A Rose Among Thorns — Francis Thorndike

B. 6 Jan 1570 in (probably) Lincolnshire, England¹
M. (1) before 4 Sep 1589 in (probably) Great Waldington, Suffolk, England²
Wife: Alice Coleman
M. (2) 9 Feb 1633 in Greenfield, Lincolnshire, England²
Wife: Elizabeth _______
D. before 10 Mar 1645 in (probably) Scamblesby, Lincolnshire, England²

Just one generation before the Puritan Great Migration to New England was a man in England named Francis Thorndike, who was of enough wealth and status to register for a coat of arms.

Francis was from Great Carlton, Lincolnshire, and he was born on January 6, 1570 to Nicholas Thorndike and Margaret Sotheby.¹ This was after a period of turmoil in England with the children of Henry VIII taking turns on the throne, and now Elizabeth presided over a time of peace. Nicholas Thorndike was a yeoman, and had gentry status in his community of Aby.² He was able to put Francis into Trinity College at Cambridge in 1581.²

At Trinity College. (AI-generated image)

On November 16, 1586, Francis was admitted to Gray’s Inn, a professional association for lawyers based in London.² In order to practice law in England, a man had to be a member of Gray’s Inn or one the three other “Inns.”³ Gray’s Inn was fairly prestigious in Francis’ day, with Francis Bacon as one of its members.³ Its hall was said to have introduced one of Shakespeare’s first plays, A Comedy of Errors.³

Another indicator of the family’s wealth was Francis’ father’s will.² As a second son, strict protocol dictated that his older brother would inherit all of the land. But Francis was bequeathed by his father “my best silver cup, my best silver goblet, three of my best silver spoons, three of my second silver spoons, and in money forty pounds.”² These were not the possessions of peasants.

Francis married got married in the late 1580s, sometime before the baptism of his oldest son on September 4, 1589.² His wife was Alice Coleman, and they were known to have four sons born between 1589 and 1611. One son went on to become a noted theologian and prebendary at Westminster Abbey,² and another son was a Puritan who settled in Massachusetts.² Alice passed away at the end of 1622, and Francis didn’t take another wife until February 9, 1633, when he married a widow, Elizabeth Prigion.

When Francis was in his old age, he and his brother Herbert “signed the pedigree for the first visitation of Heralds recorded in the family in the year 1634.”⁴ The visitation was a process of authenticating a coat of arms. This English ritual began during the reign of Henry VIII in order to verify claims of nobility or gentry class status. The Thorndike coat of arms was a design that included a rose at the top and a shield with six thorns in a triangle. The family motto was, Rosae inter spinas nascumtur. Translation: A rose among thorns.⁵

Thorndike coat of arms.

Francis died in 1645, and was buried on March 10th at the village of Scamblesby in Lincolnshire.² Because of his son John’s migration to America, Francis is the ancestor of John Kerry and John Lithgow.⁶

Children:
1. Francis Thorndike — B. before 4 Sep 1589, (probably) Great Waldington, Suffolk, England;² D. (probably) Nov 1656, (probably) Lincolnshire, England;² M. (1) Margaret Copinger (1592-1629), before 25 Mar 1620, (probably) Lincolnshire, England;² (2) Anne²

2. Herbert Thorndike — B. about 1598, (probably) Lincolnshire, England;⁷ D. 11 Jul 1672, Chiswick, Middlesex, England²

3. Paul Thorndike — D. before 12 Dec 1639, (probably) Lincolnshire, England;² M. Elizabeth Brooke²

4. John Thorndike — B. before 23 Feb 1611, Great Carlton, Lincolnshire, England;⁸ D. Nov 1668, London, England;² M. Elizabeth Stratton (~1614-1668), before 25 Dec 1637, Salem Massachusetts²

Sources:
1    Find-a-Grave listing of Francis Thorndike
2    “The Thorndikes of Aby in Greenfield, Lincolnshire and Essex County, Massachusetts,” Scott C. Steward, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, V. 154, Oct 2000
3    Gray’s Inn (Wikipedia article)
4    The Founders of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Sarah Sprague Saunders Smith, 1897, p. 165
5    House of Names (website)
6    FamousKin.com listing of Francis Thorndike
7    Find-a-Grave listing of Herbert Thorndike
8    Find-a-Grave listing of John Thorndike

The Path to East Hampton — Stephen Hand

B. about 1635 in (probably) Tunbridge, Kent, England¹
M. (1) 1660 in (probably) Long Island²
Wife: Sarah Stratton
M. (2) before 17 May 1688 in East Hampton, New York¹
Wife: Rebecca ________
D. 15 Apr 1693 in South Hampton, New York¹

Stephen Hand left his legacy all over the region where he lived on Long Island with a road that bears his name in a somewhat unique style.

Stephen’s family was from Kent, England, where he was likely born in about 1635.¹ This isn’t certain because that is also the year his parents John Hand and Alice Gransden migrated to New England,³ and some researchers believe he was born after his parents left. Whatever the case, Stephen earliest memories were in the town of Lynn, Massachusetts, the second child in a family of at least nine children.

Lynn is located on the coast of New England north of Boston, and many men, including Stephen’s father, were involved in the whaling industry. This was what brought the family to settle on eastern Long Island in about 1644 in a new settlement called Southampton. In about 1660, Stephen married Sarah Stratton,² the daughter of John Stratton, who was one of the founders of East Hampton. Eventually they settled at a place at the head of a creek which would be called “Hand’s Creek,” in the present-day community of Wainscott.⁴ Sarah passed away before 1684,³ and Stephen remarried to a woman named Rebecca.¹ Stephen had at least eight children, but it’s uncertain if they were from different wives. 

Settling at a creek in East Hampton. (AI-generated image)

As a Puritan settlement, East Hampton men were expected to perform civic duties, and Stephen served as town constable in 1674 and again in 1680.⁴ He was one of a handful of men assigned to choose who would represent them in the first Colonial Assembly in 1683 in Albany.⁴ And his name is listed on the official patent for East Hampton issued in 1686.⁴

Stephen’s claim to fame comes from a document dated November 3, 1668 establishing the location of a new road.³ When English colonial settlements were formed up and down the East Coast, they usually started out as patchworks of farms, with no plan for how people traveled between places. So roads were an afterthought, and some landowners were asked to sacrifice a bit of their property for the good of all. The order regarding Stephen’s land was as follows:

“Stephen Hand hath grant that the town shall have a highway for one cart to go through his lot in the woods lying on the west side of George Miller’s lot by the mill plain. The highway is to be 12 feet in breadth and the length of the lot, and it is only to drive carts and oxen in the yoke, and to ride or lead a horse through, and not to drive cattle out of the yoke. And for that highway the town doth grant that Stephen Hand shall have one acre of land, which acre it was said lay by John Osborne’s land at the end of Thomas Osborne Sr.’s addition which Stephen should have.” ³

As a result, Stephen gained immortality, at least for future residents of Long Island. The road was designated “Stephen Hand’s Path,” and the name remains to this day.



Stephen passed away on April 15, 1693 at South Hampton.¹ He is the direct ancestor of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and all of his illustrious descendants.³

Children of Sarah Stratton:
1. Stephen Hand — B. about 1661, (probably) East Hampton, Long Island;⁵ D. 13 Nov 1740, Wainscott, New York;⁵ M. Esther Osborn (1666-1738), about 1686⁵

2. Joseph Hand — B. about 1664, (probably) East Hampton, New York;⁶ D. 26 Jan 1713, New Jersey⁶

Children of an unidentified mother:
1. (probably) Sarah Hand — B. about 1666, (probably) East Hampton, New York;⁷ D. 1735; M. Thomas Howell⁷

2. (probably) Alice Hand — B. about 1670, (probably) East Hampton, New York;⁷ M. William Shipman, 1690⁷

3. Samuel Hand — B. about 1672, (probably) East Hampton, New York; D. 1735, (probably) East Hampton, New York; M. Elizabeth ______

4. (probably) Esther Hand — B. about 1674, (probably) East Hampton, New York;⁷ M. Samuel Mulford⁷

5. (probably) Abigail Hand — B. about 1676, (probably) East Hampton, New York;⁷ M. Jacob Griswold (1675-?), 30 Nov 1696⁷

6. (probably) Elizabeth Hand — B. about 1678, (probably) East Hampton, New York;⁷ D. 1711; M. Daniel Osborn⁷

Sources:

1    Find-a-Grave listing of Stephen Hand
2    Marriage record of Stephen Hand and Sarah Stratton, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Ancestry.com
3    Genealogy of the Hand-Bradley-Churchill and Related Families, B.G. Richmond, 1982
4    Longhouse Reserve (website)
5    Find-a-Grave listing of Stephen Hand (younger)
6    “Records of Marriages, Baptisms, and Deaths in Easthampton, L.I., from 1696 to 1746,” recorded by Rev. Nathaniel Hunting, New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, V. 34, p. 143
7    Hand, Sisson and Scott: More Yeoman Ancestors, Carol Clark Johnson, 1981

Six Children On a 17th-Century Ship — Annis Austin

B. before 1 Feb 1597 in (probably) Titchfield, England¹
M. 16 Oct 1614 in Titchfield, England²
Husband: Edmund Littlefield
D. before 7 Mar 1678 in Wells, Maine³

Among the thousands who migrated to Puritan Massachusetts was Annis Austin, who made her 1638 journey along with six children. Usually a woman would be traveling with a husband, but hers had already moved there, and he was awaiting her arrival.

Annis (also spelled Agnes) was one of seven children born to Richard and Annis Austin. She was baptized on February 1, 1597 in Titchfield, England, a village in Hampshire.¹ While just a teen, Annis married Edmund Littlefield on October 16, 1614.² Edmund made a living as a cloth-maker, which was the main industry in Titchfield. They had at least ten children, born between about 1616 and 1635; only the first child is known to have died young.⁴

By 1636, Puritan beliefs led the Littlefields to abandon England for the colonies in America. For some reason, Edmond left first, taking their two oldest sons with him. He must have gotten word to Annis to join him because in the spring of 1638, she boarded the ship Bevis with children ages 3 to 13.⁵ Traveling with her were two men referred to as “servants”: John Knight, a carpenter, and Hugh Durdal. Also on the Bevis was Annis’ brother Richard, who was traveling with his wife and children. He settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and among his descendants was Stephen Austin, famous in Texas history, and the man that the city of Austin is named after. 

On the ship to America. (AI-generated image)

Even with Annis’ brother and servants present on the ship, the crossing must have been challenging. The Bevis was a “merchant sailing ship,”⁶ and therefore not really designed for passengers. With six children in tight quarters likely feeling the effects of sea-sickness, Annis had to tend to them and make sure they stayed out of trouble. It must have been a relief to reach the dock in Boston.

Annis and Edmond didn’t remain in Massachusetts. The Littlefields became followers of Reverend John Wheelwright,⁷ an influential preacher who had been on the same ship as Edmund. When Wheelwright clashed with the authorities in Boston, he was forced to leave, and a group of 175 people went with him.⁸ This set the course for the rest of Annis’ life, as she made a home first in Exeter, New Hampshire,⁹ then in the town of Wells, Maine.⁹

Edmund passed away in 1661,¹⁰ and during her widowhood, Annis was taken care of by her son Thomas.³ She wrote a will on December 12, 1677,³ and an inventory of her estate was made on March 7 1678, so she died between those two dates. Annis had many descendants, including President Millard Fillmore and Elon Musk.¹¹

Children:
1. Anne Littlefield — B. before 11 Feb 1616, Titchfield, England;⁴ D. Jan 1617, Titchfield, England⁴

2. Edward Littlefield — B. before 17 February 1718, Titchfield, England;¹² D. Jun 1635, Titchfield, England¹²

3. Francis Littlefield — B. before 17 Jun 1619, Titchfield, England;¹³ D. before Nov 1712, Wells, Maine;¹⁴ M. (1) Jane Hill (1620-1646), about 1646, Massachusetts;¹³ (2) Rebecca Rust (1630-1685), 14 Dec 1646, Wells, Maine;¹⁴ (3) Mary Wade (1633-1713), before 1689, (probably) Massachusetts¹³

4. Anthony Littlefield — B. 7 Oct 1621, Titchfield, England;¹⁵ D. 11 Dec 1661, York County, Maine;¹⁵ M. Mary Page (1635-1663), about 1652, (probably) Maine¹⁵

5. John Littlefield — B. before 1 Nov 1624, Titchfield, England;¹⁶ D. 9 Feb 1697, Wells, Maine;¹⁶ M. Patience Wakefield (~1635-~1702), about 1655, Gloucester, Massachusetts¹⁶

6. Elizabeth Littlefield — B. before 22 Jul 1627, Titchfield, England;¹⁷ M. John Wakefield (1616-1674)¹⁷

7. Mary Littlefield — B. about 1630, (probably) Titchfield, England;¹⁸ M. (1) John Barrett;¹⁸ (2) Thomas Page¹⁸

8. Thomas Littlefield — B. before 10 Aug 1633, Titchfield, England;¹⁹ D. before Mar 1690, Berwick, Maine;¹⁹ M. (1) Ruth ______, before Jan 1664;¹⁹ (2) Sarah ______, after 1674¹⁹

9. Hannah or Anne Littlefield — B. before 10 Aug 1633, Titchfield, England;²⁰ D. about 1680, (probably) Salem, Massachusetts;²⁰ M. Peter Cloyes (1639-1708), 1663, Wells, Maine²⁰

10. Francis Littlefield — B. before 24 Mar 1635, Titchfield, England;²¹ D. 6 Feb 1674, Wells, Maine;²¹ M. Meribah Wardwell (1637-?), 1652, Wells, Maine²¹

Sources:

1    Christening record of Annis Austen, England & Wales, Christening Index, 1530-1980, Ancestry.com
2    Marriage record of Edmund Littlefield and Annis Austin, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Ancestry.com
3    Probate of Annis Littlefield estate, Maine Wills: 1640-1760, compiled by William M. Sargent, 1887, p. 76
4    Find-a-Grave listing of Anne Littlefield
5    Annis Littlefield listing, U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, Ancestry.com
6    Bevis (ship) (Wikipedia article)
7    Great Migration Newsletter, V. 8, p. 4
8    Exeter, New Hampshire: 1888-1988, Nancy Carnegie Merrill, 1988
9    WikiTree listing of Edmund Littlefield
10  Find-a-Grave listing of Edmund Littlefield
11  FamousKin.com listing for Edmund Littlefield
12  Find-a-Grave listing of Edward Littlefield
13  Find-a-Grave listing of Francis “The Elder” Littlefield
14  WikiTree listing of Francis Littlefield the elder
15  Find-a-Grave listing of Anthony Littlefield
16  Find-a-Grave listing of John Littlefield
17  WikiTree listing of Elizabeth Littlefield
18  WikiTree listing of Mary Littlefield
19  WikiTree listing of Thomas Littlefield
20  WikiTree listing of Anne (Littlefield) Cloyes
21  WikiTree listing of Francis Littlefield Jr.

Aboard the Hopewell to a New Life — William Lane

B. about 1581 in (probably) Beaminster, England¹
M. before 1606 in (probably) Beaminster, England¹
Wife: Agnes _______
D. before 5 Jul 1654 in Dorchester, Massachusetts¹

On a day in May of 1635, 18 brave families boarded a ship bound for America, and William Lane was among them. They were Puritans, said to be seeking a religious haven, and all were from South West England. William didn’t stand out among the group — he wasn’t a leader or minister, and he left no significant legacy. He simply represented the many who came to populate New England.

We don’t know when William was born, but calculating the average age of men when they got married, his birth year was about 1581.¹ He first turned up in records on June 18, 1606 as the father of a child at a christening, so it’s likely he married in about 1604 or 1605.¹ His wife was only known by the first name of Agnes,¹ and the christenings took place in Beaminster,¹ a village in the western part of Dorset. It isn’t known how long he lived there because only his first three children show up in town records. The birth of his fourth child in about 1613 likely took place somewhere else, and reportedly, a sixth child was born in the village of Cruwys Morchard in 1620.² All totaled, there were seven children born to William and Agnes.

William lived at a time when those who believed in Puritanism were leaving England in large numbers. The Great Migration brought families to the newly settled Massachusetts colony, and on May 8, 1635, William and Agnes along with their son Andrew boarded the ship Hopewell sailing out of Weymouth.¹ Two other children, George and Sarah, sailed on another ship that left in March,¹ and oldest daughter Annis was already married so she came over with her husband.¹ Youngest daughters Mary and Elizabeth were likely on the Hopewell, but not named on the passenger list. 

Arriving on the Hopewell. (AI-generated image)

The Lane family settled in Dorchester,¹ which was already populated by other settlers from South West England. Within in a year, many of them formed a group who went off to settle along the Connecticut River, but William didn’t join them, perhaps because he was already past 55 years of age. Instead he acquired land in the Dorchester area; one tract was of 3 acres located “in the neck,” a grant he received on January 2, 1638.¹

Little else is mentioned in records about William. His wife Agnes likely died during the 1640s, and in his old age, William took in his daughter Mary, whose husband Joseph Long had returned to England and died there.³ When William wrote his will in 1651, he saw to it that Mary would receive 24 acres of land, and be allowed to stay in his house as long as she needed.¹

William passed away in Dorchester some time before July 5, 1654 when the inventory was taken for his estate.¹ It was valued at £82 10 s 8-1/2 d, not including his real estate. William was the ancestor of Pete Seeger and actress Amanda Bearse.⁴

Children:
1. Annis Lane — B. before 18 Jun 1606, (probably) Beaminster, England;¹ D. 14 Feb 1683, Hingham, Massachusetts;⁵ M. Thomas Lincoln (~1600-1691), about 1630, (probably) Beaminster, England¹

2. William Lane — B. before 28 Aug 1608, (probably) Beaminster, England;¹ (probably) died young¹

3. Andrew Lane — B. before 9 May 1610, (probably) Beaminster, England;¹ D. 1 May 1675, Hingham, Massachusetts;⁵ M. Tryphena _______ (1612-1707)¹

4. George Lane — B. about 1613, England;¹ D. 11 Jun 1689, Hingham, Massachusetts;⁷ M. Sarah Harris (?-1695), before 1638¹

5. Sarah Lane — B. about 1617, England;¹ D. 19 Aug 1695, Hull, Massachusetts;⁸ M. Nathaniel Baker (?-1686), before 1639¹

6. Mary Lane — B. 22 Oct 1620, Cruwys Morchard, England;⁹ D. before 7 Sep 1671, (probably) Middletown, Connecticut;⁹ M. (1) Joseph Long (~1600-~1651), before 1636, Dorchester, Massachusetts;¹ (2) Joseph Farnsworth (?-1659), after May 1651, Dorchester, Massachusetts;⁹ (3) John Wilcox (~1620-1676), 20 Apr 1660, Dorchester, Massachusetts⁹

7. Elizabeth Lane — B. about 1627, England;¹ D. 23 May 1655, Boston, Massachusetts;¹⁰ M. Thomas Rider, about 1647¹

Sources:
1    The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Robert Charles Anderson, 1999
2    WikiTree listing of Mary Lane
3    Massachusetts Archives, Book 9, p. 16
4    FamousKin.com listing of William Lane
5    Find-a-Grave listing og Avis (Lane) Lincoln
6    Find-a-Grave listing of Andrew Lane
7    Find-a-Grave listing of George Lane
8    Find-a-Grave listing of Sarah Baker
9    WikiTree listing of Mary Lane
10  Find-a-Grave listing of Elizabeth (Lane) Rider

Surviving Poverty in 1800s England — Hester Keen

B. about 1790 in Tickenham, Somerset, England¹
M. (1) 2 Jan 1811 in Bristol, England²
Husband: Thomas Hughes
M. (2) 12 Nov 1836 in Bristol, England³
Husband: Jonathan Horler
D. Jul 1868 in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England⁴

Hester Keen was caught in an endless cycle of poverty, a fact made worse when she was widowed twice. But she seems to have stayed out of the workhouse, a death sentence for many in her circumstances.

Little is known about Hester’s beginnings — her parents and family are unknown. She was born in about 1790 in the village of Tickenham, Somerset, England.¹ On January 2, 1811, she married Thomas Hughes of Almondsbury, Gloucestershire.² Hester gave birth to eight children between 1813 and 1831, with two known to have died young.

During the first couple decades of the 19th century, the Hughes family appeared several times in the Almondsbury vestry order books, a record of church handouts to the poor. In November 1814, Hester’s husband received 3 1/2 yards of cloth,⁵ which presumably was used by Hester to make clothing (at that time, there were no children in her household). A couple of years later, the family got a small amount of money to build a house,⁵ something that was likely little more than a shack given their consistent poverty. 

Vestry book listing that shows donation of cloth to the Hughes family.

In the years of Hester’s early adulthood, the economic situation of lower class English people got much worse. With the end of the Napoleonic wars, many disabled veterans overwhelmed the system of charity, and so in 1834, a law was passed in England saying that in order to receive assistance, you had to live in a workhouse. The English workhouse was a dormitory-style facility that separated men and women, and required them to do menial labor in return for food. It also meant living in disease-ridden conditions with little ability to get out.

Hester’s husband Thomas passed away on June 15, 1835,⁶ and she remarried to a man named Jonathan Horler on November 12, 1836.³ Little is known about Jonathan, but with Hester in her mid-40s, they had no children together. He seems to have died by the 1841 census, which showed Hester as being a widow with two daughters.⁷ Her occupation was listed as “charwoman” — a designation which meant she cleaned houses for other people. As a poor, uneducated woman, she likely had few other options to survive. 

Cleaning houses in Almondsbury. (AI-generated image)

The whereabouts of Hester in the 1851 census are unknown, but she was listed in 1861 living with a family who was unrelated to her, described as a border and a “pauper.”¹ Perhaps the family was someone she had worked for who kept her in their household out of generosity when she became too old (this is my own speculation).

Hester was in her late 70s when she died in July 1868.⁴ She was buried in the graveyard of St. Mary’s Parish Church in Almondsbury.

Children (all by Thomas Hughes):
1. George Hughes — B. before 31 Oct 1813, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;⁸ D. 6 Feb 1814, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England⁹

2. George Hughes — B. before 11 Apr 1815, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹⁰ D. after 1891, (probably) England;¹¹ M. (1) Mary, before 1861;¹ (2) Elizabeth, before 1881¹²

3. James Hughes — B. before 10 Aug 1817, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹³ D. before 4 Jan 1829, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁴

4. Charles Hughes — B. about 1819, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹⁵ D. before 1864;¹⁶ M. Maria Bevan (1820-1888), 15 Jun 1842, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island¹⁷

5. Thomas Hughes — B. about 1823, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹⁵ D. after 1861;¹ M. Mary Ann Wither (~1823-?), 7 Sep 1845, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁸

6. Rachel Hughes — B. before 31 Dec 1826, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁵

7. James Hughes — B. before 4 Jan 1829, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹⁴ D. before 1841, (probably) Almondsbury, England¹

8. Selina Hughes — B. before 31 Jan 1831, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹⁹ M. William Cardin (1831-?)¹

Sources:
1    1861 U.K. Census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
2    Marriage record of Thomas Hughes and Hester Keen, England, Marriages, 1538-1973, FamilySearch.org
3    Marriage record of Jonathan Horler and Hester Hughes, England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1988, Ancestry.com
4    Death record of Hester Horler, England, Bristol, Parish Registers, 1538-1900, FamilySearch.org
5    Overseers order books, 1797-1817, England, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, FamilySearch.org
6    Death record of Thomas Hughes, E., B., P. R.
7    1841 U.K. Census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
8    Baptismal record of George Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
9    Death record of George Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
10  Baptismal record of George Hughes (younger), E., B., P. R.
11  1891 U. K. census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
12  1881 U. K. census, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire
13  Baptismal record of James Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
14  Baptismal record of James Hughes (younger), E., B., P. R.
15  Baptismal record of Charles, Thomas and Rachel Hughes, E., B., P. R.
16  Hutchinson’s Prince Edward Island City Directory, 1864, which shows Maria Hughes as a widow
17  Marriage record of Charles Hughes and Maria Baird, Canada, Prince Edward Island Marriage Registers, 1832-1888, FamilySearch.org
18  Marriage record of Thomas Hughes and Mary Ann Wither, Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935, Ancestry.com
19  Baptismal record of Selina Hughes, E., B., P. R.

The Signs of Poverty — Thomas Hughes

B. before 28 Nov 1790 in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹
M. 2 Jan 1811 in Bristol, England²
Wife: Hester Keen
D. 15 Jun 1835, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England³

Throughout the life of Thomas Hughes, every record had some indication of his social status: he was born into poverty and he died in it.

Thomas was the fourth son of John Hughes and Betty Morris of Almondsbury, England. The family lived in Almondsbury, England, which was just east of Bristol. Thomas was christened at St. Mary’s Church on November 28, 1790, likely as an infant.² Since he later signed his name with an X, we can assume he had little or no education.¹ Like many in the village, Thomas’ family received handouts from the community. Records show that his mother was sometimes given cloth, which she presumably turned into simple garments for her children. 

St. Mary’s Church in Almondsbury.

In early 1800, Thomas’ father received money to put towards the building of a house.⁴ Likely it was a very modest structure, but the record suggests that John Hughes was constructing it. Thomas, age 9, may have picked up a few carpentry skills because after he came of age, he also received one pound towards the building of his own house. This was noted in the Almondsbury vestry order book on May 31, 1816.⁴ The meager amount of money donated to them would suggest that the houses built by Thomas and his father were little more than wooden shacks, although this is speculation.

By this time Thomas had gotten married. On January 2, 1811, he wed Hester Keen at St. Stephen Church in Bristol.² Between 1813 and 1831, they had eight children, of whom at least two died young. The records of St. Mary’s Church in Almondsbury show that there was a gap of over 9 years between Thomas bringing children into the church to be baptized. Although he had a son born in 1819, and another born in 1823, he waited until the last day of 1826 before having them baptized along with their newborn sister.⁵ Perhaps he didn’t have the money for the service when the boys were born.

Thomas’ adulthood was a time of widespread unemployment in England. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars starting in 1815, ex-soldiers returning from the battlefield created a situation where there were more men looking for work than there were jobs. The Industrial Revolution was also a factor in the evolution of the workforce. These things likely affected Thomas as he struggled to find employment as a laborer.

The hardships of Thomas’ life may have contributed to his early death at age 45. When he died on June 15, 1835,³ he left behind several underaged children, and his widow Hester remarried in 1838.⁶ Although she was widowed again, none of the surviving children ended up in the poor house (one son migrated to Canada), so the cycle of poverty seems to have died with Thomas.

Children:
1. George Hughes — B. before 31 Oct 1813, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;⁷ D. 6 Feb 1814, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England⁸

2. George Hughes — B. before 11 Apr 1815, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;⁹ D. after 1891, (probably) England;¹⁰ M. (1) Mary, before 1861;¹¹ (2) Elizabeth, before 1881¹²

3. James Hughes — B. before 10 Aug 1817, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹³ D. before 4 Jan 1829, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁴

4. Charles Hughes — B. about 1819, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;⁵ D. before 1864;¹⁵ M. Maria Bevan (1820-1888), 15 Jun 1842, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island¹⁶

5. Thomas Hughes — B. about 1823, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;⁵ D. after 1861;¹¹ M. Mary Ann Wither (~1823-?), 7 Sep 1845, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁷

6. Rachel Hughes — B. before 31 Dec 1826, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England⁵

7. James Hughes — B. before 4 Jan 1829, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁴

8. Selina Hughes — B. before 31 Jan 1831, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹⁸ M. William Cardin (1831-?)¹¹

Sources:
1    Baptismal record of Thomas Hughes, Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Ancestry.com
2    Marriage record of Thomas Hughes and Hester Keen, England, Marriages, 1538-1973, FamilySearch.org
3    Death record of Thomas Hughes, England, Bristol, Parish Registers, 1538-1900, FamilySearch.org
4    Overseers order books, 1797-1817, England, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, FamilySearch.org
5    Baptismal record of Charles, Thomas and Rachel Hughes, E., B., P. R.
6    Marriage record of Jonathan Horler and Hester Hughes, England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1988, Ancestry.com
7    Baptismal record of George Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
8    Death record of George Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
9    Baptismal record of George Hughes (younger), E., B., P. R.
10  1891 U. K. census, Almondsbury, England
11  1861 U. K. census, Almondsbury, England
12  1881 U. K. census, Almondsbury, England
13  Baptismal record of James Hughes (older), E., B., P. R.
14  Baptismal record of James Hughes (younger), E., B., P. R.
15  Hutchinson’s Prince Edward Island City Directory, 1864, which shows Maria Hughes as a widow
16  Marriage record of Charles Hughes and Maria Baird, Canada, Prince Edward Island Marriage Registers, 1832-1888, FamilySearch.org
17  Marriage record of Thomas Hughes and Mary Ann Wither, Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935, Ancestry.com
18  Baptismal record of Selina Hughes, E., B., P. R.

The Paid and the Poor — John Hughes

B. before 19 Mar 1755 in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹
M. 26 Jun 1780 in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England²
Wife: Betty Morris
D. before 1 Aug 1818 in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England³

For centuries, a system of charity existed in England where the needy were taken care of by the community. A person was evaluated by their parish council — they were either able to pay the local rate, or they were considered to be poor. And if they were poor, they received regular handouts distributed at the town church.

During most (if not all) of his adult life, John Hughes was one of the poor. He was born in the village of Almondsbury, England, baptized at St. Mary’s Church on March 19, 1755.¹ John’s parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Hughes, but nothing else is known of the family. At age 25, John was married at Almondsbury to Betty Morris; the wedding took place on June 26, 1780,² and John was able to sign his name to the parish register, indicating that he may have had a basic education. The couple were known to have had six children, with the first baptized on March 22, 1781.⁴ Their youngest was baptized in 1798,⁵ but this isn’t always proof of a birth year because some waited a few years to bring their children to the church.

The conditions John’s family lived in were likely desperate, and by 1799, he began making visits to the church for assistance. That November, a line formed outside the vestry room at St. Mary’s for an effort called “clothing the poor.” Over 40 people were there to receive what the community could offer. John was allowed 7 yards of cloth, while other people got shirts, shifts, jackets or blankets (one woman was even given a petticoat that day).⁶

A few weeks later on January 29, 1800, John returned to the vestry room with a request for money: he wanted to build a house.⁶ So they gave him 1 pound and 1 shilling, the equivalent of about $100 in today’s money. The meager amount didn’t go far enough, and he asked for more in February; this time he was awarded 1 pound,11 shillings and 6 pence. Presumably John then built his family a dwelling where they could live, but there are no details about the house itself. He likely did much of the work along with his older sons, which gives the impression that John and his family were hard-working people. 

Donation to John in 1800 Almondsbury vestry book.

Between 1801 and 1811, John didn’t appear in the vestry records. This may have meant he moved out of the area, but because he just built his house, that doesn’t seem likely. More plausible was that John was able to support his family during those years, and therefore didn’t seek the community’s help. In November 1811, his name was back on the list at clothing-the-poor day, and he received another length of cloth for his family.⁶

John was only about 63-years-old when he died, and his funeral took place at St. Mary’s on August 1, 1818.³ His wife Betty had passed away only a couple of weeks earlier,⁷ which suggests they may have died of the same illness, although there is no evidence of this. Within a generation, the vestry system was phased out in England because too many unemployed people overwhelmed it. New laws were passed during the 1830s requiring those getting public assistance to live in workhouses, which were essentially prisons for the poor. For that we can say that John was lucky to have lived at an earlier time.

Children:
1. George Hughes — B. before 4 Mar 1781, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;⁴ M. Ann Gastrell (?-1812), 22 Mar 1806, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England⁸

2. Sarah Hughes — B. before 8 Feb 1784, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England⁹

3. John Hughes — B. before 22 Apr 1787, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁰

4. Thomas Hughes — B. before 28 Nov 1790, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹¹ D. 15 Jun 1835, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹² M. Hester Keen (~1790-1868), 2 Jan 1811, Bristol, England¹³

5. William Hughes — B. before 26 Jan 1794, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁴

6. Hannah Hughes — B. before 25 Mar 1798, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;⁵ D. about 23 Apr 1821, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England;¹⁵ M. Stephen Bracey (1794-1872), 11 May 1816, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England¹⁶

Sources:

1    Baptismal record of John Hughes, Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Ancestry.com
2    Marriage record of John Hughes and Betty Morris, Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938, Ancestry.com
3    Burial record of John Hughes, England, Bristol, Parish Registers, 1538-1900, FamilySearch.org
4    Baptismal record of George Hughes, B., E., C. of E. B., M. & B.
5    Baptismal record of Hannah Hughes, B., E., C. of E. B., M. & B.
6    Overseers order books, 1797-1817, England, Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, FamilySearch.org
7    Burial record of Betty Hughes, E., B., P. R.
8    Burial record of George Hughes, E., B., P. R.
9    Baptismal record of Sarah Hughes, B., E., C. of E. B., M. & B.
10  Baptismal record of John Hughes (younger), B., E., C. of E. B., M. & B.
11  Baptismal record of Thomas Hughes, B., E., C. of E. B., M. & B.
12  Burial record of Thomas Hughes, E., B., P. R.
13  Marriage record of Thomas Hughes and Hester Keen, E., B., P. R.
14  Baptismal record of William Hughes, B., E., C. of E. M. & B.
15  Burial record of Hannah Bracey, B., E., C. of E. B.
16  Marriage record of Stephen Bracey and Hannah Hughes, B., E., C. of E. M. & B.

A Bedfordshire Gentleman — Oliver St. John

B. about 1575 in Keysoe, England¹
M. (1) about 1597 in (probably) Keysoe, England¹
Wife: Sarah Bulkeley
M. (2) 16 Aug 1611 in (probably) Keysoe, England¹
Wife: Alice Haselden
D. before 23 Mar 1626 in (probably) Keysoe, England²

Some of the Puritan families who settled in New England came from English nobility. The father of one settler, Oliver St. John, had no title himself, but he had connections to both royalty and non-conformists. He was known to his contemporaries as a gentleman, and his son who was named after him became a prominent figure in Cromwell’s England.

In Oliver, we see an example of how nobility sometimes diminished in a few generations. He was born in Keysoe, England, a village in Bedfordshire, in about 1575 to Henry St. John and Jane Neale.¹ Oliver’s father was from a long line of knights,³ and his 3G grandmother was the grandmother of King Henry VII, which made Queen Elizabeth a third cousin once removed of Oliver. But even the low rank of knighthood had not passed down to Oliver or his father. His status in life seems to have come only through his connections.

Bedfordshire was loosely considered to be a part of East Anglia, which was a major center of Puritanism. In fact, 60% of the Massachusetts colony’s settlers would come from one of the eastern counties of England.⁴ This region also supplied most of the prominent ministers of early New England. Oliver became acquainted with many of them later in his life.¹ 

East Anglia map showing Keysoe.

In about 1597, Oliver married Sarah Bulkeley, the daughter of Reverend Edward Bulkeley,¹ and between 1598 and 1609, they had five children. Sarah’s brother was Reverend Peter Bulkeley (1583-1689), who later became a prominent New England Puritan minister.¹ Sarah died in about 1611,¹ and Oliver then married a woman named Alice Haselden;¹ and they had three children together.

One acquaintance of Oliver was Reverend John Cotton, an important figure in both Puritan England and New England. He once wrote of Oliver that he was “a Bedfordshire gentleman,” and “a person of incomparable breeding, virtue and piety.” He also said that “he was one of the completest gentlemen, without affection, that he ever knew.”¹ It’s evident from these words that Reverend Cotton must have known Oliver pretty well, and this wasn’t just a token compliment.

Oliver passed away before he could be a part of the Great Migration to New England. He made out his will on March 13, 1626, and it was proved on May 1st,² so he was likely very sick when he wrote it. One of Oliver’s legacies was in his children. Daughter Elizabeth married Puritan minister Samuel Whiting, and settled in Massachusetts in 1636.¹ And son Oliver rose to fame during the years that the Cromwells were in power, becoming Lord Chief Justice of England.⁵ 

Oliver’s son, Oliver St. John.

There were numerous famous descendants of Oliver St. John, including Calvin Coolidge, Bette Davis, John Kerry, Orson Bean, and Kyra Sedgwick.⁶

Children by Sarah Bulkeley:

1. Oliver St. John — B. about 1598, (probably) Keysoe, England;¹ D. 31 Dec 1673;¹ M. (1) Johanna Altham;¹ (2) Elizabeth Cromwell, 21 Jan 1638;¹ (3) Elizabeth Oxenbridge, 1 Oct 1645¹

2. Dorothy St. John — B. about 1602, (probably) Keysoe, England;¹ M. Richard Westland (?-1646), 13 Jun 1625, Keysoe, England¹

3. Elizabeth St. John — B. before 12 Jan 1604, Keysoe, England;⁷ D. 3 Mar 1677, Lynn, Massachusetts;¹ M. Samuel Whiting (1597-1679), 6 Aug 1629, Boston, England¹

4. Edward St. John — B. before 20 Jul 1606, (probably) Keysoe, England¹

5. Judith St. John — B. about 1607, (probably) Keysoe, England;¹ D. Jul 1607, (probably) Keysoe, England¹

6. Judith St. John — B. about 1609, (probably) Keysoe, England;¹ M. John Percival, 25 Sep 1633, Odell, England¹

Children by Alice Haselden:
1. Mary St. John — B. before 12 Jul 1612, (probably) Keysoe, England¹

2. Anne St. John — B. before 10 Dec 1613, (probably) Keysoe, England;¹ M. John Knapp, about 1637, England¹

3. John St. John — B. before 13 Sep 1615, (probably) Keysoe, England¹

Sources:
1    The Bulkeley Genealogy, Donald Jacobus, 1933, pp. 29-33
2    Will of Oliver St. John, Gentleman of Keysoe, Bedfordshire, The National Archives (U.K.)
3    Memoir of Rev. Samuel Whiting, D,D., and of his wife, Elizabeth St. John, William Whiting, pp. 38-39
4    Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America, David Hackett Fischer, 1988, p. 33
5    Oliver St. John (Wikipedia article)
6    FamousKin.com listing of Oliver St. John
7    Christening of Elizabeth St. John, England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, FamilySearch.org

Maybe Died in the Winthrop Fleet — Phillip Sole

B. before 28 Feb 1602 in Sudbury, England¹
M. 11 Aug 1625 in Little Waldingfield, England¹
Husband: John Sayles
D. before 1 Apr 1633¹

When John Winthrop led an effort to transport a large number of followers to the new colony of Massachusetts Bay, a few were said to have died along the way. One of them may have been the wife of John Sayles, Phillip Sole.

The Sole family was based in the cloth industry town of Sudbury, England, which is in Sussex. It was there that a girl was born to James Sole and Ellen Bell, who was baptized on February 28, 1602.¹ They gave their child the unusual name of Phillip (not Phillipa, as some researchers suggest); Phillip was said to be “not an uncommon name for girls” in Suffolk County.¹

Tragically, all three of Phillip’s siblings died very young, and it appears that two of them were victims of a 1604-1605 epidemic that also took the life of their father.¹ Phillip and her mother carried on, possibly by living in the households of relatives. After she came of age, Phillip was living in Little Waldingfield where she married John Sayles on August 11, 1625.¹ She soon gave birth to two daughters, one in 1626,¹ and one in 1628.¹

Essex County was at the center of the Puritan movement in England, and John and Phillip became followers. The church that John Winthrop attended was just a few miles from where they lived.^2,3 Winthrop was a wealthy lawyer who sought to set up a religious haven in America, an endeavor which took shape in the spring of 1630. He wrote down the families he considered good candidates for the new colony, and one of the names on his list was Sayles.¹

The Winthrop Fleet consisted of 11 ships and over 700 passengers, with John Winthrop himself aboard the flagship, Arabella.⁴ Sailing across the Atlantic in the 17th century was no easy thing; ships might be ridden with disease, and if the wind wasn’t working for them, a voyage could take months. It was later reported that 14 people died on one of the ships, The Talbot.¹ Because there were no records of Phillip or her younger daughter in Massachusetts, the assumption has been made that they were among the deaths. 

The Arabella.

John settled in Charlestown and he was among the first members of the church, but Phillip wasn’t mentioned.¹ He became somewhat of a misfit, and was accused of stealing from his fellow settlers; a 1633 record detailed a punishment of whipping and indenture.¹ Perhaps the idea of leaving England had been more Phillip’s than his — she being the more devoted Puritan — but this is speculation. By November 1638, John and older daughter Phoebe took the drastic measure of relocating in New Amsterdam.¹ He remarried to a Dutch woman in 1644,¹ and he died the following year.¹

It’s important to note that no real proof exists that Phillip died while sailing on the historic Winthrop Fleet. Another scenario was that she made it to Charlestown and simply passed away early on. By virtue of having descendants in the New Netherland colony, she is the distant ancestor of James Spader.⁵

Children:
1. Phoebe Sayles — B. before 1 May 1626, Little Waldingfield, England;¹ D. 13 Dec 1666, Flatbush, New York; M. (1) Teunis Nyssen (~1615-~1663), 11 Feb 1640, New Amsterdam, New Netherland;¹ (2) Jan Cornelissen Buys (1629-1690), 24 Aug 1663, Midwout, New Netherland¹

2. Sarah Sayles — B. before 27 Jul 1628, Little Waldingfield, England;¹ D. (probably) young¹

Sources:
1    “The Family of Phillip (Sole) Sayles of the Winthrop Fleet,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 168, January 2014, pp. 43-57
2    Little Waldingfield (Wikipedia article)  
3    Groton, Suffolk (Wikipedia article)  
4    John Winthrop (Wikipedia article)
5    FamousKin.com listing of Teunis Nyssen 

Supporting a Challenger to the Throne — Edward Strode

B. before 2 Apr 1629 in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England¹
M. after 29 Jun 1659 in Bristol, England²
Wife: Joan Gunning
D. 28 Oct 1703 in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England³

The 17th century in England were turbulent times for some noblemen — each had to decide whether they were loyal to the monarchy or to those who opposed it. Edward Strode made his choice, and almost had to pay with his life.

Edward was born into an upper-class family with a large holding of land in Somerset. His parents were Sir William Strode and Joan Barnard, and he was the fifth of their 13 children. On April 2, 1629, Edward was baptized at Shepton Mallet,¹ which is about 16 miles southwest of Bath, and is today the closest town to the Glastonbury Festival. Edward’s father had been colonel of the Parliamentary Army, and a member of the House of Commons.³ He was also involved in the woolen business,³ and it’s believed Edward took up this trade as well. 

The Strode coat of arms at Edward’s burial place.

Records show that Edward was given a pension (scholarship) to attend Emmanuel College at Cambridge University, and this was likely because of his father’s influence and status.³ Emmanuel College was founded in 1584 as a place to train Anglican ministers, but it’s believed that Edward studied the law, and he presumably earned a degree. As Edward came of age, King Charles I was fighting significant opposition to his reign, and sentiment against him was high among the Strode family.³ During the late 1640s, Edward’s father supplied some horses to forces going up against the king, and 20-year-old Edward was also involved in this.³

Soon after, Oliver Cromwell took charge of England and Charles I was beheaded, which meant the Strodes were safe from prosecution over aiding the rebels. But in 1660, the monarchy was restored, and perhaps for his own survival, Edward’s father “made his humble submission” to the new king, Charles II.³ William Strode passed away in 1666, and afterwards, Edward, now given the title “Esquire of Downside,”³ seemed to lie low regarding his loyalties.

During these years, Edward married Joan Gunning, the daughter of a Bristol alderman, with the publishing of banns taking place on June 29, 1659,² and between 1660 and 1675, they had 10 children. Joan passed away on April 1, 1679.³ Several letters have been preserved in archives which were written by Edward during a period of December 1679 to April 1680. In one of them he mentions that everyone in his household was sick with the measles. Other letters talk about social concerns among Somerset nobility, commenting on various men and women, but the context is lost to history.³

It was during the 1680s that Edward again showed support for factions that opposed the ruling king. At that time, an illegitimate son of Charles II, who was known as the Duke of Monmouth, started building up a following in England. And when his father died in 1685 and his brother James II was declared his successor, Monmouth made a claim on the throne.³ As he gathered supporters, Monmouth visited Edward in his home more than once; it’s believed that he was trying to get financial backing from the Strode family.³ 

Edward Strode.

Monmouth’s fight for the crown was short-lived. His peasant army was quickly overpowered by the King’s regulars, and Monmouth tried to flee for his life.³ After a bloody battle, Edward gave him lodging for one night,³ which was a huge risk. A few days later, Monmouth was captured and taken to the Tower of London, where on July 15, 1685, he was beheaded.³

Edward was also arrested and imprisoned in the Tower,³ but didn’t suffer the same fate. So how did Edward escape being executed for his association with the Duke of Monmouth? Those in control decided a more fruitful thing would be to extort large sums of money from him. He was made to pay up a lot of his wealth in exchange for a pardon granted on March 26, 1687.³ A witness reported that Edward returned home and declared to his oldest daughter, “I’ve got my pardon dear, but it has cost me your apron full of gold.”³ The unfortunate men supporting Monmouth who didn’t have money were said to have been sentenced without a trial and hanged.³

After this, Edward turned his support to the king. He was made a sheriff of Somerset,³ and served for a time in the House of Commons.³ Edward was also responsible for funding the construction of an almshouse for four men.³ This sort of charity was a part of English nobility throughout much of the country’s history. 

Strode’s almshouse.

Edward wrote a will dated September 24, 1697 leaving bequests to his surviving children, seeming to favor his daughter Elizabeth with the bulk of his estate.³ He died six years later on October 28, 1703, and he was buried in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Shepton Mallet.³ Edward was a distant ancestor of baseball players Ray Boone, Bob Boone, Bret Boone and Aaron Boone.

Children:
1. William Strode — B. 8 Jul 1660, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. 24 Mar 1662, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England³

2. Elizabeth Strode — B. before 21 Mar 1661, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. 9 Aug 1715, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England³

3. Edward Strode — B. about 1663, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. about 1 Sep 1664, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England³

4. Joanna Strode³

5. Jane Strode — B. about 1665, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. after 20 Mar 1712;³ M. Joseph Browne³

6. Edward Strode — B. about 1667, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. before 1669, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England³

7. Edward Strode — B. before 16 Jun 1670, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. 1697, at sea (Atlantic Ocean);³ M. Susannah Hatchett (1673-1697), London, England³

8. Mercy Strode — B. about 1673, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. Apr 1732, M. Francis Wyndham³

9. John Strode — B. before 13 Oct 1675, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. 1737, Virginia;³ M. Hannah _____, before 1700³

10. Mary Strode — B. before 13 Oct 1675, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England;³ D. about 23 Apr 1676, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England³

Sources:
1    Christening record of Edward Strode, England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, FamilySearch.org 
2    Marriage record of Edward Strode and Joan Gunning, England, Somerset, Church Records, 1501-1999, FamilySearch.org  
3    In Search of the Strode Orphans: The Ancestry of Edward Strode, Jeremiah Strode, Samuel Strode, and Martha (Strode) Bryan, David C. McMurtry, Michael L. Kallam and Kerry Ross O’Boran, 1998