The Origins of Thomas Hatton Secretary of Maryland

“Remarkable not more for moderation than for decision; discharging his duty in every private and official relation; a Protestant, but not a bigot; the ornament of his own faith, but distinguished for his loyalty to the charter, and to the person of the Roman Catholic proprietary; he presents to the student one of the most interesting characters in the history of the colonization of Maryland.”1

Thomas Hatton arrived in Maryland in 1648 bring with him his wife, two sons, two servants and the draft of the “Act Concerning Religion” which was passed by the General Assembly of Maryland on 21 April 1649.

On arrival he was appointed a member of the Council and Secretary of the Province2 and in 1650 the Governor, William Stone, entrusted him with more duties as “his Lopps Leivetenant Generail, Chancellor or keeper of the Great Seale, Admirall, cheife Justice Magistrate and Comander as well by Sea as by land of this his Lopps said Province of Maryland and the Islands to the same belonging duringe my absence out of this Province.”3

Puritan revolt brought about his fall. Dismissed from office in 1654 by a new governor acting in the name of Oliver Cromwell4, Thomas Hatton was killed at the Battle of the Severn on 25 March, 1655, in what has been called the last battle of the English Civil War.5

His mercurial career lasted seven years. But where did it start? From where did Thomas Hatton come?

The Family of Thomas Hatton Thomas Hatton arrived in Maryland in 1648 with his wife, Margaret, and his sons Robert and Thomas. From the Archives of Maryland it can be determined that Thomas junior was born on 14 March 16426.

In 1649 the Secretary transported to the Province his sister-in-law, Margaret, widow of his late brother Richard, and her children, William, Richard, Barbara, Elizabeth, Mary and Elinor. From various records it can be shown that Barbara was born in about 1634 and Elinor in about 1641 or 1642.7

Nothing else is known from Maryland records regarding the background of Thomas Hatton. He was once identified with Thomas Hatton, brother to John Hatton of Maryland who died in 1663. But as that Thomas was still living in 1673 the identification is wrong.8

A Hazardous Sea Voyage In regard I am now resolved and bound for a sea voyage wherein I humblie supplicate the Almighties protection wch being hazardous and therefore the period of my life the more uncertaine, I thought it very fitt for disposition of that poore uncertaine estate wherewith God hath blessed me and these times have left me In these few words following do declare this my last Will and Testament.

With these words Edward Hatton began his will on 12 April 16459. He was right to be concerned as two years later, on 1 May 1647, the will was proved at London. In his will he refers to his “late deare Father deceased,” his mother, his brothers, William, Richard and

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Thomas, his sister Jane and her children, his cousin Thomas Webster and his wife, and his niece, Susan “my brother Robert’s only daughter.” Edward made a particular point of leaving his brother Richard £40 “in respect of his greate chardge of Children.”

Margaret Hatton, the widowed sister-in-law of the Secretary of Maryland, with two sons and four daughters, certainly had a “greate chardge of Children.”

There is curious bequest:

And whereas there is a bond entred into by my Lady Cornwallis and by my brother William Hatton unto me for payment of Fortie poundes there being none but Twentie and five poundes wth interest remaininge unpaid I desire that bond may be put in suite against the Lady Cornwallis by my Executors hereafter named and the said debt recovered which debt I freely give to my brother William Hatton

Lady Cornwallis was related to Thomas Cornwallis, one of the founding Commissioners of the Province of Maryland. It is therefore likely that Edward Hatton’s sea voyage was to take him to Maryland.

In his will Edward hoped “to enioy perfect happines with the holy Saintes and Angells in heaven.” The mention of saints and angels suggests that he may have been Roman Catholic.

Two Clergymen Edward Hatton’s brother, Robert, predeceased him. On 25 October, 1639, he wrote his will.10

In the name of God Amen I Robert Hatton of London Clerke being sicke in body but of perfect remembrance praised be God therefore doe make & declare this my last will and Testament as followeth

The beneficiaries of this will were “my loving wife Elizabeth Hatton” who was to be Executrix, “Susan Hatton my daughter ... my loving father and mother ... my four brothers William, Richard, Thomas and Edward ... [and] my sister Jane Rider.”

Robert was buried at St Botolph’s Bishopsgate, London, on 8 November 1639 aged 34.11 On 29 March 1638 Suzanna, daughter of Mr Robert and Elizebeth Hatton had been baptised in the same parish12 and in 1633 Robert Hatton, curate, wrote his name at the bottom of the page of burials.13

The Clergy Database14 records the appointment of Robertus Hatton as Curate of Saint Botolph without Bishopsgate on 1 October, 1631. It also gives his qualification as M.A.

Robert Hatton married Elizabeth Kinson at St Bride’s, Fleet Street, London, on 1 June 1637.15 The Allegation for the marriage license, dated 2 June 163716 gives Robert’s age as 32 and names his wife as Elizabeth Kinsey, widow of St Botolph’s. The bondsman was Thomas Hatton of St Andrew’s Holborn, London, gentleman.

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On 18 July in that same year, 1637, Robert, son of Thomas Hatton, gent., and Margaret his wife, was baptised at St Andrew’s Holborn.17

These details match those of Robert, son of the Secretary of Maryland, and occurs at an appropriate date.

Robert Hatton, curate of St Botolph was a University graduate. Alumni Oxonienses, the records of Oxford University18 give his academic career as:

The Latin cler.fil. is an abbreviation of clerici filius, meaning son of a cleric. Therefore Robert Hatton was the son of a priest. The previous entry to Robert’s in Alumni Oxonienses is that of his father:

Therefore the father of Robert Hatton and his siblings was Robert Hatton, Rector of Lymme in Cheshire, born in about 1566. The Clergy Database records his appointment as Rector of Lymme on 15 June 1611.

From Robert Senior’s appointment the Parish Registers of Lymme record the baptisms, marriages and burials of members of the Hatton family:

6 Jan 1612/3 Susanna daughter of Robert Hatton Rector was baptised 4 Apr 1613 Susanna daughter of Robert Hatton Rector was buried 14 Feb 1614/5 Richard Ryder & Jane Hatton were married 27 Jan 1622/3 William Hatton & Joane Hayward were married 11 Jun 1626 Elizabeth mother of Robert Hatton Rector was buried 12 Jan 1633/4 Barbara daughter of Richard Hatton son of Robert Hatton Rector was baptised 15 Feb 1634/35 Elizabeth daughter of Richard Hatton son of Robert Hatton Rector was baptised 18 Sep 1636 Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Hatton was baptised 23 Oct 1636 Frances daughter of Mr William Hatton was baptised 25 Feb 1637/8 Marie daughter of Richard Hatton son of Robert Hatton Parson was baptised 6 Sep 1640 Eleanor daughter of Richard Hatton was baptised 18 Sep 1642 Susanna daughter of Richard Hatton was baptised 8 Mar 1643/4 Mr Robert Hatton was buried

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The most interesting baptisms are those of Barbara and Eleanor Hatton, daughters of Richard Hatton and granddaughters of the Rector, Robert Hatton. They were baptised in 1633/34 and 1640. Barbara and Elinor daughters of Margaret Hatton, widow, who emigrated to Maryland, were born in about 1634 and 1641/1642.

The daughters of the widow Hatton were listed in Maryland records in the order: Barbara, Elizabeth, Mary and Eleanor. The baptism of the daughters of Richard Hatton occurred in the same order with the addition of a younger daughter, Susanna.

Prior to his appointment as Rector of Lymme, Robert Hatton ran a school at Frodsham, Cheshire. In the Baptismal Register19 on 13 January 1601/02 appears:

This translates as “Robert Hatton opened the school at Frodsham.”

The baptism of four children follow:

22 Jan 1602/3 James Hatton, son of Robert, Master of the School at Frodsham

James died before his parents. His burial may lie in the period 1604 to 1612, when there is a gap in the Register of burials.

17 Feb 1604/05 Richard Haton, son of Robert Hatton, Master of the School at Frodsham

12 Jul 1607 Thomas Hatton, son of Robert, Master of the School at Frodsham

In the Bishops Transcript for 1607 this entry appears as Thomas Hatton fil. Robti Cler. “Thomas Hatton, son of Robert, Clerk” 4

6 Feb 1609/10 Edward Hatton, son of Robert Hatton, Master of the School at Frodsham

The baptism of the older children, Jane, William and Robert, occurred before their father’s appointment as Schoolmaster.

Robert Hatton senior was baptised at Frodsham on 1 February 1565/56. The entry does not record his parents names.

Cheshire & Maryland The points of similarity between the Hattons of Frodsham, Lymme and London and the Hattons of Maryland are:

Thomas Hatton Frodsham, Lymme & London Maryland Brother Richard Brother Richard Wife Margaret Wife Margaret Son Robert born 1637 Son Robert born before 1642

Richard Hatton Frodsham, Lymme & London Maryland Brother Thomas Brother Thomas Daughter Barbara born 1634 Daughter Barbara born about 1634 Daughter Elizabeth born 1635 Daughter Elizabeth Daughter Mary born 1638 Daughter Mary Daughter Eleanor born 1640 Daughter Elinor born about 164120

These similarities may be coincidental but the number of them make the identification of Thomas Hatton, Secretary of Maryland as Thomas Hatton, son of Robert Hatton, rector of Lymme in Cheshire, seem certain.

Signatures On 2 June, 1637, Thomas Hatton of London signed his brother’s Marriage Allegation. 21 The signature of Thomas Hatton, Secretary of Maryland, is preserved in many documents in the Archives of Maryland.22 The two signatures are identical.

London 1637 Maryland

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Margaret, wife of Richard Hatton and Richard Bankes In the pedigree of the Domville family of Lymme, published in The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester23 Edward Domville of Lymme, who died in 1639, has a daughter, “Margaret, wife of Richard Hatton, son of Robert Hatton, rector of Lymme, remarried to ..... Bankes.” This is clearly Margaret Hatton, widow, who was transported to Maryland by her brother-in-law, Thomas Hatton, and who later married Richard Bankes.24

The Rector’s Son Thomas Hatton, Secretary of Maryland, was baptised at Frodsham in Cheshire on 12 July, 1607, son of a University trained Schoolmaster who went on to become Rector of the nearby parish of Lymme. He was born into an educated family of good social standing.

Probably educated by his father, Thomas may have moved to London soon after his brother was appointed Curate of Saint Botolph without Bishopsgate in London in 1631. Once in London his natural talents brought to him to the notice of Lord Baltimore and on to Maryland.

William Good © February 2014

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Appendix A Purported parents of Thomas Hatton

Across the years many attempts have been made to identify Thomas Hatton’s parents. There are several parentages offered in histories and family trees, two based on misinterpreted evidence and the others in fantasy.

1. John Hatton & Margaret Alston or Aston25 The father’s name is based on the presumption that Secretary Thomas Hatton was the same person as Thomas Hatton of Tewkesbury, heir and executor of John Hatton who died in 1663.26 John Hatton’s brother Thomas was still living in 1673 and died in 167827. In 1678 the Secretary had been dead for twenty three years. They are not the same person.

A man named John Hatton married Margaret Astone on 8 August, 1579, at Claverley, Shropshire. They had, with other issue, a son named Thomas, baptised at Claverley, 27 January, 1584/85, and a son named Richard, baptised 18 September, 1580.

If Thomas Hatton of Claverley had survived infancy, he would have been aged 64 when the future Secretary Thomas Hatton migrated to Maryland, accompanied by two children, one aged six, and aged 70 at the Battle of Severn. Secretary Thomas and his brother Richard both had young children in 1648 and 1649 and so Thomas was unlikely to be more than 45 when he migrated.

In the absence of any evidence to connect Thomas Hatton of Maryland to Claverley in Shropshire, this identification is no more likely than any other Thomas Hatton baptised anywhere in England between 1580 and 1610.

2. Robert Hatton & Margaret Alston or Aston or Cecil These parents appear on many trees on ancestry.com and familysearch.com.

No couple of these names existed. This is an attempt to keep Margaret Aston/Alstone as Thomas’ mother, but assumes, quite correctly, that, as Thomas’ elder known son was named Robert, Thomas’ father was also named Robert. The semi-fictional couple has then been moved forward in time by twenty years.

In some trees there is an attempt to give Margaret Alston/Aston noble ancestry. She is supposed to be the daughter of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, and his wife Dorothy Neville. While the Earl of Exeter did marry Dorothy Neville, there is no record of a daughter named Margaret. The Earl and Countess of Exeter did have a daughter, Elizabeth, who married Sir William Newport alias Hatton. 28 This is the probable origin of this impossible nobility.

3. Matthew Hatton29 Thomas, son of Matthew Hatton, was baptised at St Margaret’s, Westminster, 25 October, 1601.30 He is probably to be identified with Thomas Hauton who was buried there on 3 December, 1601.

Thomas had a brother Christopher baptised 3 July, 1603, and a brother Richard on 28 August, 1605. The father, Matthew Hatton, was buried at St Margaret’s 30 March, 1607.

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Whether or not Thomas died as a child, the only fact about this family that has any similarity to the Maryland Hattons is that it contains two brothers named Thomas and Richard, both born in the right time period, 1600-1610.

This is no evidence to suppose they are the same people.

4. Sir Christopher Hatton “HATTON, Thomas, born in England; died in Maryland in 1655. He was descended from Sir Christopher Hatton, Queen Elizabeth's lord chancellor.”31

Sir Christopher Hatton (1540-1591) was Lord Chancellor of England 1587-1591. He never married and died childless.32 He had no descendants, legitimate or otherwise.

Although it is not possible that Thomas Hatton was descended from Sir Christopher, it is possible he could be a relative. Sir Christopher was born in Northamptonshire to a family descended from the Hattons of Cheshire.33 As Robert Hatton, Rector of Lymme, belonged to a Cheshire family of sufficient wealth and social status to send him to Oxford University in 1586, he may well have belonged to a branch of the same family.

5. Robert Hatton, son of John Hatton and Jane Shute John Hatton was the first cousin of Sir Christopher Hatton, the Lord Chancellor. He married Jane Shute and had three sons, Christopher, Robert and Thomas.34 The middle son has been identified in many trees as the father of the Secretary of Maryland.

Robert, son of John Hatton and Jane Shute, inherited his mother’s estates at Oakington in Cambridgeshire. He married Mary Leigh and had five sons, of whom four predeceased him, and one daughter. He was knighted, elected to Parliament and served as Chamberlain of the Exchequer before his death in 1653.35

He was not the same person as Robert Hatton, rector of Lymme and was not the father of the Secretary of Maryland.

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Appendix B John Hatton of Maryland Another Sea Voyage

On 14 June 1654 “intending a long voyage by sea,” John Hatton of London, salter, wrote his will.36 His sea voyage took him to Maryland where he accumulated property prior to his death in 1663. In his will he left small bequests to his sisters Sarah, Susan and Hannah and his brothers Henry and Samuel. He left the remainder of his estates, principally consisting of his inheritance from his father, John Hatton, to his brother Thomas Hatton.

It was some time before Thomas was able to claim his inheritance. Most of the estate was recovered in 1671 but in 1673 Thomas, acting through his cousin and attorney, Samuel Hatton, was still trying to recover his inheritance. 37 In the documents in Maryland he is described as Thomas Hatton of Tewkesbury.

Thomas Hatton wrote his will in March 1677/78.38 By then he was living at Chaceley in Worcestershire, a small village across the river from Tewkesbury. In his will he left “to my Cousin Samuell Hatton All my Estate in Virginia both Reall and Personall.” He also left bequests to his brother Henry and his sisters Sarah, Susanna and Anne.

John and Thomas were the sons of John Hatton of the Lane in the Parish of Forthampton, Gloucestershire. In his will, dated 20 May 1646,39 John Hatton Senior left property in Tewkesbury to his son John, and left other bequests to his remaining children, Thomas, Henry, Samuel, Sarah, Susanna and Anne.

The names in John Hatton Senior’s will are the same as those in the will of John Hatton Junior, with the slight difference that the youngest daughter is called Anne in two wills and Hannah in the other.

John Hatton senior was baptised at Forthampton on 18 May 1602, son of Henry Hatton. In the will of Henry Hatton, written on 6 November 163040, there are bequests to “the two sonnes of John Hatton my eldest sonne ... Thomas and John.” It is likely that these two sons were born in about 1628 and 1630.

There is no evidence to suggest that these Hattons are related to the family of the Secretary of Maryland. Yet curiously one Thomas lived in a town on the banks of the River Severn while the other Thomas died on the banks of its colonial namesake.

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1 George Lynn-Lachlan Davis “The Day-Star of American Freedom or The birth and early growth of toleration, in the province of Maryland” (New York, C. Scribner, 1855), pages 204-205 2 “Archives of Maryland” Volume III (Baltimore, Maryland Historical Society, 1885) pages 211-213, 217-218. Both appointments are dated 12 August 1648. 3 “Archives of Maryland” Volume III page 255. The appointments were dated 22 May 1650. 4 “Archives of Maryland” Volume III page 311 5 Radmila May “The Battle of Great Severn” Contemporary Review, Vol. 274, No. 1598 6 “Archives of Maryland” Volume X (Baltimore, Maryland Historical Society, 1891) page 86 7 Christopher Johnson and Lyon G. Tyler, “The Hatton and Johnson Families,” The William and Mary Quarterly , Vol. 23, No. 2 (Oct., 1914), pp. 113-116 “Archives of Maryland”, Volume X page 356 8 Archives of Maryland, Volume LI page 101 9 National Archives PROB 11/200/202 10 National Archives PROB 11/181/427 11 “The Registers of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London” Volume 2 (Edinburgh, T & A Constable, 1893) page 50 12 “The Registers of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London,” Volume 3 (Edinburgh, T & A Constable, 1895) page 51 13 The Registers of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London Volume 2 page 17 14 http://theclergydatabase.org.uk 15 London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, www.ancestry.com.au 16 London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921, www.ancestry.com.au 17 London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, www.ancestry.com.au 18 Alumni Oxonienses Part 14, Volume 2, page 673 19 http://www.findmypast.co.uk 20 Archives of Maryland, Volume X page 356. Elinor Hatton is described as “a Girle of about twelve years old” on 10 April 1654. On this date Eleanor Hatton, baptised at Lymme in September 1640 was aged 13 21 London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921, www.ancestry.com.au 22 Governor and Council Proceedings, Liber A, 1647-1651, MSA # S 1071-4 23 The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester by George Ormerod, London 1819, Volume 1, page 436-437 24 Archives of Maryland Volume X, pages 259-260. 25 http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=gwenbj&id=I2023276 26 Archives of Maryland, Volume LI page 101 27 Thomas Hatton of Tewkesbury’s will was dated 15 March 1677/78 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wrag44/wills/hattonwills/ThomasHatton1678.htm 28 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cecil,_1st_Earl_of_Exeter#Marriages_and_issue 29 http://www.mudd.org/charles_lee_mudd_jr._gen/ps02/ps02_086.htm 30 www.findmypast.co.uk 31 http://famousamericans.net/thomashatton/ 32 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hatton#Death 33 The Visitation of Cheshire 1580 page 115 34 ibid. 35 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/hatton-robert-1582-1653 36 National Archives Reference PROB 11/311/518 37 Archives of Maryland, Volume LI page 101 38 National Archives Reference PROB 11/358/518 39 National Archives Reference PROB 11/196/297 40 National Archives Reference PROB 11/160/44

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