This is part of a series about my New England colonial ancestors who arrived by during the Great Migration. If you have early Massachusetts ancestry, be sure to check out AmericanAncestors, as the Great Migration Study Project can be viewed there with a membership to the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Thomas Boyden was a 21 year old young man when he left Ipswich, England in April 1634 on the Francis and sailed to Massachusetts Bay Colony. His English origins haven’t yet been determined, but through associates in his FAN (friends, associates, neighbors) club, it is believed he hailed from Essex or Suffolk Counties, England. No obvious relatives made the voyage with him.
Thomas Boyden was born c1613, undoubtedly in England. He married (1) Frances (MNU), c1638. Frances is the mother of all his children. She died on 17 March 1657/58 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. He married (2) Hannah (Phillips) Morse, widow of Joseph Morse, 3 November 1658, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. Hannah also predeceased Thomas, passing away on 3 October 1676, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts.
Thomas was a planter, or farmer, and a carter (one who drives wagons to transport goods) by occupation. He died sometime after 15 April 1678, when he donated a bushel of wheat to help rebuild Harvard College.
He and Frances are two of my 10X great grandparents.
Only two of his five known children appear to have lived to adulthood and left descendants.
Children:
- Thomas, born 26 November 1639, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts; died 15 November 1719, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts; married Martha Holden, by 1667.
- Mary, born 15 October 1641, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts; no further record.
- John, baptized 21 April 1650, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; no further record.
- Jonathan, born 21 February 1651/52, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; died 30 May 1732, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts; married (1) Mary Clark, 26 September 1673, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts (2) Anne (MNU), c1712, who survived him.
- Sarah, born 12 October 1654, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; no further record.
My line of descent:
- Thomas Boyden & Frances (MNU)
- Thomas Boyden & Martha Holden
- Josiah Lakin & Lucy Boyden
- Jonathan Green & Sarah Lakin
- Samuel Scripture & Mary Green
- James Scripture & Sibbel Shepley
- Oliver Scripture & Mary Goddard Bucknam
- George Rogers Tarbox & Mary Elizabeth Scripture
- Calvin Segee Adams & Nellie F. Tarbox
- Charles Edwin Adams & Annie Maude Stuart
- Vernon Tarbox Adams & Hazel Ethel Coleman
- George Michael Sabo & Doris Priscilla Adams
- Linda Anne (Sabo) Stufflebean – Me!
Hi, Linda,
I am also a 10th gen descendant of Thomas Boyden 1613-1682/3(?). He was born in Dry Drayton, Cambridgeshire, England, to John/Jarmin Boyden 1573-1629 and Agnes Browne 1580-1616. Agnes came from Lolworth, which is adjacent to Dry Drayton; she died before Thomas turned 3. Further ancestors are Jermyn/Jarmin Boyden 1540-1608 and Elizabeth Hargreave 1558-1629, and John Boyden 1515-1540 and Ellen Agnes Franklin (OR Risbye) 1520-1616 (that lifespan is unlikely but hard to document!). Siblings were: Nathanial, John, Mary, Lucy, Nicholas, Margaret, triplets John+Helene+Jarmin, Roger, Thomas. Many sibs died young.
Thomas arrived on the ship Francis in 1634 from Ipswich, East Anglia. He lived in Scituate, Watertown, and Medfield. The donation of grain to the struggling young Harvard College was a joint decision by the town folk of Medfield. (I went to Harvard but didn’t get any credit for that grain in the admission process!)
Martha Holden’s father was a fellow passenger with Thomas Boyden, Sr., on the ship Francis.
Oddly, I don’t have Lucy Boyden as an offspring in this generation, though–as you point out in your blog–there’s a 5-yr gap between brothers Joseph 1778 and Benjamin 1783. Our ancestry lines diverge here. Looks like I have some work to do–just discovered your Rootsfinder blog….
I grew up in Massachusetts, not realizing how much history–regional and family history–was all around me.
Hello, Alice P. Redmond-Neal:
Thank you for your post, which has interesting family information about Thomas Boyden (b.1613). How were you able to go from the Ipswich passenger list and ostensibly trace back to his roots? I’m curious about what sources you found that somehow link to the Ship Francis’ 1634 passenger list and confirm his birth and parentage as you have suggested above? Are they available online or only in hand-written form in East Anglia?
Thank you in advance for your help!
I’ve corresponded with her and we came to the conclusion that there is no proof. Origins are still unknown.
Hello I’m Jesse Boyden and I have a long line of history that my Dad, aunt Pam have traced back to Thomas Boyden. We have an original copy of Thomas in America.
A genealogy written in the late nineteenth century, Thomas Boyden and his Descendants, is a good place to start. Most notable is Seth Boyden of Paterson, NJ, one of the greatest inventors of his time, who invented wrought iron, patent leather, and hundreds of other devises the were the foundation of many if the industries of Patterson. Although he is mostly forgotten today, Thomas Edison eulogized Seth Boyden at his funeral.