Snapshot of 1752

John Erving began buying and selling property in Boston early in his career. What made him reach out 100 miles to the west to add to his holdings around 1752? He had cash to spare to make his payment to the Committee of the Great and General Court, the provincial government. By populating his family tree, we can see in what stage of life he was at that time. This record of his Masonic membership fills in some basic details.(1)

John Erving was approaching 60 years of age and had recently joined the St. John's Lodge in Boston. St. John's is the first duly constituted and chartered lodge of Freemasons in the Americas, founded at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in 1733.(2)  Other lodges followed. The various rites of Freemasonry were very popular among Bostonians. Erving would have been rubbing elbows with members such as James Otis, and others from both sides of the political spectrum. The membership card above gives his  date and place of birth as 1693 in Kirkwell, Orkney, Scotland. The "remarks" tell us that in only four years he would rise to the rank of Master. 

At home, the next generation of Ervings was being groomed for their places in society. John's wife, Abigail Phillips, had borne four sons and six daughters, loosing only one, her namesake, in infancy. Their eldest son, John Erving, Jr, had completed his studies at Harvard and their second son, William, was studying there. John Jr. was in England (at least in 1750 when his Commencement would have taken place).(3) His sister, Elizabeth, had married at 17 to his Harvard roommate, James Bowdoin. Bowdoin would become the second Governor of the Commonwealth after the Revolution, while John Jr. would marry the daughter of the current Provincial Governor, William Shirley. Elizabeth and James Bowdoin had their second and final child in 1752. John and Abigail were grandparents.

In the next few years two sons would go to war: William and James; two daughters would marry war heroes: Abigail (the second daughter with this name) and Sarah. George and Ann would also make matches from within the upper crust of New England society. Daughter Mary remained at home.

In 1752 John Erving was well established in Boston. He served as Justice of the Peace, an important political position. 

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Notes: (1)  Image found at Ancestry.com

                  (2)   St. John's lodge history found here

                  (3)  Colonial Collegians, 1642-1774: Biographies of Those Who Attended American Colleges before the War for Independence. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: Massachusetts Historical Society : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2005. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.). This publication is footnoted, and may lead to more useful documents.