Thomas Varney (abt. 1640 - 1692)

Born about 1640 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 4 Dec 1692 at about age 52 in Ipswich, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

This profile is part of the Chebacco Parish, Massachusetts One Place Study.

Thomas Varney, son of William and Bridget (___) Varney,^[1] was born about 1641, most likely in England.^[2][3][4]

The Varney family immigrated to Ipswich, probably about 1648 (William Varney and his son-in-law Thomas Cooke were granted "given liberty to reside" in Ipswich in November 1649). Soon after, Thomas was apprenticed to William Bartholomew of Ipswich for 14 years.^[5] In March 1649/50, the apprenticeship was transferred to William's brother Henry Bartholomew who apparently then transferred it to John Hardy, of Salem. When John Hardy's estate was entered into probate on 30 April 1652, Thomas was to be passed on to Hardy's son-in-law, Roger Haskell, unless Thomas' father was willing to "buy out his time" for the sum of seven pounds. William paid to end the apprenticeship.^[6]

Marriage and Children

There is no marriage record for Thomas Varney. His wife, Abigail Proctor, however was named in her father's will, providing her identity.They may have married about 1662 or 1663, probably in Ipswich.^[7]

Thomas Varney's children, named in his will signed 25 November 1692, included:^[8]
Martha (Varney) Smith, his eldest daughter
Abigail (Varney) Burnham
Mary (Varney) Choate
Rachel (Varney)
Hannah Varney,
son Thomas Varney, who was under the age of 21.

Life in Chebacco

Thomas Varney and family lived in Chebacco, or Chebacco Parish (now known as Essex), in Essex County, Massachusetts, ^[9] where he was known as Corporal Thomas Varney. Thomas owned at least four or five acres of land, as well as a share in Plum Island (a source of hay), and uplands and meadows.^[10]

Thomas seemed to take an active part in community affairs. He served as a Deputy Marshall in Ipswich in 1666 ^[11], provided testimony in court on several occasions,^[12], and along with others signed a petition in 1668 attesting the good behaviour of neighbour Thomas Wells. (Thomas Wells apparently was involved in a dispute in which “many slanderous, reproachful and threatening speaches” were made against the court and some of the magistrates.) ^[13]

On at least one occasion, Thomas’s appearance in court (in 1679) was a result of efforts made by the community of Chebacco, led at least in part by Thomas’s wife Abigail, to have their own meeting house. Having their own meeting house (church), the community of Chebacco would achieve independence from Ipswich. They were denied permission, in a statement that read, in part, "no man shall raise a meeting house", so the women did, with the men looking on. The Courts were not amused, and Chebacco did not gain its independence.^[14]

Tragedy struck for Thomas and his wife in 1692, during the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail's brother John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth were arrested for having protested the trials. Both were themselves convicted of witchcraft, and John was hanged 19 August 1692. Elizabeth was given a reprieve because of her pregnancy, and by the time her child was born the witchcraft hysteria had died down.^[15]

Will and Death

Not long after the death of his brother-in-law, Thomas wrote his own will, which he signed 25 November 1692. In addition to specific bequests to his children (or his grandchildren in the case of his deceased daughter Abigail (Varny) Turnham), he left the remainder of his estate to "my dear & Loveing wife Abigail", with the understanding that when their son Thomas came of age he was to have possession of the lands and houses, paying an annuity to his mother during her lifetime. His wife Abigail and son-in-law Thomas Choate were named executors, and Joseph Proctor and John Stainford were witnesses.^[16]

Thomas died soon after, on 4 December 1692, in Chebacco.^[17] His will was proven in court on 28 March 1693, in Ipswich. The inventory of his estate included his buildings, orchard, and 60 acres of upland and meadow, and the total was valued at £736.^[18]

Sources

• Babson, John J. History of the town of Gloucester, Cape Ann: including the town of Rockport. (Gloucester Mass.: Procter Bros., 1860), p. 173

• Barber, Kathleen Canney, and Janet Ireland Delorey. "William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts". The American Genealogist. (New Haven, Conn. : D.L. Jacobus), Jul 2006

• Collacott, Margaret Oliver. The ancestors and descendants of Zephaniah and Silence Alden Hathaway: with notes on allied families. (Mentor, Ohio: unknown, 1961), pp. 221-222
  much of Collacott's information is based on an unpublished manuscript by Herbert C. Varney (1875-1947), which was compiled through correspondence with his contemporaries.

• Hammatt, Abraham. The Hammatt papers ... : the early inhabitants of Ipswich, Mass., 1633-1700. (Ipswich, Mass.: Press Ipswich antiquarian papers, A. Caldwell, A.W. Dow, 1880)

• Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts to End of the Year 1849. (Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute, 1910, 1919).

• Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975)

• "Materials For the History of Ipswich",The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society), Volume 7, p. 77 , January 1853

• Person:Thomas Varney (7), WeRelate.org

Footnotes

1. ↑ Thomas was named in his mother's will. See:Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, Vol. 5, p. 119
2. ↑ Collacott, The ancestors and descendants of Zephaniah and Silence Alden Hathaway, suggests that Thomas was aged 10 in 1649, giving him a birth date of about 1639. There is no indication of her source for his estimated age.
   Collacott suggests that Thomas was born in Barbados, based on the now disproven assumption that his mother Bridget was the widow Parsons and that William Varney and Bridget were married in Barbados. However, there is no evidence that the Varneys were ever in Barbados, and without the presumed Parsons connection there is no reason to speculate that they were. Thomas was more likely born in England
3. ↑ Barber and Delorey "William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts", p, 164 suggest that Thomas was born about 1639-1640, based on his stated ages in court depositions later in life.
4. ↑ Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts,
   Vol. VI, Salem, June 1676, p. 155 - Thomas Varney age as 35
   Vol. VII, p. 218, June 1679, p. 218, Thomas Varney age as 40
5. ↑ William Bartholomew was a merchant, then resident in Ipswich, with interests in both Salem and Charleston. See: Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol 1, p. 180-186. (Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society)
   Barber and Delorey (p. 318) suggest the apprenticeship may have related to fishing, boat building or the sailing business
6. ↑ Collacott, The ancestors and descendants of Zephaniah and Silence Alden Hathaway, p. 221
   Barber and Delorey "William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts", p. 318
   See The Essex Antiquarian 5(1901):6 for Hardy's will.
7. ↑ Hammatt, The Hammatt papers , p. 271
   See also: Barber and Delorey, "William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts", p. 318
8. ↑ Barber and Delorey. "William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts", pp. 318-9
9. ↑ Chebacco was administered by the town of Ipswich. Essex, Massachusetts, Wikipedia, accessed 6 Jan 2017
10. ↑ Hammatt, The Hammatt papers ..., p. 377-8
11. ↑ Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts', Vol III, p. 371
12. ↑ Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, Vol. VI, Salem, June 1676, p. 155; Vol. VI, Salem, June 1676, p. 159; Vol. IX, Mar 1683, Ipswich, p. 29
13. ↑ Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, Vol 4, p. 76
14. ↑ Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, Vol. VII, p. 218, June 1679, p. 218
    Essex, Massachusetts, Wikipedia, accessed 6 Jan 2017
15. ↑ Hammatt, The Hammatt papers ... ), p. 271
16. ↑ Barber and Delorey, "William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts", pp. 318-319
17. ↑ Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts to End of the Year 1849, Deaths, p. 699
18. ↑ Barber and Delorey. "William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts", p. 319

Acknowledgements

• The profile for Varney-122 was created by Putnam-327 through the import of Putnam2-1_2010-01-02_2011-02-16_2011-10-11.ged on 12 Oct 2011.

• The profile for Varney-147 was created by Perry-1980 through the import of Perry Family Tree.ged on 19 Dec 2011.

• The profile for Varney-190 was created by Eddy-555 through the import of Westoversallover.GED on 19 Apr 2012.

• The profile for Varney-193 was created by Byrne-24 on 15 Jul 2012.

• The profile for Varney-220 was created by Bradlee-10 through the import of Quinn-Bradlee_2012-11-07 copy.ged on 17 Nov 2012.

• The profile for Varney-454 was created by Varney-420 through the import of My-Family-8-Jul-2013.ged on 9 Jul 2013.

• The profile for Varney-694 was created by Mason-5331 through the import of Mason_Cutting Family Tree.ged on 27 Jun 2015.

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