John Throckmorton (settler)
Encyclopedia
John Throckmorton was an early settler of Providence
in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
, and one of the 12 original proprietors of that settlement. Originating in Norfolk
, England, he first settled in Salem
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
, but religious tensions brought about his removal to Providence. In 1643 he made a land purchase in New Netherland
and settled there with several dozen others, but an attack by the natives during Kieft's War
caused many, including Throckmorton, to return to Rhode Island. He became active in Providence civil affairs, serving as moderator, deputy, and treasurer. He died in 1684 in Middletown, New Jersey, where he went to visit his children, and was buried there. Throggs Neck in Bronx, New York City
is named for him.
, county Norfolk
, England, on 9 May 1601, the son of the grocer and Alderman, Bassingburn Throckmorton. On 20 March 1621 he was apprenticed to a scrivener
, but by 1638 his whereabouts was unknown to his father, and in 1640 the executors of his father's estate also did not know of his whereabouts. Several writers suggest that he was the same person as a "George Throckmorton" who arrived in New England
aboard the Lion and was made a freeman
in May 1631. Anderson, however, says this is highly unlikely because a person of his stature would not be absent from the colonial records from 1631 to 1638, suggesting that George Throckmorton either died soon after his arrival, or else returned to England, and John Throckmorton did not arrive in the colonies until closer to 1638.
Throckmorton may have been in Salem
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
as early as 1635, but the first definitive record of his presence in New England is in 1638 when he was one of the 12 original proprietors of Providence
, being named in the deed signed by Roger Williams
in October of that year. Nevertheless, it is certain that Throckmorton was in Salem at some point in time, because in July 1639 the Reverend Hugh Peters of that town alluded to Throckmorton and his wife as having "the great censure passed upon them in this our church," and complaining that they and certain others "wholly refused to hear the church, denying it and all the churches in the Bay to be true churches."
On 27 July 1640, Throckmorton was one of 39 settlers who signed an agreement for a form of government in Providence. Three years later he obtained a grant of land for himself and 35 others from Governor Willem Kieft
in New Netherland
. The land was named after him, and is called Throggs Neck, now a part of the Bronx in New York City
. Other nearby English settlers included Thomas Cornell, and Anne Hutchinson
, who may have purchased her land from Throckmorton. The settlement was short-lived, and its fate was summed up by Massachusetts Bay Colony
Governor John Winthrop
in September 1643, who said the Indians set upon the English who dwelt under the Dutch, and killed "such of Mr. Throckmorton's and Mr. Cornhill's families as were at home." He further added that these settlers "had cast off ordinances and churches, and now at last their own people, and for larger accomodation had subjected themselves to the Dutch, and dwelt scatteringly near a mile assunder."
Some of those who escaped the Indian attack returned to Rhode Island, and on 27 February 1647 Throckmorton was in Providence when he was granted a house and land once belonging to Edward Cope. Soon he became active in civil affairs, and in 1652 he was a Providence Moderator, and from 1664 to 1675 he served for eight years as Deputy to the General Assembly. Also, in 1667 he was on the Providence Town Council, and ten years later he was the town treasurer. In July 1672, Throckmorton wrote one of three letters to Roger Williams
, critical of Williams' unfavorable opinions of the Quakers.
Throckmorton died in March or April 1684 in Middletown, New Jersey where he had gone to visit his children, and was also buried there. He had owned land in Middletown, but never resided there permanently.
, Essex
, England, left a legacy to Throckmorton's son, John Jr, calling him a kinsman. The Throckmortons had six known children, the oldest named Freegift, a daughter who died unmarried in Jamaica
by 1669. The oldest son, John, married a daughter of Richard and Penelope Stout of Gravesend, New York, and resided in Monmouth County, New Jersey
. Deliverance married Reverend James Ashton of Middletown, New Jersey, had seven known children, and was widowed by 1705. Job, born about 1651 was a Deputy in Middletown, whose estate was administered by his widow Sarah in 1711, and Joseph was a mariner and landowner, who died unmarried in Philadelphia in 1690. A daughter who married a Mr. Taylor was dead by 1666.
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
, and one of the 12 original proprietors of that settlement. Originating in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England, he first settled in Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, but religious tensions brought about his removal to Providence. In 1643 he made a land purchase in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
and settled there with several dozen others, but an attack by the natives during Kieft's War
Kieft's War
Kieft's War, also known as the Wappinger War, was a conflict between settlers of the nascent colony of New Netherland and the native Lenape population in what would later become the New York metropolitan area of the United States...
caused many, including Throckmorton, to return to Rhode Island. He became active in Providence civil affairs, serving as moderator, deputy, and treasurer. He died in 1684 in Middletown, New Jersey, where he went to visit his children, and was buried there. Throggs Neck in Bronx, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
is named for him.
Life
John Throckmorton was almost certainly the one of that name who was baptized in NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, county Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England, on 9 May 1601, the son of the grocer and Alderman, Bassingburn Throckmorton. On 20 March 1621 he was apprenticed to a scrivener
Scrivener
A scrivener was traditionally a person who could read and write. This usually indicated secretarial and administrative duties such as dictation and keeping business, judicial, and history records for kings, nobles, temples, and cities...
, but by 1638 his whereabouts was unknown to his father, and in 1640 the executors of his father's estate also did not know of his whereabouts. Several writers suggest that he was the same person as a "George Throckmorton" who arrived in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
aboard the Lion and was made a freeman
Freeman (Colonial)
Freeman is a term which originated in 12th century Europe and is common as an English or American Colonial expression in Puritan times. In the Bay Colony, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. In Colonial Plymouth, a man did not need to be a member of the Church, but he had to be...
in May 1631. Anderson, however, says this is highly unlikely because a person of his stature would not be absent from the colonial records from 1631 to 1638, suggesting that George Throckmorton either died soon after his arrival, or else returned to England, and John Throckmorton did not arrive in the colonies until closer to 1638.
Throckmorton may have been in Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
as early as 1635, but the first definitive record of his presence in New England is in 1638 when he was one of the 12 original proprietors of Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, being named in the deed signed by Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
in October of that year. Nevertheless, it is certain that Throckmorton was in Salem at some point in time, because in July 1639 the Reverend Hugh Peters of that town alluded to Throckmorton and his wife as having "the great censure passed upon them in this our church," and complaining that they and certain others "wholly refused to hear the church, denying it and all the churches in the Bay to be true churches."
On 27 July 1640, Throckmorton was one of 39 settlers who signed an agreement for a form of government in Providence. Three years later he obtained a grant of land for himself and 35 others from Governor Willem Kieft
Willem Kieft
Willem Kieft was a Dutch merchant and director-general of New Netherland , from 1638 until 1647. He formed the council of twelve men, the first representative body in New Netherland, but ignored its advice...
in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. The land was named after him, and is called Throggs Neck, now a part of the Bronx in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Other nearby English settlers included Thomas Cornell, and Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
, who may have purchased her land from Throckmorton. The settlement was short-lived, and its fate was summed up by Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
Governor John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
in September 1643, who said the Indians set upon the English who dwelt under the Dutch, and killed "such of Mr. Throckmorton's and Mr. Cornhill's families as were at home." He further added that these settlers "had cast off ordinances and churches, and now at last their own people, and for larger accomodation had subjected themselves to the Dutch, and dwelt scatteringly near a mile assunder."
Some of those who escaped the Indian attack returned to Rhode Island, and on 27 February 1647 Throckmorton was in Providence when he was granted a house and land once belonging to Edward Cope. Soon he became active in civil affairs, and in 1652 he was a Providence Moderator, and from 1664 to 1675 he served for eight years as Deputy to the General Assembly. Also, in 1667 he was on the Providence Town Council, and ten years later he was the town treasurer. In July 1672, Throckmorton wrote one of three letters to Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
, critical of Williams' unfavorable opinions of the Quakers.
Throckmorton died in March or April 1684 in Middletown, New Jersey where he had gone to visit his children, and was also buried there. He had owned land in Middletown, but never resided there permanently.
Family
Throckmorton's wife was named Rebecca, and her maiden name may have been Colvill; an Edward Colvill, gentleman, of BradwellBradwell-on-Sea
Bradwell-on-Sea is a village in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about north-northeast of Southminster and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Maldon in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon whose boundaries were...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England, left a legacy to Throckmorton's son, John Jr, calling him a kinsman. The Throckmortons had six known children, the oldest named Freegift, a daughter who died unmarried in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
by 1669. The oldest son, John, married a daughter of Richard and Penelope Stout of Gravesend, New York, and resided in Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
. Deliverance married Reverend James Ashton of Middletown, New Jersey, had seven known children, and was widowed by 1705. Job, born about 1651 was a Deputy in Middletown, whose estate was administered by his widow Sarah in 1711, and Joseph was a mariner and landowner, who died unmarried in Philadelphia in 1690. A daughter who married a Mr. Taylor was dead by 1666.
See also
- List of early settlers of Rhode Island
- Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsColony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsThe Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
External links
- Rhode Island History from the State of Rhode Island General Assembly website. See Chapter 2, Colonial Era.