Person:Thomas Sanford (2)

Life in Colonial America

Thomas Sanford first appeared in the Town Records of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Dorchester 'was settled in 1630, but no lands were allotted till April 3, 1633. It is now a part of Boston and called South Boston and Dorchester. The town records begin January 16, 1632. The first settlers prior to 1636 were one hundred and thirty eight in number, and Thomas Sanford was one of them. He was made a Freeman on March 9, 1637. This right or title conferred upon the holder the right of suffrage and also an advantage in the division of lands. The principal qualification for this position was church membership.

'A freeman was required to be of godly walk and conversation, to be at least twenty years of age, to take an oath of allegiance to the government of Massachusetts, to be worth £200, to hold office if elected or pay a fine of forty shillings, to vote at all elections or pay the same fine.'

He was allotted land in Dorchester in 1635. He entered into an agreement to look after the town cows for the season of 1635 and 1637. It is believed that he married in Dorchester and this his first two children were born there. It is also believed that 'he remained there till after April, 1640, when the parcel of land was granted to him that had been previously only "booked" to him. He was surely in Milford in January, 1642, when he joined the church. His third child, Mary, is recorded in the records of the First Church of Milford as having been born in January, 1641, which is presumptive proof that she was born there.'^[6]

Milford land records indicate that he was allotted land there beginning in 1643. His name appears in other instances over the years as late as 1680. They indicate that he bore his part and was held in the good opinion of this neighbors, that he was a frugal and industrious citizen, which was shown by the amount of his estate, appraised 21 Oct 1681, soon after his death at over £450. Two of his sons, Ezekiel and Samuel became quite wealthy for those times. Records indicate that he could read, write, and "cast accompts (accounts)." His will shows him to have been a prosperous, successful man, of a kindly and generous nature and of exceptional character^[2].

Disputed Marriage

Susan Abbott, in Families of Early Milford, Connecticut, pp. 638-39, reports that 'One record states he was married/1 to Dorothy Meadows of Stove, England.' Some compilers have attributed his first two children to this first wife. However, there seems to be no reasonable foundation for assuming that he had any wife other than his known wife Sarah, which is the conclusion reached by the authors of The Great Migration^[1].

Disputed Immigration

Some researchers believe that he came to America with his uncle Andrew Warner and his younger brother Andrew as part of the Winthrop fleet in 1632. This is not supported by more recent research. Robert Charles Anderson concluded that he immigrated in 1634 based on a Dorchester land grant in November of that year, and indicates (p. 1352) that the first record for Thomas's brother Andrew Sanford in New England was in Hartford in 1651, although his eldest son must have been born around 1642 (married in 1667).

Legacy

"In his will, dated 23 September 1681 and proved on an unknown date, 'Thomas Sanford of Milford' bequeathed to 'my eldest son Ezekiell Sanford twenty pounds besides what I have already given him'; to 'my son Thomas Sanford ten pounds besides what I have already given him'; to 'my son Ephraim Sanford that piece of meadow that I bought of Mr. Adam Blackman lying on an island in Stratford River, containing seven acres, besides what he hath had already'; to 'my daughter Sarah Shute, wife of Richard Shute of Eastchester, the sum of fifty shillings, besides what I have already given her'; to 'my daughter Elizabeth Allyn, wife of Obadiah Allyn of Midletowne, the sum of five pounds, besides what I have already give her'; 'my engagement of twenty pounds, to my granddaughter Sarah Shute, should be fulfilled by my executor'; to 'my grandchild Thomas Allyn five pounds to be paid when he attains to the age of twenty-one years'; to 'my son Samuel Sanford, my dwelling house, barns, outhousing, with my homelot, & all the rest of my lands, both arable and meadow ground, within the bounds of Milford, that I have not formerly disposed of'; 'my said son Sam[ue]ll Sanford [to be] my whole and sole executor'; 'the honored Major Robert Treat & Mr. Daniell Buckingham & Samuell Eells to be overseers'; in a codicil dated 26 September 1681, he bequeathed to 'his son Ezekiell Sanford … five pounds more out of his estate'; to “his daughter Elizabeth Allen … five pounds more out of his estate'; and to 'Sarah Whitlock that was his maid … fifty shillings' [NHPR 1:2:82]."^[1]

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} Thomas Sanford, 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)
   6:157-62.

   ORIGIN: Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex.
   MIGRATION: 1634 (based on grant of land at Dorchester on 22 November 1634 [DTR 8]).
   OCCUPATION: Cowherd (in Dorchester). On 17 April 1635, the town of Dorchester "agreed with Thomas Thorneton and Thomas Sanford to undertake the keeping of cows for the space of 7 months, to begin the 15^th of April" [DTR 11]. On 16 January 15 1636/7, the town of Dorchester "ordered that Mathias Sension and Thomas Sampford shall keep the cows this year to begin the 17^th day of April and to continue the keeping them till the 15^th November" [DTR 22].
   CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: Admission to Dorchester church prior to 9 March 1636/7 implied by freemanship. (As he is not included in the published admission records of the second Dorchester church, he must have been admitted to the first Dorchester church before its removal to Windsor.) On 9 January 1641/2, "Thomas Samford" was admitted to Milford church (MilfordChR 2; TAG 16:30]. On 15 December 1642, "Sarah, wife of Thomas Samford," was admitted to Milforc church (later annotated "excommunicate & received in again") [MilfordChR 2; TAG 16:30].
   FREEMAN: 9 March 1636/7 (as "Thomas Samford") [MBCR 1:373]. On 20 November 1629, "Thomas Samford" is included in a list of those at Milford "to be free planters" [Milford LR 1:1]. (Thomas Sanford received a grant of land at Dorchester on 1 April 1640, so his addition to the Milford list may have been after 20 November 1639.)
   BIRTH: About 1608, probably at Hatfield Broadoak, Essex, son of Ezekiel Sanford [Sanford Gen 13-52].
   DEATH: Between 26 September 1681 (date of codicil to will) and 21 October 1681 (date of inventory).
   MARRIAGE: By about 1638 Sarah _____. She died at Milford on 7 May 1681 [Milford ChR 2; TAG 16:30].

2. ↑ Thomas Sanford, in Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield. (New Haven, Conn.: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company, 1930-1932)
   1:515-16.

   Thomas Sanford. Born about 1608, son of Ezekiel (bapt. at Much Hadham, co. Herts, 20 Feb. 1585/6) and ----- (Warner) Sanford, and nephew of Andrew Warner the emigrant. The family lived in Hatfield Broad Oak and Stanstead Mountfitchet, co. Essex, Eng. Of Dorchester, 1634-40; rem. to Milford, where he was admitted to the church, 9 Jan. 1641/2. His wife Sarah was adm. to Milford church, 15 Dec. 1642, and d. 14 May 1681, he dying the following Autumn. Will 23 Sept. 1681; eldest son Ezekiel; sons Thomas, Ephraim, Samuel; daus. Sarah wife of Richard Shute of Eastchester, and Elizabeth wife of Obadiah Allyn of Middletown; gr. children Sarah Shute and Thomas Allyn; Sarah Whitlock that was his maid. Inv. 21 Oct. 1681.

3. ↑ Sanford, Carlton E. Thomas Sanford, the Emigrant to New England: Ancestry, Life, and Descendants, 1632-4: Sketches of Four Other Pioneer Sanfords and Some of Their Descendants in Appendix, with Many Illustrations. (Rutland, Vt.: The Tuttle Co., Printers, 1911)
   1:39.

   'We have turned up the will … of Ezekiel's father-in-law. … It is judged that [Ezekiel] had lived in Hatfield [Broad Oak, Essex], probably at his wife's home, from the time of their marriage (about 1607) until the births of their eldest son Thomas .. and their second son John …'

4. ↑ Milford Vital Records [NEHGS], in Connecticut, United States. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records
   142.

   'Sanford, … Thomas,[d. ],1681' [ES:16].

5.   Sanford, Carlton E. Thomas Sanford, the Emigrant to New England: Ancestry, Life, and Descendants, 1632-4: Sketches of Four Other Pioneer Sanfords and Some of Their Descendants in Appendix, with Many Illustrations. (Rutland, Vt.: The Tuttle Co., Printers, 1911)
   1:40.

   The will of "John WARNER of Hatfeild [sic] Broakoke alias Hatfeild Kings, Co. Essex, yeoman" is dated "16 July, 12 James I (1614)". It mentions "Thomas, John and Ezechiell three of the sonnes of Ezehciel SANDFORD my sonne in lawe".

6. ↑ Sanford, Carlton E. Thomas Sanford, the Emigrant to New England: Ancestry, Life, and Descendants, 1632-4: Sketches of Four Other Pioneer Sanfords and Some of Their Descendants in Appendix, with Many Illustrations. (Rutland, Vt.: The Tuttle Co., Printers, 1911)
   1:67-69, 74-78.