THOMAS PHILBRICK, THE EMIGRANT

Thomas Philbrick^*, or Philbrook, is supposed to have come from England in 1630, or not much later, and settled in Watertown, Mass. He is said to have been a mariner in early life, and to have been master of a vessel before he emigrated from Lincolnshire in England. There is no doubt that he and his family were settled in Watertown in 1636. Bond says "His homestead was on the N. W. corner of Belmont and Lexington Streets. Probably he was of that company that came over in 1630." - History of Watertown, p. 909.

In 1639, the second summer after the settlement of Hampton, N. H., John (son of Thomas) PHILBRICK moved to Hampton, and his younger brother, Thomas, soon followed him. We are told that "The first settlers of Hampton were attracted to the place by the fishing, the fowling, the best of clams, and the salt marshes, almost ready for the scythe."

In 1645-6, Thomas Philbrick, Sen., a grantee of eight lots, sold his estate in Watertown to Isaac Stearns, and in 1650 or '51 he had removed to Hampton, where his elder sons lived. In 1661 he bought of John Moulton, land joining the farms of his son James and his son in law, John Cass. His wife, Elizabeth, died, 12 mo. 19, 1663 and in March, 1664, when he made his will, he calls himself "very aged." He d. in 1667.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE.
There has been a difference of opinion respecting the year that Thomas¹ removed from England to America. An old record in a family Bible of Capt. Jonth.⁵, grandson of William³, says, "He came fr. England in one of the transports [for settlers] in 1633." The descendants of this branch of the family seem confident that this record is correct.

But on the other hand, Jonathan³ of Hampton, who was ten years old when his grandfather, Thomas¹ the emigrant died there, says that his father, Thomas Philbrick, Jr., was b. in England in the year 1624, and was six years old when he was brought over the ocean to the American shore. Abner of the 5th generation, b. 1708, who lived with his great uncle Jonathan 20 years, and was heir to half of his estate, was a teacher well educated for the times. He made a record of these statements which that branch of the family receive with confidence. Thomas², who crossed the sea, at six years of age, died only eight years before the birth of Abner, and most of his eight children were then living, and some of them probably had records of their father's birth and of his age when he came to our shores, so that Abner could easily ascertain the facts, before putting them in writing.

Again, if Thomas Philbrick was a shipmaster, he may have crossed the ocean many times, and the removal of the eight members of his family may have been some at one time and others at another time. We know he was at Watertown in 1636, and Bond may be correct in the supposition that "he was of that company that came over in 1630"; and that most of his seven children were born in England, and some of them may have been of age when they left England. _______________________________________________________________________________________
^*I think no autograph of Thomas the emigrant is to be found, nor copy of his signature. In the early records I find the name spelled in various forms, Filbrick, Philbrook, Philbrucke, Philbrok, &c., &c.