WIGGIN, Governor Thomas
1601 - 1666 (64 years)
Set As Default Person 
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Name WIGGIN, Thomas [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] Title Governor Birth 1592 Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England 
[5] Birth 20 Sep 1601 Bishop's Itchington, Warwickshire, England [2, 6, 7, 9] Gender Male Arrival 1630 Massachusetts, USA [5, 10] Departure 1630 [5, 6] Age: 38 Arrival 1631 New Hampshire, USA [5] Arrival 1633 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA [5] Books About Shadow Echo Me 
Shadow Echo Me Differentiator The Great Migration; Immigrant; known as first governor of New Hampshire Great Migration https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/i/12107/1982/23896341 Historical Importance First "governor" of New Hampshire Web Address https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wiggin Web Address https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/library/research-learn/history/historical-sketch-views/ Web Address https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wiggin-43 Residence Maine, USA [5] Residence York, Maine, USA [5, 6] Residence Squamscott River, New Hampshire, USA [5, 6] Residence Maine, USA [8] Death 1666 Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA [2, 5, 6, 7] - Age: 74
Residence 1669 Massachusetts, USA [5] Burial Stratham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA [2, 7] Person ID I1338 My Genealogy | Laviolette Ancestry, Laviolette Ancestry Last Modified 4 Feb 2024
Father WIGAN, Vicar William /Wiggin, b. 1553 d. 1617 (Age 64 years) Relationship natural Mother GYBBES, Ann, b. 18 Apr 1572, Honington, Warwickshire, England d. 1603, Bishop's Itchington, Warwickshire, England (Age 30 years) Relationship natural Marriage 21 Aug 1590 Family ID F7287 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family WHITING, Catherine, b. 1601, Middlesex, England d. 16 Jun 1664, Stratham, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA (Age 63 years) Marriage 11 Jul 1633 [3, 5, 9, 11] - St Margaret's. Fish Street, London, England
Married 11 Jul 1633 [5] New Fish, London, England Children + 1. WIGGIN, Andrew I, b. 26 Sep 1635, Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA d. 9 Jan 1708, Stratham, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA (Age 72 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]2. WIGGIN, Mary, b. 20 Sep 1641, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA d. 1700, Squamscott River, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA (Age 58 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]+ 3. WIGGIN, Thomas, b. 26 Sep 1641, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA d. 6 Mar 1727, Sandy Point, Rye, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA (Age 85 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]Photos 
Family ID F360 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 4 Feb 2024
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Event Map 
Birth - 1592 - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England 
Birth - 20 Sep 1601 - Bishop's Itchington, Warwickshire, England 
Arrival - 1630 - Massachusetts, USA 
Arrival - 1631 - New Hampshire, USA 
Arrival - 1633 - Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA 
Residence - - Maine, USA 
Residence - - York, Maine, USA 
Residence - - Squamscott River, New Hampshire, USA Residence - - Maine, USA 
Death - 1666 - Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA Residence - 1669 - Massachusetts, USA 
Burial - - Stratham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA = Link to Google Earth Pin Legend 
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Photos 
Documents 
Great Migration Thomas Wiggin (1601-1666) List of colonial governors of New Hampshire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wiggin, Thomas - Great Migration History of Stratham Excavation of Thomas Wiggins Homestead Site Great Migration: Thomas Wiggin (1601-1666)
Captain Thomas Wiggin, often known as Governor Thomas Wiggin, was the first governor of the Upper Plantation of New Hampshire, a settlement that later became part of the Province of New Hampshire in 1679. In brief, this included what is now Dover, Somersworth, Newington, Durham, Madbury, Lee and Rollinsford. Thomas and his wife Catherine (Whiting) had three children. We are descended on the Laviolette (DeRochemont) side through Andrew who married Hannah Bradstreet, the daughter of Governor Simon Bradstreet of the Massachusetts Colony.
Descent from Thomas and Catherine is through the Laviolette side (DeRochemont branch)At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
Albums 
Founding Families of Kittery & The Berwicks (13)
While I was born in New Hampshire and have lived almost all of my adult in New Hampshire, I grew up just over the border, in Berwick, Maine. This is Jim and I met and dated throughout high school (Noble High School) and it's where we were later married at Our Lady of Peace. Berwick is where my grandparents purchased a farm after he was wounded in WWII and received a medical discharge from the Marines, and it is where they raised their nine children. It is where most of my family still lives and it is where Jim's parents live.
For all these reasons, I was beyond excited to find that our ancestral roots go back to the very beginning of the European settlement of Berwick. The branches run through both my maternal and paternal lines and I will use this collection to provide all my research.
Founding Families of Dover (1)
Dover, New Hampshire, holds the distinction of being the oldest permanent settlement in the state and the seventh oldest in the United States, established in 1623 by William and Edward Hilton at Pomeroy Cove on Dover Point. Originally known as Bristol, the area saw a second settlement at Dover Neck in 1633. Briefly an independent colony named Northam, it was officially named Dover in 1637, potentially after Robert Dover, an English lawyer known for his resistance to Puritanism.
The early township encompassed what are now Durham, Madbury, Newington, Lee, Somersworth, and Rollinsford. Nicknamed "the Garrison City" due to its garrisoned homes built from abundant trees for protection, Dover thrived despite challenges. The town utilized the Cocheco River for industrial purposes as early as 1642, starting with a sawmill, and later developing an extensive shipbuilding industry in the 1700s. By 1830, Dover had evolved into a prominent cotton goods manufacturer, with the Dover Cotton Factory established in 1814 marking the beginning of its textile industry.Notable Ancestors (0) 
Great Migration (119)
The "Great Migration," as defined by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), encompasses the English Puritan migration to New England from 1620 to 1640. This movement primarily involved English Puritans who relocated in family units, driven by a quest for religious freedom and the aspiration to establish a Puritan commonwealth. These migrants originated from various regions of England and settled in areas that now form Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, including the Plymouth Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
An individual's inclusion in the Great Migration Study Project requires evidence of migration to New England within the specified period of 1620 to 1640. The project's objective is to compile biographical and genealogical profiles of all immigrants who arrived in New England during these two decades. The NEHGS has produced extensive volumes and directories, providing details about the lives of these immigrants. This collection presents research on many ancestors who were part of this significant historical migration.
You may be shocked by how many there are. Even I was at first. However, most of these Great Migration ancestors are my 9th and 10th great-grandparents, and in some cases 11th and 12th, and with the number of great-grandparents doubling with each generation, the possibilities quickly become immense. We have a total of 1024 sets of 9th great-grandparents and 2048 sets of 10th great-grandparents. This makes finding so many Great Migration ancestors more understandable.
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Notes - From the History of New Hampshire, Volume 1 by Stackpole (1901): Captain Thomas Wiggin came here in 1631 as an agent of the Bristol Company and the town he founded on Dover Neck was first called Bristol as shown on a 1634 map. About 2 years later the Bristol men sold their share of the patent (about 2/3, the other 1/3 owned by Shrewberry) to "lords and gentlemen" in 25 shares. Thomas Wi\ggin continued to be the agent of the company. He returned to England and then to Salem, MA in the ship James, arriving 10 Oct 1633 with about 30 other men.
It was the design of Capt. Thomas Wiggin to found a city or compact town on Dover Neck, about one mile north from Hilton's Point. Old deeds mention High street and Low street and Dirty Lane. The location was ideal, commanding a view for many miles around. Each settler had a home lot of three or four acres, while out lots, or farms, were assigned by common consent on the shores of Back River and other streams, easily reached by boat. Soon a meeting house was erected on Low street, to be succeeded by a larger one on High street in 1654, used after 1675 as a fortification.
Conspicuous among the first settlers of ancient Dover were Captain Thomas Wiggin, leader and governor of the colony on Dover Neck, who later settled in what is now Stratham, became one of the early judges and founded an extensive and well known family.
The settlers of the first four towns believed emphatically in home rule. Their Combinations were mutual consents to selfgovernment. They were in effect little democratic republics, electing their own rulers and making their own laws. They were guided by the known laws and customs of England, adapted to new conditions. In their legislation they tried to express what seemed to the majority to be right. Nothing was done arbitrarily and in the spirit of tyranny. Yet their power was limited and some bold spirits defied their authority. They feared to try capital cases and appealed to Massachusetts to punish some offenders. At least this was the case in Dover, although Captain Thomas Wiggin was politically a Puritan and leaned toward the jurisdiction of the Bay Colony. He may have taken this course as a step toward union therewith. It is certain that the authorities in Boston felt that they had a trustworthy friend in Captain Wiggin and that he would do all in his power to get their claims recognized.
JOHN WINTHROP wrote in his Journal, October ii, 1638, "Capt. Wiggin of Pascataquack wrote to the Governor, that one of his people had stabbed another and desired he might be tried in the Bay if the party died. The Governor answered that if Pascataquack lay within their limits (as it was supposed), they would try him." Thus early had the men of Massachusetts Bay begun to claim more than belonged to them.
Wlien New Hampshire was swallowed up by Massachusetts the formation of a new county became expedient. Norfolk County was formed May 10, 1643. It consisted of the towns of Salisbury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter, Dover and Strawberry Bank, or Portsmouth. The early judges and associates were Francis Williams, Thomas Wiggin, George Smyth, Samuel Dudley, Robert Clements, Ambrose Lane, Brian Pendleton, Henry Sherburne, Major Richard Walderne, Major Robert Pike, Edward Hilton, Richard Cutt, Valentine Hill, and Reynold Fernald.
- From the History of New Hampshire, Volume 1 by Stackpole (1901): Captain Thomas Wiggin came here in 1631 as an agent of the Bristol Company and the town he founded on Dover Neck was first called Bristol as shown on a 1634 map. About 2 years later the Bristol men sold their share of the patent (about 2/3, the other 1/3 owned by Shrewberry) to "lords and gentlemen" in 25 shares. Thomas Wi\ggin continued to be the agent of the company. He returned to England and then to Salem, MA in the ship James, arriving 10 Oct 1633 with about 30 other men.
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Sources - [S1179] Stackpole, Everett S., History of New Hampshire Volume 1.
- [S48] Ancestry.com, Web: New Hampshire, Find A Grave Index, 1665-2012, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;).
- [S59] Ancestry.com, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;).
U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 - [S1282] Wentworth, John, The Wentworth Genealogy: English and American, Volume I, Page 175.
Thomas Wiggin info - [S1578] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Database online.
Record for Governor Thomas Wiggin
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=-307574766&indiv=try - [S1390] Ancestry.com, New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2013;).
New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 - [S1767] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;).
- [S2549] Ancestry.com, Maine Pioneers, 1623-60, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1999;).
- [S1806] Joyce Elaine Wiggin-Robbins, Shadow Echo Me: The Making of American Values, (Name: Xlibris; Location: www.xlibris.com; Date: 2016;), Location 349-350 of 6187.
- [S1212] The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, Pgs 1982-1985.
- [S59] Ancestry.com, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;).
U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700
- [S1179] Stackpole, Everett S., History of New Hampshire Volume 1.
