Thomas BLOSSOM ^341,343,344

  General Notes:

Sailed from Gravesend, in March 1628/29, arrived at Plymouth, MA via the [second] Mayflower, May 15, 1629. Thomas became deacon of the Church at Plymouth and was called a "holy man and experienced saint."
and...
COMMENTS: In his letter to Bradford from Leiden, dated 15 December 1625 [NS], Blossom closes by stating that "God hath taken away my son, that was with me in the ship, when I went back again; I have only two children which were born since I left you" [MD 5:166-67]. This statement assists greatly in arranging the list of Blossom's children. It also seems to be the only source for the claim that Blossom was one of the passengers on the Speedwell in 1620, and that he and his son had to be left behind; while this is not the only possible conclusion to be drawn from this passage, it is reasonable, and is followed here.
The claim that Thomas Blossom was deacon at Plymouth derives from Savage, but this appears to be a misreading of Prince, who was supposedly quoting Morton, but was in fact misquoting Bradford. In his history of Plymouth Bradford included an account of the infectious epidemic of 1633, and mentioned specifically Thomas Blossom, Richard Masterson and Samuel Fuller as dying in that year. He refers to Samuel Fuller's services as deacon, and this was apparently transferred by Savage to Blossom [Bradford (p3361,120,144);> 260]. Prince quoted most of this same section, but altered the sequence, although not enough to confuse the attribution of the office of deacon, and claimed Morton as his source; he mentioned Blossom and Fuller, but not Masterson [Prince <javascript:APop(p3362,130,156);> 437]. Morton also paraphrased this same passage, but noted by name only Fuller, so he cannot have been the sole source for Prince [Morton <javascript:APop(p3363,100,120);> 108]. To this confusing mix we must add Morton's account of the early history of the Plymouth church, in which he explicitly states that Richard Masterson and Thomas Blossom were named deacons after the death of Samuel Fuller [PChR <javascript:APop(p3364,150,180);> 1:83]. But Bradford's language (on which Morton must have been relying here as well) carries the clear implication that Fuller died after Masterson and Blossom, and Samuel Fuller was still alive on 1 July 1633 to receive an allocation of mowing ground [PCR <javascript:APop(p3346,140,168);> 1:14] whereas Thomas Blossom was already dead by that date. In this instance Morton seems to have misinterpreted Bradford in a different way, and his claim that Masterson and Blossom were briefly deacons at Plymouth should not be accepted.
This passage also bears on the date of death for Thomas Blossom. Most of the deaths in 1633 occurred in the months of June, July and August, and it appears from Prince's version that Blossom falls within this period. But in Bradford the reference to these summer months comes several lines after the mention of Blossom, and Blossom's death is not so closely tied to Fuller's in Bradford as it is in Prince. Blossom had certainly died before 1 July 1633, as a letter of that date from Rev. Ralph Smith in Plymouth to Rev. Hugh Goodyear in Leiden refers to "Tho: Bloso[m] our brother who now sleepeth" [TAG <javascript:APop(p3347,90,108);> 63:77]. The tax list of 25 March 1633 includes an entry for Widow Blossom, so the death apparently took place before that date, although this list could have been altered at a later date [PCR <javascript:APop(p3346,140,168);> 1:11]. ^341,342

  Noted events in his life were:

• He had a residence in Cambridge, , Cambridgeshire, England. ³⁴¹

• He had a residence in Leiden, , Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. ³⁴¹

• He had a residence in Plymouth, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts, USA. ³⁴¹

Thomas married Anne ELSDON on 10 Nov 1605 in Saint Clement's Church, Cambridge, , Cambridgeshire, England ³⁴¹.^,342 (Anne ELSDON was born in , , , England.)