Though born Jan 7, 1694 in Cambridge, John Nutting would be an active part of the Salem community for over 70 years. John was the first of his family to attend Harvard, and after graduating in 1712- like many graduates of the time- he pursued a career as a schoolmaster. John moved to Salem in 1718, taking on the running of Salem’s Grammar School the following year. One year later, he married Ruth Gardner, firmly establishing his place in Salem. Their first child seems to have been John Jr, born in 1729, though the child would die after only a few months. Their second child, Eunice, was born in 1730, followed by another John in 1733. In 1736, John Nutting was made Ruling Elder of the First Church, a position he would hold for several decades. While things were going very well for John, Ruth would tragically pass away that November at the age of 37.
John remained single for about four years, eventually marrying Elizabeth Pickman in 1740, and placing himself within another prominent Salem family. His daughter Eunice married merchant William Vans and his son John followed in his father’s footsteps by marrying a different Elizabeth Pickman. After serving as schoolmaster of Salem for thirty years, John Nutting decided to move towards potentially more lucrative employment, picking up civil service positions with an alarming speed. He was a Notary Public in 1755 as well as Register of Deeds for many years. He was made the King’s Weigher and Gauger in 1764, quickly being promoted to Collector for Salem and Marblehead in 1648 (which also made him a member of the Admiralty Court). His son was working as a merchant in his own right and in 1760 helped found the Social Library, one of the two organizations that would merge to become the Salem Athenaeum. John Jr. died before his father, but it’s not clear when, possibly on an overseas journey.
In 1772, the First Church congregation split, resulting in the formation of the North Church. The land for the new church was sold by John Nutting and he was unsurprisingly made Ruling Elder, this time of the North Church. In 1785, Elizabeth Nutting died. By this point, John was over 90 years old and his health was beginning to fail. He wrote his will, leaving everything to his daughter Eunice and his grandson, who was already abroad and in poor health. In 1790, at the age of 96, John Nutting died of influenza. He was buried in Charter St beside his wife Elizabeth and, a few months later, his daughter Eunice.