Quenton Pray of Braintree Massachusetts & some of his
                             descendants  

                            First Generation

	1.	QUENTON PRAY was born about 1597. In June of 1658 he deposed in a court case, age
61.1 He died on 17 Jun 1667 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA.2

Quenton Pray may have come to America on the ship Ann Cleves in May of 1643 with
others who came to work at the Lynn Iron Works.3 

Quenton Pray was a foundryman in Lynn, MA and later he was in charge of the
forge at the Iron Works in Braintree  where many of the Scots prisoners who
were captured at the Battle of Dunbar worked. Payments to Quenton in the
Ironworks papers suggest that Quenton had been the principal worker in the
forge at Braintree.4 

Quenton & his family are mentioned quite often in Essex County Quarterly Court
Records.  On 5 Sept. 1647 Quenton Pray was fined for swearing.5  On 20:12:1648
Quenton and his wife were fined 50 shillings for five oaths. 6  He was fined on
11:7:1649 for striking Nicholas Penion with a staff, having an iron two feet long on the
end of it, and breaking his head; for striking Thomas Billington, and for swearing .7 

On 6 Dec. 1665 Quenton Pray of Braintree gave land to his loving sons Richard
Thayer, John Pray & Henry Neale of Braintree.8

On 11 July 1667 John Pray was granted administration of Quenton’s estate.9
 The inventory of Quenton Pray's estate was taken 21 (5) 1667. 10  

QUENTON married JOAN.

In a Suffolk Co. Court case 6 Nov. 1672 the court answered a petition of
Richard Thayre of Bratery concerning differences between him & Joane Pray
widow.  The differences concerned the widow Prays living in a house "that
endangereth her life, & refusing to accept of better provicion".  The court
ordered the Braintree selectman to view the widow's house and if they find
these charges to be true obtain for her other housing.11 

QUENTON and JOAN had the following children:

	2	M	i.	RICHARD PRAY was born about 1630 in England. He died in 1693 in
Providence, RI.12
 
RICHARD married (1) MARY.13 Richard also married (2) ELIZABETH
WHITE HERENDEN, died in 1701.14

Richard Pray is mentioned several times in the Essex Court Records. In
1647 he was heard to call his wife a jade and a roundhead and said  he
would beat her twenty times a day before she would be his master.15

Mary the wife of Richard Pray beinge Convict before the Court  for that
shee should say to her mother-in-lawe get you whom yow old hogge get you
whom and withall threw  stones at her,  also that uppon her husbands
takinge away of a letter shee had gotten wrighten for England shee at supp
threw a trencher at her and also a bone sas was conceived. Mary was
admonished  and ordered eto pay a fine of  2s6d. 16  

	3	M	ii.  JOHN PRAY died in Sep 1676.

On 31 Oct. 1676 Joanna Pray was granted administration of John's
estate for herself and children.17 

JOHN married JOANNA DOWNHAM on 7 May 1657 in Braintree,
MA.18 JOANNA married 2 DANIEL LIVINGSTON killed by
Indians  20 Aug 1699.19

Joanna was convicted in Suffolk Court for striking and abusing her
second husband but was aquitted in 1683 of suspicion of selling liquor
to the Indians.20

She was living in Boston in 1699 when she filed a second accounting
for her first husband John Pray's estate. She lived in York Maine with
second husband.21


+	4	F	iii.	DOROTHY PRAY was born about 1634 and died on 11 Dec
1705.

	5	F	iv.	HANNAH PRAY.
HANNAH married HENRY NEAL on 14 Feb 1654/1655 in Braintree,
MA.22

			.	
                          Second Generation

	4.	DOROTHY PRAY (QUENTON) was born about 1634. She died on 11 Dec 1705 in
Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA.23

In Sept. 1650 Dorothy Pray, aged about 16 deposed that John Bond tried to
rape her while he was overcome with drink at John Hardman's house There
were several other charges against Bond mentioned in this court case 24

DOROTHY married RICHARD Jr. THAYER, son of RICHARD Sr. THAYER and
DOROTHY MORTIMORE, on 24 Oct 1651 in Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA.25 Richard
was christened on 10 Feb 1624/1625 in Thornbury, Glouceshire Co., England. 26 He died
on 27 Aug 1695, ae 71 in Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA.27

They had the following children:28

	7	F	i.	DOROTHY THAYER was born on 30 Aug 1653 in Braintree, MA.

	8	M	ii.  RICHARD 2d THAYER was born on 30 Jun 1655 in Braintree,
Norfolk Co., MA.29 He died on 4 Sep 1705 in Braintree, Norfolk Co.,
MA.30
Richard married  16 July 1679 Braintree MA REBECCA MYCALL,
daughter of JAMES MYCALL and MARY FARR.31 Rebecca was born
on 22 Jan 1658/1659 in Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA.32 She died on 28 Jan
1732, ae 73 yrs 8 days in Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA. SEE MYCALL
FAMILY BY COMPILER

	9	M	iii.   NATHANIEL THAYER was born on 1 Jan 1658 in Braintree, MA.

	10	F	iv.   ABIGAIL THAYER was born on 10 Feb 1661 in Braintree, MA.

	11	M	v.    CORNELIUS THAYER was born on 18 Sep 1670 in Braintree, MA.

	12	F	vi.    JOANNA THAYER was born on 13 Dec 1665 in Braintree, MA.

	13	F	vii.    SARAH THAYER was born on 13 Dec 1667 in Braintree, MA.

END NOTES
1.  Essex Quarterly Court Records 2:94 hereinafter EQCR
2.  Braintree MA printed VR, 639
3.  NEHG Society Register 55:280
4.  Edward Neal Hartley, Ironworks on the Saugus; the Lynn and Braintree ventures of the Company of Undertakers of the Ironworks in New England {Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1957}  189
5.  EQCR .I:124
6.  Ibid I:156
7.  Ibid. I:173
8.  Early Suffolk Court File #2053
9.  Suffolk PR Vol. 343/4
10. Charles Henry Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts {Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969 reprint}371
11. Suffolk County Court Records 1671-1680 as printed the Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts Vol. XDIX {Boston 1933} 187/188
12. John O. Austin, The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island  {1887 Albany} 358.
13. Ibid
14. Ibid
15. EQCR 1:136
16. Ibid l:184
17. Suffolk PR xii. 12, 112
18. Braintree MA VR, 716
19. NEHG Society Register 55:280
20. Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby  & Walter Goodwin Davis, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire {Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co. 1983}440
21. Ibid
22. Braintree MA VR
23. Ibid, 695
24. EQCR I:198
25. Braintree MA VR, 716
26. Waldo Chamberlain Sprague Manuscript Collection, NEHG Society Boston MA, Thayer Family
27. Braintree MA VR, 692
28. Braintree MA VR
29. Ibid, 634
30. Ibid
31. Ibid
32. Ibid, 719