REV. TRISTAM THOMAS

TRISTRAM THOMAS JR.

This report is taken from the monograph Ancestors and Descendents of Tristram Thomas of Maryland

By Betty Ratliff Carson and Howard S. Hazlewood and used with their permission.

I am grateful for their generosity in allowing its use on the website.

The entire book may be purchased from Betty Carson. Email address is carson33@prodigy.net

Tristram Thomas (Jr.), son of Tristram Thomas (Sr.) and Ann Thomas, was born ca. 1664 in England. He came to Maryland in 1665 with his father, mother, and brothers (Thomas and Christopher). The next official record we find for Tristram Thomas (Jr.) is the will of his father probated in 1686. He received 233 acres of land from "Trustram" on the back side of Madbury's Branch. Many Thomas researchers have researched this family. We will attempt to show a clear picture of the family with good proof.

Rev. James Clayland had a daughter named Judith, as shown by his gift of cows and calves to her per Talbot County Land Records GG#3, Page 102, dated 7 March 1677/78. The will of James Clayland per Will Book 6, Pages 325-327 dated 13 July 1699 (probated 7 November 1699) mentions the four daughters of Elizabeth (Nettleship Clayland) but does not mention Judith Clayland. We assume she is considered one of the four daughters of Elizabeth. It appears Judith married Tristram Thomas (Jr.) ca. 1699. They had a daughter, Penelope Thomas, probably born 9 February 1699/1700 in Talbot County. Penelope was probably named for the mother of Judith who may have died at her birth.

William Hemsley (Jr.), uncle of Judith Clayland, willed Judith Clayland 260 acres called "Hogg Hole" per Will Book 6, Pages 273-275, dated 8 April 1699 (probated 6 May 1699). We feel this gift was made just prior to the marriage of Tristram Thomas and Judith Clayland. The rent rolls for Queen Anne's County established upon the formation of the county from Talbot showed "Hogg Hole" surveyed for William Hemsley (Jr.) 8 April 1696 on west side of Tuckahoe Creek and northeast side of French Woman's Branch for 260 acres was in the possession of Trustram Thomas upon formation of the county in 1706. The land later passed to Robert Jarman (Jr.) who married Penelope Thomas ca. 1721. It would appear Tristram Thomas (Jr.) may have felt the land given to Judith Clayland Thomas should go to their daughter, Penelope, or the courts may have made this decision.

Queen Anne's County Rent Rolls, Liber 12, Pages 354-354a for "Hogg Hole" show Robert Jarman, Sr. transferred 130 acres of "Hogg Hole" to Robert Jarman, Jr. on 28 November 1733 and the other 130 acres on 28 March 1734. "Hogg Hole" was resurveyed by Robert Jarman, Jr. per Folio 541 with the 260 acres included in a new tract of 284 acres called "Newport." Robert Jarman, Jr. died in Queen Anne's County per Will Book 25, Page 251 dated 13 January 1747/48 (probated 22 March 1747/48). "Newport" of 284 acres was willed to son, Robert Jarman. He married Mary Ann Pratt, daughter of William Pratt, in Queen Anne's County before August, 1760. They moved to Anson County, North Carolina by 1769 and settled by Stephen Thomas, Sr. and William Thomas, son, in the area of Anson County that later became Richmond County. This Robert Jarman would be a grandson of Robert Jarman and Penelope Thomas with blood lines to the Clayland, Hemsley, and Thomas families.

The will of Elizabeth Clayland Ross dated 8 February 1723/24 (proved 9 March 1723/24) named her daughters, Rebecca Cole and Elizabeth Shield. The other two daughters mentioned, in the will of James Clayland were probably deceased. They were probably an unknown daughter of Elizabeth, and Judith Clayland, daughter of James and Penelope Hemsley Clayland. The big question is when did Judith Clayland Thomas die?

Mrs. W. Figner of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1957 had a copy of a Bible she claimed was brought to Maryland by Tristram Thomas (Jr.). She claimed the Bible was purchased in Wales in 1656 but would not let anyone copy from the Bible or verify the date of publication. We know this cannot be true as Tristram Thomas (Jr.) came from Kent County, England to Maryland at only approximately three years of age. He would not have owned the Bible. Mrs. Figner furnished Mrs. Nettie Leitch Major of Bethesda, Maryland birth dates from the Bible on a handwritten list that included dates of birth for children of Tristram Thomas (Jr.). Mrs. Major claims to have seen the actual entries in the Bible. The big problem is the entries were not made at the date of birth but over a hundred years later. The Bible probably belonged to Samuel Thomas, son of Tristram Thomas born 27 March 1710. He was a grandson of Tristram Thomas (Jr.). Since the Bible does not show any of the births for the children of Tristram Thomas born 27 March 1710, we feel the records were recorded by Samuel Thomas (born 24 August 1763) or his children. The Bible records were' filed in the Maryland State Archives by Mrs. Major but this does not make them an official record. They must be used only with proof. It appears many of the records may have been obtained from the relatives of the Stephen Thomas line. He was a son of Tristram Thomas (Jr.) and brother of Tristram Thomas born 27 March 1710.

The dates of birth for the children of Tristram Thomas (Jr.) have proven fairly accurate except some children shown do not appear in the will of Tristram Thomas (Jr.). They may have died prior to his death or the children do not actually exist. Since many of the dates of birth probably came from other relatives over a three-generation period, we will use the actual dates of birth until they are proven wrong. Sarah Stephens born June, 1683, and deceased November, 1721, is shown as the first wife of Tristram Thomas (Jr.). We have proof that Judith Clayland was his first wife and Jane Kemp Clothier Eubank was his last wife. If Sarah Stephens was a wife of Tristram Thomas Jr., she would be the second wife. When did they marry? We would agree Tristram Thomas (Jr.) probably had no wife from November, 1721 until ca 1724. You can see the Bible records fit, but the people making the entries did not know about the first and last wives. The actual entries were probably made several years after 1721. Let's look at the will of Tristram Thomas (Sr.). Note John Stephens, one of the witnesses to the will, died before the will was probated in 1686. Could this be the father of Sarah Stephens? We can find no will or probate records for this John Stephens. He is the only Stephens we can locate that could probably be the father of Sarah. Who raised Sarah Stephens after John Stephens died?

The second daughter of Tristram Thomas (Jr.) based on the Bible records was Julianna, born 28 August 1703. She was probably named for Juliana Thomas King, sister of Tristram. We feel this was probably the Nancy Landman, widow, shown as a daughter in the will of Tristram. If so, Nancy was probably a nickname for Julianna. Nancy could also be from a marriage before Judith. If so, Julianna may have died young.

Talbot County, Deed Book 9, Pages 143-144 dated 9 January 1702/03 shows where Thomas Thomas and wife, Elizabeth, traded 170 acres of "Trustram" and 30 acres of "Coursey-upon-Wye" to Tristram Thomas for 233 acres of "Trustram",

Talbot County, Deed Book 9, Page 156 dated 9 January 1702/03 shows Tristram Thomas and wife, Judith, traded 233 acres of "Trustram" for the 200 acres from Thomas Thomas. Tristram could not have married Sarah in sufficient time for Julianna to be her daughter. Julianna is probably the daughter of Judith. The earliest Sarah could have married Tristram would be in 1704, If her date of birth of 1683 is correct, she would have married at about age 21. Is Stephen Thomas a son of Judith Clayland or Sarah Stephens? Since Stephen Thomas, born 28 May 1705, named his first daughter, Sarah, we will consider Sarah Stephens to be his mother. We must emphasize this is not proven. Stephen named no daughters, Judith or Penelope. We will also assume all of the additional children except Benjamin are children of Tristram and Sarah Stephens Thomas.

Ann (Anne) Thomas born 10 May 1708 was probably named for the mother of Tristram Thomas (Jr.). Tristram Thomas, born 27 March 1710, was probably named for his father. Simon Thomas, born 10 July 1712, was probably named for Simon Carpenter. Sarah Thomas, born 18 February 1714/1715, was probably named for her mother. William Thomas, born 30 Nov. 1717, was probably named for William Hemsley or William Coursey. Philemon Thomas, born 19 December 1720, was probably named for Philemon Hemsley. This also raises a question. Is Judith Clayland Thomas still alive? BenjaminThomas, born 10 March 1725/26, son of Jane, is named for a Benamin unknown to us.

"Hawkins Pharsalia" was surveyed for 1,850 acres in Talbot for John Hawkins and William Coursey on 13 March 1695/96. The rent rolls for Queen Anne's County show the following ownership of the land in 1706 when Queen Anne's County was established from Talbot County:

200 acres
John King

200 acres
Thomas Thomas

100 acres
William Jackson

150 acres
William Turlo

600 acres
William Coursey

600 acres
John Hawkins


1,850 acres
Total


John King married Juliana Thomas. William Turlo married Anne King Thomas, widow of Tristram Thomas (Sr.). The Thomas Thomas is Thomas Thomas (Sr,). It appears this was the 200 acres of land Thomas Thomas (Jr.) inherited in addition to "Winfield",

Trustram Thomas (Jr.) on 25 June 1723 sold Arthur Emory of Queen Anne's County the 200 acres of land traded on 9 January 1702/03 with Thomas Thomas. A twenty five foot square graveyard was kept from the 30 acres of "Coursey-on-Wye" for burying Tristram Thomas (Jr,) and his family, Recorded Queen Anne's Deeds, Liber lK, No.B, Folio 192. Arthur Emory (Jr.) had married Anne Thomas, daughter of Tristram Thomas (Sr.), ca 1687 and she died 10 November 1721. The rent rolls for Queen Anne's County in 1723 show Arthur Emory as Arthur Emory, Sr. Since his father is now deceased, we assume he changed "Jr." to "Sr," and his son would now be called Arthur Emory, Jr. rather than Arthur Emory, III.

The register of the Wye Church (Church of England) in Talbot County dated 17 Sept 1723, list pew assignments that include the following:

Pew No.1: John Emory and Tristram Thomas. This John Emory is the second son of Arthur Emory who married Anne Thomas, daughter of Tristram Thomas, (Sr,). The Tristram Thomas sharing this pew would be the son of Thomas Thomas, (Sr.). He married Anne Emory, daughter of Arthur Emory, Sr..
Pew No.8: Tristram Thomas, (Sr.). The Tristram Thomas who we are calling (Sr.) died before 22 May 1686. This Tristram Thomas, (Sr.) would be his son who married 1. Judith Clayland. He is the Tristram Thomas, (Jr.) in our story.
Pew No. 14: Arthur Emory. This is the husband of Anne Thomas Emory, daughter of the Tristram Thomas we are calling (Sr.), now deceased.
Pew No. 26: William Hemsley and James Earle.
Pew No. 28: Edward Thomas. This is probably Edmond Thomas, son of Thomas Thomas, (Sr.), since no Edward Thomas is found in Queen Anne's County in 1723.
Queen Anne's County Levy Court records dated 26 November 1728: Payments to Petit Jurors and others for attendance at court include William Coursey, John Emory, Edmund Thomas, Tristram Thomas, and Tristram Thomas, (Jr.).

Queen Anne's County Levy Court records dated Tuesday 4 November 1729: Four Hundred people were paid bounty for squirrel heads. Edmund Thomas, Thomas Thomas, Tristram Thomas and Tristram Thomas, Jr. were among those listed.

Thomas Thomas (Jr.), planter, of Queen Anne's County on 3 March 1726 sold to Tristram Thomas (Jr.), cordwainer (shoemaker), for 9,000 pounds of tobacco the 200 acres called "Hawkins Pharsalia" in the fork of the main branch of Tuckahoe Creek inherited from his father. The deed was signed by Thomas Thomas and wife, Susanna. Queen Anne's County Deeds, Liber 1K, N.C., Folio 104. We hope by now you can see the strong connections between our Thomas Thomas and Tristram Thomas (Jr.) lines that continued for many years.

Tristram Thomas of Queen Anne's County left a will per Will Book 24, Pages 380-382 dated 30 December 1745 (probated 4 March 1745/46). He named his wife, Jane, and son, Benjamin Thomas, executors of his will. He left son, Stephen Thomas, and Mary, wife, a life interest in 80 acres of "Hawkins Pharsalia" with the land to go to their son, Robert Thomas, upon their death. He left son, Philemon Thomas, 60 acres of "Hawkins Pharsalia". He left son, Benjamin Thomas (after wife's decease), the remaining part (60 acres) of "Hawkins Pharsalia" that included the homestead plantation where his mother now lives. He also left him 33 1/3 acres of "Alcock's Pharsalia" that joins the homestead. Jane Thomas received the homestead willed Benjamin for the rest of her natural life but did not have the right to sell the property. Stephen, Philemon, and Benjamin were to receive two thirds of his estate, excluding the land. Jane was to receive her third of the estate, excluding the land. Sons Tristram and Simon Thomas and daughters Penelope Jarman, Ann Jarman, and Nancy Landman, widow, were each willed 500 pounds of tobacco or forty shillings to be paid one year after the death of Tristram Thomas (Jr.). This was their full part of the estate. Witnesses: Nicholas Tranier, Thomas Lee and Thomas Sherds.

"Alcock's Pharsalia" was surveyed 16 February 1695/96 for Thomas Alcock in Talbot County for 300 acres in the fork of Tuckaho. The rent rolls for Queen Anne's County per Liber 12-A, Folio 139-139a (1640-1755) shows Stephen Thomas owned 33 1/3 acres and Philemon Thomas owned 66 2/3 acres. The rent rolls for Queen Anne's County per Liber 12, Folio 356-356a (1640-1772) show Philemon Thomas and Stephen Thomas obtained their land on 28 November 1750 from Jonathan Clark and Rebecca, wife. It appears Tristram Thomas (Jr.) may not have owned the land in 1745 or did not have a clear title.

The rent rolls for Queen Anne's County per Liber 12-A, Folio 6 & 6-A (1640-1755) for "Hawkin's Pharsalia" show Stephen Thomas with 167 acres and Philemon Thomas with 100 acres. Queen Anne's County Rent Rolls, Liber 12, Folio 371-371a for "Hawkins Pharsalia" show Philemon Thomas on 24 May 1750 purchased the 60 acres from Benjamin Thomas that he inherited from Tristram Thomas (Jr.). Since Jane, his mother, had a life interest in the 60 acres, we feel she was deceased by this date. There were other purchases, sales, and exchanges of "Hawkin's Pharsalia" by Philemon Thomas and Stephen Thomas for which we find no record.

Prerogative Court-Accounts, Liber 7, Pages 166-167 for Thomas Eubank dated 15 October 1725 was filed by Trustram Thomas and Jane, his wife, executrix of the last will and testament of Thomas Eubank late of Queen Anne's County. We have proof that Tristram Thomas (Jr.) is now married to Jane Kemp Clothier Eubank. We will cover the Kemp-Clothier family in a later section.

We have included a family group sheet for Tristram Thomas (Jr.) that shows many details for the children. The family group sheet will not adequately cover one important connection for one of the children of Tristram Thomas, Jr.. We will try to explain the importance of the will for Tristram Thomas (III) (born 27 March 1710). Maryland Calendar of Wills, Volume 12, Pages 93-94 lists a will for Trustram Thomas per Will Book 31, Page 480 dated 3 October 1760 (Probated 27 October 1761), He mentions his wife, Mary, his sons, Samuel and Joshua, and his daughters, Sarah Meridith and Elizabeth. Mary received the home plantation of "Grubby Neck" that was to descend to Samuel Thomas (oldest son) upon her death or marriage. Samuel received "Trustram's Adventure" of 75 acres upon the death of his father. Joshua Thomas received a tract of 75 acres called "Trustram's Ridge." Sarah Thomas had married William Meredith prior to the death of her father. Samuel Thomas probably married just after the death of his father, as his first son, Tristram Thomas, was born 24 August 1763. The Bible records, mentioned earlier in our story of Tristram Thomas, Jr" covered the births of the children of Tristram Thomas, Jr. and Samuel Thomas. They did not cover the births of the children of Tristram Thomas (III). We mentioned that the Bible records probably belonged to Samuel Thomas, son of Tristram Thomas (III). The will proves Tristram Thomas (III) had a son named Samuel and provides us with the names of the brother and sisters of Samuel Thomas, The name of Mary in the will matches the marriage records for Tristram Thomas and Mary Watson on 19 January 1732/33 in Queen Anne's County (1 QA 39), Samuel Thomas also had children other than Tristram. They were John, Samuel, Rachel, Joshua, Jesse, Elizabeth, William Richard, Ann, Sarah, and Joel. The exact dates of births for these children are also found in the Bible records. The names match very well and Samuel continued the Thomas tradition of large families with his twelve children. It now appears that the Bible record was made by one of these twelve children (probably Tristram).

We will include a section later in our book for Stephen Thomas of our line. The land records for Queen Anne's County, Maryland give us proof of approximately the time Philemon Thomas and Stephen Thomas left for Anson County, North Carolina. Philemon Thomas sold his son, William Thomas, a tract of 404 acres of land from "Hawkin's Pharsalia", "Lee's Chance", and "Thomas' Addition" on 2 October 1767. The Anson County, North Carolina records show Philemon Thomas was in the county prior to 1767. William Thomas later sold the land on 25 September 1769 to James Hutchins and followed his father to Anson County, North Carolina (Liber 12, Folio 356, Queen Anne's County, Maryland).

Philemon Thomas made at least one trip back to Maryland per Queen Anne's Deed Book #H, Pages 106-107 dated 2 October 1767 (Recorded 29 October 1767). He sells nine acres of "Alcock's Pharsalia" and "Thomas' Addition" to William Winchester. Elizabeth Thomas, wife (second wife), made her acknowledgement on the back of the deed, William Hopper and Christopher Cross Routh were witnesses to tne deed. We feel this was the last of his land in Maryland. Stephen Thomas, per Queen Anne's County Deed Book #H, Pages 107-110 dated 2 October 1767, (Recorded 29 October 1767) sold William Cannon 200 acres of land. The land was probably the 167 acres of "Hawkin's Pharsalia" and 33 1/3 acres of "Alcock's Pharsalia." Since "Hawkin's Pharsalia" was willed by Tristram Thomas (Jr) to Stephen Thomas and Mary, wife, with the land to go to Robert Thomas upon their death, the deed required signatures of Stephen and Robert Thomas. Mary Thomas, wife of Robert Thomas, also acknowledged the deed. The deed states Mary Thomas, wife of Stephen Thomas, is now deceased. We will cover more on Mary Clothier Thomas in a later section. Philemon Thomas and Stephen Thomas probably left for Anson County, North Carolina in the spring of 1768.