Thanks....
>From Joe Arlt joearlt@juno.com Compulsive
Genealogy Searcher.
John first appears in American genealogical records in Concord MA
with
the recorded birth of his children; Ruth in 1640 and John in 1642.
(Concord MA was founded as a six square mile town outside of Watertown MA
on 2 Sep 1635. In 1637, Rev. John Jones was chosen as pastor of the
community.)
In 1644, Rev. Jones left Concord with a contingent of about 8
families, (approximately 15% of the Concord population), and relocated to
the town of Fairfield, Fairfield County, CT. (Ref. A.)
John Tompkins and his family (along with others including William
O'Dell) were in this contingent.
Although no records have been found, most researchers believe
that
he had another son, Nathaniel, who was probably older than Ruth & John.
Nathaniel and John are recorded as being together in Fairfield and buying
land in Eastchester NY, jointly. Nathaniel names brother John as an
executor of his will when he died 6 Sep 1684 in Eastchester.
John (the father) died so early that his will is not found; but
on 7
Mar 1660/1, John Wheeler and George Squire, as overseers to (the younger)
John "Tomkins" sued William Hayden for 30 pounds for neglect in executing
the will of John Tompkins. They won the suit, and Hayden was ordered to
surrender the lands to (the son) John. Since William Hayden (of Windsor)
sat on the jury which tried the case, it is obvious that a different man
of the same name was the defendent. (Ref. B.) John (the father),
therefore
died before 1660 in Fairfield. After he died, his widow married William
Heyden and removed to Eastchester NY. (Ref B.) Note: Finding the name of
his widow who married William Heyden would probably answer some of the
questions regarding this lineage.
In Ref. C, R A Tompkins says that John (the father)(his #61) is a son
of
Ralph Tompkins and was born in 1610 in England, m. Margaret Goodman (she
died 18 May 1672), and he then married Mary Read (after 1672), and died
23
Jun 1684. (This is in conflict with the suit mentioned in Ref. B). I
believe we are dealing with two different John Tompkins or one of the
Reference documents is incorrect.
References:
A. "Concord in the Colonial Period", by Charles H. Walcott,
Boston
MA, Estes & Lauriat, 1884.
B. "History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield", by
Donald Jacobus, 1930.
C. "Tomkins-Tompkins Genealogy" by R.A. Tompkins, 1942.