(The majority of the following information comes from Partridge Genealogy. Descendants of John Partridge of Medfield, Mass. by George Homer Partridge.)
John Partridge was the 119th signer of the covenant of Dedham which established Dedham, Massachusetts.1 He was in Dedham by at least 1652, for on "ye 7 of ye 1 Mo. 1652"2 he shared with others in the division of 500 acres of land. He came to Medfield from Dedham in 1653 and was probably accompanied by his brother William and sister Margery.3
Prior to these dates, nothing concerning them can yet be stated with certainty. John Partridge, his brother William and sister Margerett have been assumed to be the children of those names born to Capt. John Partridge and Jane Hogge Partridge of Navestock, Essex, England.3 However, that has recently been challenged.4 (See Appendix A for a discussion of this subject.)
"John and William Partridge took up their house lots in Medfield in ‘The bachelors Roe,’5 now North Street. Their places were near together, and one of their neighbors in the same street was Thomas Mason, whom Margery Partridge married, April 23, 1653. This is the first marriage recorded in Medfield. 6 John and William both signed the proprietors' agreement drawn, it is supposed, by Ralph Wheelock, the founder of Medfield (Tilden's Hist, of Medfield, p. 38). They appear to have been useful citizens, each serving the town as selectman, and John being chosen clerk of the market in 1672."3
Magdalene Bullard was the daughter of John and Magdalene (Martyn?) Bullard. Della Hall says Magdalene was christened on 18 Oct. 1635 at Barnham, Suffolk, England. The family first settled in Watertown, Massachusetts where John Bullard was a proprietor in 1638.8 He became a proprietor of the new settlement of Dedham about 1641, but by 1650, the family had moved to Medfield. Magdalene Bullard married John Partridge, on 18 Dec 1655 in Medfield. They established a homestead in West Medfield, which later was set off to become Medway. It was at what is now Mechanic St and Oak St., Medway.
When the Indians burned Medfield during King Phillip’s War in 1676, the Partridge’s house and barn were destroyed, together with a quantity of grain and several head of cattle.6 Magdalene died on 27 Dec. 1676. She is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery across the street from their homestead. John did not remarry. John, or his son, John Jr., built a house at what is now 315 Exchange Street in the part of Medway that became Millis, and John Sr. is said to have resided there in his later years.
John Partridge died May 28, 1706 and is buried next to his wife. In his will, proved June 25 following (Suffolk Co. Prob. Rec, vol. xvi., pp. 158-159), mention is made of his sons John, Eleazer, Samuel and Zachariah; his daughter Rachel, wife of Theophilus Clark; and three of his grandchildren, Eleazer and Obadiah Adams, and Hannah Rockwood.
John, born Sept. 21, 1656; d. Dec. 9, 1743.
Hannah, born April 15, 1658; d. March 8, 1680; m. April 2,1679, Joseph, b. Medfleld, 1659, d. Swansea, July 21, 1693, son of Nicholas and Margaret (Holbrook) Rockwood. They resided in Medfleld, he afterwards in Swansea. One child.
Deborah, born Aug. 16, 1662; m. Apr. 4, 1681, John, b. Medfleld, Feb. 18, 1657, d. Medway, Mch. 1,1751, son of Edward and Lydia (Rockwood) Adams. They resided in Medfleld (now Millis). Children.
Eleazer (Julia's ancestor), born Feb. 20, 1664; married Elizabeth Smith, d. Nov. 8, 1736.
Abiel, (twin son) born June 13, 1667; d. July 2, 1667.
Experience, (twin son) born June 13, 1667; d. July 5, 1667.
Rachel, born July 12, 1669; d. Dec. 1, 1717; m. Theophilus Clarke, b. Medfleld, Sept. 25, 1670, d. Oct. 7, 1737, son of Benjamin and Dorcas (Morse) Clark. They resided in Medfleld (now Rockville).
Deacon Samuel, born Feb. 22, 1671; d. Dec. 12, 1752.
Zachariah, born July 2, 1674; d. Sept. 23, 1716.
Mary, d. Feb. 15, 1677.
George Homer Partridge says:
"…on "ye 7 of ye 1 Mo. 1652" [John Partridge] shared with others in the division of 500 acres of land.
(Dedham Town Records, vol. iii., p. 211.) Prior to these dates, nothing concerning them can yet be stated
with certainty.
"It may be well, however, for the benefit of those who may desire to extend their researches to England, to call attention to the fact that in the Visitation of Essex (Harl. Soc. Pub., xiii., part 1, p. 465), which was made in the year 1634, the children of Captain John Partridge, of Navestock, were John, aged about fourteen years, William, Jane and Margerett. From information obtained from the vicar of the parish of Navestock, in 1899, by Mr. Frank Harvey Partridge, of New York, it appears that, of the foregoing children, William was born in 1622, and Margerett in 1628. In his will, made Aug. 14, 1692, William Partridge, of Medfield, states his age as "about seventy years" (Suffolk Co. Prob. Rec, vol. xiii., p. 75). In the will of Margery Stacy, of Medfield, relict widow of Thomas Mason, made in 1695, the testatrix states her age as "about sixty and seven years" (Suffolk Co. Prob. Rec, vol. xx., p. 281). These coincidences, while they prove nothing, should, it seems to the writer, be given consideration in clearing up the mystery of the English origin of the Medfield Partridges."
https://www.geni.com/people/John-Partridge-of-Medfield/6000000003076899749 states that
"Partridge (1999) has disproved this ancestry." meaning the ancestry proposed by George Homer
Partridge.
We have not yet identified the source being cited to check the validity of the assertion.
The Wikipedia article on the John Partridge House says, "The John Partridge House is a historic house at 315 Exchange Street in Millis, Massachusetts. It is a 2-1/2 story wood frame house, five bays wide, with a side gable roof, large central chimney, a front entry with Greek Revival surround. It was built in the second half of the 17th century (the exact date being disputed) and is among the oldest buildings in the town. John Partridge, Sr. or his son John, Jr. was its likely builder, the former having been granted the land in 1659.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.