Thomasine Clopton of Groton

Thomasine Clopton was the daughter of William Clopton and Margery Waldegrave. She was baptized at Groton, County Suffolk on February 18, 1582. On December 6, 1615, she married John Winthrop, Esquire who would become the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John was the son of Adam Winthrop and his second wife Anne Browne. He was born January 22, 1588, Edwardstone, Suffolk. Thomasine and John were married at the Clopton family manor, Castlings Hall in Groton.

The question of where "Groton Manor," the ancestral home of the Winthrops, actually stood has long been a mystery. Dr. Francis Bremer, Editor of the Groton Gazette, recently made some interesting discoveries. Adam Winthrop, Thomasine Clopton's father-in-law, had purchased the estate from Henry VIII in 1544. But the "manor house" (Groton Hall) - the estate's principal house - was already occupied under the terms of a previous lease. With Groton Hall unavailable, Winthrop entered into a ninety-nine year lease to the rectory and glebe land. He enlarged the rectory, turning it into what he called his "mansion house," what became known as "Groton Place." That became the principal residence of the family for as long as they owned the manor. Groton Hall continued to be leased and occasionally occupied by other members of the family. Thus, John and Thomasine lived in Groton Place as lord and lady of the manor, while his father and mother occupied Groton Hall. Groton Hall, later expanded, still stands. The Winthrop "manor house," long believed to have been torn down, also still stands, and is known locally as "Groton Place." If this was not confusing enough, later changes made to the structure, specifically a Georgian façade, had been placed on the old structure disguising its true antiquity.

John studied law at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was appointed to the Commission of the Peace (not Justice of the Peace) for Suffolk a few months after his marriage to Thomasine. While married to Thomasine he lived the life of a country squire. Like the Cloptons, he was a Puritan and ardently religious. He undertook the mission of remaking the evil world as he saw it, arguing that "the life which is most exercised with tryalls and temptations is the sweetest, and will prove the safeste." It was not until the late 1620s, long after Thomasine's death, that the Cloptons and Winthrops, trapped by Charles I's belligerent anti-Puritan policy developed interest in overseas colonization. Although William Clopton, Gentleman, who came to Virginia between September 1, 1670 and February 18, 1673 became the first of our ancestors to live permanently in America, at least one Clopton accompanied Winthrop on his maiden voyage in the spring of 1630. It has long been believed William's grandfather, Walter Clopton (and Thomasine's brother), was the Clopton who came "to New England with his relation, Governor Winthrop, in 1630 and returned home soon after."

The marriage was an arranged one. She was 32, four years older than her bridegroom. His first wife, Mary Forth, had died less than six months before and left him with four children. Thomasine became the stepmother to John, 9, Henry, 7, Forth, 6, and Mary, about aged 3. A year and a day after the wedding she gave birth to a daughter, who lived only two days. That day she became ill, and John, alarmed about her and fearing the worst, burst into tears. Mortally ill, though she was, she devoted what little strength she could muster to quieting him, saying he was breaking her heart with his grief. John wrote:

That daye soone after the deathe of the childe, she was taken with a fever which shaked hir very muche, and sett hir into a great fitt of coughinge, which by Tuesday morninge was well alayed, yet she continued aguish and sweatinge, with much hoarseness, and hir mouthe grewe verye soare, and muche troubled with blood falling from hir head into hir mouthe and throate.

The feaver grewe very strong upon hir, so as when all the tyme of hir sickness before she was wont to saye she thanked God she felt no paine, now she beganne to complaine of hir breste, and troubles in hir head, she beganne to lifte up hir selfe, desiringe that she might have hir hands and all at libertie to glorifie God, and prayed earnestly that she might glorifie God, althoughe it were in hell. Then she beganne very earnestly to call upon all that were about hir, exhorting them to serve God, etc: (And whereas all the tyme of hir sicknesse before she would not endurre the light but would be carefull to have the curtaines kept close, nowe she desired light, and would have the curtaine towards the windowe sett open, and so to hir ende was much grieved when she had not either the daye light or candlelight, but the first light she could not endure to looke upon, saying that it was of too many colours like the raynebowe.)

Then she called for hir sister Mary [Mary Clopton Jenney], and when she came she said, sister Mary, thou hast many god things in thee, so as I have cause to hope well of thee, and that we shall meet in heaven, etc. Then she called for hir sister Margerye [Margery Clopton Doggett], whom she exhorted to serve God, and take heede of pride, and to have care in hir matchinge that she looked not at riches and worldly respects, but at the feare of God, for that would bringe hir comfort at hir deathe although she should meet with many afflictions. To her Eliz [Elizabeth Clopton Cocke]: she said, serve God, take heed of lyeinge. I doe not knowe that you doe use it, but I wish you to bewarre. Hir sister Sampson [Bridgett Clopton Sampson] she exhorted to serve God, and to bringe up hir children well, not in pride and vanitye, but in the feare of God. To hir mother she said that she was the first childe that she should burye, but prayed hir that she would not be discomforted at it; when hir mother answered that she had no cause to be discomforted for hir, for she should goe to a better place, and she should go to hir father, she replied that she should goe to a better father than hir earthly father.

When I tould hir that the daye before was 12 monthes she was maried to me, and now this day she should be maried to Christ Jesus, who would embrace her with another manner of love than I could, "O husband (said she, and spake as if she were offended, for I perceived she did mistake me) I must not love thee as I love Christ."

About 5 of the clocke, Mr. Nicolson came to hir and prayed with hir, and about the ende of his prayer, she fetched 2 or 3 sighes, and fell asleepe in the Lorde. The Wensdaye followinge she was buried in Groton chancell by my other wife, and hir childe was taken up, and laid with hir.

Based on:

Articles Originally Appearing in the December 1987, April 1989, and August 1989 Issues of the Clopton Newsletter
by Isabel Lancaster (Clopton) Steiner,
James M. McMillen, mcmillen@arlington.net
and Wallace Chandler Clopton;

The Ancestors and Descendants of William Clopton of York County, Virginia, Compiled by Gene Carlton Clopton, Phoenix Printing, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia;

Winthrop Papers, Volume I, 1498-1628, The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929;

Contributed by:

Suellen Clopton Blanton, bblanton@fast.net

And Special Thanks to Groton Gazette, The Newsletter of the Winthrop Papers Projects: Francis Bremer, Ph.D. of Millersville University, fbremer@marauder.millersv.edu , Editor