The Dwight Family

Timothy Dwight was the tenth person to be granted a house lot in the area now known as Medfield.
In 1651 he built an Elizabethan structure on this lot.
He served on Medfield’s first board of selectman for 18 years.
He was the first in the town to serve as the Representative of the General Court (of Massachusetts) and was Medfield’s Chief Military Officer.
His first wife, Maria, died in 1668 leaving no children.
He then married Dorcas Watson, daughter of John of Roxbury, in 1669.
They had three children: Timothy (died in childhood), John (died in infancy) and John.

John, son of Dorcas and Timothy, inherited the house upon turning 21.
He wedded Elizabeth Harding of Medfield’s Bridge Street.
They had eight children: Elizabeth, Timothy, Dorcas, Kezia, Sarah, Sybil, Hannah and Seth. Their first child was born in 1698, which corresponds with the second building phase of the house.
John Dwight held several offices in the town: Treasurer, Selectman, Town Clerk, Chief Military Officer and Representative of the General Court.
His children married into the Balch, Ellis, Plimpton, Fisher and Clark families.

Seth, son of John and Elizabeth, married Hannah Fisher in 1740 and had three children.
Like his father, he was active in town affairs, holding the office of town treasurer and serving on the board of selectmen several years.
Upon his father’s death in 1751, he inherited the house.
He undertook a massive reconstruction of the house in 1760.
The house, as we see it today minus the dormers, is a reflection of the restoration work done by Seth.