Thomas Coleman was born Marlborough, Wiltshire, England in 1602 and at age 33 came to this country with his wife on the Ship 'James' from Southampton, arriving in Boston on June 3, 1635.
He settled in Newbury, MA., where he was admitted freeman in 1637 and where his first wife died on November 17, 1650.
He afterwards removed to Hampton, where he married Mary, widow of Edward Johnson on July 11, 1651.
He was married for the third time to Margery, daughter of Philip Fowler and widow of Thomas Rowell of Andover, MA, who had been the widow of first Christopher Osgood, of Andover, and before 1663 removed to Nantucket where he died in 1685 at the age of 83.
Sire Richard Saltonstall, Henry Sell, Richard and Stephen Drummer with others from Wiltshire, England, had organized a company for the purpose of stock raising at a time when the prices for cattle, horses and sheep were at their highest, and Thomas Coleman had been employed by the projectors of the stock-raising company to provide feed for the cattle and take care of them for a specified two years.
Thomas Coleman becoming dissatisfied, for some reason, declined to carry out his part of the contract, and the General Court finally ordered a division of the grain that had been imported and instructed each owner to take care of his own cattle.
Thomas Coleman received two lots in Newbury in 1635.
He moved from Newbury to the North side of the Merrimac River, called Hampton, and about 1659 to Nantucket.
His name also appears among the grantees of a deed of the Island of Nantucket, made by the Wanackmanak Chief, Sachem, of the Island dated January 29, 1671.
He came to Nantucket before 1673 as he sat on a Jury in that year.
Nantucket was discovered in 1602 by Bartelemew Gosnold, an Englishman, and in 1641 was deeded to Thomas Mayhew and his son by James Farrett, Agent of the Earl of Sterling.
The rights of the Mayhews were bought by a company of 10 persons, who, finding it necessary to encourage immigration agreed to a meeting held at Salisbury, MA in 1659, for each one to take a partner, or assistant. Thomas Coleman was chosen.
Thomas Coleman was one of the partners and purchasers of 1/20 part of the Island, in 1659, being of those chosen by the first 10 purchasers as partners.