Thomas Emerson, of Bishop’s Stortford & Ipswich

Thomas Emerson of Ipswich son of Robert

• Christening: 26/30 Jul 1584 St Michaels Church, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, England
• Lived in Ipswich as early as 1638
• Married Elizabeth Unknown as his only wife. There is no proof she was a Brewster.
• Progenitor of the Ipswich Branch of the family
• Died 1 MAY 1666 • Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts
• children are listed as: Robert, Benjamin, Ralfe, James, Joseph, John, Nathaniel and Elizabeth (who married John Fuller). Note he had no children named Michael or Thomas.

Please don't conflate two different people

Robert Charles Anderson in his latest work, The Great Migration Directory p 106 he states that Thomas Emerson (1584-1666) of Ipswich who arrived in 1638 with his wife Elizabeth is from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire. He recommends the source Alicia Crane Williams, Stone-Greg Genealogy; The Ancesters and Descendants of Galen Luther Stone and His Wife Carrie Morton Gregg (Baltimore 1987) 105-11. In this work he is shown as son to Robert and Susanna Crabbe and grandson of Thomas Great Dunmow (This book is on Open Library). Anderson doesn't ever disclose a place of origin unless he feels there is conclusive evidence for it. In Stone-Gregg p 108 his children are listed as: Robert, Benjamin, Ralfe, James, Joseph, John, Nathaniel and Elizabeth (who married John Fuller). Note he had no children named Michael or Thomas.

The other Thomas Emerson of Lincolnshire son of Alexander (1589–1657) was born about 1589 in Searby, Lincolnshire, England (we do not have a baptism date for him or an exact date of birth) and he was buried on 25 DEC 1657 in Cadney, Lincolnshire, England. His wife was Margaret Froe who died before 1657. The pedigree of Thomas son of Alexander can be found in Holman, Mary Lovering. Ancestry of Charles Stinson Pillsbury and John Sargent Pillsbury. (Concord, New Hampshire: Privately Printed at The Rumford Press, 1938) The Emerson Line, II:991-992 (On Ancestry.com Card Catalog go to.2:142 instead). He was the father of the Emerson's of Haverhill. He died testate and left a will (see Pillsbury) and his children were: Alexander, Anna, Elizabeth, John, Isabell, Susan, Edward, Thomas, Michael and Robert.

Will

In the will of Thomas Emerson, written 31 May 1653, proved 10 May 1666 he
mentions "Elizabeth Emerson my wife". The will was attested by Elizabeth Emerson. Source: Essex County Probate Files, Docket 8,947

Biography

Thomas Emerson, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, is recorded in the church wardens book of St. Michael's church, in 1630, as collector for the poor. His wife, Elizabeth (Brewster) Emerson, is supposed to have been a daughter of William Brewster, of Scrooby, and the famous elder of the Pilgrims, 1620. It has been proven that Major-General Dcnison. a close friend of Thomas, and mentioned in the latter's will, emigrated from Bishop's-Stortford. Thomas Emerson was probably born in Sedsfield parish, county of Durham, England, and died in Ipswich, Massachusetts, May i, 1666. He was baptized at Bishop's-Stortford, England, July 26, 1584, and was married July i, 1611, in that parish to Elizabeth Brewster. Their children as recorded in St. Michael's Church at Bishop'sStortford were: Robert, Benjamin, Ralph, James, Joseph, Elizabeth, John, Thomas, Nathaniel and Susan.

Tradition says that they came from England in the ship Elizabeth Ann in 1635. He was at Ipswich, Massachusetts, as early as 1638, when eighty acres of land was granted to him. In the same year he received a deed of one hundred and twenty acres from Samuel Greenfield, a weaver of Ipswich, and this was the Turkey Shore farm, which remained in the family for generations. He is mentioned as a commoner in 1641, and in 1646 was one of the "seven men," equivalent to the present selectmen. He was the possessor of considerable property and the records show that he received damages from the town for the loss of a yoke of oxen that backed off a bridge. The inventory of his estate amounted to two hundred and twentyfive pounds three shillings. The records of England show that the family was nonconformist, and they probably found difficulty in getting out of England. The reference to Thomas Emerson as a baker in the Massachusetts records probably arises from the fact that he assumed the character of an artisan in order to make his removal from England less difficult.

Children

1. Robert Emerson 1612 -
2. Benjamin Emerson 1614 - 1614
3. Ralfe Emerson 1615 - 1626
4. Lieutenant Colonel James Emerson 1617/18 - 1664
5. Rev Joseph Emerson 1620 - 1679/80
6. Elizabeth Emerson 1623 - 1681
7. John Emerson 1625 - 1700
8. Nathaniel Emerson 1630 - 1712
9. Susan Emerson 1632 - est 1638

Sources

1. Alicia Crane Williams, Stone-Greg Genealogy; The Ancesters and Descendants of Galen Luther Stone and His Wife Carrie Morton Gregg (Baltimore 1987) 105-11. In this work he is shown as son to Robert and Susanna Crabbe and grandson of Thomas Great Dunmow (This book is on Open Library).
2. Emerson, Benjamin Kendall, and George Augustus Gordon. The Ipswich Emersons, A.D. 1636-1900: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Emerson of Ipswich, Massachusetts, with Some Account of his English Ancestry. (Boston, Massachusetts: David Clapp & Son, 1900), 25-31. GoogleBooks
3. Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts to End of the Year 1849. (Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1910, 1919), 2:548. "Emerson, … Thomas, [died] May 1, 1666. (court record, Essex Co. Quarterly Court.)"
4. Emerson Pedigree, in Emerson, P. H. (Peter Henry). The English Emersons: A Genealogical Historical Sketch of the Family from the Earliest Times to the End of the Seventeenth Century, Including Various Modern Pedigrees, with an Appendix of Authorities. (London: David Nutt, 1898), Facing 156.
5. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53116311/thomas-emerson as of December 2020 shows birth as Sedgefield, Durham Unitary Authority, County Durham, England which seems an error.

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• Immigration: on ship Elizabeth Ann - 1635 - England, New England
  • Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Nov 18 2016, 19:53:35 UTC