244 



lie first " himself conceived " and submitted to the company 

 the proposition to transfer the charter to New England. He 

 gave way for the choice of a new Governor and was of course 

 greatly instrumental in selecting and delegating Winthrop as 

 the local Governor under the charter, to reside in New England, 

 and ultimately by his agent and men (in conjunction with the 

 Governor) in founding, on the Mystic River, the ancient town 

 of Medford. 



With these preliminary remarks, and with only fragmentary 

 scraps at my command, I will now endeavor to present the 

 result of all that I have gleaned, illustrative of the origin, life, 

 pursuits and character of Mathew Cradock. 



He was of an old English family. Originally the name was 

 supposed to be Caradoc. His geneaology is traceable back to 

 the year 1446, to John Cradock 1st, who married Jane Dor- 

 rington, through a John 2d, Richard, Thomas 1st, Thomas 2d, 

 William and his father Mathew. The father was born 1563, 

 married Dorothy Greenway (of Dorsetshire) and had two sons, 

 our Mathew and Samuel, who was a clerk at Thistleton, in 

 Rutland Co., had the entire confidence of his brother and was 

 made his residuary legatee by will. 



Governor Cradock was twice married ; first to Damaris, 

 daughter of Richard Winne, of Salop, by whom he had a 

 daughter, also named Damaris, baptised November 1st, 1623, 

 and who was afterward married to Thomas Andrews, a leather 

 seller of London. 



His second wife was Rebecca (daughter of Thomas Jordan, 

 a London merchant) by whom he had three children, Mathew, 

 Thomas and Mary, who were severally baptized in 1632, 1634 

 and 1637. These and the time of his daughter's baptism are 

 the only positive dates we can find, except the date of his will, 

 which was November 9th, 1640. 



Taking these dates and that of his father's birth, (1563,) 

 we are only able to infer that his age, when we first find him, a 

 character in life and a marked personage in history (and then, 



