1. THOMAS1 BURNHAM was born 1623 in Norwich, Norfolk, England1, and died May 19, 1694 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts2. He married MARY LAWRENCE 1645 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts.
Notes for THOMAS BURNHAM:
Son of Robert Burnham and Mary Andrews; Carpenter
One of the three brothers who came in 1635 from England in the ship "Angel Gabriel" and settled at Chebacco, Ipswich, Mass. now Essex. He is known as "Thomas of Ipswich"
The ship "Angel Gabriel" pulled into Pemaquid Bay (Pemaquid, Maine) on August 13, 1635 and laid at anchor. The next day there was a terrible rain storm which ravaged the whole coast from Nova Scotia to New York starting at morning. The Angel was torn to pieces by the savage storm and cast away. Most of the cattle, 1 seaman and 3 or 4 passengers died. The others escaped to shore. Among the few personal belongings saved was a chest belonging to the Burnham boys. The tides had been as high as 20 feet. Some passengers set up tents along the shore and John Cogswell went to Boston and sought the help of a Capt. Gallop who commanded a smallbark, or barque as it was called then. He took some passengers to Ipswich and made another trip the end of October.
The 3 Burnham brothers went to Ipswich, Mass., probably with Uncle Andrews and John Cogswell and his family in Capt. Gallop's bark. Thomas and John spent most of their lives in Ipswich, Mass., but Robert went to Boston in 1644 and 10 years later in 1654 to Oyster River, New Hampshire which is now the area of Dover.
The youngest Burnham brother, Benjamin b.1621, who did not make the trip to America, eventually went to Madras, India and lived there from 1660-1684. He amassed a great fortune and when he died, his will of June 8, 1685 stated that everything would go to his 3 brothers in America. Well, the oldest brother, Edward, who had stayed in England, was quite upset and fought the will in courts. After a long battle in courts of England, the British Crown confiscated the entire estate, as they were noted for such practice in those days, and the Burnhams never regained the estate. Over the next 100 to 200 years, several Burnhams in America would make the long journey to England to contest the taking over of the estate, but were not successful. The estate was considered a fortune in those days, and you can imagine what it would be worth today. It also included land in London. Ben died in 1691, 6 years after making out his will.
From Mather's Journal:
In further reference to Angel Gabriel here is some of what Mather said :
note nothing said about pirates boarding the ship. As I mentioned in an
earlier message, they were afraid of pirates.
"In the afternoon, June 29, Captayne Taylor went on board y e Angel, and
took Mathew Michel & me along with him" They found there had been much
seasickness and two cases of " small pockes" well recovered.
"We were entreated to stay supp, there with their Master &c. and had good
cheese, mutton boyled & rosted, rosted turkey, good sacke &c.
"Saturday July 4, 1635. This day ye sea was very rough, and we saw ye
truth of yet Scripture, Ps. cvii. Some were very seasicke, but none could
stand or go upon y e decke because of the tossing & tumbling of the ship.
This day we lost sight of the Angel sayling slowly behind us, and we never
saw her again any more.
"August 14th. But y s evening by moone light about 10 of y e clocke wee
came to ancre at y e Iles of Shoales which are 7 or 8 Ilands, and other
great rockes, and slept there sweetely y y night till breake of day.
"August 15. But yet y e Lord hath not done with us, nor yet had let us see
all his power, and goodness which he would have us take knowledge of; and
therefore of Saturday morning about breake of day, y e Lord sent forth a
most terrible storm of raine and easterly wind, whereby wee were in as much
danger as I think ever people were; for wee lost y t three great ancres &
cables, of wch cables, one having cost 50£ never had beene in any water
before, two were broken by y e violence of y e waves and y e third cut
by y e seamen in extremity and distress to save y e ship and their & our
, and lives and w n o r cables and ancres were all lost, wee had no
outward means of deliverance but by loosing sayle, if so bee we might go to
y e sea from among y e Ilands and rockes where we ancred; but y e Lord
let us see y t o r sayles could not save us neither, no more y n o r
cables & ancres, for by y e force of y e wind & raine y e sayles were
rent in sunder & split in pieces, as if they had beene but rotten ragges,
so y t of y e fore sayle and sprissle sayle there were scarce left so
much as an hand breadth, y t was not rent in pieces, and blown away into
y e sea. So that at y e yime all hope y t wee should be saved in regard
to any outward appearancea was utterly taken away, and y e rather because
wee seemed to drive with full force of wind and rayne directly upon a might
rocke ssstanding out of sight above y e water, so y t wee did but
continually wayte, when wee should heave an feele y e doleful rushing and
crushing of y e ship upon y e rocke. In y e extremity and appearance of
death, as distress distraction would suffer us us wee cryed unto y e Lord
and he was pleased to have compassiion and pity upon us; for by his
overruling providence & his own immediate good hand he guided y e ship
past y e rocke, asswaged y e violence of y e sea and y e wind and raine
& gave us a little respite to fit y e ship with other sayles, and sent us
a fresh gale of wind...by wch wee went on y t day in our course south
west & west towards Cape Anne. It was a day much to be remembered, because
y t day y e Lord granted us as wonderful a deliverance as I thinke ever
people had, out of as apparent danger as I thinke ever people felt...The
Lord so imprint y e memory of it on o r hearts y t wee may bee y e
better for it & bee more careful to please him and to walk uprightly before
him as long as wee live; and I hope wee shall not forget ye passages of yt
morning until or dying day.
" When newes was brought unto is in ye gunne roome yt ye danger was past,
oh how or hearts did then relent and melt within us ! And how we burst into tears of joy amongst or selves, in love unto or gracious God, and admiration of his kindnesses in granting to his poore servants such an extraordinary and miraculous deliverance. His holy name be blessed forever."
In his diary, Mather notes that there were 100 passengers, 23 seamen, 23 cows and heifers, 3 suckling calves and eight mares-- and not one perished. One woman and her child took sick, which he attributed to the fact they sat between decks on her bed rather than walk about in the open air. He praised the food, saying they had no want of variety : beere and bread, salt fish and salt beef, bacon and buttered pease, sometimes buttered bag-pudding made with currants and raisins, sometimes pottage of beer and oatmeal and sometimes water pottage, well buttered. He says of Angel Gabriel:
"And ye Angel Gabriel being yn at ancre at Pemmaquid, was burst innto pieces and cast away in ye storme, and most of ye cattel and other goodes, with one seaman & 3 or 4 passengers did also perish therein, besides two of ye passengers yt dyed by ye way...But ye James and wee yt were therein, with or cattel & goods, were all preserved alive. The Lord's name be blessed forever."
The Cogswells, aboard Angel, managed to reach shore alive and set up a large tent of theirs which they salvaged. It has been estimated by some (and doubted by others) that their property loss was £5,000.0.0, an incredible sum of money.
John1 took passage to Boston and arranged for a ship to come and remove his
family and such possessions as had been salvaged to Ipswich, where they
settled. He received an eight acre lot on Bridge Street and a further three
hundred acres "at the furthese Cheokoe, having the River on the South east"
This is about five miles east of the original Ipswich, and became Essex.
John1 Cogswell was the third original settler of Ipswich, and was made a
freeman the next spring, at the same time as ancestor Nicholas Danforth.
Cogswell sold a six acre lot in Ipswich to John Perkins and acquired from him a forty five acre tract "beyon the great Chebacco River" and the weir built there with the seven year monopoly of catching alewives therein for sale as fertilizer.
"The town of Ipswich was established on August 5, 1634, from common land called "Agawam". Chebacco parish was set off and established as the town of Essex, Feb. 15, 1819." (Chebacco was a parish within Ipswich, but not a town with its own recordkeeping)
"The Abridged Compendium Of American Genealogy" @ Scarborough Library has Thomas b.1623. dep. Gen. Ct., selectman.
"Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine" says:
Lieut. Thomas Burnham, on of the brothers of that name who settled at Ipswich, Mass., was a resident of the town known as Chebacco as early as 1636. He was then a youth of thirteen years and continued to reside there until his death at the age of seventy-one years. He was a soldier in the Pequot expedition in 1636-37 and again in the Indian warfare in 1643. He was a subscriber to Major Denison in 1648 and was a corporal and surveyor of high ways in 1662; sergeant in 1664; ensign the following year, and lieutenant in 1683. He was deputy to the general court in 1683-84-85. In May, 1667, he was granted the privilege of locating a sawmill on the Chebacco river, near the Falls, and he became an extensive owner of lands in Ipswich and Chebacco, which he divided between his sons Thomas and James.
Notes for MARY LAWRENCE:
Daughter of John Tuttle, b.1596, and Johanna, & arrived at Ipswich in 1635, had 7 children and 5 others who may be relatives, plus a servant - ref. "Planters of The Commonwealth", p.144f.
R. H. Burnham in his book "Burnham Genealogy says Mary was daughter of John Tuttle.
Notes for Marie Lawrence:
From the book "the Original Lists of Persons of Quality", edited by John Camden Hotten, 1983 pg. 45:
"2 Aprilis 1635
Theis vnder written names are to be transported to New-England imbarqued in the Planter NIC TRARICE M bound thither the pties have brought Certificate from the Minister of St St Albons in Hertfordshier 2 Attestacon from the Justices of peace according to the Lords order.
John Lawrence - 17
Wm. Lawrence - 12
Marie Lawrence - 9
The gravestone of Mary (Lawrence) Burnam read:
Mrs. Mary Burnham
wife of Lt. Thoms Burnham
Died March ye 27, 1715
Aged 92 years
Mother of 13 children
and Grandmother of 70
Child of THOMAS BURNHAM and MARY LAWRENCE is:
2.
i.
THOMAS2 BURNHAM, b. January 19, 1645/46, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; d. February 21, 1727/28, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts.
