John Heald Home Site
Location: Carlisle Road, just before the the Carlisle town line.
The sign reads:
1630 1930
CAPTAIN JOHN HEALD
HERE WAS THE HOME OF CAPTAIN JOHN HEALD, FIRST SELECTMAN OF ACTON, WHO ON APRIL 19, 1689, MARCHED TO BOSTON WITH A MILITARY COMPANY TO ASSIST IN THE OVERTHROW OF SIR EDMUND ANDROS.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY TERCENTENARY COMMISSION
There is some confusion over the information given on this marker. Town borders changed in the 1700s as first Acton, then Carlisle, became separate towns. In addition, John Heald was a very common name in this area. It seems clear from town histories and records of town meetings that John Heald was Acton's first chosen selectman and a deacon of its first church. He apparently farmed at the site commemorated on the marker. Phalen's Acton history says that according to a 1779 map at the Massachusetts state archives, when Carlisle was split off, the Deacon John Heald home site remained within the borders of Acton, a few yards from the Carlisle line.
However, it is probable that the John Heald who led the Concord Military Company to Boston in April, 1689 was not the same person as Deacon John Heald, Acton's first selectman, though the many John Healds in local records make assertions hard to prove. Fletcher's Acton in History states that they were the same person. As pointed out in the Captain John Heald house marker's MACRIS listing and as is made clear by Deacon John Heald's grave marker in North Acton's Forest cemetery, Deacon John Heald (the first selectman) died in 1775 in his 82nd year, a lifespan that would not have allowed him to paricipate in the Andros rebellion. The MACRIS listing suggests that the role was filled by Lieutenant John Heald who farmed in that area. (Shattuck's History of Concord states that the Concord company was led by Liutenant John Heald.) According to Lapham's and Wilkins' histories of Carlisle, it was indeed Lieutenant John Heald who later lived in approximately the vicinity of the marker who led the Concord Company to Boston in 1689. (They indicate that boundary changes eventually left his home just over the line in Carlisle.) He also served as a selectman of Concord in the 1711-1715 period and was married to Mary Chandler. In 1715, he deeded to his son John 80 acres and an unfinished house to settle "near me." Lapham states that this son of Lieutenant John Heald was Acton's Deacon John, first selectman, who was married to Mary Hale/Heald. Deacon John and Mary 's son John (known as John 2nd in Acton) was born in 1721, married Elizabeth Barrett, served in the Revolution, and became one of the first Carlisle selectmen. His son "Capt." John, born in 1746, married Mary White of Acton, served in the American Revolution, and built in 1771 a house that was later within the boundary of Carlisle (on West Street), known as the Red Lion Tavern.
Assuming Lapham's chronology and genealogy are correct, it would seem that the Tercentenary marker does commemorate, at least approximately, the home site(s) of both the John Heald (Lieutenant) who led Concord's military company to Boston in 1689 and the John Heald who was Acton's first selectman. No indication has been found, however, that they were the same person or that either of them held the rank of Captain.
For more information see:
Fletcher, James. Acton in History, Compiled for the Middlesex County History, Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1890. See especially, page 241.
Lapham, Donald A. Carlisle, Composite Community. Publisher not mentioned, 1970. See pages 45-50.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. Historical Markers Erected by Mass. Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1930. (See page 9 for Acton's markers.)
Phalen, Harold. History of the Town of Acton. Cambridge, MA: Middlesex Printing Inc., 1954, especially page 29.
Shattuck, Lemuel. History of the Town of Concord. Boston: Russell, Odiorne and Company, 1835, especially page 66.
Wilkins, Ruth. Carlisle: Its History and Heritage. Hollis, NH: Puritan Press, Inc., 2002, especially page 20.
Massachusetts Cultural Information System (MACRIS). Act.901: Heald, Capt. John House Marker.
1630 1930
CAPTAIN JOHN HEALD
HERE WAS THE HOME OF CAPTAIN JOHN HEALD, FIRST SELECTMAN OF ACTON, WHO ON APRIL 19, 1689, MARCHED TO BOSTON WITH A MILITARY COMPANY TO ASSIST IN THE OVERTHROW OF SIR EDMUND ANDROS.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY TERCENTENARY COMMISSION
There is some confusion over the information given on this marker. Town borders changed in the 1700s as first Acton, then Carlisle, became separate towns. In addition, John Heald was a very common name in this area. It seems clear from town histories and records of town meetings that John Heald was Acton's first chosen selectman and a deacon of its first church. He apparently farmed at the site commemorated on the marker. Phalen's Acton history says that according to a 1779 map at the Massachusetts state archives, when Carlisle was split off, the Deacon John Heald home site remained within the borders of Acton, a few yards from the Carlisle line.
However, it is probable that the John Heald who led the Concord Military Company to Boston in April, 1689 was not the same person as Deacon John Heald, Acton's first selectman, though the many John Healds in local records make assertions hard to prove. Fletcher's Acton in History states that they were the same person. As pointed out in the Captain John Heald house marker's MACRIS listing and as is made clear by Deacon John Heald's grave marker in North Acton's Forest cemetery, Deacon John Heald (the first selectman) died in 1775 in his 82nd year, a lifespan that would not have allowed him to paricipate in the Andros rebellion. The MACRIS listing suggests that the role was filled by Lieutenant John Heald who farmed in that area. (Shattuck's History of Concord states that the Concord company was led by Liutenant John Heald.) According to Lapham's and Wilkins' histories of Carlisle, it was indeed Lieutenant John Heald who later lived in approximately the vicinity of the marker who led the Concord Company to Boston in 1689. (They indicate that boundary changes eventually left his home just over the line in Carlisle.) He also served as a selectman of Concord in the 1711-1715 period and was married to Mary Chandler. In 1715, he deeded to his son John 80 acres and an unfinished house to settle "near me." Lapham states that this son of Lieutenant John Heald was Acton's Deacon John, first selectman, who was married to Mary Hale/Heald. Deacon John and Mary 's son John (known as John 2nd in Acton) was born in 1721, married Elizabeth Barrett, served in the Revolution, and became one of the first Carlisle selectmen. His son "Capt." John, born in 1746, married Mary White of Acton, served in the American Revolution, and built in 1771 a house that was later within the boundary of Carlisle (on West Street), known as the Red Lion Tavern.
Assuming Lapham's chronology and genealogy are correct, it would seem that the Tercentenary marker does commemorate, at least approximately, the home site(s) of both the John Heald (Lieutenant) who led Concord's military company to Boston in 1689 and the John Heald who was Acton's first selectman. No indication has been found, however, that they were the same person or that either of them held the rank of Captain.
For more information see:
Fletcher, James. Acton in History, Compiled for the Middlesex County History, Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1890. See especially, page 241.
Lapham, Donald A. Carlisle, Composite Community. Publisher not mentioned, 1970. See pages 45-50.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. Historical Markers Erected by Mass. Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1930. (See page 9 for Acton's markers.)
Phalen, Harold. History of the Town of Acton. Cambridge, MA: Middlesex Printing Inc., 1954, especially page 29.
Shattuck, Lemuel. History of the Town of Concord. Boston: Russell, Odiorne and Company, 1835, especially page 66.
Wilkins, Ruth. Carlisle: Its History and Heritage. Hollis, NH: Puritan Press, Inc., 2002, especially page 20.
Massachusetts Cultural Information System (MACRIS). Act.901: Heald, Capt. John House Marker.