The Macombers in the Plymouth Colony

by Robert Macomber

The story of the Macomber's in the New World and specifically in the Plymouth Colony starts with the story that three brothers came to the Colony on the ship Anne in l638.  Their names were William, John and Thomas.

Records of that time show that William settled in Duxbury , a settlement about 5 miles north of Plymouth, John in Portsmouth , Rhode Island and Thomas in Taunton. John moved to Taunton 40 miles away from Portsmouth by 1643.  It is also noted that no further record was ever found of Thomas.  This points to the strong possibility that there was not a brother named Thomas.  Information found in the church records of St. Mary's in the borough of Bridport, a town next to Dorchester England points to a different answer as to who was Thomas.

The records list a William Macomber who was born in 1610. He had a brother named John who was born in 1613. William married Ursilla in 1633 and they had a son named Thomas, who was born in 1635.There is no mention of William or John in St. Mary's records after 1638 as they had left England to come to America.

Was Thomas a son or a brother?

William had a son Thomas who came with his parents on the Anne.  Stackpole's book states only that it "seems" there were three brothers but makes no further mention of the brother Thomas. That seems to point to the conclusion that Thomas was William's son and that there was not a third brother.

Could William be from Scotland?

The above mentioned church records show that William was born in England. There are those that believe that at this time there was a family by the name of Mc Combies who had three homes in the GlenShee area, about 15 miles south of Bamoral Castle and the town of Braemar. It has been claimed that William was born in the Finnegand house in 1610. This is information passed on, by a person who has visited the area.  Perhaps there is some tie to this area with some of William's ancestors but lacking more proof it seems that William was born as stated above in the vicinity of Dorchester.