Thomas Stoughton (abt. 1557 - aft. 1622)

Born about 1557 in Sandwich, Kent, England

Ancestors

Husband of Katherine (Unknown) Stoughton — married 1587 in England

Descendants

Died after 1622 after about age 65 in Sandwich, Kent, England

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Biography

Thomas Stoughton was born in Sandwich, Kent, England.

Thomas Stoughton was a son of Francis Stoughton and Agnes (Trignall) Stoughton,^[1][2] likely born at Sandwich, Kent, England. This profile is project-protected by the WikiTree Puritan Great Migration project because this is the father of migrants to New England and there have been conflicting identifications for his parents.

Thomas Stoughton matriculated pensioner from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1573, receiving his B.A. from Queens College 1577, and his M.A. in 1580. He was ordained deacon and priest at Lincoln Cathedral on Feb. 13, 1582.^[3]

He caught the attention of Robert, 3rd Lord Rich by John Butler of Thoby Priory, Essex, and had Rich's patronage for many years.

He was installed as rector of Naughton, Suffolk, in 1586 and served there until 1594. From 1594 to 1600, Thomas Stawghton was recorded at Burstead Magna, Essex, where he was curate in support of the minister.^[4]

In 1600 he was instituted vicar at Coggeshall at Lord Rich's presentation, but due to his nonconformity he was admonished by Bishop Richard Vaughan and deprived of Coggeshall by the High Commission in 1606.^[5] He still preached from his desk though. He wrote and published; 'The dignitie of Gods children'. (1610, Great Totham, Essex). By 1616 he'd returned to Sandwich, where he remained living in poverty until his death. His published works include 'A general treatise against poperie, and in defence of the religion by publike avthoritie professed in England and other churches reformed' (Cambridge, 1598), which was dedicated to Lord Rich. 'Two Profitable Treatises' in 1616, followed up in 1622 with 'The Christians Sacrifice', a text of some 251 pages, also dedicated to his patron.. He signed the dedicatory epistle to this on 20 Aug. 1622 .....'.the time of my departing being at hand... ' Two days later he appended the work with 'The Authors postscript to his Children as it were his Last Will and Testament unto them'. The above is paraphrased from Todd Whitesides excellent summary.

He married Katherine ___ on 23 Apr 1575 in Naughton, Suffolk, England. Thomas and Katherine had three sons: John, Thomas Jr., and Israel. ^[6] Children: Christian, Annie, Thomas, Thomas, Mary, Judith, Elizabeth, Abigail, Anne, Nicholas, John, Anthony, Israel, Sarah.^{[citation needed]}

Thomas and Israel emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. 1633 -Daughter Elizabeth, widow of ? Scudder, married Robert Chamberlain and had three children, Samuel, Joanna, and Sarah, baptized at Strood, England. Daughter Judith Stoughton Denman Smead followed her brothers to New England in 1636.

Thomas's son, John Stoughton, remained in England, was educated at Cambridge, and became Rector at Alder, Somersetshire. ^[7]

Thomas's son, Thomas, died in 1642 at Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut. Israel returning to fight for Parliament died in Lincoln in 1644.

Sources

1. ↑ Exhurst Ancestry of the Stoughton Siblings, New England Historical Genealogical Register, vol. 166 (2012), page 66.
2. ↑ Note: In his 1953 article, Ralph Stoughton tentatively identified John Stoughton as the father of Thomas Stoughton, but this has been revised by more recent research.
3. ↑ Stoughton, Ralph M. The Stoughton Families of Dorchester, Mass. and Windsor, Conn. The American Genealogist, vol. 29, No. 4, October 1953. Page 93.
4. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins, vol. 3, page 1776.
5. ↑ Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 Thomas Stoughton, Trinity College, 1573; database online, Provo, Utah, Ancestry.com, 1999.
6. ↑ John Stoughton
7. ↑ John Stoughton (priest)

• Immigrant Ancestors. Page 64.

• Thomas Stoughton profile on Tripod: http://ntgen.tripod.com/bw/stoughton_index.html

• John Stoughton (priest) in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stoughton_(priest). Accessed September 14, 2015 by Michael Boynton.

• "The English Ancestry of Thomas Stoughton, 1588 - 1661, his brother, Israel Stoughton, 1603 - 1645, and his nephew William Stoughton, 1631 - 1701, of Dorchester, Mass." Author Turner, Ethel McLaughlin and Turner, Paul Boynton ; published by the Turners, 1958 [1]

• WeRelate profile for Thomas Stoughton and wife, Katherine http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Family:Thomas_Stoughton_and_Katherine_Unknown_%281%29

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83315335/thomas-stoughton: accessed 10 January 2023), memorial page for Reverend Thomas Stoughton with Biography (1557–1622), Find A Grave: Memorial #83315335, citing St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Sandwich, Dover District, Kent, England NOTE: No sources, no headstone