Thomas Abbe ¹

  General Notes:

From the book published in 1916 "Abbe -Abbey Genealogy In Memory of John Abbe and his Descendants" by Cleveland Abbe and Joseph Genung Nichols

THOMAS ABBE, son of John and Mary ( ) Abbe, born probably in Wenham, Mass., about 1650 to 1656; died in Enfield, Conn., May 17, 1728. He was a witness to a deed made by his father conveying property to his brother Samuel, March 29, 1675. At first he took care of his parents and lived on the homestead, but about 1683 some complaint was made by his father who then turned him away and had his son John assume the charge of the place for himself and his aged wife. Thomas doubtless went immediately to Enfield, Conn., as he was one of the original proprietors of that town in 1683, with the 11th lot, east side, north of the south corner as his home lot. He at once became one of the prominent men of the settlement and is mentioned frequently on the records of Enfield : selectman in 1686, 1689, 1706, 1707, 1709, 1710 ; fence viewer repeatedly; assessor in 1705. He was administrator of his father's estate in 1703, and made his father-in-law, Walter Fairfield of Wenham, his attorney. There are several documents in the files at Essex pertaining to a lawsuit arising out of this. The case is that of Thomas Abbey of Enfield vs. Peter Legro of Wenham for trespass and the defendant is allowed to substitute his landlord as the defendant. So the case really is vs. Nathaniel Waldron, who held the lands formerly belonging to John Abbe, senior, and by him given to his son John, who in 1696 sold to Waldron. Some of these papers help prove various relationships and distinctly call Thomas of Enfield the son of the older John of Wenham.

Thomas Abbe was active in the military life of the day. He was a soldier in King Philip's War and was wounded at the Great Swamp Fight. He was sergeant in 1711 and lieutenant of the Enfield Trained Band in 1713. Upon the organization of the army for the expedition against Narragansett Fort, Major Samuel Appleton was appointed to the command of the Massachusetts forces and on a list of the soldiers whom the Court, in May, 1676, voted to repay for losses of those who were "damnified" by the burning of Major Appleton 's tent at Narragansett, appears the name of Thomas Abbe, £3, s.l6. His name is also on the roll of Major Appleton 's Company in the Narragansett Campaign. Thomas Abbe's will, made December 12, 1726, probated August 30, 1728, mentions the following: wife Sarah; son Thomas, executor and to inherit the homestead and 57 acres; son John, to inherit land at Scantic Bridge; daughters Sarah Geer and Tabitha Warner to have the cattle. Witnesses were Obadiah Abbee, John Pease, jr., and Joseph Sexton. He styles himself Thomas, senior, a husbandman.

Thomas Abbe married at Marblebead, Mass., December 16, 1683, SARAH FAIRFIELD, born December 24, 1655, at Reading, Mass; died in Enfield, Conn., November 27, 1742. She was the daughter of Walter and Sarah (Skipper) Fairfield, and had previously been married to Needham. The Wenham records give this record of the marriage, "Thomas Abby and Sarah Fairfield of Wenham were married the 17th day of December, 1683, being lawfully published with the consent of her parents Walter Fairfield, and his witness with Moses Maverick and Elizabeth Fairfield." The marriage is recorded in both Marblehead and Wenham.

Walter Fairfield was son of John and Elizabeth ( ) Fairfield, who came to America in 1638. According to tradition he sprang from the Huguenot Beauchamp family that left France for England shortly before St. Bartholomew's Day.

~ Added at the suggestion of Grandma (#47644196) ~

Thomas married Sarah Fairfield on 17 Dec 1683 in Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. (Sarah Fairfield was born on 24 Dec 1655 in Reading, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA and died on 27 Nov 1742 in Enfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA.)