Hinkles and Hanrahans

John Shircliffe was the youngest of four sons of the Shircliffe family of Whitly Hall, Ecclesfield, Yorkshire. He first came to America about 1638 on the ship "Unity" from the Isle of Wight, transported by Mrs. Mary Throughton. John was a tailor by trade, but later acquired a large acreage of farmland in Maryland. John was illiterate, and relied on his "cousin" Thomas Spalding, whose passage he paid, for help with his accounting. It is unclear how Thomas and John were related, but John specifically notes in his will that his cousin Thomas should inherit 50 acres of land. Thomas continued to work for John's widow until 1673, when he married. The most logical assumption is that Thomas' wife was niece to John Shircliffe.