The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 166 (October 2012):245-58 (Part 1), "The Earliest Shermans of Dedham, Essex, and Their Wives," "Part I: Henry Sherman the Elder and His Wives," by Michael Johnson Wood (Michael J. Wood is a retired professional genealogist in London. He can be contacted at michaeljwood123@btinternet.com .): "Henry Sherman, a prominent clothier in Dedham, who died in 1590, had several children. His two eldest sons, Henry the younger and Edmund, had between them fifteen grandchildren who settled in New England, either as young adults or with their parents. They did not all leave issue, but most did, which is why so many descendants of Great Migration colonists have a Sherman line.[1] In "New Light on Henry Sherman," Mrs. B. L. Stratton conclusively proved that Henry Sherman the elder was not the son of that name of Thomas Sherman of Yaxley, Suffolk.[2] That Henry, who was under age 21 in 1551, had a son Thomas who in 1587 was living in Diss, Norfolk, where his children were living in the early 1600s. In contrast, Henry Sherman the Dedham clothier was born about 1512, settled in Dedham about 1534, was fathering children in the 1540s, and was not survived by a son named Thomas. Exhaustive research, by myself and others before me, has yielded no clue to the true origin of the Dedham clothier. The Shermans of Yaxley were armigerous, whereas the Shermans of Dedham were not; otherwise; they should have been recorded in at least one of the Visitations of Essex. Yet they were not recorded there, and they did not even put in a claim that had to be respited for further evidence. They had no such pretensions until a little before 1660, when one of Henry’s great-grandsons, Edmund Sherman, a London merchant, was using the arms of Sherman of Yaxley, according to Guillim, but without authority.[3] A thorough search of the records of the College of Arms, reported by Mrs. Stratton, did not produce any arms registered to a male-line descendant of the Dedham family.[4] KEY DOCUMENT FOR HENRY SHERMAN On 11 October 1574, depositions were taken in Dedham in respect of a suit in the Duchy of Lancaster between Thomas Seckford, lord of the Manor of Dedham Hall, and Robert Forthe concerning the entering and intruding upon certain lands and tenements in Dedham. One of the deponents for the plaintiff was Henry Sherman, who gave his age as "62 years or thereabouts." He said he had lived in Dedham "for the space of 40 years," and that he had been a copyholder of Dedham Hall for 20 years. He did not depose that he knew either party, only as to the nature of the land tenure in Dedham; he may have met each of the parties seldom, if at all. He and the other deponents were interviewed in Dedham by Matthew Smith and Edmond Bocking, Esquires, who were not local men but outsiders appointed for that purpose by a commission dated 30 June 1574.[5] Henry Sherman the elder married his first wife about five years after moving to Dedham, and she appears to have been the mother of most, if not all, of his children. In any event, she was the mother of his sons Henry and Edmund, from whom all New England Shermans are descended. If she was a local girl, there seems to be no proof of the family into which she had been born. Nevertheless, there is circumstantial evidence that she was a daughter of Robert Perpoynt of Dedham, as will be explained below. The essential records are those of the three manors from which all land in Dedham was held: "Dedham Hall; Dedham Campesse," so named until the dissolution of the monasteries, being the property of Campsey Abbey, after which it was renamed "Overhall & Netherhall"; and the very small "Faites & Wades."[6] The records of the first two are among the records of the Duchy of Lancaster at The National Archives, and those of Faites & Wades are at the Essex County Record Office in Chelmsford.[7] The wives of Henry Sherman the elder are never mentioned in any manorial records, but there are interesting clues. PERPOYNT FAMILY One of the families that had lived in Dedham for several generations before the reign of Elizabeth I was Perpoynt, often abbreviated to P’poynt. A full account of this family would be too long for this article, and in any case, the pedigree I have constructed is, outside the main line, almost wholly conjectural, due to there being very few degrees of kinship stated, even in the one surviving will. Briefly, therefore, the main line is: PETER PERPOYNT, who is first mentioned on 12 June 1383,[8] did fealty for a messuage and two acres of land, formerly of Thomas Whitlove, on 13 October 1405.[9] Peter’s wife was probably a daughter of Richard Gamenay by his wife Agnes, who was the daughter and heiress of Thomas Whitlove, whom Agnes had succeeded on 21 October 1366, at which date she was betrothed to Richard Gamenay.[10] Peter Perpoynt’s son, Thomas PERPOYNT, who with Alice his wife did fealty for the land formerly of Thomas Whitlove on 23 June 1422,[11] and was on the Faites & Wades homage from 1433 to 1450,[12] was probably dead by 20 February 1463/4,[13] the date of the next surviving court for Faites & Wades after that for 1450. His son WILLIAM PERPOYNT, born say 1420, who died between 1481 and 1488,[14] had a second wife Agnes, who by 3 June 1488 was the wife of John Clerk, who on that date did fealty in the right of his wife Agnes for the messuage and croft called Whitloves.[15] John Clerk died between 23 May 1499 and 8 June 1500,[16] and on 2 October 1500 Agnes Clerk made her will,[17] in which she named members of the Perpoynt family, but mostly without saying how they were related either to herself or to one another. Her son Thomas PERPOYNT, 50 described in her will, was born say 1455, and was on the Faites & Wades homage in 1495 and 15 18.[18] He held a messuage and two acres formerly of Thomas Whitlove, and must have predeceased his son Henry, who died about 1524, for Henry to have inherited Kiggs (for which, see below). Thomas was the father of two sons, ROBERT PERPOYNT and HENRY PERPOYNT. HENRY PERPOYNT AND KIGGS. Henry Perpoynt, the younger son, born say 1482, was a chandler, and lived in Ardleigh, the parish due south of Dedham. As Harry Perpoynt he witnessed the wills of several residents of Ardleigh between 1504 and 1520. He was almost certainly a tenant of the manor of Pigotts in Ardleigh, the records of which do not survive, and died about 1524, sixteen years before 16 August 1540,[19] having had two daughters. One was Basill, wife of John Stone of Lawford, Essex (died by 1553), she being in 1540 a coheir to property in Dedham called Kiggs as one of the next of kin of Henry Perpoynt, but by 21 October 1546 she and her husband held the whole of Kiggs.[20] Her son John was aged 19 in 1553 when he inherited his father’s property, and in 1575 was a carpenter.[21] On 5 October 1573, John Stone was required to "scour his ditch to the land of Henry Sherman where is the house of [blank] Perpoynt widow.[22] Basill Stone’s sister, whose first name is not recorded, married John Thurston of Ardleigh, chandler, and died by 16 August 1540, which we know because on that date her son James Thurston, aged under 21, was, with Basill Stone, coheir to Kiggs as one of the next of kin of Henry Perpoynt.[23] James was either dead by 1546 when his aunt held the whole of Kiggs, or he had moved away and had transferred his share to her. On 17 September 1584,[24] it was presented that John Stone had, since the previous court held on 4 September 1578,[25] surrendered his cottage and three rods of land called Kiggs to William Lewes. John Stone, buried 4 June 1599 at Dedham, had five children baptized there 1563-1577, their mother not named. Some manorial records of Bovills Hall, Ardleigh, do survive for this period, but have not been examined. Catalogued at the Essex Record Office as A12171, they are in two boxes, 1359-1939. In box 1 are rolls for 1359-1533, 15 14-1608, 1636-1646, etc., and rentals 1648-1659 etc. The devolution of Kiggs is complex. Perhaps the origin of the name is from a William Kyges, named in the Dedham Campesse court roll from 1389 to 1392. He was dead by 8 March 1396/7, leaving a widow Joan.[26] However, he is not named in the Faites & Wade court roll, even in the list of tenants dated S December 1381.[27] On 31 March 1410, the Faites & Wades court roll shows that a cottage and half an acre "formerly Kyges" had been sold by charter by Peter Perpoynt, but to whom is not stated.[28] However, this land was held by service, so it was ordered that it be taken into the hands of the lord of the manor, an order that was repeated by every court until 1422, but we are not told why the order was never carried out. The reason for the order would have been that the land so held could not lawfully be disposed of by charter. It would have had to be surrendered into the hands of the lord of the manor, who, through his steward, by the lord’s grace, would have regranted it to the new tenant. Very likely, the person to whom it was "sold" in 1410 had given up trying to obtain possession, and in or before the 1420s was repaid the purchase price. Kiggs is not mentioned between 1422 and 1 October 15 1 8, when a list of the lands held of Faites & Wades and their tenants was compiled: "And a day was given the homage to inquire who holds or occupies one parcel of land containing by estimation 3 rods of land called Kyges, formerly in the tenure of Peter P’poynt."[29] Kiggs is not mentioned in the next Court roll, dated 12 October 1529,[30] but, in the one after, dated 9 April 1537: "Robert P ‘poynt holds one cottage and three rods of land called Kiggs,"[31] and he was presented as still holding it on 14 July 1539.[32] Then, on 16 August 1540,[33] it passed, as described above, to the coheirs of Henry Perpoynt of Ardleigh, chandler, who had died sixteen years earlier. I deduce that Kiggs was after the 1518 court granted to Thomas Perpoynt, who served on the homage that day, as the heir at law of his ancestor Peter, and after Thomas’s death it passed, according to the custom of the manor, to his younger son Henry. However, Henry died while his two daughters were still children, so that Henry’s elder brother Robert held it in guardianship until, in 1540, Henry’s heirs were admitted. ROBERT PERPOYNT AND WHITLOVES. In contrast, the devolution of Whitloves until the mid-sixteenth century is clear, as outlined above. The entry concerning it in the survey of 1 October 1518 has a very interesting late interpolation. The entry reads: ‘At this Court came Thomas P’poynt and acknowledged he held freely one messuage and two acres of land formerly of Thomas Whitlove, afterwards of Peter P’poynt, rent 15d. As with the other entries in this rental, above the name of the tenant is that of a later tenant. In this case, it is Now Laur: Richards. This must have been added about forty years later, because on the same roll is recorded the business of the Court held on Tuesday, 4 September 1578,[34] when three of the nine men on the homage were Henry Sherman the elder, Henry Sherman the younger, and John Stone. Translated from Latin, the entry reads in full, except that the date is given as the regnal year: "At this Court came Henry Sherman the elder and showed here in Court a certain writing by which he holds a messuage called Whitloves with a curtilage, a garden, and one croft of land adjoining, in the parish of Dedham, divided by hedges and ditches, which he holds of this Manor freely by the service of 15 pence yearly and suit of Court, which he had by the gift [ex donacoe] of Laurence Richardson, as by the said writing bearing date the fifteenth day of September [1559] appears." Robert Perpoynt, Henry’s older brother, born say 1480, was left by Agnes Clerk in 1500 her best featherbed.[35] He was on the homage of Faites & Wades from 1529 to 1553.[36] When he died is not known, but it was before 31 July 1559, the records of which court are in English, not Latin, and were probably intended as a draft.[37] They include this entry: "Off the tenants of one messuage and two acres of land late Thomas P’point holden of this manor by free deed and by the yearly rent of 15 pence for in several releases to the ladye [of the manor, Frances Horsman] by the severall deaths of Robt Perpoynt, Steven Perpoynt & Henrye Perpoynt, as more plainly appeareth in the Ladye’s Court Rolls ... 3s. 4d." Unfortunately, the surviving Faites & Wades court rolls do not explain "more plainly," or at all, the devolution of the "land late Thomas P’point" through these Perpoynts, how it came into the hands of Laurence Richardson, or why he gave, not sold, it to Henry Sherman. Apart from the late interpolation to the 1518 survey, the only other reference to Laurence Richardson in Dedham records is on 7 October 1555, when the Dedham Hall court roll noted that John Donton had assaulted him and violently drawn blood, for which Donton was fined 3s. 6d.[38] HENRY SHERMAN AND WHITLOVES. Why did Richardson give Henry Sherman the land that the Perpoynts had held for more than 150 years? I suggest Richardson did so because he or the steward of the manor wanted Whitloves to continue to be held by descendants of Thomas Whitlove, and Henry Sherman’s heirs were the next of kin. Richardson may have married the widow of Robert Perpoynt or of one of Robert Perpoynt’s apparent sons, Stephen, probably the younger, or Henry, probably the older. Alternatively, Richardson may have been merely the unrelated administrator of the estate of the last of the Perpoynt copyholders. It is just possible Henry Sherman was himself the son of a sister of Robert Perpoynt and his brother Henry, but in that case the nearest heir of Robert, after the deaths of his sons, would, if my construction is correct, have been John Stone the carpenter; born about 1534, whose land in 1573 adjoined the land held by Henry Sherman on which stood the home of the widow Perpoynt. More likely, I think, is that the first wife of Henry Sherman was the sister, and in her issue the heiress, of Henry and Stephen Perpoynt, and daughter of Robert Perpoynt. This prompts the question why Whitloves, the "Perpoynt" messuage, was transferred in 1559 only to Henry, not jointly to himself and his wife. She might have been dead (and Agnes have been his next wife) and Henry could merely have disregarded that wife’s ancestral claim when transferring it later on to his youngest son Robert (see below). Or Agnes, his then wife, might also have also had Perpoynt blood perhaps through the Cranfen family (for which see below). Or indeed there might have been no change of wife in the 1550s, and Agnes, née Perpoynt, might been physically or mentally incapable of acting as co-tenant, even though no disability of any kind is hinted at in the records. Or Henry may have felt very strongly that married women should play no part in property ownership. If this last possibility were the true reason, it would explain also why none of Henry’s wives is named in any records other than his own will and the parish registers of Dedham and (perhaps) Colchester. Even his friend Thomas Butter did not give the first name of Henry Sherman’s wife in his 1555 will (see below). By 1573 Robert Perpoynt’s widow would have been about 90, so the tenant on Henry Sherman’s land is more likely to have been the widow of one of Robert’s sons. On Monday, 26 June 1581, the first court held after his twenty-first birthday, Robert Sherman (Henry Sherman’s youngest son) did fealty to Thomas Lufkyn, lord of the manor of Faites & Wades,[39] for a free tenement called "Perpoynts otherwise Richard," and for one tenement called Cranfen with two pightles, which Robert had by the gift [ex donacoe] of Henry Sherman the elder, and paid for relief 4s. 6d.[40] The court rolls of all three Dedham manors show the Perpoynt and Cranefen families were closely associated with each other throughout the sixteenth century. Perhaps Robert’s mother was descended from the Cranefens, whose surname goes back to at least 1327 in the parish,[41] and who took their name from a meadow in Dedham on the south bank of the River Stour, still so called in 1800.[42] John Cranefen was lord of the manor of Faites & Wades in 1381.[43] A great-grandson, John Cranefen, obtained seven acres of Wayland from Henry Perpound on 8 June 1500,[44] which passed to John’s widow with other land that later passed, through surrenders, to Henry Sherman the elder. However, John Cranefen and his wife Margery left no issue.[45] The Henry Perpound of 1500 was, I believe, a son of William Perpoynt by his unknown first wife (his second wife was Agnes, later Clerk, whose 1500 will has been cited). "Agnes, wife of Henry Sherman the elder" was buried in Dedham 14 October 1580, and he next married Marion Wilson on 5 June 1581 in Dedham. She was the widow of Edmund Wilson, merchant, of St. Leonard’s, Colchester, who married her in Dedham on 6 April 1563 . She was previously the widow of Thomas Smythe of Dedham, whose will, dated 12 April 1562, was proved 2 June 1563.[46] The will mentioned wife Marion and sons Thomas and James.[47] After the death of Marion, perhaps the "Mrs Sherman" buried 4 August 1584 at St. James, Colchester (as Henry moved to Colchester about then), Henry married a last wife Margery, who was named several times in his 1589/90 will. Her death or burial has not been found. PIERCE BUTTER, JOHN WOOD, AND HENRY SHERMAN It has long been supposed that the mother of the children of Henry Sherman the elder was Agnes née Butter -- which, due to a careless misreading, has often been written "Butler," leading to ludicrous speculations about her ancestry. This is because Pierce Butter of Colchester, in his will dated August 1599, proved 20 November 1600, named his "cousin Harry Sherman," and appointed his "loving friend Henry Sherman the elder" one of his executors.[48] However, Mrs. Stratton has pointed out that John Wood of Dedham, clothier, left a will dated 8 March 1576/7, proved 2 April 1577, witnessed by Henry Sherman the elder, naming "my cousin Henry Sherman the younger."[49] The Butter and Sherman families were closely associated from at least 6 April 1551 when it was presented at a Court of the manor of Overhall & Netherhall that "Thomas Butter hath alynated and sould to Henry Shearman all yt his tenement with the p’tenances called Sommers, and hath surrendered the same into the hands of Robte Waye in ye presence of John Rye and John Rand, to remain to the said Henry and his heirs forever."[50] On 14 May 1553, Thomas Butter surrendered to Henry Sherman a messuage and twenty acres of land held of the manor of Dedham Hall, which on 12 April 1581 Henry Sherman the elder surrendered to his son and namesake.[51] On 20 August 1555 Thomas Butter made his will,[52] and appointed as his executors his eldest son, William Butter, and Henry Sherman, to each of whom he gave £3 and a gown. He gave "unto Harry Sherman’s wife a silver pot," which may have been a christening present for her new-born child -- or expected child, in case the testator died before the baby’s birth. This does not demonstrate kinship, merely that the two families were close friends. It should not be forgotten that the first parcel of land transferred by Thomas Butter to Henry Sherman was by sale about seventeen years after Henry had settled in Dedham, and about twelve years after his first marriage. Thomas called her merely Harry Sherman’s wife, which suggests the wife of a friend (since he used first names for most other beneficiaries), and that she was not related to Thomas. On 17 June 1607, John Stokes of Colchester, clothier, and Frances his wife, exhibited a bill of complaint in Chancery against Henry Sherman of Dedham, clothier. Frances was the sister of Robert Wood, deceased, and administratrix of his estate, and Henry Sherman was executor of the will of John Wood, the father of Frances and Robert. The subject was lands in Lawford and Harwich, Essex. Of particular interest is that after reciting from the 1577 will of John Wood, the plaintiffs "further shewed that Mary the testator’s wife and Henry Sherman forthwith after the death of the said testator proved the said will, And that Mary, within a short time after, took to husband one Pierce Butter of Dedham aforesaid, clothier, and that thereupon Pierce Butter and Mary and the said Henry Sherman, minding nothing less than the good of the children of the testator or the performance of the trust reposed in Mary and Henry by the testator, but of set purpose (as it seemed) to enrich themselves, and utterly to overthrow the poor estate of the poor fatherless children, by combination and complott amongst themselves, agreed amongst themselves that Henry should retain in his own hands some part of the testator’s estate to his own use.’[53] I have been unable to find the answer by Henry Sherman or the depositions of any witnesses, although they were obtained. Later stages are recorded in the Decrees and Orders Books. On 25 November 1607, the court was "informed that the matter hath long depended in this Court and witnesses were examined and long since published." The plaintiffs, John Stokes and his wife, were very poor and the case "but of small moment." Sir John Tindall, one of the masters of the court, was appointed to consider the evidence. On Wednesday, 17 January 1607/8, his report was read in court, and Mr. De Corbett and Mr. Robert Sandford were authorised to call before them, not only John and Frances Stokes and Henry Sherman, but also William Butter "who in equity as it seemeth is meetest to be charged with the most part of the pl[aintiff]s’ demands."[54] Accordingly, on Wednesday, 1 February 1608/9, it was decided that William Butter the executor of Pierce Butter is in equity to be charged with the arrearages of the rents of the lands in Hertf. now in demande, received by the said Perce Butter and Mary his wyffe in the lifetime and minority of John Wood and Robert Wood brethren to Frances the complainant, and that the def Sherman is not to be charged therewith in regard he did never intermeddle either with letting of the said lands or receiving of the rents; and therefore it is ordered that the pls shall and may take their remedy against the said William Butter in ordinary proceedings ... or ... may take the benefit and advantage of the indenture and obligation made by the said Pearce Butter to the said deft Sherman."[55] On 15 May 1609, John and Frances Stokes sought an injunction against William Butter "in forma pauperis," and on 29 July 1609, Sir John Tindall was appointed to "hear and determine the matter in question" between John Stokes and his wife and William Butter,[56] but the ultimate conclusion seems to be unrecorded. However, it is not necessary to know the outcome to appreciate that John Wood and Pierce Butter, who both describe the same Henry Sherman as their cousin,[57] had married the same woman. This corroborates the evidence of the Dedham parish register, in which John and Henry Wood, described as "sons-in-­law of Pierce Butter," were recorded as buried together on 15 November 1587 (sons-in-law meaning in this instance stepsons). The two earliest children of John Wood seem to have been by a first wife Ann, so the first child by Mary was probably the above-named Henry Wood, born in 1559, just too early to appear in the Dedham parish register, which starts in 1560. John’s other seven children were baptized between 1561 and 1575. After Mary became Pierce Butter’s second wife, probably in 1578, she had six more children, baptized between 1579 and about 1588 (the baptism of the youngest child James, who is named in his father’s will, is not recorded, due to a hiatus in the Dedham parish register for the whole of the year 1588). Mary seems to have died soon after the birth of James, because Pierce Butter soon afterwards married Thomasine, widow of John Thompson, whose children by her are named in Pierce’s will. Pierce Butter was the eldest son of William Butter of Dedham, clothier, born about 1521,[58] died 1594, by his first wife Ann, née Gurdon,[59] and grandson of Thomas Butter of Dedham clothier (born say 1493, died by 15 October 1555), who married first about 1516 Alice Lufkin, daughter of Bartholomew Lufkin of Dedham, according to the latter’s will dated 5 July 1535.[60] Would John Wood and Pierce Butter have described the same Henry Sherman as cousin if he were their wife’s cousin? Apparently so, as it is difficult to believe the two men were, coincidentally, both blood relatives of Henry Sherman the younger [called the elder after 1590]. And, if there really were a blood relationship between Pierce Butter himself and the Shermans, why is Pierce himself the only member of either family to allude to it? It is not as though he were the only member of either the Butter family or the Sherman family whose will has survived. Nothing is known of the ancestry of John Wood, but in Part 2 I will demonstrate that Pierce Butter was not related to Susan Lawrence, the wife of Henry Sherman the younger. The relatives of Pierce Butter, including Gurdon and Lufkin, have been well worked out, and no plausible place for a wife of Henry Sherman the elder can be found among them.[61] How can these facts be reconciled with my deduction that the first wife of Henry Sherman the elder was a Perpoynt? I can think of a rather complicated solution. I have argued above that Robert Perpoynt (ca.1480-1553/59) had two sons, Henry and Stephen, who both died without issue, and one daughter who married about 1539 Henry Sherman the elder. This argument is based on the fact that Whitloves, the only land held of any Dedham manor by Robert Perpoynt, passed as a gift into the hands of Henry Sherman in 1559. Perhaps Robert had a younger daughter, for whom there was no other ancestral land to be inherited. This daughter would have been coheir to Whitloves, but Laurence Richardson, when he had Whitloves in his hands, could, for aught we know, have paid that daughter or her heirs her share of its value so that Whitloves could pass intact to Henry Sherman for the benefit of his issue. If so, this second daughter would have married a man who held no land in Dedham (there being no record of a tenant that fits), and was the mother of Mary, who married successively John Wood and Pierce Butter. Mary was born about 1543 (based on the births of her children, as shown above), and could have been the only surviving child of her parents. She married young, so that, when Laurence Richardson gave Whitloves to Henry Sherman in 1559, she was already the young wife of John Wood, who, considering his many properties at his death, was probably already the holder of lands in more than one parish, and wealthier than Henry Sherman then was. Therefore, John Wood and his wife Mary "needed" Whitloves less than Henry Sherman did. A simpler solution would be that Mary was a niece of Henry Sherman the elder, whose place of origin is still unknown. Unfortunately, this possibility is not supported by any evidence yet discovered. Mary predeceased him by about two years, but if she were his niece, would he not have mentioned her children in his long will? Not necessarily, since both of Mary’s husbands were well-to-do, and Henry could have chosen not to benefit wider kin.[62] None of the siblings of Henry Sherman the younger is mentioned as a cousin of John Wood or Pierce Butter or their wife Mary. This could be because the mother of Henry Sherman the younger was not the mother of the other children of Henry Sherman the elder, but such a deduction is unsound, based on the analysis above, summarized in the Genealogical Summary below. Henry Sherman the younger was obviously appointed an executor by both testators because of his competence. His relationship to their wife Mary (which may have been somewhat distant) was probably merely secondary. Incidentally, neither Henry Sherman the elder nor any of his family lived in the sixteenth century at Southfields in Dedham. Not only is there no documentary evidence to support Mrs. Stratton’s belief (which she admitted late in life), but the continuous ownership and occupancy of Southfields is known.[63] Richard Wood (died 1559), who was left Southfields by John Soffham in 1552, to whom he seems to have been unrelated, has no known kinship with the John Wood discussed above. Richard Wood’s son John was living in 1584, whereas the John Wood discussed above died in 1577. However, the eldest son of the latter was named Richard, so John Wood (died 1577) could have been a nephew of the tenant of Southfields, whose parents, and siblings (if any), are unknown. GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY HENRY SHERMAN[64] was born about 1512,[65] perhaps in Essex. He settled in Dedham, Essex about 1534, and late in life in Colchester, Essex, about 1584. He died between 26 February 1589/90 and 25 July 1590 (dates of codicil and probate), probably in Colchester. His first wife, whom he married about 1539, was perhaps A DAUGHTER OF ROBERT PERPOYNT of Dedham. She was probably identical with AGNES, wife of Henry Sherman the elder, who was buried in Dedham 14 October 1580. He married next in Dedham 5 June 1581, MARION (___) (SMYTHE) WILSON, widow of Thomas Smythe of Dedham, then of Edmund Wilson of St. Leonard’s, Colchester, whom she had married in Dedham 5 April 1563 . She was perhaps "Mrs Sherman" buried at St. James, Colchester, 4 August 1584. Henry married last MARGERY ___, who was living when he made his will. As Henry Shearman the elder, of Colchester, Essex, he left a will dated 20 January 1589/90, with a codicil dated 26 February 1589/90, proved in London 25 July 1590.[66] The will named son Henry Shearman and his children Henry, Samuel, Daniel, John, Ezechiell, Phebe, Nathaniel, and Anne Shearman; son Edmonde Shearman and his children Edmonde, Richard, Bezaliell, Anne, and Sara Shearman (all under age; sons under 22, daughters under 21), son-in-law William Petfield and his children Richard, Susan, and Elizabeth Petfield (all under age); wife Margerye; son Robert; Jane and Anne Shearman, underage daughters of Robert [evidently the testator’s son Robert]; daughter Judith Petfield; son-in-law Nicholas Fynce; the wives of sons Edmond, Henry, and Robert; the poor of All Hallows [i.e., All Saints, Colchester]; and the poor of Dedham and the free school of Dedham (the testator asked to be buried in Dedham). Executors were to be sons Henry and Edmond. Children of Henry Sherman and his first wife (if Agnes was his second wife, she could have been the mother of at least one of the youngest children): i. ALICE SHERMAN, b. say 1540; bur. Dedham 20 Oct. 1580 as Alice, wife of Nicholas Fince; m. ca. 1562, as his first wife, NICHOLAS FINCE, b. after 25 Aug. 1532 (date of his father’s will), bur. Dedham 28 Feb. 1593/4, son of John and Ellen (___) Fince of Ardleigh, Essex.[67] Nicholas and Alice had seven children baptized in Dedham from 1562/3 to 1578. The burials of five in infancy or childhood are recorded there, and the other two children, Judith and Alice, may have died young also as they were not named in their grandfather’s will.[68] ii. JUDITH SHERMAN, b. say 1543, bur. Dedham 1 April 1601 as Judith, wife of William Petfield; m. Dedham 27 June 1566 WILLIAM PETFIELD, clothier, living in 1610,[69] probably the elder son of John Petfield of Earls Colne, Essex, clerk, whose undated will proved 17 June 1572, names also a younger son Matthew.[70] William and Judith had nine children baptized in Dedham from 1567 to 1588, the eldest being named Matthew. iii. HENRY SHERMAN, b. say 1545; m. SUSAN Lawrence. See Part 2. iv. EDMUND SHERMAN, b. say 1548; m. (1) ANN PELLETT; (2) ANN CLERE. See Parts 3 and 4. v. John Sherman, b. say 1551,[71] bur, Dedham 16 Oct. 1576, unmarried. He left an undated nuncupative will, probably proved in 1576.[72] The will mentioned brothers-in-law "William Pettfylld" and "Nycollas Fynce"; brother Robert Sharman; "my mother"; and "my father." vi. Thomas SHERMAN, b. say 1555; bur. Dedham 16 March 1563/4. Probably he was the godson of Thomas Butter, as discussed above. vii. ROBERT SHERMAN,[73] bp. Dedham 6 Feb. 1559/60; bur. St. Stephen Coleman Street, London, 14 Jan. l602/3.[74] He was educated at Cambridge University, and became a Fellow of the College of Physicians in 1599[75] He m. (1) Dedham 9 Dec. 1583 BARBARA BROWNE, bp. Dedham 1 April 1561, daughter of Martin and Katherine (Reynolds) (Warner) Browne;[76] (2) shortly after 4 July 1597 BRIDGET JENNEY, daughter of Francis and Margaret (Peyton) Jenney.[77] Robert’s will, dated 10 Jan. 1602/3, proved 20 Jan. 1602/3,[78] names wife Bridget; children Jane, Mary, Anne, and Robert; son Richard. Brother Henry Sherman was to be executor. Notes: 1. Among his many descendants, living and deceased, are several first-rate genealogists and editors of genealogical publications. 2. Bertha L. Stratton, "New Light on Henry Sherman of Dedham, Essex, England, and Some Notes on His Descendants" (Staten Island, N.Y.: the author, 1954), 1-10. Nevertheless, the Internet is riddled with this false ancestry, which has also been perpetuated in two relatively recent books: Sherrie A. Styx, "The Mumford Families in America, 1600-1992" (Eugene, Ore.: Styx Enterprises, 1992), chart iii on p. 17, and Margaret Sherman Lutzvick, "Going to Palmyra: Sherman Deeds" (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1997), 21-22. 3. John Guillim, "Display of Heraldrie," 4th ed. (London, 1660), 189, quoted in Bertha L. Stratton, "Transatlantic Shermans" (Staten Island, N.Y.: the author, 1969), 22, and Stratton, New Light [note 2], 21. 4. Stratton, "New Light" [note 2], 19-20; Stratton, "Transatlantic Shermans" [note 3], 25-26. 5. All the documents in this file are at The National Archives, DL4/l6/l8. A photostatic copy of only one of them, Henry Sherman’s deposition, was published in Stratton, "Transatlantic Shermans" [note 3], facing 58, and a transcription of his deposition is in Stratton, "New Light" [note 2], 3. 6. "The Victoria History of the County of Essex," vol. 10 (London: University of London Institute of Historical Research, 2001), 165-69. 7. Court rolls of the Manor of Faites & Wades, Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/DC14/14- 28, of which only piece 14/14 has been needed for this article. Years 1360-1422, on membranes 2-12, are not entered consecutively, and the proceedings of 31 July 1559 are on an unnumbered membrane stitched at the end of the roll. 8. Ibid., D/DC14/14, membrane 8. 9. Ibid., membrane 5. 10. Ibid., membrane 4. 11. Ibid., membrane 6. 12. Ibid., membranes 12-13. 13. Ibid., membrane 14. 14. Ibid., membranes 16-17, consecutive court dates. 15. Ibid., membrane 17. 16. On 8 June 1500, it was presented at the Dedham Hall court that "John Clerke who lately died upon his deathbed surrendered [land described] to the use of Agnes Clerke his wife for the term of her life"; the previous court was held on 23 May 1599 (court rolls of the Manor of Dedham Hall, Duchy of Lancaster records, The National Archives, DL30/59/734). 17. Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/ACR 1/1. 18. Faites & Wades [note 7], DIDC14/14, membranes 18-19, consecutive court dates. 19. Ibid., membrane 23. 20. Court record missing, but information cited on 1 May 1553 (ibid., membrane 25). 21. Dedham Hall [note 16], DL30/60/739, View of Frankpledge on 11 April 1575, in a list of tenants who owed suit of court but made default. 22. Ibid. 23. Faites & Wades [note 7], D/DC14/14, membrane 23. 24. Ibid., membrane 32. 25. Ibid., membrane 31. 26. Court rolls of the Manor of Dedham Campesse, Duchy of Lancaster records, The National Archives, DL30/58/728. 27. Faites & Wades [note 7], D/DC14I14, membrane 2. 28. Ibid., membrane 5. 29. Ibid., membrane 19. 30. Ibid., membrane 20. 31. Ibid., membrane 21. 32. Ibid., membrane 22. 33. Ibid., membrane 23. 34. Ibid., membrane 31. 35. See note 17. 36. Faites & Wades [note 7], D/DC14/14, membranes 21-25. 37. Ibid., not filed between membranes 25 and 26 where it ought to be, but at the end of the roll. 38. Dedham Hall [note 16], DL30/60/737. 39. Faites & Wades [note 7], D/DC14/14, membrane 30, stitched before membrane 31, which covers 1573-1578. The previous court was held on 4 September 1578. 40. The tenement Cranfens was called by Thomas Cranfen in his will dated 17 December 1529 (Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/ACR 2/203), "Richards now Thomas Cranfens," a former tenant being Richard Cranfen, so the 1581 description should probably have been written "Perpoynts and Cranfens alias Richard." Neither Laurence Richardson nor any Perpoynt ever held Cranfens. 41. Jennifer C. Ward, ed., "The Medieval Essex Community: The Lay Subsidy of 1327" (Chelmsford, Essex: Essex Record Office, 1983), 18. 42. Gerald H. Rendall, "Dedham in History, Feudal, Industrial and Ecclesiastical" (Colchester, Essex: Benham, 1937), map as frontispiece. 43. Faites & Wades [note 7], D/DC14/14, membrane 2. 44. Dedham Hall [note 16], DL30/59/732. 45. Will of John Cranefen, dated 15 March 15 10/1, no probate date (Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/ACR 1/182). On 18 May 1513 the death of John Cranefen was presented at Dedham Hall court, he having died since the previous court held 2 June 1512 (Dedham Hall [note 16], DL30/59/735). 46. Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/ACR 5/118; F. G. Emmison, ed., "Essex Wills (England),’ vol. 1, Special Publications of the National Genealogical Society No. 51 (Washington, D.C., 1982), 225-26. 47. Thomas and Marion (___) Smythe had three children, all baptized in Dedham: Thomas Smythe, baptized 26 February 1559/60, buried in Dedham 14 April 1562 [his father was buried 20 April 1562]; James Smythe, baptized 10 September 1561, buried as "singleman" in Dedham 22 March 1585/6; and Susan Smythe, baptized 26 December 1562. The record of Susan’s baptism does not describe her father Thomas Smythe as deceased; however, I know of no other Thomas Smythe or Smith of Dedham then. 48. Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 68 Wallop, PROB11/96/235, abstracted in G. Andrews Moriarty, "Genealogical Research in England: Butter," Register 76 (1922):278-95, at 280-81. 49. Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 12 Doughty, PROB11/59/20, abstracted in Henry F. Waters, Genealogical Gleanings in England, 2 vols. (Boston: NEHGS, 1901; repr. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969), 2:1162. 50. Court rolls of the Manor of Overhall & Netherhall [formerly Dedham Campesse], Duchy of Lancaster records, The National Archives, DL30/61/746, a draft in English entered between proceedings both dated 1589. The heading is mutilated, so the date has had to be obtained by cross-reference from an unconnected entry in the court for 12 April 1581 in DL30/61/744. 51. Dedham Hall [note 16], court of 12 April 1581, which cites the 1553 surrender, the records of which court are missing. 52. Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 5 Ketchyn, PROB11/38/23b, abstracted in Moriarty, "Genealogical Research in England: Butter" [note 48], Register 76:278-79. 53. The National Archives, C2/JasI/S37/53. 54. The National Archives, C33/1 13, ff. 278b, 546. 55. The National Archives, C3311 15, f. 611 and C33/1 16, f. 609 (two copies). 56. The National Archives, C33/1 15, f. 1048. 57. Henry Sherman the younger (c.1545-1610) became "the elder" at the death of his father in 1590, but that does not affect the reasoning in the text. 58. On 22 June 1591 William Butter deposed that he was 70 or thereabouts (The National Archives, DL4/33/42). See also the Genealogical Summary in Moriarty, "Genealogical Research in England: Butter" [note 48J, Register 76:292-95. 59. G. Andrews Moriarty, "Genealogical Research in England: The Gurdon Family," Register 82 (1938):380-87 et seq., including 95 (1941):69-72, at 72. 60. Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/ACR 3/10. 61. For Gurdon, see note 59. The Lufkin information is based on the author’s unpublished research. 62. Henry’s 1589/90 will (see below) mentioned the children of his three sons and his daughter Judith, but did not mentioned any children of deceased daughter Alice Fince, who may have had two daughters alive when the will was made (see note 68 below). 63. Victoria History of the County of Essex [note 6], 10:158, 163-64. 64. Henry Sherman has been given no superscript since he had both grandchildren and great-children who immigrated to New England. 65. He was age 62 or thereabouts in 1574 (see note 5). 66. Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 51 Drury, PROB 11/75/34, published in full in Thomas Townsend Sherman, "Sherman Genealogy ..." (New York: Tobias A. Wright, 1920), 53- 57; abstracted in Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England" [note 49], 2:1164-65. 67. Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/ACR 2/253. Nicholas was named in the will of his brother John Fince dated 24 April 1559, no probate date (Emmison, "Essex Wills" [note 46], 250). 68. However, it is possible that Judith and Alice were named in the 1625 will of their first cousin, Ann (Sherman) Angier (see Part 3) as Judith Cartwright and "Allse Mase," widow, amongst beneficiaries known to be Ann’s relatives. 69. "Anna Petfield, daughter to William Petfield," was mentioned in the will of [her uncle] Henry Sherman, dated 21 August 1610 (see Part 2 of this article). 70. Episcopal Consistory Court of London, 164 Bullocke, at the London Metropolitan Archives. 71. John Sherman attended the Dedham Hall View of Frankpledge on 9 April 1572, so he had probably attained his majority since the previous View of Frankpledge for that court was on 1 October 1571 (Dedham Hall [note 16], DL30/60/739). 72. Essex Record Office, Chelmsford, D/ABW 34/221, abstracted in Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England" [note 49], 2:1162, and F. G. Emmison, ed., "Essex Wills: The Bishop of London’s Commissary Court, 1569-1578" (Chelmsford, Essex: Essex Record Office, 1994), 202. 73. Perhaps Robert Sherman was named after Robert Perpoynt, probably his grandfather. 74. Parish registers of St. Stephen Coleman Street, London. 75. John Venn and J. A. Venn, "Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Offices at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900: Part 1 (From the Earliest Times to 1751)," 4 vols. (Cambridge: University Press, 1922-27), 4:63. 76. Joan Corder, ed., "The Visitations of Suffolk, 1561," 2 parts, Publications of The Harleian Society, new series, vols. 2-3 (London, 1981-84), 2:183 (Reynolds). The will of Katherine’s brother Henry "Reignoldes" of Little Belstead, Suffolk, dated 9 August 1585, proved 13 October 1587 (Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 61 Spencer, PROB 11/71/166b, abstracted in Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England" [note 49], 2:1164), mentions "cousin Sherman of Colchester," evidently Robert Sherman, who witnessed the will. 77. Sherman, "Sherman Genealogy" [note 66], 87-89; Corder, "Visitations of Suffolk, 1561" [note 76], 3:299 (Jenney). 78. Commissary Court of London Wills, 19:3 18, abstracted in Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England" [note 49], 2:1167."