The Pratt Family of Chelsea

Lieutenant Thomas Pratt

Born: 1669

Died: June 25, 1732

Lieutenant Thomas Pratt was the first of the Pratt family to settle
in Chelsea. In 1691 he married Mary Davis Lewis who was born on
January 31, 1662/3 and died sometime after 1732. They had five
children: Elizabeth, born January 24, 1692/3, Ann, born February 11,
1694, Sara, born August 10, 1697, Thomas, born May 6, 1699, and
Samuel, born January 27, 1703.

Captain Thomas Pratt

Born: May 6, 1699

Died: March 29, 1780

Captain Thomas Pratt was the eldest son of Lieutenant Thomas Pratt.
On April 27, 1721 he married Mary Floyd who was born on March 25,
1699 and died on October 14, 1775. They had seven children: Thomas,
born May 9, 1722, Daniel, born April 17, 1724, Benjamin, born July
20, 1725, John, born May 26, 1727, Edward, born December 22, 1728,
Mary, born May 30, 1736 and Joseph, born October 26, 1737.

Captain Thomas Pratt acquired his title of Lieutenant in the French
an Indian Wars; and later that of Captain, as commander of the
Chelsea Military Company. He was married to Mary Floyd, the daughter
of David and Mary (Hallowell) Floyd of Malden. He was one of the
leading citizens of Chelsea. He served as selectman for 12 years
between 1730 and 1754 and again in 1762, He was representative to the
General Court from 1745 to 1748 and in 1766, 1771 and 1772. He was
chosen “Committee Man” to its convention which met at
Faneuil Hall on September 22, 1768. He was a member of the committee
to ask the General Court for relief of over taxiation in 1768 and
1770. He was a member of the Committee of Correspondence in 1775. He
was an Ensign in 1734, a Lieutenant in 1754 and a Captain in 1775. He
signed the Covenant in 1757, was a moderator of The Town Meetings,
and host to General George Washington. He fought in the Battle of
Chelsea and at Lexington and Bunker Hill. His home, torn down in
1855, was known as the Washington-Pratt House. In 1735 he built the
first tide water mill in America (Slades Mill). Captain Thomas Pratt
lived to be 81 years old. His name appears with practially every
civic, military, or religious activity in Chelsea for a period of
fifty years.

Daniel Pratt

Born: April 17, 1724

Died: January 26, 1803

Daniel Pratt was the son of Captain Thomas Pratt. On April 2, 1752 he
married Mary Brooks who was born on December 20, 1731 and died March
8, 1818. They had six children: Anne, born January 26, 1753, Mary,
born September 20, 1755, Sarah, born September 25, 1758, Daniel, born
August 28, 1760, Edward, born July 12, 1762 and Caleb, born July 16,
1764. Daniel Pratt was highway surveyor of Chelsea in 1755. He signed
the church covenant in 1757. He served as selectman eight years, and
for many years was Town Treasurer. He was a Minute Man and served in
the Alarm list of Captain Sprague’s Company. He served with this
company in Lexington, and his house on Washington Avenue was used as
a barracks during the Revolution.

Caleb Pratt 3rd.

Born: July 16, 1764

Died: October 28, 1838

Caleb Pratt 3rd. was born on July 16, 1764 and died on October 28,
1838. He married Mary Lash on April 18, 1802. She was born on
November 4, 1770 and died May 19, 1819. They had three children:
Caleb 4th., born June 23, 1804, Sarah, born August of 1808 and Robert
born in 1806. he inherited from his father the old Mansion House
known as the Washington-Pratt house. Caleb served in the Continental
Army under the command of Captain Zebulon King, and was discharged on
January 16, 1781 at West point, New York. His wife, Mary Lash, was
the daughter of Robert Lash who served under Lord Jeffrey Amherst
during the invasion of Canada and was a member of the Tea Party in
December of 1773. Caleb was a Free Mason , shipbuilder and friend of
Paul Revere. He is buried in vault no. 4 in the Old North Church,
Boston. Caleb Pratt 3rd. died on October 28, 1838.

Caleb Pratt 4th.

Born: June 23, 1804

Died: June 23, 1804

Caleb Pratt 4th., oldest son of Caleb and Mary, was born on June 23,
1804 and died on June 23, 1804 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetary. He
married Pomona Atkins, on March 12, 1828. She was the daughter of
Daniel and Thankful Paine Atkins and was born on May 24, 1807 and
died June 9, 1879. Their children were Caleb Atkins, Mary Lash, Sarah
Francis, George Hermon, Caroline Francis, Elizabeth Ann, Hermon
Washington and Henry Eugene.
Caleb left home when he was when he was fifteen and went to
Charlestown where he learned the carpenter’s trade and became a
builder. Many houses still standing in Charlestown, Chelsea, Revere
and Malden were built under his direction. He remained in Charlestown
until 1848 where he was a member of the Board of health and the Board
of Assesors. Shortly after arriving in Charlestown in 1827, he joined
the Columbian Guards and became company clerk. He returned to Chelsea
in 1848 and built a large house in Prattville on a part of the Pratt
estate ath the corner of Franklin and Nichols Street. He became one
of the Overseers of the Poor, was elected a member of the council
when Chelsea became a city in 1857 and was a member of the
Winnisimmet Church. About 1855, Caleb laid out the whole of Mt.
Washington, planted elm and maple trees. The streets were named for
famous men and relatives such as Hancock, Franklin, Freemont,
Harvard, Webster, Warren (later changed to Nichols), Lash, Eustice
and Lawrence. Caleb died on June 23, 1804.

Hermon Pratt

Born: July 20, 1845

Died: May 2, 1918

Hermon Washington Pratt, son of Caleb Pratt 4th. and Pomona Pratt,
was born in Charlestown on July 20, 1845. He died at the Whidden
Hospital, Prattville, in Everett on May 2, 1918. He married Emily
Merriam, the daughter of Otis Merriam, on June 15, 1870. She was born
on November 23, 1846 and died May 5, 1897. Their children were
Gertrude Merriam, Albert Merriam (died in infancy), Emily Merriam
(died on October 15, 1914) and Walter Merriam.
Hermon W. Pratt served in the Chelsea City Council from 1884 to 1886
and was Alderman in 1887, 1888, 1895 and 1896. He was elected Mayor
of Chelsea by an almost unanimous vote in1897, receiving both the
Republican and Democatic nominations. He declined re-election due to
ill health. See Mayors
section for more information on his accomplishments.