| Thomas Dewey migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 537) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
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Thomas Dewey was born in England by 1613 (based on freemanship[1] and consistent with his date of marriage). Robert Charles Anderson, in the Great Migration Begins (1995),[2] and also in the Great Migration Directory (2015),[3] finds that Thomas Dewey's parents and origins are unknown. In an 1878 article in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Benjamin W. Dwight claims Thomas Dewey was from Sandwich, Kent.[4] Anderson comments that "there is no documentary foundation" to this statement and that he was more likely from the West Country (Devon, Dorset or Somerset), as were other early settlers of Dorchester.[2]
Researcher Terry Dewey of Dorset, England, offers an interesting candidate for Thomas Dewey's English origins based in part on the discovery of a "Sandwich" in Dorset on a 17th-century map. See Possible Origins.
Thomas Dewey emigrated by 1633. The first record of him in New England is as a witness (signed by mark) to the nuncupative will of John Russell in August 1633. Anderson identifies John Russell as a likely passenger on the unnamed ship from Weymouth, Dorsetshire, that landed in New England in July 1633[5] and suggests that Thomas Dewey may have also been aboard that vessel.[2]
Thomas Dewey initially settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He became a freeman in Massachusetts 14 May 1634.[1] In 1635, along with Rev. John Warham (bef.1595-1670), and many other Dorchester residents, he removed to what would become known as the Windsor Colony in Connecticut. There are no surviving records that specifically note his occupation in Windsor, but Anderson remarks that the items in the inventory of his estate indicate he was farming at a subsistence level.
He was a jury member for the Particular Court of Connecticut beginning in 1642[6] and serving several more times in the following years.[2] Most sources say he was a cornet of the troop, but Anderson says evidence for this has not been found.[2]
Thomas Dewey married in Windsor 22 March 1638/9 Frances (____) Clark.[7] She was a widow with a daughter, Mary; the first name of her husband is not known. After Thomas's death, she married a third husband, George Phelps, in Windsor on 2 November 1648, and had three children by him.[8]
Thomas Dewey died in Windsor on 27 April 1648.[7] There is a stone for him in the Old Burying Ground in Westfield that was placed most likely by Jason Dewey in the 1830's,[11] but he was undoubtedly buried in Windsor.
Thomas left no will, but the inventory of his estate was taken 19 May 1648. Distribution was made on 17 October 1648[12] to his widow, his eldest son named Thomas Dewey and to the other five children who were listed as 4 boys, 2 girls: Mary Clarke, age 12; Thomas Dewey, age 8; Josiah, age 7; Annah, age 5; Israel, age 3; Jydidiah Dewey 3/4 of a year old.[13]
In 1650, the court agreed "on behave of the children of Thomas Dewey and Geo Phelps of Wyndsor that the whole of the land both meadow and upland mentioned in the said Deweys Inventory amountin to the sum of £75 shall be sequestred for the Children. The house and peece of land belonging to it valued at £40, the said Phelps accepts upon his wives parte of the Estate."[14]
Children of Thomas and Frances Dewey[2]
There is a record for the death of a John Dewey in Windsor, 23 June 1640, "drouned in ye r:et."[15] This has sometimes been interpreted to be an infant child of Thomas, but given the circumstances of the death, seems more likely to be an adult or at least a toddler. With their marriage in 1639, and birth of son Thomas in February 1640, John Dewey was probably not their son.
Disputed Origins: This profile was previously attached as the son of Thomas Dewey, but the connection was severed for lack of evidence.
Possible origins: Researcher Terry Dewey of Dorset England, reported (via email to Smith-32867 16:52, 26 February 2015 (EST) ) finding an old sea chart that showed that the town now known as Swanage in Dorset was known as Sandwich in the 1600s. Terry Dewey claims to have found parish records that leads him to conclude that:
See this web page for more information, including details on his Ancestry.com DNA autosomal matches with American Dewey families.
See also, Mark Dewey, Thomas Dewey: The Settler, who Sailde from England to the New World and Founded the Dewey Family in America (https://www.thomasdewey.org/), a blog about the history of the research which led to the conclusion that The Settler was baptised at Hinton Martel, Dorset in 1606. The history begins with the serendipitous find in June 2010 at the Maritime Museum, Buckler's Hard, Hampshire, England (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckler's_Hard), of an old sea chart showing that the town in Dorset now known as Swanage was known as Sandwich in 1781. This research has continued to the present day when DNA evidence is being made use of.
Was he a passenger on the Mary & John?: Some sources [citation needed] include Thomas Dewey on the 1630 voyage of the Mary & John. This claim is made for virtually all early settlers of Windsor, and the total number of supposed passengers exceeds the carrying capacity of the ship. [Work in Progress][19] Unfortunately, the records for both ships and passengers during the Great Migration are woefully incomplete. It is therefore not unusual to not know on what ship an immigrant arrived.
No known daughter Abigail: Abigail (Dewey) Cutler (abt.1646- abt.1711) was previously attached as a daughter. The probate record specifically names Thomas Dewey's children, and does not include Abigail. See Abigail's profile and PGM: Proposal to sever attached daughter Abigail from Thomas Dewey (-1639), Windsor, CT for further discussion.
Featured Eurovision connections: Thomas is 28 degrees from Agnetha Fältskog, 21 degrees from Anni-Frid Synni Reuß, 24 degrees from Corry Brokken, 17 degrees from Céline Dion, 24 degrees from Françoise Dorin, 24 degrees from France Gall, 23 degrees from Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, 24 degrees from Lill-Babs Svensson, 18 degrees from Olivia Newton-John, 29 degrees from Henriette Nanette Paërl, 29 degrees from Annie Schmidt and 16 degrees from Moira Kennedy on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
Categories: Founders of Windsor | Puritan Great Migration
https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1641873/proposal-sever-attached-daughter-abigail-thomas-dewey-windsor
I found information regarding the DNA effect of 'endogamy' (https://isogg.org/wiki/Endogamy) and how DNA can be boosted such that a 9th or 10th cousin might be interpreted as 5-8th. I believe this explains how I was able to find so many DNA matches. Researchers on other families could possibly achieve similar results by doing targeted searches on early settlements.
This update also covers:- a) I have checked all of the Ancestry suggested lines of linkage up to about the 4th cousin level, and I have now identified the linkage to 43 of my DNA matches. This corroborates the basic structure of my family tree involving these DNA matches. b) Addition of a family tree specifically for Thomas Dewey The Settler, prior to his emigration to America; it shows his immediate ancestors and also how other families living in SW England were connected to the Dewey family. In particular those with surnames Moore, Russell, Hyatt and Wareham, all of whom are referred to in John Russell’s will of 1633. c) My theory as to the origin of the surname Dewey based on the high population density of Deweys in Wiltshire, and the archaeological history of Stonehenge. Regards, Terry Dewey
:)
Claire