A Family of Daughters — Thomas Kendall

B. before 23 Nov 1616 in (probably) Sherrington, Buckinghamshire, England¹
M. before 17 Feb 1642 in Reading, Massachusetts²
Wife: Rebecca ________
D. 22 Jul 1681 in Reading, Massachusetts³

A family's legacy gets diluted when there's nobody to carry on the name. This is what happened to the descendants of Thomas Kendall, a man who may have been forgotten as the founder of a family in America by the mere fact he had no surviving sons.

The origins of Thomas in England have been identified with the discovery of records of a family with an alias surname. His father was known as Ralph Mylles (or Mills), named in a baptism for a son Thomas on November 23, 1616.¹ The reason we know he used Kendall as an alias is that it turned up in baptisms for his younger children; one of Thomas’ younger siblings is known to be Francis, who was born in about 1620.⁴ The location for the baptism was the village of Sherrington, which is in Buckinghamshire; it’s believed that the family moved to Newport Pagnell at some point, and became followers of Puritanism.⁴

Some time during the Great Migration of the 1630s, Thomas went to Massachusetts. His brother Francis came over as well, and since he was born about 1620, it would suggest that their arrival was at the end of that decade. While Francis settled in Woburn, Thomas went to Reading, where he married a woman only known as Rebecca before February 17, 1642.² He became freeman on May 10, 1645 and served as a deacon.⁵

Between 1642 and 1663, Thomas and Rebecca had 10 children. All but one were girls; the only boy died as an infant. Of the nine daughters, one died as a baby, giving the Kendalls a family of eight girls. One by one, they married, many staying in Reading and populating the town with their children. Knowing their father's name would die out, each daughter is said to have named one of her sons “Kendall.” The name carried on for several more generations as a male given name, but when genealogies were later written about the Kendall family in America, Thomas was only given a brief mention with all focus on his brother Francis’ line.⁵

When Reading celebrated its bicentennial in 1844, the event was commemorated with a poem written about its early history. One section of it focused on Thomas:

There lived untouched by breath of scandal,
Good Deacon Sargent, Thomas Kendall;
And on his tombstone you may see,
Inscribed in ancient poetry:
"Here in the earth we lay
One of the seven of this church's foundation;
So to remain till the powerful voice say,
Rise in health, a glorious habitation;
A pattern of piety and of peace,
But now, alas, how short his race!
To see Zion's stones like gold laid in the dust.⁶

Thomas died in Reading on July 22, 1681,³ and was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Wakefield, Massachusetts (which is the next town over from Reading). His tombstone is a great example of early New England graves, carved with many symbols of skull, hourglass and angels; it was featured in the book Graven Images – New England Stonecarving and Its Symbols, 1650-1815 by Allen Ludwig (1966). Descendants of Thomas include James Garfield, Geena Davis and Orrin Hatch.

⁷

Thomas' grave. (source: Find-a-Grave)

Children:
1. Elizabeth Kendall — B.17 Feb 1642, Reading, Massachusetts;² D. 7 Oct 1688, Reading, Massachusetts;⁸ M. John Eaton (1635-1695), 8 Mar 1658, Reading, Massachusetts⁹

2. Rebecca Kendall — B. 10 Feb 1645, Reading, Massachusetts;¹⁰ D. 30 Aug 1713, Reading, Massachusetts;¹¹ M. James Boutwell (~1642-1716), 15 Jun 1665, Reading, Massachusetts¹²

3. Mary Kendall — B. 22 Dec 1647, Reading, Massachusetts;¹³ D. 8 Mar 1688, Reading, Massachusetts;¹⁴ M. Abraham Bryant (?-1720), 2 Feb 1664, Reading, Massachusetts¹⁵

4. Hannah Kendall — B. 29 Jan 1649, Reading, Massachusetts;¹⁶ D. 8 Jul 1689, Reading, Massachusetts;¹⁷ M. John Parker (~1640-1699), 13 Nov 1667, Reading, Massachusetts¹⁸

5. Sarah Kendall — B. 20 Jun 1652, Reading, Massachusetts;¹⁹ D. 23 Jun 1652, Reading, Massachusetts²⁰

6. Sarah Kendall — B. 22 Jun 1653, Reading, Massachusetts;²¹ D. 20 Nov 1734, Billerica, Massachusetts;²² M. (1) Samuel Dunton (1647-1683), 17 Jun 1673, Reading, Massachusetts;²³ (2) Thomas Patten (1636-1690), 20 May 1686, Billerica, Massachusetts;²⁴ (3) Thomas Richardson (1645-1720), 19 Dec 1690, Billerica, Massachusetts²⁵

7. Abigail Kendall — B. 30 Nov 1655, Reading, Massachusetts;²⁶ D. 19 Nov 1721, Reading, Massachusetts;²⁷ M. John Nichols (1651-1721), 18 May 1676, Reading, Massachusetts²⁸

8. Susanna Kendall — B. 27 Jun 1658, Reading, Massachusetts;²⁹ D. 31 Aug 1732, Reading, Massachusetts;³⁰ M. (1) Nathaniel Goodwin (?-1693), 25 Oct 1676, Reading, Massachusetts;³¹ (2) Timothy Wiley (1653-1728), 26 Oct 1696, Reading, Massachusetts³²

9. Tabitha Kendall — B. 5 Nov 1660, Reading, Massachusetts;³³ D. 17 Oct 1711, Reading, Massachusetts;³⁴ M. John Pearson (1650-1728), about 1678, (probably) Reading, Massachusetts³⁵

10. Thomas Kendall — B. 15 Sep 1663, Reading, Massachusetts;³⁶ D. 20 Jul 1664, Reading, Massachusetts³⁷

Sources:
1    Baptismal record of Thomas Mylles, England, Buckinghamshire, Sherington, Bishop’s Transcripts for Sherrington, 1576-1839, FamilySearch.org
2    Based on birth record of oldest child Elizabeth Kendall, Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1620-1988, FamilySearch.org
3    Death record of Thomas Kendall, Vital records of Reading, Massachusetts to the year 1850, 1812
4    “Finding Francis (and Thomas),” Ancestor Quests (blog), Kerri-Lynn Kendall, 7 Jul 2023
5    Genealogical history of the town of Reading, Mass., Lilley Eaton, 1874
6    Historical address and poem: delivered at the bi-centennial celebration of the incorporation of the old town of Reading [Massachusetts], Lilley Eaton and James Flint, 1844
7    GeneaStar: Famous Family Tree and Genealogy (website)
8    Death record of Elizabeth Eaton, M.T.C., V & T.R.
9    Marriage record of John Eaton and Elizabeth Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
10  Birth record of Rebecca Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
11  Death record of Rebecca Boutwell, M.T.C., V & T.R.
12  Marriage record of James Boutwell and Rebecca Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
13  Birth record of Mary Kendall, Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, FamilySearch.org
14  Death record of Mary Bryant, M.T.C., V & T.R.
15  Marriage record of Abraham Bryant and Mary Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
16  Birth record of Hannah Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
17  Death record of Hannah Parker, M.T.C., V & T.R.
18  Marriage record of John Parker and Hannah Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
19  Birth record of Sarah Kendall (older), M.T.C., V & T.R.
20  Death record of Sarah Kendall (older), M.T.C., V & T.R.
21  Birth record of Sarah Kendall (younger), M.T.C., V & T.R.
22  Death record of Sarah Richardson, Massachusetts Town Death Records, 1620-1850, FamilySearch.org
23  Marriage record of Samuel Dunton and Sarah Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
24  Marriage record of Thomas Patten and Sarah Dunton, M.T.C., V & T.R.
25  Marriage record of Thomas Richardson and Sarah Patten, M.T.C., V & T.R.
26  Birth record of Abigail Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
27  Death record of Abigail Nichols, M.T.C., V & T.R.
28  Marriage record of John Nichols and Abigail Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
29  Birth record of Susannah Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
30  Death record of Susannah Wiley, M.T.C., V & T.R.
31  Marriage record of Nathaniel Goodwin and Susannah Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
32  Marriage record of Timothy Wiley and Susannah Goodwin, M.T.C., V & T.R.
33  Birth record of Tabitha Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
34  Death record of Tabitha Pearson, M.T.C., V & T.R.
35  Estimated marriage based on birth record of oldest child James Pearson, M.T.C., V & T.R.
36  Birth record of Thomas Kendall, M.T.C., V & T.R.
37  Death record of Thomas Pearson, M.T.C., V & T.R.