Thomas Gleason ^{54,62,69,73,86}

  General Notes:

AFN: FKKQ-6F

It is assumed that Thomas was born in Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, England about 1607. His father was probably Thomas LEESON. The spelling of the surname GLEASON has many variations. The early spellings omit the "G". The letter "G" was notadded until the late 1600s. Thomas married Susanna PAGE in England and they came to America with their first son, Thomas, in the late 1630s. The Thomas GLEASON family lived their first years in America in Watertown, MA. The first record mentioning him was when he took the oath of allegiance on June 1, 1652 there in Watertown. Also his next five children were born in Watertown.Around 1655/56 the family moved to Cambridge, MA. and then to Charlestown several years latter. In general, the family could be characterized as both large and poor. Also Thomas frequently got into trouble with the authorities on minormatters of conduct. In 1639 Squa Sachem deeded the town of Charlestown, her lands lying in what is now Medford, but reserving to herself certain tracts on the west side of Mystic Pond. By her will, she bequeathed all her property to certain prominent citizens,among whom were Gov. John Winthrop and Edward Gibbons. The latter secured possession of the lands on the west side of Mystic Pond. These were later obtained by Captain Scarlett. On December 3, 1658, Thomas leased a portion of these lands ( a114 acre farm) from Captain Scarlett. Soon afterwards a question arose as to the rightful ownership of these lands. In March 1662, the town of Charlestown brought suit against Thomas to obtain possession of the lands. Thomas spend most ofhis limited wealth fighting this suit over the next 24 years. The case was still unsettled when Thomas died in 1686.

The following information was received from a Donald P. Gleason, in FL, USA, from a book titled: "Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Gleason of Watertown, Mass. 1607 - 1909", published by John Barber White. The name, which in this volume will invariably be spelled Gleason, is found in different localities, in various forms. In the very early records it is spelled Leson, or Leeson; later it appears with some 30 variations in spelling; but the late Joseph Meade Gleason, in his notes, states that all those in this country of early date, bearing this name, of whatevermethod of spelling " are descendants of Thomas Gleason, of Watertown, Mass., as we have fortunately been able to determine by the public records of the New England States." The Emigrant Thomas, himself spelled his own name in several differentways. The first mention of the name in America is found in the records of Watertown, Mass., where one Thomas Gleason took oath of allegiance, June 1, 1652. Of the parentage and birthplace of this Thomas Gleason no positive knowledge has been obtained. (This book was published in 1909.) Mr. J. Henry Lea, at the request of Joseph Meade Gleason, of Cincinnati, Ohio, made a somewhat extended searchof the wills in the Archdeaconry of Northampton, the Archdeaconry of Northants, the Consistory of Lichfield and the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, but with no satisfactory results. In the English records, the name is invariably spelled without the "G", and appears, generally as Leeson, and a rather numerous family of that name lived in Northampton County, England. This coupled with the fact that, in the earliest recordsin this country, those of Watertown and Cambridge, Mass., the name appears as Leson and Leason, respectively, affords grounds for the belief that Thomas of Watertown was a descendant of the Leeson of Northampton County; and this belief isfurther strengthened by the similarity of Christain names, used by the Northampton County family and those appearing in the early generations of the American family. In his report, Mr. Lea quotes from Bridges "Northants" a pedigree of the Leesons of that place, which he has supplemented with information obtained from various Wills. [William Gleason.FTW] "Much of the Information has been taken from 'Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Gleason of Watertown, Mass 1607-1909' published by John Barber White. The name "GLEASON" has been spelled in as many as 30 different ways, sometimes without the "G" like "LESON" or "LEASON" or "LEESON". The first mention of the name in America is found in the records of WATERTOWN MASS where one THOMAS GLEASON took oath of allegiance June 1 1652. No positive knowledge of the parentage and birthplace of this THOMAS GLEASON has been obtained. There have been extended searches of the wills in the archdeaconry of NORTHAMPTON, the archdeaconry of NORTHANTS, the consistory of LICHFIELD andthe Prerogative Court of CANTERBURY, but with no satisfactory results. In the English records, the name is invariably spelled without the "G", and appears, generally as "LEISON", and a rather numerous family of that family of that name lived in NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, England. This, coupled with the ffact that, in theearliest records in this country, those of WATERTOWN and CAMBRIDGE MASS, the name appears as LESON and LEASON, respectively, affords grounds for the belief that THOMAS of WATERTOWN was a descendant of the LEESONS of Northampton County; and thisbelief is further strengthened by the similarity of Christian names, used by the Northampton County family and those appearing in the early generations of the American family.

If that is the case the following is the line in GREAT BRITAIN. THOMAS STOTESBURY married CICELEY, daughter of RICHARD BRAILES. Their daughter, SUSAN STOTESBURY, was the first wife of ROBERT LEESON who died in 1556-1557. Their children wereTHOMAS LEESON, MARGARET, and JOYCE. THOMAS LEESON, of SULGRAVE, died 1614, married JOAN LOWE of DERBY COUNTY. Their children were THOMAS LEESON, SUSAN, JANE, unnamed, wife of WILLIAM STEARNS, ARTHER. This THOMAS LEESON was probably of GREAT BRINGTON. Died 1627-28. It is not impossible that THOMAS of WATEROWTN MASS was the son of THOMAS of BRINGTON, and grandson of THOMAS of SULGRAVE.

Information obtained from Celia (Gleason) Chelton and from book "Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Gleason of Watertown, Mass. 1607-1909 published by John Barber White. The early records contain no entries of consequence regarding Thomas, and from the little than can be gathered from the source, it would seem that he was of a somewhat arbitrary disposition, which not infrequently got him into trouble with thetown authorities on minor matters of conduct. In 1658 he removed to Charlestown and on December 3rd, he leased a portion of the Squa Sachem lands from Capt. Scarlett. In 1639 Squa Sachem had deeded to the town of Charleston, her lands lying in what is now Medford, reserving to herself certain tracts on the west side of Mysticke Pond. By her will, she bequeathed all her property to certain prominent citizens, among whom were Gov. John Winthrop and Edward Gibbons. The latter secured possession of the lands on the west side of Mysticke Pond, and this was the land subsequently leased to Thomas Gleason. Soon after this lease was made a question arose as to the rightful ownership of these lands and in March1662, the town of Charlestown instituted a suit against Thomas Gleason, for the purpose of obtaining possession. All of Thomas Gleason's resources were swallowed up in the litagation, and the case was unsettled when he died inthe spring of1686. Thomas Gleason Sr. abt 1607. Came to America in 1635. Freeman 1652. Arrived Watertown in 1652 and Charlestown in 1662. Held pssession of Squa-Sachems lands, 1662. Death date sometimes seen as 6/8/1684. Lost all property in Charlestown asresult of suit against him by citizens, hence no complete list of issue exists. Savage vol 2 p260Desc.of Thomas Gleason (1909) by Wilson). Boston & Eastern Mass. Vol.2 pp877-878by Cutter (1908). Sullivan, N.H. Vol.2 p990by Seward (1921).History of Surrey, N.H. p637by Kingsbury (1925). White Family pp157-159by White (1913). Snow-Estes Ancestry -p39by Snow/Jillson (1939). Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Gleason of Watertown, Ma, 1607-1909 by John Barber White.Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, Mass. by Thomas Bellows Wyman p.411. History of Cambridge, Ma. (1630-1877) by Lucius Paige p.307. History of Framingham by J.H. Temple p.563. History of Framingham by William Barry p.256. AncestralHeads of New England Families by Frank R. Holmes (1620-1700) p. 94. Torrey "N.E. Marriages Prior to 1700" p.305.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Fact 2: Fact 2 Arrived In America In Late 1637., 1637.

• Fact 3: Fact 3 "Thomas Of Watertown."

Thomas married Susannah Page, daughter of John Page and Phoebe Payne, in Apr 1636 in Sulgrave, Northampton, England.⁵⁵ (Susannah Page was born about 1611 in Dedham, England and died on 24 Jan 1691 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA ^55,73.)