mon with that of Thomas Wayte,
who was a member of the English Parliament in Cromwell's time, one of
the judges who condemned Charles the First to death, and who signed the
warrant for his execution. Be this as it may, the records show that the
brothers Richard and Gamaliel were admitted to the church in Boston in
1634 and 1633 respectively, thus establishing the fact of their
residence here at that early date. Tracing their history
chronologically, the name of Gamaliel, the younger brother, appears
first on the list of Freemen, in 1635. Nov. 30, 1637, he was disarmed
because of his sympathy with the views of Mr. Wheelwright and Mrs. Anne
Hutchinson. His occupation is inferred from the fact that in company
with other fishermen he petitioned the court at Salem, Oct. 14, 1657,
"for exemption from training in the fishing season." In 1670 he received
from the General Court a grant of a half acre of land in Boston, on the
south side of "Sentry Hill," to plant and improve; and in 1673 he was
part owner of Long Island in Boston Harbor. Mention is made in 1677 of
his son John, his daughter Deborah, and his grandchildren Ebenezer and
Richard Price, the children of his daughter Grace. From an entry in the
diary of Judge Sewell it is learned that he died suddenly, Dec. 9, 1685,
aged 87 years.

His son John, born in 1646, after long experience as a member of the
General Court of Massachusetts, was in 1684 made Speaker of the House of
Representatives. He was eminent in his day among Boston business-men,
was a witness to the will of Governor Leverett, was one of the sureties
on the bond of Emma, widow and administratrix of the estate of Moses
Maverick, of Marblehead, in 1686; succeeded to his father in the
ownership of a portion of Long Island in Boston Harbor, and in 1694
sold "Beudal's Dock," then in his possession. His wife Emma (nee
Roberts), upon his death in 1702, was appointed executrix of his estate.

From John, and other descendants of Gamaliel Wayte, are traced the
Watertown, Medford, and Brookfield branches of the family, whose
representatives are found in all parts of the United States. A memorial
of the last named branch is found in the historic "Wait Monument" at
Springfield, Mass., erected in 1763 to mark the old "Boston Road." It
appears that Mr. Wait, mistaking his way at this point, nearly perished
in a snow-storm, and erected this waymark for the benefit of future
travellers. It is about four feet high, two feet b