Thomas Hitchcock, Sr.

The Hitchcock family is supposed to have come originally from the county of Wiltshire, England, where they were located from the time of William the Conqueror.

The word " Hitch " is an old nurse name for Richard and " Cock " is the ordinary diminutive. "Anciently there were two families of Hitchcocks in Wiltshire that bore separate " coats of arms," one as follows :

"Armor, argent (silver), on a cross azure (blue) five fleurs-de-lis, gold, in the dexter chief quarter a Lion rampant, red. Crest, a castle, red, on the tower a Lion's head erased, in the mouth a round buckle, its mottoe " Esse Quod Opto."

The other one was " Armor, gules (red), a chevron, silver between three Alligators. Crest, an Alligator."

The Pedigree of these Wiltshire families can be found in the Harlean collection of the British Museum and may also be found in full in the "Visitation of the County of Wiltshire by Sir T. Phillips, A. D., 1623," and also in "Hoar's History of Wiltshire."