This passenger appears under an ‘alias Williams’ when he requested admission as freeman 19 Oct. 1630; as Thomas Williams he was made freeman 19 May 1631 [Massachusetts Colonial Records, I, 80, 366]; d. 1632/3.38, Vol. 1, pg. 78

Williams, Thomas - Origin undetermined. Juror 18 Sept. 1630 [Massachusetts Colonial Records, I, 366]. No further definite record.

Williams, Thomas, alias Harris - May be identical with preceding, but nothing further is positively known of him except that he applied for freeman 19 Oct. 1630 [Massachusetts Colonial Records, I, 80].37

Three documents are critical for defining this family: the 1639 will of Richard Iles of Winnissimmet; the 1680 deposition of William Stitson; and the will of William Stitson. Iles was a newphew of Thomas Harris, and may have come with him in 1630; in his will he names his cousins Thomas Harris, William Harris, Anthony harris, John Harris, Anne Maverick and Daniel Harris, giving 20s. to each, and also a coverlet to “my aunt for her pains and her love”53, Vol. 2; pgs. 102-03

On 15 June 1680, Deacon William Stitson testified that Thomas Harris kept the ferry from Boston to winnissimmet and Charlestown forty-nine years ago, and that he marred Harris’ widow.54, pg. 297

In his will of 2 April 1688 william Stitson bequeathed to “John Harris, Thomas Harris, William Harris, Daniel Harris, and Anna Maverick, relict widow of Elias Maverick, deceased, the children of my first wife.”44, Case #21376

In some early records, Thomas uses the double name “Williams alias Harris” or simply the surname “Williams.” The reason for this is not known, and his descendants used only Harris, the ancestral surname.

No records of Thomas Harris in England have been found other than the mention in his father’s 1599 will. Since the Winthrop Fleet was assembled mostly from East Anglia and London, one would expect to find evidence of the marriage of Thomas and the baptism of his children in these areas rather than in gloucestershire. Davis suggests, however, that Harris came on the Lyon, which sailed from Bristol and not from London.

On 18 May 1631 “Tho[mas] Will[ia]ms hath undertaken to set up a ferry betwixt Winnettsem[e]t to Boston 4d. a person”38, Vol. 1, pg. 87

Thomas Harrs died before land records were maintained, and left no will. He does not appear in the lists of earl Charlestown residents, or in Boston records, so it is likely that he supported himself solely by his ferrying operations. Examination of the land records of William Stitson might show that some land was earlier held by Thomas Harris.