Thomas Stafford, the Millwright (my 8th Great Grandfather)

As most of you know our Stafford connection is through Augusta Stafford Baldwin (1828-1891), wife of Henry Clay Baldwin (1828-1887) and mother of our Fredrick Henry Baldwin (1853-1931). What you may not know is that Thomas Stafford, who was a very early American colonist, played a major role in establishing colonial self-sufficiency as a millwright and later participated in the establishment of Rhode Island as a separate colony.

Thomas (1605-1677) came to Plymouth, Massachusetts in about 1626 from Warwickshire, England and is attributed with building the first water powered grist mill in the new colony. This mill would have been used to process grain (wheat, rye, oats, and or barley) into flour and meal and would have been vital in the efforts of the colonists to become more self-sufficient. For a great article about these early mills check out: http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millrestoration/history.html. Thomas went on to build a number of mills in Rhode Island where he is included on the list of first settlers of Newport (20 May 1638) under the employ/indenture of Nicholas Easton, who had been ejected from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for heretical beliefs. For a concise history of Newport see: http://www.newporthistory.org/about/brief-history-of-newport/.

Later Thomas was employed as a millwright and constructed a mill in 1652 in Warwick, Rhode Island. In 1655 in Warwick he became a Declared Freeman. Freeman status meant that he no longer was indentured, was free of debt, could become a member of a church, as well as be a part of a governing body. As he owned land while in Newport, it is likely he was released from indenture before that time but formalised his status as Free for other reasons. It should be noted that indentured servitude did not have a social stigma but was a respectable means of gaining passage to the New World.

During his life Thomas appeared in number of legal documents indicating land ownership and relationships with various people and places in Rhode Island.

Only a little is known of his wife, Elizabeth. She was born about 1614, married Thomas in Plymouth in 1634 and died in 1677 shortly after Thomas. They had 6 children and we are descended from their second son, Samuel (1635-1718). Thomas’ will roughly stated: “To well beloved wife Elizabeth during her natural life, 1/2 of dwelling house, and also 1/2 of orchard, meadow and other lands, and two cows. To son Thomas, the other, 1/2 of lands, etc., and afterwards divided between son Thomas and daughter Deborah Westcott. To daughter Deborah Westcott, 1 cow. To son Samuel, 1 calf. To son Joseph, 1 calf. To Hannah Bromley, 1 calf.” I must admit it seems rather harsh that Samuel and some of his siblings only got 1 calf but such were the customs then.

Some earlier literature on the Staffords indicated Thomas was a descendant of the 6^th Baron Stafford but DNA testing indicates that this not likely. However, testing does show that this family group is probably descended from a Thracian (Romanian) cavalry soldier who served with one of the Roman legions in Britain between 100 and 400 ad.