William Fairchild
Born: 1590, unknown, England
Died: unknown, Devonshire, England
Marriage: 1609, unknown, England
Wife: Susan Fairchild
Born: unknown, England
Died: inknown, England
Children:
WILLIAM FAIRCHILD
© 2000 by Ann Whalen
The following account of Thomas comes from William H Wilcoxson's HISTORY OF STRATFORD. The year Thomas came to America is not known, nor is it known if he married in England or in America. He was among those families who first settled at the site of Stratford in 1638/1639. He was a Deputy from Stratford to the General Court and served eleven sessions from April 1646 to October 1665. In those days the office of Commissioner was similar to that of the elected Justice of the Peace of today, and Thomas served in this capacity more than once. After the death of his first wife, he journeyed to London, where he married again. The pre-nuptial agreement shows that he executed a bond, providing the bride with a life estate in his lands and a sum of 200 pounds to be paid to her if he died before arrival in New England: The contract was never carried out and was settled after his death by the General Court, ordering the money be paid. The estate was valued at 350 pounds. The Stratford land records give the settlement. On May 16, 1677 Mrs. Katherine Judson, by virtue of a contract with Mr Thomas Fairchild, late deceased, by the consent of the General Court of Connecticut, "hath a dwelling house, barn, orchard, and homelot of two acres". Thomas' will, written a week before his death, named the children of his first wife and wife Katherine, but did not include her children. A footnote in the Colonial Records II gives the following additional facts: "a copy of the marriage contract between Thomas Fairchild of Stratford, merchant, and Catherine Craigg, a sister of Elizabeth Whiting, widow of London, Executed in England, December 22, 1662". The ceremony was performed in St Stephens Church in London. That Church has long since burned and never been rebuilt.
It seems to generally accepted that Thomas sailed for America from Barnstable, Devonshire, England, although there is no concrete evidence confirming this. Sources vary as to the birthplace of Thomas - Kent and Wingrave in Bucks, High Laver in Essex, Barnstoble, and Cambridgeshire. Charles E Banks in his book, "Topographical Dictionary of 2,885 English Emigrants to New England 1620 - 1650" lists Thomas Fairchild as coming from High Laver in Essex to Stratford, CT. There are no parish records of this period, according to the vicar in 1985. The vicar explained that many times the records were considered the property of the presiding minister, who would take them with him when he left the parish. The Essex Record Office in Chelmsford could not verify Bank's claiMarriage: There was a Thomas Fairchild and wife in High Laver, but at a date to be the Thomas in question. About the time of 1610, when Thomas of Stratford was probably born, there were found in the IGI four Thomas Fairchild's: Thomas, son of Willyam and Alice Fairchild, baptized Feb 14, 1608 at Orwell in Cambridge; Thomas, son of George and Elizabeth and Alce Fairchild, baptized Sept 17, 1609 in Orwell; Thomas, son of Alexander Fayrchild, baptized July 10, 1614 in Wendy cum Shingay in Cambridge; and Thomas, son of William Fairchilde, baptized 14 Sept 1616, Plymouth Street, Andrew, Devonshire. The siblings of these Thomases bore none of the names of the children of Thomas of Stratford, CT, but his sons used the names of Robert, Alexander, Mary, and Anne, names found among the siblings of the four Thomases. The likelihood is that Thomas was born in Cambridge. The parish of Wendy cum Shingay is in the southwest part of Cambridge, bordering on Hertfordshire where the Seabrooks lived: Orwell is close by.