Holbrook, Thomas

boy silhouette
Thomas Holbrook
b: ABT 1594
d: 1675
Biography
Thomas Holbrook was an early and respected resident of Weymouth. He andhis family arrived there in 1635, and he was a Selectman there in 1641,''45, ''46, ''52, and ''54. He became a freeman in May, 1645. Thomas was oneof the grantees of the town of Rehoboth in 1643 but forfeited his sharein 1645 because he did not settle there. In 1649 he was appointed amember of a commission to lay out a highway from Weymouth to Dorchester.Ten acres were granted to him in the First Division and thirty acres inthe Second Division, Dec. 14, 1663.[History of Weymouth]

Thomas Holbrook, aged 77 years or thereabouts, deposed that he came toNew England with Mr. Hull''s company in 1635, and that they came ashore atDorchester June 7, 1635; that they went to Dorchester and the Companywent to a place now called Weymouth; and that after remaining atDorchester about a fortnight, he went with his family to the now Weymouthand built a house there (sworn to in court Nov. 2, 1666).[Suffolk CourtFiles] A subsequently discovered record verifies this information. Therecord is a passenger list dated "Waymouth ye 20th of 1635" and refers toWeymouth, England. Among the 106 passengers are Thomas Holbrook, 34, ofBroadway, Jane Holbrook, 34, his wife, and children John, 11, Thomas, 10,Anne, 5, and Elizabeth, 1. These two documents certainly refer to thesame man, yet there is an age discrepancy between them. By one account,Thomas would have been born about 1589, while the other puts his birtharound 1600. While both could be inaccurate, the passenger list is morelikely incorrect in regard to the ages. The son John Holbrook, listed as11 years old in 1635, was made a freeman in 1640, and the minimum age forfreemanship was 21. John''s gravestone provides the best proof of the ageerror, giving his death date and age - Nov. 23, 1699, age 82. Thisinformation is also important, as we''ll see, in locating the Holbrook''sin England.

In Weymouth Thomas lived next door to his sister Rebecca and her husbandClement Weaver. The Weaver''s were in Weymouth by June 2, 1640 whenClement was fined for drunkeness.[Passengers of the Mary and John 1630/17:89] Thomas and Clement were in partnership in many land and otherbusiness dealings.[Passengers of the Mary and John 1630 /17:88]

The search for Thomas'' place of origin has been helped with the passengerlist reference to Broadway, which is in Somersetshire. Nearby Broadway isthe town of Glastonbury, where a Thomas Holbrook married on Sept. 12,1616 to Jane Powys according to the records of the Church of St. John theBaptist. The baptism of the couple''s son John is also recorded in thesame church on April 6, 1618. The names and date of John''s baptism matchup quite well with the data on the Weymouth, MA family, and it can bestated with a high degree of certainty that this is the family of ourancestor. The surname of Powys is probably derived from the town ofPowys.

Thomas made his will Dec. 31, 1668, in which were mentioned his wifeJane, his sons John, William, and Thomas, and daughters, Anne Reynolds,Elizabeth Hatch, and Jane Drake, and his grand children John Holbrook,Peter Holbrook, and William Holbrook. He stated that his grandson PeterHolbrook had served him and his wife in their old age for about 8 years,for which he was to have his dwelling house in Weymouth with the orchardand arable land. This will he confirmed Dec. 31, 1673, and it was provedApril 24, 1677. Inventory of the estate was taken March 10, 1677.[Historyof Weymouth/268]
Facts
  • ABT 1594 - Birth -
  • 1675 - Death - ; Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
  • 20/20 MAR 1634/1635 - Emmigration - ; Weymouth, England as part of Hull''s company
  • 1668 - Will - ; Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
  • MAY 1645 - Freeman - ; Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
  • 14 DEC 1663 - Land Grant/Patent - Ten acres in the First Division and thirty acres in the Second Division ; Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
Ancestors
   
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William Holbrook
ABT 1560 - BEF 1 FEB 1626
  
  
  
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Thomas Holbrook
ABT 1594 - 1675
  
 
  
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Family Group Sheet - Child
PARENT (M) William Holbrook
BirthABT 1560
DeathBEF 1 FEB 1626 Glastonbury, Somersetshire, England
Marriageto ?
Father?
Mother?
PARENT (U) ?
Birth
Death
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
MThomas Holbrook
BirthABT 1594
Death1675Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
Marriage12 SEP 1616to Jane Powyes at St Johns, Glastonbury, Somersetshire, England
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Thomas Holbrook
BirthABT 1594
Death1675 Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
Marriage12 SEP 1616to Jane Powyes at St Johns, Glastonbury, Somersetshire, England
FatherWilliam Holbrook
Mother?
PARENT (F) Jane Powyes
BirthABT 1600
Death
Marriage12 SEP 1616to Thomas Holbrook at St Johns, Glastonbury, Somersetshire, England
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
FJane Holbrook
BirthABT 1637Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
DeathAFT 8 JUN 1683
Marriage1656/1658to Thomas Drake at Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
Evidence
[S191]History and genealogy of a branch of the Weaver family
[S160][WeyHis] History of Weymouth Massachusetts in Four Volumes
Descendancy Chart
Thomas Holbrook b: ABT 1594 d: 1675
Jane Powyes b: ABT 1600
Jane Holbrook b: ABT 1637 d: AFT 8 JUN 1683
Thomas Drake b: ABT 1628 d: 23 SEP 1692
Amey Drake b: 3/03 FEB 1665/1666 d: AFT 27 OCT 1695
Joshua Phillips b: 10 MAR 1662 d: ABT 1690
Joshua Phillips b: 19 APR 1689 d: 23 OCT 1748
Hannah Jones b: ABT 1692 d: 9 MAY 1738
Joshua Phillips b: 1722/1723 d: 1790
Elizabeth (twin) Pitts b: 10 FEB 1725 d: 17 APR 1765
Zebulon (Revolutionary Soldier) Phillips b: 5 FEB 1756 d: 15 APR 1825
Silvia Pettingell b: 8 MAY 1761 d: 15 NOV 1822
Zebulon Phillips b: 1781 d: 15 DEC 1838
Rachel C Roberts b: 1780 d: 1860/1861
Emily Stillman Phillips b: 8 MAY 1814 d: 29 MAR 1869
Seymoure Hart Gooding b: 11 OCT 1807 d: 7 APR 1870
William Seymour Gooding b: 21 DEC 1852 d: 1921
Isabelle Harriet Gaines b: 26 APR 1855 d: 1922
10 Rodney Edwin (twin) Gooding b: 24 DEC 1876 d: 26 MAY 1956
Viola Elizabeth Cook b: 4 FEB 1873 d: 5 JAN 1942