Thomas Hungerford (abt. 1603 - abt. 1663)

Husband of Hannah (Willey) Spencer — married about 1658 (to about 1662) in New London, New London Co CT

Descendants

Died about 1663 at about age 60 in New London, New London, Connecticut

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Thomas Hungerford migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed Genealogy

It has been argued that Thomas' father was John Hungerford of Cadnam, Bremhill, Wiltshire. Although John Hungerford had a son named Thomas Hungerford, that Thomas was a barrister in England, and married, had children, and died in England, and as far as is known, never traveled to New England. (See his profile for more information proving he was the son of John and not the New England immigrant.)

Biography

Birth & Origins

Thomas' birth date and place, and parents, are unknown. He was most likely born in England, probably no later than 1618, as he was a landowner in Hartford by 1639.^[1]

Immigration to New England

Although not an original proprieter, Thomas was one of the first settlers^[2] and owned Lot 74 in Hartford^[3] by 1639 which lot was "on the west side of Burr street and Albany's turnpike...northerly from Trumbull street."^[4]

Marriages & Children

Thomas married twice, his first wife's name is not known (she supposedly died by 2 Nov 1657, in New London, CT), but they most likely married by about 1648,^[5] the approximate birth year of their supposed first son, Thomas. Together they had:

1. Thomas Hungerford Jr. b. ~1648, d. ~1713.
2. Sarah Hungerford b. ~1654

He married second Hannah Willey by about 1658 in New London, CT.^[6] She was the daughter of Isaac Willey and Joanna (Lutten) Willey. She died about 1681 in Haddam, CT. Together they had one daughter:

1. Hannah (Hungerford) Ross b. ~1659, d. after1719)

Life In America

Thomas owned the following parcel of land, recorded Feb 1639 (transcribed into modern English): "One parcel lying in the west field containing by estimation one acre & two rods be it more or less which he bought of Thomas Hongerfell abutting the highway on the north & on Thomas Hongerfells land on the east & on Renall Marvens land on the west..."^[7] The following items need to be sourced:

• In the Hartford land inventory of 1 January 1639/40, he owned three parcels of land: one acre and two roods on which his dwelling house stood located as a triangular lot between the road from Centinel Hill to the Cow Pasture, the road to Brick Hill, and the road to the West Field; a parcel of swamp at Podunk; and one acre and two roods in the West Field.
• In May 1652 he sold his property in Hartford.
• By 25 Feb 1650/1 he had applied for a house lot in New London, receiving such "on the Bank next above Thomas Stanton’s."
• In 1652 he was a Constable in New London.
• He owned land in Stonington but does not appear to have lived there.

Death & Burial

Thomas died by 1 May 1663 as that is when the inventory of his estate was taken, and the estate was settled 10 May 1664. {needs citation}

Research Notes

Added the following comment provided by Lucy (Selvaggio) Selvaggio-Diaz on 16 Apr 2022:

"Thomas Hungerford appears to be the brother of Anne (Hungerford) Leigh, wife ofJohn Leigh. According to the genealogy published 1888, a letter from Thomas to his sister was dated 1657. It was discovered among family papers. In it, he discusses visiting his sister in Ipswich, Massachusetts with his daughter, Sarah. He desires to leave his daughter with Anne to raise. This is apparently in preparation for his second marriage. Sarah seems to have been left with Anne and is mentioned in the Last Will & Testament of John Leigh in 1671. Or perhaps she just came to them upon the death of her father in 1663. https://archive.org/details/johnleighofagawa00leew/page/84/mode/2up"

Sources

1. ↑ William Smith Porter, Historical Notices of Connecticut No. 1, Containing Hartford in 1640 (Hartford: Elihu Geer's Press, 1842); image of p. 10 at InternetArchive.org. Text: "In addition to the above, the following persons had been owners of lots previous to 1G39, and had either sold them, or forfeited them to the town, by not settling or removing, contrary to the conditions of their grant."
2. ↑ William Smith Porter, Historical Notices of Connecticut No. 1, Containing Hartford in 1640 (Hartford: Elihu Geer's Press, 1842); ]https://archive.org/details/historicalnotice01port/page/10/mode/2up image of p. 10] at InternetArchive.org. Text: "In addition to the above, the following persons had been owners of lots previous to 1G39, and had either sold them, or forfeited them to the town, by not settling or removing, contrary to the conditions of their grant."
3. ↑ William Smith Porter, Historical Notices of Connecticut No. 1, Containing Hartford in 1640 (Hartford: Elihu Geer's Press, 1842); ]https://archive.org/details/historicalnotice01port/page/24/mode/2up image of p. 24] at InternetArchive.org.
4. ↑ William Smith Porter, Historical Notices of Connecticut No. 1, Containing Hartford in 1640 (Hartford: Elihu Geer's Press, 1842); ]https://archive.org/details/historicalnotice01port/page/20/mode/2up image of p. 21] at InternetArchive.org.
5. ↑ Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 AmAncestors, 2:819 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), p. 819, entry for Thomas Hungerford by subscription at AmericanAncestors.org.
6. ↑ Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 AmAncestors, 2:819 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), p. 819, entry for Thomas Hungerford by subscription at AmericanAncestors.org.
7. ↑ Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society 14:86 (Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1912); image of p. 86 at FamilySearch.org.

• Barbour, Lucius Barnes, 1982, Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut, Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., Baltimore, Maryland and Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc., Glastonbury, Connecticut pp.705
• Himebaugh, Maria Walton, 1913. Hungerford Genealogy: A Genealogical & Biographical Record of the Hungerford Family in England, Ireland, Canada and United States. Privately published, Wichita, Kansas, pages 36-45 (#1)
• Lee, William John, Leigh of Agawam [Ipswich] Massachusetts, 1634-1671 : and his descendants of the name of Lee (Albany: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1888); [1] at InternetArchive.org.
• Rixford, Elizabeth M. Leach. Three hundred colonial ancestors and war service : their part in making American history from 495 to 1934. Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle Co., 1934. via Ancestry.com (book pages 170-171).
• Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford, https://www.foundersofhartford.org/the-founders/thomas-hungerford/