Holbrook line: Thomas Stoughton 1588-1661

Thomas Stoughton is, like many of our ancestors, a man with secrets.  We know quite a bit about him, but one thing I have not been able to determine is how he made his living.  But let's start at the beginning. 

Thomas was likely the second Thomas in his family.  There was a Thomas born in 1588, but our Thomas wasn't baptized until January 23, 1592/93.  It would have been unusual to wait that long to baptize a child in Naughton, Suffolk, England, especially since his father, also Thomas Stoughton, was a Puritan clergyman.  His mother was Katherine, likely Montpesson.  So unless Thomas Senior for political/religious reasons had delayed baptizing his first born, we can consider it likely that Thomas, our subject, was born in January of 1592/93. 

Thomas was born into a family who valued education and who honored the Lord but wished to do it in their own way.  that way was Puritan, not church of England, and so the family probably suffered economically after the father lost his church in 1606.  His father, a Cambridge graduate, turned to writing theological pamphlets but it is hard to see how he would have made a living from that.  Thomas was one of seven children, and was educated to a high grammar school level.  Perhaps he was tutored, at home or elsewhere, but as far as is known he did not attend a university. 

Thomas married Elizabeth Thompson or Tompson on May 5, 1612 at Great Totham, Essex, England.  He would have been just about 20 years old, which was a little young for the time and place, but he felt ready to support a wife and family.  Again, we don't know how he supported his family, which soon included 4 daughters and a son.  Another daughter, the first Elizabeth, died shortly after her birth.  The second Elizabeth died when she was 6 years old, and there is no further record of Anna, who may also have died young.  His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1627, leaving Thomas with children Sarah, Katherine, and Thomas.  It should be noted that our connection is through a daughter Elizabeth, who is given varying birth dates but no documentation.  So it's possible that Elizabeth was part of this family, but not a child of Thomas's.  Perhaps she was his niece or a cousin or some other relation.  For now, we will leave her as a daughter. 

Thomas and his children came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, possibly on the Mary and John, although I don't find his name on any of the lists.  He probably went directly to Dorchester where he became a freeman on May 18, 1631.  He served on the General Court there until 1634, helped "order the affairs of the plantation" and later was a constable there.  He was fined five pounds for marrying two people, which is a bit puzzling.  Was he doing this as a civil servant or as a religious person?  At any rate, the fine was eventually forgiven. 

By 1635, there were religious tensions in Dorchester and Thomas was one of the men who went to what would become Windsor.  He set the boundaries for the village and served in the court there for eleven years.  About the time he went to Windsor, he married again, to Margaret Barret Huntington, a widow of "good means, and has five children".  As far as we know, they lived happily every after.

Thomas died on March 25, 1661.  I have not been able to find a will or inventory for him, which is a disappointment.  We do know he owned several parcels of land, but whether these were developed for farming or not we don't know.  So, as mentioned earlier, although we know quite a bit about him there are still mysteries.  How did he make a living?  And was Elizabeth his daughter, or possibly the daughter of one of his brothers who also came to the Bay Colony? 

The supposed line of descent is:

Thomas Stoughton-Elizabeth Thomson
Elizabeth Stoughton-John Kingsley
Freedom Grace Kingsley-John French
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants