THIRTEENTH GENERATION

6952. Thomas FAIRCHILD ⁽¹²⁰⁾ was born about 1610 in England. He died on 14 Dec 1670. "The following account of Thomas comes from William H. Wilcoxson's HISTORY OF STRATFORD. The year Thomas came to America is not known, nor is it know if he married in England or America. He was among those families who first settled at the site of Stratford, CT. in 1638/9. He was a Deputy from Stratford to the General Court and served eleven sessions from Apr 1646 to Oct 1665. In those days the office of Commissioner was similar to that of the elected Justice of the Peace of today, and Thomas served in this capacity more than once. After the death of his first wife, he journeyed to London where he married again. The pre-nuptial agreement shows that he executed a bond, providing the bride with a life estate in his lands and a sum of 200 pounds to be paid to her if he died before arrival in New England. The contract was never carried out and settled after Thomas' death by the General Court, ordering the money be paid. The estate was valued at 350 pounds. The Stratford land records give the settlement. On May 22, 1677 Mrs. Katherine Judson, by virtue of a contract with Mr. Thomas Fairchild, late deceased, by the consent of the General Court of Connecticut, "hath a dwelling house, barn, orchard and homelot of 2 acres". Thomas' will, written a week before he died, named the children of his first wife and wife Katherine, but did not include her children. A footnote in the Colonial Records, II:199, gives the following additional facts: "A copy of marriage contract between Thomas Fairchild of Stratford, merchant, and Catherine Craig, a sister of Elizabeth Whiting, widow of London, Executed in England December 22, 1662." The ceremony was performed in St. Stephen's Church in London. That church has long since burned and was never rebuilt.


It seems to be generally accepted that Thomas sailed for America from Barnstable, Devonshire, England, although the writer has found no proof for this. Sources vary as to the birthplace of Thomas - Kent, Wingrave in Bucks., High Laver in Essex, Barnstable and Cambridgeshire. Charles E. Banks, in his book TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF 2885 ENGLISH EMIGRANTS TO NEW ENGLAND 1620-1650, 1937, on page 47 lists Thomas Fairchild as coming from High Laver in Essex to Stratford, CT. His reference is his own Banks manuscript, shared by the Library of Congress and the public library in Bangor, Maine. Mr. Banks says Thomas was "perhaps from High Laver", yet he lists Thomas on page 174 of his manuscript as of Onger Hundred in Essex. In 1985 the writer visited High Laver Parish and spoke with the vicar. He could not produce parish records of that period, explaining that many times the records were considered the property of the presiding minister who took them with him when he left the parish. The writer visited the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford and could not verify Banks' claim. There was a Thomas Fairchild and wife Mary in High Laver Parish but at a date too late to be the Thomas in question. About the time of 1610, when Thomas of Stratford was probably born, there were found in the IGI four Thomas Fairchilds: Thomas s/o Willyam and Alice Farchild (sic) bpt. 14 Feb 1608 at Orwell in Cambridge; Thomas s/o George and Elizabeth Fairechild (sic) bpt. 17 Sep 1609 Orwell; Thomas s/o Alexander Fayrchild (sic) bpt. 10 Jul 1614 Wendy cum Shingay in Cambridge; and Thomas s/o William Fairchilde (sic) bpt. 14 Sep 1616 Plymouth St. Andrew, Devonshire. The siblings of these four Thomases bore none of the names of the children of Thomas of Stratford, CT., but his sons used the names of Robert, Alexander, Mary and Anne, names found among the siblings of the four Thomases. The writer tends to choose Cambridge as possible birthplace of Thomas. The parish of Wendy cum Shingay is in the southwest part of Cambridge, bordering on Hertfordshire where the Seabrooks lived. Orwell is close by."
- Early Fairchilds (Gilmore), pp. 1-3 He was married to Catherine CRAIG on 22 Dec 1662 in London,England.

6953. Catherine CRAIG⁽¹²⁰⁾ was born in 1632 in England. She died in May 1706. Children were:

3476 i. Joseph FAIRCHILD.
ii. John FAIRCHILD⁽¹²⁰⁾ was born on 8 Jun 1666 in Stratford,,CT.
iii. Priscilla FAIRCHILD⁽¹²⁰⁾ was born on 20 Apr 1669 in Stratford,,CT.

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