Two Somerby Frauds, Or “Placing the Flesh on the Wrong Bones”

Paul C. Reed, “Two Somerby Frauds, Or ‘Placing the Flesh on the Wrong Bones,’” The American Genealogist 74[1999]. [LINK]

Notes: Bacon Family of Helmingham and Winston, co. Suffolk, England, and of Dedham and Salem, Mass.

William Lincoln Parker, “Notes: Bacon Family of Helmingham and Winston, co. Suffolk, England, and of Dedham and Salem, Mass.,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register 90[1936]. [LINK]

Colonial Families of the United States of America

Source: George Newbury Mackenzie, Colonial Families of the United States of America, Volume 6 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1966).

[page 40]

BACON

CHARLES FRANCIS BACON, deceased of Waterville, Maine [...]

Lineage

BACON is a Seigniory in Normandy according to the well authenticated genealogy of the great Suffolk family of BACON from which sprung many branches. The founder of the English family is said to have been Grumbaldus, a Norman gentleman related to William DE WARRENE, Earl of Surrey. He came into England at the time of the Conquest and had grants of land at Letheringsete near Holt, County of Norfolk. He had three sons.

I.  Rudueph.

II.  RANUEF, of whom later.

III.  Edmund.

RAN(D)ULF or Reynolds resided at Thorpe, County Norfolk, called Baconsthorpe by distinction, his son Roger had sons ROBERT and William.

ROBERT had JOHN and William.

JOHN I had JOHN II Time of Edward I.

JOHN II had JOHN III.

JOHN III had JOHN IV.

JOHN IV had

JOHN V who had

EDMUND who had

JOHN who had Robert John, THOMAS, Henry and William

THOMAS BAKON of Helmingham, will proved 27th February —-, m. Johan, surname not given, d. 1540.

ISSUE

I. JOHN, will proved 11th March, 1557, of whom later.

II.     Thomas.

III.    Anne, m. — DOW.

IV.     John.

V. Henry.

VI.     Mary.

VII.    Agnes.

VIII.   Elizabeth.

JOHN BACON, will proved 19th March, 1587; m. Margaret, surname not given.

[page 41]

ISSUE

I. William.

II.     Thomas.

III.    MICHAEL, bapt. 31st May, 1566, of whom later.

IV.     Richard.

V. Barbara.

VI.     Rose.

VII.    William (the younger).

MICHAEL BACON, Yeoman, of Winston, County Suffolk, England, bapt. 31st May, 1566, was buried 25th March, 1615, will dated 24th October, 1614, m. (firstly) 16th August, 1565. Elizabeth WYLIE, bapt. 30th May, 1566; m. (secondly) 20th September, 1607, the widow Grace BLOWERSES.

ISSUE BY FIRST MARRIAGE

I.    John, bapt. 31st May, 1566.

II.    William.

III.    Thomas.

IV.    MICHAEL, bapt. 6th December, 1579, of whom later.

V.    Sarah, m. Daniel YORKE.

VI.    Elizabeth, bapt. 3d September, 1584.

MICHAEL BACON, Yeoman, of Winston, Suffolk County, England, and Dedham, Massachusetts; b. 6th December, 1579, in Winston, Suffolk County, England; d. 18th April, 1648; m. Alice (surname not given), who d. 2d April, 1648.

ISSUE

II.     Daniel, b. probably 1615; d. 7th September, 1691, at Newton; came to New England, 1640; m. Mary READ, who d. 4th October 1691, dau. of Thomas READ.

ISSUE

1.     Daniel, b. probably 1641; d. 1720; m. 1st August, 1664, Susanna SPENCER, dau. of Michael SPENCER, of Salem.

2.     Thomas, b. 13th April, 1645, d. young.

3.     John, b. 8th September, 1647; found dead on Boston Marsh 31st August, 1723; m. Abigail, surname unknown.

4.     Isaac, b. 4th April, 1650; d. 8th January. 1684; m. Abigail, surname unknown.

5.     Rachel, b. 8th June, 1652; m. 24th March, 1680, Thomas PEIRCE, b. 21st June, 1645, d. 8th December, 1717, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (COLE) PEIRCE.

Burke’s American Families with British Ancestry

Source: Sir John Bernard Burke, Burke’s American Families with British Ancestry, offprint of pages 2529-3022 of the 16th edition of Burke’s Landed Gentry (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1975).

[page 2544]

BACON formerly OF HELMINGHAM

CLEVELAND FREDERICK BACON, of New York, [...]

Lineage. — JOHN BACON, m. Helena, dau. of Sir George TILLOT. and was father of

EDMUND BACON, of Drinkstone, Co. Suffolk, m. Elizabeth CROFTS, of the family of that name for long settled at Saxham, co. Suffolk, and was father of

JOHN BACON, who m. Elizabeth COCKFIELD, and had issue,

1. Robert, father of Sir Nicholas BACON, and grandfather of Francis BACON, Viscount St. Albans, Lord Keeper, and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.

2. THOMAS, of whom we treat

The younger son,

THOMAS BACON, of Helmingham, Norfolk, whose will was pr. 27 Feb. 1535, had a son,

JOHN BACON, (will pr. 11 Mar. 1557), who had issue by Margaret his wife, five sons and two daus.  The third son,

MICHAEL BACON, m. at Helrningham, 1565, Elizabeth WYLIE, and d. (will pr. 20 April, 1615), leaving issue, four sons and three daus. The youngest son,

MICHAEL BACON, of Winston, Suffolk, arrived at Dedham, Massachusetts in 1633, where he was one of the signatories of the Dedham  agreement. Returning to England he settled finally in Dedham in 1640, b. 1579; d. 1648, leaving issue, by Alice, his wife,

JOHN BACON, of Dedham, Mass., freeman 1647, Surveyor and Commissioner 1662, served in King Philip̓s War 1676, m. 1657, Rebecca HALL, and d. 1683. His son,

THOMAS BACON, representative of the Massachusetts General Court, b. 167[?]; m. Hannah FALES, and d. 1749. His son,

JOHN BACON, of Wrentham, b. 1710; d. 1806, having had by Mary, his wife,

DANIEL BACON [...]

[page 2866]

PIERCE formerly OF STEPNEY

Lineage. — THOMAS PIERCE, of Stepney, the Founder of this family in America, left England in 1634, and settled in Charlestown, Mass., b. 1583; m. Elizabeth, and d. 7 Oct 1666, leaving issue,

THOMAS PIERCE, of Woburn, Mass., b. 1608; m. 6 May, 1635, Elizabeth, dau. of Ryse COLE, and d. 6 Nov. 1683, leaving issue, a son,

JOHN PIERCE, of Woburn, b. 7 Mar. 1643; m. 5 July, 1663, Deborah, daughter of James CONVERS, of Woburn, and d. 1720, leaving a son,

JOSIAH PIERCE, of Woburn, b. 10 June, 1691; m. Hannah, dau. of Jonathan THOMPSON, of Woburn, and by her had issue,

JOSIAH PIERCE, of Woburn, b. 30 Mar. 1720; m. 15 Jan. 1756, Ruth SIMONDS, widow of Benjamin THOMPSON, and mother by her first husband of Sir Benjamin THOMPSON, Count Rumford, and d. 18 Aug. 1799, leaving issue,

JOSIAH PIERCE, of Baldwin, Maine, b. 27 Aug. 1756; m. in Mar. 1787, Phebe, dau. of Daniel THOMPSON, of Woburn, and d. 23 Jan. 1830 [...]

Search for the Passengers of the Mary and John 1630

Source: Burton W. Spear, Search for the Passengers of the Mary and John 1630, Volume 13 (Toledo, Ohio: Burton W. Spear, 1990).

[page 30]

Unanswered Questions on the English Ancestries and Birthplaces of the “Mary and John” Families of 1630.

EDWARD ROSSITER

According to NER Jan. 1984, p. 4-16, he was the son of Nicholas ROSSITER (d. 1 Apr. 1608) & Eliza _____ (bu. 28 Apr. 1608), of Comb St. Nicholas, Somerset, but no wills have been found.  His grandfather was Philip ROSSITER & (1) _____, of Combe St. Nicholas and his great-grandfather was Richard ROSSITER (1463-1529) & Elizabeth PERYE, dau. of William PERYE & _____, dau. of John FRYE.  No wills found.

Parish records of Combe St. Nicholas before 1678 are lost & Edward Rossiter left no will.

There is a Dr. CAMPBELL, a genealogist in Combe St. Nicholas who is claimed to have a great deal of information on the ROSSITERs, FRYEs & TORREY family, all of that village.  Ref: NER Jan. 1937, p. 145-151.  (See Vol. 3, p. 43)

[page 94]

THREE GENERATIONS OF DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM BLAKE OF DORCHESTER, MASS.

William BLAKE – Bpt. 10 July 1594, Pitminster, Somerset.  He died, 25 Oct. 1663, Dorchester, Mass.  He married, Agnes BAND, 27 Sept. 1617, Pitminster, prob. widow of Richard BAND & dau. of Hugh THORN.  He was granted land in Dorchester on 14 May 1636 and he became a freeman and a member of the church on 14 Mar. 1639.  It is not known when he came to New England.  (Vol. 12, p. 79)

Children of William BLAKE & Agnes (THORN) BAND (Vol. 12, p. 79)

1. John BLAKE – Bpt. 30 Aug. 1618, Pitminster.  He died, 25 Jan. 1688/9, Boston.  He married, Mary (SOUTHER) SHAW, 16 Aug. 1654.  He was one of the executors of the will of Governor John WINTHROP in 1676.  No issue.

2. Anne BLAKE- Bpt. 30 Aug. 1618 (twin?), Pitminster.  She died, 12 July 1681, Boston.  She married, (1) Jacob LEAGER of Boston, who died, 24 Feb. 1662/3 & (2) _____ HALLOWELL.  Her tombstone is in the Boston Society.

Children of Anne BLAKE & Jacob LEAGER (Vol. 11, p. 79)

a. Bethia LEAGER- Bpt. 6 Oct. 1651, Dorchester, Mass.  She m. Fearnot SHAW, blacksmith, s. of Joseph SHAW of Weymouth, Mass.  She had two children: Jacob, b. 6 Nov. 1672.  (2) John, b. 30 Mar. 1678, who m. Mercy SMITH.

b. Hannah LEAGER- B. 14 Nov. 1655, Boston.  She d. 13 Oct. 1690.  She m. (1) John WALKER, brick burner, a. 1676, s. of Thomas & Ann WALKER of Boston.  The had one dau., Hannah WALKER, 25 Apr. 1677, who prob. never married.  Hannah LEAGER m. (2) Thomas PHILIPS of Boston, perhaps s. of Nicholas PHILIPS, by whom she had one child, Hannah PHILIPS, 7 Sept. 1690.

3. William BLAKE Jr.- Bpt. 6 Sept. 1620, Pitminster.  He died, 3 Sept. 1703, Milton, Mass.  He married, (10 [sic] Anna _____, whose name does not appear until 1665 & (2) Hannah TOLMAN, 22 Nov. 1693, Milton, who d. 4 Aug. 1729, dau. of Thomas TOLMAN (M&J passenger) & widow Sarah LYON.

Children of William BLAKE Jr. & (1) Anna (Vol. 12 p. 8)

a. Samuel BLAKE- B. 14 May 1650, Dorchester.  He d. 1719, Taunton.  He m. Sarah MACEY, dau. of George and Susanna MACEY of Taunton.  He had seven children: (1) Priscilla, who m. John SMITH, 1700, s. of Nathaniel SMITH.  (2) Samual Jr., b.a. 1680, who may have m. Sarah PITTS.  (3) Edward, b.a. 1689, m. Anna HANOVER.  (4) Susanna.  (5) Sarah, m. Joseph TOPLIFF.  (6) Hannah.  (7) Jerusha.

b. Anne BLAKE- Bpt. 7 Mar. 1651, Dorchester.  d.y.

c. Anne BLAKE- B. 6 Mar. 1652/3, Dorchester.  Died, 9 May 1722, Taunton.  She m. Thomas GILBERT, 18 Dec. 1676, Boston, s. of John & Jane GILBERT of Taunton.  Eight children: (1) Hannah, b. 28 Sept. 1677, m. William PHILLIPS.  (2) Sarah, b. 11 Aug. 1679, m. John WILLIS.  (3) Mary (twin), b. 11 Aug. 1679, m. Joseph WILLIAMS.  (4) Thomas, b. 11 July 1681. d.y.  (5) Nathaniel, b. 19 July 1683, m. Hannah BRADFORD.  (6) Mehitable, b. 5 May 1686.   (7) Susanna, b. 1687, m. William HODGES.  (8) Experience, b. 1689, m. John TOWNSEND.  (Ref: Gilberts of New England, pt. 1, p. 81)

d. Mary BLAKE- B. 20 Mar. 1654/5, Dorchester.  She m. (1) Joseph LEONARD, 1679 & (2) _____ WILLIS.  Seven children by first husband: (1) Mary, b. 2 Oct. 1680.  (2) Experience, b. 18 Mar. 1682.  (3) Joseph, b. 28 Jan. 1684.  (4) Mehitable, b. 22 Aug. 1685.  (5) Edward, b. 2 Nov. 1688.  (6) William, b. 26 Mar. 1690.  (7) Silence.  (Ref: Savage 3:80)

e. William BLAKE- B. 22 Feb. 1656/7, Dorchester.  Soldier in 1675 & 1690.  Died before 1699.

f. Nathaniel BLAKE- B. 4 July 1659, Dorchester.  Died, 5 Oct. 1720, Milton.  He m. Martha MORY, dau. of Walter MORY.  Seven children: (1) William, b. 21 July 1696, m. Hannah _____.  (2) Nathaniel Jr., b. 26 Feb. 1697/7, m. Elizabeth EVANS.  (3) Simon, b. 1 June 1700, m. Hannah BADCOCK.  (4) James, b. 18 Sept. 1702, m. Abigail TUCKER.  (5) Joseph, b. 27 July 1705.  (6) David, b. 12 July 1707.  (7) Jonathan, b. 12 July 1707.

[page 80]

g. Edward BLAKE- b. 13 Apr. 1662, Dorchester.  He died, 1737.  He m. Elizabeth MORY, 26 June 1696, sister of his brother’s (Nathaniel) wife.  Six children: (1) Anna, b. 7 Apr. 1697, m. _____ STEARNS.  (2) Edward Jr., b. 22 July 1697, m. Elizabeth FRENCH.  (3) Aaron, b. 23 Feb. 1699/1700.  (4) Mary, b. 13 Jan. 1701/2.  (5) Elizabeth, b. 5 Apr. 1704, m. _____ BELCHER.  (6) Moses, b. 6 Aug. 1706, m. Hannah HORTON.

h. Experience BLAKE- B. 17 June 1665, Dorchester.  He <sic> m. Eleazer CARVER, s. of John & Millicent CARVER.  Res: S. Bridgewater.

i. Agnes BLAKE- B. 29 Sept. 1667, Milton.

j. Susan BLAKE- B. 20 July 1670, Milton.  D. 4 May 1676.

k. Mehitable BLAKE- B. 2 Apr. 1673, Milton.  She m. William BRIGGS Jr., 16 June 1696, of Taunton.

4. James BLAKE- Bpt. 27 Apr. 1623, Pitminster.  Died, 28 June 1700, Dorchester.  He married (1) Elizabeth CLAPP, a. 1651, dau. of Dea. Edward CLAPP & Prudence CLAPP, who died, 16 Jan. 1693/4, age 61.  He m. (2) Elizabeth SMITH, 17 Sept. 1695, dau. of Henry 7 <sic> Judith SMITH & widow of Peter HUNT.
He built a house in 1650 in Dorchester that still stands today [...]

5. Edward BLAKE- His will: 31 Aug. 1692, inventory, 3 Nov. 1692.  He m. Patience POPE, dau. of John & Jane POPE of Dorchester [...]

[page 81]

References:

BLAKE Family, A Genealogical History, William BLAKE of Dorchester, by Samuel BLAKE, 1857.

A Record Of The BLAKES Of Somerset, by Horatio G. SOMERBY.

Increase BLAKE Of Boston, His Ancestors & Descendants, With A Full Account of William BLAKE Of Dorchester, by Francis E. BLAKE, 1898.

[page 121]

THE ROSSITER, TORREY, FRY & COMBE FAMILIES OF COMBE ST. NICHOLAS, SOMERSET.

The village and parish of Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset provided a number of families who came to New England between 1630 and 1640.  Edward ROSSITER came first, with his family on the “Mary & John” in 1630.  He was one of the Assistants of the Massachusetts Bay Company and one of the most prominent passengers on that ship.  He was followed in 1640 by the TORREYs and FRYs.  A great deal of credit for this article, and particularly the photos and map, is due Miss Patricia PEARCE, of Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset, who visited Combe St. Nicholas and searched the records in the Somerset Record Office, Taunton.

THE ROSSITERS

Edward ROSSITER may have come with his wife _____ COMBE, daughter of John COMBE and brother of Joesph [sic] COMBE, but she may have died in England because there is no record of her in New England.

Evidently, Rev. John WHITE of Dorchester, Dorset, loaned Edward ROSSITER considerable money to prepare for his journey to New England.  The total debt was 106 pounds, 9 shillings & 9 pence and it was partly paid by Edward’s son, Nicholas, before their departure.  But when Edward died on 23 Oct. 1630, there was still 15 pounds, 25 shillings due Rev. WHITE.  Among the charges was 47 pounds, 13 shillings & 4 pence, for the passage of 13 passengers (3 pounds, 13 shillings & 4 pence each).

Following is an attempt to identify these people.  The five unknown passengers may have included, Edward’s wife (if she was still living), grandchildren and servants.

1. Edward ROSSITER

2. Son, Nicholas ROSSITER, who later returned.

3. Wife of Nicholas ROSSITER, who later returned.

4. Edward ROSSITER, son of Nicholas, who later returned.

5. Son, Bray ROSSITER.

6. Wife of Bray ROSSITER.

7. Daughter, Jane ROSSITER.

8. Son, Hugh ROSSITER, who later returned.

Plus five unidentified passengers.

[page 124]

THE FRYS

George FRY, came with his brother-in-law, William TORREY.  He was possibly the son of the George FRY who witnessed the will of Joseph COMBE of Combe St. Nicholas, 21 Mar. 1619/20.  The FRYs were also related to the ROSSITER & COMBE families.

THE COMBES

Although no member of the COMBE family of Combe St. Nicholas has been found that came to New England, they married into the above families.

THE WADFORD FARM & MILL OF PHILIP ROSSITER

Edward ROSSITER’s great-grandfather, Richard ROSSITER, was the first proved land owner in Combe St. Nicholas.  When he died in 1529 he owned 4 messuages & 543 acres here.  At that time his son Philip (Edward’s grandfather) inherited 4 messuages, 31 acres of meadow, 312 acres of pasture & 200 acres of woodland.  In the 1583 Survey of the parish (SAS/SE86), “Philipus ROSSITER, gent. (farmer or husbandman) owned a dwelling and a new tucking mill.  He paid 17 pounds a year to the Lord of the Manor (Wells Deanery).  The other freemen of Combe were William BONNER, gent.- 15 pounds, William JEANES- 12 pounds, John BUETT- 2 pounds, John WALROD- 4 pounds, John DEWNELL- 20 pounds and _____ MALLETT- 12 pounds.

[photo]

Wadeford House (16th) of Philip ROSSITER

[page 125]

Philip ROSSITER’s house was called Wadeford and the fulling mill (woolen mill), which has been carefully restored, still stand today in a hamlet about 3/4 miles SE of Combe St. Nicholas.  This is one of seven mills within a few miles of each other on the River Isle, the others all being grist mills for corn.

[photo]

Fulling Mill At Wadeford, Once Owned By Philip ROSSITER

Court Roll – 27 July 1608 – To the court came Thomasin CLARKE, William ROSSITER (brother or cousin of Edward?) and John CLARKE and surrendered a tenement called a “ten acre tenement” in the tithing of XII sect. granted again to John and Jane MARDEN.  (The three named above were witnesses.  Ref: ADD/277.)

1641, Nicholas ROSSITER, gent., of Combe (son of Edward, after Nicholas returned to England), holds for 3 lives, his property on lease – Anne, Jane & Mary ROSSITER, all daughters of Nicholas.  Ref: ADD/302.

THE LOWER CLAYHANGER FARM OF THE FRY FAMILY

The FRY family held a lease in 1574 (and possibly earlier) on the Lower Clayhanger Farm, less than a mile NE of Wadeford, where Philip ROSSITER lived.

[photo]

Entrance To Farmyard Of Lower Clayhanger House Of FRY Family

[page 126]

The Lower Clayhanger house, which is still standing today, is in the “Listed Buildings”, p. 1-2, ADD/281, dated, 1608.  In the 1583 Survey of Combe St. Nicholas, rents were paid in Clayhanger tithing by: Robertus WARRYE- 13 pounds, John COGAN- 14 pounds, Symond KNIGHT- 2 pounds, Matthew GILLETT- 13 pounds, Thomas KNIGHT- 12 pounds and John GILLETT- 3 pounds.

NOTE:     Savage says there was a Matthew GILLET who came on the Mary & John in 1634, first settled in Dorchester and then in Windsor in 1636.  Banks says he came on the Mary & John in 1634 but settled in Salem.  Stiles’ History of Windsor does not list him.

Today the house is a private residence, with Hamstone mullioned windows, a kitchen with a bread oven and a mullioned window in the rear wall.  The roof was renewed in the early 19th century.  The walls are two feet thick.  The original date of the house cannot be placed because of work in 1940 destroyed much of the dating evidence.

Court Roll, 9 Oct. 1593 – To this court came John FRY and Agnes, his wife, and Isabella, wife of Richard SCREVEN.  John FRY holds by right of his wife, Agnes, one tenement called a “ten acre tenement”, with the apprutenances in the tithing of Betham, to remain now of the said Isabella, by the names of Agnes COMBE and Isabella COMBE (daughters of John COMBE, deceased), John FRY and Agnes and Richard and Isabella SCREVEN, surrendered each and all into the hands of the Lord and all estates and interest in the said premises, with the intent that John FRY might be able to receive them again.  Whereupon at this same court, the said John FRY, came and took from the Lord at the Steward’s hands, the said apputtenances, to have and to hold, for the lives of John FRY, Joseph COMBE and William COMBE, sons of the late John COMBE.  Ref: ADD/257.

27 Sept. 1597- George FRY came to Court of Combe and leased land called “Wagges”, for the lives of George and his brother, John FRY of Ewell and John FRY, son of Lawrence of Stolfird.  Ref: ADD/265.

15 Oct. 1608- To this Court came Dorothea (RICHARDS) FRY, wife of John FRY, the younger, gent., of Chehanger (Clayhanger), and took the reversion of one cottage, with curtilage, one acre of same, under Old Auster (A Celtic site for the farm, developed by the Saxons and always treated with great respect because of its great age as a site.), all held by John FRY, the younger, for the term of his life.  To have and to hold for the lives of Dorothea, William FRY, son of William of Plymouth, Devon, yeoman, John RICHARDS, son of John of Churchstation, Devon.  Ref: ADD/281.

[page 127]

HAM FARM, HOME OF THE COMBE FAMILY

In 1599 Thomas COMBE at Ham Farm held 20 acres.  This about one and one half miles N of Combe St. Nicholas.  This was by “old Austet”, and ancient Celtic site.  This farm is now occupied by Mr. HUTCHINGS.

[photo]

Mr. HUTCHINGS at Ham Farm with Shep & Sam

Search for the Passengers of the Mary and John 1630

Source: Burton W. Spear, Search for the Passengers of the Mary and John 1630, Volume 12 (Toledo, Ohio: Burton W. Spear, 1989). [WorldCat]

[page 72]

BLAKE ENGLISH ANCESTRY FROM CHART IN WILTSHIRE

The following BLAKE ancestry was taken from a 4 ft. by 12 ft. chart, on file at the Wiltshire Record Office, in Trowbridge, Wilts., England.  It lists many lines not noted below to about 1800.  The line below supposedly traces to Humphrey BLAKE of Over Stowey, Somerset, ancestor of Elizabeth SAUNDERS, wife of Henry WOLCOTT.  Following is the introductory inscription on the chart:

“The genealogy of the ancient and worthy family of BLAGUE, BLAAKE or BLAKE, of great antiquity in the county of Wilts, where they had large possessions in Quemberford, Calne and Ililcot with a fair manor house called PINHILLS, now the seat of the family, a younger branch, from where they transplanted themselves into Hampshire and settling at East Town, were owners of that and divers other manor from whence the BLAKEs of Middlesex, etc. are immediately descended faithfully collected out of the several visitation books of the said counties remaining in the College of Arms and deducted to the issue of Daniel BLAKE of London, Anno 1690″.

1. RICHARD BLAGUE of Blake (Not found).  He married Ann, daughter of William (COLE?).

2. HENRY BLAGUE of Blake.  Heir.  He married Elizabeth, daughter & co-heir of Edward DURANT.

3. WILLIAM BLAGUE of Blake.  Heir.  He married Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. William POWER.

4. HENRY BLAGUE of Blake.  Heir.  He married Margaret, daughter & heir of William BILLETT.

[page 73]

5. ROBERT BLAGUE, Esq. of Quemford (hamlet, one half mile S of Calne, Wilts, 18 miles E of Bath).  He married Avice, daughter of John WALLOP, Esq. of Farley, Southampton.

6. JOHN BLAGUE, Gent.  Second son.  He married Margaret DYNCHAN, DINHAM of Dentham.

7. DAVID BLAGUE.  Heir.  He married Joane MALLETT.  He had a son, John BLAGUE, Abbott of Cirenester, Gloucestershire.

[page 74]

8. WILLIAM BLAGUE of Lacock, Wilts (8 miles W of Calne).  He married Margaret, daughter of William BROWNE of Wablyn.

Children

a. Martin BLAGUE of Winchcomb, Gloucestershire.  He married Catherine, daughter of George VAUGHN of Herfordshire.

b. John BLAGUE- See below.

9. JOHN BLAGUE.    “From whom the BLAKEs of Somerset are descended of which family Major General Robert BLAKE the famous soldier and sea commander.”  No arms listed.  This line from generations 6 through 9 do not agree with the lines in SEARCH FOR THE PASSENGERS OF THE MARY & JOHN-1630, Volume 11, p. 62-66.

*****

The following line from the Wiltshire chart connects to some William BLAKEs of Eastontown, Southampton, that fits the genealogy in the above mentioned, Volume 11:

6. ROBERT BLAKE of Calne, Wilts.  He was the son of Robert BLAGUE & Avice WALLOP (See #5 above).  He married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas INGLEFIELD of Inglefield, Berkshire & Margery, daughter of Richard DANVERS, Esq. of Cadworth, Northamptonshire.

7. ROGER BLAAKE, Esq. of Caivne (Calne?), Wilts.  He died, 1556, age 57 (b. 1499).  He married Mary BAYNARD, daughter of Philip BAYNARD, Esq. of Lackham, Wilts.  Roger and his sister, married a brother and sister.

Children

a. Thomas BLAAKE, Esq. of Tynnells, Wilts.  He married Edith, daughter of Thomas IVY, Esq. of Westkein (sp?), Wilts.

b. Sibil BLAAKE.  She married Henry BULL of Wilts.

c. John BLAAKE.  He married Jane CLARKE of Shaw (sp?), Wilts.

d. Joane BLAAKE.  She married Anthony GODDARD of Hartham, Wilts.

e. William BLAAKE- See below.

f. Mary BLAAKE.  She married edward LANGRIDGE of Langride, Southampton.

g. Robert BLAAKE of borough of Carone (sp?).  He married Alice, daughter of Robert SMYTH of Lackock, Wilts.

[page 75]

8. WILLIAM BLAKE of Eastontown als Essington, Southampton. Fourth son.  Deceased, 1582.  He married Avice, daughter of Sir Gervace RIPLEY, knight of Ripley, Southampton.  Their figures appeared in a stained glass window in the church of Enham (sp?), Southampton, in the parish of Eastontown in 1622, seat of the branch of the family in Scituate (not found).

[photo]

Figures of William BLAKE, and his wife, Avice RIPLEY, in stained glass window, in Eastontown parish church in 1622.

9. WILLIAM BLAKE.  Second son.

Children

a. William BLAKE.  See below.

b. Peter BLAKE.  Second son.

c. Nicholas BLAKE.  Third son.

10. WILLIAM BLAKE of Eastontown (estate of Eastontown, Southampton?).  He married Anne, daughter of Thomas TUFT (sp?) of Chilbolton, Southampton.   (Chilbolton now appears to be in county, Hants, 3 miles south of Andover.).  No issue listed.

[page 76]

The last three William BLAKEs, numbers 8, 9 & 10, appear to connect to the BLAKE Genealogy printed in the SEARCH FOR THE PASSENGERS OF THE MARY & JOHN-1630, Volume 11, p. 62-63.  The following is copied from this source:

VII.  WILLIAM BLAKE – He lived in White parish, Wilts and died in 1471.  After his death his widow and two sons moved to Hampshire and settled in Andover, on the estate called, “Eastontown”, formerly part of the estate of her husband’s mother, Avice WALLOP.

Children

1. William BLAKE- See below.

2. Robert BLAKE- He lived in West Enham, Andover.  He married, _____ SNELL.

VIII.  WILLIAM BLAKE – He lived in Andover, White Parish, in Old Hall in Eastontown.  he also had lands in Knights Enham (occupied by his brother in 1504).  He married Mary, daughter of Humphrey COLES of Somerset.  His will probated, 20 June 1547.

Children

1. Nicholas BLAKE- Of Old Hall.  His will, 1547, names wife, Margaret and children, William, Edmund, Alice and Elizabeth.

2. Humphrey BLAKE- No doubt named after his grandfather.  See below.

3. Alice BLAKE- She married, _____ CABULL.

IX.  HUMPHREY BLAKE – In Somerset in early 1500′s and settled in Over Stowey.

X.  JOHN BLAKE, THE ELDER – Born, 1521.  Buried, 10 Dec. 1576, Over Stowey.  He married Joan or Jane _____.

XI.  ANNE BLAKE – Born about 1549, Over Stowey.  She married Thomas SAUNDERS.  They lived in Lydeard St. Lawrence, Somerset and were the parents of Elizabeth SAUNDERS, wife of Henry WOLCOTT.

****

[page 77]

BLAKE ANCESTRY FROM CHART IN UNITARIAN CHAPEL, CREWKERNE, SOMERSET, 1989

The following ancestry of the BLAKE family of Somerset, England was copied from a chart on exhibition in the Unitarian Chapel, crewkerne, Somerset, in June 1989.  It was prepared by Mrs. Eleanor DIXON, a BLAKE descendant, from Bridgewater, Somerset.

This ancestry contradicts the BLAKE ancestry in Volume 12, p. 62, which states the BLAKE line to Elizabeth SAUNDERS, wife of Henry WOLCOTT, comes through William BLAKE (d. 1471), son of Robert BLAKE & Avice WALLOP.  The ancestry below claims the correct line is through John BLAKE (d. 1504), son of Robert BLAKE & Avice WALLOP and brother of William BLAKE (d. 1471).

JOHN BLAKE of Nether Wallop, Hants.  Born, 1430.  Died, 1504.  He married, Margery _____.  His brother, Robert BLAKE of Calne, Wilts., was his heir and overseer of his will.

Child

1. Humphrey BLAKE of Over Stowey, Somerset.  Buried, 28 Dec. 1588.  Will, 19 Nov. 1558, proved, 11 May 1559, Taunton.  He married, Anne _____.  He bought Tuxwell, near Spaxton, Somerset in 1556.

Children

1.1 John BLAKE, the elder of Plainsfield (manor).  Born, 1521.  Buried, 10 Dec. 1576.  Will proved, 25 Jan. 1577.  He married, Joan _____.

Children

1.1.1 Humphrey BLAKE, the elder of Over Stowey.  Buried, 1619 (in Over Stowey church).  Will, 1618.  Clothier.  He married, (1) Agnes JAMES, 1578 & (2) Ann _____.

Children

1.1.1.1 Humphrey BLAKE, gent., of Plainsfield.  Bpt. 13 Nov. 1580.  He married, Elizabeth GILES of Wellington.

1.1.1.2 John BLAKE of Over Stowey.  Bpt. 25 Apr. 1583.

1.1.1.3 Richard BLAKE.  Bpt. 7 Sept. 1585.

1.1.1.4 Jone BLAKE.  Bpt. 23 Sept. 1587.

1.1.1.5 Robert BLAKE.  Bpt. 8 June 1589.

1.1.1.6 Arthur BLAKE.  Bpt. 27 June 1592.  Died, 25 June 1592.

1.1.2 William BLAKE.  Buried, 1642.  He married, Ann _____.  He bought Cattridge, 1586.

1.1.3 Richard BLAKE of Stogumber, Somerset.  Born, 1562/3.  He married, (1) _____ & (2) Grace NAPCOTT, 29 May 1589, Over Stowey.

1.1.4 Robert BLAKE.  Born, 1566.  Died, 1626.  He married, Eleanor BROWNE of Taunton.

1.1.5 Alice BLAKE.  Born, 1569.  She married James RICHARDS.  From this couple descended emigrants, William BLAKE, Thomas RICHARDS and the TORREY brothers.  (See volume 11, p. 109-110.)

1.1.6 Ann BLAKE.  She married Thomas SAUNDERS (They were the parents of Elizabeth SAUNDERS, wife of Henry WOLCOTT).

1.1.7 Isobel BLAKE.  She married Thomas SELLECK.  (They lived in Gaulden Manor.)

1.1.8 Mary BLAKE- Born, 1558.  Died 1560.

1.2 John BLAKE, the younger of Plainsfield (manor).  Buried, 21 Aug. 1572.  He married Christian JUGG, 18 Aug. 1558.

Children

1.2.1 Mary BLAKE.  Born, 1558.  Died, 1600.

1.2.2 Elizabeth BLAKE.  Born, 1561.

1.2.3 John BLAKE.  Died, 1563.

1.2.4 Anne BLAKE.  Born, 1567.

1.2.5 Richard BLAKE.  Born, 1570.

1.3 Agnes BLAKE.  She married, _____ MANNING.

1.4 Eleanor BLAKE.  She married, _____ LANGHAM.

[page 78]

1.5 Alice BLAKE.  She married, George SLOCOMBE.

1.6 Thomas BLAKE.  His will, 1580.  He married Isobel _____ of Wedmore.

1.7 Robert BLAKE of Bridgewater.  He died, Oct. 1592.  Will proved, 1592.  He married, Margaret SYMONDS of Taunton.  She buried, 1600.

Child

1.7.1 Humphrey BLAKE of Bridgewater.  Born, 1573.  Died, 1625.  His will, 1625.  He married Sarah WMS. (WILLIAMS) of Pawlett, Somerset.

Children

1.7.1.1 Humphrey BLAKE of St. Giles, Cripplesgate, London.  Born, 1600.  Died, 1679.  Will, 1679, at Somerset Record Office.

1.7.1.2 Admiral Robert BLAKE.  Born, 1598.  Died, 1657.  Unmarried.  His will, 1653.

[page 79]

WILLIAM BLAKE OF DORCHESTER, MASS.

William BLAKE (1594-1663) of Dorchester, Mass. shares his BLAKE ancestry with Elizabeth SAUNDERS (1584-1655), wife of Henry WOLCOTT of Windsor, Conn.  They were grandchildren of John BLAKE (1521-1576) of Over Stowey, Somerset.  See Volume 11, p. 64-66.  The parents of Elizabeth SAUNDERS were Thomas SAUNDERS (d. 1609) of Lydread St. Lawrence, Somerset and Anne BLAKE (b.a. 1549) of Over Stowey.  The parents of William BLAKE were William BLAKE (d. 1642) of Pitminster, Somerset and Ann.  Anne BLAKE and William BLAKE (the elder) were brother and sister, so Elizabeth SAUNDERS and William BLAKE (the emigrants) were first cousins.

William BLAKE was born in Pitminster and he was related to another emigrant from that village, Thomas RICHARDS.  Thomas RICHARDS, was no doubt, a grandson of James RICHARDS, who died in Pitminster in 1608, and Alice BLAKE, daughter of John BLAKE of Over Stowey and sister of Anne BLAKE (mother of Elizabeth SAUNDERS.

It has been claimed that William BLAKE of Dorchester, brought his family on the “Mary & John” in 1630, but no prooof has been found.  There is no early record of him in Dorchester and he being a prominent person, age 36, it would have been unlikely for him not to be mentioned if he had come in 1630.  There is supposedly a Cleveland Genealogy that claims he sold a house in Aisholt, Somerset (3 miles south of Over Stowey), in January 1630 and went to America, but no proof is given.  He was granted land in Dorchester, Mass. on 14 May 1636 and he became a freeman and a member of the church on 14 March 1639.

William BLAKE was baptised, 10 July 1594 in Pitminster, Somerset and he died, 25 Oct. 1663, Dorchester, Mass.  He married Agnes BAND, 27 Sept. 1617, Pitminster.  She was probably baptised, 12 June 1594, Pitminster, daughter of Hugh THORN and the widow of Richard BAND, whose will was written in 1616 and probated, 8 Jan. 1621.  Agnes died, 22 July 1678, Dorchester, Mass.  William BLAKE remained in Pitminster until 1624 but his whereabouts between 1624 and 1636 are not known.  He possibly moved to Aisholt, Somerset.

On 14 May 1636, William BLAKE, with William PYNCHON and six others signed articles to form a plantation at Agawam (Springfield) on the Connecticut River.  He remained in Dorchester and died there in 1663.  He and his wife were probably buried in the Old North Burying Ground on Upham’s Corner, in Dorchester, but their tombstones have not been found.

Children of William BLAKE & Agnes THORNE (BLAKE-1898-2)

1. John BLAKE- Bpt. 30 Aug. 1618, Pitminster, Somerset.  Died, 25 Jan. 1688/9, Boston.  He m. Mary SOUTHER, 16 Aug. 1654, Boston, dau. of Nathaniel & Alice SOUTHER & widow of Joseph SHAW of Weymouth, who d. 13 Dec. 1653, 12 days after his marriage.  Mary d. 7 Jan. 1693/4, Boston.  John was a Boston merchant and a man of high social standing.  He was one of the executors of the will of Gov. John WINTHROP in 1676.  He evidently died without issue (Savage).

2. Anne BLAKE- Bpt. 30 Aug. 1618 (Prob. a twin), Pitminster.  Died, 12 July 1681, Boston.  She m. (1) Jacob LEAGER of Boston (as his second wife).  He d. 24 Feb. 1662/3, Boston.  He was a tailor.  She supposedly m. (2) _____ HALLOWELL, but was widowed again.  She was buried at the Third Church of Boston and her tombstone is now in the Bostonian Society.  She had two children: (1) Bethia LEAGER (b. 1651) who m. Fearnot SHAW, a blacksmith, and they had 3 children & (2) Hannah LEAGER (b. 1655) who m. John WALKER, a “brick burner”.  One dau. who prob. did not marry.

3. William BLAKE- Bpt. 6 Sept. 1620, Pitminster.  He d. 3 Sept. 1703, Milton, Mass.  He m. (1) Anna _____ & (2) Hannah TOLMAN, 22 Nov. 1693, Milton, dau. of Thomas TOLMAN (Mary & John passenger) and Sarah & widow of George LYON.  (See TOLMAN, volume 9, page 27).  Hannah d. 4 Aug. 1729.  He had 8

[page 80]

children by his first wife: (1) Samuel BLAKE (b. 1650) who m. Sarah MACEY and they had 7 children, (2) Anne BLAKE (Bpt. 1651). d.y., (3) Anne BLAKE, (b. 1652) who m. Thomas GILBERT and they had 6 children, (4) Mary BLAKE (b. 1654) who m. (1) Joseph LEONARD by who she had 6 chilren.  She m. (2) _____ WILLIS, (5) William BLAKE (1656), soldier who may not have married, (6) Nathaniel BLAKE (b. 1659).  He m. Martha MORY and had 7 children, (7) Edward BLAKE (b. 1662).  He m. Elizabeth MORY and had 6 children, (8) Experience BLAKE (b. 1665.  She m. Eleazer CARVER, (9) Agnes BLAKE (b. 1667), (10) Susan BLAKE (b. 1670) & (11) Mehitable BLAKE who m. William BRIGGS.

4. James BLAKE- Bpt. 27 Apr. 1624, Pitminster.  He d. 28 June 1700, Dorchester.  He m. (1) Elizabeth CLAPP (b.a. 1651) dau. of Dea. Edward CLAP & Prudence CLAP.  She d. 16 Jan. 1693/4, age 61.  He m. (2) Elizabeth SMITH, 17 Sept. 1695, dau. of Henry & Judith SMITH and widow of Peter HUNT.  He built a very substantial houe off Cottage Street in Dorchester about 1650 which remained in the BLAKE family until 1825.

[photo]

HOUSE OF JAMES BLAKE IN DORCHESTER

In 1895, due to street widening, the Dorchester Historical Society moved this house to Richardson where it is now being maintained by the society.  James BLAKE had 6 children by his first wife: (1) James BLAKE (b. 1652).  He m. (1) Hannah MACEY & (2) Ruth BACHELLOR, (2) John BLAKE (b. 1656).  He m. Hannah _____ and had 7 children, (3) Elizabeth BLAKE (b. 1658).  She m. Jeremiah FULLER and had one son, (4) Jonathan BLAKE (b. 1660), d.y., (5) Sarah BLAKE (b. 1665), d.y., (6) Joseph BLAKE (b. 1667).  He m. Mehitable BIRD.  Eleven children.

References:

NER Jan. 1891, p. 35-38.

NER Vol. 89, p. 285-187.

Lineal Ancestors of Rhoda (AXTELL) CORY, 1937, Vol. II Pt. 1, p. 121.

BLAKE Family, by Samuel BLAKE, 1857.

BLAKEs of Somersetshire, from notes of Horatio G. SOMERBY, 1881.

Increase BLAKE of Boston, by Francis E. BLAKE, 1898.

*****

[page 101]

OVER STOWEY, HOME OF THE BLAKE FAMILY OF SOMERSET

Over Stowey Somerset was the home of the BLAKE family in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Here are buried the ancestors of Elizabeth SAUNDERS, wife of Henry WOLCOTT: her maternal grandfather, John BLAKE, the elder (d. 1578), and her great-grandfather, Humphrey BLAKE (d. 1558).  It is believed John BLAKE was buried in the church but his stone was removed and it may be the illegible memorial in the bell room.  There is a large stone in the aisle of the church for Humphrey BLAKE (d. 1619), brother of Anne BLAKE, mother of Elizabeth SAUNDERS.

Humphrey BLAKE purchased large estates in this area and he became lord of Plainsfield Manor and was patron of the churches of Over Stowey & Aisholt.  The Plainfield Manor was owned, in large part, by the BLAKE family for over 200 years.  This manor house, one mile south of Over Stowey is now in Spaxton, and its name has been changed to the Courthouse Farm House.  It is occupied by Mr. & Mrs. Ron DALLEY & Mrs. Beatrice May PITTY.  Up to 1921 there was a fireplace in this house that bore the BLAKE coat-of-arms but it was removed that year and taken to Yeovil, Somerset.

[page 102]

[photo]

OVER STOWEY CHURCH – 1989

[photo]

TOMBE OF HUMPHREY BLAKE – DIED 1619

[photo]

FORMER PLAINSFIELD MANOR HOUSE, MRS. PITTY (l.) & MRS. DALLEY (r.) 1989

[page 112]

CALNE, WILTSHIRE, HOME OF THE BLAKE FAMILY

The BLAKE family, from whom Anne BLAKE, mother of Elizabeth SAUNDERS, wife of Henry WOLCOTT descended, lived in Calne, Wiltshire for centuries.  They left the area in the 18th century.  The ancestral home of the BLAKE family was the manor house of Pinhills.  The BLAKEs acquired the manor of Pinhills in the 14th century.  They were not ennobled with exalted titles but they could boast of noble lineage, for their alliance with the families of FIENNES and DANVERS, they were descended from the worthy founder of New College, Oxford and Winchester College.  The BLAKE family became the most prominent in the borough and they sent members to Parliament as early as 1381.  By the begining of the 16th century the faily had spread into several distinct branches, but all living in the neighborhood of Pinhills.

The 12th century church of St. Mary The Virgin, in Calne, was built on the site of a previous Saxon church.  On 21 April 1628, the Norman tower collapsed and it was replaced by the present, magnificent 120 ft. tower.

The great-great-great grandparents of Anne BLAKE (b.a. 1549) were Robert BLAKE of Calne and Quenberford and his wife, Avice WALLOP (d. 1474) of Southampton, Hampshire.  Both are buried in the Calne church.  There used to be a stained glass window of the chancel, in which he appeared, with a surcoat charged with his Armorial bearings.  His wife appeared in a long robe with a scarf embroidered with arms of her family.  This window was destroyed when the steeple crashed to the ground in 1639.

In the British Museum (Harl. M.S. No. 1443, fol. 258) there is a drawing of two kneeling figures copied by John WITHIE, in the year 1616, from the chancel windows of Calne church.  The male is represented in a tabard, with arms of BLAKE, singly.  On the mantle worn by the female is Gules a bend argent with a cresent for difference.  A sketch of this window is included in this volume under the chapter titled, “BLAKE English Ancestry From Chart in Wiltshire.”

In the Civil War in the 1640′s the BLAKEs sided with the Parliamentary forces, against the Crown.  At the time, Henry BLAKE, and his wife, Abigail STRINGER, occupied the Pinhills manor house.  In 1643, he decided to fortify the house and he garrisoned it with musketeers.  He was aided by Colonel MASSEY, Governor of Gloucester, who surrounded it with a moat.  Then he constructed an additional outer ring of water, traces of which are still visible today.

[page 113]

[photo]

Present Pinhills Manor House, Built About 1650

When the Royalists in nearby Devizes learned of these fortifications under construction, they sent a raiding party that surrounded the house.  Believing their situation was futile, the defenders surrendered.  A few weeks later the Royalists demolished the house and drained the moat.

The present house which stands at Pinhills, just beyond the moat, was built from the ruins of the old manor house.  It was supposedly built by Ambrose BLAKE, son of Henry, and he was there the year after the Civil War.  The last BLAKE of Pinhills left the ancestral home and died, 10 July 1731, in Bristol.  His daughter, Frances, erected an impressive memorial to her father in the Gaunt or Mayor’s Chapel at Bristol.  He is called, “Henricus BLAAKE de Pinnells”, and his name appears with the arms of the family.

******

Further Observations on the Ancestry of Colonel Thomas Ligon of Henrico County

Source: Neil D. Thompson, “Further Observations on the Ancestry of Colonel Thomas Ligon of Henrico County,” Virginia Genealogist 38[1994].

[page 48]

Fifteen years ago there was published in this journal a useful correction to what had previously been published concerning the descent of the immigrant Thomas LIGON from the family of LYGON of Madresfield, co. Gloucester,¹ and thus from the Lords BERKELEY and other notable medieval English families.  The authors apparently did not notice that John SMYTH of Nibley had covered the ground before them² and omitted a number of important documents in their account.  Having been requested to review the proposed line by a descendant,³ and since the promised further account which had been planned never appeared, it seemed appropriate to review the line of descent from William LYGON of Madresfield to the immigrant with the additional information.

William LYGON of Madresfield, born in or about 1512,⁴ died at Madresfield 8 Sept. 1567 and was buried at Great Malvern “in the high chancel” 2 Oct. 1567.⁵ His will, dated 22 Aug. 1567 and proved 12 Aug. 1568,⁶ named his eldest son Richard as executor and entailed upon him the lion’s share of the family lands.  His second son Thomas was named in the remainder after Richard’s heirs male.  He did not mention his three younger sons, his three elder daughters (all married by then) or his wife, though she

──────────────────────────────

¹ Michael J. Wood and Gary Boyd Roberts, “Four Thomas LYGONs (LIGONs): An Abstract of New Findings,” The Virginia Genealogist, v. 22 (1978), pp. 353-55.  These notes do not concern themselves with the career and family of (Col.) Thomas LIGON in Virginia.

² John Smyth, of Nibley, The Lives of the BERKELEYs … (3 v.; Gloucester, 1883-85), v. 2, p. 178, 183-84.

³ Brice M. Clagett, Esq., of Washington, D.C., who has kindly granted permission to publish the findings separately in advance of the appearance of his book on the ancestry of his children, to be published next year.

⁴ Inquisition post mortem of (Sir) Richard LYGON, Public Record Office, Chancery Ser. 2, 109:74 (Gloucester), 110:172 (Worcester), which shows William LYGON age 44 in 1556.

⁵ Great Malvern, Worcestershire, Parish register, unpaged.

⁶ Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 15 Babington (1568).

[page 49]

did survive him.

As early as 1529 he contracted to marry Eleanor DENNIS,⁷ daughter of (Sir) William DENNIS of Dirham, co. Gloucester, by his wife Anne, daughter of Maurice, Lord BERKELEY.⁸ She was dead by 2 March 1585/6 when the administration of her intestate estate was granted to her three younger sons, Thomas, Hugh and Francis LYGON; the probate documents are lost but the act book preserves the date.⁹ She was probably residing on the LYGON dower lands in co. Gloucester.

As Richard LYGON, eldest son and heir, was age thirty years and more when his father’s inquisition post mortem was taken,¹⁰ thus born in or before 1537, and if three of Richard’s four sisters were married by 1567, so born by 1547, we pay [sic] place the birth of Thomas LYGON, second son, in about 1545.  He was buried at Elkstone, co. Gloucester, as “Thomas LIGON, Gent.,” on 14 Aug. 1603.¹¹ No probate record appears to exist for him but there seems to be no reason to doubt the list of his seven children given by Smyth, who would have known his eldest son Thomas, receiver for his cousin Henry, Lord BERKELEY, personally.¹²

Thomas LYGON married his cousin Frances DENNIS, daughter of Hugh and Katharine (TRYE) DENNIS of Puchlechurch, co. Gloucester.¹³ She survived her husband and died at Caludon, co. Warwick, and was buried 30 Jan. 1634/5 at Walsgrave-on-Sowe in the same county;¹⁴ her will, dated 17 Oct. 622 [sic] and proved 1 June 1625,¹⁵ mentions only two children, her sons Thomas, named executor, and Richard.

──────────────────────────────

⁷ William D. LIGON, The LIGON Family and Connections (2 v.; Hartford, Conn., 1947-57), v. 1, p. 45, dates the marriage contract to Autumn 1529, probably from the original in the Madresfield archives.

⁸ Smyth, op. cit., v. 2, p. 178.  For a family pedigree see also (Sir) John Maclean and W.C. Heane, ed., The Visitation of the County of Gloucester … (Harleian Society, Publications, Visitation ser., v. 21; London, 1885), pp. 50-51.

⁹ Consistory Court of Gloucester, Act Book, 1585.

¹⁰ Inquisition post mortem of William LYGON, Public Record Office, Chancery ser. 2, 148:1 (Worcester), 149:128 (Gloucester).

¹¹ Elkstone, Gloucestershire, Parish register.

¹² Smyth, op. cit., v. 2, p. 184.

¹³ Maclean and Heane, op. cit., p. 51.

¹⁴ Walsgrave-on-Sowe, Warwickshire, Parish register, unpaged.

¹⁵ Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 70 Clarke (1625), in which it is said that she is residing at Merson, co. Wilts.

[page 50]

The son Thomas LYGON, born in or about 1577 (aged 44 “or thereabouts” in 1621),¹⁶ was buried at Walsgrave-on-Sowe as “Mr. Thomas LIGON from Stoke” on 20 Dec. 1626.¹⁷ He married there 18 Aug. 1623¹⁸ Elizabeth PRATT (“Mr. Thomas LIGGINS and Elizabeth PRATT from Caludon”), baptized at Stoke-Biggin, co. Warwick, 10 Oct. 1602,¹⁹ buried at Walsgrave-on-Sowe as “Elizabeth LIGON” 19 Aug. 1631,²⁰ daughter of Dennis or Dionis PRATT and his wife.  The nuncupative will of Denis PRATT, undated but proved 21 July 1614,²¹ left everything to his wife Ann “to bring up the children”; the estate was a small one and it appears that Elizabeth PRATT was well below the social level of her husband, for she is not called “Mrs.” at marriage, at burial or in her estate proceedings.  John Smyth does not mention any prior wife for Thomas LYGON and, given the short period of time between marriage and the birth of the son Thomas (less than five months) it is likely that Elizabeth PRATT had been a housekeeper or maidservant for Thomas LYGON and was impregnated by him.

Administration of the estate of Thomas LYGON “of Stoke in the County [sic] of the City of Coventry” was granted to his widow Elizabeth 16 Feb. 1626/7.²² Stoke and Walsgrave-on-Sowe are suburban parishes to the City of Coventry while Caludon was part of the ancient parish of St. Michael’s, Coventry; since the early registers of St. Michael’s are destroyed, it is good that the LYGONs seem to have had their baptisms, marriages and burials at Walsgrave-on-Sowe (sometimes “Sowe,” a short form, is found).

Administration of the estate of Elizabeth PRATT alias LIGGON of Aldridge, co. Warwick [Aldridge is in fact in co. Stafford] was granted 30 Aug. 1631 to Richard LIGGON, paternal uncle of Thomas and Joan LIGGON, children of the said Elizabeth.²³ Thomas had been baptized 11 Jan. 1623/4 and Joan 3 April 1625 at Walsgrave-on-Sowe as “of Caludon.”²⁴ While John Smyth

──────────────────────────────

¹⁶ Chancery Depositions, Elizabeth I-Charles I, Group 3, Bundle E 20, Suit 23, one of several valuable discoveries made by Mr. Michael Wood for the previous summary.

¹⁷ Walsgrave-on-Sowe Parish register.

¹⁸ Ibid.

¹⁹ Stoke Parish register, unpaged.

²⁰ Walsgrave-on-Sowe Parish register, unpaged.

²¹ Consistory Court of Lichfield, Original wills, 1614.  The register entries for 1614 in the Stoke Parish register are virtually illegible.

²² Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Admon. Act. Book 1625-27, p. 133.

²³ Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Admon. Act Book 1631-33, p. 48.

²⁴ Walsgrave-on-Sowe Parish register, unpaged.

[page 51]

satisfies himself with saying that Thomas and Elizabeth “hath issue” and does not name or pursue the two orphans,²⁵ the fact that the young Thomas LIGON was a cousin both to the Lord BERKELEY and to Governor (Sir) William BERKELEY [Margery (LYGON) BERKELEY, the Governor's paternal grandmother, was the eldest daughter of William and Eleanor (DENNIS) LYGON]²⁶ would go far to explain the patronage which brought him to Virginia, and, given the lack of any other qualifying Thomas LIGON/LYGON of the proper age in England, and the names that the immigrant (Col.) Thomas LIGON gave to his children and the positions of responsibility and authority held by the latter at an early age in Virginia,²⁷ gives no reason to doubt the identification made by Messrs. Wood and Roberts as the correct parentage for the immigrant.

──────────────────────────────

²⁵ Smyth, op. cit., v. 2, p. 184.

²⁶ Ibid., v. 1, p. 261; v. 2, p. 184.

²⁷ The best summary of the life and career of (Col.) Thomas LIGON in Virginia is in John Frederick Dorman, ed., Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5 (3rd ed.; Richmond, 1987), pp. 356-57.

The Great Migration Begins: Edward Rossiter

Source: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volume 3, P-W (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995).

[page 1600]

EDWARD ROSSITER

ORIGIN:  Combe St. Nicholas, Somersetshire

MIGRATION: 1630

FIRST RESIDENCE: Dorchester

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: As one of the leaders of the migration to Dorchester in New England, ROSSITER was presumably a member of Dorchester church, but there is no record to confirm this.

OFFICES: Assistant, 20 October 1629, 7 September 1630 (fined for absence from court)[MBCR 1:60, 75].

ESTATE: Sometime in 1631 Reverend John WHITE of Dorchester, Dorsetshire, prepared an account of monies owed to him by various persons in New England, among which was “The account of Mr. Edward ROSSETER’s Executor’s,” which showed that ROSSITER owed WHITE £106 9s. 9d., of which he or his son Nicholas had paid £91 7s. 9d. by 1 April 1631; most of the debt was for “the passage of 13 persons at £3 13s. 4d. each person,” along with their baggage and other goods [John White 463-64, citing MHSP 47:346-47].

BIRTH: Combe St. Nicholas, Somersetshire, say 1575, son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (_____) ROSSITER [NEHGR 138:10-11].

DEATH: 23 October 1630 (“Mr. ROSSITER one of the Assistants died” [WP 2:268]).  “The Lord hath stripped us of some principal persons: Mr. JOHNSON and his Lady, Mr. ROSSITER, Mrs. PHILIPS and other unknown to thee, we conceive that this disease grew from ill diet at sea and proved infectious” [WP 2:320].

MARRIAGE: By about 1599 _____ COMBE (perhaps), daughter of John COMBE of Combe St. Nicholas.  Edward is referred to as “my brother” by Joseph COMBE [TAG 13:146].

CHILDREN:

[page 1601]

i     NICHOLAS, b. say 1599; m. Anne _____ [NEHGR 138:14, citing PCC 98 Pembroke].

ii    DOROTHY, b. say 1608; m. Combe St. Nicholas 12 February 1629/30 Martin GROUT [NEHGR 138:12].

iii   BRYAN, b. say 1610; m. Elizabeth ALSOP [Waters 426-27, citing PCC 139 Mico].

iv    JANE, b. say 1614; m. Taunton 23 March 1639/40 Thomas GILBERT [NEHGR 138:13].

v     HUGH, b. say 1615; m. by 1641 Dorothy (COMBE) NORRIS [NEHGR 138:13].

vi    JOANE, b. about 1616 (d. Plymouth 9 June 1691 “being 75 years of age” [PChR 1:271]); m. Nicholas HART.

COMMENTS: WINTHROP records that on Thursday, 17 June 1630, “We lay at Mr. MAVEROCKE’s, and returned home on Saturday, as we came home we came by Nataskett, and sent for Capt. SQUIB ashore (he had brought the west country people, viz. Mr. LUDLOWE, Mr. ROSSITER, Mr. MAVEROCK, etc. to the Bay who were sent down at Mattapan)” [WP 2:264].

Despite the prominence and wealth of Edward ROSSITER, the identities of his chilren and their spouses remain remarkably uncertain.  In 1937 Meredith B. Colket discussed in great detail several of these problems [TAG 13:146-48].  Geoffrey Gilbert has also carefully examined some of these problems [Gilberts of New England 32-49].

BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE: Both at the beginning and end of his career Meredith B. Colket, Jr., wrote definitive treatments of the ROSSITER family, first in 1937 and then in 1984 [TAG 13:145-151; NEHGR 138:4-16].

The Great Migration Begins: James Chilton

Source: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volume 1, A-F (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995).

[page 353]

JAMES CHILTON

ORIGIN:  Leiden, Holland

MIGRATION: 1620 on Mayflower

FIRST RESIDENCE: Died before Mayflower reached Plymouth

OCCUPATION: Tailor.

ESTATE: In the 1623 Plymouth land division “Marie CHILTON” received an unknown number of acres as a passenger on the Mayflower [PCR 12:4].  In the 1627 Plymouth cattle division Mary, now the wife of John WINSLOW, is listed as the sixth person in the sixth company [PCR 12:11].

BIRTH: About 1556 (aged 63 in 1619 [Bangs 34]), probably at Canterbury, Kent, son of Lionel CHILTON by an unknown first wife [TAG 38:244].

DEATH: 8 December 1620 off Cape Cod [Prince 165].

MARRIAGE: By 1586 _____ _____; she d. Plymouth early in 1621 [Bradford 446].  (John G. Hunt has suggested, reasonably, but on limited evidence, that she was Susanne FURNER, James CHILTON’s stepsister [TAG 38:244-45].)

CHILDREN:

i     ISABELLA, bp St. Paul’s, Canterbury, Kent, 15 January 1586/7 [MF 2:5]; m. Leiden 21 July 1615 [NS] ROGER CHANDLER [M 11:129].

ii    JANE, bp. St. Paul’s, Canterbury, 8 June 1589 [MF 2:5]; no further record.

iii   JOEL, bur. St. Martin’s, Canterbury, 2 November 1593 [MF 2:5].

iv    MARY, bur. St. Martin’s, Canterbury, 23 November 1593 [MF 2:5].

v     ELIZABETH, bp. St. Martin’s, Canterbury, 14 July 1594 [MF 2:5]; no further record.

vi    JAMES, bp. St. Martin’s, Canterbury, 22 August 1596 [MF 2:5]; d. by 11 September 1603.

vii   INGLE, bp. St. Paul’s, Canterbury, 29 April 1599 [MF 2:5]; thought to be the “Engeltgen GILTEN” who m. Leiden 27 August 1622 [NS] Robert NELSON [Dexter 627]; no further record.

viii  CHRISTIAN (dau.), bp. St. Peter’s, Sandwich, Kent, 26 July 1601 [MF 2:5]; no further record.

ix    JAMES, bp. St. Peter’s, Sandwich, 11 September 1603 [MF 2:5]; no further record.

x     MARY, bp. St. Peter’s, Sandwich, 30 May 1607 [MF 2:5]; m. Plymouth by 22 May 1627 JOHN WINSLOW.

COMMENTS: Until recently there was no direct evidence that James CHILTON resided in Leiden, despite the marriage of one and perhaps two daughters there.  Recent research in Leiden has revealed a notarial record detailing an assault on James CHILTON, aged 63, and his daughter on 28 April 1619 [NS]; this assault has been interpreted as one of the reasons leading the Pilgrims to believe that they were becoming less welcome in Leiden, and therefore as a factor in the decision to leave for New England [Bangs 34; see also Stratton 262].

In his list of those on the Mayflower BRADFORD included “James CHILTON and his wife, and Mary their daughter, they had another daughter that was married, came afterward” [Bradford 442].  In his accounting of the family in 1651 BRADFORD reported that “James CHILTON and his wife also died in the first infection, but their daughter Mary is still living and hath nine children; and one daughter is married and hath a child.  So their increase is ten” [Bradford 446].

Ancestry of Edward Wales Blake and Clarissa Matilda Glidden

Source:  Edith Bartlett Sumner, Ancestry of Edward Wales Blake and Clarissa Matilda Glidden with Ninety Allied Families (Los Angeles: published by the author, 1948).  [WorldCat]

[page 1]

ARMS of the Wiltshire BLAKEs:

Argent, a chevron between three garbs sable.

CREST: On a chapeau gules, turned up ermine, a martlett, argent.

This coat of arms was borne by Admiral Robert BLAKE on his ships, as his personal arms.

The BLAKE family of Wiltshire, England, took its name from Blakeland, a parish in that county. Francis E. BLAKE in “Increase BLAKE and his Descendants” says: “For several year the writer has had a very pleasant correspondence with Edward J. BLAKE, Esq, of Crewkerne, Somerset, [a descendant of John BLAKE, a brother of our William BLAKE of Pitminster] who in his endeavors to trace his own ancestry has made extensive and apparently exhaustive research…. He believes with many others that there is sufficient substantial evidence to indicate that they were from Over-Stowey, not many miles distant from Pitminster.”

The first recorded mention of the family is in 1286:

ROBERT^I DE BLAKELAND was assessed on the Wiltshire Roll of Subsidies granted in 1286 to King EDWARD I. His son or grandson:

ROBERT^II DE BLAKELAND had a residence in Calne, Wiltshire. He was assessed on the Wiltshire Subsidy Rolls in

[page 2]

1347 for a large amount to meet the requirements of EDWARD III. By his wife Anne, daughter of William COLE, he had:

HENRY^III BLAKE, who dropped the “de” from his name, and the termination “land.” He married a daughter of Mr. Edward DURANT. They had a son:

WILLIAM^IV BLAKE, who married Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of Mr. Thomas POWER.  Their son:

HENRY^V BLAKE, of Calne, married Margaret, daughter of “Mr” BILETT. (The title Mr. denoted gentry.) Son:

ROBERT^VI BLAKE, of Calne and Quemberford, married Avice, daughter and heiress of John WALLOP, Esq. of Southampton, Hampshire, and acquired by her large estates in that county. (“Esquire” indicated the next higher rank to “Mr.”) Avice died on 10-29-1474, and she and Robert are buried inside the church at Calne, where in stained glass windows he is represented as habited in armor, with a surcoat charged with his armorial bearings.  Avice appears in a long robe with a scarf embroidered with the arms of her family: Gules, on a chevron argent, two crescents. Chil.:

• 1 Gilbert^vii. D. unm.
• 2 Alexander, D. unm.
• 3 John, 1434-1504. Inherited the est. Bur. in church at Nether Wallop. Will of 2-24-1504 proved 4-24-1504.
• 4 Robert. Succeeded John to Wiltshire estates. D.1515. M. Margaret, dau. of Sir Thomas ENGLEFIELD.
• 5 William. See below.
• 6 Alice.
• 7 Joan.

WILLIAM^VII BLAKE lived in White Parish, Wiltshire, and died in 1471. After his death the widow and two sons removed to Hampshire and settled in Andover on the estate called Eastontown, formerly part of the estate of her husband’s mother Avice WALLOP.

• 1 William^viii, eldest son and heir. See below.
• 2 Robert, of West Enham in Andover. M. _______ SNELL.

WILLIAM^VIII BLAKE lived in Andover, White Parish, in Old Hall in Eastontown. He also had lands and tenements in Knights Enham (occupied by his brother Robert in 1504). He married Mary, a daughter of Humphrey COLES of Somerset. His will was probated on 6-20-1547. Children:

• 1 Nicholas^ix, of Old Hall. Will, 1547, names wife Margaret; sons William, Edmund; daus. Alice, Elizabeth.
• 2 Humphrey. See below.
• 3 Alice. M. _______ CABULL.

[page 3]

HUMPHREY^ix BLAKE lived in Somersetshire in the early part of the sixteenth century. He purchased large estates in Over-Stowey, Somerset, where he became Lord of the Manor of Plainfield, and patron of the churches at Over-Stowey and Aisholt. Plainfield Manor was owned in a large part by the BLAKE family for over two hundred years. “Pleasantly situated on the east side of Quantock Hills, it consists of four hamlets in Marsh Hills: Adiscombe, Ely Green, and Plainfield. The manor house at Plainfield, a mile from the church, has the BLAKE arms over the fireplace in the great hall.” In 1910 it was occupied by a farmer tenant of the Earl of Egmont. In 1555 Humphrey BLAKE added the adjoining manor of Tuxwell, which he bought of George SYDENHAM. He was buried in Over-Stowey on 12-28-1558. His will, made on 11-19-1558, was probated on 5-11-1559. Among the bequests were twelve pence for each priest attending his funeral, and a sum for repairs to the church. Agnes BLAKE, his widow, was buried on 6-24-1585.

From the fact that there were two sons named John, it is thought that Humphrey may have had two wives.

Children of Humphrey [and Agnes?], order not known:

• 1 John^x, “the elder,” 1521. See below.
• 2 Robert. Of the Manor of Tuxwell. D.1592. M. Margaret SYMONDS (Her will proved 1600.)  Children:
  • 1 William^xi, of Tuxwell in 1600.
  • 2 Anstice. M. Robert BOCKINGE.
  • 3 Humphrey. Twice mayor of Bridgewater, Eng. D.1625. M. Sarah² (Humphrey¹) WILLIAMS.  Had 10 or 12 chil., among whom were: (S.C.Hist.& Gen.Mag.,39:103; 40:42)
    • 1 Robert^xii, 1599. D.1657, unmar. M.P. for Bridgewater, 1640-5. Famous admiral.  Bore coat of arms of Wiltshire BLAKEs on his ships as personal arms.
    • 2 Benjamin, 1614. D.c1689. Went to W.I. with Adm. Sir William PENN.  Commanded ship at Santa Cruz in 1657. Received large grants of land in South Carolina. Clerk of the Crown and Peace for South Carolina in 1687, etc.  Probably the only son:
      • 1 Joseph^xiii, b. Eng. D., S.C., 1700. Deputy Landgrave and twice Gov. of S.C.  “A man of property; devoted much of his fortune to the cause of immigration, and brought over to Charlestown, S.C., 1660, a company of men who ranked with the best in the land.” (Burke: Prominent Fams.of U.S.A., pp. 79-81.) M.1698, Elizabeth² (Daniel¹) AXTELL.
        • 1 Rebecca^xiv, 1699. D.,1719. M., 1717, George² (Gov. Thomas¹) SMITH.
        • 2 Joseph, 1700. D.,1751. M.,1720, Sarah² (Daniel¹) LINDREY; 5 chil.
• 3 Thomas. Inher. Tuxwell Manor. M.1569, Agnes CASTLEMAN.
• 4 John, “the younger.” M.1558, Christian JUGG.
• 5 Agnes. M. _______ MANNING.
• 6 Eleanor. M. _______ LANGHAM.
• 7 Alice. M. George SLOCOMBE. Had dau. Joane.

[page 4]

JOHN^X BLAKE “the elder” was born in 1521 and died in 1576. The name of his wife was Jane, who died in 1595.

He succeeded to the manor of Plainfield and to other estates. He received by will the patronage of the church at Aisholt, County Somerset. In his will of 11-26-1576 he bequeathed to his son Richard the advowson of the Over-Stowey church. John was buried on 12-10-1576, and Jane, his widow, was buried on 6-17-1595, both in the chancel of the church at Over-Stowey.

Children of John and (presumably) Jane:

• 1 Humphrey^xi. M.1578, Agnes JAMES.
• 2 William. See below.
• 3 Alice. M.1569, James RICHARDS.
• 4 Anne. M.1573, Thomas SAUNDERS.
• 5 Elizabeth. M. 1571, Robert SELLICK, son of Vicar SELLICK of Over-Stowey.
• 6 Richard, bap. 1-1-1563. (M.1589, Grace NAPCOTT?) Son was Vicar of Over-Stowey in 1611. Bur. in chancel.
• 7 Robert, bap. 5-12-1566. No further record found.

WILLIAM^XI BLAKE received by his father’s will, Plainfield in Over-Stowey, Bishops Lydiard, and Padnoller in Spaxton Parish. No subsequent trace of him is found on the Over-Stowey parish registers. The Taunton, Somersetshire, manor rolls show that a William BLAKE bought lands in Pitminster, Somerset, in 1586, which would correspond, perhaps, with his marriage. The Pitminster parish registers begin in 1544 and are very well preserved, yet there is not a single BLAKE entry until 1588, when Grace BLAKE was baptized. The logical inference is that there were no BLAKEs in Pitminster before 1588, and that this William BLAKE who appears in Pitminster for the first time in that year is the same man whose name disappeared from the Overton-Stowey registers.

A William BLAKE was buried in Pitminster, 6-13-1642. A widow Anne BLAKE was buried there on 8-14-1644.

Children, as written in Pitminster parish registers:

• 1 Robert^xii BLAKE (perhaps a son). M., Pitminster, 1617, Sara WICHAM.
• 2 Grace, d. of Will^m BLAKE, bapt. 9 day of February 1588.
• 3 Eme, d. of William BLAKE, bapt. 3rd of December 1592.
• 4 William BLACK, son of William BLAKE, Bap. Xth Day of July, 1594. This is the immigrant WILLIAM¹ BLAKE.
• 5 John BLACK, son of William BLACKE, was Bap. the XIXth day of June, 1597. (D.1645. Grandfather of famous Rev. Malachi BLAKE who was in Monmouth’s Rebellion.)
• 6 Añe BLAAK, daughter of William BLAAK was baptized the sixteenth day of October 1600. (She m.1628, Thomas BIDGOOD.)
• 7 Richard BLAAK, son of William BLAAK, was baptized seventeenth day of Aprill, 1603.

[page 5]

The account in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1857, Vol.11:181, giving the parents of Mr. William BLAKE of Dorchester, Mass., as Giles and Dorothy [TWEEDY] BLAKE, of Little Baddow, Essex, England, was corrected in Vol. 45:35, but has unfortunately been accepted by many compilers of this line of BLAKEs.

WILLIAM¹ BLAKE, the immigrant to America, was the son of William and Anne BLAKE of Pitminster, County Somerset, England, born according to one writer on 6-5-1594. He was baptized in Pitminster, 7-10-1594.  The Pitminster register states: “William BLAKE was married to Agnis BAND, widow, the XXIJth day of September, 1617.”  She may have been a daughter of Hugh THORNE, and the widow of Richard BAND of Batherford. William BLAKE died 10-25-1663, and his widow, Agnes, died 7-22-1678, both in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

The years between 1624 and 1636 are unaccounted for. During that time his son Edward was born, but where is not at present known. Search of the records of the church at Aisholt, in which his grandfather John BLAKE had an interest, might reveal much. It might also be pointed out that his second cousin, the famous Admiral Robert BLAKE, was a contemporary of his – perhaps William sailed with him before deciding on New England as his future home.

It has been asserted that the BLAKE family came with the Winthrop Fleet, in the Mary and John, but they are not on the passenger list. The Cleveland Genealogy, without giving the authority, says William sold a house at Aisholt in January 1630, and then sailed for New England. At any rate, William BLAKE had the first allotment of land granted in Dorchester, Mass., on 5-14-1636. He joined Dorchester First Church before 3-14-1639, the date on which he was accepted a Freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Only proprietors and church members could become Freemen, with the privilege of the franchise, and eligible to hold office.

Specimens of his writing and fac simile of his will may be found in “Increase BLAKE, His Ancestors and Descendants,” which says this about him: “There is no record in Pitminster, or evidence of his residence between the year 1624, when his son James was baptized, and 1636, when he was found in America. There is no foundation whatever for the assertion that he came in 1630 in the Mary and John… Considering the prominent position which he subsequently occupied in Dorchester, it does not seem plausible that he could have joined any settlement in this country without so making his worth known to his associates that his name would appear upon its records. In the absence of the positive evidence it is reasonable to suppose that he came to New England in the fall of 1635 or the early months of 1636, and remained at Dorchester or Roxbury, making the acquaintance of Mr. PYNCHON in May 1636, when they … drew up and

[page 6]

signed the articles of association at Agawam, now Springfield, Mass., which agreement is still preserved…. There can be no doubt that he was a man of integrity, and above the average intelligence of his neighbors. He served the town in various capacities: Constable, 1641; on the committee to build the new meeting house, 1645; Selectman 1645 to 1647, also 1651; and he was one of five men who were given authority to make assignments of lots and manage affairs of the settlement in general.”

The Springfield agreement stipulated: “William BLAKE shall have sixteen polls in bredth for his home lott, and all the marsh in breadth abuttinge at the end of it to the next high land, and three acrs more in some other place.”

In Dorchester he served as Clerk of the Militia, and in 1646 was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts — unless this was his son William, of Milton, Mass., who was then twenty-six.  In 1656 he was chosen Dorchester’s first Recorder, for which he received twenty shillings per year, and was rate free.

His will was dated 9-3-1661, one of the bequests being: “Unto the Towne of Dorchester twenty shillings to be bestowed for repairing of the buring place, soe swine and other vermine may not añoy the graues of the saints, provided it be repaired within one yeare after my decease.” (In 1664 a committee of Selectmen was appointed “to gett the burying place well and sufficiently to be fenced in, and to demand of John BLAKE twenty shillings given by his father in his last will … to that end and vse.”) Half his estate was to go to his beloved wife; the other half to be divided equally among his five children — “not that I disrespect my eldest sonne, as he hath ben and is soe dutiful a child vnto me as any of my children, but because he hath least need of it, and he hath no charge.”  (See John-2.)

His great-grandson James-4 BLAKE wrote in his Annals of Dorchester: “This year died Mr. William BLAKE who had been clerk of the Writs for the County of Suffolk and Recorder for the Town in 1656, and continued in office about eight years. He was also Clerk of the Training Band. He died the 25th of the 8th mo.:
1663, in his 69th year…”

Soon after his death his widow, Agnes BLAKE, removed to Boston, probably to live with her son John, or perhaps with her only daughter Anne, already the widow of Jacob LEAGER. The Dorchester church record of 2-6-1670 states: “Sister Agnes BLAKE (the wife of William BLAKE, deceased), she having removed her dwelling to Boston, was dismissed to Joyne to the theird Church in Boston.”

Quotation from Symonds’ “History of South Boston” : “This family of BLAKEs in all their generations have been distinguished for their piety, for their great accuracy in matters of fact. Many of them have held important offices of honor and trust in the community, and no records of past events are more reliable than those kept by them. The Annals of Dorchester, written by James BLAKE, are historical documents of the first importance, and no surveys and plans are more complete and accurate than his.”

[page 7]

Children of William and Agnes, as given in the Pitminster parish registers:

• 1 John². “1618: John BLAKE, sonne of William BLAKE, and Ane BLAKE daughter of William BLAKE was baptised xxxth of August.” D.,Boston, 1-25-1689. He left his houses and lands in Boston to John³ (James²) BLAKE. Joined Anc. & Hon. Artillery Co., Boston, 1642. Exec. of Gov. John WINTHROP’s will, 1676. M., Boston, 1654, “age 36,” Mary² (Nathaniel¹) SOUTHER, widow of Jospeh² (Abraham¹) SHAW; 1 dau., Hannah, 1757-1759. TORREY-BLAKE Gen. says: “Probably m. dau. of Edward BRECK of Dorchester, c1640; she d.1645, leaving chil.”
• 2 Anne. Bap., 1618, w. John, above. D.1681, “ae 63.” Her tombstone now in possession of the Bostonian Society, having been taken from the Granary Burying Ground. M. 1st, bef.1651 (as 3d wife), Jacob LEAGER of Boston (1603-1663). M.2nd, [William?] HALLOWELL.
  • 1 Bethiah LEAGER, 1651. B. in William BLAKE Sr.’s house in Dorchester. M. Fearnot SHAW; 3 chil.
  • 2 Hannah LEAGER, 1655. M.1st, John WALKER. M.2nd, Thomas PHILLIPS; 1 dau.
• 3 William, “sonne of William BLAKE was baptised 6th of September 1620.” D., Milton, Mass., 1703.  Kept an inn in Milton, Mass. (Joined Anc. & Hon. Artillery Co., 1646?) M.c1649, Anne —— (alive 1680); 11 chil. See Americana, Vol. 31, for descendants. M.2nd,1693, Hannah² (Thomas¹) TOLMAN (1640-1729), (the widow of George LYON); no chil. Overseer, James’ will, 1700.
• 4 James, “sonne of William BLAKE was baptised 27th April 1624.”
• 5 Edward, c1625. Prob. youngest, but baptism not found. John² BLAKE called him brother in will, 1689.  D.Milton, Mass., 1692. M.,c1653, Patience² (John¹) POPE, (d.1690); 6 chil. See Bangor, Me., Hist. Magazine, Vol. 2:1-18, and N.E. Register, Vol. 89:284, for descendants.

JAMES² BLAKE was baptized in Pitminster, County Somerset, England, 4-27-1624. He married in Dorchester, Mass., “about the first of January, 1652,” Elizabeth, daughter of Edward CLAPP of Dorchester. She was born in Dorchester, in 1634, and died there on 1-16-1695, “in her 61st year.” (See CLAPP.) James married again, on 9-17-1695, Mrs Elizabeth HUNT of Rehoboth, Mass. Mrs. HUNT was the daughter of Henry SMITH from Norfolk County, England, and had married Peter HUNT in 1646. James died on 6-28-1700 in Dorchester.  James came to America with his parents about 1636, but the first record found is his marriage in 1652.  The next year he was made Freeman. He is said to have built the first house in Dorchester Neck, in 1650, which was of such a substantial character that in 1669 the town voted to build for its minister “such a house as James BLAKE’s house, namely 38 foote in length and 20 foote wide and 16 foote between its joists….”

The Burlingame Family in the Pacific Northwest

Source: Gary L. Burlingame, The Burlingame Family in the Pacific Northwest (published by the author, 1986).

[page a]

Dear Readers:

This is primarily a history of the BURLINGAME family of Oregon and Washington. It lists most of the descendants of Henry S. BURLINGAME (1820-1890), who crossed the plains on the Oregon Trail in 1852 from Illinois. Henry settled in Clark County, Washington. Henry was married twice and had five children who lived to adulthood, married and had children of their own. Henry’s descendants are now living in more than 20 states and in several foreign countries. A large number of us still live in Oregon and Washington, however.

I began this project in 1967 when I was a college student working at the Oregon State Fair in Salem. One evening I walked into an exhibit hall and saw a display set up by a genealogist. She had traced her family back hundreds of years and seemed confident that anybody could do what she had done. She gave me the names of several people researching the BURLINGAME family. I wrote a few letters and quickly realized that I knew very little about my family. That’s when I began bugging many of you with letters about our family. It would be impossible to thank every person for the help he or she gave me these past 19 years. Yes… 19 years! I have a good excuse for it taking so long. You’ll find out why when you read about me on page 120.

Why did I bother to put all of this together? I did it for us — the BURLINGAME family. We all used to be very close to one another. At least that’s what my late father always said. The family he knew, however, seemed to end in the 1930′s when many of the older members passed on. As economic conditions worsened in the Northwest, many of us moved to greener pastures — California, in particular. This book is a last attempt to draw some of us together again.

I knew almost nothing about our family when I started, but can now share a lot with you. The BURLINGAMEs are an old family in this country, with roots going back to 1650 when Roger BURLINGHAM (1620-1718) arrived in Boston from Norfolk, England. Roger later moved to Cranston, Rhode Island where he raised ten children. Three of Roger’s sons became the ancestors for the 3,500 BURLINGAME families found in the 1970 U.S. census. There are probably 5,000 families with the name BURLINGAME in the USA now — not very many compared to the two million SMITH families.

Our surname is an American corruption of the English “BURLINGHAM.” During Roger’s lifetime, the spelling changed to BURLINGAME. This was probably due to pronunciation differences between the early colonists and Englishmen who remained behind. Colonists, who came from many parts of England began mispronouncing our family name. In Norfolk, England, the last syllable of BURLINGHAM is not pronounced ham, but um. For example, the famous palace is pronounced Bucking-um and not Bucking-ham. Roger BURLINGHAM probably got tired of hearing ham at the end of his name and changed the spelling in the hopes of getting the original um pronunciation. We all know it didn’t work. He got game instead of the original Burling-um. Early colonials were notoriously inconsistent in their spellings. In many of the old colonial records, our name was spelled: BURLLINGGAME. That’s how most of us pronounce the name today but we’ve dropped the extra “l” and “g”. The first section of the book tells you what the meaning of BURLINGHAM originally was.

[page b]

Our first ancestor in the Northwest, Henry S. BURLINGAME, was a seventh generation descendant of Roger BURLINGHAM. Thus, Henry’s five children were eighth generation descendants and his grandchildren, ninth, etc. In this book, the first seven generations are listed in order, starting with Roger and ending with Henry. Beginning with Henry, I have listed all of his descendants according to the order in which his children were born. Henry’s five children who lived to adulthood were: Martin, Charles, Amos, Harriet, and Mary. In this book, all of Martin’s descendants are listed before Charles’, and Charles before Amos’, etc. Each descendant is identified with a generation number. If you don’t know who you are descended from, all you have to do is to refer to the index at the back of the book. All women are listed by their maiden names.

Have I totally confused you? I hope not, for the one thing I really wanted out of this was a readable book that wasn’t confusing. Many of you have shared family tales and secrets with me that make this more than just a born – married – died list of dates. If I’ve mixed up my facts or have omitted a cousin or two, I apologize in advance.

I mentioned that we all go back to 1650 in this country. That is misleading, for the early LIPPITT, BRIGGS, PLIMPTON, HAWKS, POTTER and KNOWLES families who intermarried with our early ancestors, go back to the 1620′s. I hope that some of you will be inspired by this book to do research on these branches of our family.

…

[page c]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		Pages
Origins of the BURLINGAME family in England		1 – 5
1st Generation:	Roger BURLINGAME (1620-1718) &
	Mary LIPPITT BARLINGSTONE (1643-1718)	6 – 14
2nd Generation:	John BURLINGAME (1664-1719) &
	Mary K. LIPPITT (1666-1708)	15 – 18
3rd Generation:	John BURLINGAME Jr. (1690-1755) &
	Sarah BRIGGS (1688-1763)	19 – 20
4th Generation:	John BURLINGAME III (1712-1786) &
	Elizabeth PLIMPTON (1722-1788)	21 – 24
5th Generation:	Daniel BURLINGAME (1745-1820) &
	Sarah (1750-c.1810)	25 – 26
6th Generation:	James R. BURLINGAME (1784-1852) &
	Martha HAWKS (1785-186?)	27 – 28
7th Generation:	The BURLINGAMEs come to the Northwest
	Henry S. BURLINGAME (1820-1890) &
	Harriet BEEBE BARTLETT (1814-1852)
	Drusilla SHORT (1834-1896)	29 – 39
…
Sources of Information:		158 – 163
Name Index:		164 – 173

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THE BURLINGAME FAMILY

Our family’s history began in England. The original inhabitants of what is now England were the Celts. Two thousand years ago, the Romans invaded England and pushed the Celts into present-day Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The Roman soldiers brought settlers with them from the continent. These settlers intermarried with Britons who stayed behind, and established a thriving colony which lasted relatively intact for 400 years.

The Celts and another tribe, the Picts, continued to attack the borders of Roman Britain, but they were usually repulsed by Roman troops garrisoned near the borders and towns. In the early 5th century A.D., however, attacks in other parts of the Roman Empire forced the Emperor to withdraw troops from Britain. With the Roman garrisons gone, the Scots and Picts became more aggressive.

The southern Britons, being increasingly unable to stop the invaders, asked for help from the Roman General Aetius. Aetius, however, was too involved fighting Atilla the Hun, who was threatening the city of Rome, to help the Britons. In desperation, the Britons sought the aid of the Saxons, a people living in what is now Holland and Germany near the mouth of the Elbe River.

According to Anglo-Saxon narratives, three ships containing 1600 men were dispatched to help the Britons under the command of the brothers, Hengest and Horsa. The Saxons were assigned the Isle of Thanet in present-day Kent for habitation, and from there marched against the Scots and Picts, gaining complete victory. The date assigned for these events is 449 A.D.

The narratives then state that the Saxons, finding their new home desirable, turned their arms against the Britons. Reinforced by new Saxon tribes, the Angles and Jutes, the invaders conquered Kent, the area between London and the Channel, and ultimately the greater part of what is now England. This conquest took approximately 150 years. The saga of King Arthur comes from this period. He is believed to have been one of the leaders of the Britons in their struggle with the Anglo-Saxons.

In 571-575 A.D., the Kingdom of the East Angles was founded by Uffa, an early Anglo-Saxon leader. King Uffa governed his people through many small chieftaincies, headed by chiefs. One of these chieftaincies was BYRLINGAHAME, which means “Byrl,” the cup bearer, “inga,” a Saxon suffix meaning son, and “hame,” the Angle suffix meaning home or clan. BYRLINGAHAME thus means the home or clan of the son of Byrl. The ancient BYRLINGAHAMEs lived in the area later called East Anglia–the present-day counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, until the beginning of the 9th century A.D., when new invaders from northern Europe arrived on the scene.

The new invaders were the Danes — another tribe of Germanic origin. Often called Vikings, they eventually conquered all of East Anglia. The BYRLINGAHAMEs fled with the other Anglo-Saxon chiefs to the southern Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex. By a treaty made at Wedmore in 878 A.D., the King of Wessex, Alfred the Great, recognized the Danish conquests. Alfred made a pact with the Danish leader Guthrum.

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This treaty required the Danes to be baptised. Records show that Guthrum and 30 of his followers were. Relative peace returned to Britain. The Kings of Wessex became the Kings of England. The BYRLINGAHAMEs returned to East Anglia and intermarried with the Viking settlers who had driven them from their lands earlier.

In the year 1066 A.D., the last great invasion of England occurred. Thousands of Normans from France followed the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, to England in his successful bid to seize the English throne from his Anglo-Saxon cousin, King Harold. Most of the higher ranking Anglo-Saxons were dispossessed of their lands which were given by William to his Norman supporters. In time, however, the Normans also intermarried with the people they had conquered. The BYRLINGAHAME family survived.

The names BYRLINGAHAME and BYRLINGAHAMINGA appear frequently in the ancient Saxon Chronicles. The final suffix “inga” was dropped by the 11th century. The suffix “ing” still appears in many English names, and when coupled with the Angle suffix “hame” meaning home or clan, we have names such as BIRMINGHAM, BUCKINGHAM, CHELTINGHAM, CUNNINGHAM and DILLINGHAM, among others.

Our name was spelled many ways, some of which were: BYRLINGAHAM (Worcester Rolls 972 A.D.); BAELINGAM (Crawford Charters 998 A.D.); BERLINGEHAM, BIRLINGHAM, BERLINGAHAM, BURLINGHAM, BURLINGAME (Fleet of Fines, 1198 A.D.). After the 12th century, the name was generally spelled BURLINGHAM.

In the County of Norfolk, east of the cathederal city of Norwich on the Yare River, and halfway between Norwich and Yarmouth, near the town of Acle, are three parishes known as Burlingham St. Peter, Burlingham St. Andrew, and Burlingham St. Edmund. Mr. and Mrs. Melvin BURLINGAME of Minneapolis visited these parishes in 1960 and gathered much information on the early BURLINGHAMs of Norfolk.

The Burlingham St. Peter church, located in North Burlingham, was built about 1050 A.D., and is now in complete ruin and overgrown with brush. Burlingham St. Andrew, built about 1275 A.D. is no longer in use, although it is still standing. A monument to the Robert BURLINGHAM family is located in this church. Burlingham St. Edmund, located in South Burlingham, built about 1500 A.D., is still used occasionally.

About three-fourths of a mile from Burlingham St. Edmund stands Burlingham Hall, a manor house built about 1500 A.D. that was the home of some of the early BURLINGHAMs. While in England, the Melvin BURLINGAMEs met the man who a few years before had discovered a tunnel which ran from Burlingham Hall to Burlingham St. Edmund. When and for what purpose this tunnel was built is unknown. It had been sealed for many years at the time of its discovery.

Burlingham Hall is still used as a residence. It is owned by the Crown and is sometimes used to house important visitors to Britain. When Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany visited his grandmother, Queen Victoria, he and his party were housed at Burlingham Hall.

The early BURLINGHAMs do not appear to have suffered too much from the Norman invasion of 1066 A.D. Many of the early BURLINGHAMs served as knights and were granted a fee. A knight’s fee was the first, most

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common, and most esteemed form of holding land. As the owner of a fee, a knight was bound in feudal times to attend his Lord in war for 40 days for each fee held. A Lordship often grew out of these knight’s fees. The title of knight was not hereditary, but the right to use a coat-of-arms was permitted.

Many of the early Norfolk County records have been destroyed over the centuries, but there is a steady record of BURLINGHAM ancestors mentioned in the records still surviving:

Hugh DE BIRLINGHAM, knighted by William the Conqueror in 1075 A.D.

Walterus DE BURLINGHAM was a witness of a deed confirming a grant to the Abby of St. Benel of Holme, Norfolk Co., in 1163 A.D.

Elfide BIRLINGHAM was granted land in Birlingham, and said grant was witnessed by Nicholas DE BIRLINGHAM. No date given.

In the 4th year of the reign of King John (1203 A.D.), a fine was levied between Joceline DE BURLINGHAM and Matilda, his wife; William DE BURLINGHAM and Margaret, his wife; John DE DEPEHAM and Isabel, his wife, and Emme, their sister, to Edwin CARPENTER and Jeffrey DE AMBLIE for 3½ acres in Massingham, and a half of a knight’s fee in Beghton. No consideration was mentioned, but 20 marks of silver were mentioned for the fee. This was evidently the settlement of an estate.

John DE DEPEHAM and Isabel, his wife, leased to Joceline DE BIRLINGHAM and Matilda, his wife, 5 acres in Oxburg at 18 shillings sterling, and 12 acres in Birlingham, the regrant for the lives of Joceline and Matilda at 4 shillings per year, for which they paid 5 marks of silver.

Ailward DE BIRLINGHAM and Edwin, his son, leased Lingwode land to Gilbert DE LINGWODE and Richard, his son. (c. 1205 A.D.)

William, son of Brictric DE BIRLINGHAM, was granted lands in South Berlingham. No date given.

In the “Monasticon Anglicanum of Dugdale” is a charter of confirmation from King Henry III in the 19th year of his reign (1235 A.D.) listing donors for the founding and maintenance of a Benedictine Monastery at Bungay. Mentioned are “the gift of Roger, son of Rynuld DE BIRLINGHAM, of 30 denaratas of the rent of the lands of which Robert HOG of Lingwood holds of the same Roger.” Another entry reads: “of the gift of Roger, son of Rynuld DE BIRLINGHAM, one-half of all his white fish.” If Roger was able to contribute such a sum, it is probable that he held more than one knight’s fee.

George DE BIRLINGHAM held one fee in the 41st year of the reign of Henry III (1250 A.D.), but was not a knight.

Other mentions of BURLINGHAM family members were:

1288 A.D.–Matilda DE CATTON, widow of Alexander BIRLINGHAM sold St. Martin land to Robert DE MARTHAM.

1289 A.D.–Laurence DE BIRLINGHAM, tanner, purchased St. Peter de Parmentergate land from Robert DE NOVO, Castro Subterliman, cementarius, and Rosa, his wife.

1290 A.D.–Matilda De CATTON, relict of Allan (Alexander) DE BIRMINGHAM, deceased, sold St. Vedast land to Laurence De BIRLINGHAM and Letitia, his wife.

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1298 A.D.–Laurence DE BIRLINGHAM, tanner, and Emma, his wife, sold St. Stephen land to Hugo DE SWATHEFFIELD.

1298 A.D.–William DE BIRLINGHAM sold St. Gregory land to Thomas BRUMAN of Neuton next to Castleacre.

1310 A.D.–Laurence DE BIRLINGHAM purchased land in St. Cuthbert from Richard DE WALCOTE.

1312 A.D.–Alice, widow of Sir Roger DE HALES, Knight, and Roger, his son, rector of Norton, sold St. Vedast land to Roger DE BIRLINGHAM and Idania, his wife.

1312 A.D.–Roger DE BIRLINGHAM, tanner of Norwich, and Ida, hi wife, sold St. Vedast land to Agnes, daughter of Hugh DURRANT of Tacolston.

1320 A.D.–Roger, son of Laurence DE BIRLINGHAM, Chaplin, sold land in St. Bartholomew to Laurence DE BIRLINGHAM, tanner of Norwich and William, son of Robert ATTE CHIRCHE of Hakeford and Ethe, his wife.

1322 A.D.–Roger DE BIRLINGHAM, John TOLLE, butcher, and Geoffrey GERNEYSE, purchased St. Stephen land from Walter DE BERI and Margaret, his wife.

1322 A.D.–Otes DE BAERLINGHAM, Knight Bachelor, taken prisoner at Boroughbridge, March 16th, for fighting against the king.

1324 A.D.–Stephen DE BIRLINGHAM and Matilda, his wife, purchased land in St. George de Colgate from Walter COKEREL and Alice, his wife.

1329 A.D.–Stephen DE BIRLINGHAM and Matilda, sold land in St. George de Colgate to Alan DE GYSELINGHAM and Alice, his wife.

1333 A.D.–Stephen DE BIRLINGHAM and Matilda, his wife, sold St. George de Colgate land to Hugh GODESMAN and Beatrix, his wife.

1335 A.D.–John DE ALDERFORDE, Chaplin, and Geoffrey DE PASTON, smith, executors of John DE WYMEDHAN, deeded St. Olave land to Geoffrey DE BAUGURGE and Stephen DE BIRLINGHAM. Stephen and his wife Matilda deeded the same land back to Geoffrey DE PASTON on the same day.

1337 A.D.–Stephen DE BIRLINGHAM and Matilda, his wife, sold land in St. George de Colgate and St. Clement de Fibriggs to Edmund COSYIN.

1339 A.D.–Roger DE BIRLINGHAM, tanner, and Ida, his wife sold land in St. Vedast to William DE DONSTON.

The records from 1340 to 1500 A.D. have not been checked yet. A record has been found showing that a coat-of-arms was granted to a Sir Richard BURLINGAME, no date given. In 1351 A.D. several mentions are made of Sir Adam DE BIRLINGHAM. In this period, there was at least one Lord Mayor of London with the name BIRLINGHAM. The name is not a very common one on English records. It is assumed that most of the family continued to be based in the Norwich area of Norfolk County. Norfolk County is directly northeast of London approximately eighty miles. It is low lying swampy land used mostly for agriculture.

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The author, Gary BURLINGAME, visited Norfolk County in 1977. It is very much like Oregon’s Willamette Valley in appearance. The land is low, flat, and full of small streams and rivers. Norfolk is surrounded on the north and east by the North Sea, and you are always reminded that the sea is near by seagulls and foggy weather. Norfolk also has many windmills similar to those in Holland. The land is very marshy and constantly needs to be drained.

Norfolk peaked in the Middle Ages in population. Seven hundred years ago, Norwich, Norfolk’s largest city, rivaled London in importance. The city was badly damaged in the last World War, but its beautiful cathedral with one of the highest spires in Europe survived and still dominates the old city. Norwich has only 120,000 people now and serves as the administrative center for Norfolk County’s 600,000 people. The county is small in area, with most of its towns and villages within 25 miles of Norwich.

The late Nelson BURLINGAME traced the ancestors of the American BURLINGAME family back three generations in Norfolk. These ancestors used the name BURLINGHAM and were very likely descendants of the BURLINGHAMS of St. Stephens, St. Vedast, South Burlingham and Norwich mentioned earlier. Our known English ancestors were:

SIMON BURLINGHAM (c. 1490 – 1556). Married AGNES ______. Simon was Lord of the manor of Sharrington in Norfolk. Sharrington is approximately 25 miles NW of Norwich. Today, it is a tiny hamlet of perhaps ten houses. Simon is listed in 16th century records as having a coat-of-arms described as follows: “an argent on a bend gules cotised sable, three escallops d’or (gold).” In the 1500′s, there was more than one manor in the Sharrington area. The BURLINGHAM manor has not survived to the present. Simon’s will was dated March 28, 1555 and proved (which meant he had died) on September 25, 1556 at Norwich. His widow survived him. The will mentions sons: Peter, Nicholar, William, Giles and Thomas, and daughters: Amy and Ann.

PETER BURLINGHAM (c. 1530 – 1599) was the son of Simon and Agnes BURLINGHAM of Sharrington. Peter’s wife is unknown. Peter lived at Brenton, Norfolk, about three miles from Sharrington. Peter’s will was dated May 24, 1598 and proved on April 17, 1599. His will mentions sons: Christopher of Thornage, Thomas of Ketteringham, Roger of Norwich; daughters: Phillipa, wife of Philip HEYTHE of Stodey, and Margaret, wife of Robert MARX. The church at Thornage has a BURLINGHAM memorial inside edicated to a Christopher BURLINGHAM who died in 1717. He was probably a grandson of Peter.

THOMAS BURLINGHAM (c. 1580 – 1650′s?). Thomas was the son of Peter BURLINGHAM. He married ELIZABETH HOWARD. He lived at Ketteringham, a small village 5 miles south of Norwich. Thomas and Elizabeth are known to have had at least 2 children: Roger and Elizabeth. Thomas may have moved to Connecticut in the 1650′s with his son, Roger. His son, Roger, is considered the founder of the BURLINGAME family in America.

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FIRST GENERATION:

ROGER BURLINGAME (24 Jan 1620-1 Sep 1718) was the founder of the BURLINGAME family in America. He was born in Kent Co., England where his mother was visiting her sister. Various years: 1620, 1630 and 1638 are reported in old American records for his birth year, but the most recent research indicates that he was born in 1620. Roger was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (HOWARD) BURLINGHAM who resided in the early 1600′s in Ketteringham, a small village five miles south of Norwich in Norfolk County, England.

The author of this history, Gary BURLINGAME, visited Ketteringham in 1977. It is a village of a few hundred people, rapidly being encroached upon by the suburbs of Norwich. There is an old church on the edge of the town with monuments inside dating back to the 1600′s. There is nothing inside the church dealing with the BURLINGHAM family. A large graveyard adjoins the church, but due to the weather from the nearby North Sea, stones more than a hundred years old are now illegible.

Nelson BURLINGAME states that Roger BURLINGAME at the age of 16 enlisted in the army, serving in his uncle Roger BURLINGHAM’s regiment. About 1646, he married JACOLYN HUNTINGDON (c. 1620′s-c. 1651). A son, Roger Jr., (1648-1678) was born to them in Coventry, England. Roger BURLINGAME moved up in the ranks and became a Captain. The 1640′s were a turbulent time in England. A civil war raged between the supporters of the King, Charles I, and Parliament, led by Oliver CROMWELL. East Anglia was a Parliamentary stronghold. It appears that the BURLINGAME family supported Parliament which triumphed in 1649.

Captain Roger BURLINGAME and his company were ordered to America. Roger and his troops landed at Boston, Massachusetts on May 10, 1650. He must have been tired of Army life. Soon after reaching Boston, Roger resigned his commission and headed to the Connecticut Colony for the purpose of purchasing a farm. He intended to bring his wife and young son to America, only to learn that his wife had died in England in the meantime. The young son eventually arrived in America, probably accompanying Roger’s brother-in-law and sister when they moved to Connecticut in the mid-1650′s.

Colonial records show that Roger BURLINGAME was a witness to a court held at Stonington, Connecticut in 1654. Next, we find that he and a Thomas GRIFFIAN purchased 100 acres of land at Pequoit (New London), Connecticut on Feb. 16, 1656. GRIFFIAN is reputed to be a brother-in-law of Roger BURLINGAME, the husband of his sister, Elizabeth. The text of the land deed is as follows:

“Know all men by these present that wee Roger BURLINGHAM and Thomas GRIFFIAN, both of Pequoit in the Colonje of Conecticut doe owe and stand Indebted unto Peter BLATCHFORD of the same towne forty pounds. It is for a parcell of land by us bought of the said Peter lying on the east side of the brook called misticke and It is to be paid as followeth, to witt: tenn pounds at or before the twenty-fifth of march one thousand sixe hundred and fifty nine in good merchantable wheate and pork in an equal proportion, and tenn pounds at or

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before the twenty fifth of march in the yeare one thousand sixe hundred and sixty in good merchantable wheat and porke in an equal proportion, all which payments are to be made or tendered at the landing place by sandy point and at the price currant, and for the true performance of all and singular these payments we doe hereby mortgage and make over unto said Peter BLATCHFORD all the tract of an hundred acres lying on the east side of the brooke called misticke, by us purchased of the said Peter, to him and his heirs for ever to his or their propper use provided always that if wee shall duelly pay those payments as above said that then this ingagement or mortgage to be voyd and of none effect other wayes to stand in full force and power. In witness where of wee have sett our hands and seale this sixteenth day of February 1656.”

Witness: his marke
Jonathan BREWSTER Roger “R” BURLINGHAM & a seale
John GALLUP Thomas “L” GRIFFIAN & a seale
(source: Suffolk Deeds Liber III., page 455)

Roger BURLINGAME sold his Connecticut Colony farm on March 1, 1659. On March 14, 1659, a Thomas BURLINGHAM was named as a defendant on the complaint of Will THOMPSON who charged him with gathering the crops on this farm. Who this Thomas BURLINGHAM was is unknown. He may have been the Thomas GRIFFIAN who was a partner in the farm, and the name mistakenly given as BURLINGHAM, or it could have been the father or a brother of Roger BURLINGAME. No further mention or reference to a Thomas BURLINGHAM has been found at this early date. In a similar complaint dated March 12, 1660, William THOMPSON brought action against Peter BLATCHFORD, based on allegations that the defendant had molested him in reference to a farm which the plaintiff had purchased from Roger BURLINGAME.

In 1660, Roger BURLINGAME left Connecticut Colony for Rhode Island. It was not a long move, but only a distance of some 40-45 miles. It appears that Roger went directly to a place in Rhode Island called Mashantatack, now a part of the present cities of Warwick and Cranston. Sidney S. RIDER in his “History of Rhode Island Lands,” states that the first English settlers of Mashantatack were John HARRUD, Roger BURLINGAME and Thomas RALPH. These men claimed to have a grant from the Cooweeseette Indians bearing the date of June 6, 1662 for 4,000 acres at Patuxet, a place called Mashantatack and called by some Paquabuck. (Providence Town Papers, #0120, Book I, pg. 53)

It was in Warwick, Rhode Island that Roger filed an affidavit concerning his former Connecticut farm:

“This mortgage was acknowledged before us by Roger BURLINGAME, the 2nd of the 5th month called July 1660. Signed by Will^m CHEESBROUGH, Thomas MINOT and George PEMISON. Also stood under writ: This mortgage asknowledged before me, this xxiith day of April 1661 by Roger BURLINGAME.” Signed: John SMITH, Deputy of Warwick, R.I. Entered and recorded at request of Peter BLATCHFORD, 25th of 2nd mo. 1661. Edw. RAWSON, Recorder.

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Roger BURLINGAME’s claim to the 4,000 acres at Mashantatack was not without its challengers too. W. FIELD and a Tollarton HARRIS also claimed the land as a grant from the King. Court records in Rhode Island have the following on file:

“Tollarton HARRIS, his testimony as to some Warwick men cutting ye grass of W.FIELD and W.HARRIS, age about 18 years, being engaged, doth testify: that on the twelfth day of July, last past, which was in the year 1662, he saw Samuel GORTON the younger, George GOFF, Roger BURLINGAME and Ebenezer MOONE, mow or cut, the grass of W.FIELD an W.HARRIS, both of Providence. The meadows that the aforesaid men were cutting, he said, was at or about a place called Toskeonke, on the north side of the Pawtuxet river. Dated at Providence, this 7th day of March 1663.”

Thos. OLNEY, Deputy. (Cushman Papers)

A similar testimony by an Andrew HARRIS is also found in the Cushman Papers for the same date. The court found Roger BURLINGAME and the others guilty, and ordered them to quit the land and to pay a fine of 10 shillings to HARRIS and FIELD. FIELD and HARRIS, however, were unable to get possession of the land. The town sergeant, whose duty it was to serve the execution of the writ, evaded his duty. He did so knowing that he had the sympathy of the community in doing so, and secondly, that if he attempted to evict the defendants, they would violently resist. This appears to have happened at least once. On May 1, 1670, Tollarton HARRIS testified:

“That upon the 21st day of April, in the present year of 1670, he going along with James ROGERS, general sergeant, into Mashantatack where John HARRUD dwelleth. The said sergeant going there to serve an execution against John HARRUD, but when he was about 10 rods from the house, the said John HARRUD called to them and bid them to stand. The said John HARRUD was standing by the house pointing a gun at them, and said if they would not stand, he would shoot. The sergeant then demanded of John HARRUD to deliver the possession of the house so that he could state Mr. HARRIS therein, but HARRUD smiting his hand upon his breast answered that he would not yield possession while he had life in his body. There being John WEEKS Sr., John WEEKS Jr., Edmund CALVERY, Roger BURLINGHAM, Benjamin BARTON and divers others, to the number of fifteen or thereabouts, and when John HARRUD declared himself, John WEEKS Sr., John WEEKS Jr., and Edmund CALVERY encouraged him not to yield, but with cudgels in their hands stood in resistance to the execution.” Taken before me. Thos: OLNEY.

John HARRUD and Roger BURLINGAME eventually won their land due to the death of Tollarton HARRIS, and because they had the sentiments of the people.

“And it is ordered that Thomas RALPH, Roger BURLINGHAM and John HARRUD, or any two of them, shall be the persons to make the rate and levy the assessments on the inhabitants of Mashantatack.” (Proceedings of the General Assembly of Sep. 25, 1671)

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In October 1671, Thomas RALPH, John HARRUD and Roger BURLINGAME were ordered by the General Assembly to levy a tax of 40 shillings on the inhabitants of Mashantatack. This was a proportional amount of the 200 pounds levied on the entire Rhode Island Colony.

Roger BURLINGAME lived in Mashantatack for the rest of his long life. By about 1690 the Mashantatack area was rapidly filling up with people. The northern part of Mashantatack was being encroached upon by the town of Cranston, and to the south, the town of Warwick was rapidly growing. Roger BURLINGAME seems to have claimed both towns as his residence. This provoked an election crisis in May 1690 when Roger was elected as a Deputy to the General Assembly from Warwick. The other Deputies felt differently:

“Mr. Roger BURLINGHAM being returned to the Assembly as a Deputy from the Town of Warwick, there being much debate as to the legality of the election, the assembly do order that he is not accepted as a Deputy.” (Proceedings of the General Assembly of May 16, 1690)

The 1690 crisis finally established Roger as a legal resident of Cranston, Rhode Island since most of his land had been incorporated into the boundaries of that town. Roger continued to have some property in the town of Warwick but as he grew older, he became more involved with the public affairs of Cranston. In the town elections of June 6, 1698, Roger BURLINGAME was elected a member of the Town Council.

“Roger BURLINGAME’s homesite is about 1½ miles northwest from the Oak Lawn Depot in present-day Cranston, R.I. After passing the Old Friends Meeting House (built in 1729), go up the hill to the second four corners. There turn right and go down to a point nearly opposite the Wilbur A. SEARLE place (so called) where the bridge crosses the brook to go up to the SEARLE place, go west from the Old Furnace Road and there on the east side of the road is the tumbled in cellar, the old chimney mound of brick, stone and mortar with ivy twined about, and a nearly filled in well. This marks the Mansion House (so called in early deeds) of our ancestor, Roger BURLINGAME.” (report written about 1910 by Henry A. BURLINGAME 1846-1926, an early family historian)

Roger BURLINGAME’s house was built about 1666 and survived intact until until approximately 1855 when it was torn down by Wilbur A. SEARLE and Henry ARNOLD. The chimney and other remains stood until approximately 1912. The original house was about 35 by 60 feet and was two and one-half stories with a common plain roof on each side and an “L”-shaped wing at the northeast corner of the house. The main house faced south. Close by was a gambrel roofed house, south of the main house, which fronted west towards the Old Furnace Road. The old well supplied both households.

Further along northerly and easterly towards higher ground on the south side of the Furnace Road was the home of John BURLINGAME, Roger’s eldest son. This house was likely built about 1682 as in that year, Abel POTTER deeded the site to Roger BURLINGAME, and he in turn deeded it the same day to hi son, John.

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A photo of Roger BURLINGAME’s homesite appears in Field’s “History of Rhode Island”, Volume III, page 586. The photo of the chimney remains are unfortunately incorrectly labeled as the remains of Othneil GORTON’s tavern. Historian Henry A. BURLINGAME wrote an article in the 1920′s proving that the remains were actually Roger BURLINGAME’s Mansion House. Part of the article is reprinted below. Othneil GORTON, incidently, married Roger BURLINGAME’s granddaughter.

The Othneil GORTON Tavern: An Error

“I have recently discovered an error in Field’s History of Rhode Island, Vol. III, page 586 where appears a picture of an old chimney remains which is described as the old Othneil GORTON Tavern, erected between 1710 and 1720. The fact is as follows:- Roger BURLINGAME purchased land of the Cooweeset Indians, June 23, 1662 and May 13, 1663, the land being the Mashantatack Purchase, now Cranston, R.I. (Providence Town Papers #0120). As he and two others were chosen to levy the taxes there in October 1671, it is likely that he located there about 1667.

On Sept. 6, 1684 he deeded his homestead to his son, Peter BURLINGAME, reserving a life lease and described it as follows, together with another tract of land, thus:- three parcels of land, with the Mansion House on one of them and one parcel lying easterly from the Mansion House, parcel only being divided by a highway, both parcels containing 33 acres, more or less; the other said parcel contains 17 acres and is situated at or near the place called the mines. (Providence Records Book I, page 266). Roger deeded again to his son Peter, on March 15, 1708, 15 acres adjoining a small piece of land on the westerly side of the highway “that lyeth to the west of my now dwelling house.” (Providence Deeds, Bk. 2, pg 187)

Roger in his deed of 1704 to his son Peter, aforesaid, bounded the land northerly against the land of Robert POTTER. Rachel POTTER, through heirship rights, sold to Othneil GORTON, July 4, 1715 the land that adjoined Roger BURLINGAME’s homestead on the north, as noted in deed from Roger to his son, Roger Jr. and dated Sept. 5, 1715 — “bounding north against the lands of Othneil GORTON”, and who never owned any of the BURLINGAME estate. (Providence Deeds, Bk. 2, pg. 425)

Roger BURLINGAME’s son Peter died in 1712 and his property rights went to his eldest brother John, who made a division with his brothers Thomas and Roger Jr.; John retaining the Mansion House, homestead part. John sold the homestead to Samuel GORTON, March 18, 1719. (Providence Deeds, Bk. 4, pg. 44)

Samuel GORTON died and the Town Council sold the same to Elisha BAKER, Feb. 21, 1725 (Bk. 13, pg. 470); Elisha BAKER sold to Israel GORTON, May 13, 1752 (Bk. 2, pg. 161); he in turn willed all of his estates to his sons: Pardon, Thomas and Cyrus, Jan. 12, 1805 (Bk. 1, pg. 246). These sons called for a division, which was made April 10, 1807 (Bk. 7, p. 315). Pardon had the southerly part with a wood lot northerly and half an acre of meadowland on the “easterly side of the road, about a rod west of the well, thence across the center of the well,” which is now nearly filled, the nearly tumbled in cellar ….still marks the homesite of the first Roger BURLINGAME….”

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Roger BURLINGAME and his family were of the Quaker faith. The Oak Lawn Baptist Church of Providence in its May Day souvenir of May 2, 1882 states that for many years, up until 1711, the “Friends” held their meetings in Roger BURLINGAME’s mansion house. Many of Roger’s descendants kept their Quaker faith, but by the third generation, most had become Baptists, the main religion of Rhode Island.

As mentioned earlier, Roger’s first wife, Jacolyn (HUNTINGDON) BURLINGAME, died in England shortly after Roger had been sent to Boston with his troops. A son from this marriage, Roger BURLINGAME Jr. (1648- 10 Feb 1678) lived to adulthood. He eventually came to America too. He is believed to have accompanied his aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and Thomas GRIFFIAN, when they came to Connecticut Colony from England in the mid-1650′s. It is possible that Thomas BURLINGHAM, Roger Sr.’s father may have also accompanied the GRIFFIANs.

Roger BURLINGAME Jr., eventually married a Mary Elizabeth __?__ (b.1651 Engl-8 July 1672) in Mashantatack. she died there shortly after the birth of a son who also died. Roger Jr. died six years later, evidently having not remarried. Roger Jr.’s death must not have been unexpected. The same year, his father and step-mother had another son, their seventh child, whom they named Roger. This Roger then became known as Roger Jr. He lived from 1678 to 1765 and had many descendants.

Roger BURLINGAME Sr. (1620-1718) remarried on October 3, 1663 in Warwick, R.I., to Mrs MARY (LIPPITT) BARLINGSTONE (3 Mar 1643-5 July 1718). Mary was the widow of William BARLINGSTONE, whom she had married March 23, 1661 in Warwick. William drowned while fishing in the bay about six weeks later.

Mary LIPPITT BARLINGSTONE was born in Providence. She was the daughter of John LIPPITT (1597-1669) and Martha __?__ . John LIPPITT was born in England. According to an entry in the Bible belonging to Christopher LIPPITT, Moses LIPPITT left Warwick Castle in England with his children Moses, Mary, Rebecca and John, and immigrated to America in 1632. The family settled near Providence, naming the settlement Warwick after their home city in England. John LIPPITT (1597-1669) then purchased one of the initial Providence town lots from Roger WILLIAMS.

Another LIPPITT family history has them coming from England in 1635 to Salem, Massachusetts, then going to Rhode Island in 1638. Whatever the history of the earliest years, it is known for certain that John LIPPITT’s name was sixth on a list of 52 persons who held lots in Providence in 1638. On July 27, 1640, he and 38 others signed an agreement for a form of government. On May 16, 1647, LIPPITT and nine other “well be trusted friends and neighbors” were chosen by the town of Providence as commissioners to meet with officials from the other three towns in Rhode Island at Portsmouth to form a government under the charter.

By 1648, John LIPPITT was listed as an inhabitant of Warwick. On April 27, 1652 he sold all of his lands and meadows in Providence with the exception of a 5 acre lot and 3 acre meadow to Arthur FENNER. On May 22, 1669, John LIPPITT deeded his house to his son Moses. He is believed to have died shortly afterwards.

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The LIPPITT family intermarried extensively with the BURLINGAMEs. John BURLINGAME, Roger’s eldest son, married his first cousin, Mary Knowles LIPPITT, daughter of Moses LIPPITT and granddaughter of John LIPPITT. With so many of our ancestors having the same first names, it is necessary to continually keep referring to the date of birth to avoid confusion.

Roger BURLINGAME and Mary LIPPITT BARLINGSTONE BURLINGAME had ten children. All of the children remained in Rhode Island. Nine of the children had descendants, including three sons, John, Thomas and Roger Jr., from whom all BURLINGAMEs in America are now descended.

Mary BURLINGAME preceeded her husband in death by two months in 1718 at the family farm in Cranston (Mashantatack) Rhode Island. Both Roger and Mary are buried on the farm. No traces of their graves now exist.

Before his death, Roger BURLINGAME made a will which was recorded in Cranston. The transcript of the last will and testament of Roger BURLINGAME (1620-1718) is as follows:

“The En Rolement of Ye Will of Roger BURLLINGGAME.” The last will and Testament of Roger BURLLINGGAME of Providence in the Colony of Rhoad Island and Providence Plantations in New England in the name of God Amen.

The twenty eighth day of November one thousand seaven hundred and fifteene, I Roger BURLLINGGAME Being of Parfect mind and memory thanks being given unto God therefore calling unto mind the Mortallity of my body and knowing that is is appoynted for all men once to dye, doe make and Ordaine this my Last Will and Testament that is to say prinsipalley and first of all I Give and Recommend my sole into the hands of God that Gave it and my body I recommend to the Earth to be buried in decent Christian burial att the descression of my Executrix: Nothing doubting but att the General Resurrection I shall receive the same againe by the mighty Power of God:

And as Touching such worldly estate where with it hath pleased God to bless mee in this life with I give, demise and dispose of the same in the following manner and forms as followeth:

Imprimis: I give and bequeath to Mary my dearly beloved wife all of my movable Estate: Viz: all my household goods, cattle & chattles to be wholly at her disposeing during her life and when it shall please God to take her from this Earthly Tabernacle what is left of this Estate shall be equally divided amongst all my Daughters and my three Grand daughters as namely: My son Roger’s daughter Freelove and my daughter Marcye’s daughter Francis and my daughter Alice’s daughter Deborah: to be Equal with the Rest of my daughters: And I give and bequeath to my Grand son John BURLLINGGAME fifty acres of land, it being parte of my home stead beginning att the land given my son Roger BURLLINGGAME and to rainge westward till it makes up fifty acres of land afore said: I give to my Grand

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son John BURLLINGGAME and his heirs for Ever fifty acres: and after my son Roger’s fifty acres is layed out and the fifty acres given to my Grand son John BURLLINGGAME is layed out: Then the remainder parte of the undevided land which was my son Peter’s, I give to my son Thomas BURLLINGGAME: If incase I Roger BURLLINGGAME and my wife Mary have not occasion to make use of the landes herein given and I doe give and bequeath to my three sons as Namely:

My son John and my son Thomas and my son Roger, Twenty shillings apiece: and I doe further ordaine and appoynt my Trusty and well beloved sons in Law Thomas ARNOLD and Amos STAFFORD and my son Roger BURLLINGGAME to be over seers to this my last Will and Testament: and I doe hereby utterly disalow revoake and disannul all and every other former Testament, wills, Legasies and bequeathes and Excurtrix by mee in anywise made will and bequeathed ratifieing and confirming: this and no other to be my Last Will and Testament: In witness where of I have here unto sett my hand and seale: This twenty-eighth day of November in the yeare of our Lord: 1715. Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by me Roger BURLLINGGAME.

The marke of
Roger “X” BURLLINGGAME, L.S.

as my Last Will and Testament in the presence of the subscribers:

John BURTON Mary BURTON Peter ROBARDS”

Roger’s will was proved at a meeting of the Town Council in Providence on September 13, 1718. Town Council records indicate that on:

“September Ye 10th: 1718. Mary, the Executrix of the Estate of Roger BURLLINGGAME having died, John the eldest son took administration and an inventory of the moveable Estate of Roger BURLLINGGAME was then taken:–

Totall: 199 Pounds, 13 shillings and 8 pence: viz:-Mare, 3 cows, 3 yearlings, calf, 2 sheep, 2 swine, old sword, wearing apparel, scales, cash, etc.”

Thus died the founder of the BURLINGAME family in America. He, in his long life, served as an anchor for our family in Rhode Island where many descendants continue to live to this very day …

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HUSBAND ROGER BURLINGAME
Born 24 Jan 1620	Place Kent Co. Engl. (mother visiting sister there)
Married 3 Oct 1663	Place Warwick R.I.
Occupation soldier, farmer	Resided at Mashantatack R.I. (now Cranston)
Church Affil. Quaker	War Serv. Headed company to fight Indians
Died 1 Sept 1718	Place Providence R.I.
Buried	Place On farm at Cranston R.I.
Other wives 1. c.1646 Jacolyn HUNTINGDON (d. abt 1650 Engl.)
Father Thomas BURLINGAME (BURLINGHAM)
Mother (maiden name) Elizabeth HOWARD
WIFE 2. MARY LIPPITT
Born 3 Mar 1643	Place Providence R.I.
Church Affil. Quaker	Occupation Housewife
Died 5 July 1718	Place Mashantatack (Cranston) RI
Buried	Place On farm at Cranston
Other husb. 1. 23 Mar 1661 William BARLINGSTONE (d. May 1661)
Father John LIPPITT (1597-1669)
Mother (maiden name) Martha

CHILDREN		BORN	DIED	MARRIED
		When Where	When Where	To whom When Where
*John	BURLINGAME	1 Aug 1664 Warwick RI	24 June 1719 Warwick RI	Mary Knowles LIPPITT 19 Nov 1688 Warwick RI
Thomas	BURLINGAME	6 Feb 1667 Mashantatack	9 July 1758 Warwick RI	Martha LIPPITT 5 Oct 1686 Warwick 2. Hannah WESCOTT
Mary	BURLINGAME	14 Jan 1668 Mashantatack	14 Oct 1769 Warwick RI	Amos STAFFORD 19 Dec 1689 Warwick RI
Jane	BURLINGAME	c. 1672 Mashantatack	after 1718 Warwick RI	1. John POTTER 2. Edward POTTER both Warwick RI
Alice	BURLINGAME	c. 1673 Mashantatack	before 1715	Oliver HAZZARD
Mercy	BURLINGAME	3 Aug 1675 Mashantatack	c. 1716 Warwick RI	Othneil GORTON c. 1692 Warwick RI
Roger	BURLINGAME	30 May 1678 Mashantatack	13 Dec 1765 Coventry RI	Eleanor SWEET 21 Dec 1699
Peter	BURLINGAME	7 Sept 1680 Mashantatack	23 Dec 1712 Mashantatack	Never Married
Elizabeth	BURLINGAME	9 Jan 1684 Mashantatack	5 May 1752 Providence RI	1. Thos. ARNOLD 2. Wm. SPENCER both Providence RI
Patience	BURLINGAME	8 May 1685 Mashantatack	8 Aug 1746 Providence RI	Thomas OLNEY 15 Jan 1710 Providence RI

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SECOND GENERATION:

JOHN BURLINGAME (1 Aug 1664 – 24 June 1719) was the eldest son of Roger BURLINGAME (1620-1718) and Mary LIPPITT BARLINGSTONE (1643-1718). John was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, where his mother’s family lived. His father owned property north of Warwick in what was then called Mashantatack and later called Cranton. John grew up on his father’s farm.

On November 19, 1688 in Warwick, John BURLINGAME married his first cousin, MARY KNOWLES LIPPITT (1666 – 13 Jan 1708). Mary was born in Warwick. Her father, Moses LIPPITT (1645 – 6 Jan 1703) was the son of John LIPPITT (1597-1669), and a brother of Mary LIPPITT BARLINGSTONE. Mary Knowles LIPPITT’s mother was Mary KNOWLES (1645 – 28 Dec 1719), also born in Warwick. Mary KNOWLES was the daughter of Henry KNOWLES (1609 – Jan 1670) and Elizabeth POTTER (c. 1590 – 1656) and his first wife, Isabel __?__ (c. 1590′s – Fall 1643). Mary KNOWLES LIPPITT’s ancestors are described below.

Moses LIPPITT, a tanner by trade, took an active role in the administration of Rhode Island. He became a Freeman of the Colony on April 30, 1672 which meant that he owned enough property to be entitled to vote. In 1681, 1684, 1690, 1698 and 1699, he served as a Deputy to the General Assembly from Warwick. In 1687, he was an Overseer of the poor in Rhode Island. Moses was an ancestor for many later Rhode Island governors, senators and generals — including the famous Benedict ARNOLD. He died in Warwick. His will, written Jan. 6, 1700 and proved in 1703, read as follows:

“Executrix: wife Mary. Overseers, brother-in-law John KNOWLES, and Randall HOLDEN. To wife, 20 acre lot at Warwick Great Neck and all housing and lands till son Moses is of age. His son Moses, at age, to have the house where Edward CARTER now dwelleth and land adjoining and certain other lands, a bed, three cows, half of tanning instruments and half profits of tanning trade, he being at half the charge. To grandson Moses BURLINGAME, all rights in Potowomet purchase. To wife, all lands and housing undisposed of for life and then to son Moses. To three daughters, Mary BURLINGAME, Martha BURLINGAME, and Rebecca LIPPITT, 20 shillings each, paid in plate. To wife Mary, all movable estate.”

At his death, Moses LIPPITT left an estate worth 456 pounds including the following: 15 pounds of silver money; 2 silver cups and 6 silver spoons worth 7 pounds and nineteen shillings; a gun, a sword; 4 feather beds, a flock bed, a warming pan, 4 spinning wheels, 3 tables, 15 chairs, 4 benches, 4 stools, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 7 cows, 5 two-year old cows, 2 yearling cows, a bull, 12 swine, and a stock of leather, green hides, and bark for his tanning business.

When Moses’ widow, Mary KNOWLES, died in 1719, she left an estate inventory totalling 452 pounds. Since her son-in-law and daughter, John and Mary K. LIPPITT BURLINGAME, had preceded her in death, they were not mentioned in her will. She did leave 20 pounds

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to her grandson, David BURLINGAME, among others.

Henry KNOWLES, the grandfather of Mary Knowles LIPPITT, wife of John BURLINGAME, first appears in colonial records in Boston in 1635 when he arrived from England on the ship, “Susan & Ellen.” It appears that Henry was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England, according to KNOWLES family historians.

Henry first appears in Rhode Island records on May 27, 1644 when it was ordered in Warwick that he cut his lot shorter at the discretion of Lieutenant SANFORD, Goodman BORDEN and Goodman MOTT. On Jan. 21, 1654, Henry KNOWLES sold “my now dwelling house” along with 9 acres of land and fruit trees to Thomas LAWSON. In 1655, he was listed as one of the Freemen of Warwick. On March 23, 1664, Henry and three others received authorization from the town to keep ordinaries for the entertainment of strangers during the time the King’s Commissioners kept their court in Warwick. On March 3, 1666, Henry KNOWLES was on a jury which found the following verdict:

“We who are engaged to see this dead Indian, do find by diligent search that he was beaten, which was the cause of his death.”

Henry was apparently living in nearby Kingstown when he made his will, although it was proved in Warwick on Jan. 20, 1670. The will reads as follows:

“To wife, northeast half of the house that is in Warwick, well fitted for her use, and son John is to conveniently fit said house for his mother. To wife, the meadow in front of the house, and John to mow and make the grass annually and put it in a convenient place for foddering. To wife also, certain other land for life. To daughter Mary, (BURLINGAME), 15 pounds of which she is to receive 5 pounds from her brother John three years after testator’s death, and 5 pounds annually afterward. To daughter Martha, 20 pounds of which five pounds is to be paid by John in two years, and 5 pounds annually afterwards … To wife, two cows and a hog … the household goods to be divided as my wife shall see cause; the best bed in Warwick to be for my wife, and the other one for John …”

It was testified by witnesses that they heard the deceased say among other things that whoever of his heirs shall enjoy the Warwick estate “was to provide sufficient wood for their mother during her life.” Henry’s wife, Elizabeth POTTER, survived him by about nine years, dying in 1679 in Warwick.

Elizabeth’s parents, Robert and Isabel POTTER, arrived in America before 1630 when they first appear in the Lynn, Massachusetts records. They are believed to have both been born in England. Isabel’s maiden name is not known at this time. On Sept. 3, 1631, Robert POTTER was named a Freeman of Lynn. By 1634, he appears in the Roxbury, Massachusetts records. On May 3, 1637, he had his daughter Deliverance POTTER, baptised in Roxbury.

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In the late 1630′s, Robert POTTER became caught up in the religious turmoil that swept New England. Hundreds of colonists rebelled against the Puritan administration of Massachusetts. Some, like Roger WILLIAMS, the founder of Rhode Island, left immediately for more tolerant places. In Mar. 1638 POTTER was arrested but later released on 20 pounds bail. In 1638, he too left for Rhode Island where he was admitted as an inhabitant of the island of Aquidneck near Portsmouth.

On January 12, 1643, he and ten others bought of Chief Miantonomi a tract of land called Shawomett for 144 fathoms of wampum. The wampum beads were measured with a depth line from a ship. One fathom equalled six feet. Shawomett later became the city of Warwick. On Sept. 2, 1643, Robert POTTER and others from Warwick were ordered to appear at General Court in Boston to hear complaints of two Indians, Ponham and Socconocco regarding “some unjust and injurious dealing toward them by yourselves.”

The Warwick men refused the summons, saying that they were legal subjects of the King and not living within the legal boundaries of Massachusetts. Massachusetts authorities, hoping to crush the religious freedom of the Rhode Islanders, sent soldiers to capture Robert POTTER and the other men of Warwick. The settlers were beseiged in a house. They were eventually captured and charged with holding “blasphemous errors which they must repent of.” At the time of the siege, the wives and children of the Warwick men were forced to flee into the woods. There they suffered many hardships which resulted in the death of at least three women, including Isabel POTTER, the wife of Robert POTTER.

The Warwick men were taken to Boston and convicted of heresy and sedition. Robert POTTER was sent to the prison at Rowley. In March 1644, he was released but was banished by the court from both Massachusetts and Warwick. POTTER went to England where he was pardoned. He returned to Warwick about 1646. He later became an innkeeper in Warwick. In 1651 he was elected Commissioner of the town. He remarried to a woman named Sarah who survived him thirty years. POTTER died in late 1655 or early 1656 in Warwick leaving an estate of 42 pounds 10 shillings. POTTER’s land had to be sold to pay his outstanding debts.

This completes the known ancestors of Mary Knowles LIPPITT BURLINGAME. Her husband, John BURLINGAME, is periodically mentioned in early RI records. On Sept. 1, 1687 he was taxed 8 shillings as a resident of Warwick. On Dec. 23, 1712, John acquired the estate of his recently deceased bachelor brother, Peter BURLINGAME, and generously agreed to share it with his brothers. He added a proviso that his elderly parents could also have access to the estate if needed. On Jan. 1, 1713 John BURLINGAME deeded his original homestead to his son, John BURLINGAME Jr. Shortly before his death in 1719, John BURLINGAME sold his father’s (Roger BURLINGAME) house to Samuel GORTON, his cousin.

John and Mary BURLINGAME lived next door to Roger BURLINGAME in a house built about 1682 which John deeded to John Jr. in 1713. During his last years, John either lived with his parents or with his own son. He is believed buried next to his wife on the Roger BURLINGAME farm in Cranston. John and Mary had at least nine children. They are listed on the following chart.

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HUSBAND JOHN BURLINGAME
Born 1 Aug 1664	Place Warwick RI
Married 19 Nov 1688	Place Warwick R.I.
Occupation Farmer	Resided at Warwick R.I.
Church Affil. Quaker	War Serv.
Died 24 June 1719	Place Warwick R.I.
Buried	Place On family farm
Other wives None
Father Roger BURLINGAME (1620-1718)
Mother (maiden name) Mary LIPPITT BARLINGSTONE (1643-1718)
WIFE MARY KNOWLES LIPPITT
Born 1666	Place Warwick R.I.
Church Affil. Quaker	Occupation Housewife
Died 13 Jan 1708	Place Cranston RI
Buried	Place On family farm
Other husb. None
Father Moses LIPPITT (1645-1703)
Mother (maiden name) Mary KNOWLES (1645-1719)

CHILDREN		BORN	DIED	MARRIED
		When Where	When Where	To whom When Where
* John	BURLINGAME Jr.	1690 Cranston RI	12 Feb 1755 Cranston RI	Sarah BRIGGS c. 1710
Roger	BURLINGAME	1692 Cranston RI	1 Apr 1763	Sarah BAKER
James	BURLINGAME	16 Sept 1694 Cranston RI	1 Jan 1768	Hannah BROWN 8 Jan 1734
Patience	BURLINGAME	Cranston RI	1695	Thomas RALPH
Mercy	BURLINGAME	Cranston RI		Othneil GORTON 1716
Barlingstone	BURLINGAME	25 June 1698 Cranston RI	12 Dec 1767 Cranston RI	Charity COLVIN c. 1726
Benjamin	BURLINGAME	1700 Cranston RI	12 May 1742 Surinam South America	Jerusha
Persis	BURLINGAME	14 Aug 1703 Cranston RI	22 June 1772 Cranston RI	William BURTON 8 Feb 1722
David	BURLINGAME	5 Dec 1706 Cranston RI	27 Jan 1755 Glocester RI	Mary BROWN 9 June 1728

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THIRD GENERATION:

JOHN BURLINGAME JR. ( 1690 – 12 Feb 1755) was the eldest son of John BURLINGAME (1664-1719) and Mary Knowles LIPPITT (1666-1708). He was born in and died in Cranston RI where he was a farmer. On Jan. 13, 1713 John BURLINGAME Jr. was given his father’s original homestead which adjoined land belonging to his grandfather, Roger BURLINGAME. John Jr. kept this land until Feb. 13, 1739 when he sold it to his son Peter BURLINGAME Jr., who was called “Junior” to distinguish him from his uncle and cousin who had the same name.

About 1710, John BURLINGAME Jr. married SARAH BRIGGS (c. 1688 – 4 June 1763). Sarah has been listed in many records as being a daughter of Daniel and Lydia BRIGGS. Recent research into the BRIGGS family, however, does not list Sarah as a daughter of Daniel BRIGGS, who was a son of Thomas BRIGGS and grandson of Clement BRIGGS who arrived in Massachusetts in November 1621 on the ship “Fortune”. There were at least three unrelated BRIGGS families in Rhode Island and Massachusetts at this period, and while it is possible that Sarah is a descendant of Clement BRIGGS, it appears that she wasn’t related to Daniel and Lydia. Their wills are recorded in probate records and no mention is made of Sarah.

To further complicate matters, three of John and Sarah (BRIGGS) BURLINGAME’s children married into families named BRIGGS! It is likely that these BRIGGS were cousins of Sarah’s. An old record states that Sarah BURLINGAME was killed but does not give the details. She was buried on the Cranston farm.

John BURLINGAME’s will was written Feb. 8, 1755, four days before he died, and was proved April 15, 1755. Executors were his sons Daniel and Jeremiah BURLINGAME. The will mentions his wife Sarah, sons: John, Daniel, Jeremiah and Peter; daughters: Hannah ROBERTS, Sarah BRIGGS, and Naomi ROBERTS; grandsons: Elisha and Benjamin ROBERTS at age, and granddaughters Dorcas and Loranna ROBERTS.

Sarah BURLINGAME, in her will written January 10, 1763 and proved May 28, 1764 mentions all of the above named children. Her sons Daniel and Jeremiah were willed 15 acres, a part of the original homestead of the first Roger BURLINGAME. These lands included old iron ore beds which had been mined by earlier generations of the family.

Daniel and Jeremiah BURLINGAME made a division of the property they had inherited from their mother on March 30, 1767 reading:

“Beginning at a stake and a heap of stones, a small distance northward of the brook, called the Great Brook, above a place called the old mine, and then to extend up said brook about 8 rods to another stake and a heap of stones at the foot of the hill, a little distance from where our said father lies buried, thence a straight line to a stake and a heap of stones adjoining the highway that leads to Thomas SEARLE’s land and by said highway to a small piece of land belonging to Captain Israel GORTON until it comes to said brook, thence up the brook to the first mentioned mound.”

This is the first mention of the BURLINGAME family burial ground in any of the old records.

The following chart lists the seven children of John and Sarah BURLINGAME:

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HUSBAND JOHN BURLINGAME JR.
Born 1690	Place Cranston RI
Married c. 1710	Place
Occupation Farmer	Resided at Cranston RI
Church Affil. probably a Quaker	War Serv.
Died 12 Feb 1755	Place Cranston RI
Buried	Place On family farm
Other wives None
Father John BURLINGAME (1664-1719)
Mother (maiden name) Mary Knowles LIPPITT (1666-1708)
WIFE SARAH BRIGGS
Born c. 1688	Place
Church Affil.	Occupation Housewife
Died 4 June 1763	Place Cranston RI
Buried	Place On family farm
Other husb. None
Father reputed to be Daniel BRIGGS
Mother (maiden name) reputed to be Lydia BRIGGS

CHILDREN		BORN	DIED	MARRIED
		When Where	When Where	To whom When Where
* John	BURLINGAME III	6 June 1712 Cranston RI	5 July 1786 Cumberland RI	Eliz. PLIMPTON 28 Apr 1738 Providence RI
Hannah	BURLINGAME	1714 Cranston RI		David ROBERTS 25 Aug 1738 Providence RI
Daniel	BURLINGAME	1716 Cranston RI	6 Aug 1794 Coventry RI	Rose BRIGGS 25 Dec 1739 Providence RI
Peter	BURLINGAME Jr.	6 Feb 1718 Cranston RI	6 Apr 1789 Cranston RI	Zerviah ?
Sarah	BURLINGAME	1720 Cranston RI		John BRIGGS Jr. 13 June 1742 Providence RI
Jeremiah	BURLINGAME	1 May 1723 Cranston RI	1796 Smithfield RI	Damaris BRIGGS 29 Apr 1744
Naomi	BURLINGAME	1725 Cranston RI		Peter ROBERTS III 7 Sept 1744

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FOURTH GENERATION:

JOHN BURLINGAME III (6 June 1712 – 5 July 1786) was the eldest son of John BURLINGAME Jr. (1690-1755) and Sarah BRIGGS (1688-1763). He was born in Cranston, RI on the farm owned by his father, and first settled by his great grandfather, Roger BURLINGAME.

On April 28, 1738 in Providence, John was married by William BURTON, J.P., to ELIZABETH PLIMPTON (c. 1722 – 26 Oct 1788). Elizabeth was the daughter of Jeremiah PLIMPTON of Attleboro, Massachusetts. Attleboro is approximately ten miles from Providence. Elizabeth’s mother is not definitely known, but it is very likely that it was Elizabeth JOHNSON. The PLIMPTON/PLYMPTON surname was not common in New England at that time. An 1885 genealogy of the PLIMPTON family by Levi B. CHASE, indicated that all of the early PLIMPTONs were related. The name appears to be an American corruption of the English “PLUMPTON.”

According to Mr. CHASE, the PLIMPTONs arrived in Massachusetts in approximately 1640. The founder of the family was John PLIMPTON (1620-Oct 1678) who was born in Cambridgeshire or Lincolnshire, England and arrived in America at the age of 20 as an indentured servant of a Dr. George ALCOCKE. ALCOCKE is listed in a January 22, 1641 Roxbury, Massachusetts will as leaving five pounds to John PLIMPTON. By 1642, John was residing in Dedham MA. By May 10, 1643, he was a freeman of the colony, meaning that his servitude was over.

On March 13, 1644 in Dedham, John PLIMPTON married Jane DAMMANT (1626-168?). She arrived in MA in the spring of 1635 on the ship “Elizabeth & Ann”, together with her mother, Abigale ______ (1610- ? ). Abigale was the widow of a Mr. DAMMANT. By 1635, she had remarried to John EATON and had two additional children, Marie EATON, aged 4, and Thomas EATON, aged 1. John and Abigale EATON also settled in Dedham.

John PLIMPTON and Jane DAMMANT had 13 children, 6 of whom died in infancy. John PLIMPTON is often referred to as Sergeant John PLIMPTON in old family records because of his service in the brutal war again the Indian chief Philip in the 1670′s. Hundreds of colonists lost their lives before the Indians were finally expelled from New England. PLIMPTON, then residing in Medfield MA, was captured in an Indian attack on the town of Deerfield MA. He, along with several other Deerfield residents, was taken into nearby French Canada. In Oct. 1678, a few miles out of Montreal, at a place called Fort Chambly, John PLIMPTON was burnt at the stake by the Indians.

One of his sons was Joseph PLIMPTON (7 Oct 1653-22 June 1702), a weaver in Medfield. Joseph married Mary MORSE on Nov. 3, 1675 in Medfield. They had three sons, Joseph Jr., Jonathon, and Jeremiah. This Jeremiah is believed to be the father of Elizabeth PLIMPTON BURLINGAME. The 1885 CHASE history states that Jeremiah was born Nov. 6, 1683 and was married in 1704 to Elizabeth JOHNSON, then notes “lived about 15 years in Canterbury, Conn., unable to trace him farther.” CHASE lists two known daughters of Jeremiah and Elizabeth JOHNSON PLIMPTON: Sarah, born Oct. 17, 1709 and Sibillah, born Aug. 20, 1712. Elizabeth PLIMPTON BURLINGAME’s birthyear has been estimated as 1722, but it could be several years earlier. Because of the rarity of the PLIMPTON surname, it’s very likely that the above people are her family.

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After their marriage, John BURLINGAME and Elizabeth PLIMPTON moved at an early date to Cumberland, Rhode Island. Cumberland is approximately ten miles north of Providence on the Massachusetts border, only a few miles from Attleboro. John and Elizabeth were the first in our BURLINGAME family to leave Cranston, and he was also the first non-Quaker in the family. John is listed in old records as being a Six-Principle Baptist. That he was a religious man is evident in his will which was written the year before he died and proved by the Cumberland Town Council on Tuesday, August 29, 1786:

“Present: Mr. John LAPHAM, Levi BALLOU, Esquire, Mr. Stephen WHIPPLE, Capt. Amos WHIPPLE and Mr. Joseph RAZE and Christopher WHIPPLE.

In the name of God Amen. I, John BURLINGAME of Cumberland, in the County of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Yeoman, being sick and weak in body but of sound disposing mind and memory (blessed by God therefore) do this twenty-third day of March in the ninth year of the Independence of the United States of America, Annoque Domini 1785, make and publish this my last will and testament in manner and form following: (that is to say).

Principally and first of all, I recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it me and my body to the earth from whence it came. Trusting thro the merits of my Saviour, Jesus Christ, to receive the free pardon and forgiveness of all my sins and to inherit Eternal life, and as touching such worldling estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me, I give, demise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form (that is to say).

Impremis: First of all my mind and will is and I hereby order and direct that all my just debts and funeral charges be first paid and discharged out of my personal estate by my Executor and Executrix herein after named.

Item. I give Elizabeth BURLINGAME my loving wife, one cow and my horse to be her sole use and disposal.

Item. I give to my two well beloved daughters, Elizabeth BURLINGAME and Olive BURLINGAME my other cow equally between them with free liberty to keep said cow on my homestead during the natural life of their mother, the above named Elizabeth BURLINGAME.

Item. I give to my well beloved grandson, Johnson BURLINGAME, my small armour gun.

Item. I give to my well beloved grandson, Gideon BISHOP, my best beaver hat.

Item. I give to my well beloved son, Daniel BURLINGAME, all the rest and remainder of my wearing apparel.

Item. I give to my said loving wife all the remaining part of my household goods and out-door moveables and personal estate after my just debts, funeral charges, and the legacies herein after given to three of my sons and three of my daughters, that is to say, Joseph, Benedict, and John and Sibbel, Sarah and Hannah is paid and discharged out of the same, to be and remain to the sole use and disposal of my said loving wife. And my mind and will further is and I do hereby order and direct that my abovesaid loving wife, Elizabeth BURLINGAME, have the free use, improvement and in-

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come from my homestead during the remaining part of her life in order to make her life as comfortable as her decrepit situation will admit of.

Item. I give to my three aforenamed sons, Joseph BURLINGAME, Benedict BURLINGAME and John BURLINGAME, five shillings lawful money each to be paid to them severally and respectively by my Executor and Executrix within one year after my decease.

And my mind and will further is and I do hereby direct that within one month after the death of my aforesaid loving wife all my real estate be sold at public sale to the highet bidder and the money arising from the sale thereof to be divided in the following manner after the charges for the sale thereof be deducted out of the same, that is to say: the two fifths parts I give to my beloved son Daniel BURLINGAME and the remaining three fifths parts I give tomy son John BURLINGAME, Elizabeth BURLINGAME and Olive BURLINGAME to be equally divided between them and to be and remain unto them my last mentioned two sons and two daughters according to their respective heirs and assigns forever.

And I do hereby constitute, make and ordain my aforesaid loving wife and my respected friend and son-in-law Christopher WHIPPLE of Cumberland, aforesaid gentleman, joint Executrix and Executor to this my last will and testament … “

The will was signed by Daniel MILLER, Daniel F. WHIPPLE and John DEXTER in addition to John BURLINGAME. John BURLINGAME III died the next year in Cumberland. He is presumed to have been buried on his farm, as was the custom at that time.

Elizabeth PLIMPTON BURLINGAME was probably in poor health her last years since the will mentions her “decrepit situation.” She died two years after her husband is also presumed buried at Cumberlan, RI.

It is not known whether any family members bid on the land which was divided up and sold at Elizabeth’s death. The period immediately after the War for Independence saw thousands of Rhode Islanders leave for New Hampshire and Vermont, and later for upstate New York. Some BURLINGAMEs remained in Rhode Island, but beginning with John BURLINGAME III’s children, most of our family began the long migration that would eventually lead to the Pacific Northwest.

The children of John and Elizabeth PLIMPTON BURLINGAME are listed on the following page.

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HUSBAND JOHN BURLINGAME III
Born 6 June 1712	Place Cranston RI
Married 28 Apr 1738	Place Providence RI
Occupation Farmer	Resided at Cumberland RI
Church Affil. 6 Principle Baptist	War Serv.
Died 5 Jul 1786	Place Cumberland RI
Buried	Place
Other wives None
Father John BURLINGAME Jr. (1690-1755)
Mother (maiden name) Sarah BRIGGS (1688-1763)
WIFE ELIZABETH PLIMPTON
Born c. 1722	Place Attleboro Massachusetts
Church Affil. Baptist	Occupation Housewife
Died 26 Oct 1788	Place Cumberland RI
Buried	Place
Other husb. None
Father Jeremiah PLIMPTON
Mother (maiden name) probably Elizabeth JOHNSON

CHILDREN		BORN	DIED	MARRIED
		When Where	When Where	To whom When Where
Elizabeth	BURLINGAME	Cranston RI	1831 Ira, Vermont Rutland Co.	_____ BISHOP
* Daniel	BURLINGAME	c. 1745 Cranston RI	4 Sept 1820 Ira, Vermont Rutland Co.	Sarah (MARTIN?) c. 1772 RI
Sibbel	BURLINGAME	c. 1745/46 Cumberland RI		Ben BROWN 1767 John BATES 1775 Cumberland RI
Joseph	BURLINGAME	1748 Cumberland RI	c. 1777 RI (R.War wounds)	Mary JOHNSON 25 Oct 1770 Cumberland RI
Benedict	BURLINGAME
Sarah	BURLINGAME	1752 Cumberland RI	9 Dec 1845 Cumberland RI	C. WHIPPLE 26 Mar 1767 Cumberland RI
Olive	BURLINGAME	Cumberland RI
Hannah	BURLINGAME	1757 Cumberland RI		Elias BATES 1777 John COLE 1779
John	BURLINGAME IV	1760 Cumberland RI	24 Dec 1822 Ira, Vermont Rutland Co.	Esther HARMON 1783

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FIFTH GENERATION:

DANIEL BURLINGAME (about 1745-4 Sept 1820) was the eldest son of John BURLINGAME III (1712-1786) and Elizabeth PLIMPTON (1722-1788). He was born in Cranston, RI. A few years afterwards, his parents moved to Cumberland, RI, abot 15 miles north of Cranston.

While living at Cumberland in the early 1770′s, Daniel BURLINGAME married SARAH (MARTIN?) (about 1750 – after 1810). Sarah was also known as “Sally”. Nothing is known about her parents. Her maiden name may have been MARTIN or WHIPPLE. The 1774 Cumberland census listed Daniel and Sarah as having no children at that time.

The Revolutionary War began in 1775 and Rhode Island was a center of anti-British feelings. Daniel was one of the signers of the Oath of Fidelity at Coventry RI on Sept. 28, 1776:

“We, the subscribers do solemly and sincerely declare that we believe the war, resistance & opposition in which the United American States are now engaged — against the fleets and armies of Great Britain, is on the part of the said States, just and necessary and that we will not directly or indirectly, afford assistance of any sort or kind whatsoever to the said Fleets and Armies during the continuance of the present war, — but that we will heartily assist in the defence of the United States.”

On Jan. 21, 1776, Daniel BURLINGAME enlisted in Cumberland in Capt. DEXTER’s Company, Colonel LIPPITT’s Regiment of Rhode Island footmen. He remained in the colonial army for one year until he was discharged at Peekshill on Jan. 17, 1777. His rank was that of Private. Colonel LIPPITT was a distant cousin of Daniel BURLINGAME. Daniel’s brother, Joseph BURLINGAME, died as the result of wounds received in the war for independence.

Daniel and Sarah BURLINGAME were still living in Cumberland in 1782 when the town census listed them with six children — 4 sons and 2 daughters, all under the age of 16. In 1788 or 1789, following the death of his mother, and his inheritance of two-fifths of her estate, Daniel moved to New Hampshire. He and Sarah appear on a list of residents in Richmond, NH, in School District #13 in 1789. The 1790 federal census for Richmond lists them with 6 children.

Daniel also appears in the records of the nearby town of Winchester NH. Both towns are located in SW New Hampshire where the three states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts join. This area had long been settled. Daniel probably purchased an existing farm.

In 1801/1802, Daniel and Sarah moved once again — this time to a farm near the small town of Ira, in Rutland Co. Vermont. Ira is on the western edge of Vermont, some ten miles from the New York border and not far from the southern tip of Lake George. Land records show that Daniel BURLINGAME bought 100 acres in Ira on Dec. 18, 1802 from George SHERMAN for $150. The SHERMAN land was sold by the town to cover taxes due.

Daniel had not moved to an unfamiliar area. His brother, John BURLINGAME IV (1760-1822), had moved to Ira by 1779, and had raised his seven children there. Daniel’s grown children seem to have followed their father. By 1807, Daniel’s sons, Joseph and James, were also landowners in Ira.

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A history of Ira, VT, written by S.I. Peck in 1925 contains little genealogical material on the BURLINGAME family, but does mention other items of note. The town of Ira, approximately six miles square, peaked in population in 1810 with 519 inhabitants. The population was almost entirely Baptist. Most of the farmers kept large flocks of sheep in the early 1800′s. The dominant family in the town was that of Mr. Preserved FISH, whom the BURLINGAMEs married into.

The 1810 Federal Census for Ira shows Daniel and Sarah BURLINGAME with only one daughter, aged 16-26, still living at home. Sometime after 1810 and before 1818, Sarah BURLINGAME is believed to have died at Ira. In 1818, Daniel applied for a Revolutionary War Veterans Pension and did not mention a wife in his claim. His pension of $8 a month was eventually issued in 1820 with arrears of $181.83 paid up to March 4, 1820. By the time Daniel died on Sept. 4, 1820, he had collected a total of $229.83 for serving his country. Daniel died intestate. His brother, John BURLINGAME IV, served as the Executor of his estate.

Daniel and Sarah BURLINGAME had at least six children. The four known ones are listed below.

HUSBAND DANIEL BURLINGAME
Born c. 1745	Place Cranston RI
Married c. 1771-73	Place Probably at Cumberland RI
Occupation Farmer	Resided at Cumberland RI, Richmond NH, Ira VT
Church Affil. Baptist	War Serv. Revolutionary War (RI) 1776-1777
Died 4 Sept 1820	Place Ira, Rutland Co. VT
Buried	Place Ira, Rutland Co. VT
Other wives None known
Father John BURLINGAME III (1712-1786)
Mother (maiden name) Elizabeth PLIMPTON (1722-1788)
WIFE SARAH (perhaps MARTIN) also called “Sally”
Born c. 1750	Place
Church Affil.	Occupation Housewife
Died Between 1810-1818	Place Ira, Rutland Co. VT
Buried	Place Ira, Rutland Co. VT
Other husb. None known
Father MARTIN & WHIPPLE are possible surnames
Mother (maiden name)

CHILDREN		BORN	DIED	MARRIED
		When Where	When Where	To whom When Where
1 Joseph	BURLINGAME	c. 1775 Cumberland RI	22 Dec. 1842 Brattleboro VT	Amy WHIPPLE 14 Mar 1803 Ira, VT
2 Rosetta	BURLINGAME	c. 1778 Cumberland RI	before 1843	—– FISH
3 Sarah	BURLINGAME	c. 1780 Cumberland RI		William ARMSKEE
*4 James R	BURLINGAME	c. 1784 Cumberland RI	9 Aug 1852 York Twp. Carroll Co. IL	Martha HAWKS 15 Sept 1805 Ira VT

Plymouth Colony: Its History & People 1620-1691

Source: Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691 (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing Company, 1986).

[page 260]

CHANDLER, EDMOND – Edmond CHANDLER was probably related to Roger CHANDLER, for he was in Leiden during the same period, appearing in the records there in 1613, 1615, 1619, 1623, and 1626.  He was a say-weaver (as was Roger), and was later listed as a draper and then a pipemaker.  He buried a child in Leiden in 1619 (Dexter, p. 609).  As was Roger, Edmond was on the 1633 freeman list.  He moved to Duxbury, and in 1635/36 he was one of the Duxbury members of a committee to look into possibilities of uniting Duxbury with Plymouth (PCR 1:41).  He served on other commissions and juries, and engaged in a good number of land transactions (PCR, passim).  On 1 January 1636/37 he became a constable for Duxbury (PCR 1:48).  On 24 January 1638/39 John EDWARDS put himself as an apprentice to Edmond CHANDLER of Duxbury, yeoman, for five years (PCR 1:110).  On 4 June 1639 CHANDLER became a deputy for Duxbury (PCR 1:126).

Edmond apparently had two wives, but their names are not known (Lora Altine Woodbury Underhill, Descendants of Edward SMALL of New England, 2 vols. [Boston & New York, 1934 2:1027-95].  He dated his will 3 May 1662, proved 4 June 1662, and in it he named sons Samuel, Benjamin, and Joseph; and daughters Sarah, Anna, Mary, and Ruth.  The first three daughters were to get 3,500 (pounds?) of sugar belonging to him at Barbadoes (MD 14:68).  He also had a son John, who apparently died without issue, but in his 1653 will, while at sea heading for Barbadoes, he named his father Edmond CHANDLER of Plymouth (Sherman and Wakefield, Plymouth Colony Probate Guide, p. 21).  As Bowman comments, there have been many serious errors written about CHANDLER descendants of colonial Plymouth, some of which he sorts out in “CHANDLER Notes,” MD 14:65 (also see MD 14:140-41).  Note in particular that although Edmond³ (Joseph²) CHANDLER married Elizabeth³ (Jonathan²) ALDEN, they did not have any surviving children, in spite of claims to the contrary.

CHANDLER, Roger – Roger CHANDLER, possibly related to Edmond CHANDLER, q.v., was in Leiden records as a say-weaver from Colchester, England, and he was married at Leiden on 21 July 1615 to Isabel CHILTON.  He and his wife and two children, Samuel and Sarah, were living at Leiden on 15 October 1622 (Dexter, p. 609), having arrived at Plymouth sometime after the 1627 cattle division.  His wife was the daughter of 1620 Mayflower passenger James CHILTON, and their descendants are given in MF 2, which gives references for additional information.  He was on the 1633 freeman list, and he later moved to Duxbury.

[page 261]

[...]

CHILTON, ISABEL – The daughter of James and Susanna CHILTON, Isabel was baptized at St. Paul’s Parish, Canterbury, County Kent, on 15 January 1586/87.  She married at Leiden 21 July 1615 Roger CHANDLER, q.v., and they came to Plymouth sometime after the 1627 cattle division.  Bradford (Ford) 2:400 recorded under James CHILTON and wife that “They had

[page 262]

an other daughter, that was married, came afterward.”  Isabel’s children and their descendants are given in MF 2.

CHILTON, JAMES – James CHILTON has been erroneously lumped together with the “Strangers” on the 1620 Mayflower, but he was in fact a Leiden Separatist, as is shown by Jan van Dorsten in “Why the Pilgrims Left Leiden,” in Bang’s Pilgrims, p. 34.  Leiden records reveal that on 28 April 1619 the sixty-three-year-old James CHILTON was returning to his house with his daughter when about twenty boys began throwing rocks at them, and James was hit on the head and knocked to the ground.  he never saw Plymouth, for he died on 8 December 1620 when the Mayflower was still at Provincetown Harbor.  His wife Susanna and daughter Mary came with him, and a daughter Isabella came later.  He probably had another daughter, “Engeltgen,” who married in Leiden in 1622 (see MF 2 which gives his first five generations in America).  He was also known to have had other children in England, but no descendants from them have been traced.  James CHILTON was the son of Lionel CHILTON, and he was a resident of Canterbury, where he worked as a tailor, and of Sandwich, Kent before going to Holland.   His English background is given by John G. Hunt, “Origins of the CHILTONs of the Mayflower,” TAG 38:244.

CHILTON, MARY – A daughter of James and Susanna CHILTON, Mary sailed with them on the 1620 Mayflower, and she has been called the first woman to step on Plymouth Rock (see Charles T. Libby, Mary CHILTON’s Title to Celebrity, [reprint. Providence, R.I., 1978]).  She was baptized at St. Peter’s Parish, Sandwich, Kent on 31 May 1607.  She married at Plymouth Edward WINSLOW’s brother John WINSLOW, q.v., and they later moved to Boston, where she died before 1 May 1679.  Her family is given in MF 2.  See also Robert M. Sherman, “The Baptism of Mary CHILTON,” MQ 43:56, and Hunt’s article under her father, James CHILTON.

CHILTON, SUSANNA – A 1620 Mayflower passenger, Susanna accompanied her husband James CHILTON and daughter Mary to Plymouth.  Her maiden name is not certain.  Hunt thought it was FURNER; see his article under James CHILTON.  She died shortly after arriving at Plymouth.

[page 433]

The 1627-1634 Arrivals

Chandler, Sarah  daughter of Roger

[page 185]

[early 1600s]

When a servant of Mr. Thomas Gilbert, Jr. complained that he was ill used by his master & in want of proper clothing, the court ordered the town of Taunton to take notice of the boy’s condition & use its best prudence to see that the boy was completely provided for & “wee likewise desire you seriously to remember that some speedy course may bee taken for the curing of the boyes foot, being in danger of perishing.”

[page 445]

The 1643 ABLE TO BEAR ARMS (ATBA) List

Taunton 1643

Thomas Gilbert

Willm Phillips

Edward Rossiter, Colonist, of Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Source: Meredith B. Colket, Jr., “Edward Rossiter, Colonist, of Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony and
the Rossiter English Lineage,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register 138[1984]:4-16.

1. INTRODUCTION

Edward Rossiter of Combe St. Nicholas, co. Somerset and of Dorchester, Massachusetts, gentleman, one of the Assistants of Governor John Winthrop, came to this country in 1630, but died that year. Of his children, three would become forebears of descendants in America: Bryan or Bray, noted physician, ancestor of the Rossiters of America; Jane who married Thomas Gilbert; and Joan who married Nicholas Hart. Information about Edward appears in Meredith B. Colket, Jr., “Edward Rossiter, His Family, and Notes on His English Connections,” The American Genealogist (13[1937]: 145-151).

Even though Edward’s place of origin in New England was known, it had not been possible to determine the identity of his ancestors. There were several stumbling blocks. The original parish registers of the parish prior to 1678 have not survived; neither have Rossiter wills that might have helped reconstruct the pedigree. Original documents that are available are chiefly in Latin, while some that are frail, torn or faded have been deciphered with the use of an ultraviolet lamp. Fortunately, Combe St. Nicholas was on a manor, and many of the manorial court rolls have survived and have been dep[osited in the Somerset Record Office, Taunton, co. Somerset. Fortunately, too, Edward Rossiter and his immediate male-line forbears possessed landed estates of sufficient size to require inquisitions post mortem (also in Latin). These inquiries, addressed to local inhabitants called jurors, determined the land owned by the deceased at the time of death. The deceased were usually tenants in chief of the king.

Through the enthusiastic interest and support of Mr. Charles Fitch-Northen, a scholar of Paignton, Devon, appropriate records in Latin as translated by him, and other records, have been made available for the preparation of this article. A descendant of Edward Rossiter, he was stimulated by the appearance of the article in The American Genealogist years ago. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to him for the thoroughness of his research and for his suggestions. The organization of this article, the points of view expressed, the interpretation of evidence and the conclusions drawn are the sole responsibility of the compiler. Photocopies of the essential records, the basis of which this study has been made, are being deposited in the library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society for future reference.

II. THE ROSSITER SURNAME AND EMBRYONIC BEGINNINGS

The surname Rossiter (or Rosseter as it is often written) was spelled variously before the end of the
sixteenth century. We find Rocetre, Rocetor, Rocestre, Rossa, Rosseltur, Rosy, Roucetre, Roncetre, and very early De Roffa, De Rocester and De Rochester. Charles Wareing Bardsley in A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (London, 1901) declares the derivation of Rossiter in most cases is probably from a place name, "of Rochester."

It is known that, before surnames were inherited, clergy from the See of Rochester in Kent were named Roffa, De Roncestre, De Rochester, and appointed to benefices in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. Solomon de Rochester (his name was written variously) was named Justice in Eyre, Devon, in 1303.

A Feet of Fines recorded at Exeter, co. Devon 52 Henry III (1267/8) shows that Solomon de Roucester and his brother William had interest in land at Hamne, a village just east of Taunton (Emanuel Green, Pedes Finium: Commonly Called Feet of Fines for the County of Somerset: Richard I to Edward I, AD 1196 to AD 1307, Somerset Record Society, 6 [1892]: 216). In 9 Richard II (1385/6), a William Roucestre was involved in a dispute over land in Knoll and “Chafcombe.” Chaffcombe parish is a short distance southeast of Combe St. Nicholas (Green, Feet of Fines: 21 Edward III to 20 Richard II, AD. 1347 to AD. 1399, ibid., 17 [1902]: 128, 129).

III. THE PRESUMED FOREBEARS OF THE ROSSITERS OF COMBE ST. NICHOLAS AND THE ROSSITER COAT OF ARMS

In 1445 and again in 1448, a Richard Roucetre was one of two to present a rector to the Church of Stoke (Walton in Gordano), co. Somerset (H. C. Maxwell-Lyte and M. C. B. Dawes, eds., The Register of Thomas Bekynton, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1443-1465, ibid., 49 [1934]: 36, 37, 93). A person having the right to determine the holder of a church benefice was obviously a person of some prestige in the community.

This Richard Roucetre was apparently the Richard Roucestre who had married by Martinmas 26 Henry VI (1447) Joan Peion, daughter and heiress of Roger Peion. Roger’s wife was also Joan. The evidence for the relationship is the following Somerset fine:

26 HENRY VI (1447-8). 325. At Westminster in the octave of St. Martin between Henry Perot querent; and Roger Peion and Joan his wife and Richard Roucestre and Joan his wife, daughter and heir of the said Roger, deforciants; for two messuages, forty acres of land, ten acres meadow, and ten acres pasture, in Southbarough (and land in Dorset). Roger and Joan his wife acknowledged the right of Henry; for this Henry granted the same to Richard and Joan his wife and their issue, and if they die without issue then to remain to the right heirs of Roger (Green, Feet of Fines: Henry IV to Richard III, ibid., 22 [1906]: 119).

There are two reasons to suspect that Richard was a forebear of the Rossiters of Combe St. Nicholas: one concerns land ownership; the other the subsequent adoption by prescriptive right (or long-time use) of a coat of arms that uses a pheon, an apparent pun on the surname Peion (the family through whom the Rossiters presumably inherited property). Second, Southbarough, the place named in the fine, is quite obviously the parish of South Barrow, co. Somerset. Later Rossiters, specifically Joan Rosseter, wife of William Hartgill, inherited property at “Barow,” probably the same place.

The coat of arms was argent on a chevron of gules, three pheons or. Now a pheon is a little used heraldic device showing a missile, a barbed head thrown from a crossbow. The use of the coat was confirmed John Rosseter of Old Cleve, co. Somerset, by the College of Arms in 1631 according to The Visitations of the County of Somerset in the Years 1531-1573 (Frederic William Weaver, ed. [Exeter, England, 1885], 128).

A branch of the Rossiters of Combe St. Nicholas located at Aslackby, co. Lincoln, used a variant coat: argent on a chevron gules three pheons of the field (A. R. Maddison, Lincolnshire Pedigrees, The Publication of the Harleian Society 52 [1904]: 83.) The ancient Roucester (Rossiter) family of Rothmacnee, co. Wexford, Ireland used the same coat as in the Somerset visitation with a difference (Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales [London, 1884]).

IV. LINEAGE OF THE ROSSITERS (ROSSETERS) OF COMBE ST. NICHOLAS

For over a century the eldest son of the eldest son of the Rossiters at Combe St. Nicholas were members of the landed gentry. The first generation below is the generation that preceded them. This generation can only be partially recreated.

1. —– ROSSITER (i.e., ROUCESTRE) married before 1562 JOAN —–, who died a widow 2 May 5 Henry VIII (1513). An inquisition post mortem relating only to her Dorset lands was taken at Bridport in that country. No inquest has been found on her husband’s property. If one was taken, it is among the many that have not survived. The Richard ROUCESTRE who was married to Joan Peion described above does not harmonize chronologically with this family. A William Roncestre of Chard, co. Somerset, in a plea of trespass Michaelmas 1464 does harmonize chronologically:

Wm. Roncestre, late of Chard, yeoman, and Joan his wife were attached to answer John Brokhampton on a plea of trespass on property which he leased at Chard…. The suit was to determine ownership of property (“Extraneous Documents,” Somerset Record Society).

The record also harmonizes geographically. Chard is the market town of Combe St. Nicholas, less than three miles away.

Joan’s inquisition post mortem (Public Record Office C 142/79/184 Dorset) as translated from the Latin is abstracted in part below:

The said Joan held no lands or tenements from the king in chief in the co. aforesaid on the day when she died. But they say that the said Joan for a long time before the time of her death was seized of four messuages one toft two curtilages with appurtenances situated within the borough of Shaftesbury in the co. aforesaid, and of forty acres of [word torn] and pasture and four acres of meadow with appurtenances lying within the hundred of Alcester (in Shaftesbury) in the co. aforesaid in her demesne as of fee and thus seized thereof gave and granted all the same messuages &c. to [name faded.] Roucester her son to have and to hold to him and his heirs for ever by virtue of which gift the same Richard was seized thereof in his demesne as of fee and of such estate is still seized. And they say that the said messuages toft and curtilages with appurtenances are held of the Abbess of Shaftesbury as in right of her church or monastery at Shaftesbury in free burgage tenure [in libero burgagio] and is worth after deductions 50.s. a year. And that the said Joan held no other lands &c. in the said co. on the day when she died and the same Joan died on 2nd May 5 Henry VIII And that the said Richard Roucester is her son and next heir and is of age 50 years and more.

Known issue:

2.i. RICHARD, eldest son, b. 1463 or before.

2. RICHARD ROSSITER (William?) of Combe St. Nicholas, co. Somerset, gentleman, was born circa 1463 or before (aged 50 or more 1513), according to his mother’s inquisition post mortem. He died 3 September 21 Henry VIII (1529) according to his own inquisition.

He married circa 1490 ELIZABETH —– who was deceased at the time of her daughter, Joan Hartgill’s inquisition post mortem in 1558. There are two visitation pedigrees that offer clues as to Elizabeth’s identity. One is the Visitation of Lincolnshire mentioned above which identifies the wife of Richard Rossiter (father of Philip and George) as daughter of Hartgill. However, the Visitation goes on to say that his wife was sister of the Hartgill who was murdered by Lord Stourton (1566/7). Contemporary records show that William Hartgill married Richard’s daughter; so the Visitation is garbled. A better clue is Lt. Col. J. L. Vivian’s Visitation of Devon (1895), p. 591, which in part reprints the 1564 Visitation dealing with Perye of Water, parish of Wembury, co. Devon. Here Elizabeth wife to “Rossetor” is recorded as daughter of William Perye who married a daughter of John Frye. Members of the Frye family are closely associated with the later Rossiters at Combe St. Nicholas.

In 1524 Richard Rossiter, called “Richard Rosseltur, gent.” and his son-in-law William Hartgill were jurors at the inquisition post mortem of William Long at Shafton, i.e. Shaftesbury, co. Dorset (Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset 26 [1954/5]: 192). Richard Rossiter was the first proved land owner at Combe St. Nicholas. Called “Richard Rocetr” at his inquisition post mortem held at Ilminster, co. Somerset, on 21 Henry VIII (1529), he then owned in the parish 4 messuages and 543 acres of land (Public Record Office, C 142/57/94, Somerset). He died 3 September 1529 leaving Philip aged 30 and more as his heir.

Children:

i. JOAN, b. ca. 1495, only known dau.; d. 20 July 1558, inquisition post mortem at Shaftsbury, co. Dorset (Public Record Office C 142/116/18 Dorset); m. (settlement) 12 May 6 Henry VIII (1514) William Hartgill of Kilmington, co. Somerset, esquire. The inquisition deals with lands she received in Dorset following the death of her father and mother, Richard and Elizabeth Rossiter, and in accordance with the marriage settlement.

William Hartgill was land steward to William Lord Stourton. When Lord Stourton died in 1554, his son Charles forced his mother not to remarry. She then took refuge in William Hartgill’s home. Charles struck Joan Hartgill with his sword. Later, on 12 Jan. 1556 at Bonham, co. Somerset, he secretly murdered her husband William Hartgill and their son John. For this Charles Lord Stourton was hanged 6 Mar. 1556/7 with a silk noose around his neck. The dramatic story is told in William Phelps, The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire (London, 1839, 1:178-87); in brief in George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage (13 vols. [London, 1910-1940], 12:pt. 1:307. 308); and in great detail in Rev. J. E. Jackson, Charles Lord Stourton and the Hartgill Murders (Devises, 1864). William Hartgill’s will, dated 12 Jan. 1553 was proved 13 Nov. 1557 (P. C. C. 47 Wrastley, Frederick Brown, Abstracts of Somerset Wills, 4th Series, p. 18). William willed his wife Joan “all her lands in Shaftsburye, Barow (obviously parish of South Barrow, co. Somerset) and Bristol for her life.” Note also 1623 Visitation of Somersetshire, p. 46.

3.ii. PHILIP, b. ca. 1499, eldest son.

iii. GEORGE, perhaps b. ca. 1505, second son; m. ANN WILLIAMS. He was presumably the one of this name described as “George Rocetour, my servant” who was willed 40 s. in the 1537 will of Dame Elizabeth Speke (widow of Sir John Speke, knt.) of East Doulish, co. Somerset (P. C. C. 16 Dyngeley. See Somerset Wills, Somerset Record Society 21 [1905]: 38-39). He headed the armigerous branch of the family that removed to Aslackby, co. Lincoln, and appeared in Maddison’s Lincolnshire Pedigrees.

3. PHILIP ROSSITER or ROSSETER (Richard, William?) of Combe St. Nicholas, co. Somerset, gentleman, was born circa 1499 or before (over 30 years of age in 1529 when his father died). Philip probably died in 1583 or shortly thereafter. He is last named in the 1583 Survey of the Prebendaries of Welles Manor, Combe St. Nicholas, the record being in the Somerset Archeology Society, Taunton (Records No. SF 86; photocopy of record retained). Philip married twice, the first marriage having taken place about 1538. The identity of this wife is unknown.

Philip married secondly at North Curry, co. Somerset, on 30 April 1564 KATHERINE LYTE. The marriage is published in W. P. W. Phillimore’s Somerset Parish Registers: Marriages, 15 v. ([London, 1898-1915], 2:79): “Philip Rossetergen and Katherine Lite laste of Apr. 1564,” the abbreviation “gen” standing for generosus (i.e., gentleman).

North Curry lies five miles east of Taunton. The parish embraces the manor of Tillesdon, residence of William Lyte (called Black William) whose identity as father of Katherine, the wife of Philip Rossiter, appears in the extensive Lyte pedigree in the 1623 “Visitation of Wiltshire” (The Publication of the Harleian Society, v. 105/6:230-234, especially 232, 1954). Philip Rossiter is described in the visitation as of St. Collies Combe uxta Chard. Collies in early days was the colloquial name for Nicholas. Chard was the market town 2-1/2 miles southeast of Combe St. Nicholas.

William Lyte married Dorothea, daughter of Edward Kellway of Rockborne, co. Wilts, knight. Among William’s other children was Gertrude who married Thomas Howard, Viscount Howard of Bindon, Queen Elizabeth’s first cousin (see Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, 6:583, 584). William was a member of the distinguished Lyte family of Lyte’s Cary, parish of Charlton Mackerell being the second son of Thomas, Lord of the manor. The story of Lytes Cary Manor House was written by William George in 1879. The impressive manor house has survived. It is now a property of the National Trust and partly opened to the public.

In 1529 at the time of Philip’s father’s death, the inquistion post mortem shows that he inherited in Combe St. Nicholas 4 messuages, 31 acres meadow, 312 acres of pasture and 200 acres of woodland. In the reign of Elizabeth, 1569, Philip “Roceter” of the Tithing of Combe furnished a corslet of armor to the crown (Emanuel Green, Certificate of Muster in the County of Somerset: Temp. Elizabeth A.D. 1569, Somerset Record Society, 20 [1904]: 262).

Three Combe St. Nicholas lay subsidies in the Public Record Office show payment of taxes:

Ca 1557 Philip Rosy gent assessed £16 for relief, paid 16 shillings. The four others taxed in the parish were husbandmen (3-6 Edward VI, No. E 179/170/254).

1570/1 Phillipus Rocetor gen in terris assessed £4 paid 10 s. 4 d. He was the only inhabitant that year who was taxed on land (13 Elizabeth No. E 179/171/284).

1580/1 Phus Rosseter in terris £4 paid 10 s. 8 d. Of 19 taxable inhabitants, Philip was the only one taxed on land. (23 Elizabeth No. E 179/256/2 photocopy of document retained.)

Known or probable children by his first marriage:

4.i. NICHOLAS, b. ca. 1539, eldest son.

ii. (probably) WILLIAM of Combe St. Nicholas and London, grocer. In 1572 he sold a share of the manor of Fairfax to William Guy alias Gysse of Combe St. Nicholas (Elizabeth Crittall, A History of Wiltshire, The Victoria History of the Counties of England [London, 1965], 8:102. Note also Elizabeth Rossiter, widow 8:18). In 20 Elizabeth (1577-8) an indenture was made for a copyhold tenancy at Combe St. Nicholas for the three lives of William Rossiter and daus. Joan and Grace. In 5 James I (1607-8) the above is recorded on the court rolls with information that William was then dead and his daus. were aged 32 and 30, respectively.

iii. (probably) RICHARD, taxed on a small land holding at Combe St. Nicholas 1583. As Richard Roceter he was disclaimed by Heralds from bearing arms in 1591 (Visitation of Somerset, 1885, ed. by Weaver, p. 67).

Children by second marriage, first three named in the “Visitation of Wiltshire”:

iv. PHILIP, b. ca. 1568; d. 5 May 1623, bur. St. Dunstan in the West, London; m. ELIZABETH —–. Philip is probably the noted musician of the name in London. Described as gentleman in his will, he was musician to James I and a stage manager contemporary with William Shakespeare. As Philip Rosseter he published in 1601 A Book of Ayres, set foorth in the Late Orpherion and Basse Violl. In 1609 he published Lessons for Consort, only a part of which has survived. The Lytes of Lyte’s Cary were artistic and musical. A descendant, the Rev. Henry Francis Lyte, composed the hymn “Abide With Me.” In a monograph by Christiaan Vlam, Professor of Music at Cambridge, and Thurston Dart, Philip Rosseter is called one of England’s finest song writers. This monograph, entitled “Rosseters in Holland,” Galpin Society Journal 11:63-9 (Edinburgh, 1958) deals with Philip Rosseter’s gifted descendants in that country. For Philip, see also Dictionary of National Biography, 17:282.

v. JOHN, b. ca. 1570, most probably the John of the manor of Wolmerston, parish of Crewkerne, co. Somerset whose son claimed a Rossiter coat of arms in 1631. His will, dated 8 April 1611, proved 8 Sept. 1611, names son John and Anne wife of John WOOD (P. C. C. 75 Wood, Frederick Brown, Abstracts of Somerset Wills, First Series [n.p., 1887], 15). John, the son, was of Old Cleeve, co. Somerset, in 1631. His claim to the coat of arms: Argent on a chevron gules three pheons or was confirmed by the herald’s annotation in the Visitation of Somerset, 1885, ed. by Weaver, p. 128.

vi. ELIZABETH.

vii. HUGH, named as brother in Philip’s will proved in 1623. Although Hugh is not named in the visitation of Wiltshire, it is to be noted that the mother, Katherine Lyte, had a brother Hugo (Latin form of Hugh).

4. NICHOLAS ROSSITER (Philip, Richard, William?) of Combe St. Nicholas, gentleman, was born circa 1539, for his age as 70 in 1608/9 (5-7 James I) is given in the Combe St. Nicholas manorial survey (Somerset County Record Office, Taunton, Wells Deanery, indentured tenants folio 22, 7 in Latin, copy of record retained). He died 1 April 1608, judging from a Bishop’s Transcript fragment, “Nicholas Rossiter was buried in the first day of April 1608.” He married (circa 1570) (ELIZA)BETH —–. She was buried 26 April 1608 according to the Bishop’s Transcript fragment which called her “wife of Nicholas” (photocopy showing death records retained).

In 1592/3 Nicholas Rossiter was taxed on lands, a tax that was recorded as follows: Nicholas Roscester gen. in terris £4, paying 16 s. (Lay Subsidy, Public Record Office. Hundred of Kingsbury, parish of Combe St. Nicholas Elizabeth 35, No. E 179/256/4). Of the 25 taxables in the record that year, Nicholas was the only one taxed on lands. He was taxed on the same amount the following year and for the last time.

At the meeting of the Manorial Court on 21 April 9 James I (1609), a twenty-man jury declared that Nicholas Rossiter, a free tenant of the lord died in extremis since the last court and his son Edward Rossiter was his next heir (Combe St. Nicholas Manorial Rolls, 9 James I, Somerset County Record Office, Taunton, in Latin, photocopy of record retained).

Known issue:

5.i. EDWARD, b. ca. 1575, eldest son.

5. EDWARD¹ ROSSITER (Nicholas, Philip, Richard, William?) of Combe St. Nicholas, co. Somerset, and Dorchester, Mass., gentleman, was born circa 1575. He died at Dorchester 23 October 1630. He is believed to have married —– COMBE, daughter of John Combe of Combe St. Nicholas and sister of Joseph Combe. Edward is referred to as “my brother” in Joseph Combe’s will dated 21 March 1619/20 (cited in Colket, “Edward Rossiter,” The American Genealogist 13 [1937]: 146). The inference in the Gilberts of New England (Geoffrey Gilbert, ed. [Victoria, B.C., 1959], 24) that Joseph’s wife, Winifred, was a Rossiter and sister of Edward has not been substantiated. It is questioned on chronological grounds, and on the fact that no Winifred Rossiter even had rights to land as recorded in the various leases of Combe St. Nicholas.

The first record we have of Edward is in the lay subsidy roll in the Public Record Office, London, of 1597. He was then paying taxes on land that belonged to his father who would not die until 1608. It is inferred that his father in later years was incapable or unwilling to manage the property.

The record reads: Edward Rocetor, gen. in terris £4 pays 16 s. (41 Elizabeth, Hundred of Kingsbury Parish of Combe St. Nicholas. No. E 179/171/321). William Torrey, forebear of the New England family, was taxed on £4 in the subsidies of 1 James I (1603/4)(photocopy of record retained) and 4 James I (1606-1607). In 1611/12 his signature appears on a petition in behalf of Richard and Ursula Stockman, a poor and aged couple of the parish (E. H. Bates, ed., Quarter Sessions Records for the County of Somerset: James I, 1607-1625, Somerset Record Society, 23 [1907]: 73).

His name is listed in the court records for his failure to clear out one of the ditches adjoining his property and he is reprimanded for enclosing a portion of his common land, (manorial court rolls 8 James I [1610/11]). In 1626 he was appointed constable of the parish (in Latin, photocopy of record retained). Edward was last taxed in the Lay Subsidy Roll for 1628/9 (4 Car.; photocopy of record retained).

Edward Rossiter, as eldest son of the eldest son of the eldest son was clearly head of the senior branch of the Rossiters of Combe St. Nicholas. Although there is no extant evidence that he claimed a Rossiter coat of arms, it is apparent that two Rossiters stemming from Combe St. Nicholas of junior lines did. As noted, two descendants of the first Rossiter of Combe St. Nicholas, Richard Rossiter (circa 1562-1629), claimed a coat of arms depicting a pheon (apparently an allusion to the Peion heiress who married a Rossiter). One was John of Old Cleve, co. Somerset, evidently grandson of Philip Rossiter, Sr., and first cousin of Edward. The other, of the family of Acklackby, co. Lincoln, descended from Philip’s brother George, used a slightly variant coat. These coats were confirmed by the College of Arms on the basis of long time use or prescriptive usage, three generations or more (See “The Prescriptive Usage of Arms,” The Ancestor 2 [1902]: 40-47).

Rossiter, with his household, formed part of the group under the Rev. John White that set sail from Plymouth 20 March 1630 on the Mary and John. The passengers settled at Dorchester, Mass. As a stockholder in the Massachusetts Bay Company, Rossiter was entitled to fifty acres of land for each person he brought over (including himself). Mrs. Frances Rose-Troup’s book, John White, the Patriarch of Dorchester (New York, 1930), shows that Rossiter was charged with bringing over thirteen persons. These certainly included himself, sons Nicholas, Bryan and Hugh, the wife of Bryan, daughters Jane and Joan, and if alive, his own wife, and possibly the wife and children of son Nicholas.

Edward’s sudden death on 23 October 1630 was reported by Governor John Winthrop in his Journal. Thomas Dudley, who later succeeded Winthrop as Governor, wrote the Countess of Lincoln: “Within a month after, died Mr. Rossiter, another of the associates, a godly man and of good estate, which still weakened more” (quoted in Colket, “Edward Rossiter,” The American Genealogist, 150). Edward’s death was reported in the Combe St. Nicholas manorial rolls 2 June 1631. “Edrew Rossiter gen. free tenant of the manor, died since last court” (photocopy retained). Nicholas is identified in the rolls as his son four years later when he returns from America.

Known children:

6.i. NICHOLAS², b. ca. 1599; m. ANNE —–.

ii. DOROTHY, b. ca. 1608; m. at Combe St. Nicholas, 12 Feb. 1629/30 MARTIN GROUT; according to Bishop’s Transcript fragment. No further record.

iii. BRYAN or BRAY, b. ca. 1610, d. at Guilford, Conn. 30 Sept. 1672; m. before coming to America ELIZABETH ALSOP who d. at Guilford, 29 Aug. 1669, dau. of the Rev. John Alsop of Crewkerne, co. Somerset (Henry F. Waters, Genealogical Gleanings in England. [1901. Baltimore, 1969], 1:426, 427). For descendants, see R. D. Smyth, “Dr. Bryan (or Bray) Rossiter of Guilford, Conn., and His Descendants,” Register 55 (1901): 149-154.

iv. JANE, b. ca. 1614; d. at Taunton, Mass., 1 June 1691; m. at Taunton, 23 March 1639/40 THOMAS GILBERT, b. ca. 1612, d. 1676/7, son of John Gilbert of Combe St. Nicholas and Taunton, Mass. (Gilbert, Gilberts of New England, 60).

v. HUGH, b. ca. 1615, identified as son of Edward by John Frye, the elder, in Colket, “Edward Rossiter,” The American Genealogist, 146, bur. at Combe St. Nicholas, 1680; m. by 1641 DOROTHY (COMBE) NORRIS. She was b. 1620, the unborn child in her father’s will of 21 March 1620 (ibid., 145/6), and was bur. at Combe St. Nicholas in 1697. She was the dau. of Joseph and Winifred Combe and widow of the little-known William Norris of Salem, Mass. (according to the alphabetical list of copyhold leases in the manorial court records of Combe St. Nicholas). They would appear to be first cousins, except for the fact that Hugh’s father’s marriage to a Combe may not have been his only marriage. Hugh received a grant of land at Dorchester, Mass. in 1635 (Colket, “Edward Rossiter, The American Genealogist, 147). He returned to Combe St. Nicholas by 1641. Hugh Rossiter (and children) “Mattathias” and Edward his sons are named in a lease of copyhold in the manorial records filed at the Somerset Record Office, Taunton (Wells Deanery Leases and Rentals, file 8548, 25 folios). He is listed as a minor freeholder on the rent roll for 1663 (photocopy of record retained). Children: 1. Matthias, m. at St. Mary Magdalene, Taunton, 14 April 1676 Jane Herring. 2. Edward, b. 1641 or later. 3. Benaiah (i.e., Benajiah) m. at Heavitree, co. Devon, 9 March 1676/7 Dorcas Soper. In 1685 he was living at Cork, Ireland with his family: “Examination of several persons landed out of the ship `Thomas and Anne’ from Cork, at Bristol on the 13th of February, 1685: Benajah Rossiter says that his mother Dorothy Rossiter, widow, is now (as he hopes) living at Combe St. Nicholas in Somerset. He was now going thither where he heard his father left him something; which, as soon as taken care of, he desires to return to Cork where his wife and family are” (Public Record Office, Calendar of State Papers James II, 1:12, 14).

vi. JOANE, b. ca. 1616, “youngest child”; d. at Plymouth Colony, 9 June 1681, aged about 75 (Plymouth Church Records [New York, 1920-1923], 1:271), m. NICHOLAS HART of Taunton 1642 and Portsmouth, R.I., 1651. For descendants, see James M. Hart, Genealogical History of Samuell Hartt from London, England, to Lynn, Mass., 1640 … [and] Nicholas Hart (Pasadena, Calif., 1903).

6. NICHOLAS² ROSSITER (Edward¹, Nicholas, Philip, Richard, William?) of Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset, and for a time Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, gentleman, the eldest son, was born circa 1599. The evidence for the date is an indentured lease among the manorial court rolls of Combe St. Nicholas of 5 James I (1607-08) in which his age was given at eight years (photocopy of record retained). He died by 8 June 1650, the date of the probate of his will. His wife, Anne, named in his will of 23 May 1643, was also named in the probate. The will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 98 Pembroke (photocopy of record retained).

Nicholas came to America with his father and remained here for several years. In behalf of his deceased father, he paid the passage money for the thirteen members of the Rossiter household who migrated. Nicholas resided at Dorchester, but returned to Combe St. Nicholas by 16 April 1635 where the court rolls show that he inherited his father’s lands there and became a free tenant of the manor (photocopy of record retained).

His name is recorded twice in 1641. Once was on the Protestation Roll (the virtual census of Englishmen renouncing Catholicism) when he was named among the 187 in the parish. Once was in the subsidy roll when he was described as “Nicholas Rossiter gen.” He was taxed on land valued at £4. This was the last year we have evidence that the Rossiters owned substantial land at Combe St. Nicholas. (The Somerset Protestation Returns and Lay Subsidy Rolls 1641/2, transcribed by A. J. Howard, ed. by T. L. Stoate [Bristol, 1975] 51, 235).

Children, named in 1643 will:

7.i. EDWARD³, b ca. 1628, only son.

ii. ANNE, living 1681.

iii. JANE.

iv. MARY, living 1681.

v. MARTHA, bp. 1639 (according to Combe St. Nicholas, Somersetshire, Bishop’s Transcript fragment in Edward Dwelly, Dwelly’s Parish Registers, 1 [1913]: 309; living 1681.

vi. DOROTHY, living 1681.

7. EDWARD³ ROSSITER (Nicholas², Edward¹, Nicholas, Philip, Richard, William?) of Combe St. Nicholas, and Taunton, co. Somerset, stationer and deacon, was born circa 1628 probably at Combe St. Nicholas, and was living at Taunton, co. Somerset, as late as 1695. He married first, at St. Mary’s Magdalene, Taunton, on 22 August 1656 SARAH POWELL; second, in the same parish, 13 June 1661 JOAN ROCKET (note that Hugh Rossiter and Richard Rocket were granted lands at Dorchester in 1635; Colket,”Edward Rossiter,” The American Genealogist, 144); third, in the same parish, 16 December 1669 ELIZABETH LISSANT; and fourth, at St. James, Taunton, 5 December 1684 ELIZABETH LEG.

Edward’s early life is a mystery. If born by 1630, he certainly accompanied his parents to America. He was obviously heir to a considerable estate. Yet in 1650 when he was perhaps about 25 years of age and when his father’s will was probated his whereabouts were unknown. A translation of the Latin on the will probate reads, “Anne Rossiter [the widow of Nicholas] truly and faithfully accepts [the fact that] Edward Rossiter was dead.” That he did not die is clear from the will of Elizabeth Buckland of West Hamptree, co. Somerset, dated 2 Septemer 1681 and proved 18 February 1683 (11 P.C.C. Hare; Frederick Brown, Abstracts of Somersetshire Wills, 5th series [n.p., 1890], 73). She bequeathed to “my cousin Edward Rossiter, being a kinsman whom my husband loved, £50.” His identity as son of Nicholas is clear from the fact that Elizabeth Buckland also made bequests to four of the five sisters of Edward as named in the will of Nicholas: Anne, Mary, Martha, and Dorothy.

Manorial records of the period of the Commonwealth are incomplete and we do not know the circumstance under which the Rossiter estate passed from the family. We do know from an extant 1663 rent roll that the bulk of the Rossiter lands, on which Nicholas Rossiter paid taxes in 1641, had passed to Henry Bonner, Sr., and Henry Bonner, Jr. Presumably, this had happened before Edward’s marriage at Taunton in 1656.

The Hearth Tax for Taunton Hundred, Taunton Burgess, Fore Street 1664 and 1665 shows Edward Rossiter paying 4s. and 2s. for four hearths (Richard Holworthy, comp., Hearth Tax for Somerset 1664-5 [Fleet, Hants], 1).

In 1673 Edward was one of two portreeves of Taunton (See Court List of the Borough of Taunton where portreeves from 1616-1691 are listed, copy in Castle Library, Taunton).

Edward had apparently come under the influence of two former Taunton ministers, the Rev. George Newton (1602-81) and the Rev. Joseph Alleine, Oxford, B.D. (1634-1668). Both were imprisoned several times for their preaching and both were ejected from the famous Church of St. Mary Magdalene in 1662 (Rev. T. G. Crippin Manuscript, copied from the Tite Collection, Taunton Municipal Public Library). The Rev. Alleine’s works were well known in America. According to the Dictionary of National Biography, “No puritan name save Richard Baxter is so affectionately cherished by the English speaking people as Joseph Alleine.”

Edward Rossiter’s home was among those licensed so that prayers and ministry could be given there. He was a church deacon.

Edward was outspoken in his religious views. On one occasion, on 11 January 1671, his words were brought to the attention of the civil authorities and he was ordered to make amends:

Order that Edward Rossiter of Taunton St. Mary Magdalene, stationer, on some Lord’s day immediately after sermon, do make public acknowledgement in the parish church of the said parish of his offence in speaking scandalous words against Peter, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and do produce at next General Session a certificate by the ministers that he hath done” (Quarter Session Records Charles II, Somerset Record Society 34 [1919]: 191).

Edward’s religious activities were not unknown in Puritan New England. Governor Thomas Hutchinson in The History of Massachusetts Bay (2nd edition, London 1765, p. 17), described both the grandfather and the grandson:

Edward Rossiter [the colonist] was of good family in the west of England. He died the first year [1630]. His son [Nicholas] lived afterwards at Combe [St. Nicholas]. His grandson Edward Rossiter, in the year 1682 was deacon of Rev. Joseph Alleine’s church in Taunton. He says in a letter dated March 28, 1682 that his grandfather, a pious gentleman of good estate, left England for the sake of religion.

The last reference to Edward is in 1695 in the records of St. James Church, Taunton, on a notice of removal from the parish. Scattered references to Rossiters in the 18th century may refer to descendants. The name, we understand, died out at Combe St. Nicholas.

Among issue:

1. NICHOLAS⁴, bp. 20 July 1655, at St. Mary Magdalene, Taunton. No further record.

Thus, sometime during the period of the Commonwealth, the landed estate of the Rossiter gentlemen at Combe St. Nicholas, their patrimony under primogeniture since before 1529, passed out of their hands forever. Edward, the last in the line of primogeniture at Combe St. Nicholas, became a tradesman, while the circumstances that brought about the loss of the estate remain a mystery.

The Wives of John Gilbert of Dorchester, Mass.



Source: Geoffrey Gilbert, “The Wives of John Gilbert of Dorchester, Mass.,” New England Historical and
Genealogical Register 61[1957].

[page 234]

John Gilbert of Bridgwater, Somerset, one of the original purchasers of Taunton, Mass., brought with him to Dorchester, in or about 1635, a wife Winifred, four sons, and a daughter. He was born in 1580, and in January 1602-3 he married Mary Street, both in Bridgwater. Mary has been considered the mother of the two older sons, Thomas and John, Jr., who were “well grown youths” in 1636. The two younger sons, Giles and Joseph, and probably the daughter Mary, have been assigned more or less doubtfully to Winifred. As to the identity of Winifred, the only clue has been a clause in John’s will referring to his wife’s grandchild Elizabeth —-; the surname has been variously deciphered as Peaslee, Peslee, Peter, and Pester. This clause has been the basis for a guess that Peaslee or a variant was the name of Winifred’s first husband, and she has appeared in some genealogies as “widow Peaslee”, though obviously this would only be true if Elizabeth were the child of a son of Winifred, not of a daughter.

Somewhat later, restudies of the Bridgwater records suggested that there might be still another wife. A daughter Joan was born in 1614 to John and Alice Gilbert and Alice, wife of John Gilbert, died in 1618. It was not considered certain that these records related to John, the immigrant, but on the other hand evidence was uncovered that a John Gilbert, who later became mayor of Bridgwater, was born about 1614, and there is reason to suppose that the Joan of the 1614 baptism is really this John. If so, he is in all likelihood the second son of John, the immigrant, who is known to have returned permanently to England in 1645, after about ten years in America.

In the late 1920′s, my father, Philip H. Gilbert, engaged an English genealogist, Mr. H. Tapley-Soper, of Exeter, to try to uncover further

[page 235]

details about John Gilbert, Sr., and his antecedents. The Chancery Reports, neglected by earlier workers, yielded several pieces of information about John and his father Giles. One in particular, a suit brought against John in 1610 by one Valentine Babb, clears up the question of the second wife. It shows that John married Alice Hopkins, daughter of Thomas Hopkins of Bristol, in September 1606; a reference to Nicholas Street as John’s father-in-law removes all doubt as to his identity. In all probability a Mary Gilbert who was buried in Bridgwater in October 1605 was John’s first wife, and beyond any doubt the Alice who died in 1618 was the second. Alice must certainly have been the mother of the sons Thomas and John, Jr.

The Babb document reads in part as follows:

Chancery Proceedings C.2 James I, B.26-7.

26 April 1610. Complaint of Valentine Babb of Trull, co. Somerset, yeoman, that whereas one John Gilbert of Trull, gent., by virtue of the last will of Giles Gilbert his father deceased ….. was possessed of a lease ….. called Peasehay containing 80ac in Baudripp, co. Somerset ….. said John Gilbert about 29 Nov. last in consideration of £600 ….. did sell to orator said premises ….. Since then there hath been a paper book made embodying the contract, which paper book was made by one Nicholas Street, gent., fatherinlaw to Gilbert ….. Gilbert refused to ….. perform the covenants of the agreement.

15 June 1610. Answer to John Gilbert, gent. He ….. made an agreement with the complainant ….. but 3 years before the time of the agreement he, in consideration of a marriage then shortly after to be had between him & Alice his now wife, which was then very shortly after solemnized, by his writing indented between him & Thomas Hoptkins & William Hoptkins of city of Bristol, merchants, & Richard Winter, gent. of same city dated 1 Sept. 4 Jas.I.1606 conveyed his interest in the premises to them for the jointure of Alice now his wife being daughter of said Thomas Hoptkins, & at the time of the agreement he thought he would procure and get the good liking of Alice & her trustee to relinquish the same assurance ….. but cannot succeed ….. and as this was the case Gilbert was unable to sign the agreement.

Mr. Tapley-Soper also found two other documents which, taken together, definitely establish the identity of the third wife, Winifred. The first is the will of Joseph Combe of Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset, proved in April 1620. It mentions among others wife Winifred, daughter Joan, and “brother” Edward Rossiter. It has been printed in two collections of Somerset wills, and reprinted in an important article by Colket.*

The other document is as follows:

Feet of Fines, Somerset, Easter, 11 Charles I. 1635.

“Nicholas Rossiter gent. querent & John Gilbert gent. & Winifred his wife deforciant of a moiety of 15 ac of land & 8 ac of meadow in Combe St. Nicholas which John & Winifred granted to Nicholas to hold for life of Winifred & of Joan Combe daughter of Winifred & for the life of the longer liver of them”.

This suit establishes the identity of Winifred Gilbert with widow

_______________

*Colket, Meredith B., Jr.; “Edward Rossiter, his Family, and Notes on his English Connections”, American Genealogist, vol. 13, 1937, pp. 145-51.

[page 236]

Winifred Combe, but it does considerably more. It is no doubt a fictitious suit, and merely indicates that John and Winifred were selling their land to Nicholas Rossiter. Nicholas, in the Colket list, was a son of Edward, probably the oldest. He is thought to have been in America from about 1630 to 1635.* The transaction goes far to reinforce the conclusion that when Joseph Combe referred to Edward Rossiter as “brother” he meant brother-in-law, and that Edward was a brother of Winifred. It also gives an approximate date for the Gilbert departure for America; in spite of various traditions that include them in the passenger list of the Mary and John, I know of no evidence of their presence earlier than January 1635-6.** It gives us still another piece of information, to which I shall revert below; it shows that in 1635 Joan Combe was a still unmarried member of the Gilbert family.

Incorporating the above facts, we get the following outline for John Gilbert of Dorchester:

JOHN GILBERT, son of Giles and Joan (Pearce) Gilbert, was baptized 30 Aug. 1580 in Bridgwater, Somerset; died 1657 in Taunton, Mass. (will signed 6 April 1656, proved 3 June 1657). He married (1), 17 Jan. 1602-3, in Bridgwater, MARY STREET, bapt. 22 March 1578-9 in Taunton, Somerset; probably she who was buried 25 Oct. 1605, in Bridgwater; daughter of Nicholas Street. He married (2), in September 1606, perhaps in Bristol, ALICE HOPKINS, buried 25 April 1618 in Bridgwater; daughter of Thomas Hopkins of Bristol. He married (3), in or after 1620, WINIFRED (ROSSITER) COMBE, widow of Joseph Combe of Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset, and sister of Edward Rossiter of that place.

Children by first wife:

• ?. Twins MARY and JOAN, bapt. 4 Aug. 1603, Bridgwater; buried there 5 and 9 Aug. Parentage not stated, but they may have been daughters of John and Mary, born prematurely.
• ?. MARY, bapt. 19 Aug. 1604, Bridgwater. Parentage not stated; if a daughter of John, she probably died young, as she could hardly have been the Mary listed below.

Children by second wife:

• ?. ELIZABETH. The will of Emma Escott of Bridgwater, widow, dated 10 Nov. 1632, mentions “Elizabeth daughter of Mr. John Gilbert” (Somerset Wills, 2nd series, p. 96). Nothing further is known of her.
• i. THOMAS, b. probably about 1612, perhaps in Trull, Somerset; d. about 1676, England.
• ii. JOHN, b. about 1614, and probably the “Joan” bapt. 19 Aug. 1614, Bridgwater; prob. also the John who d. there 10 Feb. 1691.

Children by third wife:

• iii. MARY. Mentioned in John’s will as Mary Norcross. Her husband was probably Rev. Nathaniel Norcross, bapt. in 1619 in London; in America 1638 to about 1649-50; d. 10 Aug. 1662, London. If this identification is

_______________

*Colket, idem.

**Boston Record Commissioners, Fourth Report, pp. 14-15.

[page 237]

correct, Mary was probably born in the early 1620′s and married in the early 1640′s.

• iv. GILES, b. perhaps about 1627 (apparently under military age of 16 in 1643); d. 8 Jan. 1717-18, Rehoboth, Mass.
• v. JOSEPH, b. perhaps about 1629; migrated from Taunton to North Carolina.

This paper is intended to be primarily factual, but I should like to end it on a note of conjecture regarding two Gilbert questions that still await an answer. One of these has already been implied. Now that we know who Winifred was, what are we to do about her granddaughter, Elizabeth Peaslee?

The other relates to Jane Rossiter, who married John’s oldest son Thomas in Taunton on 23 March 1639-40. The ancient statement that she was a daughter of Hugh Rossiter has been shown by Colket to be baseless. The most probable alternative is that she was Hugh’s widow.* If so, whose daughter was she?

I think that both birds can be killed with one stone. My evidence so far is circumstantial, but it is still coming in, and it makes at least a very plausible story. I hope to present it eventually, either in another paper in this journal or in the “John Gilbert Genealogy”, of which I am at present a co-compiler. Meanwhile I should like to stake my claim to the “discovery”, and invite rebuttal.

I believe that Jane Rossiter was the widow of Hugh, and that Hugh died in 1638 or 1639, leaving her with an infant daughter Elizabeth. She was also Hugh’s first cousin. She was the daughter of Winifred Gilbert, and the stepdaughter of John Gilbert. She was stepsister of her second husband, Thomas Gilbert. Her maiden name was Joan Combe.

As for Elizabeth of the illegible surname, it should be pointed out that the illegibility must be blamed on the clerk who at an uncertain date transcribed the will into the Plymouth records. The will itself has perished. Instead of burdening Winifred with an unaccountable Pester relative (Pester is fully as logical a reading as Peaslee**) can we not assume that the clerk slipped, and that the word written by John was something like Roseter or Rocester? If so, the conjecture is just about set up. Winifred was a Rossiter herself, but the only way she could have had a Rossiter grandchild would be by marrying a daughter to a Rossiter. We have an available daughter in Joan (Jane is a mere variant), and an available Rossiter in Hugh. What more do we need?

What became of young Elizabeth? I think I know that, too. She makes one more brief appearance, in the Thomas Gilbert inventory.*** She is referred to as “the daughter of Mr. Thomas Gilbert”,

_______________

*Colket, idem.

**Plym. Col. Records, Wills, vol. 2, pp. 46-7. See also the printed version in The Mayflower Descendant, vol. 14, 1912, p. 114, which gives it as Pester.

***Plym. Col. Records, Wills, vol. 3, pp. 78-9.

[page 238]

and perhaps she was, by adoption. Anyway, she did not share in the estate. She had married Thomas Starr, Jr. and died before 1677.

The Blake Family in England

Source: Francis E. Blake, “The Blake Family in England,” New England Historical and Genealogical
Register 45[1891]:35-38.

In a “Genealogical History of William Blake of Dorchester,” published in 1857, appears the statement that the emigrant to New England was the son of Giles Blake of Little Baddow, Essex, and the record of several generations of the family is given. The substance of this record is trustworthy as being a copy from “Morant’s History of Essex,” but the statement that the Dorchester settler was of this family was unwarranted by any evidence. Subsequently the late H.G. Somerby, Esq., by request of Stanton Blake, Esq., made extended researches in England to determine the origin of the American family. He finally located it at Over Stowey, Somerset, and the results of his investigations were published in 1881, by W.H. Whitmore, Esq., in “A Record of the Blakes of Somersetshire.”

The evidences upon which Mr. Somerby based his conclusions were, first, the record of a baptism in 1594, at Over Stowey, of a William Blake (son of Robert and grandson of John), the date corresponding to the age of the emigrant at death; and second, the fact that a sister of this William, in her will of date 1647, mentioned a “brother in New England,” no name however being given. While this evidence was not all that could be desired, it was generally accepted as correct, and the pedigree has been copied in several other genealogical publications.

In 1881, Rev. Charles M. Blake, U.S.A., while visiting in England, was shown by William Blake, Esq., of South Petherton, a genealogical chart of the “Blakes of Somersetshire,” prepared by William Arthur Jones, Esq., A.M.

An examination of this chart led Mr. Blake to visit Pitminster, four miles from Taunton, where he found upon the parish registers sufficient evidence to convince him that this was the early home of his ancestor William Blake, but he was unable at that time to give the matter further attention.

Recently, investigations have been made by the writer, through correspondence with the vicar of the parish, and with Edward J. Blake, Esq., of Crewkerne. The latter himself examined the registers of Pitminster, and Over Stowey, and he has had a careful examination made of wills and other original sources of information, for the purpose of determining his own line of descent and verifying the chart referred to. The result of these researches, so far as relates to the American family, has been very courteously copied for the writer and forms the basis of this article.

Mr. Somerby’s record of the baptism of a William at Over Stowey, June 5, 1594, was found to be correct, but unfortunately he overlooked this subsequent entry:

“1617, William Blake the sonne of Robert Blake was buried the —- of April.”

As this record effectually disposes of this William, we are forced to look elsewhere for the emigrant.

On page 14 of Mr. Somerby’s notes the statement is made that William the son of John⁹ and brother of Robert above named died at Bishops Lydiard, leaving a widow Joan, but no children.

A close examination of the records discloses the following facts. By the will of John,⁹ his son William received lands at Bishops Lydiard, at Plainfield in Over Stowey, and at Padnoller in the parish of Spaxton. Now in the will of William of Bishops Lydiard, referred to by Mr. Somerby, date 13th June, 1618, and proved in September following by Joan his widow, he is described as a yeoman, and bequeaths three acres at Hillfarence which he bought, and his land at Risun, with sundry small gifts to friends. He mentions “Philipp Sully, my boye,” but no children.

It will be noticed that this William held an entirely different social position from the Blakes of Over Stowey, and in the disposition of his property made no mention of the lands which John Blake⁹ gave to his son William.

Furthermore, we have an abstract of a will of a William Blake of Riston, proved at Taunton, May, 1572, in which is a bequest to “my sonne Willyam.” Riston is near Taunton, and not more than seven or eight miles from Bishops Lydiard and is undoubtedly the same place described as Risun in the will of 1618.

From these facts it is quite reasonable to think that the William who died in 1618 at Bishops Lydiard without children was the son of William of Riston, but certainly not the son of John⁹ of Over Stowey.

The records of Over Stowey furnish no evidence whatever in regard to John’s son, but the Taunton Manor Rolls show that a William Blake bought property at Pitminster, in 1586. The parish registers of Pitminster, which begin in the year 1544, are in a very good state of preservation, but there is not a single Blake entry (with the exception of a Mary Blake, daughter of Richard, who was buried in 1574) until the year 1588, when Grace a daughter of William was baptized. It is supposed that this William was the son of John,⁹ that he went to Pitminster to reside about the time of the purchase of the estate there in 1586, and there had the children named below. This theory was adopted by Mr. Jones in preparing his chart, and also by Mr. Blake whose investigations have been made independently of all previous labor in this direction, and it is hoped that this may soon be verified by record evidence.

The following records relating to this branch of the family appear upon the parish registers at Pitminster:

Anno Domio.

• 1588. Grace Blake, daughter of Willm Blake was baptized the 9^th day of February.
• 1592. Eme Blake, daughter of William Blake was baptized the third day of December.
• 1594. William Blake, son of William Blake was baptized the 10^th day of July.
• 1597. John Blake son of William Blake was baptized the fifteenth day of June.
• 1600. Añe Blaak, daughter of William Blaak was baptized the sixteenth day of October.
• 1603. Richard Blaak, son of William Blaak was baptized the seventeenth day of Aprill.
• 1617. William Blake was married to Agnis Bond widow the 27^th day of September.
• 1618. John Blake, sonne of William Blake, and Ann Blake daughter of William Blake were baptised the ____ day ____ of August.
• 1620. William Blake sonne of William Blake was baptised the ^6th of September.
• 1624. James Blake sonne of William Blake was baptised 27^th April.

With this record from Pitminster before us, there cannot be a shadow of doubt that we have here the family of William of Dorchester. We know that he had a wife Agnes, and children John, Ann, William and James, and to make the case still stronger, the age of the father at death, and also of three of the children, Ann, William and James, corresponds with the date of the baptism at Pitminster.

No record has been found of the baptism of Edward, another son of William and Agnes, but it is supposed that he was born in England, as there is no evidence of the father being in this country previous to the year 1636, the statement that he came in the “Mary and John” in 1630 being without foundation.

Following the notes of Mr. Somerby, with the substitution of William¹⁰ for Robert,¹⁰ the line of descent will stand as follows: Robert,¹ Henry,² William,³ Henry,⁴ Robert,⁵ William,⁶ William,⁷ Humphrey⁸ (great-grandfather of the Admiral), John,⁹ William,¹⁰ William¹¹ of Dorchester.

Or to state the matter more simply, the emigrant is now traced as being the grandson of John Blake of Over Stowey, through his son William, instead of being so deduced through his son Robert. But all the pedigree anterior to the grandfather John is not affected by this correction.

John Gilbert and the Maternal Ancestry of Rev. Nicholas Street

Source: Donald Lines Jacobus, “John Gilbert of Taunton, Mass., and the Maternal Ancestry of Rev. Nicholas
Street of Taunton, Mass., and New Haven, Conn.,” American Genealogist 27[1951]:9-11.

The purpose of the present note is to call attention to a valuable manuscript on certain Gilbert families at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, Conn. Between 1912 and 1916 the late Mr. Frank Newton Gilbert of Portland, Oregon, carried on an extensive English search, with the aid of Mr. J. Henry Hutchinson, English genealogist, to ascertain the origin of the colonial Gilbert settlers. Plans were made for the publication of a volume to contain English records; the American genealogy of the family of Thomas Gilbert of Hartford for seven generations; and the families of other early New England Gilbert families for six generations. By 1932 the publication plans were abandoned, and one copy of the manuscript was given to the Connecticut Historical Society, to assure its preservation, the other copy being retained by the Gilbert family.

The manuscript is based on the joint interest and labor of Mr. Harold Simeon Gilbert, the late Mr. Homer Worthington Brainard, and Mr. Clarence Almon Torrey. At the present time, through the interest of the Gilbert family, and with the cooperation of the Connecticut Historical Society, tentative plans have been made to publish a Gilbert genealogy, but because of the very large size of the manuscript and the high printing costs, this volume, which the present writer has been engaged to edit, will be limited to the family of Thomas Gilbert of Hartford.

The only one of the early Gilbert settlers whose origin in England was definitely learned was John Gilbert of Taunton, Mass. The “Foreword” written for the manuscript in 1932 states that the chapter on the Taunton family was contributed by Mr. Torrey.

The account starts with Giles Gilbert of Bridgwater, co. Somerset, who married there 10 Aug. 1571 Joan Pearre. Giles was buried 17 June 1595, and his widow, 18 Apr. 1597; his will, and the administration on her estate, are included. The baptisms of their seven children are also given. These include John on 17 Sept. 1577 and Susannah on 9 Dec. 1584. John Gilbert came to New England in 1633 and settled in Taunton; his will, dated 10 May 1654 was proved 3 June 1657. The first of his three wives, and apparently the ancestress of the later Taunton Gilberts, was Mary Street, whom he married in Bridgwater 17 Jan. 1602.

The Street Genealogy (1895), by Mrs. Mary A. Street (see pp. 1, 2, 467-9, 482, 483), shows that the grandfather of the Rev. Nicholas Street was Nicholas Street “the elder” of Bridgwater, co. Somerset, gent, whose will dated 5 Nov. 1606 was proved 3 May 1610. His wife was named Mary, and the will names two sons, Nicholas and Thomas. The Mary who married John Gilbert was undoubtedly his daughter, and The Street Genealogy supposes, rightly we think, that she was the Marie Street baptized 22 Mar. 1578 at St. Mary Magdalen, Taunton. She and her brother, the second Nicholas Street, almost had a double wedding, as Nicholas married Susannah Gilbert at Bridgwater, 16 Jan. 1602, while Mary Street married John Gilbert there the next day. It was obviously an instance of a brother and sister of one family marrying a sister and brother of the other family.

Susannah (Gilbert) Street was buried at Bridgwater 22 Feb. 1603, her only child, the third Nicholas, having been baptized 29 Jan. 1603. Her husband, the second Nicholas, was born not far from 1577, for he was without question the “Stre(e)te, Nicholas, of Somerset, gent., Lincoln Coll., matric. 10 Oct. 1594, aged 17; student of Middle Temple 1596, as son and heir of Nicholas of Taunton, Somerset, gent.” [Joseph Foster, Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, p. 1435]. After the death of Susannah, he had a second wife, Mary, by whom he had several more children. He calls himself “of Bridgwater … gentleman” in his will, dated 5 Nov. 1616, proved 13 Feb. 1617.

The third Nicholas, baptized 29 Jan. 1603, received his B.A. from Pembroke College, Oxford, 21 Feb. 1624/5, having matriculated 2 Nov. 1621, aged 18; and his M.A. from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 1636 [ibid., p. 1435; Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part I, vol. IV, p. 174]. He was the first minister of Taunton, Mass., and became colleague of John Davenport at New Haven in 1659, succeeding the latter as sole pastor in 1667. He died at New Haven, 22 April 1674.

The maternal grandparents of Rev. Nicholas Street are revealed in the manuscript Gilbert Genealogy, also the theory is there confirmed that he was a nephew of John Gilbert of Taunton. One of the present writer’s earliest genealogical recollections is being told that his grandfather’s grandfather was named Street Hall Morse. Later he discovered that the gentleman who bore this singular combination of names (he was actually a Moss, not a Morse in ancestry) was named after his maternal grandfather, Lt.-Col. Street Hall. The latter’s mother was Mary Street, of the ministerial family.

The first wife of Rev. Nicholas Street, the mother of his children, has always been destitute of a name, even a given name, thanks to the destruction of the Taunton records. No suggestion as to her identity has yet been seen which possesses any merit.

Origin of the Chiltons of the Mayflower

Source: John G. Hunt, “Origin of the Chiltons of the Mayflower,” American Genealogist 38[1962]:244-45.

In the November 1961 Mayflower Quarterly, pp. 5-6, Mrs. Russell Mack Skelton, of Scarsdale, N.Y., published two important wills, that of Richard Chilton of St. Paul’s Canterbury, dated 1549, naming his son Lionel, and the will of the said son, Lyonel Chilton of the same place, February 1582, which names his sons John and James Chilton, the testator’s (last) wife Isabel, and her children Thomas Furner and Susanne Furner. It seems clear that Isabel was not the mother of Lyonel’s sons of whom it would seem that James Chilton was the man who came with his wife Susanna in 1620 on the Mayflower.

It may well be that James Chilton married his stepsister Susanne Furner, for the first child of James Chilton, baptized 15 Jan. 1586, was Isabella [Charles Edward Banks, The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers, 1929, p. 45], perhaps named for the mother of Susanna. Marriage between stepbrothers and sisters often occurred, either as a result of propinquity, or arranged by a surviving spouse to make settlement of the estate easier and to keep the property, so to speak, “within the family.”

As a matter of fact, the Chiltons had long been seated at Canterbury, where in 1504 William Chilton was a mercer [Intrantes of Canterbury, 1392-1592]. He may well have been a son or a close relative of William Chilton who died testate in 1503, of St. Peter’s, Canterbury. His will, dated 30 April 1503, provided for burial in the churchyard of St. Peter’s; gave bequests to St. Peter’s Church, the Shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury [a ring of gold with a point diamond set in the same, to be delivered to said shrine after the death of my wife; cf. Archaeologia Cantiana, 31:37], the Image of Our Lady of Stelling, the Wardens of Stelling, the High Altar of Nether Hards [now Lower Hardres, about 3 miles south of Canterbury; Stelling is about 4 miles south of Lower Hardres]; to Agnes my wife and Nicholas my son, lands in parish of Stelling; Alice my mother; Alice and Constance my daughters; Margery Hughes my wife’s mother; residue to wife Agnes; executors, wife Agnes and John Chilton of Nether Hards; proved 16 Sept. 1503 by widow, John Chilton refusing.

His daughter Alice Chilton also left a will, dated 14 April 1515; to be buried in the churchyard of St. Peter’s; bequests to St. Peter’s Church and Church of Stelling; lands in parish of Stelling to Thomas Adsell my grandfather and Margery his wife, my grandmother; tenement in St. Peter’s Parish, in which my said grandfather and grandmother dwell, to my sisters Margaret and Kat’yne when they come to marriage, if they die before marriage then to my said grandfather and grandmother; tenement in Sandwich which late were William Chilton my father’s, to my sisters; residue to said Thomas Adsell and Margery his wife, they to be executors; witnesses, Sir Thomas Sterlyng and others; proved 5 May 1515 by Thomas Adsell.

The above two Canterbury wills, at Kent County Archives Office, Maidstone, were abstracted for the contributor from the registered copies by Arthur J. Willis, Esq., of Folkstone, Kent.

The Chiltons had been of Canterbury much earlier, however, for in 1339 Robert Chilton represented Canterbury in Parliament, and in 1422 William Chilton served the town in the same capacity (Hasted, History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, vol. IV (1799), pp. 405, 406].

Chilton and Leonard: Mayflower Families Through Five Generations

Source: Robert M. Sherman, editor, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Volume 2 (Plymouth,
Massachusetts: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1978).

[page 3]

JAMES CHILTON

James Chilton was the oldest passenger on the Mayflower, with the possible exception of Elder William Brewster. James was born before 1563 in Canterbury, Kent County, England, where the surname appears in the annals as far back as 1339 when Robert Chilton was a representative to Parliament from Canterbury. James’ grandfather Richard Chilton of St. Paul’s Parish, Canterbury, in a will dated and proved in 1549, mentioned his deceased wife Isabell, and bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his son Lyonell.

The will of Lyonell “Chylton,” a yeoman of considerable property residing in St. Paul’s Parish, dated 7 Sept. 1582 and proved 13 Feb. 1582/3, named sons John and James Chilton; daughters Alice, Anne and Margaret; wife Isabell and her children–Thomas Furner and Susanna Furner. To son James he left two tenements in Canterbury. Isabell was evidently a recent second wife of Lyonell, and not James’ mother (whose name is unknown).

James Chilton, tailor, was listed as a freeman of Canterbury in 1583. He married before 1587 just possibly Susanna Furner, daughter of his step-mother and her first husband Francis Furner. Seven children were baptized in Canterbury to James, then about 1600 the family moved to neighboring Sandwich where three more children were baptized, including youngest daughter Mary, who was baptized at St. Peter’s in 1607. Here he undoubtedly met Moses Fletcher, who was destined to be a fellow Mayflower passenger, as well as other Pilgrims who later went to Holland, and so was drawn into the Pilgrim movement.

From 1607 to 1620 we lose sight of James, but since his daughter “Ysabel Tgiltron spinster from Canterbury” was married in Leyden, Holland in 1615, and probably a second daughter Ingle, listed as “Engeltgen Gilten,” was married there in 1622, it is likely that James took his family to Holland, where Leyden betrothal records include several Pilgrims from Sandwich and Canterbury. On the other hand, James Chilton’s name has not been found in Leyden as owner of property, as a citizen, as friend of a betrothed couple, or even as witness at the betrothal of his own daughter. Possibly this apparent lack of record might be ascribed to the difficulty the Dutch had with writing the name Chilton.

Descent from James Chilton has been proved through only his eldest daughter Isabella and his youngest daughter Mary. “Engeltgen Gilten” mentioned above, who married

[page 4]

Robert Nelson, could not be followed further. None of the other children appears to have lived to maturity.

Governor Bradford wrote that among those on the Mayflower were James Chilton and his wife, and Mary their daughter; they had another daughter that was married, came afterward. In 1650 he wrote “James Chilton and his wife also died in the first infection, but their daughter Mary is still living and hath nine children; and one daughter is married and hath a child. So their increase is ten.” James died on 18 December 1620, scarcely a month after signing the Mayflower Compact–the only signer who died at Cape Cod. His wife shortly followed him, dying during the First Sickness at Plymouth sometime after 21 January 1620/1.

At thirteen Mary Chilton was thus left an orphan at Plymouth. No record reveals with whom she spent the next few years, but perhaps for at least a part of the time she was a member of either the Alden or the Standish household; in the 1623 land division “Marie” Chilton received her share (undoubtedly three acres–
one for herself and one for each parent) between the shares of John Alden and Myles Standish. By the time of the cattle division of May 1627, Mary had married John Winslow, and the couple were included with John
Shaw’s group.

References: NEHGR 63:201. TAG 38:244-5. STODDARD pp. 100, 120, 124. FAM OF PILGRIMS pp. 60-1.
BANKS ENGLISH ANCESTRY p. 45. BRADFORD’S HIST (1952) pp. 442, 446. MQ 26(4):2; 27(1):5-6; 33:43-
5; 38:101-3; 40:8-13; 43:56. SAVAGE 1:379. LEYDEN DOCUMENTS pp. 21, 48. PLYMOUTH COLONY
RECS 1:9; 12:4, 11.

[page 5]

FIRST GENERATION

1. JAMES¹ CHILTON b. prob. Canterbury, Kent Co., England bef. 1563; d. Cape Cod Harbor (now Provincetown) aboard the Mayflower 18 Dec. 1620; son of Lyonell Chylton. [Lyonell's second wife, the widow Isabell Furner, was not the mother of his children.]

He m. England bef. 1587 pos. SUSANNA FURNER, dau. of his step-mother; his wife d. Plymouth shortly after 11 Jan. 1620/1.

Children (CHILTON) b. Kent Co., England:

• 2 i ISABELLA² bp. St. Paul’s Parish, Canterbury, 15 Jan. 1586/7.
• ii JANE bp. St. Paul’s Parish, Canterbury, 8 June 1589; n.f.r.
• iii MARY b. Canterbury; bur. St. Martin’s Parish 23 Nov. 1593.
• iv JOEL b. Canterbury; bur. St. Martin’s Parish 2 Nov. 1593.
• v ELIZABETH bp. St. Martin’s Parish, Canterbury, 14 July 1594; n.f.r.
• vi JAMES bp. St. Martin’s Parish, Canterbury, 22 Aug. 1596; d.y.
• vii INGLE bp. St. Paul’s Parish, Canterbury, 29 April 1599; prob. the “Engeltgen Gilten” who m. Leyden, Holland, 27 Aug. 1622 ROBERT NELSON; n.f.r.
• viii CHRISTIAN (dau.) bp. St. Peter’s Parish, Sandwich, 26 July 1601; n.f.r.
• ix JAMES bp. St. Peter’s Parish, Sandwich, 11 Sept. 1603; n.f.r.
• 3 x MARY bp. St. Peter’s Parish, Sandwich, 30 May 1607.

References: MD 1:87; 6:244. MQ 26(4):2; 27(1):5-6; 38:101[some dates in error]; 43:56. SAVAGE 1:379. TAG 38:244-5. NEHGR 63-201. BANKS ENGLISH ANCESTRY p. 45. FAM OF PILGRIMS pp. 60-1. LEYDEN DOCUMENTS p. 48. BRADFORD’S HIST (1952) pp. 442, 446. Register, St. Peter’s Christenings, Sandwich (now at Canterbury Cathedral).

SECOND GENERATION

2 ISABELLA² CHILTON (James¹) bp. St. Paul’s Parish, Canterbury, Kent Co., England, 15 Jan. 1586/7; no death record found. In fact, Bradford’s statement that James Chilton “had an other doughter, that was married, came afterward,” provides the only evidence that Isabella came to Plymouth.

She m. Leyden, Holland, 21 July 1615 ROGER CHANDLER (Rogier Kandelaer batchelor from Colchester, England); d. bet. 1658 and 3 Oct. 1665 prob. Duxbury.

The Leyden poll tax of 15 Oct. 1622 includes “Rogier Chandelaer, Isabel Chandelaer” his wife, and children Samuel and Sara. Roger and his family probably came to Plymouth in 1629 or 1630, when according to Bradford the

[page 6]

Leyden contingent arrived. He was taxed in Plymouth 25 March 1633, and listed as a freeman the same year–the earliest record of him in this country. He was enumerated among those able to bear arms in Duxbury in 1643, and sold land there in 1644; he was listed among freemen of Duxbury in a tally presumed taken in 1658.

In October 1665 the Plymouth Court granted 150 acres of land to the three (unnamed) daughters of Roger Chandler deceased. Articles in TAG indicate their names and husbands.

Children (CHANDLER):

• i SAMUEL³ b. Leyden, Holland, bef. 15 Oct. 1622; prob. d.y.*
• 4 ii SARAH b. Leyden bef. 15 Oct. 1622
• 5 iii MARY b. after 1622 prob. Leyden
• 6 iv MARTHA b. after 1622 prob. Leyden

References: MD 6:244; 11:129; 14:69. LEYDEN DOCUMENTS p. 21. FAM OF PILGRIMS pp. 61-2. TAG 27:1-6; 37:212-7. SMALL DESC 2:855-70. SAVAGE 1:358. NEHGR 63:201. BRADFORD’S HIST (1952) p. 442; also (1912) 2:400. DUXBURY RECS p. 19. PLYMOUTH COLONY RECS 1:4, 10, 11, 27, 165; 2:98; 4:110; 8:174, 198; 12:109. ARBER p. 273. Leyden Poll Tax. MA PIONEERS p. 93.

3. Mary² CHILTON (James¹) bp. St. Peter’s Parish, Sandwich, Kent Co., England, 31 May 1607; d. Boston MA bef. 1 May 1679.

She m. Plymouth bet. July 1623 and 22 May 1627 JOHN WINSLOW, b. Droitwich, Worcestershire, England, 16 April 1597; d. Boston bef. 21 May 1674; son of Edward and Magdalen (Ollyver) Winslow, and brother of Pilgrim Edward Winslow. Both John and Mary are buried in King’s Chapel Burying Ground, Boston.

John Winslow arrived at Plymouth in 1621 on the Fortune. He was listed as a freeman in 1633, and became active in the government of the colony, setting off and appraising land and serving on jury; in 1653 he became a member of “a counsell of warr.” With wife Mary, he moved to Boston in 1657. His will, attested 21 May 1674, [...]

*Neither Samuel Chandler of Duxbury nor the one of Dorchester seems to be a son of Roger. Samuel of Duxbury was the son of Edmund Chandler, and Samuel of Dorchester was taxed in Plymouth in 1633, so appears to be too old to be Roger’s son. Further, in the 1665 grant to Roger’s three daughters, no mention was made of a son.

[page 8]

A tradition, apparently true, persists that Mary Chilton was the first female to reach shore from the Mayflower; less certain is whether this was accomplished at Cape Cod or at Plymouth. However it is certain that she left the only will of a female passenger, a paper today preserved at the Suffolk County Registry of Probate in Boston. [...]

[page 10]

Mary’s will was proved 11 July 1679. It would appear that she died before 1 May 1679, however, upon which date Mr. William Tailer renounced the executorship of her estate. Administration of her estate was granted 24 July 1679 to her son John Winslow and son-in-law Richard Middlecott.

Children (WINSLOW) b. Plymouth after 22 May 1627:

• 7 i JOHN³ b. prob. bef. 1630
• 8 ii SUSANNA b. prob. bef. 1630
• 9 iii MARY b. about 1631
• 10 iv EDWARD b. ca. 1635
• 11 v SARAH b. ca. 1638
• 12 vi SAMUEL b. ca. 1641
• 13 vii JOSEPH
• 14 viii ISAAC b. 1644
• ix a child b. bef. 1650; prob. d.y., certainly d. bef. 12 March 1673 (date father’s will)
• x BENJAMIN b. 12 Aug. 1653; d. between 12 March 1673/4 and 31 July 1676; unm.

References: MD 1:65-71, 151; 2:116; 3:129-33; 17:70. MQ 33:43-5; 38:101-3. FAM OF PILGRIMS pp. 62-3 [no primary source found for mar. date 10 Oct. 1624]. STODDARD pp. 100, 125. BANKS ENGLISH ANCESTRY pp. 45, 130. BRADFORD’S HIST (1952) pp. 442, 446. NEHGR 17:159-60. PLYMOUTH COLONY RECS 1:3, 9; 8:17; 12:11(John & Mary Winslow in a division). PLYMOUTH BY THACHER p. 95. MARY CHILTON. SAVAGE 1:379; 4:601.

THIRD GENERATION

4 SARAH CHANDLER³ (Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. Leyden, Holland, bef. 15 Oct. 1622; d. Bridgewater bef. 27 Oct. 1675.

She m. Duxbury ca. 1640 SOLOMON LEONARD (or LENNER or LEONARDSON), b. prob. Monmouthshire, England, ca. 1610; d. Bridgewater bef. 1 May 1671.

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Solomon Leonard was first recorded in Duxbury 1637, and in May 1638 was “promised lands on Duxburrow side, (in part of those due to him for his service).” This was probably the usual recompense to a servant; since normal service was seven years, we surmise that Solomon prob. arrived in Plymouth ca. 1631. In Feb. 1638/9 he received a grant of 25 acres. In 1645 he received a share of land in what later became Bridgewater, to which he removed soon after 1649. He was living there in 1658/9.

On 1 May 1671 Samuel Leonard of Bridgewater confirmed that his deceased father, Solomon Leonard, had given land to “my brother John Leonard.” Strangely, Samuel did not post bond as administrator of his father, Solomon deceased, until 27 Oct. 1675, at which time the failure to mention the widow of Solomon implies that Sarah had already died. In the disposition of this estate, “Samuel Leonardson” is called eldest son, John second son, with equal division among the “rest of the children.” In a deed 10 May 1677 to his brother “Isaak Leonardson,” Samuel Leonardson mentions brothers John, Jacob and Solomon.

Children (LEONARD) all b. Duxbury, last two prob. in that part later called Bridgewater:

• 15 i SAMUEL⁴ b. ca. 1643
• 16 ii JOHN b. ca. 1645
• 17 iii JACOB b. ca. 1647
• 18 iv ISAAC b. ca. 1650
• 19 v SOLOMON b. after 1650
• 20 vi MARY b. ca. 1650

References: TAG 27:1-6; 37:213. SAVAGE 3:80[incorrect wife and death]. BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL p. 244[confounds Solomon with son Solomon]. (PLYMOUTH) ANC LANDMARKS p. 172. FAM OF PILGRIMS p. 62. Plymouth Col. LR 3:199; 4:217-8(Samuel Leonard). Plymouth Co. PR #12697(Solomon Leonardson). LEONARD FAM pp. 13-33. PLYMOUTH COLONY RECS 1:83, 122; 3:159-60; 5:179-80; 8:189; 12:113. MA HIST COLL(Second Series) 7:138.

5 MARY CHANDLER³ (Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. prob. Leyden, Holland, after 1622; with virtual certainty the “Mary wife of Edmund Burfe” who d. Boston 15 Aug. 1658.

She m. EDMUND BRUFF (or BRAUGH, BROUGH, BURFE, or BURPH), who prob. d. soon after his wife.

Edmund Brough was first recorded in a Plymouth arbitration in Nov. 1640; he was in Marshfield in 1643, and moved to Boston about 1654. Nothing further was found in Suffolk County probate or land records.

[page 12]

Child (BRUFF) b. pos. Marshfield:

• 21 i STEPHEN b. bef. 1653

References: TAG 37:212-7. SAVAGE 1:263, 302. BOSTON VR 9:67. MA PIONEERS p. 71. PLYMOUTH COLONY RECS 1:164; 2:58; 8:196.

6 MARTHA CHANDLER³ (Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. prob. Leyden, Holland, after 1622; d. Taunton 1 May 1674.

She m. bef. 1649 JOHN BUNDY, b. England ca. 1617; d. Taunton after April but bef. 29 Oct. 1681 ae 64. His mother was sister to Susanna, wife of Phillip Alley of Boston. He m. (2) Taunton 1676 Ruth (RATCHELL?) GURNEY of Mendon; they had sons John, Joseph and Edward. His widow Ruth m. Guido Bailey of Bridgewater.

John Bundy was in Boston in 1635; in Plymouth by 1636, indentured to William Brewster, where he was listed as able to bear arms in 1643; and served in the Narragansett expedition of 1645. He returned to Boston by 1649, and by 1662 was in Taunton.

The will of John Bundy “aged 64 or therabout of Tanton”, dated April 1681 and proved 29 Oct. 1681,
mentions his wife (unnamed), “the children”, son “Jeames Bundy”, “my sons”, and “the sons by this wife”.

Children (BUNDY) born to John and Martha, first two born in Boston, last three in Taunton:

• i MARTHA⁴ b. 2 Nov. 1649; n.f.r.
• 22 ii MARY b. 5 Oct. 1653
• iii PATIENCE b. ?; d. Taunton 27 March 1665.
• 23 iv JAMES b. 29 Sept. (or Dec.) 1664
• v SARAH b. 4 March 1668; n.f.r.
• pos. vi SAMUEL b. 4 Oct. 1670 (“son of Samuel”–an apparent error?); n.f.r.

References: TAG 27:1-6; 33:138, 141; 37:212. SAVAGE 1:298. VR TAUNTON. BOSTON VR 9:29, 41. NEHGR 116:18-9. SEATTLE BUL 5(6):333-5; 6(8):451-3(Bundy). Plymouth Co. PR #3310(John Bundy). PLYMOUTH COLONY RECS 1:51, 107; 2:90; 4:20; 8:35, 36, 39, 55, 65, 70, 82, 85. SUFFOLK COUNTY CT pp. 210-1(John Bundy, plaintiff). MA PIONEERS pp. 72a, 79. KING PHILIP’s WAR p. 458.

[page 21]

FOURTH GENERATION

15 SAMUEL LEONARD⁴ (or LEONARDSON) (Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. Duxbury ca. 1643; d. Preston CT after 30 Nov. 1720.

He m. (1) bef. 7 March 1675/6 ABIGAIL WOOD, b. Plymouth ca. 1645; d. prob. Worcester; dau. of John and Sarah (Masterson) Wood (or Attwood). A division of the estate of John Wood “formerly of Plymouth” 7 March 1675/6 includes his child Abigail Leonard.

He m. (2) DEBORAH —–, prob. d. Preston between 21 March 1718/9 and 30 Nov. 1720. He lived in Bridgewater from before 1683 until after 10 Jan. 1687/8 when he and wife Abigail sold lands in Bridgewater in a deed acknowledged at Boston 31 Jan. 1687/8. He went to Worcester where he was living in 1692. Driven out by Indians in 1697, he moved with his family to Preston CT, where in Nov. 1698 he was among the twelve founders of the First Church.

Samuel Leonard of Preston sold 140 acres of land in Worcester 21 March 1718/9, his wife Deborah releasing her dower right. Also in 1718 Samuel “Lenard” of Preston sold to Thomas Clark of Norwich [husband of his daughter Elizabeth] his rights to “all ye commons and unlaid out lands in Preston.” Together with his daughter Mercy and her husband, and Lydia, widow of his son Samuel, he was among founders of the Second Church in Preston 30 Nov. 1720.

Children (LEONARD or LEONARDSON) b. Bridgewater to Samuel and Abigail:*

• 50 i MERCY⁵
• 51 ii ELIZABETH
• 52 iii SAMUEL b. ca. 1683

*No confirmation was found for daughters Mary and Abigail suggested in LEONARD FAM. The Mayflower Society has accepted lineages based on a daughter Mary, for whom no substantiating proof was found.

[page 22]

Child (LEONARD or LEONARDSON) b. to Samuel and Deborah:

• 53 iv PHEBE bp. Preston CT 7 or 17 Oct. 1703

References: LEONARD FAM pp. 35-6. PLYMOUTH COLONY RECS 5:188; 6:161-3(John Wood). TAG 27:1-6. Plymouth Col. LR 3:199; 4:5(Samuel Leonard). CSL Barbour Index:Preston. Plymouth Co. PR 1:338-9(John Wood). PRESTON CH pp. 129, 138. Middlesex Co. LR 20:233(Samuel Leonard). Preston CT LR 3:159(Samuel Lenard). WORCESTER BY NUTT p. 168.

16 JOHN LEONARD⁴ (Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. Duxbury ca. 1645; d. Bridgewater bef. 21 Nov. 1699 (inventory).

He m. ca. 1670 SARAH —–, living 30 Aug. 1701.*

Widow Sarah Leonard and son Joseph Leonard were appointed administrators 23 Jan. 1699/1700 on the estate of John Leonard late of Bridgewater deceased. In a division of this estate the widow was to receive her thirds; John Leonard the eldest son’s share; other shares to sons Enoch, Moses, Josiah and Joseph, and to daughter Sarah Leonard when she was 18. On 30 Aug. 1701 signing receipts were: widow Leonard, John Leonard, Joseph Leonard and Josiah Leonard. No Plymouth County probate or land records were found to reveal anything further regarding either the mother or the daughter Sarah.

Children (LEONARD) all prob. b. Bridgewater:

• i JOHN⁵ living Bridgewater 1710(deed); prob. living with brother Moses in Worcester 25 Feb. 1726; prob. d. unm.**
• 54 ii ENOCH
• 55 iii MOSES b. ca. 1677
• 56 iv JOSIAH
• v JOSEPH b. bef. 1681(signed receipt 1701); living Bridgewater 1725(deed, see #54); n.f.r.
• vi SARAH b. after 1683; pos. the Sarah who m. Bridgewater 28 July 1708 THOMAS WASHBURN; no known issue.

References: TAG 27:1-6[no daughter Martha found]. SAVAGE 3:79. VR BRIDGEWATER. LEONARD FAM pp. 37-8. BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL pp. 245, 341[no evidence found that the above Joseph was the one who married Hannah and moved to Pomfret CT--see #65]. Plymouth Co. PR 1:321, 360(John Leonard). Plymouth Co. LR 31:204(Enoch Leonard & Joseph Leonard).

*Not a daughter of Roger Chandler as claimed in LEONARD FAM.

**Mitchell attributes children born in the 1730′s to this John; they are more likely of a younger John.

[page 23]

17 JACOB LEONARD⁴ (or LENERSON) (Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. Duxbury ca. 1647; d. Bridgewater bet. 9 May and 19 Dec. 1717.

He m.(1) —– —–, d. bef. 1680.

He m.(2) ca. 1680 SUSANNA KING, b. Weymouth 6 May 1659; living Bridgewater 14 Dec. 1716; dau. of Samuel and Experience (Phillips) King.

Jacob served in King Philip’s War 1676; he was in Weymouth by 1679, apparently in Worcester by 1684, but returned to Bridgewater from which he was warned in 1693. Evidently he spent most of his later life in Bridgewater, although he was in Taunton when he purchased a Bridgewater house in 1697, and in Hingham in Dec. 1713. Jacob “Lennard” of Bridgewater sold to Moses “Lennard” (#55) of Marlboro a purchase right in “Woster” (Worcester) 9 May 1717.

The will of Jacob Leonard of Bridgewater husbandman, dated 14 Dec. 1716 presented 19 Dec. 1717 left land in “Woster” to two eldest daughters, Abigail “Washbourne” and Susanna Hill; names three younger daughters, Experience Leonard, Mary Leonard and Sarah Leonard; two sons Solomon and Jacob Leonard; “my present wife Susanna Leonard their mother.”

A son Joseph by an earlier wife is indicated in LEONARD FAM and BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL, as well as in “Bridgewater Corrections.” VR BRIDGEWATER cites gravestones and a “framed record in the possession of the New England Historical Genealogical Society” indicating a son Joseph. It is curious that although the phrase “my present wife” in his will suggests an earlier wife, Jacob did not mention a son Joseph, or Joseph’s heirs, either in his will or in any deeds.

Child (LEONARD) b. to Jacob and first wife, prob. Duxbury:

• 57 i JOSEPH⁵ b. ca. 1672*

Children (LEONARD) b. to Jacob and Susanna:

• 58 ii ABIGAIL b. Weymouth 11 Nov. 1680
• 59 iii SUSANNA b. Weymouth 27 Dec. 1683
• iv EXPERIENCE living 14 Dec. 1716; n.f.r.
• 60 v MARY
• 61 vi SOLOMON b. ca. 1693
• 62 vii SARAH b. Bridgewater 11 June 1699
• viii JACOB b. Bridgewater 13 June 1702; d. there 6 Dec. 1722; Solomon granted administration of his brother Jacob, 21 Dec. 1728 (sic); no other probate papers.

*The Mayflower Society accepts descent through this Joseph although the evidence is skimpy. No evidence was located to indicate the name of Jacob’s purported first wife.

[page 24]

References: SAVAGE 3:79. VR BRIDGEWATER, WEYMOUTH. LEONARD FAM pp. 38-43. WEYMOUTH BY CHAMBERLAIN 3:351, 367. BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL pp. 245, 423. EASTON HIST p. 43. NEHGR 33:246. Bridgewater Corrections p. 17. TAG 27:4. Plymouth Co. PR 4:31; #12617 and 5:408(Jacob Leonard). Plymouth Co. LR 6:82(Harris to Leonard); 10:337(Allen to Leonard). Middlesex Co. LR 21:295(Jacob Lennard). VR BRIDGEWATER 1:14 “P.R. 107.” KING PHILIP’S WAR p. 221.

18 ISAAC LEONARD⁴ (Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. Duxbury ca. 1650; d. Bridgewater after 10 Dec. 1717 and before 9 March 1719/20 (deed).

He m. ca. 1675 DELIVERANCE —–, living Bridgewater in March 1719/20 (pos. dau. of William and Hannah (—–) Ames b. Braintree 12 mo. 6th 1653).

Isaac took part in the Narragansett Expedition in 1675, for which son Isaac Leonard of Bridgewater claimed a grant in 1733. He was a weaver. Isaac of Bridgewater and wife Deliverance sold land with dwelling and barn in Bridgewater 29 Feb. 1705/6. He owned land in Mendon and Worcester. He was of Bridgewater 27 March 1717 when he transferred Worcester land, wife Deliverance consenting 7 March 1719/20; son Benjamin on 9 March 1719/20 attested he saw Isaac sign. On 5 April 1717, acknowledged 10 Dec. 1717, Isaac Leonard of Bridgewater gave to son Joseph Leonard his homestead in Bridgewater, on condition Isaac have lifetime use. No Plymouth County probate or land records were found to connect probable child Deliverance.

Children (LEONARD) presumably b. Bridgewater:

• 63 i ISAAC⁵
• 64 ii HANNAH b. 15 March 1679/80
• prob. iii DELIVERANCE m. Bridgewater 9 Jan. 1701 SAMUEL WASHBURN JR., b. Bridgewater 6 April 1678; d. 1752; son of Samuel and Deborah (Packard) Washburn. He m.(2) 1703 Abigail Leonard (#58). Samuel and Deliverance had no issue.
• 65 iv JOSEPH
• 66 v BENJAMIN b. ca. 1686-90

References: VR BRIDGEWATER. BRAINTREE VR p. 633. TAG 46:121. BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL pp. 245, 341. NEHGR 16:145. LEONARD FAM pp. 44-5. KING PHILIP’S WAR p. 428. BOSTON TRANSCRIPT 19 Feb. 1917 #6058-10. Plymouth Co. LR 8:65; 14:94(Isaac Leonard); 38:201(Benjamin Leonard). Middlesex Co. LR 21:70(Isaac Leonard).

19 SOLOMON LEONARD (or LENERSON)⁴ (Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella CHILTON², James¹) b. Duxbury or Bridgewater after 1650; d. Bridgewater 14 May 1686 (inventory).

He m. MARY —–, d. after 15 June 1686. The inventory of the estate of Solomon Lenerson of Bridgewater was

[page 25]

taken 21 May 1686, and sworn to be true by Mary Lenerson 15 June 1686.

Isaac Hayward and his wife Martha in 1739 transferred all rights to lands of “our father Soloman Leonard” late of Bridgewater deceased.

Children (LEONARD) prob. b. Bridgewater:*

• 67 i MARTHA⁵ b. ca. 1685

References: BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL pp. 244-5, 277, 288[confounds two Solomons, father and son]. LEONARD FAM pp. 46-8. Plymouth Co. PR 1:1(Solomon Leonard). Plymouth Co. LR 33:46(Isaac Hayward).

20 MARY LEONARD⁴ (Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. Duxbury or Bridgewater after 1650; living Taunton 3 March 1724/5.

She m. Taunton 24 Dec. 1673 JOHN POLLARD, b. Boston 4th day 4th month 1644; living Taunton 7 May 1722; son of William and Anne (—–) Pollard. He m.(1) Deliverance Willis, by whom he had Deliverance, Hannah and William.

John was head of a family in Taunton in 1675, then moved to Boston; he returned to Taunton before Feb. 1692/3 when he bought land of Nicholas Stoughton. John Pollard Sr. was a press master for troops in July 1695; John Pollard Jr. was impressed for service in May 1697. On 7 May 1722 John Pollard of Taunton, cooper, released rights to one-eighth of a house called the “Horse Show” [Horse Shoe] in Boston to Jonathan Pollard of Boston, innholder; wife Mary signed the deed. Mary Pollard of Taunton testified 3 March 1724/5 aged about 75 years.

Children (POLLARD) b. to John and Mary:

• i JOHN⁵ b. Taunton 20 March 1675; disappears after 1710, unless he is the John Polden of Plymouth.
• ii MARY b. Boston 8 March 1677; n.f.r.**
• 68 iii SAMUEL b. Boston 16 Jan. 1679
• pos. iv JOSEPH bp. Boston 1685/6; n.f.r.

References: SAVAGE 3:80, 449. VR TAUNTON. BOSTON VR 9:18, 101, 108, 115, 142, 149. MD 21:57. LEONARD FAM p. 48. POLLARD FAM 1:47, 50-3[erroneously indicates John Pollard m. Mary dau. of Solomon

*No evidence was found to support the claim in LEONARD FAM for two other "supposed" daughters, Sarah and Lydia. The Sarah Leonard who m. 1710 Samuel Perry of "Sandwitch," and Lydia Leonard who m. 1712 Joseph Pratt Jr. have not been placed.

**This Mary was not the wife of Solomon Kneeland, since one of the sons of Solomon and Mary Kneeland had Samuel Pollard for a grandfather.

[page 26]

and Mary Leonard; proposes the family lived in Essex County and had additional children]. PLYMOUTH COLONY RECS 8:55, 66. Suffolk Co. LR 33:261(John Pollard). Bristol Co. LR 4:68(Stoughton to Pollard); 14:208(John Pollard); 16:93(Mary Pollard). TAUNTON HIST pp. 93, 399, 400. [John Pollard and wife Deborah Campbell of Norton 1724 (see Bristol Co. LR 18:225) have not been placed.]

[page 58]

63 ISAAC LEONARD⁵ (Isaac⁴, Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) living 2 March 1736/7 “in York government.”

He m. Bridgewater 16 April 1701 MARY (GURNEY?) RANDALL of “North Purchase,” widow of Samuel Randall.

Isaac Leonard Jr. of Bridgewater bought land in Taunton “North Purchase” in 1702. When he moved there is uncertain, but he was living in North Purchase in 1713 and in 1720 when he bought land there. He was of Norton “east precinct” in 1722/3 when he purchased land in Easton. Isaac Leonard of Easton and wife Mary sold their home lot with dwelling in Easton March 1725/6.

Isaac Leonard of “Pomphret” CT sold two tracts in Easton 9 Sept. 1727, and Isaac “late of Easton now of Pomfret CT” sold his share in an iron mine in Easton 4 Jan. 1729, in a deed acknowledged 19 March 1730/1. Listed as inhabitants of Pomfret in 1731 were: Isaac Leonard Sr. and Jr., David Leonard and Thomas Leonard. Isaac was in Pomfret in 1732/3 when he traded land with a Joseph Leonard. (In one instance the land, sold by Joseph to Isaac⁶, was bounded by land of Joseph’s brother Isaac⁵.) After 1734 Joseph Leonard and wife, and Isaac Leonard, were admitted to the Second Church in Pomfret. In a deed signed 2 Feb. 1736/7

[page 59]

Isaac Leonard “late of Pomfret” was “now resident in Worcester shire in York government”* when he sold his holdings in Pomfret. No further records were found in CT for Isaac or sons David and Thomas.

Probable children (LEONARD): ISAAC⁶, DAVID, and THOMAS.

References: VR BRIDGEWATER. BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL pp. 106, 245. LEONARD FAM pp. 66-7. TAG 33:137-41. NEHGR 116:18-9. EATON HIST p. 48. WINDHAM CO CT BY LARNED 1:343, 349. Pomfret CT LR 2:156, 160; 3:38(Isaac Leonard). Bristol Co. LR 7:454(Benjamin Snow); 13:119(Thos. Randall Jr.); 13:121 (Jeremiah Willis & Samuel Smith); 18:145(Wm. Hayward); 18:510; 19:487; 20:50(Isaac Leonard).

64 HANNAH LEONARD⁵ (Isaac⁴, Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. Bridgewater 15 March 1679/80; d. Easton 22 April 1753.

She m. (1) Marlboro 11 March 1697 DAVID NEWTON, b. Marlboro 12 March 1671/2; d. there 4 April 1702; son of Moses and Joanna (Larkin) Newton. David Newton’s will, dated Marlboro 3 April 1702 sworn 26 May 1702, names wife Hannah, three “small daughters” Hannah, Lydia and Thankfull, and father Moses Newton Sr. as overseer. The will of Moses Newton of Marlborough, dated 3 April 1724, mentions “children of my sons David and Edward Newton deceased.”

She m. (2) bet. 1702 and 1708 NATHANIEL MANLEY, b. Weymouth 27 May 1684; d. Easton 21 April 1753; son of William and Rebecca (—–) Manley of Easton.

In 1716 Nathaniel Manley living in the easterly end of Taunton North Purchase gave rights in iron ore to his brother-in-law Isaac Leonard of Taunton. The same year he sold land and dwelling, his share from his father William Manley and his brothers Thomas and William Manley. Nathaniel was of Easton when he next sold land in 1726, and in 1727/8, which he and wife Hannah both acknowledged 5 May 1738. On 20 April 1753 Nathaniel Manley of Easton sold to Ichabod Manley of Easton several lots in Easton; on the second Tuesday of June 1754 one of the witnesses attested that Nathaniel Manley, since deceased, signed the deed.

Children (NEWTON) b. Marlboro to David and Hannah: HANNAH⁶ b. 1697; LIDIAH b. 1699; and THANKFULL b. 1701.

Children (MANLEY) b. Easton to Nathaniel and Hannah: ICHABOD b. 1709; HANNAH b. 1711; REBECCA b. 1714; ELIZABETH b. 1716; and MARY b. 1720, d. 1739.

References: VR BRIDGEWATER, HARDWICK(b. Ichabod), MARLBORO, WEYMOUTH. LEONARD FAM pp. 44-5. NEHGR 16:145. NEWTON GEN pp. 166-9.

*”Worcester shire in York government” has not been surely located, though Westchester NY has been suggested.

[page 60]

WEYMOUTH BY CHAMBERLAIN 3:414. EASTON HIST pp. 47-8. Easton VR(copy of original record book at town hall). Middlesex Co. PR #15885 and 10:459(David Newton). Bristol Co. LR 13:117; 20:214; 27:214; 27:406; 36:292; 40:402(Nathaniel Manley). Worcester Co. PR, old series, #43331 (Moses Newton).

65 JOSEPH LEONARD⁵ (Isaac⁴, Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. prob. Bridgewater; living Pomfret CT 6 April 1736.

He m. Bridgewater 19 Nov. 1712 HANNAH JENNINGS, dau. of Richard Jennings. Richard’s will, signed in Bridgewater 27 April 1739 proved 1751, names daughter Hannah wife of Joseph Leonard. In 1725 Mary Bailey sold rights to Joseph Leonard of Bridgewater “son of Isaac Leonard decd.” Joseph Leonard Jr. of Bridgewater sold 20 March 1728 “my homestead where I dwell” in Bridgewater, and wife Hannah released right of dower. On 8 April 1728 Joseph Leonard of Bridgewater, cooper, bought land in Pomfret, bounded on the south by land of Isaac Leonard. Joseph Leonard of Pomfret husbandman on 9 Jan. 1732/3 sold to Isaac Leonard of Pomfret “the farm whereon I now live” bounded by land of “my brother Isaac Leonard,” witnessed by an Isaac Leonard. On 5 April 1736 Joseph Leonard of Pomfret sold land in Pomfret, acknowledged the next day; he and his family then disappear from the records of Connecticut.

Children (LEONARD) all except last b. Bridgewater: twins HANNAH⁶ and JOSEPH b. 1713; MOSES b. 1714; SETH b. 1715; TIMOTHY b. 1718; REBECCA b. 1721; MEHETABEL b. 1724; THANKFUL b. 1726; EBENEZER b. 1728; and BETTE b. Pomfret CT 1730.

References: CSL Barbour Index:Pomfret. VR BRIDGEWATER. BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL pp. 210, 245. LEONARD FAM p. 61[clearly has the incorrect Joseph going to Pomfret]. Plymouth Co. PR 12:385(Richard Jennings). Plymouth Co. LR 19:168(Mary Bailey); 23:151(Joseph Leonard). WINDHAM CO. CT BY LARNED 1:349. Pomfret CT LR 2:59(John Adams); 2:155, 156, 157, 160, 161, 162(Joseph Leonard & Isaac Leonard).

66 BENJAMIN LEONARD⁵ (Isaac⁴, Sarah CHANDLER³, Isabella² CHILTON, James¹) b. prob. Bridgewater ca. 1686 to 1690; d. Mendham NY by July 1749.

He m. (1) Bridgewater 15 Aug. 1715 or 1716 HANNAH PHILLIPS, d. ca. 1730; dau. of William and Hannah (Gilbert) Phillips of Taunton. On 15 Nov. 1717 Benjamin and Hannah Leonard of Bridgewater received of “our grandfather Thomas Gilbert of Taunton, administrator of the estate of William Phillips late of Taunton deceased, our father,” their share of his estate.

[page 61]

He m. (2) Freetown 13 June 1734 MARY CUDWORTH, b. Freetown 14 Nov. 1702; very prob. d. Morristown NJ 5 Nov. 1778 ae 75; dau. of James and Betsey (Hatch) Cudworth.

Benjamin Leonard, cooper, of Bridgewater sold his homestead in Bridgewater in 1720, and the same year he and wife Hannah sold land in Dighton, set off to her from her father’s estate. In 1722 Benjamin bought land in Dighton, and was living in the part which later became Berkley in July 1723 with wife Hannah. Benjamin was of Berkley when he sold land in 1735, and also when he sold his homestead in 1737, wife Mary relinquishing dower. Both he and Mary still of Berkley acknowledged a sale 7 Dec. 1738. His last sale was acknowledged in Berkley 3 Sept. 1739.

About 1740 Benjamin and family moved to Mendham, Morris Co., NJ. No probate or land records have been located for either Benjamin or Mary in NJ.

Children (LEONARD) b. to Benjamin and Hannah, first two b. Bridgewater, all recorded Dighton: JEMIMA⁶ b. 1717; LYDIA b. 1718; HANNAH b. 1720; BENJAMIN b. 1722; WILLIAM b. 1724; and CALEB b. 1726.

Children (LEONARD) b. to Benjamin and Mary, only Henry certain, others probable (marriages for
Ephraim, Sarah, Dorothea and Hannah found at Morristown NJ 1753-61): EPHRAIM; HENRY bp. Berkley 1738; SARAH; DOROTHEA; HANNAH; and possibly SUSANNA.

References: VR BRIDGEWATER. Dighton VR 1:42, 91. Freetown VR, typescript, pp. 17, 79; and marriages p. 40. TAG 46:121. BRIDGEWATER BY MITCHELL p. 247. LEONARD FAM pp. 67-8. CORY ANCY 2:1:87-90. Plymouth Co. LR 38:201(Benj. Leonard). BERKLEY HIST p. 6. Berkley Baptisms by Rev. Samuel Tobey, typescript at Old Colony Hist. Soc., Taunton. Bristol Co. LR 13:139, 565; 15:16, 255; 35:355; 40:276; 57:199(Benj. Leonard); 15:5(James Leonard Jr.). NJ ARCHIVES, WILLS 2:478(Jos. Thompson will mentions Benj. Leonard deceased).