Thomas Mitchell (abt. 1566 - aft. 1622)

Born about 1566 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Margaret (Williams) Mitchell — married 15 Apr 1606 in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Descendants

Died after 15 Aug 1622 after about age 56 in Leiden, Netherlands [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile managers: John Putnam [send private message], Elizabeth Joslin [send private message], Tom Cahalan [send private message], Beverly Knauer [send private message], John Pauter [send private message], and David Mitchell [send private message]

Biography

This is the profile of Thomas Mitchell, who gave an affidavit in Leiden in 1622.

Limited Records

Only three records have been found that are claimed to relate directly to Thomas:

• 1606. The marriage banns of Thomas Michiels of Cambridge, England, and Margriete Williams of Leiden, Netherlands were recorded in Amsterdam on April 15, 1606.^[1][2][3]
• 1606. Thomas and Margaret were married in Amsterdam on May 9, 1606. (This record is only mentioned by Underhill.)^[2]
• 1622. Thomas Mitchell and John Lee made an affidavit in Leiden, Netherlands on August 15, 1622, as to Susan Clark's good standing.^[3][2]

There is some doubt as to whether the 1606 records and 1622 record relate to the same person. Dexter in his 1905 The England and Holland of the Pilgrims stated that the Thomas Mitchell in the 1662 Leiden affidavit was "possibly" the Thomas Mitchell of Cambridge whose marriage banns were published in Amersterdam in 1606.^[3] Underhill and later writers, however, have generally assumed that the records in fact relate to the same person,^[2] perhaps because no evidence has been found to suggest that there were multiple separatist Englishmen named Thomas Mitchell in the Netherlands during that time period.

Date and Place of Birth; Parentage

In his 1622 affidavit, Thomas testified that he was 56 years old,^[3] which means he was probaby born about 1566.

Assuming that the 1606 marriage banns also relate to this profile's Thomas Mitchell, Thomas originated in Cambridge, England. Banks, in his profile for Experience Mitchell in his 1929 The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers, suggested that, instead of originating in Cambridge itself, Thomas probably originated in the parish of Eltisley, Cambridgeshire. In support of that proposition, Banks stated that (1) two other emigrants to New England came from that parish and (2) an Edward Mitchell was resident of that parish in 1628 and Experience Mitchell's eldest son.^[4] As to the last point, Banks was incorrect. More recent research indicates that (1) Experience's son Edward Mitchell was actually his third son, not his first,^[5] and (2) more significantly, Edward was the son of Experience's second wife, Mary, who (as discussed the profile for Constant Fobes) may well have been the sister of Constant Fobes, who also named a son Edward, suggesting that the name Edward came from the family of Experience's second wife Mary rather than from Experience's family. Since Banks' argument is unpersuasive, absent additional evidence, it seems more sensible to take the 1606 marriage banns at face value and assume that Thomas came from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.

Thomas' parentage is unknown.

Emigration to the Netherlands

Thomas' date of emigration from Engand to the Netherlands is uncertain. Assuming that this profile's Thomas Mitchell was the Thomas Michiels in the 1606 marriage banns, Thomas emigrated to the Netherlands sometime before that date. Dexter's brief entry for Thomas Mitchell in his 1905 The England and Holland of the Pilgrims indicates that the Thomas Mitchell of Cambridge referenced in the 1606 Amsterdam marriage banns belonged to Rev. Francis Johnson's church at Amsterdam in 1597-1598.^[3] However, no primary record supporting that assertion has been found.

Marriages

Assuming that this profile's Thomas Mitchell was the Thomas Michiels in the 1606 marriage banns, the banns indicate that Thomas was married twice. Set forth below is a translation/transcription of the banns published in a 1980 TAG article by John B. Threlfall. An image of the original banns record is attached to this profile.

There appeared as above Thomas Michiels of Cambridge in England, turner, widow of Maria Tromdin, living on the Water, of the first part, and Margriete Williams of Leydin, widow of Christoffel Stochin, declaring to have been a widow for five years, living on the Cingel near Beuling Street, of the second part, And stated that they were engaged to each other with promise of marriage, praying for their three Sunday readings in order to solemnize and celebrate the aforesaid marriage in so far as no legal objections are presented, and after they had sworn that they were free persons, there being no blood relations between each other of friendship through marriage, their banns have been granted.^[1]

Based on this translation/transcription, Thomas married, first, a woman named Maria Tromdin. Threlfall noted that surname Tromdin (or possibly Fomdin), seemed clear enough but that it is not a recognizable name, either in Dutch or English and that only rarely would a Dutch name end in in.^[1] The date and place of Thomas' marriage to Maria is uncertain. Assuming a date of birth of about 1566, they were probably married sometime in 1587-1606 and could have been married in either England or the Netherlands.

Based on the above translation/transcription of the 1606 marriage banns, Thomas married, second, a woman whose maiden name was Margaret Williams. According to Underhill, Thomas and Margaret were married in Amsterdam on May 9, 1606,^[2] but the record supporting that assertion has not been found. Commentators have disagreed as to the surname of Margaret's prior husband. Underhill states that it was Uochin or Digehin.^[2] Threlfall read the name to be Stochin, which he noted is not a recognizable Dutch or England name.^[1] The editor of Threlfall's article, however, suggested that he suspected that the name of Margaret William's former husband was probably Christopher Stocking.^[1]

Children

Set forth below are the probable and possible children of this profile's Thomas Mitchell.

• Experience, probably a son of this profile's Thomas Mitchell based on (1) the fact that Experience emigrated to New England in 1623 aboard the Anne, which brought passengers from the Leiden Pilgrim community,^[6] (2) a letter by Robert Cushman to Leiden Pilgrim Edward Southworth in London refers to "loving E.M." (very probably Experience Mitchell) who was apparently with Southworth at the time in preparation for the voyage to New England,^[7][8] and (3) the fact Thomas is the only Englishman with the surname Mitchell known to have been in Leiden and who was the appropriate age to have been Experience's father.
• Thomas, probably a son of this profile's Thomas Mitchell based on (1) the fact that a younger Thomas Mitchell (married about 1625) is known to have lived in Amsterdam^[9][2] and (2) the fact that a Thomas Mitchell (presumably a son of this son Thomas) wrote several letters from Amsterdam to his uncle Experience Mitchell in New England.^[2][5]
• Constant, possibly a son of this profile's Thomas Mitchell, based on her husband's nuncupative will which referred to her "brother" Experience.^[10][11] However, as discussed in Constant's profile, it is perhaps more likely that Constant was Experience's brother-in-law as a result of being the sister of Experience's second wife, Mary.

Emigration to New England?

No evidence has been found that suggests that Thomas emigrated to New Engand.

Occupation

Assuming that the 1606 marriage banns relate to this profile's Thomas Mitchell, then, as described in those banns, Thomas was a "turner", which was a person who shaped wooden or metal objects using a lathe.

Death

Thomas' date and place of death are uncertain. Since the last known record for him is the affidavit made by him in Leiden on April 15, 1622, Thomas died sometime after that date, perhaps most likely in Leiden.

^{[11] [10] [7] [8] [5] [6] [4] [3] [2] [9] [1]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Threlfall, John B. "Smedley-Mitchell Clues from Amersterdam." The American Genealogist. Volume 56 (1980). p. 98. Link to page at americanancestors.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Underhill, Altine Woodbury. Descendants of Edward Small of New England and the Allied Families with Tracing of English Ancestry. 1910. pp. 354-355.Link to page at archive.org.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Dexter, Henry Martyn and Dexter, Morton. The England and Holland of the Pilgrims. Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 1905. pp. 610, 625. Link to pages at archive.org.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Banks, Charles Edward. The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers. 1929. p. 151. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Anderson, Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes II, G-O New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995. p. 1272. Link to page at americanancestors.org.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Banks, Charles Edward. The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers. 1929. p. 135. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Burges, Walter H. John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers. Williams and Norgate, London, 1920. p. 257. Link to page at archive.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation" from the Original Manuscript. Boston, 1898. p. 86. Link to page at archive.org.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Threlfall, John B. "Smedley-Mitchell Clues from Amersterdam." The American Genealogist. Volume 56 (1980). p. 97. Link to page at americanancestors.org.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Plymouth Colony Wills, Vol. 2, Part 2, pp 5-6. Link to records at familysearch.org.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} "Plymouth Colony Wills and Inventories." The Mayflower Descendant. Volume 15. pp. 59-60. Link to pages at americanancestors.org.