Amos Tinker

Amos and Samuel Tinker as well as Alice and William Measure obtained land from the Town of Lyme "by grant". It was by right of John Tinker, who must have been a proprietor of Lyme, as in later divisions of the town property, descendants of John Tinker received headrights by virtue of being descendants of John Tinker. John Tinker Jr. never claimed the land in Stonington or Groton that was put in trust for him by his father, and that land was sold years later by Samuel Tinker with approval of the Court(37). John Tinker Jr does not appear in any record after the death of his father. So on Jun. 18, 1688 when Amos Tinker presented a grievance at a Lyme Town Meeting because his brother John Tinker, deceased, had not received his portion of the land in the fourth division, the fact that the Town did grant land to John Tinker (Jr) indicates "head rights"(38). At a much later date land was laid out in the right of Mary as "daughter of John Tinker"(39). This was after Mary's death and the only reason for mentioning her father would be to establish her right to the land. It is something of a mystery that William Measure did not marry Alice before the birth of Sarah, but possibly as long as Alice remained the legal widow of John Tinker, the law looked upon all of her children as children of John. Sarah [Tinker] Hudson, claimed her "headright" in land of the fourth division of Lyme by virtue of being "daughter of John Tinker"(40). All of John Tinker's heirs received grants of land in Lyme, with the exception of Rhoda. The only knowledge of Rhoda is her birth and mention of her in her father's will.

From the NEGHS Register, vol 149.