Thomas Brigham fathered the first Brigham generation in America. History books have called him "The Emigrant" or "The Puritan".
In the spring of 1635 a group of adherents of Rev. Thomas Shepherd, who had been preaching in Buttercombe, England, a few miles north of Home-on-Spalding-Moor, decided to migrate with him to the new world in order to escape religious persecution. On April 18 1635, they embarked on the ship "Suzan and Ellen" on a voyage from Bristol to Boston, that would last sixty-four days. Appearing in the passenger list:
Thos. Brigham, aged 32
Symon Crosby, husbandman, aged 26
Ann Crosby, Uxer, aged 25
Tho. Crosby, child aged 8 weeks.
Ann was Thomas's first cousin. Soon after reaching New England, Thomas Brigham settled Cambridge, MA. His 14 acre homestead adjoining that of Simon Crosby. He owned a windmill and records show he owned a third of all the swine in town. Thomas Brigham was made by the general court a Freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Company, 18 Apr 1637 and thus became a member of the body politic and acquired the right to vote. He was selectman 1640, 1642, 1647. A constable from 1639 to 1642.
In 1637 when Thomas was about 34, married Mercy Hurd, aged about 21. (The name Hurd is only traditional, and the Rice Genealogy by Ward is responsible for the tradition.)
Unmarked grave.
Thomas Brigham fathered the first Brigham generation in America. History books have called him "The Emigrant" or "The Puritan".
In the spring of 1635 a group of adherents of Rev. Thomas Shepherd, who had been preaching in Buttercombe, England, a few miles north of Home-on-Spalding-Moor, decided to migrate with him to the new world in order to escape religious persecution. On April 18 1635, they embarked on the ship "Suzan and Ellen" on a voyage from Bristol to Boston, that would last sixty-four days. Appearing in the passenger list:
Thos. Brigham, aged 32
Symon Crosby, husbandman, aged 26
Ann Crosby, Uxer, aged 25
Tho. Crosby, child aged 8 weeks.
Ann was Thomas's first cousin. Soon after reaching New England, Thomas Brigham settled Cambridge, MA. His 14 acre homestead adjoining that of Simon Crosby. He owned a windmill and records show he owned a third of all the swine in town. Thomas Brigham was made by the general court a Freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Company, 18 Apr 1637 and thus became a member of the body politic and acquired the right to vote. He was selectman 1640, 1642, 1647. A constable from 1639 to 1642.
In 1637 when Thomas was about 34, married Mercy Hurd, aged about 21. (The name Hurd is only traditional, and the Rice Genealogy by Ward is responsible for the tradition.)
Unmarked grave.
Gravesite Details
According to: Brigham, Willard Irving Tyler. The History of the Brigham Family:. Vol. 1. New York: Grafton, 1907. Print. Thomas is buried here without a marker.
Family Members
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