Holbrook line: Thomas Bliss, Immigrant

While doing a little research about Thomas Bliss, I learned that there are at least two Thomas Blisses in New England during roughly the same time period.  Some trees have them mixed together, and I've spend considerable time trying to apply the right facts to the right gentleman.  I hope I have this correct now.  If I still have some doubts, I'll try to point them out as I go along.  And if I get something wrong, please contact me, especially if you have better sources than I've used!

Thomas was most likely born about 1588 in the village of Preston Parva, Daventry, Northamptonshire, England.  This is pretty much in the geographical center of England, with no ocean waters close.  It may have been largely an agricultural town, but Thomas learned the trade of blacksmithing.  We don't know much about his parents although at least one blog post lists them as John Bliss of Daventry and later Preston Parva, and Alice Smith. Another source gives William Bliss and Elizabeth Oliphant as being his parents.  More research, again, is needed.

Thomas married Dorothy Wheatley on November 22, 1614 in Daventry.  She apparently died in 1631, after giving birth to seven children.  Then it gets confusing.  He may have married Abigail Southam, or that may have been his cousin Thomas who married Abigail.  No record of her death has been found.  It does appear that Thomas and his children by Dorothy emigrated to Massachusetts in about 1638, and it seems a little unlikely that he would have made this trip with up to seven children, if he didn't have a wife or other family member to help with the children.  There is also a slight possibility that the Dorothy Bliss who died in 1631 was a different Dorothy Bliss, and that Dorothy Wheatley Bliss died in 1646 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts.  I'm not finding documentation for that death report, but it could very well exist. 

Thomas and Dorothy's children were Elizabeth, Mary, Jane, John, Thomas, and Jonathan.  They may have also had a daughter Martha, who died young, and possibly Nathaniel, although I wonder if he belongs to the other Thomas Bliss. 

The family, with or without a wife and mother, came to New England in 1637 and settled first at Braintree.  There were granted land there in 1639, and Thomas too the freeman's oath in May 1642 in Cambridge.  Thomas was one of the original proprietors of Rehoboth, where he moved in 1643.  By the time they both died (before October of 1647, when the inventory was taken), they owned 45 acres of land.  Thomas was a blacksmith at Rehoboth, and also a farmer and surveyor.  The blacksmith trade would have supported his family during the lean times, while waiting for crops to grow and debts to be paid. 

Thomas inventory was valued at 117 pounds, 16 shillings and 4 pence, which did not include land or  dwelling.  He had some weapons including one old musket and 2 old swords, and a modest amount of books, but most of the value of his inventory was in either tools belonging to the blacksmith trade, or equipment and animals used in farming. 

I don't have a clear indication of his religion, although his will uses the typical language of giving his soul to God and his body to the earth.  Most likely he was a Puritan, but we don't know for sure that that was the case.  There are other things I'd like to know, also, especially whether he had a wife in New England, and his parentage.  But knowing this much allows us to give him the honor he is due, as a pioneer family during the early days of New England.  Thank you, Thomas Bliss!

Here is the line of descent:

Thomas Bliss-Dorothy Wheatley
Mary Bliss-Nathaniel Harmon
James Harmon-Sarah Clark
Jane Harmon-Samuel Doty
Sarah Doty-Josiah Standish
Hannah Standish-Nathan Foster
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Eliabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants