Thomas Harris (abt. 1655 - bef. 1697)

Born about 1655 in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut

Husband of Ruth (James) Moore — married about 9 Mar 1682 (to before 11 Jul 1697) in East Hampton, Long Island

Descendants

Died before 11 Jul 1697 before about age 42 in Killingworth, New London, Connecticut

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Biography

Origins

Thomas Harris, probably of Wethersfield, Connecticut, is by a long and detailed process of examining records of early East Hampton, New York and Weathersfield, Connecticut, found to most likely and almost certainly be the son of John Harris and his first wife (unknown), and Thomas has a brother Walter.^[1] They have a half brother of John Harris b. Boston 8 August 1658 of John Harris and his second wife Hannah (Briggs). ^[2][3]

Marriage and Children

Thomas Harris married Ruth James, daughter of Reverend Thomas James, and they had five children, including Samuel Harris, who was listed with his siblings in the inventory, eight months old June 1697, the date of Thomas Harris' estate inventory.

Death and Estate

A note on the back of the inventory states that Harris died by his own hand.^[4][3] Thomas Harris was a cooper by trade.^[3]

The Inventory of Thomas Harris reveals something of his life and business.^[5] The inventory notes that Thomas kept his farm animals (one ox, two 3-year old heifers, 1 year old cow, 23 sheep) on Long Island (presumably at East Hampton where his father-in-law had owned land).^[5] The inventory also takes note of about "50 cidar barrels" located at Windsor, (remember that he was a cooper by trade -- that is, a barrel-maker).^[5][6]

We do not know what may have prompted Thomas Harris to suicide, but his father-in-law, Rev. Thomas James, Jr., died at the age of about 74 years just a year previously. Rev. James was pastor of the East Hampton church for forty-six years, and one may speculate that loss of his moral and/or physical support of his son-in-law may have, combined with unknown factors, been part of the answer.

Where Thomas and his Brothers Lived as Adults

HARRIS of Cumberland/Salem Co., New Jersey - Many families in Cumberland Co. by late 1600s/early 1700s came from East Hampton, Long Island, New York. There are three HARRIS brothers in Cumberland Co., New Jersey, by 1715: Thomas, Nathaniel, & Samuel, and all early HARRIS lines descend from them. They were sons of Thomas & Ruth (JAMES) HARRIS of East Hampton, Long Island, and Killingworth, Connecticut, where Thomas died in 1697. Ruth JAMES was a daughter of Rev. Thomas JAMES, who died at East Hampton, Long Island, New York, 14 June 1696, the first minister there. He married at East Hampton ca. 1647 Ruth JONES, b. ca. 1628, daughter of Rev, John JONES, a founder of Concord, Massachusetts, and Fairfield, Connecticut. See also Cushing and Sheppard, History of Cumberland County, New Jersey, and New Jersey Archives Will Abstracts."^[7]

"Thomas Harris, - first record is in East Hampton, Long Island, New York, where he witnesses deeds in 1680, then later in 1687 and 1693. The next record of him is when his wife is mentioned in her father's will as “Ruth, wife of Thomas Harris”. The will is that of Reverend Thomas James of East Hampton, Long Island, dated 5 June 1696. The other record of him is probate paper No. 4700 in the Connecticut State Library. His inventory was taken June 1697 in Killingworth, Connecticut, which is directly north of Shelter Island and East Hampton. Thomas left a widow, Ruth, children: Mary aged 13, Thomas aged 8 (he was the father of Silas Harris Sr.), Nathaniel, age 3, and Samuel, who was eight months old."^[8]

Research Notes

Do not confuse East Hampton, Long Island, New York, where Thomas Harris married Ruth James, with the Easthampton, Connecticut town about 24 miles from Killingworth. Research is explicit that Thomas and Ruth (James) Harris are associated with East Hampton, Long Island, New York, and the church established there by her father, a minister.

Note: Killingworth, Connecticut, (spelled with no "S") "was named after Kenilworth, England in honor of one of the first settlers, Edward Griswold.[3] Kenilworth's name was more similar to "Killingworth" during the American colonial period, and over time the pronunciation and spelling drifted towards the modern one."^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ The Origins of Thomas Harris of East Hampton, Long Island, and Killingworth, Connecticut, by Gale Ion Harris, Vol 128, page 24
2. ↑ The American Genealogist Vol 72, page 336-337
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Enigmas #26 - Early Harrises of Wethersfield, Connecticut: Analysis of a Tradition], by Gale Ion Harris, TAG Vol 83 (2008-9), page 256
4. ↑ The American Genealogist Vol. 37, page 184
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Inventory of Thomas Harris of Killingworth, Conn., by Walter Lee Shepherd, Jr., M.S., F.A.S.G., TAG Vol. 37 (1961), page 184
6. ↑ “New Haven Probate Records, Vol. 1-2, 1647-1703”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92K-G9JQ-R : 15 March 2021), New Haven, Connecticut, FHL microfilm 007626739, image 370. New Haven Probate Record, 1668-1703, Vol. 2, Part 2, page 185.
7. ↑ American Ancestors, Nexus Vol. III No. 5
8. ↑ Silas Harris Jr. 1768-1846 compiled 1975 by Glenna Harris
9. ↑ Killingworth, Connecticut at Wikipedia.org

• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .), Inventory of Thomas Harris of Killingworth, Conn., by Walter Lee Shepherd, Jr., M.S., F.A.S.G., TAG Vol. 37 (1961), page 184

• The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, The Origins of Thomas Harris of East Hampton, Long Island, and Killingworth, Connecticut, by Gale Ion Harris, Vol 128, pp 11-24

• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Enigmas #26 - Early Harrises of Wethersfield, Connecticut: Analysis of a Tradition, by Gale Ion Harris, TAG Vol 83 (2008-9), page 256

• The American Genealogist, New Haven, Connecticut: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Volume 11, page 29-30, 98-101, 143-145, 208-216.

• The American Genealogist, New Haven, Connecticut: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Volume 37, page 183-184.

• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) John(2) and Mehitable (Danks) Harris of Northampton and Springfield, Massachusetts, by Gale Ion Harris, TAG Vol 72 (1997), pp 333 [pages 336 through 338 deal with the identity of Thomas Harris, father of Mary, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Samuel Harris]

• American Ancestors, database, NEHGS, Answers - Nexus Vol. III No. 5, October/November 1986, extracted from Barbara J. Craig, 5217 Oakridge Dr., Toledo, OH 43623.

• From Silas Harris Jr. 1768-1846, a genealogy collection compiled by Glenna Harris, 1975, as found on Ancestry.com.

• Killingworth, Connecticut, database online at Wikipedia.org, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

• Harris, Gale Ion. William¹ and Mary Briggs of Boston and The Connecticut Valley, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1997) Vol. 151, Page 92.