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JEREMIAH THOMAS (c. 1660–1736), son of David Thomas and Joanna Unknown
LYDIA HOWLAND (1655–1717), daughter of John Howland and Mary Lee
Jeremiah Thomas was born about 1660. He died on 2 February 1736, age 76, in Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts and is buried there in the old cemetery at The Green; his gravestone is between those of his two wives. [1][2] He married first Lydia Howland, on 25 February 1684. [3] He married second Martha Durfe of Freetown on 29 April 1720 in Middleborough. [4][5] Martha was born about 1665. She died on 10 January 1749, age 62, and is buried in the old cemetery at The Green. [2]
Lydia Howland, the daughter of John Howland and granddaughter of John Howland, was born on 9 January 1665. [1] She died on 6 July 1717, age 51, in Middleborough. [1][2] She is buried in the old cemetery at The Green. The inscription on her gravestone says, "She was the first person buried in this place." [2]
Jeremiah was sworn constable in Middleborough on 21 March 1698/9. [6]
Lydia Thomas, Sr. was admitted to full communion at the First Church in Middleborough on 17 July 1715. [4]
Jeremiah Thomas, Sr. received the "Seal of Baptism" in the First Church in Middleborough in 1718. [4] He entered full communion on 4 May 1718. [4]
Jeremiah Thomas of Middleborough made his will on 29 September 1735. He mentioned his wife Mary, his eldest son Nathaniel, his sons Jeremiah, Jedidiah and Ebenezer, and his daughters Sarah Wood, Elizabeth Tomson, Mary Blush [Blish], Lydia Hackett, Thankful Cobb, Bethiah Chipman and Priscilla Thomas. He named his son Ebenezer his executor. Witnesses made oath on 7 February 1736 and probate occurred on 11 February 1736. [1] Ebenezer, the son of Jeremiah, and Henry Wood, husbandmen of Middleborough, posted bond on 7 February 1736. [7]
Children of Jeremiah Thomas and Lydia Howland, all recorded in Middleborough [3]
i. Nathaniel Thomas was born on 2 January 1686. He is probably the Nathaniel Thomas of Middleborough who married Abigail Ransom of Middleborough on 4 December 1718 in Plympton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. [8] This Abigail is probably the daughter of Robert and Ann Ransom who was born on 7 June 1691 in Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. [9]
ii. Sarah Thomas was born on 25 December 1687. She died on 30 April 1756 and is buried in the old cemetery at The Green in Middleborough. [10] She married first Isaac Howland, Jr., the son of Isaac Howland and Elizabeth Vaughan. She married second as his second wife Deacon Samuel Wood on 7 August 1730 in Middleborough. [11] Samuel, the son of Samuel Wood and grandson of Henry Wood, died after 3 August 1747. [11] He married first Elizabeth Smith. [11]
Administration of the estate of Isaac Howland, Jr., was granted to his widow Sarah Howland on 6 March 1723/4. On 9 Jane 1724 Mr. Jeremiah Thomas was granted the guardianship of three minor grandchildren. On 21 May 1735 the children chose Mr. Samuel Wood as their guardian. [12]
Samuel was chosen the deacon of the First Church in Middleborough on 30 January 1735. [11]
iii. Jeremiah Thomas was born on 14 February 1688/9. He died on 8 January 1763, age 74, and is buried in the old cemetery at The Green. [2] He married Miriam Thomas of Middleborough on 12 December 1718 in Middleborough. [5] Miriam was born about 1696. She died on 10 January 1758, age 62, and is buried in the old cemetery at The Green. [2]
Jeremiah died intestate. Lemuel Thomas, the administrator of his estate posted bond on 17 June 1763. A list of claims against the estate was presented on 21 November 1763. Lemuel was granted permission to sell Jeremiah's real estate to pay off the claims on the last Tuesday of April 1764. [7]
iv. Elizabeth Thomas was born on 19 November 1690. She married John Tomson, the son of John and Mary (Tinkham) Tomson, on 24 October 1723 in Middleborough. [4][13]
v. Mary Thomas was born on 5 June 1692. She married [first] as his second wife Reuben Blish on 29 September 1733 in Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. [14] Reuben, the son of Joseph and Hannah (Hull) Blish, was born on 14 August 1683 in Barnstable. [14] He died between 3 July and 20 October 1738. Reuben married first Elizabeth Bodfish on 25 January 1717 in Barnstable. [14] Elizabeth, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Besse) Bodfish, was born on 27 August 1690 in Barnstable. [15] Mrs Mary Blish married second Lieutenant John Annable on 5 March 1745. [14] John may be the son of Samuel and Mehitable (Allen) Annable and grandson of Anthony Annable and Thomas Allen who was born on 19 July 1673 in Barnstable. This John married first Experience Tayler on 16 June 1692 in Barnstable. [14]
Reuben Blish made his will on 3 July 1738; it was proved on 20 October 1738. He mentions his wife Mary. [15]
vi. Lydia Thomas was born on 26 March 1694. She died after 21 September 1732. She married George Hackett on 13 January 1723/4 in Middleborough. [4] He is probably the George Hackett who died shortly before 4 September 1732, leaving a widow Lydia. [7]
Lydia was baptized on 11 May 1718 in the First Church in Middleborough. [4]
A probate judge ordered inventory to be taken on the estate of George Hackett on 4 September 1732. The widow Lydia Hackett took oath to the inventory on 21 September 1732. [7]
vii. Thankful Thomas was born on 30 June 1695. She died on 17 April 1743 in Middleborough. She married James Cobb.
viii. Jedidiah Thomas was born on 19 August 1698. He died on 27 December 1777, age 79, and is buried in the old cemetery at The Green. [2] He married Lois Nelson on 12 March 1724 in Middleborough. [4] Lois, the daughter of Thomas and Hope (Huckins) Nelson, was born on 19 April 1704 in Middleborough. [5] She was the granddaughter of William Nelson and Ruth Foxwell. [16] She was the great-granddaughter of William Nelson.
ix. Bethiah Thomas was born on 27 March 1701. She married as his second wife Jacob Chipman after 27 July 1725 (intention) in Barnstable. [14][17] Jacob, the son of Samuel and Sarah (Cobb) Chipman, was born on 30 August 1695 in Barnstable. [17] He was the grandson of Henry Cobb. He died between 17 September 1740 and 2 November 1741. He married first Abigail Fuller, on 25 October 1721 in Barnstable. [17] Abigail, the daughter of Thomas Fuller, was born on 9 January 1695/6 and died on 5 October 1724. [17]
Bethiah was baptized on 11 May 1718 in the First Church in Middleborough. [4]
Jacob Chipman of Halifax made his will on 17 September 1740, "being bound on an expedition against the Spaniards in the West Indies." It was presented on 2 November 1741. [17]
x. Ebenezer Thomas was born on 1 November 1703. He might be the Ebenezer who married Thankful Blossom on 8 December 1736 in Barnstable. [14] Thankful was the daughter of Joseph and Mary (Pinchon) Blossom, born on 25 March 1711 in Barnstable. [14] She was the granddaughter of Peter Blossom and Sarah Bodfish and the great-granddaughter of Deacon Thomas Blossom of Plymouth. [14]
Ebenezer was baptized on 11 May 1718 in the First Church in Middleborough. [4]
xi. Priscilla Thomas was born on 13 October 1705.
Priscilla was baptized on 11 May 1718 in the First Church in Middleborough. [4]
References:
1. The Editor, "The Will of Jeremiah Thomas of Middleborough, Mass.," Mayflower Descendant 20 (1918): 131–3.
2. "Gravestone Records from the Old Cemetery at 'The Green,' Middleborough, Mass.," Mayflower Descendant 14 (1912): 214–7.
3. "Middleborough Births, Marriages and Deaths," Mayflower Descendant 1 (1899): 219 (marriage of Jeremiah and Lydia); 2 (1900), 107 (births of the children).
4. "Church Records, 1707–1821," images, "Middleboro, Mass. First Church," webpage, Congretional Library & Archives (https://www.congregationallibrary.org/nehh/series1/MiddleboroMAFirst4970), 4 (Jeremiah, Jr.'s marriage), 6 (Lydia, Sr.), 7 (Jeremiah, Sr.), 8 (marriages of Elizabeth, Lydia, Jr. and Jedidiah), 9 (baptism of Lydia, Bethiah, Ebenezer, Priscilla), 10 (Jeremiah full communion).
5. Barbara Lambert Merrick and Alicia Crane Williams, Middleborough, Massachusetts Vital Records, 2 vols. (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1990, 1987), vol. 1: 6–7 (Lois Nelson);10 (Jeremiah, Jr.'s birth), 25 (Jeremiah, Jr.'s marriage) 26 (Jeremiah's second marriage).
6. "Plymouth County, MA: Plymouth Court Records, 1686–1859," database with images, AmericanAncestors, vol. 1: 35.
7. "Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686–1881," database with images, AmericanAncestors, case 8837 (George Hackett), case 20361 (Jeremiah, Sr.), 20362 (Jeremiah, Jr.).
8. Vital Records of Plympton, Massachusetts: To the Year 1850 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1923: 368.
9. Lee D. van Antwerp and Ruth Wilder Sherman, Vital Records of Plymouth, Massachusetts: To the Year 1850 (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1993): 12.
10. Findagrave: "Sarah Thomas Wood" (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17967764/sarah-wood), inscription: In Memory of Mrs. Sarah Wood wife of Decon Samuel Wood who died April ye 30th. 1756 in ye 68th. year of her age."
11. Alicia Crane Williams, "Henry Wood alias Atwooed of Middleborough, Massachusetts," Mayflower Descendant 48 (1998): 135–40, specifically 138–9.
12. George Ernest Bowman, "Howland Notes," Mayflower Descendant 17 (1915): 187–190.
13. The Editors, "The Will of John Tomson of Middleborough, Massachusetts," Mayflower Descendant 20 (1918): 159.
14. Vital Records of Barnstable (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002): 2 (family of John Annable), 7 (family of Reuben Blish), 8 (family of Thankful Blossom), 180 (Mary's second marriage), 190 (Bethiah's marriage to Paul [!] Chipman).
15. James Knox Blish, Genealogy of the Blish Family in America, 1637–1905 (Kewanee, IL: n.p., 1905): 35–36.
16. Elizabeth Pearson White, John Howland of the Mayflower, vol. 3 (n.p.: Picton Press, 1990): 77.
17. Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700–1880," database with images, AmericanAncestors, vol. 4: 67, citing Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 (Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1975–2015).
Last revised: 24-Dec-2023