Rowland Thomas (–1698) of Springfield, Massachusetts was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

colonist, selectman, stonemason, surveyor, and proprietor, and the namesake of Mount Tom, originally known as Mount Thomas, which he was said to have surveyed in tandem with

Elizur Holyoke Elizur Holyoke (1618 1676) of Springfield, Massachusetts was an English colonist, surveyor, scribe, soldier, the namesake of the mountain, Mount Holyoke, and indirectly, of the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Background Elizur Holyoke arriv ...

who so-named the

Holyoke Range The Holyoke Range or Mount Holyoke Range is a traprock mountain range located in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. It is a sub-range of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecti ...

Background

He was born to the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Sir David Thomas and Anna Ison in the village of

Berry Pomeroy Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, east of the town of Totnes. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon, Torbay (unitary authority), Stoke Gab ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, in England; little is recorded about the earlier life of Rowland Thomas before his arrival in Springfield, Massachusetts. On either February 14 or April 14, 1647 he married Sarah Chapin, daughter of Deacon

Samuel Chapin Samuel Chapin (baptized October 8, 1598 – November 11, 1675) was a prominent early settler of Springfield, Massachusetts. He served the town as selectman, magistrate and deacon (in the Massachusetts Bay Colony there was little separation ...

and Cecily Penney. Thomas's exact date of arrival in the New World is unclear but reportedly he arrived in Springfield before the year 1650, with records indicating his owning of 29.5 acres of land in the settlement in 1647, and a warrant issued by

William Pynchon William Pynchon (October 11, 1590 – October 29, 1662) was an English colonist and fur trader in North America best known as the founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was also a colonial treasurer, original patentee of the Massac ...

for a Native thief who had robbed the homestead of his wife's wardrobe in 1650. Thomas would serve in the town's government in a number of capacities, including three times as a selectman in the years 1664, 1667, and 1671. He would also serve as a juror on many cases in the settlement, and by trade was a sawyer and stonemason, cutting rocks and hauling them to the settlement in Hadley.

References

1621 births 1698 deaths People from Springfield, Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts People from South Hams (district) Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony {{England-bio-stub

Background

See also

References