Almost a Pilgrim: Thomas and Joseph Andrews

In history you learn about early European settlements in what is now New England, especially the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

It might surprise you to know that the earliest family we have traced so far in this country came to Massachusetts not long after, and for many of the same reasons.

Plymouth Colony was the first permanent European colony in New England, but soon thousands of colonists were headed to the area we now know as Massachusetts, most as part of the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony. Early English settlements included Weymouth (1622), Gloucester (1623), Chelsea (1624), Salem (1626), Lynn (1629), Charlestown (1629), Medford (1630), Boston (1630), and Cambridge (1631). Thomas Andrews and his son Joseph came to Hingham, Massachusetts from England about 1634, before Hingham was even a town and was called “Bare Cove.” Hingham is located between Boston and Plymouth.  It has a nice harbor, so ships may have landed there or the new immigrants might have traveled from another settlement.

Thomas Andrews was probably at least sixty years old when he came from England on the difficult voyage! Not only did he survive the trip, but he lived for nine more years.  His son Joseph also came with him. No one can seem to agree exactly where the two men came from. Joseph may have already been married with a couple of children when he came. Some say that Thomas Andrews was the Lord Mayor of London. Others say that he was a different important man associated in England with the Massachusetts Bay Company and later with the East Indian Company. Neither is correct!

What we do know is that in 1635, both Thomas and his son Joseph received side-by-side lots to build houses in the middle of Hingham, and that Joseph’s house was a garrison house, designed not only to live in, but also to serve as a type of fort for the town in case of trouble, especially with Indians. The house was so well built that it stood for over 300 years. It became known as the Lincoln Perez home and was finally torn down about 1955.

Joseph was sworn in as the Constable of Hingham in May, 1885 and was made the first Town Clerk of Hingham in 1637.

In March 3, 1636, Joseph was officially made a “freeman” in Boston, part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. That doesn’t mean he was a slave or indentured servant. Instead, he was a “commoner.” Under English law, until you are a freeman, you cannot become a member of the church, own land, or become a member of the governing body.

What religion were the Andrews? While Plymouth colonists were mostly “Pilgrims” (or more correctly for the time, non-Separatist Puritans), Massachusetts Bay Colony was primarily Puritan “Separatists.” However, people from a variety of religions came to the colonies. The first church in Hingham was not built until 1681, and it was the Old Ship Puritan Meetinghouse. Did any of our relatives attend? Were they buried there? Something to find out!