John Bishop, our immigrant ancestor, is a hard man to pin down. There were several John Bishops in New England during the time period our John Bishop was there, and as usual, I believe some of his records have been merged with those of other John Bishops. I have not found a will, a deed, a hint of land ownership, a record of being a freeman, or marriage and birth records for him, for his wife, or for his children. So I'm going to pick my way carefully through the rubble and hope that I don't trip over the wrong John Bishop as I write this.
Our John Bishop was most likely born in or near Neen Savage, Shropshire, England about 1590. Need Savage is small enough that it's not described as a village, even now. It has the designation of "hamlet". It does appear to have a very old church and this is likely where John was christened. He may be the son of Richard Bishop but even that is not certain. All that we really know is that he somehow met and married Ann, whose last name may be Stevens, probably about 1619. They had four children together and set to work raising their family, with the children being born roughly from 1620 to 1630.
When they came to America on the Saint John in 1639, the children would have been 9 to 19 years old. They were certainly old enough to help establish the home they would live in, in the wilderness. John had traveled in the party of Reverend Henry Whitfield, and most if not all of the people on the ship followed him as they arrived at New Haven, Connecticut and then quickly settled on their own land in what became Guilford, Connecticut.
John was one of the six trustees of the town and one of the three whose name is signed to a deed for a large tract of land in 1643, when the purchase of land from the native Americans was finalized. He was a justice of the peace and may have held other positions that are no longer known to us. We don't know whether or not he ever became a "freeman" although it seems that a man with that kind of respect and service would have been made a freeman. From my 21st century eyes, it only makes sense but again, records are lacking and when he is referred to, his designation is "planter", whereas others are noted as "freeman". John lived out the rest of his days in Guilford.
That is really all that is known about John. He died sometime between February 7, 1659 and February 7, 1661 (I've seen dates of 1659. 1660, and 1661) and although I haven't located a copy of his will or inventory, I did find one for Ann, who died in 1676. Her estate was valued at slightly over 87 pounds. She named three children and a grandchild as heirs, and also left a small bequest to her servant, Thomas Smith. It wasn't unusual to have servants in that time, even for a not well off family, but it does show that John must have left her more than enough to live on.
We don't know whether John had an additional occupation other than planter, or how much land he might have owned, or whether or not he was literate (although he did sign his name to that deed with the Indians and he was a justice of the peace) or whether he was a regular church goer to the end of his life. But we do know that he was courageous enough to come to America, to settle and raise his family, and to take care of his wife, so those are all admirable qualities.
The line of descent is
John Bishop-Ann probably Stevens
Ann Bishop-John Jordan
John Jordan-Katherine Chalker
Hannah Jordan-John Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stanard-Euzebia Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Hatchett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hatchett. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Friday, February 3, 2017
Holbrook line: Alexander Chalker, Immigrant
Although I tend to think of my ancestry as being mainly in Massachusetts, of course there are a lot of immigrant ancestors who settled elsewhere, up and down the East Coast. Alexander Chalker was one who apparently went to Connecticut directly, without stopping in Boston or Plymouth. It's quite possible that he travelled with Reverend Henry Whitfield, who led a group of settlers there. Alexander's signature is not included in the list of 22 men who signed as original settlers, but he is thought to have been quite young when he arrived there, perhaps not yet 21. He may have come as a servant to one of the signers, for instance.
The Whitfield group was formed primarily from those in and around Ockley, Suffolk, England, where he was pastor of St Margaret's Church. He was a Church of England pastor there for twenty years, but eventually was caught up in the Archbishop Laud trouble and was apparently forced to resign. He and many of his congregation came to Connecticut, purchased land from the native Americans, and settled in what became Guilford. This would have been wilderness, but the men and women worked hard and soon it was home.
Alexander may have come from in or near Ockley but as far as I know no one has pinned down the names of his parents. We know he became a freeman in 1644, which means he was at least 21 then, and a member of the church. He probably owned property, too. This explains why his birth date is given as about 1620, although it could be a couple of years later and certainly could also be earlier.
The next we know of Alexander is that he married Katherine Post on September 29,1649 in Guildford. She was the daughter of Stephen Post and Eleanor Panton. At least eight children were born to the couple, although Samuel has been a bit of a mystery. I show a birthdate of 1655 for him, although others say he was born in 1649, which would make him either an "early" baby or the son of another woman.
After some years, the family moved to Saybrook, which was not far away, and may have stayed there until Alexander died. I don't think Alexander was way high up on the social scale because in a 1669 list of treemen several are listed as "Mr.", a term of some respect, and Alexander has no such title attached. So he was a plain vanilla kind of man, likely the kind of hard worker who did the real work of building America.
As far as I can tell, no one knows when Alexander died. Many websites say 1659 but their were children born as late as 1666, so it must have been 1665 or later. Some say it was before fall of 1673, when either his wife or his daughter married a John Hills. If it was his daughter, as seems likely, that date is irrelevant and he could have lived on after that. I've checked several of my "usual sources" and am unable to find a will or death records.
This is as much as I can tell you about Alexander Chalker at the moment. Oh, there's one more thing...He is an ancestor of Mitt Romney, so we are distant cousins to Mr. Romney. If he ever hires a genealogist in England to try to find Alexander's roots, I hope he will share the information with his less wealthy cousins!
The line of descent is:
Alexander Chalker-Katherine Post
Katherine Chalker-John Jordan
Hannah Jordan-John Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The Whitfield group was formed primarily from those in and around Ockley, Suffolk, England, where he was pastor of St Margaret's Church. He was a Church of England pastor there for twenty years, but eventually was caught up in the Archbishop Laud trouble and was apparently forced to resign. He and many of his congregation came to Connecticut, purchased land from the native Americans, and settled in what became Guilford. This would have been wilderness, but the men and women worked hard and soon it was home.
Alexander may have come from in or near Ockley but as far as I know no one has pinned down the names of his parents. We know he became a freeman in 1644, which means he was at least 21 then, and a member of the church. He probably owned property, too. This explains why his birth date is given as about 1620, although it could be a couple of years later and certainly could also be earlier.
The next we know of Alexander is that he married Katherine Post on September 29,1649 in Guildford. She was the daughter of Stephen Post and Eleanor Panton. At least eight children were born to the couple, although Samuel has been a bit of a mystery. I show a birthdate of 1655 for him, although others say he was born in 1649, which would make him either an "early" baby or the son of another woman.
After some years, the family moved to Saybrook, which was not far away, and may have stayed there until Alexander died. I don't think Alexander was way high up on the social scale because in a 1669 list of treemen several are listed as "Mr.", a term of some respect, and Alexander has no such title attached. So he was a plain vanilla kind of man, likely the kind of hard worker who did the real work of building America.
As far as I can tell, no one knows when Alexander died. Many websites say 1659 but their were children born as late as 1666, so it must have been 1665 or later. Some say it was before fall of 1673, when either his wife or his daughter married a John Hills. If it was his daughter, as seems likely, that date is irrelevant and he could have lived on after that. I've checked several of my "usual sources" and am unable to find a will or death records.
This is as much as I can tell you about Alexander Chalker at the moment. Oh, there's one more thing...He is an ancestor of Mitt Romney, so we are distant cousins to Mr. Romney. If he ever hires a genealogist in England to try to find Alexander's roots, I hope he will share the information with his less wealthy cousins!
The line of descent is:
Alexander Chalker-Katherine Post
Katherine Chalker-John Jordan
Hannah Jordan-John Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, September 9, 2016
Holbrook line: Alice Frost Blower Tilley 1594-Immigrant and a bit of a rebel
In my last Holbrook post, I noted that there was a story about the daughter of Edward and Thomasine Belgrave Frost, and that I would follow up with that information in a later post. It's not often that we find records of the woman in the marriage. Usually they have to have been very good, controversial, or outright law breakers in order to draw the attention of anyone studying the early immigrants to New England. Alice may have been all three of the above-a good woman, controversial, and possibly a law breaker. What fun to find her!
Alice was baptized at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on December 1, 1594. She was one of 10 children, but six of her siblings died as infants or children. We wonder what impact that had on the family, and whether it influenced Alice's decision to become a midwife later in her life. She married Thomas Blower at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on November 19, 1612, and they in turn had seven children.
Alice was apparently a free-spirited woman, and drew the attention of the authorities on February 18,1633/34. She was fined the huge sum of 100 pounds for "her notorious contempt of ecclesiastical laws and jurisdiction" in her (word or words illegible). Apparently the case had been postponed in case someone wanted to appeal it, but "This day inasmuch as neither the said Alice Blower nor anybody else for her gave in any petition to desire any mitigation of her fine imposed upon her, the said fine to an hundred pounds was to be certified into his highness exchequer and estreated to his highness use."
We aren't told any more than this about the fine, but this was the time period when Archbishop Laud was becoming more and more powerful, insisting upon "High Church" worship, when many held dissident views and wished to practice their own religion. We can't tell from this limited information whether Alice and possibly refused to attend the required state church services, or whether she had been more active in her defiance. At any rate, 100 pounds was a huge fine and a year later, the commissioners reconsidered. She was no longer at Sudbury, the location of the alleged offense, and "thereby the scandal grown by her (was) taken away, and for that she had in all obedience submitted herself & would continue herself conformable to the order's doctrine, and discipline of the Church of England", basically the case was dismissed.
Thomas went to New England in or before 1635. It is possible that Alice had already gone to Boston with him, since there was a reference in the court record to her being "long removed from Sudbury". There is no record of her immigration, which is not all that unusual. Women and children were not always noted on the ship manifests. Thomas died in 1639 and soon after, she married William Tilley, probably in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and soon after July 6, 1640.
We don't know when she began practicing as a midwife, but by 1648 she was in trouble again and was actually jailed. Dozens of women in Boston and Dorchester signed petitions on her behalf, and she was eventually released. William Tilley came to his wife's defense and made Hugh Gullison of Boston his attorney, and gave him authority "in my name to implead & arrest & prosecute & recover of Wm Phillips of Boston & his wife or either or both of them"... So we have a good clue here as to whom the Tilley family blamed for Alice's imprisonment.
William Tilley was in court in 1649, being fined four pounds for an infraction, and Alice petitioned them to reduce the fine, which eventually resulted in a reduction to 40 shillings. Despite William's actions to support his wife and despite Alice's action in attempting to get his fine reduced, apparently all was not bliss in the Tilley household.
Some sort of petition was made by Mr. Tilley to the court and the response on October 11, 1665, was that "the court, having heard what he & his wife could say for themselves, judge meet to order & enjoin Mr. Tilley & his wife forthwith to live together as man & wife, that Mr. Tilly provide for her as his wife, & that she submit herself to him as she ought, on the penalty of forty pounds on his part, & imprisonment on hers. So a separation, or a divorce, or whatever the petition requested, was apparently not granted.
We know that both William and Alice were still alive in 1668, when she made a deposition involving her maidservant. This one word, plus the size of the fines that were previously mentioned, makes us think that this family was not poverty stricken. I haven't located a will or inventory, which would perhaps help clarifIy their financial stataus.
I like Alice. She was a feisty woman, who may or may not have broken laws, but who certainly pushed them to their limit. It must have been hard for her to live in Puritan Boston. I'd love to know more about her!
The line of descent is:
Alice Frost-Thomas Blower
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Brackett-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I suspect that most of this information originally came from Robert Charles Anderson's "Great Migration" series, or the "Great Migration" newsletters. It was available, unidentified, on Find A Grave and on Geni. My access to AmericanAncestors.ogr, where I normally would look, is temporaraily unavailable, since I waited till the very last day to renew my membership!
Alice was baptized at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on December 1, 1594. She was one of 10 children, but six of her siblings died as infants or children. We wonder what impact that had on the family, and whether it influenced Alice's decision to become a midwife later in her life. She married Thomas Blower at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on November 19, 1612, and they in turn had seven children.
Alice was apparently a free-spirited woman, and drew the attention of the authorities on February 18,1633/34. She was fined the huge sum of 100 pounds for "her notorious contempt of ecclesiastical laws and jurisdiction" in her (word or words illegible). Apparently the case had been postponed in case someone wanted to appeal it, but "This day inasmuch as neither the said Alice Blower nor anybody else for her gave in any petition to desire any mitigation of her fine imposed upon her, the said fine to an hundred pounds was to be certified into his highness exchequer and estreated to his highness use."
We aren't told any more than this about the fine, but this was the time period when Archbishop Laud was becoming more and more powerful, insisting upon "High Church" worship, when many held dissident views and wished to practice their own religion. We can't tell from this limited information whether Alice and possibly refused to attend the required state church services, or whether she had been more active in her defiance. At any rate, 100 pounds was a huge fine and a year later, the commissioners reconsidered. She was no longer at Sudbury, the location of the alleged offense, and "thereby the scandal grown by her (was) taken away, and for that she had in all obedience submitted herself & would continue herself conformable to the order's doctrine, and discipline of the Church of England", basically the case was dismissed.
Thomas went to New England in or before 1635. It is possible that Alice had already gone to Boston with him, since there was a reference in the court record to her being "long removed from Sudbury". There is no record of her immigration, which is not all that unusual. Women and children were not always noted on the ship manifests. Thomas died in 1639 and soon after, she married William Tilley, probably in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and soon after July 6, 1640.
We don't know when she began practicing as a midwife, but by 1648 she was in trouble again and was actually jailed. Dozens of women in Boston and Dorchester signed petitions on her behalf, and she was eventually released. William Tilley came to his wife's defense and made Hugh Gullison of Boston his attorney, and gave him authority "in my name to implead & arrest & prosecute & recover of Wm Phillips of Boston & his wife or either or both of them"... So we have a good clue here as to whom the Tilley family blamed for Alice's imprisonment.
William Tilley was in court in 1649, being fined four pounds for an infraction, and Alice petitioned them to reduce the fine, which eventually resulted in a reduction to 40 shillings. Despite William's actions to support his wife and despite Alice's action in attempting to get his fine reduced, apparently all was not bliss in the Tilley household.
Some sort of petition was made by Mr. Tilley to the court and the response on October 11, 1665, was that "the court, having heard what he & his wife could say for themselves, judge meet to order & enjoin Mr. Tilley & his wife forthwith to live together as man & wife, that Mr. Tilly provide for her as his wife, & that she submit herself to him as she ought, on the penalty of forty pounds on his part, & imprisonment on hers. So a separation, or a divorce, or whatever the petition requested, was apparently not granted.
We know that both William and Alice were still alive in 1668, when she made a deposition involving her maidservant. This one word, plus the size of the fines that were previously mentioned, makes us think that this family was not poverty stricken. I haven't located a will or inventory, which would perhaps help clarifIy their financial stataus.
I like Alice. She was a feisty woman, who may or may not have broken laws, but who certainly pushed them to their limit. It must have been hard for her to live in Puritan Boston. I'd love to know more about her!
The line of descent is:
Alice Frost-Thomas Blower
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Brackett-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I suspect that most of this information originally came from Robert Charles Anderson's "Great Migration" series, or the "Great Migration" newsletters. It was available, unidentified, on Find A Grave and on Geni. My access to AmericanAncestors.ogr, where I normally would look, is temporaraily unavailable, since I waited till the very last day to renew my membership!
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Holbrook line: Thomasine Belgrave 1562-1653 or sooner; Immigrant or not?
I mostly have been writing posts about immigrant or colonial ancestors, and I'm not sure whether my subject today qualifies. I have seen her death given as "undoubtedly about 1620 in England: and as 1653 in Sudbury, Middelsex, Massachusetts. As I write this, I have been unable to confirm either date. If she truly lived until 1653 then she was over 90 years old at the time of her death. In the process of researching this article, I found that she had a most remarkable daughter, who is also our ancestor. What fun it is to do this research, even when finding facts seems to be an elusive goal!
Thomasine Belgrave's origins are fairly well documented. She was baptized February 1, 1561/62 to John Belgrave and Joanna Strutt in Leverington, Cambridgeshire, England. and was one of at least 6 children. She married Edmund Frost, son of John and Ann Scott Frost, on September 26, 1585 in Chelmsford, Suffolk, England, where the Belgrave family was apparently living. She and Edmund had at least 11 children before Edmund died in August of 1616.
Here's the question: Did Thomasine die about 1620, or did she survive to travel to New England with one or more of her children? Elizabeth, Alice, and Thomasine all came to America with their husbands and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts so it seems possible that she came with one of them. The Sudbury town records, or at least the deaths, appear to be missing from 1650 until August of 1653, so they are of little help in resolving the situation.
I'm hoping that by posting this, maybe someone has come up with additional information to give a definite place and date of death for our ancestor. Does her story end in England, with her surviving children still there, or does it extend across the Atlantic Ocean to a land her husband would have only heard rumors about?
I promise that I will do a follow up post about her daughter Alice. She was remarkable.
Our line of descent is:
Thomasine Belgrave-Edmund Frost
Alice Frost-Thomas Blower
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
I've used mostly articles from "The American Genealogist" for this post. I'm so grateful for all the genealogists and family historians who have gone before. If everyone had to start from scratch with all their ancestors and do all the research themselves, we'd not know much.
Thomasine Belgrave's origins are fairly well documented. She was baptized February 1, 1561/62 to John Belgrave and Joanna Strutt in Leverington, Cambridgeshire, England. and was one of at least 6 children. She married Edmund Frost, son of John and Ann Scott Frost, on September 26, 1585 in Chelmsford, Suffolk, England, where the Belgrave family was apparently living. She and Edmund had at least 11 children before Edmund died in August of 1616.
Here's the question: Did Thomasine die about 1620, or did she survive to travel to New England with one or more of her children? Elizabeth, Alice, and Thomasine all came to America with their husbands and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts so it seems possible that she came with one of them. The Sudbury town records, or at least the deaths, appear to be missing from 1650 until August of 1653, so they are of little help in resolving the situation.
I'm hoping that by posting this, maybe someone has come up with additional information to give a definite place and date of death for our ancestor. Does her story end in England, with her surviving children still there, or does it extend across the Atlantic Ocean to a land her husband would have only heard rumors about?
I promise that I will do a follow up post about her daughter Alice. She was remarkable.
Our line of descent is:
Thomasine Belgrave-Edmund Frost
Alice Frost-Thomas Blower
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
I've used mostly articles from "The American Genealogist" for this post. I'm so grateful for all the genealogists and family historians who have gone before. If everyone had to start from scratch with all their ancestors and do all the research themselves, we'd not know much.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Holbrook line: Thomas Blower 1587-1639 Immigrant
Can we call a man an immigrant if his daughter had come to Massachusetts a couple of years earlier? I'm not sure how accurate the label is, but since he was the oldest ancestor of this family to arrive here, I'm calling him the immigrant.
I don't have a lot to write about Thomas and most of what I've found was in The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England Volume I. Thomas was baptized at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on April 23, 1587, the son of Thomas and Susan Vincent Blower. He probably had brothers and sisters since his parents lived until at least 1597,but we don't have their names, and we don't know what the elder Thomas did for a living.
Thomas married Alice Frost, daughter of Edward and Thomasine Belgrave Frost on November 19, 1613 in Stanstead. She was about seven years younger than he, having been baptized December 1, 1594. Seven of the children were born in England, and the eighth, Pyam, was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Note: Pyam is not a certainty but Anderson says there is no other logical parent for the child, except this couple. It's also possible that he may have been adopted by this couple, formally or informally.) The other children were Hannah, Alice, Joshua, Thomas, Mary, John, and a second Thomas. Hannah, Joshua, and the first Thomas all died young, in England.
Thomas and possibly his wife and children on the Truelove, in 1635. Alice had come over earlier, Their first residence was Boston and they may have stayed there. There is no mention of Thomas becoming a freeman; in fact, it appears that he had financial difficulties and his wife may have had legal difficulties (she was a midwife). In 1640, a resident of Hitcham, Suffolk wrote to John Winthrop regarding. 24 pounds that he claimed Thomas Blower owed him. Unfortunately, by this time Thomas was deceased, so we don't know if the gentleman ever collected his debt. Thomas is believed to have died by September 9, 1639.
Reading between the lines, one wonders why Thomas came to Massachusetts. Was it to be with his daughter, to escape economic pressures, or to help his wife evade legal problems? Perhaps it was some combination of the the above, and perhaps Thomas hoped to make a fresh start in the New World. We don't know how he supported himself or the family, but we do know that his wife remarried in 1640, to William Tilly. With small children to support, she needed to find security quickly, and remarried quickly, as many widows did.
Now that I know Alice Frost Blower became Alice Frost Blower Tilly, and that she was a midwife, I'm anxious to learn more about her. Midwifes sometimes left records, and it would be fascinating to find hers!
I'd like to find an occupation for Thomas. Perhaps he didn't work and that is why Alice was a midwife, but if that's the case, I'd like to know what his physical limitations were. I'd like to know whether he was a member of a church. I'd like to know what dreams he had when coming to the New World, and whether or not they were fulfilled. He's an interesting ancestor, since we know so little about him.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Blower-Alice Frost
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stnnard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I don't have a lot to write about Thomas and most of what I've found was in The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England Volume I. Thomas was baptized at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on April 23, 1587, the son of Thomas and Susan Vincent Blower. He probably had brothers and sisters since his parents lived until at least 1597,but we don't have their names, and we don't know what the elder Thomas did for a living.
Thomas married Alice Frost, daughter of Edward and Thomasine Belgrave Frost on November 19, 1613 in Stanstead. She was about seven years younger than he, having been baptized December 1, 1594. Seven of the children were born in England, and the eighth, Pyam, was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Note: Pyam is not a certainty but Anderson says there is no other logical parent for the child, except this couple. It's also possible that he may have been adopted by this couple, formally or informally.) The other children were Hannah, Alice, Joshua, Thomas, Mary, John, and a second Thomas. Hannah, Joshua, and the first Thomas all died young, in England.
Thomas and possibly his wife and children on the Truelove, in 1635. Alice had come over earlier, Their first residence was Boston and they may have stayed there. There is no mention of Thomas becoming a freeman; in fact, it appears that he had financial difficulties and his wife may have had legal difficulties (she was a midwife). In 1640, a resident of Hitcham, Suffolk wrote to John Winthrop regarding. 24 pounds that he claimed Thomas Blower owed him. Unfortunately, by this time Thomas was deceased, so we don't know if the gentleman ever collected his debt. Thomas is believed to have died by September 9, 1639.
Reading between the lines, one wonders why Thomas came to Massachusetts. Was it to be with his daughter, to escape economic pressures, or to help his wife evade legal problems? Perhaps it was some combination of the the above, and perhaps Thomas hoped to make a fresh start in the New World. We don't know how he supported himself or the family, but we do know that his wife remarried in 1640, to William Tilly. With small children to support, she needed to find security quickly, and remarried quickly, as many widows did.
Now that I know Alice Frost Blower became Alice Frost Blower Tilly, and that she was a midwife, I'm anxious to learn more about her. Midwifes sometimes left records, and it would be fascinating to find hers!
I'd like to find an occupation for Thomas. Perhaps he didn't work and that is why Alice was a midwife, but if that's the case, I'd like to know what his physical limitations were. I'd like to know whether he was a member of a church. I'd like to know what dreams he had when coming to the New World, and whether or not they were fulfilled. He's an interesting ancestor, since we know so little about him.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Blower-Alice Frost
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stnnard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
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