Is this will sufficient proof that Thomas Blachley (Blatchley-43) was the father of Thomas Blatchley (Blatchley-20)

Question

Thomas Blatchley (Blatchley-20) is a Great Migration emigrant who appears in Connecticut by 1640.  Anderson's entry for him in the Great Migration Directory indicates that his origins are unknown.  However, a WT researcher has proposed that he was the son of Thomas Blachley (Blatchley-43) of Colerne, Wiltshire, England, based on his 1668 noncupative will which identified a son Thomas then living in New England.  An image of the will is available on Ancestry.com here for those with a subscription; a sharing link is here.

Do others agree that this will is sufficient evidence to support a claim that the Connecticut man was the son of this Thomas?

Answer 1

Thanks for posting the Will so that the community could see it, and posting the source on the profile.   It certainly is interesting and a great find.  Probates are valuable sources in helping build these connections. How many Thomas Blatchley’s are there in colonial New England, probably not many!  Being an amateur, I would call it sufficient, and make a research note.  Who knows what will be found in the future to debunk it or prove it beyond a doubt?  I would also continue to research the siblings to see if other info surfaces.  I’m bias as he is my 9th great grandfather and I would love to see him connected to Old England.  I trust the more seasoned genealogists of WikiTree to making that decision.  Thanks to the WTer who found it and for sharing it with everyone!

Answer 2

As I posted on the profile, finding a will which refers to the child as then living in New England is extremely good evidence that the English origins of the immigrant have been discovered. Many English origin connections are based on less than this. The chances that the son named in the will are not the immigrant to New England are negligibly small. Congratulations to Upton Criddington on identifying the parents and English origins of Thomas Blatchley of New Haven, Connecticut.

Comments

I agree, it seems like very strong evidence to me, unless there was more than one Thomas Blatchley/etc. living in New England in 1668.  I'm not familiar enough with this family to know whether that's the case.

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I think it’s a reasonable assumption to make and I would say the will is definite proof.

Ann

Answer 3

Thank you everyone for the feedback, and especially to Upton for this new addition to the research on this family.  I have attached that father to the profile.