"12 William Haskell,3 known as 'Ensign Haskell,' was born November 6, 1670, resided in Gloucester, Mass., where he died January 17, 1731, leaving an estate of £2,565, of which vessels, warehouse, salt and a negro man formed a part.
He settled on or near the ancestral property, which being favorably situated for maritime pursuits, he engaged in both fishing and agricultural employments. He was one of those who in the first quarter of the eighteenth century engaged in a vigorous prosecution of the fishing business, but he appears to have been the only one who so carried it on in the section where he lived, and the settlement of his estate shows that he pursued it with success.
He was usually called 'Ensign Haskell' from the office he held in a military company, and was deacon of the second church for a few years prior to his death; also a selectman at different times."
