• Thomas [son of William] was christened in 1619 in Berhamstead, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of William (1587-1638) and Thomasine Axtell. One of William’s ancestors was apparently an Augustinian monk, Johannes Axstyl, who, with the other monks at Gatesden, deeded over their monastery to the English King when Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church. Johannes apparently changed his name of John Axtell and had a family. Silas B. Axtell describes this connection in a 1952 speech he gave at a family reunion.5296