“John came from the parish of Hingham, County of Norfolk Eng., to Hing. in the Massachusetts Bay, in 1638; and on the 18th of Sept of that year received a grant of land containing six acres on what is now South St., at or near the corner of Hersey St. Daniel Cushing, the fourth town clerk of our Hing., made the foll. record concerning the arrival of John Beal, Senr., and his family, viz.: ‘1638. John Beal, shoemaker, with his wife and five sons and three daughters and two servants, came from Old Hingham and settled in New Hingham.’ He was admitted a freeman in 1639, and in 1649 and 1659 was chosen to represent the town at the General Court of the Colony. His first wife, Nazareth Hobart, who was the mother of [some of] his children, was a dau. of Edmund and Margaret (Dewey) Hobart. She was b. at Eng. ab. 1600, and d. at Hing. 23 Sept. 1658. For his second wife he m. March 10, 1659, Mrs. Mary Jacob, the wid. of Nicholas Jacob. She d. at Hing. 15 June, 1681. John d. 1 Apr 1688. In noticing the death of the latter, David Hobart (s. of Rev. Peter), made the following record: ‘April 1, 1688, my Uncle John Beal died suddenly.’ Judge Sewall also wrote under the same date: ‘Father Beal of Hingham dies, æt. 100 yrs.’ In his will of 27 Sept. 1687, names ch. and gr. ch., leaving legacies to each.”
[Note: like many older sources, this assumes John Beal had only 2 wives and missed his first wife, Frances Ripley. See Source:TAG, 13:263.]
