[email protected] wrote as follows: Bob I agree with you. So far all we have are possibilities. I haven't seen any proof yet that connects Thomas of Dorchester to the extended family in England. I hope something comes up. I do believe the evidence points to Thomas, whose wife is Mary Pitman, is the son of Thomas Davenport and Mary Forth. There may also be connections to the Townshend, Bright, and Winthrop families. The will of Thomas Dobson that I sited was only to simulate conversation. I have nothing else pertaining to it. Maybe someone who has access to these records could look into it. Also on the same page in the NEHG Register there is a small article about The Rev. John Davenport and another paragraph in ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- BILL........ The Thomas Dobson will quoted by you should caution all of us not to accept information based upon names alone.. Part of our difficulty in connecting back to our English roots is the name 'THOMAS' which was common during a protracted period. There surely must have been great numbers of Thomas Davenports at the end of the 16th century in England. If Teri's listing of a Thomas as the son of a William born in 1563 is correct, then he probably was not an eldest son but a younger one instead off to make his way in the world. We can guess at the circumstances but proof is difficult. I have long felt that Thomas of Dorchester, our patriarch, must have emigrated to Massachusetts as a part of the group sponsored by the Reverend John White of Dorchester England. However, those who have researched the passenger list for the ship 'Mary and John' [ arrived 1630] which carried this first big group [of 150] to settle in Dorchester MA say that there was no Thomas Davenport aboard, but even earlier ships had carried groups of 50 or less and the records to these vessels are poor. Maybe, who knows, our Thomas was an advance scout of sorts for the later larger Reverend White sponsored group? If any of this is true, then is probable that our patriarch's family roots were in Dorchester England and that is where in England we should be looking. Bob Davenport San Diego