His will has him of Ragwell, England. He was a proprietor from1640 and a tailor.FORREST E. BARKER. Thomas Barker and his brother James, theimmigrant ancestor of Forrest E. Barker of Worcester, were amongthose twenty Puritan heads of families who came from Englandunder the leadership of Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, and who weredescribed by him as "Godly men and most of them of good estate."They arrived in Salem in December, 1638. In April of the following year, having joined with them someforty others, they bought out the former proprietors of landsadjacent to Newbury and Ipswich, and established a townshipwhich they called Rowley, after the parish which had been thecharge of the Rev. Rogers in Yorkshire, England. This townshipincluded in its limits, besides the present town of Rowley, thetowns of Georgetown and Bradford. The act of incorporation wasdated September 4, 1640, and the settlers labored in common forabout five years. Thomas was made a freeman May 13, 1640, andJames on October 7 of the same year. Thomas died withoutchildren in November, 1650, and his widow Mary, who came fromEngland with him, became July 16, 1651, the third wife of theRev. Rogers. He died January 23, 1660, in his seventieth year,leaving Mary as his widow. (I) James Barker was a native of the parish of Stragewell, inSuffolk county, England, and brought with him to Salem his wifeGrace. He shared in the first and later divisions of lands inRowley, and his home was on Weathersfield street, on landgranted to him in 1643. His wife Grace died in February, 1665-6.He married, May 22, 1666, Mary, widow of John Wyatte, one of theearly settlers of Ipswich, and a freeman there in 1635. His willwas dated September 3, 1678, and he was buried on the 7th of the same month. He was a tailor by trade, but seems to havebeen also a successful farmer, and was active in town affairs. He was forseveral years a judge of delinquents under the law which fined those whorefused to attend when summoned to town meetings, served frequently asjuryman and in November, 1677, was one of the first tythingmen selectedby the town under the act of that year authorizing the appointment ofsuch officers. His children were: 1. Barzillai, mentioned below. 2.James, born 1641, married, May 10, 1667, Mary, daughter of WilliamStickney. They moved to Suffield, Connecticut (then a part ofMassachusetts, and later settled in Springfield, Massachusetts. 3. Eunice, bornJune 2, 1642, died May, 1645. 4. Nathaniel, born October 15, 1644,married Mary (???), died in Rowley, November 10, 1722. 5. Eunice, bornFebruary 11, 1645-6, married John Watson. 6. Grace, born April 1, 1650,married November 3, 1680, James Cannady, died February 19, 1723-4. 7.Tamar, born December 13, 1652, died the same month. 8. Stephen,born September 10, 1653, died December, 1653.