English origins
Thomas Cushman was born in Canterbury, county Kent, England, being baptized at St. Andrew, Canterbury on February 8, 1607/8. His parents were Robert Cushman and Sara Reder, his father being a grocer at that time. When Thomas was very young, the family emigrated to Holland to follow the English Separatist religious movement.Pilgrim Village Family Sketches:Thomas CushmanThe Cushman name
Robert Cushman seems to be one of the earlier carriers of this name, which over many years, per Kent parish records of the 16th and 17th centuries, derived from such surnames as Cowchman, Couchman, Cutchman, Cuchman, Crocheman, etc. The surname of Robert Cushman's father Thomas was Couchman. Although spelled differently, the Couchmans of England had their deepest ancestry in Kent with Cranbrook at the center. Predominantly they were cloth makers, Flemish in origin, who with other countrymen came to several regions of England at the invitation of King Edward II around the year 1336. (fromLife in Holland
Robert Cushman was a wool-comber inLife in New England
Robert Cushman and his son Thomas arrived on the ship ''Fortune'' on November 11, 1621, at New Plymouth. But Robert Cushman, having already been at sea for four months, returned to England shortly thereafter; this left young Thomas in the care of colony William Bradford. Bradford recorded that Robert Cushman's stay to attend to business regarding the London Adventurers agreement with the colony was “not above fourteen days”.Eugene Aubrey Stratton. ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691'' (Ancestry Publishing, Salt Lake City, UT, 1986) pp. 276, 277 Thomas remained in Plymouth, working as a surveyor of roads and as a rate-assessor, among numerous other minor positions. In the land division of 1623, he was paired with William Beale, the two of them receiving two “akers” (acres). He was a Purchaser, that group involved in Plymouth colony investments and received a number of land grants. His name also appears in the 1627 Division of the Cattle, which was, in effect, also a census. This was lot eleven, which listed, among others, the Bradfords, with whom Thomas was apparently living. On January 1, 1633/34 he was admitted a Plymouth freeman. On the 1643 “Able to Bear Arms” list, he is named along with the men from Plymouth. On March 3, 1645/46 Cushman made a successful motion in court that Mr.Family
Thomas married Mary, born about 1610, a daughter of Pilgrim Isaac Allerton, about December 1636 and had eight children. She died in Plymouth on November 28, 1699, the last of the Mayflower passengers. They were both buried at Burial Hill in Plymouth. Children of Thomas and Mary Cushman: * Thomas (jr) was born about 1637 in Plymouth and died in Plympton, Mass. on August 23, 1726. He was buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton, Massachusetts. :He married: :1. Ruth Howland on November 17, 1664 and had three children. Ruth was a daughter of Mayflower passengers John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley Howland. :2. Abigail (Titus) Fuller on October 16, 1679 and had four children. * Mary was born in Plymouth, but the year is unknown. She died before October 22, 1690. She married Francis Hutchinson about 1676 and had three children. * Sarah was born about 1641 in Plymouth and died after February 10, 1706/07. :She married: :1. John Hawkes in Lynn on April 11, 1661 and had eight children. He died on August 5, 1694. :2. Daniel Hutchins shortly after November 7, 1695. * Isaac was born February 8, 1648/9 and died in Plympton on October 21, 1732. He married Rebecca Harlow about 1675 and had seven children. Both were buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton, Mass. Rebecca was a sister of William Harlow, married to Isaac's sister Lydia. * Elkanah was born June 1, 1651, in Plymouth and died in Plympton on September 4, 1727. He was buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton, Mass. with his 2nd wife Martha. :He married: :1. Elizabeth Cole on February 10, 1677 and had three children. She died January 4, 1681/2. :2. Martha Cooke on March 2, 1682 and had five children. Martha was a granddaughter of Mayflower passenger Francis Cooke. * Feare was born on June 20, 1653, and died before October 22, 1690. * Eleazer was born February 20, 1656/7 in Plymouth and died after November 1733. He married Elizabeth Coombs (Combs) on January 12, 1687/8 and had eight children. * Lydia was born about 1662 in Plymouth and died there on February 11, 1718/9. She married William Harlow about January 1682/3 and had nine children. William Harlow was the brother of Rebecca Harlow, wife of Lydia's brother Isaac.The will of Thomas Cushman
In his will dated October 22, 1690, sworn March 16, 1691/92, he named his wife Mary, sons Thomas, Isaac, Elkanah and Eleazer; daughters Sarah Hawks and Lydia Harlow; and the three children of his daughter Mary Hutchinson.Death and burial of Thomas Cushman
Thomas Cushman became ill in his old age and languished for some eleven weeks before he died on December 10 or 11, 1691. He was buried on Burial Hill in Plymouth. His stone is among the oldest, of the second generation, on Burial Hill."Gravestone and memorial for Thomas Cushman
The original inscribed stone in honor of Thomas Cushman is among the six oldest surviving, second generation, stones on Burial Hill. The stone had been placed at his grave by a revering congregation in 1719, with a careful remount and reinforcement in 1858. Cushman memorial on Burial Hill in Plymouth: A 25-foot granite column, erected by Cushman descendants in 1858, memorializes the Cushman family and recognizes Robert Cushman, his son Thomas Cushman and his wife Mary (Allerton) Cushman, daughter of Mayflower passenger Isaac Allerton.Robert E. Cushman and Franklin P. Cole. ''Robert Cushman of Kent (1577-1625) : Chief Agent of the Plymouth Pilgrims (1617-1625)'' (pub. General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2005) 2nd Ed. edited by Judith Swan p. 8References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cushman, Thomas People from Plymouth, Massachusetts People from Canterbury 17th-century English people 1600s births 1691 deaths Year of birth uncertain Burials in Massachusetts