John Choate (1624-1695) came to America at age 19 from the county of Kent, England, an apprentice to Mr. Thomas Low. A few years later, he bought a small farm in Ipswich, Massachusetts. In 1660 he married Ann Carramas (1637-1727) and they had nine children. As early as 1667 he began buying shares of common lands allocated to the proprietors of the town which were located on an island. By 1690 he was almost the sole owner of Hog Island.

Francis Choate (1701-1777) was born in Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, Massachusetts, and learned the trade of a blacksmith. "It is said that he made all the iron-work for three schooners which he built in company with his brother, Thomas Choate." He owned and chartered many vessels engaged in fishing and in the coasting trade. In 1727 he married Hannah Perkins (1708-1778).

William Choate (1730-1785) was born in Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, Massachusetts. He married Mary Giddings (1732-1810) in 1756 and they had 10 children. He became a ship captain and sailed during the winter months while farming in the summer. He taught school on Hog Island.

John Choate (1737-1791) might have been known as Jr. to distinguish him from his uncle. He trained as a blacksmith like his father, Francis (1701-1777) and was a trader and Justice of the Peace. He had two wives (Mary Eveleth (1738-1788) and Sarah Johnson (died 1820)), and three children (Lucy (1764-1787), Christian (born 1769), and Sarah (born 1784).

David Choate (1757-1808) was born in Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, Massachusetts. He served in the Continental Army in 1780. He married Mary Cogswell (1760-1784) in June 1784, but she died in August 1784. David then married Miriam Foster (1771-1853) in 1791 and they had six children: Mary (Polly), Hannah, David, Rufus, Washington, and Job.

John Choate (1765-1838) was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Baker (1761-1829) in 1786. In 1832, he married Mary Cogswell. They had six children. He engaged in fishing and in the West Indies trade until the business was interrupted by the War of 1812. He was a Justice of the Peace, Selectman, Overseer of the Poor and a Representative to the General Court. He is from a different branch of the family tree than the other family members in the collection. See Appendix I for a family tree.

Amos Choate (1775-1844) graduated from Harvard in 1795, taught school and was master of the Ipswich Latin School, studied law but did not practice it, and was Registrar of Probate in Salem. He married Lucy Smith and had a son August (1803-1828), who also attended Harvard in 1823. His second wife was Mehitable Neal (1783-1856).

Rufus Choate (1799-1859) was a lawyer, statesman, and orator. He was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1819, spent a year in the Harvard University Law School, served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and in the state senate. He was elected to Congress in 1830 and later served as attorney general of Massachusetts (1853-1854). He died in Halifax, Nova Scotia in July 1859.

Rufus Choate (1834-1913) was born in Essex, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1855, studied law at Cambridge Law and served in the military. He married Sarah E. Burnham and they had two daughters, Agnes May and Celia Mason.

William Cowper Choate (1843-1923) was born in Essex, Massachusetts, to David (1796-1872) and Elizabeth Wade Choate. In 1869 he married Lydia Maria Gage (1843-1891). In 1893 he married Elizabeth M. Norton (born 1851). William and Lydia had one son, David Foster Choate (1875-after 1930). William was in charge of the First Universalist Church choir in Essex for many years.

Washington Choate (1846-1918) was born in Essex, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1870 and from Union Theological Seminary in 1875. He served in various pastorates in New England. He married Grace Richards Whiton (born 1853) in 1875. They had three daughters.

Captain Simeon Haskell (1776-1846) sailed on ships such as the schooner Elizabeth, the schooner Dew Drop and the brig Charles Allen. He married Elizabeth Girdler in 1802.