Thomas Boyden (abt. 1613 - aft. 1678)

Born about 1613 in England

Husband of Hannah (Phillips) Boyden — married 3 Nov 1658 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England

Descendants

Died after Apr 1678 after about age 65 in Medfield, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England

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Thomas Boyden migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 1, p. 366) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Thomas Boyden was born about 1613, likely in England, and sailed from Ipswich to New England in April, 1634 aboard the ship Francis, first settling at Scituate. ^[1] He is listed as aged 21 on the passenger list. ^[2][3]

His occupation was that of planter, but later was listed as a 'carter' or carrier of goods. ^[1]

• 1634: Arrived at Scituate, then part of Plymouth Colony. ^[1]
• 1635: May 17: Thomas Boyden, 'Brother Gilson's servant', joined the church at Scituate. ^{[1] [4]}
• 1639: Thomas removed to Watertown. ^[1]
• 1644: November 21: Thomas purchased 2 acres of meadow in Watertown. ^[1]
• 1647: May 26: Made a freeman. ^[1]
• 1650: April 21: When his son john was baptized at Boston, Thomas was a member of the church at Watertown. ^{[1] [5]}
• 1650: Removed to Boston. ^[1]
• 1651: March 27: Sold his 30 acre lot in the Watertown great dividend to William Clarke. ^[1]
• 1653/4: February 24: Thomas and wife Frances exchanged 2 acres of land and £5 for 3 acres of pasture in the 'New Field' at Boston. ^[1]
• 1659/60: February 24, Thomas Boyden, Boston carter, and wife Hannah, 7 acres of upland and meadow in Boston to Joshua Scottow. ^[1]
• 1659/60: March 12: Surveyor of Highways at Boston. ^[1]
• 1661: October 18: Thomas Boyden of Medfied, posted bond of £300, together with the house, upland and meadow now in his possession, inheritance of the late Joseph Morse, and agreed to pay Edward Rawson £180. ^[6]
• 1661/2: Thomas was of Medfield. ^[1]
• 1662: September 12: Thomas and Hannah sold their dwelling house, barn, gardens and orchards in Boston to Simon Lynde. ^[1]
• 1664: October 9: Thomas was one of the signers of a petition to the General Court, in allowing the residents to establish the official founding of Medfield. ^[7]
• 1665: June 27: The bond agreed to regarding the estate of Joseph Morse, would be void by the courts, if Thomas met the conditions of the maintenance of the Morse children, including teaching the sons to read and write, and to pay them at age or marriage the sums of inheritance decided by the Court in May 1661. ^[6]
• 1678: April 30: Served on the Suffolk 'petit jury'. ^[1]
• 1678: April 28: Thomas contributed 'one bushel of corn' towards the funding of building Harvard College. ^[1]
• 1679: April : Again on the 'petit jury.' ^[1]

He married first, by 1639, Frances (unk). Frances died at Boston on March 17, 1657/8. ^{[1] [5]}

After Frances' death, he married Hannah (Philips) Morse, widow of Joseph at Boston on November 3, 1658. ^{[5] [1]}

Hannah and her husband Thomas, appeared in court on more than one occasion regarding the estate settlement and the bringing up of her eight Morse children. Boyden agreed to maintain the children until they come of age, teach them to read and write, and if the boys choose, to select trades. A division of the estate was settled among the heirs, so that each child would receive their portion at age or marriage. ^{[8] [1][6]}

His wife Hannah died on October 3, 1676 at Medfield. ^{[1] [9]}

Hannah wrote her own will on October 3, 1676 and divided her estate among the eight Morse children, being:

• sons Samuel, Joseph and Jeremiah Morse
• daughters Hannah Flood, Sarah Lawrence, Dorcas Clarke, Elizabeth Lawrence and Mary Plimpton. ^{[8] [1]}

Thomas died sometime after April, 1678/9. ^[1]

Children by Frances

1. Thomas born at Watertown on September 26, 1639; married Martha Holden by 1667. ^[1]
2. Mary born October 15, 1641. ^[1]
3. John baptized at Boston April 21, 1650. ^{[5] [1]}
4. Jonathan born at Boston of February 20, 1651/2; married Mary Clark at Medfield on September 26, 1673. ^{[5] [1]}
5. Sarah born October 12, 1654. ^{[5] [1]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28} Anderson, Robert C. Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume I, A-B, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 2003 p. 366-7: 96 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.)
2. ↑ Hotten: James C. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men sold for a term of years; apprentices; children stolen; maidens pressed; and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700 : with their ages and the names of the ships in which they embarked, and other interesting particulars; from mss. preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office, England, London, England, 1874 p. 279
3. ↑ Focus on Identification in: Great Migration Newsletter, Vol. 17, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 2008 p. 11(Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.)
4. ↑ Scituate and Barnstable Church Records in: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 9, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 1855, p. 279
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5} Appleton, William S., editor. Boston Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths 1630-1699, Registry Dept. City of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, Rockwell & Churchill, 1883 City Document 130: p. 31: 33: 46: 66: 68
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Abstracts of the Earliest Wills of Suffolk in: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 1876 p. 433
7. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 13, NEHGS, Boston Massachusetts, 1859 p. 346
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Joseph Morse (1613-1654) in: Early New England Families, 1641 – 1700. Volume 1. p. -5 (Original Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. (By Alicia Crane Williams, Lead Genealogist.)
9. ↑ Vital Records of Medfield Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Publ. by The New England Historic Genealogical Register Boston 1903 p. 195

• Added information from Sharon, Massachusetts, history and genealogy researcher Nick Dann, 14 Dec 2017.

From Thomas Boyden and His Descendants Pgs. 5 - 8:

Thomas Boyden is the ancestor of all who by birth have been borne the name in America, with a few exceptions occurring during the last fifty years. He embarked for New England in the ship 'Francis' from Ipswich, Suffolk County, England, in April, 1634, having taken the oath of allegiance and supremacy before His Majesty's officers according to the order of the Lords of his Privy Council. He was then twenty-one years of age, as stated in the list of passengers.

Everything known clearly indicates that the family was long established in England. James Guilt, in his Encyclopedia of Architecture in the list of famous early Architects, gives the name of William Boyden as Architect of the Chapel of the Virgin at St. Alban's Abbey in the 13th century. The surname has frequently been found in English recordsduring the past three centuries, and there is a village in Suffolk called Boyden, where are located certain estates enumerated in the will of an English nobleman.

Of the parentage, birthplace, or history of Thomas previous to embarkation, nothing has been found. No mention of that period of his life has appeared in any existing records of the several towns where he resided, viz.; Scituate, Watertown, Boston, Groton, and Medfield. From histories of those places, and from private, town, and other public records, the following facts have been gleaned: ---

In 1635 he was in the service of William Gilson, of Scituate (Plymouth Colony), who was a large tax-payer in 1633, one of the founders of the church there in January, 1635, and builder of the first windmill in the Colony for grinding corn, which before that time was pounded. As William Gilson located in that place about 1631, it is not an improbable conjecture that some previous acquaintance existed, and induced Thomas to emigrate and engage in his employ.

The admission of Thomas to the church in Scituate, May 17, 1635, is found in the church records. Just how long he remained there, and when or where he was married to Frances _____, his first wife, is unknown. He next appears as living in Watertown, where the birth of a son Thomas, Sept. 26, 1639, is recorded in the town records. He transferred his church membership to the First Church in Watertown, and was made a Freeman May 23, 1647. Three other children are recorded as having been born in Watertown.

In 1650 he was of Boston, as appears in a deed dated 27. 1. 1650, granting and conveying a certain lot of land in Watertown, of thirty acres more or less, to Wm. Clarke of Watertown, recorded in Suffolk Deeds, Lib. I. He continued to live in Boston for several years, and two children were born there and baptized in the First Church, as appears in the church and town records. The death of his wife Frances stands in Boston records as occurring March 17, 1658, and is also found in the Medfield records. On Nov. 3, 1658, he was married in Boston by Gov. Bellingham to Hannah (Phillips) Morse, widow of Joseph Morse. The Boston records also show that "at general town meeting, upon public notice from house to house, town officers were chosen 12. 1. 1659/60." Thomas Boyden was at that time chosen one of the Highway Surveyors. This is the only public service rendered by him. of which any record has been found.

By a deed dated Feb. 14, 1659, Thomas Boyden, of Boston, and Hannah, his wife, granted and conveyed unto Joshua Scottow, seven acres of upland and meadow in Muddy River (now Brookline) in Boston, entered and recorded Aug. 22, 1760, in Suffolk Deeds, Lib. III, p. 390.

In 1660 there was a settlement of the Morse estate, and the eldest son having received his portion, the Court allowed Thomas Boyden to improve the estates of the rest of his wife's children till they should be of age. It was afterwards agreed that he should have all the lands and houses, and pay to each of the children, when of age, the sum of £26.13.4, and he was to see that the "sonnes" were taught to read and write. For the execution of this obligation he, "late of Boston, now of Medfield," gave a bond to the Judge of Probate in the sum of £180, dated June 27, 1665.

On the 12th of Sept., 1662, Thomas Boyden of Medfield and Hannah, his wife, sold "their dwelling house, barn, garden, and orchard thereto belonging, and lately dwelt in, situate at the entrance of Sudbury Lane, Boston, to Simon Lynde of Boston, Merchant," and conveyed the premises by a deed recorded in Suffolk Deeds, Lib. IV, p.61. He removed at some unknown date to Groton, where he had an original proprietor's right of seven acres of land, and was living there Sept. 21, 1666, when he bought of Benjamin Crispé of Watertown, a dwelling house, etc., with seven acres, and several other parcels of land amounting to ninety-two acres. July 25, 1670, he, then of Watertown, sold to Martin Townsend for £60, the house and land he bought of Benj. Crispé; also the two other lots containing seventy-three acres. The house in Medfield, which originally belonged to tye Morse heirs, and which became the Boyden homestead, was on what is now Pound Street, The town records show that in 1678 he subscribed "one bushel of wheat to the new brick college" (Harvard), joining many other ctizens contributing similar commodities in aid os a building partly completed. In 1682 he was chosen tithing-man+ in Medfield, after which nothing more is said of him. His wife Hannah died Oct. 3, 1676. No record of his death has been found, nor any settlement of his estate. Their children - the first four born in Watertown, the last two in Boston - were:

i. 2. Thomas (2), b. Sept. 26, 1639.

ii. Mary (2), b. Oct. 15, 1641.

iii. Rebecca (2), b. Nov. 1, 1643.

iv. Nathaniel (2), b. _____, 1651.

v. 3. Jonathan (2), b. Feb. 20, 1652.

vi. Sarah (2), b. Oct. 12, 1654.

+The tithing-man of Massachusetts was, primarily, the head man of a neighborhood of ten families, at least; elected by the inhabitants in their several precincts, as was provided for by the Act of the General Court in 1679. He was not a collector of the tithes, it seems, as the name might imply, but a conservator of the peace, having an oversight of his particular families, in general, of their delinquencies and ill-behavior. The duties of this official appear to have been distinguished from that of a constable in that it had a more intimate control and oversight of families and the morals of their respective neighborhoods, having a greater home power, more of a character of a fatherly inspection and guidance.

From appended version by John K. Boyden, Pg. 1.:

Preceded by the notes copied from above.

1. Thomas Boyden was born 1613 in England, and died in Massachusetts. He married (1) Frances in Scituate, Massachusetts. He married (2) Hannah Phillips.

Children of Thomas Boyden and Frances are:

i. 2. Thomas Boyden, Jr., b. September 26, 1639, Watertown, Massachusetts; d. November 15, 1719, Groton, Massachusetts.

ii. Mary Boyden, b. October 15, 1641.

iii. Rebecca Boyden, b. November 01, 1643.

iv. Nathaniel Boyden, b. 1651.

v. 3. Jonathan Boyden, b. February 20, 1652, Boston, Massachusetts; d. May 30, 1732.

vi. Sarah Boyden, b. October 12, 1654.

From American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, Volume 5:, Pgs. 280, 281:

(I) Thomas Boyden, the first of the name to come to America, sailed from Ipswich, Suffolkshire, England, in the good ship "Francis," during the month of April, 1634. According to the list of passengers for that voyage he was at that time tewnty-one years of age. Who were his parents or where he was born research has thus far failed to disclose. We fine him a resident of Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1635, in which year he was admitted to tge church there. He married Frances _____, and the birth of their first son, Thomas, was recorded in Watertown, September 26, 1639. He transferred his membership to the First Church there, and was admitted a freeman, May 23, 1647. As a resident of Boston in 1650 he signed a deed of land in Watertown. His first wife, Frances, from whom the the line here under consideration descends, died in Boston, March 17, 1658. In 1659 he was chosen to be one of the highway surveyors of Boston, but in 1662 he was a resident at Medfield. Thomas Boyden was one of the original proprietors of the town of Groton, where he owned seven acres of land as one of the founders of the town. His land holdings there at one time totalled (sic) ninety-two acres. Just when he removed to Groton is not known, but he was a resident there in 1666. He subscribed "one bushel of wheat to the new brick college" (Harvard) in 1678, being one of a number ofcitizens who made similar contributions to aid the completion of one of the buildings. The last record that we find of Thomas Boyden is dated 1682, when he was chosen tithingman at Medfield. There were six children born to Thomas Boyden and his wife Frances, of whom the fifth was Captain Jonathan Boyden, mentioned below.

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

• Thomas Boyden and His Descendants, compiled by Wallace C. Boyden, A.M., Merrill N. Boyden, and Amos J. Boyden, privately printed by T. R. Marvin & Son, Boston MA, 1901. Appended by John K. Boyden (1936-2002). Thomas Boyden is Record #1, Pgs. 5 - 8. In the appended version, Jonathan is Record #1, Pg. 1.Thomas Boyden and His Descendants, starting Pg. 5
• American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, edited by William Richard Cutter, The American Historical Society, Inc., New York, 1919, Volume 5, from the entry for Charles Joseph Boyden (1868 - 1913), and his ancestral line; pages 280-282.
• Colonial Families of the United States of America: in Which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775, Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades, editors. 7 volumes. 1912. Reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1966, 1995. Family of Dwight Frederick Boyden, Vol. III, Pg. 64.