Thomas Sheriff

Notes:

...The ancestry of Thomas Sheriff, of Rhode Island, may be tradition, but the early records of that province show conclusively that he had eight children and was a property-owner when he died. As late as 1737 the members of the family that remained in the vicinity retained the name "Sherrif," while Caleb, who had married and emigrated to New Jersey, adopted the form "Shreve."
...1675, Jun. 11. Inventorys, £218, 12s., viz.: house and land £15, a horse and mare £7, 2 cows, 3 calves, 5 ewes, 5 lambs, 8 shoats, a feather bed, 6 pillows, 2 bolsters, 6 blankets, ring, flock bed, 56 pounds pewter, warming pan, silver dram cup, looking glass, &c. (Source: L. P. Allen, The Genealogy and History of the Shreve Family from 1641 (Greenfield, Illinois: Privately Printed, 1901), pg. 17)

...Indenture was one of the most common ways for free-willers to pay for their passage. The practice in those days was to book passage and then allow the captain to "sell" off an indenture to another more prosperous passenger. According to the Plymouth Church Records (12:32), Thomas had apparently been indentured to John Barnes and then, "On the fourth of August 1638 John Barnes sold Robert Bartlett the remaining three years of Thomas Shreve's indenture." Robert Bartlet is mentioned in the 1627 Division of the Cattle as a member of the company of Francis Eaton.
...The indentures were of two lengths, a shorter of five years and a longer of seven years. If we assume a five-year indenture, its term would have begun in 1635-1636. If Thomas were contracted into a seven-year indenture, then it would have begun in 1633-1634. This points to an arrival date inside a three-year window between 1633 and 1636. The indenture also lends credence to a birth date earlier than 1620, as he would have been only 13-15 years of age booking passage on a ship and selling his indenture. Not impossible, but perhaps unlikely. With a birth date of 1610 he would have been 23-26 years of age.
...From the early records it appears Thomas lived initially in Plymouth and then purchased land in Little Compton, now Rhode Island, but originally a part of Massachusetts. The original part of the "Old Colony" of Plymouth covered a much larger territory. At that time, Little Compton was occupied by an Indian tribe called the "Saconets" (Hills 1977, p. 82)

Thomas married Martha _____ in 1649 in Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island, British Colonial America. Martha was born in 1630 in Little Compton, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; died about 1691 in Rhode Island, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Thomas Sheriff was born on 2 Sep 1649 in Portsmouth, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; and died.
2. John Sheriff was born about 1650 in Portsmouth, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; died on 14 Oct 1739.
3. Caleb Shreve was born about 1652 in Portsmouth, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; died between 1740 and 1741 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America.
4. Mary Sheriff died after 1706.
5. Susannah Sheriff was born about 1657 in Portsmouth, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; died after 1719.
6. Daniel Sheriff was born in in Little Compton, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; died on 8 Jun 1737 in Little Compton, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America.
7. Elizabeth Sheriff was born about 1660 in Portsmouth, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; died on 5 Jun 1719.
8. Sarah Sheriff died on 24 Jun 1732.