Person:Thomas Tupper (4)

An Unreliable Account of the Life of the First Thomas Tupper

"1. Thomas¹ Tupper, son of Henry Tupper and grandson of Richard Tupper of co. Sussex, England, was born in Bury, co. Sussex, 28 (7) Jan. 1578. As a ship's carpenter and member of the crew, he is believed to have voyaged to America first about 1621, again in 1624, when he remained a year, a third time in 1631 when he stayed at Cape Ann for an uncertain period, finally coming to Sandwich, Mass., in 1637 where he settled and remained until his death 28 March 1676. Thomas Tupper married first, in the Parish of Chelmsford, co. Essex, 29 Apr. 1622, Katharine Gator; secondly, in Topsfield, Mass., 25 Jan. 1628, Susan Turner, a widow, who died in Topsfield in 1634; and thirdly, in Ipswich, Mass., 21 Dec. 1634, Anne Hodgson, a widow, of Topsfield, who was born about 1588 and died in Sandwich 4 June 1676.

Thomas Tupper who had come to Sandwich in 1637 with his daughter aged twelve and a two year old son, became an outstanding citizen of the community and developed exceptional ability. He served in the general court in 1644 and later was deputy for 20 years, from 1647 to 1667; he served on juries, local boards and commissions, was a charter member of the church and for three years from 1667 was selectman of the town. In his later years, when there was no settled minister, Mr. Tupper conducted religious services as a layman and he was deeply interested in religious work among the Indians. He was a shrewd trader and invested heavily in real estate and held large holdings at his death.

Children by first wife:

i. Katherine,² b. in England 31 Jan. 1623; d. in Sandwich 4 June 1676; m. in Sandwich, 19 Oct. 1640, Benjamin Nye. The wedding was the first in the old Tupper homestead. … (Ref. Nye Genealogy.)
ii. Robert, d. in 1630 in infancy.

Children by second wife:

iii. Thomas, d. in infancy.
iv. Robert b. in England, bap. 3 Nov. 1633; m. in Sandwich, 9 May 1654, Deborah Perry and afterward returned to England.

Child by third wife:

v. Thomas, b. in Sandwich 16 Jan. 1638; d. 26 Apr. 1706. (Ref.: Sandwich V.R. and New England Families.)"

Much of the above account cannot be verified by any other source. The dates given for Thomas's and daughter Katherine's births are suspect because births, at that time, were not recorded in England while baptismal dates were. Nor is there any evidence for the identification of Thomas's father and grandfather. Nor is there any evidence for the statement of earlier visits to New England prior to his 1935 emigration. Nor is there any evidence for children ii., iii., or iv. Note that Deborah Perry married a Robert Harper, not a Robert Tupper. The only evidence for the identity of any of the three alleged wives is the the record of the death of his wife, Ann, in 1676, in the Sandwich vital records. It is not even certain that this identified wife, Ann, was the mother of either of his two known children.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Thomas Tupper, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Directory. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Jun 2015)
   342.

   "Tupper, Thomas: Unknown; 1635; Lynn, Sandwich [PCC 79 Campbell; PCR 1:57, 98, 149, 153; PCPR 1:32; MD 14:170, 21:39-40; NEHGR 159:73 (clue); Scott Gen 278; Noyes-Gilman 384-86]."

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} 1. Thomas¹ Tupper, in Tupper, Franklin Whittlesey. Thomas Tupper and his descendants. (Boston, Massachusetts: Tupper Family Association of America, 1967)
   19.
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Kardell, Caroline Lewis, compiler, and R. A. Lovell. Vital records of Sandwich, Massachusetts to 1885. (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996)
   1:21.

   "Thomas Tupper Senior desceased the 28th of march and buried the 30th anno domini 1676 Thomas Tupper now disceassed was borne in the yeare of our lord 1578 his age at his disceas was about 98 yeares and two moneth"