Richard Callicott (1604–1686) (also spelled "Collacott," "Collicot", "Calicot", "Collacot") was a

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

colonist who was a

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

r, land investor, and early leader of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

. He also had two Indian servants who became prominent translators in New York and New England. Callicott was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, but ...

, Devon, England in 1604. He settled in Massachusetts in 1631/32 in the area which was then known as Dorchester, Massachusetts and now known as

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller ...

near where

Israel Stoughton Israel Stoughton (c. 1603 – 1644) was an early English colonist in Massachusetts and a colonial commander in the Pequot War. Returning to England, he served as Parliamentarian officer in the First English Civil War. Life Born in England, a yo ...

built his grist mill in 1634. Callicott built a wharf and trading post on the

Neponset River The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its headwaters are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near Gillette Stadium. From there, the Neponset meanders generally northeast for about to its mouth at Do ...

to trade with the local Indians, and he purchased large grants of land from Sachem

Cutshamekin Cutshamekin (died in 1654) (also spelled Kitchamakin, Kuchamakin, or Cutshumaquin) was a Native American leader, who was a sachem of the Massachusett tribe based along the Neponset River and Great Blue Hill in what is now Dorchester, Massachus ...

. Callicott constructed his "house in 1634 at

hat is now A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

the Northwest corner of Adams and Center Streets in present day Milton (then Dorchester) on the Colonial Road to Plymouth. Not far away, he built a wharf on Gulliver's Creek as a landing for smaller boats to carry the furs to market." Callicot was a leader in the

First Parish Church of Dorchester First Parish Dorchester is a Unitarian Universalist church in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The congregation was founded by English Puritans who initially saw themselves as reformers rather than separatists, but increasingly intolerable conditions in ...

. Callicott took in several Native American orphans as servants including

John Sassamon John Sassamon, also known as Wussausmon (), was a Massachusett man who lived in New England during the colonial era. He converted to Christianity and became a praying Indian, helping to serve as an interpreter to New England colonists. In Januar ...

, who became a notable figure as a missionary and adversary of King Philip. Callicot served in Massachusetts Bay as a surveyor, selectman, deputy, and commissary for the troops during the

Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narragan ...

in 1637. During the War, Callicot received a captured Indian, known as

Cockenoe Cockenoe (also known as Cockeno, Cockenow, Chachaneu, Cheekanoo, Cockenoe, Chickino, Chekkonnow, Cockoo) (born before 1630 and died after 1687) was an early Native American translator from Long Island in New York where he was a member of the Mon ...

, as a servant, and Cockenoe later became a translator for John Eliot in completing the

Eliot Indian Bible The ''Eliot Indian Bible'' ( alq, Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God; also known as the ''Algonquian Bible'') was the first translation of the Christian Bible into an indigenous American language, as well as the first Bible published ...

, the first Bible printed in America. Callicott surveyed the boundary between Dedham and Dorchester in 1638 and between Massachusetts and Connecticut in 1641. Callicott became an early member of the

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North America and the third oldest chartered military organization in the world. Its charter was granted in March 1638 by the Great and Gen ...

. Callicott was also an associate of Roger Williams, for whom Callicot served as his power of attorney in a legal dispute. Callicot later settled in

Saco, Maine Saco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,381 at the 2020 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems (also known by i ...

for a period and

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. This northern suburb of Portland ...

, before returning to Boston. Callicott died in Boston in 1686 and is buried in the

Copp's Hill Burying Ground Copp's Hill Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1659, it was originally named "North Burying Ground", and was the city's second cemetery. History The cemetery was founded on Februa ...

. Callicott's daughter, Bethiah, married the son of

Daniel Gookin Major-General Danyell “Daniel” Gookin (1612 – 19 March 1687) was a Munster colonist, settler of Virginia and Massachusetts, and a writer on the subject of American Indians. Early life He was born, perhaps in County Cork, Ireland, in the ...

, a politician, military leader, and writer about Native Americans.Lucius R. Paige, ''History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1630-1877, Volume 2,'' (2018), p. 26

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callicott, Richard 1604 births 1686 deaths People from colonial Boston Businesspeople from Barnstaple Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony Burials in Boston