William Sawyer was born in 1613 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, to Agnes Sharpe and John Sawyer. William Sawyer arrived in Massachutes in 1640 first at Salem, now Wenham in 1642 where he received a grant of land. Three years later, he appeared in Newbury, Massachusetts, and settled beside the Merrimac River, near the meeting-house, in that part of town afterward called the West Parish. In 1652, Newbury,MA he became a townsman of Newbury and was entitled to "purchase the privilege of Commonage."
He married Ruth Bitterfield in 1644 and they had 12 children.
He was elected to the following offices in the town for the term of one year:
- Fence viewer, April 2, 1666, and April 3, 1671;
- Surveyor of highways, March 5, 1676-77;
- Tithing-man, March 24, 1679-80, and March 22, 1685-86.
On May 14, 1654, with many others, he signed a petition from Newbury to the General Court in behalf of "our loving friend, Lieutenant Robert Pike, of Salisbury;" and on May 21, 1663, as "Willi : Sayor," he joined in a petition to the same court against the fine imposed upon Dr. Greenland, of Newbury, who had practised as a physician without a "License under the hand of a magistrate." In 1678, William Sawyer took the oath of allegiance.
The name of his wife was Ruth. With the spread of Baptist teachings, he and his wife and son John became members of the First Baptist Church at Boston in 1681. The following year, he and his eldest son founded a church of that faith in Newbury; but it did not flourish, and soon became extinct. By grant and by purchase he became the possessor of a number of acres, upon which was built the house that he occupied, near the main road in the West Parish.
Burying Ground of the First Settlers of Newbury, Ma, High Road and Route 1A.
William died in 1701[2] Newbury
Ruth died 3 Nov 1699 Newbury
