Thomas Parke (abt. 1627 - 1690)

Born about 1627 in Devon, England

Husband of Abigail (Dix) Parke — married 1 Dec 1653 (to 11 Aug 1689) in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 11 Aug 1690 at about age 63 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Leila Schutz [send private message]

Biography

Thomas Parke immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Thomas Park(e) was the son of Richard Parke and Margery [Unkown]. The surname of Richard's wife is sometimes supposed to be Crane, but no proof of such is known (see her profile for more.) Thomas was born in England about 1627-9. "Thomas Park was a witness in Court, June, 1679, then aged 50, showing that he was born 1629."^[1]

A previous version of this profile claimed, without source, that he was born or baptized on 2 Nov 1628 at St Botolph, London, Middlesex, England.

He probably came to New England with his parents on 3 Oct 1635, although his name is not on any passengers list.^[2] "He was a farmer, and his house was near Bruce's (or Bemis's) mill on the bank of the Charles River."^[2] He was appointed Constable of Cambridge Village in 1665, and admitted Freeman on 31 May, 1671.^[2] He settled on a 600 acre tract of land, formerly owned by his father, Richard Parke.^[2] As Bond describes it, "[t]he farm of Richard Park, Sen., was contiguous to the small parcel of land, belonging to Watertown, on the south side of Charles River; and it is probable, that his residence was, at an early date, within the bounds of Watertown."^[1] It's clear from the record that the family's connections to Watertown were at least as strong as they were to Cambridge or, as their township of residence later became, Newton.

Thomas married Abigail Dix on 1 Dec, 1653.^[3]

Husband: Thomas Parks

Wife: Abigail Dix

Marriage:

Date: 01 DEC 1653

Place: Cambridge, Middlesex, MA^[4]

Some databases state he was in King Philip's War. There was certainly another Thomas Parke from Wethersfield CT that was in King Philip's War. It is possible some of their information has been confused. The Thomas Parke from Connecticut married Dorothy Thompson.

Thomas inherited a 600 acre tract from his father in Cambridge [NewTown or Newton]. The Inventory of the estate of Thomas Parke was taken 30 Sep 1690; the estate divided 3 Oct 1691. Among the heirs were John [the eldest], Richard, Edward, Jonathan, Abigail Fiske, Sarah Knapp, Rebecca Sanger and Elizabeth Park. There were 722 acres of land and share in a corn mill on Smelt Creek, built by John Spring.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Bond, Henry, Genealogies of the families and descendants of the early settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, including Waltham and Weston : to which is appended the early history of the town,Boston : N.E. Historic-genealogical Society, 1860, p. 866 (https://archive.org/details/genealogiesoffam00bond/page/866/mode/1up).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Parks, Frank Sylvester, Genealogy of the Parke families of Massachusetts, including Richard Parke, of Cambridge, William Park, of Groton, and others, Washington DC: published privately [Presswork by the Columbia Polytechnic Institute Printing Office], 1909, p. 35
3. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZR-57RY : 31 October 2019), Thomas Parks and Abigail Dix, 1 Dec 1653; citing Marriage, Newton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007011107.
4. ↑ Source: #S00216

• Source: S00216 Author: Bond, Henry M.D. Title: GENEALOGIES OF THE FAMILIES AND DESCENDANTS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF WATERTWON, MASSACHUSETTS Publication: Name: N.E. Historic-Genealogical Society. Boston. 1860. Second Edition; Repository: #R00022 NOTESource Medium: Book CONT
• Source: S-2050775272 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;; Note: Ancestry Family Trees (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.
• "England, Devon, Parish Registers, 1538-1912," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCSF-9QS : 4 November 2017), Thomas Parke, 1627, Baptism from "Church of England parish registers 1538-1911," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Devon, archive reference , images provided by FamilySearch International.
• "Some Account Of The Park Family and especially of the Rev. Joseph Park, M.A., 1705-1777, and Benjamin Parke, L.L., 1801-1882" (https://archive.org/stream/someaccountofpar00west/someaccountofpar00west_djvu.txtFulltext)
• Cutter, William Richard. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. Vol. III. New York: Lewis Historical Pub., 1914. Page 1337.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCMY-B6D : 15 January 2020), Thomas Parke in entry for Abigail Parke, 1658.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCMY-YF5 : 15 January 2020), Thomas Parke in entry for John Parke, 1656.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCMY-B6F : 15 January 2020), Thomas Parke in entry for Edward Parke, 1661.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXN-YV7 : 15 January 2020), Thomas Parks in entry for Jonathan Parks, 1670.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXN-123 : 15 January 2020), Thomas Parkes in entry for Richard Parkes, 1663.
• "Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FC97-F3X : 17 January 2020), Thomas Park, 1690.
• "Find A Grave," database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/148950797)

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Arik Russell cor creating the profile of Thomas Park on 30 September 2012. ]]. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Arik and others.