Philip Voyle Thorne's
Notes and Comments

According to the Pearsall Family Genealogy The THORNE family dates from about 1470. When Thomas Thornes of SHROPSHIRE-STAFFORDSHIRE was Proprietor of the manor and estate of THORNES.in the parish of Shenstone. It was said that members of the family had previously been resident in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, for some 90 years.

THOMAS THORNES married Mary Corbet d/o Sir Roger Corbet Son Roger was grandfather of: Roger THORNES (called The Wyse Thornes) married the d/o Sir Roger Kynaston lived Shrewsbury, Shropshire d. 1531 buried St. Mary's Church. It has been stated that the name possibly derived from any group of people, who may have lived in an area, that was associated with thorn trees or bushes. I believe that part of this is probably accurate.

My hunch is that at some point in time in the very remote past, probably not long after the Norman conquest, when surnames began appearing, something of that nature transpired. I don't feel that people throughout the British Isles, who happened to be living around a thorn bush, suddenly became Hugh of Thorn/e. I think it far more likely, that 1 single group of people, closely related by blood, began the use of the surname as a means of distinguishing themselves from their neighbors. Then the name slowly spread throughout all of the British Isles. Surnames never have been a casual thing (for the most part).

The basic unit of society in feudal England was the extended family, commonly known as the clan. With the surname Thorne, I am sure that early on in English history, our remote ancestors, took up this name with much the same pride and sense of family/clan identification that we have today. I have spoke with Thorn/e's all over the United States, who steadfastly will deny any relationship, with another Thorne family, right down the road. When in several instances I have been able to prove their blood kinship! Whether the name be spelled Thorne or Thorn makes NO difference whatsoever.

RELEVANT FACTS REGARDING WILLIAM THORNE

1. William Thorne was born "not later than" 1617, undoubtedly in England.
2. William married Susanna Booth before 1636, either in Massachusetts or England.
3. Between 1635 and 1638, he arrived in Boston.
4. 2 May 1638; William Thorne was made a Freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony at Lynn, Mass. This indicates he was a Puritan in good standing with the Church of Boston; it further offers proof that he was of legal age, a man of some means and was held in good social standing. William Thorne is also the ONLY Thorne to have been made a Freeman in the history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This is interesting as there other Thornes of record in this colony.
5. 29 June 1641; William served on a jury in Salem, county seat of Essex County, MA., 5 miles from Lynn.
6. 7 September 1641; William Thorne was fined 6 2/3 pounds for concealing, hiding and supplying the escaped son and son-in-law of Ann Marbury Hutchinson (Francis Hutchinson and William Collins); (all were opponents of the Church of Boston). Ann was from Alford, Lincolnshire, England.
7. 28 Feb 1643; William Thorne was found guilty in the court held at Salem, Essex County for refusing to serve in the Military Watch; He had already LEFT Boston at this point; he is said to have gone overland with Michael Milner to Sandwich in Plymouth Colony; he and Milner eventually arrive in New Amsterdam, in time to become part of the Patent at Gravesend (June 1643)
8. June 1643; Lady Deborah Moody left Boston for Rhode Island and eventually New Amsterdam.
9. June 1643; Lady Moody received a Patent for the Village of Gravesend on Long Island. William Thorne was one of the original Patentees.
10. September 1643; Anne Hutchinson and most of her family were murdered by the Mohican Indians at Rye, New Amsterdam.
11. September 1643; The Mohicans next attack Gravesend, Moody's followers along with William Thorne beat off several successive Mohican attacks, killing many of them in the process. Only the Moody group's homes survived this uprising.
12. 30 August 1645; Governor finally ended war with Indians.
13. 10 October 1645; William Thorne is granted a Patent for a village at Flushing Creek, along with 16 other Englishmen.
14. 19 Dec 1645; Dutch Governor Kieft grants final Patent for Gravesend to Moody, Thorne et al. He had confiscated the original.
15. 21 March 1656; William Thorne granted Planters Lott at Jamaica, Long Island, he was not one of the original 17 but of the 2nd group.
16. 27 December 1657; Remonstrance of Flushing is drafted and William Thorne is the 3rd to sign.
17. Between 27 December 1657 and 12 May 1664 is the time frame during which William is believed to have died.

ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING WILLIAM THORNE

1. He clearly held Anne Hutchinson's belief's, or were there additional ties, that led him to support her? She had been influenced by her father Reverend Francis Marbury. Francis Marbury was an outspoken and radical Puritan minister. Reverend Marbury and his family were from Alford, Lincolnshire, England. Alford was but a short distance from a little village named Gunby in Candleshoe, Lincolnshire, England (will come back to this later). Marbury was very active in Alford for many years and later went to London, where he continued his views.
2. While still part of the Boston Colony, Lady Deborah lived in the same village as William Thorne, Lynn. They attended the same church in Lynn, undoubtedly knew one another from that period and they held the same religious and political views. According to Gov. William Bradford, the closest friend she had in the colony was Thomas Savage. He was married to a daughter of Ann Hutchinson.
3. I feel there are links of blood, religious views and former acquaintances in England that bound these families together.
4. A coincidence? Thomas Fones, father of Elizabeth Fones, was an apothecary in London. It was to Thomas Fones that Sir Henry Moody (Deborah's husband) went for his medications, when he was terminally ill, in London. Thomas Fones died before Moodie and in his will he made their Uncle, Governor John Winthrop, their custodian. Daughter Elizabeth Fones first married Henry, Governor Winthrop's son. (Gov John Winthrop was from Edwardstone, SUFFOLK, England. After his death she married Robert Feake; they had a daughter Hannah. Hannah Feake married John Bowne. Their daughter Mary Bowne, married William Thorne's son Joseph. Their youngest daughter Martha Johanna Bowne married William's grandson Joseph Thorne>John>William.

SPECULATIVE LINCOLNSHIRE TIES

In Gunby, Candleshoe, Lincolnshire, England there was a family named THORNE. This family was resident here for at least 4 generations (which is as far as the records permit). They were there at the same time as the Marbury's were in Alford.

GENTLEMAN JOHN THORNE OF GUNBY, CANDLESHOE, LINCOLNSHIRE. ENGLAND:

John Thorne (Gentleman) born 1562-1582 buried 12 June 1621. John was married to Constance, buried 2 Sep 1617. Their children were:

1. Cavendish Thorne baptized 25 July 1610 buried 10 June 1611
2. John Thorne baptized 3 July 1614 no further record
3. William Thorne baptized 31 July 1617 no further record
4. Susannah Thorne baptized 4 October 1608 no further record

As both parents were deceased by 1621, they would have been placed with friends or relatives, presumably in the area.

Gentleman John Thorne's father was: FRANCIS THORNE; he was buried in Gunby on 7 October 1601

Gentleman John Thorne's mother was: JANE CAVENDISH; she was buried in Gunby on 3 September 1608

Francis Thorne had brothers named Richard and Nicholas; their parent's names are unknown and each of the 2 brothers had offspring!!

I have a feeling that this is our William Thorne, be forewarned that there is no clear evidence linking them to us, but the odds look fairly good.

The John Thorne listed above may well be the John Thorne, who left his small estate to Ann Pallgrave. Ann had come to Boston with her stepfather John Youngs. Youngs led a party to New Southold on Long Island and ONE of his colonists was Ensign JOHN BOOTH. Southold is in adjacent Suffolk county to Lincolnshire.

Further Long Island Genealogies speculate that the Francis Thorne, who was in Rye for a short time and went back to Greenwich, Connecticut may well have been another son that went unrecorded of our William Thorne, the Immigrant. This Francis Thorne died in Greenwich, Connecticut 22 Dec 1690, after having lived in both Massachusetts and Rye, Westchester County, NY. He too, had a flair for religious controversy but he was pro-infant baptism.

Susannah Booth Thorne's exact parentage is unknown. There was an Ensign John Booth who came with Reverend John Youngs to New Southold on Long Island. He resided on Shelter Island. Youngs was a militant puritan with strong anti Quaker feelings. In more than one instance Booth sided with the Quakers against Youngs. Given this bent towards religious tolerance and given the fact the Reverend Youngs group was from Southold in Suffolk County, England (next to Lincolnshire) we have some circumstantial evidence tying the Booths and Thornes to the same general area. There was a very large and very ancient Booth family in Great Grimsby an old seaport and military site at the mouth of the river Humber, Lincolnshire. Travelling inland from Grimsby, not far from the Humber River lies the City of THORNE. Thorne is located in South Yorkshire and is less than 35 miles from Grimsby and is less than 60 miles from where Gunby was formerly situated. Further it's only about 80 miles south towards London to Southold (John Youngs and John Booth)

Needless to say, I feel Ensign John Booth and our Susannah Booth were closely related.

In the City of Thorne there are numerous Thorne place names but MORE interesting is the widespread occurrence of the names PURDY and BIRDSALL. These were all families that early on under Charles I had strong Anabaptist leanings. The Thorne, Birdsalls and Purdys were largely Quaker families in the New York Colony. These 3 families had numerous inter marriages and I am descended from all 3 of them.

Gary Wayne Williams of Indiana, a Thorne/Booth descendant, gives Susannah's father as Nicholas Booth, without documentation.