Thomas Hunt (abt. 1598 - aft. 1655)

Born about 1598 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Joane (Gawton) Hunt — married 29 Mar 1641 in Accomack County, Virginia Colony

Descendants

Died after 1655 after about age 57 in Northampton County, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

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Biography

Thomas Hunt is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

Thomas Hunt was a Virginia colonist.

Thomas Hunt’s parents are uncertain, and much of this biography is questionable.

Thomas Hunt^[1] may have been born about 1598 in England.^[2] He passed away after 1655 in Northampton County, Virginia. ^{[citation needed]}

Marriages & Children

By an uncertain first marriage (possibly to Joane Unknown), Thomas Hunt had a daughter, Frances Hunt (wife of Edmund Bibby and Nathaniel Wilkins).

Nathaniel Wilkins (1641-abt 1713).... Nathaniel married about 1661, Frances, daughter of Thomas and Joane Hunt and widow of Edmund Bibby. ...

Nathaniel's sister, Ann Wilkins, married 1) John Hunt and 2) Thomas Hunt. Were they sons of Thomas and Joane Hunt, brothers of Frances Hunt?^[3]

Thomas Hunt married secondly on 29 Mar 1641 in Accomack County, Virginia to Joane Gawton (widow of Robert Drake) and they had one son, Thomas Hunt (Jr.).

Land Transactions

• Thomas Hunt, 50 acs. Accomack Co., 8 Sept. 1636, p. 376. Within the old plantation Cr., joyning Wly. to land of Thomas Smith. Due for his per. adv.^{[4] [5]}
• Thomas Hunt, 1 acr. James City, bounded Sly. upon James Riv., Wly. ... 1 August 1655, p. 367. Half an acre of sd. land formerly granted unto Mrs. Elizabeth Fleet, which by her death accrued to her children, & now by Thomas Lyne, guardian, assigned unto Thomas Wilkenson, to whom sd. Hunt is successor, & the other half acre granted by order of the Quarter Ct. &c.^[4]

Research Notes

This material is of doubtful relationship to the Thomas Hunt who lived in Virginia Colony from about 1636.

He was born about 1594 in Heathfield, Sussex, England and some theorize his parents were Elizabeth (Edwards) and Rev. Robert Hunt who ...

"made his Will 20 Dec 1606 in anticipation of his embarkment on the voyage to Virginia ... mentioning a brother Stephen, a wife Elizabeth, son Thomas who was not yet 21, and a daughter Elizabeth".

"Robert Hunt had, as evidenced by his Will, only the one son Thomas and there is no evidence that this Thomas or any of his descendants (if any) ever came to America. ^[6][7]

At about 14 years of age, Thomas Hunt, arrived in Jamestown, Virginia on the second supply ship in September 1608. [No record of this has been found. There is a "Master Hunt" listed on the roster for the Second Supply, but no evidence it refers to Thomas Hunt.^[8]]

At age 20, he was the Captain of one of the ships involved in an exploration of the New England coast in 1614. They were led by Captain John Smith (1580-1631) (#1936), son of Alice (Richards) and George Smith. This John Smith (of Jamestown Pocahontas fame) eventually returned to England and devoted his energies to promoting the development of New England. He was often called the "Admiral of New England".

When Smith started back to England, he told Hunt to stay behind for awhile and pick up from the Indians a load of fish, skins, and other items to bring back. Hunt went beyond these instructions and lured a number of Indians aboard the ship and sailed with them to Spain where he sold them in the slave market at Malaga. Among the Indians was Squanto, who was later to return to Plymouth Colony and become the "Savior" of the Plymouth Colony in 1621. Nothing further has been learned of Capt. Thomas Hunt, though it is believed that he was discredited in England for his actions in kidnapping the Indians and thereafter had difficulty obtaining commissions.

It is nice to romanticize that Capt. Thomas Hunt was the son of the Rev. Robert Hunt of Jamestown and that upon his return to England, Capt. John Smith looked up the son of his "old buddy" Robert Hunt, and enlisted Thomas in his exploring expedition of the New England Coast. But that is the stuff of the movies and not history or genealogy. The identity of Capt. Thomas Hunt has not been found and there is no evidence that he or descendants (if any) ever settled in America. ^[6]

Deed of Gift - Rec'd* 3 June 1650 He received by deed of gift on 3 June 1650 at Northampton Co, VA. It was on this date that John Parramore gave a gift of cattle to Thomas Hunt and wife Joan (his mother-in-law), Richard Hill (husband of his wife's sister Mary Drake) and John Potts for his (Parramore's) children Thomas, John and Elizabeth, their mother being death.

Will* 22 May 1655 Thomas made a will on 22 May 1655 at Northampton Co, VA. In his will Thomas Hunt Sr., Gent., gave loving wife Joane and (my) son Thomas Hunt extrs. And to them my whole estate to be eq. div. To my dau. Frances Bibby the wife of Edmund Bibby 200 A. in Accomack Co. To Elizabeth Bibby the dau. of Frances Bibby 200 A. If my wife marries and my son dies without issue, then 2/3 of my son's estate to Frances and Elizabeth Bibby and the other 1/3 to my sister Ann Harris. Witt: Allexander Maxwell, Francis Stockley.

Death* before 29 January 1655/56 He died before 29 January 1655/56 at Northampton Co, VA. It was on this date that his will was proved.

Failed to find sources at FamilySearch (Chris Weston, Sussex Team, 28 Jul 2020).

Sources

1. ↑ Hunt, Thomas - A9655; died by 1671, Jamestowne Island: 1655 (Landowner). accessed 3 September 2021
2. ↑ Thomas Hunt, abt 1598
3. ↑ Jester, Annie. Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1625' (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1956 Page 357, 358.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Nugent, Nell Marion, Abstracted and Indexed by. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800. In Five Volumes. Richmond, VA.: Press of the Dietz Printing Co., 1935. Page 46, 313
5. ↑ "Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families" by Douglas Richardson; edition#2 in 2011 (4 vols) p92
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} The Early Hunt Families of America by Mitchell J. Hunt; The Hunt Families of Vermont
7. ↑ Will of Robert Hunt, Clerk and Vicar of Heathfield, Sussex. National Archives, Kew: PROB 11/112/163
8. ↑ Mary and Margaret.

• FamilySearch.com family Tree by Jewell Thomas Meadows
• James Handley Marshall, Northampton Co, VA, Abstracts of Wills & Administrations, 1632-1802, p. 41 (will of Thomas Hunt Sr., Gent, wife Joane).
• Henry Barraud Hunt Jr., William Tankard, Gentlemen, Jamestown 1607, Ancestors & Descendants, p. 1005.
• Ralph T. Whitelaw, Virginia's Eastern Shore (A History of Northampton and Accomack Counties), p. 119 & 120 (tract N20).
• James Handley Marshall, Northampton Co, VA, Abstracts of Wills & Administrations, 1632-1802, p. 2 (will of John Symons, planter).

*Lucy Ames Edwards, Ames, Mears and Allied Lines of Accomack County, Virginia.

• John Frederick Dorman, Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5, p. 312 (Bibby Family).
• Susie M. Ames, Accomack-Northampton County, Virginia, Court Records, 1640-1645, p. 306 & 307.
• John Frederick Dorman, Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5, p. 777, Footnote#17 (Parramore Family).
• Frank V. Walczyk, Northampton Co, VA, Bk 04, Orders, Deeds & Wills, 1651-1654, p. 26.
  • https://espl-genealogy.org/MilesFiles/site/p222.htm#i22172

See also, possibly not relevant:

• England Births and Christenings 1538-1975 for Tho. Hunt, christened: 07 Dec 1600 Saint Martin, Leicester, Leicestershire, England (father: Richard Hunt)

• England Births and Christenings 1538-1975 for Mary Hunt, christened: 12 Jan 1623 Bromley, Kent, England (father: Thomas Hunt)

Acknowledgments

• Hunt-5520 was created on 13 Dec 2013 by Maureen Henigan