Capt. Thomas TABER (1646 – 1730) was Alex’s 8th Great Grandfather; one of 512 in this generation of the Miller line.

Capt. Thomas Philip Taber was born  31 Jan 1645/46 in Yarmouth, Mass.  His parents were Philip TABER and Lydia MASTERS. He married Ester Cooke on 16 Aug 1667 in Dartmouth, Mass.  After Esther died, he married Mary TOMSON 2 Jun 1672. Thomas died 11 Nov 1730 at Dartmouth, Mass.

Esther Cooke was baptized 16 Aug 1650 in Plymouth, Mass.  Her parents were Rev. John Cooke, the last survivor of the Mayflower passengers and Sarah Warren.  She was a granddaughter of Francis COOKE Esther died 17- Apr 1671/72.

Mary Tomson was born in 1650 in Dartmouth, Mass.  Her parents were John TOMSON and Mary COOKE, Rev. John Cooke’s brother, so she and Esther were first cousins.  Mary died 3 May 1723 probably at Dartmouth, Mass.

Children of Thomas and Esther Cooke

	Name	Born	Married	Departed
1.	Thomas Taber	22 Oct 1668.	Rebecca Harlow 4 Jul 1700/01	bef. 2 Aug 1722
2	Esther (Hester) Taber	17 Apr 1671 Dartmouth, Mass	Samuel Perry 23 Oct 1689 Sandwich, Mass.	14 Jan 1749/50 Sandwich, Mass.

Children of Thomas and Mary

	Name	Born	Married	Departed
3.	Lydia Taber	8 Aug 1673 Dartmouth, Mass.	John Kinney c. 1695
4.	Sarah Taber	28 Jan 1673/74 Dartmouth	William Hart 1 Dec 1702 Dartmouth	1735
5.	Mary TABER	18 Mar 1676/77 Dartmouth	Manasseh MORTON 1703 Dartmouth	c. 1745
6.	Joseph Taber	7 Mar 1679 Dartmouth	Elizabeth Spooner 12 Aug 1701/02 Dartmouth	1752
7.	John Taber	22 Feb 1680/81	Phebe Spooner c. 1712	27 Aug 1761 Dartmouth
8.	Jacob Taber	26 Jul 1683 Dartmouth	Sarah West c. 1711	4 Apr 1773 Dartmouth
9.	Jonathan Taber	22 Sep 1685	Lois Ward 11 Nov 1727	bef. 15 Jun 1723 [not in father’s will] Said to have died in the woods, his mind impaired.
10.	Bethia Taber	3 Sep 1687 Dartmouth	Caleb Blackwell bef. 1711	6 Aug 1758 Rochester, Hampshire, MA
11.	Philip Taber	7 Feb 1688/89 Dartmouth	Susanah Tucker (Wilcox) c. 1710	27 Dec 1750 Shrewsbury, Monmouth NJ
12.	Abigail Taber	2 May 1693 Dartmouth	Ebenezer Taber (cousin) 1 Dec 1715 Tiverton, Newport County, RI.	bef. 28 Aug 1752

Thomas was a yeoman farmer

In the 1630’s, Thomas’s father-in-law, John Cooke was a deacon of the Plymouth church.  At some point, during the late 1640s, John Cooke “fell into the error of Anabaptistry”, and was cast out of the Church.  The Plymouth Church records state that ”

This John Cooke although a shallow man became a cause of trouble and dissention in our Church and gave just occasion of their casting him out; so that Solomon’s words proved true in him that one sinner destroyeth much good.”

John Cooke removed from Plymouth and took up residence in Dartmouth, where Thomas married his daughter Esther in 1667.

Thomas’ will was dated Jun. 15, 1723 and  proved Mar. 20, 1732/3

The following is from “The Descendants of Thomas, son of Philip Taber”, by George L. Randall, 1924: from “The Genealogy of Francis Weekes”, by Dr. Frank Edgar Weeks, Kipton, Ohio.

In 1672 Thomas was at Dartmouth, Mass,, village of Fairhaven. He served as selectman, surveyor, town clerk, assessor, and was a captain in the Militia. In 1675 his house burned: he then built a stone house at Oxford in Fairhaven, Mass., then called Dartmouth.

Land given to him in Fairhaven in 1672.  In July of 1675 his house along with 29 others was burned by King Philip.  He then built a stone house, the chimney was still standing as of 1889.

The earliest officers commissioned to command the local militia of the ancient and original town of Dartmouth, were as follows: Captain, Thomas Taber, commissioned May 20, 1689. Lieutenants, John Smith, commissioned March 4, 1674; Seth Pope, June 4, 1686;* Jonathan Delano, May 20, 1689. Ensigns, Jacob Mitchell, commissioned March 4, 1674, slain by the Indians; James Tripp, commissioned May 20, 1689.

By 1675, the time of King Philip’s war, only thirty-seven dwellings were in Old Dartmouth. Almost all were destroyed during the war.

“What is the oldest house in Greater New Bedford?

This question can produce an argrument among any number of home owners and local historical buffs. But these same people would be hard pressed to identify the ruins of the oldest standing structure in the area–perhaps the first built after King Philip’s War. The conflict by…the Indians took a heavy toll in the Old Dartmouth area, but hardly the last warhoop died out when a mason from Rhode Island began erecting a cottage in the Oxford section of Fairhaven. Thomas Taber came into the control of considerable land in the area through his marriage to Ester Cooke, the daughter of John Cooke, who was a large shareholder in the original Dartmouth purchase.

STARTED IN 1676—The cottage, built along the lines prevelent in Rhode Island during the period, was started in 1676. The house was last occupied in 1851 by an Indian woman known as “Black” Annis Sharper. All that remains today is a large fireplace. It stands behind the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh B. Darden, Jr. at 191 Main Street.

The house had a ten foot ceiling, while the ridge rose twenty feet and the chimney rose to 24 feet 4 inches. Philip F. Purrington, Curator of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society, estimated the house to have been 16 feet 10 inches wide, and about 22 feet long, running north to south. The chimney centered on the ridge and the fireplace was offset to the west. Taber built added strength into his chimney by allowing the stonework to round the corner into the west wall. Once knowing the house’s dimensions, it is hard to imagine Thomas Taber raising a family there and retaining his sanity.

His wife Ester bore him three children before she died in 1671. Taber then married Mary Thompson, a neice of John Cooke. She bore him 11 children. Hence, Taber’s problem was living in a house measuring 16 ft x 22 ft, with a wife and 14 children. In 1680, Taber built a new two-story house in Acushnet for his sons, Joseph and John. One was born in 1679 and the other in 1681. It appears the whole family moved to this new abode—a Rhode Island design, with an overhang at the second story.

The house was destroyed by fire in 1869, but the foundation remains at the end of Manchester Street in Acushiret, about one-quarter mile west of Plainville Road. The Oxford property was left to Thomas’ son, Philip, who left the area in 1730 and sold the property to William Wood. The property sold in 1794 and not officially recorded until 1910 to Robert Bennett. The Bennett family was “relieved” of the property during a business failure, but in 1918 Cpt. Thomas Bennett allowed Annis Sharper to live on the property before she moved to Fairhaven Almshouse in 1851.

Clara Bennett, daughter of Thomas Bennett,Jr. gave the property to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society.

Here are present day driving Google Maps driving directions between the two homestead sites now in Acushnet, Mass

Children

1. Thomas Taber

Thomas’ wife  Rebecca Harlow was born 27 Jan 1678/79 Plymouth, Plymouth, Mass. Her parents were Samuel Harlow and Priscilla [__?__].

It is often repeated that Thomas supposedly died young and his parents later had a Thomas Taber b. 22 Feb 1681, but this idea is patently false. The Taber Genealogy published by George Randall in 1924 in New Bedford contains this error, for some inexplicable reason. There is no thorough or authoritative source for Taber genealogy for the colonial period of New England. I have been researching primary sources for 15 years, and within the next 5 years hope to publish my findings. At this time, the closest thing to an authoritative source on your Taber ancestry is Volume 12 of the Mayflower 5 Generation Project, tracing the descendants of Francis Cooke. First published in 1996 and revised in 1999, it has some glaring errors on Taber lines, and scores of oversights. (As an example of a minor oversight, Thomas Taber who married Rebecca Harlow is said to have died “between 2 August and 4 September 1722.” The
Dartmouth town records put the date of death between 2 August and 14 August, as a town meeting was called on 14 August 1722 to elect a selectman to replace Thomas Taber, Junior, deceased.) Also, note that “Captain” Thomas Taber did not have a middle initial “B.” (Middle names were rare among New Englanders of that period.). The “B.” appears to have been copied from a source that listed the children of Philip and Jane (Masters) Taber, and used a capital B. for born, thus it in part read “Thomas B. circa 1644.”

Will of John Cooke
9 November 1694 The Last will and Testament of John Cook of the town of Dartmouth in the County of Bristoll:

I being weake of Body but of sound and Perfect memory, have Disposed of my Estate which God hath been pleased to bestow upon me in manner following: that is to say In the first place I give to my Son in-law Arthur Hathaway & his wife Sarah my Daughter all my land in the point at or Near the Burying place in Dartmouth the which I bought of John Russell to them their heires and Assignes for Ever: And also I give unto my Son in-law Stephen west and his wife Mercey my Daughter one full Third part of a whole Share of lands in the Township of Dartmouth with all my houseing and Orchards “hereunto belonging: with all the priviledges & appur=ces belonging to the same to them their heires & Assignes for ever They to possess the same after the Decease of my wife Sarah Allso I give unto Jonathan Delano. one Third part of a share of meadow Caled the ffreemens Meadow Lyeing within the Township of Rochester to him his heires & assigne for Ever: Allso I give to my Grandson Thomas Taber my little Island Caled & Known by the Name of Ram Island Lying in Cushnat River in Dartmouth with one third part of my Share of Meadow Called the ffreemens Meadow Lyeing in the Township of Rochester. to him his heires & assignee for Ever and I give to my said Grand son my Gun & sword Allso I give to my Grand Daughter Hester Perry One feather Bed & Bolster, All the Rest & Residue of Estate Goods & Chattles of what Sort or Kind so ever I Give & bequeath uto my Loveing wife Sarah to use. & Dispose of the same as she shall see good And I make my said wife Sole Executrix of this my Last will & Testament: In witness whereof I the said John Cooke have hereunto sett my hand & seale this Ninth Day of November 1694 in the presence of

Aaron Savory O his mark
John Cooke (seal) Thomas Taber

2. Esther Taber

Esther’s husband Samuel Perry was born 15 Mar 1666/67 in Sandwich, Mass. His parents were Ezra Perry and Elizabeth Burgess. His grandparents were our ancestors Edmund PERRY and Sarah BETTS. Samuel died 8 Aug 1751 Sandwich, Mass.

Will of Captain Thomas Taber, made June 15, 1723.  Following the preamble are the bequests to his six sons.  Then, “To my daughter Esther Perry and her husband I give my lot of upland and meadow near ye lower end of Sconticut neck, with twenty five acres of land within ye four hundred acre devition both within sd Dartmouth, also one sixteenth part of a share of ye undivided land within sd township after twelve hundred acres to a share is laid out.” Also £9 in money.

Samuel was admitted townsman in Sandwich, 8 Oct 1691, at which time he was styled “Jr.” to distinguish him from his older cousin, Samuel, son of Edward who lived in Kingston Rhode Island.

Samual built his house on the opposite side of and a considerable distance from the Middle Monument Cemetery, in that section, which in 1884 became the town of Bourne.

Samuel kept a tavern. His grandson, Seth, dismantled the building, but in 1929 the cellar was excavated and the relics that were recovered were preserved by the Bourne Historical Society.

By will dated August 2, 1750, Samuel gave personal property to the children of his daughter Mercy, deceased, and to his daughters Mary, Elizabeth, Deborah, all the rest and residue of the estate to be divided between his two sons, Nathan and Ebenezer, whom he made co-executors.

3. Lydia Taber

Lydia’s husband John Kenney was born 15 Jan 1669/70 Milton, Mass.  His parents were John Kenney and Susannah [__?__].  John died in 6 Jul 1728 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Mass

4. Sarah Taber

Sarah’s husband William Hart was born 1676 Portsmouth, RI. His parents were Richard Hart and Hannah Keene. William died 1 Feb 1733 – Dartmouth, Bristol, Mass.

5. Mary Taber (See Manasseh MORTON‘s page)

6. Joseph Taber

Joseph’s wife Elizabeth Spooner was born 19 Jun 1683 Dartmouth, Bristol, Mass. Her parents were John Spooner and Rebecca Peckham.

7. John Taber

John’s wife Phebe Spooner was born 11 May 1687 Dartmouth, Bristol, Mass. Her parents were John Spooner and Rebecca Peckham.  Phebe died 15 Mar 1750 in Mass

8. Jacob Taber  

Jacob’s wife Sarah West was born 1 Aug 1686 Dartmouth, Bristol, Mass. Her parents were Stephen West and Mercy Cook.  Sarah died 5 Dec 1775 in Dartmouth, Mass

9. Jonathan Taber

Jonathan’s wife Lois West was born 12 Apr 1701.  Her parents were Stephen West and Mercy Cooke.

10. Bethia Taber

Bethia’s husband Caleb Blackwell was born about 1685 Sandwich, Mass. His parents were John Blackwell and Sarah Warren. Caleb died 28 NOV 1762 Rochester, Mass.

The will of Capt. Thomas Taber mentions  Bethyah Blackwel and her husband Caleb Blackwel blacksmith

11. Philip Taber

Philip’s wife Susana Tucker was born 9 Jul 1688 in Dartmouth, MA . Her parents were John Tucker, (28 Aug 1656, Sandwich, MA – 2 Sep 1751, Dartmouth, MA) and Ruth Wooley (12 Oct 1664, Newport, RI – 23 Dec 1759, Dartmouth, MA )

12. Abigail Taber

Abigail’s husband was born 2 May 1693 Dartmouth, Bristol, Mass. He was Abigail’s first cousin. His parents were Joseph Taber and Hannah Gray. Ebenezer died 5 OCT 1772 Tiverton, Newport, RI.

Sources:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~onebigfamily/all/aqwg779.htm

http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Philip_Taber_(11)

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~johnsongenealogy/white/id32.htm

http://www.antonymaitland.com/hptext/hp0170.txt 

http://genforum.genealogy.com/taber/messages/500.html

http://www.catboat.com/shermangeneology.DARTMOUTH.html