Thomas Tilden

Thomas Tilden, baptized before 1541 and buried 6 June 1617, was associated with Tenterden, Kent; East Guilford, Sussex; and Wye, Kent. He married Alice Bigge, Eleanor Hubbard, and Alice Bourne. He was the father of Nathaniel Tilden, identified in the supplied relationship path as “Plymouth Immigrant 1634.”

Thomas Tilden was baptized at Benenden, Kent, England, before 1541. He was the son of Richard and Elizabeth Tilden; family notes state that Elizabeth’s maiden name was possibly Glover. About 1553, his parents reportedly moved to Tenterden, Kent, where their last four children were born.

Thomas married first Alice Bigge at Tenterden on 10 March 1577. They had seven children, all said to have been born at Tenterden between 1579 and 1593. Alice died in May 1593 and was buried at Tenterden on 13 May, twelve days after the birth of her last child.

On 6 November 1593, Thomas married Eleanor Hubbard of Rolvenden, Kent. She was the widow of Thomas Couchman and Emmanuel Everenden. Thomas and Eleanor had no children.

After Eleanor’s death, Thomas married third Alice Bourne, who was possibly the sister of Freegift Bourne. Their son, Freegift, was born at Tenterden and baptized there on 29 May 1604; the name was reportedly chosen for Alice’s brother.

After 1604, Thomas moved to East Guilford in Sussex, where he remained until 1614. He then moved to Wye, Kent. Thomas died there in June 1617 and was buried on 6 June 1617 in the churchyard of St. Gregory & St. Martin, Wye.

Historical context

Thomas lived in Kent and Sussex during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The supplied family notes place his early life at Benenden, most of his family life at Tenterden, a later residence at East Guilford in Sussex, and his final years at Wye, Kent.

Sources & research