Family:Thomas Wells and Abigail Warner (1)

Facts and Events
Marriage[2][3] Bef 1636
Children
BirthDeath
1.
Est 1636
2.
Est 1640
3.
4.
 
 

Married in England or Massachusetts?

Raymond Genealogy by Philip A. Raymond. p.276: Thomas Welles s/o Thomas Welles (b. 1566) was born 11 Dec 1605 Colchester, Essex, England. D. 26 Oct Ipswich, Essex, Mass. married 23 July 1630 Colchester, Essex, England to Abigail Warner.

This all needs to be checked; other researchers have raised the doubt that a) Thomas Wells was even of Colchester, therefore parish records need to be checked, and that b) Abigail married him in England. Just as likely that they married in Ipswich. Needs confirming.

From WELLES mailing list (Rootsweb):
There is general agreement that the Warners came in 1637 (an inference from land records). Since the birth of Nathaniel WELLS need be no earlier than October 1640, Thomas and Abigail probably married at or near Ipswich about 1638-1639.

Latest Research Regarding the Above Questions

Anderson has sketches of both Thomas Wells (7:294-300) and William Warner (7:243-47), father of Abigail, in the last volume of The Great Migration. (1) He concludes that Thomas Wells was born about 1605 (aged 30 on 13 April 1635 [Hotten 59]). He could possibly have been the Thomas baptized in Colchester in 1605, but there is apparently no evidence to that effect; (2) There is no parish register entry for the marriage of Thomas Wells and Abigail Warner at St. Botolph's Colchester any time between 1625 and 1635; (3) Based on Ipswich land records, Anderson concluded that William Warner was in New England before the end of 1635.

Children

[#3 through #8 need to be incorporated into WeRelate]

1. NATHANIEL, b. Apr. 1636; d. 15th Dec. 1681.

2. John, b. 1638; d. 11th Apr. 1677; m. in 1664, Sarah LITTLEFIELD.

3. Sarah, b. 1640; m. John MASSIE, of Salem.

4. Abigail, b. 1642; d. 16th June, 1667; m. 19th June, 1661, Nathaniel TREADWELL, of Salem.

5. Elizabeth, b. 1645; m. – BURNAM, of Ipswich.

6. Thomas, b. 11th Jan. 1647; d. 10th July, 1734; ordained as first minister of Amesbury, Mass.; m. 3d Mar. 1671, Mary PARKER. -- Hoyt in Old Families & Stearns in History of Plymouth, both agree that Thomas, son of Thomas & Abigail (Warner) Wells married 10 Jan 1669 Mary Perkins. Hoyt states poss dau of Quartermaster John of Ipswich. Stearns states without qualification dau of John Perkins & Elizabeth of Ipswich. Crane in Gen Personal Mem Worcest 1:277 states married Mary Perkins, no parentage suggested

7. Hannah, b. 1649.

8. Lydia, b. 1651; m. 25th Mar. 1669, John ROPES, of Salem.

References
  1.   Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)
    4;478.

    THOMAS, Ipswich, perhaps a physician, came in the Susan and Ellen from London, with young Richard Saltonstall, aged 30, and perhaps w. Ann, 20; was made freem. 17 May 1637, had three s. Nathaniel, John, and Thomas, this last b. 11 Jan. 1647; ds. Sarah, w. of John Massey, by tradit. falsely call, first b. male of Salem; Abigail, m. 19 June 1661, Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich; Elizabeth; Hannah; and Lydia. he had good est. gave his lds. in Wells, to s. John, was deac. made his will 3 July, and d. 26 Oct. 1666. See a very judic. memoir in Geneal. Reg. IV. 12. Ano. Ann W. came in the Planter, 1635, aged 15.

  2. Cushing, Gertrude W. Wells. Genealogy of the Wells family and families related. (Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Antiquarian Books, 1989?)
    p 6-12.

    "St. Botolphs Register, page 53, Colchesster, Essex Co. England, had the following marriage record: 'Thomas Wells of ___, single, and Abygall Warner of ___, single, the 23rd July, 1630'"

  3. William Warner, in Anderson, Robert Charles; George F. Sanborn; and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635. (Boston, Massachusetts: NEHGS, 1999-2011)
    7:244, 246.

    Abigail Warner … m. by about 1636 Thomas Wells {1635, Ipswich}. … Examination of a microfilm copy of the original register of St. Botolph, Colchester, did not find this marriage. There was no marriage of anyone on that date (23 July 1630), and no marriage of a couple of these names between 1625 and 1635. We are unable to tell how Linzee obtained this supposed record.