Notizen zu dieser Person
Some genealogies give Thomas' birthdate 1616 or 1615 in St. Gileswhich is a church in London. Apparently, his name is not listed in thelocal indexes. Other genealogies list him as father of ThomasBlatchley, born 1589 in Culleme, Wiltshire. So far, I could not determine, where these information originated.Until there is clear eveidence that these data are correct and applyto right Thomas Blatchley, I will not include them in this genealogy. The history of the Blatchley family in America begins on 28 Jul 1635when Thomas departed London, England on the vessel "Hopeful", boundfor Boston, Massachusetts under Captain Thomas BABB, in the company ofThomas and Mary TREDWELL. They and others in their company carriedcertificates from the minister of St. Giles, Cripplegate, stating thatthey "are conformable to the Church of England." Though Thomas's namedoes not appear in the registers of that parish, the certificate maybe taken as an indication that he did not belong to one of thenon-conforming sects and did not emigrate for religious reasons. Thomas's movements during the years 1635-1637 are not known, but after1637 he was a resident in Connecticut, where he reportedly took partin the Pequot War, a war inspired by the alleged murder of a Bostontrader by Pequot Indians. The colonists sent an expedition into Indianlands to burn the corps and destroy the villages. Captain John Masonmade a surprise attack on a Pequot fort and nearly annihilated thetribe. Following the war, in 1639, Thomas resided in Hartford,Connecticut, holding land on the east side of the Connecticut River atHockanum. However, he was listed as a transient at Hartford, andremoved to New Haven where he became active in a marine haulingbusiness. Thomas's reasons for settling in Connecticut are unclear, though itmay be surmised that either religion or economics provided themotivation. The Massachusetts Colony was fundamentally a theocracy,and its leaders tended to be as intolerant of religious dissenters asthe Anglican Church had been in England. Consequently, religiousdifferences provided a major impetus to migration outward from theMassachusetts Colony. Economics was also a major motivation formigration (and has been though out the history of the nation): 1] thecost of land declined with distance from settled areas, 2] land grantsfrom the Crown were easier to obtain in frontier areas, and 3] theintensity of business competition tended to diminish in the lesspopulated areas. Whatever his actual reasons, he was among theearliest settlers of what is now known as the state of Connecticut,having arrived there sometime between 1635 and 1638. In June 1643, Thomas was one of the four persons responsible forplotting and surveying a new town called Branford, and for makingarrangements for sale and distribution of land within the new town. In1645, Thomas, Susanna, and Aaron moved to Branford where they remainedfor 28 years. During these years, Thomas appears to have continued inbusiness as a teamster, transporting cattle and other livestock forhire.
Karl-Heinz
Böttcher
