Thomas Hardy II (abt. 1635 - bef. 1716)

Born about 1635 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Mercy (Tenney) Hardy — married about 22 Nov 1664 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died before 6 Feb 1716 before about age 81 in Bradford, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Darlene Johnson [send private message]

Biography

Thomas Hardy II was probably born at Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1634 or 1635. We do not have record of his birth. His parents were Thomas Hardy and Ann (____).

He was known as Thomas Jr. until Thomas I died, then he was addressed as Thomas Sr.

Family

Thomas was married twice. First to Ruth ________. They had no children.

Second, Thomas II Hardy married Mercy Tenny (daughter of Thomas Tenny) on 22 November 1664 at Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts. It is printed:

Thomas, and Mercy Teny, 22: 9m: 1664.*^[1][2]

(The "9th month" being November in the Old Style calendar.)

His marriage was the first to be recorded on the Rowley, Massachusetts records.^[3]

Thomas and Mercy had eleven children,^[4] the first born at Rowley and the rest at Bradford:

1. Ann, b. 26 April 1666.
2. Thomas, b. 29 June 1667.
3. William, b. 11 January 1669/70; m. Sarah Walker.
4. James, b. 13 February 1672/73; d. 12 June 1689.
5. Daniel, b. 2 April 1675; m. Martha Wicom.
6. Jacob, b. 25 March 1677; m. Sarah Clark.
7. Benjamin, b. 22 September 1679; m. Rebecca Bond.
8. Ebenezer, b. 3 May 1682; d. 17 July 1682.
9. Isaac, b. 19 August 1683; m. Esther Barker.
10. Hannah, b. 4 October 1686.
11. Sarah, b. 9 June 1689; m. Ebenezer Burbank.

Church

He joined the same church as "Old Thomas Hardy" (or was admitted to the Bradford Church . . . as "Old Thomas Hardy") 12 Jul. 1713.^[3]

Death and Legacy

Died at Bradford 6 Feb. 1716 "in his 82nd year", (may have been born in 1634 instead of 1635).

His will dated 23 March 1714/15 was witnessed by Thomas Symmes, Jon. Pemberton and Edward Wood. The will was proved 19 March 1715/16, with his wife and seven of the children mentioned:^[5]

• my wife
• my son Isaac
• my son William Hardy
• my son Jacob
• my son Daniel Hardy
• my son Benjamin Hardy
• my daughter Hannah Hardy
• my daughter Sarah Burbank

Also, in 1695, Richard Holmes (Bradford) sold land in Rowley, MA, to THOMAS HARDY, SR. and JR.

Thomas II Hardy and his wife Mercy Tenny are buried next to each other in the Ancient Burying Ground in Bradford.^[6] Nearby is his brother WILLIAM II HARDY, and about 60 feet away, near the bottom of the old log steps down hillside, is his brother, JOHN II HARDY, and his second wife MARTHA (nee SMITH) BURBANK HARDY.

Note: There is plenty of space between THOMAS II and JOHN II for burial spaces of many other HARDYs, which I believe to be the case, including THOMAS 1 HARDY and MARY {JACKMAN} HARDY.^[7]

Research Notes

In Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849, there are birth records for what appear to be not one but two children of Thomas born on 2 April 1675:^[8]

p. 64: Hardey: 'Daniel, s. Thomas, Apr. 2, 1675.'
p. 76: Hardy: 'Thomas, s. Thomas, Apr. 2, 1675. CT. R.'

Blodgette (Early Settlers of Rowley) treats them as twins, having the Thomas who was born 29 June 1667 "d. soon."

A footnote found in "The Hardy Family of Bradford"^[9] explains this conflict/discrepancy: 'The "Thomas", b. April 2, 1675, on the court records, at Salem, should undoubtedly read Daniel, like the town records. The court records have only Thomas, and the town records only Daniel, born on that date, with no indication of twins on either record.'

Sources

1. ↑ BROKEN LINK:Rowley Marriages, Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 [Rowley VI, Pg 306] (Online Database, accessed 2/9/2014: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2010).
2. ↑ The Essex Institute. Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Salem, MA: 1928. Page 306: https://books.google.com/books?id=BJcBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA306.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Hardy, H. Claude and Rev. Edwin Noah Hardy, Hardy and Hardie, past and present. 1935, p.372.
4. ↑ Smith, Dean C. and Sanborn, Melinde L., The Ancestry of Samuel Blanchard Ordway pp 280-88, (Boston 1990) cited at ESSEX-ROOTS-L Archives, accessed online 2/9/2014.
5. ↑ Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) Essex Cases 12000-13999; Case 12406; 19 Mar 1716; 7 pages. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB515/rd/13767/12406-co1/245348501
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26920148/thomas-hardy : accessed 18 March 2022), memorial page for Thomas Hardy Jr. (1635–6 Feb 1716), Find a Grave Memorial ID 26920148, citing Ancient Burying Ground, Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by BuzBailey (contributor 47532107).
7. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=26920148&ref=wvr
8. ↑ Topsfield Historical Society. Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Topsfield, MA: 1907. https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofbr00brad.
9. ↑ Hoyt, David W. "The Hardy Family of Bradford." The Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. XLVII. Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1911. Page 169: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uva.x000375540?urlappend=%3Bseq=195%3Bownerid=27021597765031640-201.

• Richardson, Douglas. The Tenney Family of Lincolnshire and Rowley, Massachusetts, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1997) Vol. 151, Page 340.

• Blodgette, George B. (1933). Early Settlers of Rowley, Masscahusetts. Page 132, Entry 76-1 Thomas Hardy.[1]