Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Allen line, or not? Thomas Harris 1580-1634

I'm sticking my neck out here, because nothing I'm finding supports my tree that says that Rachel Harris, who married Thomas Starr, is the daughter of this Thomas Harris.  So we may or may not be related to this man.  Thomas Starr was from Canterbury, Kent, England and Thomas Harris is from Hatherup, Gloucester, England, so we need to find a reason and a way for the two to meet before we set this branch of the tree firmly in place.  It may well be that there will be a better candidate found for Rachel's parents, and that would be fine with me. 

However, in case this Thomas Harris is the right person, and because he came with the Winthrop Fleet and is therefore automatically interesting (to me, at least), I'll give the bare facts about him, mostly as researched by Robert Charles Anderson in The Great Migration Begins.  Thomas was the son of William amd Agnes Mason Harris, and was born at Hatherup, Gloucester, England, about 1580.  He married Elizabeth, (most sites, but not Anderson, say her name was Hills) sinetime before 1613, as children started arriving at that time.  Six children were noted in a will by Harris's nephew in 1639, but Rachel wasn't left a bequest.  There could be reasons for that, but nevertheless it is worth considering.  Known children of our couple are Anna, John, Thomas, William, Anthony and Daniel.  According to the approximate birth dates, there would have been time for a child named Rachel to have been born between Anna and John.  However, it seems that we have no definite birth dates for any of the children. or for Eliabeth, so this is almost just speculation. 

As mentioned, the Harris's came to New England in 1630, with the Winthrop fleet.  For whatever reason, whether political, familial, or religious, Thomas's name is listed as Thomas Harris alias Williams, and he continued to use that name, Harris alias Williams, for some time in the New World.  The family settled at Winnissimmet, later known as Chelsea and now part of Boston.  In 1630, shortly after arrival at Massachusetts Bay Colony, he requested freemanship which was granted as Thomas Williams alias Harris in 1631.  That same year he was granted the authority to set up a ferry to run between Winnissimmit and Charlton, and also from Winnissimmet to Boston, with fees sets by the authorities. 

We don't know how long this was actually in operation under Harris's watch, because by 1634 his widow had remarried and her new husband had control of the ferry.  (The ferry stayed in operation until 1917).  Elizabeth lived until February 16,1669/70, and was either 83 or 93 when she died.  We can guess that Thomas may have had an accident, or drowned, or succumbed to one or another of the illnesses that killed so many early pioneers.  We will likely never know that story, and we may not ever know whether Rachel was truly his daughter. 

If he is our ancestor, here is the line of descent:

Thomas Harris-Elizabeth Hills
Rachel Harris-Thomas Starr
Samuel Starr-Hannah Brewster
Thomas Starr-Mary Morgan
Thomas Starr-Jerusha Street
John Starr-Mary Sharp
John Starr-Betsy Havens
John Havens Starr-Clarissa Falley
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Their descendants

If someone knows whether or not Rachel Harris's father is Thomas, and whether or not this is the correct Thomas, I sure would like to know about it!


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