This page edited and hosted by Will Johnson, Professional Genealogist

On the subject of, Thomas Hotchkiss, born about 1611, the DNB says: "Hotchkis, Thomas (c.1611-1693), Church of England clergyman, was probably born in Whitchurch, Shropshire, about 1611, the son of John Hotchkis (1574/5-1666). His mother, whose name is unknown, was still alive in 1655...."

A collection of wills on microfilm with the LDS shows his mother to have been Margaret Nevett, buried 1 Jan 1656, in Whitchurch, Shropshire. These same wills show his father to be the John Hotchkiss mentioned, except that he appears to have been buried on about 10 Jan 1665. I never have found a clear reference to John's birth, but have assumed it to be about 1580, so 1574 seems within the realm of possibility.

Of the remaining portion of the story on Thomas, his wife Grace and his son-in-law Thomas Hippesley are also mentioned in the wills I mentioned. I have found mention of three children John, Elizabeth, and Jane. Joshua is a new one for me, as is the assertion that there were a total of eight children. Has anyone seen the sources listed to be able to fill me in on the remaining children. It would be nice if there were some real record of their ages as well.

The article also fills us in on Thomas's theological writings, and beliefs, which I found very interesting.

I guess I should mention that many of the Hotchkisses in the US will find Thomas interesting, because he is thought to be one of the brothers, of the Samuel Hotchkiss, who came to Connecticut in the early 1600's, and from whom so many Hotchkisses in this country claim descent. I'm not one of them as my line stayed in England at that point and finally went to Scotland about 150 or so years later before making their way to the US.

There is also an unproven linage for John (Thomas and Samuel's father), which I have already learned more about from this group, but would love to hear further discussion of. That linage is:

William Hotchkiss of Bedfordshire (abt 1500) married a Miss Mainwarning and had at least one son, Allan Hotchkiss, who married Mary Cotton and had 3 sons - John, Richard, and George, with the John being the one I just mentioned.

Contributed by rex j hotchkiss 25 sep 2005
In a posting to GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com