About Thomas Hine and His Son Samuel Hine

Thomas Hine and Elizabeth Lane-Hine

By 6th Great-Grandson Edward K. Hine, Jr. ("Ted")  -  First  Edition - April 2020

Thomas Hine's Origins in England and Immigration to the New World

When I first started researching my ancestors some years ago the bits and pieces of limited information I found regarding Thomas Hine indicated that he was the first with the Hine name in America and suggested that he'd arrived in Milford, Connecticut in the late 1630's or early 1640's.  Indications were that he probably came from England but I couldn't find any credible documentation of this.

I've run across a quote from author Charles Gilbert Hine in his publication  "The Old Mine Road" (Rutgers University Press 1909 and 1963, Library of Congress #63-15524, page 74) which reads "It seem possible that he [a descendent], as the vast rest of us, was a descendant of Thomas Hine, who is believed to have come over with the Rev. John Davenport, who landed in Boston, June 26, 1637.  Within two years Thomas Hine removed to Milford, CT."  This would suggest that Thomas arrive in Milford in 1639 but no documentation is provided.   I've also run into a mention that Thomas arrived in Boston aboard the ship "Hector" (on June 26, 1637) but the ship's passenger list, easily found on the internet, doesn't list Thomas.

Robert C. Hine, a Judge of the Municipal Court in St. Paul Minnesota, in 1898 wrote an often cited manuscript titled "Hine Genealogy, and history of the descendants of Thomas Hine of Milford, Conn, 1639".  I finally found a copy of this rare manuscript and in it the author indicates that he'd learned from several of Thomas's distant descendents that he'd come from Ireland.  This seemed a little strange to me since history books typically indicate that the early permanent settlers in the American northeast were English starting with the Pilgrims in 1620.  I note that the title of Robert C. Hine's manuscript suggests that Thomas arrived in the New World in "1639" but the author provides no documentation of this nor of how Thomas may have arrived, perhaps suggesting that the author, like others since, couldn't find records containing this information.  It's known that Milford, CT was founded in 1639 and that Thomas was one of the first settlers there so perhaps the date 1639 was assumed by the author.  

 I was finally able to find some credible information regarding Thomas Hine's origins in England based on the apparently significant research done by a very distant cousin, Raymond William Hine (Ray), that I came upon somewhat second hand after his death.  Ray had apparently engaged the help of professional genealogists both in Milford, CT and in England and claims to have found and visited Thomas's birthplace in England.  I find Ray's evidence and findings credible.

Photo of Ray Hine found on the Internet

According to Ray Hine, Thomas Hine was born in 1621 in Carlton, Bedfordshire, England which is about 60 mile north and a little west of London.  He was baptized there on October 14, 1621.  This location is roughly consistent with the geographic area in England that history shows the Pilgrims came from as they fled religious persecution.  Ray had visited Carlton and seen the baptism certificate.  He indicates that the family name had previously been spelled Hynde and possibly sometimes Hinde.  Ray mentions the names of Thomas’s father (Thomas), grandparents (Robert and Alice) and great grandparents (Thomas and Margaret Hynde) who were also from Carlton and nearby Odell.   Ray’s research speculates, with reason, that Thomas likely traveled first to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the later 1630’s and within a couple of years ventured south with others to Long Island and then finally to the new settlement at Milford, Connecticut.

Ray's research had included checking ship's passenger logs from the time which he determined don't show Thomas.  Ray speculates that Thomas's name doesn't show up on any ship's passenger logs possibly because he may have been a minor at the time he immigrated and or he perhaps was an indentured servant.  If Thomas had arrived in 1637 as suggested by Charles Gilbert Hine's quote (above) he would have been 16 at the time of his arrival in Massachusetts and this would be consistent with Ray Hine's speculation.

I've assembled a document which details the information I found regarding Ray Hine's investigation into Thomas' origins in England.  See:

Thomas in Milford, Connecticut

Click on map to enlarge then scroll down  for more detail.

Milford is located on the Connecticut coast on Long Island Sound.  The first hard evidence I've run into of Thomas's presence in Milford dates to January 28, 1646.  He is shown then on a map of Milford as a "planter" (farmer) and owner of a 3 acre lot (see map).   He would spend the rest of his life in or near Milford and apparently over time expanded his landholdings but to what extent isn't known.   A reference found on ancestry.com reads regarding Thomas "In 1655 he bought land at Derby, although he does not seem to have removed thither, except possibly for a time, as January 22, 1676 he drew lot number 8 in Milford and on the tax list of 1688 he is assessed £96. 5s, while his sons John and Stephen were assessed respectively £38 and £18."  Derby is located about 6 miles north of Milford on the Housatonic River.  Thomas' will left his landholdings to his sons Stephen, William, and Samuel but the will is not clear as to how much land was involved nor where it was located.  I have not uncovered enough information to know whether or not Thomas' primary residence remained in one location through out his adult life.  It's a safe assumption that he was a farmer and I've run into nothing to suggest that he had any other occupation.

An Incident Involving the Local Indian Tribes

I've run into multiple versions of the following story which, while presented in different ways, tell the same story.  This version comes from Berth Hine-Thomas's book titled "Our Family Tree" written in the early  1950's. 

From "Our Family Tree" by Bertha Hine-Thomas (pages 48-49) Regarding Thomas Hine "The following tradition appears in many writings in regard to him.  (Trumbulls History of Conn.;  Lamberts History of New Haven;  Baldwin Genealogy p. 117;  Hollister’s History of Conn. Vol. I Page 145)" “Some years after Milford was settled by the English (probably 1647 or 1648) a company of Mohawks came within the border of the town and secreted themselves in a swamp, where they awaited an opportunity of making an attack upon Milford Indians (The Pequots.)  Some Englishman saw the Mohawks and were friendly enough to inform their swarthy neighbors of their danger.  They immediately rallied in great numbers, raised the warwhoop, and rushing suddenly upon the Mohawks, gained a complete victory. "Among the prisoners was a stout Mohawk warrior who the captors decided to kill by famine and torture.  They stripped him naked, tied him to a stake and left him in the tall grass of the salt meadows to be eaten by the mosquitoes.  An Englishman, named Hine, who found the Indian in this deplorable condition, was so shocked at this barbarous mode of torture, that he cut the thongs from the Indian’s limbs ands set him at liberty." "He then invited the Indian to his house, gave him food, and helped him to escape.  This kind act was never forgotten by the Mohawks.  They treated the English of Milford ever afterward with marked civility and did many kind and friendly acts that testified to their gratitude toward their “deliverer and his family”.  (From Hollister’s History of Conn. Vol. I p. 145 from Lambert.)" “For this act he was held in high regard by the neighboring Indians who said that when Hine or his descendants died, the Great Spirit took them at once to his big wigwam.”  For this simple act of humanity, Hine was much endeared to the tribe of the rescued Indian, who believed that the Great Spirit would always protect good white face and his posterity.

Marriage and Children

Multiple records show that Thomas married Elizabeth Lane (born abt. 1630) in 1853 in Milford when he was about age 32 and she about 23.  I've found virtually no information about Elizabeth, her ancestry, or where she was born.  Over the next 20 years the couple would have 10 children, the first in 1653 and the last in 1673.  As was common in the 1600's, three would die as infants. 

Death and Burial

I have found substantially nothing else about the lives of Thomas and his wife Elizabeth.

There is conflicting information regarding when Thomas passed away.  Some sources say about 1696 and others about 1698.  The date of Elizabeth's death is unknown.

I've been unable to determine the burial location of Thomas and Elizabeth.  The logical location would be the old Milford Cemetery which dates to the period having been established in 1642 however I've been unable to find any evidence that he or Elizabeth are interred there.  In 2008 I visited Milford and met up with very distant cousin Skip Hine at this cemetery and together we searched for Thomas and/or Elizabeth to without success.   They are not listed on cemetery interment records and we couldn't find any grave stones for them in the cemetery's old section.   I note that there are grave markers there that have weathered over the centuries to the point that they are no longer readable so it's certainly possible that Thomas and Elizabeth are there but can't be identified.   There are many interred in the cemetery over multiple centuries with the surname Hine and I'm sure I'm somehow related to most or all of them.  Another possibility is that Thomas and Elizabeth are buried in a private cemetery plot on land owned by Thomas rather than in the town cemetery.

Thomas Hine's Will and an inventory of  his possessions can be found in records of the Probate Court at New Haven, Ct.  The following transcriptions is taken from Robert C. Hine's "Hine Genealogy and history of the descendants of Thomas Hine of Milford, Conn. 1639". 

Milford's Memorial Bridge

In 1889 the town of Milford, CT (founded in 1639), as part of it's 250th anniversary celebration, honored it's founding citizens at what has become known as the Milford Memorial Bridge.   There are 29 large granite stones each inscribed with the name of an early settler placed along the edge of the bridge as it spans the Wepawaug River near the location of the town's first mill.  A stone honoring Thomas and Elizabeth Hine is among them.

Milford's Memorial Bridge	Color Photos By The Author - October 2008

Field View Farm

When I was first researching Thomas Hine on the internet some years ago I ran into two articles published in the New York Times (one in 1989 and the other in 1993) which described the Field View Farm in Orange, CT, owned and operated by Walter Hine, as the one of the oldest continuously owned family farms in the country going back to Thomas Hine.    In 2008 when I visited the area I stopped by the farm, introduced myself, and spent perhaps an hour chatting with Walter and his wife Bunny (Dorothy).  Walter is my 7th cousin once removed.  He descends for Thomas Hine's son John and I from son Samuel.

I note that in the information I've presented above, Thomas Hine is known to have owned land in Milford and Derby Connecticut.   I've run into nothing indicating that he also owned land in Orange.  This, however, doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't own the land that is today the Field View Farm.   I suppose it also possible that what is today considered Orange was then defined as part of Milford or Derby as they are not far away.

For more about the Field View Farm see: 

Samuel Hine and Abigail Miles-Hine

By 5th Great-Grandson Edward K. Hine, Jr. ("Ted")  -  First  Edition - April 2020

About Samuel and Abigail

Very little is known about Samuel and his wife.  Samuel and Abigail were both born in Milford, Connecticut and apparently lived there their entire lives.  They had 9 children.

Thomas Hine's will indicates that his son Samuel was the executor of his estate and that Samuel inherited his home and some land but the the amount of land and location isn't specified.  I've run into nothing that suggests what Samuel may have done for a living.

According to Robert C. Hine in "Hine Genealogy and history of the descendants of Thomas Hine of Milford, Conn. 1639". 

"Samuel Hine, born at Miford, Conn, Jan 26, 1659-60, son of Thomas & Elizabeth Hine, married Abigail.  She joined the 1st Church in Milford Ct. Jan 9 1703-4.  He was on the tax list in Milford in 1712 and deeded land there to his son William in 1729. In consideration of 4 acres of land and 20 British Pounds on 14 Dec 1730, he bought one half right of land in New Milford from Andrew Tuttle (both called of Milford) and the deed dated 14 Dec 1730 was made to his son Daniel. The land was originally the property of Tuttle's 'Honored grandfather Andrew Sandford late of Milford.'   Samuel Hine on 14 Dec 1730, deeded 4 acres of land in Milford at Buckingham Plain to Andrew Tuttle in consideration of the 1/2 right in New Milford made over to his Son, Daniel. (Tuttle Gen. P-72)"  Apparently Samuel traded property with Andrew Tuttle.

I note that "Milford" and "New Milford" are not the same place, Milford being on the Connecticut coast and New Milford being about 35 miles inland from Milford along the Housatonic River in west-central Connecticut.  Samuel's son James had become one of the first settlers of New Milford in 1723 and, for unknown reasons, Samuel arranged for land so another son, Daniel, could move there around a decade later.  I've run into a reference suggesting that a 3rd son of Samuel and Abigail, George, also moved to New Milford later in 1700's but I've found no details.

 Final Resting Place

Like Samuel's parents Thomas and Elizabeth, Samuel and Abigail's burial location is unknown.   The logical location would be in the old Milford Cemetery which has graves stones in the old section which are no longer readable.  I suppose it also possible that they're buried with his parents in a long lost private family cemetery on land originally owned by Thomas.

The Author's Hine Descendants List

During the course of my research I've accumulated a considerable number of Hine descendant names, dates, and relationships for several branches of the family which I've organized in my genealogy software file.  I've attempted to make the information as accurate as possible but it may not be perfect and thus could contain some errors.  Also, as is often the  case in genealogy, the exact spelling of names and dates can vary from one source to another.  Note that, while the information is complete for my branch of the family, it is far from complete for other branches as I've typically only accumulated detailed lineage information for distant cousins that I've run into so I could accurately see how we are related.  I've exported my descendants list which can be viewed by clicking on the following link.  I've included it here to help aid anyone who may think that we are related find a possible common ancestor.  I note that the list is 12 pages long and that deciphering a descendents list can be challenging for those uninitiated in how they're organized.