Thomas Williams, of Taunton

Thomas Williams of Taunton and his wife Mary had Maria 1680 Jonathan 1683 Sarah 1685 Macey 1687 Hannah 1689 Bethiah 1692 Mehitabel 1695 Damaris 1698. He died and his wid Mary m Rev James Keith 1707. Some of these Ds probably came with her to Bridgewater. Hannah m Joseph Snell 1712. Damaris m Daniel Howard Esq of NB. Mehitabel m Benjamin Webb perhaps of Eastham 1720.

Thomas Williams was born about 1645. He died in 1706. He married Mary Macy.

http://books.google.com/books?id=KIc-AAAAYAAJ&dq=Thomas%20Williams%...

GEDCOM Note

Biography

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth ===Thomas Williams was the son of immigrants Richard Williams and Frances (Deighton) Williams (a Magna Carta Gateway Ancestor).<ref name="MayFams"/><ref name="TAG10p29"/> His parentage is established in part by the fact that Richard's and Frances's wills mention their son Thomas.<ref name="TAG10p27"/><ref name="TAG10p28"/>

Thomas's date of birth is uncertain. In his father's will, Thomas is mentioned after Richard Williams' "eldest son" Samuel, son Nathaniel, and son Joseph. Since children were usually listed in birth order (at least among children of the same sex) and Joseph was supposedly born inFebruary 1641,<ref name="MayFams"/> it is likely that Thomas was bornsometime in or after 1643. Based on the fact that he was included in a list of men participating in the purchase of the Taunton "North Purchase" in June 1668,<ref name="QuarterMillen284"/> he was probably at least 21 at that time and thus born prior to June 1647. Both the "Silver Books"<ref name="MayFams"/> and the 1933 TAG article on Richard Williams and his wife Francis<ref name="TAG10p29"/> state that he was bornabout 1645, which seems a reasonable mid-range estimate.
Since Thomas's parents were living in Taunton, Plymouth Colony during the estimated period of his birth, he was most probably born there.

Marriage ===Thomas married Mary Macy.<ref name="Torreys"/><ref name="Taunton62"/> Their marriage is established by a bequest in the will ofGeorge Macy to his daughter Mary Williams.<ref name="Taunton62"/> Based on the estimated date of birth of their first-born child (1680), they were probably married about 1679. Since both Thomas andMary Macy's parents were residents of Taunton, they were probably married there.

Children ===According to Mitchell's "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," Thomas and Mary had the children listed below.<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> No birth records have been found for any of them, perhaps because the Taunton fire of 1838 destroyed all the existing records.<ref name="TauntonVR"/> Thomas's parentage of all the children except Macey are established by a record referenced below relating to the distribution of his estate. Their dates of birth are those given by Mitchell and may be his estimates. All of the children were very probably born inTaunton.# Maria/Mary, b. 1680,<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> m. February 13, 1705/6 Ebenezer Robinson at Taunton<ref name="TauntonVRMarriages531"/> (supported by fact that she is referred to as Mary Robinson in the division of Thomas's land estate)# Jonathan, b. 1683,<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> m. April 3, 1707 Elizabeth Leonard at Taunton<ref name="TauntonVRMarriages530"/># Sarah, b. 1685,<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> m. May14, 1712 James Hall at Taunton<ref name="TauntonVRMarriages534"/># Macey, b. 1687,<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> probably died young (based on fact that not mentioned in the division of her father's estate)# Hannah, b. 1689,<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> m. December 3, 1712 Joseph Snell at Bridgewater<ref name="BridgeHist362"/><ref name="BridgeVR2p408"/># Bethiah, b. 1692,<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> m. March 11, 1712/3 Joseph Hodges at Taunton<ref name="Hodges85"/># Mehitabel, b. 1695, <ref name="BridgeHist362"/> m. October 20, 1720 Benjamin Webb at Bridgewater<ref name="BridgeHist362"/><ref name="BridgeVR2p408"/># Damaris, b. 1698,<ref name="BridgeHist362"/> m. January 16, 1723/4 Daniel Howard at Bridgewater<ref name="BridgeHist362"/><ref name="BridgeVR2p408"/>

Occupation ===In the 1693 record that approved Thomas and his brothers as executors of their father's Last Will & Testament, there were all described as being of Taunton and husbandmen.<ref name="TAG10p28"/>

Death ===Thomas died sometime before June 12, 1706, as on that date, his widow Mary and son Jonathan signed a bond as co-executors of the Last Will &Testament of Thomas Williams, late of Taunton.<ref name="EstateBond"/><ref name="ProbateFile"/>

Thomas had apparently bequeathed some of his lands to his daughters but without specifying which daughter should get what land. The lands were divided by order of the Probate Court on February 28, 1710/1 among his daughters Mary Robinson, Sarah Williams, Hannah Williams, Bethiah,Mehitabel, and Damaris.<ref name="EstateDivision"/><ref name="ProbateFile"/>

<ref name="ProbateFile">Bristol County Probate Records, 1690-1881. FHL Film #007702893, images710-714 of 1502. Link to probate file at familysearch.org.</ref> <ref name="Taunton62">Emery, Samuel Hopkins. "History of Taunton Massachusetts", Syracuse, NY, D. Mason & Co., 1893, p 62</ref> <ref name="Hodges85">"Genealogical record of the Hodges family of New England, ending December 31, 1894," p 85</ref> <ref name="TauntonVRMarriages534">Vital Records of Taunton, MA to the end of the year 1849 - Marriages, p 534</ref> <ref name="TauntonVRMarriages530">Vital Records of Taunton, MA to the end of the year 1849 - Marriages, p 530</ref> <ref name="TauntonVRMarriages531">Vital Records of Taunton, MA to the end of the year 1849 - Marriages, p 531</ref> <ref name="BridgeVR2p408">"Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916, p 408</ref> <ref name="TauntonVR">Vital Records of Taunton, MA to the end of the year 1849 - Explanations</ref> <ref name="TAG10p27">The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT, Vol 10 (1933), p 27: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)</ref> <ref name="TAG10p28">The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT, Vol 10 (1933), p 28: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)</ref> <ref name="TAG10p29">The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT, Vol 10 (1933), p 29: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)</ref> <ref name="MayFams">"Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass. December 1620." (New England - United States: General Society of Mayflower Descendants., Various), 19:15,18.</ref> <ref name="Torreys">New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. NewEngland Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015</ref> <ref name="EstateBond">Bristol County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1880. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2017. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized mages provided by FamilySearch.org)</ref> <ref name="EstateDivision">Bristol County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1880. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2017. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized mages provided by FamilySearch.org)</ref> <ref name="BridgeHist362">Nahum Mitchell, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," 1840, p 362</ref> <ref name="QuarterMillen284">"Quarter Millennial Celebration of the City of Taunton, Massachusetts, Tuesday and Wednesday, June 4 and 5, 1889," City Government of Taunton, 1889, p 284</ref>

Sources

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