Rowland Thomas

Rowland Thomas (c. 1621–1698) of Springfield, Massachusetts was an English colonist, selectman, stonemason, surveyor, and proprietor, and the namesake of Mount Tom, originally known as Mount Thomas, which he was said to have surveyed in tandem with Elizur Holyoke who so-named the Holyoke Range.[2]

This article is about the Massachusetts surveyor and pioneer. For the Dean of Bangor Cathedral, see Roland Thomas.

Rowland Thomas
A mural depicting Rowland Thomas and his men in surveying the lands by Hadley Falls
Bornc. 1621
Berry Pomeroy, Devon, England
Diedc. February 21, 1698(1698-02-21) (aged 77)
Springfield, Massachusetts
NationalityEnglish
Known for
Spouse
Sarah Chapin
​
​
(m. 1647; died 1684)​
Children17 (8 died in infancy)[1]

Background

He was born to the knight Sir David Thomas and Anna Ison in the village of Berry Pomeroy, Devon, in England; little is recorded about the earlier life of Rowland Thomas before his arrival in Springfield, Massachusetts. On either February 14 or April 14, 1647 he married Sarah Chapin, daughter of Deacon Samuel Chapin and Cecily Penney.[1][3] Thomas's exact date of arrival in the New World is unclear but reportedly he arrived in Springfield before the year 1650, with records indicating his owning of 29.5 acres of land in the settlement in 1647, and a warrant issued by William Pynchon for a Native thief who had robbed the homestead of his wife's wardrobe in 1650.[3][4][5] Thomas would serve in the town's government in a number of capacities, including three times as a selectman in the years 1664, 1667, and 1671.[6] He would also serve as a juror on many cases in the settlement, and by trade was a sawyer and stonemason, cutting rocks and hauling them to the settlement in Hadley.[3]

See also

References
  1. Campbell, Harold (2018). Campbell Family Tree. Harold Campbell III. ISBN 9781387631230. [Entry] 1680. Rowland Thomas...son of Sir David Thomas...and Anna Ison... was born in 1621 in Berry Pomeroy, Devon, England, United Kingdom, died on 21 Feb 1698 in Springfield, Hampshire [after 1812 in Hampden County], Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America at age 77, and was buried after 21 Feb 1698 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, British Colonial America...Rowland married Sarah Chapin...on 14 February 1647 in Springfield, Hampden Massachusetts, United States
  2. Burt, Henry M. (1898). "Appendix- Origin of the Naming of Mounts Holyoke and Tom". History of Springfield: The Official Records from 1636 to 1736. Vol. II. Springfield, Mass.: Henry M. Burt. p. 798.
  3. Darrin Lythgoe. "Rowland Thomas". SherrySharp.com. The Next Generation of Genealogy. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019.
  4. "U.S. Armory". The Massachusetts Register. Boston: Damrell and Moore (86): 324. 1862.
  5. Morris, Henry (1876). 1636-1675: Early history of Springfield, an address delivered October 16, 1875, on the two hundredth anniversary of the burning of the town by the Indians. Springfield, Mass: F. W. Morris. p. 24.
  6. Burt, Henry M. (1898). "The Selectmen- First and Succeeding Boards". History of Springfield: The Official Records from 1636 to 1736. Vol. I. Springfield, Mass.: Henry M. Burt.


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