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Thomas Angell (bef. 1619 - bef. 1694)

Thomas Angell
Born before in Englandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married before 1642 in Providence, Rhode Islandmap [uncertain]
Descendants descendants
Died before at about age 75 in Providence, Providence, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantationsmap
Profile last modified | Created 27 Sep 2010
This page has been accessed 9,300 times.
The Puritan Great Migration.
Thomas Angell migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: pgm

Contents

Biography

Traditionally, Thomas was born about 1618,[1][2] probably based on the known baptism of his wife Alice in 1618. However in his 1685 will he calls himself "very Aged". A birth in 1618 would make him 67 when he wrote his will. Dean Crawford Smith places his birth "before 1619 and likely much earlier."[3]

"Of the parentage of Thomas Angell we have little knowledge. There is a tradition that he was the son of Henry Angell of Liverpool, England; that he was born about 1618, and at the age of twelve years went to London, to take care of himself.. But all this is of doubtful authority."[4]

Was Thomas Angell the son of James Angell and Mary Honeychurch ? No

In 1889, Henry F. Waters, in a footnote says that William Angell, had a son James, who had a son Thomas.[5] Further research by G. Andrews Moriarty published in 1943, explains in a footnote; "John Pemberton, citizen and Grocer of London, eldest son and heir of Roger Pemberton ... married Katherine Angell, dtr of William Angell, citizen of London and Sergeant of the Catery (vis. of London, Harl. Soc. Pub., vol I p. 18.) This William Angell had a son James Angell, whose will mentions a son Thomas (Register, 43:299) There can be but little doubt but that this Thomas is identical with the Thomas Angell who came to New England, as a lad, with Roger Williams..." John Pemberton was a cousin of Roger Willaims.[6] Moriarty then printed a correction to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary, in 1945, stating "Angell, Thomas was undoubtedly a near relative, but of a younger generation, of William Angell, Citizen and Baker of London, whose daughter Catherine married John Pemberton, Esq., of St. Alban's, first cousin of Roger Williams (cf NEHGR 43:295), which would account for his presence in Williams' family in New England."[7] It took until 1991, for someone to look more closely at this. An article by Dean Crawford Smith and Melinda Lutz Sanborn, points out that this Thomas, son of James, was baptized 22 September 1635, thereby eliminating him as the Thomas who was in New England with Roger Williams.[8]

Dean Crawford Smith argues against[3] the many "traditions" stating that Thomas left Bristol, England, in December 1630, aboard the Lyon, along with Roger Williams and his wife Mary, arrived in Boston, 5 February 1631, went to Salem, and then to Rhode Island with Williams in 1636.[1][4] In 1677, Roger Williams wrote, "Yet out of Pity, I gave leave to W. Harris, then poor and destitute, to come along in my company. I consented to John Smith, Miller, at Dorchester (banished also) to go with me, and at John Smith's desire, to a poor young fellow, Francis Wicks, as also to a lad of Richard Watermans. These are all I remember."[9] Supposedly the lad of Waterman's was Thomas Angell.[10] Smith's arguments include the facts that Angell was apparently much older than "a lad" and that certainly if the lad had been Thomas Angell, Williams, who had lived in the same community with Angell for forty years, would have called him by name.[3]

Between 1639 and 1644, Thomas and twelve others signed the following document.
We whose names are hereunder desirous to inhabitt in ye towne of prouidence do promise to subiect ourselves in actiue or passiue obedience to all such orders or agreements as shall be made | for publick good of or body in an orderly way | by the maior consent of the present Inhabitants maisters of families Incorporated together into a towne fellowship and others whome they shall admitt unto them only in ciuill things also.[11] [12][1][2][4]

27 July 1640, He and thirty-eight others signed an agreement for a form of government.[1][4]

Thomas had one of the first fifty-two homelots laid out in Providence[13][4]

Thomas is on a list 19 ii month 1645 of "Those who have paid all their purchase money and have quittances."[14]

Thomas held many offices in the government of Providence:

Surveyor 1650[14]
Commisioner, chosen in 1650,[14] 1652 and 1653[14][1][2][4]
Trier of Cases or Juryman: 1650,[14] 1652,[14] 1655,[14][1][4] 1656[14], and 1659[14]
Constable 1655[1][4]
Town Clerk 1658-1675[1][4]

He became a freeman in 1655.[1]

He sold five acres to James Mathewson 27 January 1648,[14][15] and 27 Oct 1660 he sold another parcel to William Carpenter.[11]

Thomas purchased land in 1661,[16] and in the 19 February 1665 division of land, he had lot #82 assigned to him.[16][1] He also received shares of land 27 April 1674 and 17 March 1683/4.[17]

He served on a committee 14 Aug 1676, "that recommended certain conditions under which the Indian captives should be disposed of by the town. They were to be in servitude for terms of years."[1][4]

He was taxed 5s 7 1/2d on 1 July 1679, and on 1 September 1687 5s 8d.[1] [18]

Thomas Angell died in Providence, between August 1688 (Providence estate tax[18]) and 18 September 1694 (will proved[19]),[1][4] and his widow, Alice, died in 24 Dec 1694.[19]

Thomas' will and a codicil were dated 23 May 1685, and proved 18 September 1694. His wife and son, James, were executors. Bequests were made wife Alice, sons John, and James, and daughters Amphillis Smith, Mary Arnold, Deborah Sabeere, Alice Whipple and Margery Whipple.[1][20] See Space: Thomas Angell, Last Will & Testament 1685 and Inventory.

Marriage

Thomas married Alice Ashton before 1642. Alice, daughter of James and Alice (_____) Ashton, was baptized 1 Feb 1617/8 at St. Albans Abbey, Hertfordshire. She died in Providence 24 December 1694.[3]

Children born in Providence

  1. lAmphillis Angell m. 1663 Edward Smith[1]
  2. John Angell b. about 1646. He testified in 1667 to being about 70 years; m. 7 January 1669 Ruth Field[1]
  3. Mary Angell m. Richard Arnold[1]
  4. Deborah Angell m. 14 November 1668 Stephen Sabeere[1]
  5. Alice Angell m. 26 January 1669 Eleazer Whipple[1]
  6. James Angell m. 30 September 1678 Abigail Dexter[1]
  7. Hope Angell; unmarried; not named in her father's will[1]
  8. Margaret Angell m. Jonathan Whipple[1]

Research Notes

  • Birth May 1, 1618, England; Death September 2, 1694, Providence; marriage 10 April 1643. These dates are all presented in Tingley, Raymon Meyers'. Some Ancestral Lines: Being a Record of Some of the Ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley And His Wife, Martha Pamelia Meyers. (Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing Co., 1935), on p. 22 There are no sources cited. Text also says he is the son of James, son of William, which has since been disproved.
  • Marriage and Death are not listed in the printed vital records for Providence Co.
  • No IGI "Indexed" records for birth/baptism
  • Sources list from Clarence Almon Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 has been checked.
    • Sv. 1:57; Savage Gen. Dict /done
    • Tingley-Meyers 22, 28; "Some Anc. Lines ... Tingley-Meyers
    • Reg. 14:31, 103:218; NEHGR 14:31="Roger Williams, Gorton, Blackstone, Angel etc. /done 103:218=Memoirs just a list of ancestors /done
    • Austin: GDRI 4; Austin Gen Dir. RI /done
    • Whipple-Hill 32; p.32 not important /done
    • Gorton 184; p.184 adds nothing /done
    • Guild Anc. 33; Ancestry of Calvin Guild, Margaret Taft, James Humphreys ... Adds nothing /done
    • Palmer (,8) 393; Palmer groups : John Melvin of Charlestown ...p.393 adds nothing /done
    • Shotwell 45; on p 48 adds nothing /done
    • Gen. Bulletin 1:45; Genealogical Bulletin 1:45 cites another article on wife of Thomas, Alice Ashton
    • Angell 9=Gen Desc Thom Angell by Avery Angell /done
  • Checked all the Journals and Publications at NEHGS. They have been incorporated into narrative. The most recent in 1991 gives no definitive parents or data for Thomas, merely disproves one possible parent.

Sources

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 John Osborne Austin, Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island: Comprising Three Generations of Settlers Who Came Before 1690 : With Many Families Carried to the Fourth Generation. Albany: J. Munsell Sons, 1887 p.4
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Third Record book of the National Society of the Colonial Dames in the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Providence: Snow and Farnham, 1908 p.21
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Dean Crawford Smith. "The Ancestry of Emily Jane Angell, 1844-1910" New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts (1992). pp 1-177.see at archive.org
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Angell, Avery F. Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Angell, who Settled in Providence, 1636-- Providence: A.. Crawford Greene, Printer to the State, 1872.
  5. Waters, Henry F. "Genealogical Gleanings in England." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 43:299
  6. Moriarty, G. Andrews. Genealogical Research in England: Some Notes upon the Family of Roger Williams NEHGR 97:175. 1943. at AmericanAncestors
  7. Moriarty, g. Andrews. Additions and corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. TAG 21:206
  8. Dean Crawford Smith and Melinda Lutz Sanborn. "The Angells and Roger Williams: Thomas Angell of Providence, R.I., Was Not a Son of James Angell of London," in The American Genealogist',' volume 66 (1991): pages 129-132. Available at AmericanAncestors.org.
  9. Smith, Ancestry of Emily Jane Angell, p. 109; cites Glenn W. LaFantasie (ed) Correspondence of Roger Williams, (Providence: Brown University Press, 1988)
  10. Bicknell, Thomas Williams. The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Volume 1. American Historical Society, 1920. p.111; p. 144
  11. 11.0 11.1 Rogers, Horatio and George Moulton Carpenter and Edward Field, The Early Records of the Town of Providence Volume I, Printed Under the Authority of the City Council of Providence, (Providence: Snow & Farnham, 1892), pp covenant 1 land sold 102; digital images, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/19817/ : accessed 2016).
  12. Bicknell, Thomas Williams. The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Volume 1. American Historical Society, 1920. pp,176/7
  13. Bicknell p. ? See map between pp 172,173
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.9 Providence (R.I.). Record Commissioners. The Early Records of the Town of Providence, V. I-XXI ... Providence: Snow & Farnham, city printers, 1893. Vol II. (pp sold land 21; quittances 31;)
  15. Austin lists this as 1658
  16. 16.0 16.1 The Early Records of the Town of Providence ...: Printed Under the Authority of the City Council of Providence, Volume 3 by Horatio Rogers George Moulton Carpenter Edward Field William E. Clarke Daniel F. Hayden William G. Brennen William C. Pelkey. Snow & Farnham, 1893. (p. 12 purchased; p 73 division
  17. The Early Records of the Town of Providence ...: Printed Under the Authority of the City Council of Providence, Volume 4. Horatio Rogers George Moulton Carpenter Edward Field. Snow & Farnham, 1893. (pp 4, 5, 63)
  18. 18.0 18.1 Field, Edward (comp.), Tax lists of the town of Providence : during the administration of Sir Edmund Andros and his council, 1686-1689; together with a list of names of all males sixteen years of age and upwards residing in the town of Providence in August 1688 and liable for a poll tax, (Providence, Rhode Island : Howard W. Preston, 1895), pp 12, 34, 40
  19. 19.0 19.1 Rogers, Horatio and George Moulton Carpenter and Edward Field, The Early Records of the Town of Providence Volume X, Printed Under the Authority of the City Council of Providence, (Providence: Snow & Farnham, 1896), Thomas, p. 17, Alice p. 20; digital images, FamilySearch, (www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/29113  : accessed March 2023).
  20. Rogers, Horatio and George Moulton Carpenter and Edward Field, The Early Records of the Town of Providence Volume VII, Printed Under the Authority of the City Council of Providence, (Providence: Snow & Farnham, 1892), pp 77-91; digital images, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/23897/ : accessed March 2023).
  • Dean Crawford Smith. "The Ancestry of Emily Jane Angell, 1844-1910" New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts (1992). pp 1-177.see at archive.org

See also:

  • bio at rootsweb
  • Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.
  • Find A Grave: Memorial #33987990 Burial Unknown, no stone
  • DNA Note: With Warman-24, Match on FTDNA family Finder, Jonathan David Starr On 67 marker results. Show earliest Known Ancestor as Paternal: homas Angell b.abt. 1618 - 1695 Rhode Island, Maternal: Manuel Borges b. 1854 Azores-1917 Marin Co.,CA




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Comments: 41

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How is

Thomas Angell of Lyme Connecticut

William Warman of Lyme Connecticut And Roger Willams of Lyme Connecticut

Connected ?

50AD

Answer an Anglo-Saxon settlement it was known as Verlamacaestir

Read the monks writings of St. Albans Abbey

posted by William Warman I
“Rare connection”

1 in 2,200 Only 114 customers are this closely related to Warman or Angell families

posted by William Warman I
Yes I see Angell listed on my FTDNA U106 page

With Warman-24, Match on FTDNA family Finder, Jonathan David Starr On 67 marker results. Show earliest Known Ancestor as Paternal: homas Angell b.abt. 1618 - 1695 Rhode Island, Maternal: Manuel Borges b. 1854 Azores-1917 Marin Co.,CA

This is true

posted by William Warman I
In response to the needs biography category, I am cleaning up this profile and rethinking/rewriting some of my original writing.
posted by Anne B
So in going through Genealogy surnames and DNA Matches, I found a DNA match to a Rowbotham surname. John Angell's wife was Elizabeth Edolph. Her mom's maiden name was Elizabeth Rowbotham. No Edolphs in this line had any heirs and no recorded heirs of John Angell. Could it be that Thomas is John and Elizabeth's first son?
posted by Sean Angell
edited by Sean Angell
Could you post a link to this, please? Many thanks.
I am a direct descendant of Thomas Angell. I have a DNA connection with his aunt Catherine Pemberton (Angell) and through James Angell's other children. I am quite confident that Thomas is the son of James, son of William
posted by Sean Angell
DNA cannot possibly help in this problem. It is too many generations back for autosomal DNA to be of use, and Y-dna can only tell you they were from the same Angell family but not which generation. The reference given is conclusive:

Dean Crawford Smith and Melinda Lutz Sanborn. "The Angells and Roger Williams: Thomas Angell of Providence, R.I., Was Not a Son of James Angell of London," in The American Genealogist, volume 66 (1991): pages 129-132. Available at AmericanAncestors.org.

Thomas, son of James Angell, was baptized on 22 Sept. 1635 and cannot possibly be the immigrant. The article also points out that William Angell had 5 brothers who are possible candidates to be the father or grandfather. Three of these brothers were excluded as possible ancestors of the immigrant Thomas Angell; however, two of the brothers (Randall and Thomas) needed further research.

posted by Joe Cochoit
I also have info that says Thomas was an illegitimate son of James Angell and therefore can't be ruled out. I don't think that this information in TAG vol 66 is correct.
posted by Sean Angell
edited by Sean Angell
You are certainly welcome to present your information. I would suggest starting a G2G discussion. Please include PGM as a tag so that we see it. Have you read the TAG article? Dean Crawford Smith and Melinda Lutz Sanborn are two pre-eminent genealogists who have written many articles and books - we would not dismiss their work without solid, primary evidence.

As it turns out, Dean Crawford Smith put in a lot more work on the Angell family trying to track down every possible Angell line. For a 100 page presentation of the primary records and a discussion on the origins of Thomas Angell, see: Smith, Dean Crawford. The Ancestry of Emily Jane Angell, 1844-1910. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1992). Freely available at Internet Archive.

posted by Joe Cochoit
Also, if he isn't a son of James Henry Angell...he may be of James Angell who died in 1623, Angell-431. This may explain why he left on his own at an early age.
posted by Sean Angell
There was no James Angell who died in 1623. He is the same James Angell, son of William, that we have been discussing. Please see the references that I have given you.
posted by Joe Cochoit
Ok so, wiki has alot of discrepancies. I am reading that Smith and Sanborn ruled out that Thomas is not of the Peakirk Angells. I have a Pemberton DNA connection as well as others who are related to the Peakirk Angells. DNA is pretty good proof for connecting people.
posted by Sean Angell
Sean, you're right that DNA can be helpful in research. IMHO once you get back more than 3 or 4 generations, it is most helpful in finding living people who you have a DNA connection with in order to share research based on paper records and solid analysis.

As you know, you of course do not have a DNA connection to somebody who lived 400 years ago, he did not submit DNA samples. You DO have a connection to somebody alive today, and you both have family trees based on paper records that indicate a common descent from an Angell ancestor.

How accurate are both those trees (whether they agree or not)? How solid is the sourcing and analysis? Do the paper records match the DNA? (spoiler alert - there is no way to know since there are no 400 year old DNA samples). Were there non-parental events that some people (or no people) knew about such as adoptions and affairs etc? You mentioned that you have information about an illegitimate son. It would be very interesting to know what that information is.

It will be great to see what you can contribute to the analysis of this family but please remember that DNA does not prove any connection to any specific people 400 years ago because anybody in that chain of ancestry who did NOT submit a DNA sample, is in that chain based purely on paper records and analysis of those records.

posted by Brad Stauf
The Angell Family and the Warman Families are directly related by ancient records and DNA. The ancient records of an English Knight is who explained the information
posted by William Warman I
Hi Sean,

Thanks for your interest in this profile of a man who has been heavily researched by many. Can you please supply information on any primary documentation that backs up your statements? Is there a more recently-published (1991), peer-reviewed article you can cite that will help us understand why you think Thomas was a son, illegitimate or otherwise, of James? The Smith/Sanborn article is pretty convincing, have you read it yet?

posted by Bobbie (Madison) Hall
I will dig through what I have and present it
posted by Sean Angell
I've been trying to find that particular article from smith/sanborn
posted by Sean Angell
Thank you, Joe. Funnily enough, it took me nearly 20 years to figure out that the Thomas Angell families were not to do with ours. I had bought the small book "Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Angell" some years ago and was keen to get stuck in and find our line... No matter how I tried, it was not to be. For every "possibility" came a realisation that the generations were all "one-off" for lack of better words. There are many loosely related through other ancestors. I find Angells and Angels and run the "relationship to me" and generally find I'm so far related to them as in a 7th cousin or a 17 th cousin that I am basically not related at all at that point. All I wish to do at this point is find the father for Charles Angell from North Carolina. For years everyone said he was from Providence but that is not the case. None of the Carolina Angell/Angels are from Providence. The Angells/Angels whom I am search for came here somewhat later than did the Thomas Angell line. Anyway, I am over the moon to at least find the above information. Many thanks again.
The origins of Thomas Angell of Providence, Rhode Island are unknown (Robert Charles Anderson, FASG [Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists], The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640; a Concise Compendium [Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 2015], 8).

Dean Crawford Smith and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, “The Angells and Roger Williams: Thomas-1 Angell of Providence, R.I., Was Not a Son of James Angell of London,” The American Genealogist (Volume 66 [1991]: 129-132).

posted by Perry Streeter
GMNL in referring to the same article, says that Thomas was also not the 'lad of Richard Waterman' who came to Providence with Roger Williams, so that section probably needs removal.

Upper right: https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/great-migration-newsletter-v1-25/image?volumeId=21164&pageName=31&rId=426827988

posted by Chris Hoyt
I'm a direct descendant. It seems pretty clear by the research of Dean Crawford Smith & Melinda Lutz Sanborn that the emigrant Thomas Angell was not the son of James Angell... noting the boxed in area of the profile.

I, for one, would disconnect, with notation and links in this biography and the profiles of James Angell and his wife Mary (Honeychurch) Angell.

I'd like to find this book. My DNA connections and research say otherwise
posted by Sean Angell
Can we disconnect these parents?
posted by Anne B
"Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Angell, who Settled in Providence, 1636." By Avery F. Angell. Providence, 1872. https://books.google.com/books?id=bzYxAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA62&ots=KTyZ_u45_i&dq=Abiathar%20Angell&pg=PP7#v=onepage&q=Abiathar%20Angell&f=false.
posted by Erik Granstrom
Changed parents to uncertain, although it appears they should be removed.
posted by Kirk Hess
Angell-44 and Angell-26 appear to represent the same person because: -44 looks like a duplicate, unsourced line.
posted by Kirk Hess
Forgive my skepticism. It's taken me three days to find the dates listed on this profile, and then only to find they are from an unsourced secondary source. Have I missed something? Where did Tingley-Meyers get these dates?
posted by Anne B
Sourcing located for Thomas Angell and being placed in lowest numbered Profile. Please assist and merge children if they are yours.
Sourcing located for Thomas Angell and being placed in lowest numbered Profile. Please assist and merge children if they are yours.
Sourcing located for Thomas Angell and being placed in lowest numbered Profile. Please assist and merge children if they are yours.

Rejected matches › Thomas AngellThomas Angell (1672-1744)