Nielsen Hayden genealogy
Thomas Burnham
1617 - 1686 (69 years)-
Name Thomas Burnham [1] Birth 1617 England 
[2] Gender Male Alternate birth Abt 1620 [3] Death 28 Jun 1686 [2] Alternate death 24 Jun 1688 Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut [3, 4] Person ID I2264 Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of TNH Last Modified 16 Mar 2017
Family Ann Wright, b. Abt 1622, England d. 5 Aug 1703, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut (Age ~ 81 years) Marriage Abt 1645 [3, 4, 5, 6, 7] Children + 1. William Burnham, b. Between Nov 1645 and Oct 1646, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut d. 12 Dec 1702, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut (Age ~ 57 years)Family ID F5824 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 23 Sep 2018
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Notes - "Thomas Burnham, of Hartford and Potunke, was born in England in and had evidently been educated as a barrister before coming to the New World. Here he carried on the practice of law, and was, evidently, according to records, a man of determined character. He carried on the practice of the law in the colonies, and among other cases, successfully defended Abigail Betts, who was accused of witchcraft, by which act he incurred the displeasure of the Puritan authorities and was prohibited further practice of the court 'for saving her neck.' He then erected a garrison house at Potunke, purchasing the land directly from the Indians. In 1659 he purchased of Tantonimo, chief sachem of the Potunke tribe, a tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and Hartford, on which he resided, and a portion of which still remains in the possession of his descendants. What amounted to practically a feud with the authorities continued during most of his life, they continuing to call into question his title to the land which he held by deed from the Indians and he as consistently appealing to the law of England as against the highly theocratic form of government which the Puritans had established here. It would appear that in this contest Thomas Burnham was successful, as his large estate afterwards divided between his children and remained practically wholly in their hands. A portion of this tract was held by him under the will of Uncas, chief of the Mohegan tribe of Indians, and an ancestor of that famous Uncas who figured so prominently in the stories of Fenimore Cooper." [American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, citation details below.]
Notwithstanding many sources' statements to the contrary, Thomas Burnham's forebears are unknown. See "The Confusing Origins of Thomas Burnham" by Mary Stanford Pitkin, which summarizes some of the problems.
- "Thomas Burnham, of Hartford and Potunke, was born in England in and had evidently been educated as a barrister before coming to the New World. Here he carried on the practice of law, and was, evidently, according to records, a man of determined character. He carried on the practice of the law in the colonies, and among other cases, successfully defended Abigail Betts, who was accused of witchcraft, by which act he incurred the displeasure of the Puritan authorities and was prohibited further practice of the court 'for saving her neck.' He then erected a garrison house at Potunke, purchasing the land directly from the Indians. In 1659 he purchased of Tantonimo, chief sachem of the Potunke tribe, a tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and Hartford, on which he resided, and a portion of which still remains in the possession of his descendants. What amounted to practically a feud with the authorities continued during most of his life, they continuing to call into question his title to the land which he held by deed from the Indians and he as consistently appealing to the law of England as against the highly theocratic form of government which the Puritans had established here. It would appear that in this contest Thomas Burnham was successful, as his large estate afterwards divided between his children and remained practically wholly in their hands. A portion of this tract was held by him under the will of Uncas, chief of the Mohegan tribe of Indians, and an ancestor of that famous Uncas who figured so prominently in the stories of Fenimore Cooper." [American Biography: A New Cyclopedia, citation details below.]
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Sources - [S1100] Findagrave.com page for William Burnham.
- [S447] American Biography: A New Cyclopedia ed. William Richard Cutter. New York: American Historical Society, 1919.
- [S501] Gale Ion Harris, "Thomas and Anna (Wright?) Burnham of Hartford, Connecticut: A Note on Dubious Dates." The American Genealogist 74:33, January 1999.
- [S160] Wikipedia.
- [S447] American Biography: A New Cyclopedia ed. William Richard Cutter. New York: American Historical Society, 1919., says "1639.".
- [S101] The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes 1-3 and The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 1-7, by Robert Charles Anderson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996-2011.
- [S2306] The Winthrop Fleet: Massachusetts Bay Company Immigrants to New England 1629-1630 by Robert Charles Anderson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.
- [S1100] Findagrave.com page for William Burnham.