596327

[phelps.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #3857, Date of Import: Oct 22, 1998]

Matthew Cushing was third child of Peter and Susan [Hawes] Cushing. For the first 50 years of his life,he lived in Hardingham, and Hingham, England. In 1638, he, with his wife and five children, embarked for America. He sailed in the ship "Diligent" of Ipswich, which left Gravesend Apr. 26, 1638, with 133 passengers, among whom was his wife's sister [widow Frances Riecroft, who died a few weeks after their arrival in the colonies]. Among the passengers, also, was Robert Peck, M.A., Rector of the Parish of Hingham, Eng. The immediate occasion of their departure seems to have been trouble in ecclesiastical matters. Their rector, doubtless with the aid of most of the emigrating party, had pulled down the rails of chancel and altar and leveled the latter a foot below the church, as it remains to this day. Being prosecuted by Bishop Wren, he left the kingdom, together with his friends, who sold their estates for half their value. The party, having landed at Boston, Mass., Aug. 10, 1638, immediately proceeded to their destination, Hingham, Mass., so named after the former home of the Cushings in England. At a town meeting held in 1638, a house lot of five acres, on Main St., was given to Matthew Cushing, and it continued in the possession of the Cushing family until 1887. He was engaged in the public affairs of the town, became deacon in Rev. Hobart's church, and was progenitor of many eminent descendants.
His will, which was a verbal one, was written after his decease by his children, who, under date of Nov. 15, pray that Daniel Cushing, Esq., their eldest brother, may be appointed administrator of their father's estate.
Matthew Cushing is the ancestor of all the Cushings in America, rendering famous in the annals of American history as "the family of Judges".