Note:
Thomas Lombard resided a good part of his adult life in the WestCountry County of Dorchestershire where he became acquainted with people who wished to escape religious restraint and hungered for their own land. Several leading people, some familiar to him as; Reverend John White of Dorchester, Rev. John Maverick of Devon, John Warham of Exeter and Joseph Hull his friend and including Roger Ludlow and Edward Rossiter, both members of the English government. These people were assembling a company from the West-Country Counties to sail to America. It is compelling to imagine that Thomas Lumbard became part of this group that took sail for New England in 1630.
At the age of say fifty, Thomas migrated to New England, possibly as apassenger on the Mary & John that sailed on March 20, 1630 with 140 passengers and arrived at Nantasket May 30. Otherwise, he could have sailed on the Lyon, which also sailed a few days earlier in March with eighty passengers from the West Country, arriving at Salem in May. His name and family do not appear however, on any manifest, old or revised. Along on both vessels were several others from Dorchester of this genealogy. His son Bernard came at this time, who was about twenty years of age but settled at Scituate, removing to Barnstable in 1640. The Mary & John passengers were improperly put ashore and consequently started a new settlement they called Dorchester in Massachusetts.
This is where Thomas makes his first appearance on records when onOctober 19, 1630 he requested freemanship and was admitted as "tho Lumbard" on May 18, 1631. Many of the original Dorchester residents did not like it here for mostly political and secular reasons, as a consequence, removed to an area on the Connecticut River they called Windsor in 1635/1636. On 27 June 1636, Thomas received a grant of 20 acres of marshland. On 2 January 1637/8 he received an additional grant of 2 acres of meadow. Then on March 18, 1637 he was awarded two lots of 4 acres each and lot # 51 of 6 acres of meadow near Naponset.
Thomas remained at Dorchester until the spring of 1639, removing withhis friend the Rev. Joseph Hull (his brother George Hull went to Windsor) to the new plantation of Barnstable, preceding the church body of the Reverend John Lothrop who came in October 1639. Thomas joined Lothrop's church in 1641 and took the oath of fidelity in 1657.
It is said that Thomas Lombard owned one of the largest and besthouses in the Barnstable plantation. It was here he lived and carried out his trade as an innkeeper (ordinary, tavern, public house or hostelry). This house was used as a place of worship before a meetinghouse could be built. On December 3, 1639 the Plymouth Colony General Court allowed him "to keep victualling or an ordinary, for entertainment of passengers, and to draw wine at Barnstable, he keeping good order in his house." His home lot at Barnstable consisted of 12 acres, located adjacent to Thomas Lothrop, Robert Linnell, his son Joshua's father-in-law and the harbor. He sold this lot on April 5, 1656 to Thomas Lewis for £20 and removed to his larger lot of 45 acres. Before his death, Thomas possessed a very large estate and had become a wealthy man.
Thomas drew up his will on 23 March 1662/3 but did not appoint anexecutive. The probate court on 7 March 1664/5 appointed his wife Joyce with sons Jedediah and Caleb to administer the estate. The inventory was taken on 8 February 1664 to the total value of £210 8s. 6d. Thomas died between the dates of his will and when his estate was inventoried and may have been buried in the Lothrop Hill Cemetery at Barnstable.
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