1298–1299. Thomas Hanford was born in Alverdiscott Parish, Fremington, Devonshire, England, on Sunday, July 22, 1621, and died in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1693. He was buried in plot 210, Old Cemetery, East Norwalk, near the grave of his son, Thomas.. His wife was Hannah Newberry They were married in Connecticut before 1652. She took the name Hannah Hanford. He is the son of Jeffery and Eglin (Hatherly) Hanford.
His second marriage was to Mary Miles. She was born in 1635. She is the daughter of Richard and Catharine (Constable) Miles. md 22 Oct 1661 mp New Haven Colony They had ten children:
| i. | Theophilus Hanford was born in Norwalk on July 29, 1662, and died before 1705. | |
| ii. | Mary Hanford [#649]: She was born in Norwalk on November 30, 1663, and died between 1705 and 1723. | |
| iii. | Hannah Hanford was born in Norwalk on June 28, 1665. She married Joseph Platt. | |
| iv. | Elizabeth Hanford was born in Norwalk on January 9, 1666/7, and died before 1708. She married John Burr of Fairfield. | |
| v. | Thomas Hanford was born in Norwalk on July 18, 1668. | |
| vi. | Eleazer Hanford was born in Norwalk on September 15, 1670. | |
| vii. | Elnathan Hanford was born in Norwalk on October 11, 1672. | |
| viii. | Samuel Hanford was born in Connecticut on April 5, 1674. | |
| ix. | Eunice Hanford was born in Connecticut in March, 1675/6, and died before 1706. She married Gershom Bulkley circa 1700. | |
| x. | Sarah Hanford was born in Connecticut in May, 1678. She married Samuel Comstock in Norwalk on December 27, 1705. |
Reverend Thomas Hanford came from England between 1634 and 1643. By the latter date he was in Scituate, Massachusetts, which was founded by his mother's brother, Timothy Hatherly. Here he completed his studies with Charles Chauncy, (Rev.) who later became the second president of Harvard University. He became a freeman of Mass. in 1650. In 1651 he went to Roxbury, Conn., to teach school. He taught for four months, finding the students dense and unruly, he became discouraged and quit in June of 1652, citing ill health. (References to salary, housing, and school for the new teacher, Thomas Hanford, and later his resignation from his position appear in New Haven Town Records: General Court for New Haven, November 14,1651, November 17,1651, March 11, 1651/2, and June 7, 1652.)
He was called to Norwalk, Conn., that same year to serve as its first minister of the First Congregational Church. He became ordained in Hartford on May 18, 1654. The town of Norwalk then gave him a home lot and other land and built him a house. He served for over 50 years. The Norwalk Land Records also show that he was given land by the Winnipauk Indian, Sagamore.
His estate was inventoried on January 4, 1693/4—Source: Jacobus.
Other sources say that his heirs applied for administration of his estate
on January 23, 1693/4; an inventory was filed March, 13, 1693, valued at
£685.75.5. There was an additional inventory on April 4, 1711.