Benjamin was born on October 25, 1746 in Shrewsbury, MA to Phineas and Elizabeth (Moore) Heywood. He was the eighth of their eleven children. The births of his five oldest siblings were recorded in neighboring Worcester, MA, so the original family farm was likely there. From a young age he was trained as a carpenter and housewright and was fairly skilled, but was more interested in scholarship than pursuing a trade. Benjamin studied hard and entered Harvard in 1771, showin