Thomas Barrett, of Braintree

Erroneously called a son of Christopher Barrett

Thomas Barrett

• Birth: say 1600
• Death: Oct 6 1668 - Chelmsford, Middlesex Co., MA
• Parents: Unknown
• Wife: Margaret (parents unknown)

Children: Lt John Barrett, I, Mary Thayer, Thomas Barrett, Joseph Barrett, Margaret Barrett

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barrett-981

This profile is part of the Barrett Name Study.

Thomas Barrett and his wife Margaret, emigrated from England to America sometime between 1635 and 1640, (the exact date is not known, nor can it now be definitely ascertained, one reference says they came in 1635 on the ship "Increase"). They settled in Braintree, MA, where he and his sons with their families continued to reside until 1663. He was made a Freeman in 1645 and he purchased lands in 1651

April 10th, 1663, he and his son Thomas Barrett, Jr., (who had removed to Chelmsford, Mass., some time prior to March 1660), purchased a house and fifty-two acres of land in Chelmsford, Mass., on that was then and is now known as "Robbins Hill," and settled there (Chelmsford) immediately afterwards (April 10th, 1663). The homestead of Thomas in currently maintained by the Chelmsford Historical Society http://www.chelmhist.org/. The society owns what is said to be the original trunk that Thomas posessed when he arrived in Massachuetts.

Other researchers list a different wife: Margaret Spaulding Ward.[1]

Others say that a different Thomas 1590-1664 was the son of Christopher and Elizabeth Clarke. [2] This cannot be true because that Thomas Barret registered a pedigree in Norwich England in 1671, 3 years after this Thomas died.

This Thomas did not arrive on the ship The Increase. That Thomas Barrett is listed as age 16- neither Thomas nor his son Thomas would have been that age in 1635. It is likely our Thomas and some of his family arrived before 1640 (most Puritans immigrated by 1640: note from the book Albion’s Seed). In 1645, Thomas signed a petition in Braintree. He also became a freeman that year. In the records of Braintree Mass, Thomas purchased land in 1651. Two of his children are married in Braintree. By 1659 he is appointed to a ‘committee to state the highway’ in Chelmsford. In 1662 he is surveyor in Chelmsford. In 1662 he wrote his will in Chelmsford. In 1663 he bought property in Chelmsford. In 1664 he’s ‘chosen to the order of swine’. In 1668 he buys more property in Chelsmford and on Oct 6 1668 he died in Chelmsford. He is likely buried in Forefather’s Burial Ground in Chelmsford.

After years and years of research we still have no good answers as to our Thomas Barrett’s parents, birth or marriage. We don’t even know his wife Margaret’s true maiden name. We have dug through tons of records online and many English marriages are suspect but no proof. We have been attempting to tie a marriage of a Thomas Barrett with a Margaret and THEN find a few of their children’s baptisms. Here is what we do know:

Family

Thomas Barrett was born about 1591-1605 All b. in England, according to Snow-Estes. He married Margaret before 1625 in England. They had children:

• John b. abt 1625 England, d.May 19 1706 Chelmsford, Mass.
• Mary b. abt 1630 likely England, d. Feb 2 1657 Braintree, Mass.
• Thomas b. abt 1634 possibly in Braintree, Mass (no record), d. Dec 8 1702 Chelmsford.
• Joseph b. abt 1639 Braintree ,Mass (no record - Braintree records started in 1640), d.Oct 31 1711 Chelmsford
• ? Margaret b.abt 1647 (no other information on her). [3] Margaret is not in the list given in the Snow-Estes Genealogy.

Origins

Here is a message that was posted on BARRETT@rootsweb.com.:

"Author: diane_land 
Surnames: Barrett, Huntington  Classification: queries

Message Board URL:

http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.barrett/3043.2.1.1.1.2/mb.ashx

Message Board Post:

Hi, 

Jumping in to throw a little correction everyone's way. I have been researching the Barretts for AGES. And I can guarantee that Christopher Barrett was NOT the father of Thomas Barrett of Braintree. Although everyone just assumes that, it is wrong. Christopher and Elizabeth (Clarke) Barrett did have a son Thomas who married a Sarah ( Cook or Cock Es).They lived in Norwich, where in 1664 this pedigree was entered into the Norfold Visitation. In 1671 this same Thomas made a statement of this pedigree to Sir Edward Bysshe in Norwich. 

This same Thomas 'spoke'of his sister "Margaret who married to one Symond Huntington who carried her to New England & had several children by her; but we can give no account of her or them, yet think that she & several of her children are living there" [ Hale, House 648, citing Joseph James Muskett, Suffolk Manorial Families, 3 vols. (Exeter 1900-1914), 2:153-60]. http://www.mocavo.com/family-tree/Edward-Mason/Mason-2012/Margaret-...; 

So Thomas, son of Christopher stayed in England and was living AFTER our Thomas died. His sister was the Margaret Barrett Huntington whom everyone also gets confused as the wife of our Thomas. 

As a group of researchers, we have conjectured that Thomas Barrett of Chelmsford, likely a puritan, was born about 1605 England. Was NOT the Thomas who arrived on the ship the Increase at age 16 in 1635 (nor was it likely his son Thomas). Was likely married ( in England) about 1625 to Margaret Unknown. May have arrived around 1640 or a bit earlier. Lived first in Braintree , Mass where he signed a petition in 1645 , then bought a parcel of land in Braintree in 1651 and then moved to Chelmsford, Mass by 1659 when he was appointed to a committee to "state the highway". His will was written in Chelmsford in 1662, but he lived until Oct 6 1668. 

We are still searching for any records of his marriage or his children's baptisms in English records , but no proof yet. It does seem that Thomas Barrett likely came from Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, Lincolnshire or Devonshire, as that is where most early Massachusetts settlers were from. Hope this helps to clear up some of this misinformation. -Diane

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett–Byam_Homestead

The Barrett–Byam Homestead is a historic house, now headquarters of the Chelmsford Historical Society, located at 40 Byam Road, Chelmsford, Massachusetts, United States. The original house dates to circa 1663, though much or all today's structure may date from the mid-18th century.

The homestead was established in 1663 by Thomas Barrett, who bought a house and 52 acres (21 ha) of land from a James Parker. It was originally built as south-facing "saltbox" with a central chimney and fireplace in every room. The heating system appears to have been rebuilt circa 1800 with Rumford fireplaces in each room.

Children: Lt John Barrett, I, Mary Thayer, Thomas Barrett, Joseph Barrett

• https://archive.org/details/ancestryofsamuel01warn/page/93
• https://archive.org/details/genealogyofsomeo00barr/page/n5/mode/2up

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Arrived in Colonial British America from London, England aboard the "Increase"

He also lived in Braintree, MA 1635 Chelmsford, MA 1662