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Author: tcbjammon
Surnames:
Classification: queries
Message Board URL:
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.chaffee/327.1/mb.ashx
Message Board Post:
Thomas is believed to be the first or second Chaffee [a Matthew Chaffe Boston 1636? - see
NOTE below] in the New World as his name shows up the records in the Town Clerk's
office in Hingham, MA dated July 17, 1637, for land given to Thomas for house and later,
in October 1637 for planting. The place and date of his birth, parentage, the time and
place of his arrival, his wife and the name of the ship which bore him from England to the
New World are still unknown. The amount of land granted to him at first shows he was
probably not married yet. The original lot is thought to be close to Batchellor St. (now
Main St.) in Hingham, Plymouth Colony, MA. In both Hingham and Hull (Nantasket),MA, Thomas
was a fisherman and farmer. He could not read or write as the signature on documents shows
a "mark" and a second signature of witness(possibly superstitious). Between
October and April 9, 1642 nothing is found in the records regarding Thomas Chaffe and then
his name appears in the rec!
ords of Nantasket, later called Hull, a town adjoining Hingham and situated on the point
of a penninsula jutting out into Massachusetts Bay as his name was mentioned "Thomas
Chaffey" in a letter for receving land for planting and home and fishing with some
other citizens by the order of Nantasket Geunerall Court. He might have been married in
Nantasket (Hull), but the town records of Hull prior to 1657 have been lost. Probable that
his wife's Christian name was Dorothy, as both sons both had daughters by that name,
which was not a name found in families of their wives. On July 25, 1680 Thomas filed his
will and the exact date of his death is not known, but probable a short time after the
filing of his will. His will was exhibited publicly in March of 1683 and the inventory of
his will was taken in May of 1683 "on ye oath of Joseph Chaffey". Possible he
was buried in ancient Chaffee Burying Ground on his own farm but no stone to his memory
remains. The house was close to the!
burial ground. In Thomas's time his property was located on the west
bank of what is now the Barrington River, but known then as the Sowams River, about two
miles northwest of the present town of Barrington, Bristol Co., RI. To present date, there
is no information of where Thomas's wife is buried.
[NOTE: Perhaps it's a typesetting error, but there is a late (1684) record of Matthew
and Sarah in America. In Dec 1649 Mathew purchased the large farm of Dr. John Clark in
Newbury and his dwelling house in Boston.
Strangely thirty five years later, the Suffolk Deeds By William Blake Trask, Frank
Bradish, Suffolk County (Mass.), 1626-1687, p. 24 of the Index of Grantors (appendix)
states: 14 May 1684 Mathew Chafe ship carpenter et ux Sarah grant to John Clark by deed -
Thanks to a message on
Ancestry.com from kac1144 (user name) on 10 May 2009]
[NOTE: Most of the infomation on the decendants of Thomas Chaffe has come from The Chaffee
Genealogy book, written in 1909 by William H. Chaffee, on Grafton Press and some of the
information used by William Chaffee came from the Plymouth Colony Record of Wills, Vol.
IV, page 36]
[NOTE: According to some information sent to a Chaffee descendant (two volumes totaling
580 pages) by an unknown researcher, Thomas Chaffe was born 1616 England, died 05-15-1683
Barrington, RI, married in Hull, England 1635 to Dorothy Thomas and she was born abt 1620
Hull, England. There is no documentation, to my knowledge, that this information is
completely factual]
THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY THE LATE GLEN CHAFE:
"In part from: History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, NY:
The American Historical Society, Inc. 1920
The family in America dates from 1637 (or maybe as early as 1635 according to William H.
Chaffee), and is traced to one Thomas Chaffe , immigrant ancestor and founder, large land
owner and prominent member of the early settlements at Hingham, and Hull, in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. His progeny has been prominent in New England for many
generations, and the family has contributed many men whose names are notable in the
history of New England life and affairs.
Background on Hingham: In the year 1633, Edmond Hobart, with his wife, their son Joshua,
and daughters Rebekah and Sarah landed in Charlestown. Two other sons, Edmond Hobart Jr.
and Thomas, and their families also arrived from England, as did Nicolas Jacob, his wife
and children, and Thomas Lincoln, a weaver. These settlers found that the existing
settlements had no room for them, and they chose a harbor lying inside the peninsula of
Nantasket, named Bare Cove because the cove looked bare when the tide was out. The time of
settlement is unknown, the first time Bare Cove was mentioned was in tax records dated
September 25, 1634. The settlement was assessed a tax of 4 pounds to be paid to the
colonial government. In 1635, Peter Hobart and his family arrived in the colony from
Hingham England.. Another son of Edmond Hobart, and a minister, he settled with his family
in the little settlement. On September 2nd in the year 1635, the Massachusetts court
allowed the change of Bare C!
ove to Hingham, and on the eighteenth of the same month the first 29 proprietors of
Hingham drew their house lots.
Thomas Chaffe, immigrant ancestor and founder, immigrated from England to America in 1637
(or as early as 1635 according to William H. Chaffee), in which year he settled in
Hingham, Mass., where he received a grant of land. Early records of Hingham show one of
Thomas' neighbours awarded land in 1635. Thomas Chaffey's name is on this document
which was filed in 1637 - most likely because he was a current neighbour. He was not in
the list of property owners in 1635. Under the same date there is another entry showing
that the town gave him about two acres of salt marsh, and July 17, 1637, two acres of land
on Bachelor Street (or Bachelor's Rowe - now Main street) for a house. This small
amount proves that he was unmarried at the time, as the amount of land for a house was
given with regard to the size of the family. In October, 1637, he was given a lot of ten
acres abutting on Thomas Turner's land on the north and Ralph Smith's land on the
south.
On 8th April 1637 when he was fifteen, Samuel Lincoln in the John and Dorothy of Ipswich
for America, eventually settling in Hingham, Massachusetts. Samuel was born in 1622 in
Hingham, Norfolk, England. Samuel's great-great, great, great, grandson was Abraham
Lincoln who became the 16th President of the USA in 1860.
Thomas Chaffe's settlement in 1637 is noted in the Early Settlers of Hingham,
Massachusetts by John D. Long in the History of Hingham published 1893, pages 201-209.
The 1635 entry for land given to John Tucker in the Hingham records: "Given unto John
Tucker by the towne of Hingham for a planting lott of six acres of land lying upon the
Worlds End Hill bounded with the land of Thomas Chaffe and the land of John Prince,
Southward and with the land of Ralph Woodward, Northward, butting upon the Sea Eastward
and Westward". This is the first mention of Chaffe in the new world, according to
William Chaffee in the book. However Thomas Chaffe is not mentioned as land holder in 1635
as stated in William Chaffee's book. It is most likely that this date should be
interpreted as 1637.
In 1637, there is this transaction:
"The severall parsells of land and meadow legally given unto Thomas Chaffe by the
towne of Hingham," ..."Given unto Thomas Chaffe by the Towne for a planting lott
seven acres of land upon the worlds end hill bounded with the sea eastward and southward
and with the land of John Prince westward and with the land of John Tucker
northward."
Under the same date we find another entry:
"Given unto Thomas Chaffe all the salt marsh on the south side of straitts pond for
two acres and he is to have alI the sd parsells of land to him and his heirs for ever be
they more or less as they were measured."
"July 17th 1637 . . . Given unto Thomas Chaffe by the towne for a house lott two
acres of land Butting upon Batchellor street eastward bounded with the land of William
Ludkin southward."
According to William Chaffee this small amount of land was for Thomas Chaffe's house
or home lot. Chaffee believed this indicated that at this time he was unmarried, as it was
the custom of those days to grant small parcels of land to bachelors, as being sufficient
for their needs. Bachelor Street is now known as Main Street, and the original Chaffe home
lot is about opposite the old meeting-house.
One more piece of property was given in that year to Thomas Chaffe by the town:
"Oetobr 1637 . . . Given unto Thomas Chaffe by the Towne for a greatt lott tenn acres
of land lying upon the great playne on the second furlong to the westward of the centre,
bounded with the land of Ralph Smith southward and with the Land of Thomas Turner
northward. Butting upon the high wayes east-ward and westward.)"
From: History of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: The American
Historical Society, Inc. 1920:
The next record of Thomas is dated April 9, 1642, in Nantasket, later called Hull (close
to Hingham), where he was admitted with several others as a planter, and given two acres
between the two hills next Pedcock's (Peddock's) Island. Nantasket is older than
Hingham, as the first building was built by emigrants of Plymouth on or before 1624. There
were to be at least thirty-two lots, and the planters were to take them in order; they
were to have four acres of planting land and two acres of meadow land also. On May 29,
1644, the name was changed to Hull, and in July, a church was formed there. In both
Hingham and Hull, Thomas Chaffe was a fisherman and farmer. The name of his wife is not
known. He probably married in Hull, as no mention of him or his family is found in the
notes of Rev. Peter Hobart, of Hingham. The town records of Hull, before 1657, have been
lost. It is probable that his wife's name was Dorothy, as her sons both had daughters
named Dorothy, and it was the c!
ustom to name children for their grandparents.
The next mention of him in the records is a deed, February 4, 1650, in which he gives land
over to Thomas Gill, of Hingham, and he and his son Joseph must have made a trip from
Swansea, where they were living, in order to sign it. The last mention of him was in 1657,
when a list of his lands was given. Between 1657 and on May 30, 1660, he had removed from
Hull and settled in Rehoboth, then in Plymouth Colony. A deed has been found, dated May
30, 1660, in which he sells to Thomas Loring Sr. of Hull, his house, orchard and two home
lots containing four acres; a lot of meadow by 'Streights River'; two lots at
Sagamore Hill, and two at Strawberry Hill; and also all his rights and privileges in all
the island except Pedcock's (Peddock's) Island. In this deed he calls himself
'some time of Hull in the colony of Suffolke', but does not say where he was
living then. However, in the proprietor's records of Rehoboth, he was one of the
proprietors at least as early as December 25, 1660!
, and the records also contain a description of the boundaries of land belonging to him.
A few months after the sale of his property in Hull he made his first recorded purchase of
land in Rehoboth, of Stephen Paine, Sr., February 9, 1660. The farm in Rhode Island was
located on the west bank of the Barrington River (in Thomas' time Sowams River) about
two miles northwest of the present town (1909) of Barrington Centre, RI.
On April 11, 1664, Thomas then of Wannamoisett, sold to Captain Thomas Willett and James
Brown one of the two lots he received in the division of home lots. When Swansea was set
off from Rehoboth in 1668, his home in Wannamoisett became a part of the newly created
town. He very likely owned land in Rehoboth, as in a deed in 1675 he calls himself of
Rehoboth. In 1669 he sold to Joseph Carpenter property in New Meadow Neck (near
Barrington). During King Philip's War he and his family, as well as near neighbours,
doubtless lived in 'Chaffe's Garrison', a stone building near his house, and
during that time he bought a house, an orchard and a house lot from Francis Stevens in
Rehoboth. On December 28, 1676, there is a record of an agreement in regard to 'lands
purchased of Asamequin and Wamsitto his sonne.' The last mention of him in his life is
March 16, 1679-80, in an agreement concerning the Paine Lots and also 'pasturing
neck.' He made his will, July 25, 1680, and in it menti!
ons his two sons, Nathaniel and Joseph. Thomas Chaffe died March 6, 1683, and an
inventory of his estate taken May 15, of the same year. He was probably buried in the
ancient Chaffee Burying Ground on his own farm. Thomas Chaffe was prominent and highly
respected in the towns in which he resided."
THOMAS CHAFFE'S ARRIVAL SHIP - 1637 [thanks to Glen Chafe]
"There were many ships that carried settlers to the Boston Harbour area in the late
1630's. The Hopewell from London carried Thomas Turner in August 1635. The John &
Dorothy from Ipswich (57 passengers) with master William Andrews and the Rose from Great
Yarmouth/Ipswich (57 passengers) carried William Ludkin and family of Norwich in April
1637. Ludkin and Turner would later become neighbours of Thomas in Hingham. Thomas'
other neighbours were Ralph Woodward who was in Hingham in 1636; John Prince who was made
a freeman in the Commonwealth in 1634; Ralph Smith departed Isle of Wight in 1633 and John
Tucker was in Hingham in 1635. Families such as the Bosworth's and the Peck's
would be his neighbours and fellow migrants to the Seekonk and Barrington in the
1660's/70's. Other ships in 1637: name - Unknown (112 passengers), leaving
Weymouth in April to New England, Master: John Driver; Hector , (5 passengers) from London
to Salem ; Hercules, (78 passengers) from London to the M!
assachusetts Bay, Master: John Witherley; Hopewell from Exeter, to Virginia, Master: John
Cobbold; Mary Anne (112 passengers) from Great Yarmouth/ Ipswich, to Boston, Master:
William Goose; Speedwell (62 passengers) from Weymouth 22, April 1637, to Boston, Master
Robert Corbin; and two ships captained by Master William Pierce and three more ships with
360 passengers from Ipswich. Stephen Paine from Norfolk, England, Thomas' later
neighbour in Seekonk may have come over on the Diligent in 1638. The Diligent was
captained by John Martin who's sister may have married one of Thomas' sons. A
Henry Smith from Norfolk, also on the Diligent also followed Thomas in Hingham to Rehoboth
follwoing a strong disagreement and split within the Puritan church."
SHIPS LEAVING FOR NEW ENGLAND IN 1637 [thanks to Glen Chafe]
"From the Complete Book of Emigrants 1607-1660 by Peter Wilson Coldham (1988) the
following can be found (referenced source Public Record Office PRO; E190/876/11 on
Chancery Lane, London."
April 1637, Passengers on the [ -------- ], Mr. John Driver, bound from Weymouth to New
England: [Elizabeth Poole], two friends and 13 (servants); Henry (Cogan), his wife, 7 men
and two maids; Thomas Farwell and two servants; William Longe and his brother; John
Cornish, his wife, two brothers, one sister & one man; Anthony Buxtone; William
Harvey; Thomas Tayer, his wife and four children; John Derby, his wife, brother and two
servants; Walter Deane and six servants; John Reade and six servants; John Gilbert, two
men, one maid and two boys; Richard Smith, two children and one servant; Henry Webb, his
wife, mother, child, five men & one maid; Edward Rawson, his wife, two children, two
maids & four men; Henry Smith, his wife, four children, four menservants & four
women (servants); Richard Babson, his mother and brother.
22 April 1637, The Speedwell - Goods shipped by Thomas Tayer and William Longe in the
Speedwell, Mr Robert Corbin, bound from Weymouth to [New England]. Passengers on the same
ship: Edward Wiett and his wife, Elizabeth Winter and her two children, John Crocker, his
wife and his boy, Thomas Claff, his wife and two friends, William Scaddinge, Walter
Harris, his wife, six children & three servants, Thomas Farwell and two servants,
Thomas Cooke his wife and three children, Wiliam Longe and his brother, Elizabeth Poole,
two friends and 14 servants, Henry Cogan, his wife, seven menservants and two
maidservants.
The 60-ton Speedwell carried 62 passengers from Weymouth to Boston in 1637. The Speedwell
could have been the same ship that was planned to accompany the Puritans on the 180 ton
Mayflower ton in 1620 to America. The Speedwell was outfitted in Holland, and arrived in
Southampton to meet the Mayflower. The two ships began the voyage on 5 August, but the
Speedwell with 67 passengers was leaky and returned to Dartmouth to be refitted. On the
second attempt, Mayflower and Speedwell sailed about 300 miles beyond Land's End in
England, when Captain Reynolds of the Speedwell returned the ship again to Plymouth
because of leaks. Some of the Speedwell passengers crowded onto the Mayflower to compete
their famous voyage. The Speedwell eventually followed, arriving at Plymouth Colony
exactly one year later on 10 Nov. 1621.
"A" Speedwell travelled to Virginia in 1635 (59 passengers, captain Jo. Chappel)
and to Boston in 1656 (41 passengers, captain Robert Lock). It should be noted that the
ship name "Speedwell" was popular, and also ships did not last long, and owing
to it's condition in 1620, the 1637 Speedwell may not have been the same ship as the
one that was planned to leave with the Mayflower. Even the Mayflower was likely scrapped
in 1624. From the internet Speedwell passenger, Thomas Cooke was from Netherbury, Dorset.
Walter Harris with wife and 6 children were baptized at Honiton, Devon. This puts some of
the emigrant passengers of the Speedwell from the Devon area. A ship, name - Unknown left
Weymouth for New England in April as well. It carried Walter Deane and his brother John.
Walter Deanewas baptized in 1612 at St. Mary, Chard, Somerset. Edward Rawson also on this
ship was born at Gillingham, Dorset. There is some indication on the internet that the
"Unknown" ship accompanied (or !
was) the Speedwell. Henry Cogan and Elizabeth Poole, as well as their family and
servants, are mentioned in both ships lists by Coldham.
From Charles Edward Banks' "The Winthrop Fleet of 1630",
1930, The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, a history of the fleet from its
origins to its landing: "What has come to be called the Winthrop Fleet of 1630 was
chartered under an agreement made in Cambridge, England 26 August 1629 under the auspices
of the Massachusetts Bay Company. The Company bought the ship "Eagle," made it
the flagship, renaming it the "Arabella" and then chartered 10 additional ships
to transport about 700 passengers to Massachusetts. Some ships brought passengers from
London, the main contingent of ships were loaded at Southampton on the south coast of
England during the month of March, 1630. According to records Matthew Craddock, a former
governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company, didn't arrive from London to send the ships
off until April 6th, on which day four ships, led by the Arbella, sailed down The Solent
only to anchor off Yarmouth at the western tip of the Isle of Wight and awai!
t!
the remaining seven which were still being loaded in Southampton. At six in the morning
on April 8th, the four ships set sail for the New World, passing the Needles, a series of
jutting formations off the western tip of the Isle of Wight that mark the beginning of the
open ocean, shortly before noon. The "Arabella" was the first to arrive at Salem
on 12 June 1630, followed by the "Jewel" on 18 June. Therefore Thomas had
neighbours from his southwest England homestead."
THESIS ON THOMAS CHAFFE'S ARRIVAL SHIP: [thanks to Glen Chafe]
"From the above document Thomas Claff is reported to have brought over his wife and
two friends. It was thought that Thomas Chaffee married in Hingham, however this might
explain why there have been no local marriage records of this event. On the LDS site the
frequency of the Claff surname before this date in England is nonexistent, with the most
ancient being c.1739 Germany. It is assumed that Claff is a transcription or spelling
error in Coldham's document. Adding to the mystery, from the Hingham records of 1637
there is also a Thomas Clapp noted as an inhabitant. The Clapp/Chappe/Chap surname is
found in Dorset (starting 1504), Sussex and Northumberland. However a Thomas Clapp from
Devon arrived in Boston in 1633. A Thomas Shave is also mentioned in the 1637 Hingham
records, and while possibly sounding the same, is not even close in surname spelling. At
this point it is uncertain that Thomas Chaffe was in fact Thomas Claff. However the
closeness of the surname spelling in!
the ship list, the match with the first name; Thomas, the fact that Claff is an uncommon
surname, the departure date, the arrival year in Hingham, that fellow passengers were from
Devon and Dorset and the proximity of the departure point of Weymouth to
Dorset/Somerset/Devon makes the 1637 voyage of the Speedwell the most likely ship. If this
link to the Speedwell is correct, it is also doubtful there was two Thomas Chaff's,
one arriving in 1635, and another who arrived in 1637 as W H Chaffee has indicated.
The 1901 England Census shows 34 Claffs in Lancaster and London and at the same time over
a thousand for Chaff/Chaffe/Chaffey (40% from Dorset, Somerset and Devon). Rootsweb has
197 listings for Claff but most appear to be redundant/duplicates and none are born in
England. On the same site there are hundreds of Chaff/Chaffe/Chaffey's born in
England. The present US Census Bureau shows a significant population of the
Chaff/Chaffe/Chaffey surname but Claff cannot be found. The Bureau does show a a large
population of Claffey's.
Switchboard.com lists 9 Claff's in their US directory and
many Claffee's, Claffery and Claffey's. On LDS, Claffey appears to be 99% from
Ireland and Germany. LDS show no Claff's in England, and four from Germany.
If Thomas departed from Southern England and was from a Chaff, Chafe, Chaffe family there
is a 92% chance he was from Devonshire. If he was from a Chaffey or Chafy family there is
a 31% chance he was from Somerset and 65%chance he was from Dorsetshire. Overall, looking
at England as a whole, the odds he was from outside either of these three shires around
15%.
On July 17th 1637 Thomas took ownership of land on Batchellor Street - 86 days from his
departure date. The Mayflower took 66 days to cross the Atlantic. The first of the
Winthrop Fleet took 61 days in 1630. The Mary & John took 71 days to sail from
Plymouth to Nantasket in 1630. With is in mind Thomas, on average, could have had a 66 day
voyage and arrived around June 27th, 1637. His first documented date of a land transaction
was July 17th, 1637. He likely had a least one neighbour from his homeland; Ralph Smith
who left from the Isle of Wight in 1633."
There are still questions that remain unanswered for this thesis to be proven correct:
[thanks to Glen Chafe]
1. Thomas and his wife moved to Batchellor Street. Was this street reserved for bachelors
exclusively since Hingham's founding two years earlier? W.H. Chaffee
indicated he was not married when he arrived (perhaps based on the Batchellor Street
residence).
2. Was Thomas affluent enough to build and manage a house and up to 21 acres of land in
four locations so soon after arriving? Then again, he was a settler in a
new world so land acquisition may not have been an issue. Was he a fisherman, a farmer or
both as this may lead to clues as to where his England family lived.
3. Early Hingham land transactions show properties adjacent to the ocean, but on meadows
suitable for ploughing or livestock, and two were definitely inland. In Barrington, the
property also appears more inland.
4. No boat ownership records seem to exist.
5. Thomas' son Joseph married into the influential Barrington Martin family. The
Martin family may have come from Devonshire. Are the families closely tied?
6. No marriage certificate in America or England exists to prove his marriage.
7. Why did he own a number of houses and various different disconnected properties?
8. Thomas was a Congregational Puritan and attended the Congregational Church in Seekonk.
Did he leave England because if his beliefs?
9. Did he arrive on the Speedwell in 1637? Who were his two friends on the speedwell and
why were they not neighbours?
10. Did he arrive in 1635 as W.H. Chaffee stated? Was he on another ship other than the
Speedwell?
11. Where was Thomas' original homestead in Devon, Dorset or Somerset? Many of his
fellow passengers were from Dorset or Somerset, but if his surname was Chaffe/Chaff the
odds are he was from Devon.
12. Was he related to the affluent family descended from Robert Chaffe, mayor of Exeter in
1568/9 and in 1576/7?
13. Did he become a freeman in America. There is no record of this prior to 1636.
14. If he was from good stock in England, why was he not able to sign his name on his
deeds and instead left his mark - T.
15. In a deed of sale documented by W.H Chaffee in 1660 his name was signed as a mark
Thomas J Chaffye. Was J for Joseph, the name of this second son
(1639-1694), a grandson (1677-1759) and a great grandson (1797), also the name of his
father in England? This theory is weak in that middle initials were not common for the
English in 1600.
16. Was Thomas related to Mathew Chaffe, who had large land holdings (even wharfs in
Boston Harbor). Matthew was a carpenter and a fisherman/planter,
married to Sarah, and was in Boston in 1636. He was said to be a "Goodman" in
Boston. A goodman means someone of your social standing or slightly higher;
a husband; the male head of a household; a courtesy title before the surname of a man not
of noble birth.
WHERE DID THOMAS SETTLE IN AMERICA? [thanks to Glen Chafe]
Hingham, Massachusetts - 1637-1660
The following is a possible location of where Thomas Chaffe had his first home in Hingham.
It is based on the following recorded events in 1637:
- Two acres of land butting upon Batchellor Street (Batchelor's Rowe) now Main Street
- Land nearly opposite the present meeting-house of the First Parish
- Neighbour Ralph Smith - Pear Tree Hill
- Neighbour William Ludkin - nearly opposite Water Street
Based on documents from the History of Hingham 1893. It is possible the land is on the
other side of the street as another reference indicates that Batchellor St. is to the east
and William Ludkin to the south. Current thought in the town is that the site is adjacent
(south east) of the First Parish which is located at 90 Main Street.
THOMAS CHAFFE: [thanks to Willam Chaffee and Glen Chafe]
Most probably the ancestor of all who have borne this surname in the United States up to
the present century, came to Hingham among the early settlers, and in 1637 drew a
house-lot of two acres on Batchellor, now Main St., nearly opposite the present
meeting-house of the First Parish. Other lands were also granted him the same year for
planting purposes. He probably remained here until 1642, when he occupied land granted him
at Nantasket (Hull), and resided there until ab. 1659. He then removed to Swanzea. In his
will of 1680, reference is made to his being "of great age." He died in 1683
leaving sons Nathaniel and Joseph, from whom have descended a highly respectable
posterity.
July 17th 1637 . . . Given unto Thomas Chaffe by the towne for a house lott two acres of
land Butting upon Batchellor street eastward bounded with the land of William Ludkin
southward.
SMITH (SMYTH), RALPH appears in Hing. 1637, when he drew a house-lot on Batchellor (Main)
St. at or near "Pear Tree Hill." He continued to reside here until 1653, when he
removed to Eastham, Mass. It is said that he was twice m., the first w. being the mother
of his ch. Oct. 27, 1685, adm. was granted to Grace Smith, the relict of Ralph Smith, and
Samuel Smith, son to the said Ralph Smith, all of the town of Eastham, in the Colony of
New Plymouth, in New England, decrease etc.
LUDKIN, WILLIAM, the smith (locksmith) also from Norwich Eng. and prob bro. of the
preceding, had a grant of a house-lot on 1637 on Batchellor (Main) nearly opp. Water St.
His w., ch., and a serv. came with him.
TURNER, THOMAS, had a grant of land in Hing. at "Goose Point" 1637. On Apr. 13,
1646, he sold his est here, consisting of five acres of land with a dw. house, thereon,
which was located where St. Paul's Catholic Church now stands, to John Otis, Sr.,
together with two acres in the Broad Cove Meadows, and twelve acres beyond Crooked Meadow
Bridge, which had previously been granted and laid out by the town. In 1650 he completed a
contract for finishing a "barke" at Boston, and prob. removed from here ab. that
time, or shortly after. In 1644 a Thomas Turner was one of four young men who were
permitted to build a gallery in the first meeting-house, but whether it was this Thomas or
his s. is a problem for investigation. Deane's History says the name afts. appears in
Scit.
Mathew Chaffe also has land in the area. In 1657-58, gives to his son William a lot at
Capts Tent (now Hewitt's Cove) in Hingham. Thus
Barrington, Rhode Island and Seekonk, Massachusetts - 1660-1683
As much as 60 percent of the original settlers of Hingham left before their deaths. There
was disenchantment with the way the town was being run by local officials as well as
religious-political differences with the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
On May 30, 1660 Thomas Chaffe sold his assets in the Hingham area. "Sell aljene
enfeoffe and Confirme vnto the sajd Thomas Loring of the Towne of Hull his heires and
Assignes for euer all that my house houseing orchard & two home lotts lying in the
Towne of Hull aforesajd Conteigning fower acres more or lesse as they were measured lying
North East & South west. John Loring on the South East willjam chamberlajne on the
North west the Towne streete on the South west & Ducke Lane on the North east wth my
lott of meadow by Streights Riuer & my two lotts at Sagamore hill and my two lotts at
Strawbery hill as they stand recorded to be butted & bounded in the Towne booke of
Hull aforesajd except one Cowes Comon formerly Sold to willjam Chamberlajne wth all my
right Interest & priviledges in all the Islands belonging to the Towne of Hull
aforesajd except one the Island Called Peddocks Island..."
On 25 December, 1660, land transactions commenced in the areas of Swansea, Sawomes,
Rehoboth and Popanomscut.
Apparently after King Philips' War (1675-76), Baptists moved into Thomas' area and
Congregationalists, including Thomas, moved closer toward Barrington. Infant baptism was a
primary religious division among Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay area. Baptists were
against infant baptism which Congregationalists practiced. Thomas bought this land in
Popanomscut in 1679.
The records of W.H. Chaffee cover the land transactions of Thomas Chaffe. The maps below
show the historical land names of the location of Chaffee homesteads in Seekonk MA, and
Barrington RI, a diagram of the land transactions over Thomas' lifetime as well as a
map of possible homesteads and burial sites.
Thomas Chaffe's land transactions in the Swansea area were as follows:
- Dec 1660, 10 acres Rices Neck, Sawomes Lands (Seekonk area)
- April 1664, 25 acres 9th lot Wanamoisett (Seekonk area)
- June 1670, 17th share New Meadow Neck (land east opposite Barrington town center)
- Sep 1675, 6 acres Town of Rehoboth
- April 1679, Popanomscut Peebees or Phebes Neck (the neck of land on which Barrington
resides along the Sawomes/Barrington River)
- May 1683, 10 acres long beach
- May 1683, 4 acres Meadow Mount Hope Neck (this Neck is 9.5 miles long south of
Barrington towards Bristol)
It has been reported that a house at 464 Chestnut Street in Seekonk, MA that was owned by
Cyrus Chaffee (1814-1885), was a home of Thomas Chaffee. It resides next to the
Chaffee-Peck Nature Conservatory. The house is dated from the early 1800's, however a
local historian believes it to be rebuilt on an original homestead of the Chaffee family.
The historian refers to King Phillips War (1676/6) and how families were hold up in the
cellar which contained narrow slits in which rifles could defend the homestead. This could
be the "Chaffe's Garrison," W.H. Chaffee wrote in this Chaffee History.
Eventually the house was burned during the War and another build on the foundation and
cellar. Some structural stone elements of the house could predate the 1800's.
According to local settlement patterns Baptists moved into the present day Swansea area
and the Puritans families, which included the Chaffee's, moved to the west toward
Rehoboth and Barrington. The cemetery located between the!
house and the Chaffee-Peck Conservatory has two graves for WWII vets; a Chaffee and a
Peck. According to William H. Chaffee, Nathaniell & Israell Peck owned land to the
north of Thomas Chaffee in 1660 near Rices Neck, Sawomes Lands.
Thomas had a farm in Popanomscut:
From W.H. Chaffee:
"The settlers from Hingham and Weymouth
located in Seekonk in 1643, the latter including in their number Reverend Samuel Newman,
and in 1645 the name was changed at his request to Rehoboth, a scripture name; this first
minister of Rehoboth compiled the third Bible Concordance, which far surpassed the other
two. Three editions of it were published, the second having been revised from the first,
while the author was living in Rehoboth, where he died July 5, 1663. His church was about
five miles north of Thomas Chaffe's house, and our worthy ancestor doubtless profited
by his sermons and sorrowed with his neighbors over his death."
"He was doubtless buried in the ancient Chaffe Burying Ground on his own farm, a
picture of which is here given, though no stone to his memory remains. From information
gathered and handed down by the older people, we learn that the house stood but a few rods
from the burial ground. This property, located on the west bank of what is now the
Barrington River, though in Thomas Chaffe's time it was called the Sowams River, is
about two miles northwest of the present town of Barrington Centre, R. I, and is owned by
Mr. L. R. Peck."
Thomas likely attended the Newman Congressional Church (formerly in Rehoboth), later in
Seekonk, Mass., and now in the village of Rumford, East Providence, R.I.; It is supposed
to be the burial place of Nathaniel Chaffe, Thomas' son."
POSSIBILITIES FOR THOMAS CHAFFE'S BURIAL LOCATION: [thanks to Glen Chafe]
"Popanomscut - on farm land 2 miles north of the Barrington Town Hall adjacent to/or
north of the mouth of the Barrington River at the level of 100 Acre Cove (most likely).
Prince's Hill - on farm land 0.4 miles north of the Barrington Town Hall.
Cemetery adjacent to the Barrington town Hall at the base of Prince's Hill.
Cemetery grounds on the Newman Congressional Church, Rumford.
Cemetery on Chaffee-Peck Conservatory land, Chestnut Street in Seekonk."
Per the Chaffcombe Parish records, Chaffcombe is derived from a possible name of
"Caeffa's Clumb", from a Norman settler in the valley near Chard now known
as Chaffcombe.
Per the Book, the Chaffee Name In History,
Ancestry.com: CHAFFEE - English (of Norman
origin): descriptive nickname from a derivative of Old French [word] chauf =
'bald' (Latin [word] calvus = bald).
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