Alvord, Thomas
Thomas ALVORD and Joan HAWKINS
my 9g-grandparents
Thomas ALVORD and Joan HAWKINS were married 11 May 1618 in Ashill, Somerset, England, and lived in Whitestaunton, Somerset, England, about 8 miles from Ashill. Joan, possibly the daughter of John HAWKINS of Ashill, may be the Joan ALVORD who was buried on 27 May 1636 at Whitestaunton, in which case Thomas must have died before that date.
Left: Somerset County, land of King Arthur, lies in southwestern England. [Click to enlarge]
Right: 1806 map showing Whitestaunton (White Stanton) is a small village, about 10 miles south of Taunton.
Whitestaunton, Somerset, England [SMA, frontispiece]
It seems likely that Thomas and Joan were the parents of at least 3 children: Benedict, Joan and Alexander. All 3 children were early settlers in Windsor, Colony of Connecticut.
1 John ALVORD b: Bet. 1475–1485 in England
......2 Rev. Alexander ALVORD b: Bet. 1500–1520, d: 1576
...... + Agnes d: 1577
.........3 Mary ALVORD
.........3 Alice ALVORD
.........3 Elinor ALVORD
.........3 Solomon ALVORD
.........3 William ALVORD
.........3 John ALVORD
.........3 Bartholomew ALVORD
.........3 Bridget ALVORD
.........3 Unknown ALVORD
............4 Thomas ALVORD d: Bef. 1636 in Whitestaunton
............ + Joan HAWKINS m: 11 May 1618 in Ashill, Somerset, England, d: Bef. 27 May 1636 in Whitestaunton
...............5 Joan or Jane ALVORD b: Bef. 08 Dec 1622 in Whitestaunton, d: 22 May 1684 in Westfield, Hampden, MA
............... + Ambrose FOWLER m: 06 May 1646 in Windsor, CT, d: 18 Oct 1704
...............5 Alexander ALVORD b: Bef. 15 Oct 1627 in Bridgeport, Dorset, England, d: 03 Oct 1687 in Northampton, Hampden, MA
............... + Mary VORE m: 29 Oct 1646 in Windsor, CT
...............5 Benedict ALFORD b: Abt. 1617 in Whitestaunton, d: 23 Apr 1683 in Windsor, CT
............... + Jane NEWTON m: 26 Nov 1640 in Windsor, CT
Everything about this family in England is guesswork. The information above appears in [NEF, Vol. IV, p. 1667]. Based on this, the father of Thomas ALVORD was one of the sons of Rev. Alexander ALVORD.
1780 map shows towns along the Connecticut River, in north central Connecticut.
1. Benedict ALFORD was born about 1617, in Whitestaunton, and died on 23 Apr 1683 in Windsor. He married Jane NEWTON, on 26 Nov 1640 in Windsor, and they had 5 children of record.
Benedict used the spelling ALFORD in America, and he became the forefather of the ALFORDs of CT. He first appeared in May 1637, as Sarg. Benedict ALFORD, a soldier from Windsor, in the Pequot War. He probably returned to England, as he (or someone by the same name) appeared in the records of Whitestaunton in 1639, but he was back in Windsor by 1640, when he was granted a home-lot.
1 Benedict ALFORD b: Abt. 1617 in Whitestaunton, Somerset, England, d: 23 Apr 1683 in Windsor, CT
... + Jane NEWTON m: 26 Nov 1640 in Windsor, CT
......2 Jonathan ALFORD b: 01 Jun 1645 in Windsor, CT
......2 Col. Benjamin ALFORD b: 11 Jul 1647 in Windsor, CT, d: 12 Aug 1709
......2 Josiah ALFORD b: 06 Jul 1649 in Windsor, CT
......2 Elizabeth ALFORD b: 21 Sep 1651 in Windsor, CT
......2 Jeremiah ALFORD b: 24 Dec 1655 in Windsor, CT
2. Joan ALVORD was baptized on 8 Dec 1622 in Whitestaunton, and died 22 May 1684 in Westfield, Hampden, MA. She married Ambrose FOWLER 6 May 1646 in Windsor, and they later moved to Westfield. They were my 8g-grandparents. See the Ambrose FOWLER Jr page.
There does not seem to be any record of Joan ALVORD in America before her marriage in 1646, although it seems likely that she immigrated with he brother, Alexander.
3. Alexander ALVORD was baptized on 15 Oct 1627 in Bridgeport, Dorset, England, and died 3 Oct 1687 in Northampton, Hampden, MA. He married Mary VORE on 29 Oct 1646 in Windsor.
Sources
[ED] A historical sketch of Westfield (1826) by Emerson Davis
[NEF] New England families, genealogical and memorial; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of commonwealths and the founding of a nation (1914-6) by William Richard Cutter Vol I Vol II Vol III Vol IV Vol V
[NEHGR] A Genealogical Memoir of the Descendants of Ambrose Fowler of Windsor, CT, in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. XI, 1857, July, pp. 247-54
Updated 18 Aug 2020 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.