Maj. Gen. Humphrey Atherton

Abt 1603 - 1661  (~ 58 years)

• Name	Humphrey Atherton
  Prefix	Maj. Gen.
  Birth	Abt 1603  [1]
  Gender	Male
  Alternate death	17 Sep 1661	Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts   [2]
  Death	17 Sep 1661	Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts   [1]
  Burial	20 Sep 1661	Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts   [1]
  Person ID	I23238	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of JTS, Ancestor of LDN, Ancestor of TWK
  Last Modified	10 Feb 2024

  
  

  Family	Mary   d. Between 21 Feb 1671 and 16 Sep 1672, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  Marriage	Bef 28 Sep 1628  [1]
  Children	+ 1. Elizabeth Atherton,   b. Bef 28 Sep 1628, England d. 15 May 1678 (Age > 49 years)   2. Margaret Atherton,   b. Abt 1633   d. 17 Aug 1672, Newton, Middlesex, Massachusetts (Age ~ 39 years) + 3. Rest Atherton,   b. Bef 26 May 1639   d. 3 Nov 1708 (Age > 69 years) + 4. Thankful Atherton,   b. Bef 29 Apr 1644   d. 11 Apr 1719, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts (Age > 74 years)
  Family ID	F13979	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Feb 2024

  
  

• Notes

  Possibly a son of Edmund Atherton of Winstanley, Lancashire, who died 10 Apr 1613. Whether or not this is correct, it seems clear from multiple pieces of evidence that he was from Lancashire. Attempts to identify his specific origin have been hampered by the fact that a surprising number of Lancashire individuals named Humphrey Atherton could, chronologically, have been the emigrant. He is first seen in New England in Dorchester, 1636. He was a soldier and a magistrate. He was killed 17 Sep 1661; it is said that this happened when, on the way back to Dorchester from a review of the troops on Boston Common, he was thrown from his horse when it stumbled over a cow lying in the road. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1636-1638 (citation details below) notes that no eyewitness account of this exists.

  
  

• Sources

  [S7376] The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1636-1638 by Ian Watson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2024. [S3034] John C. J. Brown, "The Atherton Family in England." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 35:67, Jan 1881.