| Ancestors of Vanessa Evans |
| Thomas Dyer |
Second Generation 2. Thomas Dyer, born 1612, Shepton-Mallet, Somersetshire,England, died 6 Nov 1676, Weymouth , Norfolk Co, MA. Captain Thomas Dyer Thomas Dyer came from old England between the years 1630 and 1640 with a young woman named A gnes Reed, which tradition tells us he courted there; tradition further informs us, that her parents being about to move to New England among some ofthe first settlers, Thomas Dyer came to the ship to take his last and final leave of his dear Agnes Reed. He found the parting hard, and her parents persuaded him to come over with them. He accordingly stepped on board the Ship withoutgoing back to bid his parents farewell. He arrived safe in New England and married with Agnes Reed, a daughter of William Reed and settled in the Town of Weymouth. Thomas was a deacon of the Church under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Samuel Torrey. [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #1658, Date of Import: Sep12, 2000] He married Agnes in 1640 and they settled in Weymouth, MA. She died December 4, 1667. He then married Elizabeth Frasy, a widow and she outlived Thomas. He was a cloth worker by trade, but it is not known whether he pursued this. He was a freem an in Weymouth in 1644, a deacon in a church underRev. Samuel Torrey, a representative in 1646 Thomas died November 6, 1676 andleft "a very good estate" to his widow, children and each o f his grandchildren. The will of Elizabeth, who died Dec 19, 1678 was probated in Boston in 1679. She mentions h er son, Abraham Harding, daughters Elizabeth Addams and Prudence. Her son, John Harding of Medfield and Joseph Dyer of Weymouth, MA werethe executors. (according to the "A Preliminary Genealogy of the Dyar Family" by Harrison Dyar, Gibson Bros Printers and Bookbinders, Washington DC, 1903. The "roots" of Deacon & Capt. Thomas Dyer are rather obscure prior to his departure from E ngland for the colonies of North America. The parish registersat Shepton Mallet apparently do not begin until 1634, thus making the tracing of Thomas Dyer's antecedents an exceptionally difficult task. There is, however, record of a christening there of one James Dyer, son of Thomas Dyer, on 2 7 Oct 1615. As the Dyer family does not appear to have been a large one at Shepton Mallet -- no church records mention them and there is no indication that the family was Catholic -- it may be safely presumed that this James was the next younger brother of our Thomas, and that their father was also a Thomas Dyer.Upon his father's death, Thomas received a "portion" of the estate, thus reinforcing the idea that Thomas had at least one brother. The parishes of Somersetshire contain a considerable number of Dyer families beginning wit h the earliest registers in the mid-1500's, and it is likely that this family did not originate in Shepton Mallet. Indeed, the highest concentrations of Dyer familiesin Somerset occur in the parishes of Martock and North Petherton, as well as agood number in Milverton. Although it is unlikely that any connection with our family will ever be made with the following personages, three Dyers from Somersetshire were quite prominent in Elizabethan England. About the only statement which can be made with any degree of certainty is that "the Dyer fa mily coat-of-arms of this branch was a plain shield surmounted by a wolf's head". The tombstone of John Dyer (Thomas's son, 1643-1696) at the Granary Burial Groundin Tremont Street in Boston "has his name cut across a plain shield; but has acrest, we judge, of a wolf's head". Tradition further informs us that upon the death of his father, he had a legacy fall to hi m in old England and rather than take the trouble to go to England to get his portion, he sent a servantof his named John, with full power to receive his portion. John accordingly set out and received the Legacy, as appeared by letters to the Deacon, fro m his Bretheren in old England. but John never saw | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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