Samuel Appleton (born 1625)

[2] Through his mother Judith Everard a number of historians have traced his ancestry to William D'Aubigny, a signer of Magna Carta, and to King Henry I of England.

[7] In 1668, Appleton was chosen to serve as a deputy to the Massachusetts General Court and received the title of Lieutenant.

He proceeded to the Connecticut River Valley, where Captain Thomas Lathrop's Company had been destroyed on September 18.

[8] On October 4, Major John Pynchon resigned as Commander-in-Chief of the militia headquarters in Hadley and Appleton was chosen to succeed him.

[1] In November 1675, the commissioners of the United Colonies of New England had evidence that the neutral Narragansett tribe was assisting Metacomet.

[2] Appleton opposed the government of Colonial Governor Sir Edmund Andros as early as 1682.

[10] On September 19, 1687, a warrant was issued for Appleton's arrest for being "factiously and seditiously inclined, and disaffected to his Majesty's government".

[8] According to tradition, Appleton hid at his son's home in Saugus (then part of Lynn) and delivered an address from a rocky cliff near the Iron Works in which he denounced the tyranny of Andros.

[13] He remained in prison until March 7, 1688, when he was released by the Superior Court in exchange for a £1,000 bond for his future appearance.

He was also a member of the Governor's Council in Salem on April 11, 1692, which interrogated Elizabeth Proctor and Sarah Cloyce on charges of witchcraft brought against them.

Both, plus Elizabeth's husband, John Proctor, were bound over for trial once a Superior Court could be convened to hear the cases.