Person:Richard Thayer (2)

Origins

Richard Thayer was baptized Apr.5,1601 at St. Mary's Church, Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England, perhaps a son of Richard Thayer, but only the names of his god parents are given on the register, - Richard Dimery, Nicholas Tayer, and Elizabeth Griffin.

The Thornbury parish register is from 1538, with breaks from 1645 to 1650 and from 1679 to 1684...

He married 1st Apr. 5,1624 at Thornbury Dorothy Mortimore, who was buried there Jan.17,1640/1, a daughter of William Mortimore whose second wife Margaret Groome survived him.

The parish of Thornbury is in the western part of Gloucestershire, the town being a short distance from the river Severn. It is eleven miles north from Bristol, from which port it is probable that Thomas and Richard Tayer sailed for New England.

The name is now extinct in Thornbury...

Life in New England

Immediately after the death of his wife, Richard Thayer with his eight small children embarked for America and came to Braintree where Thomas Thayer, undoubtedly his brother, was already established. Here he bought 4 acres of land on present Elm St., Braintree, about 1/3 mile easterly of Thomas Thayer's homestead, and his son Richard settled here permanently.

1641: He became a freeman

About July 1646 Richard Thayer Sr. married at Boston Jane, widow of John Parker of Boston, who came from Marlboro, England.

In Oct. 1656, Jane "the now wife of Richard Tare, late of Boston, heretofore the widow of John Parker late of Boston, deceased, with Thomas Parker her son, and children John and Noah for their education ... sell to Stephen Greenleaf of Newbury, blacksmith, her house and land at Boston and 42 acres at Muddy River (Brookline)... with the consent of her children for their and her own transportation into England, dated Oct. 14, 1656 (S.D. 3-148). Mrs. Jane (Kember) Parker Thayer probably died in England before 1660. John Parker m. Jane Kember Sep.29,1628, Marlboro, England.

By 1660, Richard appears to have been a merchant based in St. Michaels, Barbados, running rum and other goods from Barbados. Around this time, he m3 Katherine-- probably in England-- and they moved together to St. Michaels where he died in 1664 and she died in 1687.

It is likely that the Nathaniel Thayer who was in Taunton before 1668 [Emery's History of Taunton, MA, p. 119; and The Harvey Book p. 37] and the Benjamin Tayer who died in Newport, RI in 1716 [Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, p. 197] were related to Thomas and Richard...

Legacy

Richard Thayer's third wife Katherine survived him and died between Feb.1, and Apr. 5, 1687 in the town and parish of St. Michael's, Barbados. Richard Thayer died at the same place in Barbados in Oct. 1664, leaving a will dated Oct. 6, proved Oct. 12, 1664, giving his estate to his wife Katherine for life, then to be divided among his surviving children (not named). The widow Katherine Thayer left a will dated Feb. 1, proved Apr. 5, 1687 only disposes of a negro slave named Dorcio. Both wills are disappointing genealogically, but Suffolk Court records (#424,455,828, paper 29) show that Richard Thayer was in Barbados as early as Mar. 12, 1660 as were his sons Richard and Nathaniel, and he also mentions his daughter Dorothy and his wife Katherine and Samuel (Samuel Davis, his son in law). He was a merchant there apparently engaged in shipping rum, cotton, and sugar to New England as mentioned in his account (published in "Ancestors and Descendants of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles of Roxbury by J.W. Lingee, pp.529-57).

There was also a John Thayer at Barbados who left a will dated Aug. 29, 1661, proved Jun. 22, 1665. He mentions various people, but the only relative mentioned is his sister Elinor Lemon. There are several baptisms of John and Elinor Thayer's at Thornbury, England, the home of Richard Thayer and Thomas Thayer.

His children are identified as Richard, Sarah, Jael, Deborah, Zachariah, Hester, Nathaniel and Cornelius.

Daughter Sarah m. 20 July 1651, Samuel Davis, rem. to Braintree, and had d. 27 Aug 1695. In 36 Pages of Thayer's fam. Geneal. are compris. many of the progeny of this Richard alone.

His son Nathaniel returned to Massachusetts where he married in Boston in 1670.

Additional Sources

(Incorporate into Sources)

1. James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc; Baltimore, 2nd Edition, 1996. Page: V. IV, p. 277

2. Waldo Chamberlain Sprague, Genealogies of the Familes of Braintree, Ma. 1640-1850; microfilm at NEHGS in Boston; see also http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dyer/sprague.htm

3. American Genealogist, Vol.18, p.114

4. Walter Fanon & Edward H. Whorft, Tayer (Thayer) Family Entries in the Parish Register of Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England; reprinted from NEHGS Register, July 1906

5. NEHGS Register, vol 37, p. 84; and vol 58, page 225

6. Smiths' Men and Armour for Gloucestershire in 1608 (London, 1902)] of "Able and Sufficient Men in Body fir for His Majesty's Service in the Wars, within the County of GLoucester... in the Month of August, 1608," there appear in Thornbury: Edward, John, Nicholas, and Richard TAYER, all "about 40 years of age"...

1. ↑ Lewis, Brian
   Correspondence of 10 Aug 2004.