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Descdenats of Thomas Hanscom (1618-1695) of Kittery, ME

Generation No. 1

1. THOMAS¹ HANSCOM was born 1618 in Sutton, Bedfordshire, England, and died 1695 in Kittery, York, ME. He married (1) UNKNOWN Bef. 1643 in Salem, Essex, MA. She died Unknown. He married (2) ANN DOWNING? May 16, 1664 in Kittery, York, ME, daughter of DENNIS DOWNING and ANNE. She was born Abt. 1646, and died Abt. 1726.

Notes for THOMAS HANSCOM:
In 1683, he gave his age as "about 60" but there is reason to
believe that he may have been somewhat older. Probably orphaned as a
child, Thomas joined the household of his older sister, Joan and her
husband, Richard Claydon, shortly after their marriage in 1627. In
the following contract from the records of the Massachusetts Bay
Company, Richard Claydon borrowed the sum of 40 pounds so that he
could transport his family, including Thomas, to America. As security
for the debt, he indentured himself, his brother Barnaby, and Thomas
at a rate of "3 shillings per day" until the debt was paid back.
At the Court of Assistants in London on March 12, 1629:
[IT:"Richard Clayton, aged 34 yeeres, or thereabouts, carpenter, who
of Bedfordshire, Pish of Sutton, Proposition beeing desirous to
transport himselffe, his wiffe, one daughter of ( ) yeeres ould, his
brother Barnaby Claydon, aged 23 yeeres, and his brother in lawe Thoms
Hanscombe, age XX, for Newe England, in the Comp shippes, it is
prmised this daye, that he beeing abel to furnish 40 L Towrds to
chardge of him & his, what shalbee wantinge the Comp will supply uppon
this condicon, that uppon theire arryvall in Newe England, what he
shalbee indebted to the Comp shalbee paid by the labor of himselfe and
his 2 servants, or brothers aforesaid, allouing them all three 3s the
day for so long tyme until they have pd this debtt, & in that tyme
fynding these 3 psons dyett at the Comp chardge, & whilest earning out
this dett to indtruckt aney of the Comp in the trade of a ploue
wright; & there is land to bee allotted to him and his, as is usuall,
by the Comp orders, to that transporte themselves; written this 12
March, 1628/9.
Cannot goe this viodge.
Richard Claydon:IT]
The party left in May 1629 on the ship, the Talbot, and reached
Salem, MA on the 29th of June. It is believed that Thomas Hanscombe
was approximated 11 years old at the time of the voyage. He was old
enough to be immediately placed into servitude to pay off the debt to
the Massachusetts Bay Company. It is likely that he spent his first
10 or more years as a servant or laborer in the household of Rev.
Francis Higginson, well-known minister who had also arrived in Salem
on the Talbot.
Once his indentureship had ended, he may have remained in Salem
for several years. Thomas was on a tax list in 1630. On March 15,
1649/50, he was living in Kittery, ME, where he was being sued for
debt by William Hilton for 4p 8s 4p. In 1651, the same William Hilton
sued Thomas "Hanscom" and Robert Mendum for trespassing on his
property.
He was to remain in Kittery for the rest of his life. In 1654,
Thomas was involved in a Kittery scandal when town officials warned
him not to live with Mrs. Mary Batchelder, estranged wife of Rev.
Stephen Batchelder. Mrs. Batchelder's earlier adultery conviction in
1651 had mandated that she wear the letter "A" on her clothing. She
is believed to have been the real-life inspiration for Nathaniel
Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter."
[IT:June 29, 1654
Wee present Thomas Hunsscome and Mary Batchelder the wife of Mr.
Batcheller for frequently comeing togeather, after sufficient warneing
given them by some the Graynd Jurie... Thom: Hunescome and Mary
Batcheller do bind them selves In a bond of 20 li not to come
frequently or unreasonably togeather or suspitiously, upon the
forfeiture thereof. This bond was acknowledged by them before the
Court by whome they are with an Admoniton Sett free paiing 10s. to the
officers.:IT]
Mary Batchelder was quite notorious in the area. her busband was
the Rev. Stephen Batchelder who was in his eighties at this time.
Mary was only in her late 20's and was evidently tired of living with
an old man for besides her relationship with Thomas whe was convicted
of adultery with George Rogers.
Thomas was on the Grand Jury in 1661, 1662, and 1663. He married
his second wife, Ann, on May 16, 1664 in Kittery. She was born about
1646 (age 49 in 1695) and was therefore many years his junior. The
Kittery marriage record fails to record her maiden name, but it is now
believed that she may have been a daughter of Dennis and Anne Downing,
early Kittery settlers. Thomas and Ann were absent from meeting in
July 1669 and again in 1670. Thomas received a grant in Kittery in
1679 and signed the petition for direct government by Massachusetts.
On July 23, 1683, Thomas Hanscom testified in a deposition
concerning the boudaries of Joshua Downing's fence. It was at this
deposition that he stated his age was "about 60." In 1695 Ann was
referred to as "Goody Hanscom" which was a common reference to a woman
whose husband was still alive but Thomas had died by early spring of
1696. His real estate, comprising approximately 60 acres on the
Piscataqua River, remained undivided until family squabble forced its
allocation in 1719.
(source: letter from Robert Hanscom 5/12/99)

Notes for ANN DOWNING?:
She spent most of her later years in the home of her son, Moses, while
her grandson, Thomas Hanscom III, occupied the family homestead. She
was still living in 1719 and is believed to have died about 1726, age
about 80.

Child of THOMAS HANSCOM and UNKNOWN is:

JAMES² HANSCOM, b. Abt. 1643, Salem, Essex, MA; d. Unknown.

Notes for JAMES HANSCOM:
A "James Hanscom" was living in Salem, MA in 1666 and 1668. He may
have been the child of Thomas Hanscom of Kittery by a first wife.
Following his mother's death and his father's departure to Kittery, he
was perhaps raised by maternal relatives in Salem.

Children of THOMAS HANSCOM and ANN DOWNING? are:

2.	ii.		JR. THOMAS² HANSCOM, b. October 17, 1666, Kittery, York, ME; d. February 1712/13, Kittery, York, ME.
	iii.		JOHN HANSCOM, b. September 15, 1668, Kittery, York, ME; d. Abt. 1695.

Notes for JOHN HANSCOM:
lost at sea

	iv.		ALICE HANSCOM, b. March 12, 1670/71, Kittery, York, ME; d. Unknown; m. JOHN METHERELL, 1690, Kittery, York, ME; d. Unknown.
	v.		SAMUEL HANSCOM, b. April 10, 1675, Kittery, York, ME; d. Unknown.

Notes for SAMUEL HANSCOM:
died young

3.	vi.	JOB HANSCOM, b. 1679, Kittery, York, ME; d. September 03, 1779, Saco, York, ME.
4.	vii.	MOSES HANSCOM, b. March 25, 1680, Kittery, York, ME; d. 1748, Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, ME.
	viii.	AARON HANSCOM, b. Abt. 1685, Kittery, York, ME; d. 1760, St. John's Island, SC.

Generation No. 2

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