Thomas Bliss, of Hartford

Thomas Bliss

[FTdna's group for the Bliss family has NO Ydna overlap with the Abraham Blish/Blush family - Donald Blish]

b. circa 1624, d. 15 April 1688

Father Thomas Bliss b. circa 1590, d. 1 February 1650
Mother Margaret Hulings d. 28 August 1684

Thomas Bliss married Elizabeth BIRCHARD on 30 October 1644 at Lyme, New London County, Connecticut, United States of America. Thomas Bliss died on 15 April 1688 at Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, United States of America.

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Disambiguation

NOTE: The several Thomas Bliss' of New England have had their vital records, family relationships and biographical facts mixed and matched in a Gordian knot by those who were less than attentive to details as they imported unevaluated and unsourced data including fanciful pedigrees into their family trees. In brief, we are dealing with three or possibly four individuals of the name Thomas Bliss:

• 1. Thomas Bliss (called Sr) b. before 1595 a founder of Hartford, wives Margaret Snowe and Margaret Hullings (and the subject of this family)
• 2. Thomas Bliss b. about 1618 of Saybrook and Norwich son of #1, wife Elizabeth Birchard who may or may not be the Thomas Bliss, called Jr. in early Hartford records and counted as a founder.
• 3. Thomas Bliss of Rehoboth, Mass. Wife Dorothy Wheatlie, father: John.

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• _____________________
• 'Genealogy of the Bliss family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (1881, [1880])
• http://www.archive.org/details/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft
• http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft#page/28/mo...
• http://www.geni.com/projects/Founders-of-Norwich-CT/5732
• THOMAS, of England, of Braintree, Mass., and afterwards of Hartford, Conn., was a son of the first Thomas Bliss, of England, and was born about the year 1580 or 1585. He married in England about 1612-15, to Margaret __,* and had ten children, of whom six were born previous to their removal to this country; these were name respectively, Ann, Mary, 'Thomas', Nathaniel, Lawrence, and Samuel; and in this country were probably born Sarah, Elizabeth, Hannah and John. Owing to religious persecutions, Thomas Bliss was compelled to leave England, and in the autumn of 1635, he with his younger brother George embarked at Plymouth with their families for the then wilderness of America. Upon their arrival at Boston, as before stated, Thomas located temporarily at Braintree, Mass., whence he afterwards removed to Hartford, Conn., where he died in 1640. We have been unable to ascertain the dates of birth of all the children in this family, but is is evident that 'Thomas was the oldest son, and that he must have been of age at the time of the distribution of the lots in Hartford, which would place his birth at about the year 1615-16. The births of the other children must have occurred between that of Thomas, jr.' (unless Ann and Mary were older), and the death of Thomas sen., in 1640, which would allow two years at least between them. Probably there were no other sons of age at the time of their arrival in Hartford, as otherwise they would have had lots assigned them -- and there is nothing more discoverable respecting any of the children in Hartford.
• *It is thought her maiden name was Margaret Lawrence, and that she was born about the year 1594, and married to Thomas Bliss about 1612-15. She was a good looking woman, with a square ablong face that betokened great capability and force of character. She had a broad open brow, fair hair, and blue eyes. After the death of her husband, which took place about the close of the year 1639, she managed the affairs of the family with great prudence and judgment. He eldest daughter, Ann, was married to Robert Chapman, of Saybrook, Conn., April 29, 1642, choosing April for their marriage month instead of May, for the old English adage ran - "To wed in May, you'll rue the day." She removed with her husband to Saybrook, where her eldest brother, 'Thomas, came soon after to live with them, and where he married in 1644, and in 1659 removed to Norwich, Conn., with thirty-four or thirty-five others and effected the settlement of that town'. The other children of the widow Margaret Bliss, of Hartford, concluded not to settle there permanently, chills and fever prevailing in some localities near the town; she and her children, therefore in the year 1643, removed to the settlement of Springfield, Mass., thirty miles or more up the Conecticut River. Margaret sold her property in Hartford, and gathering her household goods and cattle together, prepared with her eight children to make the journey through the forest to Springfield, which she accomplished in about five days. Nathaniel and Samuel, her second and fourth sons, had been there previously, and a dwelling had been prepared for the family on their arrival. A journey like this was thought a great thing in those days. They camped out in the forest three nights with their teams, so sparsely was the country settled at that time; and the forests, infested with savage beasts and scarcely less savage Indians, were broken only by the single roads to the seaboard, on the east and on the south, and these were by no means of the best. Mrs. Margaret had acquaintances in Springfield whom she had known in England, and here she settled down for the remainder of her days. It is said she purchased a tract of land in Springfield one mile square, situated in the south part of the town, on what is now Main Street, and bordering on Connecticut River. One of the streets laid out on the manor tract has been named "Margaret Street," and another "Bliss Street," on which has been built a Congregational Church. She lived to see all her children brought up, married and established in homes of their own, except Hannah, who died at about twenty-three years of age. Mrs. Margaret died in Springfield, August 28, 1684, after a residence in America of nearly fifty years, and over forty since her husband's death. She was an energetic, efficient woman, capable of transacting most kinds of business, and was long remembered in Springfield as a woman of great intellectual ability. A mother with these characteristics seldom fails to transmit them to posterity. Her will, dated in September (1683?) mentions her son John, son Lawrence, deceased, son Samuel, daughter Elizabeth (Morgan), deceased, daughter Mary Parsons (widow of Joseph), and daughter Sarah (Scott). 'As no reference is made to Thomas or Ann, it has been questioned whether they were her children. But neither is there any reference in it to the children of her son Nathaniel, deceased, to which in their younger years she had been guardian and guide; so that it cannot be inferred from such omission that Thomas, jr., and Ann were not her children'. As she survived her husband forty-four years, it may have been that she was a second wife, and that these were children of a former marriage. He must have died comparatively young, or there may have been a great disparity in their ages. She lived more than ninety years, in spite of the hardships and anxieties she had passed through, and her grandchildren were generally very strong of consitution and long-lived, as where also her children. She was a woman of superior abilities, great resolution, and uncommon enterprise, and is entitled to the respect of her descendants, both for her vigor of mind and consitution.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft#page/30/mo...
• The following are the names of the children of Thomas and Margaret Bliss, with their chronology as far as we have been able to ascertain:
  • 9. ANN, b. in England, __, m. April 29, 1642, Robert Chapman, of Saybrook, Conn., and d. November 20, 1685. He was born about 1616, and came from Hull, England, to Boston, in August 1635 and in November to Saybrook, Conn. He d. October 13, 1687. Issue: 1. John, b. July, 1644. 2. Robert, b. September, 1646. 3. Ann, b. September 12, 1648, d. next year. 4. Hannah, b. October 4, 1650. 5. Nathaniel, b. February 16, 1653. 6. Mary, b. April 15, 1655. 7. Sarah, b. September 25, 1657.
  • 10. MARY, b. in England, __, m. November 26, 1646, Joseph Parsons, Springfield, Mass., who d. October 9, 1683. She d. January 29, 1712. Mr Parsons, associated with Mr. Pynchon, was one of the most prominent men in the public business of the place, and quite wealthy. He was a witness to the deed given by the Indians to Pynchon,* July 15, 1636. Joseph and Mary Parsons had five children before their removal to Northampton, Mass., in 1654. (Their son Ebenezer, born in this place, May 1, 1655, was the first white child born in the town, and he was killed by the Indians at Northfield, September 2, 1675.) Here in Northampton they had seven more children, making twelve in all, but three, named Benjamin, John and David, died young. Mary Bliss, the mother of this family, two years after the birth of her youngest child, was charged with witchcraft by some of her neighbors who were envious of their prosperity and endeavored in this way to disgrace them. She was sent to Boston for trail where the jury gave her a full acquittal of the crime, and she returned home to Northampton, from whence they removed back to Springfield in 1679. Just after he acquittal in Boston, her son Ebenezer was killed by the Indians, and those who had been instrumental in bringing her to trial said: "Behold, though human judges may be bought off, God's vengeance neither turns aside nor slumbers." It is said that she possessed great beauty and talents, but was not very amiable.
  • '11. *THOMAS, b. in England, __, d. April 15, 1688.
  • '[ A Mr. Thomas Blythe (aged twenty years) came over in the barque "Globe" from London, August 7, 1635. If this was Thomas Bliss, afterwards of Norwich, Conn., it gives his birth date as 1615.]
  • 12. *NATHANIEL, b. in England, __, d. November 8, 1654.
  • 13. *LAWRENCE, b. in England, __, d. in 1676.
  • 14. *SAMUEL, b. in England in 1624, d. March 23, 1720.
  • 15. SARAH, b. at Boston Mount, about 1635-6, m. at Springfield, Mass., July 20 1659, John Scott, by whom she had nine children, only one of whom (William) had issue. Mr. Scott died January 2, 1690, and the same year she was married again, to Samuel Terry. She d. September 17, 1705.
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft#page/31/mo...
  • 16. ELIZABETH, b. at Boston Mount, about 1637, was m. February 15, 1669-70, as the second wife of Sergeant Miles Morgan (b. 1615 and d. May 28, 1699), who had eight children by a previous marriage. Elizabeth had only one child, named Nathaniel, b. June 14, 1671. She was thirty-two or three years of age at the time of her marriage, and had been engaged in marriage before, but her intended husband was killed by the Indians.
  • 17. HANNAH, b. at Hartford, 1639, d. single, January 25, 1662.
  • 18. *JOHN, b. at Hartford, 1640, d. September 10, 1702.
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft#page/33/mo...
  • 'THOMAS, of Hartford, Saybrook, and Norwich, Conn., (son of Thomas and Margaret Bliss, of Hartford, Conn.,) was born in England, and removed to America with his father in 1635. Soon after his father's death he removed to Saybrook. Here his allotment of land was east of Connecticut River, in what is now Lyme, and his home lot lay between John Ompsted (Olmstead) on the north, and John Lay on the south. He sold his land here July 23, 1662, to John Comstock and Richard Smith, having removed his family to Norwich,* Conn., two or three years previous. He was married October 30, 1644, to a wife named Elizabeth, and they had six children born to them in Saybrook, and their seventh child, named Anne, born in 1660, was the second English child born in Norwich. His allotment in Norwich was "next to Sergeant Leffingwell, (opposite, according to the ancient map,) on the street as it runs south, five acres and a fourth, with a lane on the south leading to a watering place at the river." This homestead is still occupied by his descendants, (1880,) seven generations of the same name having successively inherited the homestead and dwelt therein, -- the property being held under the original deed, -- and the house itself, in its frame work, is doubtless the original habitation built by the first grantee. In a country where the tenure is allodial, and there are no rights of primogeniture or entailment, instances of two hundred years of family ownership are not very common.
  • 'In (1680?) Thomas Bliss and Matthew Griswold were appointed agents by the town of Saybrook to "lay out a lot of land to an Indian named The Giant, " near Black Point, in what is now East Lyme, Conn. The locality is still called "The Gaint's Neck."
  • 'The energy, sound health, and good judgment of Thomas Bliss brought great prosperity, which is evidenced by his having made a will; for only those who had considerable property to dispose of did so, as it was a very expensive affair in those days, for the tyranny and rapacity of Sir Edmund Andros compelled the colonists to carry every such instrument to Boston to prove, and have recorded, in order that he (Sir Edmund) might avail himself of the fees of that office towards supporting the state in which he aspired to live; for he never appeared in the streets without guards, or two or three servants following him, -- and it was quite as easy to obtain access to the King of England as to his ape, the governor of these colonies.
  • 'Thomas Bliss' will is dated April 13th, 1688, two days before his death; and in it provision was made for his wife Elizabeth and six daughters, and his only living son, Samuel, who was at that time thirty-one years of age. His estate was estimated at L182, 17s, 7d. He had land, besides his home lot, "over the river -- on the Little Plain -- at the Great Plain -- at the Falls -- in the Yantic meadow -- in meadow at Beaver Brook -- in pasture east of the town -- and on Westward hill." Issue:
    • 24. ELIZABETH, b. at Saybrook, Conn., November 20, 1645, m. June 7. 1663, Edward Smith, of New London, Conn. This couple, with their son John, aet. 15, died of an epidemic disease in 1689 -- the son July 8th, the wife July 10th, and Mr. S. July 14th. A son, (Capt. Obadiah, b. 1677) and six daughters went to reside at Norwich with relatives.
    • 25. SARAH, b. at Saybrook, August 26, 1647, m. December, 1668, Thomas Sluman, Norwich, and had six children. He died in 1683, and she afterwards m. April 8, 1686, Dr. Solomon Tracy, of Norwich, by whom she had one son. She d. August 29, 1730. Dr. T. died July 9, 1732.
    • 26. MARY, b. at Saybrook, Conn., February 7, 1649, m. about 1672-3, David, son of Dea. Hugh and Ann Caulkins, of New London, Conn., (a Welchman who came to this country about 1640, stopped at Marshfield for a short season, then removed to Lynn, Mass., thence to New London about 1652, and finally to Norwich, Conn., about 1659) He had the estate of his father in that part of New London now known as Waterford, near Niantic. From this union has descended the modest and diligent historian of Norwich and New London, -- Miss Frances M. Caulkins, who was widely known as one of the leading antiquarian writers of her day. David Caulkins d. November 25, 1717.
    • 27. THOMAS, b. at Saybrook, Conn., March 3, 1652, d. January 29, 1682, probably unmarried.
    • 28. DELIVERANCE, b. at Saybrook, August 10, 1655, m. June 8, 1682, Daniel Perkins, of Norwich, Conn.
    • 29. *SAMUEL, b. at Saybrook, December 9, 1657, d. December 30, 1731.
    • 30. ANNE, b. at Norwich, September 15, 1660, m. April 8, 1688, Josiah Rockwell, of N., and d. February 19, 1714-15. He d. March 18, 1728. Josiah Rockwell was a son of Josiah Rockwell and Rebecca Loomis of Windsor ? Conn. A son Daniel, b. October 24, 1689, m. November 23, 1715, Tabitha Hartshorn, and d. in 1746, leaving several children, among whom was Daniel, jr., b. June 28, 1727, who m. December 29, 1746, Mindwell Bliss, daughter of Samuel Bliss and Sarah Packer, of Norwich, Conn.
    • 31. REBECKAH, b. at Norwich, March 18, 1663, m. April 8, 1686, Israel Lathrop, of N., and d. August 22, 1737. He d. March 28, 1733.
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• 'Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the ..., Volume 3 edited by William Richard Cutter, William Frederick Adams
• http://books.google.com/books?id=Bc8UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1525&lpg=PA1525&...
• Pg.1525
• (1) Thomas Bliss, the earliest known of the family of Bliss of this article, lived near Okehampton, in the village of Belstone, in Devonshire, England. (IT IS BELIEVED THAT NONE OF THE BLISS FAMILY WAS FROM BELSTONE Cp) He was a yeoman, a wealthy landowner and a member of the despised sect called Puritans, and suffered many persecutions on account of his religious faith. He was maltreated, impoverished and imprisoned, and finally ruined in health (as well as financially) by the many indignities and hardships forced upon him by the intolerant church party in power. He is supposed to have been born about the year 1550 or 1560. The date of his death is not certainly known, but it probably occurred about the time his sons emigrated to America or soon after. One of his sons, Jonathan, was imprisoned for non-conformity, fined heavily, ill-treated, and in long confinment contracted a fever from which he never recovered. The name of the wife of Thomas Bliss is unknown. His five children were; Jonathan, Thomas, Elizabeth, George, and Mary Elizabeth, married Sir John Calcliffe.
  • (II) Thomas (2), second son of Thomas (1) Bliss, was in Belstone parish, Devonshire, about 1580 or 1585. Thomas and George Bliss embarked at Plymouth with their families and came to America in the autumn of 1635 and landed at Boston. They found they could not be comfortably located together unless they built new houses, for which undertaking the season was too far advanced, so they separated and Thomas settled in that part of Boston called the Mousit; it is across the bay, a little south of the city, and was afterwards named Braintree. The land there alloted to him being situated upon the mountain, he soon came to be called "Thomas of the Mount," and was near losing the family name altogether. The town has since been divided and the part where Thomas lived is now called Quincy. Thomas Bliss and his family and his nephew, Thomas Bliss (son of his brother Jonathan of England) who had arrived in Boston the year before, went from Braintree, perhaps with Rev. Thomas Hooker; if not soon after; and became a pioneer settler in Hartford, Connecticut, some time in 1636-37. By making a farm and selling his improvements to a newcomer, Thomas Bliss had cleared a little money, then about the only way to make money in New England. In the second year after his arrival (1640), Thomas Bliss, senior, as he was called, died. The land apportioned among the Harford settlers was laid out in "lots" and "tiers," and the lot assigned to Thomas Bliss (senior), was "No. 58" in the "tenth tier," south of the little river. It lay on the east side of a street now discontinued, which extended north and south, a short distance to the west of the present Lafayette street, and south of the old state house. The present Trinity street was one of the original streets of Harford and was known as Bliss street from the first settlement to about 1855. It was probably so named from this family, and was then described as extending from "George Steele's to the Mill." Thomas Bliss married, in England, about 1612 or 1615, Margaret, whose maiden name is thought to have been Margaret Lawrence, and it is believed that she was born about the year 1594. The following account of her is taken from the "Genealogy of the Bliss Family," compiled by John Homer Bliss, of Norwich, Connecticut; "She was a good looking woman, with a square oblong face that betokened great capacity and force of character. She had a broad open brow, fair hair, and blue eyes. After the death of her husband she managed the affairs of the family with great prudence and judgment." Her eldest daughter Ann married Robert Chapman, of Saybrook, Connecticut, in 1642, and removed to Saybrook, where her eldest 'brother Thomas, came soon after to live with them, and where he married in 1644'. The other children of the Widow Margaret Bliss, of Hartford, concluded not to settle there permanently, chills and fever prevailing in some localities near the town; she and her children, therefore, in the year of 1643 removed to the settlement at Springfield, Massachusetts, thirty miles or more up the Connecticut river. Margaret sold her property in Hartford, and gathering her household goods and cattle together, prepared with her eight children to make the journey through the forest to Springfield, which she accomplished in about five days. Nathaniel and Samuel, her second and fourth sons, had been there previously, and a dwelling had been prepared for the family on their arrival. A journey like this was thought a great thing in those days. They camped out in the forest three nights with their teams so sparsely was the country settled at that time; and the forests infested with the savage beast and scarcely less savage Indians, were broken only by the single roads to the seaboard, on the east and on the south and these were by no means of the best. Mrs. Margaret had acquaintances in Springfield, whom she had known in England, and here she settled down for the remainder of her days. It is said she purchased a tract of land in Sprinfield one mile square, situated in the south part of the town, on what is now Main street, and bordering on the Connecticut river. One of the streets laid out on the Manor tract has been named "Margaret" street and another "Bliss" street, on which has been built a Congregational church. She lived to see all her children brought up, married and established in homes of their own, except Hannah, who died at about twenty-three years of age. Mrs. Margaret died in Springfield, August 28, 1684, after a residence in America of nearly fifty years, and over forty years since her husband's death. She was an energetic, efficient woman, capable of transacting most kinds of business, and was long remembered in Springfield as a woman of great intellectual ability. A mother with these characteristics seldom fails to transmit them to posterity. Her will, dated in September, 1683, mentions some but not all of the children of Thomas, hence it has been surmised that she may have been a second wife, and that he had children by a former wife. As she survived her husband forty-four years, he must had died comparatively young, or there may have been a great disparity in their ages. She lived more than ninety years in spite of the hardships and anxieties she had passed through and her grandshildren were generally very strong of constitution and longlived, as were also her children. She was a woman of superior abilities, great resolution, and uncommon enterprise, and is entitled to the respect of her descendants, both for her vigor of mind and constitution. The children of Thomas and Margaret Bliss were: Ann, Mary, 'Thomas', Nathaniel, Lawrence, Samuel, Sarah, Elizabeth, Hannah and John.
• __________________
• 'Genealogy of the Bliss family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (1881, [1880])
• http://www.archive.org/details/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft
• http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft#page/28/mo...
• THOMAS, of England, of Braintree, Mass., and afterwards of Hartford, Conn., was a son of the first Thomas Bliss, of England, and was born about the year 1580 or 1585. He married in England about 1612-15, to Margaret __,* and had ten children, of whom six were born previous to their removal to this country; these were name respectively, Ann, Mary, 'Thomas,' Nathaniel, Lawrence, and Samuel; and in this country were probably born Sarah, Elizabeth, Hannah and John. Owing to religious persecutions, Thomas Bliss was compelled to leave England, and in the autumn of 1635, he with his younger brother George embarked at Plymouth with their families for the then wilderness of America. Upon their arrival at Boston, as before stated, Thomas located temporarily at Braintree, Mass., whence he afterwards removed to Hartford, Conn., where he died in 1640. We have been unable to ascertain the dates of birth of all the children in this family, but is is evident that 'Thomas was the oldest son, and that he must have been of age at the time of the distribution of the lots in Hartford, which would place his birth at about the year 1615-16'. The births of the other children must have occurred between that of 'Thomas, jr.' (unless Ann and Mary were older), and the death of Thomas sen., in 1640, which would allow two years at least between them. Probably there were no other sons of age at the time of their arrival in Hartford, as otherwise they would have had lots assigned them -- and there is nothing more discoverable respecting any of the children in Hartford.
• *It is thought her maiden name was Margaret Lawrence, and that she was born about the year 1594, and married to Thomas Bliss about 1612-15. She was a good looking woman, with a square ablong face that betokened great capability and force of character. She had a broad open brow, fair hair, and blue eyes. After the death of her husband, which took place about the close of the year 1639, she managed the affairs of the family with great prudence and judgment. He eldest daughter, Ann, was married to Robert Chapman, of Saybrook, Conn., April 29, 1642, choosing April for their marriage month instead of May, for the old English adage ran - "To wed in May, you'll rue the day." She removed with her husband to Saybrook, where her eldest brother, 'Thomas, came soon after to live with them, and where he married in 1644, and in 1659 removed to Norwich, Conn., with thirty-four or thirty-five others and effected the settlement of that town'. The other children of the widow Margaret Bliss, of Hartford, concluded not to settle there permanently, chills and fever prevailing in some localities near the town; she and her children, therefore in the year 1643, removed to the settlement of Springfield, Mass., thirty miles or more up the Conecticut River. Margaret sold her property in Hartford, and gathering her household goods and cattle together, prepared with her eight children to make the journey through the forest to Springfield, which she accomplished in about five days. Nathaniel and Samuel, her second and fourth sons, had been there previously, and a dwelling had been prepared for the family on their arrival. A journey like this was thought a great thing in those days. They camped out in the forest three nights with their teams, so sparsely was the country settled at that time; and the forests, infested with savage beasts and scarcely less savage Indians, were broken only by the single roads to the seaboard, on the east and on the south, and these were by no means of the best. Mrs. Margaret had acquaintances in Springfield whom she had known in England, and here she settled down for the remainder of her days. It is said she purchased a tract of land in Springfield one mile square, situated in the south part of the town, on what is now Main Street, and bordering on Connecticut River. One of the streets laid out on the manor tract has been named "Margaret Street," and another "Bliss Street," on which has been built a Congregational Church. She lived to see all her children brought up, married and established in homes of their own, except Hannah, who died at about twenty-three years of age. Mrs. Margaret died in Springfield, August 28, 1684, after a residence in America of nearly fifty years, and over forty since her husband's death. She was an energetic, efficient woman, capable of transacting most kinds of business, and was long remembered in Springfield as a woman of great intellectual ability. A mother with these characteristics seldom fails to transmit them to posterity. Her will, dated in September (1683?) mentions her son John, son Lawrence, deceased, son Samuel, daughter Elizabeth (Morgan), deceased, daughter Mary Parsons (widow of Joseph), and daughter Sarah (Scott). As no reference is made to 'Thomas or Ann, it has been questioned whether they were her children. But neither is there any reference in it to the children of her son Nathaniel, deceased, to which in their younger years she had been guardian and guide; so that it cannot be inferred from such omission that Thomas, jr., and Ann were not her children'. As she survived her husband forty-four years, it may have been that she was a second wife, and that these were children of a former marriage. He must have died comparatively young, or there may have been a great disparity in their ages. She lived more than ninety years, in spite of the hardships and anxieties she had passed through, and her grandchildren were generally very strong of consitution and long-lived, as where also her children. She was a woman of superior abilities, great resolution, and uncommon enterprise, and is entitled to the respect of her descendants, both for her vigor of mind and consitution.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft#page/30/mo...
• The following are the names of the children of Thomas and Margaret Bliss, with their chronology as far as we have been able to ascertain:
  • 9. ANN, b. in England, __, m. April 29, 1642, Robert Chapman, of Saybrook, Conn., and d. November 20, 1685. He was born about 1616, and came from Hull, England, to Boston, in August 1635 and in November to Saybrook, Conn. He d. October 13, 1687. Issue: 1. John, b. July, 1644. 2. Robert, b. September, 1646. 3. Ann, b. September 12, 1648, d. next year. 4. Hannah, b. October 4, 1650. 5. Nathaniel, b. February 16, 1653. 6. Mary, b. April 15, 1655. 7. Sarah, b. September 25, 1657.
  • 10. MARY, b. in England, __, m. November 26, 1646, Joseph Parsons, Springfield, Mass., who d. October 9, 1683. She d. January 29, 1712. Mr Parsons, associated with Mr. Pynchon, was one of the most prominent men in the public business of the place, and quite wealthy. He was a witness to the deed given by the Indians to Pynchon,* July 15, 1636. Joseph and Mary Parsons had five children before their removal to Northampton, Mass., in 1654. (Their son Ebenezer, born in this place, May 1, 1655, was the first white child born in the town, and he was killed by the Indians at Northfield, September 2, 1675.) Here in Northampton they had seven more children, making twelve in all, but three, named Benjamin, John and David, died young. Mary Bliss, the mother of this family, two years after the birth of her youngest child, was charged with witchcraft by some of her neighbors who were envious of their prosperity and endeavored in this way to disgrace them. She was sent to Boston for trail where the jury gave her a full acquittal of the crime, and she returned home to Northampton, from whence they removed back to Springfield in 1679. Just after he acquittal in Boston, her son Ebenezer was killed by the Indians, and those who had been instrumental in bringing her to trial said: "Behold, though human judges may be bought off, God's vengeance neither turns aside nor slumbers." It is said that she possessed great beauty and talents, but was not very amiable.
  • '11. *THOMAS, b. in England, __, d. April 15, 1688.
  • '[ A Mr. Thomas Blythe (aged twenty years) came over in the barque "Globe" from London, August 7, 1635. If this was Thomas Bliss, afterwards of Norwich, Conn., it gives his birth date as 1615.]
  • 12. *NATHANIEL, b. in England, __, d. November 8, 1654.
  • 13. *LAWRENCE, b. in England, __, d. in 1676.
  • 14. *SAMUEL, b. in England in 1624, d. March 23, 1720.
  • 15. SARAH, b. at Boston Mount, about 1635-6, m. at Springfield, Mass., July 20 1659, John Scott, by whom she had nine children, only one of whom (William) had issue. Mr. Scott died January 2, 1690, and the same year she was married again, to Samuel Terry. She d. September 17, 1705.
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogyofbliss00blisuoft#page/31/mo...
  • 16. ELIZABETH, b. at Boston Mount, about 1637, was m. February 15, 1669-70, as the second wife of Sergeant Miles Morgan (b. 1615 and d. May 28, 1699), who had eight children by a previous marriage. Elizabeth had only one child, named Nathaniel, b. June 14, 1671. She was thirty-two or three years of age at the time of her marriage, and had been engaged in marriage before, but her intended husband was killed by the Indians.
  • 17. HANNAH, b. at Hartford, 1639, d. single, January 25, 1662.
  • 18. *JOHN, b. at Hartford, 1640, d. September 10, 1702.
• ____________________

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34067303

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According to an article written by Tom Bliss, Bliss Magazine, Vol 2,No 20 Dec. 2007 - Thomas Bliss, son Thomas Bliss, probably was NOT the son of Margaret [Hulins] Bliss. It is more likely that he was the son of Thomas Sr's first wife, also named Margaret but who maiden name is unknown. A record of her death and burial was found at St. Nicholas Church in Gloucester England. This Margaret was also the mother of Anne Bliss and a daughter Sarah who died young.

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Note: Aaron Tyler Bliss, in his "Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America", does not support that Thomas Bliss of Belstone, Devonshire, England is the father of Thomas Bliss of Hartford. Anyway, the use of the title "Sr." applies to England only, because in America Hartford property documents list his son Thomas Bliss of Hartford with "Senior" or "Sen" or "Sr." in modern uses, so the son Thomas is "Jr." only in England. Similarly, the grandson Thomas Bliss would be called Thomas Bliss "III" in England and called Thomas Bliss "Jr." in America according to the Hartford property documents.

Thomas (Jr. in US) Bliss and his Wife are a common ancestors of both Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and NY Governor Thomas E. Dewey.

The American generational descent from Thomas Sr. Bliss of Hartford to Governor Thomas E. Dewey is

Gen. 1: Thomas Sr. of Hartford (1590-1650) and Margaret (Hulins) (c. 1595-1684) Bliss;

Gen. 2: Thomas Jr. (c. 1616-1688) and Elizabeth (Birchard) (c. 1621-1699) Lathrop;

Gen. 3: Rebecca (Bliss) (1683-1737) and Israel (1659-1733) Lathrop;

Gen. 4: Rebecca (Lathrop) (1695-1774) and Isaac (1696-1775) Huntington;

Gen. 5: Abigail (Huntington) (1739-1820) and Azariah (1728-1810) Lathrop;

Gen. 6: Charles (1770-?1831) and Joanna Leffingwell (c. 1775-?1854) Lathrop;

Gen. 7: Harriet Wadsworth (Lathrop) (1796-1833) and Rev. Miron (1789-1864) Winslow;

Gen. 8 (GP): Harriet Lathrop (Winslow) (1829-1861) and Rev. John Welsh (1823-1887) Dulles;

Gen. 9 (Parents): Allen Macy (1854-1930) and Edith (Foster) (1877-1920) Dulles;

Gen. 10 : Secretary of State John Foster (1888-1959) and Janet Pomeroy (Avery) (1885-1930) Dulles

For links and details see the Descendancy Links of Laurence Overmire:

<http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=glencoe&...>

John Foster Dulles and Floyd Bliss Hanson are 8th Cousins Once Removed.

_____________________________________________

Similarly, Thomas Sr. Bliss of Hartford and his wife are the minimal common Great Grandparents connecting Floyd Bliss Hanson and NY Governor Thomas E. Dewey as 9th Cousins. The link to John Foster Dulles goes through Thomas Bliss Jr. in US.

The American generational descent from Thomas Sr. Bliss of Hartford to Governor Thomas E. Dewey is

Gen. 1: Thomas Sr. of Hartford (1590-1650) and Margaret (Hulins) (c. 1595-1684) Bliss;

Gen. 2: Thomas Jr. (c. 1616-1688) and Elizabeth (Birchard) (c. 1621-1699) Lathrop;

Gen. 3: Rebecca (Bliss) (1683-1737) and Israel (1659-1733) Lathrop;

Gen. 4: Martha (Lathrop) (1696-1775) and Simon (1696-1775) Lothop;

Gen. 5: Mary (Lathrop) (1729-1770) and David (1727-1757) Nivens;

Gen. 6: Mary (Nivens) (c. 1754-? ) and Nathan (c. 1751-?) Lord;

Gen. 7: Hannah (Lord) (1773-?) and Asa (1769-?) Bingham;

Gen. 8: Lemuel (1804-?) and Lydia L. (Dowd (?-?) Bingham;

Gen. 9 (GP): Emma (Bingham) (1837-?) and George Martin I (1877-1920) Dewey;

Gen. 10 (Parents): George Martin II (1869-1923) and Anne (Thomas) (1885-1930) Dewey;

Gen. 11: Governor Thomas Edmund (1902-1971) and Frances Elleen Hutt (1903-1970) Dewey.

For links and details see the Descendancy Links of Laurence Overmire:

<http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=glencoe&...>

Thomas E. Dewey and Floyd Bliss Hanson are 9th Cousins;

_____________________________________________

• • Gen. 3: Rebecca (Bliss) (1683-1737) and Israel (1659-1733) Lathrop; • • Gen. 4: Martha (Lathrop) (1696-1775) and Simon (1696-1775) Lothop; • • Gen. 5: Mary (Lathrop) (1729-1770) and David (1727-1757) Nivens; • • Gen. 6: Mary (Nivens) (c. 1754-? ) and Nathan (c. 1751-?) Lord; • • Gen. 7: Hannah (Lord) (1773-?) and Asa (1769-?) Bingham; • • Gen. 8: Lemuel (1804-?) and Lydia L. (Dowd (?-?) Bingham; • • Gen. 9 GP): Emma (Bingham) (1837-?) and George Martin I (1877-1920) Dewey; • • Gen. 10 (Parents): George Martin II (1869-1923) and Anne (Thomas) (1885-1930) Dewey; • • Gen. 11: Governor Thomas Edmund (1902-1971) and Frances Elleen Hutt (1903-1970) Dewey.

For links and details see the Descendancy Links of Laurence Overmire:

<http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=glencoe&...>

Thomas E. Dewey and Floyd Bliss Hanson are 9th Cousins;

_____________________________________________

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(f/g) Thomas Bliss, III Birth: 1618 Fairford, England Death: Apr. 15, 1688 Norwich New London County Connecticut, USA

~MY ANCESTOR~ The son of THOMAS, SR. & MARGARET (HULLINGS) BLISS, he was probably born in Rodborough, Gloucestershire, England. The family came to Boston around 1639/40. They lived in Cambridge, Mass. for a time and removed from Mass. to Hartford by 1640. Thomas, Jr. was given a homelot next to his father's homelot that year. The names of Thomas Bliss, Sr. & Jr. are written on the Founders Memorial in the Ancient Cemetery at Hartford and his name is on the Founder's Memorial in this Cemetery. His name also appears on the list of "Owners of Land before 1653 in Hartford".

He married ELIZABETH BIRCHARD on October 31, 1644 in Saybrook, New London, Conn. (now Lyme). He was given land there east of the Connecticut River which he sold on July 23, 1662 to John Comstock and Richard Smith, having removed with his family to Norwich, Con­necticut. On October 8, 1663 at a General Assembly at Hartford, Thom: Blisse & John Birchard were accepted to be freemen.

His will was written on April 13, 1688 in Norwich, two days before his death. He named his wife, six daughter and only-living son, Samuel Bliss. His estate exceeded 182 pounds which included land in various places around Norwich.

The known children of Thomas & Elizabeth Bliss (all born in Saybrook except for the last two who were born in Norwich):

Elizabeth Bliss b. 20 Nov 1645 Sarah Bliss b. 26 Aug 1647 Mary Bliss b. 7 Feb 1649 Thomas Bliss b. 3 Mar 1652 d. 29 Jan 1682 DELIVERANCE (BLISS) PERKINS - My Ancestor Samuel Bliss b. 9 Dec 1657 (served in the Narragansitt Indian War) Ann Bliss b. Sept, 1660 Rebecca Bliss b. March, 1663

NOTE: Founders Cemetery Norwich New London County Connecticut. There are no stones remaining in this cemetery except for the one large obelisk with the names of the Founding Fathers.

Family links:

Parents:

 Thomas Bliss (1583 - 1650)

 Margaret Lawrence Hulins Bliss (1595 - 1684) 

Spouse:

 Elizabeth Birchard Bliss (1621 - 1699) 

Children:

 Elizabeth Bliss Smith (1645 - 1689)*

 Sarah Bliss Sluman-Tracy (1647 - 1730)*

 Mary Bliss Calkins (1648 - 1698)*

 Thomas Bliss (1651 - 1681)*

 Deliverance Bliss Perkins (1655 - 1731)*

 Samuel Bliss (1657 - 1729)*

 Anne Bliss Rockwell (1660 - ____)*

 Rebeckah Bliss Lathrup (1663 - 1737)* 

Siblings:

 Sarah Bliss Scott (____ - 1705)*

 Ann Bliss Chapman (1617 - 1685)*

 Thomas Bliss (1618 - 1688)

 Lawrence Bliss (1620 - 1676)**

 Nathaniel Bliss (1622 - 1654)**

 Nathaniel Bliss (1622 - 1654)*

 Samuel Bliss (1624 - 1720)*

 Mary Bliss Parsons (1628 - 1712)*

 Lawrence Bliss (1628 - 1676)*

 Elizabeth Bliss Morgan (1637 - ____)*

 Hannah Bliss (1639 - 1661)*

 Samuel Bliss (1642 - 1720)** 

• Calculated relationship
  • Half-sibling

Burial: Founders Cemetery Norwich New London County Connecticut, USA Plot: NO TOMBSTONE REMAINS Created by: Nareen, et al Record added: Feb 21, 2009 Find A Grave Memorial# 34063682 -tcd

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• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 13 2018, 21:48:28 UTC

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GEDCOM Source

@R-1244640160@ North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61157::0

GEDCOM Source

1,61157::760877

GEDCOM Source

@R-1244640160@ North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61157::0

GEDCOM Source

1,61157::760877

GEDCOM Source

@R-1244640160@ North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61157::0

GEDCOM Source

1,61157::760877

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Thomas Bliss, Jr
BIRTH 1618 Fairford, Cotswold District, Gloucestershire, England DEATH 15 Apr 1688 (aged 69–70) Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA BURIAL Founders Cemetery Norwich, New London County, Connecticut,

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34063682/thomas-bliss

Children Elizabeth Bliss Smith 1645–1689

Sarah Bliss Sluman-Tracy 1647–1730

Mary Bliss Calkins 1649–1698

Thomas Bliss 1651–1681

Photo Deliverance Bliss Perkins 1655–1731

Samuel Bliss 1657–1729

Anne Bliss Rockwell 1660 – unknown

Photo Rebeckah Bliss Lothrop 1663–1737
~MY ANCESTOR~
The son of THOMAS, SR. & MARGARET (SNOWE) BLISS, he was probably born in Rodborough, Gloucestershire, England. The family came to Boston around 1639/40. They lived in Cambridge, Mass. for a time and removed from Mass. to Hartford by 1640. Thomas, Jr. was given a homelot next to his father's homelot that year. The names of Thomas Bliss, Sr. & Jr. are written on the Founders Memorial in the Ancient Cemetery at Hartford and his name is on the Founder's Memorial in this Cemetery. His name also appears on the list of "Owners of Land before 1653 in Hartford".

He married ELIZABETH BIRCHARD on October 31, 1644 in Saybrook, New London, Conn. (now Lyme). He was given land there east of the Connecticut River which he sold on July 23, 1662 to John Comstock and Richard Smith, having removed with his family to Norwich, Con­necticut.
On October 8, 1663 at a General Assembly at Hartford, Thom: Blisse & John Birchard were accepted to be freemen.

His will was written on April 13, 1688 in Norwich, two days before his death. He named his wife, six daughter and only-living son, Samuel Bliss. His estate exceeded 182 pounds which included land in various places around Norwich.

The known children of Thomas & Elizabeth Bliss (all born in Saybrook except for the last two who were born in Norwich):

Elizabeth Bliss b. 20 Nov 1645
Sarah Bliss b. 26 Aug 1647
Mary Bliss b. 7 Feb 1649
Thomas Bliss b. 3 Mar 1652 d. 29 Jan 1682
DELIVERANCE (BLISS) PERKINS - My Ancestor
Samuel Bliss b. 9 Dec 1657 (served in the Narragansitt Indian War)
Ann Bliss b. Sept, 1660
Rebecca Bliss b. March, 1663
____________________
TAG 91|44ff
Thomas' baptism was at St John the Baptist, Gloucester on 23 Jan 1617/8. His mother was Thomas' first wife, also named Margaret. (Thomas Bliss did not marry Margaret Hulins until 1621... he HAD married Margaret Snowe in 1616.)
Contributor: Kevin Avery (47024642) • kevinavery@msn.com

_______________________
NOTE: Founders Cemetery Norwich New London County Connecticut. There are no stones remaining in this cemetery except for the one large obelisk with the names of the Founding Fathers.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 17 2023, 21:27:50 UTC