Thomas Treadway was born about 1700, most likely in England, based on a 1774 deposition in which he gave his age as "seventy-four years or thereabouts." No records of Treadway's birth has yet been located in Maryland records.
Baltimore County Families, 1659-1759, states that he was born 6 March 1711 to Richard and Jane [Parker] Treadway, however, research notes on the Descendants of Thomas Treadway page suggest that this was another Thomas Treadway. Thomas [aged 10], son of Richard and Jane, was bound to Antil Deaver, along with his Mary [aged 12] following the deaths of his parents in 1720. The elder Thomas, subject of this sketch, had boarded with Deaver two years earlier.
According to one story of Thomas' family, his father Crispen and grandfather John left Rutland, England for Maryland in 1700. John died on the voyage. Crispen settled at the head of the Bush River, west of Bynum, in Baltimore [later Harford] County. Another story has Thomas as a nephew of the aforementioned Richard. (Of note: The name Richard does not appear in Thomas' family, but Crispen does.)
It is entirely possible that Thomas was related to Richard and/or Crispen. If not a son, then nephew or cousin.
Thomas arrived in Baltimore County about 1718 and boarded at the home of Antil Deaver in the Bush River region. Thomas went to work for John Webster on his "Best Endeavor" property in 1719. It also appears that Treadway was named in the will of Peter Glover on 8 February 1722, although the name is difficult to make out.
The identity of Thomas' first wife is open to debate. Her first name was Ann. No marriage record has been locate to date. Among the candidates for the first Mrs. Treadway are:
[1] Mary Ann Glover, daughter of Peter mentioned above. The basis for this is Thomas being named in Peter's will.
[2] Ann Underhill: Her birth year is given as 1690 and 1703. At least one tree has her father given as John, b. 1680 - only ten years Ann's senior.
[3] Ann Hynson: The years given for her birth, 1702 and 1705, are plausible. Her father is also given as John.
[4] Ann Deaver: Ann is named as a possible candidate based on Ann Treadway witnessing the will of John Deaver and Mary Cunningham witnessing the will of Mary Deaver. There are also several land transactions between Treadway, various Deavers and other neighbors. Ann was believed to be the daughter of Richard Deaver and Mary Ruff.
Thomas and Ann married about 1822. By her, he had three sons and a daughter. Following Ann's death in 1734, he married Mary Bull and fathered three more sons. Treadway went on to marry two more times, to Elizabeth McComas [1743], by whom he had two sons, and Mary Gittings [1759].
Thomas was granted a license to operate a "publick house or ordinary" in 1740 after putting up a bond of £40. John Paca and John Stinchcomb guaranteed the bond. The license was renewed in November of 1743 and again in 1744 and 1745. He also owned a plantation and raised tobacco.
The following exerpts are from "Gentleman's Progress-The Intinerarium of Alexander Hamilton, 1744," University of Pittsburg Press, 1948
"Dr. Alexander Hamilton was a Physician from Scotland who emigrated to Annapolis c 1741. Dr. Hamilton took a tour of the colonies, and wrote of his experiences. The following is what he wrote in regards to Thomas Tredway:
[pp. 6-8] I put up at one Tradaway’s about 10 miles from Joppa. The road here is pritty hilly, stonny, and full of small gravell. I observed some stone which I thought looked like limestone.
Just as I dismounted at Tradaway’s I found a drunken club dismissing. Most of them had got upon their horses and were seated in an oblique situation, deviating much from a perpendicular to the horizontal plane, a posture quite necessary for keeping the center of gravity within its propper base for the support of the superstructure; hence we deduce the true physicall reason why our heads overloaded with liquor become too ponderous for our heels. Their discourse was as oblique as their position; the only thing intelligible in it was oaths and God dammes; the rest was an inarticulate sound like Rableais’ frozen words a thawing, interlaced with hickupings and belchings. I was uneasy until they were gone, and my landlord [Thomas Treadway], seeing me stare, made that trite apology – that indeed he did not care to have such disorderly fellows come about his house; he was always noted far and near for keeping a quiet house and entertaining gentlemen or such like, but these were country people, his neighbors, and it was not prudent to disoblige them upon slight occasions. ‘Alas, sir!’ added he, ‘we that entertain travellers much strive to oblige every body, for it is our dayly bread.’ While he spoke thus, our Bacchanalians, finding no more rum in play, rid off helter skelter as if the devil had possessed them, every man sitting his horse in a see-saw manner like a bunch of rags tyed upon the saddle.
I found nothing particular or worth noticing in my landlord’s character or conversation, only as to his bodily make. He was a fat pursy man and had large bubbies like a woman. I supped upon fry’d chickens and bacon, and after supper the conversation turned to politicks, news, and the dreaded French war; but it was so lumpish and heavy that it disposed me mightily to sleep. This learned company consisted of the landlord, his overseer and miller, and another greasy thumb’d fellow who, as I understood, professed physick and particularly surgery. In the drawing of teeth, he practiced upon the house maid, a dirty piece of lumber, who made such screaming and squalling as made me imagine there was murder going forwards in the house. However, the artist got the tooth out att last with a great clumsy pair of black-smith’s forceps’ and indeed it seemed to require such an instrument, for when he showed it to us, it resembled a horsenail more than a tooth.
The miller, I found, professed musick and would have tuned his crowd to us, but unfortunately the two middle strings betwixt the bass and treble were broke. This man told us that he could play by the book. After having had my fill of this elegant company, I went to bed at 10 o’clock.
Friday June 1st The sun rose in a clear horizon, and the air in these highlands was, for two hours in the morning, very cool and refreshing. I breakfasted upon some dirty chocolate, but the best that the house could afford, and took horse about half an hour after six in the morning.
[ pg. 198]: On his journey home- I dined att my old friend Tradaway's, whom I found very much indisposed with fevers. He told me it had been a very unhealthy time and a hot summer. I should have known the time had been unhealthy without his telling me so by only observing the washed countenances of the people standing att their doors and looking out att their windows, for they looked like so many staring ghosts. In short I was sensible I had got into Maryland, for every house was an infirmary, according to an ancient custome."
Ann Tredway witnessed the will of John Deaver on 3 January 1731/2. John Deaver left part of a tract of land called Turkey Hills to son Richard that bordered the land of Richard Ruff and Benjamin Jones and a tract called Come By Chance. He left his home plantation to son Samuel upon the death of his wife Hannah. Also named in the will were children John, Antil, Elizabeth [Preston] and Mary. Wife Hannah was named executrix.
On 9 July 1749, Mary Treadway Cunningham and Thomas and Elizabeth Treadway witnessed the will of Mary Deaver. Mary named kinswoman Mary Hollandsworth, apprentice Alexander Nicholle and his sister Phoebe and Elizabeth Wood. Also named were son John, son Daniel, granddaughter Mary [daughter of son Richard] and son Richard, who was named executor. [Proved 4 November 1749]
Thomas Treadway, son of Richard and Jane, made his will on 21 July 1749. He left his estate "in the hands of my beloved friend Thoas Tredway until my cousin Thomas Brown arrives to the age of Twenty one years." At the age of 21, Brown would inherit the estate. The elder Thomas was to have the estate appraised and see to the younger Thomas' burial. If Thomas Brown died before the testator, then Mary Cunningham was to inherit the estate. [Mary being the daughter of the elder Treadway.] The will was probated on 2 August 1749. Antil Deaver, employer of the elder Thomas and guardian of the younger was a witness to the will.
Deed of 1752 giving location of Teadway's inn: The deed was for one acre of a tract called Turkey Hills conveyed by Daniel Deaver to Richard Ruff located at the head of the middle branch of the Bush River at a place commonly called Bush Town where that line crosses the main road leading from James Run to Thomas Treadway's door. [There is no record of Thomas acquiring the land where his inn was located. It is possible that he acquired the land through his marriage to Ann. Daniel Deaver would have been her brother and Richard Ruff, her grandfather.]
The Turkey Hills tract and another tract called Strawberry Hills were closely tied to the Deavers. In 1720, John Deaver petitioned the Maryland Assembly for title to Strawberry Hills and Turkey Hills. He had agreed to buy the tracts totalling 323 acres from John Mortimer in 1704 for £50. Mortimer died before the deal was completed. In 1708, John and Hannah [Beall] Deaver conveyed 81 acres of a division of the two tracts to Zachariah Brown in 1708. Zacariah was the grandfather of Thomas Brown, nephew/cousin of Thomas Treadway who died in 1749. Turkey Hills was mentioned in John Deaver's 1731 will witnessed by Ann Treadway.
On 10 June 1757, William and Elizabeth Smith coveyed to Thomas Treadway, inn keeper, over 1600 acres called Turkey Hills and Srawberry Hills. On 4 May 1759, Thomas and Elizabeth Treadway sold 40 acres at White Oak Bottom and 70 acres at Strawberry Hills to John Goodwin. Thomas and Mary Treadway conveyed 50 acres of Turkey Hills and Strawberry Hills to Joseph Stiles on 25 April 1769. Treadway also purchased a tract of land called "Come By Chance" that year for £600.
A notice appeared in the 14 August 1766 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette announcing the sale of of the house and lot where Thomas Treadway and George Stewart lived in Bush Town, Baltimore Co., Maryland. The house had four rooms and four chimneys below the stairs. Above the stairs were four rooms and two chimneys. The house had a good cellar and kitchen. The property included about 50 acres of land located about a quarter mile from town. Half of the land was cleared, the rest woodland, with rails sufficient to fence in 8 acres. There was a second house in town, nearly finished, with 6 acres. The property included a "Negro wench," a good washer and drudge in the kitchen, several sorts of household goods, good beds, tables, chairs, etc. The title to the land was good and a warrant would be issued to the purchaser. For terms, the subscriber, living on the prermises, was to be contacted. James Osborn's name followed the notice of sale.
(From GenealogyBank.com ©American Antiquarian Society, 2004)
On 12 September 1766, Treadway wrote a note to his brother-in-law, Solomon MacComas requesting that Solomon to provide £8.15 for Thomas' son, Moses, who had recently left for Virginia. The note was well-written for the time and suggested that Thomas had received an education, probably from a hired tutor. The tutor could have been William Bradford, identified as a schoolmaster in local records.
Thomas eventually retired to Long Green Valley in Baltimore County. The retirement may have taken place in 1766, based on the property sale mentioned above.
The part of Baltimore Co. in which Treadway resided became Harford County in March of 1774.
Treadway made his will in Harford County on 22 May 1782. Half of his estate went to son, Daniel, who was named administrator. The other half went to grandsons Thomas, George, James, Daniel and Crispin Cunningham. The will went to probate 13 August 1782. The inventory of the estate was taken on 2 September and settled 12 November
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