Editing Nathaniel Eaton (section)

===Family lost at sea===
According to Winthrop's ''History of New England''{{ref|winthrop}}, the ship in which the family traveled disappeared without a trace. His only remaining child, Benoni Eaton, had been left in Cambridge under the care of Thomas Chesholm and his wife, Isobel; Thomas was steward of Harvard College from 1650 to 1660.<ref name="familybook"/><ref>Primus V "Pay the Term Bill in Barrel Hoops" (September–October 2004) The Harvard Magazine ([http://harvardmagazine.com/2004/09/pay-the-term-bill-in-bar.html harvardmagazine.com])</ref><ref>Newell, W. (1846) "A Discourse on the Cambridge Church-Gathering in 1636" James Munroe and Company (pg 55, via [https://archive.org/stream/discourseoncambr00newe#page/54/mode/2up archive.org])</ref> Through Benoni, Nathaniel has modern descendants.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Eaton|first1=Daniel Cady|title=Papers of the New Haven colony historical society|website=Archive.org|year=1888|page=185|url=https://archive.org/stream/papersofnewhaven05newh#page/184/mode/2up|access-date=20 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="familybook">{{cite journal |last1=Fitzenry |first1=Barbara L. L. |last2=Garnon Peters |first2=Pauline |last3=Eaton |first3=David Danielson |last4=MacMillan |first4=Douglas James |title=Family of Nathaniel Eaton |journal=The New Etonian Newsletter |date=June 2015 |volume=13 |issue=12 |url=http://www.eatongenealogy.com/Newsletter/06%20Jun%2015.pdf |access-date=12 June 2020}}</ref>

Following the loss of his family, Eaton married the widow Anne (Graves) Cotton {{ref|spvar}} (1620–1684), the daughter of [[Captain Thomas Graves]] (1584–1635) of Virginia,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Graves|first1=Ken|title=Captain Thomas Graves|url=http://www.gravesfa.org/gen169.htm|website=Graves Family Association|access-date=20 June 2017}}</ref> becoming the brother-in-law of [[William Stone (Maryland governor)|William Stone]], the governor of the [[Province of Maryland]], and family members with future [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] [[Thomas Stone]] and [[Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer]].<ref>The William and Mary Quarterly Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan., 1939), pp. 34-41 (8 pages) Published By: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture</ref><ref>Hiden, P. W. “The Graves Family of York County.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 2, 1941, pp. 157–71. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1923627. Accessed 1 July 2023.</ref>

Eaton served for several years as an assistant to the [[Anglican Church|Anglican]] curate at [[Accomac, Virginia]] before returning to England, where he was appointed vicar of [[Bishop's Castle]], [[Shropshire]], in 1661 and rector of [[Bideford]], Devon, in 1668.<ref name="Acad"/>

In 1647, Eaton was exonerated of a £100 debt that Winthrop misstated as being for £1,000 in his ''History of New England'', and with which Eaton had supposedly absconded to Virginia in 1640. The exoneration is documented in Henry Dunster's record book for Harvard College as a copy of a letter by two benefactors that Dunster recorded directly underneath his first design of the [[:Image:Harvard shield-University.png|seal of Harvard College]]. The 1640 [[Financial endowment|endowment]] letter was footnoted in 1647 by Theophilus, who wrote:
{{blockquote|This money was put wholey into the hands of my brother Nath:Eaton. 9 August 1647. [signed] Theo:Eaton.<ref>{{cite web|title=College Books, 1636–1827.|url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:10654350?n=37|website=Harvard University. Corporation. College Books, 1636–1827. College Book 1, 1639–1795. UAI 5.5 Box 1, Harvard University Archives.|publisher=Harvard University Archives|access-date=27 July 2017|ref=(seq. 37)}}</ref>}} The intention of the footnote was to indicate that his brother had finally been repaid, and apparently Nathaniel had in part used the money to further his education. As for the £100, Thomas Symonds&nbsp;, a carpenter who apparently assisted in the building of the college at Cambridge in 1639 and afterwards. was found to be in debt to one of the college's creditors, John Cogan, for the same amount. The college building was poorly erected, and Symonds was the responsible party after Eaton left. Symonds and at least one of his assistants were ultimately incarcerated in [[debtor's prison]].