Thomas Flint, of Salem Village

Thomas Flint the emigrant ancestor, came to America from Wales, in Great Britain. The first mention made of him in the town records of Salem, MA, under the date March 1637-38, the colonial records of Salem give a list of the names of persons who had signified their desire to become freemen. There is reason to believe that he came to this country much earlier, and also some evidence that his mother was herein 1642. He was among the first settlers of Salem Village, MA, since called South Danvers, now Peabody.

The spot in the wilderness which he selected on the Salem and North Reading road, about six miles from the present courthouse in Salem in1860, and five miles from the town of North Reading, near Phelps Milland brook. He purchased land of Robert Goodall for which he paid 20pounds. The deed was witnessed by Giles Corey, whose house stood upon land which after his death became part of the Flint homestead. When80 years of age, Corey met his death on account of the witchcraft delusion of 1692, by suffering the cruel torture of being pressed to death - the first and only instance of this barbarous punishment inflicted in New England.

The farm of the old patriarch which remained in the possession of his descendants until about 1860 when it was sold to Mr. Carten by the heirs of Elijah Flint, one of the descendants of Thomas.

The 1860 Genealogy stated that the old cemetery on the Flint farm lies on a pine-shaded knoll about a mile east of the present house, and that it was poorly enclosed by a stone wall. The original house burned after 1860. The graves were badly overgrown with brush and new growth. William L. Flint in his "By the Name of Flint" tells the story of an old Irishman who use to care for the graves for free when there were no Flints in the neighborhood to mourn the dead. Somewhere in that forgotten spot lie the bones of Thomas and his wife Ann.

"Thomas Flint was a Puritan and kept their stern code. He testified against Hannah Phelps, a Quaker, and his evidence helped convict her in a charge of heresy. His brother William paid her fine to keep her from being publicly flogged (a fate for which Williams wife had suffered for the crime of fornication before marriage with said William Flint."

Links

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~monticue/hannah_baskel_lif...
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ryder10&i...
• http://genforum.genealogy.com/flint/messages/1634.html
• http://www.angelfiire.com/sc/whitefeather/Flint.html

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• A genealogical register of the descendants of Thomas Flint, of Salem with a copy of the wills and inventories of the estates of the first two generations compiled by John Flint and John H. Stone.Published 1860 by Printed by W.F. Draper in Andover, [Mass.] .
• Daughters of Eve: Pregnant Brides and Unwed Mothers in Seventeenth Century ... By Else L. Hambleton. Page 30. GoogleBooks

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Thomas Flint the emigrant ancestor, came to America from Wales, in Great Britain. The first mention made of him in the town records of Salem, MA, under the date March 1637-38, the colonial records of Salem give a list of the names of persons who had signified their desire to become freemen. There is reason to believe that he came to this country much earlier, and also some evidence that his mother was here in 1642. He was among the first settlers of Salem Village, MA, since called South Danvers, now Peabody.

The spot in the wilderness which he selected on the Salem and North Reading road, about six miles from the present courthouse in Salem in 1860, and five miles from the town of North Reading, near Phelps Mill and brook. He purchased land of Robert Goodall for which he paid 20 pounds. The deed was witnessed by Giles Corey, whose house stood upon land which after his death became part of the Flint homestead. When 80 years of age, Corey met his death on account of the witchcraft delusion of 1692, by suffering the cruel torture of being pressed to death - the first and only instance of this barbarous punishment inflicted in New England.

The farm of the old patriarch which remained in the possession of his descendants until about 1860 when it was sold to Mr. Carten by the heirs of Elijah Flint, one of the descendants of Thomas.

The 1860 Genealogy stated that the old cemetery on the Flint farm lies on a pine-shaded knoll about a mile east of the present house, and that it was poorly enclosed by a stone wall. The original house burned after 1860. The graves were badly overgrown with brush and new growth. William L. Flint in his "By the Name of Flint" tells the story of an old Irishman who use to care for the graves for free when there were no Flints in the neighborhood to mourn the dead. Somewhere in that forgotten spot lie the bones of Thomas and his wife Ann.

"Thomas Flint was a Puritan and kept their stern code. He testified against Hannah Phelps, a Quaker, and his evidence helped convict her in a charge of heresy. His brother William paid her fine to keep her from being publicly flogged (a fate for which Williams wife had suffered for the crime of fornication before marriage with said William Flint."

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~monticue/hannah_baskel_life_s tory.htm

"Thomas married a lady named Ann, but to date no one has found a record of her last name or her parents. He married Ann sometime before 1645 and she died in the summer of 1668. After the death of Thomas in 1663 she married John Southwick in Salem Village. She had no children by John Southwick." ______________________________________________________________________ _____ The following was contained in an e-mail from Caleb Flint:

"I have noticed your name more than once when researching Thomas Flint of Wales. I have also been researching him, and I have found some interesting parish records in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, England. These are the records I have found on http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/PR033.htm#734:

C 1615jun13 FLINT William=(son)William/ C 1617may15 FLINTE Thomas=(son)William/ C 1619nov21 FLINT Ann=(dau)William/ C 1622sep22 FLINT Mary=(dau)William/ C 1626mar05 FLINT Elizabeth=(dau)William/

   These parish records are listed alphabetically and only list the first name of the father. I have grouped together these records because they are all around the same time period and they all have a father named William Flint. You will notice that this family has both a William and Thomas Flint that are brothers. Thomas Flint is also christened in 1617, which is close to 1619. Finally, there is an interesting marriage record of a Thomas Flint in Wirksworth.

M 1645jun21 FLINT Thomas/ROWES Ann

   This marriage date is very close to the approximate marriage date for Thomas Flint and Ann (Southwick). I am curious of your opinion on these records. Please do not reply directly to this message, email me at flintten@frontier.net. Please respond soon!

Sincerley, Caleb Flint ____________________________________________________________________

"The Adventuresome Seven were among those [Flints] who attained prominence in the settlement of the early colonies in America. Some of the Flint ancestors are direct descendants of Emperor Charlemagne, King of the Franks, 742-813. This old English name is among the early settlers in Massachusetts and Virginia and are now represented throughout the United States by numerous worthy descendants. The name has contributed much to the military annals of New England and Virginia and has also been known in a large part in civil development. The Flints as well as their maternal lines are descendants from sturdy Puritan ancestry and have preserved intact the sterling integrity and profound religious faith of their forefathers. The purpose of this work is to unite the Flint families in America and to provide a history of these great families for private and public preservation. Genealogy provides a view of our forefathers who are no longer with us, and a short synopsis of their valiant lives, and the history that surrounded their lives. In the 1600's some of the women's last names were lost to posterity when they married. We find that the maternal lines and their families that we do know have added greatly to the history of our book. The members of the family were located in Wales and Scotland and were also to be found in early dates in the counties of Nottingham, and Derby in England. Some authorities claim the Flints were of ancient Saxon origin and others that they came into England with William the Conqueror about the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Welsh line of the family from Wales was seated in the township where stood the Castle of Flint, as early as the time of King Edward the First of England. This castle has been in ruins since 1667. About 1190 heraldry began in England. It was a means of identification on the battle fields. Surnames began to appear about 1100 and were in use by 1300. Some of the sources for names were occupation and the place where one lived. In 1583 Thomas Cromwell made it the duty of every parish clergyman to keep registers of baptism, marriage and burial. By 1598 it was compulsory. In 1734 churches were ordered to keep records of marriages and more information about the informants was added. The dictionary came into use in the late 1700's and standardized spelling began to be used. In 1780 the long "S" was in use and there was a difference in the use of capitals. Sometimes a letter was doubled to indicate a capital. Some other variants in spelling the Flint name as early records show were Flinte, Fflinte, Flynte and fflynte. The Adventuresome Seven were: Honorable Thomas Flint came from Matlock, England to Boston in 1636 and moved to Concord in 1638. He was known as a man of considerable wealth. Some state "the Flints had owned property in England for over 800 years before coming to New England" where he was on the Governor's Council for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Reverend Henry Flynt, brother of Honorable Thomas, was the first of this family to leave the home in Matlock, Derbyshire England and come to Boston in 1635. He later resided in Braintree, Massachusetts. William Wood, uncle of Honorable Thomas and Reverend Henry, is believed to have first come to Massachusetts in 1629 and probably was the author of New England Prospects. He moved to Concord, Massachusetts in 1838. Thomas and William Flint were brothers who came from Wales and settled in Salem, Massachusetts. Thomas and Richard Flynt (Flint) are believed to have come from Ayershire, Scotland and settled in Virginia. The descendants of these various branches of the Flint family in America and others who emigrated at later dates, have spread to every state in the union and have contributed greatly to the growth of the United States of America. They are noted for their courage, piety, honesty, industry, energy, ambition, moral and physical strength and indomitable will power. As the authors became deeply involved in their research of the Flint ancestors, they felt compelled to combine and publish their findings. They had a very deep conviction that the Flint ancestors' contributions to America should be published in order to preserve their history for future generations."

http://members.tripod.com/flyntgenealogy/adventur.htm ________________________________________________________________

In an e-mail from Jim Flint [flintten@frontier.net]:

"English Civil War had a great effect on the Great Migration. It was generally Puritans on the side of Parliament and the Church of England on the side of King Charles I. During this period, about 1642-1649, some Puritans from Massachusetts actually went back to England to fight. I am not suggesting that Thomas did this, but that during this time there was very little migration to Massachusetts. Chances are that they either immigrated at the end of the war or were there all along before 1642. The king was executed at the beginning of the year 1649, so the Flints could have left right after that."

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Estate of Thomas Flint of Salem Essex Probate Docket # None Dated Aprill the first 1663. This present writing doth declare that I Thomas fllint being one my sicke bed, doe leaue this as my Last will & testament. To my wife I giue fiftie Acres of emproved Land & my meadow & housing. To my sonne Thomas I Giue thirtie acres of vpland one my ffarme next to Mr Gardners as hee sees fit not entrenching one of his mothers meadow or broken land as also ten pounds of Corne or Cattell all which he is to enjoy at age: As also after my wives decease to enjoy two thirds of my farms I bought of which was Mr Higginsons & Goodman Goodall, & in case his mother doth marrie then that he shall enjoy the one halfe of the emproved Lands and meadow & housing To my sonnes George & John, I give all my Land I bought beyond the River, to enjoy equally devided to them when they are at age or at their mothers decease yf shee die before, it is my will that yf George die without seed, then my sone John to enjoy his part & yf Jon die without seed then my sonne George to enjoy his parte To my sonne Joseph I give the other third part of my Land which was Mr Hgginsons & Goodman Goodalls, It is provided that my sonne Joseph enjoy it at his mothers decease, & yf my sonne Thomas die without seed vnmarried then hi part to fall to my sonne Joseph & Contrariwise yf my sonne Joseph die without seed then his part to fall to Thomas & soe to pass from one to another yf hee that enjoys it die without issue. To my daughter Elizabeth I giue thirtie pounds at marriage in Corne & Cattel & I doe appoint my sonne Thomas when he enjoys his two thirds as abouesaid then to pay to my Daughter Elizabeth & in case the farme fall into Josephs hands before he is of age or agter he to pay her the said ten pounds I doe apppoint my wife whole executor, I entreate my Two freinds Mr William Browne Senior & Goodman Moulton to bee my overseers, to see this my will & tesatment pformed, & this I Leaue at my Last will and Testament. In witness whearof I set my hand.:

T.F. Witness: Robert Moulton Joseph Pores, marke Job Swinerton Junior

[added] my will is that my wife at her death giue the estate shee leaues to my children whome she will my desire is that my friend Job Swinerton Junior be joind with mr Browne & Goodman moulton

Essex Co. Quarterly Court Files vol 9, leaf 16 Proved in Salem court 30:4: 1663 by Robert Moulton and Job Swinerton. Salem Quarterly Court Records, vol 4, page 116 Inventory not transcribed.

Source: Printed "Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts; 1635 - 1681," Vol 1, pages 416-417, The Essex Institute; Salem, MA; 1916

GEDCOM Note

Came from Wales to America on or before 1638

First husband of Ann

Was made a freeman of Salem, MA in March of the year he arrived in America

Lived in Salem, MA for a short time -"But impossible now to be sure of the location of his first residence. The map of Salem in 1700 marks the site of a Thomas Flint house on Essex St., near the corner of Summer St., and it is possible that this was the earliest Flint house in Salem. The fact that it was nearly opposite the ancient house still standing on the corner of Essex and North Streets and known as the Witch House, is at least an indication that there may be truth in this theory, for the Witch House has been called also the Roger Williams House and there is a family tradition that the earliest Flint house stood near that of Roger Williams."

Left Salem, MA after only a short time living there. "He was one of a small group who very early moved out into the wilderness some six miles beyond the original settlement and founded what was known as Salem Village." "Thomas increased his first property in the new village by a purchase in 1654 and another in 1662."

Probable his and his daughter's graves were the first ones in the ancient family burial place on a hilltop in the fields in the back of the site of the old family homestead.