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The Knowlton family in New England traces itself back to two men, John and William Knowlton, who arrived in Ipswich Massachusetts around 1641. It was believed for centuries they were brothers, because they refer to each other that way in documents. Recently, their descendants have taken DNA tests, discovering to their surprise that there was no blood connection between John and William. Of course, they could have believed they were brothers, or they could have been brothers by adoption.
The Templeton Knowltons come from two brothers as well: Ezekiel and William, who were born in nearby Shrewsbury in 1736 and 1741. Ezekiel stayed in Templeton and fought as a Captain in the American Revolution. He went on to become a town selectman and was elected seven times to the Massachusetts General Court to represent his town. Ezekiel and his wife, Anna Miles, had ten children. Their second son Stephen was born in 1762. When he was fourteen Stephen served beside his father in the Continental Army, for which he was still receiving a pension in 1841. Stephen was a Templeton selectman in 1800, when his son Charles was born.
Charles described his father as “a farmer in moderate circumstances, [who] used to make many good pine shingles, and so did I.” His parents “never enjoyed any advantages for acquiring knowledge,” Charles wrote in his Elements of Modern Materialism, “though I believe they possess pretty well organized brains. They brought me up in the ‘fear of the Lord,’ and, with much ado, taught me the Westminster Catechism…”
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