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- He arrived in New England from London in 1640. He was the last "President of the Court" (sometimes referred to as "governor") of the Dover (now New Hampshire) colony before it came under Massachusetts rule in 1642. His origins are unknown.
"[S]aid to have come with the Hiltons, which is very probable as he was a fellow member of the Fishmongers Company of London with Edward Hilton, both marked 'in New England' in a list of 1641. Presumably that Thomas Roberts, son of John Roberts of Woolaston, apprenticed 29 April 1622. In 1639-40 he was elected 'President of the Court,' an office of agency for the Bristol Company, the proprietors of Dover, from which fact he is sometimes called 'Governor' although the territory under his authority was only one town. Signed the Dover combination, 1640; grand juror 1643, 1646, 1656. Various deeds, grants and suits. Sewell's History of the Quakers states that he rebuked his sons for their official cruelty to that sect. [...] In 1669 his wife was Rebecca, who died before 1673. In 1670 he gave land to sons John and Thomas, and in 1671 half his remaining estate to his daughter Sarah Rich. Will, 27 September 1673 - 30 June 1674, giving his homestead to Richard Rich and naming him executor." [Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, citation details below]
"Thomas1 Roberts was an early emigrant to Dover, N.H. He lived on the eastern side of Dover Neck; in 1639 he was 'President' of the 'Court' (Winthrop says) or 'Governor' (Belknap says); was member of the First Church as early as 1639." [The Wentworth Genealogy, citation details below]
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