Thomas Woodford

Biographical Summary:

Thomas Woodford, came to Boston in the "William and Francis;" embarked March 7, arrived June 5, 1632; settled at Roxbury; freeman, March 4, 1635; married in Roxbury, Mary, daughter of Robert Blott; he came to Agawam with Mr. Pynchon's company, where he signed the agreement of May 16, 1636, and had an allotment of land. Named in the distribution of 1639 at Hartford, when he was one who received land "by the courtesie of the town;" his home-lot was on the west side of the highway now Front St. He was chosen with Arthur Smith, February 10, 1639-40, to attend the townsmen, and to do any special services required by them, as to give notice of town-meetings, impound stray cattle, etc. Appointed to act as sexton, March 3, 1640, to "attend the making of graves for any corpses deceased;" to "receive for giving notice by ringing the bell, making the grave, and keeping of it in seemly repair, so that it may be known in future time; when such graves have been made for the lesser sort, 2s. 6d., for the middle sort, 3s., and for the higher sort, 3s. 6d.;" also appointed town crier, and to be paid 2d. for crying anything lost. His wife probably died in Hartford; he removed about 1656 to Northampton; there died March 6, 1667.

SOURCE: James Hammond Trumbull, editor, The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1 (Boston, Massachusetts: Edward L. Osgood, 1886), page 270. Retrieved: 3 May 2011 from Google Books

Biographical Summary:

Thomas Woodford, Steward, came from London, England, and embarked in the ship "William and Francis" March 7th, 1631/32, arriving in Massaschusetts Jun 5th, 1632. He settled first in Rodbury, Mass. He married Mary Blott, daughter of Robert and Susanna Blott, March 4th, 1636, and moved to Hartford, Connecticut, and later to Springfield, Mass, where he is mentioned in the Compact of Settlers in 1536. Later he removed to Northampton, Mass, where he died March 6th, 1667. He had three daughters; Mary, who married Isaac Shelton; Hannah, who married Samuel Allen; and Sarah, who married Nehemiah Allen. He made a will Apr. 24th, 1665, bequeathing to his daughter Mary and her children; also to Hannah and Sarah; and to his sons-in-law, Isaac Shelton and Nehemiah Allen. --Clark F. Allen

Thomas Woodford and Mary Blott were immigrants aboard the William and Francis.

There is a good reference printed by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston 1995. Title; "The Great Migration Begins-Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volume III, P-W" by Robert Charles Anderson. According to this (pp 2057-2060), he arrived in Roxbury in 1632 on the William & Francis. He married Mary Blott and moved to Connecticut. There are details about his will and some of the children.

"Genealogy and Family History of the State of Connecticut, Volume I" New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company 1911, p 456 also discusses Thomas Woodford, born in Lincolnshire, England, emigrated in 1632, married Mary Blott Mar 4, 1635. Also lists descendants. Connecticut Historical Society library has copies.

Thomas Woodford, came to Boston in the “William and Francis;” embarked March 7, arrived June 5, 1632 ; settled at Roxbury; freeman, March 4, 1635; m. in Roxbury, Mary, dau. of Robert Blott ; he came to Agawam with Mr. Pynchon's company, where he signed the agreement of May 16, 1636, and had an allotment of land. Named in the distribution of 1639 at Hartford, when he was one who received land “by the courtesie of the town;” his home-lot was on the west side of the highway now Front St. He was chosen with Arthur Smith, Feb. 10, 1639-40, to attend the townsmen, and to do any special services required by them, as to give notice of tows-meetings, impound stray cattle, etc. Appointed to act as sexton, March 3, 1640, to “attend the making of graves for any corpses deceased;” to “receive for giving notice by ringing the bell, making the grave, and keeping of it in seemly repair, en that it may be known in future time; when such graves have been made for the lesser sort, 2s. 6d., for the middle sort, 3s.., and for the higher sort, 3e. 6d. ;” also appointed town crier, and to be paid 2d. for crying anything lost. His wife probably d. in Hartford; he removed about 1656 to Northampton; there d. March 6, 1667.

• Thomas Woodford arrived at Boston in 1632, in the ship William and Frantis and first settled in Roxbury, where he was admitted a freeman 4 March, 1635. He was one of the little company of Roxbury which made a formal declaration of their intention to establish a town at Springf1eld before the Indian deeds were secured, and was the owner of lands there. Later he removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where, in 1640, he was the first town clerk, and in 1645 " collector of funds for the students at Harvard." He was one of the founders of Northampton, where he removed about 1654, and served as selectman 1657 and 1658. His home lot there was afterwards owned by the eminent Jonathan Edwards, D. D. He died 6 March, 1667; married Mary, daughter of Robert and Susannah Blott, who were passengers with him to America. His wife died at Hartford before his removal to Massachusetts.

Thomas is an ancestor of Princess Diana, as follows:

Diana Spencer (Lady Diana)’s parents are Viscount Edward John Spencer (born in 1924) and Frances Ruth Burk-Roche (born in 1936). The American line is through Diana’s mother, the daughter of Edmund Maurice Burk-Roche (1885-1955) and Ruth Sylvia Gill.

The Work and Wood Families

Edmund Burk-Roche was the son of the Hon. James Boothby Burk-Roche (1851-1920) and his American-born wife, Frances E. Work, who was born in New York in 1857 and died just short of her 90th birthday. They were married in 1880 in New York.

Her father, Franklin H. Work (1819-1911), was born in Ohio, as was her mother, Ellen Wood (1831-1877). Both died in New York City. The line continues back through Ellen Wood, the mother of Frances.

The Strong and Allen Families

Ellen Wood was the daughter of John Wood of West Virginia and Ohio and his wife, the former Eleanor Strong. Eleanor, born in 1802 in Philadelphia, outlived her husband by several years and died in New York City in 1863.

Eleanor was a daughter of Dr. Joseph Strong (1770-1812) of Philadelphia and Rebecca Young, and granddaughter of Benjamin Strong (1740-1809) and Lucy Bishop, who lived at Coventry, CT. Benjamin had a double dose of Strong ancestry, being a son of Joseph Strong Jr. of Coventry, CT, who wed his cousin, Elizabeth Strong.

Joseph Strong Jr. was a son of Joseph Strong (1672-1763) and Sarah Allen, the daughter of Nehemiah Allen of Northampton, MA, and Sarah Woodford.

The Woodford and Blott Families

Sarah Woodford (1649-1712) was a daughter of Thomas Woodford, the immigrant, who was born in England. He married Mary Blott, who was also born in England. Both died at Northampton, MA. Mary came from England with her father, Robert Blott, who died at Boston in 1665.

SOURCES: Phillip Thuma of Ironton, OH, who is also a Robert Blott descendant; “H.R.H. The Princess of Wales,” April, 1982, New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

He came with Governor Winthrop's colony on the ship "William and Francis." He settled in Cambridge, then Springfield, and then Roxbury.

In 1634 he was elected a freeman. In 1636 he was an original settler of Hartford, Conn. and received a land grant in the present corporate limits.

---

Birth Name
Thomas Woodford
Custom Event
Emmigration traveled on William and Francis Ship 5 jun 1632 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States Probated his Estate 26 mar 1667 Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States

---

Born by 1614, based on date of freemanship. Migrated to Massachusetts Bay in 1632 on the "William & Francis". First settled in Roxbury, then moved to Hartford in 1636, & Northampton in 1656. Died in Northampton, 6 March 1666/7. Married by about 1636 MARY BLOTT, baptized at Harrold, Bedfordshire, 24 December 1609, daughter of Robert Blott. She died before 27 May 1662 (date of father's will).

Source: Anderson's Great Migration Study Projecr Posted by: Andrew Adams Date: February 03, 1999 at 19:11:20 In Reply to: Mary Woodford Sheldon, Engl. to CT 1639 by Dot Drake of 388 Here's my research, mostly on the Internet, for your question:

Mary Blott, mother of Mary Woodford, was born in 1609 at Harold, Bedfordshire, England. She came to America in with her parents. The Roxbury MA church records show "Mary Blott, a maid servant, came in 1632, and married Steward Woodford of this church…she lived in Christian sort." She married Thomas Woodford on March 4, 1635. The couple had four daughters, Mary, Hannah, Thankful, and Sarah, and two sons, Nehemiah and Joseph. She died at age 51, predeceasing her father, in Northampton or Boston MA on January 10, 1660; her will was proved May 27, 1662.

• Thomas Woodford, father of Mary Woodford, was born about 1612 in Roxbury, Lincoln, England. He arrived in America on June 5, 1632, from London March 9 aboard the "William and Francis." The next record of him is at Roxbury, MA, where the Reverend John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians," wrote in the church records (language updated): "Thomas Woodford, a manservant, came to New England in 1632 and joined the church about half a year later; he afterwards married Mary Blott, and moved to CT, joining the church in Hartford." Thomas became a freeman of the MA Bay Colony March 4, 1634/45. He is mentioned in the Compact of Settlers of 1636 at Springfield, CT. He received six acres of land at Hartford, CT, in 1639, and was hired by the city to maintain fences and to impound loose animals. In 1640 he was also a gravedigger. He owned several parcels of land around Hartford. In 1654 the Woodfords moved to Northampton, MA, along with their daughter Mary and son-in-law Isaac Sheldon, where he was elected one of the Townsmen in 1657. The Northampton church was organized June 18, 1661, and Thomas was the third signer of the formal document. He wrote his will April 26, 1665, naming Isaac Sheldon executor. In early 1666 he asked to be excused from court duty because of age and weakness. He died in Northampton, aged 65, on March 6, 1667. His estate was valued at 197 pounds. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34870974

  ---

GEDCOM Source

Gale Research Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010.Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenge; @R1@ Place: Cambridge, Massachusetts; Year: 1632; Page Number: . Arrival date: 1632 Arrival place: Cambridge, Massachusetts http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pili354&h=775597&ti=0...

GEDCOM Source

Yates Publishing U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was derived; @R1@ Source number: ; Source type: ; Number of Pages: ; Submitter Code: . Birth date: 1610
Birth place: EN Marriage date: 1634 Marriage place: MA http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=worldmarr_ga&h=135599...

GEDCOM Source

Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp. Massachusetts Census, 1790-1890 Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.Original data - Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.Orig; @R1@ Residence date: 1634
Residence place: Massachusetts Colony, MA http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=macen&h=10204704&ti=0...

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620-1988 Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data - Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).Original data: Town and C; @R1@ Death date: 6 Mar 1666
Death place: Northampton, Massachusetts http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=matownvital&h=7642262... From: Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope-"A Descriptive List, Drawn from the Reords of the Colonies, Towns, and Churches, and Other Contemporaneous Documents." Boston, Massachusetts, 1900. [Page 512]

WOODFORD

Thomas, steward, embarked March 7, 1631-2, for N.E. Settled at Roxbury in 1632. [E.] He m. Mary, dau of Robert Blott, who names her and her children in his will. Rem. to Hartford, Conn. Thence to Springfield, where he is mentioned in the Compact of settlers in 1636. Rem. to Northampton.

He made will April 26, 1665, prob. March 26, 1667. Beq. to Daughter Mary and her children; to daus. Hannah and Sarah; to sons-in-law Isaac Sheldin and Nehemiah Allen.