First Generation  

1. Thomas Dyer ¹ was born between 1612 and 1613 in Shepton Mallet, Somersetshire, England,² died on 5 Nov 1676 in Boston, Suffolk, Mass,^{2 3} and was buried in 1676 in King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston, Suffolk, Mass.

General Notes: 1676 DYAR Thomas "Deacon / Thomas Dyar / Of Waymoth / Aged 64 Year es / Dyed In Boston / Ye 5 Of November / 1676." King's Chapel Cem.

Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volume 29
Session of 30 July 1672:
"Thomas Dyer of Weimoth had his licence renewed to keep a house of publiq ue entertainment for the year ensuing."

BIOGRAPHY of Deacon & Capt. THOMAS DYER JR. (1612-1676)
The "roots" of Deacon & Capt. THOMAS DYER JR. are rather obscure p ri or to his departure from England for the colonies of North America. T he parish registers at Shepton Mallet apparently do not begin until 163 4, thus making the tracing of THOMAS DYER's antecedents an exceptionally d ifficult task. There is, however, record of a christening there of one Ja mes DYER, son of Thomas DYER, on 27 OCT 1615. As the DYER family does n ot appear to have been a large one at Shepton Mallet -- no church recor ds mention them and there is no indication that the family was Cathol ic -- it may be safely presumed that this James was the next younger broth er of our Thomas, and that their father was also a Thomas DYER.Asa WHITE 's 1801 genealogy of the family tells that our THOMAS received a "portio n" of the estate of his father upon the latter's death, thus reinforcing t he idea that our THOMAS had at least one brother.The parishes of Somersets hire contain a considerable number of DYER families beginning with the ear liest registers in the mid-1500's, and it is likely that our family did n ot originate in Shepton Mallet. Indeed, the highest concentrations of DY ER families in Somerset occur in the parishes of Martock and North Pethert on, as well as a good number in Milverton. Although it is unlikely that a ny connection with our family will ever be made with the following persona ges, three DYERS from Somersetshire were quite prominent in Elizabethan En gland.About the only statement which can be made with any degree of certai nty is that "the DYER family coat-of-arms of this branch was a plain sh ie ld surmounted by a wolf's head" (Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Rela ting to the State of Massachusetts [1910]). The New England Historic al a nd Genealogical Review mentions that the tombstone of John DYER (Thom as 's son, 1643-1696) at the Granary Burial Ground in Tremont Street in Bo ston "has his name cut across a plain shield; but has a crest, we judg e, of a wolf's head" (X [1856]).
The earliest genealogical reference to our immigrant ancestor come from A sa WHITE's family history written in 1801, in which WHITE points out th at he has a copy of THOMAS's will, and the dates of births appear to ha ve been copied from family Bibles he had with him: "Thomas Dyer, whose lin eage I am giving to write, came from old england between 1630 & 16 40 wi th a young woman named Agnes Reed, which tradition tells us he court ed the re. Tradition further informs us that her parents, being abo ut to move to New England among some of the first settlers, Thomas Dyer c ame to the ship to take his last and final leave of his Dear Agnes Ree d. he found the parting hard, and her parents persuaded him to come over w ith the m. he accordingly stept [stepped} on board the ship with out goi ng back to bid his parents farewell. "he arrived safe in New England, a nd married his Agnes Reed, and settled in the town of Weymouth near wha re [where] the meeting house in the North parish now stands. Thomas Dyer w as a Deacon of this church ["church" added later] under the ministry of t he Revr M r. Samuel Torrey, as appears by the legacy given to Mr. Torr ey in his [Thomas Dyer's] last will. "Tradition further informs us that up on the death of his father, he had a legacy fell to him in old England a nd reather [ rather] then be it the trouble to go to England to get his po rtion, he sent a servant [?] of his Named John (--which, by the way, I sup pose was an irishman as the source [?] mentions Irish John in his book) wi th full power to receive his portion. John accordingly set out and receiv ed the Legacy, as appeared by letters to the Deacon, from his Brether en in old england. but John never saw fit to return to give an accou nt of himself or how he disposed of the money. notwithstanding this Lo se [loss] it appears he acquired a considerable fortune for, by a Co py of inventory which I have by me Dated Novm. 17th 1676, I find his Esta te amounted to 2103.14.7 pounds Lawfull money "Thomas Dyer Born in old En gland in the y ear of our Lord ---- 1612. he married Agnes Reed. his child ren: Mary, born July 8, 1643; John, born July 12, 1643; x Thomas born mar ch 29, 1645; Abigail, born July 9, 1647; Sarah, born march 10, 1649; Thom as, born m ay 5, 1651; Joseph & Benjamin, twins, born Nov. 6, 1653. Agne s, the mother, died Decm. 4, 1667. X Those marked thus X died young. Thom as Dyer di ed Nov. 1676 aged 64 years. His son, Joseph Dyer, died Oct 1 2, 1704, aged 51 years. His son, Benjm, died Feb 12, 1774, aged 86 year s. His son, Joseph, died Aug 20, 1774, aged 63 years."
Regarding the romance-tinged story of THOMAS boarding the ship at the la st minute, cousin William Leffingwell questions it: "I wish that someone w ould search the ship's records to determine if they both came on the sa me ship. I am also bothered by the fact that it was not easy to emigra te at that time. One needed permission and a certificate from officials wh ere one lived. I do not think that THOMAS DYER could have just walked aboa rd without any papers."In any event, THOMAS DYER and the REEDs arriv ed in Massachusetts BayColony about 1640 (though some sources, with litt le logic, say the year w as 1632, and Savage says "prob. it was somethi ng later"), and the young couple may have been married on board. After po ssibly spending a short time in Boston, they settled in Weymouth before 16 41. At Weymouth they were granted Seuen acres on Kingoke Hill, six acr es of it first giuen to Tho mas HOLBROOKE, the other acre to Robert LOUEL L; bounded on the East and west by two high wailes [highways], on the nor th with the land of Richard A DDAMES, on the south with the land of Robe rt LOUELL and John BURRELL. Two acres of swampe, first giuen to John UPHA M, bounded on the East with a highway, and on the north [and] on the we st with the comons, one [on] the southe with the land of James NAISH.94 [P unctuation and name capitalization supplied here and below, and in the gen ealogy of Asa White]. THOMAS bought some more land during the same peri od when Edward SMITH sold him "ffive acres and halfe of land in the west f field, three acres and halfe of it was giuen first to Richard PORTER and t wo acres of it first giuen to Robert LOUELL, and his Dwelling house: bar ne and sellar with the appurtenances there unto belonginge, bounded on t he East & west with highwai es, on the north with the land of John HARDIN G: on the southby John HOLBROOK land. Allsoe three acres of ffresh mars h, wich was first giuen to Steephen FFRENCH, bounded on the East by Richa rd ADDAMES mars h, on the west and north with the comon, on the south wi th the fresh brook e."And on the "21st of the 3 month 1644, Thomas DYER so ld the following lands to Thomas BAYLIE: "his dwellinge house, barne a nd sellar, his garden and yarde, both of they contayning by Estimation o ne quarter of an acre of land, being more or lesse bounded on the East wi th the land of Robert LOUELL, on the west with the land of mr WEBB, on t he north with the la nd of saide Thomas Dyer, and on the south a highwaie. "

Dyer, Thomas State: MA County: Massachusetts ColonyCensus/Enumerati on year: 1644 Census type code: Freeman List
THOMAS DYER was made a freeman (or, citizen) of the Massachusetts Bay Co lo ny by act of the General Court on 29 MAY 1644, and on 10 JUN 1644 the G ene ral Court granted that "THOS DYER hath liberty to Keepe an ordinary a tt Wa ymouth, & drawe & sell wine." So, at least as early as 1644, THOM AS was b oth farming and running a wine shop. Further comment should be ma de here a bout THOMAS' arrival date in the New World. As noted above, so me souces i ndicate 1632 but do not state the reasons they prefer this dat e. Our olde st source (Asa WHITE, 1801) states that tradition says that th ey arrived " between the year 1630 & 1640". Had THOMAS come to Boston ear lier than 164 0, there would have been some note of him in the rather comp lete records of the period. And what would have kept him from becomi ng a freeman for so many years (1632-1644)? All factors seem to strongly f avor his arrival in the colonies about 1640, marriage in that year, and t he birth of their first child in June of 1641 at Weymouth.
THOMAS sat from Weymouth at sessions in sixteen of the twenty-one years fo llowing 1645 (i.e., 1646-7, 1650, 1653-4, 1656, 1658, 1660-1, 1663, 166 5- 6, 1668, 1674-6). He was one of three men chosen by the General Cou rt on 4 NOV 1646 "to end small causes" ("controvsyes under 20s. for ye y ee re in Weimouth") in 1646. At the first annual town meeting of Weymout h, he ld on 26 NOV 1651, THOMAS was chosen to record that community's birt hs, ma rriages and deaths.Consequently, his family's records are comple te at Weymouth, though regist ered after the fact for his first eight chil dren.A public-spirited citizen at a time requiring all to work for the com mon g ood, THOMAS DYER JR. became even more involved in the task of buildi ng h is town and colony. On 23 MAY 1655, the General Court passed the fol lowi ng resolution:"This court having ordered that all bridges in county h ighwayes, as need s halbe, shall from time to time, be made and mayntayn ed by each county in which they are, & that the bridge at Naponsit Riv er is wholely ruined, & th at there is, as is aleaged, a necessity of a ca rt bridge over that riv er in some place neere Mrs. STOUGHTON's mill, whic h, if deferred, cann ot be made up before winter, which if it should not b e, could be very dang erous to man and beast, it is therefore ordered th at ... THOMAS DYER [a nd others] ... are appointed a committee to consid er & determine wheth er to erect a bridge there...."
THOMAS DYER often acted in various capacities regarding the wills and es ta tes of deceased members of the township, possibly due to his commis si on as recorder: on 25 NOV 1650 he inventoried the estate of Thomas RIC HAR DS; an estate inventory dated for one John COOPER, deceased, shows TH OM AS DYER's deposition; he was the executor and one of the beneficia ri es of the will of the same John COOPER; he witnessed the last testa me nt of James SNOOKE, dated 22 JUN 1655, and that of John OTIS, dat ed 30 M AR 1657, and many other examples.The businesses engaged in by THOM AS DYER were those of tavern keeper/own er (see above), clothmaker, and fa rmer. On 22 MAY 1661 the General Cou rt granted him liberty "to set his t ainters in the prison greene during t he pleasure of this Court". As a fu ller, or cloth-worker, this presumab ly related to racks for the dying a nd drying of his fabrics, and Chamberl in says that this "undoubtedly refe rred to his method of advertizing his b usiness in Boston". Though he w as involved at an earlier date in some sma ll-scale farming, there is no i ndication that he was heavily committ ed to the tilling of land until t he early 1660s when he was granted two pa rcels of land. In the First Div ision of Weymouth, on 14 DEC 1663, he rece ived Lot #18 which contained el even acres; the Second Division netted h im Lot #58 comprised of an additi onal 33 acres.
The DYER homestead was located on the old road leading to Hingham at Wey mo uth Heights upon the corner of North and Commercial streets, to the wes twa rd of King Oak Hill and directly opposite from the Old North Churc h. Abo ut this time he became involved, if he had not been already, in t he affai rs of the First Church of Weymouth (Congregational), and serv ed as its dea con under the Reverend Samuel TORREY from 1664 until his dea th twelve yea rs later.On 19 DEC 1668 AGNES (REED) DYER died, leaving THOM AS with seven childr en surviving, three of whom were in their teens. Aft er his children were g rown, about 1673 THOMAS married a woman named Eliza beth (1622-1678/9). Tw ice a widow, Elizabeth was born in 1622 and her fi rst husband, Abraham HAR DING of Medfield or Braintree, had died in 165 5. She then married John FR ARY Jr. of Medfield in 1657 and he died in 16 70.THOMAS DYER and Elizabeth had no children together -- not surprising ly sin ce he was sixty-one and she was fifty-one when they married.THOM AS DYER's will, dated 3 NOV 1676 (just a few days before his death w hi ch is variously reported as 4 or 6 NOV 1676), was proved on 13 NOV 167 6, a nd it bequeathed to his wife fifty pounds and the estate of her form er hus band at Medfield. Also mentioned were his children, grandchildre n, the R ev. Samuel TORREY, and the Weymouth Church. His estate was valu ed at 210 3, 14 shillings, and seven pence. He was buried in the King's Ch apel Buri al Ground at Boston, and his tombstone states "Deacon Thomas Dy ar of Waymo uth Aged 64 years Died in Boston 15 of November 1676" -- the d ay of death is likely to be wrong, as a will cannot be proven before dea th takes pl ace. His goods, according to the inventory which Asa WHITE ha d, were inve ntoried by 17 NOV 1676 which would have been very quick h ad he died on the 15th. Savage gives 6 NOV 1676 AE 63, which would like ly have him bo rn in 1613. Since it appearshighly unlikely that he had mo ved back to Boston, it seems that he may have died while visiting his s on BENJAMIN DYER SR.(1653-1718), who had removed there the previous year.T HOMAS DYER's thrice-widowed spouse, Elizabeth (HARDING)(FRARY) DYE R, d id not survive THOMAS by long, and she died in JAN 1678/79. Her wil l, dat ed 20 NOV 1678 and proved 31 JAN 1678/79, bequeathed to her sons Ab raham H ARDING and John HARDING, her daughter Elizabeth (HARDING) ADAMS, d aught er Prudence HARDING, step-son (the will says "son") Joseph DYER, a nd thr ee grandchildren. That Joseph DYER (1653-1704) would be specifical ly ment ioned is not surprising as he was not only Elizabeth's step-son ( he and h is twin Benjamin [P227D] were twenty years old, and theyoungest c hildren, when she married their father), but he was also her son -in-law h aving married her sixteen-year-old daughter, Hannah FRARY (1659/6 0-82), a bout 1676. Curiously, Elizabeth did not mention her daughter Hann ah (FRA RY) DYER by name.
--------------------------Per CD100 (66-283): "Capt. THOMAS DYER, b. 16 12 Shepton Mallet, Somersets hire; d. 6 NOV 1676 of Weymouth, Norfolk, M a; m. ca. 1640 AGNES REED."Per Chamberlin (p. 568): "On 11 JAN 1657/8, ' William READ payd Thos. DY ER 2s 6d for 2000 bolts' cut on the Town Commo n. (Weymouth TR)."Per GenServ database of Kerry W. Sipe (17 MAR 1996): "Ag nes REED. Born Eng land. Died 04 DEC 1667. Married C. 1640, Thomas DYE R, born C. 1612, Ship ton Mallet, Somersetshire, ENG, died 6 NOV 1676, We ymouth, Norfolk Co., M A.

SOURCES:
CD100Chamberlin, George Walter; Early Families of Weymouth Massachusetts ( 1984) .Commemorative Biographical Record of Hartford City, Connecticut (19 01 ), p. 674.
Compendium IV, 329 & 388.General Register of the First Settlers in New Eng land (repr.1969), p. 91.
Weymouth Births (1910), pp. 101-2.
Weymouth Deaths (1910), p. 305.Genealogical & Personal Memoirs of the Sta te of Massachusetts (1908) IV, 1 751.Dyar, Harrison Gray (Jr.), Prelimina ry Genealogy of the Dyar Family(1903).Dyer, Kirk M., The Descendants of Th omas Dyer, 1640-1931 (1931).
NEH&GR IX (1855), p. 171
Boston Transcript (2 FEB 1910) #1117.
Bassett-Preston Ancestry (1930), p. 91.
Records of Massachusetts Bay (1853) 4 vols.Savage, James; A Genealogical D ictionary of the First Settlers of New England (1860-62), IIGenServ databa se of Sipe, Kerry W. <sipe at infi.net> 608 Malen Rd,
Virginia Beach, VA 23454; tel: 804-340-5899
E-mail fm Rob Dyer <dyer at li.com>

RESEARCH NOTES:Shepton Mallet is near Glastonbury. Thomas Dyer "came to W eymouth probably soon after 1630" (The Dyers In Weymouth). "His homeste ad was located at Weymouth Heights on the old road leading to Hingham, dir ectly opposite the Old North Church" (History of Weymouth [1923] II, 210).
gnut@iu.net

Noted events in his life were:

• Fact 4: Fact 4 MA, 29 May 1644.

• Occupation: clothmaker, tavern owner.

Thomas married Agnes Reed ² about 1640 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma.^{2 4} Agnes was born about 1616 in Butleigh Parish, Somersetshire, England and died on 4 Dec 1667 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma about age 51.

Children from this marriage were:

+ 2 F    i. Mary Dyer ⁵ was born on 6 Jul 1641 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma⁶ and died on 23 Oct 1716 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma at age 75.

+ 3 M    ii. John [Twin] Dyer ⁷ was born on 10 Jul 1643 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma,^{7 8} died on 2 Jun 1696 in Boston, Suffolk, Mass^{3 7 9 10} at age 52, and was buried in 1696 in King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston, MA.

+ 4 M    iii. Thomas [Twin] Dyer was born on 10 Jul 1643 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma and died before 1645 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma?.

+ 5 M    iv. Thomas Dyer was born on 29 Mar 1645 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma and died on 16 Jun 1647 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma at age 2.

+ 6 F    v. Abigail Dyer ¹¹ was born on 9 Jul 1647 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma¹¹ and died on an unknown date.

+ 7 F    vi. Sarah Dyer was born on 10 Mar 1648/49 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma and died on 2 May 1687 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Mass at age 38.

+ 8 M    vii. Thomas Dyer was born on 5 Mar 1650/51 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma and died on 27 Mar 1673 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Ma at age 22.

+ 9 M    viii. Benjamin [Twin] Dyer was born on 6 Nov 1653 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma, died on 29 Dec 1718 in Boston, Suffolk, Mass¹² at age 65, and was buried on 1 Jan 1718/19 in King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston, Suffolk, Mass.

+ 10 M    ix. Joseph [Twin] Dyer was born on 6 Nov 1653 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma,¹³ died on 12 Oct 1704 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma¹³ at age 50, and was buried on 13 Oct 1704 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma.

Thomas next married Elizabeth (Nee?) Dyer ¹⁴ about 1673 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma?. Elizabeth was born in 1622¹⁵ and died on 19 Dec 1678 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Ma at age 56.

1. Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volume 29 (Boston, MA. (1933 )), 149.

2. Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America, National Society of, Founders and Patriots of America Index. (1967), 74.

3. Online database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007, Old Cemeteries of Bosto n (Dunkle, Robert J. and Lainhart, Ann S., Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2000.)).

4. Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (1984).

5. Waldo Chamberlain Sprague, Genealogies of the Families of Braintree, Mass, 5455.

6. Massachusetts Vital Records, to 1850 (Online database: (NEHGS).

7. Dowse, William Bradford Homer, Lawrence Dowse of Legbourne, England (Boston: Privately Printed, 1926), 110-112.

8. Massachusetts Vital Records, to 1850 (Online database: (NEHGS), 101 Weymouth Births.

9. Whitmore, William H, A Report of the Record Commissioners of Boston, Ma. 1630-1699 (Rockwell and Churchill. Boston, 1883), 229.

10. Bicknell, Thomas Williams, Bicknell Genealogy (Privately Published, Rhode Island. 1913), 467.

11. Judith Jacobson, Massachusetts Bay Connections (1992), 85.

12. Dunkle, Robert J. and Lainhart, Ann S, Boston Deaths, 1700-1799.(Online database (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007).

13. Totten, John R. 1856-1936, Christophers genealogy (New York Genealogical and Biographical Society : 1921), 70.

14. Charles Henry Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts (1900 Reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1965).

15. Preston, Belle, Bassett-Preston Ancestors (New Haven, Conn.: The Tuttle, Morehouse, and Taylor Co., 1930), 91-92.