- THOMAS, b. probably in Weymouth between 1630 and 1640, and lived in Weymouth until the autumn of 1698. By his father's will he was given his father's " dwelling house and outhousing, and many acres of land including two orchards, meadows, and pasture lands." Although one of the wealthiest citizens of Weymouth he did not disdain the humble office of sexton of the meeting-house, for in 1681 he is " allowed £l, 10s for ringing the bell and sweeping the meeting-house." The price for such service advanced in time, as we see by the fact that on March 18, 1688, he agreed to ring the bell and sweep the meeting-house for forty shillings in money for the ensuing year. On the 4th day of March, 1695, he was chosen by the town one of the three surveyors for the ensuing year, but he did not serve the full term of office, for later in the year he sold much of his property in Weymouth and removed with his family to the eastern part of Taunton North Purchase, a large tract of land which included all that became the town of Easton, nearly all of Mansfield and about one-third of the town of Norton. There were fifty-four shares of this large tract which had been purchased of the Indians in 1668, mainly by Taunton men. Thomas Randall bought half of the fifty-first share and the land set apart to him was at what became Easton, it being located at South Easton, including what is called " the Green," but being chiefly east and north of it, the mill stream running through it. On the north side of it he built his house, part of the land there being to-day owned by his descendants, and on the stream he and his son Thomas erected the first sawmill of the place, and the noise of its wheel made the sweetest possible music to the settlers who were so much in need of the lumber with which to erect their dwellings. That he was piously inclined soon ap pears from this vote of the town of Bridgewater, which had the church nearest to them, the vote being taken in 1696, soon after their arrival in their new home: " Thomas Randall, William Manley, and their neighbors allowed to come here to meeting, and to make a horse-bridge over Cutting Cove River," now known as Quesett River in Easton. Thomas was b. probably in Weymouth between 1630 and 1640 ; d. June 11, 1711, in Taunton North Purchase; m. 1st, Joan Drake, bap. Dec. 15, 1628, in Colyton, England; dau. of William and Margaret (Westover) Drake, and sister of Thomas Drake, who came from England.
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Notes |
- Thomas lived in Weymouth until the autumn of 1695. By his father's will he was given his father's "dwelling house and outhousing, and many acres of land including two orchards, meadows, and pasture land."
Although one of the wealthiest citizens of Weymouth he did not distain the humble office of sexton of the meeting house, or in 1681 he is "allowed ƒ1, 10s for ringing the bell and sweeping the meeting house. The price for such service advanced in time, as we see by the fact that on March 13,1688 he agreed to ring the bell and sweep the meeting house for forty (40) shillings in money for the ensuing year.
On the March 4th, 1695 he was chosen by the town one of the three surveyors for the ensuing year, but he did not surve the full term of office, for latter in the year he sold much of his property in Weymouth and moved with his family to the eastern part of Taunton North Purchase, a large tract of land which included all that became the town of Easton, nearly all of Mansfield and about one-third of the town of Norton.
There were fifty-four (54) shares of this large tract which had been purchased of the Indians in 1668, mainly by Taunton men. Thomas Randall bought half of the fifty-first share and the land set apart to him was at what became Easton, it being located at South Easton, including what is called "the Green", but being chiefly east and north of it, the mill stream running throught it. On the north side of it he built his house, part of the land there being (at the time) owned by his descendants, and on the stream he and his son, Thomas, erected the first sawmill of the place, and the noise of its wheel made the sweetest possible music to the settlers who were so much in need of the lumber with which to erect their dwellings.
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