Thomas Gilbert (bef. 1620 - 1662)

Born before 1620 in England

Husband of Katherine (Chapin) Marshfield — married 31 Jul 1655 in Springfield, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 5 Jun 1662 after age 42 in Springfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay

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Research Notes

This profile is part of the Gilbert Name Study.

By Chris Gilbert: It has been almost universally assumed - primarily due to the research of Douglas Richardson^[1] - that Thomas was the Thomas, a son of Thomas Gilbert and christened at Yardley in Worcestershire on 16 February 1611/1612.^[2][3] However, there is no evidence that the Thomas who appears in Windsor, Connecticut in 1644/1645 was this Thomas and it is not supported by Y-DNA testing as his descendants do not match the descendants of the Gilbert brothers from Yardley who appeared in Braintree, Massachusetts, by late February of 1639/1640 with their father Thomas Gilbert.^[4] Therefore a separate profile has now been created for the Thomas Gilbert of Yardley which has dates which seem to tie in with him not leaving there, based on other records as given on his profile, or he may even have returned.

So the birth year of this Thomas Gilbert, is not known and has been estimated as "before 1620".

BigY DNA testing and research as of March 2023 suggests that he may be descended from a Gilbert family in Leicestershire, England. Gilbert-5441 21:33, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

Biography

Shortly before 24 January 1644/1645, Thomas Gilbert immigrated to New England, for on that date, he bought a five acre houselot in Windsor, Connecticut, from Francis Stiles.^[5]

Windsor records show that sometime prior to 1652, Thomas Gilbert conveyed his houselot in Windsor to John Drake Sr. and, in turn, acquired an 113/4 acre houselot from Josiah Hull^[6]. Afterwards, he sold this second Windsor houselot to Thomas Bissell and in 1655 left Windsor for Springfield, Massachusetts^[7] While still "of Windsor," he entered into a marriage contract on 23 May 1655 with Katherine (Chapin) Bliss, the widow of Nathaniel Bliss of Springfield in which he promised to pay the children by her first marriage the inheritances ordered by the court after their father died intestate. The agreement is signed with an X, the mark of Thomas Gilbert.^[8][9] He thereafter lived in Springfield where he died in 1662.^[10]

It is apparent that Thomas Gilbert was widowed when he signed the marriage contract with widow Bliss. Lydia Gilbert of Windsor was condemned to death for witchcraft at a court session which began on 28 Novembr 1654:^[11]

[Indictment] Lydea GiIburt thou art heere indited by that name of Lydea Gilburt that not hauing the feare of god before thy Eyes thou hast of late years or still dust give Entertainement to Bather [sic] the greate Enemy of god and mankinde and by his helpe hast killed the Body of Henry Styles besides other witchcrafts for which according to the law of god and the Estableshed law of this Comon wealth thou deservest to Dye.

[Verdict] ye Party above mentioned is found guilty of witchcraft by ye Jury.

The court record does not identify Lydia Gilbert, but she is assumed to be Thomas Gilbert's wife as she was accused of using witchcraft to kill Henry Stiles of Windsor, who had been Thomas Gilbert's former employer. ^[12]

Lydia is thought to have died shortly after being tried in Windsor, though no record of her actual execution has yet been found.

23 March 1656/1657: Oath of Freemanship/Allegiance: Springfield, Massachusetts Bay: "beinge a Trayning day these tooke the freemens oath: Thomas Gilbert"

27 March 1660 and 24 September 1661: Jury Duty: Springfield, Massachusetts Bay^[13]

Thomas' last Will is dated 3 June 1662 at Springfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay and is recorded at Northampton, Massachusetts, Old Hampshire (County Wills 1:18, original Will and inventory on file.)

I Thomas Gilbert of Springfield, sick in body, but sound in mind, doe here make & ordayne this my last will & testament, committing myself unto the hands of my mercifull father, whether to live or to dye, trusting that both shall be unto mee advantage through Jesus Christ my Lord.

Impris. I bequeath unto my sons and daughters which are in the first family seven pounds to each of them & also five pounds to that which my wife goes with, to bee paid to the girls at ye age of eighteen years, to ye sones at one and twenty. All the rest of my estate I leave unto my wife whom I make and ordayne my true and lawful executrix. And in case my wife doe marry againe, what estate remains of mine then I give the one halfe thereof to her former children and the one halfe thereof to be distributed to my sons equally & in case any of my children doe dye before they come of age, his or their portion shall be divided amongst those sonnes yt doe survive.

And to ye end that my will be truly fulfilled I have desired my father Samuel Chapin and Nathaniel Ely to be overseers. I have hereunto sett my hand this third day of the 3d month, 1662 [3 June 1662].

The sign X of Thomas Gilbert

Witnessed by us

Samuel Chapin

Nathaniel Ely

The two persons named as witnesses took their oath at the Court at Springfield, September 20, 1662, that this is ye last Will & Testament of Thomas Gilbert deceased.^[14]

Thomas died on 5 June 1662 in Springfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay.^[15]He is buried at Springfield Cemetery.^[16]

Sources

1. ↑ Richardson,Douglas. "The English Origin of Thomas(1) Gilbert of Braintree, Massachusetts, and Wethersfield, Connecticut With a Note of Lydia Gilbert, Executed for Witchcraft in 1654." The American Genealogist, July 1992, p 161-166). (See https://web.archive.org/web/20230312111423/http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~dmasilm/genealogy/gilbert.htm)
2. ↑ Image of Church Register, Baptism entry on Ancestry.co.uk
3. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGS9-NLV : 11 February 2018, Thomas Gilbert Or Gylberte, 16 February 1611); Citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 246,688.
4. ↑ The American Genealogist. New Haven, Connecticut: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/12962/161/24672232
5. ↑ (Gilbert Family, page 14)
6. ↑ (Gilbert Family, page 14)
7. ↑ (Gilbert Family pages 14, 50-52).
8. ↑ Clemens, William Montgomery. American Marriage Records before 1699. Baltimore: Genealogical, 1984. Print.
9. ↑ (Joseph H. Smith, ed., Colonial Justice in Western Massachusetts (1639-1702): The Pynchon Court Record [Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1961], hereafter Pynchon Court Rec., page 233).
10. ↑ (Gilbert Family, pages 50-52)
11. ↑ Records of The Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663, (Hartford, 1928). page 131.
12. ↑ (Gilbert Family, pages 14-19)
13. ↑ William Pynchon, John Pynchon, Elizur Holyoke, Pynchon Court Records, (Families of the Pioneer Valley, Regional Publications, West Springfield, Massachusetts, 2000).
14. ↑ Source: #S72 Page: 50–53
15. ↑ Ruth Ellsworth Richardson, Samuel Richardson and Josiah Ellsworth, (1974). page 344.
16. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #63257762

• The Gilbert Family: Descendants of Thomas Gilbert, 1582 (?)-1659, by Homer Worthington Brainard, Harold Simeon Gilbert, and Clarence Almon Torrey, Edited with a Foreword by Donald Lines Jacobus; New Haven, Connecticut, 1953, pages 50-53; ebook available online (cost): https://www.ancestorstuff.com/E-Books/the-gilbert-family-descendants-of-thomas-gilbert-of-mt-wollaston-braintree-windsor-and-wethersfield-1582-1659.html

• Temple, Rev. J. H., Thomas Gilbert of Springfield and His Immediate Descendants. Some New Facts., The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 1888) Vol. 42, Page 280