Thomas Sleeper - Immigrant ancestor

Thomas Sleeper, was born in England about 1616. He was an early immigrant to New England sometime before 1640.  After sailing from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Thomas probably spent a bit of time in the Boston area before settling in Hampton. 


Thomas was a weaver, a trade he learned in England. There weavers were members of an important craft guild. Woolen goods made up two-thirds of England's exports, and cloth became the basis of England's wealth.  Apprentices had to be approved by the guild; their apprenticeship was for seven years. Most weavers built their own looms. 

After immigrating to New England, weavers would work their trade until they had the means to buy land.In New England, it was much easier to earn money by farming, than by weaving. Their primary occupation became farming; weaving was secondary. A weaver might weave in the off-season or have an apprentice or employee work the loom. Thomas after acquiring land near Hampton, became primarily a farmer. 


Like other New Englanders of his day, Thomas was a Puritan, a reformer. He probably left England because he was persecuted in England for his religious beliefs. New Englanders were required to attend Church weekly.  Each frontier settlement had its own autonomous church. Each church hired its own pastor and ran its own affairs.  Church members would meet periodically to decide matters for the local church, each member had equal vote.

The Congregational Church of Hampton,
founded in 1638 by Rev. Stephen Bachiler
and his followers.

The Hampton Congregational church is said to be the oldest in New Hampshire—it was organized by a group of parishioners prior to settling Hampton in 1638. They were led by Oxford University graduate Reverend Stephen Bachiler. It is unknown whether Thomas knew his fellow Hampton residents before settling in Hampton. 

Town records show that Thomas Sleeper received a land grant in 1640, which was probably a town home lot perhaps as large as 10 acres. In 1646 he was listed among the freemen who received shares of the Common, having received 1 share. His first home was near the current day Jesse Lamprey place off Winnacunnet Road. 

In 1657 Thomas bought house and land in Haverhill, Massachusetts (20 miles south of Hampton). If he moved there, it wasn't for long; he sold the land in October that same year which required his wife Joannah's consenting. 

In 20 June, 1660, Thomas bought land in Hampton from Nathaniel Bachiler. His land is on what is now known as Shaw's hill, on the road to Little River in the easterly part of town. From him and his descendants that part of town became known as "Sleepertown," later corrupted to "Sleepytown."  His land had a natural spring on it.

After settling on this property, Thomas must have grazed his livestock on his own land. The inventory of the Shares in the Cow Common  taken on March 23, 1663, shows Thomas had sold his original share to Henry Dow, and a second share that he had acquired from William Moulton to John Brown.

In 1658, Rev. Seaborn Cotton was ordained as an minister of the Hampton Congregational church. There are no surviving records of the church kept before this time.  Cotton's descendants transcribed his surviving papers;  Goodwife Sleeper was among those he had ministered.

Rev. Seaborn Cotton left a list of all members in full communion as of the 18th of September, 1671, it included Thomas Sleeper among the males and Goodwife Sleeper among the females. At the church meeting in 1664, the voters decided two males would to sit in the gallery with the children to maintain order, Thomas Sleeper and John Redman were selected to alternate with John Brown and William Fifield.

Although the inhabitants of Hampton suffered less than other New England towns, they lived in constant fear of Indian attacks. In November 1675, there was a plot to burn Thomas Sleeper's frontier home. The story goes that an Indian was seen passing from the barn, towards the house, with fire in his right hand.  Someone from the house shot at him and he immediately fell. The Sleepers feared an ambush and stayed put in the house.  In the morning there was no trace of a dead Indian, only the remains of the fire. 


In 1677, Thomas Sleeper was among 4 chosen to serve on the grand jury for the upcoming year.  In 1680 Thomas Sleeper's name was on the list of Hampton voters; these voters were required to have previously taken the Oath of Allegiance. 

March 2nd, 1683 Thomas Sleeper along with a number of other Hampton residents signed a petition requested that the head tax be eliminated for citizens over the age of 70. "being past our labor and work... willing our estates should pay their proportion to all public charges, but we humbly crave our heads may be spared, since our hands can do so little for them." 

Thomas died in July 30, 1696. He was probably buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, although there is no stone. After his death, his family removed to the newly incorporated town of Kingston. 

According to Clarence A. Torry, in his New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Thomas was married to Joanna Lee? date unknown.  According to Charles Henry Pope, in The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, 1623-1660, his first wife was named Jemina, and his second wife Joannah. Many researchers have stated Thomas' first wife was named Elizabeth.  I won't speculate on if he had a first wife or what her name was.

But it is certain that he had a wife named Joanna. She is famous for having testified against Goody” Eunice Cole in her first witchcraft trial. “Goody” Eunice Cole is Hampton's most famous resident; the only woman in New Hampshire tried for witchcraft. For years, the people of Hampton gossiped about their neighbor, Goody Cole. On at least three occasions, her neighbors brought her to court claiming Goody’ Cole of "Familiarity With the Devil".  During the 1656 trial Thomas's wife, Joanna Sleeper aged 33 testified about two incidences that she witnessed.

The first was about a cat that afflicted Goodman Wedgewood hours after he had been visited by Goody Cole. On 4 September 1656 she testified she saw cat torture Goodman Wedgewood in his sickbed on the same evening that Goodwife Cole had been there earlier in the day. 

On October 1656, Goodwife Moulton and Goodwife Sleeper testified that they had been
talking about Goodwife Cole when they heard mysterious scraping noises outside the window but when they checked there was nothing outside the house to would have caused the noise.

Joanna died in Kingston on February 5, 1703 at the age of 80 years. She was buried in Hampton near her husband. 

Thomas Sleeper's children were: 

• Elizabeth b. 1646 in Hampton (m. 1-Abraham Perkins, 2-Alexander Denham, 3-Richard Smith)
• Mary b. 1647 in Hampton, (m. Gershom Elkins)
• Ruth b. 1650 in Hampton (m. Aretas Leavitt)
• John b. 1652 in Hampton (m. Hannah Shaw)
• Noemi, b. 1655 (m. Timothy Blake)
• Moses b. 1656 in Haverhill, 
• Aaron b. Feb. 1661 in Hampton (m. Elizabeth Shaw)
• Luther b. 1668.

Sleeper stone at Founder's Park

Hampton Founders Memorial park

Hampton has a small triangular-shaped park dedicated to the Founders and early families of Hampton.  At the center of the park is a huge 12-ton boulder with a plaque is dedicated to "a little band of pioneers under the leadership of Rev. Stephen Bachilder."

43 Smaller stones representing the early families of Hampton are planted around the perimeter of the Park. This is the Sleeper family stone.

My relationship

Thomas Sleeper 1616-1696                                9G-grandfather

Aaron Sleeper 1660-1732                                   8G-grandmother

Elizabeth Sleeper [Young] 1683-1745                  7G-grandmother

Daniel Young 1710-1750                                    6G-grandfather

Hannah Young [Roberts] 1740-1815                   5G-grandmother

John Roberts 1776-1851                                    4G-grandfather

Margery Roberts [Donegan] 1811-1848              3G-grandmother

Rhoda M Donegan 1840-1920                            2G-grandmother

Frank Wilbur McDowell 1877-1960                      Great-grandfather

Bertha McDowell [Reppel] 1906-1963                 Grandmother