- Silvanus Bourn, 1694-1763: Bourn, the son of Colonel
Melatiah and Desire (Chipman) Bourn, was born in Sandwich, Mass. and was a
merchant engaged in business in Barnstable and Sandwich. He was a colonel in
the militia, member of the Governor's Council, Register of Probate, and
Judge of Probate. His wife was Mercy Gorham of Barnstable. They had ten
children. Bourn died at Barnstable in 1763.
- Melatiah Bourn, 1722-1778: Bourn, the son of Silvanus
and Mary (Gorham) Bourn, was born in Barnstable, Mass. He became a merchant
and went into partnership with Joseph Freeman in Boston. He also served as
Overseer of the Poor in Boston, was Town Auditor, and served in the militia.
He married Mary Bowdoin Bayard and had four children. He died in Barnstable
in 1778.
- Silvanus Cobb, 1710-1762: Cobb was born in Plymouth,
Mass. and was a mariner and military officer. He raised a company of
soldiers in Plymouth, Mass. for the New England expedition against
Louisbourg (1746) and for a brief time worked out
of Annapolis Royal under the command of Paul Mascarene; was master of the
sloop York; was hired by Governor Edward Cornwallis for government service
and to aid in transport of New England settlers to Nova Scotia (1750-1760);
owned a farm at Fort Lawrence, near Amherst, Nova Scotia; and died during a
siege at Havana, Cuba in 1762.
During the fall and winter of 1744-1745, Governor William Shirley, of colonial Massachusetts, campaigned to convince New Englanders that an attack on the fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia was practical. On February 5, 1745, the Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a plan to move against French-held Louisbourg in conjunction with the other British colonies. The colonies quickly raised a land force, Massachusetts being in the lead with seven regiments. William Pepperrell became the expedition's commander. In April of 1745 the troops embarked for Nova Scotia and by May had laid seige to the fortress, which surrendered on June 17.
These papers document various other colonial Massachusetts military expeditions to Canada continuing until 1760 when the French surrendered Montreal to the British, thus ending the French and Indian Wars in North America.
From the guide to the Bourne family Massachusetts military papers, 1744-1764., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)
