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Thomas Lightfoot

Thomas Lightfoot

Thomas Lightfoot

Thomas Lightfoot

This free space page was originally created to consult on a draft profile for Thomas Lightfoot III (1645-abt.1725). After incorporating comments, that profile has now been used to replace the original. And in response to a request, the original profile has been copied below. Note that the two pages each use images uploaded to the other, so that some care should be taken if this page is ever deleted.


Contents

Biography

... was a Friend (Quaker)
Genforum: THOMAS LIGHTFOOT, was born about 1645, in Cambridgeshire, England and migrated, in 1692, to the north of Ireland and settled at or near the Lisburn Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).


Here he married his first wife, MARY, and by her he had four children: CATHERINE who married James Miller; ABIGAIL who married JOSEPH WILEY; MICHAEL who married MARY NEWBY; and WILLIAM who married ISABEL HOLMES.
He later moved to Bally Kewan, near Athlone, County of Westmeath, Ireland. He was a member and minister of Moate Monthly Meeting. SAMUEL LIGHTFOOT SMEDLEY (1832-1894) made research in England and found that THOMAS LIGHTFOOT may have been the son of another THOMAS LIGHTFOOT, and the grandson of still another of the same name. Similar research by ALBERT COOK MYERS[1] and others seem to point the same way but no thoroughly convincing evidence on the subject has been discovered. The available information suggests that the eldest THOMAS LIGHTFOOT was the vicar of Uttoxeter. The eldest THOMAS LIGHTFOOT had at least one other son, JOHN LIGHTFOOT, born in 16O2, who was, according at least to one source, "the greatest rabbinical scholar that England has produced."
Additional from genforum: There are two sources for Thomas Lightfoot: Wills of Chester Co. PA 1713 - 1748 Thomas Lightfoot died 1/7/1724/5, speaks of dau. Abigail Wiley. Second wife Margaret's will is there also. Quaker Biographical Sketches 1682 - 1800 good article of Abigail Wiley, her marriage and parentage.


The Lightfoot family history in southeastern Pennsylvania, like that of so many other early Pennsylvanians, has its basis in the Quaker faith. Thomas Lightfoot was born in Cambridgeshire, England, in 1645. Choosing Quaker beliefs over the predominant Anglican faith, he moved from his birth place to the North of Ireland in 1692 to avoid the religious persecution that was prevalent at the time.

In Ireland, Thomas became an active participant in Quaker circles. He was a member of the Lisburn Meeting for a number of years and was appointed a member of a committee to secure a piece of ground to be used for burials. It was there that he met his first wife, Mary (birth name unknown), and began his family. This marriage produced four children: Catherine, Abigail, Michael, and William. The date of Mary’s death is not known, but around the time he moved to Westmeath, Thomas married a second wife, Sarah (Wyley, Wiley, Wily), a widow with two children. The second marriage produced five additional children, Elizabeth, Sarah, Samuel, Margaret, and Jacob. Sarah died in 1702, when only five years old.[2] The mother Sarah died sometime before 1716.[3] In 1716, Thomas went to Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania in 1724, Thomas was married for the third time, to Margaret Blunston (birth name Pulford), the widow of John Blunston from Darby, Pennsylvania.

Thomas died in Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 1725 and was buried in the Darby Friends Cemetery. [4]

Event

Arrival 1716 Pennsylvania[5]

Will

Thomas Lightfoot of Darby. 1/7/1724/5. November 9, 1725. A. 180. Provides for wife Margaret who was widow of John Blunston late of Darby. To daughter Katherine Miller, 2 sons William and Michael, daughter Abigail Wiley. Elizabeth Jones and Mary Starr and my late wifes 2 children, viz John Wiley and Mary Jackson 5 shillings each, all being married and having had their portions. To son Jacob 60 pounds to be paid out of my real estate in New Garden Township when 21. Remainder of estate real and personal to son Samuel also executor. Son Michael and son Thomas Jackson of Marlborough, overseers. Witnesses: Richd. Parker, David Thomas, Benj. Pearson.

He passed away about 1725.

Sources

  1. ↑ </div></div> Biographical sketch of Thomas Lightfoot in Myers, A. C., Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 1902 p9 338-340 (https://archive.org/details/immigrationofiri00myer/page/338/mode/1up?q=Lightfoot&view=theater : accessed 6 November 2022)
  2. ↑ Ireland, Society Of Friends (Quaker) Family Lists, image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=IRE%2FQUAKER%2FMM1VM-1%2F0053&parentid=IRE%2FQUAKER%2FMM1VM-1%2F0053 : accessed 06 November 2022), Thomas Lightfoot of Ballykerson and Sarah his wife came out of the north of Ireland to this county the 3 month [May] in the year 1694 and hath since he came her the ensuing children …(Elizabeth, Sarah, Samuell, Margarett, jacob); citing Moate MM family lists 1660-1782 with testimonies and minutes, Religious Society Of Friends In Ireland Archives.
  3. ↑ http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid371lightfoot.pdf
  4. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 05 April 2019), memorial page for Thomas Lightfoot (1645–4 Sep 1725), Find A Grave: Memorial #26462089, citing Darby Friends Cemetery, Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Nancy Gibson Lowe (contributor 46977585) .
  5. ↑ http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=pili354&h=3100486&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

See also:

Acknowledgments

  • This person was created through the import of Acrossthepond.ged on 21 February 2011.
  • Thank you to George Grazier for creating WikiTree profile Lightfoot-298 through the import of Grazier Family Tree.ged on Jan 24, 2013.

Collaboration on Thomas Lightfoot

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Memories of Thomas Lightfoot

Photos of Thomas Lightfoot: 1

Will of Thomas Lightfoot dated 7 1m [March] 1724/5 [1725] and proved 9 9m [November] 1725
(1/1) Will of Thomas Lightfoot dated 7 1m [March] 1724/5 [1725] and proved 9 9m [November] 1725 Thomas Lightfoot. Pennsylvania 1725


Comments on Thomas Lightfoot: 2


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Jonathan Moreland
Consider adding Thomas Lightfoot to the William Penn and Early Pennsylvania Settlers Project. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:William_Penn_and_Early_Pennsylvania_Settlers

posted by Jonathan Moreland

Jonathan Moreland
Thank you Alan Watson, the Quakers Project and the Ireland Quaker team for making the effort to provide a well researched and formatted biography for Thomas Lightfoot (c1645-c1725). I agree your newly drafted biography, research notes and associated sources should replace the content under the current profile of 'Thomas Lightfoot III'. That said, I encourage you to retain the images and all sources found under the current profile. Perhaps the current sources can be placed under a header such as Additional Sources near the end. I would also like to encourage adding a Free-Space page after Research Notes to include the current text, as written with sources. I'm concerned that content and contributors will largely be lost if completely overwritten, especially if the 'old' content points to historic published sources now determined to be misleading or incorrect. I lean into retaining references to all published historic accounts, even where lightly or grossly incorrect, so that refutation can be readily made. Thanks again for your efforts at improving Thomas Lightfoot's biography.

posted by Jonathan Moreland