"It was not until 1637 that Walter and John Deane, brothers, arrived, they coming from the Taunton, England, section, and settling at Taunton, Massachusetts, then known as Cohannet. They were both original purchasers of the town and both took up farms on the west bank of "Taunton Great River," about a mile from the "Green." The open traveled way from Taunton through these lands soon gained the name of Dean road, and Dean street it is to this day. Walter Dean was a tanner by trade, and was a man of importance in his day."
...
"Walter Deane, born in CHard, ten miles from Taunton, England, about 1618, came to New England in 1637, and became one of the esteemed residents of Taunton, Massachusetts. He married Eleanor Strong, daughter of Richard Strong, of Taunton, England, who, with her brother, Elder John Strong, came to New England, in the ship "Mary and John" in 1630."
"The line of descent is through their eldest son, Joseph Dean, who is of record in 1684, as a cordwainer in Taunton, Massachusetts, and as of Dighton in 1728. He died not later than February 11, 1729, leaving a widow Mary. He was a deacon of the church and the first town clerk of Dighton, although his home was on Assonet Neck. By will dated December 23, 1728, he made bequests to his wife Mary, to sons Joseph (2), James and Samuel; to his grandson, Joseph (3); to his daughter Sarah (Dean) Read and to her children. Sarah Dean married Joseph Read, of Freetown (Fall River), and her only sister Esther, born in 1694, died in 1707."
