Benjamin was born on October 25, 1746 in Shrewsbury, MA to Phineas and Elizabeth (Moore) Heywood. He was the eighth of their eleven children. The births of his five oldest siblings were recorded in neighboring Worcester, MA, so the original family farm was likely there. From a young age he was trained as a carpenter and housewright and was fairly skilled, but was more interested in scholarship than pursuing a trade. Benjamin studied hard and entered Harvard in 1771, showin

James Shattuck was born in Groton, MA on February 9, 1698/9 to Samuel and Elizabeth (Blood) Shattuck. He was the second of their nine children, born about three years after his older brother Samuel. The Shattuck farm was in the northwestern part of Groton on the far side of the Nashua River. On November 22, 1726 he married Sarah Chamberlain, and ten months later their daughter Sarah was born. In total they had eight children over 24 years. James died on May 1st, 1769, and w

Benjamin Chamberlin was born in Pepperell, MA on December 20, 1761. He was the youngest son and ninth of the ten children born to Phinehas and Lydia (Williams) Chamberlain. In 1771 Phinehas died in debt, and Lydia divested much of their property to pay off those debts. She died in 1773 and Benjamin and his other minor siblings likely went to live with family members until they came of age. Benjamin enlisted in the Continental Army from New Braintree in Worcester County, MA

"He was an Englishman by birth, came to this country about the year 1766 on board a British frigate, from which he deserted. In 1775 he joined the American Army, in which he faithfully served during the whole Revolutionary War."