Thomas Miner

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Thomas Miner (Minor) (1608 - 1690) was one of the main founders of New London[1] and Stonington, Connecticut, USA. He emigrated from Chew Magna, England and arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1629 on the Lyon's Whelp.[2] Shortly after his arrival, an outbreak of Typhus Fever prompted his relocation to Watertown[3] for a brief stay, then on to Charlestown where he married Grace Palmer, the daughter of Walter Palmer,[4] one of the founders of Stonington, in 1634. They moved to Hingham, Massachusetts in 1636, and lived there for several years before moving to New London. Thomas and Grace had seven sons and three daughters. He and his son Ephraim were founders of Road Church in Stonington.[5] His sons, and possibly Thomas Miner himself (as a 68-year-old), fought in King Philip's War.[3]

After buying some land from Cary Latham and moving from the Wequetequock area of Stonington to the west side of Quiambaug Cove near Mystic, Connecticut, Thomas Miner began one of the few diaries to survive this period. The diary covers the years 1653 to 1684 and was published as a book in 1899.

Miner coat of arms, discredited in 1984
Miner coat of arms, discredited in 1984

Thomas Miner was active in public affairs in New London and Stonington, and wrote back to England between 1683 and 1684 to ascertain both how his family name was historically spelled (Miner versus Minor) and what his genealogical line was. In an early example of fraudulent family history, the response he received,[6] including family coat of arms and pedigree, was proven to be mostly false in a 1984 study published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.[7]

Thomas Miner and his wife died three months apart in 1690 and are buried together in Wequetequock Cemetery in Stonington[2] where there is a large founders monument with one side dedicated to Thomas.

He has thousands of direct descendants, two of the notable ones being Ulysses S. Grant and John D. Rockefeller [8]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Wheeler, Richard A. "The First Organized Church in New London: An Historical Study". New London County Historical Society. Read before the New London County Historical Society, at its Annual Meeting, November 26, 1877. [1]. Accessed 14 July 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Thomas Miner and his Descendants". [2]. Accessed 31 July 2007. Note that some accounts have him arriving on the ship Arabella during the Great Migration, arriving in Salem Harbor on June 14, 1630.
  3. ^ a b "The Miner Branch of the Hubbards". [3]. Accessed 14 July 2007.
  4. ^ "Biography of Walter Palmer". Walter Palmer Society. http://www.walterpalmer.com/Walter_Palmer_Bio.htm. Accessed 31 July 2007.
  5. ^ "The History Of Road Church". www.roadchurch.org. [4]. Accessed 14 July 2007.
  6. ^ "An Herauldical Essay Upon the Surname of Miner". In possession of the Connecticut Historical Society. Hartford, Connecticut.
  7. ^ Miner, John A. and Miner, Robert F. "The Curious Pedigree of Lt. Thomas Minor". New England Historical and Genealogical Register. New England Historic Geneological Society. July 1984, pg 182-185. See online version at [5]. Accessed 14 July 2007.
  8. ^ Ancestors of American Presidents: First Definitive Edition by Gary Boyd Roberts and Julie Helen Otto. 1995. ISBN 978-0936124193
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