Deacon of the First Parish

Deacons of the First Church in Billerica (later the First Parish), the lay officers who assisted the pastor, handled the church's contributions and communion, and sat in the "deacon's seat" in front of the pulpit. In 1661 the town appointed Lt. William French, John Parker, Ralph Hill Sr. and William Tay to sit in the deacon's seat, before the church was organized in 1663. Deacons were chosen for life, and the older ones usually served until death.

Farmer's Memoir (1816) gives the list of deacons down to 1815, mostly with death dates only; later deacons are named in Hazen's History of Billerica (1883) and in Mrs. M. H. Sage's Old Families of the First Parish (1898). Because the church records before 1747 are lost and the dates of choice are not given, the start year shown is the earliest year in which a source names the man as deacon (left blank when no dated mention was found), and the end year is normally his death or resignation.