Individual Details
Thomas MACY
(1608 - 19 Apr 1682)
All information, except as otherwise noted, is from the website of the Macy-Colby House in Amesbury, MA:
"The Macy-Colby House: Amesbury, Massachusetts," (http://www.macycolbyhouse.org/Thomas-Macy/ : viewed 27 Mar 2017).
Thomas Macy
Born in 1608
Thomas Macy was born in 1608, in Wiltshire County, England, in the town of Chilmark. Wiltshire County was a major center for commercial weaving in the 17th century. Macy has been listed on various documents as a merchant, a clothier or a weaver.
Arrived in 1635
Macy arrived in America about 1635 and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts. In 1640, he was granted land in Salisbury, Massachusetts five miles up the Merrimack River. In 1643, Thomas Macy married Sarah Hopcott (1612-1706). Sarah had arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1640.
They Had Five Children Who Survived Infancy:
Sarah (1646-1701) m. William Worth (1642-1724)
Mary (1648-1729) m. William Bunkers (1648-1712)
Bethiah (1650-1732) m. Joseph Gardner (1652-1701)
Thomas (1653-1675)
John (1655-1691) m. Deborah Gardner (1658-1712)
Moved to Amesbury In 1649
By 1649, Macy had move across the Powow River to ‘Salisbury New Town’ (later Amesbury). He became overseer of Amesbury’s schools in 1652; deputy to the General Court in 1654; the first town clerk in 1655, and a signer of the Articles of Agreement for the town of Amesbury in 1658.
Built His Home in 1649
About 1649, Macy built a house on what is now the Macy-Colby House property. He sold this house to Anthony Colby in 1654 and Macy moved his family to the center of Amesbury, where he built a new saw mill.
At Odds with the Puritan Church
Thomas Macy was an ardent Baptist and often at odds with the Calvinist-leaning Puritan Church. The Church was the center of the community, politically as well as spiritually. Attendance was compulsory and the upkeep of the Church was financed through taxation.
A Generous Act but Unlawful
In the summer of 1657, Thomas Macy harbored four Quakers for less than an hour in his home during a severe rainstorm. His neighbors reported his generous but unlawful act to the Reverend Mr. Worcester, and it was quickly report to the General Court. In May 1657 a law had been passed against harboring ‘any of the cursed sects of Quakers’. His act of kindness caused the General Court to fine him thirty shillings and to be “admonished” by the governor.
John Greenleaf Whittier's Poem
In the poem, The Exiles, written by poet John Greenleaf Whittier, it is suggested Macy was banished from the community for harboring Quakers, and had fled to the island of Nantucket off Cape Cod. This is not quite true; Whittier, a Quaker himself, had taken some poetic liberties with the story, since Macy left two years after the incident.
The Move to Nantucket
Thomas Macy, Tristram Coffin and seventeen other local residents, purchased land on the island of Nantucket from Thomas Mayhew, the Governor of Martha’s Vineyard. Mayhem was Thomas Macy’s cousin. In the fall of 1659, Thomas Macy and his family set out in a small boat on a perilous journey for the island of Nantucket and became its first European settlers.
Died April 19, 1682
Nantucket was part of the New York colony until 1709 and not subject to the strict Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritan regulations. Nantucket was to become a Quaker stronghold in the early 1700’s. Thomas Macy, who became a Chief Magistrate in 1676, remained a staunch Baptist until his death on April 19, 1682, but his wife Sarah converted to Quakerism sometime before her death in 1706 at the age of 94 years.
"The Macy-Colby House: Amesbury, Massachusetts," (http://www.macycolbyhouse.org/Thomas-Macy/ : viewed 27 Mar 2017).
Thomas Macy
Born in 1608
Thomas Macy was born in 1608, in Wiltshire County, England, in the town of Chilmark. Wiltshire County was a major center for commercial weaving in the 17th century. Macy has been listed on various documents as a merchant, a clothier or a weaver.
Arrived in 1635
Macy arrived in America about 1635 and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts. In 1640, he was granted land in Salisbury, Massachusetts five miles up the Merrimack River. In 1643, Thomas Macy married Sarah Hopcott (1612-1706). Sarah had arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1640.
They Had Five Children Who Survived Infancy:
Sarah (1646-1701) m. William Worth (1642-1724)
Mary (1648-1729) m. William Bunkers (1648-1712)
Bethiah (1650-1732) m. Joseph Gardner (1652-1701)
Thomas (1653-1675)
John (1655-1691) m. Deborah Gardner (1658-1712)
Moved to Amesbury In 1649
By 1649, Macy had move across the Powow River to ‘Salisbury New Town’ (later Amesbury). He became overseer of Amesbury’s schools in 1652; deputy to the General Court in 1654; the first town clerk in 1655, and a signer of the Articles of Agreement for the town of Amesbury in 1658.
Built His Home in 1649
About 1649, Macy built a house on what is now the Macy-Colby House property. He sold this house to Anthony Colby in 1654 and Macy moved his family to the center of Amesbury, where he built a new saw mill.
At Odds with the Puritan Church
Thomas Macy was an ardent Baptist and often at odds with the Calvinist-leaning Puritan Church. The Church was the center of the community, politically as well as spiritually. Attendance was compulsory and the upkeep of the Church was financed through taxation.
A Generous Act but Unlawful
In the summer of 1657, Thomas Macy harbored four Quakers for less than an hour in his home during a severe rainstorm. His neighbors reported his generous but unlawful act to the Reverend Mr. Worcester, and it was quickly report to the General Court. In May 1657 a law had been passed against harboring ‘any of the cursed sects of Quakers’. His act of kindness caused the General Court to fine him thirty shillings and to be “admonished” by the governor.
John Greenleaf Whittier's Poem
In the poem, The Exiles, written by poet John Greenleaf Whittier, it is suggested Macy was banished from the community for harboring Quakers, and had fled to the island of Nantucket off Cape Cod. This is not quite true; Whittier, a Quaker himself, had taken some poetic liberties with the story, since Macy left two years after the incident.
The Move to Nantucket
Thomas Macy, Tristram Coffin and seventeen other local residents, purchased land on the island of Nantucket from Thomas Mayhew, the Governor of Martha’s Vineyard. Mayhem was Thomas Macy’s cousin. In the fall of 1659, Thomas Macy and his family set out in a small boat on a perilous journey for the island of Nantucket and became its first European settlers.
Died April 19, 1682
Nantucket was part of the New York colony until 1709 and not subject to the strict Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritan regulations. Nantucket was to become a Quaker stronghold in the early 1700’s. Thomas Macy, who became a Chief Magistrate in 1676, remained a staunch Baptist until his death on April 19, 1682, but his wife Sarah converted to Quakerism sometime before her death in 1706 at the age of 94 years.
Events
| Birth | 1608 | Chilmark, Wiltshire, England | |||
| Baptism | 2 Jun 1609 | Stockton, Wiltshire, England |  | ||
| Arrival | Abt 1635 | Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America | |||
| Property | 1640 | was granted land - Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America | |||
| Marriage | 1643 | Sarah HOPCOTT | |||
| Removed | By 1649 | New Town (Later Amesbury), Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America | |||
| Property | 1649 | built a house on what is now the property of the "Macy-Colby House" - Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America | |||
| Election | Bet 1652 and 1658 | served as overseer of schools, deputy to the General Court, town clerk, and a signer of the articles of agreement for Amesbury - Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America | |||
| Property | 1654 | sold his house to Anthony Colby - Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America | |||
| Removed | 1654 | where he built a sawmill - town center, Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America | | ||
| Civil | 1657 | fined 30 shillings and "admonished" for sheltering four Quakers during a severe storm - Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America |  | ||
| Property | 1659 | purchased (along with 17 others) most of the island of Nantucket from Thomas Mayhew | |||
| Removed | 1659 | with his family in a small boat - Nantucket, New York, British America | | ||
| Election | 1676 | Chief Magistrate - Nantucket, New York, British America | |||
| Death | 19 Apr 1682 | , still a Baptist, | |||
| Occupation | merchant, clothier, weaver | ||||
| Religion | baptist and at odds with the Puritan church and government |
Families
| Spouse | Sarah HOPCOTT (1612 - 1706) |
| Child | Sarah MACY (1646 - 1701) |
| Child | Mary MACY (1648 - 1729) |
| Child | Bethiah MACY (1650 - 1732) |
| Child | Thomas MACY (1653 - 1675) |
| Child | John MACY (1655 - 1691) |
| Father | Thomas MACY ( - ) |
Notes
Civil
In the poem, The Exiles, written by poet John Greenleaf Whittier, it is suggested Macy was banished from the community for harboring Quakers, and had fled to the island of Nantucket off Cape Cod. This is not quite true; Whittier, a Quaker himself, had taken some poetic liberties with the story, since Macy left two years after the incident.Removed
Because Nantucket was part of New York until 1709, it was not subject to the religious conformity enforced by the Massachusetts Puritans.Endnotes
1. "Wiltshire Baptisms, 1530-1886 Transcription," database index to transcription, FindMyPast.com (http://search.findmypast.com/: viewed 27 March 2017), Thomas Macy, baptized 2 Jun 1609 in Stockton, father Thomas, laborer; citing Wiltshire Family History Society.
2. FamilySearch, digital image (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/90577709 : viewed 14 December 2019), cenotaph listing names of original settlers of Amesbury in 1654.