NASH, Thomas

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• Name	NASH, Thomas
  Birth	Bef 27 Mar 1588	Ribbesford, Worcestershire, England
  Christening	27 Mar 1589	Ribbesford, Worcestershire, England
  Gender	Male
  Burial	May 1658	New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
  Death	12 May 1658	New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
  WAC	2 Jan 1930
  _TAG	Reviewed on FS
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I30093	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Father	NASH, Bindley ,   b. 1569, St Leonards, Buckinghamshire, , England St Leonards, Buckinghamshire, Englandd. 1589, Norfolk Island, England (Age 20 years)
  Mother	WALLIS, Sarah ,   b. Abt 1573, Ribbesford, Worcestershire, England Ribbesford, Worcestershire, Englandd. 3 Oct 1641, St John's Wood All Saints, Middlesex, England (Age 68 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1586	of, England
  Family ID	F16933	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	BAKER, Margery ,   b. 1596, Holme Lacey, Hertsfordshire, England Holme Lacey, Hertsfordshire, Englandd. 11 Feb 1655, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age 59 years)
  Marriage	1618	Holme Lacey, Hertsfordshire, England
  Children	3 sons and 3 daughters
  1. NASH, Margery ,   b. 1619, Lancaster, Lancashire, England Lancaster, Lancashire, England   2. NASH, John ,   b. 1615, Lancaster, Lancashire, England Lancaster, Lancashire, Englandd. 30 Jun 1687, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age 72 years) + 3. NASH, Sarah ,   b. Abt 1628, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England Bedford, Bedfordshire, Englandd. 1691, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age 63 years)   4. NASH, Joseph ,   b. 1624, Lancaster, Lancashire, England Lancaster, Lancashire, Englandd. 1678 (Age 54 years)   5. NASH, Timothy ,   b. 1626, Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands Leiden, South Holland, Netherlandsd. 13 Mar 1699, Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts (Age 73 years)   6. NASH, Mary ,   b. Abt 1619, Lancaster, Lancashire, England Lancaster, Lancashire, Englandd. 16 Aug 1683, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age 64 years)
  Family ID	F16928	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

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• Notes

  "The name NASH is supposed to be a corruption of atten-ash, at the Ash. Naisby, a place near Bristol, England. In Gaelic, naisq, meaning made fast bound, protected; probably an old fortress or watchtower."[1] On 26 July 1637, there landed in Boston a company composed largely of merchants of London, and other men of wealth, -whose standing at home allowed them to come to the New World under more favorable auspices than many who had hitherto arrived. They came in the ship Hector and one other whose name is not known. They were followers of the Reverend John Davenport, the Puritan preacher of Coleman Street, London, who came with a large number of associates, to the New England shores for freedom of conscience and worship.[2] The leaders of this group were men of good practical understanding. The needs of the infant colony they were about to establish had been largely anticipated, and the men composing the company were well versed in the trades and arts most likely to be used in pioneer life. I. Among the number of pioneers in the Colony above mentioned, was Thomas NASH, a Puritan who had been at Leyden, Holland, and who wrote from there in 1625 (1628, says Schneck, History of Fairfield 1: 396), to his brethren in Plymouth, "Informing them of the death of John Robinson, pastor of the church which included in its membership the planters of Plymouth as well as the brethren still sojourning in Leyden."[3] Thomas Nash had returned to London from Leyden, and came later to America with Davenport. Thomas Nash was a gunsmith by trade, and knew also the details of blacksmithing, which made him "doubly useful to a people wbose situation required both arms and implements of husbandry to be kept in repair."[4] In March, 1638 the whole company sailed from Boston, arriving two weeks later at Quinnipiac, now New Haven, Connecticut, which place had been selected for the purpose of the new Colony by a committee chosen and sent out from Boston. Quinnipiac was then owned by a small tribe of Indians, with whose chief, Momauguin, an agreement was made the following November for the purchase of lands. The summer and winter of 1638 were fully occupied by laying out these lands to the settlers, and building houses for shelter and comfort. On 4 June 1639 the little company of Colonists met "in Mr. Newman's barn," and there drew up the famous "Fundamental Agreement" of the New Haven Colony, its consideration and adoption following a season of most solemn religious exercises. This Agreement sought to crystallize the ideas of the settlers concerning the civil and religious conduct of the Colony, and was signed at the time by sixty-three individuals, forty-eight others signing soon afterwards. Touching one phase of this document, the following comments are of interest: The alleged early "Resolve" of the New Haven colonists "to adopt the Law of God until they should have time to make a better," has caused much merriment and some sneering. In the decision of a perplexing case, the General Court at New Haven, 2 March 1641, laid this down as a principle: - According to the Fundamental Agreement made and published by the full and general consent when the Plantation began and government Settled,-viz., that judicial Law of God, given by Moses, and expounded in others parts of Scripture, so far as it is a Ledg and a fence to the Morall Law and neither ceremonial nor typical nor had any reference to Canaan, hath an everlasting equity in itt, and should be the rule of these proceedings." [5] Is there anything to sneer at in this? On the contrary, was it not a glorious fundamental principle? It had been well for other states if they had built upon so wise a foundation! --Nash Family, Nash, 14. The name of Thomas Nash is the third one of the later subscribers. Four days before the meeting in Mr. Newman's barn, another company, located at Guilford, not far away, had drawn up their "Compact," upon which document the name of Thomas Nash appears.[6] It seems that a company coming from the Counties of Kent, Surrey, and Essex, England, under the leadership of their pastor, the Reverend Mr. Whitfield, had, together with some of the first-comers to New Haven, formed the beginning of a plantation at Guilford. Barber says: "The planters of Guilford had not one blacksmith among them," and that it was "with great cost that the town obtained one to live among them." Schneck, in History of Fairfield (1: 396) infers that Thomas Nash was invited to join the Guilford party, but that his services being required by the New Haven planters, and the latter location being considered more central and important for the establishment of his much needed shop, be was prevented from joining permanently the group at Guilford, and was finally released by them, and signed the New Haven Agreement. Atwater, in History of New Haven Colony (124), takes the position that Thomas Nash had come with Mr. Whitfield's party from England, and had, on shipboard, signed an agreement that they would remain together, but that later, "being not only a smith but a gunsmith, it was for the common welfare, as well as his own, that be should join the largest and most central plantation." This explains, perhaps, why his name appears on the "constitutional agreements" of both these Colonies, which started so nearly together. Be that as it may, we find Thomas Nash, wife Margery and five children, residents of New Haven near its beginning, the home-lot assigned to them being "on the west side of State Street, about a third of the distance 'from Chapel to Elm Streets, as shown by an old map of New Haven settlers."[7] Another describes it: "The north line of the Thomas Nash land must have run about where the Courthouse now is; west, where Orange Temple now stands, near its northwesterly corner."[8] According to traditions which seem uniform throughout the various branches of his descendants, Thomas Nash was from Lancaster, England.[9] He was well advanced in years when he came to this country, and is often referred to as "Brother Nash" on the early New Haven town records. On 1 September 1640 be took the oath of fidelity, and was deputy to the General Court in New Haven, same year.[10] In 1646, by action of the town council, he was "spared from Trayning." In 1651 he was given charge of all the town muskets of the settlement. He married, in England, Margery, daughter of Nicholas and Mary (Hodgetts) BAKER, of Hertfordshire. Schneck says she died within two years after his death[11], but from the fact that Thomas Nash does not mention her in his will, dated 1 August 1657, it is inferred she died before that time. She was living at the time of the allotment of seats in the meeting-house, 11 February 1655. Savage says her death occurred on 11 February 1656. Thomas died 12 May 1658.[12]. His will mentions his "daughter Sarah, wife to Robert Talmadg"[13] and all his other children. "Descendants of Thomas Nash can lay no claim to ancestry renowned in the thought which usually constitutes glory of the human race. Their ancestors have not been eminent for deeds of blood, or schemes of policy, or for the acquisition of immense wealth. But if honest and generally successful industry, if life-enduring and life-regulating and generally unquestioned piety be a virtue to be commended, then, in the history of their forefathers, there is just cause for gratitude if not for pride. In this respect, most of the seventh generation may look back on an unbroken line of respectable, industrious, pious, and generally thriving men.... Too, a generally prolific race."--Reverend Sylvester Nash, Rector of Saint John's Church, Essex, Connecticut.[14] CHILDREN, born in England, order of birth not known: Margery, married in New Haven, Roger Alling, treasurer of the New Haven Colony in 1661, deacon of church 1664-1672. "He was the son of James Alling, of Kempstead, Bedford, England."[15] "When his father died in 1657, he returned to his paternal homestead in England to receive his patrimony and that of his sister, Joanna, wife of Abraham Doolittle." He died 27 September 1674.[16] John; captain and major. Lived in New Haven. His will, probated 30 June 1687, mentions four daughters and legacies left them by their grandfather Tapp. His estate was, valued at over 1660.[17] Sarah; married Robert TALMAGE. Joseph; was sergeant; of Hartford in 1658. Married (1) Mary ???? who died in New Haven, 1654. He married (2) before 15 June 1665, Margaret, widow of Arthur Smith, of Hartford.[18] Timothy, born 1626, in Leyden, Holland. He married about 1657, Rebecca, daughter of Reverend Samuel Stone. They removed to Hartford, 1661, and to Hadley in 1663. He was a lieutenant. He died 13 March 1699, and his widow in 1709.[19] Sarah Nash[edit] II. Sarah NASH, born in England, married, probably about 1648, Robert TALMAGE, of New Haven. She was living in 1683 when her brother, Major John Nash, made his will and left her a legacy. For continuation of this family line please see the TALMAGE biography. SOURCE: The Ancestry & Posterity of Joseph Smith and Emma Hale by Audentia Smith Anderson (1926) Footnotes[edit] Jump up ? (Directory Ancestral Heads New England Families, Holmes, clxxi.) Jump up ? (Fifty Puritan Ancestors, Elizabeth Todd -Nash, 3.) Jump up ? (History of New Haven Colony, Atwater, 124.) Jump up ? (Nash Family, Reverend Sylvester Nash, 14.) Jump up ? (Colonial Records 1: 32.) Jump up ? (Ibid. 15.) Jump up ? (Fifty Pdritan Ancestors, Nash, 3.) Jump up ? (Nash Family, Nash, 18.) Jump up ? (Ibid. 16.) Jump up ? (General Register Society Colonial Wars, 1907-1911, 375.) Jump up ? (History of Fairfield 1: 396) Jump up ? (New Haven Vital Records, Historical Society Collections 1: 4.) Jump up ? (Nash Family, 17) Jump up ? (Nash Family, Nash, 7.) Jump up ? (Boston Transcript, 27 June 1928.) Jump up ? (Mack Genealogy, Martin, 2: 1320.) Jump up ? (Early Probate Records of New Haven, Book 1, Part 1.) Jump up ? (Memorial History of Hartford County 1.: 275.) Jump up ? (Ibid. 1: 263, 275.) NOTES: IMMIGRATION: July 1637 -Thomas Nash, progenitor of the Nash line in Connecticut, arrived in Boston, Mass. in July 1637 on the ship HECTOR. The Rev. John Davenport and his flock were the primary occupants of the ship,and the company sailed on to Quinnipiac (New Haven) in March 1638. Families of Ancient New Haven in American Genealogist. New Haven Vit. Statistics. MARRIAGE date of 1639 is suspect and may be in error as it is after the births of all of the children. From Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England, page 245, is taken: According to [William] Berry, he [Thomas] came from Bewdley in Worcestershire. (Gen. and Ped. of Hertfordshire Families, pp. 83–85.) He sailed with the Whitefield party arriving at Quinnipac or New Haven, in July, 1639, and was one of the signers of the agreement to remain together made on shipboard. Savage says he was of Guilford in 1639, but this is probably a mistake. (Steiner's History of Guilford, 1897, pp. 23, 29, 48.) New Haven, Col. Rec., (I, p. 82) says: "brother Nash his shoppe did stand by the creeks." FAMILY: Thomas and Marjery came with 5 children: Mary, John, Sarah, Joseph and Timothy. OCCUPATION: He was a gunsmith, and probably well advanced in life at the time of the emigration, for his eldest son John was old enough to be made Freeman, April, 1642, and in his will of August 1st, 1657, he mentions his old age. The first date attached to his name at New Haven, is "1t of the 7th Moneth 1640", when he was admitted member of the General Court and received the charge of Freeman. "Thomas Nash shall keepe the Towne Muskitts in his hands, and Lt. John Nash look to them well that they always be in good order fitt for service and that the Towne allow him what is Just for his care and pains." Thomas Nash was the first clock maker in America. RESIDENCE: His home lot was on the west side of State Street, about one-third distance from Chapel to Elm St. He was chosen a Fence Viewer "for Mr. Eatons & Mr. Davenports quarter", March, 1645–6. May 25, 1646, the General Court ordered: "In regard of severall occassions and worke to be done agaynst trayning day, bro: Nash is spared." Before emigration, he was a member of the church in Leyden, Holland, and was on of five who wrote an interesting letter (given in full on pages 155, 156 & 157 of vol. 1 of the 4th Series of the Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., 1852.) from there, Nov. 30, 1625, to their brethren in Plymouth, informing them of the death of John Robinson, Pastor of the church, which included in its membership the planters in Plymouth as well as those left in Leyden. [References:] Atwater's New Haven, p. 125; Savage, 3, p. 262; The Nash Family, by the Rev. Sylvester Nash; Schenck's Fairfield, I, p. 396. WILL "I, Thomas Nash of New Haven being weake in body, but of sound memory do make and ordaine this my last will & Testament. First I commit my soule into the hands of my Lord Jesus Christ by whose merits I hope to be saved, and my body to be buried at the discretion of my sonnes in hope of a joyful ressurection. As to my worldly goods which God hath given me, my will is to dispose of it as follows," etc. He willed all his children money and gave his house "with my lands and all other goods & estate that is undisposed of by my will to my son Timothy" and made him sole Executor, because he had been very helpful in his old age. Also his eldest son John had his own house. He made this statement also: "My desire and will is that my beloved friends and Brethern, Mr. Matthew Gilbert and John Wakeman be Overseers" Will signed August 1657. REFERENCES: Jacobus, Donald Lines; Families of Ancient New Haven, vol. VI, p. 1312 (The Nash Family) Jacobus, Donald Lines; Families of Ancient New Haven, vol. VII, p. 1716 (The Talmadge Family) Flagg, Ernest; Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England, American Genealogies; found on "Early New England Settlers, 1600s–1800s"; Family Tree Maker (Brøderbund) CD#504; which includes a reference to Berry, William, County Genealogies and Pedigrees of Hertfordshire Families Atwater; New Haven Nash, Rev. Sylvester; The Nash Family Schenck; Fairfield I, p. 396 Whittemore, Henry; Guide to the Early Settlers of America found on "Early New England Settlers, 1600s–1800s"; Family Tree Maker (Brøderbund) CD#504; which includes a reference to American Ancestry, vol. II, p. 88; vol. IV, p. 28 Bliss Genealogy, p. 650 Judd; History of Hadley, Massachusetts, vol. III, p. 78 Nash Genealogy, 1853 Steele Genealogy, 1896 Wheeler; History of North Carolina, vol. II, p. 1 Wyman; Charlestown, Massachusetts, Genealogies, vol. II, p. 695