Things We Get Asked All the Time

What were the names of the Lexington men who engaged the British on the Green?

What is the origin of Lexington’s name?

What is the history of Lexington’s “Minute Man” statue?

How can I look up my Lexington ancestors?

What were the names of the Lexington men who engaged the British on the Green?

Since far fewer than the 146 men who appear on Lexington’s muster roll actually stood on the Green at 5:00 AM on April 19, 1775, a list must be created through other sources. The reason for this disparity can be traced to the time lag between the militia first mustering 1–2 AM and when the British arrived. After waiting for their arrival, Captain Parker sent the militia home if they lived close. He even began to wonder if Revere and Dawes had brought a false alarm. Scouts Parker sent to locate the regulars had not returned. When he finally received news, the British were a few minutes away. Many were hurrying to the Green as the battle began. Historian William Coburn identified seventy-seven men, but never cited sources.

Bill Poole, historian and Lexington militia re-enactor, has found reference to the seventy-seven that appear below. Most he found in depositions and in early histories based on the recollections of surviving militia members.

Bill and the Lexington Minute Men company have identified three more that deserve to be acknowledged as having stood along side the preceding, bringing the total to eighty. They are:

What is the origin of Lexington’s name?

The origin of the name Lexington is not clear, but two possibilities have competed among those who have tried to explain it.

• It was named after the town of Laxton in Notttinghamshire. Laxton had earlier been called Lexington. This does not explain the significance of this particular town to the Massachusetts one. Were any of the original Cambridge Farm residents connected to the town when Lexington was incorporated in 1713? No evidence seems to support this.

OR

• The town was named after Lord Lexington. At the time Robert Sutton was Baron of Lexington. In 1712 Sutton had been selected to conduct negotiations with Spain and was very popular at the time. When Cambridge Farm residents petitioned to the General Court to be incorporated into a town in 1713, the Governor was Joseph Dudley. According to Charles Hudson, it was customary for the act of incorporation to be passed and the name of the town left blank to be filled in by the Governor. Lord Lexington’s popularity as well as a claim by Dudley that they were related, led him to insert the name of the town.

Over the years the first explanation seems to have become accepted. For example, the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica credits it. It is not clear why, aside from it being less complicated, the first reason has become THE reason. Charles Hudson author of the History of Lexington, Massachusetts proffered the second reason, as did A.E. Scott in the Proceedings of Lexington Historical Society, V.I.

What is the history of Lexington’s “Minute Man” statue?

“On April 19th, 1900 the 125th anniversary of the battle, the Hayes Memorial Fountain was unveiled. Better known today as the “Captain Parker’s statue,” it served the dual purpose of commemorating Lexington’s historical identity and offering a drinking place for thirsty horses, dogs, birds and even people. Pipes were included for this purpose. Today, the trough is filled with flowers. Sculpted by Boston artist Henry Kitson, the statue was made possible by a Francis B. Hayes bequest of $10,000. Without an image of Parker as a model, Medford resident Arthur Mather, among others was used. Parker’s great grandson Charles Parker attended the unveiling. “

Lexington: From Liberty’s Birthplace to Progressive Suburb. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2004. pp. 126–27

How can I look up my Lexington ancestors?

The definitive genealogy is History of the Town of Lexington Massachusetts, Volume II, Genealogy, by Charles Hudson, 1913. The book is out of print but copies are available in local libraries. Also, a complete, searchable electronic version of the book can be viewed on the Google Books site. Click on the following URL or copy and paste it into your browser:

http://books.google.com/books?id=3MUMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover

Another useful reference is Lexington Epitaphs: A Copy of Epitaphs in the Old Burying-Grounds of Lexington, Massachusetts, by Francis H. Brown, M.D., 1905. It is also out of print but available through Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=IDf3wP1N_20C&printsec=frontcover&dq=lexington+epitaphs