Individual Details
Thomas Abbott
(Feb 1632/33 - 15 May 1695)
Thomas Abbott, Jr.'s relationship to George Abbott of Rowley is not really known. He may have been an adopted son or a son from another woman. He did live with the family in Rowley and is mentioned in George Abbott's will as a son. He was called Thomas, Jr. to distinguish him from his older brother Thomas, Sr.
The perception is that Thomas, Jr. was abandoned by other members of his family, except George Abbott's family who took him in. He was raised in that family from childhood. One source describes is like this: virtually abandoned except by George Abbott's family, and having grown up from a tender age with his sons, would seem to them like a brother; this, together with his pathetic, forlorn condition -- being forever separated from his relatives in England in the wilds of a new continent, and the sons of George Abbott, one of the first settlers, being similarly situated after the death of their father, and especially the two surviving real sons after their brother Thomas Sr.'s death, on whom they probably largely relied after their father died, led them to regard Thomas, Jr., as a brother, especially in their early years, and he was accordingly so mentioned in Thomas, Sr.'s will, and afterwards in legal papers which Thomas, Jr., signed in the settlement of the former's estate.
However, there is recently discovered information that suggests that Thomas, Jr. might have been the child of George and Mary and that they just named two of their sons Thomas. There are two Thomas's baptized, one in 1625 and one in 1632/3. Thomas, Sr. was "of age" at the time of the father's estate probate in 1647 and he is clearly the oldest son in the family, so he cannot have been born in 1632/3 (so the Thomas baptized in 1632/3 is not a "replacement" Thomas).
The perception is that Thomas, Jr. was abandoned by other members of his family, except George Abbott's family who took him in. He was raised in that family from childhood. One source describes is like this: virtually abandoned except by George Abbott's family, and having grown up from a tender age with his sons, would seem to them like a brother; this, together with his pathetic, forlorn condition -- being forever separated from his relatives in England in the wilds of a new continent, and the sons of George Abbott, one of the first settlers, being similarly situated after the death of their father, and especially the two surviving real sons after their brother Thomas Sr.'s death, on whom they probably largely relied after their father died, led them to regard Thomas, Jr., as a brother, especially in their early years, and he was accordingly so mentioned in Thomas, Sr.'s will, and afterwards in legal papers which Thomas, Jr., signed in the settlement of the former's estate.
However, there is recently discovered information that suggests that Thomas, Jr. might have been the child of George and Mary and that they just named two of their sons Thomas. There are two Thomas's baptized, one in 1625 and one in 1632/3. Thomas, Sr. was "of age" at the time of the father's estate probate in 1647 and he is clearly the oldest son in the family, so he cannot have been born in 1632/3 (so the Thomas baptized in 1632/3 is not a "replacement" Thomas).
Events
| Birth | Feb 1632/33 | Chapel, Essex, England | |||
| Baptism | 28 Feb 1633 | Essex, England |  | ||
| Marriage | 15 Dec 1664 | Andover, Essex, Massachusetts - Sarah Stewart | |||
| Death | 15 May 1695 | Andover, Essex, Massachusetts | |||
| Probate | 1696 | Andover, Essex, Massachusetts |  |
Families
| Spouse | Sarah Stewart (1647 - 1715) |
| Child | Thomas Abbott (1667 - 1753) |
| Child | Joseph Abbott (1666 - 1666) |
| Child | Sarah Abbott (1671 - ) |
| Child | Joseph Abbott (1674 - ) |
| Child | Dorothy Abbott (1676 - 1678) |
| Child | Nathaniel Abbott (1678 - ) |
| Child | John Abbott (1681 - ) |
| Child | Dorothy Abbott (1683 - 1743) |
| Child | Mary Abbott (1686 - ) |
| Child | Ebenezer Abbott (1689 - 1771) |
| Father | George Abbott (1586 - 1647) |
| Mother | Mary Felstead (1605 - 1633) |
| Sibling | Thomas Abbott (1625 - 1659) |
| Sibling | George Abbott (1627 - 1689) |
| Sibling | Mary Abbott (1628 - 1628) |
| Sibling | Nehemiah Abbott (1630 - 1707) |
| Sibling | Mary Abbott (1631 - 1634) |
Notes
Probate
The probate record has widow Sarah and son Thomas as executors of the estate.Endnotes
1. , Essex, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2019), Essex Record Office; Chelmsford, Essex, England; Essex Church of England Parish Registers.