Thomas Axtell

Thomas AXTELL was born about 26 Jan 1619 in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England. Died in Mar 1646 in Sudbury, MA. Son of William and Thomasine Axtell, was baptised in St. Peter's Church, Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England, January 26, 1619 (N.S.). His father died in 1638.

He married Mary -- probably in 1638; two children were born to them in England, and their baptism is recorded in St. Peter's. They left England as early as 1643, for in October of that year, Thomas purchased five acres of land in Sudbury, Massachusetts, of Edmond Rice, who himself had come from Berkhamstead five years earlier. This land is described as "lying in ye south part of ye town-bounds, the southwest side lying to the commons and joined to the land of Edmond Rice, southward and northward to the highway leading from Sudbury to Mr. Duston's farm." This is what is now Wayland near "The Five Paths." Thomas took the oath of fidelity July 8, 1645. He died in March, 1646, and was buried the 8th of that month. The following is the inventory of Thomas Axtell of Sudbury, lately deceased,

Imprimi: His land and house 8o 10s Cattle 8o 10s Wearing apparel and bedding with his arms 10o Brass and pewter 5o

Edmond Rice bought back the land, six acres, and dwelling house. This was near the spring.

The story told in those words is short, indeed, but we are permitted to see what it stands for. The young Englishman was a soldier or at least trained to arms; he was of strong puritanical leanings, like his brother Daniel the regicide. With his wife and two little ones he followed his neighbor across the sea to make his home in a frontier settlement of New England. Scarcely had he set up his rooftree in the wilderness when hardships and exposure struck him down. With his last breath he leaves his little all for the helpless group about his death bed. Mary, the widow of Thomas, appears to have married John Maynard, a widower with a boy of eight, on June 16, 1646.

He married Mary about 1638 in England.

They had the following children:

+2 i. Mary AXTELL +3 ii. Henry AXTELL 4 iii. Lydia AXTELL was born on 1 Jun 1644. (or Mary).

The Sudbury Vital Records gives both names on the same date, born June 1, 1644. In his will, John Maynard speaks of his daughter Lydia, wife of John Moore, and as there is no record of any other Lydia in his family, it seems probable that the daughter of his wife by her first husband, Thomas Axtell, is intended.

comments

Through a mis-reading of the early script, EDWARD WRIGHT of Sudbury is frequently recorded as having married Hannah Axtel2 (Thomas1) instead of HANNAH' UPSON. This is a mistake - there is no Hannah Axtel.

Sources:

• http://www.AxtellFamily.org
• Carson A. Axtell
• http://www.AxtellFamily.org/axgenea/axmodreg.html
• http://www.axtellfamily.org/axgenea/axglean.html

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Gleanings from England and Elsewhere

(from the introduction to the 1945 AXTELL GENEALOGY compiled by Carson A. Axtell)

The name Axtell is unquestionably of Anglo-Saxon origin. The earliest records appear in English history and are found in London, Somerset, and Hertford Counties under various forms of spelling: Axail, Axell, Axtil, Axtill, Axtel, Axstell, Akstyl, Akstyle, Axstyl, Ackstyl, Ackstell, Extell, Extil, Extill, and Axtell, the last form the most generally accepted in America, with the accent on the first syllable.

Much of the early English history of the Axtell family came from Hertford, a small county lying west of Essex and north of Middlesex county, some twenty miles from London.

In 1534, Henry the VIII, King of England, having disagreed with the Pope of Rome on the divorce question, with the consent of Parliament set up an independent church of which he became head. Soon after he suppressed many of the smaller monasteries of the country. At Gatesdon, in the northwest part of the country, there was a small colony of the Augustine order, "a priori of twenty good men (Bon hommes)". This fell to the King. Clutterbuck, the historian of Hertfordshire, printed the instrument, in Latin, by which the Monks acknowledged King Henry's authority in all religious matters and signed over all their property to His Majesty. The thirteenth name on the document was that of Johannes Akstyl, probably the first mention of the name of Axtell in history.

In the year of 1538, King Henry VIII of England decreed that all births, marriages and deaths should be recorded in the records of the Church. The following entries are found in the records of St. Peter's Church, Berkhamstead:

John, sonne of John Axtell, christened 1539.
William, sonne of John Axtell, christened 1541. John Axtell, christened 1560. Ann Axtell, christened 1565. John, sonne of Robert Axtell, chr. 1584. Sussanne, daughter of William, chr. 1599. John, chr. Aug. 14, 1614. William, chr. Dec. 1, 1616. Thomas, chr. Jan. 26, 1619. Daniel, (reg.) chr. May 26, 1622, sonn of William. William, chr. June 11, 1622, ye sonn of William. Thomas, chr. Oct. 31, 1624, ye sonn of William. Samuel, chr. Dec. 15, 1624. Sarah, chr. June 20, 1628, dau. of William. Alice, chr. Mar. 27, 1637, dau. of William. Elizabeth, dau. of John, chr. Mar. 7, 1640. Ann, dau. of William, chr. June 6, 1641. John, son of William, chr. Sept. 6, 1670. William, son of William, chr. Sept. 17, 1674. Mary, dau. of William, chr. Nov. 15, 1686. John, son of William, chr. Dec. 26, 1700. Mary, dau. of William, chr. Jan. 9, 1703-4. Ann, dau. of William, chr. Jan. 26, 1707 Elizabeth, dau. of Samuel, chr. Apr. 8, 1734.

William Axtell and Joan Phillips married 1543. (This is probably the William of Bovington whose will was probated in 1568, and the Joan may have been Joan Wells, also of Bovington, whose will dated 1584 and who appointed her son Henry Axtell executor. William of Bovington left his son John land in Berkhamstead.)

A William Axtell, who died 1637-38, mentioned in his will Thomasine, his wife, his sons, John, Thomas, William, Daniel and Samuel, and his daughter, Sarah and his dead brother Henry.

Rev. Seth J. Axtell, after viewing the above from every angle, has placed the last named William as our progenitor, with children as follows:

John, christened Aug. 14, 1614. William, christened Dec. 1, 1616. Thomas, christened Jan. 26, 1619. Daniel, christened May 26, 1622. Samuel, christened Dec. 15, 1624. Sarah, christened June 20, 1628.

The Axtell Coat of Arms probably originated with Col. Daniel Axtell about 1648 or 1650. Burke's "General Armory," 1884, gives the description as follows: "Azure, three axes argent, handles or", a blue shield on which are three silver axes with handles of gold and heads uppermost, blades to the left. The Crest consists of two axes with handles crossed, blades uppermost; a green wreath lies on the handles where they cross, and beneath is a bar of blue and silver on which the handles rest. Below the bar is a scroll on which is "Sub cruce glorior" (I glory in the Cross).

The old ancestral home has been visited by several of the American Axtells, among them Miss Juliet Lay Axtell (8-260). In writing to her sister under date of October 4, 1878, she says, "I think it will be neither a Tower letter nor an Abbey letter, but a Berkhamstead letter, for yesterday I went to my ancestral home, not that I found any Axtells living over here. I think it evident that the family has died out, except those who emigrated to America. The Parish Clerk recognized the name immediately because of its frequent appearance on the Registry, and on examination of that most interesting book which gives the registries of marriages, births, and deaths from 1538 (the time when registers were first ordered kept) down to the present time, we found not only the registry of the baptism of Col. Daniel Axtell, the regicide, and of Thomas Axtell (our ancestor, I believe) but of many others. The first baptism was in 1539, of John Axtell "ye sonne of John Axtell," the name being spelled, as you see, just the same as we spell ours. Then this is followed by the baptism of William Axtell (ye sonne of John Axtell), two years after, in 1541, but in 1543 there is recorded the marriage of William Axtell to Joan Phillips. This William must have been the brother and not the son of John. I had that old book in my hands and traced those names with my own fingers through curious chirography of three hundred years ago. The old book is wearing out and a copy on parchment has been made which I also handled. Well, he (the clerk) brought out a small history of the town to me, thinking that I might like to buy it because it speaks of the family and makes very honorable mention of Col. Daniel, calling him a most remarkable man. Of course I bought it, and we have been intensely interested in reading the history of the old town which goes back to the time of the Mercian Kings, who had a castle as early as 690 A.D.

"Moreover, before I read it in the book, the clerk told me Col. Axtell occupied the castle now occupied by the Duke of Hamilton and built from the ruins of the old castle during the Protectorate of Cromwell. Having wandered around those old walls awhile, we left them and went up the grand avenue of the old spreading oaks, nearby, up hill all the way till we came out upon the court-yard of the present castle, built partly of material from the old one in the second year of Elizabeth. I wish I had a picture of it, not grand, but picturesque. The part occupied by Col. Axtell is still standing, the wing having been destroyed by fire in 1660 and never rebuilt. But everything is in perfect repair, the court-yard filled with flowers and urns."

A few years ago Silas Blake Axtell visited the old ancestral home in Berkhamstead, England, and made several pictures of the old castle, some of which are shown.

Daniel Axtell, known as the "regicide," was baptised in St. Peter's Church on the 26th day of May, 1622. His father's name was William. He was apprenticed, when a youth, to a grocer in Welting Street, London. He was of a nervous, earnest, religious turn of mind; and when the struggle of Charles I and Parliament began, he warmly espoused the cause of the latter, chiefly on religious grounds. he enlisted in the army of Parliament and soon was promoted to Captain, Major, and Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1649, King Charles I was summoned before the high court of justice sitting in Westminster Hall, to answer to the charge of tyranny, treason, and murder. A guard was detailed from the army to preserve order and repress violence during the trial, with Col. Daniel Axtell in command. In calling over the names of the court, when the crier pronounced the name Fairfax, Lady Fairfax who was in the galleries, cried out, "he has more wit than to be here," and when the charge was made against the King, she cried out again, "In the name of the people of England not a tenth part of them," Col. Axtell ordered to fire into the place whence these interruptions came, but on discovering who it was that offended withdrew his order.

In his own trial in 1660, this action was brought against him, and he was also charged with forcing his men and others against their will to cry out "justice" and "execution" in order to make it appear that the soldiers and people were demanding the death of the King. As a zealous supporter of Parliament he doubtless used his influence against the King, but we may surely acquit him of bloodthirsty conduct at the trial of Charles I. After his condemnation, he prayed for the false witness who testified against him. Ludlow, then the Parliament General, who afterwards commanded in Ireland, has this notice of him: "Col. Daniel Axtell has been Captain, Major, and Lieutenant Col. in a regiment of foot, in the last of which employment he had assisted in the trial and execution of the late King. When Lieut. General Cromwell was sent by Parliament into Ireland against the rebels, the regiment in which Col. Axtell served was drawn by lot for that expedition; he cheerfully undertook the employment and for his fidelity and courage was soon preferred to the head of his regiment, and not long after was made Governor of Kilkenny. In this station he showed a more than ordinary zeal in punishing those Irish who had been guilty of murdering the Protestants."

Doubtless the Colonel was a little severe in his work; the temper of the times was cruel and vindictive, and the extreme Puritan party to which he belonged looked with intense animosity upon the Papacy and all its design. Clarendon, the royal historian, charged him with inflicting "wanton and barbarous cruelties upon the Irish people." History, however, shows that wanton and barbarous cruelties had been inflicted only a little earlier by the Papal partisans in Ireland upon the Protestant inhabitants, and soldiers of Cromwell regarded themselves as avenging their slaughtered brethren. Col. Axtell's own view of his actions in Ireland is given in Cobbett's "Trials of State." Cobbett says of him: "having given an account when in prison to some persons for their satisfaction about his proceedings in Ireland, he said, 'I can say in humility that God did use me as an instrument in my place for the suppressing of that bloodthirsty enemy, and when I considered the bloody cruelty in murdering so many thousands of Protestants and innocent souls, that word was on my heart,' 'give her blood to drink for she is worthy,' and 'sometimes we neither gave nor took quarter.'" One author says Henry Cromwell, who was appointed Governor of Ireland in 1656, gave such offense to the Puritans, and especially to the Ana-Baptists, that many of the officers sent in their resignations and among them was Col. Axtell. His resignation was dated November 28, 1656; however, he seems to have served again in Ireland under Ludlow and to have commanded one division of the Irish brigade.

Upon the return of Charles II in March, 1660, Col. Axtell joined General Lambert, who was endeavoring to raise a force to oppose the re-establishment of monarchy. But the tide had turned and Lambert's troops of horse, finding themselves unsupported by the people, quietly dispersed. The Colonel was soon apprehended and put on trial for treason. He defended himself with great skill and persistence, quoting from the statutes and pleading that what he had done had been as a soldier under orders from his superior whom he must obey on pain of death.

"I came to the trial of Charles I," he said, "not voluntarily, but by command of the General, who had a commission from Parliament. I was no councillor, no contriver, I was no parliamentary man, none of the judges, none that sentenced, signed, none that had a hand in the execution, only that which is charged is that I was an officer in the army." The Chief Justice complimented him on his manifest diligence in the study of law, but with his associates overruled his plea, deciding that the command of a superior officer constituted no excuse, for the superior officer whom he obeyed was a traitor and all that joined him were traitors.

The result was certain from the first. The prisoner, finding his argument of no avail, said, "I leave all to the jury in whose hands I and my little ones and my family are left." The jury as well as the court could be trusted for their part, and so they brought in a verdict of guilty. The old account goes on to say, "returning from his trial at court to his prison with a cheerful countenance and his wife coming to him full of trouble, he said to her 'not a tear, wife, what hurt can they have done me, to send me sooner to heaven.'"

"In prayer he laid all his comfort in the blood of the crucified Christ and upon the covenant of free grace, and did heartily desire pardon for all his judges, jury and those false witnesses." His daughter coming to him he said, "where hast thou been all this while, I thought thou hadst been ashamed of my chains but they that will not bear the cross shall not wear the crown." "Bid our friends," he said, "keep close to Christ and love the image of Christ wherever they see it, in the Presbyterian, Independent, Baptist, or others." Speaking of his faith, he said, "I believe in all the things written in the Old and New Testaments as the principles and doctrines of a believer's faith. I believe the blessed ordinances of Christ, that it is our duty to hear the word preached, to seek unto God in prayer of which I judge to be the way of Christ which is the company of men born again by His grace that walk in the way of Christ blameless and harmless."

His execution occurred at Tyburn, October 19, 1660. Francis Hacker was executed with him, and Colonel Axtell, at Hacker's request offered a prayer for both. One portion of the prayer was filled with earnest pleadings for the people standing near, for the City of London, for the magistrates and hangman and for the Chief Magistrate of the nation. The prayer was offered while he stood in the chief hangman's cart with a rope around his neck. After it was all over, no one was found to put forward the cart and the horse, the cartman saying, "that he would lose both the cart and the horse before he would have a hand in hanging such a man." The great crowd of spectators behaved civilly. Only two cried out, "hang them, hang the rogues, traitors, murderers," whereupon a man desired them to be civil, and they were silent and gave attention to Col. Axtell's speech and prayer at which they were very much affected.

Besides the daughter already mentioned, the Colonel had a young son and possibly other children. The son was probably the William Axtell of Jamaica, who is mentioned in 1683. The next in line is a Daniel Axtell, (supposed to be a son of the above mentioned William) who acquired a large fortune in trade in Jamaica; and, visiting New Jersey, purchased a great tract of land in Somerset County, extending from the east line of Bedminster tp. to Lamington River, north of the North Branch of the Raritan. The following quotation from (Crumrine 1882) the History of Washington County, Pa., seems to coincide in part at least: "Maj. Daniel Axtell was the original purchaser of land acquired by 'East and West Jersey' in 1682. About the year 1740, he purchased 2,000 acres in what is now Bedminster tp., Somerset County, N.J. He died within the next ten years and his son William came into possession; he sold a part in 1750 and a part in 1760. This William Axtell was born in Jamaica, W.I., about 1720. He came to New Jersey about 1746 to dispose of some of his holdings and he soon found a place in high society in New York City. Winning the affections of a daughter of Abraham DePeyster, he ran away with and married her. He was known as "William the Gay." He lived in a fine mansion on Broadway as well as maintaining a country seat in Flatbush, Long Island. From the time of his marriage, he was both politically and socially prominent in city life.

As the Revolution approached, he was at first favorable to the colonial party, but when the struggle finally opened he took sides with the mother country. He was a member of the council in 1776, and when examined by the Whig committee in that year he stated the bulk of his property was in England and the West Indies. In reporting his case to the Provincial Congress, the committee remarked that they believed him to be a gentleman of high honor and integrity. He became a Tory, and was commissioned Colonel in a corps of loyalists by Sir William Howe. In 1793, his furniture was confiscated and sold at auction in New York. He went to England and was indemnified for his losses by the British Government. He died at Beaumont Cottage, Surrey, in 1795, aged 75. He left no issue, but while in New York adopted a daughter, Miss Shipton, a relative, who married Maj. Giles of the Continental Army. (See Sabines American Loyalists.)

In 1678, another Daniel Axtell, probably a son of Col. Daniel, left England in company with many others of Puritanic tendencies on account of the oppression and indignities to which they were subjected by the law and government of the country. August 13, 1678, before leaving England, he made a will in which he remembers his children: Sibella, Sibyl, Daniel, Mary, Holland, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Ann. Of these, only one of age, he made his wife, "Rebeckah" "his full and whole executrix," Henry Danvers, Esq. and William Pennington, his friends, were to assist his wife "in gathering in the estate from abroad and advising and helping her disposing of it when at home." (N. E. His. & Gen. Rec. Vol. 44, p58.) A grant of 3,000 acres in South Carolina was made to him December 13, 1680. His son started for South Carolina about that time, but died on the way over and was buried at sea. The father appears at that date to have been in England, but later was again in South Carolina in the movement to establish a colony of which he was one of the leaders.

John Locke, the celebrated philosopher, drew up a form of government for the proprietors called "The Grand Model." It was a creation struck from the brain of an idealist, with as little fitness for actual life as can be imagined. One of the chief orders of nobility was to consist of Landgraves, and one of the twelve who held this position was Daniel Axtell. Hence, his widow was called "Lady Axtell." He died in 1686, and his son Holland became Landgrave in his place. The latter died in 1692, and with him the hopes of continuing the name perished in South Carolina. Lady Axtell, however, and several of her daughters still survived. One of them, Elizabeth, married Joseph Blake, the great English Admiral and naval warrior of Cromwell's time. Rebecca married John Moore, who later moved to Philadelphia and became Attorney-General and King's collector of Pennsylvania. She died in Moore's Hall, Philadelphia, December 21, 1749.

When Daniel Axtell (3-5) of Massachusetts went to South Carolina, he settled near Lady Axtell on Ashley River. He operated a saw mill of which he was part owner, and had various transactions with her which are still on record in an old account book. In 1720 she made her will, remembering him as her kinsman, thus establishing the relationship.

William Axtell of Dunstable, England, wrote in 1878, "There is no doubt that Thomas Axtell, progenitor of the Axtell family in America, and Daniel Axtell, the regicide, were brothers to my progenitor, Samuel, as appears to have the same father, viz. William." Descendants of this William of Dunstable, England, are at present living in the vicinity of Boston, Mass.

Record has been found in England of a will of one Nathaniel Axtell of Hertfordshire, dated August 17, 1639, which states his intentions of going to New England and names his brothers, Thomas and Daniel, and three sisters, Joane, Ann and Sarah. This seems to coincide with the early record of New Haven, Connecticut. In 1639 or 1640 he decided to return to England, going to Boston to embark, died while awaiting sailing, and the court at New Haven settled his estate. This gives rise to the oft-repeated story of three brothers coming to America, one in Massachusetts, one in Connecticut, and one in South Carolina.

Among the passengers of the barque "Globe" of London for Virginia in 1636, was the name of Thomas Axtell, aged 35. We find no further record of him.

 Thomas AXTELL 368 664 was born 26 Jan 1618/19 in Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England,368 was baptized 26 Jan 1618/19 in Great, Berkhampstead, Hertford, England,664 died 8 Mar 1645/46 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA 368 372 at age 27, and was buried 8 Mar 1645/46 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.  

Axtell Genealogy--Beginnings WHO. Thomas (christened 1619) and Mary ___ Axtell, with two children, immigrated from England and are the progenitors of almost all American Axtells (except the Nez Perce line and some much-later arrivals). Thomas and Mary had only one son, Henry, so he and his wife, Hannah Merriam, are also progenitors of most American Axtells. The early Axtells were frontier subsistence farmers. WHEN. Sometime in 1642. (Some sources say 1643.) WHERE. They settled in the wilderness of Sudbury, Massachusetts, about 20 miles west of Boston, along with some other settlers from their hometown in England. (To: Sudbury's History Page). Their only son, Henry, was one of the first settlers in Marlborough. (To: Marlborough's History Page). Henry's children settled in Taunton and Grafton MA (where Joseph Axtell Aldrich still lives on the farm that has been in the family since 1736). In generation 4, some descendants moved to central New Jersey. In Generation 5, some moved to western Pennsylvania and Vermont and. In Generation 6, some moved to central New York, Ohio, and as far west as Illinois and Michigan. Generation 7 (mid 1800's) saw settlement in Kansas and Oregon. In each migration, Axtells scratched out a living as frontier farmers. See the Early Axtell Migration Map for a better view. WHY. Thomas and Mary's reasons for immigration are not recorded, but religious/political refuge seems likely. In 1642, a civil war broke out in England pitting the Puritans and the merchant class (supporting the Parliamentary Army under Oliver Cromwell) against the nobility, gentry, and clergy (supporting King Charles I). Thomas and Mary were of Puritanical leanings. Thomas's younger brother, Daniel rose to Major in Cromwell's army before being executed in 1660 as one of the 13 most-guilty regicides of Charles I. But the New World did nothing for longevity. Thomas died, apparently from the rigors of pioneer life, at 27. Daniel lasted until age 38 before his one-way trip in a hangman's cart up Tyburn Hill. Even so, some of Daniel's children emigrated to the New World about 1678, to South Carolina where the name Axtell died out in 1692 (See Carolina Colony Axtells). HOW. Nothing is recorded about the ship, sailing dates, or ports for Thomas, Mary and their two babies, Mary and Henry.

NOTE:::: THIS IS BEING DISPUTED>>> Thomas married Mary STARR,368 665 daughter of Comfort STARR and Elizabeth (STARR) UNKNOWN, in May 1638 in St. Peters, Gr.Berkhampstead, Hertford, England. Mary was born 16 Apr 1620 in Ashford, Kent, England,368 was baptized 16 Apr 1620 in St. Mary's, Ashford, Kent, England,665 died 22 Apr 1659 in Prob Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA 368 at age 39, and was buried 22 Apr 1659.

Children from this marriage were:

11. i. Mary AXTELL 368 was born 25 Sep 1639 in Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England,368 was baptized 25 Sep 1639 in St. Peters, Gr.Berkhampstead, Hertford, England,373 and died 14 Apr 1704 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA 368 372 at age 64. 12. ii. Hannah AXTELL 113 was born about 1628 in England and died before 1683 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. 13. iii. Henry AXTELL 113 was born before 15 Oct 1641 in Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England, was baptized 15 Oct 1641 in Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England, and died 21 Apr 1676 in Killed by Indians in Marlborough, Middlesex Co., MA. 14. iv. Lydia (Lydiah) AXTELL 113 was born 1 Jun 1644 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA 372 and died 23 Nov 1717 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA at age 73. 15. v. Mary Twin AXTELL 113 was born 1 Jun 1644 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA and died 14 Apr 1704 at age 59. 16. vi. Hannah AXTELL 113 was born in 1646 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA and died before 1683 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. 17. vii. Unknown AXTELL 113 was born in 1650 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.

General Notes: Son of William and Thomasine Axtell, was baptised in St. Peter's Church, Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England, January 26, 1619 (N.S.). His father died in 1638. He married Mary -- probably in 1638; two children were born to them in England, and their baptism is recorded in St. Peter's. They left England as early as 1643, for in October of that year, Thomas purchased five acres of land in Sudbury, Massachusetts, of Edmond Rice, who himself had come from Berkhamstead five years earlier. This land is described as "lying in ye south part of ye town-bounds, the southwest side lying to the commons and joined to the land of Edmond Rice, southward and northward to the highway leading from Sudbury to Mr. Duston's farm." This is what is now Wayland near "The Five Paths." Thomas took the oath of fidelity July 8, 1645. He died in March, 1646, and was buried the 8th of that month. The following is the inventory of Thomas Axtell of Sudbury, lately deceased,

Imprimi:

His land and house 8£ 10s

Cattle 8£ 10s

Wearing apparel and bedding with his arms 10£

Brass and pewter 5£

Edmond Rice bought back the land, six acres, and dwelling house. This was near the spring.

The story told in those words is short, indeed, but we are permitted to see what it stands for. The young Englishman was a soldier or at least trained to arms; he was of strong puritanical leanings, like his brother Daniel the regicide. With his wife and two little ones he followed his neighbor across the sea to make his home in a frontier settlement of New England. Scarcely had he set up his rooftree in the wilderness when hardships and exposure struck him down.

With his last breath he leaves his little all for the helpless group about his death bed. Mary, the widow of Thomas, appears to have married John Maynard, a widower with a boy of eight, on June 16, 1646

Thomas Axtell was the son of William Axtell 1587-1638 and Thomasine Cutler

Siblings: Nathaniel 1612-1640, John Axtell 1614- , William Axtell 1616- , Daniel Axtell 1622-1660, Samuel Axtell 1624- , Sarah Axtell 1628-1665, Joane Axtell 1630- , Ann Axtell 1633-1687

Brother Daniel Axtell was a colonel under Cromwell, and he was executed for his share in the death of Charles 1st. He was hanged at Tyburn.

Thomas Axtell married Mary Starr (unproved) in 1638 She was daughter of Comfort Starr and Elizabeth Mitchell According to Axtell Family website.

http://www.axtell-surname.org.uk/fam261.html

Other sources state he married Mary Rice and that upon landing, purchased land from Mary's kin Edward Rice who arrived in the New World five years earlier.

Although Mary's surname is unproved, I chose to reflect the information from the UK site in my memorial.

Son Henry was born just two years before the family left England for the New World

Children: Mary Axtell, *Henry Axtell 1641-1676, Lydia Axtell 1644-

The family landed at MA in October of 1642 and purchased 5 acres of land in Sudbury from Edward Rice.

Three short years later, Thomas died, leaving his wife and three children on their own in a new land. His widow remarried.

A Plaque erected at the First Parish Church, Sudbury MA by the Axtell Family Organization states in part

THE AXTELL FAMILY ORGANIZATION OF THE USA TO COMMEMORATE THE SERVICES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1775-83 OF THE DESCENDENTS OF THOMAS AXTELL BROTHER OF THE CROMWELLIAN LEADER COL. DANIEL AXTELL, BERKHAMSTEAD, ENG WHO SETTLED HERE IN SUDBURY IN 1642

AXTELL DANIEL, MASS., PVT., NEWTON'S CO. SAMUEL, VT., PVT., WINDSOR CO. THOMAS, MASS., PVT., SIBLEY'S CO. AARON, MASS., SGT., HEALEY'S CO. BENJAMIN, MASS., BLAKE'S CO. DANIEL, MASS., PVT., HARRINGTON'S CO. DANIEL, MASS., PVT., WARREN'S CO. DANIEL, (B. 1759) N.Y., DEL. CO. DANIEL, PA, 3RD CLASS, MILLER'S CO. EBENEZER, MASS., HATHAWAY'S REGT. EBENEZER, NJ., CONWAY'S CO. EZRA, MASS., TUBB'S CO. HENRY, MASS., PVT, COBURN'S CO. HENRY, 3RD, N.J., MAJ. COL. FORD'S BN. STATE TROOPS JOSEPH, N.Y. & GRAFTON VT. MOSES, (B. 1755) N.Y., DEL. CO. SAMUEL, MASS., WALKER'S REGT. SAMUEL, VT. PVT., ADDISON'S CO. SILAS, (1748?-1801) TAUNTON, MASS. THOMAS, MASS., PVT., LEXINGTON ALARM THOMAS, (B. 1746) GRAFTON, MASS. THOMAS, PA., 4TH CLASS, WASHINGTON'S CO. WILLIAM, NORTON, MASS., PVT., LEXINGTON ALARM WILLIAM, MASS., (B. 1742) LEXINGTON ALARM WILLIAM, MASS., PVT, HODGE'S CO.

• My directly descending grandfathers

Family links:

Parents:

 William Axtell (1587 - 1638)

 Thomasine Cutler (1591 - 1675)

Spouse:

 Mary Starr Axtell (1620 - 1659)

Children:

 Mary Axtell Goodenow (1639 - 1704)*

 Henry Axtell (1641 - 1676)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial: Unknown

.

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Axtell-1

Thomas Axtell Born January 26, 1619 in Berkhampstead, Herfordshire, England Son of William Axtell and Thomasine (Cutler) Axtell Brother of John Axtell, William Axtell, Nathaniel Axtell, Daniel Axtell, Daniel Axtell, Samuel Axtell, Sarah Axtell and Joane Axtell Husband of Mary (Unknown) Axtell — married 1638 to 1646 in Hertford England Father of Hannah Axtell, Mary (Axtell) Goodenow, Henry Axtell and Lydia Axtell Died March 8, 1646 in Sudbury, Middlesex, MA

   1 Biography

   2 Estate

   3 Sources

   4 Acknowledgments

Biography

Thomas Axtell was christened 26 JAN 1619 at St. Peter's Church in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England.

He married about 1638 Mary Unknown. Axtell family researchers make a good case for why her maiden name was NOT Starr.[1]

       Other sources state he married Mary Rice and that upon landing, purchased land for Mary's kin Edward Rice who arrived in the New World five years earlier.[citation needed] 

Two children were born to them in England, and their baptism is recorded in St. Peter's. The family left England as early as 1643, for in October of that year, Thomas purchased five acres of land in Sudbury, Massachusetts, of Edmond Rice, who himself had come from Berkhamstead five years earlier. This land is described as "lying in ye south part of ye town-bounds, the southwest side lying to the commons and joined to the land of Edmond Rice, southward and northward to the highway leading from Sudbury to Mr. Duston's farm." This is what is now Wayland near "The Five Paths." Thomas took the oath of fidelity July 8, 1645. He died in March, 1646, and was buried the 8th of that month.

Edmond Rice bought back the land, six acres, and dwelling house. This was near the spring.

   The story told in those words is short, indeed, but we are permitted to see what it stands for. The young Englishman was a soldier or at least trained to arms; he was of strong puritanical leanings, like his brother Daniel the regicide. With his wife and two little ones he followed his neighbor across the sea to make his home in a frontier settlement of New England. Scarcely had he set up his rooftree in the wilderness when hardships and exposure struck him down. 

With his last breath he leaves his little all for the helpless group about his death bed. Mary, the widow of Thomas, appears to have married John Maynard, a widower with a boy of eight, on June 16, 1646.
Estate

   Imprimi:

His land and house 8£ 10s
Cattle 8£ 10s
Wearing apparel and bedding with his arms 10£
Brass and pewter 5£