BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Thomas Crosby and Jane Sotheron Thomas Crosby was born about 1575 in County York, England in either Holme-on-Spalding-Moor or Bubwith. He was the second child and only son of Anthony and Alison (Blanchard) Crosby.
Jane Sotheron, baptized in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor on March 4, 1581/82, was the daughter of William and Constance (Lambert) Sotheron. 1609 tax records indicate that William Sotheron was the wealthiest resident of the parish.
Thomas' father died in 1599 and Thomas inherited a hundred-acre farm in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor.
Thomas and Jane were married in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor on October 19, 1600. The couple had four sons:
Tax records and other documents suggest that the family led a fairly well-to-do life.
Relatively late in life, Thomas and Jane emigrated to New England, possibly in the autumn of 1638 with a group of Reverend Ezekiel Rogers' followers, but in any event prior to 1640. They may have lived with the widow of their son Simon in Cambridge, Massachusetts until she remarried in 1645 -- at about that time, Thomas purchased a house in Cambridge. After a few years, he sold his holdings in Cambridge and the couple relocated, for the last time, to Rowley, Massachusetts.
Thomas lived to over 85 years of age and died in Rowley in 1661, buried on May 6.
Jane died the following year and was buried in Rowley on May 2, 1662.
Sources & Related Information
Signature of Thomas Crosby from a 1633/34 document