Thomas Allen, Jr.

Notes:

Thomas's will was dated 20 June 1773, and proved 8 Dec 1777 at NK. The will mentions wife Patience, d/o Daniel Green; and three children -- John, Lydia, and Samuel.

Gravestone: "In memory of Thomas Allen.junr. Esquire who died Sept. 26. 1777 in the 61 year of his Age."

Thomas married Patience Greene 1742, North Kingstown, RI. Patience (daughter of Daniel Greene) was born 1717; died 12 Sep 1801; was buried , Nk 80, Allen Cemetery, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

ALLEN Thomas, and Patience Greene; m. by Thomas Hill, Justice, --- 20, 1742.

1. Lydia Allen was born 20 Oct 1742; died 18 Apr 1812; was buried , Allen Cemetery, North Kingstown, RI.
2. Samuel Allen was born 26 Mar 1745; died 4 Nov 1794.
3. John Allen was born 20 Mar 1747/48; died 14 Jul 1813; was buried , Thomas Hill Lot, Forge Rd., North Kingstown, RI.

Notes:

On 18 June 1741 Thomas Allin of North Kingstown sold land in Portsmouth to Samuel Clark of Boston; witnessed by Ebenezer Allin of Prudence Island.

Some of the children's names are missing or partly missing from the North Kingstown records, so I may have switched two or three of them - specifically Ann & Mary.

The will of Thomas (of John) was dated 1778 NK, proved 1780; mentions wife Ann and children Christopher, Mary, Martha, Thomas dec'd, Samuel, Margaret, and others (names lost).

This family seems to be very confused in published and online genealogies.

Daniel Gould Allen, in his Genealogy of the Allen Family (Google Books), has this family group quite mixed up. He has Thomas born in 1708 and having his first child in 1717. Not possible.

Thomas may have married a second time; I have included this marriage for this particular Thomas:
ALLEN Thomas, of John, and Ann Corey, of John, dec.; m. by Jeremiah Gould, Justice, Sept. 4, 1756; NK.

Thomas married Ann Unknown Abt 1713. Ann was born Abt 1694; died Aft 28 Jan 1734/35. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Some genealogies have her as Anne Corey, but there was a much later marriage of a Thomas Allen and Anne Corey.

Daniel Gould Allen in his Genealogy of the Allen Family says she is Anne or Annie Cory; on another page he identifies her as Mary Cory (p 91).

Notes:

John Allin/Allen was the first Allen who came to Quidnessett, so he is likely the ancestor of the many generations of Allens in that area. He left Prudence Island and purchased land in North Kingstown in 1705.

John's will, proved 7 Apr 1747 NK, mentions wife Sarah; sons Thomas, William, & Jonathan; daughters Phebe Slocum, Elizabeth (?) Fairbanks, Bathsheba Johnson, and Mary Card.

When I was a child in the 1950s, our family church was Quidnessett Baptist Church on Post Rd., North Kingstown, RI. One of my first Sunday School teachers was Cora Allen, wife of Harry Allen. Other Allens in their family line still attend there. In fact, the first pastor there was an Allen, back in the mid-1800s.

John married Unknown Wife Abt 1690. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

A "William Allin" was baptized in the town of Wales, Yorkshire, England, on 19 August 1640. This "is almost certainly the William Allin who emigrated to America in 1660." (source: "Genealogy of the Stone Family Originating in Rhode Island" by R. C. Stone)

The location of William's birth and baptism should not be confused with the country of Wales in the British Isles. Rather, Wales, England, is a town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, about nine miles from Sheffield, the largest town in the area. The West Riding of Yorkshire is where our immigrant ancestor John Remington is believed to have come from, so it is possible that these families had common culture and roots, and even the same reasons for coming to the New World. (source: "Some Prudence Island Allens" by Devere Allen, at the RIHSL)

William served as constable of Prudence Island and was surveyor of cattle. In addition to his land on the island, William also owned land in the East Bay area, probably what is now Barrington or West Barrington, RI, but was originally part of Swansea, MA. This land, purchased from Captain Thomas Willett of Swansea, had originally been sold to Captain Miles Standish by the Indian sachem Wamsutta. This land was described as being on both sides of the Seven Mile River; this river now forms approximately the border between Providence Co., RI, and Bristol Co., MA. However, the location may have been different as described in the 1600s. His land in the East Bay area totalled about 600 acres. (source: Cole's "History of Washington and Kent Counties")

The name on his will (dated 2 June 1685, proved 29 June 1685) is "William Allin." In the will he mentions his wife "that now is" Elizabeth (implying she was not his first wife), four sons, three daughters, and two friends. William, Thomas, John, & Matthew were all under 21; Mercy & Sarah were under 18; daughter Marie Remington was already married at this time. Appointed as executors of the will were Elizabeth Allin (wife), son William, and eldest daughter Marie Remington (Mary, my ancestor).

According to notes in the Mary E. Rice Collection, William Allin died in West Barrington, RI; he was married aft 1660 to Elizabeth; and his first child, Mary (who married Thomas Remington, s/o John & Abigail), was born c1664.

According to Charles Gregory Maytum in his book "Paragraphs on the History of Prudence Island" p. 16, William's children were born of his first (unknown) wife. He was a close friend of John Paine, who lived at the northern end of Prudence Island. William was a large owner of cattle and also had hundreds of sheep. In 1669 he was admitted freeman of Prudence Island (along with John Paine). He was tax rate assessor of PI in 1671; also that year he was constable of PI, as well as in 1678, 1679, 1680, 1682, 1683, & 1691. (Maytum's book is at the Newport Historical Society.)

This book also recounts how in 1680 William Allin moved his house from PI across the frozen bay to West Barrington, with the help of Indians and using three large trees made into a sled pulled by oxen.

A note from Cynthia Joly, as found in the PI Cookbook: "William Allin . . . who came to Prudence in 1660 as a tenant farmer for John Paine. He later built his own home along what is now known as Allen Lane."

William married Elizabeth Unknown Abt 1660. Elizabeth was born Abt 1640; died Aft Jun 1685. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Elizabeth was probably not William's first wife, as implied by the wording in his will. He may have married Elizabeth after 1660 (see notes for William).

William's children may have been by his first wife.

A posting on a message board (L-Sweet) suggests that Elizabeth later married Philip Sweet. I have not yet seen evidence of this, so more research is needed.