Thomas Wight of Dedham & Medfield

Not the same as Thomas Wight of Hareby

Disambiguation

Thomas Wight whose origins are unknown was a deacon in Dedham and Medfiled. He arrived in 1637. He married first Alice whose maiden name is unknown and had seven children. He married second on 7 Dec 1665 in Medfield Lydia (Eliot) Penniman. His parents have never been determined.

For Thomas Wight of Dedham and Medfield see:

William Ward Wight, The Wights: A Record of Thomas Wight of Dedham and Medfield and his descendants 1635-1890 (Milwaukee, WI, 1890)

Dedham Town Records 1:32; Dedham Vital Records 1; Dedham Church Records 24; Massachusetts Bay Colony Records 1:378;

The Will of "Thoams Wight of Medfield", dated "one thousand six hundred seventy two, the seventh day of the twelfth month" [7 Feb 1672/72], names present wife Lydia, son Henry Wight, son Thomas Wight, son Samuel Wight, daughter Mary Ellis the wife of Thomas Ellis, son Ephraim Wight, grandchild Juda Ellis the daughter of my daughter Mary Ellis. Son Henry to be executor.

2. Thomas Wight of Hareby, Lincolnshire, England was bp 6 Dec 1607 son of Robert Wight and Elizabeth Fulshaw. Current research supports the idea but has no conclusively proven that he is identical to the man who signed the Exeter Combination in New Hampshire. If so he was living in 1646 but died before 25 March 1648 when widow Lucy gave a power of attorney to George Barlow. He was fined for speaking contemptuously of magistrates in 1642 and signed a pet. in Sept. 1643. His widow Lucy married second in Boston 24 Dec. 1652 John Samuel. His only children were Israal and Elizabeth.

For Thomas Wight of Hareby see:

Dean Crawford, and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton 1878-1908. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996-2008), 4:579.

Noyes, Sybil; Charles Thornton Libby; and Walter Goodwin Davis. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire. (Portland, Maine: Southworth Press, 1928-1939), 753.

NEHGR 68:77

Thomas Wight

• Birth: Dec. 6, 1607 [NO] Lincolnshire, England [NO]
• Death: Mar. 17, 1674 Medfield Norfolk County Massachusetts, USA

He was possibly the son of Robert Wight and Elizabeth Fulshaw Wight of Hareby, Co.Lincolnshire. [NO]

He married, first, about 1630, Alice Roundy.

He married, second, at Medfield,MA on Dec 7,1665, Lydia (Eliot) Penniman. She was the widow of James Penniman Jr, and daughter of Bennett Eliot and Lettice Alger Eliot. She died by Jul 19,1676, the date of her estate inventory.

Children(by first marriage): Henry Wight, John Wight, Thomas Wight Jr, Mary Wight Ellis, Samuel Wight, and Ephraim Wight.

Family links:

Spouses:

• Alice Roundy? Wight (1608 - 1665)
• Lydia Elliot Penniman Wight (1610 - 1676)

Children:

1. Henry Wight (____ - 1681)*
2. Mary Wight Ellis (1639 - 1693)*
3. Samuel Wight (1640 - 1716)*
4. Ephraim Wight (1646 - 1723)*

______________________________

The Hinsdale house stood on the east side of North Street, north of the brook. He took the remainder of his twelve acres in another place. 12. To Thomas Wight, twelve acres, touching upon Robert Hinsdale at one angle, otherwise upon waste land. This was on what is now Green Street, a little way from North Street. 13. To John Wight, six acres, abutting on Thomas Wight on the south-west, all else on waste land. " Wight's Lane " led from North Street to these houses. The committee for the ordering of affairs held another meeting in November, at which the following order was passed: — ' ^ ^'

.. Forasmuch as there are divers trees as will fit for timber in woods

growing near about the brook that runs out of the meadows, in the middle of the town, which trees may be of much use, as well for shadow as for other public occasions....p.45

Nov. 14,1649 meeting about condition of land-free.... At the same date, we find the following record : — Chosen by the inhabitants assembled for the managing and trans- action of whatever is or may be needed for the further performing of the erecting, disposing, and government of the said village, the men whose names are hereunder written, who are fully authorized thereunto until there be such a company of men engaged in that plantation and associated together as the town of Dedham shall judge meet for that work and trust. Ralph Wheelock. John Dwight. Thomas Wight. Peter Woodward. Robert Hinsdell. Eleazar Lusher. Henry Chickering. p.36 Wheelock, Wight, and Hinsdale came to the new settle- ment : the others remained in Dedham, but acted in behalf of the parent town until Medfield was invested with town rights, fifteen months afterward. Thomas Wight is chosen collector for and in behalf of the town, to continue till another be chosen. p.37 Tiiomas Wight, Robert Hinsdell, and Samuel Bullen, or any two of them, are chosen and deputed to be present at the laying of the line betwixt Dedham and Medfield; to take notice of that line, and to assist therein as they see cause. Deputed for the laying out of highways, and other the like necessary occasions that may prepare and make the place capable of laying out into house-lots, the men whose names are under-written, or any four of them : — Thomas Wight. Timothy Dwight. Peter Woodward. Samuel Bullen. John Dwight. Eleazar Lusher. p.42 for above information Certain men were chosen to "burn the woods." The old Indian practice was kept up for many years. The woods referred to lay in the outermost portions of the town, and were the "herd-walks," or common pastures for cattle. The fires were not allowed to come near buildings, and for this reason they became surrounded with bushes and small trees, which subsequently afforded lurking-places for the savages. p.60 for above information

The first death among the original proprietors occurred this year,—that of John Wight, one of the youngest men of them all. 1654:. Selectmen, John Frairy, Mr. Wheelock, Thomas Wight, George Barber, Benjamin Alby, and Timothy Dwight.

Thomas Wight had a grant " to be laid oute on the North plains, to begine at that end toward natick.

1653-The first death among the original proprietors occurred this year,—that of John Wight, one of the youngest men of them all. 1654:. Selectmen, John Frairy, Mr. Wheelock, Thomas Wight, George Barber, Benjamin Alby, and Timothy Dwight. p.61 for above information

1655. Selectmen, Thomas Wight, John Fussell, Benja min Alby, Joshua Fisher, Daniel Morse, and Thomas Grubb. The town voted ^15 to establish "a schoule for the education of the children, to be raised by a rate according as men have taken up lands, and the rest of the mainte- nance to be raised upon the children that goe to schoule." Mr. Wheelock was the first schoolmaster. John Pratt was accepted as a townsman, "the town being staid after lectur." Henry Glover had died, and Pratt suc- ceeded to the possession of his homestead....The town settled with Brother Wight for procuring glass for the meeting-house.

p.62 for above information. Source book for pages above: HIstory of the Town of Medfield Massachussets

References

• https://ia600306.us.archive.org/14/items/historyoftownofm00tild/his...
• http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~edburton/fam08400.htm
• http://dusty.dyndns.org/savage/display.asp?id=13791 Savage Data for WIGHT - THOMAS, Dedham, 1637, came from Isle of Wight, by reasonab. tradit. with w. Alice, s. Henry, John,and Thomas, here had Samuel, b. 5 Feb. bapt. 6 Sept. 1640; Mary; and Ephraim, 27 Jan. bapt. 8 Feb. 1646. His w. d. 15 July 1665; and he m. 7 Dec. next, Lydia, wid. of James Penniman, sis. of the apostle Eliot. He was of the Mefield incorpo. 1652, and selectman almost every yr. to his d. 17 Mar. 1674. His inv. of seven days aft. shows good propty. and the will of his wid. was pro. 27 July 1676, Mary m. 21 May 1659, Thomas Ellis.
• Wight, D. Phipps. (1848). The Wight family: memoir of Thomas Wight of Dedham, Mass., with genealogical notices of his descendants, from 1637 to 1840. Boston: T.R. Marvin. Hathitrust
• https://gilesfilesonline.com/getperson.php?personID=P8242&tree=Giles

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GEDCOM Note

2 AGE 0
2 AGE 66

Ancestral File Number:<AFN> 2R06-KD

HISTORY OF MEDFIELD by Wm. S. Tilden states that Thomas Wight is said to have come from the Isle of Wight. He was at Watertown in 1636, came to Dedham in the early days of that settlement, and was made freeman in 1640. He was one of the original 13 who settled Medfield. He removed his family to Medfield in the latter part of 1652, and is first mentioned in the records in 1653; was mentioned as deacon of the church in 1667. He served 19 years on the board of selectmen. !Death: Medfield VRs Date of the second marriage of Thomas Wight given to me by Betty Harris on Prodigy on 12/07/1992. No source cited. Same note gave a birth date for Thomas Wight as 6 Dec 1607. No source cited. (probably Tingley Gen. by Raymon M. Tingley) According to Mr. Robert Hanson of Dedham Historical Soc. Thomas Wight was of Lincolnshire Eng., not Isle of Wight. He cited an article in the NEHGR, but didn't give details as to which article in NEHGR. Second marriage verified in Medfield VRs. PIONEERS OF MASSACHUSETTS by Charles H. Pope, 1900: Wight,Thomas bro. of Henry (Wight), Dedham, propr. 18 (5) 1637, adm. chh with wife Alice 6 (7) 1640; frm. Oct. 8, 1640; selectman. Removed to Medfield. Ch. Samuel b. 5 (12) 1639, Ephraim b. 27 (11) 1745. (Note: father of Henry Wight) Will prob. 24 (2) 1674; mentions agreement made with his present wife before their marriage which is in the hands of Mr. John Eliot, her brother; beq. to sons Henry, Thomas, Samuel and Ephraim, dau. Mary, wife of Thomas Ellis, and her dau. Juda. The widow Lydia made will 20 Dec. 1673, prob. July 27, 1676, beq. to ch. of her former husband James Peniman, Samuel, Mary, Lydia Adams, Bethia Allin, Hannah Hall, Abigail Carie. Cousin Jacob Eliot and Theophilus Frary overseers; son Samuel P. exec. Ephraim Wight was indebted to the estate when inv. was taken, a sum beq. in his father's will. Wight, Henry Dedham, frm. May 26, 1647. Wife Jane; ch. John b. 13 (10) 1652, Joseph b. 11 (3) 1654, Daniel b. 24 (9) 1656, Benjamin b. 18 (4) 16 59, Jonathan b. 2 Jul, 1662. Admin. of his estate was gr. 28 Apr 1681 to the widow Jane and son Joseph. Inv. showed land and buildings at Dedham and land at Wrentham. DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS 1635-1890 by Robert Brand Hanson, pub. 1976 by the Dedham Historical Society, p. 34: Thomas Wight was a native of Alford, Lincolnshire. Like his townswoman Ann Hutchinson (who, at the time Thomas was arriving in Dedham, was fomenting great religious and civil strife at Boston), he had been a parishioner of John Cotton at Boston, England. It is not improbable that he chose Dedham over Boston as his new home in America, at least partially out of a desire to avoid the rising controversy that his former fellow-parishioner was creating. ........................................................ GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE by Ezra S. Stearns, pub. 1908 by The Lewis Pub. Co., NY, Chicago, Vol. III, pp. 1470-1: The origin of the forbear of the Wights of this article and the date of his arrival in America are unknown; but that he was a useful citizen and the progenitor of many more citizens is shown by the records of his descendants. (I) Deacon Thomas Wight seems to have been in Watertown, Mass. in the winter of 1635/6. Over a year later he appears tangibly at Dedham. On July 18, 1637, Thomas Wight, with eleven other persons, having been duly certified by the magistrates and having subscribed the covenant, was admitted an inhabitant of Dedham. At this time his family consisted of his wife Alice or Elsie, and his children: Henry, John, Thomas, and doubtless, Mary. In the distribution of lands for homesteads Thomas Wight received from the town the portion (twelve acres) allotted to each married man. In addition to his home lot he subsequently received grants of "planting ground," woodland and meadow. He and his wife were received into the church "ye 6th of ye 7 mo. 1640." On October 10th, 1640, he became a freeman. He took an active part in the concerns of the town, and was repeatedly selected for the performance of various public services. In 1641 he was elected selectman for the town of Dedham, and filled that office six years. His name appears fourth on the list of Dedham inhabitants who in 1644, "taking into consideration the great necesitie of providing some meanes for the Education of the youth in ye sd Town, did with unanimous consent, declare by vote, their willingness to promote that work, promising to put too their hands to provide maintenance for a free school in our sd Towne." Resolutions follow to raise twenty pounds per annum, and put it with certain segregated lands in the hands of trustees to be improved for the school. This was the first free school in Massachusetts supported by a tax. In 1650 Thomas Wight with others was deputed by the town to attend to the erection of a village for the Indians at Natick. As early as 1649 he became interested in the movement for dividing Dedham, which resulted in the formation of Medfield. In 1649, he was chosen one of the committee to further this project. In May, 1650, he was chosen one of the committee of five to assist and direct the measurer in laying out house lots in Medfield and collect fees for said work; also to be present with two others at the laying out of the line betwixt Dedham and Medfield; also one of a committee of six to lay out highways. In 1650 Medfield became a town, and later Thomas Wight removed his family thither. The valuation of property in the town of Medfield in 1652 shows that Thomas Wight was the wealthiest citizen there, his valutation being three hundred and twenty-two pounds. In 1650, 1653 and subsequent times, he had grants of land allowed him by the town. He served as selectman in 1654-55-59, and every year following to 1674 (nineteen years) the last being the year of his death. He was a leading member in the Medfield church, and in 1661 it became his duty to assist in seating people in the meeting house; in 1667 he is mentioned as a deacon in the church. He seems to have taken much interest in the future of Medway. In 1659 he received a grant of fifteen acres on the west side of Charles river, and in 1660 one hundred and sixty-six acres, the largest exept two of forty-seven proprietors. Thomas Wight and all his surviving sons in Medfield, and his son-in-law subscribed for building the new brick college at Cambridge, now known as Harvard University. From what the records show, Thomas Wight was an active man whose heart was right, and whose works were good and long enduring. His service of twenty-five years as selectman is a testimo- nial to his ability and fidelity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens. Of his first wife little is known. The Dedham records show that she was received into the church 6th day, 7th mo. 1640. The Medfield record gives the date of her death July 15th, 1665. Thomas Wight married (second) Lydia, widow of James Penniman, of Boston, and sister of John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians, and daughter of Bennett Eliot. The children of Thomas and his first wife Alice were: Henry, John, Thomas, Mary, Samuel and Ephraim. Baptismal date and parents from Betty Harris of Lincoln Ne. She cited "Genealogy of New England- English Origins p. 742." (probably meant English Origins of New England Families in NEHGR and reprinted into a book)

GEDCOM Note

!Births: children, James Savage Vol IV p543