Dorchester

The Lathams lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During Elizabeth's girlhood, more than 10,000 colonists lived there. Almost all of them were Puritans, since those fervent souls permitted no other religion in their colony. .

Early settlements grew from grants of land given by the British Crown, from which they could form a new town. Some of the land was reserved for public use. The rest was divided among the settlers, who received lots for a house, a garden, and fields to farm.

Little has changed since Elizabeth's time. Towns govern themselves. Most have a grist mill to grind grain into flour or meal, a blacksmith to make and repair tools, and a cooper to make barrels. Skilled carpenters and shoemakers also pursue their craft throughout the colonies.