John Metcalfe

1622 - 1690  (68 years)

• Name	John Metcalfe
  	to New England
  Birth	5 Sep 1622	Norwich, Norfolk, England   [4, 6, 8, 11, 14]
  Immigration	1637 (14 years)  [1, 14]
  In 1637 he came to New England, age 15, on board the Rose with his parents.
  Religion	1643 (20 years)	Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [14]
  John was admitted to the Dedham Church in 1643.
  Freeman	26 May 1647 (24 years)  [2, 9, 14, 16]
  On 26 May 1647 he was admitted as a freeman.
  Moved To	About 1652 (29 years)	Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [11, 14]
  John and Mary came to Medfield about 1652, with their three children.
  Land/House	1658 (35 years)	Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [11]
  John Metcalf received a grant of a piece of land in Medfield next to the burying-ground, he to make the division fence in 1658 "at the time the town fence in the burying-ground." Robert Mason had liberty given him to "take sedar to mak singell for his house."
  	John Metcalf House
  Other Will	1664 (41 years)  [14]
  In 1664 his father died and left him "One ffeather bed & Bolster, my second Book of Martyrs, Mr. Perkins second Book, Luther on the gala, one silver spoone, one pair of sheets, one long chest in the upper chamber, one Diaper Broadcloth."
  Offices Held	1671 (48 years)	Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [11, 14]
  Starting in 1671 he served on the Medfield Board of Selectmen six years.
  Occupation	1680 (57 years)	Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [14]
  According to Wheeler (1924) "About 1680 the town of Medfield voted a bonus for the erection of a grist mill upon the Charles River and a dam and mill were built by several associates of whom John Metcalfe was the first. This mill was upon the Charles river at Rockville in the town of Millis and was the first mill upon that portion of the river. It was burned by an Indian prior to 1685, but rebuilt, and the Indian was prosecuted for his crime."
  Offices Held	1682 (59 years)	Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [11]
  He was a commissioner in 1682.
  Death	8 Oct 1690	Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [3, 11, 12, 14, 15]
  Burial	Aft 8 Oct 1690	Vine Lake Cemetery, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Vine Lake Cemetery, Medfield, Massachusetts   [3]
  	Gravestone of John Metcalf Plot: Grave #471
  Siblings	3 brothers and 7 sisters
  1. Michael Metcalfe,   b. 13 Nov 1617, Norwich, Norfolk, England bur. 20 Jan 1617/18, Norwich, Norfolk, England  (Age ~ 0 years)   2. Mary Metcalfe,   b. 14 Oct 1618, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 5 May 1676, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  (Age 57 years) + 3. Michael Metcalfe,   b. 29 Aug 1620, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 24 Dec 1654, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  (Age 34 years) ▻ Mary Fairbanks,  m. 2 Apr 1644 + 4. John Metcalfe,   b. 5 Sep 1622, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 8 Oct 1690, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony  (Age 68 years) ▻ Mary Chickering,  m. 22 Mar 1647   5. Sarah Metcalfe,   b. 10 Sep 1624, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 22 May 1676, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  (Age 51 years)   6. Elizabeth Metcalfe,   b. 14 Oct 1626, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 1 May 1711  (Age 84 years)   7. Martha Metcalfe,   b. 27 Mar 1628, Norwich, Norfolk, England   8. Deacon Thomas Metcalfe,   b. 27 Dec 1629, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 16 Nov 1702, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  (Age 72 years)   9. Ann Metcalfe,   b. 1 Mar 1631, Norwich, Norfolk, England bur. 13 May 1632, Norwich, Norfolk, England  (Age ~ 1 years)   10. Jane Metcalfe,   b. 4 Mar 1632, Norwich, Norfolk, England   11. Rebeka Metcalfe,   b. 5 Apr 1635, Norwich, Norfolk, England d. 8 Dec 1667, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  (Age 32 years)
  Patriarch & Matriarch	Rev. Leonard Metcalfe,   b. Abt 1541, Appersett, Yorkshire, England Appersett is also called Apperside. bur. 22 Sep 1616, Tatterford, Norfolk, England  (Age ~ 75 years)  (Grandfather)  Elizabeth,   b. Abt 1510, England   (2 x Great Grandmother)
  Person ID, Branch	I443	Roy Line
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

• Notes

  Birth: The date could have been 15 September. Death: Harris (1852), Goodwin (1856), and Metcalf (1898) give his death date as 27 November 1675. [4, 6, 8]

  
  

Father	Michael Metcalfe,   b. 1586, Tatterford, Norfolk, England d. 27 Dec 1664, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 78 years)
Mother	Sara Elwyn,   c. 13 Jun 1593, Hingham, Norfolk, England d. 30 Nov 1644, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age ~ 51 years)
Family ID	F251	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart




Spouse / Partner	Mary Chickering,   b. 1630   d. 15 Mar 1697/98, Medfield, Norfolk County, Province of Massachusetts Bay (Age 68 years)
Marriage	22 Mar 1647	Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16]
	Marriage Record of Mary Chickering and John Metcalf
Age at Marriage	He : 24 years and 6 months - She : ~ 17 years and 3 months.
Children	3 sons and 5 daughters
1. John Metcalfe,   b. 21 Mar 1648, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. 1738, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 89 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]     2. Michael Metcalfe,   b. 20 Sep 1650, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. 9 Dec 1691, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 41 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]     3. Mary Metcalfe,   b. 2 Oct 1652, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. probably young  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]     4. Elizabeth Metcalfe,   b. Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. 27 Nov 1735, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]     5. Joseph Metcalfe,   b. 22 Nov 1658, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. 1741, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 82 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth] +   6. Experience Metcalfe,   b. 16 Oct 1661, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. 18 Feb 1730/31, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 69 years) ▻ Isaac Wheeler  m. 1682/83     7. Hannah Metcalfe,   b. 13 Oct 1664, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. 20 Dec 1719, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 55 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]     8. Mary Metcalfe,   b. 2 Jun 1668, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. d. 17 Feb 1726/27, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 58 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
Family ID	F173	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
Last Modified	21 Jul 2025




• Pedigree

  ← Click to display 1John Metcalfe(1622 – 1690) 2Michael Metcalfe(1586 – 1664) 4Rev. Leonard Metcalfe(Abt 1541 – 1616) 8 16 17 9 18 19 5Amy( – 1602) 10 20 21 11 22 23 3Sara Elwyn(1593 – 1644) 6Thomas Elwyn(1566 – 1648) 12William Elwyn(1540 – 1611) 24 25 13Alice(Abt 1542 – 1603) 26 27 7Elizabeth Bensley(1570 – 1606) 14Simon Bensley(Abt 1543 – 11 Feb 1595/96) 28Thomas Bensley(Abt 1505 – 1555) 29Joane(Abt 1507 – ) 15Alice Parker(Abt 1545 – 1622) 30John Parker(Abt 1505 – Abt 1555) 31Elizabeth(Abt 1510 – )

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 5 Sep 1622 - Norwich, Norfolk, England Religion - 1643 - Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Marriage - 22 Mar 1647 - Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Moved To - About 1652 - Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Land/House - 1658 - Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Offices Held - 1671 - Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Occupation - 1680 - Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Offices Held - 1682 - Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Death - 8 Oct 1690 - Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Burial - Aft 8 Oct 1690 - Vine Lake Cemetery, Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources 🟢 Primary Evidence 🟡 Secondary Evidence 🟠 Tertiary Evidence 🔴 Unreliable Evidence

  [S1906] Banks, Charles Edward. The Planters of the Commonwealth, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1930). [S1571] Farmer, John, Genealogical Register of First Settlers of New England, (Lancaster, Massachusetts: Carter, Andrews, & Company, 1829). [S14] Ancestry.com, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current® http://findagrave.com, (Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Memorial ID 36289688 John Metcalf. [S1904] Goodwin, Nathaniel. Genealogical Notes on Contributions to the Family History of Some of the First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts, (Hartford, Connecticut: Nathaniel Goodwin, 1856). [S95] Hanson, Robert Brand. The Vital Records of Dedham, Massachusetts volume 3: Marriages, (Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1989). [S699] Harris, Luther Metcalf. "Metcalfe Family,", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume VI (1852)). [S188] Holbrook Research Institute, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011), Marriage Record of Mary Chickering and John Metcalf. [S1905] Metcalf, Isaac. Metcalf Genealogy, (Cleveland, Ohio: The Imperial Press, 1898). [S1685] Paige, Lucius R. "List of Freeman", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume III, 1849). [S572] Reed, Paul C, and Smith, Dean Crawford. "The English Ancestry of Peter Noyes" , (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume 152, July 1998). [S82] Tilden, William S. History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts 1650-1886 , (Boston: George H. Ellis, Printers, 1887). [S1222] Torrey, Clarence Almon. "Francis Chickering of Dedham, Massachusetts", (New Haven, Connecticut: The American Genealogist, volume XVII, number 2, October 1940). [S91] Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriage Prior to 1700, (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985). [S485] Wheeler, Daniel Merrick. The Wheeler Family of Rutland, Mass. and Some of their Ancestors, (Pittsfield, Massachusetts: by the author, 1924). [S93] Woods, Henry Ernest. Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the year 1850, (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1903). [S808] Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692 on the Basis of Farmer's Register, volume III, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1861).