Thomas* Arnold, Sr (immigrant)

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 18 Apr 1599
• Emigration: 15 May 1635, PLAIN JANE, London, England
• Immigration: Aft 15 May 1635, Virginia
• Property: Bef 1674, Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island
• Property: 29 Jun 1685, Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island; estate

Notes:

Though articles have been written that proclaim that Thomas traced his ancestry through British Royalty to William the Conquoror and to Ynir, King of Gwentland, AD110, strong assertions have been made by later work that such claims were erones and that no such claim can be made.
There is also dispute of his father, being William or Nicholas. Genealogies of Rhode Island Families; vol. 1, Adams - Slack; Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc.; 1983 says that Thomas' father was William rather than Nicholas.

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From Ancestry Daily News 9/19/2002:
"No Arnold Royal Line," by Kory L. Meyerink, MLS, AG, FUGA
Editor's Note: The 10 September Ancestry Daily News, contained an article by Karen Frisch regarding a castle in Wales. In it, she referenced a previously published connection between an ancestor of hers and the historical residents of Abergavenny Castle.
(
http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/6314.asp ).

As Kory explains below, that connection turned out to be inaccurate and his message serves as a reminder to us all of the need to be wary when using compiled lineages. Thanks much to Kory for sharing this!

For most genealogists, the possibility of royal or noble ancestry is attractive. After all, if our interest is to trace a family as far back as possible, royal ancestry allows us to do that better and easier than most of our lines.
Besides, it helps give us a solid connection to history. Hence, I can understand and share the interests of Karen Frisch in learning "about ancestors so ancient they exist more in the realm of imagination-before photographs or even
surnames" (Ancestry Daily News, 10 September 2002).

Unfortunately, in her comments about our mutual ancestor, William Arnold of Rhode Island, and his descent from a Twelfth Century Welsh princess, she has fallen into a trap common to many American genealogists. That trap is ready
acceptance of a long-disproved connection to royalty.

A royal line was apparently first suggested for William Arnold by Horatio G. Somerby in 1870. It was published in the October 1879 issue of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Unfortunately, Somerby was a very
accommodating genealogist who was remarkable for providing his patrons what they wanted, even if documents had to be re-written or falsely cited to provide the links to royal lines. His work is routinely shunned by experienced genealogists today.

Without passing judgment on the earlier generations of this ancestry, the alleged lineage eventually descends to a Thomas Arnold, second son of Richard Arnold. Thomas is named as the father of William, who is what we often call the
"gateway" ancestor, the immigrant who left Great Britain and settled in the colonies. Here, with the gateway ancestor, is where the lineage breaks down, as is the case with a large number of so-called royal lines.

The Rhode Island Arnold family kept a remarkable family record (begun by the immigrant William), which documents William (born 1587), his siblings, and his mother. It does not document his father. That record identified a younger
half-brother of William as Thomas Arnold (born 1599) whom many early researchers wrongly believed to be the New England immigrant of that name who settled first at Watertown, Massachusetts, and 20 years later moved to Rhode Island.

A 1796 obituary of a descendant of this Thomas Arnold identified the immigrant Thomas as the son of a "Thomas Arnold, a native of England." Hence the faulty connection was made (and published as early as 1819) that William was the son of a Thomas. Armed with this information, Somerby found an early Arnold pedigree, adjusted generations 13 through 16 to fit in Thomas and his alleged father Richard. He then plugged in the immigrant "brothers" Thomas and William as sons of this Thomas Sr. and presto, a royal lineage was pasted onto another worthy American family's lineage.

The problem is, it just was not so! The January 1915 issue of the "New England Historical and Genealogical Register" has an article by Edson S. Jones, which explains this all quite clearly. It also shows that the immigrant Arnolds
(Thomas and William) were not brothers, and that neither of them is connected to the royal line published earlier. It further reports accurate research in English parish registers regarding the parentage of William Arnold, immigrant and governor of Rhode Island. In 1902, the author, Jones, had visited Northover parish in Somerset where he found two church register entries, which matched William Arnold's family record exactly. In a neighboring parish he found additional records, which matched information about the Rhode Island immigrant.

In 1921, Fred A. Arnold elaborated in-depth on these and other findings about the Arnold origins in the Rhode Island Historical Society Collections. His 24-page article explains exactly and clearly that William was the son of Nicholas Arnold, born about 1550 and who was buried 26 January 1622/23. His half-brother Thomas married and remained in England, as did all of his siblings.
William is not related to the immigrant Thomas Arnold, and the ancestry of his father, Nicholas Arnold is unknown. His mother's parents are known, but no further.
There is no known (or even suggested) royal ancestry for this Arnold family. This same article was transcribed and included in the 1921 Arnold Memorial by Elisha S. Arnold and the original 1921 article was reprinted in 1983 in a collection by Genealogical Publishing Company, Genealogies of Rhode Island Families from Rhode Island Periodicals.

The true ancestry of William Arnold has been known now for a hundred years. It has been in print for 87 years, in at least four different publications. It is time to leave mythical royal ancestries behind us, not only for the Arnolds, but for the hundreds of other gateway ancestors who have been plugged into faulty, sometimes fraudulent, lineages.
For more information about myths to which many family historians fall prey, see Kory Meyerink's article on "Genealogical Myths" in the forthcoming issue of
Ancestry Magazine. You can contact Kory through his company's website at:
http://www.progenealogists.com/

Ancestry Daily News 9/25/02:
Correction: On Thursday we ran an article about the ancestry of William Arnold of Rhode Island. In that article, the immigrant William was incorrectly identified as a colonial governor of that colony. The early governor was really his son, Benedict Arnold (not the Revolutionary War traitor). The author regrets this confusion, and thanks K. Harris for noticing this.

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/ARNOLD/2004-05/1084116144

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History @ Savage, pp.64-67:
Thomas Arnold 1st was of Watertown, MA
Thomas arrived from Virginia, wither he came from London, May 1635, in the "Plain Joan" bringing children by his first wife. There were possibly six children by his first wife, and it is not known if she traveled to America also or if she three of the children had perhaps died in England. The three that came were:
1. Thomas, said to have been b. 2 May 1625 (died young)
2. Nicholas (died young)
3. Susanna - married John Farnum of Boston on 7 April 1654.
Thomas Arnold settled in Watertown before July 1635, when land was laid out to him in the Third Division. In 1648 he bought land there from his father-in-law, George Parkhurst, which he sold in 1655 to George Parkhurst, Jr.

Thomas was made a freeman of Massachusetts 13 May 1640.
He was somewhat of a non-conformist, for in Oct 1651 he was fined 20 shillings by the court for offense against the law about babtism. Apr 2, 1654, he was fined 5 pounds for neglecting public worship for 20 days. Apr 2, 1655, he was fined 10nds for neglecting public worship for 40 days, and his land was levied upon to pay it. (See Bond's History of Watertown, Mass. and for data on the family).
Also, his daughter Susanna having married 7 April 1654 John Farnum of Boston, which favored the Baptist views of ordinances, he was driven to Providence, living in that part of Smithfield.
Thomas swore allegience 1666.
Freeman: In (the) early New England colonies men could not vote until they had taken the freeman's oath before the court, and they were not made freemen unless they were members of the church in good standing. Briefly, the contents of the oath:
1. Acknowledge to be subject to the government.
2. Will yield assistance and support.
3. Will submit to wholesome laws.
4. I will give my vote.
To be admitted to the church one had to be of fair character. In order to have a child baptised one or both parents had to belong to the church. Anyone not (a) freeman stood a poor show in the community. A freeman lived on his own lands and d taxes - farmer, professional man, and merchant. So many freemen came in 1635 Gov. Winthrope made church membership a requisite for eligibility to vote.
During the reign of King James I, a great many ships come to Mass Bay Colony bringing colonists in 1635. Probably George Parkhurst and family came on one of these ships. Also Thomas Arnold as there were many freemen included among those emigs from England.
(FT 9/2737)
He was at Watertown as late as April 1657, but in Providence by October 1661, when he sold land in Watertown to John Whitney. The following October he and his wife sold his house, barn and sixteen acres of land in Watertown to John Winco
In February 1665, he was granted lot 83 in Providence in a division of lands. He was Deputy for Providence to the Rhode Island General Assembly in October 1666; 1670; May, June and September 1671; and April 1672 (Rhode Island Colonial Reco, v. 2, pp. 180, 336, 373, 411).
Austin says he was Deputy also in 1667. He was a member of the Town Council in 1672. His Will, recorded in Boston, shows he owned nearly 10,000 acres of land.

NOTE: Confusion in parts of the record of this family in Rhode Island is found, but it may be avoided by caution, as the family tradition makes second wife of the first Thomas to be Park, instead of Parkhurst, and where it tells that a daughter married a Vernon, it may be easy blunder for Farnum. @ Savage pp.64-67
___
1. "An elaborate history and genealogy of the Ballous in America" by Adin Ballou, 1803 - 1890 Published: [S.l.] : Ariel Ballou and Latimer W. Ballou, c1888 (Providence, R.I. : E.L. Freeman)

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mballou@bellsouth.net (Mike Ballou)

History @ Savage, pp.64-67:
Thomas Arnold 1st was of Watertown, MA
~~ Thomas arrived from Virginia, wither he came from London, May 1635, in the "Plain Joan" bringing children, perhaps Thomas, said to have been
b. 2 May 1625; Nicholas, and Susanna *of which the former two died young), was made freeman of Massachusetts 13 May 1640, married, I suppose to second wife, Phebe, daughter of first George Parkhurst... After being fined once for neglecting the law of baptism and twice for neglect of public worship, with increased weight, and his daughter Susanna having married 7 April 1654 John Farnum of Boston, which favor the Baptist views of ordinances, he was driven to Providence, living in that part of Smithfield; Thomas swore allegience 1666, and died Sept 1674. He had been baptized 18 April 1599.

REFERENCE:
ORIGINAL LISTS by Hotten
SAVAGE, pp.64-67


Property:
The History of the Town of Providence
Vol XIV Deed Book 1, p.101-102 Upon ye 28th day of January in ye yeare 1681. Laid out unto Samuell Comstock in ye Right of Thomas Arnold 30 acrs of land, the which belonged unto ye said Thomas Arnold in a second Grant for devision betweene ye 7 mile line & ye 4 mile line & was by Towne order upon ye 27th of Januarey 1681 granted unto ye said Samuell Comstock to be layd out elsewhere upon ye Towns Comon. [proceeded to lay out part of farm formerly belonging to Thomas Wallin Senr, bounded by John Brownes land, to a piece of meadow formerly belonging to Stephen Northrup: Bound on North by Comon, East by Thomas Walling, North by Wallings farm, South by Meadow of Stephen Northup or brook. There is a surveryor's diagram of this piece of property.] Thomas Olney, Sirveior.


Property:
Vol IV, pp.115-121 29 Jun 1685. Settlement of estate of Thomas Arnold who died in Sep 1674. Thomas died intestate; this is an agreement among remaining heirs. Samuel & Elizabeth received 20 pounds. The sons of Thomas received land; Elizabeth through Samuel appears to have already received most of her inheritance.

Thomas* married Thomas (1st wife) Arnold about 1624 in England. Thomas was born about 1607 in England; died after 1635. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Thomas Arnold, Jr (Immigrant) was born on 2 May 1625 in England; died in 1695 in Massachusetts.
2. Nicholas Arnold was born in 1627 in England; was christened on 15 Jan 1627 in England; died after 1637 in (died young).
3. Susanna Arnold, (immigrant) was born in 1632 in England; died on 7 Apr 1654 in Massachusetts.

Thomas* married Phebe* Parkhurst, (Immigrant) on 20 Dec 1640 in Watertown, Mass Bay Col, Massachusetts. Phebe* (daughter of George* Parkhurst, Sr. (immigrant), (FFDNA-JS) and Phebe* Leete, (immigrant) (FFDNA-JS)) was born before 29 Nov 1612 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England; died in 1688 in Watertown, Mass Bay Col, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Ichabod Arnold was born in May 1641 in Watertown, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died about 1642 in Watertown, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts.
2. Capt. Richard Arnold was born on 22 Mar 1643 in Watertown, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died on 22 Apr 1710 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island.
3. Thomas Arnold, Jr. was born on 3 May 1645 in Watertown, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died in 1693 in Massachusetts.
4. Nicholas Arnold was born in 1647 in England; died after 1648 in (died young).
5. John Arnold was born on 19 Feb 1648 in Watertown, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died on 5 Jan 1723 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island.
6. Eleazer Arnold was born on 17 Jun 1651 in Watertown, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died on 29 Aug 1722 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island.
7. Elizabeth* Arnold was born in 1654 in Watertown, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts; died on 20 Oct 1747 in Smithfield, Providence Co, Rhode Island.