell (1798-1881), Businessman, philanthropist, sole trustee of the Lowell Institute

M[]

  • Hon. William Manning, Jr. (1614-1691), c.1635 immigrated from England, 1651 was a Highway Surveyor; 1652, 1666, 1668, 1675 and 1679 was Constable of Cambridge, Massachusetts; 1652, 1666-1670, 1672, 1672, 1675-1681 and 1683 was Selectman of Cambridge: 1686 and 1688 was a Member of the Grand Jury of the Court of Sessions; 1675 was a Jury of the Grand Inquest of the Country Court; 1660 he and Edward Oakes were chosen to be on the Committee to build the Cambridge Bridge
  • The Rev. Cotton Mather, FRS (1663-1728), Colonial minister
  • The Rev. Increase Mather (1639-1723), Colonial minister
  • The Hon. Jonathan Mason (1756-1831), Federalist U.S. Senator, representative
  • Gov. Marcus Morton (1784-1864), 16th and 18th Governor of Massachusetts, Acting Governor of Massachusetts, 12th Lt. Gov. of Massachusetts, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts 10th district
  • Hon. Perez Morton (1751-1837), Massachusetts Attorney General, held the rank of Major in the American Revolutionary War

N[]

P[]

  • Col. Thomas Handasyd Perkins (1764-1854): merchant philanthropist
  • James Perkins (1781-1822): Founder of the Boston Atheneaum, pioneer of the China Trade, merchant, philanthropist
  • John Perkins Cushing (1787-1862), China Trade merchant, investor
  • Charles Perkins (1823-1886): Art historian, philanthropist, founder of the Museum of Fine Arts
  • James Putnam (1725-1789): last Attorney General of Massachusetts before the America Revolution; judge and politician in New Brunswick
  • Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam (1718-1790), major general in the American Revolutionary War
  • James Putnam (1756-1838): Canadian politician
  • William Lowell Putnam (1861-1924): American lawyer and banker
  • Col. Hon. Timothy Pickering (1745-1829), 3rd United States Secretary of State, 2nd United States Secretary of War, 5th United States Postmaster General, United States Senator from Massachusetts, Member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
  • Roger Lowell Putnam (1893-1972): politician, businessman
  • Hon. Justice Samuel Putnam (1810-1880), Judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Court

R[]

  • Thomas Rice (1768-1854): Congressman
  • Luther Rice (1783-1836): Baptist clergyman, missionary to India
  • William Marsh Rice (1816-1900): businessman, founder of Rice University
  • Alexander Hamilton Rice (1818-1895): industrialist, Mayor of Boston, 30th Governor of Massachusetts
  • William Whitney Rice (1826-1896): Congressman, Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Brig. Gen. Edmund Rice (1842-1906): Civil War general, Medal of Honor recipient
  • William North Rice (1845-1928): geologist, educator
  • Alexander Hamilton Rice, Jr. (1875-1965): physician, geographer and explorer

S[]

  • Col. Epes Sargent (1690-1762), magistrate and representative
  • Daniel Sargent, Sr. (1730-1806): Wealthy merchant, owner of Sargent's Wharf in Boston
  • Col. Paul Dudley Sargent (1745-1828): Revolution War hero and co-founder of Bowdoin College
  • John Sargent (1750-1824): American Revolution Loyalist officer
  • Maj. Hon. Winthrop Sargent (1753-1820): 1st governor of the Mississippi Territory
  • Daniel Sargent, Jr. (1764-1842): Merchant, politician
  • Col. Henry Sargent (1770-1845): painter and military man
  • Lucius Manlius Sargent (1786-1867): author, anitquarian and temperance advocate
  • Henry Winthrop Sargent (1810-1882): horticulturist and landscape gardner
  • Gen. Horace Binney Sargent (1821-1908): Civil War general, politician
  • Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927): botanist, first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum
  • Epes Sargent (1813-1880): editor, poet and playwright
  • Hon. Francis Williams Sargent (1915-1998): 64th Governor of Massachusetts
  • Gov. James Sullivan (1744-1808), 7th Governor of Massachusetts, 2nd Massachusetts Attorney General
  • Gov. Increase Sumner (1746-1799), 5th Governor of Massachusetts, Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
  • Gov Caleb Strong (1745-1819), United States Senator from Massachusetts, 6th and 10th Governor of Massachusetts, Member of the Massachusetts Senate
  • Col. Hon. James Swan (1754-1830), Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of War and the legislature

T[]

See Also[]

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Familypedia