Francis Chickering was an early settler of Dedham, Massachusetts who served in the Great and General Court of Massachusetts [1] and on that town's Board of Selectmen for 15 years. [2] [3] He was also a teacher in the first public school in America, today well known as the Dedham Public Schools. [4]
He arrived in Dedham in 1637 from Suffolk, England with his wife, Ann, and admitted as a freeman in 1640. [1] [a] Together they had Elizabeth in 1638, Bethia in 1640, and Mercy in 1648. [1] He was possibly the brother of Henry Chickering, with whom he served in the General Court. [1] He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. [1]
Chickering was a part owner of a mill on Mother Brook, the first man made canal in America. The Town was displeased with the "insufficient performance" of the mill under Nathaniel Whiting's management [6] [7] and so, in 1652, Whiting sold his mill and all his town rights to John Dwight, Chickering, Joshua Fisher, and John Morse for £250. [8] Whiting purchased it back the following year, however. [8]
Though the schoolhouse was still standing, in 1661 school was kept in Chickering's home. [4] He signed the Dedham Covenant.
He was an ancestor of Jabez Chickering and Hannah B. Chickering. [9]
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