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Thomas Nelson (1635 - 1712)

Thomas Nelson
Born in Cottingham, Yorkshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of , , [half], [half] and [half]
Husband of — married 16 Dec 1659 (to 7 Jan 1678) in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Husband of — married 13 May 1680 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Husband of — married 9 Apr 1690 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , , , , and
Died at about age 77 in Rowley, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Baymap
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Profile last modified | Created 18 Feb 2013
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The Puritan Great Migration.
Thomas Nelson migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).
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Contents

Biography

Thomas Nelson Jr.was baptized at Cottingham, Yorkshire, England on July 14, 1636, son of Thomas Nelson Sr. and Dorothy Stapleton. [1]

His mother Dorothy died at Rowley, Yorkshire in 1637, and his father emigrated to New England in 1638, settling at Rowley, Massachusetts. [1]

His father Thomas Sr. died in England after August 6, 1648 and prior to February 21, 1650 when his will, written on December 24, 1645, prior to traveling abroad, was proved.[2] [1] In the will he named his second wife Joan and his children, including son Thomas. He also directed that Richard Bellingham and Richard Dummer should be responsible for the education and maintnenance of sons Philip and Thomas Nelson, until they reach age 21. [3]

  • 1657: March 31: Thomas Nelson chose in court Mr. Joseph Jewett to be his guardian. [4] Jewett then filed against Richard Dummer for withholding Thomas' legacy from his father Thomas Nelson Sr. which was withdrawn. Thomas' brother Philip also filed a case v. Richard Dumer, for his handling of their father's estate, which was extensive. [5]
  • 1667: He was among those assigned an allotment in the Hog Island Marshes. [6]
  • 1691: June 9: Thomas was taxed at the rate of L5: 6: 8. [6]
  • 1694-96: Thomas Nelson served as Town Clerk at Rowley for 3 years. [6]

Thomas married first Ann Lambert [7] in December, 1659, at Rowley, Massachusetts. [8] Anne was the daughter of Francis Lambert and Joan Barker. [1]

Ann's brother, Gershom Lambert wrote his will on March 16, 1664, leaving his brother Thomas Nelson 'my best suit' and 'half a thousand acres in Rowley Village', to be equally divided among Thomas Nelson's children by my sister Ann. Thomas Nelson to be my executor. [9]

She was buried at Rowley on January 7, 1678. [8] [1]

He married second Mrs. Mary Lunt [7] on May 13, 1680 at Rowley. His wife Mary died at Rowley on August 26, 1688. [8] [1]

He married third Philipa (Andrews) (Felts) Platts [7] on April 9, 1690, widow of George Felt and of Samuel Platts. [10] Philippa was the daughter of Samuel Andrews and Jane (___) , and the widow of George Felt and Samuel Platts. [1] [2]

His wife Phillipa died there on September 9, 1709. [8]

Thomas died at Rowley on April 5, 1712, aged 77. [8] [1] He is buried in the Rowley Burial Ground, at Rowley, Massachusetts. His inscription reads:

HERE LYS BURIED Mr THOMAS NELSON WHO DIED APRIL Ye 5 1712 AGED 77 YEARS
Who liv'd a saintLike harmLes Life Lov'd ALL good books but no bad strife
Who dy'd a quiet easie death & to christ resign'd his breath
So Liue my sons my christ o seek & when you die Like christ be meek [11]

Thomas' will was written on December 17, 1709. In it he names: [12]

  • eldest son Thomas Nelson
  • daughter Hannah Gardener
  • daughter Dororthy Roofe
  • son Gershom Nelson
  • son Francis Nelson
  • youngest son Ephraim Nelson [12]


Children

by wife Ann
  1. Thomas born on March 10, 1660/1died on May 20, 1719 [8]; married Hannah French. [2]
  2. Dorithee born on January 14, 1663 [14: 11m: 1662.] [8]; married John Rolfe of Newbury. [2]
  3. Hannah born on June 22, 1665. [8]; married Joseph Gardener of Charlestown. [2]
  4. Jonathan born on November 20, 1667. [8]; not mentioned in his father's will [12]; may have died in the Canada Expedition of 1690. [2]
  5. Elizabeth born on February 25, 1669/70; died on Octoeber 31, 1689. [8] [2]
  6. Gershom born on July 11, 1672; married Abigail Elithorp on July 17, 1700 [8]; he died at Milford on September 14, 1727. [2]
  7. Francis born on February 19, 1675/6; married first Mercy Roy on November 14, 1702; married second widow Elizabeth Platts, June 6, 1716 [8]. He died between March 11, and August 2, 1720. [2]
by wife Mary
  1. Ephraim born on March 23, 1681/2; died on May 28, 1761; married first, Sarah Brockelbanke on February 2, 1709/10; married second, Debora Searels on June 14, 1715; married third, Mary Kilburn on July 31, 1723. [8] [2]

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Richardson, Douglas. The Ancestry of Dorothy Stapleton, First Wife of Thomas Nelson of Rowley, Massachusetts, With A Provisional Royal Line In: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Volume 148, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 1994. pp. 130-139 https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/11668/134/235105007
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Jewett, Amos Everett, editor. Early Settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts: A Genealogical Record of the Families who Settled in Rowley Before 1700, with Several Generations of Their Descendants, Rowley, Massachusetts, 1933. p. 243-7 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000380798&view=1up&seq=13
  3. ↑ The Probate records of Essex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 1635-1664, The Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts, 1916, p. 109-113 https://archive.org/details/probaterecordsof01dowg/page/n6/mode/2up
  4. ↑ Ipswich Quarterly Court Records, Vol. 1, page 60.
  5. ↑ Dow, George F., Records and files of the Quarterly courts of Essex county, Massachusetts, Volume II: 1656-1662, The Essex institute, Salem, Massachusetts, 1912, p. 12-18: 44-5
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Gage, Thomas. The History of Rowley: Anciently Including Bradford, Boxford, and Georgetown, from the Year 1639 to the Present Time, Ferdinand Andrews, 1840, p. 382: 399
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Roberts, Gary Boyd. Notable Kin: Additions and Corrections to The Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants (1993), Part One, NEXUS: New England Across the United States, Volume 13, New England Historic Genealogical Society,, Boston, Massachusetts, 1996, p. 125 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB537/i/14486/125/264516077
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 Vital Records of Rowley Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 The Essex institute, Salem, Massachusetts, 1928, pp. 142-5 (births); 355 (marriages); 496-7 (deaths).
  9. ↑ Estate of Gershom Lambert of Rowley in: The Probate Records of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume 1 1635-1664, The Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts, 1916, p. 436-7
  10. ↑ Richardson, Douglas, Kimball G. Everingham, editor. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, Volume II, 2nd edition (2011) p. 275
  11. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 September 2020), memorial page for Thomas Nelson (1635–5 Apr 1712), Find a Grave Memorial no. 11553699, citing Rowley Burial Ground, Rowley, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Bill Boyington (contributor 46800933) .
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Case 19250: p. 1-5: Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB515/i/13788/19250-co1/245889407
  • Blodgette, George Brainard, Early Settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts Revised, Edited and Published by Jewett, Amos Everett. Newcomb & Gauss Co., Printers, Salem, Massachusetts, USA, 1933. Reprinted by the New England History Press, Somersworth, New Hampshire. 1981. Pgs 242, 244.
  • Marlyn Lewis, citing Richardson. (Slightly garbled I think - Thomas and Philippa had no children together)
  • A blog.
  • Some descendants (PDF download). (Note Thomas's mother is incorrect)
  • Richardson, Douglas: Plantagenet Ancestry, 2nd edn. (2011), 3 vols, Volume 3, page 276, STAPLETON 17ii.
  • Find A Grave: Memorial #11553699, Rowley Burial Ground, Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts, USA

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

Thomas Nelson is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, pages xxiii-xxix) in a Richardson-documented trail to Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod (vol. IV, pages 95-101 STAPLETON). This trail needs development and can be viewed in the Magna Carta Trails section of his mother's profile.
  • Needs Re-review: This profile needs re-review against the project's checklist to bring it up to current project standards. ~ Thiessen-117 18:00, 12 September 2020 (UTC)
See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".




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T McCarty
This Thomas Nelson of Rowley MA is likey the same Thomas Nelson of Rowley who testified against Margaret Scott (Stapleton) in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. The testimony is provided in "The History of Rowley Anciently including Bradford, Bopxford, Georgetown from the year 1639 to the Present Time" Author Thomas Gage 1840.

"The Deposition of Thomas Nellson, who saith, that, about six yeares ago the last winter, Margaret Scot, of Rowley, widow, desired me to bring her some wood,and spake to me seuerall times for wood, and I told her, that I owed her ten shillings and I would bring her wood for it, and she was not willing to set of that. Earnest she was for me to bring her wood : denied her; soon after this one of my cattell was dead in the stantiall, and stood up on his hind feet, and kneeled on his knees [afore], and little after this another of my cattell was ded in the yard, his neck under a plank at the barn side as if he were chok'd ; and after this, and ever since, had hard thoughts of this woman and my neighbours told me, something more then ordinery that my cattell died so. And I do uerily believe that she is a witch. "Tho: Nelson, one of ye Grand Inquest gave in this evidence to ye grand Inquest, September 15, 1692. Jurat in Curia.

posted by T McCarty
Cayley-55 Michael Cayley
Thanks for this. If nobody else does it first, the Magna Carta Project will want to write a proper bio for this profile, and we can see then if there is other evidence to support this. Otherwise, we can add a Research Note.
posted by Michael Cayley
Chris Hoyt
Do we know if it was this Thomas or his son?
posted by Chris Hoyt

This week's featured connections are Redheads: Thomas is 10 degrees from Catherine of Aragón, 13 degrees from Clara Bow, 21 degrees from Julia Gillard, 12 degrees from Nancy Hart, 10 degrees from Rutherford Hayes, 15 degrees from Rita Hayworth, 13 degrees from Leonard Kelly, 17 degrees from Rose Leslie, 16 degrees from Damian Lewis, 14 degrees from Maureen O'Hara, 22 degrees from Jopie Schaft and 27 degrees from Eirik Thorvaldsson on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.

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