The Putnam family of prominent old colonial Americans was founded by Puritans John and Priscilla (Gould) Putnam in the 17th century, in Salem, Massachusetts. Many notable individuals are descendants of this family, including those listed below.
John Putnam was born about 1580 and came from Aston Abbotts, Buckinghamshire, England. He was married to Priscilla Gould and they settled in Salem. They were the parents of seven children: Elizabeth, Thomas, John, Nathaniel, Sara, Phoebe, and John. Their eldest son, Thomas, was the father of Thomas Putnam and Deacon Edward Putnam, who were involved in the Salem witch trials and were partially responsible for the executions of those convicted of witchcraft.[1]
Paul A. Putnam (1903–1982), American Brigadier General United States Marine Corps, Commander during the defense of wake Island during World War II
Samuel Putnam (1768–1853), Massachusetts Supreme Court justice, who wrote the opinion in Harvard College v. Amory, which established the Prudent man rule in US Law
Robert Putnam (born 1941), American political scientist, Harvard University
Rufus Putnam (1738–1824), American Revolution officer, later brigadier general
Seth Putnam (1968–2011), American musician, from Newton, Massachusetts
Eben Putnam (1868–1933), historian and genealogist
References
Eben Putnam, A history of the Putnam family in England and America, 1908
G. Andrews Moriarty Jr., A.M., LL.B., F.S.A., The English Ancestry of John Putnam Of Salem, Massachusetts
^Putnam, Eben (1891), A History of the Putnam Family in England and America. Recording the Ancestry and Descendants of John Putnam of Danvers, Mass., Jan Poutman of Albany, N. Y., Thomas Putnam of Hartford, Conn, Volume 1, Salem Press Publishing and Printing Company, retrieved October 4, 2007