Grizzell (Eastwick) Apthorp (1709-1796)

"Madam Apthorp" Mrs Grizzell (Eastwick/Eastwicke) Apthorp

She was born at Jamaica in the West Indies and was a grand-daughter of Sir John Lloyd 1st Bt., who helped convey King Charles II to France. In 1726, at Boston, she married Charles Apthorp, a "venerable slave importer and one of the richest men in Boston". After his death, she moved to a house off Brattle Square described in 1798: "Madam Apthorp's heirs, owners... brick dwelling; fronting east on Brattle Square; North on Widow Turell; South on Isaac Townsend... Land 3,170 square feet; House, 1,080 square feet; 2 stories; 27 windows; Value $4,500". She was a significant donor to King's Chapel.

She had 18-children, of whom eleven reached adulthood and married: (1) Charles Ward Apthorp who built the Apthorp Mansion at Bloomingdale, New York, and married Mary McEvers (2) Grizzell, married Barlow Trecothick, M.P., Lord Mayor of London (3) John Apthorp, married Alicia, sister of Sir Horatio Mann, and after her death, Hannah Greenleaf (4) James Apthorp, married Sarah Wentworth, whose first cousin, uncle and grandfather were all Governors of New Hampshire. They were the parents of "the American Sappho" Sarah Wentworth Morton (5) Rev. East Apthorp, Founder of Christ Church, Cambridge, where he built the Apthorp House. He married Elizabeth Hutchinson, a niece and granddaughter of two Governors of Massachusetts (6) Susan, married Thomas Bulfinch and they were the parents of "America's first native-born architect" Charles Bulfinch (7) Ann, married Nathaniel Wheelwright whose bankruptcy was "like an earthquake" to Boston (8) Elizabeth, married James McEvers and then her sister's widow Robert Bayard, both of New York (9) Thomas Apthorp was a Loyalist and left America in 1780, settling in England. He was married twice (10) Rebecca, married Robert Bayard, who afterwards married her sister, Elizabeth (11) William Apthorp, married Mary Thompson.
Contributed by Mark Meredith on 12/01/2021 and last updated on 16/05/2021.