Thomas
Wickes
aka Wicks, Wilks, Wilkes
Born in Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Unknown (Unknown) Wickes
— married
before 1642 [location unknown]
Descendants 
Father of
Rebecca (Wickes) Rogers, Thomas Wickes, Martha (Wickes) Conklin, John Wickes, Mary (Wickes) Seeley and Sarah (Wickes) Williams
Died before
before age 58
in Huntington, Long Island, New York Colony
Profile managers:
Norm Davis 
[send private message], Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], and Chaz Gormley [send private message]
[send private message], Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], and Chaz Gormley [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 15 Sep 2013
This page has been accessed 3,440 times.
There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's spouse. See the text for details.
| Thomas Wickes migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 372) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Disambiguation This Thomas WICKES of Huntington, Long Island should not be confused with Thomas Weekes of Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.
Biography
Thomas Wickes immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Huntington, Long Island
Thomas was born on 29 Jul 1612 in the suburb of Shottery, Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, England. Thomas Wickes died at Huntington, Long Island, New York Colony between 03 July 1670 and 19 March 1670/71. On 19 March 1671 letters of Administration were granted to the "widow Wickes".
He was recorded as one of the earliest settlers of Weathersfield in the Connecticut Colony. On 30 Oct 1640, he and 19 other men there, including Rev. Richard Denton purchased Rippowanes (now Stamford. CT) from the Indians, on condition that they settle there by November 1641. Thomas was part of the first group of settlers in Stamford, Connecticut in 1641. Except for his original agreement to settle there and some very early tax information, there are no further records of Thomas Wickes in Stamford.
In 1643-1644 many Stamford settlers soon left Connecticut, with the Rev. Richard Denton to settle a community on Long Island, New York (now Hempstead). An undated summary of the rights of the original proprietors of Hempstead included a section of considerable property "Laid Out to the Propriety Right and blank of Thomas Wilks Ye Following Parcells of land viz". A reconstructed overall listing of those proprietors that appeared in the same published volume of Hempstead Records included the name of "Thomas Hicks", which has more recently been shown to be an error for the correct name, "Thomas Wilks".
By roughly 1642 he had married an unknown wife. (See Research Notes). Their children included ...
- Thomas Wickes (probably oldest son) "Captain"
- Rebecca Wickes (eldest daughter) m: Jonathan Rogers
- John Wickes m: Hester Ketcham
- Elizabeth Wickes m: John Ketcham (son of Mary and John Ketcham)
- Mary Wickes m: (probably) Jonas Seiler
- Martha Wickes m: John Wood
- Sarah Wickes m: Thomas Brush.
On 30 July 1656, Jonas Wood, William Rogers and Thomas "Wilkes" purchased land from some Native American Indians (including Sachem and Asharoken Montinnicok) "for and in consideration of 2 coates, fore shertes, seven quarts of licker and aleven ounces of powther". The major portion of this land would become the new settlement of Huntington, Long Island, Suffolk County, New York which was settled by ten families.
On 7 June 1662 at a town meeting in Huntington, Long Island, Suffolk County, New York it was decided to require that any new settlers desiring to purchase lands in that town, be first reviewed and approved by a committee consisting of Mr. Leverge (the minister), William Smith, Thomas Weekes, John Lum, Goodman (Thomas) Jones, James Chichester and Jonas Wood.
There is no question that his name was spelled both Wicks/Wickes and Wilks/Wilkes. A perfect transcription of the records demonstrated that the recorder, while not being completely consistent, nevertheless made a clear effort to give spellings of the surname variations. The spelling "Wickes" is used herein to reflect the most common usage of his descendants.
Thomas Wickes was a patentee and significant landholder in Huntington, Long Island, Suffolk County, New York. in 1669 the land holdings of Thomas Wickes [1] (and those of his son and namesake [2]) were recorded by Joseph Bailey (whose own name was often spelled Bayley or even Baiely) in the official records of the Town of Huntington, Long Island, Suffolk County, New York. This listing described 9 separate parcels scattered throughout the town, the largest being about 8 acres "Late in the tenor or ocupacon of Noah Rogers but since estrainged to Thomas Wilks". Noah Rogers was a brother of jonathan Rogers who married Thomas Wickes' eldest daughter, Rebecca.
Thomas Wickes made his last Will on 3 July 1670 at Huntington, Long Island, Suffolk County, New York which mentioned ...
- - unnamed wife to receive the use of 1/3 of his "accommodations" for her life
- - then to son John
- - son Thomas
- - daughters Rebecca and Martha and their children (married surnames not mentioned)
- - children Elizabeth, Mary and Sarah
- - witnesses: Samuel Wood and Caleb Wood
- - executors: Isaac Platt and Thomas Powell.
Thomas Wickes died at Huntington, Long Island, New York Colony between 03 July 1670 and 19 March 1670/71. On 19 March 1671 letters of Administration were granted to the "widow Wickes".
In 1724 his son Thomas Wickes of Huntington, Long Island, Suffolk County, New York made a quit claim deed to Joseph Smith of Hempstead for "all Such right Estate title Interest and Demand Whatsoever as he the said Thomas Wickes had or ought to have of in or to all those tracts of parcels of Land and Meadow Land With all those Rights of Land Within the Township of Hempstead that did formerly belong to Thomas Wickes of Hempstead formerly, deceased, by any ways or Means Whatsoever".
Research Notes
Disputed Spouse-Isabel Harcourt: Isabella Harcourt has been disconnected from this profile, pending more substantial documentation. According to "The American Genealogist" (TAG 9:79 (1932)), Thomas's supposed wife, Isabella Harcourt, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Potter) married Thomas Weekes of Oyster Bay, son of Francis, NOT Thomas Wilkes/"so-called" Wickes of Huntington: "The statement to the effect that he [Thomas Wilks/Wicks of Huntington] married Isabella, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Potter) Harcourt of Oyster Bay appears to be without foundation, as the said lady was the wife of Thomas Weekes of Oyster Bay, son of Francis and Elizabeth."[3] The error seems to stem from a conflation with Thomas Weekes of Oyster Bay, starting with James Savage in 1862, with A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, as noted by Stephen Wickes in Thomas Weekes, emigrant to America 1635...: "Savage in his N. E. Genealogies says, "Removed to Oyster Bay, before 1645, there died 1671." The latter is an error, as he was of Huntington, in 1662. Savage says, "It is probably he who married Isabel, daughter of Richard Harcut.""[4] This has led to much confusion about Isabel's parentage and birth date, as Thomas Weekes of Oyster Bay was a generation younger. If you have evidence showing otherwise, please discuss in the comments.
Thomas Weekes of Oyster Bay is a different person from Thomas Wickes of Hungtington: This Thomas WICKES should not be confused with Thomas WEEKS of Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.
Other Wickes (Weekes, et al) profiles appear to be conflated from secondary sources. Author Stephen Wickes references the 1883 book by R. D. Wickes in concluding that six Weekes males arrived at Plymouth between 1634-1635 ...
- Francis, George, Matthew, Joseph, Joseph, and Thomas
- On various ships ...
- 1634 on the "Expedition" Symon Weeks age 16 (from Dartmouth, England)
- 1635 on the "Expedition" to Barbadoes Thomas Weekes age 25
- 1635 on the "Primrose" Jo. Wicks age 26
- 1635 on the "Hopewell" ...
- Jo. Weekes age 26
- Maria Weeks age 28
- Anna Weeks age 1yr.
in 1848 John. M. Weeks of Salisbury Vermont wrote that family tradition stated four brothers, "not married", landed at Plymouth Colony; one went south, one went west, two remained at Plymouth where one drowned. Parsing the family tradition with official records kept at the British colonies, John Weeks concluded that the four brothers who came to Dorchester in 1635 were ...
- George Weeks remained in Dorchester
- Francis Weeks settled at Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York
- Thomas Weeks settled at Long Island, New York
- Joseph Weeks was drowned.
The presence of both Weekes brothers on Long Island has led to considerable confusion in the relationships of their descendants. Later migration of their descendants to points north and west have led to additional co-mingling of records and great care must be taken when associating members of this Long Island line with others. The "other" Thomas was born about 1615. He also passed away about 1671.
At Watertown?: This profile previously claimed immigration in 1635 on the Expedition, and then a record in Watertown the same year (without a source). There was a Thomas Weekes among passengers for the Expedition, but the destination was Barbadoes not New England.[5] The Great Migration Directory lists the first known location of Thomas Wickes as Wethersfield in 1640. Even if there was a source supporting a Thomas Wickes in Watertown in 1635, there would need to be additional support connecting him to the man in 1640 Wethersfield.
Sources
- ↑ "Record of the lands and medow of Thomas Wilks (Wickes), Senr. in the year 1669".
- ↑ "Record of the Lands and medow of Thomas Wilks (Wicks), Junior, in the yeare 1669".
- ↑ Smith, Herbert F. "Weeks and Wickes of Long Island." The American Genealogist vol 9 (1932), p 79. FamilySearch FHL Film#008128263
- ↑ Wickes Stephen. Thomas Weekes Emigrant to America 1635 : And the Lineage of His Descendant Thomas Wickes of Huntington Long Island. Publisher Not Identified 1904. p 18.Internet Archive.
- ↑ Hotten, John Camden. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality (J.W. Bouton, New York, 1874) Internet Archive.
- 1883 "Wicks-Weeks Genealogy" by R. D. Weekes Internet Archive/
- "Thomas Weeks and the Wickes Family of Long Island" by Stephen W. Wickes, M.D. of Orange County, New York.
- "A genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England" v 3 p 353 by James Savage 1784-1873. vol 4, p 539 Wickes entry and p 454 Weekes entry
- "Corrections and Additions - Harcutt - Halstead-Townsend Vol 65, 247, lines 16-18." New York Genealogical & Biographical Record v 66 p 91 View on FamilySearch, FHL Film # 008595661, image 345.
- Connecticut Ancestry v50 #2, Nov 2007.
- "Cox, Cocks, Cock Family in America" by George William Cocks in 1912 New York.
- Ancestry and Posterity of Joseph Davis by William Church Davis (see comments in Notes regarding high degree of reliability of this source).
- "Thomas Weekes, Emigrant to America 1635 and the Lineage of his Descendant Thomas Wickes of Huntington, Long Island" by Stephen Wickes in 1881 & published in 1904.
- Family history compiled by Herbert Armstrong Poole from 1905 to 1960 & transcribed in 1998 by AAA Maitland & submitted by Richard Harcourt - Subject 306, P1 (289) 22/4/1953
- Thomas Weekes at geni.com
- records at ancestry.com
See Also: sources from The Great Migration Directory, p. 372 (source key found here: [1]
- WetLR 1:146 FamilySearch catalog
- SmTR 4 FamilySearch catalog
- Suffolk Sessions 18-19 Records of the Court of Sessions of Suffolk County in the Province of New York, 1670-1688 FamilySearch Catalog
- Wickham-Billard 107-108 FamilySearch Book: 604319
- TAG 9:77-78 (clue) FamilySearch FHL Film#008128263 Note: 77-78 relates to Thomas Weekes. The clue appears on 79, and is the Stratford on Avon connection, which suggests Anderson considers it plausible but not proven.
- https://sites.rootsweb.com/~rclarke/page1/wickes-t.htm (primary sources not available)
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Categories: Puritan Great Migration | PGM Beyond New England
edited by Michael Schroeder
edited by Rick Pierpont
Proposal to remove Isabel Harcourt as wife and mother of the children of Thomas Wickes has been posted in g2g. We'd appreciate any thoughts you have on the subject: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1611846/isabella-harcourt-immigrant-watertown-wethersfield-stamford
"Disputed Parent: ...her father's supposed wife Isabel Harcourt remains strongly disputed by present-day genealogists (as of 2022). Mother: Her mother remains UNKNOWN based on the most recent genealogy research from the Connecticut Ancestry Society, wherein, regarding the wife of Rebecca's father, genealogist Frederick Hart Jr. states: The name of his wife has not been determined, although Seversmith felt it was possible that she was related to Jonas Wood 'Oram.' Thomas [so-called] 'Wicks' and Jonas Wood 'Oram' were certainly closely associated in Huntington records and shared many boundaries with each other.[1] According to "The American Genealogist" (TAG 9:79 (1932)), Rebecca's supposed mother, Isabella Harcourt, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Potter) married Thomas Weekes of Oyster Bay, son of Francis, NOT Thomas Wilkes/"so-called" Wickes of Huntington. Additionally, it is noted Wilkes may have been the son of Edward Wilks and Katheren Rogers of Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon. Furthermore, Thomas wrote his own surname as Wilkes/Wilks, the surname also noted by Huntington Town recorders in town records as Wilkes, Wilks, Wicks, and Wickes. [2] There are NO sources of quality or circumstantial support for Isabella Harcourt's marriage to Thomas Wilkes of Huntington, Long Island. Profile Changes: While acknowledging the debate, due to the doubt that remains from modern genealogists (as of 2022) that her mother was Isabel Harcourt, the profile has since been detached but can be accessed via the inline text link.
edited by Michael Schroeder
In this case, perhaps labeling spouse Isabella as "uncertain" in the names&dates section with a quick edit in the bio could suffice. She is a real person. This edit would also need to be done in Thomas' profile. I can't comment on whether removing her altogether from these profiles would be appropriate, but it appears unlikely that she is the spouse.
As an aside, I've seen so very many instances in these older profiles where the information in the names&dates sections are inconsistent or even conflicting with the information in the narrative sections, particularly the bios. These inconsistencies themselves generate questions. Is there a generally accepted way to resolve these inconsistencies? Many of these profiles are locked.
There is some uncertainty about when to use the "uncertain" attachments. Particularly for these early immigrants, there's often at least a little uncertainty, but at a minimum, there should be at least a reasonable theory, beyond matching names and dates if we're going to make any connections.
I'll post a g2g and propose removing her as the spouse/mother, and see if there are any further comments.
As far as working with locked/project-protected profiles.... project protection locks the connections, but it doesn't mean that it's closed to edits. If you have a reliable source to add or need to fix a typo, or want to do additional work on a profile that's certainly welcome. Consistency between the data sections and the bio is important...and there's a lot to be fixed. Though, it's important that there be a reliable source to support the fact in question.
Adding a comment is always fine, but I hope as you get a little more experience that you'll feel comfortable making those edits yourself (with the support of reliable sources). As you've probably noticed, sometimes it can take a while for a comment to get converted to action.
edited by M Cole
Also, according to the TAG article, Thomas "so-called" Wickes, but he was literate and consistently wrote his name as Wilks in Huntington Town Records. This article says he may have been the son of Edward Wilkes, by his wife Katheren Rogers, of Shottery in Stratford-on-Avon.
edited by S (Hill) Willson
I am less inclined to agree with the "Wilks" explanation, which is more conjecture than record-based. There are few records of WIlks/Wilkes family members in Suffolk County, but of course they could have anglicized the name to Wickes soon after arriving.
I did not pursue Thomas' lineage beyond what is there, for precisely the reasons you stated. He is something of a mystery, for sure.
Since Thomas Wickes migrated in 1635 he is eligible to be in the Puritan Great Migration Project. As well, since he left New England for Long Island he is a PGM Beyond New Englander.
I'll add the PGM project and the PGM Beyond sticker.
Please continue to watch over and work on this profile as you have done in the past. Thank you.
To assist, I've added some sources under "see also" that are listed in the Great Migration Directory.