Page 10 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 13, 2024 ~ 375th Anniversary of Malden’s Incorporation as a Town ~ Joseph Hills – Lawmaker of the Mass. Bay Colony and “godfather” of Malden By Inna Babitskaya J oseph Hills (1601/02–1688), one of the first settlers of Malden and godfather of the city, was also among the main lawmakers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was born in the parish of Great Burstead, Essex, England, on March 3, 1601/02, to linen draper George Hills and his wife Mary Symonds. The family was prosperous and wealthy. Joseph’s future was determined. Following the family tradition, he became the draper, but unlike his father, he worked as a woolen draper (dealer in woolen cloths of different kinds). On July 22, 1624, Joseph Hills married Rose Clarke in Billericay, a small town located 25 miles east of Central London. Joseph and Rose decided to settle in Billericay and their elder children were born there. That town was very useful for Hills as Great Burstead, UK Maldon, UK Maldon had a very interesting and long history since the Bronze Age. Maldon was a regional trading center that was known for the wool export. Hills’ business was very successful and prosperous. He lived in Maldon for six years. However, the increasing pressure on Puritans forced Joseph Hills to change dramatically his own fate and the lives of his family. Many of his friends and clients had already moved overseas, seeking religious freedom. In their letters, they wrote about the wonderful opportunities for life and business in the colonies. So, in 1638, Joseph Hills beWoolen draper a trader. However, in 1632, Hills and his family moved to another Essex city, Maldon, where his other three children were born. came a stockbroker or “undertaker” on the voyage aboard Susan and Ellen. He usually used that ship for the transportation of goods from Maldon to London. The ship left London on April 11, 1638, with her master, Edward Payne, and arrived in New England on July 17, 1638. Joseph Hills and his family first settled in Charlestown near the marketplace. According to the town records, on “July 30, 1638, Mr. Joseph Hills was admitted a townsman and granted 25 acres of land on Mystic Side by Mr. Coitmore’s lot, and 50 more after the great lots are finished.” Very soon after arrival to the colony, Joseph Hills began to actively participate in the town life and earned great respect in the colony as a politician and a lawyer. Many colonists noted his ability to understand the causes of the existing conflicts and to reconcile the opposing parties. In just two years, Joseph and Rose Hills became the members of the First Church of Charlestown in 1640. In 1644, Hills became a selectman. In 1645, he was admitted freeman and, according to the state records, was the first named by the General Court on a committee “to set out lots to the settlers of Nashaway plantation.” In 1646, he began to work on framing the first code of colonial laws as a member of the committee that included Herbert Pelham, Increase Nowell, Rev. Thomas Shepard, Rev. John Knowles and Capt. Edward Johnson. In 1646, that committee reported to the General Court the first codification of the colonial law using the statutes of England. Joseph Hills was the main compiler of the existLaw Offices of JOSEPH D. CATALDO, P.C. “ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW” • ESTATE/MEDICAID PLANNING • WILLS/TRUSTS/ESTATES • INCOME TAX PREPARATION • WEALTH MANAGEMENT • RETIREMENT PLANNING • ELDER LAW 369 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 (617)381-9600 JOSEPH D. CATALDO, CPA, CFP, MST, ESQUIRE. AICPA Personal Financial Specialist Designee Stone near Joseph Hills’ house site in Malden, Mass. ing documents. Hills’ predecessors in that work were famous colonial minister Rev. John Cotton and noted clergyman and pamphleteer Nathaniel Ward. Unlike Hills, both of them had college education. Rev. John Cotton (1585–1652) was a prominent minister, theologian and outstanding orator. He graduated from Trinity College and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1633, he and his wife immigrated to New England. In May 1636, Cotton was appointed to a committee to create colonial laws based on the Bible. He wrote “Moses, His Judicialls,” which was not adopted and not printed in the colony but published in London in 1641. In 1641, Cotton published “An Abstract of the Laws of New England as They Are Now Established.” While that legal code was only partly used in MassaThe Hills’ house in Malden, Massachusetts Bay Colony chusetts, it became the basis for the New Haven Colony’s legal system. Nathaniel Ward (1578–1652) studied law at Emmanuel College of Oxford University and practiced as a barrister in England; later he became the minister. In 1634, Ward immigrated to Massachusetts. In 1639, he wrote for the colony “The Body of Liberties,” which was based on Common Law, Magna Carta and the Old Testament. Though it was adopted by the General Court in December 1641 for a trial of three years, it was not printed. To be continued… (Inna Babitskaya is a Malden historian, member of Malden Historical Commission and author of historical books “From Maldon to Malden,” “Time of Converse” and “Fellsmere Park – Emerald of Malden.”) Friends of Fellsmere Heights’ Monthly Meeting T he Friends of Fellsmere Heights’ monthly meeting will be held on Saturday, September 14, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. The Steering Team (the Board of Directors informal meeting) will run from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 14 via Zoom. All supporters are welcome at this meeting; however, only the Steering Team members can agree on decisions. The meeting for general members is from 10:30 to 11:30. This meeting provides input and direction to the Steering Team. At the September meeting, the Friends will begin collecting questions for Tufts Medicine and Acadia Healthcare to answer in light of the recent New York Times article about some of Acadia’s practices. If you decide to attend, please go to https://www.fellsmereheights.org, choose the EVENTS tab and click the RSVP button. You will be sent an email with the Zoom link.
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