Benjamin Lincoln

In 1756, at the age of 23 he married Mary Cushing. She was the daughter of the Elijah Cushing of Pembroke, Massachusetts. The couple had eleven children, out of which seven survived till adulthood.

He served as the trustee of the Derby Academy

He died at the age of 77 in Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S. He was laid to rest at the Old Ship Church in Hingham.

Benjamin Lincoln was born in Hingham, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Colonel Benjamin Lincoln and Elizabeth Thaxter Lincoln.

His father was a very affluent man and held many civic posts. Benjamin worked in his family farm for a brief period and attended the local school in the town.

Following his father’s footsteps in public life, at the age of 21, he became a town constable. Later in 1755, he joined as an adjutant in the 3rd Regiment of the Suffolk County militia.

In 1757, he was elected as a town clerk in Hingham, a position that he held for the next twenty years of his life. He actively participated in militia during the French and Indian War.

In 1763, he was promoted to the rank of a major. Over the next two years, he was elected as the town selectman of Hingham, a position that he continued to hold for a period of six years.

In 1770, he put forward the measures towards non-importation of British goods and also voiced his opinion against the Boston massacre.

In 1772, he was promoted as the lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the Suffolk militia. That year, he was elected as a representative of the town to the provincial assembly.

In 1774, the provincial assembly reformed to become the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. He continued to be elected to this body and took the role of managing militia organization and supply.

He served as the officer in the American Revolution who rendered distinguished service in the northern campaigns early in the war, but was forced to surrender at Charleston in 1780.