Individual Details
Thomas HARTSHORN
(Abt 1614 - 18 May 1683)
Hartshorn Families in America
Published 1997, Page 15-18
Thomas Hartshorn, a devout Separatist, arrived in America about 1636-38 by unknown passage, and settled in Lynn by 1638. Some suggest that he was of Reading, Berkshire, England but parish records there list none of that surname. More probably he was from an area between Derby and Leicestershire.
The family in England derived its name from an ancient town in Litchfield diocese, county Derby. As early as the thirteenth century we find Henry de Hertishorn in Derby. (The town of Hartshorn was the setting for the novel "Ivanhoe" written by Sir Walter Scott.)
Research done by Newton Timothy Hartshorn in the early 1880's credits the origin of the Hartshorn family as being from German Saxony, coming to England circa 300 A.D. at the behest of the Angles in their defense against the Picts and Scots. This band or company of men had for their tribal emblem, or rallying standard, a deer (or hart's) horn fixed on a pole and the man who carried it came to be known as "Hartshorn." The place or land granted to that tribe or family was called Hartshorn. [Both in England and New England the name was commonly pronounced "Ha's'n"].
A tailor, Thomas was living in Reading in 1639, five years before its incorporation in 1644. According to the "History of Reading," Thomas settled on Elm Street in about 1640 and the place remained in the family for 200 years. James N. Arnold in "The Arnold Genealogy" also states that a house on a hill was occupied by two Hartshornes who kept a tavern, that Reading had 59 houses in 1667, including those of Daniel Hartshorn and Thomas Hartshorn. Probably the name Daniel is a misreading, and Thomas and one of his sons is meant. No other suggestion has been found that any other Hartshorn besides Thomas and Susanna were among the first settlers of Reading. Thomas was recorded as freeman 10 May 1648. A member in full of First Church 29 Sep 1648, his Church rate was L1-9s-7d. Susanna was also a member, and Rev. Samuel Haugh was the pastor. He was on the rolls of the First Church on 6 Apr 1663, by letter from the church in Ipswich.
In 1650, Thomas received a grant of 10 acres; in 1655 a lot in Jeremiah Swain's meadow; in 1665, a lot north of the Ipswich River, and in 1666, land in the Great Swamp. Some of the old land records are clear enough to show the approximate location of his land.
There is an interesting account in the Ipswich Court Records of 28 September 1685 where a John Hakes took action against a Joseph Cooke for his questionable possession of "a mare cold." The action had lasted over six months and the writ was served by Thomas Hartshorn who was serving as constable, an office he held in 1658 and 1672. During the period of litigation, it appears that he had custody of the colt in question. The case was eventually decided for Mr. Cooke.
Thomas was a Reading selectman in 1661 and 1667. In 1662, he was one of 20 members who paid a dog-whipper and in 1672 it was voted to hang any dog whose owner refused to pay the dog-whipper. [When foxes were hunted for bounty, the tail of the fox was nailed to the church door as proof of capture. The dogs, attacted by the tails, often disrupted church services, so the dog-whipper was employed to keep them away.]
In 1677, Massachusetts state records have a petition from Reading of which Thomas is a signer. He is listed as being a juror during the court held at Hampton on 9 October 1677. He was old during the time of King Philip's War but was a sergeant in the Reading Militia Company in 1679.
After Susanna's death, several of their children were put out as apprentices. No legal record of their apprenticeship had been found, except Jonathan's.
In 1661 Thomas married Sarah Ayers Lamson, widow of Wiliam Lamson, who had eight minor children: John (who served on a witchcraft jury in 1692), Sarah, Samuel, Pheobe, Mary, Hannah, Nathaniel, and Joseph.
Sarah's brothers opposed the marriage complaining that William's property had not been valued high enough and his children's rights not properly secured. Accordingly, Thomas made over as security his house and homestead of fifteen acres in Reading, and bounded by lands of James Pike and Walter Fairfield and the common lands of Reading, which satisfied the Judge of Probate.
The will of Thomas Hartshorn, dated 26 October 1681, is in fair condition in Middlesex County Court House, No. 10545. It is very brief. The son Thomas is mentioned, perhaps because he is eldest; Benjamin was named executor and had the home place, evidently by previous agreement; daughter Susanna received valuable keepsakes. The others are not mentioned at all, and we have no record of what had been previously given them; some had been put to a trade of profession, and we know that Timothy had enough Reading land to hand down to his children, some if it Hartshorn land.
The inventory complete on 18 May 1683 included " ...32 Ackers Land...tables, chears, books, and other ware." Sarah's living was carefully provided and laid out, unless she remarry or remove, in which case she was to have only a small yearly sum. Mr. Bartlett adds the comment that "The will, still to be seen, is in the handwriting of Major Jeremiah Swain, 'the most prominent citizen in Reading in his generation'. "
Following is an excerpt from a poem delivered at the Reading Bi-Centennial celebration May 29, 1844 by Lilley Eaton of South Reading
Have now two hundred years been seen,--
The instance sole, 'cept Major Green,
Excepting also one more case,
Namely, old Thomas Hartshorn's place,
Where his descendants still abide,
And Joseph Hartshorn does reside.
From father John a num'rous race
Have spread about from place to place.
And for one trait that must be nam'd,
This family has long been fam'd;
Music, the fair and heavenly maid,
Inspiring song and serenade,
Breathing, within her vot'ries' ear,
Sounds sweet, harmonious, and clear,
Has long made members of this race
The chosen objects of her grace;
And even now you still may see
Sweet singers in this family.
Published 1997, Page 15-18
Thomas Hartshorn, a devout Separatist, arrived in America about 1636-38 by unknown passage, and settled in Lynn by 1638. Some suggest that he was of Reading, Berkshire, England but parish records there list none of that surname. More probably he was from an area between Derby and Leicestershire.
The family in England derived its name from an ancient town in Litchfield diocese, county Derby. As early as the thirteenth century we find Henry de Hertishorn in Derby. (The town of Hartshorn was the setting for the novel "Ivanhoe" written by Sir Walter Scott.)
Research done by Newton Timothy Hartshorn in the early 1880's credits the origin of the Hartshorn family as being from German Saxony, coming to England circa 300 A.D. at the behest of the Angles in their defense against the Picts and Scots. This band or company of men had for their tribal emblem, or rallying standard, a deer (or hart's) horn fixed on a pole and the man who carried it came to be known as "Hartshorn." The place or land granted to that tribe or family was called Hartshorn. [Both in England and New England the name was commonly pronounced "Ha's'n"].
A tailor, Thomas was living in Reading in 1639, five years before its incorporation in 1644. According to the "History of Reading," Thomas settled on Elm Street in about 1640 and the place remained in the family for 200 years. James N. Arnold in "The Arnold Genealogy" also states that a house on a hill was occupied by two Hartshornes who kept a tavern, that Reading had 59 houses in 1667, including those of Daniel Hartshorn and Thomas Hartshorn. Probably the name Daniel is a misreading, and Thomas and one of his sons is meant. No other suggestion has been found that any other Hartshorn besides Thomas and Susanna were among the first settlers of Reading. Thomas was recorded as freeman 10 May 1648. A member in full of First Church 29 Sep 1648, his Church rate was L1-9s-7d. Susanna was also a member, and Rev. Samuel Haugh was the pastor. He was on the rolls of the First Church on 6 Apr 1663, by letter from the church in Ipswich.
In 1650, Thomas received a grant of 10 acres; in 1655 a lot in Jeremiah Swain's meadow; in 1665, a lot north of the Ipswich River, and in 1666, land in the Great Swamp. Some of the old land records are clear enough to show the approximate location of his land.
There is an interesting account in the Ipswich Court Records of 28 September 1685 where a John Hakes took action against a Joseph Cooke for his questionable possession of "a mare cold." The action had lasted over six months and the writ was served by Thomas Hartshorn who was serving as constable, an office he held in 1658 and 1672. During the period of litigation, it appears that he had custody of the colt in question. The case was eventually decided for Mr. Cooke.
Thomas was a Reading selectman in 1661 and 1667. In 1662, he was one of 20 members who paid a dog-whipper and in 1672 it was voted to hang any dog whose owner refused to pay the dog-whipper. [When foxes were hunted for bounty, the tail of the fox was nailed to the church door as proof of capture. The dogs, attacted by the tails, often disrupted church services, so the dog-whipper was employed to keep them away.]
In 1677, Massachusetts state records have a petition from Reading of which Thomas is a signer. He is listed as being a juror during the court held at Hampton on 9 October 1677. He was old during the time of King Philip's War but was a sergeant in the Reading Militia Company in 1679.
After Susanna's death, several of their children were put out as apprentices. No legal record of their apprenticeship had been found, except Jonathan's.
In 1661 Thomas married Sarah Ayers Lamson, widow of Wiliam Lamson, who had eight minor children: John (who served on a witchcraft jury in 1692), Sarah, Samuel, Pheobe, Mary, Hannah, Nathaniel, and Joseph.
Sarah's brothers opposed the marriage complaining that William's property had not been valued high enough and his children's rights not properly secured. Accordingly, Thomas made over as security his house and homestead of fifteen acres in Reading, and bounded by lands of James Pike and Walter Fairfield and the common lands of Reading, which satisfied the Judge of Probate.
The will of Thomas Hartshorn, dated 26 October 1681, is in fair condition in Middlesex County Court House, No. 10545. It is very brief. The son Thomas is mentioned, perhaps because he is eldest; Benjamin was named executor and had the home place, evidently by previous agreement; daughter Susanna received valuable keepsakes. The others are not mentioned at all, and we have no record of what had been previously given them; some had been put to a trade of profession, and we know that Timothy had enough Reading land to hand down to his children, some if it Hartshorn land.
The inventory complete on 18 May 1683 included " ...32 Ackers Land...tables, chears, books, and other ware." Sarah's living was carefully provided and laid out, unless she remarry or remove, in which case she was to have only a small yearly sum. Mr. Bartlett adds the comment that "The will, still to be seen, is in the handwriting of Major Jeremiah Swain, 'the most prominent citizen in Reading in his generation'. "
Following is an excerpt from a poem delivered at the Reading Bi-Centennial celebration May 29, 1844 by Lilley Eaton of South Reading
Have now two hundred years been seen,--
The instance sole, 'cept Major Green,
Excepting also one more case,
Namely, old Thomas Hartshorn's place,
Where his descendants still abide,
And Joseph Hartshorn does reside.
From father John a num'rous race
Have spread about from place to place.
And for one trait that must be nam'd,
This family has long been fam'd;
Music, the fair and heavenly maid,
Inspiring song and serenade,
Breathing, within her vot'ries' ear,
Sounds sweet, harmonious, and clear,
Has long made members of this race
The chosen objects of her grace;
And even now you still may see
Sweet singers in this family.
Events
| Birth | Abt 1614 | England |  | ||
| Marriage | 1640 | Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts - Susanna BUCK | | ||
| Marriage | 10 Apr 1661 | Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts - Sarah Ayers Lamson | | ||
| Death | 18 May 1683 | Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts | |
Families
| Spouse | Susanna BUCK (1622 - 1659) |
| Child | Thomas Hartshorn (1646 - 1646) |
| Child | Thomas Hartshorn (1648 - 1729) |
| Child | John Hartshorn (1650 - 1737) |
| Child | Joseph Hartshorn (1652 - 1727) |
| Child | Benjamin Hartshorn (1654 - 1694) |
| Child | Jonathan Hartshorn (1656 - 1672) |
| Child | David HARTSHORN (1657 - 1738) |
| Child | Susannah Hartshorn (1659 - 1718) |
| Spouse | Sarah Ayers Lamson (1625 - 1673) |
Endnotes
1. , Hartshorn, Derick S. III, Hartshorn Families in America: A Genealogical Study of the Line of Thomas Hartshorn, the Immigrant, of Reading Massachusetts and Other Families Bearing the Surname Hartshorn/e Who Arrived in America in Succeeding Years (Bal (N.p.: n.p., n.d.), p. 15.
2. Hartshorn, Derick S. III, Hartshorn Families in America: A Genealogical Study of the Line of Thomas Hartshorn, the Immigrant, of Reading Massachusetts and Other Families Bearing the Surname Hartshorn/e Who Arrived in America in Succeeding Years (Baltimore Maryland, Gateway Press Inc, 1997), p. 15.
3. Hartshorn, Derick S. III, Hartshorn Families in America: A Genealogical Study of the Line of Thomas Hartshorn, the Immigrant, of Reading Massachusetts and Other Families Bearing the Surname Hartshorn/e Who Arrived in America in Succeeding Years (Baltimore Maryland, Gateway Press Inc, 1997), p. 15.
4. Hartshorn, Derick S. III, Hartshorn Families in America: A Genealogical Study of the Line of Thomas Hartshorn, the Immigrant, of Reading Massachusetts and Other Families Bearing the Surname Hartshorn/e Who Arrived in America in Succeeding Years (Baltimore Maryland, Gateway Press Inc, 1997), p. 15.