| Notes |
- On January 24, 1655, Thomas Wood, bought 12 acres of land in Portsmouth of Thomas and Margaret Manchester, his brother-in-law and sister.[1]
Thomas is seen at Newport inheriting "that land which was his father's laying in Nuport by the farms of William Weeden being forty ackers more or lessee".
In February 1656, Nicholas Brown sold to Thomas Wood, both of Portsmouth, 8 rods of land 1 rod wide from his land along Wood's land, Wood agreeing to maintain a fence about said land at his own expense.
Early Portsmouth records go on to show that on January 1, 1657, Thomas sold to Richard Tew of Newport, 40 acres granted by freemen of Newport to John Wood of Portsmouth who died intestate, said land having been given to Thomas Wood by the Town Council of Newport.
On June 8, 1657. Thomas Wood was received as an inhabitant of Portsmouth, the petition being granted.
On May 14, 1659, Nicholas Brown sold land to Alex Enos at Portsmouth. Thomas Wood is a witness for him.
In 1660, the tax list of Portsmouth shows Thomas owing three shillings.
In 1665, an official census was taken in the colony. Newport recorded 96 freemen; Portsmouth 71 freemen; Providence 42 freemen; Warwick 37 freemen. There were at least five times as many Indians as whites. There were probably 1500 whites in all the Narragansett Bay area.
All cattle had a brand or cattle mark as it was called in colonial times. The cattle mark of Thomas Wood was "left ear a croop and a flower deluce on the right ear".
The King Philip's War began in 1675. Thomas Wood fought in it. Indians from Philip's nearby base at Mount Hope Neck burned all the houses at Swansea, slaughtering the inhabitants. When the colonial troops finally arrived, they were horrified. The main street of the little village was strewn with dismembered corpses of men, women, and children. This happened on a Sunday.
On February 5, 1676, Thomas Wood bought of Joseph Wheaton of Swansea, twenty acres of land in Swansea. He did not move his family for at least two years, during which time he was serving in the war. For this service, he was given 100 acres of land in East Greenwich, RI, which he turned over to his son, John.
By May 7, 1680, Thomas and Rebecca severed their connections with Portsmouth by selling, for 24 pounds the twelve acres which they had originally purchased from Thomas and Margaret Manchester to Benjamin Hall, Rebecca's brother. They were living in Swansea at this time.
On September 7, 1681, Thomas Wood took the Oath of Fidelity at Swansea. He became a man of "considerable consequence" in Swansea. Besides being a carpenter, he was also a surveyor and was responsible for dividing and surveying much of the land in the Swansea area. In 1686/7 he was a surveyor of highways for Bristol County. He held in Swansea a large estate containing several hundred acres. In 1690 he was a deputy.
On April 4, 1704, three witnesses swore they saw Thomas Wood, late of Swansea, deceased.
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1634 - 1704 (70 years)
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