William Munroe was born 10 October 1625 in Scotland to Robert Monroe (1593-1633) and Ethel Medd (1597-1633) and died 27 January 1718 Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts of unspecified causes. He married Martha George (1636-1672) 1665 in Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He married Mary Ball (1651-1692) 1672 in Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Johnson (1638-1715) 1693 in Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Biography
William Munroe was a 17th-century Scottish soldier who later became a settler in the United States and a Free Mason.
Ancestry
William was born in 1625, third son of Robert Munro, Comissary of Caithness, who in turn was the third son of John Mor Munro, 3rd of Coul, a descendant of George Munro, 10th Baron of Foulis.
Battle of Worcester
He is one of four men by the surname of Munroe recorded as being captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 by Cromwell's forces and transported to America during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms as an indentured servant. He is likely to have been fighting alongside other men from the Clan Munro such as Sir Alexander Munro of Bearcrofts who was fortunate enough to escape.
William is almost certainly one of four men transported on the ship called the John and Sara in 1651, though the record of this has been damaged so that his first name is obscured. The names of the other three men are still fully visible on the ship's record.
Sometime after arriving in America, he had land granted near early Woburn, Massachusetts, known as early Scottland.
Lexington MA Settler
William began acquiring small pieces of land in Cambridge Farms, which is present-day Lexington, Massachusetts, and he and his sons and a son-in-law purchased 100 acres (0.40 km2) in 1695. With increased landholdings came greater status in the community, and he was made a freeman, chosen as one of the town Selectmen, and admitted as a member of the church. William died in 1719.
Marriage and Family
William Munroe is known to be the ancestor of a vast family of Munroes in New England, United States. William married three times. He remained single for the first thirteen years after his arrival in Massachusetts, finally marrying about 1665.
1st Marriage: Martha George
His first bride was Martha George, whose father once worked for Massachusetts governor John Winthrop. At the time of Martha's marriage, her father faced trouble with Puritan authorities for founding an illegal Baptist church in Charlestown, Boston. Martha died a few years after the marriage, leaving William to raise four young children.
2nd Marriage: Mary Ball
After a dreadful childhood and youth in Watertown and Woburn, Mary was rescued by William and Martha Munroe of Cambridge Farms (later Lexington).
William then married twenty-year-old Mary Ball of Watertown, Massachusetts, a woman with a troubled past. Her parents were in and out of court on charges of beatings and neglect, amid hints that the mother was insane, and Mary herself had suffered judicial sanctions for an out-of-wedlock child. William brought stability to Mary's life, and they had ten children together during their twenty years of marriage.
- Elizabeth Munroe (1672-1714)
- Daniel Munroe (1673-1734)
- Hannah Munroe (1674-1736)
- Mary Munroe (1678-1754)
- David Munroe (1680-1755) - later moved to settle in Canterbury, Connecticut, leaving much posterity there.
- Eleanor Munroe (1684-1729)
- Sarah Munroe (1685-1707)
- Joseph Munroe (1687-1765)
- Benjamin Munroe (1690-1766)
3rd Marriage: Elizabeth Johnson
His third wife was Elizabeth Johnson Wyer, a widow of a Scots tailor from Charlestown.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| John Munroe (1666-1753) | |||
| Martha Munroe (1667-1729) | |||
| William Munroe (1669-1759) | 10 October 1669 Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts | 2 January 1759 Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States | Mary Cutler (1681-1713) Joanna Russell (1684-1784) |
| George Munroe (1672-1746) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Elizabeth Munroe (1672-1714) | |||
| Daniel Munroe (1673-1734) | |||
| Hannah Munroe (1674-1736) | |||
| Mary Munroe (1678-1754) | |||
| David Munroe (1680-1755) | 6 October 1680 Cambridge Farms, Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts | 19 June 1755 Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut | Deborah Howe (1685-1748) |
| Eleanor Munroe (1684-1729) | |||
| Sarah Munroe (1685-1707) | |||
| Joseph Munroe (1687-1765) | |||
| Benjamin Munroe (1690-1766) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Margaret Munro (1610-) | |||
| Robert Munro (1612-) | |||
| George Munro (1615-1651) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| William Munroe (1625-1718) | 10 October 1625 Scotland | 27 January 1718 Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts | Martha George (1636-1672) Mary Ball (1651-1692) Elizabeth Johnson (1638-1715) |
Notable Descendants
William Munroe is known to be the ancestor of a vast family of Munroes in New England, United States. William married three times.
In the 18th century a descendant of his claimed to fire the first shot in the American Revolutionary War at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. Of the seventy-seven Lexington militiamen involved in the battle, eleven were Munroes, including Robert Munroe, who was one of the eight men killed, and Srg. (later Col.) William Munroe, who was the orderly sergeant. Munroe Tavern, which was used as a field hospital by Lt. Gen. Hugh Percy for retreating British soldiers, still stands in Lexington today.[3] Monroe had many descendants in the Lexington area who also fought at the Battle of Lexington, including his great great grandson, Solomon Peirce, who was wounded in the battle.
References
- William Munroe - Wikipedia
- Munroe Tavern - Wikipedia