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Warner P. Lord
141 WildcatRoad
Madison, CT 06443
Thomas Lord (1585)
Thomas Lord came from England where he was born in 1588, the son of Richard Lord and Joan Lord of Towcester, Northampton. His will dated May 30, 1610 mentions sums of money, a house and an apple orchard. Richard was born about 1555, marrying Joan about 1582. He was buried in Towcester Oct 16, 1610 and Joan was buried there on September 22, 1610. Four children were recorded:
Elizabeth 1583
Thomas 1585
Ellen 1587
Alice 1590
It is recorded that Alice married Richard Morris May 20, 1611. There is speculation that Richard Lord was descended from the Lord family of Yelvertoft, Northampton, England. Thomas, Richard's first son and second child, married Dorothy Bird February 23, 1610/11. She was the daughter of Robert and Amy Bird of Towcester having been baptized May 25, 1588 in St. Lawrence Church in Towcester. Page 25 of the ancient marriage License Book of Peterborough ( near Towcester) shows their marriage license was issued on February 20, 1610/11. Their children's baptisms were recorded as follows:
Richard January 5, 1611/12
Anne September 18, 1614
Thomas November 15, 1616
William December 27, 1618
Robert May 12, 1620
John January 21, 1623/24
Aymie November 30, 1626
Dorothy July 1, 1629
On April 29, 1635 Thomas Lord registered to leave London for New England in the ship Elizabeth and Ann captained by Robert Cooper. Thomas was 50 at the time. Dorothy was 46. Their children's ages were as follows: Thomas, Jr. 16, Ann 14, William 12, John 10, Robert 9, Aymie 6 and Dorothy 4. It seems remarkable that a husband and wife well into their middle years and with six children ,the youngest 4, would embark on such an adventure. Uncertain though their future was they must have had a vision of something much better than what they knew in England.
Richard Lord, Thomas's eldest son , had been sent ahead in 1632 perhaps with the idea that he would prepare the way for the remainder of the family. Richard settled in Newtown, Massachusetts. The family joined him there in 1635 after their arrival in Boston. At this time the Plymouth Colony had grown beyond its early boundaries and the Massachusetts colony was thriving.
The reason for Thomas and Dorothy's willingness to abandon their apparently comfortable life is England becomes more evident when it is known tat that one of their fellow passengers aboard the Elizabeth and Ann was the Reverend Thomas Hooker. Reverend Hooker was a powerful and devout man who left England to preserve his own life for the the crown was not happy with his belief and preachings. A group of loyal followers, Thomas and Dorothy among them, accompanied Rev. Hooker.
Settlement in Newtown did not last for long and Rev Hooker and his group resolved to find their own settlement away from the influences and controls of others. I 1636 they set off into wilderness and journeyed westward to the Connecticut River. Their trek has become legendary and perhaps represents the first step in the westward expansion of our country. Driving their cattle and carrying Thomas Hooker's wife in a litter they walked from Newtown to the present site of Hartford, Connecticut where they built their first homes, small cave-like dwelling dug into earthen banks. The one hundred who made the trip arrived in June of 1636. Land was purchased from the Indians and divided into lots. Thomas Lord became an original proprietor and founder of the city of Hartford. The monument to the founders of the Hartford Colony contains his name.His home lot and home were on what is now Willis Street near the home of his friend Thomas Hooker. Thomas Jr and Richard had lots next to their father.
There are no records to tell us of the death and burial of Thomas, Sr. although we know he was living in 1634/5 as he is mentioned in Hartford records. Dorothy died in 1675 at the age of 86. Her will exists and lists her possessions valued at 187 pounds, 17 shillings, 8 pence. The will suggests Thomas and Dorothy lived well and were important members of the Hartford colony.
Thomas, Jr. became the first recorded doctor in Connecticut. William, Thomas, Sr.'s fourth child, remained in Hartford, marrying first to Hattie Nickerson in 1642. They moved to Saybrook in about 1645. William acquired considerable land in Saybrook and across the Connecticut River in Lyme. The lives of Lord men seem to have become tied to owning land and William seems to first to have established this trend.
Updated February 25, 2001