Individual Details
Thomas Hatch
(1603 - May 1661)
Thomas 1
===========
See The Great Migration Begins.
Migrated in 1633. First residence in Dorchester before 13 May 1634. Freeman May 14, 1634. (Mass. Bay MBCR)
Removes to Yarmouth by 1639
Remove to Barnstable by 1641. Held men able to bear arms in Plymouth Co., Barnstable section.
==========================
THOMAS HATCH
ORIGIN: Unknown
MIGRATION: 1633
FIRST RESIDENCE: Dorchester
REMOVES: Yarmouth 1639, Barnstable by 1641
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: Admission to Dorchester church prior to 14 May 1634 implied by freemanship.
FREEMAN: 14 May 1634 [MBCR 1:369].
On 7 January 1638/9 proposed for freedom at Yarmouth [PCR 1:108]. Oath of fidelity at Yarmouth, 1639 [PCR 8:185]. On 1 June 1641 proposed for freeman at Barnstable [PCR 2:17]. (Apparently never took up his freedom in Plymouth Colony; not in 1657 oath of fidelity list or 1658 list of freemen for Barnstable.)
EDUCATION: His inventory included "books" valued at 6s. and "an instrument called a violin" valued at £1.
OFFICES: In Barnstable section of 1643 Plymouth Colony list of men able to bear arms [PCR 8:193].
ESTATE: On 17 April 1635 John Phillips and Thomas Hatch were each granted two acres of land between the ends of the great lots and the acreage granted to Alexander Miller "provided they leave a sufficient highway at their great lots" [DTR 10-11]. In the March 1637[/8] division of the Neck and other Dorchester lands, Thomas Hatch had three acres, one quarter and six rods in the neck and the same amount in the other lands [DTR 31]. In the map of Dorchester meadows beyond the Naponset river, "T. Hach" had two acres in lot number 77 [DTR 322].
On 31 October 1639 it was recorded that "Thomas Hatch hath made sales unto John Phillips of Dorchester, one great lot with a house on that sixteen acres within and without pale, also six acres of meadow, four on this side and two acres on the other side Neponset, and all his commons except that in the neck" [DTR 39].
In an agreement of 15 May 1648 regarding his landholding in Yarmouth, Anthony Thatcher "demands 8 acres of upland in West Field, which he bought of Thomas Hatch" [PCR 2:130].
The inventory of the estate of Thomas Hatch, taken 27 May 1661, totalled £14 18s., with no real estate included; "Grace Hatch late wife of the above said Thomas Hatch deceased" deposed to the inventory on 27 June 1661 [MD 17:160, citing PCPR 2:2:65].
On 3 March 1662/3 "Letters of administration are granted unto Jonathan Hatch and Lydia, the wife of Henery Taylor, to administer upon the estate of Thomas Hatch, deceased, to pay all lawful debts owing from the said estate, and to be ready to give account thereof unto the Court" [PCR 4:31].
BIRTH: By about 1596 based on estimated date of marriage.
DEATH: Barnstable by 27 May 1661 (date of inventory).
MARRIAGE: By about 1621 Grace _____. She was alive on 27 June 1661 [MD 17:160], but had probably died by 3 March 1662/3 [PCR 4:31].
CHILDREN:
i JONATHAN, b. say 1621; m. Barnstable 11 April 1646 Sarah Rowley [MD 5:171], daughter of HENRY ROWLEY.
ii LYDIA, b. say 1625 (based on court action of 1 March 1641/2 [PCR 2:35]); m. Barnstable 19 December 1650 Henry Taylor [NEHGR 9:287].
COMMENTS: As noted by Elizabeth French in 1916 "Much confusion has arisen and numerous errors have appeared in various printed works regarding two settlers in Plymouth Colony named Thomas Hatch" [NEHGR 70:256]. There was a Thomas Hatch of Scituate, and another of Yarmouth and Barnstable. Which one had earlier been at Dorchester? French states correctly that the Dorchester man moved to Yarmouth and then Barnstable, and the Scituate Thomas Hatch came straight from England. This may be concluded from the fact that Thomas Hatch of Scituate had a daughter baptized at Tenterden, Kent, in 1636 [NEHGR 70:257], while the other Thomas Hatch was already in Dorchester by 1633. (For excellent accounts of the Hatch family of Scituate see NEHGR 70:245-60 and Joseph Neal Anc 111-22.)
On 1 March 1641/2 "Lydia Hatch, for suffering Edward Michell to attempt to abuse her body by uncleanness, & did not discover it, & lying in the same bed with her brother Jonathan, is censured to be publicly whipped [which] was accordingly done" [PCR 2:35].
From:
Source Information:
Robert Charles Anderson. Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Original data: Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol. 1-3. Boston, MA, USA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995.
p 875-876
Description:
The Great Migration Begins aims to provide comprehensive biographical and genealogical information, derived from a broad survey of primary and secondary sources, on all immigrants to New England between 1620 and 1633.
MBCR= Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1628-1686, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., 5 volumes in 6 (Boston 1853-1854)
PCR= Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, eds., 12 volumes in 10 (Boston 1855-1861)
DTR =Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston. 1880. Dorchester Town Records (Boston 1883)
MD= Mayflower Descendant, Volume 1 through present (1899-1937, 1985+)
PCPR= Plymouth Colony Probate Records (from microfilm)
NEHGR= New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1 through present (1847+)
==================================
Immigrated to America in the ship "Mary and John" in 1634. Birth parents uncertain. On May 14, 1634 he was by vote of the court of General Assembly made a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony, The court at that time was very strict as to whom they admitted.
=======================
January 7, 1639, Thomas Hatch and nine others applied to Plymouth Colony for grant of leave to purchase land and form a new township at a place now known as Yarmouth on the Cape Cod peninsula. The town was incorporated Jan 17, 1639.
==========================
Lived in Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1634, Then Yarmouth and finally by 1641 he settled in Barnstable for the rest of his life.
===============================
Thomas HATCH of Barnstable born circa 1603 in England, died before 27 May 1661 in Barnstable, MA. Married Grace LEWIS circa 1624. Issue of this union include Lydia, who married Henry TAYLOR, and Jonathan, who married Sarah Hannah ROWLEY. This line is perhaps best documented by Ruth A. Hatch-Hale, genealogist, Genealogy and History of the Hatch Family; dec. of Thomas & Grace Hatch of Dorcester, Yarmouth & Barnstable, MA (Hatch Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, UT, 1925). Also see Charles Lathrop Pack, Thomas Hatch of Barnstable and Some of His Descendants (The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, 1930) pg. 29.
==============================
Thomas Hatch
· 29 March 2014 ·
THOMAS HATCH Thomas Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts(before May 1634 (1603?-1661) by Laura Wayland-Smith Hatch Family folklore weaves a story that Thomas Hatch came from near the village of Biddenden, Cranbrook, Kent, England. The town lies in the diocese of Canterbury and the deanery of Charing and on the road from Tenterden to Ashford. Numerous oak trees lined the roadways of the area. All Saint’s Church, constructed in the 1400s, overlooked the small village and was a source of pride to the villagers with its three chancels and three aisles. It was supposed that in the village of Biddenden that Thomas Hatch learned the trades of tailor and farmer. At a local fair held on St. Jude’s and St. Simon’s Day (November 8th), folklore has it that Thomas met his future wife, Grace. It is probable that she was the daughter of a Welsh farmer named Lewis, who had traveled to the town to sell his farm produce at the fair. Grace was described as being a very pretty and popular young woman, with many of the local men vying for her attentions. It was a lucky Thomas who won her attentions on that day, and eventually her hand in marriage, in a reaping match of grain held during the fair. (Please remember that this is only a story. No documentation has been found to prove this.)Thomas Hatch emigrated from England with his wife and his two children to the Colonies in approximately 1634. It is very possible that Grace Hatch was not the biological mother of Jonathan and Lydia, but was Thomas’ second wife. As the children grew, they became estranged from their father and were not welcome in the home, a situation not likely to have taken place if Grace had been their natural mother. Throughout Jonathan Hatch’s turbulent adolescent years, Grace demonstrated little concern for his welfare. Because of his disruptive and rebellious behavior, Thomas apprenticed Jonathan out at the age of twelve, and he was left behind when the family moved on to Yarmouth. Circumstantial evidence that Grace was not the Hatch children’s natural mother is that her name was never passed on to any of the grandchildren. A tradition of those times was to name children for their grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles.Both Jonathan and Lydia had daughters named Lydia, but none named Grace. It is possible that their mother died giving birth to Lydia, or shortly thereafter,so Lydia was given her name in remembrance of her. Thomas Hatch was declared a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the 14 May 1634. There he was described as being a public-spirited man, influential in the community, and with much business ability. He was very religious and of a high moral character.Mr. Otis, in “Barnstable Families” testifies, “Thomas Hatch was a church member and a freeman, a man whose life was a living testimony of his fidelity to the principles which he professed. He was not a man of note, yet he was an honest man and good neighbor.” Tradition pictures Thomas Hatch as “rather feeble and effeminate.” Perhaps it was Thomas’s love of music in general, and the violin in particular, that prompted those comments. In his later years, he also appeared to have been rather sickly, hence not very active, which contributed to the feeble characterization. On the 7 Jan 1639, Thomas Hatch’s name appears on a grant, along with the names of twenty-five other families, allowing them to leave the Bay Colony and to purchase land and form a new township at Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The move was made in 1640. Barnstable is one of three towns formed in 1639, the other two being Yarmouth and Sandwich. Barnstable still retains the land boundaries that are closest to the original land grants.Cape Cod Bay and Barnstable Harbor bound it on the north, which developed into a bustling seaport, being more protected than Plymouth. A salt marsh extends across the northern portion of the town to the sound, bounded on the south by a high ridge that runs east and west. Over seventeen hundred acres of ponds cover the township, the largest being Great Pond. Boulders are scattered in large numbers over the plain, extending from the sound to the ridge. This land is the most fertile in the town. South of the ridge, there are fewer boulders and the land is more sandy. In the valley area, the soil was a rich loam, being a heavier loam on along the north shore. Stone fences marking the boundaries of farms were very common in the northern part of the town, but scarce in the southern part. These fences still dot the countryside of Barnstable and the surrounding areas. A combination of rich, fertile soil, and its strategic location to fresh and salt waters for fishing and shipping made Barnstable an ideal location for a new settlement. On 1 Jun 1641, probably due to a land dispute among settlers in the Yarmouth township, the Thomas Hatch family moved on to Barnstable, Massachusetts. There, Thomas was a landowner and a member of the Reverend John Lothrop’s church. Rev. Lothrop’s home still stands, having been incorporated into the Sturgis Library. The library houses a large local history and genealogical collection and is used by many researching their New England roots. In 1643, Thomas was listed on a roll of men “able to bear arms.”Neighbors in Barnstable called him “a man of exemplary character and a very pious man.” In 1650, according to town records, Thomas’ daughter Lydia married Henry Tayler. They had two children; Lydia, born 21 Jun 1655; and Jonathan,born 20 Apr 1655. The couple remained residents of the town of Barnstable. When Thomas died in 1661 his estate was valued at £14 18s and included working tools, timber, and his beloved violin. It was to be three years after his death before Jonathan and Lydia were eventually named executors of Thomas’ estate,further testimony to the fact that all must not have been well between the children and Thomas’ widow, Grace. ∆ * The “proof” of Grace being a second wife is not supported by the apprenticeship of Jonathan, as that was standard custom back then. It would appear that Otis was applying the norms and customs of his time to the facts from that time and may have misinterpreted. However, the fact that none of the children names include Grace would still seem to support the theory. - Carl Akins
Thomas Hatch 4th Great Grandfather of Ira Stearns Hatch born about 1600
PREFACE “The Hatch Family” by Azura Ruth Ward 1615 151st Ave.SE Bellevue, WA 98007 July 1985 Two men by the name of Thomas Hatch came to the Massachusetts colonies very early. To distinguish them, they have been designated "Thomas Hatch of Scituate" and "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable". The former Thomas, born in 1596, came with his brother William and located in Scituate before 5 March 1638 when he was made a freeman.These brothers are known to have come from Wye, co. Kent, England, and were the sons of Thomas and Anne of Tenterden, co. Kent. Their ancestry is given in the New England Register, volumes LXV and LXVII, and in Pack's "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable...." Note that Thomas is an outstanding name in the English Hatch families. Our ancestor is the Thomas Hatch of Barnstable, born in England very near 1600. His ancestry has not been definitely established. The Hatches of Salt Lake, former members of the Hatch Family Association, believe that he came from the Devon branch of the family which can be traced back to Jeffrey deHacche of Wally, co. Devon, England, born about 1200, They have found a Thomas, born in 1598, but have no proof that he is our immigrant. There are two major genealogies of our Thomas. One is called "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable and Some of his Descendants", written by Charles Lathrop Pack, 1930, which will hereafter be referred to as "Pack". The other titled"Genealogy and History of the Hatch Family: Descendants of Thomas and Grace Hatch..." was compiled by the Hatch Family Association during the 1920's, Ruth Hatch-Hale, editor. It originally came out in serial form of eight booklets which were distributed to members of the Association. Later these were bound into two volumes, and, more recently, reissued in seven booklets.This compilation will be referred to as the "Hatch Gen." I have also had access to Association records which were collected but never printed. In the latter part of the 1880's the Barnstable Patriot published a series of notes on Barnstable families entitled "The Amos Otis Papers". These have been reprinted and bound as "Genealogical Notes..." and will be referred to as "Otis". They are a valuable resource. As the early generations of our ancestry had already been fully treated in the above genealogies I had planned to include in this book just brief sketches of them through the fifth generation and then to concentrate on the descendants of Lewis Hatch (6.18), our Revolutionary ancestor. However, in studying, the records on our immigrant Thomas and his family I developed a different interpretation of some of them and feel that I should express my views. As the story then proceeds several errors appeared and I have made corrections according to records located, and added some new data. There is some variation in the early birth, marriage, and death records in such towns as Barnstable and Falmouth. Their original records were burned or lost. Numerous towns have re-constructed them from church records, tax lists, and grave-stones. Thomas Hatch HATCH GENEALOGY Thomas Hatch of New England From Hatch Family History The progenitors of the Hatch Families in America came from England. They represent at least four distinct branches probably of no connection. We have grouped them as follows: Family "A" represents the descendants of Thomas and Elder William Hatch, brothers who settled in Scituate, Massachusetts about 1633-34 and whose ancestors are traced back to 1415 to Kent Co., England. Family"B" are the descendants of Thomas Hatch, whose only son was Jonathan, settlers of Yarmouth and Barnstable, Massachusetts, whose descendants we are considering in this history. Family "C" are the descendants of Phillip Hatch of York, Maine, who settled there in the year 1637. Family"D" represents descendants of an Anthony Hatch who settled in Norfolk, Virginia. Will dated 1688. These families of Hatches were mostly people of the middle class-neither rich nor poor-mostly small land owners and farmers, always pious, industrious, frugal and temperate and of good repute.The following was copied from the "New England Historical and Genealogical Register" Vol LXX, 1916, page 256. Much confusion has arisen and numerous errors have appeared in various printed works regarding two settlers in Plymouth Colony, named Thomas Hatch. Besides Thomas Hatch of Scituate, there was a Thomas Hatch, an early proprietor of Dorchester, Massachusetts, who was propounded as a freeman, May 14, 1634. He moved to Yarmouth, where he was propounded as a freeman Jan. 7, 1638 or 1639. Later he moved to Barnstable, where he was propounded as a freeman June 1, 1641. At Barnstable in August 1643, he was on the list of those able to bear arms, that is he was between 16 and 60 years of age. He had land in both Yarmouth and Barnstable, and took the oath of fidelity in Yarmouth in 1657. He died about 1660, and on May 7, 1661, his widow, Grace, presented his estate was granted to Jonathan Hatch and Lydia, wife of Henry Taylor, who were, without doubt, his children. This Thomas Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth, and Barnstable did not belong to Hatch family of Scituate which came form Kent County, England. Thomas Hatch of Family B is supposed to have been born about 1603. Of his life previous to his removal to New England, not much is known to us. He married a young woman by the name of Grace, probably as a second wife. Her family name seems not now to be known but she is said to have been of Welch extraction, and in this connection there is a pretty little romance which has been preserved among his descendants to this day. Miss Grace, it seems was a very winsome and popular young woman and Thomas had more than one rival for her heart and hand. But the contest finally simmered down to Thomas and the one other, and Miss Grace found it difficult to decide which she liked the better. Finally, as they were farmers, it was agreed by all concerned that fate should be determined by a reaping match, he who could reap a certain equal measured portion of a field of grain, to get the prize. And Miss Grace, being herself a farmers daughter and a skillful reaper determined that she also would have a hand in the contest, that was to decide the her fate consequently she,with true feminine diplomacy had her equal portion staked out between the other two and the contest began. Reaping grain at that time was done by the hand sickle. In the meantime as her fate was so near a determination, Miss Grace did some vigorous thinking as is apt to be the case when events of serious consequences are imminent and having concluded that, on the whole, she rather liked Thomas a little the better, she slyly cut over a little onto Thomas portion, thus enabling him to finish slightly ahead. It was probably early in the year of 1634 that Thomas Hatch removed with his family to the wilderness of the New World, during great Puritan emigration from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. May 14, 1634 he was by vote of the court of General Assembly made a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The court at that time was very strict as to whom they admitted the right to vote and have a voice in the management of the public affairs of the colony. To become of freeman of the colony one must be 25 years of age, a man having a family, a freeholder (or land owner) and be a member of the puritan or congregational church. They admitted no vagabonds or irresponsible persons into public affairs at the time. Thomas Hatch was a public spirited citizen and a man of business ability and during his residence in Massachusetts Bay Colony must have acquired some property and been a man of influence in the locality where he lived. According to the town records of Dorchester, Mass., under date of December 29, 1634. It is ordered that John Philips and Thomas Hatch shall have, each of them, two acres of land that lies betwixt the ends of the great lots and three acres that is granted to Alexander Miller, if so much there be provided they leave sufficient highway at the great lots. These two acres were apparently some remnants of land that did not come within the bounds of their great lots as laid out. January 7, 1639, Thomas Hatch and nine others whose names are given applied to Plymouth Colony for a grant of leave to purchase land and form a new township at a place now known as Yarmouth the Cape Cod peninsula. The leave was granted and Thomas Hatch and the other grantees at once went there and built themselves log houses. The town was incorporated January 17, 1639 and named Yarmouth. A committee was soon appointed to have charge of the division or allotment of lands and the sale of the same. In March 1640 the committee for the sale of lands was instructed to have a strict care to admit no settlers into the town except such as bring certificates from the well known men as to their religious and honest carriage in the places from whence they came. By the close of 1640 about 25 families had settled in the new town. It would seem that some difficulty arose over the first grants or division of land among the incorporators. The early records of the town were destroyed in a fire so that it is difficult now to determine just the nature of the dispute. At a court held at Yarmouth, June 17, 1642 by three of the Governor's Assistants an attempt was made to straighten matters out but it appears was only partially successful. It was during and probably on account of this dispute over these lands that Thomas Hatch moved to the town of Barnstable June 1, 1641. Thomas Hatch was an upright man and may have felt that he had not been fairly dealt with or at any rate that he would prefer to reside where he could live amicably with his neighbors and in undisputed possession of his property. That his lands were included among others in the dispute is evident from the records of a hearing held before Capt. Standish in 1648 by order of the Court designed to clear up and put an end to such differences as still remained, for among the several other names that of Thomas Hatch is mentioned. At this time, too Anthony Thatcher claimed 80 acres in the westfield of Yarmouth that had been bought of Thomas Hatch. Thomas Hatch resided in the town of Barnstable for the balance of his life and was probably a member of the church of the celebrated Rev. John Lathrop. In 1643 his name appears on the roll of those able to bear arms in Barnstable. He was at this time about 40 years of age. In Jan. 1644 his name is on the list of approved inhabitants of Barnstable showing he was man of good character and influence and held in esteem by his fellow townsmen. It seems evident that he must have acquired some landed estate in this town, for we know he acquired some land at other places where he resided in Massachusetts Bay Colonies. The records of deed and transfers of land in Barnstable previous to 1700 were destroyed in a fire so there is now no official record of the lands owned by any of the early settlers but every thing points to the conclusion that he must have been a land holder in the town. He died in Barnstable in 1661 probably in April or May. May 27,1661 an inventory of his personal estate was taken by Isaac Robinson and Thomas Ewer and sworn to by his widow Grace. It amounted to 17-18 Pounds. Authorities are agreed that he was of exemplary character and a very pious man. What became of his widow Grace, seems not to be known. Inventory of the goods of Thomas Hatch of Barnstable, lately deceased. Insp.'s his working tools It. for a cubbert not fully finished It. for wearing cloyes It. for beding and bedsted It. for putts, pewter and brasse It. for books It. for other lumber It. for timber and glew It. for and instrument called a violen Grace Hatch late wife of the above Thomas Hatch was deposed to the truth of the above mentioned Inventory this 27 day of June, 1661, before me Thomas Hinckley, assistant.
=======================================
THOMAS HATCH. Many of the name Hatch came over early. Elder William of Scituate, who came from Sandwich in England in 1635, with wife Jane and five children, was a noted man in the early history of the Colony. Two of the name of Thomas came over, and settled in Massachusetts, and afterwards removed to the Plym- outh Colony. One of them was made a freeman of Massachu- setts May 14, 1634, the same day that three others were, who were afterwards among the first settlers of Yarmouth. Thomas whom Mr. Deane calls an elder brother of William, settled in Scituate, and died there about the year 1646, leaving a family. Mr. Savage calls this man the freeman ; but circumstances incline me to the opinion that it was the other Thomas who was made free May 14, 1634. Thomas Hatch, the ancestor of the family in this country, was one of the nine who proposed, Jan. 7, 1638, O. S., "to take up their freedome at Yarmouth." On the 5th of March follow- ing his name is entered on the record with those who proposed to become freemen at the next court, but there is no mark against it indicating that he then took the required oath. In 1641 he had removed to Barnstable, and at the court held the first of June that year, he with others of that town, was again "propounded to be admitted a freeman at the next court." His name does not ap- pear on any list of freemen of the town of Barnstable. He had taken the "oath of fidelity" before his removal from Yarmouth, 462 GENEALOGICAL NOTES OP BAENSTABLE FAMILIES. and in some instances this seems to have been considered as the equivalent of the freeman's oath. In August 1643, his name ap- pears on the roll of those "able to bear arms in Barnstable," and in the following January on the list of approved inhabitants of Barnstable. Very little is certainly known respecting him. He does not appear to have been employed at any time, in any public busi- ness. He was not a man of wealth, and no record of his lands has been preserved. In 1648 Mr. Anthony Thacher claimed eight acres in. the "West Field"* in Yarmouth that had been bought of Thomas Hatch. This was the usual allotment, and the probability is that he had an equal proportion of the lands both in Yarmouth and in Barnstable assigned to him. I am inclined to the opinion that his houselot in Barnstable was near the Crocker farm at West Barnstable. Lands in that vicinity were after- wards owned by his son Jonathan, and by him sold to Capt. Thomas Dimmock. He died in 1661, leaving a widow Grace and son Jonathan and daughter Lydia, wife of Henry Taylor. Mr. Savage calls him "a young man." He was a grandfather and in my judgment had ceased to be young. A pleasant story is told respecting his courtship. It is said that he was son of a farmer and served his father before learning the trade of a tailor. His wife was also a farmer's daughter, and in time of harvest assisted him in the fields, and was very expert in the use of the sickle. Two young men asked her hand in mar- riage and it was agreed that the one who should reap the larger piece in a given time should win the prize. The land was marked off and an equal proportion assigned to Miss Grace. She was the best reaper, and having decided that she would marry Thomas Hatch, she slyly cut over on the part set off to him, and in conse- quence Thomas came out ahead, claimed and received her hand in marriage. This story was related by a grandson of Thomas, and has been preserved as a family tradition, and whether true or false is immaterial. I doubt whether Grace, the widow of Thomas Hatch, was the heroine of the story ; if so, she was different from other mothers — she must have been a second wife — for if Jonathan and Lydia had been her children, she would not have al- lowed them in youth to have been aliens from their father's house and exposed to all the temptations of a wicked world. I have no other evidence that she was a second wife. I want no other. Thomas Hatch was a church member, and a freeman, a man whose life was a living testimony of his fidelity to the principles *"The WeBt Field" waa an open tract, cultivated by the Indians, bounded southerly by Dennis Pond, westerly by the bounds of Barnstable, northerly it extended nearly to the present County road, and easterly to Hawes' Lane. Xhe lot of Thomas Hatch was in the immediate Ticmity of the homestead of the writer. GENEAIiOGIOAL NOTES OF BARNSTABLE FAMILIES. 463 which he professed. He was not a man of note, yet he was an honest man and a good neighbor. It is unnatuial to suppose that a man who sustained the character that Thomas Hatch did, would have allowed his only son, and only daughter, to have been exposed to temptations, as they were, if there had not been some superior controling influence at home. Of the family of Thomas Hatch little is known beside what has been already stated. His childrenf were both probably born in England. At his death in 1661 he was probably aged, not "a young man." Of the time of the death of his widow Grace, I find no record. 2. Jonathan, born about the year 1624. 3. Lydia, born about the year 1626, married Henry Taylor Dec. 19, 1650, and had a family. He probably had other children, but none are named as sur- viving in 1661.
========================
References:
Geneaolgy and History of the Hatch Family, descendants of Thomas and Grace Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth and Barnstable Massachusetts,
Vol 1 I think there are at least 6 volumes
Compiled by the Hatch Genealogical Society
Ruth A Hatch-Hale, Genealogist, Salt Lake City, UT 1930
==================
Some Hatch info in Wood Family Tree on Ancestry, Julie Wood
====================
Thomas Hatch was born in 1603 in England. He married Grace there and they made their way to Massachusetts Bay Colony. In January 1639, Thomas Hatch and nine others applied for and were granted "permission to purchase land and forma new town known as Yarmouth, on the Cape Cod peninsula." In 1648 he moved to Barnstable where he lived until his death in 1661. His personal estate amounted to 17 pounds 18 shillings.
=====================
wiki trees
Thomas Hatch (abt. 1596 - bef. 1661)
Thomas
Hatch
Born about 1596
in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown][sibling(s) unknown]Husband of Grace (UNKNOWN) Hatch
— married before 1621 in EnglandDESCENDANTS Father of Jonathan Hatch Sr. and Lydia (Hatch) TaylorDied before 7 May 1661
in Barnstable, Plymouth
Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], Laurence Houlgate [send private message], and Steve Turley [send private message]Profile last modified 3 May 2021 | Created 16 Nov 2010This page has been accessed 5,998 times.
Thomas Hatch migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Disputed Origin
2 Biography
3 Additional Discussion
3.1 Research Notes
4 Sources
Disputed Origin
Project protected by PGM because of known errors in his ancestry. The origins of Thomas Hatch of Barnstaple are unknown and he is specifically not the son of Arthur Hatch of Aller with wife Margaret Mallet of Aller, Devon England. See Research notes for further explanation.He is also sometimes often confused with Thomas Hatch of Scituate who had a daughter baptized in England in 1636, by which time this Thomas Hatch was already in New England.Biography
Thomas Hatch was born about 1596 in England, based upon estimated date of marriage.[1] His parents are unknown.He was married by about 1621 to Grace (Unknown), who accompanied him to New England along with their two children, both of whom were born in England:[1]
Jonathan, b say 1621, who married in Barnstable April 11, 16746 Sarah Rowley, daughter of Henry Rowley.
Lydia, b say 1625, married in Barnstable December 19, 1650 Henry Taylor.Thomas arrived in New England in 1633, where he first settled in Dorchester. There he received grants of land and joined the church. He had relocated to Yarmouth by 1639, when he was proposed for the Oath of Fidelity. He had moved again, to Barnstable, by 1641, when he was proposed for freeman.He died in Barnstable, Massachusetts, by 27 May 1661, when inventory of his estate was taken.[1] His wife had probably died by March 3, 1662/3.On 3 Mar 1662/3 “Letters of administration granted unto Jonathan Hatch and Lydia, the wife of Henery Taylor, to administer upon the estate of Thomas Hatch, deceased, to pay all lawful debts owing from the said estate, and to be ready to give account thereof unto the Court” [PCR 4:31]Additional Discussion
Thomas with his wife Grace, small son Jonathan and probably their smaller daughter Lydia came to Boston perhaps in the Winthrop Fleet about 1630 or so. He settled in Dorchester, MA Bay Colony, received grants of land, joined the Church and satisfied other requirements of a desirable citizen. He was make a freeman on 14 May 1634. This qualified him as a voter. In addition to being a farmer he was either a tailor or a cabinet maker.Thomas and others became interested in land on Cape Cod and requested permission from Plymouth Colony Court to settle there. On 19 Jan 1639 the group left Dorchester and moved to their new town, later known as Yarmouth.Thomas did not stay there long. A serious dispute arose, the cause of which is unknown and Thomas moved again and on 1 Jun 1641 was established in Barnstable where he spent the remainder of his life. He may have been dissatisfied with the land allotted to him or he may have felt that he would be happier in the church of the Rev. John Lathrop in Barnstable.In the Dorchester Town Records, under the date of April 17th, 1635 "It is ordered that John Phillips and Thomas Hatch shall have each of them 2 acres of land that lyes betwixt the ends of the great lotts and 3 Acres that is graunted to Alexander Miller, if so much be there, P'vided theyt leave a sufficient highway at there great lotts each." John Phillips was a man of some prominence and was made freeman in 1630. He was styled "Biscuit Maker" from London, England and was a first settler of Dorchester. It seems more than probable that Thomas Hatch was also a 1630 first settler. Possibly these men were friends in old England and fellow passengers before becoming adjoining property owners here.Tradition pictures Thomas Hatch as "rather feeble and effeminate". Perhaps a fondness for music, a violin being noted in the inventory of his estate earned him the reputation for "effeminacy"Mr. Otis in Barnstable Families says of him: Thomas Hatch was a church member and a freeman, a man whose life wasa living testimony o his fiedelity to the principles which he professsed. He was not a man of note, yet he was an honest man and a good neighbor. He died in 1661 leaving a widow Grace and son Jonathan and daughter, Lydia, wife of Henry Taylor.The Plymouth Colony Court granted in 1639 to Joseph Hull and Thomas Dimoc permission to erect a town at the place called Mattacheese by the Indians.Permanent settlements were effected at both Yarmouth and Barnstable in the summer 1639.At the Court of Assistants held Jan 1637, Thomas Hatch was among thoses proposed to take up their freedome at Yarmouth.By 1640 Thomas was inhabitant of Barnstable and on June 1, 1641 he proposed to take the oath of freeman there. In 1643 he was able to bear arms and is called a member of the Barnstable church.The house lot of Thomas Hatch in Barnstable as traced by Mr. Otis was "near the Crocker farm at West Barnstable" which corresponds to land later owned by his son Jonathan and by him sold to Capt Thomas DimmockAdmitting the unknown quality and the handicap of ill health, Thomas Hatch, retiring and occupying no prominent public office as far as known, was the worthy founder in New England of a long and honorable line of descendants.Some histories link Thomas to Arthur Hatch and Mallet of Aller, Devon. Their son Thomas was baptized in October 1599 as the oldest son. Since Arthur died in 1525, Thomas would have become lord of the substantial estate. In 1633, he was named warden, apparently a lifetime appointment. For this to be Thomas of Barnstable, he would have had to leave behind life as a wealthy lord in Devon for life in the colonies, where he wasn'’t particularly wealthy and had no servants.Hatch family tradition gives us the following story about the courtship of Thomas and Grace. Is it true? Probably not, although it may have some basis in fact. It is a true part of our family heritage though and worth passing on.The Harvest of Thomas HatchThomas Hatch had been left a widower by the death of his first wife. Needing a mother for his two young children Lydia and Jonathan, he began to court the daughter of his neighbor, a farmer named Lewis. Grace Lewis was apparently a very attractive and popular young woman for she had several suitors in addition to Thomas. At last, the field was narrowed to Thomas and just one other but, the lovely Grace could not seem to choose between the two. Finally it was decided that the two rivals would take part in a contest to determine who would win the hand of Grace. Since it was harvest time, it would be a reaping contest. The one who reaped his portion of Farmer Lewis's field in the shortest time would be the winner.On the day of the event, Grace announced that she too would take a part in the contest. She would start in the middle of the field and cut her swaths toward the edges, one side and then the other. The two suitors would start at opposite edges and cut toward the middle. The first to join his swath with Grace's would also join his life with hers.In the early morning, the contest began. The two rivals paced off the distance to the center of the field and agreed that each patch was even. Grace cut her first swath straight up the middle of the field with an expertise gained through years of harvests. Her two suitors worked furiously to cut their way to the center and to the lovely Grace. The two young men were evenly matched. First one and then the other would take the lead. By ten o'clock, every neighbor for miles around had arrived to cheer on their favorite in the struggle for the hand of Miss Grace.The noon time hour arrived and the onlookers brought out their picnic lunches but the rivals would not stop to eat. Both kept up an almost superhuman pace so great was each ones desire to win. Grace too kept up her work without a rest first cutting a swath toward Thomas and then one toward the other until finally, just before two in the afternoon, Thomas swung his sickle through the last thin row of grain and joined his harvested ground with Grace's. The young couple clasped hands and raised them high between them for all the town to see.The happy pair, the relieved father and the jubilant neighbors hurried off to the Lewis home to celebrate the betrothal. Left behind, Thomas's rival gazed forlornly over the harvested ground. Something did not seem quite right to him. As he paced to an fro over the stubbled ground, he saw that the portion he had cut was definitely larger that that cut by Thomas. A closer study showed him that each row of wheat that Grace had cut toward his side of the field was just slightly narrower than the rows cut toward Thomas' side. It seemed that Grace had made up her mind after all! The rival suitor chuckled to himself then set off after the noisy crowd. There would be a party this evening and the young ladies of the town would all be there. It was time for him to set his sights on another prospect. This time he thought, he would not choose a farmer's daughter to court.Amelia Gerlicher at www.WeRelate.org provided expanded information.Research Notes
It is sometimes said that Thomas Hatch of Barnstaple was the son of Arthur Hatch and Margaret Mallet of Aller, Devon England. This is incorrect.It should be noted that though this identification is widespread there is no actual evidence that Thomas was the son Arthur Hatch. According to Anderson's The Great Migration Begins (1995), pp. 875-76, Thomas Hatch's origin is unknown.[1]The identification was always exceedingly unlikely. Arthur Hatch did have a son Thomas baptized 14 Oct 1599. [2] This Thomas was the first born son of Arthur, and as such inherited the family estates on his father's death in 1625. He is not someone who be found as a relatively poor farmer in New England, and not someone who leave the family estates behind. A detailed study of the problem has conclusively proved that Thomas Hatch of Aller was not the immigrant to New England.[3] Thomas Hatch of Aller of course never left his estate in England. He died on 1 June 1680 unmarried and without children. His heir was John, son of his brother John, who returned to assume control of the family estates in Aller.Sources
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, vol. 2: G - O, (Boston: NEHGS, 1995): pages 875-876. AmericanAncestors.org link.
↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch ([1] : 6 December 2014), Arthur Hatche in entry for Thomas Hatche, 14 Oct 1599; citing BARNSTAPLE, DEVON, ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 0962417 IT 1.
↑ Myron Hatch. The Thomas Hatch Enigma: An examination from a different perspective, of the relationship of Thomas Hatch of Barnstable, Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Arthur Hatch of Aller, South Molton, Devonshire, England (St. George, Utah, 25 April, 1999).
Hatch Family Association: http://www.hatchfamassociation.org/research.htm
Genealogy & history of the Hatch family : descendants of Thomas & Grace Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth, & Barnstable, Massachusetts] compiled by Hatch Genealogical Society, Ruth A. Hatch Hale Salt Lake City, Utah : , 1925[2]
Source: Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins. Boston, MA: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 1995, volume II, page 875.
Source: Freeman, Frederick. The History of Cape Cod: Anals of Thirteen Towns of Barnstable County. Boston, MA: W. H. Piper & Co., 1869.
Source: Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston, MA: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 2009.
Source: Walters-1052 09:12, 1 January 2016 (EST) The following is an excerpt from "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable and Some of His Descendants" by Charles Lathrop Pack:
“ Such were the surroundings early in the seventeenth century when Thomas Hatch left for a home in the new World. He learned the trade of a tailor and was also a farmer. London encroaches on the northwestern portion of the County of Kent, and it may be supposed that to London Thomas Hatch went to perfect himself in his trade. The clothiers' trade was a flourishing one in Biddenden, but no clothiers remained in 1790, and of its two thousand inhabitants, one-fifth had become dissenters by the end of the eighteenth century.
“A fair formerly held in Biddenden on St. Simon and St. Jude's Day, now on November 8, chiefly for the exhibition of Welsh cattle, may have been the meeting place of Thomas Hatch and his wife Grace, who is said to have been the daughter of a Welsh farmer and to have been skilled in agricultural pursuits. Perhaps she was before marriage Grace Lewis* and a second wife.
“The story told of her wooing is that, being expert in the use of a sickle, she was assisting with the harvest of her father's field. Two suitors were literally 'in the field,' and she decreed that her hand should be the award in a trial of skill, each man taking a third to reap and the lady in question taking her third. Was it a matter of chance that the third assigned to Thomas Hatch was next her own? Be that as it may, the story affirms that she cut a little over the line each time at the end of her swath and thus made sure that he would finish first. This tale having been related by a grandson of Thomas Hatch has been handed down through successive generations.
R.G. Newton, Newton and Hatch Families of Sherburne, N.Y.
“ The date and birth of Thomas Hatch has been placed at about 1603; his marriage probably occurred before 1626.* Jonathan, his only son, was born about 1626 and died shortly before January 4, 1710/11, being then called 'about 84 years.'+ The late Edwin T. Hatch, M.D., of Denver, Colorado, after years of research leaves the following note: 'I think the mother of Jonathan and Lydia Hatch was related to Isaac Robinson, son of Rev. John Robinson of Leyden, and that Jonathan was born in the year 1628, as he was not 16 in 1643. Lydia was probably two years younger as a record in 1650 calls her 20 years old.' That both children were born in England seems quite certain, but in what town or towns is a question. Thomas Hatch, at the time of his embarkation, may have been 'of London' or 'from the London quarter' as others were listed, with whom he seems to have been identified after his arrival in New England.
“Upon his arrival in New England, Thomas Hatch, his wife Grace, and the two children made their home in Dorchester, and on May 14, 1634, he was propounded as a freeman.
“The first book of Dorchester records, which contained a list of the first settlers and their allotments, was destroyed in 1657. The records of the second book from June 1630, to January, 1632/33, are also missing, so that prior to January, 1632/33, what is available relating to early Dorchester must be gleaned from the Colony Court Records.
“Under the date of 'April 17th. 1635,' Dorchester Town Records, appears the following: 'It is ordered that John Phillips and Thomas Hatch shall have each of them 2 acres of land that lyes betwixt the ends of the great lotts and 3
J. M. Hatch, Descendants of Moses and Sarah K. Porter, p. 14
+Otis, Barnstable Families, pp. 463-467; Freeman, History of Cape Cod, II, 474 acres that is granted to Alexander Miller, if so much be there, P'vided they leave a sufficient highway at their great lotts e[ach].”*
Dorchester Records p. 14
Comments: 9
[hide]
Leave a message for others who see this profile.Login to post a comment.Barry WoodI have found the first sure trace of the whereabouts in England of this Thomas Hatch, the violinist. Without doubt, he was the Thomas Hatch who had a daughter "Lyddia" Hatch chr. at Cranbrook, County Kent, 20 November 1631. I also believe (but am less certain) that he was the father of Mary ("Marie") Hatch, chr September 1626 at nearby Horsmonden, Kent. Some may imagine that Mary's father was the Thomas Hatch who settled in Scituate, Mass. However, THAT Thomas Hatch had had a son "Jeremie" chr. just two months earlier at Wye, Kent. It's therefore not reasonable to suppose that his wife could have produced another child so soon thereafter as to be ready for baptism at Horsmonden.
That said, I am inclined to think that Thomas of Scituate was the groom of the 1617 marriage of Thomas Hatch to Lydia Gyles at Tonbridge, Kent (sometimes spelt "Tunbridge"), and that the children of Thomas Hatch chr. at Tonbridge are the children of that couple, rather than of Thomas the violinist of Cranbrook, Dorchester, Yarmouth and Barnstable. There is, of course, the chance that the two Thomas Hatches of Jacobean Kent both married women named Lydia, such that Grace was the second wife of the violinist wife of Barnstable, but Occam is telling me to assign Lydia Gyles to Thomas of Scituate, and to continue the search for a record of the violinist's marriage(s).
posted Jan 11, 2021 by Barry Wood Jeanie (Thornton) RobertsBarry do you have a source that ties Thomas of Cranbrook to the Thomas of Barnstable?posted Jan 11, 2021 by Jeanie (Thornton) RobertsBarry WoodIt's the convergence of facts that fit only this man. We know that he had a daughter Lydia, which is much less common a given name of the day than Mary, Ann, Elizabeth, etc. From the known details of her life, the venerable Otis deduced that she was born "about 1630." This is the only Lydia Hatch on FamilySearch or FreeReg anywhere near this time frame. The family was in Dorchester by 1634, when Thomas was made a freeman there. This matches the fact that there is no trace of Thomas Hatch or of Lydia in Cranbrook (or anywhere else in England) after 1631.posted Jan 11, 2021 by Barry Wood Cheryl (Aldrich) Skordahlprofile is protected ............................posted Oct 12, 2020 by Cheryl (Aldrich) SkordahlJoe CochoitThomas Hatch of Aller was the first born son and inherited the family estates. He would not be a relatively poor tailor/farmer and he would not immigrate to New England. In fact we know the fate of Thomas Hatch of Aller. He died 1 June 1680 in England without having married and no children. The heir to the Aller estates was John Hatch, son of his brother John.
I will be disconnecting the parents.
posted Oct 12, 2020 by Joe Cochoit[Living Bethune]Can't see any evidence here that the son of Arthur and Margaret, born in Devon in 1599, went to Massachusetts. Maybe he did, after settling his murdered father's estate in 1625, but where's the proof?posted Jun 29, 2019 by [Living Bethune]Jason ClarkArthur and Margaret are not having their kids in Kent. They are from Aulers/Allers. All of their children are baptised in Devon, including a son named Thomas, on 14 Oct 1599. Thomas also appears in the visitation of 1620, taken while this family was alive. What's the reason to not believe this is that Thomas?posted Apr 08, 2017 by Jason ClarkJoe CochoitThomas Hatch of Aller was the first born son and inherited the family estates. He would not be a relatively poor tailor/farmer and he would not immigrate to New England. In fact we know the fate of Thomas Hatch of Aller. He died 1 June 1680 in England without having married and no children. The heir to the Aller estates was John Hatch, son of his brother John.
I will be disconnecting the parents.
posted Oct 12, 2020 by Joe CochoitHayward Houghton IIHatch-174 and Hatch-2546 appear to represent the same person because: Dates of birth differ, however same wife, same death date and location, and same questions regarding originposted May 19, 2016 by Hayward Houghton II
===========
See The Great Migration Begins.
Migrated in 1633. First residence in Dorchester before 13 May 1634. Freeman May 14, 1634. (Mass. Bay MBCR)
Removes to Yarmouth by 1639
Remove to Barnstable by 1641. Held men able to bear arms in Plymouth Co., Barnstable section.
==========================
THOMAS HATCH
ORIGIN: Unknown
MIGRATION: 1633
FIRST RESIDENCE: Dorchester
REMOVES: Yarmouth 1639, Barnstable by 1641
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: Admission to Dorchester church prior to 14 May 1634 implied by freemanship.
FREEMAN: 14 May 1634 [MBCR 1:369].
On 7 January 1638/9 proposed for freedom at Yarmouth [PCR 1:108]. Oath of fidelity at Yarmouth, 1639 [PCR 8:185]. On 1 June 1641 proposed for freeman at Barnstable [PCR 2:17]. (Apparently never took up his freedom in Plymouth Colony; not in 1657 oath of fidelity list or 1658 list of freemen for Barnstable.)
EDUCATION: His inventory included "books" valued at 6s. and "an instrument called a violin" valued at £1.
OFFICES: In Barnstable section of 1643 Plymouth Colony list of men able to bear arms [PCR 8:193].
ESTATE: On 17 April 1635 John Phillips and Thomas Hatch were each granted two acres of land between the ends of the great lots and the acreage granted to Alexander Miller "provided they leave a sufficient highway at their great lots" [DTR 10-11]. In the March 1637[/8] division of the Neck and other Dorchester lands, Thomas Hatch had three acres, one quarter and six rods in the neck and the same amount in the other lands [DTR 31]. In the map of Dorchester meadows beyond the Naponset river, "T. Hach" had two acres in lot number 77 [DTR 322].
On 31 October 1639 it was recorded that "Thomas Hatch hath made sales unto John Phillips of Dorchester, one great lot with a house on that sixteen acres within and without pale, also six acres of meadow, four on this side and two acres on the other side Neponset, and all his commons except that in the neck" [DTR 39].
In an agreement of 15 May 1648 regarding his landholding in Yarmouth, Anthony Thatcher "demands 8 acres of upland in West Field, which he bought of Thomas Hatch" [PCR 2:130].
The inventory of the estate of Thomas Hatch, taken 27 May 1661, totalled £14 18s., with no real estate included; "Grace Hatch late wife of the above said Thomas Hatch deceased" deposed to the inventory on 27 June 1661 [MD 17:160, citing PCPR 2:2:65].
On 3 March 1662/3 "Letters of administration are granted unto Jonathan Hatch and Lydia, the wife of Henery Taylor, to administer upon the estate of Thomas Hatch, deceased, to pay all lawful debts owing from the said estate, and to be ready to give account thereof unto the Court" [PCR 4:31].
BIRTH: By about 1596 based on estimated date of marriage.
DEATH: Barnstable by 27 May 1661 (date of inventory).
MARRIAGE: By about 1621 Grace _____. She was alive on 27 June 1661 [MD 17:160], but had probably died by 3 March 1662/3 [PCR 4:31].
CHILDREN:
i JONATHAN, b. say 1621; m. Barnstable 11 April 1646 Sarah Rowley [MD 5:171], daughter of HENRY ROWLEY.
ii LYDIA, b. say 1625 (based on court action of 1 March 1641/2 [PCR 2:35]); m. Barnstable 19 December 1650 Henry Taylor [NEHGR 9:287].
COMMENTS: As noted by Elizabeth French in 1916 "Much confusion has arisen and numerous errors have appeared in various printed works regarding two settlers in Plymouth Colony named Thomas Hatch" [NEHGR 70:256]. There was a Thomas Hatch of Scituate, and another of Yarmouth and Barnstable. Which one had earlier been at Dorchester? French states correctly that the Dorchester man moved to Yarmouth and then Barnstable, and the Scituate Thomas Hatch came straight from England. This may be concluded from the fact that Thomas Hatch of Scituate had a daughter baptized at Tenterden, Kent, in 1636 [NEHGR 70:257], while the other Thomas Hatch was already in Dorchester by 1633. (For excellent accounts of the Hatch family of Scituate see NEHGR 70:245-60 and Joseph Neal Anc 111-22.)
On 1 March 1641/2 "Lydia Hatch, for suffering Edward Michell to attempt to abuse her body by uncleanness, & did not discover it, & lying in the same bed with her brother Jonathan, is censured to be publicly whipped [which] was accordingly done" [PCR 2:35].
From:
Source Information:
Robert Charles Anderson. Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Original data: Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol. 1-3. Boston, MA, USA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995.
p 875-876
Description:
The Great Migration Begins aims to provide comprehensive biographical and genealogical information, derived from a broad survey of primary and secondary sources, on all immigrants to New England between 1620 and 1633.
MBCR= Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1628-1686, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., 5 volumes in 6 (Boston 1853-1854)
PCR= Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, eds., 12 volumes in 10 (Boston 1855-1861)
DTR =Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston. 1880. Dorchester Town Records (Boston 1883)
MD= Mayflower Descendant, Volume 1 through present (1899-1937, 1985+)
PCPR= Plymouth Colony Probate Records (from microfilm)
NEHGR= New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1 through present (1847+)
==================================
Immigrated to America in the ship "Mary and John" in 1634. Birth parents uncertain. On May 14, 1634 he was by vote of the court of General Assembly made a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony, The court at that time was very strict as to whom they admitted.
=======================
January 7, 1639, Thomas Hatch and nine others applied to Plymouth Colony for grant of leave to purchase land and form a new township at a place now known as Yarmouth on the Cape Cod peninsula. The town was incorporated Jan 17, 1639.
==========================
Lived in Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1634, Then Yarmouth and finally by 1641 he settled in Barnstable for the rest of his life.
===============================
Thomas HATCH of Barnstable born circa 1603 in England, died before 27 May 1661 in Barnstable, MA. Married Grace LEWIS circa 1624. Issue of this union include Lydia, who married Henry TAYLOR, and Jonathan, who married Sarah Hannah ROWLEY. This line is perhaps best documented by Ruth A. Hatch-Hale, genealogist, Genealogy and History of the Hatch Family; dec. of Thomas & Grace Hatch of Dorcester, Yarmouth & Barnstable, MA (Hatch Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, UT, 1925). Also see Charles Lathrop Pack, Thomas Hatch of Barnstable and Some of His Descendants (The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, 1930) pg. 29.
==============================
Thomas Hatch
· 29 March 2014 ·
THOMAS HATCH Thomas Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts(before May 1634 (1603?-1661) by Laura Wayland-Smith Hatch Family folklore weaves a story that Thomas Hatch came from near the village of Biddenden, Cranbrook, Kent, England. The town lies in the diocese of Canterbury and the deanery of Charing and on the road from Tenterden to Ashford. Numerous oak trees lined the roadways of the area. All Saint’s Church, constructed in the 1400s, overlooked the small village and was a source of pride to the villagers with its three chancels and three aisles. It was supposed that in the village of Biddenden that Thomas Hatch learned the trades of tailor and farmer. At a local fair held on St. Jude’s and St. Simon’s Day (November 8th), folklore has it that Thomas met his future wife, Grace. It is probable that she was the daughter of a Welsh farmer named Lewis, who had traveled to the town to sell his farm produce at the fair. Grace was described as being a very pretty and popular young woman, with many of the local men vying for her attentions. It was a lucky Thomas who won her attentions on that day, and eventually her hand in marriage, in a reaping match of grain held during the fair. (Please remember that this is only a story. No documentation has been found to prove this.)Thomas Hatch emigrated from England with his wife and his two children to the Colonies in approximately 1634. It is very possible that Grace Hatch was not the biological mother of Jonathan and Lydia, but was Thomas’ second wife. As the children grew, they became estranged from their father and were not welcome in the home, a situation not likely to have taken place if Grace had been their natural mother. Throughout Jonathan Hatch’s turbulent adolescent years, Grace demonstrated little concern for his welfare. Because of his disruptive and rebellious behavior, Thomas apprenticed Jonathan out at the age of twelve, and he was left behind when the family moved on to Yarmouth. Circumstantial evidence that Grace was not the Hatch children’s natural mother is that her name was never passed on to any of the grandchildren. A tradition of those times was to name children for their grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles.Both Jonathan and Lydia had daughters named Lydia, but none named Grace. It is possible that their mother died giving birth to Lydia, or shortly thereafter,so Lydia was given her name in remembrance of her. Thomas Hatch was declared a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the 14 May 1634. There he was described as being a public-spirited man, influential in the community, and with much business ability. He was very religious and of a high moral character.Mr. Otis, in “Barnstable Families” testifies, “Thomas Hatch was a church member and a freeman, a man whose life was a living testimony of his fidelity to the principles which he professed. He was not a man of note, yet he was an honest man and good neighbor.” Tradition pictures Thomas Hatch as “rather feeble and effeminate.” Perhaps it was Thomas’s love of music in general, and the violin in particular, that prompted those comments. In his later years, he also appeared to have been rather sickly, hence not very active, which contributed to the feeble characterization. On the 7 Jan 1639, Thomas Hatch’s name appears on a grant, along with the names of twenty-five other families, allowing them to leave the Bay Colony and to purchase land and form a new township at Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The move was made in 1640. Barnstable is one of three towns formed in 1639, the other two being Yarmouth and Sandwich. Barnstable still retains the land boundaries that are closest to the original land grants.Cape Cod Bay and Barnstable Harbor bound it on the north, which developed into a bustling seaport, being more protected than Plymouth. A salt marsh extends across the northern portion of the town to the sound, bounded on the south by a high ridge that runs east and west. Over seventeen hundred acres of ponds cover the township, the largest being Great Pond. Boulders are scattered in large numbers over the plain, extending from the sound to the ridge. This land is the most fertile in the town. South of the ridge, there are fewer boulders and the land is more sandy. In the valley area, the soil was a rich loam, being a heavier loam on along the north shore. Stone fences marking the boundaries of farms were very common in the northern part of the town, but scarce in the southern part. These fences still dot the countryside of Barnstable and the surrounding areas. A combination of rich, fertile soil, and its strategic location to fresh and salt waters for fishing and shipping made Barnstable an ideal location for a new settlement. On 1 Jun 1641, probably due to a land dispute among settlers in the Yarmouth township, the Thomas Hatch family moved on to Barnstable, Massachusetts. There, Thomas was a landowner and a member of the Reverend John Lothrop’s church. Rev. Lothrop’s home still stands, having been incorporated into the Sturgis Library. The library houses a large local history and genealogical collection and is used by many researching their New England roots. In 1643, Thomas was listed on a roll of men “able to bear arms.”Neighbors in Barnstable called him “a man of exemplary character and a very pious man.” In 1650, according to town records, Thomas’ daughter Lydia married Henry Tayler. They had two children; Lydia, born 21 Jun 1655; and Jonathan,born 20 Apr 1655. The couple remained residents of the town of Barnstable. When Thomas died in 1661 his estate was valued at £14 18s and included working tools, timber, and his beloved violin. It was to be three years after his death before Jonathan and Lydia were eventually named executors of Thomas’ estate,further testimony to the fact that all must not have been well between the children and Thomas’ widow, Grace. ∆ * The “proof” of Grace being a second wife is not supported by the apprenticeship of Jonathan, as that was standard custom back then. It would appear that Otis was applying the norms and customs of his time to the facts from that time and may have misinterpreted. However, the fact that none of the children names include Grace would still seem to support the theory. - Carl Akins
Thomas Hatch 4th Great Grandfather of Ira Stearns Hatch born about 1600
PREFACE “The Hatch Family” by Azura Ruth Ward 1615 151st Ave.SE Bellevue, WA 98007 July 1985 Two men by the name of Thomas Hatch came to the Massachusetts colonies very early. To distinguish them, they have been designated "Thomas Hatch of Scituate" and "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable". The former Thomas, born in 1596, came with his brother William and located in Scituate before 5 March 1638 when he was made a freeman.These brothers are known to have come from Wye, co. Kent, England, and were the sons of Thomas and Anne of Tenterden, co. Kent. Their ancestry is given in the New England Register, volumes LXV and LXVII, and in Pack's "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable...." Note that Thomas is an outstanding name in the English Hatch families. Our ancestor is the Thomas Hatch of Barnstable, born in England very near 1600. His ancestry has not been definitely established. The Hatches of Salt Lake, former members of the Hatch Family Association, believe that he came from the Devon branch of the family which can be traced back to Jeffrey deHacche of Wally, co. Devon, England, born about 1200, They have found a Thomas, born in 1598, but have no proof that he is our immigrant. There are two major genealogies of our Thomas. One is called "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable and Some of his Descendants", written by Charles Lathrop Pack, 1930, which will hereafter be referred to as "Pack". The other titled"Genealogy and History of the Hatch Family: Descendants of Thomas and Grace Hatch..." was compiled by the Hatch Family Association during the 1920's, Ruth Hatch-Hale, editor. It originally came out in serial form of eight booklets which were distributed to members of the Association. Later these were bound into two volumes, and, more recently, reissued in seven booklets.This compilation will be referred to as the "Hatch Gen." I have also had access to Association records which were collected but never printed. In the latter part of the 1880's the Barnstable Patriot published a series of notes on Barnstable families entitled "The Amos Otis Papers". These have been reprinted and bound as "Genealogical Notes..." and will be referred to as "Otis". They are a valuable resource. As the early generations of our ancestry had already been fully treated in the above genealogies I had planned to include in this book just brief sketches of them through the fifth generation and then to concentrate on the descendants of Lewis Hatch (6.18), our Revolutionary ancestor. However, in studying, the records on our immigrant Thomas and his family I developed a different interpretation of some of them and feel that I should express my views. As the story then proceeds several errors appeared and I have made corrections according to records located, and added some new data. There is some variation in the early birth, marriage, and death records in such towns as Barnstable and Falmouth. Their original records were burned or lost. Numerous towns have re-constructed them from church records, tax lists, and grave-stones. Thomas Hatch HATCH GENEALOGY Thomas Hatch of New England From Hatch Family History The progenitors of the Hatch Families in America came from England. They represent at least four distinct branches probably of no connection. We have grouped them as follows: Family "A" represents the descendants of Thomas and Elder William Hatch, brothers who settled in Scituate, Massachusetts about 1633-34 and whose ancestors are traced back to 1415 to Kent Co., England. Family"B" are the descendants of Thomas Hatch, whose only son was Jonathan, settlers of Yarmouth and Barnstable, Massachusetts, whose descendants we are considering in this history. Family "C" are the descendants of Phillip Hatch of York, Maine, who settled there in the year 1637. Family"D" represents descendants of an Anthony Hatch who settled in Norfolk, Virginia. Will dated 1688. These families of Hatches were mostly people of the middle class-neither rich nor poor-mostly small land owners and farmers, always pious, industrious, frugal and temperate and of good repute.The following was copied from the "New England Historical and Genealogical Register" Vol LXX, 1916, page 256. Much confusion has arisen and numerous errors have appeared in various printed works regarding two settlers in Plymouth Colony, named Thomas Hatch. Besides Thomas Hatch of Scituate, there was a Thomas Hatch, an early proprietor of Dorchester, Massachusetts, who was propounded as a freeman, May 14, 1634. He moved to Yarmouth, where he was propounded as a freeman Jan. 7, 1638 or 1639. Later he moved to Barnstable, where he was propounded as a freeman June 1, 1641. At Barnstable in August 1643, he was on the list of those able to bear arms, that is he was between 16 and 60 years of age. He had land in both Yarmouth and Barnstable, and took the oath of fidelity in Yarmouth in 1657. He died about 1660, and on May 7, 1661, his widow, Grace, presented his estate was granted to Jonathan Hatch and Lydia, wife of Henry Taylor, who were, without doubt, his children. This Thomas Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth, and Barnstable did not belong to Hatch family of Scituate which came form Kent County, England. Thomas Hatch of Family B is supposed to have been born about 1603. Of his life previous to his removal to New England, not much is known to us. He married a young woman by the name of Grace, probably as a second wife. Her family name seems not now to be known but she is said to have been of Welch extraction, and in this connection there is a pretty little romance which has been preserved among his descendants to this day. Miss Grace, it seems was a very winsome and popular young woman and Thomas had more than one rival for her heart and hand. But the contest finally simmered down to Thomas and the one other, and Miss Grace found it difficult to decide which she liked the better. Finally, as they were farmers, it was agreed by all concerned that fate should be determined by a reaping match, he who could reap a certain equal measured portion of a field of grain, to get the prize. And Miss Grace, being herself a farmers daughter and a skillful reaper determined that she also would have a hand in the contest, that was to decide the her fate consequently she,with true feminine diplomacy had her equal portion staked out between the other two and the contest began. Reaping grain at that time was done by the hand sickle. In the meantime as her fate was so near a determination, Miss Grace did some vigorous thinking as is apt to be the case when events of serious consequences are imminent and having concluded that, on the whole, she rather liked Thomas a little the better, she slyly cut over a little onto Thomas portion, thus enabling him to finish slightly ahead. It was probably early in the year of 1634 that Thomas Hatch removed with his family to the wilderness of the New World, during great Puritan emigration from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. May 14, 1634 he was by vote of the court of General Assembly made a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The court at that time was very strict as to whom they admitted the right to vote and have a voice in the management of the public affairs of the colony. To become of freeman of the colony one must be 25 years of age, a man having a family, a freeholder (or land owner) and be a member of the puritan or congregational church. They admitted no vagabonds or irresponsible persons into public affairs at the time. Thomas Hatch was a public spirited citizen and a man of business ability and during his residence in Massachusetts Bay Colony must have acquired some property and been a man of influence in the locality where he lived. According to the town records of Dorchester, Mass., under date of December 29, 1634. It is ordered that John Philips and Thomas Hatch shall have, each of them, two acres of land that lies betwixt the ends of the great lots and three acres that is granted to Alexander Miller, if so much there be provided they leave sufficient highway at the great lots. These two acres were apparently some remnants of land that did not come within the bounds of their great lots as laid out. January 7, 1639, Thomas Hatch and nine others whose names are given applied to Plymouth Colony for a grant of leave to purchase land and form a new township at a place now known as Yarmouth the Cape Cod peninsula. The leave was granted and Thomas Hatch and the other grantees at once went there and built themselves log houses. The town was incorporated January 17, 1639 and named Yarmouth. A committee was soon appointed to have charge of the division or allotment of lands and the sale of the same. In March 1640 the committee for the sale of lands was instructed to have a strict care to admit no settlers into the town except such as bring certificates from the well known men as to their religious and honest carriage in the places from whence they came. By the close of 1640 about 25 families had settled in the new town. It would seem that some difficulty arose over the first grants or division of land among the incorporators. The early records of the town were destroyed in a fire so that it is difficult now to determine just the nature of the dispute. At a court held at Yarmouth, June 17, 1642 by three of the Governor's Assistants an attempt was made to straighten matters out but it appears was only partially successful. It was during and probably on account of this dispute over these lands that Thomas Hatch moved to the town of Barnstable June 1, 1641. Thomas Hatch was an upright man and may have felt that he had not been fairly dealt with or at any rate that he would prefer to reside where he could live amicably with his neighbors and in undisputed possession of his property. That his lands were included among others in the dispute is evident from the records of a hearing held before Capt. Standish in 1648 by order of the Court designed to clear up and put an end to such differences as still remained, for among the several other names that of Thomas Hatch is mentioned. At this time, too Anthony Thatcher claimed 80 acres in the westfield of Yarmouth that had been bought of Thomas Hatch. Thomas Hatch resided in the town of Barnstable for the balance of his life and was probably a member of the church of the celebrated Rev. John Lathrop. In 1643 his name appears on the roll of those able to bear arms in Barnstable. He was at this time about 40 years of age. In Jan. 1644 his name is on the list of approved inhabitants of Barnstable showing he was man of good character and influence and held in esteem by his fellow townsmen. It seems evident that he must have acquired some landed estate in this town, for we know he acquired some land at other places where he resided in Massachusetts Bay Colonies. The records of deed and transfers of land in Barnstable previous to 1700 were destroyed in a fire so there is now no official record of the lands owned by any of the early settlers but every thing points to the conclusion that he must have been a land holder in the town. He died in Barnstable in 1661 probably in April or May. May 27,1661 an inventory of his personal estate was taken by Isaac Robinson and Thomas Ewer and sworn to by his widow Grace. It amounted to 17-18 Pounds. Authorities are agreed that he was of exemplary character and a very pious man. What became of his widow Grace, seems not to be known. Inventory of the goods of Thomas Hatch of Barnstable, lately deceased. Insp.'s his working tools It. for a cubbert not fully finished It. for wearing cloyes It. for beding and bedsted It. for putts, pewter and brasse It. for books It. for other lumber It. for timber and glew It. for and instrument called a violen Grace Hatch late wife of the above Thomas Hatch was deposed to the truth of the above mentioned Inventory this 27 day of June, 1661, before me Thomas Hinckley, assistant.
=======================================
THOMAS HATCH. Many of the name Hatch came over early. Elder William of Scituate, who came from Sandwich in England in 1635, with wife Jane and five children, was a noted man in the early history of the Colony. Two of the name of Thomas came over, and settled in Massachusetts, and afterwards removed to the Plym- outh Colony. One of them was made a freeman of Massachu- setts May 14, 1634, the same day that three others were, who were afterwards among the first settlers of Yarmouth. Thomas whom Mr. Deane calls an elder brother of William, settled in Scituate, and died there about the year 1646, leaving a family. Mr. Savage calls this man the freeman ; but circumstances incline me to the opinion that it was the other Thomas who was made free May 14, 1634. Thomas Hatch, the ancestor of the family in this country, was one of the nine who proposed, Jan. 7, 1638, O. S., "to take up their freedome at Yarmouth." On the 5th of March follow- ing his name is entered on the record with those who proposed to become freemen at the next court, but there is no mark against it indicating that he then took the required oath. In 1641 he had removed to Barnstable, and at the court held the first of June that year, he with others of that town, was again "propounded to be admitted a freeman at the next court." His name does not ap- pear on any list of freemen of the town of Barnstable. He had taken the "oath of fidelity" before his removal from Yarmouth, 462 GENEALOGICAL NOTES OP BAENSTABLE FAMILIES. and in some instances this seems to have been considered as the equivalent of the freeman's oath. In August 1643, his name ap- pears on the roll of those "able to bear arms in Barnstable," and in the following January on the list of approved inhabitants of Barnstable. Very little is certainly known respecting him. He does not appear to have been employed at any time, in any public busi- ness. He was not a man of wealth, and no record of his lands has been preserved. In 1648 Mr. Anthony Thacher claimed eight acres in. the "West Field"* in Yarmouth that had been bought of Thomas Hatch. This was the usual allotment, and the probability is that he had an equal proportion of the lands both in Yarmouth and in Barnstable assigned to him. I am inclined to the opinion that his houselot in Barnstable was near the Crocker farm at West Barnstable. Lands in that vicinity were after- wards owned by his son Jonathan, and by him sold to Capt. Thomas Dimmock. He died in 1661, leaving a widow Grace and son Jonathan and daughter Lydia, wife of Henry Taylor. Mr. Savage calls him "a young man." He was a grandfather and in my judgment had ceased to be young. A pleasant story is told respecting his courtship. It is said that he was son of a farmer and served his father before learning the trade of a tailor. His wife was also a farmer's daughter, and in time of harvest assisted him in the fields, and was very expert in the use of the sickle. Two young men asked her hand in mar- riage and it was agreed that the one who should reap the larger piece in a given time should win the prize. The land was marked off and an equal proportion assigned to Miss Grace. She was the best reaper, and having decided that she would marry Thomas Hatch, she slyly cut over on the part set off to him, and in conse- quence Thomas came out ahead, claimed and received her hand in marriage. This story was related by a grandson of Thomas, and has been preserved as a family tradition, and whether true or false is immaterial. I doubt whether Grace, the widow of Thomas Hatch, was the heroine of the story ; if so, she was different from other mothers — she must have been a second wife — for if Jonathan and Lydia had been her children, she would not have al- lowed them in youth to have been aliens from their father's house and exposed to all the temptations of a wicked world. I have no other evidence that she was a second wife. I want no other. Thomas Hatch was a church member, and a freeman, a man whose life was a living testimony of his fidelity to the principles *"The WeBt Field" waa an open tract, cultivated by the Indians, bounded southerly by Dennis Pond, westerly by the bounds of Barnstable, northerly it extended nearly to the present County road, and easterly to Hawes' Lane. Xhe lot of Thomas Hatch was in the immediate Ticmity of the homestead of the writer. GENEAIiOGIOAL NOTES OF BARNSTABLE FAMILIES. 463 which he professed. He was not a man of note, yet he was an honest man and a good neighbor. It is unnatuial to suppose that a man who sustained the character that Thomas Hatch did, would have allowed his only son, and only daughter, to have been exposed to temptations, as they were, if there had not been some superior controling influence at home. Of the family of Thomas Hatch little is known beside what has been already stated. His childrenf were both probably born in England. At his death in 1661 he was probably aged, not "a young man." Of the time of the death of his widow Grace, I find no record. 2. Jonathan, born about the year 1624. 3. Lydia, born about the year 1626, married Henry Taylor Dec. 19, 1650, and had a family. He probably had other children, but none are named as sur- viving in 1661.
========================
References:
Geneaolgy and History of the Hatch Family, descendants of Thomas and Grace Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth and Barnstable Massachusetts,
Vol 1 I think there are at least 6 volumes
Compiled by the Hatch Genealogical Society
Ruth A Hatch-Hale, Genealogist, Salt Lake City, UT 1930
==================
Some Hatch info in Wood Family Tree on Ancestry, Julie Wood
====================
Thomas Hatch was born in 1603 in England. He married Grace there and they made their way to Massachusetts Bay Colony. In January 1639, Thomas Hatch and nine others applied for and were granted "permission to purchase land and forma new town known as Yarmouth, on the Cape Cod peninsula." In 1648 he moved to Barnstable where he lived until his death in 1661. His personal estate amounted to 17 pounds 18 shillings.
=====================
wiki trees
Thomas Hatch (abt. 1596 - bef. 1661)
Thomas
Hatch
Born about 1596
in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown][sibling(s) unknown]Husband of Grace (UNKNOWN) Hatch
— married before 1621 in EnglandDESCENDANTS Father of Jonathan Hatch Sr. and Lydia (Hatch) TaylorDied before 7 May 1661
in Barnstable, Plymouth
Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], Laurence Houlgate [send private message], and Steve Turley [send private message]Profile last modified 3 May 2021 | Created 16 Nov 2010This page has been accessed 5,998 times.
Thomas Hatch migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Disputed Origin
2 Biography
3 Additional Discussion
3.1 Research Notes
4 Sources
Disputed Origin
Project protected by PGM because of known errors in his ancestry. The origins of Thomas Hatch of Barnstaple are unknown and he is specifically not the son of Arthur Hatch of Aller with wife Margaret Mallet of Aller, Devon England. See Research notes for further explanation.He is also sometimes often confused with Thomas Hatch of Scituate who had a daughter baptized in England in 1636, by which time this Thomas Hatch was already in New England.Biography
Thomas Hatch was born about 1596 in England, based upon estimated date of marriage.[1] His parents are unknown.He was married by about 1621 to Grace (Unknown), who accompanied him to New England along with their two children, both of whom were born in England:[1]
Jonathan, b say 1621, who married in Barnstable April 11, 16746 Sarah Rowley, daughter of Henry Rowley.
Lydia, b say 1625, married in Barnstable December 19, 1650 Henry Taylor.Thomas arrived in New England in 1633, where he first settled in Dorchester. There he received grants of land and joined the church. He had relocated to Yarmouth by 1639, when he was proposed for the Oath of Fidelity. He had moved again, to Barnstable, by 1641, when he was proposed for freeman.He died in Barnstable, Massachusetts, by 27 May 1661, when inventory of his estate was taken.[1] His wife had probably died by March 3, 1662/3.On 3 Mar 1662/3 “Letters of administration granted unto Jonathan Hatch and Lydia, the wife of Henery Taylor, to administer upon the estate of Thomas Hatch, deceased, to pay all lawful debts owing from the said estate, and to be ready to give account thereof unto the Court” [PCR 4:31]Additional Discussion
Thomas with his wife Grace, small son Jonathan and probably their smaller daughter Lydia came to Boston perhaps in the Winthrop Fleet about 1630 or so. He settled in Dorchester, MA Bay Colony, received grants of land, joined the Church and satisfied other requirements of a desirable citizen. He was make a freeman on 14 May 1634. This qualified him as a voter. In addition to being a farmer he was either a tailor or a cabinet maker.Thomas and others became interested in land on Cape Cod and requested permission from Plymouth Colony Court to settle there. On 19 Jan 1639 the group left Dorchester and moved to their new town, later known as Yarmouth.Thomas did not stay there long. A serious dispute arose, the cause of which is unknown and Thomas moved again and on 1 Jun 1641 was established in Barnstable where he spent the remainder of his life. He may have been dissatisfied with the land allotted to him or he may have felt that he would be happier in the church of the Rev. John Lathrop in Barnstable.In the Dorchester Town Records, under the date of April 17th, 1635 "It is ordered that John Phillips and Thomas Hatch shall have each of them 2 acres of land that lyes betwixt the ends of the great lotts and 3 Acres that is graunted to Alexander Miller, if so much be there, P'vided theyt leave a sufficient highway at there great lotts each." John Phillips was a man of some prominence and was made freeman in 1630. He was styled "Biscuit Maker" from London, England and was a first settler of Dorchester. It seems more than probable that Thomas Hatch was also a 1630 first settler. Possibly these men were friends in old England and fellow passengers before becoming adjoining property owners here.Tradition pictures Thomas Hatch as "rather feeble and effeminate". Perhaps a fondness for music, a violin being noted in the inventory of his estate earned him the reputation for "effeminacy"Mr. Otis in Barnstable Families says of him: Thomas Hatch was a church member and a freeman, a man whose life wasa living testimony o his fiedelity to the principles which he professsed. He was not a man of note, yet he was an honest man and a good neighbor. He died in 1661 leaving a widow Grace and son Jonathan and daughter, Lydia, wife of Henry Taylor.The Plymouth Colony Court granted in 1639 to Joseph Hull and Thomas Dimoc permission to erect a town at the place called Mattacheese by the Indians.Permanent settlements were effected at both Yarmouth and Barnstable in the summer 1639.At the Court of Assistants held Jan 1637, Thomas Hatch was among thoses proposed to take up their freedome at Yarmouth.By 1640 Thomas was inhabitant of Barnstable and on June 1, 1641 he proposed to take the oath of freeman there. In 1643 he was able to bear arms and is called a member of the Barnstable church.The house lot of Thomas Hatch in Barnstable as traced by Mr. Otis was "near the Crocker farm at West Barnstable" which corresponds to land later owned by his son Jonathan and by him sold to Capt Thomas DimmockAdmitting the unknown quality and the handicap of ill health, Thomas Hatch, retiring and occupying no prominent public office as far as known, was the worthy founder in New England of a long and honorable line of descendants.Some histories link Thomas to Arthur Hatch and Mallet of Aller, Devon. Their son Thomas was baptized in October 1599 as the oldest son. Since Arthur died in 1525, Thomas would have become lord of the substantial estate. In 1633, he was named warden, apparently a lifetime appointment. For this to be Thomas of Barnstable, he would have had to leave behind life as a wealthy lord in Devon for life in the colonies, where he wasn'’t particularly wealthy and had no servants.Hatch family tradition gives us the following story about the courtship of Thomas and Grace. Is it true? Probably not, although it may have some basis in fact. It is a true part of our family heritage though and worth passing on.The Harvest of Thomas HatchThomas Hatch had been left a widower by the death of his first wife. Needing a mother for his two young children Lydia and Jonathan, he began to court the daughter of his neighbor, a farmer named Lewis. Grace Lewis was apparently a very attractive and popular young woman for she had several suitors in addition to Thomas. At last, the field was narrowed to Thomas and just one other but, the lovely Grace could not seem to choose between the two. Finally it was decided that the two rivals would take part in a contest to determine who would win the hand of Grace. Since it was harvest time, it would be a reaping contest. The one who reaped his portion of Farmer Lewis's field in the shortest time would be the winner.On the day of the event, Grace announced that she too would take a part in the contest. She would start in the middle of the field and cut her swaths toward the edges, one side and then the other. The two suitors would start at opposite edges and cut toward the middle. The first to join his swath with Grace's would also join his life with hers.In the early morning, the contest began. The two rivals paced off the distance to the center of the field and agreed that each patch was even. Grace cut her first swath straight up the middle of the field with an expertise gained through years of harvests. Her two suitors worked furiously to cut their way to the center and to the lovely Grace. The two young men were evenly matched. First one and then the other would take the lead. By ten o'clock, every neighbor for miles around had arrived to cheer on their favorite in the struggle for the hand of Miss Grace.The noon time hour arrived and the onlookers brought out their picnic lunches but the rivals would not stop to eat. Both kept up an almost superhuman pace so great was each ones desire to win. Grace too kept up her work without a rest first cutting a swath toward Thomas and then one toward the other until finally, just before two in the afternoon, Thomas swung his sickle through the last thin row of grain and joined his harvested ground with Grace's. The young couple clasped hands and raised them high between them for all the town to see.The happy pair, the relieved father and the jubilant neighbors hurried off to the Lewis home to celebrate the betrothal. Left behind, Thomas's rival gazed forlornly over the harvested ground. Something did not seem quite right to him. As he paced to an fro over the stubbled ground, he saw that the portion he had cut was definitely larger that that cut by Thomas. A closer study showed him that each row of wheat that Grace had cut toward his side of the field was just slightly narrower than the rows cut toward Thomas' side. It seemed that Grace had made up her mind after all! The rival suitor chuckled to himself then set off after the noisy crowd. There would be a party this evening and the young ladies of the town would all be there. It was time for him to set his sights on another prospect. This time he thought, he would not choose a farmer's daughter to court.Amelia Gerlicher at www.WeRelate.org provided expanded information.Research Notes
It is sometimes said that Thomas Hatch of Barnstaple was the son of Arthur Hatch and Margaret Mallet of Aller, Devon England. This is incorrect.It should be noted that though this identification is widespread there is no actual evidence that Thomas was the son Arthur Hatch. According to Anderson's The Great Migration Begins (1995), pp. 875-76, Thomas Hatch's origin is unknown.[1]The identification was always exceedingly unlikely. Arthur Hatch did have a son Thomas baptized 14 Oct 1599. [2] This Thomas was the first born son of Arthur, and as such inherited the family estates on his father's death in 1625. He is not someone who be found as a relatively poor farmer in New England, and not someone who leave the family estates behind. A detailed study of the problem has conclusively proved that Thomas Hatch of Aller was not the immigrant to New England.[3] Thomas Hatch of Aller of course never left his estate in England. He died on 1 June 1680 unmarried and without children. His heir was John, son of his brother John, who returned to assume control of the family estates in Aller.Sources
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, vol. 2: G - O, (Boston: NEHGS, 1995): pages 875-876. AmericanAncestors.org link.
↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch ([1] : 6 December 2014), Arthur Hatche in entry for Thomas Hatche, 14 Oct 1599; citing BARNSTAPLE, DEVON, ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 0962417 IT 1.
↑ Myron Hatch. The Thomas Hatch Enigma: An examination from a different perspective, of the relationship of Thomas Hatch of Barnstable, Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Arthur Hatch of Aller, South Molton, Devonshire, England (St. George, Utah, 25 April, 1999).
Hatch Family Association: http://www.hatchfamassociation.org/research.htm
Genealogy & history of the Hatch family : descendants of Thomas & Grace Hatch of Dorchester, Yarmouth, & Barnstable, Massachusetts] compiled by Hatch Genealogical Society, Ruth A. Hatch Hale Salt Lake City, Utah : , 1925[2]
Source: Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins. Boston, MA: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 1995, volume II, page 875.
Source: Freeman, Frederick. The History of Cape Cod: Anals of Thirteen Towns of Barnstable County. Boston, MA: W. H. Piper & Co., 1869.
Source: Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston, MA: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 2009.
Source: Walters-1052 09:12, 1 January 2016 (EST) The following is an excerpt from "Thomas Hatch of Barnstable and Some of His Descendants" by Charles Lathrop Pack:
“ Such were the surroundings early in the seventeenth century when Thomas Hatch left for a home in the new World. He learned the trade of a tailor and was also a farmer. London encroaches on the northwestern portion of the County of Kent, and it may be supposed that to London Thomas Hatch went to perfect himself in his trade. The clothiers' trade was a flourishing one in Biddenden, but no clothiers remained in 1790, and of its two thousand inhabitants, one-fifth had become dissenters by the end of the eighteenth century.
“A fair formerly held in Biddenden on St. Simon and St. Jude's Day, now on November 8, chiefly for the exhibition of Welsh cattle, may have been the meeting place of Thomas Hatch and his wife Grace, who is said to have been the daughter of a Welsh farmer and to have been skilled in agricultural pursuits. Perhaps she was before marriage Grace Lewis* and a second wife.
“The story told of her wooing is that, being expert in the use of a sickle, she was assisting with the harvest of her father's field. Two suitors were literally 'in the field,' and she decreed that her hand should be the award in a trial of skill, each man taking a third to reap and the lady in question taking her third. Was it a matter of chance that the third assigned to Thomas Hatch was next her own? Be that as it may, the story affirms that she cut a little over the line each time at the end of her swath and thus made sure that he would finish first. This tale having been related by a grandson of Thomas Hatch has been handed down through successive generations.
R.G. Newton, Newton and Hatch Families of Sherburne, N.Y.
“ The date and birth of Thomas Hatch has been placed at about 1603; his marriage probably occurred before 1626.* Jonathan, his only son, was born about 1626 and died shortly before January 4, 1710/11, being then called 'about 84 years.'+ The late Edwin T. Hatch, M.D., of Denver, Colorado, after years of research leaves the following note: 'I think the mother of Jonathan and Lydia Hatch was related to Isaac Robinson, son of Rev. John Robinson of Leyden, and that Jonathan was born in the year 1628, as he was not 16 in 1643. Lydia was probably two years younger as a record in 1650 calls her 20 years old.' That both children were born in England seems quite certain, but in what town or towns is a question. Thomas Hatch, at the time of his embarkation, may have been 'of London' or 'from the London quarter' as others were listed, with whom he seems to have been identified after his arrival in New England.
“Upon his arrival in New England, Thomas Hatch, his wife Grace, and the two children made their home in Dorchester, and on May 14, 1634, he was propounded as a freeman.
“The first book of Dorchester records, which contained a list of the first settlers and their allotments, was destroyed in 1657. The records of the second book from June 1630, to January, 1632/33, are also missing, so that prior to January, 1632/33, what is available relating to early Dorchester must be gleaned from the Colony Court Records.
“Under the date of 'April 17th. 1635,' Dorchester Town Records, appears the following: 'It is ordered that John Phillips and Thomas Hatch shall have each of them 2 acres of land that lyes betwixt the ends of the great lotts and 3
J. M. Hatch, Descendants of Moses and Sarah K. Porter, p. 14
+Otis, Barnstable Families, pp. 463-467; Freeman, History of Cape Cod, II, 474 acres that is granted to Alexander Miller, if so much be there, P'vided they leave a sufficient highway at their great lotts e[ach].”*
Dorchester Records p. 14
Comments: 9
[hide]
Leave a message for others who see this profile.Login to post a comment.Barry WoodI have found the first sure trace of the whereabouts in England of this Thomas Hatch, the violinist. Without doubt, he was the Thomas Hatch who had a daughter "Lyddia" Hatch chr. at Cranbrook, County Kent, 20 November 1631. I also believe (but am less certain) that he was the father of Mary ("Marie") Hatch, chr September 1626 at nearby Horsmonden, Kent. Some may imagine that Mary's father was the Thomas Hatch who settled in Scituate, Mass. However, THAT Thomas Hatch had had a son "Jeremie" chr. just two months earlier at Wye, Kent. It's therefore not reasonable to suppose that his wife could have produced another child so soon thereafter as to be ready for baptism at Horsmonden.
That said, I am inclined to think that Thomas of Scituate was the groom of the 1617 marriage of Thomas Hatch to Lydia Gyles at Tonbridge, Kent (sometimes spelt "Tunbridge"), and that the children of Thomas Hatch chr. at Tonbridge are the children of that couple, rather than of Thomas the violinist of Cranbrook, Dorchester, Yarmouth and Barnstable. There is, of course, the chance that the two Thomas Hatches of Jacobean Kent both married women named Lydia, such that Grace was the second wife of the violinist wife of Barnstable, but Occam is telling me to assign Lydia Gyles to Thomas of Scituate, and to continue the search for a record of the violinist's marriage(s).
posted Jan 11, 2021 by Barry Wood Jeanie (Thornton) RobertsBarry do you have a source that ties Thomas of Cranbrook to the Thomas of Barnstable?posted Jan 11, 2021 by Jeanie (Thornton) RobertsBarry WoodIt's the convergence of facts that fit only this man. We know that he had a daughter Lydia, which is much less common a given name of the day than Mary, Ann, Elizabeth, etc. From the known details of her life, the venerable Otis deduced that she was born "about 1630." This is the only Lydia Hatch on FamilySearch or FreeReg anywhere near this time frame. The family was in Dorchester by 1634, when Thomas was made a freeman there. This matches the fact that there is no trace of Thomas Hatch or of Lydia in Cranbrook (or anywhere else in England) after 1631.posted Jan 11, 2021 by Barry Wood Cheryl (Aldrich) Skordahlprofile is protected ............................posted Oct 12, 2020 by Cheryl (Aldrich) SkordahlJoe CochoitThomas Hatch of Aller was the first born son and inherited the family estates. He would not be a relatively poor tailor/farmer and he would not immigrate to New England. In fact we know the fate of Thomas Hatch of Aller. He died 1 June 1680 in England without having married and no children. The heir to the Aller estates was John Hatch, son of his brother John.
I will be disconnecting the parents.
posted Oct 12, 2020 by Joe Cochoit[Living Bethune]Can't see any evidence here that the son of Arthur and Margaret, born in Devon in 1599, went to Massachusetts. Maybe he did, after settling his murdered father's estate in 1625, but where's the proof?posted Jun 29, 2019 by [Living Bethune]Jason ClarkArthur and Margaret are not having their kids in Kent. They are from Aulers/Allers. All of their children are baptised in Devon, including a son named Thomas, on 14 Oct 1599. Thomas also appears in the visitation of 1620, taken while this family was alive. What's the reason to not believe this is that Thomas?posted Apr 08, 2017 by Jason ClarkJoe CochoitThomas Hatch of Aller was the first born son and inherited the family estates. He would not be a relatively poor tailor/farmer and he would not immigrate to New England. In fact we know the fate of Thomas Hatch of Aller. He died 1 June 1680 in England without having married and no children. The heir to the Aller estates was John Hatch, son of his brother John.
I will be disconnecting the parents.
posted Oct 12, 2020 by Joe CochoitHayward Houghton IIHatch-174 and Hatch-2546 appear to represent the same person because: Dates of birth differ, however same wife, same death date and location, and same questions regarding originposted May 19, 2016 by Hayward Houghton II
Events
| Birth | 1603 | Devonshire, Eng. |  | ||
| Marriage | 1624 | England - Grace Lewis | | ||
| Death | May 1661 | Falmouth, Barnstable, Mass. | | ||
| Occupation | tailor and farmer | ||||
| Burial | |
Families
| Spouse | Grace Lewis (1602 - 1661) |
| Child | Jonathan Hatch (1625 - 1710) |
| Child | Lydia Hatch (1628 - 1670) |
| Father | Arthur Hatch (1577 - 1625) |
| Mother | Margaret Mallett ( - ) |
Notes
Birth
Or near Kent, England; perhaps Biddenden, Kent, EnglandThomas Hatch of Barnstable: p. 56 Born at or near Biddenden, County Kent, England, between 1598 and 1605.
or 14 oct 1598 in Aulers, Devonshire, England
Marriage
Or 1620 in Kent, England; perhaps Biddenden, Kent, EnglandOr 1626
She may have been his second wife
Death
Before 27 May 1661 in Barnstable, Barnstable, MA, referenced in The Great Migration Begins.His widow presented an inventory of his estate on 27 May 1661( from Thomas Hatch of Barnstable p. 54)
Burial
Thomas HatchBIRTH 1596England
DEATH 27 May 1662 (aged 65–66)Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA
BURIAL Unknown
MEMORIAL ID 34355039 · View Source
SHARESAVE TOSUGGEST EDITS
MEMORIAL
PHOTOS 0
FLOWERS 27
PLANT TREES
Born by about 1596 based on estimated date of marriage. Came to Massachusetts Bay in 1633 & first settled in Dorchester. Moved to Yarmouth in 1639, & Barnstable by 1641. Died in Barnstable by 27 May 1661 (date of inventory).
Married by about 1621, Grace _____. She was alive on 27 June 1661, but had probably died by 3 March 1662/3.
"Much confusion has arisen and numerous errors have appeared in various printed works regarding two settlers in Plymouth Colony named Thomas Hatch." There was a Thomas Hatch of Scituate, and another of Yarmouth and Barnstable. Which one had earlier been at Dorchester? French states correctly that the Dorchester man moved to Yarmouth and then Barnstable, and the Scituate Thomas Hatch came straight from England. This may be concluded from the fact that Thomas Hatch of Scituate had a daughter baptized at Tenterden, Kent, in 1636, while the other Thomas Hatch was already in Dorchester by 1633.
Source: Anderson's Great Migration Study Project
Family Members
Parents
Arthur Hatch
1577–1625
Margaret Mary Mallet Hatch
1577–1625
Spouse
Grace Hatch
unknown–1662 (m. 1621)
Children
Lydia Hatch Taylor
1625 – unknown
Jonathan Hatch
1627–1710
Created by: Linda Mac
Added: 2 Mar 2009
Find a Grave Memorial 34355039
Hide citationFind a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/34355039/thomas-hatch : accessed 29 May 2021), memorial page for Thomas Hatch (1596–27 May 1662), Find a Grave Memorial ID 34355039, ; Maintained by Linda Mac (contributor 47062703) Unknown.