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- [S161] FamilySearch.com, (Name: AFamily Search Ancestral File;).
Elder Thomas Cushman, Sr (1) fact
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20260314GHLn- noch
Elder Thomas Cushman
Male
8 February 1608 – 10 December 1691
• KCKQ-4MK
Sources (19)
Collaborate (16)
Memories (58)
Notes
Thomas Cushman Info
Throughout the two major genealogy publications, there was a large emphasis on the use of this title, as the son of Robert Cushman came over on the second boat in Nove 1621 with his father Robert to join the rest of the Puritan group at Plymouth. This, the first of four consecutive Thomas's was 14 when he arrived in America. At the age of 26, he married Mary Allerton, daughter of Isaac and Mary Allerton all three of whom were on the Mayflower. Thomas, the first, became the Elder (senior coleader of the first Christian Church in America) who aided the Pastor of that church and held this position for 45 more years. Elder (not a Morman elder) Thomas Cushman was held in high esteem by all the residents of Plymouth and the growing communities around them. Thus, all the genealogy references to this particular Thomas Cushman all reflect the title "Elder" and none of any of the descendants of the Cushman's, whose names carried Thomas held such a title in the history of the Cushman name. Indeed, all of the Cushman lineage in America emanate from Elder Thomas Cushman and by origin therefore, Robert Cushman. This is all documented in "Cushman Genealogy" by Henry Wyles Cushman, dtd 1855, Boston: Little, Brown and Company. This is also written about in the "Cushman Genealogy and General History", by Alva Walford Burt, dtd 1942, Wm. Mitchell Printing Co., Greenfield, Indiana.
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LynnJ
!Baptised at Canterbury 8 Feb 1607/08 an
!Baptised at Canterbury 8 Feb 1607/08 and was taken by his father to Leiden shortly after. He arrived at Plymouth on the 'Fortune" in 1621 and became a ward of Governor Bradford. He was a Purchaser and received a number of land grants. He was admitted a Plymouth freeman 1 Jan 1633/34. On 1 July 1634 he successfully sued Mr. John Bombes for 10 Pounds. He served on various juries and committees and was a highway surveyor. On 1 Dec 1640 he, Nicholas Snow, and Josias Cooke were presented by the grand jury for not mending the highways, but were freed on condition that they make the repairs within a year. On 3 March 1645/46 Cushman made a successful motion in court that Mr. Isaac Allerton be allowed a year's time to recover his debts in the colony. Allerton was his father-in-law, Cushman having married Mary Allerton at an unknown date. By a letter of 27 Oct 1646, Allerton had assigned to his son-in-law Thomas Cushman a debt of 100 Pounds owed Allerton by Mr. John Coombes. On 1 Aug 1648 the Court of Assistants assigned part of some grain due the widow of John Coombes toward satisfaying the debt of her late husband to Cuthbert Cuthbertson, whose estate was a debtor "of considerable sume" to Isaac Allerton.
Cushman succeeded William Brewster as Ruling Elder of the Plymouth Church on 6 April 1649, the position having been vacant since 1644. He became ill in his old age and languished for some eleven weeks before he died on 10 or 11 Dec 1691. In his will dated 22 Oct 1690, sworn 16 March 1691/92, he named his wife Mary, sons Thomas, Isaac, Elkanah, and Eleazer; daughters Sarah Hawks and Lydia Harlow, and the three children of his daughter Mary Hutchinson. He also had a daughter Fear who predeceased him without issue. (Biographical Sketches - Plymouth Colony Its History & People 1620-1691.!Married (1) unknown. (2) Sarah Reder, (3) Mary (Clarke) Singleton
!Robert Cushman, one of the Leiden Separatist leaders. Baptized at Rolveden, Kent, 9 Feb 1577/78, son of Thomas and Elinorr (Hubbard) Couchman. He was an apprentice to George Masters; was excummunicated from St. Andrews Church, Canterbury, after saying that he culd not be edified by going to that church; was received back in the church in 1605, and in the same year became a freeman of Cnaterbuy, being described as a grocer. His first wife was Sara Reder, by whom he had son Thomas, and he married (2) at Leiden in 1617 Mary (Clarke) Shingleton. He and John Carver were chosen by their fellow Separatists to go to England to negotiate for a patent to go to America, and Bradford in his History has much to relate about him. In 1621 he arrived at Plymouth on the Fortune with son Thomas, but returned to England with the Fortune, leaving Thomas in the care of Governor Bradford. Cushman died in 1625 before having the chance to return to Plymouth. A good account of his family can be found in Small Descendants, 2:669, which mentions also that a Sarah Cushman who married William Hoskins on 6 Oct 1636 was thought to be the daughter of Robert Cushman (Hoskins married (2) on 21 Dec 1638 Ann Hynes.
(PLYMOUTH COLONY ITS HISTORY & PEOPLE 1620-1691. By Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Former Historian General of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.e freed on condition that they make the repairs within a year. On 3 March 1645/46 Cushman made a successful motion in court that Mr. Isaac Allerton be allowed a year's time to recover his debts in the colony. Allerton was his father-in-law, Cushman having married Mary Allerton at an unknown date. By a letter of 27 Oct 1646, Allerton had assigned to his son-in-law Thomas Cushman a debt of 100 Pounds owed Allerton by Mr. John Coombes. On 1 Aug 1648 the Court of Assistants assigned part of some grain due the widow of John Coombes toward satisfaying the debt of her late husband to Cuthbert Cuthbertson, whose estate was a debtor "of considerable sume" to Isaac Allerton.
Cushman succeeded William Brewster as Ruling Elder of the Plymouth Church on 6 April 1649, the position having been vacant since 1644. He became ill in his old age and languished for some eleven weeks before he died on 10 or 11 Dec 1691. In his will dated 22 Oct 1690, sworn 16 March 1691/92, he named his wife Mary, sons Thomas, Isaac, Elkanah, and Eleazer; daughters Sarah Hawks and Lydia Harlow, and the three children of his daughter Mary Hutchinson. He also had a daughter Fear who predeceased him without issue. (Biographical Sketches - Plymouth Colony Its History & People 1620-1691.
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JaneMarshall68
Found under Thomas Cushman on Wikipedia: 2 of his children married Harlow siblings.
Son, Isaac Cushman, married Rebecca Harlow, sister of William Harlow.
Daughter, Lydia Cushman, married William Harlow, brother of Rebecca Harlow.
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Franzella
Arrived on Fortune
Copied and pasted from Wikipedia:
The 1621 voyage of the Fortune was the second English ship sent out to Plymouth Colony by the Merchant Adventurers investment group, which had also financed the 1620 voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower. The Fortune was 1/3 the size of the Mayflower, displacing 55 tons. The Master was Thomas Barton. She departed London in the fall of 1621 and arrived off Cape Cod on November 9, 1621, and arrived in Plymouth Bay by the end of the month. The ship only stayed at Plymouth about three weeks loading cargo, and departed for England on December 13, 1621. About January 19, 1622, due to a navigation error, Fortune was overtaken and seized by a French warship, with those on board being held under guard in France for about a month and with its cargo taken. Fortune finally arrived back in the Thames on February 17, 1622.[1][2][3]
Passenger count
The identification of passengers comes largely from the 1623 Division of Land list and its distribution of lots as transcribed by William Bradford. From that list comes the following Fortune passenger list comprised from the works of authors Charles Banks and Edward Stratton based on their research as well as author Caleb Johnson with his information based directly on the 1623 Division of Land. Author Edward Stratton also has the list as written by Bradford in the language/spelling of the time. There are children listed here which were most likely not part of the original passenger count of 35. A number of persons listed in 1623 do not appear in the 1627 Division of Cattle list and this may be due to death, removal to an area outside the colony or a return to England.[4]
Additionally, 15 of those men (of 58 total) were included in a historic 1626 agreement regarding Mayflower and other debts owed by the colony to the Merchant Adventurers which were reorganized and taken over largely by the colony itself under a creditor group known as the “Purchasers” . In 1627 the debts and shares in the company were assigned in to 8 Plymouth colony leaders and 4 Merchant Adventurers, all known as “Undertakers.” Those 15 Purchasers are identified on the passenger list.
And although Bradford notes that thirty-five persons were on Fortune, only the names of twenty-eight persons are listed as receiving lots in 1623. Eighteen persons are known to have been unmarried, eight married but emigrating without their families, and as far as can be determined, Mrs. Martha Ford and Elizabeth Bassett wife of William Bassett were the only women on the ship. Records indicate that sixteen of the passengers were from the London area and three from Leiden. The origins of ten passengers could not be determined.[5][6]
Passengers
John Adams – One acre allocated in 1623 land division. He was a carpenter and was born in Yorkshire c1600. Later married Ellen Newton who came on the Anne in 1623. He had three children with Ellen, James, John, and Susana. Member of the 1626 Purchaser investment group. In 1627 cattle division with wife “Eliner” and son James. He died in 1633 in Plymouth and in 1634 his widow Ellen married Kenelem Winslow, brother of Mayflower passenger Edward Winslow.[7]
William Bassett (Basset) - Supposedly single upon arrival, but allocation of two shares in 1623 land division as “William Bassite”, per Banks, indicates he had taken a wife before that date. Member of 1626 Purchaser investment group as “Willm. Basset.” The 1627 cattle division lists the “Basset” family: “Willm”, Elizabeth, and children “Willyam junor” and “Elyzabeth junor.”
Elizabeth Bassett (wife) – based on 1623 land division of two shares for William Bassett.[8]
William Beale – Single in 1623 land division and shared two acres with Thomas Cushman. Not listed in 1627 cattle division. No further record in Plymouth.[9]
Edward Bompasse (Bumpas) – Single upon arrival and, per Bradford, was one of the “lusty yonge men” who arrived on the Fortune. In the 1623 land division as “Edward Bompass.” Member of 1626 Purchaser investment group as “Edward Bumpas.” In 1627 cattle division as “Edward Bumpasse.” Died c.1683/84.[10]
Jonathan Brewster – Born 1593, eldest son of Elder William Brewster. One acre in 1623 land division as a single man. In 1624 married Lucretia Oldham, daughter of Walter “Ouldham,” who came on the Anne in 1623. Member of the 1626 Purchaser investment group. In 1627 cattle division the family was listed as “Johnathan”, “Lucrecia” and children “Willm” and Mary.[11]
Clement Briggs – A fellmonger (hide dealer). In 1616 resided in Southwark, London, with Robert Hicks, fellow Fortune passenger. Single upon arrival and received one acre in the 1623 land division as “Clemente Brigges.” Member of the 1626 Purchaser investment group. In 1627 cattle division as “Clemont Briggs.”[12]
John Cannon – No record in Plymouth. Single upon arrival and one acre in the 1623 land division. Not listed in 1627 cattle division. Stratton reports he appeared in a 1638 Plymouth land record with William Tench. No record in Plymouth. Single upon arrival and one acre in the 1623 land division. Not listed in 1627 cattle division. Stratton reports he appeared in a 1638 Plymouth land record with William Tench.[13]
William Conner (Coner) – Single upon arrival and one acre in the 1623 land division as “William Coner.” Not listed in the 1627 cattle division and does not appear further in colony records.[14]
Robert Cushman – Robert Cushman – A Leiden church leader and their 1620 London agent for the ship Mayflower. Came on a mission to have the Merchant Adventurer-Mayflower financial agreement finally approved by the Pilgrim leadership. Stayed only a few weeks to complete that project and went back to England on the Fortune return trip. Left his son Thomas with William Bradford.[15]
Thomas Cushman – Born c.1607/1608. Son of Robert who remained at Plymouth after his father returned to England on the Fortune in 1621. In 1623 land division shared 2 acres with William Beale. Member of the 1626 Purchaser investment group as “Thom. Cushman.” In the 1627 cattle division with the Bradford family and sometime after that married Mary, daughter of Pilgrim Isaac Allerton. She would be the longest lived Mayflower passenger. In 1649 he succeeded Elder William Brewster as Ruling Elder of the Plymouth Church.[16]
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DavidDono
Family
Thomas married Mary, born about 1610, a daughter of Pilgrim Isaac Allerton, about December 1636 and had eight children. She died in Plymouth on November 28, 1699, the last of the Mayflower passengers. They were both buried at Burial Hill in Plymouth.
Children of Thomas and Mary Cushman:
Thomas (jr) was born about 1637 in Plymouth and died in Plympton, Mass. on August 23, 1726. He was buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton, Massachusetts.
He married:
1. Ruth Howland on November 17, 1664 and had three children. Ruth was a daughter of Mayflower passenger John Howland.
2. Abigail (Titus) Fuller on October 16, 1679 and had four children.
Mary was born in Plymouth, but the year is unknown. She died before October 22, 1690. She married Francis Hutchinson about 1676 and had three children.
Sarah was born about 1641 in Plymouth and died after February 10, 1706/07.
She married:
1. John Hawkes in Lynn on April 11, 1661 and had eight children. He died on August 5, 1694.
2. Daniel Hutchins shortly after November 7, 1695.
Isaac was born February 8, 1648/9 and died in Plympton on October 21, 1732. He married Rebecca Harlow about 1675 and had seven children. Both were buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton, Mass. Rebecca was a sister of William Harlow, married to Isaac’s sister Lydia.
Elkanah was born June 1, 1651 in Plymouth and died in Plympton on September 4, 1727. He was buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton, Mass. with his 2nd wife Martha.
He married:
1. Elizabeth Cole on February 10, 1677 and had three children. She died January 4, 1681/2.
2. Martha Cooke on March 2, 1682 and had five children. Martha was a granddaughter of Mayflower passenger Francis Cooke.
Feare was born on June 20, 1653 and died before October 22, 1690.
Eleazer was born February 20, 1656/7 in Plymouth and died after November 1733. He married Elizabeth Coombs (Combs) on January 12, 1687/8 and had eight children.
Lydia was born about 1662 in Plymouth and died there on February 11, 1718/9. She married William Harlow about January 1682/3 and had nine children. William Harlow was the brother of Rebecca Harlow, wife of Lydia’s brother Isaac.[2][3]
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DunlapDianaRae1
!Saints and Strangers by George F. Willi
!Saints and Strangers by George F. Willison pg 444. Adopted by William Bradford.
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UnknownMMMC-8QL4
Thomas, born in England in 1607, came to
Thomas, born in England in 1607, came to Plymouth in the FORTUNE in 1621 with his father Robert who returned to England but left his son Thomas I in the care of Governor Bradford, Thomas was 14 years old at the time. He grew up to become Pastor of the Plymouth church. He was known as Elder Cushman in the Plymouth Colony. From: COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA (1969) 3:871 BRADFORD, William (1590-1657) Governor of Plymouth Colony (following John Carver, first governor) born in Austerfield, YORKSHIRE, England. He early joined the separatist congregation at SCROOBY and in 1609 emigrated with others (Cushman, Allerton, Howland etc.) to Leiden, Holland. With his wife Dorothy, he came to New England on the MAYFLOWER (landed Dec. 21, 1620) and shortly thereafter he was chosen leader of the Pilgrims. He remained governor for most of his life, being re-elected 30 times. He maintained friendly relations with the Indians, he was more tolerant of other religions than the Puritan leaders of Boston, and he was largely responsible for keeping the Plymouth Colony independent of the Massachusetts Bay colony. His famous HISTORY OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION, source of all accounts of the early settlement of Plymouth, reveals on every page the high character and sincerity of its author and there were few criticisms of his leadership. Note on Mary's Memorial Cup of the 350th anniversary of the landing of the MAYFLOWER (This cup to be found in Mary's china cabinet). Pilgrim Fathers: (1970) Aynsley, English China est. 1775, "Carrying 102 souls aboard, the MAYFLOWER sailed out of Plymouth, England on Sept. 6, 1620 to Plymouth, Mass.in search of safety and freedom in the new world." "Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by this hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all things that are, and as one small candle may light a thousand so the light here kindled hath shone into many, yea, in some sort to our whole nation." Governor Wm. Bradford, 1621. The fol lowing quote is also attributed to him: For fuller understanding of most lives one "must begine at ye very roote" of the family tree. Amen to that. This is the man to whom Robert Cushman entrusted the guardianship of his son Thomas. Mary is sure William Bradford was a fine influence on the lad, but it would have been William's wife Dorothy who cooked his meals, washed his socks and nursed him when he was sick. Another passenger on the FORTUNE in 1621 was Jonathan Brewster (3049) Note: there is an anomaly on the painting of the Mayflower on this cup, she is shown flying the Union Jack, when there was no union in the British isles until 1701 - not 1620 - Even an English mfg. company like Aynsley can make an error.
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Robert Cushman of Kent, by: Robert E. Cu
Robert Cushman of Kent, by: Robert E. Cushman & Franklin P. Cole, published by General Society of Mayflower Descendents -1995- Mayflower Families in Progress, Isaac Allerton of the Mayflower and His Descendants for Four Generations, compiled by: Robert S. Wakefield, FASG, 3rd Edition, Published by General Society of Mayflower Descendants -1996- He came to America on the Fortune in 1621, with his father Robert. He was raised by Governor Bradford. He was Elder of the Plymouth Church from 6 April 1649 until his death.
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MamaBear
Thomas Cushman came to Plymouth on the "
Thomas Cushman came to Plymouth on the "Fortune" in 1621. He was Elder of the Plymouth Church from 6 April 1649 until his death. The will of Thomas Cushman Sr. of Plimouth dated 22 October 1690 and sworn 16 March 1691/2, names wife Mary Cushman; sons Thomas, Isaac, Elkanah and Eleazar Cushman; daughter Sarah Hoaks and Lidiah Harlow; the three grandchildren in Lin (Lynn), children of daughter Mary Hutchinson, deceased.
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!BIRTH, BAPTISM, DEATH, MARRIAGE, CHILDR
!BIRTH, BAPTISM, DEATH, MARRIAGE, CHILDREN (8): ,[S1105]: from Genealogies of Mayflower Families; (from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register) Vol 1, by Gary B. Roberts, Genealogical Publ. Co., Baltimore, 1985, p 552. !WILL: ; from "The Mayflower Descendant". Vol 4, 1904, edited by George Ernest Bowman, Publ. by MA Soc. of Mayflower Descendants, Boston, MA. Will names wife and children and shows married names of daughters.
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PARENTS-CHILDREN: Roser, Susan E., MAYF
PARENTS-CHILDREN: Roser, Susan E., MAYFLOWER INCREASING (FOR THREE GENERATIONS) 1600-1700; pp.14-15; Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1989; Public Library, Oak Harbor, WA; 929.374 Roser 1989; . SPOUSE: George F. Willison, SAINTS AND STRANGERS; 1650-1700; New York, Ballentine Books, 1965; p. 347; James P. Terry, Oak Harbor, WA, owns book; NOTE: Cushman, Thomas (1607-91) "very studious & sollicitous for the peace & prosperity of the church, & to prevent & heale all breaches" Left with Bradford during father's absence and adopted by him after latter's death; married, Plymouth, c.1636, to Mary Allerton (see Mayflower Saints); Brewster's successor as ruling elder, 1649-91; 7 children. BIOGRAPHY: Burke, John Bernard. BURKE'S AMERICAN FAMILIES WITH BRITISH ANCESTRY approx. 1600-1900; p. 2645; Baltimore, MD. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright 1975; Public Library, Oak Harbor, WA. Call No. Ref 929.2097 BURKE 1975; NOTE: Thomas Cushman, b. 1608; m. Mary (b. 1616, d. 1699). dau of Isaac Allerton, and d. 1690-91. MARRIAGE: Torrey, Clarence Almon. NEW ENGLAND MARRIAGES PRIOR TO 1700; 1620-1700; p. 200; Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1985; Book owned by Melissa Harrison, Oak Haror, WA; .
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JamesPTerry1
!Ancestors of American Presidents-Compil
!Ancestors of American Presidents-Compiled by Gary Boyd Roberts-pg. 272-Franklin Delano Rooseveltthomas CUSHMAN/Mary ALLERTON. !The Dinghy -Vol 2, #1-Feb 1989-pg. 17 - Thomas CUSHMAN b. 1608 ,,,ENG the s/o Robert CUSHMAN. He was prob. with his father on the MAYFLOWER when it sailed for America in 1620, but went back to London on the SPEEDWELL. Robert was the Leydens Co.'s agent in ENG. Thamas arrived in 1621 on the FORTUNE at age 14 and was left in the care of Gov. BRADFORD. He md. ca. 1635 Mary ALLERTON d/o Isaac ALLERTON who came on the MAYFLOWER in 1620. Thomas became an Elder of the church in 1649 and d. 1691.
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!Thomas came to New England on the ship
!Thomas came to New England on the ship "Fortune" with his father, Robert Cushman, when he was 14 years old, and was educated by Governor Bradford and succeeded Brewster as the elder of the Plymouth church.
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Barb Cornia
!BIRTH; DEATH: Genealogies of Mayflower
!BIRTH; DEATH: Genealogies of Mayflower Families, Volume I Adams-Fuller, by Gary Boyd Roberts, P551-2
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Clifton Forsyth
The ship Fortune arrived at Plymouth on
The ship Fortune arrived at Plymouth on November 9, 1621, just a few weeks after the First Thanksgiving. Robert and Thomas Cushman were passengers, by the passenger list compiled by the Mayflower Quarterly. In 1856 a granite monument was erected at Plymouth by the descendants of Robert and Thomas Cushman. Passenger List, ship Fortune, 1621 ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- The ship Fortune arrived at Plymouth on November 9, 1621, just a few weeks after the First Thanksgiving. This passenger list is based on the 1623 Division of Land, the passenger list compiled by Charles Edward Banks in Planters of the Commonwealth, by material published occasionally by Robert S. Wakefield in the Mayflower Quarterly, and by the information found in Eugene Aubrey Stratton's Plymouth Colony: Its History and Its People, 1620-1691. The author is descended from Fortune passengers John Adams, William Bassett, and Moses Simmons. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- Adams, John Bassett, William Elizabeth Bassett, wife Beale, William Brewster, Jonathan Briggs, Clement Bumpas, Edward Cannon, John Connor, William Cushman, Robert Thomas Cushman, son Deane, Stephen Delano, Phillip Flavel, Thomas son Flavel Ford, Mr. Martha Ford, wife Martha Ford, daughter John Ford (born day after arrival) Hicks, Robert Hilton, William Morgan, Benedict Morton, Thomas Nicholas, Austin Palmer, William William Palmer, son Pitt, William Prence, Thomas Simmons, Moses Statie, Hugh Steward, James Tench, William Winslow, John Wright, William 2 SOUR S15 Thomas came to Plymouth on the Fortune in 1621. He was Elder of the Plymouth Church from 6 Apr 1649 until his death. The will of Thomas Cushman Sr. of Plimouth dated 22 Oct. 1690, sworn 16 Mar 1691/2, names wife Mary Cushman; sons Thomas, Isaac, Elkanah and Eleazer Cushman; daus. Sarah Hoaks and Lidiah Harlow; the three grandchildren in Lin (Lynn), the children of dau. Mary Hutchinson, dec. 2 SOUR S182 A brief account of Thomas Cushman's life and death is preserved in the Plymouth Church Records, (Vol. I, Pt. II). He was chosen [as successor to William Brewster] and ordained Elder of this church, April 6, 1649. He was neere 43 years in this office. His sickness lasted about 11 weeks. He had been a rich blessing to this Church scores of years. He was grave, sober, holy and temperate, very studious and solicitous for the peace and prosperity of the church, and to prevent and heale all breaches. He died December 11th, 1690, near the end of the 84th year of his life. December 16 was kept as a day of Humiliation for his death ...A liberal contribution was made that Fast Day for the Elder's widow [Footnote: The widow was, of course, Mary Allerton, great-grandmother of all American Cushmans] as our acknowledgement of his great services to the Church whilist living. More from Robert Cushman of Kent -- A PETITION TO THE GENERAL COURT OF NEW-PLYMOUTH BY THOMAS CUSHMAN, SENIOR To the much Honoured Corte now assembled in Plimmoth your humbile petitionnor desireth all happiness both here and hereafter. May it please your Honors to take into your serious consideration the humbile petition of your poore suppliant, with the groundes of the same: It is well knowne to sundry of this Honored Corte that my father was an instrumente in the layinge the foundacion of this Colony, in reference both to Religious and civill interest, and expended both his estate and liffe in that service and came over in the second shipe, and returned againe the Colonizer agent, leaving my selfe behind amonst yourselves, who have shared together with your Honour in weell and woo, as our Gracious God hath bine plesed to order in his most wisse providence towards us. And the lord hat bine plesed, of his goodness, to give me many children, and loth I am that they should laffe [leave] this colony for want of land to live upon; but that, if it may bee, they may reape some frute of my father1s and their grandfather's labour, whose end, with yours, was the settling of posterity in this wilderness. My humbile petition, therefore, is unto this much Honored Corte that: If there be any landes yet to be purchased, or purchased not yet disposed of -- neare to any society ayther begune or upon beginning, that your honours would be pleased to further me in granting some proportion as your wissdome shall see meete: and I shalbe responsible to bear the charge for the purchase acording to what may be my proportion. Thus craving your favor and favorabil construction of my poor petition, I leave it with you, waiting for direction and answer herein when your honors shall see moste meete: Thus rests your humbile suppliant. Signed: Thomas Cushman, senyor Notes on Date and Grounds of the Petition: This holograph, bearing the signature of Thomas Cushman, senior, derives from the archives of The Massachusetts Historical Society, and is here used by permission with the hearty thanks of the editor. Recently discovered in the researches of Franklin P. Cole, it has until now not been published nor, apparently, known to historians. The script has been transcribed by chirographer, Mrs. Ella Budd of Waybridge, Surrey, England, whose expertise has been employed in connection with other documents of these sudies (sic). The signature is not only clear but is, without question, that of Thomas Cushman, the surviving son of Robert, as may be seen by comparing it with that supplied in Wm. S. Russell's engravings of early Colony signatures (Pilgrim Memorials & Guide, Boston, 1855, p. 42). An interesting similarity to that of his father, Robert, is manifest by attention to the latter's written signature preserved in the Deposition of 1624 [Carla's note: Which may be found in a later section entitled More About Robert Cushman, etc.]. Unfortunately, the date of Thomas Cushman's petition to the Court of Plymouth is not supplied with the document. A clue to its date, however, is its stated reason for being, namely, that, as Thomas declares, the Lord has given him "many children" and that he is loath to contemplate their eventual departure from Plymouth Colony for want of land. Of the "many children," the first child of Thomas and Mary Allerton Cushman, according to record, was a son, Thomas junior, born the 16th of September 1637. This obviously accounts for the signature of Thomas Cushman as "senyor." The date of the birth of Thomas Jr. indicates the probable latest date, otherwise unknown, for the marriage of Thomas Cushman and Mary Allerton as some time in December of the year 1636. On this premise, Thomas, at the time of his marriage, would have been thirtyu-one, and Mary, his wife, about twenty-six years of age. If seemingly belated, then to be noted is the fact that Thomas's grandfather, Thomas Couchman of Rolvende, Kent, likewise was at least thirty at the time of his marriage to Eleanor Hubbarde of that parish, 18 July 1568. Likewise, was his father not married until 1606 in his twenty-ninth year. The first child, Thomas Jr., was followed by two daughters in succession, Sarah and Lydia, neither of whose birth dates are supplied in the Cushman Genealogy; and so far as the records show, the fourth child and second son, Isaac, was born February 8, 1647/48. From these things, including the absence of birth dates for the female children of Thomas Cushman's family, it is evident that separatist congregationalism of the Plymouth Church rejected that Canon of the Church of England which, since 1538, had prescribed a recording in parish registers of the date infant baptisms, or others, together with those of all marriages and burials of either parishioners or strangers. Instead, it appears, record keeping of births was transferred at Plymouth to some office of the Magistracy -- as in Leyden, Holland -- and that church records of baptisms had not become operative by mid-seventeenth century in Plymouth Colony or that female birth dates were not r ecorded, or that records were carelessly handled. Thomas Cushman's petition was grounded in his claim to a gift of "many children" who would need farming land for continuing life in the colony. Likewise, it was implied that the grandchildren of Robert Cushman deserved fair consideration. It is barely possible that four living children might have sufficed for Cushman to speak publicly of "many children" with the birth of the fourth child, Isaac, in 1648. It would be better justified with the birth of the third son, Elkannah, born 1st of June 1651 and, more so, with the birth of Feare, a sixth child and son, born 10th February 1653. But it would indeed be a claim to "many children" to which an exception could hardly be taken with the birth of Eleazer, the seventh child and a son, born 20th February 1656/57. The eighth child was Mary, a daughter, the date of whose birth is not preserved to us. On this ground, we may reasonably surmise that Thomas Cushman's petition to the General Court for farming land for his "many children" was hardly justifiable prior to the birth of Elkannah in 1651, or better, that of Feare in 1653. In the interest of arriving at a probable date for Thomas Cushman's petition to the "Honourable Court" of Plymouth Colony, assembled, two possible dates are about equally plausible. The first is the annual meeting of the Assembly in the year 1651, the second, in the year 1657. They were years when, not Wm. Bradford, but Mr. Thomas Prince was elected to the office of Governor, indeed, by the 5th of June 1657 Wm. Bradford had died. Both years were late enough to justify Cushman's claim of "many children," which would have been hardly a secret. Furthermore, the nature of Cushman's claim for appropriate recognition of his father, Robert Cushman's, central role in the founding of the colony, beginning in 1617, and, thus, the just desert of his grandchildren for land to dwell upon, was on its face reasonable. Yet, had Wm. Bradford been in the chair presi
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Thomas was the son of Robert Cushman. R
Thomas was the son of Robert Cushman. Robert came in the Fortune in 1621, the first ship after the Mayflower, but stayed one month, returning to England. He preached the first sermon in New England, on the highly appropriate subject of self-denial. (Savage, Genealogy Dict. 1:492) Thomas, aged 14, was brought up by Gov. Bradford. He was chosen Ruling Elder in 1649. At her death Mary (Allerton) Cushman was the last survivor of the Mayflower Pilgrims.
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1608 - 1691 (83 years)
