Thomas West (abt. 1631 - 1720)

Born about 1631 in England

Husband of Phebe (Waters) West — married 11 Oct 1658 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Husband of Mary (Tenny) West — married 14 Oct 1674 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 23 Dec 1720 at about age 89 in Bradford, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Disputed Origins

Both James Savage^[1] and Charles Henry Pope^[2] identify the Thomas West who married Phebe Waters at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1658 with the man of that name who arrived in New England in 1634 on the Mary & John. Robert Charles Anderson disputes this identification. He points out that there are no records for a Thomas West at Salem before 1638 (whereas a man who arrived in 1634 would have received land in distributions in 1637 and 1637) or between 1644, when a Thomas West was ordered to survey a field, and 1657, when the Thomas who later married Phebe was presented at court for burglary. Anderson concludes that while the identification of Thomas West with one of these earlier men is possible, when the evidence is considered, "nothing connects either of these men to the Thomas West who appeared in Salem in 1657." ^[3]

Birth

Thomas West was born, probably in England, about 1631, based on his reported age at his death. Nothing is known of his ancestry. He was the brother of Henry West of Salem, Massachusetts, who in his will made in 1701 provides, "I give to my brother Thomas Westt if he survives me Three pounds Ten shillings which is due to me by obligation from his son Benjamin who lives at y^e Southward.”^[4] Thomas West of Salem and Bradford had a son, Benjamin (by his first wife) who was living at the “Southward,” i. e., at Enfield, Connecticut., in 1703.,

Convicted Burglar

The first appearance of this Thomas West in the records of Colonial New England is at Salem as a (probably drunken) burglar. On 31 Mar 1657, according to the records of the Essex Quarterly Court:

Benjamyn Woodrow confessed that he contrived with Thomas West to run away together, and that he was at the meeting at Jonath[an] Bullock’s house, where there were great quantities of wine and strong liquors drunk in the night to disorder, etc. The court found two burglaries committed by Thomas West, one on the Lord’s day. He stole five bushels of malt, one bushel of wheat, a pistol, and tobacco pipes. Sentenced to be whipped and pay treble the price of goods stolen.^[5]

(That he "ran away" implies that he came to New England as a servant, and since the term of servitude was usually seven years, it means he probably came sometime in the 1650s.)

As a result of the drunken party, Henry Bullock of Salem, the parent who hosted the party (and apparently not for the first time), was fined “for disorderly meetings in the night at his house by many young persons, when great quantities of wine and strong waters were drunk.”^[6]

Unfortunately for Thomas, the action of the Essex County Court did not end the matter. It was referred to the Massachusetts General Court for further action. In July of that year, the case came back to the Essex Court for trial, where Thomas was found guilty of burglary. And then, the sentence:

It being his first offense, he was ordered to be branded in the forehead with a “B” and have one of his ears cut off.^[7]

Church Membership and Freemanship

Thomas West joined the First Church at Salem on 4 Mar 1664/65.^[8] He was made a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony on 29 April 1668.^[9]

Marriages

1. Thomas West married Phebe Waters at Salem, Massachusetts, on 11 Oct 1658.^[10][11]
2. Thomas West married Mary Tenney at Salem, Massachusetts, on 14 Oct 1674.^[10][12] On 31 Jan 1677, “In consideration of the marriage of his daughter, Mary Tenney, with Thomas West of Salem, Mass., to said West, William Tenney gives deed of sixty-seven acres of land in Rowley Village, now Boxford, Mass."^[13]

Move to Bradford

The family moved from Salem to Bradford, Massachusetts, sometime between the baptism of Elizabeth West at Salem in July 1677 and the birth of Phebe West at Bradford in September 1679.^[14] In April 1682, Thomas West was one of the eighteen founding members of First Church in Bradford.^[15]

Salem Witch Trials

In 1692, Thomas West was involved in the Salem witchcraft trials. He was one of four men who “searched the body” of 72-year-old George Jacobs Sr., who had been accused of witchcraft, after Jacobs was arrested and stripped naked. Their report:

Wee whose names are under written having r’ceived an order from the shreife for to search the bodyes of George Burroughs and George Jacobs. wee find nothing upon the body of the above sayd burroughs but w’t is naturall: but upon the body of George Jacobs wee find 3. Tetts w’ch according to the best of our Judgements wee think is not naturall for wee run a pin through 2 of them and he was not sinceible of it: one of them being within his mouth upon the Inside of his right shoulder balde and a 3’rd upon his right hipp.

Based partly on this report, Jacobs was convicted of witchcraft and hanged on 19 August 1692.^[16]

Death and Burial

Thomas West died at Bradford, Massachusetts, on 23 Dec 1720 at the age of 89.^[17] He was buried at the Ancient Burying Ground in Bradford, where his inscription (visible in 1901) read "Here lyes buried the body of Mr. Thomas West who died December ye 23 1720 & in the 90 year of his age."^[18]

Probate

Thomas West died intestate, and administration of his estate was granted to his widow, Mary West, by the Essex County court on 2 Jun 1721.^[19] On 12 Jun 1721, the surviving children of Thomas West acknowledged their receipt of the proceeds of the estate in a document signed by Joseph West, Zachariah and Pheboe Easman. John West, Anthony and Elizabeth Colbe, and Richard Kimball as the attorney of Benjamin West.^[20] On 4 Nov 1722, Samuel West (probably the posthumous son of Thomas and Phebe West's son Samuel) acknowledged receipt of his share of the estate of his grandfather, Thomas West.^[21]

Sources

1. ↑ James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer’s Register (4 volumes,(Boston, 1860-1862), 4:488
2. ↑ Charles Henry Pope, ''The Pioneers of Massachusetts: A Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns, and Churches, and Other Contemporaneous Documents (Boston, 1900, 487)
3. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-35, (seven volumes, (Boston, 1999-2011), VII:302
4. ↑ Will made on 3 Feb 1700/1, in the probate file of Henry West at Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, online database, AmericanAncestors.org, 29341:7(From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)
5. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts (Salem, Mass.:1911-1912), 2:38
6. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts (Salem, Mass.:1911-1912), 2:39
7. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts (Salem, Mass.:1911-1912), 2:68
8. ↑ Richard D. Pierce, ed., The records of the First Church in Salem, Massachusetts, 1629-1736 (Salem, 1974), 108
9. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts (Salem, Mass.:1911-1912), 4:38
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Vital Records of Salem, Mass., to the end of the year 1849 (six volumes, Salem, Mass., 1924-25), 4:455
11. ↑ Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, database with images, FamilySearch, Essex > County wide > County court births, marriages, deaths 1654-1795 > image 272 of 610; town clerk offices, Massachusetts.
12. ↑ Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, database with images, FamilySearch, Essex > County wide > County court births, marriages, deaths 1654-1795 > image 274 of 610; town clerk offices, Massachusetts.
13. ↑ Internet site, “More About Thomas West (1630/1631-1720) of Salem and Bradford” (accessed 18 Aug 2019 by Stu Bloom), citing Ipswich Deeds, Volume 4:267
14. ↑ Internet site, “More About Thomas West (1630/1631-1720) of Salem and Bradford” (accessed 18 Aug 2019 by Stu Bloom), citing Essex Conty Deeds, 4:621
15. ↑ John Dennison Kingsbury, Memorial history of Bradford, Mass., from the earliest period to the close of 1882 (Haverhill, Mass., 1883), 35
16. ↑ Internet site, “Wests in Essex County, Massachusetts: Connections to the Sales Witch Trials,” citing “Physical Examination of George Burroughs and George Jacobs Jr.,” Salem Witchcraft Papers. (accessed ~~~~) There was another Thomas West in Essex County at this time, but the compiler of the website gives reasons why he is probably not the “Tom West” called on to examine George Jacobs.
17. ↑ Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849, (Topsfield, Mass., 1907), 370, citing his gravestone for his age at his death
18. ↑ "Bradford Inscriptions," The Essex Antiquarian, 5:154 (1901)
19. ↑ Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, online database. AmericanAncestors.org, 29383:3 (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)
20. ↑ Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, online database. AmericanAncestors.org, 29383:7 (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)
21. ↑ Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, online database. AmericanAncestors.org, 29383:2 (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)

See also::

• Well-documented details of the lives of the sons of Thomas West by his first marriage to Phebe Waters, additional details about the life of Thomas West, and commentary on efforts to connect Thomas and his brother Henry to English records appears on the Internet page "WEST DNA Family Project - FG#5"
• Richardson, Douglas. The Tenney Family of Lincolnshire and Rowley, Massachusetts, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1997) Vol. 151, Page 340.