Thomas Hawkins - Agnes Stilson Family Group

What We Know About This Family

An Overview of Their Lives

Agnes was the daughter of Vincent Stilson (originally Stitson) whose definitive residence in New England can be established when he was recorded as "Vensom Stedson" by the Essex Quarterly Court on a list of persons appointed to a jury of inquest on December 2, 1664. His first wife and Agnes' mother, Nichole Pullibanke, died either in England or shortly after their arrival in New England as he married Wife #2 (Grace) in Marblehead before 1676. Agnes and Thomas Hawkins married in Plymouth, Devonshire, England in 1668 and followed her father to Marblehead. Thomas Hawkins was a tailor. Vincent and his growing second family removed to Milford, Connecticut by 1680. Agnes and her brothers, Vincent, Jr. and James, remained in Marblehead, but the other siblings went to Milford.

Thomas and Agnes Stilson Hawkins had five children who were baptized on 22 Mar 1684-5 in Marblehead. We know they had a sixth child, Joanna, because she was mentioned in her father's will as his daughter. What we don't know are their dates and places of birth. Their son James was a slaughterer and tailor, and John was a weaver. Agnes predeceased her husband, whose estate was submitted for probate in 1721. In the probate papers was included a letter dated in February 1723 from our ancestor, Priscilla Hawkins Grant, to the County officials in charge of the settlement. (See the Documents section). It's difficult to read and understand, but she appears to have asked for a part of the house and/or extra compensation on the estate for the 15 years that she was "so much a slave to my father," The official signed a note a month later having divided the real estate into five parts and assigning assigned two parts to James as the eldest son and one part to each John, Joanna Hawkins Redden, and Priscilla Hawkins Grant. It is not clear whether Priscilla's plea was taken into account. Her brothers Robert and Thomas were not mentioned, so we assume they predeceased their father.

Proof of Relationship

Proof of relationship is established with the vital records, the probate administrations, and genealogical records.

What Else We Need to Learn

The goal of this project is to trace every line of ancestry to the arrival of its first immigrant to America. The basic information of each couple is considered complete when we know the dates of birth, marriage, and death for both spouses. their parents' names (or whether they were the immigrant), and the child or children in our ancestry line.

The research on this family is basically complete, but further research may reveal more about the family.