Part 4.2 Continuing the Lineages of Sarah Burr Derby

The Richardson Family

6GG  Ezekeil Richardson* was the son of Thomas Richardson 1565 - 1633 and Katherine Duxford 1569 - 1631.  They were from West Mill in Herefordshire.  

*There is no Birth or Marriage record for Ezekeil, which indicates, either transcription error, or he decided to change his name.  He is purported to be the eldest son of Thomas Richardson.  Was he Christened as John and later changed his name to a more fitting Religious name?

The eldest son of Thomas Richardson is John born 1596, with a baptismal record, but no death record. 

There may be some descendants of note from Ezekeil Richardson.

The Honorable William Adams Richardson died 19 October 1896, aged 76. He was Secretary of the Treasury.

He was the sixth generation descent from Ezekeil Richardson, who with his wife Susana, belonged to the church at Charlestown in the Bay August 1630.

The lineage is Exekiel, Joshiah, Josiah, William, Daniel, Daniel, William Adams Richardson.

Josiah the second son, married Remembrance Underwood of Concord and later moved to Chelmsford.  He was a captain of a military company. His son Josiah was married to Mercy Parish and they were farmers.

He married Susanna Bradford who was the mother of Joshua Brookes who married Hannah Mason

Capt Josiah Richardson

1647.. Ezekiel Richardson died in Woburn. He must have been a relatively young man, probably under 45, per estimate of Vinton.

His oldest child, Phebe, had been baptised only 15 years earlier. His widow, left with seven children, remarried Henry Brooks four years later, in 1651.

A quote from one of the many biographies of the Richardson brothers says, "Ezekiel, Samuel, and Thomas Richardson, brothers, were the emigrant ancestors of a family remarkable for their numbers, their widely scattered homes, their virtue, and their intelligence.

At least nine of their descendants bearing their name have been deacons in the church they assisted to organize... (and) a large number have been officers of churches elsewhere - in Winchester, and, far and wide, in the United States..... In the secular professions, also, many of this familiar old Woburn name have been found, and some of them have achieved a high and most honourable position.

Old Woburn has, from the beginning, been largely indebted to the successive generations of this excellent family." The Three Richardsons, The Winchester Record, Vol II, No. 2, March, 1886, Pg 199.

Joshua Brooks who married Mary Russell is the brother of Joshua Brooks who married Hannah Mason.  They are the grandparents of Clarissa Baker who married Jonathan Martin Derby

The fifth great grandparents were Col John Abbott who married Sarah Baker

Sarah Baker was the daughter of

6GG  Joshuah Baker 1678 - 1740 and Miriam Hurlbut  1683 - 1771

Joshua Baker was the son of

7GG Joshua Baker 1642 - 1717 and Hannah Tongue  1654 - 1711

Joshua Baker was the son of

8GG  Alexander Baker 1604 - 1685  and Elizabeth Farrer.

His father was another Alexander Baker and Elizabeth's father was Henry.  He was baptised in St Stephens Coleman.

So many people have the totally incorrect information about Alexander Baker.  There were several born around the same time as he was.  Alexander was employed with the Watermen Admiralty Muster of the  Port of London, and noted on his records that he had not done any Naval voyages.  He married Elizabeth Farrer, again people have confused his wife with another person in London, but older than this Elizabeth.

He and Elizabeth arrived in America in 1635, and he later worked was a supplier of ropes.  He became a prominent and successful merchant.

He and Elizabeth arrived in 1635 along with their daughters,  Elizabeth  and Christian on the ship "Elizabeth".  Also on the same voyage was an uncle

6GG Marion Hurlibet was the daughter of

7GG  Samuel Hurlibet 1644 -1710 and Mary

Samuel Hurlibet was the son of

8GG  Thomas Hurlibet 1610 - 1671 and Sarah Nye 1618 - 1678

Thomas Hurlbut arrived 1635, and was a soldier under Lion Gardiner, who built and commanded the fort at Saybrook.  Lion Gardiner, was an engineer and had been in Holland in the service of the Prince of Orange, but was engaged by the proprietors of the Connecticut Patent, to erect a fortification at the mouth of the Connecticut River.  Gardener arrived on the ship Bachilor, with his wife and female servant, and eleven passengers.  It is supposed that Thomas Hurlbut was one of the eleven male passengers.  Old researchers consider that Thomas was a Scotsman. 

He was involved in an encounter in 1637 with the Pequot Indians, and suffered an arrow in the thigh.  Several Indians were shot.  He later became a successful blacksmith.

Joshua Abbott and Hannah Tongue.

Hannah Tongue was the daughter of

8GG  George Tongue (Tonge) 1617 - 1673 and Margery Poole  1630 - 1713  They lived at New London Connnecticut.

GEORGE TONGE was sixty-eight years of age in 1668. His wife was probably younger. Hemptead's diary mentions the death of "Goody Tongue", December 1st, 1713; this was undoubtedly his relict. No other family of the name appears among the inhabitants. George Tonge was an early settler in New London, and in 1656 the general town meeting chose him to keep an inn for five years. In those times only trustworthy citizens were accorded this privilege. In the same year he purchased a house and lot on the Thames river, "and here he opened the house of entertainment which he kept during his life and which, being continued by his family, was the most noted inn of the town for sixty years."

The inn so long kept by George Tonge and his widow and heirs, stood on the bank between the present Pearl and Tilly Streets. Madam Winthrop (George's daughter and the wife of John Winthrop, Governor) inherited the house, and occupied it after the death of her husband, Governor Winthrop. She sold portions of the lot to John Mayhew, Joseph Talman, and others.

 A small, gray head-stone in the old burial-ground bears the following inscription: "HERE LYETH THE BODY OF MADAM ELIZABETH WINTHROP, WIFE OF THE HONOURABLE GOVERNOR WINTHROP, WHO DIED APRIL YE 25TH, 1731, IN HER 79TH YEAR."

George Tonge and his wife and children, as legatees of Richard Poole, inherited a considerable tract of land in the North Parish and extending north through a valley now called "Quaco" to Stony Brook, which went into the Baker and Wickwire families. Pole's or Poole's Hill, which designates a reach of high forest land in Montville, is supposed to derive its name from Richard Poole.

 Of George Tonge the second, (born 1658), no information whatever has been recovered; but we may assume with probability that he was the father of John Tongue, who married Anna Wheeler, November 21st, 1702, and had a numerous family of sons and daughters.

 (References include: New England Families Genealogical and Memorial: Volume IV pg 2005,"Genealogy of the Wickwire Family", Wickwire, Arthur Manley, 1909, and History of New London, by Caulkins, page 289)
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George Tonge (Tongue) was the son of

9GG  George Tongue 1580 - 1639 and Elizabeth Blackeston 1592 . 

It is unknown who the father of Elizabeth Blackeston is but it is NOT Sir Thomas Blackeston.

George Tonge was the son of

10GG  Joseph Henry Tongue 1550 - 1615 and Lily Watson. 1550  They lived at Denton Newcastle.

The Blackstone Family

The BLACKSTONES ORIGIN OF THEIR NAME: THEIR CREST: COAT-OF-ARMS HERALDRY  by NATHANIEL BREWSTER BLACKSTONE 

Member of N.E. Historic Genealogical Society Homestead, Florida 1974

The name of BLACKSTONE is believed to have been derived from the range of hills on the borders of Northumberland and Durham Counties, in northernmost England. New Castle-on-Tyne (Tyne River) in Northumberland County, and the city of Durham in Durham County appear as the earliest recordings of the family with SIR HUGH BLACKSTONE as the first of the line of whom there is definite record.

BARON HUGH (1510-1590) and his only known brother 1517- RICHARD, were the Lords and Masters over the ancient seat and great estates of the family. Their parents, at this writing, are unknown.
Some say that the name was taken from the Blackstone Hills, which was named thus because of the abundance of dark black stones found in the area. Others claim the surname BLACKSTONE appears to be locational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the English, meaning, "one who came from, or lived near, a black boundary stone".

It is said that all of the families of the name are descended from this ancient line and that they are found with at least fifteen different spellings of the name, as BLAXTON, BLAXTONE, BLACKISTONE, BLACKESTONE, BLACKSTON, BLAKESTON, BLAKISTON, BLAKSTON, BLAYKESTON, BLACKISTON, BLACKESTON, BLACSTON, BLACESTON, BLACISTON, BLACKSTONE. Obvious reasons for the different spellings were: (1) the three common accents in those days and times, as English, Scotch and Irish, combined with the spelling being written phonetically, by those who could write. (2) for euphony (more pleasing sound), and having a tendency to greater ease of pronouncing. Writing, in those days, was an art which "society" people did not practice, they had it done for them by others, such as scribes, clarks (clerks), etc.

The Blackstone family reached the peak of its honour and prosperity in the time of QUEEN ELIZABETH (1533-1603) who ruled England for 45 years (1558-1603). The representative of the BLACKSTONE family at that time was -JOHN, who was the father in 1553 of his first son, WILLIAM.

He is said to have had 14 other children, two of whom were MARMADUKE and -JOHN. SIR WILLIAM (1553) was married to ALICE CLAXTON about 1581 and was the father by her of 9 children, six of whom were sons, and living in 1624. Two of these sons were JAMES, who translated the "History of Larazibe de Tormes", from Spanish in 1653; and -JOHN, who became an Apothecary on Newgate Street, London.

One of the first to emigrate to the New Country was 1NATHANIEL, who settled in Maryland in 1623, and became the owner of a large island in the Potomac River, called "BLACKISTONES' ISLAND". -WILLIAM, NATHANIEL's brother, may have shipped out together as WILLIAM landed in the Plymouth area about the middle of September of 1623. Several branches of NATHANIEL'S family were among the pioneers to the western territories, while others remained in the south, principally in Maryland and Virginia.

WILLIAM, landed at Wessagussett (Weymouth) spent about 2 years there, then moved into the Shawmut area, or what is known today as Boston, Massachusetts. WILLIAM, being a lover of solitude, removed to Rehoboth, RI. ten years later, because of the overcrowding of GOVERNOR WINTHROP and his company. 

The next BLACKSTONE known to have emigrated to New England was u-WILLIAM, the third son of WILLIAM, the famous English jurist, and author of "Blackstones Commentaries on the Law." WILLIAM had become a sea captain, and ten years after his father's death in 1780, along with his older brother, HENRY, set out in 1790 for New England.

 HENRY landed at St. Johns, Quebec, where he became comptroller of customs; was later chosen sheriff of Three Rivers (Trois Rivieres), St. Maurice County, Quebec. Meanwhile, -WILLIAM settled in Pownal, Maine, married twice, and had thirteen children, with his line still extending.

Other BLACKSTONES have paid many a visit to New England as seafaring men, as one Captain PETER BLACKSTONE who captained the ship "Supply" and plied between the Virginia Colony and London (Va. Hist. index (9V256-9V258)), primarily, but there is mention made of him in the Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, as "PETER 'Old' in 1719. In that year, a young man known as THOMAS BLACKSTONE was receiving plank for old PETER, captain of a ship, then in the Piscataqua River, in the vicinity of Dover, New Hampshire." The Virginia Historical Index (9V261) also states that his ship was awaiting convoy July 1705.

It has been said that a Scotch-Irish family of BLACKSTONES came from Ulster to Nova Scotia in 1642. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, they migrated to Massachusetts, where they took up permanent abode.

From these various branches of the family in America, and from others whose records are not obtainable, are descended the families of the name, who are now to be found in all parts of the United States. It is true that there are some who have just taken the name, or at least are not born BLACKSTONES. However, the true BLACKSTONE descendents have aided as much in the growth of the country as their ancestors aided in the founding of the nation. They have been noted for their courage, energy, ambition, fearlessness in battle, mental ability, love of solitude, broadmindedness, gentleness, and fondness of children.

Early Blackstones were Barons, Knighted by Royal Command, Lawyers, Judges. Clergymen. Mercers. Vicars, Rectors, Professors, Apothecaries, Deacons, Dignitaries, and, of course some with a less professional status.

Early American BLACKSTONES were naturally faced with making radical changes in their everyday mode of living in coming to this country. Of necessity, they had to be carpenters, cobblers, glass-blowers, farmers, husbandrymen, woodsmen, clerks, blacksmiths, military volunteers, merchants, seamen, and other positions appropriate of the times and conditions.

As the nation grew and improved, more were enabled to secure a better education, and consequently improve their status quo, thus becoming Doctors. Dentists, Lawyers. Business Executives, Senators. Artists and Craftsmen, most all excelling in their chosen field of endeavour. Most all have served their country in its times of need and a few exceptionally well. 

The Poole Family

George Tongue (Tonge) 1617 - 1673 and Margery Poole

Margery Poole was the daughter of

8GG John Poole 1604 - 1630  and Mary Perlam    1601

She was baptised in 1624 at Bishop's Itchington.

She arrived in America and the family settled in New London Connecticut.  

She married George c 1650.

Col John Abbot married Sarah Barker they are buried in the South Church Cemetery Andover.

 Sarah Barker was the daughter of

7GG Richard Barker

The Abbott Lineage

The Abbott Family consist of some very notable people.

Robert Abbot (1560–1617) was an Anglican clergyman and academic, known as a polemical writer. He served as Master of Balliol College, Oxford, Regius Professor of Divinity, and Bishop of Salisbury from 1615. Among his four younger brothers, George became Archbishop of Canterbury and Maurice became Lord Mayor of London.

He was born in Guildford, the elder brother of George Abbot the future archbishop, and shared the same course of education. He early distinguished himself as a preacher, and a sermon which he preached at Paul's Cross gained for him the living of Bingham, Nottinghamshire, to which he was presented by John Stanhope.

King James appointed Abbot one of the chaplains in ordinary. In 1609, he was elected master of Balliol College. In 1613 he became Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, and attacked the writings of Petrus Bertius, a Dutch Remonstrant, on the topic of falling from grace. Subsequently he made a broader attack based on orthodox Calvinism and Augustine of Hippo on the spreading ideas of Jacobus Arminius. In 1615 he attacked John Howson and William Laud, implying Catholic sympathies, and wrapping in those terms the further implication that Laud was Arminian. Howson retorted that the Abbot brothers were Puritans. In speaking of secret methods by which certain persons were attempting to undermine the Protestant Reformation, Abbot was clearly referencing Laud, who was present for the lecture. Laud, stung, wrote to his friend, Richard Neile, Bishop of Lincoln, complaining that, "he was fain to sit patiently at the rehearsal of this sermon, though abused almost an hour together, being pointed at as he sat," and asking whether he ought to take public notice of the insult.

Abbot obtained the see of Salisbury, and his brother George consecrated him. On his departure from the university, he delivered a farewell oration in Latin, which was much admired. Comparing the merits of the two brothers, Robert and George, Thomas Fuller remarks that

"George was the more plausible preacher, Robert the greater scholar; George was the abler statesman, Robert the deeper divine."

Abbot died in Salisbury, being one of five bishops who succeeded to the see of Salisbury with Abbot was twice married. By his first wife Abbot had sons and a daughter Martha, who was married to Sir Nathaniel Brent; their daughter Margaret Brent was married to Edward Corbet, rector of Great Haseley, and the latter presented some of the bishop's manuscripts to the Bodleian Library. His second wife was the widow Bridget Cheynell, mother of Francis Cheynell. This second marriage is said to have displeased his brother, the archbishop, who regarded it as an infringement of the apostolic injunction that a bishop should be the husband of one wife in the space of six years.

George Abbot (19 October 1562 – 5 August 1633) was an English divine who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611 to 1633. He also served as the fourth Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, from 1612 to 1633.

The Chambers Biographical Dictionary describes him as "[a] sincere but narrow-minded Calvinist".Among his five brothers, Robert became Bishop of Salisbury and Maurice became Lord Mayor of London. He was a translator of the King James Version. tomb Salisbury

The American Lineage  Differing opinions!

George Abbott, in Mahler, Leslie. The English Origin of George Abbott of Rowley, Massachusetts. American Genealogist (D.L. Jacobus). (Jan 2011), 85:27-28. This article proves he was not the son of Marris Abbott.

 He was son of Thomas and Ann ____ Abbott. Thomas Abbott was buried at Chappel, co. Essex, on 30 May 1625. ". George1 Abbott (ThomasA) was baptized at Chappel, co. Essex, on 24 November 1586. … was first of record at Rowley, Massachusetts, when he headed a registration of lots granted there date 10 January 1643/[by which he received a two-acre house lot. Hus nuncupative will does not survive, although it is mentioned in a court record dated 11 November 1647. The administration of his estate was granted to Marke Symonds [of Ipswich] on 28 7th month [Sept.] 1647. On 28 March 1654, the sons acknowledged that they had received their portions from their guardians, Humphrey Rayner and Thomas Mighill; £16 was given to son George, £21 to son Nehemiah, and £16 to son Thomas Jr. An inventory of the estate was taken on 30 August 1647, with a total value of £95 2s. 8d."

He sailed on the Mayflower in 1642 and is part of the John Alden Mayflower List.

Birth: June 14 1601 - Ipswich, Essex, England Death: Nov 11 1647 - Rowley, Esssex, Massachusetts, USA Parents: Morris or Maurice Abbott, Margaret Abbott (born Barnes) ??? Siblings: Anthony H/B Abbott, Richard H/B Abbott, Robert H/B Abbott, Morris H/B Abbott, Bartholomew H/B Abbott, Bartholomew Abbott, Anna Abbott, Mathew Abbott, Maurice Abbott, Edward Abbott, Margaret Abbott, Martha Abbott, Mary Harnett (born Abbott), Daniel Abbott Wife: Mary Abbott (born Hill) Children: George Abbott, Nehemiah Abbott, Thomas Abbott

This gentleman's opinion is perhaps more believable than the following, in regard to the father, but the ensuing information about the different great grandfathers is very worthy.

 http://hill-lafler1928.tripod.com/abbott.htm

GEORGE E.³ ABBOTT (MORRIS², MAURICE¹) was born Abt. 1600 in London, England, and died November 11, 1647 in Rowley, Mass. (Essex County). He married MARY HILL Bet. 1616 - 1631 in London, England.

GEORGE E. ABBOTT:

George E. and wife, Mary Hill, came to the New World on the Mayflower as part of the John Alden Mayflower list. Records show this voyage was made in 1642. Life was difficult at best for these pioneers. According to a book entitled Descendants of George Abbott of Rowley, Mass., written by Major Lemuel Abijah Abbott about the early Abbott's, " they were literally in the wilds of a new continent, surrounded by want, suffering, sickness, wild beasts, hostile Indians, and with none of the comforts of life which they had been used to in England, nor could these be obtained. It is no wonder, then, that George Abbott, and possibly his wife, soon sickened and died from want and exposure, in the early days of Rowley. In accordance with custom, George probably deeded most of his estate to his eldest son, Thomas Abbott, Sr. The estates of his sons indicate that he owned much more land than there is any record of in his day."

GEORGE⁴ ABBOTT (GEORGE E.³, MORRIS², MAURICE¹) was born 1631 in England, and died March 22, 1688/89 in Andover, Mass. (Essex County). He married SARAH FARNUM April 26, 1658 in Ipswich, Mass. (Essex County), daughter of RALPH FARNUM and ALICE. She was born Abt. 1638 in Massachusetts, and died 1728 in Andover, Mass. (Essex County).

GEORGE ABBOTT:

George, who came to New England with his family on the Mayflower, lived in Rowley about 14 years when he settled in Andover. He was a tailor, very thrifty and industrious, and for that day was financially well off listed as one of the five wealthiest men in Andover. He was a member of Sergeant James Osgood's Militia Co. He married Sarah Farnum, youngest of five Farnum children, a distinguished family.

SARAH FARNUM:

Sarah's father and mother sailed from Southampton, England on April 6, 1635, in the brig James, and, after a voyage of 58 days, landed in Boston, Mass. They settled in Andover for a short while then moved to Dracut, Mass. They may have been from Welsh ancestry. According to Major Abbott's research, the Farnum's were a strong family with many of its early members taking a prominent part in the early public affairs of the country. There was Brig. General James M. Farnum of Revolutionary War fame. General Joseph Farnum was a Captain during the Rev. War and for 16 years of member of Congress, during which time he was Speaker of the House for 4 years and a U.S. Senator for 6 years. Then there was Capt. John Farnum of the French and Indian Wars and several other Farnum's in the Rev. War.

JOHN⁶ ABBOTT (JOHN⁵, GEORGE⁴, GEORGE E.³, MORRIS², MAURICE¹) was born October 03, 1701 in Sudbury, Mass. (Middlesex County), and died Unknown. He married ELIZABETH PHIPPS October 18, 1721 in Lexington, Mass.. She was born September 10, 1701 in Lexington, Mass..

JOHN ABBOTT:

Captain John Abbott was an adventurer. He was a housewright, planter, merchant and by tradition, a sea captain. He moved around Massachusetts and Connecticut until about 1728 when he went to sea until about 1730 when he settled in Georgetown, South Carolina. In 1738 he moved to North Carolina. He was one of the pioneers of the southern Abbotts. The tale is that he made several voyages abroad to England and the West Indies and finally wrecked in a storm off the coast of South Carolina. Captain Abbott's two sons left in Connecticut were both Colonels in the Rev. War. There is some speculation that he and Elizabeth may have had more children in the south but all of the records in Wilmington, N.C. have been destroyed and there is no documentary evidence known.

JOHN⁷ ABBOTT (JOHN⁶, JOHN⁵, GEORGE⁴, GEORGE E.³, MORRIS², MAURICE¹) was born April 02, 1724 in Stow, Mass. (Middlesex County), and died May 21, 1814 in Twelve Corners, New York (Cayuga County). He married SARAH BAKER 1747. She died 1777 in Hoosick, New York.

JOHN ABBOTT:

Colonel John Abbott was a carpenter, trader, farmer, justice of the peace much of his life. However, as many of the men during this time, he was also a member of the Continental Army during the Rev. War. He and his family had built a log cabin on a farm in Pawlet, Vermont.

In U.S. Army Major Lemuel Abbott's book entitled "e;Descendants of George Abbott, of Rowley, Mass."e; published by The Compiler, the story continues - "Just before the battle of Bennington, word was sent to the settlers at Pawlet, that the British had land ( probably from Lake Champlain), that the Indians would soon be among them and that they must flee for life to some place of safety. 

The evening the message was received, Col. Abbott had his teams hastily loaded with such supplies and household effects as he could quickly get together. Mrs. Abbott and her daughter Eunice, being ill with dysentery, were both placed on a feather-bed on top of one of the loads, driven by her daughter, Betsey, then 16 years old, while her little brother Chauncey, who was afterwards killed by a falling tree, drove the ox team. Following the teams another son was sent with the cattle, and after him, David with the sheep. Col. Abbott was the last to leave their frontier home. His restless saddle horse tied to a sapling in the yard read for use at a moment's notice, scenting Indians, first warned the Colonel of danger and their presence. Glancing about the premises and seeing an Indian dodge behind a tree, Abbott sprang into his saddle and dashed away, the Indian firing and wounding Abbott in the calf of the leg."

Amazingly, the family trekked all the way from Vermont to upstate New York where they settled near Hoosick. Mrs. Abbott died shortly after of dysentery in 1777. Col. Abbott went on to fight in many battles against the British. Major Abbott's book chronicles many such engagements and Col. Abbott's ability to rally various elements of the militia against the British and the Indians. He spent his final days on a farm with his son Lieut. John Abbott, near Twelve Corners, Cayuga County, N.Y.

He died at age 90, much broken and palsied. His remains were first interred in a private burying-ground on the homestead, but in the spring of 1863 were removed to the Westfall Cemetery, near Twelve Corners, New York.

Pole (Poole) Family

William Poole (above mentioned), son of the Sir William Pole and Marie Periam, was matriculated at Oriel College, Oxford, March 24, 1609-10, a. 16; B.A. Nov. 3, 1612; student of the Inner Temple, 1616, as of Colyton, gentleman. (Foster's Alumni Oxonienses, vol. 3, p. 1176). He and his sister Elizabeth came to New England as early as 1637. He settled at Dorchester, but after a short stay there removed to Taunton. He returned to Dorchester as early as 1660, and died there Feb. 25, 1674-5, aged 81. A biographical note of him, by William B. Trask, A.M., is printed in the Dorchester Antiquarian Society's History of Dorchester, pp. 487–9.—Editor.]

This William Poole is mentioned prominently in the early days of Taunton, 1939, as Capt. William Poole. He was deputy of Taunton to Plymouth in that and other years, and was also member of the Council of War. He moved to Dorchester in 1660, where his son Theophilus was born 27 May that year. He held the offices of clerk of the write and schoolmaster in Dorchester, where he died 24 Feb. 1674-5. On his tomb was engraved an epitaph of his own composition. Jane, his wife, survived him.

From depositions in the Suffolk and Bristol County records, there seems to be a relationship with the Farwell family at Taunton, through it may be through William Poole rather than his wife. Jane, widow of William, died 9 Sept. 1690. Her will, dated 29 Aug. 1690, mentions son John and his wife, daughters Bethesda Filer (wife of John Filer) and Mary Henchman (wife of Daniel Henchman), a grandson, John Poole (who died before 1711), and his sister Jane (who married Timothy Lindall). The children of William and Jane Poole were: John, b. 1639, d. 1711; Nathaniel, living in 1654; Timothy, drowned at Taunton 1667; Mary, m. Daniel Henchman; Bethesda, m. 1686, John Filer; William, bapt. 1658, d. 21 April, 1687; Theophilus, b. 1660.

Settlers of the Taunton Area Massachusetts

A place to collect the families and individuals who settled Taunton, Massachusetts and examine where they came from in England and their marriage patterns.

"Probably the early settlers of this region came largely from the southwest of England, for we there find the familiar names of Norton, Dorchester, Weymouth, Wareham, Bridgewater, Plymouth, Barnstable, Somerset, Dartmouth, Berkley, Tiverton, surrounding the English Taunton, much as do their namesakes our own city ; and the settlers of Cohannet on March 3, 1639, (O. S.) procured the name to be changed to Taunton, as they themselves say, 'in honor and love to our dear and native country.'"

A marginal note in the Plymouth Colony Records states that"Taunton began here to be added to this booke, June 5, 1638." A list of Plymouth Colony freemen of 7 March 1636/37 contains seven names of men identified as being of Cohannett: Mr. William Poole, Mr. John Gilbert, Sr. Mr. Henry Andrews, John Strong, John Deane, Walter Deane, and Edward Case. (Edward Case's lot was sold to Samuel Wilbore, one of those who were banished with Mrs Hutchinson from Massachusetts. After residing in Taunton a short time, he returned to Boston, and gave his lands in Taunton to his son Shadrach Wilbore.) Other records show that these seven were first made freemen on 4 Dec 1638 so that the names were additions to the earlier list. Previous to 1640, Mr. Richard Smith, William Parker, John Smith, Mr. Thomas Farwell, Mr. David Corwithy, Mr. Holloway, Mr. Nicholas Street, Thomas Gilbert, Thomas Cooke, John Richmond, Hezekiah Hoar, Richard Paull, Hugh Rossiter, Francis Street, John Gingell, and William Scadding, were freemen. Thus we have the names of not less than twenty-four men, who doubtless belonged to the original church of Taunton, and if there were as many women, it was certainly a goodly company to covenant together on the banks of the Tetiquet.
A shipping list shows that Elizabeth Poole (William's sister) left Weymouth, Dorset on 22 April 1637 on the Speedwell traveling with two friends, fourteen servants, goods valued at 100 pounds and twenty tons of salt for fishing provision. Walter Deane and six servants sailed to New England on the same ship at the same time. Another ship, the Prosperous, left Dartmouth, Devonshire on 27 April 1637 carrying bullocks and heifers for various planters in New England, including passengers William and Elizabeth Poole. William Poole had probably preceded his sister across the Atlantic.
On 5 March 1638/39 Captain Poole was authorized to exercise the men at Cohanett in arms. At this time the colonies needed supplies and ammunition desperately. The war against the French and Indians was not popular and as early as 25 Dec 1689 the court noted that the towns of Bristol, Dartmouth, Swansea and Eastham "refused or neglected" to pay their taxes for the cost of the war. The towns of Bristol County were especially obstreperous. One of the first orders of the reconvened court in 1689 was to recommission the officers who had commanded the county regiments and town military companies in 1686, before Andros took power. In a very beginning Marshfield and Swansea objected to their captains and before long there was considerable dissension over who would officer the troops. In Taunton feeling was so high that the court on 1 April 1690 ordered the formation of two companies, each officered by one of the two opposing sides. This was not a satisfactory solution as was noted by Walter Deane and some of the other leading men at Taunton in a letter to Hankley of 7 April 1690 in which he states " the contempt of authority by one party seems to be too little discountenanced." Major Walley was also unhappy about the Taunton matter and he wrote Hinckley that a great many people were long be "ready to oppose all that doth not please them...You have given such a precedent as never was in New England and other towns are pleading for the benefit of it; and we shall want, not only two, but ten captains in the town." He commented also on difficulties with military neglect or other, all orders and warrants come to nothing.

A number of the early settlers of Taunton were from Bridgewater, County of Somerset, England and were related by marriage already in England including (John) Gilbert, (Francis, Rev. Nicholas) Street.
Immigrant John Gilbert was married to Mary Street, aunt of Immigrants Francis Street and Rev. Nicholas Street. We need to do a bit more sleuthing but I believe that the Rossitor and Combe families were from this area as well. John Gilbert's second wife was Winifred (Rossitor) Combe. A mystery is the relationship of Rev. Nicholas Street's wife Ann or Amy or unknown given name, who appears to have been a Pole (Poole), possibly related to William Poole and Elizabeth Poole of Taunton, but not Ann Pole, daughter of Sir William Pole, since that daughter married and remained in England.

Andrews Family

Henry Andrews, b. 1608, Somerset, England; d. Feb. 10, 1652/3, Taunton, MA. Will dated Mar. 13, 1652, and estate inventoried Feb. 20, 1652/3. He was an original purchaser at Taunton, MA in 1637, built the first meeting house in 1647 for which he received a tract of land known as the "calves pasture," and was deputy to the Plymouth general court in 1639, 1642, 1643, 1647, and 1649. Probably married about 1628 in England

Cooke Family

Thomas Cooke, known as Bowcher, Bocher, or Butcher, arrived near Boston in 1637 with a group that accompanied Elizabeth Poole and her brother, William. Thomas, his wife, and three children sailed on the ship, Speedwell; others included John Reade, Richard Smith, and Henry Smith. Thomas Cooke was an early proprietor of Taunton, Massachusettes. He was "one of the 46 original settlers of Taunton in 1637" and settled in Portsmouth in 1643.

Deane Family (also written Dean)

Walter Deane, born at Chard, a market town, some ten miles from Taunton, in Somersetshire, England, in the extensive and fertile valley known as Taunton-Dean, on the river Tone, came to America with his elder brother John Deane, both being among the earliest English settlers at Cohannet, which soon after was called Taunton. Both were original purchasers of the town. Walter Dean was a tanner by trade. His wife was Eleanor, daughter of Richard Strong, of Taunton in England, and sister of Elder John Strong, who came with her to America in the ship "Mary and John," in 1630, and thence in 1637 went to Cohannet, now Taunton.

Benjamin Deane, son of Walter and Eleanor (Strong) Deane, was married to Sarah Williams, January 6,1680 or 1681. They settled in Taunton, Mass, and had children,—Naomi, Hannah, Israel (born Feb. 2,1685), Mary, Damaris, Sarah, Elizabeth, Mehitable, Benjamin (born July 31, 1699), Ebenezer (born Feb. 24, 1702), Lydia, and Josiah (born Oct. 23, 1707). His will was made Feb. 2, 1723, and probated April 14, 1725.

Gilbert Family

John Gilbert, immigrant ancestor, was born in Bridgewater, County Somerset, England, and came to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in the ship, "Mary and John," in 1630. His wife Winifred and two sons, Thomas and John, described by Savage as "Well grown youth," came with him. In 1637 he and his two sons were members of an incorporated body of forty, who purchased of Sachem Massasoit about one hundred and sixty-two thousand acres of land lying west of Plymouth, which was named Taunton.

Here the family established itself, and here descendants remained for over one hundred and forty years. In 1668 that portion of the town in which the Gilbert family lived was set apart under the name of North Purchase. Again in 1711 it became a part of the new town of Norton, and finally, in 1725, Norton was subdivided and the Gilbert land became a part of Easton. John Gilbert was admitted a freeman of Taunton, December 4, 1638, and was chosen constable in 1640. In 1641 he received a grant of land from the town, with others, "for their great charges in attending courts, laying out lands and other occasions for the town." He was over sixty years old in 1643, as he was excused from military duty in that year. He was the first representative from Taunton to the general court. His house was in the meadow on the western side of Taunton Great River. John Gilbert and his first wife, Mary Street, had three children: John, Thomas, and Elizabeth. His first wife died before 1630. John Gilbert and his second wife, Winfred -- probably Winifred Rossiter, widow of John Combe -- had three children -- Gyles (Giles), Joseph, and Mary Norcross. He may also have been married to Alice Hopkins as 2nd wife.

Leonard Family

Thomas Leonard was the father of James and Henry, the first Leonard immigrants. He did not emigrate to this country with his sons and is known to us only by name. James was the progenitor of the Leonards, of Taunton, Raynham, and Norton. He and his sons often traded with the Indians, and were on such terms of friendship with them, that, when the war broke out, King Philip gave strict orders to his men never to hurt the Leonards. Philip resided, in winter, at Mount Hope; but his summer residence was at Raynham, about a mile from the forge. The Leonards were apparently from a noble family (Lennard, D'Acre) and had ironworks in their hometown in England. They continued as prominent ironworkers in Plymouth Colony.

Thomas Leonard, son of James Leonard, "was a distinguished character." He came to New England with his father, " when a small boy," and afterwards worked with him in the forge. He was a physician, major, justice of the peace, town clerk and deacon. He was also judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1702-13. An eulogy upon his character by the Rev. Samuel Danforth, of Taunton, was printed in 1713.

His second son, John was the father of Thomas II , whose daughter, Sarah, b. 26 June, 1729, was the wife of Rev. Eliab Byram, of Mendham, N. J., and mother of the wife of the late Hon. Josiah Dean, who was owner of the old Raynham forge. Gamaliel, eldest son of Thomas II, b. 30 April 1733, died 12 March 1809; was father of Eliakim, b. 17 July, 1773, who married Mary Williams, and was father of Rev. George, of Portland. The latter was born at Raynham, 17 Aug. 1802, graduated Boston University 1824, and died 12 Aug. 1831. He married 1827, Abigail C. daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Nelson, and was settled in 1830, over the First Baptist Church in Portland, Me. The year after his death, in 1832, a volume of his Sermons was published at Portland.

Major George Leonard, third son of Thomas, removed about 1690, to Norton, then a part of Taunton, where he became the proprietor of very large tracts of land; being as it were the founder of that town and the progenitor of the Norton family. Here this family, as possessors of great wealth and of the largest landed estate, probably, of any in New England, have lived for one hundred and sixty years. Rev. Wm. Tyler, of Northampton, who spent his early days within a few miles of the Leonard mansion, writes thus: "The Norton family of Leonard, whether or not descended from the Lennards, Lord Dacre, have come the nearest to a baronial spirit and style of life of any family I have known in New England." 

Richmond Family

John Richmond was born in 1594, in Wiltshire, England, at Ashton Keynes. He was one of the purchasers of Taunton, MA. in 1637. He was a large landholder and amassed considerable wealth for that time. He died in Taunton in 1664. His children were John b.1627; Edward b. 1632; Sarah b. 1638; Mary b. 1639. John Richmond Sr. was apparently in the shipping and trade business and made many trips between Bristol in England and Saco, Maine before choosing to settle in Taunton, Massachusetts in 1635 because of the problems in England. He was one of the purchasers of Taunton but his name does not appear in the list of men able to bear arms in 1643. This is not surprising because he opposed the Royalists and would not bear arms for them. He chose instead to return to England and join Cromwell's army in the Civil War.

Of his sons, John Richmond settled in Taunton, Edward in Newport. The Richmond family was very prominent in the Colonial Wars and also the War of the Revolution. Their motto on their Coat of Arms was, "Resolve well and persevere."

Smith Family

According to Samuel Hopkins Emery (1853), The relation of the two early settlers, Mr. Richard Smith and John Smith is not known. If John was the son of Richard, as is not improbable,* the following names copied from the Proprietors' Records, may be those of his children, otherwise his grand-children. "The names of the children of John Smith, Sen.: (1) Elizabeth, born Sept. 7, 1663. (2) Henry, born May 27, 1666. John Smith, Senior, mar. Jael Parker of Bridgewater, Nov. 15, 1672. (3) Deborah, born March 7, 1676. (4) Homer, born March 22, 1678. (5) John, born Dec. 6, 1680.

Richard Smith, Jr. came with his father, Richard Smith, Sr. [Is this correct??] in 1630, from Gloucestershire, England, to Boston where he married. The young man settled with his father at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1641; he then purchased a large tract of land on Narragansett Bay and built a trading post at Wickford, Rhode Island. After having trouble with his neighbors in Rhode Island, young Smith removed to the colony of Southampton on Long Island where he again got into difficulty, finally moving to Setauket where he built a home and became a magistrate and public spirited citizen. His wealth permitted him to buy land freely and he soon had assembled a princely domain. He became one of the great men of Colonial Long Island. Smith was buried near his home at Nissequogue.

Street Family

Francis Street, from Bridgewater, Somersetshire, England, was one of the original purchasers of Taunton. His brother, Rev. Nicholas Street was baptized at Bridgewater, county Somerset, England in 1603. In 1621 at age 18 he matriculated at the University of Oxford, receiving his B.A. in 1624 at age 22. He arrived at Plymouth Colony circa 1637. His name was added to the list of freemen of Plymouth and in 1638 he was ordained Teacher of the Church in Taunton, by Rev. William Hooke. In 1639 an upland meadow was cleared for him in Taunton. In 1644 he became Minister of the Church in Taunton. He moved to New Haven Colony in 1659 and died at age 71 in New Haven. His daughter, Susannah Street, married George Macey, and was the mother of Elizabeth Macey Hodges, Rebecca Macey Williams Leonard, and Mary Macey Williams. Thus, the descendants of Rev. Street were prominent in the establishment and development of Taunton.

Elder John Strong

Elder John married second about 1635 in Dorchester, Suffolk, MA, Abigail Ford, whom he would have met during the 1630 crossing. In 1635 after having assisted in founding and developing the town of Dorchester, he moved to Hingham, Plymouth, where he received a land grant, Sept 18, 1635 for five acres of land on North Street. On March 9, 1636/37 he took the freeman's oath at Boston.

They then moved to Taunton, Bristol, MA in 1638, where he had a house on Dean Street, west of John Dean's house. On Dec. 4, 1638, he is found to have been an inhabitant and proprietor of Taunton. Elder John Strong, Walter and John Deane were admitted freemen of the Plymouth Colony, Dec 4, 1638. Elder John was the first constable in 1638 and 1639, a deputy to the General court in Plymouth in 1641, 1643, and 1644, and a juror in 1645. In 1646, Elder John moved to Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut. He eventually settled in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he lived the remainder of his life.

Walker Family

James Walker and Sara Walker settled in Taunton with John Browne, their uncle and guardian. William in Eastham, and Richard joined his father in Lynn. James is first recorded as being in Taunton. 1643, being enrolled as able to bear arms, the list appearing: "Mr. John Browne, Mr. William Poole, John Browne, James Walker." James Walker, the Hingham immigrant. 1634, son of "Widow" Walker, the mother of all the Walker immigrants of this period, was a settler in Taunton, Massachusetts Bay Colony, before 1643. He was a member of the committee appointed to distribute the portion of the relief fund for those suffering from Indian warfare, and when the division was marked between Massachusetts Bay colony and Plymouth colony he was a deputy to the Plymouth court for sixteen years from 1654. He was a member and chairman of the town council of war, 1667, and again 1675 and 1678, and one of the council of war of Plymouth colony in 165861-71-81. He was assigned in the division of lands ninety-six acres. He had no military title, but was content to be a servant in both church and state. The children of James and Elizabeth (Phillips) Walker were: 1. James, 1645-46, married Bathsheba Brooks, died June 22, 1718. 2. Peter (q. v.). 3. Hester, 1650, married Joseph Woods, had four children, and died April 9, 1696. 4. Eleazer, 1662, never married, died December 15, 1724. 5. Deborah, married George Goodwin, died about May, 1726.

Wilbor Family

Immigrant Samuel Wilbore was admitted freeman of Boston in 1634. He bought largely in the town of Taunton, Mass., and removed thither with his family. While in Taunton, he, with others, embraced what was then called “the dangerous doctrines of Cotton and Wheelwright;” for which he was banished the province November, 1637. He, with seventeen others, fled to Providence; and, being advised by Roger Williams, they purchased of the Indians the Island of Aquidnic (now Rhode Island), to which place he removed his family early in 1638. These eighteen persons formed a colony by solemn compact, March 7, 1638. He did not remain long on the island; for a subsequent document refers to him as “Samuel Wildbore of Taunton.” He returned to Boston, probably, in 1645; that being the date of his wife Elizabeth’s admission into the church in Boston. He had a house in Boston, and also one in Taunton, in which he resided, probably, alternately in the warm and cold seasons; as in his will he refers to them as residences in which he “doth now inhabit.” 

He, with some associates, built and put in operation an iron-furnace in Taunton (now Raynham), the first that was built in New England. Its site is on the main road from Titicut to Taunton, and is still, or until recently was, improved according to its original purpose.

Shadrach Wilbor, son of Samuel Wildbore, settled in Taunton (afterwards Raynham), on lands received probably from his father. He was evidently a man of wealth and influence in his time. He held several important trusts, representing his town in the provincial government, and served as town clerk for thirty-five successive years. For lifting his voice, however, in opposition to the evils, as he deemed them, in the government of Sir Edmund Andros, he was apprehended and imprisoned in Boston, Aug. 30, 1687, but it is not probable that he long remained there. He married twice, first to Mary Deane, with whom he had ten children and subsequently to Hannah Bass, the widow of Stephen Paine. He died in 1696 or 1697.

Shadrach Wilbor, Jr., sixth child and third son of Shadrach, was born in Taunton (now Raynham), and was a farmer by occupation. It is not known whom he married. He had five sons, viz.: Shadrach, Meshach, Joseph, Jacob, and Abijah. The first two sons settled in Taunton, but it is not certain where the other three settled. Meshach Wilbor, Sr., second son of Shadrach, Jr., was born in Taunton (now Raynham), married Elizabeth.

Williams Family

Richard Williams of Taunton, MA, was baptized in the parish of St. Mary the Virgin in Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucester, England in 1607 and died in Taunton, Massachusetts August 1693. Married Frances Deighton, sometimes spelled "Dighton". Richard and Frances Williams' descendants are linked in marriage with many well-documented early American families such as those of Captain John Gallup, Governor Thomas Dudley, John Woodbridge VI, Pilgrim Thomas Rogers, Pilgrim John Howland, Pilgrim Samuel Fuller (the son of Pilgrim Edward Fuller), Reverend John Lothrop, and Governor William Leete.

Richard was a tanner by trade. He was a man of good abilities, was deputy to the General Court of Plymouth Colony from 1645 to 1665; selectman in 1666 and 1667. It is not know exactly when Richard Williams came to New England, nor upon which vessel. The biographer Charles Williams believes him to have come about 1636/7, rather than in 1633, as Pope suggests. He came with his wife, Frances and two children, probably her two eldest sisters and their spouses. Richard and Frances settled soon in Taunton. He was among the original purchasers of the Teticut Purchase, The North Purchase and the South Purchase, now comprising collectively the towns of Taunton, Raynham Berkeley, Norton, Mansfield, Easton and Dighton, the last so named for his wife Francis. He was one of the original shareholders in the Iron Works of Taunton and received income from this venture until 1691. In 1693, his son Thomas directed that these moneys go to his Mother, Francis, these sums continuing until 1700. He, himself, was a tanner, as his son Joseph succeeds to this business after his death about 1692/3. He was called by Emery, the "Father of Taunton." He was a member and deacon of the First Church. He died in the year 1693, aged eighty-seven years. The children born to Richard and his wife Frances (Dighton) were: John (died England), Elizabeth (died England), Samuel, Nathaniel, Joseph, Thomas, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Benjamin.

Richard and Frances' children married children of other early settlers, e.g., children of John Rogers and Anna Churchman of Duxbury, Thomas Gilbert and Joan Rossiter of Taunton, George Macey and Susanna Street of Taunton, and Thomas Bird Sr and Ann ? of Dorchester.

 Samuel married Mary (Jane) Gilbert. Samuel married as his second wife Hannah (Anna) Rogers, daughter of John Rogers (her third marriage) late in life. Nathaniel married Elizabeth Rogers, daughter of John Rogers, granddaughter of Pilgrim Thomas Rogers. Joseph married Elizabeth Watson. Elizabeth married John Bird of Dorchester. Thomas married Mary Macey. Hannah married John Parmenter of Boston. Benjamin married Rebecca Macey, Mary's sister. See the Richard Williams Family project for more details.

Richard Williams' 7th great granddaughter, Anne Williams Rubenstein Dick, is now 84 years old. She wrote: "When I was thirteen years old my mother and I took a greyhound bus from St. Louis to visit relatives in the East and my brother Arthur Williams in Boston. We stopped in Hartford to visit the Green or Greenes. I never did figure out how they were related to us. There were several old people living in the large old Green house. They showed me the family Bible that Richard Williams had brought from England. He was the first signature in it. I was impressed and remember this well 71 years later."

Tisdale Family

In the region of Yorkshire, England, along the River Tees, a family lived and thrived. They lived on the dale, or flat land, near the river. Therefore, they became known as the family from Teesdale; or the Tisdale family. John Tisdale was the son of Thomas and Ruth Tisdale. He was was born in 1614, named after his grandfather. He was baptized in Ripon, England, in the region of Yorkshire. In approximately 1634 John Tisdale came to Plymouth Plantation, reportedly bringing with him the Tisdale coat of arms (which has been passed down through the generations and is with a descendant in Canada) and a great table of carved English oak. This table is mentioned in the wills of later generations.

It was required, per the early laws of the colony, to get permission of the magistrates before any person was allowed to live alone or keep house or plant for himself. In 1636, in accordance with this law, "John Tisdale upon good report made of him and his good carryage is allowed to keep house and plant for himself provided he shall continue his carryage still." He was granted 10 acres at Green Harbour of the Old Massachusetts Bay Colony, had land at Hounds ditch, and at Namassakeeset in Duxbury.

Around the year 1640, John, a yeoman, or farmer, married Sarah Walker. Sarah, whose mother was widowed, was born in 1618 in Weymouth, England. She came from England on the ship "Elizabeth", either in 1633 as a servant of her uncle John Browne or in 1635 with her brother James, reports vary. In March 1642 John Tisdale took the Freeman Oath, and in September of that year, the General Court admitted him a "freeman", a position secured only by attachment to the church and by a very exemplary life. It gave him standing in the community and a place in the town meeting. Around that same time, their son, John, Jr. was born. The following year – in March 1643 he was admitted to the church. He also sold his land in Duxbury and moved his family to Taunton. He built his home on the east side of the Great River at Assonet, about three and one-half miles from Taunton Green, and bordering what is now Berkley. Above the site rose Mount Hope, the home of the Indian known as King Philip. The second son, James, was born in 1644. In June 1645 John was appointed Constable of Duxbury. Their third son Joshua was born in 1646. In 1650 their first daughter Sarah was born and John was named a selectman in Taunton. Now that John was established in Taunton, he served as constable of that town in 1655.

His and Sarah’s fifth child and fourth son, Joseph was born in 1656, followed in 1657 by Elizabeth, their sixth child and second daughter. In 1658 John was again elected Constable, and also selectman of Taunton, and his daughter Mary was born. The last child of John and Sarah, a daughter, Abigail, was born in 1659.

That was the year that John and 25 others organized "Yee Freeman’s Purchase" and bought, from the Indians, the settlement that was known as Freetown. The purchase price included coats, rugs, pots, kettles, shoes, hatchets and cloth. John had plot #23. There were problems with some of the Indians who lived in the area. In 1671 soldiers assembled at the Tisdale home to prepare for war against hostile Indians. This war would come to be known as King Philip’s war. John was once again voted as selectman in 1672 and in 1674 he was a representative of the General Court at Plymouth. He served his last year as selectman in 1675. In 1675 King Philip’s war came to Freetown. Either on June 27, 1675, as reported to the Plymouth Court by Shadrach Wilbore, or, or on April 4, 1675, as stated in a letter by John Freeman, an officer in the war. John Tisdale was killed by Indians. It was reported that three men were slain: John Tisdale, Sr., John Knowles and Samuel Atkins. John Tisdale’s house was burned as was the house of his brother-in-law James Walker. John’s gun was carried off by the Indians. The gun was retaken at Rehoboth on Aug 1 1675, where it was found with the body of an Indian who was slain there. The gun was later used as evidence in court. Sarah Walker Tisdale did not outlive her husband by much. She died on Dec 10 1676, in Taunton. John’s estate was settled on March 6 1677. That same day, three Indians: Timothy Jacked, Massamaquat and Pompachonshe were indicted for the murder of John and the other two men, on the evidence of having John’s gun. Charges against one were dropped for lack of evidence. The other two were deemed probably guilty. All three were sold into slavery, and removed from the country. In June of that year John and Sarah’s youngest daughter, Abigail, only 14, was given into the guardianship of James Browne of Swansea. He was the son of her mother’s uncle, John Browne. In 1677 the Tisdale’s oldest son, John, committed suicide.

History and Geography

Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located 40 miles (64 km) south of Boston, 18 miles (29 km) east of Providence, 10 miles (16 km) north of Fall River and 25 miles (40 km) west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way south to Mount Hope Bay, 10 miles (16 km) away. Taunton is considered to be a mill town, with several mills in the city as well as in nearby Fall River.

Founded in 1637 by members of the Plymouth Colony, Taunton is one of the oldest towns in the United States. The native Americans called the region Cohannet before the arrival of the Europeans. Taunton is also known as the Silver City, as it was an historic center of the silver industry beginning in the 19th century when companies such as Reed & Barton, F. B. Rogers, Poole Silver, and others produced fine-quality silver goods in the city.

Taunton once included many surrounding towns, including Norton, Easton, Mansfield, Dighton, Raynham, and Berkley. Possession of the latter is still noted by the naming of Taunton Hill in Assonet, which is now North Main Street, a street that heads into Berkley and Fall River.

Taunton was founded by settlers from England and officially incorporated as a town on September 3, 1639. Most of the town's settlers were originally from Taunton in Somerset, England, which led early settlers to name the settlement after that town.

At the time of Taunton's incorporation, they explained their choice of name as being, in honour and love to our dear native country... and owning it a great mercy of God to bring us to this place, and settling of us, on lands of our own bought with our money in peace, in the midst of the heathen, for a possession for ourselves and for our posterity after us.[citation needed] Prior to 1640, the Taunton area was called Cohannet.

The British founders of Taunton took possession of the land from the native Wampanoag people. The Taunton area was the site of battles (on its soil or in the surrounding area) during various conflicts, including King Philip's War and the American Revolution. Taunton was re-incorporated as a city on May 11, 1864.

George E. and wife, Mary Hill, came to the New World on the Mayflower as part of the John Alden Mayflower list. Records show this voyage was made in 1642.

Life was difficult at best for these pioneers. According to a book entitled "Descendants of George Abbott of Rowley, Mass., written by Major Lemuel Abijah Abbott about the early Abbott's, " they were literally in the wilds of a new continent, surrounded by want, suffering, sickness, wild beasts, hostile Indians, and with none of the comforts of life which they had been used to in England, nor could these be obtained. It is no wonder, then, that George Abbott, and possibly his wife, soon sickened and died from want and exposure, in the early days of Rowley. In accordance with custom, George probably deeded most of his estate to his eldest son, Thomas Abbott, Sr. The estates of his sons indicate that he owned much more land than there is any record of in his day."

ELIZABETH BONAVENTURE, John Graves, Master, left Yarmouth, Norfolk, the first week in May and arrived at Boston on June 15, 1633 `with ninety five passengers. The following emigrants from Hingham, Norfolk, who arrived this year probably came in this ship:

Edmond Hobart        of Hingham, Norfolk county          Charlestown
Mrs. Margaret Hobart
Nazareth Hobart
Edmond Hobart
Thomas Hobart
Joshua Hobart
Rebecca Hobart
Sarah Hobart

HENRY Gibbs         of Hingham, Norfolk county          Charlestown

RALPH Smith       of Hingham, Norfolk county          Charlestown

Nicholas JACOB   of Hingham, Norfolk county          Watertown
Mrs. Mary Jacob
John Jacob
Mary Jacob

Thomas Chubbock  of Hardingham, Norfolk county     Charlestown
Mrs. Alice Chubbock
Sarah Chubbock
Rebecca Chubbock

Mrs. Elishua Crowe                                             Charlestown

Simon Huntington    of Norwich, Norfolk  county         Roxbury
Mrs. Margaret Huntington
Christopher Huntington
Anne Huntington
Simon Huntington
Thomas Huntington

Sir Thomas Gerard, 1st Baronet (1560 – 16 February 1621) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1621.

Gerard was the son of Sir Thomas Gerard, of Bryn and his wife Elizabeth Port, daughter of Sir John Port, of Etwall, Derbyshire. He matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford on 20 July 1578, aged 18. In 1579 he was a student of the Inner Temple. His parents and brother John were Catholics and he was tutored by a Catholic. His first wife was a recusant and he employed a "notorious recusant" to educate his child and was described as "of evil affection in religion" in 1590.

Nevertheless, in 1597, he was elected Member of Parliament for Liverpool. He succeeded his father to the family estates in September 1601. He was knighted on 18 April 1603. When the order of baronet was first instituted on 22 May 1611, he was created a baronet and the £1,000, that was due to the Crown for such creation, was returned in consideration of his Father's sufferings in the cause of the King's mother Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1614 he was elected MP for Lancashire. He was elected MP for Wigan in 1621.

Gerard died at the age of about 60 and was buried at St Margaret's, Westminster, on 16 February 1621.

Gerard married firstly Cecily Maney, daughter of Sir Walter Maney, of Staplehurst in about 1580, with whom he had a son and heir Thomas. He married secondly, after 1606, Mary Lee, widow of Sir Robert Lee, Lord Mayor of London, and formerly of William Smith, of London and daughter of Sir James Hawes who was also Lord Mayor. His third wife was Mary Uvedale, widow of Sir Edward Uvedale and formerly of the Hon. Anthony Browne and daughter of Sir William Dormer, of Wing, Buckinghamshire. He had no children by his second and third wives. 

The Baker Family Mystery    

Contemporary American Family History, including family research projects have Alexander Baker linage incorrect.   Given that the Baker family are part of the DeGraw linage, it is important to verify the researched facts, against the perceived and often wishful thinking facts.  Stories to be read indicate that this Alexander Baker was quite successful.  In the end, it seems to be more the case of attributing the incorrect people.

But if we are going to offer an alternate, then the details have to be proven.

The following story can be found in research:

"In London, he was engaged in the manufacture of cordage, and soon after landing in Boston became interested in shipping and commercial business, and was a very prominent and successful merchant.
"Colonial Families of the United States of America" by George Norbury MacKenzie; IV28; Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc.; Baltimore, Maryland (Colonial Families SR) (929.1 Col CSL)  1635, April: Alexander Baker, wife and first two daughters arrived in Plymouth from England sailing on the ship "Elizabeth Ann". They spent a very short time in Plymouth Colony and then moved to Duxbury, Marshfield, and finally settled in Boston, Massachusetts in the same year. Some of the Baker boys married into the Bradford and Winslow families. Alexander was a rope maker and collar maker.

"The Boston Book" by John Winthrop

1635, April: The patie here under named with his wife children is to be transported to New England embarqued in the Elizabeth Ann, William Cooper, Master found thither his patie hath brought testimony from the Minister of the conformitie to the orgers and discipline of the Church of England from the two Justices of peace yet he hath taken the oaths of Allegeance Suprenacie.

Alexander Baker, 28; Vzor Elizabeth, 23; Elizabeth, 3; Christian, 1; Clement Chaplin, 48 and Willaim Swayne 50 years.

"Seven Hundred Ancestors" by Lewis Keeler Leonard; pp. 12-3; privately published; 1975 (929.2 L581-1 LAPL)

1666, March 11: Alexander was appointed as Clerks of the Market at Boston, Massachusetts.
Seybolt, Robert Francis, [View Citation] [Table of Contents] [Page Numbers]
"The Town Officials of Colonial Boston, 1634-1775" by Robert Francis Seybold; Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts; 1939 (HeritageQuest)

1676, April 24: Alexander Barker was appointed as a tythingman at Boston, Massachusetts.
"The Town Officials of Colonial Boston, 1634-1775" by Robert Francis Seybold; Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts; 1939 (HeritageQuest)

1685, February 18: The Last Will and Testament of Alexander Baker was signed: In his will, "Alexander Baker of Boston," collar maker, "being in the seventy ninth year of my age . . . God having bestowed twelve children on me and my dearly beloved wife Elizabeth, and enabled me by his blessing of my labors in my calling to bring the most of them to trades and see them settled and disposed of into a married condition, seven of them being yet alive," bequeathed to "my children, i.e., John, Joshua, William, Josiah, Elizabeth Watkins, Christian Roberts and Sarah Wales" 5s. each; residue (except the workshop, tools, and three or four feet of ground from the shop bequeathed to "my son William whom I have brought up to my trade") to "my well beloved wife Elizabeth Baker," she to be executrix.

1685, May 11: Alexander Baker died at Boston Settlement, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
"Original Lists of Persons of Quality 1600-1700" by John Camden Hotton; New York City, New York; 1880 (929.3 ORI) (E187.5 .H83 1968 CSL)

1685, May 11: The Will of the Estate of Alexander Baker was proved.
"Original Lists of Persons of Quality 1600-1700" by John Camden Hotton; New York City, New York; 1880 (929.3 ORI) (E187.5 .H83 1968 CSL)

Almost every researchable record indicates that Alexander Baker (1607)  was the son of Alexander Baker and his wife was Elizabeth Farrar. 

Frequently, those who claim to descend from the Alexander and Elizabeth Baker who emigrated to Boston in 1635 on the ship Elizabeth & Ann identify Elizabeth as Elizabeth Farrar and Alexander as the son of another Alexander Baker, who married (1) Alice, a daughter of Edward Jervys and (2) Frances, a daughter of Michael Grigg and widow of Francis Pendleton, and as the grandson of George and Anne Swayne Baker

To disprove an historical statement, one has to prove evidence that it is, indeed, incorrect.  

Further to this there is information that suggests William Swain is his uncle.

Alexander Baker in London

Alexander and his wife, Elizabeth and his daughters, Elizabeth and Christian sailed for America in 1635, they sailed on the Elizabeth Ann.  There is nothing that would dispute that fact.

From the above information, Alexander was a rope maker. 

To be able to work in a chosen field in London, one had to be admitted into the particular Guild that applied to that industry. 

Alexander Baker, aged 23 was admitted into Waterman's Company in 1628.  It was noted he had not been chosen for, nor sailed with the Navy.  The Navy chose their recruits from the men in the Waterman Company.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004.

In 1514 the earliest Act of Parliament for regulating watermen, wherrymen and bargemen received  Royal Assent from King Henry VIII.

Under a further Act of 1555  the Company introduced apprenticeships for those wishing to learn the skills of the Watermen.

Careless oarsmen carousing up the Thames were first brought into line when parliament established the Company of Watermen and Lightermen in 1555. Since then, generations of London families have undertaken a five-year apprenticeship, specific to the Thames, to become a waterman, who captains passenger vessels, or a lighterman, who handles freight. Apprentices finish with a gruelling rowing competition on the river, the Doggett's Coat and Badge

Name  Alexsander
Last name	Baker
Sex	Male
Age	23
Birth year	1605
Year	1628
Date	6 Feb 1628
Residence	Westminster
Naval voyages	0
County	Middlesex
Country	England
Archive	The National Archives
Archive reference	SP 16/135
Record set	London, Watermen, Admiralty Muster Of The Port Of London, 1628
Category	Education & work
Subcategory	Occupations

The family of another Alexander Baker were from a totally different background.  They did not come to America, rather, they frequented the Halls of Justice, the Queens bedroom, and were associated in many of the day to day activities associated with the Royal Court.  Added to which they were very clever in their fields, and sat in Parliament, long after Alexander Baker went to America.

The family in question, were descendants of Simon Baker of Faversham in Kent.

Baker, George (1540–1612), surgeon, was the second son of Christopher Baker of Tenterden, Kent. His grandfather was John Baker of Tenterden and his great-grandfather Simon Baker of Faversham, Kent. Supposedly he had an elder brother, Peter, who was admiral of the Blue squadron and died a prisoner of war in 1584 in Spain, but there are no corresponding records of that.

In 1557, George Baker was a member of the Merchants Company, in London,  and no doubt a very clever person.  He married Ann Swaye.

The hierarchy of the time, dictated who was a suitable marriage partner.

Ann Swaye, would have come from an impressive family background, and her father no doubt would also have been in the Merchant's Guild.

George Baker (1540–1600), was an English surgeon notable for writing and translating a number of early medical texts. Baker was a member of the Barber Surgeons' Company and was elected master in 1597. In 1574, when he published his first book, Baker was attached to the household of the Earl of Oxford, and the writings of his contemporaries show that he had already attained to considerable practice in London. Banester of Nottingham speaks of his eminence in Latin verse:— Ergo Bakere tuum superabit sidera nomen, Atque aliqua semper parte superstes eris. And Clowes, another contemporary, prophesies the lasting fame of his works in English verse of the same quality.

He was surgeon to the Queen

5 July 1588

Entry

'George Baker, a surgeon, had been told by the Beadle to appear in the College on that day. But he replied that he would be absent because he was in the Queen's house and did not have sufficient leisure to enable him to come easily. And, even if he had sufficient free time, he would still refuse to obey the order: he added that he marvelled at the insolent audacity of the President on which no doubt he relied in summoning him to the College or in English "he marvailed muche how the President dirst be so saucie as to send for him to the College"!'

Who was Ann Swaye?

This is rather difficult to prove with complete accuracy, but factors regarding the hierarchy need to be considered.

Ann Swayne appears to be the daughter of William Swayne and Joan Wilde.

William Swayne was a Lord Mayor of London and supported the Tailors Guild. 

The greatest of all the tailors' benefactors was William Swayne, not himself a tailor, whose connexion with the church of St. Thomas has been described elsewhere. It seems likely that he supported the craft in its continued allegiance to this church, for during his mayoralty in 1479, when he made provision for the guild's chantry priest, the tailors recorded their indebtedness to him over the past 30 years, and gave him the title of 'founder of the guild

William Swayne may have married Joan Wilde, b 1530.   A Joan Swayne died in 1595 and is buried at St Botolph  Aldersgate. 

Joan was the daughter of William Wilde and Joan Dee.  There are several generations of William Wilde who were vintners in London.  The name is Joan or Johanne, perhaps there were two different persons.

A Joanne Dee married William Roland Dee and  was the mother of a Dr John Dee, 1527, whose Biography in the Records spans pages.  His father was Rowland Dee, the gentleman sewer of King Henry VII.  His being pedigree would sit very well amongst this Baker lineage.

John Dee's father was Roland Dee who was of Welsh descent. Roland Dee dealt in textiles and, in addition, was a gentleman sewer at the court of Henry VIII. In this latter capacity he would have made clothing for the royal household as well as buying and supplying fabrics for the King. John Dee's mother was Jane Wild.

Jane married Roland when she was fifteen years of age and, three years later, John (who was their first and only child) was born.

The relationship of the King's Sewer and the tailors guild indicates that this is indeed a credible relationship.

Ann Swayne married George Baker at St Mary Cole Church, London in 1570.  They had at least three children Alexander Baker 1572 - 1635, Douglas Baker and Frances Baker 1578

Alexander Baker (1572 - 1635) was a Master of the Barber-Surgeon's Company, and he is buried in Westminster Abbey.  He was a surgeon to King James I and a Justice of the Peace.  He married twice, firstly to Alice Jervis 1577  1624, and after her death to Elizabeth Grigg. Elizabeth was the daughter of William Grigg, who was a wealthy London draper. She married  Nicholas Pendleton, also member of the Merchant Taylors.  Elizabeth's brother was Sir William Grigg, who was sheriff at Bedfordshire.  He also was a member of the Merchant Tailors, and not popular with Cromwell.

Alice was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1624.  

Alexander was also buried in Westminster Abbey

His will is in the National Archives.  Burial Date: 02 Oct, 1635

Field: Physician

Location in the Abbey: North ambulatory

His son Alexander Baker (1611 – 4 August 1685) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.

Baker was the son of Alexander Baker, barber-surgeon of Channel Row, Westminster and his first wife Alice Jervoise, daughter of Edward Jervoise of Hampshire. He was baptised 25 July 1611. He was a student of Clifford’s Inn in 1634 and became an attorney. He did not participate in the Civil War, although Oliver Cromwell used his house as quarters shortly before the trial of Charles I.
In April 1660, Baker became a freeman of New Windsor and was elected Member of Parliament for Windsor for the Convention Parliament. He was commissioner for assessment for Berkshire from August 1660 to 1661. In 1661, he stood again at Windsor and although returned by the burgesses at large he was not supported by the corporation and the House decided in favour of the corporation. He spent the rest of his life "in peaceful retirement".

Baker died at the age of about 74 and was commemorated by a memorial inscription in Windsor parish church.  Baker married Elizabeth Farrer, daughter of Thomas Farrer of Harrold, Bedfordshire by 1635 and had three daughters

Alexander Baker, Master of the Barber-Surgeons' Company, was buried in the north ambulatory of Westminster Abbey on 2 October 1635. But he has no monument and his gravestone seems never to have been marked. His father George (1540-1612), chief surgeon to Elizabeth I, was from Tenterden in Kent and his mother was Anne (Swayne). His uncle Peter was an admiral. Alexander's first wife Alice, daughter of Edward Jervys, had been buried in the Abbey on 2 December 1624. His second wife was widow Frances Pendleton (nee Grigg). He was surgeon to James I and a Justice of the Peace.

His granddaughter Mary, second daughter of Alexander of New Windsor in Berkshire and his wife Elizabeth (Farrar), married John Dugdale, son of Sir William Dugdale, (photo) Garter King of Arms, in the Abbey on 3 December 1662.

None of this information would be able to be confirmed without finding corresponding source records.  The Visitations of an area, provide excellent reference points, when trying to unravel family history.   While sourcing the Baker lineage, one important family name emerged. Boleyn. It helps to be related to this family, and the Swaine/Sackville lineage intermarried  Margaret Boleyn was the great grandmother of Christopher Baker

Christopher Baker's father was Sir John Baker.

Sir John Baker (1488–1558) was an English politician, and served as a Chancellor of the Exchequer, having previously been Speaker of the House of Commons of England. In 1520 he was under-sheriff of London and in 1526 appointed Recorder of London, which he gave up to be attorney-general of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was appointed attorney general in 1536 and by 1540 sworn of the privy council of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I. He had a reputation as a brutal persecutor of protestants, earning the nickname 'Bloody Baker'. A legend arose that he was riding to persecute protestants when he heard the news that Queen Mary had died. The place where he was said to have turned back became known as Baker's Cross in Kent.

Along with his gruesome title, he was believed by some townsfolk to be a vampire. He was knighted in June 1540 but gained no further preferment until 1545, when, having recommended himself to the king by his activity in forwarding a loan in London and other imposts, he was made Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sir John married firstly Katherine, daughter of Richard Sackville of Withyham, East Sussex and secondly Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Thomas Dineley of Stanford Dingley, Berkshire and Middle Aston, Oxfordshire, and widow of George Barrett of Belhouse, Aveley, Essex, by whom he had issue (two sons and three daughters).

 He kept a country estate at Sissinghurst Castle, Kent and was the grandfather of Sir Richard Baker, the sixteenth-century historian. His daughter Cicely married Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset.

There was another William Swayne who was a Member of Parliament.  While his biography has not firmly placed who his immediate family were, his association with the Barber-Surgeons Guild perhaps indicates a relationship.

William m. (1) 1da.; (2) c. May 1612, Bridget, wid. of William Newce of Much Hadham, Herts., s.p.
Barber-surgeon bef. 1565-d.; warden 1575, 1581; steward and collector of manors of Aldworth, St. Leonard Stanley and Bisley, Glos. ?bef. 1589-d.; commr. for sale of Hackney parsonage bef. Aug. 1601.
William Swayne’s parentage has not been established. The surname was common throughout the country; in Wiltshire it is found at Salisbury, Wilton and Steeple Ashton, while in Dorset the Swaynes of Blandford and Tarrant Gunville were to provide an Elizabethan MP in Richard Swayne. If, as is likely, William Swayne was a native of Chippenham, he was doubtless related to one or more of its inhabitants who bore his name: to the William Swayne alias Bayly whose lease of a tenement in Foghamshere, Chippenham, had occasioned a suit in the court of requests in 1541; to Thomas and William Swane, executors of (perhaps the above-mentioned) William Swayne, who were sued in that court at about the same time; or to John Swayne, weaver or husbandman, who was licensed as a corn badger in 1575 and stood surety for others so licensed.

An earlier John Swayne had witnessed the will made in 1533 by the mother of the last abbess of Lacock. The use by this man of the alias Bayly suggests a connexion with William Bayliffe or Bayly, MP for Chippenham in 1572; in his will Swayne was to leave a ring to his ‘cousin’ Richard Bayly. That the Swaynes of Chippenham were modest folk is evident from the absence of any person of that name both from the records as printed by Goldney and from the subsidy list of 1576 for the borough and hundred.

Whatever his origin, there need be little hesitation in identifying the Member with William Swayne, barber-surgeon and twice warden of his company. This individual’s career exhibits two distinguishing features. The first, his share in the musical life of his age, was to be reflected most clearly in his will; but it is illustrated by an episode from his early life.

In January 1565 one David Ellis was sentenced to death at the Middlesex sessions for robbing William Swayne at Westminster. The majority of the articles stolen, a barber’s metal basin and pot, three razors, a pair of shears and two combs, were tools of the owner’s trade, but the thief also took two musical instruments, a pair of clarichords and a gittern. It was then the custom of barbers to furnish their clients with such means of diversion, and William Swayne’s interest in music was doubtless stimulated by his adoption of the practice in his shop.

It was another connexion which metamorphosed the barber-surgeon into the Member of Parliament and Crown official. How early, or in what way, William Swayne came to the notice of Sir Walter Mildmay has not been discovered. Their association may have derived from the link between Mildmay and Henry Sharington, which was strengthened by a marriage alliance in 1567, for Sharington was the leading magnate in the vicinity of Chippenham; but it is tempting to imagine that Swayne numbered Mildmay among the customers of his Westminster establishment and that the barber’s chair yielded advancement as well as affluence.


Its first fruit is perhaps to be seen in the 21-year lease of two Nottinghamshire chantries granted to William Swayne in May 1569. What is almost certain is that Mildmay procured Swayne’s return for Chippenham nearly 20 years later. By that date his son Anthony, who had married one of Sharington’s daughters, was well established in Wiltshire, and Sir Walter’s influence could easily have been brought to bear in support of this local boy who had made good. (It was to Mildmay that the borough had drafted a petition in 1578 against Sir Walter Hungerford.) 


A point of interest is that, in consequence of the decision to postpone the meeting of Parliament until 4 Feb. 1589, the elections in Wiltshire, as in some other shires, took place in two stages: the elections for the shire and for 12 of the boroughs were held between 14 Oct. and 3 Nov. 1588, and those for three other boroughs between 26 Jan. and 1 Feb. 1589 (the dates for the two remaining boroughs being unknown). Chippenham was one of the boroughs to make its return late, doing so on 26 Jan. Whether its belatedness had any effect upon the election we cannot say; but it may be thought to have increased the competition for the seats thus left open and so to have made Swayne’s success the more notable.

A seat in Parliament was not to prove, however, the limit of Mildmay’s favour. Two months after the session had ended Sir Walter, conscious that his days were numbered, took the pains to write to Burghley asking that Swayne should be allowed to keep the ‘little office’ which Mildmay had given him and in which he had served very faithfully. The office in question may have been the stewardship of three Gloucestershire manors which Swayne was holding in August 1601; the ‘Mr Swain’ who had been acting three years earlier with one Hussy for Robert Cecil as chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster was not William but Richard Swayne. It may have been to Burghley, however, that William owed his appointment as a commissioner for the sale of Hackney parsonage to Ralph Bell, who in 1601 was rendering weekly accounts of his receipts from it to Swayne and his colleagues.

This suggests that Swayne had established himself at Hackney already at the turn of the century, although he still had houses in London. Interestingly enough a William Swayne dedicated to Lord Burghley his edition of William Damon’s psalms published in 1591, which, if it is our man (and no other candidate presents himself, illustrates the heights he had attained in the two overlapping worlds of music and the court. It needs but a little imagination to see Swayne as an early example of a character to become an eighteenth-century stereotype, a Figaro, who, through skill and discreet behaviour, could progress from shaving the gentry to dealing quietly and without fuss with unwanted pregnancies and other accidents and emergencies at court. In this manner Swayne would have been able to indulge a taste for theory and practice of music and at the same time accumulate the substantial estate evident from the will he made at Hackney on 13 Oct. 1613.

He died on the following 1 Nov. He had married for the second time 18 months before, and had acquired, with their widowed mother, the step-children whom he was to remember in his will; but his revocation, three days after making it, of the generous provision—the use of two houses, a coach and geldings, and £200 in cash—which it contained for his wife appears to reflect some deathbed disharmony between them. The will, whose preamble is that of a devout Anglican, shows Swayne to have died both a wealthy man and a philanthropic one. Among his charitable bequests were sums of £20 each to Christ’s hospital for poor children and St. Botolph’s without Aldersgate for its poor, and of £10 each to St. Bartholomew’s hospital and to the poor in London prisons; he also left £100 with which the parish of Hackney was to buy land for the relief of its poor, a legacy which, under the name of ‘Swain’s Charity’, still survives.

To his daughter Ann he left his first wife’s rings and jewels, to his nephews Thomas, Arthur and Nathaniel £300, £400 and £20 respectively, to his ‘cousins’ Thomas Walkeden’ and Mirabile Newett £5 and £10, and to his servants amounts ranging from £5 to £30. He appointed his nephew William Swayne, his brother Edward’s son and perhaps the Cambridge graduate of 1597, his executor, and Sir John Leveson and John Newett overseers.


The chief interest of the will, however, lies in its revelation of Swayne’s musical interests. His brother Alban was given, besides an annuity of 20 from a lease at Ampthill, Bedfordshire, a chest of viols, a pair of virginals, and ‘all my books of music’; while among the as recipients of rings were ‘Mr. Holborne, Mr. Jones ... and William Bird esquire’, that is to say, presumably William Holborne the cittern player and composer, Robert Jones the lutenist, and the great William Byrd. 



As a resident at Stondon Massey, Essex, Byrd may well have found Swayne’s house at Hackney a convenient halting-place on the way to and from Westminster and have caused its parlour to echo to some notable music-making. In another sense, too, the friendship could have been of advantage to Byrd; one of Swayne’s circle was his kinsman by marriage Theophilus Elmer or Aylmer, son of the bishop and himself archdeacon of London, and a man whose goodwill would certainly have done Byrd no harm in view of his stubborn recusancy.

Elmer was bequeathed a ring, as were three other divines, several prominent Londoners, a leading barber-surgeon, Alexander Baker, and a number of Swayne’s relatives.

 A final point of interest is yielded by the inquisition into Swayne’s property, which was taken at Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, presumably because he held the ex-monastic manor of Oxendon in that county. Among the properties listed the most notable is the inn called ‘the Angils’ at Islington, whose galleries—demolished when the old building was pulled down in 1819—may thus also have resounded to the music of the cistern, as had the barber’s shop in Westminster, and the gentleman’s residence at Hackney.

The biographies of the different members of Parliament, available online, are a great source of information, researched by many others.  Often when working with a family member, other information can be forthcoming, which could be added to the existing records.

This William Swaine would be a relation to Alexander Baker b 1611, but should not be confused with the William Swaine who went to America in 1635.

From the William Wilde, Vitners of London, comes

Sir William Wilde, 1st Baronet (ca. 1611 – 23 November 1679) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.

Wilde was the eldest son of William Wilde, vintner of Bread Street, London. He was a student of Clifford's Inn and of Inner Temple in 1630. In 1637 he was called to the bar. He was Recorder of London from 1659 to 1668. On 27 Mar 1660 he was elected Member of Parliament for the City of London in the Convention Parliament.

On 13 Sep 1660, Wilde was created a baronet. He was appointed King's Serjeant on 10 November 1661. He was made one of the judges of the court of common pleas in 1668 and advanced to become a justice of the King's Bench on 21 January 1672. He was described as a "grave and venerable judge" and was deprived of his office a few months before his death because he disbelieved the evidence of Bedlow in the "Popish Plot".

Alexander Baker to America

On the same ship that brought Alexander and his family, was William Swaine.  He was referenced to be the uncle.  But uncle to whom?  Alexander or Elizabeth.

The Swaine family in America have records relating to the arrival of the Swaines in America

"The Swain/Swayne?s were among the earliest settlers in America. William, born in 1575 in Benfield Parish, Berkshire County, England and his wife, Ann Trumbull are thought to be the parents of, Richard Swain, born September 15, 1595, who was one of the original nine owners of Nantucket Island. Richard and Baselle/Bassille (surname unknown Note: this name has been disputed) Swain were married in England. All of their children were born in England except the last one.. They are believed to have traveled to this country on the following ships:

Richard?s first wife was named Basell, with maiden name unknown. Not Elizabeth and not Elizabeth Basell! She is known as Basell in one record in England and 3 records in America. She is not known as Elizabeth anyplace in a primary record. Part of the reason for the confusion on names is the gross mistake by the author, Savage, when he thought Elizabeth Swain on the List of passengers for the Planter in 1635 was Richards wife. Basell is a rare name, the female equivalent for Basil. A woman named ?Goody Swain? is on the same church roll as Richard Swain before the date Baselle died

Was ?Goody? Baselle? Or his second wife, Jane Godfrey or Goodwin as it is listed in some places. Or was it someone else entirely?

Richard Swain was married a second time, September 15 1685, to the widow, Jane Godfrey Bunker (Bon Coeur), a French Huguenot, in Topsfield, Sussex, Massachusetts. Richard and Jane had one son, also named, Richard. Jane died soon after their move to Nantucket Island. Some researchers say Richard married a woman named Ann (last name unknown) in 1658 in Topsfield, Massachusetts. I could find no proof of this marriage"

But those statements are incorrect.  A search of the records relating to the Swaine family of Binfield Berkshire reveal the following.

William Swaine who arrived on the Elizabeth and Ann was not the father of Richard Swayne who arrived on the "True Love".

Richard Swaine, was born in February, 1599 in Binfield Berkshire, the son of Richard Dollon and Johane Swaine.  Johane was the daughter of Edward Swaine.

Richard Swaine married in 1617 Mary Basse in Gamlingay Cambridge.  Gamlingay is close to the county of Bedfordshire.

Of the two children born to Richard Swaine in Binfield Berkshire, the first was Francis.  He was baptised in 1620, in Binfield.

William Swayne/Swaine who travelled on the Elizabeth and Ann, was the father of Elizabeth Swayne born 1597.   He was also the father of Edward Swaine and Francis born 1603.  Elizabeth Swaine married Henry Rogers in 1621 in Berkshire.  He was born in Binfield in 1567.

Of a similar age are John Swaine who had a daughter Margaret who married Thomas Clarke in 1600

There was a Frances Swaine who married a William Roades in 1607.

Of the era of William Swayne, assuming his age is 50, he would be born around 1585.

That cannot be correct unless there are two William Swaines.  The is quite possible.

The Swayne/Swain arrivals:

William Swayne, 50, Ship: Elizabeth and Ann, 1635
Elizabeth Swayne, dau 20, Ship: Planter, 1635
Richard Swayne 34 True Love, 1635
Francis Swayne 14 Rebecca, 1635
William Swayne 16

It may be that the different Swaines were part of the extended Swaine family of Bedfordshire.

In 1590, a William Swaine was an apprentice in the Cutters Guild in London.  He was the son of Gregory Swaine, of Bedfordshire, and apprenticed to William Ball.

Alexander Baker was baptised in London in December 1604 at St Stephens Colman

He married Elizabeth, many have her as Elizabeth Farrar.

Could she be Elizabeth Farrer?  She was born 4th June 1611, the daughter of Henry Farrer, in Edmonton London.

Their children were Elizabeth and Christian.

Elizabeth was baptised at Heston, St Leonards, London on 30th Mary 1632

A Johanne Dee married a John Miller in 1554 at Binfield and had a child William.  It seems she and William died in December 1554.   It is unknown if this Johanne is related to the previous Dee research.  There are several Johanne Dees recorded.

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[1] New England Historic Genealogical, ‎New England Historic Genealogical Society Staff