Ebenezer Byram came to the region in 1742 from Bridgewater, Massachusetts with his five sons and three daughters. Proprietor of the Black Horse Inn, he was a leader in the community and served as justice of the peace and a major in the militia. He is credited with having named the area Mendham (Mendon, Mendum) after his ancestral village in England. His son, Eliab Byram, married Abigail Alden, who was a direct descendant of Captain John Alden and his wife, Priscilla of "Mayflower" fame.