Thomas DRINKWATER was born 1652 in England, and died 25 Jun 1715 in Taunton, Bristol, MA. He married Elizabeth HASKELL on 1692 in Middleborough, Plymouth, MA, daughter of John HASKELL and Patience SOULE.
Notes for Thomas DRINKWATER: Some researchers believe he's a descendant of a Scottish branch of the family. This is a difficult tree to prove as records in America for the name Drinkwater are limited. John Drinkwater was a settler at Piscataway on Feb 13, 1703, when he appeared as a legatee in the Will of Henry Crosly, who divided his property between Elizabeth Slater, Samuel Slater, John Drinkwater, Dorothy Lexington and Jeremiah Colcord.
Thomas was probably born in England and came to America as a young man, settling in Taunton. The foregoing is sustained by several New England references that state Thomas Drinkwater married Elizabeth Haskell on Jul 2, 1672. This family connects with Francis Walker, likewise from Middleboro, who moved to Piscataway and Woodbridge before 1700, and it is a most formidable assumption that John Drinkwater of Piscataway was a son or brother of Thomas.
The Drinkwater family can trace its history to the distant past, both in America and England. The present generation can trace its ancestry through two separate lines, to the passengers of the first Mayflower.
The name Drinkwater seems to have emanated originally from Cheshire, England. Many members of the family distinguished themselves as soldiers, writers and poets; three have received and one declined the Honour of Knighthood; and two appear in the Dictionary of National Biography. The name occurs in its simplest form as early as 1273 when John Drinkwater of Stottesdon County, Salop, is named as an entry in the Hundred Rolls. The earliest known occurrence in Cheshire was in 1365 when Thomas was a defendant in a suit brought by John Boydell concerning tenements in Lymm. Thomas possibly came from Lakes of Derwent known as Derwentwater in the North of England.
The surname Drinkwater is thought to have originated as a nickname anciently applied to one of sober habits. The name also referred to "those too poor to drink ale, or sarcastically of drunkards, or in reference to diabetes." It is found in old English and early American records in the various spellings of Drynkwater, Drynkwatere, Drinckwater and Drinkwater, the last of which is that most commonly used in America today. Families bearing this name were established in England at early dates in Salop, Lancashire, Cheshire and London. One of the earliest references to the name appears to be that of John Drinkwater, living in Salop in 1273. A Richard Drynckwatere, possibly related to John, lived in the same county in 1309. Among the earliest records of the family in America are those of John Drinkwater, who emigrated from England and settled in Henrico County, VA, in 1637.
More About Thomas DRINKWATER and Elizabeth HASKELL: Marriage: 1692, Middleborough, Plymouth, MA.
Children of Thomas DRINKWATER and Elizabeth HASKELL are:
+William DRINKWATER, b. 1701, Middleborough, Plymouth, MA, d. 1758, New Milford, Litchfield, CT.
Thomas DRINKWATER (b. 1652, d. 25 Jun 1715)
Notes for Thomas DRINKWATER: