Living Family Archive

Dedham, Massachusetts

Dedham, Massachusetts

Stories set here

Across the Atlantic to a Lasting Family HomeThe family traces its line to Mr. William Fairbanks in Yorks in 1445, then recounts Jonathan Fayerbanke's marriage to Grace Smith Lee, their seven children, and their voyage to Boston in his own ship in 1633. Jonathan moved to Contentment in 1636, built the enduring Dedham house, acquired land, joined the township covenant and eventually the church, and prospered as a farmer. The house is described as America's oldest standing timber frame dwelling, a National Landmark continuously owned by the family and never mortgaged, with replicas including one at Boston Commons. The passage also describes the wider family's political activity, Patriot and Union service, and slaveholding by some landed members. It retains inconsistent arrival chronology and contradictory wording about Jonathan's death relative to Grace's.

Events here

June 19, 1676
Death of Grace
December 5, 1668; also described as '11 year later' than Grace's death
Death of Jonathan Fayerbanke
Said to have died at 74 and to be buried in Essex, England. The relative chronology contradicts Grace's stated death in 1676.

Family corrections

Notes sent in by the family and approved on review. They sit alongside the original record — the book's wording is never changed.

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