52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 44: JOHN THOMAS OF MARSHFIELD, MA.

About forty years ago or so our family was living in Marshfield, Ma., a coastal town south of Boston and one town to the north of Plymouth. At that time I hadn't started researching the family tree so I wasn't as aware of our connection with some of the founding town families: Thomas, Pitney, Tilden and Little.

The connection comes through my 5x great grandmother Mary (Thomas)Dunham who married John Dunham in 1755. She was a descendant of immigrant ancestor John Thomas, whose story I found in a genealogy book about New London County, Ct. where members of the Thomas family were prominent:

The history of the American branch of the family begins with John Thomas, an orphan boy of fourteen years of age, who was a passenger in the ship “Hopewell,” in 1635, to New England, presumably coming from W'ales. He was kindly taken under the care and protection of Gov. Edward \\’inslow, and was long the faithful steward at Careswell. In 1649 he received a tract of land in Marshfield, probably indirectly through his benefactor, and upon it he resided. For generations it remained in the Thomas name. On Dec. 21, I648, he married Sarah Pitney, daughter of James and Sarah Pitney, natives, respectively, of Marshfield and Boston. John Thomas died in 1676, and his widow survived until 1682. Their eight children were: John, Elizabeth, Samuel, Daniel, Sarah, James, Ephraim and Israel, all born between I649 and 1670.-p.472

Genealogical and Biographical Record of New London County, Connecticut: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Early Settled Families  J.H. Beers & Company, 1905 - New London County (Conn.)

I'm descended from  John's son James Thomas.

There is a memorial at the Winslow Cemetery in Marshfield to the first settlers of the town, The names of John and Mary Thomas are at the bottom of the list of names on this side: