Thomas Abbott (abt. 1643 - 1713)

Born about 1643 in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Husband of Elizabeth (Green) Abbott — married 18 Apr 1663 in Kittery, York, Maine

Descendants

Died 8 Mar 1713 at about age 70 in Berwick, York, Maine

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Biography

Birth

Thomas Abbott was the son of Walter Abbott and Sarah (Unknown) Abbott.^[1] In a 1709 deed (Exeter deeds, 11:259), he is called the "only surviving son and heir of Walter Abbott" of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.^[2]

According to Stackpole's Kittery history, there are two inconsistent depositions (which he does not specify) of Thomas Abbott, one implying a birthdate of 1635 and one computing to a 1643 birth.^[3] One of those depositions was presumably in a deed made on 25 Mar 1686, in which Thomas stated he was then aged about 43 years.^[4] The Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire also accepts the 1643 date, which fits better with his mother’s birthdate and with his placement third in the birth order of Walter and Sarah’s children.^[1]

If the 1643 date is accurate, Thomas Abbott was probably born at either Exeter or Portsmouth, New Hampshire (which were then in Massachusetts Bay Colony). Stackpole says his father, Walter, was at Exeter by 1640 and "soon after removed to Portsmouth,"^[3] and the Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire says that Walter was at Portsmouth by 1645.^[1]

Apprenticeship and Residence

As a child, Thomas apparently lived at Kittery, Maine (then in Massachusetts), with Richard Abbott, whose relationship to Walter Abbott and his family is unclear. Richard was a blacksmith, and he taught Thomas that trade.^[1] Thomas Abbott settled at Kittery, where he served as a selectman several times, and he was an ensign of the militia.^[3] He lived in that section of Kittery that was set aside as the town of Berwick in 1713.^[5]

Marriage

Thomas Abbott married Elizabeth Green about 1664. On 20 May 1668, John Green of Kittery deeded 20 acres in Kittery to Thomas Abbott and "Elizabeth his now wife, & daughter of John Greene," and on 1 Mar 1679/80, John Green and Julian his wife deeded their homestead in Kittery to Thomas Abbott, in return for life support.^[6] In his will, Thomas Abbott refers to "my father Green."^[7] The first known child of Thomas and Elizabeth Abbott was born at Kittery on 7 Sep 1664.^[1]

Children

Thomas and Elizabeth (Green) Abbott were the parents of the following children, as listed in the Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire. Where probable birth dates are shown, they are based on the placement of the child in the birth order in that volume.^[1]

1. Thomas Abbott, born on 7 Sep 1664
2. Joseph Abbott, probably born about 1666
3. Moses Abbott, probably born about 1668
4. John Abbott, probably born about 1670
5. Walter Abbott, born on 24 Jun 1673
6. Elizabeth Abbott, probably born about 1675
7. Patience Abbott, probably born about 1677
8. Mary Abbott, probably born about 1679
9. Hannah Abbott, probably born about 1681

Will

Thomas Abbott of "Barwick in the County of Yorke in the Province of Main belonging to her Maj^ts Province of the Massachusets Bay in New England" made his will on 20 May 1707. He names his wife, Elizabeth; his sons, Walter, Thomas, Joseph, Moses, and John; his daughters, Elizabeth Butler, Patience Lord, Mary Goodridge, and Hannah Abbott; and his sons[-in-law] Thomas Butler and Josiah Goodridge.^[7][8]

Death

Thomas Abbott died at Berwick, Maine, on 8 Mar 1712/13.^[9]

Probate

The inventory of Thomas Abbott, filed on 27 Mar 1713, totaled £407.11s. His will was proved on 23 Apr 1713.^[7]

Research Note

There is detail (much of which involves transfers of property) about Thomas Abbott's life, including citations to sources, along with a partial abstract of his will, in the section about Walter Abbott and his descendants in the 1906 Abbott genealogy. The information that is not supported there by sources (especially relating to his children) should, however, be used with caution.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby, and Walter Goodwin Davis, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (Portland, Me., 1928-1939), pages 57-58
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Lemuel Abijah Abbott, Descendants of George Abbott, of Rowley, Mass., of his joint descendants with George Abbott, sr., of Andoer, Mass.; of the descendants of Daniel Abbott, of Providence, R. I.; of some of the descendants of Capt. Thomas Abbott, of Andover, Mass.; of George Abbott, of Norwalk Ct.; of Robert Abbott, of Branford Ct.; with brief notes of many others of the name, original settlers in the United States (Boston, 1906), volume 2, pages 1025-1027
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Everett S. Stackpole, Old Kittery and Her Families (Lewiston, Me., 1903), pages 270-271
4. ↑ Joseph Crook Anderson II, "Eleven Thomas Abbotts of Berwick, Maine, and Vicinity," citing York Co. Deeds 4:56, in The American Genealogist, volume 70 (1995), page 87 (subscription required)
5. ↑ In his 1707 will, he calls himself Thomas Abbott of Berwick.
6. ↑ Joseph Crook Anderson II, "Eleven Thomas Abbotts of Berwick, Maine, and Vicinity," citing York Co. Deeds 3:6 and 3:63, in The American Genealogist, volume 70 (1995), page 87 (subscription required)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Maine Wills, 1640-1760, Compiled and Edited with Notes By William Sargent, A.M. of The Cumberland Bar Published Portland 1887, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 72-5681, pages 162-165
8. ↑ York County, Maine Probate Records, No. 2, 1707-1719, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89JS-L9ZC-4  : 7 April 2021), FHL microfilm 007600380, image 228-229.
9. ↑ John Eldridge Frost and Joseph Crook Anderson II, eds., Vital Records of Berwick, South Berwick and North Berwick, Maine, to the Year 1892 (Camden, Me., 1993), page 205

See also:

• New England Marriages Prior to 1700, by Clarence Almon Torrey, Published by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc Baltimore 1985 Copyright 1985 New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, volume 1, page 3 (subsc ription required)
• Old Eliot (Augustin Caldwell, Eliot, Me., 1897) Vol. 1, Page 47.