Samuel Appleton (born 1625)

Samuel Appleton (1625 – May 15, 1696) was a military and government leader in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay. He was a commander of the Massachusetts militia during King Philip's War who led troops during the Attack on Hatfield, Massachusetts and the Great Swamp Fight. He also held numerous positions in government and was an opponent of Governor Sir Edmund Andros.

Appleton was born in 1625 in Little Waldingfield, England to Samuel and Judith (Everard) Appleton. When he was eleven years old he moved to Ipswich, Massachusetts with his father.

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

In 1651 he married Hannah Paine of Ipswich. They had three children – Hannah, Judith, and Samuel. On December 8, 1656 he married Mary Oliver. They had four children – John, Issac, Oliver, and Joanna.

In 1664, Appleton sued the Saugus Iron Works, which had been owned by his father-in-law, William Paine, in order to secure an inheritance of £1,500 left by Paine to Appleton's three children with Hannah Paine. Samuel Appleton, Jr. would eventually take control of the Ironmaster's House as part of the settlement.

In 1668, Appleton was chosen to serve as a deputy to the Massachusetts General Court and received the title of Lieutenant. He served in the company of his brother, Captain John Appleton, from 1669 to 1671. He then served by himself from 1673 to 1675. In 1675, King Philip's War broke out and Appleton was promoted to Captain. On September 24, 1675, Appleton received a commission to command a foot company of 100 men. He proceeded to the Connecticut River Valley, where Captain Thomas Lathrop's Company had been destroyed on September 18.

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