PYNCHON FAMILY May 2, 2017 Pynchon History, by Jeanie Roberts, 2017: William Pynchon was born in 1590, possibly on the 26th of December. [1] His parents are known to be John Pynchon and Francis Brett Pynchon. He was most likely born at the family home in Writtle in the county of Essex. Queen Elizabeth I still had 13 years left to her reign. The Protestant church had run the Catholics underground but was unable to reach a consensus of exactly what a Protestant should believe. As an adult in Massachusetts, William Pynchon would be part of the narrative of Protestant discourse. The Pynchon family had deep roots in Essex. They had owned farmland in and around the village of Writtle, near the market town of Chelmsford, since the late 1400's. William's ancestry can be traced to his great grandfather William Pynchon (1513-1552). Although the Visitation of Essex in 1612 by Herald Raven seems to indicate that the family can be traced to Nicholas Pynchon of London this is not the case. [2] Nicholas Pynchon in his will, proved in 1533, left a bequest to his "cousin" John Pynchon in Writtle. Clearly there was some type of relationship between the Pynchon’s of London and the Pynchon’s of Writtle but exactly what we do not know. Nicholas also left money for a Priest in Writtle to sing for the souls of his mother and father and all his children's souls. It may be that he was originally from Writtle. [3] William Parish Church of Writtle What we know about William comes from his will which he wrote on 13 July 1551 and was proved 5 September 1552. His birth year is only an estimate but we can be sure that he died in the latter part of 1552. Although William called himself Yeoman, he was clearly a wealthy man. His wife's name was Elizabeth Allen. (He named her brother as Robert Allen in his will). She may or may not be the mother of his children. His eldest son and heir was his son John. He also had sons George, Edward and Henry. [4] William's will was complicated and it appears that he had made a settlement on his wife to which she agreed to not claim her widow’s thirds which would be to the detriment of his children. To almost force her hand, he gave houses to her two sisters which they would not get if she tried to claim her third. He also had five daughters; Alice, Margery, Joane, Dennys and Joyce all named in his will. [5] In a key bequest, William left some land to his granddaughter Elizabeth, the daughter of his son John and his wife Helen. This bequest for was some land called Cookes near Roxwell. (more about this later) It is possible that William operated an inn in Writtle. He left his wife a house that he said was called "The Swan" along with a garden called "The Saffron Garden." The name ‘The Swan' was and is a popular name for public houses in England. Along with this house he had substantial holdings which he left to his children, his estate was large enough that his eldest son John was considered a Gentleman. John Pynchon Excellent book about William Pynchon. John, eldest son of William, wrote his will on 10 November 1573, it was proved on 11 December the same year. He was probably a middle-aged man at the time, as he was married with only one child at the time of his father's death, 20 years earlier. He was likely born around 1530 or so making him only in his forties when he died. Henry Waters suggests that John may have been a bailiff or land agent for New College, Oxford. In his will he left Doctor Mr. White, Warden of New College a horse and called him "a great good master." [5] He held leases on East Hall in Bradwell, a windmill and other properties owned by the New College. In his will he names his sister Dennys and his daughter Elizabeth who received the property known as Cookes from her grandfather. This confirms that his father was William Pynchon and not Nicholas Pynchon of London. John had also moved to Springfield, on the opposite side of Chelmsford from Writtle. Today Springfield is part of Chelmsford. John named in his will his wife Jane, children William, John, Edward and Elizabeth the daughter named in his father's will. It appears that his first wife Helen died and he remarried. There is some confusion as to the identity of Jane, who was mother of William, John and Edward. According to Waters Jane was the daughter of Sir Richard Empson, a knight and MP, who was on the wrong side of King Henry VIII. Henry had him beheaded at the Tower of London in 1510. Pretty exciting stuff! But, Sir Richard was beheaded in 1510. Jane did not marry John until after the probate of William's will, remember John was married to Helen. She would not have given birth to William until 1553 or 1554 at the earliest. If Sir Richard was her father, the latest she could have been born was 1511. This would put her in her mid-forties when she began having children and in her mid-fifties when she gave birth to her last child. I don't believe it. Also, there is no source that would back this up. No writing about Sir Richard includes a daughter named Jane. Jane Pynchon Wilson John left Jane a very wealthy widow with lots of land and houses. She remained unmarried for several years. She eventually remarried. Her new husband, of whom she must have been very proud, was in her words, "the Honorable Thomas Wilson, One of her Majesties Principal Secretaries."[7] In his own will dated 1582, Thomas said he was a member of Queen Elizabeth's Privy Council and called Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen's Spymaster, his great friend. Pretty exciting stuff, I wonder if she got to meet the Queen. I hope so. Jane left all her land and houses to her eldest son William. William was to pay her second son John £300 out of the estate. John Pynchon Jr. Norman tower, St. Mary's Broomfield Again, what we know about John Pynchon comes from his will. He died on the fourth of September 1610. [8] John's older brother William had received the lion's share of their father's estate; land and houses in Writtle and the surrounding countryside. William's wife Rose, in her will, left thousands of pounds to her children. Despite being a second son, John had enough wealth to be considered a gentleman. He made his home in Springfield, which today is a part of Chelmsford. It is on the opposite side of the town from Writtle. In his will of 1610 John identified his wife as Frances and his children as William, his heir, Peter, and six daughters; Ann, Frances, Jane, Alice, Isabel and Susanne. John died before his son William had reached his majority, which seems to have happen quite often. John's wife Frances was the daughter of John Brett and his third wife Isabel Brook. She was baptized on 29 July 1570 at Broomfield, Essex. John Brett was a gentleman who lived in Broomfield, possibly he was Lord of the Manor as he owned a dovecote, a privilege reserved for those in that position. Isabel Brook was his third wife. She was from Terling and at the time of her marriage she was a servant of Sir Thomas Mildmay. John died in late 1582. Francis Brett's brother Thomas left her son William several pieces of property in his will. [9] William the Immigrant William came of age during a tumultuous time in English history. He was born in the dying days of the Tudor Dynasty. Queen Elizabeth was an old woman without a direct male heir. Her cousin, James 6th of Scotland became James I of England. James was a lifelong Calvinist and without getting bogged down in the details, his religious beliefs put him at odds with many of the Protestants in England. This would have a great impact on the life of William Pynchon. William reached his majority the year after his father's death in 1610. He inherited a house, barn and farm buildings, garden and orchard as well as acreage. He also inherited property in Broomfield from his Uncle Thomas Brett. Marriage and Children The exact date, even year, of William's marriage to Ann Andrews, daughter of William Andrews, is unknown. Nor do we know where they were married. William Andrews lived in Twywell in Nottinghamshire, near the town of Northampton. Based on their children's ages, they were most likely married around 1618. As most fertile couples did, they fired off children in 1 1/2 to 2 year intervals. Anna was born about 1620, Mary was born about 1622, Margaret about 1624 and finally John, who was born around 1625 or 1626. [10] (this birth order is according to his biographer David M. Powers). Robert Charles Anderson's Winthrop Fleet has a slightly different birth order with Anne b. 1618, Mary b. 1620, John b. 1622 and finally Margaret b. 1624. [11] A Good Puritan Chelmsford, Essex, was a large market town and legal center. County Essex in the 1620's was "Puritan Central." Many of the ministers and Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, including John Winthrop, were from Essex. The Reverend Thomas Hooker was lecturing in Chelmsford by 1626. He was one of the most influential Puritan Ministers, he fled England in 1629 to avoid Archbishop Laud and his ecclesiastical court, the Court of High Commission. He immigrated to Massachusetts in 1633 and was the founder of the Connecticut Colony. It is possible if not probable that his evangelical style of preaching influenced William Pynchon. It is not known if William attended college, but he was certainly a very intelligent man who was well educated. He served several times as churchwarden for his parish in Springfield, Essex. All Saint's Church was their place of worship. The church warden was not only responsible for the church building, but for the people who attended it. The warden was concerned with law and order, local housing for the poor and unemployment. [12] This work surely honed his administrative skills that he would put to good use in Springfield, Massachusetts. Adventure William was a founding member of the "Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England." He was named in the 1628 charter issued by King Charles I. From May 1629 onward he participated in most of the preparatory meetings leading up to the launch of the expedition. William was recorded as paying £25 for stock in the company; this would guarantee him a share in land and profits, if there were any. He was also part of a smaller group known as the Roxwell Group. These men pushed hard for action and not just talk. They were fully committed to leaving England and immigrating to New England. They signed an agreement promising to embark for Massachusetts by March 1, 1630. [13] This agreement was known as “The Cambridge Agreement.” They didn't quite make the March 1 deadline but by late March the passengers were aboard their ships. The Pynchon family sailed on the Ambrose. They remained anchored off Cowes until the morning of 8 April; a favorable wind was at their back, the Captain weighed anchor and set his course for Salem, Massachusetts. The passengers spent many weeks on the open sea and arrived in Salem around the 13th of June 1630. [14] One can only imagine their relief at stepping onto dry land once again after nine weeks on the ocean. Massachusetts After spending some time recuperating, and regaining their land legs, the new settlers began to spread out looking for optimum locations to set up their new homes. William and his family built their first home in what in now Quincy but was the newly formed town of Dorchester on the banks of the river Neponset. On or around 30 August tragedy struck the Pynchon family in the form of death; Ann Pynchon, wife and mother died. William did what most widowers did at that time, he remarried ASAP. His second wife was twice widowed Frances Sanford. She had arrived in Massachusetts with her son, Henry, on 20 March 1630. They were members of the Dorchester Company who sailed on the Mary and John. Within a few years, Anna Pynchon (daughter of William and Ann) would married her step brother, Henry Smith. Roxbury The newly formed family pulled up stakes in Dorchester and settled in Roxbury. William negotiated the sale of his land from the Indian Chickataubut, the first of many deals he would make with Native Americans. William played an important role in the new colony. He served on the court of assistants, he was the colony treasurer, he helped establish the first church of Roxbury, and he was in charge of munitions and armaments. All while trying to grow food for his family to eat. While in Roxbury, William began importing goods to resell to his fellow immigrants. He had a storeroom filled with pots and pans, fabrics and even toys for children. [15] Business was good. Relations with the government were not. William had a problem with taxes, he didn't like paying them. This would lead to friction with the colony leaders. Springfield Not only did William import goods, he was an exporter as well. His most profitable export was beaver skins. On 15 July 1636 William signed a deed with the local Indians for the rights to the land that would become Springfield, Massachusetts. At that time, it was under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. The colony of Plymouth had a head start in the fur trade and had tied up all the land up into Maine. The traders in Massachusetts had to look to the west to find their beavers. Springfield proved a profitable location for trading with Indian hunters. It was located on the banks of the Connecticut River which gave them access to Boston by ship rather than overland. Pynchon was very different from his immigrants in his treatment of the native population. He recognized that the land was theirs. He did not allow natives to be held as slaves but rather dealt with them as fellow businessmen. Men of all trades were sought to swell the population of Springfield. Coopers, brick makers, blacksmiths, all were welcome. All significant part of the population was from Wales. The townspeople were not necessarily the best Puritans and some where probably not particularly religious. Over all, William Pynchon held sway. And so it went for almost 20 years. Then he wrote a book. the meritorious price On 16 October 1650, a book arrived in the Colony from London. It had a lengthy title and was most likely boring as hell, but it raised quite the controversy. The author was none other than William Pynchon. Although he was not trained as a theologian he certainly had immersed himself in the subject. His book had over 33 sources including a few Catholic writers. His book made four claims but the one that most upset the religious establishment in Massachusetts was his claim that Jesus did not suffer at the hand of God. Humans caused him suffering but God did not. He also claimed that Jesus did not go to Hell upon his death. These comments may possible raise a few eyebrows today, but the response in 1650 was overwhelming condemnation for his book. The public executioner for Boston was instructed to publicly burn the book. Pynchon was called to Boston to respond before the General Court on 17 April 1651, he faced accusations of heresy. The court required him to work with several prominent ministers of his own choosing to 'correct his thinking.’ On 9 May 1651, a letter from him was read to the General Court. He stated that he had changed him mind on one point but was vague about the details. The Court was not satisfied and required him to continue to work on his positions, meaning conform to our way of thinking. He was removed from all magisterial duties pending the outcome of his reschooling. His stepson Henry Smith was made magistrate of Springfield in his stead. William was ordered to report to the court on 14 October 1651. He failed to show. [15] Return to England After receiving his summons to appear before the General Court William transferred land he had bought from the Indians to several Springfield men including his son and son-in- law. They were instructed to distribute the land as they saw fit. Shortly before his scheduled court appearance at the October 1651 court, he transferred all his land and business interests to his son John. It is clear that he knew things would not go well for him and he was unyielding in his beliefs. William chose to return to England where his theological beliefs would be tolerated. England at that time was governed by the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Many wealthy men had left New England to enjoy their Puritan "time in the sun.” In fact, there was a reverse migration as families returned to England. Surprisingly, at least to me, William did not return to his ancestral home of Springfield or even to Writtle. Instead, William acquired land in Wraysbury, just to the south of Windsor Castle on the river Thames. He purchased a house called Wyrardisbury House which included the house, outbuildings, dovecote, garden and orchards. The house stood at the south end of Wraysbury across the river from Runnymede, the site where King John I was forced to sign the Magna Carta. In October of 1652 Henry Smith, returned to England. Two years later, Ann Pynchon Smith returned with her children. Margaret Pynchon Davis died in childbirth in 1653. John Pynchon, of course, stayed in Springfield, Massachusetts. Meritorious Returns After his return to England, William had his book reprinted. He continued writing up until his death. His books continued to be controversial but he was no longer in danger of being dragged into court or being forced to witness them being burnt. rip John Pynchon of Springfield, Massachusetts visited his father and step mother while on business in England. This must have been a happy reunion but a sad farewell. Although John would return to England, he would never see his father or step mother again. William's wife, Francis Sanford Pynchon died on 10 October 1657, five years after their return to England. William's daughter Mary Pynchon Holyoke died in Massachusetts that same October. William had his portrait painted around this time, he seems rather stern and somber. William, aged 72, wrote his will dated 4 October 1662, it was proved two months later in December. He had lived long enough to witness the end of the Puritan experiment and the return of King Charles II in 1660. I wonder what he thought about that. Sources: [1] Robert Charles Anderson, The Winthrop Fleet, (Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 2012) 541. [2] Walter C. Metcalf, editor, The Visitation of Essex, (London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1878) 266. The 1612 Visitation of Essex by Herald Raven, The Pynchon Family. [3] Henry F. Waters, Genealogical Gleanings in England, (Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 1901)845-67. [4] Waters, Genealogical Gleanings, 848. [5] Waters, Genealogical Gleanings. 848. [6] Henry F. Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England", The New England Historic and Genealogical Register. Vol. 48 (April 1894) 241-257. [7] Waters, Genealogical Gleanings, 852. [8] Anderson, The Winthrop Fleet, 543. [8] David M. Powers, Damnable Heresy, William Pynchon, the Indians, and the First Book Banned (and Burned ) in Boston, (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2015). [9] Leslie Mahler, "The Family Origin of Frances Brett, Mother of William Pynchon of Roxbury and Springfield, Massachusetts," The American Genealogist, Vol. 76 (July 2001) 211-216; digital images, American Ancestors (https:www.americanancestors.org : accessed 17 January 2017). [10] David M. Powers, Damnable Heresy, William Pynchon, the Indians, and the First Book Banned (and Burned ) in Boston, (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2015). [11] Anderson, The Winthrop Fleet, 543-4. [12] David M. Powers, Damnable Heresy, 21. [13] David M. Powers, Damnable Heresy. 14. [14] John Winthrop, "His Shipboard Journal," The Winthrop Society (http://winthropsociety.com/journal.php : accessed 18 January2017). [15] David M. Powers, Damnable Heresy. + 1.SIR JOHN PYNCHON (1471-1520) \\ UNKNOWN \\ SIR JOHN PYNCHON was born about 1471 of London, England, to unknown parents. He married. John Pynchon died in about 1520 in London, England, age 49. Child of Sir John and Mrs. Pynchon: 1.Lord Nicholas Pynchon was born about 1496, of Wales or possibly in London, to Sir John Pynchon (1471-1520) and Unknown. He married Agnes Unknown. Nicholas Pynchon made his will on 15 February 1528, in London, Middlesex, England, where he died in 1533, at about age 39. + 2. LORD NICHOLAS (PINCHON) PYNCHON, Sheriff of London (1496-1533) AGNES STEPHENS (1500-1555) \\ LORD NICHOLAS PYNCHON was born about 1496, of Wales or possibly in London, to Sir John Pynchon (1471-1520) and Unknown. He married Agnes Unknown about 1512, of Writtle, Essex, England. He was a butcher. Nicholas became the Lord Mayor of London in 1532, the first London Sheriff, the city’s first police officer. He owned property in Writtle, Essex. Whether he obtained this property from his own family, or by his wife’s inheritance, is unknown. Nicholas Pynchon made his will on 15 February 1528, in London, Middlesex, England, where he died in 1533, at about age 39. Sometime thereafter, his widow remarried. •NICHAS PTNCHON citizen and "bocher" of London, 15 February 1528, proved 22 April 1533. I bequeath and recommend my soul unto Almighty God my maker and redeemer and to the most glorious Virgin his mother, our lady Saint Mary, and to all "holy and blissid company of Saintes in hevin." And my body to be buried in the church of St. Nichas Flesh shambles of London before the image of our lady there, where the body of my late wife lyeth buried. To the high altar of the foresaid church for my tithes and oblations negligently forgotten or withholden, in discharge of my soul and conscience, ten shillings. To Edward Pinchon my son, in the name of his full portion and part of all my goods &c. to him after the custom of the City of London belonging, thirty three pounds six shillings eight pence, to be delivered to him when it shall fortune him to come to his full age of twenty one years. A like bequest to sons William, Robert and John Pynchon. And I charge all my said children on my blessing that they shall hold themselves contented and pleased with my said bequests to them made and that they be loving and kind to my wife their mother and be ruled after her, and if they or any of them grudge or hold not them contented with my said bequests or will not be ruled after my said wife then I will that the portion and part of him or them so not contented nor ruled shall be abated and "mynishid" after the discretion of my said wife. Provisions as to the decease of any of them. And if it fortune all my said " children" before their said lawful ages to decease then I will that "oon hundreth mrc" (marks) of their portions shall be applied towards the gilding of the Rood loft of the said " paroche" church of St. Nichas and the residue bestowed in deeds of charity for the wealth of my soul. "Itm I will that assone after my disceas as conveniently may be there shallbe ordeynid an honest able preest of good conuersacion to sing in the foresaid church of Saint Nichas for my soule my late wifes soules our fathers and mothers soules and all chfen soules by the space of three yeres complete. And I bequeth to hym for his salary in that behalf vij" vj' viijd by the yere. And I will that another preest shall sing in the churche of Wrrittell in the Countie of Essex for my soule and for the soules of my father and mother and all chfen soules by the space of oon hole yere." To Parnell my "suster" forty shillings sterling and my gown next the best, and to every of her own children six shillings eight pence. To John Pinchon my cousin dwelling in Writtell, in discharge of my soul and conscience, twenty shillings. " I bequeth to the place of ffrier mynours in London to theiiU-nt that they shall say a trigintall of masses and pray for my soule il* at. Itui I bequeth to eury of thorder of ffriers Preachours, Carmelites, Angustines and Crossid friers to thentent that they shall doo in eury of their Cooent churches for my soule and all chren soules oon trigintall of masses i* st. a pece siti xl'." Bequests to the prison houses. To every poor manand woman keeping chambers in Peuthecost Lane, Hunt's Alley and .Scaldinghouse Alley in the parish of St. Nichas four pence apiece. Ten VOL. XLVIII. 22 pounds to be applied in buying of coals in tbe Winter season, in ten years next after my decease, to be distributed amongst the most needy of the poor in St. NichSs. To Geffrey Boyland of Mountnesing my best ring: To frier John Burthan towards his exhibition at the University sixty six shillings. VVatkin Bissett my servant. " Itfii I will that lxvj" viij4 shalbe distributed in peny doole among poore people at tyme of my buriall and at my monthes minde." To the " warkes " of the church of our Lady of Woodford, of Harnesey, of West Tilbury and of East Tilbury. The residue to Agues my wife to her own proper use. f make and ordain the said Agnes, John Martyn, butcher, and John Hone, tallow chandler, my executors, and Sir John Mundye knight, alderman of London, overseer. Hogen, 2. (End Will.) The Pynchon family, though closely connected with London, had long held lands in Essex. In A. D. 1277-8, In sixth year of King Edward 1st, Richard Pinchon, citizen of London, owning property at Latton, County Essex, bequeaths it to his daughter Agnes. In 1476, and eleventh year of King Edward IV., John Pynchon of Writtle, In Essex, purchased land In that village. Henry Pynchon is one of the witnesses to the deed. In 1479, in nineteenth year of King Edward IV., John Pynchon, father and son, are witnesses to a deed of land, situated at Brumfleld, County Essex. The name also appears in connection with lands in the eastern and southeastern parts of the same county. There are also traces of the family as living from time to time in the city of London. According to Stow's Chronicles, p. 708, the Clothworkers' Hall in the city of London, in which Queen Elizabeth entertained the Dutch Ambassadors in 1585, was situated in Pynchon Lane in the heart of the city, near Tower street. In 1576 there was a John Pinchin living in London, an attorney of the common law, some time of the Middle Temple, and owning a house at Westminster. There are also traces of the family in Northamptonshire. Thomas Chichele of Higham-Ferrers, in that county, married Agnes, the daughter of William Pynchon, Esq., whose arms are the same as those of the family at Writtle. This Agnes Pynchon was the mother of Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of the Lancastrian Kings, Henry IV., V. and VI., and Founder of All Soul's College, Oxford. The first appearance of the name in England, however, is found in connection with the manor of Tattershall, county Lincoln, which was granted to Endo together with one Pinco, his sworn brother in arms, though otherwise not allied, Eudo to hold immediately of the King, Pinco his of St. Cuthbert of Durham. The son of Pinco was Hugh, flls Pinconis. Hence the name Pincon—Pinchon. From this point the family would seem to have drifted into the adjoining county of Northampton and thence to London and Essex.—T. R. PYNCHON.] AGNES STEPHENS was born about 1500 of Writtle, Essex, England, to unknown parents. She married (1) *Nicholas Pynchon about 1512, of Writtle, Essex, England. Agnes married (2) Sir John Clerk of North Weston manor. His second wife had died in February of 1534. Agnes passed away 13 June 1555, at Thorley, Hertfordshire, England, age 55. Children of Nicholas Pynchon and Agnes Stephens: 1.William Pynchon was born at Writtle, near Chelmsford, in Essex, England, in about 1513, to Nicholas Pynchon (1496-1533) and Agnes Stephens (1500-1555.) The family name was spelled in various ways and is thought to be Norman in origin. William married (1) *Elizabeth Stevens about 1530; (2) Elizabeth Allyn. William died at Writtle on September 5th, in 1553, at about age 40. 2.Nicholas Pynchon, b. 1517. 3.Edward Pynchon, b. 1521. 4.Robert Pynchon, b. 1525. 5.John Pynchon, b. 1527. (Source: “Our Pynchon Family,” Official Website of the Saemann-Nickel and Related Families, Joann Saemann, Bountiful, Utah, 2007; last updated 14 January 2015.) + 3. SIR WILLIAM (NICHOLAS) (PINCHON) PYNCHON (1513-1553) 3-a. ELIZABETH STEVENS (1507-1535) SIR WILLIAM (NICHOLAS) PYNCHON, Esq., Lord of Writtle was born in about 1513, at the ancestral village of the Pynchon family, Writtle, near Chelmsford, in Essex, England. His parents were Lord Nicholas Pynchon, Sheriff of London (1496-1533) and Agnes Unknown (1500-.) The family name was spelled in various ways and is thought to be Norman in origin. William married (1) *Elizabeth Stevens, about 1530, a daughter of Richard Stephens; (2) Elizabeth Allyn. His will was dated 13 July 1551 and proved on 5 September 1552. It mentioned his wife Elizabeth. It also mentioned his eldest son, John and sons Edward, George, and Henry. It mentioned his wife’s brother Richard Allyn and also his wife’s sisters who were the wives of Edmund Church and Robert Grove. His daughters Agnes and Margery, not then married, were mentioned as well as daughters Dennys and Joane Brytton. A late brother Borrell was mentioned. Elizabeth, daughter, of his son John and wife Helen was to receive a legacy. William Pynchon died 5 September 1553, at Writtle, Essex, England, at about age 40. He was buried at All Saints Church, Writtle, Essex, England. William Pynchon, of Wraysbury, alias Wyrardisbury, in the County of Bucks, gentleman, 4 October 1662, proved 8 December 1662, by John Wickens, special executor, under the limitations specified in the said will. My chief executor is at present absent. To Elizabeth, Mary and Rebecca Smith, daughters of my son Master Henry Smith, and to his son Elisha Smith twenty pounds apiece, to be paid by my son Mr. Henry Smith at the time of their marriage, as he did unto Martha Smith, out of a bond which he owes me, of two hundred and twenty pounds; to my daughter Anne Smith the rest of the said bond (of 220 1 ') with the overplus of interest. To the children of my daughter Margaret Davis, of Boston in New England, deceased, videlicet unto Thomas, Benjamin and William Davis, ten pounds apiece to be paid by my son Mr. Henry Smith. To my son Master John Pynchon, of Springfield in New England (a sum) out of the bond which he owes me of one hundred and six pounds, dated 15 April 1654. Whereas my son Mr. Henry Smith hath promise to pay unto me his debts which have been long due to him in New England and a horse of his at Barbadoes for the satisfaction of an old debt that he owes me, in my Quarto Vellum Book, in page 112, I bequeath them to the children of my son Master Elizur Holioke in New England &c. To the poor of Wraysberie three pounds. Son Mr. John Pynchon of Springfield in New England to be executor, to whom the residue, provided he pay to Joseph and John Pynchon and to Mary and Hetabell Pynchon twenty pounds apiece. Mr. Wickens, citizen and girdler of London, and Mr. Henry Smith of Wraysbery to be overseers. Friend Mr. John Wickens to be my executor touching the finishing of my administration business concerning the estate of Master Nicholas Ware in Virginia, whose estate is thirty pounds in a bill of Exchange to Capt. Pensax and about eighteen thousand of tobacco, in several bills made over by Mr. Nicholas Ware to Capt. John Ware of Virginia &c. To beloved sister Jane Tesdall of Abington twenty pounds; to sister Susan Platt twenty pounds, as a token of my cordial love; certain clothing to Mary, Elizabeth and Rebecca Smith. Laud, 156. [The will of Master Henry Smith of Wraysbury, who married Anne, one of the daughters of the foregoing testator and" is mentioned in the above will- has already been given in my Genealogical Gleanings (ante, page 723). M friends in New England can give a better account than I of William Pinchon himself and of his family connections in New England. As to his connections in old England and especially with the Pinchon family of Writtle the wills I have given speak pretty clearly. My friend Dr. Marshall writes me from Heralds' College that in both the Visitations of Essex now in the College (that of 1614 and that of 1634) in which the pedigree of this family is entered it begins with John Pinchon and Jane his wife. So too does the Visitation of London of 1633-34, see Harl. So. Pub.). But the Visitation of Essex of 1612 published by the Harleian Society gives Nicholas Pinchon of London as the father of John. This cannot be true, as any clear headed reader will see who shall carefully examine and compare the wills I have given. Nicholas Pinchon undoubtedly belonged to the Writtle family for he ordered that a priest should sing in the church of "Writtle for his soul and the souls of his father and mother &c. for one whole year; and he mentions his "cousin" John Pinchon dwelling in Writtle.” For "cousin" the most probable reading, in modern language, is nephew; so the reference may be to that very John Pinchon with whom the pedigree starts in the Visitations now in the College of Arms. John died in 1573, and of his will I have given a large abstract. Let anyone read it and compare it with the will of William Pynchon of Writtle who died in 1552 and he cannot have the least doubt that John was the eldest son and heir of William. The latter calls himself "yeoman," while the son, who had risen in the world, calls himself gentleman. William Pinchon, I suspect, was an inn-keeper who owned and occupied the Swan, in which there was a room called the Warden's Chamber, probably because the Warden of New College, Oxford, was in the habit of lodging there when he visited Writtle to look after the landed property of his College in that neighborhood. John Pinchon, the son, I would suggest, acted as bailiff or laud steward for the Warden of New College and held the lease of East Hall in Bradwell, the windmill and other properties of the College. William Pinchon named a daughter Dennys Pinchon. John Pinchon referred to his sister Dennis as the wife of George Mansfield. William Pinchon gave to his son Edward certain property called Skyggs and Turnors, with remainder to John. John Pinchon bequeathed Skyggs and Tumors to his son Edward. William Pinchon, after making bequests to two married daughters and their children, bequeathed to Elizabeth Pinchon, the daughter of John and Helen Pinchon, certain lands in Roxwell called Cookes or Cockes. John Pinchon gave his daughter Elizabeth five hundred marks upon condition that she should release her title to Cookes land in Roxwell and to all the profits and rents due since the death of John's father. William Pinchon also gave to the same Elizabeth certain real estate then occupied by John Newton. John Pinchon also required his daughter Elizabeth to surrender to John Newton all the interest which she might claim, by legacy or gift "of her grandfather," in certain tenements which John Pinchon had sold to the said John Newton. All this, I claim, abundantly proves my proposition that the John Pinchon who heads the pedigree in the Visitations of Essex in the College of Arms, as well as in the Visitation of London 1633-4, was not the son (a younger son at that) of Nicholas Pinchon, but was the eldest son and heir of the William Pinchon of Writtle who died in 1552, and that the nearest relationship which Nicholas Pinchon bore to him could have been that of uncle only. Another statement which I dispute is that Nicholas Pinchon was of Wales. I find not the least evidence to support this statement. On the contrary the evidence of his will points to Writtle as his early home and that of his parents, and this family name is found in Essex, and in the very next Hundred to Writtle, fully a century earlier. In Morant's Essex (vol. 1, p. 305 &c.) I note that certain lands in the manor of Barrow Hall in Wakering Magna were conveyed in 1407 to John Pyncherne, that in 1426 Robert Warenor and others granted their "maner of Banve Hall" to Thomas Pynchon and Alice his wife, and that in 1458 Thomas Pynchon, son of the last mentioned and Elizabeth his wife granted this manner and certain lands and tenements in Prittlewell, Canvey Island &c. to William Lawzell gen'. &c. Bradwell juxta mare, where the Pinchon family afterwards held the manor of East Hall by lease from the Warden and Fellows of New College, Oxford, was, again, in the very next Hundred North of the last and North East of the Hundred in which lies Writtle. In my opinion this is the neighborhood where one should look for the earlier generations of our Pinchon family. ELIZABETH STEPHENS was born about 1507 of Writtle, Essex, England, to Richard Stevens (1496-1579) and Sibell (Frances) Campyn Marchand (1501-.) She married William Pynchon about 1533, of Writtle, Essex, England. Elizabeth Stephens died in about 1535, of St. Giles, Ickenham, Middlesex, England, age 28. She possessed substantial holdings. Child of William Pynchon and Elizabeth Stephens: 1.Sir John Pynchon, Lord of Writtle, was born in about 1534, in Writtle, Essex, England, to William Pynchon (1513-1553) and Elizabeth Stephens (1515-1593.) He married Lady Jane Empson in about 1555. John Pynchon died 29 November 1573, in England, at about age 39. + 4. SIR JOHN (PINCHON) PYNCHON, LORD OF WRITTLE (1534-1573) 4-a. LADY JANE EMPSON (1542-1587) SIR JOHN PYNCHON, LORD OF WRITTLE, was born in about 1534, of Writtle, Essex, England, to William Pynchon (1513-1553) and Elizabeth Stevens (1515-1552.) This John Pynchon of Springfield was the father of William Pynchon the founder of Springfield, in New England, upon the Connecticut river, in Massachusetts. He was educated at the University of Oxford. Matriculated at New College Dec. 20th, 1577, and took his B.A. degree April 6th,1581. He first married (1) Helen (mentioned in his father’s will; one child Elizabeth.) He seemingly established the family properties and prestige on a sounder basis by marriage (2) to *Jane Empson, a daughter of Sir Richard Empson, about 1548. She also was born at Writtle. John Pynchon’s will was dated 10 November 1573 and proved on 11 December 1573. He died on 29 November 1573. His will states “My body to be buried in the church of Writtle. To the reparations of the church twenty shillings. To the poor of Writtle three pounds six shillings eight pence. And as touching all my lands and tenements within the parishes of Writtle, Bradwell near the Sea, or elsewhere in the County of Essex, I will that Jane my wife have and enjoy all the same during her natural life, upon condition that she bring up my children until their full ages or days of marriage, and upon condition also that she pay yearly until William Pinchon, my eldest son, at his full age, so much of annuity or yearly rent as, together with the revenue of my copy holds and customary lands in Bradwell, shall amount unto the yearly value of twenty pounds, and that she pay unto John Pinchon, my second son, and to Edward Pinchon my third son, at their several ages, to either of them one yearly rent or annuity of ten pounds, and to Elizabeth my daughter, at the day of her marriage, five hundred marks, so that the said Elizabeth my daughter, do make to my wife, mine executrix, and mine heirs a good and sufficient release in the law of all her right and title that she and the said Elizabeth hath or ought to have to Cookes lands in Roxwell and to all the profits and rents due unto her since my father’s death; and also upon condition that she, my said daughter, upon request, shall release unto John Newton and his heirs and assigns forever all such right, title and interest as she might have or claim by any legacy or gift of my late father, her grandfather, of and in certain tenements by me to him, and said John Newton sold. “Item, I give and bequeath unto John Pinchon, my second son, all those my lands and tenements called Whelers, & c. in Wikestreet, now in the several tanares & c. of Robert Tunbridge and John Thornton, and also of one field called Lowfford, near unto Lowfford bridge, containing twenty acres or thereabouts and now in the tenure & c. of John Aware, gent, to have and to hold & c. after the decease of Jane my wife; remainder to Edward, my third son, then to my right heirs. I give to Edward, my third son my lands and tenements called Skigges and Turnore, now in the tenore & c. of John Dockley, and the great broms and therein belonging in the tenure of Thomas Reade’s widow, and a croft of land called Clarilhil Croft lying at Byfords and the hoopes called Challife keeper now in the tenure of Hopkin, after the decease of my wife; remainder to John, my second son, then to my right heirs. Certain other lands & c. to my wife. If my three sons do die without of their bodies lawfully begotten then I do give and bequeath all my lands and tenements to Elizabeth, my daughter, and her heirs forever. “Item, I do give all those my lands in Shenfield, which I lately bought of old Symonds deceased, to George Mannsfield and Denis his wife, my sister, and C., remainder to the right heirs of the said Denis As for my farms of the personages of Writtle and Rodxwell and of the manor of Ethall and Shelmarshe and Garlsmondes marshe I will that Jane my wife have, take and receive the profile of every of them and the stock during her natural life, paying the yearly rents and doing all other things which I and mine assigns are bounden by the several lesses to do & c. The residue of the this I give to William Pinchin mine eldest son & c. To my singular good Master Mr Doctor Whits, warden of the new College of Winchester in Oxford, my best gelding, Imea that he make his choice, or else ten pounds in money, at his like choice, most humly beseeching him that, as hehath been always special friend and greta good master to me and mine in my life, so he will continue the like to my wife and my poor children when I am gone. To myver loving friend, Mr. Bedell, for a remembrance, a ring of gold of the weight of frety shillings. I ggive for like remembrance unto my loving friend. Mr. Tatem, the Vicar of Writtle, my best gown. The residue of my goods and chattels to Jane my wife whom I do make and ordain my sole executrix; and my special good brother in law Mr. Peter Osborne my supervisor, to whom I do give, for a remembrance, a ring of gold of the weight of three pounds six shillings eight pence. “Md. the saied will is written with my owne hand in five Pagines of Pap. And everie Pagin subscribed with myne own hand / Per me Johen Pinchon.” He mentioned his wife Jane, daughter of Sir Richard Empson of Northampton County, and sons William, John, and Edward. William was the oldest and then under age. His daughter Elizabeth was mentioned as not then married and the will referred to her legacy from her grandfather and described the same legacy as did William Pynchon. Her grandfather; John mentioned a sister Dennis, who was likewise noted in his father’s will. After john Pynchon’s death his widow Jane on 15 July 1576 married Thomas Wilson, one of the Principal Secretaries to Queen Elizabeth. Her will dated 10 November 1587 and proved on 14 February 1587 mentioned eldest son William, second son John Pynchon, and third son Edward Pynchon. John Pynchon died, 29 November 1573, in England, at about age 39. LADY JANE EMPSON was born 9 April 1542, St. Margaret, Writtle, Essex, England, to Sir Richard Empson (1500-1587) and Jane Hill (1500-1598.) She married (1) *John Pynchon of Writtle also, about 1458. The widow Jane Pynchon married (2) Sir Thomas Wilson, Secretary of State under Queen Elizabeth I, about 1576 of England. Jane, may have been the daughter of Sir Richard Empson, of Northamptonshire, who was beheaded at London on Tower-hill, Aug. 15th, 1510, in the early part of the reign of Henry 8th. Jane Empson’s death occurred on 10 November 1587, in Essex, England, at about age 45. Jane EMPSON [3380] •Born: Writtle, Essex, England •Marriage: John PINCHON [3376] •Died: 10 Nov 1587, Writtle, Essex, England "Jane Empson's (Pynchon/Wilson) birth year and relation to Sir Richard Empson Jane Empson (died 1587), who married John Pynchon and then Thomas Wilson (Secy to Queen Eliz and Ambassador to the Low Countries), has traditionally been cited as a "daughter and co-heir" of Richard Empson, who was executed with Sir Edmund Dudley in August 1510. In searching the archives of this group, I've found no discussion of the discrepancies in terms of her age and date of birth that might cause a conflict with this traditional account. However, most sources give John Pynchon's year of birth as 1534, and I note that his marriage to Jane was his second, and that his children by Jane were born in the 1560s. It appears that Pynchon died 29 Nov 1573 and that she married Wilson 15 July 1576. If Jane had been born even after the death of her father, the latest her birth year could have been would be 1511. This still places her very old to be having up to six children in the 1560s. ... The Richard who was executed, had a son who lived and to whom the estates were restored. So Jane could not be her father's co-heiress. I suggest the Richard who was the father, was a different man. ..." ______________________________________ Source : Child of John Pynchon and Jane Empson: 1.William Pynchon, b. 1560; md. Rose Redding; d. 13 Oct 1592. 2.John Pynchon Jr., was born in about 1564, of Writtle, Essex, England, to John Pynchon (1534-1573) and Jane Empson (1534-1587.) He probably married (1) Miss Orchard; married (2) *Frances Brett, 3 October 1588. John Pynchon Jr. died about 12 September 1610, at Springfield, Essex, England, at about age 46. 3.Edward Pynchon, b. 1566. 4.Agnes Pynchon, b. 1568. 5.Elizabeth Pynchon, b. 1570. 6.Jane Pynchon, b. 1570. (Source: “Our Pynchon Family,” Official Website of the Saemann-Nickel and Related Families, Joann Saemann, Bountiful, Utah, 2007; last updated 14 January 2015.) + 5. JOHN PYNCHON (1564-1610) 5-a. FRANCES BRETT (1569-1610) JOHN PYNCHON was born about 1564 of Springfield, Essex, England to John Pynchon (1534-1573) and Jane Empson (1534-1587.) He inherited the family properties at Springfield, England, upon his father’s death in 1573 at the age of nine. John Pynchon was educated at the University of Oxford from which he was graduated on 20 December 1577 and on 6 April 1581 received his B.A. degree at the age of seventeen. He married (1) Miss Orchard, heiress of one Orchard; (2) *Frances Brett, 3 October 1588, Springfield, Essex, England. Francis Brett was a sister of Thomas Brett whose will dated 15 January 1615, proved on 13 November 1616 mentioned William Pynchon, son of his sister Frances Pynchon. He was a great grandson of Nicholai Pynchon of Wales, who was Sheriff of London in 1532. In an inquisition dated 7 October 1611, John Pynchon was listed as late of Springfield, Essex, and had land at Springfield and at Writtle, Essex. William Pynchon was listed as his son and heir and was 19 ½ years and 10 weeks old at the time of his father’s death. His widow Frances was mentioned in the records when, with her son William, they gave a quit claim to land in Writtle to Mathew Rudde. When he died in 1610, John Pynchon, “gent.,” provided in his will that William, his eldest son, should receive, during the remainder of his wife’s life, a portion of the rents and profits of certain lands and tenements in the parish of Writtle, and after her death, all the houses, lands, and tenements of decedent in Springfield and Widford, all of Essex. The will of John Pynchon of Springfield, Essex, dated 29 August 1610, mentioned his wife Frances, sons William and Peter and six daughters: Annes, Frances, Jane, Alice, Isabell, and Susanne. Will of John Pinchon of Springfield, Essex, proved 12 September 1610. To the poor of Springfield forty shillings. All my houses, tenements and lands in and near Weeke Street in the parishes of Writtle and Bromefield, now in the tenure &c. of Thomas Eve and John Drane shall be conveyed unto Robert Robinson for such price and upon such conditions and covenants as the said Robert Robinson and myself have lately heretofore agreed upon. Provision in case of the bargain coming to naught. The money accruing to go for the payment of my debts and the advancement of my daughters in marriage and the performance of this my will. And I charge my son William Pinchon, upon my blessing, that so soon as he shall come unto his lawful age, or within short time after, that he either joining with my executrix in the conveyance thereof or else consent unto the conveyance thereof either unto the said Robert Robinson or unto any other person or persons that will purchase the same of my executrix. Furthermore I will and devise that during the natural life of Frances my wife my two sons William Pinchon and Peter Pinchon shall have, receive and enjoy for their maintenance the yearly rents and profits of all my lands and tenements lying at or near Cookesaul Greene in the parish of Writtle, now in the tenure and occupation of William Crowe, William, my son, to have twenty pounds a year of the rents and profits thereof and Peter fifteen pounds to his own use. And after the decease of the said Frances my wife I give and bequeath all my said lands and tenements at or near Cooksaule Green, both freehold and copyhold, unto my said son Peter Pinchon and to his heirs and assigns forever. I give and bequeath unto the said Frances my wife all my houses, lands and tenements in Springfield during her natural life; and after her decease I give and bequeath them unto my said son William Pinchon and to his heirs forever. My said wife to keep, maintain and bring up all my six daughters decently in good education until they and every of them shall have and receive the legacies and portions to them by me given in this my will. And I give and bequeath unto every of my said daughters, viz. Annes Pinchon, Frances Pinchon, Jane Pinchon, Alice Pinchon, Isabell Pinchon and Susanne Pinchon, the sume of two hundred pounds apiece out of and with the moneys which shall be raised upon the sale of my said lands and tenements lying in and near Weeks Street aforesaid and out of all the rest of my goods &c. not devised in this my will. Twenty shillings to Andrew Gilbert my servant. The residue to the said Frances Pinchon, my well beloved wife, whom I name, constitute and make sole executrix of this my last will and testament, requiring her, of all love, to see the same performed and my children decently brought up, as my trust is in her that she will. My friend Humfrey Baldwin of Springfield to be overseer, unto whom, for his pains, I give ten shillings. Hamer, 57 (Consistory Court of London.) (Source: Genealogical Gleanings in England, Vol. 2, 855-856.) John Pynchon died 12 September 1610, in Springfield, Essex, England, at age 46. •JOHN PINCHON, second son of John, settled in Springfield, Essex, and married FRANCES BRETT, sister of Thomas Brett, gent., of Terling, Essex, whose will, dated 15 Jan. 1615, proved 13 Nov. 1616, mentions her and her eight children by name. He matriculated at New College, Oxford, 20 Dec. 1577; B.A., 6 Apr. 1581. (P) The will of John Pinchon of Springfield, gent., made Aug. 29, 1610, proved 12 Sept. 1610, names his sons William and Peter, his wife Frances, and his six daughters, Annes, Frances, Jane, Alice, Isabel, and Susan, all called Pinchon and hence unmarried. The terms of the will, and the naming of his wife as sole executrix, suggest that all or most of the children were minors. William was referred to as under age, but was to join with the executrix when he should come of age. This suggests that he may have been near twenty; and that accords with the inscription on the portrait of Hon. William Pynchon, that it was painted in 1657 when he was aged 67. That makes William born about 1590, hence near twenty when his father's will was made. (P) Proof of this is found in the Inquisition post Mortem taken after the death of John Pynchon, late of Springfield, which states that William, his son and heir, was then aged 19 1/2 years and 10 weeks. If literally stated, the age given would make William born 27 Dec. 1590. (P) The importance of this consideration is that he cannot be the William Pinchon, as sometimes claimed, who matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford, 14 Oct. 1596, when eleven years old, and who was therefore born about 1585. That would make this William about twenty-five when John Pinchon died, impossible in view of the evidence we have presented. As suggested above, the collegian may have been our William's first cousin. It does seem likely, however, that John Pinchon, our William's father, was the Oxford graduate of 1581, for William certainly acquired in youth a knowledge of the ancient tongues, and his father may have taught him. (P) William's will in 1662 names his sisters Jane Tesdall and Susan Platt, thus identifying him as the son of John whose will named daughters Jane and Susan. It is also to be observed that, as the chief founder of Springfield, Mass., he bestowed on it the name of his native town in England." ---Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, *Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley*, Hartford, CT (Connecticut Historical Society) 1952, p. 723-724 "John Pinchon of Springfield. Gets lands, &c., in Weeke Street, Writtle, from his father. Inq p. m. Anno IX. Jacobi. Will 1610, orders lands in Weeke Street sold." --- Henry F Waters, *Genealogical Gleanings in England*, Boston, 1901, p 864 From *Essex Wills, Archdeaconry Court* (3 vols), ed. F. G. Emmison (Essex Record Office) 1990, vol. for 1597--1603, p 25: "ROBERT THORNE of Bradwell-next-the-sea husbandman, 3 Dec. 1576 [date will witnessed]. To 10 of the householders 6s.8d., i.e. to 5 of the poorest 12d. apiece and to other 5s. 6d. To the reparations of Bradwell church #5 [pounds] to be paid by my exors. to the parishioners when they shall make collection for the same. To William PINCHION, John PINCHION and Edward PINCHION 'gent' and to Elizabeth PINCHON their sister now wife of Mr. Henry GATES [GAITES in original] gentleman each 2 angels to be paid at New Year's Day next after my decease. To 7 of my master's household servants 2s.8d. apiece. To Mary my daughter at 21 and #10 [punds] after my wife's decease [sic the sentence]. To Henry MOTT my son-in-law #10 [pounds] after my wife's decease. To Richard WAKERING my wife's brother 40s. To Reynold WAKERING of Bradwell 40s. To Joan PHILLIPPES of Bradwell 30s. To John MALDON the elder of Bradwell 1 old angel, Thomas BOVEAR the elder of Bradwell 1 old angel, and John BROOKE the elder of Bradwell 2 old angels. The residue of my goods to my wife and William my son, whom I ordain exors. I ordain John BROOKE the elder to be supervior. Wit. John COLMAN, Thomas BOVEAR, John MALDON [MAULDON in original]. Pr. 15 FRANCES BRETT was born about 1569 of Terling, Essex, England to Thomas Brett (1541-1615) and Jane Unknown (1547-1569.) She married John Pynchon, 3 October 1588, Springfield, Essex, England. Frances Brett passed away about 1616 in Springfield, age 47. Children of John Pynchon and Frances Brett: 1.Governor William Pynchon was born 11 October 1590, in Springfield, Essex, England, to John Pynchon (1564-1610) and Frances Brett (1569-1610.) He married Anna Andrew about 1615, of Springfield, England. They immigrated with four children to Salem, Massachusetts, arriving 4 June 1630. He wrote a book which was condemned by the Church and State. The book was burned. He returned to England and died 29 October 1662, age 72 at Wraysbury, on the Thames, England. 2.Peter Pynchon 1592- 3.Annes Pynchon 1594- 4.Frances Pynchn 1596- 5.Jane Pynchon 1598-; md. Mr. Tesdall. 6.Alice Pynchon 1600- 7.Isabel Pynchon 1602- 8.Susannah Pynchon 1604-; md. Mr. Platt. (Source: “Our Pynchon Family,” Official Website of the Saemann-Nickel and Related Families, Joann Saemann, Bountiful, Utah, 2007; last updated 14 January 2015.) + 6. GOVERNOR WILLIAM PYNCHON (1590-1662) 6-a. AGNES ANNA ANDREWS (1593-1630) Wraysbury, Buckingham, England. William Pynchon was born 27 December 1590, in Springfield, Essex, England, (Springfield lies some 30 miles NE of London, near Chelmsford) to John Pynchon (1564-1610) and Frances Brett (1569-1610.) Of his youth and early manhood little is known, save that he was a member of Christ Church of Springfield, and one of its Wardens, having had charge, with an associate Warden, of repairs to the edifice in 1624. The Manor of Writtle Not that far from the medieval era, land ownership in England was very complex with lordships, manors, sub-manors, parishes, tenements, fealty, and more. The relationship between the lords, squires, tenants, and freeholds could also be complex. A very good example of this could be found in the book called, “The Forest,” by Rutherford. Everyone knew his place and everyone was greeted by name. The gentry, of course, held a privileged position and administered the daily affairs of the parish and their own estates. They provided employment, meted out justice, and drilled with the trainbands. As long as time was known, the rural people wanted and expected the men of wealth and good birth to be their leaders. The Pynchon family belonged to the armorial gentry of Essex. They owned acreage at Writtle and Springfield, but we have no evidence that Pynchon was a “lord of the manor.” The manor court records, in fact, show that William Pynchon, “gent.” [gentleman], did fealty to the lord for certain lands inherited from his father called Varneswell Fields and Varneswell Moores, which had been conveyed to his father in February 1596/97. The manor of Writtle, held by the Petres, was one of the largest in Essex and included no reference to William Pynchon in its Manor Court Rolls. What is to be seen is a May 1st, 1612 document, where a cousin (Sir Edward Pynchon) released to William all rights in some farms and other lands in the parishes of Writtle, Broomfield, and Chignall St. James. Cousin Sir Edward Pynchon was lord of the Manor of Roman’s Fee (probably identical with the Manor of Turges), one of the nine sub-manors of Writtle. Though not a lord of the manor, the Pynchon family was included in the Heralds’ Visitations of Essex in 1612 and 1634 (though not in the earlier Visitation of 1558). Also, as seen earlier, after his grandfather’s death, William’s grandmother remarried Sir Thomas Wilson, Secretary of State under Queen Elizabeth. The powerful Pynchon’s—William and his son, Major John Pynchon—were the first of the Connecticut Valley “River gods,” a title given to the men of wealth and influence whose vision and ambition shaped the future of the country. The town records style him “The Worshipful Major Pynchon,” and later, “The Worshipful Colonel.” William Pynchon died 29 October 1662, age 72, at Wraysbury, on the Thames, England. Springfield lies some 30 miles NE of London, near Chelmsford, the shire town or county seat as we know it. The ancient parish church of Springfield lies across the little Chelmer River. Near the church are several mansions of the landed gentry. His married Anna Andrews, the daughter of William Andrew, a member of an old Warwickshire family. She was born about 1594 at Twiwell, County of Northampton, England. Judging by his published works, including extensive knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew writers, theological doctrines, and English law, his biographers have unanimously regarded him as a “gentleman of learning and religion.” A descendant, Dr. Thomas R. Pynchon of Hartford, stated: “William Pynchon was educated at Oxford, matriculated at Hart Hall, afterwards Hertford College, October 14th 1596, when he was eleven years old. It was then the custom to send boys to the Halls of Oxford at an early age. It was, no doubt, here that he acquired his familiarity with Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and accumulated those stores of theological and patriotic learning that he drew from later in life in writing his various works. “He married Anna Andrew, daughter of William Andrew of Twiwell, County Northampton. Was one of the principal projectors of the settlement of New England. “He was in 1624 one of the church-wardens of Springfield Parish in England. “Was one of the principal projectors of the settlement of New England. A patentee and assistant named in the charter of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, granted by Charles I, March 28, 1628. Sailed from the Isle of Wight, March 29, 1630, in the fleet of three vessels that carried the charter over. Founded Roxbury the same year and Springfield in 1636. Returned to England in 1652 and in 1653 bought lands in Wraysbury, County Bucks, near his Bulstrode relations in the adjoining parish of Horton, and directly opposite Magna Charta Island in the Thames, and the field of Runnymede. He died October 29, 1662, and was buried in the Wraysbury churchyard.” From his subsequent career it may well be imagined that he had little sympathy with the current course of events in England, and when on the 4th of March, 1629, there was granted, by King Charles I, to “The Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England” a strip of territory stretching from the Merrimack on the north to a line three miles south of the Charles River, and extending “from the Atlantick and western Sea and ocean on the east parte to the south sea on the west parte,” he was one of this company, which consisted of 27 persons, of whom some were capitalists from London and elsewhere, called the adventurers, and others, those who were going out to New England, called the planters, whose settlements became known as plantations. The price to be paid the Crown for this concession was one-fifth of all the gold and silver found within the limits of the grant. William Pynchon, his wife, Anna, and four children left the Isle of Wight, 8 April 1630, and arrived at Salem, Massachusetts, on June 4. The price charged for the passage was five pounds for an adult and for freight four pounds a ton. Mrs. Anna Pynchon died in Roxbury in 1630, before the return of the ship in which she had left England. Pynchon next married Frances Sanford, “a grave matron of the church of Dorchester,” whose son by her first marriage, Henry Smith, became the husband of Pynchon’s daughter Ann. In the early history of the Colonies of Massachusetts Bay and of Connecticut there is a name which stands out clearly, distinguished alike for the honor long paid to the man who bore it and by the storm of religious criticism which subsequently overwhelmed him. It is that of William Pynchon. Records found in the Essex Quarter Sessions Rolls reveal that Pynchon was a churchwarden of Christ Church in Springfield in January 1619/20 and in December 1624. In Essex County, along the county of Suffolk, Puritanism predominated. William was acquainted with certain Puritan country gentlemen and city merchants of London who, together, formed the Massachusetts Bay Company when King Charles I granted them land. This was to become the Massachusetts Bay Company. It was, primarily, a commercial enterprise. His name appeared frequently in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Company as they were organizing in England, and he was named as one of the Assistants in the charter granted by Charles I on 28 March 1628. Detail from a mural created in 1937 by Umberto Romano for the walls of the Springfield Main Post Office, now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Office Building. This panel is entitled Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield. Note the man to the bottom right gazing at what looks to be smartphone device How would William Pynchon have become interested in the Massachusetts Bay Company project? Chelmsford was the center of a strong Puritan group which certainly would have played some part. He was a close neighbor in Essex of the famous minister, Thomas Hooker, who took many with him to Massachusetts and then to Connecticut; but there is no evidence that he, or personal friendship with him, was of any influence. Political considerations may have played a part, as seen in his later writings. He was a visionary and no doubt saw an unlimited capacity for wealth in the New World, certainly leaning toward the business end of things along with being a Puritan. William Pynchon was a patentee and an assistant named in the Charter forming the Massachusetts Bay Company in New England. He took the oath as assistant on May 13, 1629, and regularly attended the meetings of the General Court and of the Court of Assistants. In August of 1629 he signed The Cambridge Agreement. Twelve leaders of the Company pledged to immigrate with their families to New England, agreeing to leave before March 1, 1630. William Pynchon paid £25 for his share of stock in the Massachusetts Bay Company, and received a receipt for his payment. This receipt is preserved in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society. In October, 1629, William helped draw up articles of agreement between the Adventurers remaining in England and those intending to remove. He was again elected an assistant on October 29th when it had been decided to transfer the government to New England. It was his task to accumulate the weapons and ammunition for the Winthrop fleet. Before leaving England, he disposed of some of his Springfield holdings. As a shareholder of the company he was entitled to 200 acres and 50 acres for each servant he would bring with him. Pynchon left England on March 29, 1630. The Winthrop Society recognizes him as one who sailed in 1630 with The Winthrop Fleet. It is possible, even likely, that he sailed with John Winthrop and the charter. He brought with him his wife and three daughters. His son, John, crossed later (he was 5 years old in 1630.) They arrived at Boston in the summer. One third of the emigrants and half of the cattle perished. Thomas Dudley wrote about the Puritans’ arrival in Massachusetts in the summer of 1630: “In April 1630 we set sail from old England with four good ships. And in May following eight more followed, two having gone before in February and March, and two more following in June and August, besides another set out by a private merchant. These seventeen ships arrived all safe in New England, for the increase of the plantation here, this year 1630. “Our four ships which set out in April, arrived here in June and July, where we found the colony in a sad and unexpected condition, above eighty of them being dead the winter before, and many of those alive, weak and sick. All the corn and bread among them all hardly sufficient to feed them a fortnight; inasmuch that the remaining of 180 servants we had the two years before sent over, coming to us for victuals to sustain them, we found ourselves wholly unable to feed them. “But bearing these things as we might, we began to consult of the place of our sitting down, for Salem, where we landed, pleased us not. And so to that purpose some were sent to the Bay to search up the rivers for a convenient place, who, upon their return, reported to have found a good place upon Mystic; but some other of us seconding these to approve or dislike of their judgment, we found a place we liked better, three leagues up Charles River. “It was decided, for our present shelter to plant dispersedly, some at Charlestown which stands on the north side of the mouth of Charles River; some on the south side, which we named Boston, some of us upon Mystic, which we named Medford; some of us westward on Charles River, four miles from Charlestown, which place we named Watertown; others of us, two miles from Boston, in a place we named Rocksbury; others upon the river of Saugus, between Salem and Charlestown; and the western men, four miles south from Boston, at a place we named Dorchester.” [Winthrop Fleet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Arrival of the Winthrop Colony, by William F. Halsall The Winthrop Fleet was a group of eleven sailing ships under the leadership of John Winthrop that carried approximately 700 Puritans plus livestock and provisions from England to New England over the summer of 1630. The Puritan population in England had been growing for many years leading up to this time. They disagreed with the practices of the Church of England, whose rituals they viewed as superstitions. An associated political movement attempted over many years to modify religious practice in England to conform to their views. King James wished to suppress this growing rebellious movement. Nevertheless, the Puritans eventually gained a majority in Parliament. James' son King Charles came into the greatest possible conflict with the Parliament, and viewed them as a threat to his authority, temporarily dissolving parliament in 1626, and again the next year, and finally dissolving parliament permanently in March 1629.[1] The King's imposition of Personal Rule gave many Puritans a sense of hopelessness regarding their future in that country, and many prepared to leave it permanently for life in New England. Motivated by these political events, a wealthy group of leaders obtained a Royal Charter in March 1629 for a colony at Massachusetts Bay.[2] A fleet of five ships had departed a month previously for New England that included approximately 300 colonists, led by Francis Higginson.[3] However, the colony leaders and the bulk of the colonists remained in England for the time being, to plan more thoroughly for the success of the new colony. Later that year, the group who remained in England elected John Winthrop to be Governor of the Fleet and the Colony. Over the ensuing winter, the leaders recruited a large group of Puritan families, representing all manner of skilled labor, to ensure a robust colony. Voyage The initial group (Arbella and her three escorts)[4] departed Yarmouth, Isle of Wight on April 8,[5] the remainder following in two or three weeks. Seven hundred men, women, and children were distributed among the ships of the fleet.[6] The voyage itself was rather uneventful, the direction and speed of the wind being the main topic in Winthrop's Journal, as it affected how much progress was made each day. There were a few days of severe weather, and every day was cold. The children were cold and bored, and there is a description of a game played with a rope that helped with both problems. Many were sick during the voyage. The Winthrop Fleet was a well planned and financed expedition that formed the nucleus of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. However they were not the first settlers of the area. There was an existing settlement at Salem, started in about 1626, populated by a few hundred Puritans, most of whom had arrived in 1629, and who were governed by John Endicott. Winthrop superseded Endicott as Governor of the Colony upon his arrival in 1630.[7] The flow of Puritans to New England continued for another ten years, during a period known as the Great Migration. Ships Winthrop's Journal lists the eleven ships that were in his fleet: Arbella: The flagship, designated 'Admiral' in the consortship; named for Lady Arbella, wife of Isaac Johnson (see below). Talbot: Designated 'Vice Admiral'. Henry Winthrop, John Winthrop's son, sailed on this ship.[8] Ambrose: Designated 'Rear Admiral'. Jewel: Designated a 'Captain'. Mayflower: A different ship than that of the Pilgrims. Whale Success Charles. William and Francis. Hopewell. Trial. Six other ships arrived at Massachusetts Bay in 1630, for a total of seventeen ships that year.[9] Passengers Nine leading men both applied for the charter for the Massachusetts Bay Colony and came to New England in Winthrop's Fleet.[10] Mr. John Winthrop, Governor, and three of his sons, including two minors and one adult son, Henry Winthrop Sir Richard Saltonstall, three sons and two daughters. Mr. Isaac Johnson Esq. and the Lady Arabella his wife and daughter of Thomas Clinton, 3rd Earl of Lincoln Mr. Charles Fiennes the said Earl's son Mr. Thomas Dudley, his wife, two sons, and four daughters Mr. William Coddington, the first Governor of Rhode Island, and his wife Mr. William Pynchon, and his wife and three daughters Mr. William Vassall, for whom Vassalboro, Maine was named, and his wife Mr. John Revell, merchant, who loaned the Plymouth Colony money, and who was chosen assistant to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Mr. Jon Waterbury Other passengers of historical significance include: Allan Perley Robert Seeley Edward Convers Simon Bradstreet and his wife Anne Bradstreet Thomas Mayhew Captain John Underhill William Phelps, wife Ann Dover and four sons Robert Abell Jehu Burr Great Great Grandfather of Aaron Burr William Phelps, a founder of both Dorchester, Massachusetts and Windsor, Connecticut and foreman of the first grand jury in New England. John Wilson, first minister of the Boston church Captain Edward Johnson (1598-1672) was a leading figure in colonial Massachusetts, and is one of the founders of Woburn, Massachusetts. A complete list of passengers is maintained by The Winthrop Society,[11] a hereditary organization of descendants of the Winthrop Fleet and later Great Migration ships that arrived before 1634.] ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS Upon arrival in New England, Pynchon settled first at Dorchester, but within a short time removed to Roxbury, an adjoining settlement. He was possibly a principal founder of Roxbury and was "one of the first foundation of the church" (Savage) in that town, though I have not seen his name in any history of either. From April until December 1631, a scurvy epidemic devastated the region and about 200 perished. His wife, Anna, died on 30 August 1630 even before the ship that brought her to New England began its return journey. After some years he married the Widow Frances Sanford Smith. She was described by Eliot as the "grave matron of the church at Dorchester.” She is said to have been a fitting companion for an educated man having the attainments of Mr. Pynchon. Her son by her first marriage, Henry Smith, a "godly, wise young man," later married William's daughter, Anne, and figured prominently in the settlement that became Springfield. As a member of the Massachusetts Bay Company, William Pynchon served as: Assistant - 1630-36, and again 1642-50/51. The Court of Assistants was then the principal judicial body in the plantation. He participated extensively in hearing and determining civil and criminal causes. Treasurer - 1632-1634. Member, Commission for Military Affairs - March1634/35· THE PURCHASE OF THE LAND In the spring of 1636, Pynchon, his family, and the other settlers, uprooted from Roxbury to settle at Agawam (Springfield, named after his home in England) on the Connecticut River. Two months later, William and two others bought the land on both sides of the Connecticut, signing the deed on July 15th with two of the "ancient Indians of Agawam," and others. They paid the eighteen fathoms of wampum, eighteen coats, 18 hatchets, 18 hoes, 18 knifes for the land. (One fathom was nearly two meters.) Evidently, the composition of his name- Wruththena - indicated that he was a "prince in embryo"; hence, he received two extra coats. William was now the northernmost trader on the Connecticut River. He had a warehouse and conducted business with the settlers and Indians for necessities such as various kinds of cloth, thread, ready-made coats, spoons, salt and other scarce foodstuffs, knives, hatchets, tin looking glasses, tobacco boxes, scissors, brass kettles, mackerel hooks, needles and pins. With the Indians, he traded for furs. Puritan society. This claim can be well defended. Firstly, Pynchon had a much broader conception of Indian sovereignty and independence than other Puritan leaders. He did not fully accept that God's grace and the King's charter gave the Puritans full and final legal authority over the heathen Indians. Secondly, Springfield's land policy was beneficial to both the Indians and the settlers. The earliest settlers did not employ force or phony legal doctrine to take possession of the land. Instead, title to the land was obtained in a fair and equitable manner. Finally, it can be argued that the treatment of Indians in the Springfield courts was generally fair and impartial. The respect accorded to the Indians by their European neighbors should not be misinterpreted, however. The earliest Europeans in Springfield were not great humanitarians. There is nothing in the records to suggest that they were more noble or kindhearted than their counterparts in other Puritan towns. In fact, Pynchon and his townspeople probably accepted the Puritan notion that the Indians were corrupted by the devil and therefore less godly then themselves. Instead, Springfield's fair and just Indian policy was simply a pragmatic response to its location on the fringes of Puritan society. More than other Puritan towns, Springfield had to maintain good relations with its Indian neighbors. Inimical relations would have endangered Springfield's fur trade and, more significantly, its security. In short, Springfield was compelled to treat the Indians with unusual fairness and justice. Regardless of their motives, the records clearly show that in matters of judicial procedure, land acquisition, and commerce, the earliest European settlers of Springfield followed a remarkably considerate and just policy in their dealings with the Native inhabitants of the area. (Source: "Springfield's Puritans and Indians: 1636-1655" by Marty O'Shea, which appeared in the Historical Journal of Massachusetts [Winter 1998.]) On the 14th of April, 1641, the people voted in a general town meeting and changed the name of the town from Agawam to Springfield in honor of his birthplace in England. The General Court recognized the town as Springfield in 1641, and the State of Massachusetts has recognized our ancestor as the Founder of Springfield ever since. For some unknown reason, he was not made a "Freeman" of the Colony until the 11th of August 1642, because he certainly was working in the capacity of one. Added here, only because it fits here in the timeline of William's life, is a little snippet in his own words. The Massachusetts Collections has preserved some of William Pynchon's letters. There is a letter dated Springfield, October 19, 1648, in which he alludes to Mr. Ludlow's visit at his house, and to some fault he found with the construction of some orders that had been prepared, to which he added this sage conclusion. "But often tymes it fals out that a man may be one of the 20 that will find fault, & yet be none of the 20 that will mend them." WITCHCRAFT IN SPRINGFIELD William Pynchon was the prosecuting magistrate in a case of witchcraft that pre-dated those in Salem, Massachusetts, by 70 years. It was the case of Mary Parsons, who circulated a report that a widow named Marshfield was a practitioner of witchcraft. Mrs. Marshfield began an action against Mrs. Parsons, and Magistrate Pynchon found Mrs. Parsons guilty of slander and sentenced her to receive 20 lashes from the constable, or pay £3, which was paid with 24 bushels of Indian corn. WILLIAM PYNCHON'S DISGRACE William visited London in 1650 and published a theological book entitled "The Meritorious Price of our Redemption,” which contained his thoughts on the nature of redemption, justification, etc. The Boston high and mighty lords, spiritual and temporal, did not find it to be in accord with their own opinions. He was at once denounced as a heretic by the magnates of the church with the State behind them. There were severe statutes with consequences in those days. Mr. Pynchon was “labored with,” was formally answered, and then his arguments were conclusively refuted by the public executioner in the burning of his work in the market place of Boston, while the General Court stripped the author of his position and dignities. To save himself from additional and more pressing attentions of this sort, he wisely concluded to put the Atlantic between himself and the worshipful potentates of Boston, and returned to England in 1652 (dying in 1661.) The book's appearance in Boston astonished and offended the General Court. Some said the title page itself was sufficient to prove the heretical nature of the arguments. William was received on his return with a storm of indignation. The Court passed a resolution on October 15, 1650, condemned the book, ordered that it should be burned by the public executioner, and summoned the author to appear before them at session the next May. Copies of the book (440 pages) were burned the next day. Only four copies have survived, one of which is preserved at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum. In addition, a day of "fasting and humiliation" was proclaimed in order for the populace to consider how Satan had prevailed among them by "drawing away some ... to the profession and practize of straunge opinions." Satan's influence in the colony was growing and Pynchon's book was the proof of that! William appeared before the Court in May 1651 and the case against him was discussed among the colony's freemen; but because he was a powerful man of influence, he would be treated in a rather careful manner. After this meeting, Pynchon retracted some of his statements, claiming they had entirely misunderstood his meaning. He was not then condemned but was sent back to Springfield in a "hopeful way" to reconsider his views and make a full retraction, and the case was continued until the next General Court in October of 1651, when a decision would be reached. William neither gave in nor went to Boston October 14th, when the Court met. Ten days later, the court rendered a judgment ordering him to appear the next May of 1652 for judgment and censure of the Court. Sensing himself in some little danger, though not a man of fear of conflict, he was now old and had no stomach for a huge legal battle or more serious contentions. He 'stood to lose his fortune, his property, and be left in disgrace and ruin. On September 28th, 1651, he conveyed to his son, as a gift, all his lands and buildings on both sides of the Connecticut River. His land grants from the town totaled about 280 acres. William also installed John as successor to his vast business interests. His son was now the largest land owner in Springfield. Though the exact date is unknown, William Pynchon and his wife, returned to England. His daughter, and son-in-law Henry Smith, followed early the next year. None ever returned. It is unknown if the Bay Colony prosecution was dropped or if his departure was in continued defiance of the authorities, but he never made a satisfactory recantation of his "errors.” Only two of William's family remained in Springfield: his son, John, daughter Elizabeth, and her husband, Elizur Holyoke. (http://]osfamilyhistory,com/htm/nickel/griffin/sheldon/whiting/Whiting-pynchon-wm.htm#j npyn5) John took on the magistracy which had been his father's. He would stay out of dangerous discussions of theology for the rest of his life. The First Church and also the settlement of Springfield were again equally favored under the rule, devoutness, and bravery of his son, the “Worshipful” Major John Pynchon, who married Amy, daughter of Gov. Wyllys of Hartford, and, after a life of great usefulness, died in 1703. No better illustration of the Christian character of this successor can be furnished than the following extract of a letter written by him immediately after the burning of Springfield, to his son Joseph, who happily for himself was then in England: “My barns and out housing are all burnt down and all my corne and hay consumed, and not anything have I left of food either for man or beast; and all my mills, both corne and sawmills, are burned, so that I am really reduced to graite straits.” But he adds: “O dear son, how sweet is an interest in Christ Jesus in these distracting tymes.” William established himself at the rural village of Wraysbury on the Thames, near Windsor, with his wife and one of his daughters, Anne Smith. Anne's mother-in-law, the Widow Frances Sanford Smith, was now married to William Pynchon, so was also her step-mother. William was able to spend the last ten years of his life pursuing theological study and writing, which were his passion. Oddly, now back in England, he was in conformity with the Church of England. In 1655, he revised his book, "The Meritorious Price of Man's Redemption, or Christ's Satisfaction discussed and explained," with a rejoinder to the Rev. John Norton's "answer". Other works of his pen include "The Jewes Synagogue," (1652), "How the First Sabbath was ordained," (1654), and "The Covenant of Nature made with Adam," (1662). William's wife died on October 10th, 1657, at Wraisbury, on the Thames, near famous Runnymede, in County Buckinghamshire. William died at the same place on October 29, 1662, (aged 72). THE WILL OF WILLIAM PHYCHON: Dated 4 October 1662 and proved on 8 December 1662. My chief executor is at present absent (his son John Pynchon, of Springfield, New England.) •To Elizabeth, Mary and Rebecca Smith, daughters of my son Master Henry Smith, and to his son Elisha Smith, twenty pounds apiece, to be paid by my son Mr. Henry Smith at the time of their marriage, as he did unto Martha Smith, out of a bond which he owes me, of two hundred and twenty pounds. •To my daughter Anne Smith the rest of the said bond (220li) with the overplus of interest. •To the children of my daughter Margaret Davis, of Boston in New England, deceased, videlicet unto Thomas, Benjamin and William Davis, ten pounds apiece to be paid by my son Mr. Henry Smith. •To my son Master John Pynchon, of Springfield in New England (a sum) out of the bond which he owes me of one hundred and six pounds, dated 15 April 1654. •Whereas my son Mr. Henry Smith hath promise to pay unto me his debts which have been long due to him in New England and a horse of his at Barbadoes, for the satisfaction of an old debt that he owes me, in Quarto Vellum Book, in page 112, I bequeath them to the children of my son Master Elizur Holioke in New England &c. •To the poor of Wraysberie three pounds. •Son Mr. John Pynchon of Springfield in New England to be executor, to whom the residue, provided he pay to Joseph and John Pynchon and to Mary and Hetabell Pynchon twenty pounds apiece. •Mr. Wickens, citizen and girdler of London, and Mr. Henry Smith of Wraysbery to be overseers. •Friend Mr. John Wickens to be my executor touching the finishing of my administration business concerning the estate of Master Nicholas Ware in Virginia, whose estate is thirty pounds in a bill of exchange to Capt. Pensax and about eighteen thousand of tobacco, in several bills made over by Mr. Nicholas Ware to Capt. John Ware of Virginia &c. •To beloved sister Jane Tesdall of Abington twenty pounds; to sister Susan Platt twenty pounds, as a token of my cordial love; certain clothing to Mary, Elizabeth and Rebecca Smith. [The above was divided for easier reading. The will was published in the Historical and Genealogical Register.] “William Pynchon—1636,” by Theo. W. Ellis: That the First Church of Christ and the city of Springfield should both owe their foundation to one individual, is noteworthy; and it is a matter of honest pride and grateful remembrance that this one man, on account of his lofty Christian character, is justly entitled to the lasting reverence of the church; and likewise for his kindly and efficient government of the infant settlement, is equally entitled to the enduring regard of the city. The Hon. Col. William Pynchon came to America in 1630. He was one of the first patentees of the Colony of Massachusetts, and at one time treasurer of it. He was the son of John Pynchon, of Springfield, Writtle, Essex County, England, and grandson of Nicholas Pynchon, of Wales, sheriff of London in 1532. On his arrival in America, William Pynchon settled in Roxbury, and about 1636 removed to this place. He selected the site of Springfield, brought hither his own family of three daughters and one son (John, then about 15 years of age), also one son-i-law, and shortly afterwards another son-in-law (Holyoke) was added. These, with a few associates, commenced the settlement of what is now known as Springfield. It was the day of small things, but the place grew steadily, and Pynchon remained until the ground had been cleared, house built, defenses established, the church erected (n 1646), laws in operation, and the community in full process of development under regular organization. In all these undertakings he was the originator and financial backer; as well as the administrator of justice for the infant colony. He was the preeminent merchant, magistrate, and scholar of Springfield, and the most influential resident of the place during his time. All the records bring into necessary prominence his enterprise, energy, and capacity; but no account of him can do justice to the pioneer of Springfield which fails to emphasize his Christian character, the tender spirit, the strict conscientiousness, and the very devout piety of this Christian gentleman. The confidence which his neighbors reposed in his sanctified talents is exhibited in their readiness to appoint him to minister from the sacred desk of the First Church of Christ. To him and to his children, the Mohawk chiefs, when asking to be treated with by his renowned grandson, made this noble reference: "And as to Col. Pynchon in particular, they urged their acquaintance with his ancestors, and their experience of their integrity." Unfortunately, as it turned out, his scholarship ran into abstruse and polemical theology, and having published (in 1650) his thoughts in a volume on the nature of redemption, justification, etc., which sundry of the high and mighty lords, spiritual and temporal, of Boston did not find to be in accord with their own opinions, he was at once denounced as a heretic. To be thus denounced by the magnates of the church (with the State behind them) carried weighty consequences in those days, as there were the severest statutes against "broaching and maintaining any damnable heresy." Mr. Pynchon was "labored with," was formally answered, and then his arguments were conclusively refuted by the public executioner in the burning of his work in the market place of Boston, while the General Court stripped the author of his position and dignities. To save himself from additional and more pressing attentions of this sort, he wisely concluded to put the Atlantic between himself and the worshipful potentates of Boston, and returning to England in 1652, died there in Wraysbury, Bucks., England. Peace to his ashes. Happily his family were not involved in the liabilities attaching to this theological treatise of 440 pages, and they inherited the virtues, exerted the influence, and wielded the authority of their father. And the First Church, and also the settlement of Springfield, were again equally favored under the rule, devoutness, and bravery of his son, the "Worshipful" Major John Pynchon, who married Amy, daughter of Gov. Wyllys of Hartford, and, after a life of great usefulness, died in 1703. No better illustration of the Christian character of this successor can be furnished than the following extract of a letter written bv him immediatelv after the burning of Springfield, to his son Joseph, who happily for himself was then in England: "My barns and outhousing are all burnt down and all my corne and hay consumed, and not anything have I left of food either for man or beast ; and all my mills, both corne and saw-mills, are burned, so that I am really reduced to graite straits." But he adds: "O dear son, how sweet is an interest in Christ Jesus in, these distracting tymes." The successors of the aforementioned servants of Christ were very prominent men, holding church, civil, military, and judicial offices; and highly esteemed, not only in the First Church in Springfield, but throughout all this vicinity. Dr. Joseph C. Pynchon and William Pynchon of this city are lineal descendants of these worthies in the eighth generation. I follow them no further, however, as my only object has been to draw attention to these honored fathers as historic exemplars of the power of a living faith in Christ. It seemed hardly fitting that this record of the ancient church should go forth without brief reference to these shining members of it, whose fervent piety was their most conspicuous characteristic, and remains the best inheritance of their successors and of the church. (Manual of the First Church of Christ and names of all the members: from the year 1735 to Nov. 1, 1885.) CHILDREN of WILLIAM & ANNA (ANDREWS) PYNCHON 1.Ann Pynchon was born about 1618. She married Henry Smith, a "godly, wise young man" who figured prominently in the settlement of the plantation of Agawam. Ann and Henry Smith had two children: Mary and Hannah. 2.Colonel John Pynchon married Amy Wyllys of Hartford. She was the daughter of Connecticut's early governor, George Wyllys. 3.Margaret Pynchon was born about 1624 at Dorchester, Dorset, England. She married at Springfield, on 6 December 1644, Capt. William Davis of Boston, born about 1620 at Dorchester, Dorset, England. She died on 3 July 1653 at Boston, Suffolk County, Mass. Capt. Davis died 17 May, 1676, at Boston, Suffolk Co., Mass. He was a wealthy and enterprising Boston apothecary, and was chosen deputy from Springfield several times. 4.Mary Pynchon was born about 1622 in Essex, England. She married Elizur Holyoke on 20 November 1640, born in 1613 at Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, the son of Edward Holyoke and Prudence Stockton. She died October 20th or 26th, 1657, at Springfield, Hampden Co, Mass. He died at the same place on 9 Feb 1675/76. William Pynchon died 29 October 1662, Wraysbury, Bucks., England, age 72. (Source: “Our Pynchon Family,” Official Website of the Saemann-Nickel and Related Families, Joann Saemann, Bountiful, Utah, 2007; last updated 14 January 2015.) William Pynchon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Pynchon (October 11, 1590 – October 29, 1662) was an English colonist and fur trader in North America best known as the founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was also a colonial treasurer, original patentee of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the iconoclastic author of the New World's first banned book. An original settler of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Pynchon became dissatisfied with that town's notoriously rocky soil and in 1635, led the initial settlement expedition to Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, where he found exceptionally fertile soil and a fine spot for conducting trade. In 1636, he returned to officially purchase its land, then known as "Agawam." In 1640, Springfield was officially renamed after Pynchon's home village, now a suburb of Chelmsford in Essex, England — due to Pynchon's grace following a dispute with Hartford, Connecticut's Captain John Mason over, essentially, whether to treat local natives as friends or enemies. (Pynchon was a man of peace and also very business-minded — thus he advocated for friendship with the region's natives.) Pynchon's stance led to Springfield aligning with the faraway government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony rather than the more geographically and ideologically compatible Connecticut Colony. William Pynchon is an ancestor of renowned American novelist Thomas Pynchon. Founding of Cities William Pynchon was one of New England's first and most business-minded settlers. In founding Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1630, Pynchon settled land near a narrow isthmus, which was necessary to cross in order to reach the Port of Boston — thus all of Massachusetts' mainland trade needed to pass through his town. Unfortunately, Roxbury — originally named "Rocksbury" for its rocky soil — was a poor site on which to farm in comparison to the fertile Connecticut River Valley. Thus in 1635, Pynchon carefully scouted out the Connecticut River Valley for its best location to both farm and conduct business. Happily, he discovered that its best location had not yet been settled. In locating the land that would become the City of Springfield, Pynchon found land just north of the Connecticut River's first large falls, the Enfield Falls, which was the river's northern terminus navigable by seagoing ships. By founding Springfield where Pynchon did, much of the Connecticut River's traffic would have to either begin, end, or cross his settlement. Additionally, the land that would become Springfield was inarguably among the most fertile for farming in New England — and its Natives were initially friendly, unlike those near southerly Connecticut River settlements such as Hartford. Earlier settlers of the Connecticut River Valley — who then resided in the three Connecticut settlements at Wethersfield, Hartford and Windsor — had been primarily religious-minded and did not judge land for settlement in the shrewd terms that Pynchon did. Perhaps most strategically of all, Pynchon's settlement was located equidistant to the New World's (then) two most important ports, Boston and Albany, with Native roads already cleared to both places. Springfield could not have been better situated — and currently, as Springfield is the Connecticut River Valley's most populous city, history seems to have vindicated Pynchon's original assessment of the land.[1][2] In founding "The Great River's" northernmost settlement, Pynchon sought to enhance the trading links with upstream Native peoples such as the Pocumtucks, and over the next generation he built Springfield into a thriving trade town and made a fortune, personally. As noted above, after disagreements with Captain John Mason and later Thomas Hooker about how to treat the native population (Pynchon was a man of peace and Springfield's natives were friendly, whereas Hartford's natives were warlike and thus Connecticut's settlers chose to treat them as enemies rather than friends.) Pynchon believed that Connecticut's policy of intimidating and brutalizing natives was not only unconscionable, but bad for business. After Pynchon became disaffected with the Connecticut Colony, he annexed Springfield to Massachusetts Bay Colony, confirming that colony's western and southwestern boundaries. Pynchon built a warehouse in what was once Springfield, but is present-day East Windsor, Connecticut, known as Warehouse Point — and to this day, it still bears the name. In the years 1636-1652, Pynchon exported between 4,000 to 6,000 beaver pelts a year from that location, and also was the New World's first commercial meat packer, exporting pork products.[3] The profits from these endeavors enabled him to retire to England as a very wealthy man.[4] In 1649, William Pynchon found time to write a critique of his place and times' dominant religious doctrine, Puritanical Calvinism, entitled The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption. Published in London in 1650, it quickly reached Boston and caused a sensation. Pynchon was one of Massachusetts' wealthiest and most important men, and in his book — which refuted Puritan theology by claiming that obedience, rather than punishment and suffering, was the price of atonement — was immediately burned on the Boston Common, (only 4 copies survived,) and soon after became the New World's first-ever banned book. Officials of the Massachusetts Bay Colony formally accused Pynchon of heresy and demanded that he retract its argument. Coincidentally, Pynchon's court date took place on the same day and at the same place that the New World's first witch trial — that of Hugh and Mary Parsons of Springfield — took place. Instead of retracting his arguments, Pynchon stealthily transferred his land holdings to his son John — who later became an equally large influence in Springfield — while William Pynchon returned to England in 1652, where he remained for the rest of his life.[5] After Pynchon's return to England, his son John extended his father's settlements in the Connecticut River Valley northward, founding Northampton, Westfield, Hadley, and other towns. His daughter, Mary Pynchon, married Elizur Holyoke, after whom the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts and the nearby Holyoke Range are named. AGNES ANNA ANDREWS was born about 1593, of Northamptonshire, England, to William Andrew (1582-) and Brigetta Risley (1573-1638) (Andrew was a member of an old Warwickshire family.) Anna married William Pynchon of Springfield, Essex, England, about 1623. They arrived at Salem, Massachusetts, 4 June 1630, from England. Anna Andrew passed away 30 August 1630, at Roxbury, Norfolk, Massachusetts, at about 37 years old, in the same year as she sailed to New England, leaving her four living children. Children of William Pynchon and Anna Andrew: 1.Ann Pynchon, b. 1618, of Springfield, England; md. Henry Smith (step brother), a “godly, wise young man” who figured prominently in the settlement of the plantation of Aagawam), about 1639; d. 1685. 2.Mary Pynchon, b. 1623, of Springfield, England; md. Eliezur Holyoke, 20 Nov 1640; d. 26 Oct 1657, Springfield. 3.Margaret Pynchon, b. 1624, Dorchester, England; md. Lt. William Davis or Davison, 6 Dec 1644, at Springfield; d. 3 May 1653, Boston. 4.Col. John Pynchon was born about 1625, of Dorchester, Dorset, England, to William Pynchon (1590-1662) and Agnes Anna Andrews (1593-1630.) He married Amy Wyllys, 26 Oct. 1654. John Pynchon died 17 Jan 1703, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at about age 78. + 7. COL. JOHN PYNCHON (1625-1703) AMY WYLLYS (1625-1698) COLONEL JOHN PYNCHON was born of Springfield, in the Parish of Chelmsford, County of Essex England, in about 1625. His parents were William Pynchon (1590-1662) and Anna Andrews (1693-1630.) John Pynchon died 17 January 1703, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at about age 76. He was brought to Roxbury, Massachusetts, at the age of four. When he was ten, his father moved the family to the settlement of Agawam in the Connecticut Valley. In 1641, Agawam was renamed “Springfield” in honor of John’s father. During John’s youth, few in Springfield had much of an education at all. The town was created out of a virtual wilderness. He possessed a superior native intelligence, but to obtain a formal English education such as he received was remarkable. He was probably educated at the desks of his parents and the Rev. George Moxon, a graduate of Cambridge University. Rev. Moxon was a lifelong friend of his father and was installed in 1637 as the first pastor at the new settlement of Agawam. John and his sister, Mary, were Springfield’s two most prominent children. Not much different than today, yesterday’s children of prominence would get a lot of “press” where possible. Along with, and certainly as part of, his studies, John interacted with simple frontier farmers, tradesmen, and Indians of different tribes, obtaining a vast knowledge in the nuances of trade, working in his father’s fur-trading and mercantile businesses. He learned at least one Algonkian dialect. He was one of the very few Puritan officials to understand the nature and importance of intertribal rivalries and warfare. He led his own people along a middle road that ensured peace with the Pocumtuck Confederacy until 1675. John Pynchon was reared in, and maintained throughout his life, the old-school concept of an almighty God. During the ministry of George Moxon, as a youth, he took notes, in a kind of shorthand, the leading points in the sermons, which are now in possession of the City Library. His shorthand was only recently decoded. He believed in and observed the Puritan resignation to the will of God, never questioning His ways or His means. God’s Hand was to be seen in every moment of the day. The Lord’s ultimate responsibility for everything comforted and sustained him in all situations. He believed, for instance, that King Philip’s War was God’s means of punishing a sinful New England, the Indians being divinely appointed to chastise the white sinners. John Pynchon actually became much more important to the Massachusetts Colony than was his father. He was considered, even up to the time of his death, the “chief man in all the west.” He fit no mould, nor did he conform to any of the familiar colonial types. John Pynchon had style, what we would today call “panache.” There were none other like him; he stood alone in the select company of frontier builders. He chose a public life because it was the function proper to a gentleman. He married Amy Wyllys 30 October 1645, in Hartford. The powerful Pynchon’s—William and his son, Major John Pynchon—were the first of the Connecticut Valley “River gods,” a title given to the men of wealth and influence whose vision and ambition shaped the future of the country. The town records style him “The Worshipful Major Pynchon,” and later, “The Worshipful Colonel.” John Pynchon, the only son of the founder of Springfield (William Pynchon,) was 26 years old when his father returned to England. Inheriting the lands his father had acquired here and his store of goods, and the special privileges which had been granted to him in the way of trade with the Indians, the son at once entered upon a prosperous career, and was placed at the front of every undertaking leading to the development of the country, and to the acquisition of wealth. He had from the start opportunities that came to no other inhabitant, and he possessed the ability to make the most of favoring circumstances. In both private and public concerns he was the leading spirit. He was chosen Selectman in 1650. Town Clerk in 1652, appointed Magistrate to try small causes in 1653, elected Deputy to the General Court in 1662, and soon afterward Assistant in the Council, or Upper House, which position he held until 1701, almost to the close of his life. Before his father departed for England, on 28 September 1651, he quietly conveyed to him, all his lands (about 280 acres) and buildings, and all his business enterprises. After his father left he was known as Major Pynchon in Springfield, sometimes called the Worshipful Major, who was long chief magistrate, a ruler and a man of extensive knowledge of the affairs of the colony. He was appointed by the General Court on the committees to establish the boundaries of the new towns within the vicinity of Springfield. He, with others, laid out the bounds of Northampton, Hadley, and what afterwards became Hatfield (purchasing the lands of the Indians), Westfield, Suffield, and Enfield. In short there was no movement of a public nature in which he was not concerned. Even the names of some of the new localities suggest his practical and unsentimental nature. For instance, Westfield was so named from the fact that it was a field west of Springfield; Suffield was originally Southfield, from its direction from Springfield, but the English habit of contracting the prefix to "suf” for south curtailed it to Suffield, Enfield was sometimes written Endfield, suggesting that it was a field at the end of the town, it being supposed at the time that it was within the sphere of Massachusetts. It might, however, have derived its name from Enfield, in England. Then, at a much later date, came the naming of Brimfield, suggested perhaps from the fact it was on the brim of the settlement. Brookfield, in which Pynchon had a hand, was probably named from its numerous brooks. Going north, though Pynchon was not concerned in its beginning, Northfield received its name from its geographical position to the older settlements, and Deerfield, from the fact that its meadows made a good feeding place and were frequented by deer. Sunderland was originally in the Pynchon vernacular Swampfield. The Stony brooks of Suffield and up the Connecticut, received their names from Pynchon. These localities had something about their position sufficient to suggest to his practical mind the names which they received and continue to bear at the present time. He entered early into the military spirit which had come across the ocean as an inheritance. He was confirmed by the General Court in 1653 Lieutenant of the training band, in 1657 Captain of the company, and at a later date was made a Major of the troop, the local cavalry company, with the command of the military forces in this region. John made his first trip to England in 1656, by this time thirty years of age he resided either in London or Wraysbury, Buckinghamshire, from September 10, 1656, until November 3, 1657. (His father died in1662.) On January 12, 1659, he placed an order for 50,000 bricks to be burned at Northampton for his new mansion, the bricks to be completed by the 12th of December. The house was intended to be a fortified house and was known as the “Old Fort.” John Pynchon, as a major, was head of the armed men in western Massachusetts in their campaigns against the Indians. During King Philip’s War, John was in Hadley with his troops on October 16th, 1675, when the Indians attacked and burned the town. The Pynchon “fort” became a refuge during the attack and subsequent burning of the town. John Pynchon built the first sawmill in Springfield in 1667 and previously paid two shillings a day to men to saw boards from logs by hand. He also kept the store in Springfield, exported furs to England, and imported goods from England. He extended credit to residents of Springfield and western Massachusetts and thus acquired considerable land in the settlement of accounts from those who could otherwise not pay. He was very prosperous and a most influential man. The Colonial authorities appear to have had great confidence in his ability and the General Court appointed him on many important committees relative to boundary lines, and in 1680 he was sent to Albany to confer with Sir Edmund Andros, then Governor of New York, concerning the depredations that the Mohawks were making upon some of our outer settlements, and he succeeded in establishing friendly relations with the Indians for which our General Court voted him £12. The same year he was appointed with Joseph Dudley to establish the boundary line between Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1685 he was one of the committee to make the final settlement of the boundary line between Springfield and Northampton. During his long service in the General Court there was scarcely an important question concerning boundaries or where tact and diplomacy were needed, that he was not given opportunity to bring about a peaceful settlement. He was zealous in upholding the religion of his time, but he does not appear to have had any of the polemic, or controversial spirit of his father. He was too eminently practical to enter into the discussion of the different points in theology—possibly from the fact he was deeply concerned in trade, and in the accumulation of wealth. Whatever success came to him he evidently regarded as God given. He took part in the religious observances of the town and at times conducted Sunday services, sometimes by reading and sometimes from his own meditations. During the ministry of George Moxon he wrote in a kind of short-hand the leading points in the sermons which are now in possession of the City Library. The code has finally been broken. The great calamity which befell Springfield October 5, 1675, the burning of the town by the Indians, occurred while he was at the head of his troops in Hadley, and his desponding letters concerning it, written to Rev. John Russell of Hadley, and to the Governor, indicate that he was greatly affected and despaired of the ability that had fallen upon it, but his fears proved greater than the reality and prosperity came to it in the subsequent years in the continued up-building of the town. Springfield, October, 1675 Dear Son Joseph: [who was in England] The sore contending of God with us, for our sins unthankfulness for our former mercies, and unfaithfulness under our precious enjoyments, hath evidently demonstrated that He is very angry with this Country. God having given the heathen a large commission to destroy this People—And exceeding havock have they made in this Country, destroying two or three small places above Northampton and Hadley, and lately they have fallen upon Springfield, and almost ruined it by burning the Houses. About 30 or 32 dwelling Houses are burnt down, and some 25 Barns full of corn and hay. The Lord hath spared my dwelling house, but my barns and outhousing are all burnt down, and all my corn and hay consumed, and not anything have I left of food either for man or beast. All my mills, both corn and saw mills, are burned down. Those at home in this Towne and also those I had in other places and four of those houses and barns to them, were burnt down in this Towne, belongeth to me also, so that God hath laid me low. My farmers also undone, and many in Towne that were in my debt, entirely disabled. So that I am really reduced to greate straites. But it is the Lord’s good pleasure it should be so. And he is most just and Righteous, yet in very faithfulness hath he done it, for the good of my Soule. I have not the least cause to murmur and repine, at the wise dispose of a Gracious God and loving father, but desire to acquiesce in his good pleasure, and to lye at his foote in holy submission to his blessed will. This Providence and the unsettled state of this country in reference to this Indian War affords matter for consideration, in reference to your coming over, which I have much desired, and wrote to you for—but now shall leave you to your liberty, not having ground, or seeing cause to put you upon it, further than you shall yourself see reason for it. Though I and your mother should be exceeding glad to see you, yet as tymes are, question whether it be best to come over yet (I mean now) and how God may dispose of us I know not. We are yet here in Springfield, my house garrisoned with soldiers and full of troubles and hurrys. The Lord help us to remember our peace and quietness, and to lament our abuse thereof and heartily and really turne to himself, by unfeigned repentance. The Lord is in good earnest with us, and truly expects our being in good earnest with Him in returning to himselfe. Oh dear Son, how sweete is an interest in Christ Jesus, in these distracting tymes, and it is good knowing in whom we have believed. Treasure in Heaven is abiding, when the greatest worldly enjoyments may soon fail us, and come to nothing. Let us therefore, while we have them, so use them, as not using them—setting loose from them, and being contented to part with all, when God calls for it. In the improving of the creature, to set loose from it, is a sweete and blessed frame, for I know it is a duty to look after and mange what God hath given us, and in that respect I may call on you to doe your best (in away of prudence) to settle your Estate in England and in it to advise with Mr. Wichens and Bro. Smith, who I know will afford the best help they can, and doe as you are able. I am not able to afford you any helpe, but by the prayers I am always putting up for you, and as God shall enable shall be ready to do my utmost for you. The Lord in many other ways be good to you and us. How he may deal with us I know not. Where his Providence may cast me, whither to Boston or further, or whether I may live to get out of this place, it is with himself and on that strong Rock I desire to depend for Salvation, here and hereafter. I am in straites and hurrys, and may only add mine and your mothers endeared Love and Affection, to you, and with hearty wishes and prayers for you, commend you to the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and am your afflicted and loving Father, John Pynchon. P.S. Dear Son: I should not have troubled at these sad losses which I have met with. There is no reason for a child to be troubled when his Father calls in that which he lent him. It was the Lord that sent it to me, and he that gave it hath taken it away; and blessed be the name of the Lord. He hath done very well for me, and I acknowledge his goodness to me, and desire to trust in him and submit to him forever, and do you with me, acknowledge and justify Him. Letter to Rev. John Russell of Hadley: We came to a lamentable and woeful sight. The town in flames, not a house nor barn standing, except old Goodman Branch’s, till we came to my house and then Mr. Grover’s, John Hitchcock’s, and Goodman Stewart’s burnt, some with barns, corn, and all they had…. They tell me 32 houses and the barns belonging to them are burnt, and all the livelihood of the owners, and what more may meet with the same stroke the Lord only knows. “King Philip’s War,” (Gaylord Memorial Library, February 12, 2014): The year was 1675, almost eighty years before the French and Indian War and exactly a hundred years before the American Revolutionary War. “King Philip’s War,” or Metacomb’s Rebellion, a conflict between several Native American tribes was led by Metacomb, or “King Philip,” and the more recently arrived New England settlers, supported by the Pequot, Mohegan, and Niantic tribes. Springfield: “…the air was full of rumors of war, and the panic-stricken inhabitants lived in constant expectation of slaughter and destruction. We can hardly realize the terror of those days in the unprotected hamlet, when the forests all about seemed filled with the shadows of unseen foes. Again and again, alarmed by some unknown cause, the cattle and horses came rushing into the clearing in a wild stampede, and the women and children hid in the darkest corners of their homes, and held their breaths for fear.” Losses from the conflict were heavy on both sides. Major Pynchon received a “warning that five hundred of King Philip’s men were in readiness to fall upon Springfield” but before they could arrive they saw “afar off the sky red with the flames of 32 blazing houses, only thirteen remain unharmed. The New England troops retaliated. Cruel acts unworthy of a civilized people were committed.” Following King Philip’s death in 1676, the war concluded, and life presumably settled down once more in Springfield and the surrounding area. (End Gaylord Memorial Library article.) His penmanship was strong and clear, entirely unlike that of his father, but he lacked that thorough training that his father had received, which could hardly be otherwise considering he was place under entirely different conditions in his youth. His recorded transactions lack system and an orderly arrangement in statement, but there is a certain picturesqueness that gives them the color of the times, a freshness that better trained minds sometimes lack. In entering the accounts in his ledger he frequently accompanied them with bits of conversation, or statements that enliven a very commonplace transaction, even to describing his leather breeches made for him by John Barber. He was granted at various times large tracts of land. The Island in the Connecticut just north of the railroad bridge at Warehouse Point, was given to him in 1681 by our General Court. He acquired many grants from the town as gifts, or for services in the erection of mills, or for other work done by him. The grain mill and the saw mill were built and conducted in consideration of receiving grants of land. His mercantile transactions extended up and down the Connecticut in the early years, having purchasers at Northampton and Hadley on the north, and at Windsor, Hartford, Wethersfield, and even New Haven on the south. His store probably had the largest stock of goods for many years of any within many miles of Springfield. Beaver skins bought of the Indians, or of those who traded with them, were shipped to England, and they enabled him to purchase goods for his store. Grain was sent down the Connecticut and around to Boston, but there is nothing to indicate here that it was shipped to England. He also had some trade with Barbados. His store was the medium of exchange,--goods for labor and produce, and his shipments abroad enabled him to keep up the supply which was so much needed in this frontier settlement. John’s father, William, died at Wraysbury, Essex, England, on October 29th, 1662. Around October of 1663, John sailed to England again, where he remained until December 30th, 1664, settling his father’s estate of which he was the principal beneficiary. Life changed on the frontier even during John’s lifetime. The deer and beaver were gone, most of the Indians moved west into New York. Now the farmers were producing corn, wheat, and lumber. The life of the frontier, created more by Pynchon’s than anyone else, was gone forever. From his point of view, he was the agent of God in this process. RESIDENCE: Came to America in 1630 on the Arbella of Gov. Winthrop's fleet. First to Dorchester, Massachusetts, then Roxbury, Massachusetts, then settled in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built first brick house in the valley. OCCUPATION: One of the wealthiest and most influential men in New England. Had extensive interests in Barbados. A merchant, inherited the business from his father. MILITARY SERVICE: Military hero in King Phillip's War, saved the inhabitants of Hadley, Massachusetts. Lt. in Springfield Co., 1653; Capt. 1657; Capt. Hampshire Co. troop 1663; Capt. expedition against the Dutch, 1664. MAJ. JOHN PYNCHON.— (1625-1702-3.) In command of troops in King Philip's War. REFERENCE: Soldiers in King Philip's War, by Bodge, p. PUBLIC SERVICE: Magistrate 1652-1665. Commissioner to New York April 1677. Commissioner to the Mohawks 1680, established friendly relations with them. Appointed to establish boundary between Massachusetts and Connecticut in 1680. Councillor 1686-89. Judge of Court of Common Pleas and Probate Court 1692-1703. The Honorable Colonel John Pynchon, esquire, was sick and died in the 77th year of his age. He died in Springfield, about sun-rise on January 17, 1703. He had outlived most of his contemporaries, being characterized by one diarist as “an old man and full of days.” His only surviving child was John Pynchon Jr, who had become a merchant in Boston and later removed to Springfield. His lengthy funeral sermon was delivered by a well-known Northampton minister named Solomon Stoddard. One passage provides a fitting eulogy: “Observe, That God has removed on that has been along while Serviceable. That has been improved about Publick Service for above Fifty Years; he has been Serviceable unto the Country in General, and in special among our selves. He hath had the principal management of our Military Affairs, and our Civil Affairs; and labored much in the settling of most of our Plantations, has managed things with Industry, Providence and Moderation. He has been careful in time of War and as there has been occasion, has been a Peace Maker among us, and helpful in composing differences: he has discountenanced Rude and Vicious Persons, bearing his Testimony against Them.” Inscription on his headstone: “In Memory of ye Hon John Pynchon, Esq. who died Jan 17th, 1702-3 aged 76 Years. Also Mrs. Amy, his wife died Jan 9th 1698-9 aged 74 years. Also William, their son, died June 15th, 1654, aged 1 year.” Portrait of King Philip, by Paul Revere. In 1675, Springfield became one of the two major settlements burned to the ground during the New World’s first major Indian War, King Philip’s War. (The other major settlement burned was Providence, Rhode Island.) King Philip’s War permanently ended the harmonious relations that had existed between the Natives and Springfield’s settlers. Thousands of New England settlers and Native Americans died in King Philip’s War, which to this day remains the most violent war per capita in American History (800 settlers and approximately 8,000 Natives were killed.) The carnage resulted in the clearing of the Native populations from southern New England and the unopposed expansion of the New England colonies. It also became the ruthless model on which the United States based its dealings with its native peoples. An additional interesting fact about John Pynchon is that he headed up the first American cattle drive, from Springfield to Boston, in the spring of 1655. According to one story, John's father William Pynchon had learned about the process of fattening up cattle over the winter for sale in the spring from a black servant named Peter Swank, who had learned of the practice while living in the West Indies. After William Pynchon returned to England, his son John implemented the plan by recruiting Irish immigrants to herd the cattle, as there was a traditional Irish practice of rounding up cattle by horseback. Here is a link to an article which tells this story: http://www.lrgaf.org/articles/irish-cowboys.htm This link is unreferenced, but I have seen references to the Pynchon cattle drive in other sources. Peter Swank is presumably the same person as Peter Swink, described as the first black resident of Springfield, an identured servant of the Pynchon family who later gained his freedom and purchased land. Here is a link to an article about PeterSwinkhttp: //ourpluralhistory.stcc.edu/colonialperiod/servitude.html (Source: William Pynchon, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. [Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995], 3:1538.) John Pynchon in the Massachusetts Applications of Freemen, 1630-91 No Image Text-only collection •Report issue Name:John Pynchon Date:13 Apr 1648 Original Source:C. R., Vol. II. p. 2 OL. SAMUEL PARTRIDGE.— (1645-1740.) Quartermastter Major John Pynchon's Troop, 1688. COL. JOHN PYNCHON.— (1647-172L) Lieutenant Colonel of Regiment. REFERENCE: Gen. Diet., by Savage, Vol. 3, p. 49S. 101. John Newbury Bagley. About Col. John Pynchon MAJOR JOHN "PYNCHON, or PINCHEON, JOHN, Springfield, only s. of William, b. in Eng. 1625, brot. with three sis. and their mo. by his f. in the fleet with Winth. 1630, m. 30 Oct. Hartford rec. says 6 Nov. 1645, Amy, d. of George Wyllys of Hartford, who d. 9 Jan. 1699, had Joseph, b. 26 July 1646, H.C. 1664; John, 15 Oct. 1647; Mary, 28 Oct. 1650; William, 11 Oct. 1653, d. in a few mos.; and Mehitable, 22 Nov. 1661, d. young. He was freem. 1648, rep. 1659, 62, 3, and 4, in 1665 an Assist. and ever aft. to the abolit. of the old form of governm. 1686; next of the Counc. to Andros, major of the Hampsh. reg. from its format. and during the usurp of A[ndros] call. col. and was the chief man in all the W.[?] yet Mather unwisely dictat. to the king who took somebody else for the honor of counc. in his new chart. 1692, but the people next yr. correct. that blunder, and he was chos. until 1702, every yr. exc. 1699; and Phips made him Judge of Pro. in June 1692. He d. 17 Jan. 1703." --- James Savage, *A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England*, 1860-62, v 3, p 497-8. Joseph Charles Pynchon gives (1898) the date of death of William as 1654, and of Mehitabel, 24 Jul 1663. "The fur trade, heart of New England's commercial relations between Puritans and Indians hit its peak in the mid-forties, then suffered a steady decline until the outbreak of King Philip's War. Several unrelated factors came together to undermine the trade. A decline in the fur supply played a part; once the beaver had been taken from the New England streams and lakes the source of supply was at an end. The beaver, kingpin of the New England trade, was an animal of low fertility, and the New Englanders were so hemmed in by physical and political geography that they could not probe the interior of the continent for new supplies. Needless to say, the beaver of New England did not disappear suddenly or completely, as John Pynchon's account books make abundantly clear. Moreover, when the English civil war of the 1640's temporarily dampened commercial relations with the mother country, New England merchants increasingly turned to the West Indian trade, whee there was no market for furs, and to fishing. (P) The decline of the fur trade meant in arge part the decline of the Indian trade. First Plymouth, then Rhode Isalnd, and finally the Bay Colony, saw their commerce with the Indians dwindle down to a shadow of its 1640 dimensions. The Puritans, too, contributed to the trend; through an intelligent self-interest not unmingled with the Puritan ethic, they had imposed costly restraints on themselves and had refused to exploit the most enticing prospects for quick profit. By 1647 Governor Winthrop complained that the New England restrictions on weapons were tjhe "occasion whereof the greatest part of the beaver trade was drawn to the French and Dutch." And Roger Williams, in some respects the most thorough-going Puritan of them all, insisted on supplying the Indians only with goods that tended to civilize them. (P) While it lasted the thriving commerce with the Indians had given the Puritan colonies a badly needed economic base. ..... Not only did the traffic in furs prove a tonic to the infant economy of New England, but Indian trade played an important part in settling the upper Connecticut Valley. To a somewhat lesser extent it also helped settle the interior sections of the Bay area. The early traders, in keeping with the Puritan ethos, were town builders as well as merchants. (P) The most useful by-product of commerce with the Indians was wampum. This was no mean asset to a people, accustomed to an active internal commerce, who found themselves abruptly deprived of their familiar circulating currency. Some form of money was needed to permit a ready exchange of goods within the English colonies as well as between the colonists and their Indian neighbors. It was the red man who provided the solution. But for the curious polished beads, the wheels of New England's economy would have turned at a far slower pace. (P) What impact commercial relations with the white man had on the Indian is harder to measure. While today's needs and standards place little value on an iron hoe or a metal knife, these were items of overwhelming significance to a native. A durable hoe or an iron plow could vastly increase the yield of his cornfields, while a metal knife or hatchet could aid him in countless ways --- peaceful and otherwise. And European cloth offered comfortable clothing at far less effort than finding and curing an animal skin. By the 1670's the New England Indian was dependent upon a continuing supply of certain European commodities; his everyday life had been changed more than the white man;s by their commercial reltions. (P) Of this the Puritan was largely unaware. He had engoyed the trade in furs and other goods as long as they had brought comfortable returns, but bythe time King PHilip's War put a temporary stop to interracial commerce, he had found other sources of profitable trade. Further, beginning at about the time that the fur trade was passing its crest, a new relationship with the Indians began to arouse keen interest in New England. For it was in 1646 that John Eliot and his associates first carried the Gospel to the natives. From then until the holocaust of 1675-1676, missionary activities would be the most significant aspect of Indian-white relations in New England." --- Alden T. Vaughan, *New England Frontier, Puritans and Indians, 1620-1675*, Boston (Little, Brown & Co.) 1965, p 232-234 "Direct contact with farming settlers was minimal for those interior Indian bands engaged in large-scale fur trading. As immigrants filled up the area around Boston in the early 1630s, English traders moved their posts inland, positioning themselves on major water routes. Of these, the most successful were the Pynchons, father William and son John, who moved from Roxbury to found Springfield on the Connecticut River in 1636. Ethnohistorian Peter Thomas has shown how the elder Pynchon declined to join the new Connecticut Colony, instead preferring political ties with the more safely distant Massachusetts Bay. As a result, he was made a magistrate over the Connecticut Valley with virtually dictatorial powers to match the economic power he brought in the form of capital and trade connections. The Pynchons traded cloth and other goods not only for pelts but also for land for themselves and the town at Springfield, maize to supply their employees, and wampum --- in heavy demand both by Indians throughout the Northeast and by currency-hungry settlers. During the peak *recorded* years between 1632 and 1658 --- the volume in years preceding was probably higher --- John Pynchon's shipments of beaver pelts alone weighed nearly 14,000 pounds, bringing gross profits of nearly #7,000 [pounds]. While insignificant compared to that of the Dutch on the Hudson or of the French on the St. Lawrence, Pynchon's volume made him one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in New England. For the Pocumtucks, Norwottucks, Woronocos, and Agawams of the middle Connecticut Valley, direct contact with the Pynchons brought the power and prestige that came from overseeing the flow of goods between southern New England and Indians on the north and west." --- Laurence M. Hauptman and James D. Wherry (editors), *The Pequots in Southern New England; The Fall and Rise of an American Indian Nation*, Norman OK and London (Univ of Oklahoma Pr), 1990, "Indians and Colonists in Southern New England after the Pequot War: An Uneasy Balance" by Neal Salisbury, p 82-83 "JOHN PYNCHON'S date and place of birth are uncertain but it seems probable that he was born at Springfield in Essex in 1626. It is doubtful that he arrived in New England with the remainder of the Pynchon family. The records do not reveal the nature or extent of John's education, which may have been under the tutelage of John Eliot at Roxbury and of the Reverend Moxon at Springfield. In October 1645 he married Amy Wyllys of Hartford, daughter of the late Governor George Wyllys of the Connecticut colony. He became a freeman of the Bay colony on April 13, 1648. Upon attaining maturity, he presumably participated in the fur trading and other pursuits of his father. "However, few facts are known as to John until November 1650 when he first held public office, being elected a selectman and also town treasurer of Springfield. He was chosen selectman again in 1651 and 1652, but was discharged from this office on November 27, 1652, when he, Samuel Chapin, and Elizur Holyoke [DIRECT ANCESTOR], by order of the General Court, took their oaths before the selectmen as commissioners for the town of Springfield. In the same month Pynchon was also chosen recorder, to record lands, town orders, and "the publike occasions of the Towne." "John Pynchon was named in each of the commissions issued by the General Court after November 1652 for the administration of justice in Springfield and its environs. Presumably by virtue of certain of these commissions he sat initially on the County Court for Hampshire which heard its first causes in March 1663. In May 1659 and again in May 1662 and the two succeeding years Pynchon was chosen deputy for Springfield. On May 3, 1665 he was chosen an assistant -- an office which he retained until May 1686. "During these twenty-one years Pynchon held court at Springfield by virtue of his authority as magistrate; he sat on the County Court, with associates (and for part of the period, another assistant, Peter Tilton), by virtue of such position; and, of course, he sat on the Court of Assistants (although not too frequently), and participated in the judicial work of the General Court. As a member of the General Court Pynchon appears to have played a minor role. In his years as assistant he was named to only a few committees, apart from those relating to protection and settlement of the frontiers of the colony. In February 1659/60 he was again chosen town treasurer, serving for three successive terms, and clerk or recorder of Springfield. He was also elected selectman in which capacity he served the town for most of the next eleven years. Lastly, he was chosen moderator to preside at town meetings; with a few intervals he continued in this office until 1694. "During the period between 1660 and 1685 scarcely a year passed that Pynchon was not appointed to some *ad hoc* town committee. These committees dealt with such matters as town rates, town boundaries, accounts of selectmen, settlement of the county government, county rates, laying out of highways, disposition of town lands, establishment of mills, lands at Woronoco, poor relief, Indian matters, a new meeting house, defense measures, lands at Freshwater Brook, and land grants to the minister. "On the county level Pynchon headed the County Court for Hampshire. The records of this court, and those of the later Court of General Sessions of the Peace, in a number of instances show him charged with the duty of providing for or maintaining the house of correction at Springfield. ..... "In most New England histories John Pynchon makes but a fleeting appearance, usually as a military leader in King Philip's War and in later defensive actions against Indian and French marauders. Under the First Charter he was successively confirmed as lietenant (1653), captain (1657), and sergeant major (1671) in the military establishment of western Massachusetts. However, prior to the outbreak of King Philip's War Pynchon was rarely called upon to act in a military capacity. In August 1664 Captains Thomas Clarke and Pynchon were dispatched by the General Court to inform the English commissioners engaged "in reducing the Dutch at the Monhatoes into the obedience of his Majestie" of the military assistance to be furnished by the Bay colony. As deputies, both men were signatories to the articles of capitulation consented to later in the month at New Amsterdam. "John Pynchon took no conspicuous part in King Philp's War as a field commander; his role was largely confined to pressing the Bay and the Connecticut authorities for succor and to coordinating the activities of the local, the Bay, and the Connecticut forces. When, on August 4, 1675, he confirmed Indian intelligence of the attack on Brookfield by the Nipmucks, Pynchon immediately sent to Hartford for aid in securing Springfield, succoring Brookfield, and giving "present chase" to the Indians, stating: "We are very raw and our People of this Towne extreamely scattered so that our owne Place needs all and how soone these Indians may be upon this Towne we know not." "On the same date he informed John Winthrop, Jr., of the presence of Philip and a small band of followers at Ashquoash, no more than twenty-three miles from Springfield, having escaped from the Pocasset swamp on the night of July 29. He urged swift action to destroy Philip, but the Connecticut authorities were skeptical of the intelligence. ..... " ... The first combat along the River took place when a party of English was ambushed on Augut 25 below Deerfield while pursuing some River Indians who formerly occupied a fort on the west bank of the River between Northampton and Hadley. Although disarmed by the committee of militia, these Indians, pretending great fidelity to the English and promising that they would fight against Philip, had been rearmed in the hope they might do the same service as the Mohegans and Naticks. When it became plain that they were not trustworthy, the council at Hadley demanded their arms on August 24 but met a show of defiance which culminated in their quitting their fort. Advice to Pynchon from the Connecticut Council to forbear from forcibly disarming the Indians, "least it might prove to be provoakeing or discourageing to our Indian Neighboures," arrived too late. Pynchon, who was "of a differing mind" from those favoring disarming, thus offending some, wrote that "when I Recollect things: I cant but conclude that this was a Contrived busyness of the Indians." "All the marching and countermarching provided no effective answer to Indian tactics which uncluded an attack upon Deerfield and the ambushing of forces marching to the relief of Northfield, for, as Pynchon despondently noted, " when we go out after the Indians they doe so sculk in swamps we cannot find them and yet do waylay our people to there destruction." Perhaps influenced by Pynchon's pessimistic attitude in matters military, a council of war on September 8 decided to give up operations in the field and only garrison the towns. This view proved unacceptable to Connecticut which urged a more aggressive campaign. However, a few days after the initial decision bolder counsels had prevailed at Hadley and, a vigorous campaign having been agreed upon, Major [Robert] Treat {son of DIRECT ANCESTOR] was sent up the River with a large force of Connecticut troops. ..... "On September 21 the council of war at Hatfield was notified by the Commissioners for the United Colonies at Boston that they had decided to raise a thousand men. Pynchon was appointed commander-in-chief; the council chose Major Treat as second in command. ..... "In a letter to Governor Leverett, dated October 8 [1675] ... Pynchon declared: "Sir I am not capable of holding any Command being more and more unfit and almost confounded in my understanding, the Lord direct your Pitch on a meeter person than ever I was: According to Liberty from the Councill I shall devolve all upon Captain Appleton unless Major Treat return againe." ..... "Pynchon received the news that he had been relieved by Captain Samuel Appleton [DIRECT ANCESTOR] on October 12, "the Councill having seriously considered the earnest desires of Major Pincheon and the great affliction upon him and his family." .... "Under Appleton, who lacked tact and personal ties, the reluctance of Connecticut to have its troops remain in garrison in Massachusetts towns, intensified by fear that Hartford and Wethersfield would become the scene of hostilities, constituted a serious operational handficap. ..... "Pynchon's military duties did not end with King Philip's War. In April 1677 Pynchon and James Richards of Hartford made a "long, troublesome and hazardous" journey to Albany on behalf of Connecticut and Massachusetts to renew ancient friendships with the Mohawks and to settle and conclude a "league of Freindship and amity between the English of New England" and the Mohawks, looking to protection for the "friendly Indians" and destruction of "enemy" Indians allied with the French. ..... "In addition to holding many offices and engaging in numerous activities on the public behalf, John Pynchon was the foremost trader, merchant, and landowner of western Massachusetts. While the fur trade in the Connecticut Valley declined in importance after 1652, it still remained an important source of income for John Pynchon until a few years before King Philip's War. Most of his fur trading activities were carried on through agents at such locations as Westfield, Northampton, Hadley, and Albany. "In 1659 Pynchon joined a number of influential merchants of Salem and Boston to form a company having as its objective a share in the western fur trade and an end to the Dutch monopoly. ..... "Pynchon, through his "country-store" activities, was the principal supplier of manufactured goods to Springfield and the upper towns, By sale or barter he obtained quantities of products such as corn, wheat and other grains, peas, flax, hay, beef, pork, tar, and timber. These products plus those from his own extensive lands were shipped from Warehouse Point to Boston and other New England ports, to New York, and even to the West Indies. Cattle might be driven overland to points such as New London and even Boston. John Pynchon, Jr. was a merchant in Boston for a number of years but the integration of the commercial enterprises of father and son has not been studied. John Pynchon was also a partner in land speculation with James Rogers, the foremost New London merchant of the sixties and seventies, and it seems likely they were engaged in joint mercantile enterprises. At various times Pynchon owned and operated grist-mills, corn-mills, and sawmills. "John Pynchon's far-flung ventures included an interest with Samuel Wyllys and Richard Lord of Connecticut (c. 1682-87) in a sugar plantation called Cabbage Tree in Antigua in the Leeward Islands. During the period between 1652 and 1689 he owned or had interests in at least five vessels, apparently engaged largely in the coastal trade. In 1692 he had an interest in a plant for the distillation of turpentine and the production of rosin. ..... At a November 1700 Suffield town meeting the undertaking of Pynchon and John Eliot of Windsor to set up an ironworks was approved. Pynchon might also finance local artisans, such as blacksmiths, who could furnish goods useful in the Indian trade. "Pynchon was also interested in several mining ventures. ..... As already indicated, Pynchon was a large landowner. ..... Although Pynchon has been accused in effect of immoral, if not illegal, conduct in using his "monopolistic" position to accumulate extensice land holdings, no evidence has been found supporting such accusations. ..... However, the statement has been made that Pynchon and James Rogers of New London, as partners in land speculation, "engrossed" over 2000 acres in Groton from small holders. ..... See this link for images of Pynchon's Landholdings and other articles on him; http://memorialhall.mass.edu/turns/view.jsp?itemid=5711&subthemeid=6 ________________________________________ Major John Pynchon was the son of William Pynchon, who was born in Springfield, in England on October 11, 1590. William's mother was Frances (Brett) Pynchon, and William was the grandson of Jane Empson. There is no evidence that William attended university in England, although it is agreed by historians and biographers that he was very well-educated. This is based on his own writings and extensive knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew writers. William held numerous offices of responsibility in the colony and he kept journals of records of all kinds, a practice which his son John carried on. William spent a good deal of his later life thinking and writing on religious matters. In England William was a member of the group of Adventures which later became the Massachusetts Bay Company. William's father, John went to school at New College (Oxford) with the Rev. John White of Dorset, and William was probably acquainted with him before becoming a member of this group of Adventures. William came to New England with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630 with his wife Anna Agnes Andrews and four children. Ann was the daughter of William Andrew of Twiwell, Northamptonshire, and was a member of a old Warwickshire family. They settled first at Roxbury where he was the principle founder. Anna died there in the first year and he later married Widow Frances Stamford. He was the first member to join the newly formed Congregational church of Roxbury in 1632. In 1636 he led a party from Roxbury, among whom were Henry Semith, his son-in-law, Jehu Burr, and Miles Morgan, to the Connecticut River, and began the settlement of Agawam, which he named Springfield, after his hometown in England. He was a magistrate there for many years and made a good deal of money in the beaver trade. He did very well at trading with the natives, becoming the second largest trader in new England. Willam served as a Massachusetts Bay Magistrate from 1630-36, and again from 1642-50/51, and as Treasurer 1632-33. Oddly he did not become a Freeman until August 11, 1642, yet he had always behaved as one from the day of his arrival. It may be that it was an oversight, that may have been noticed in May of 1642, when William was elected Magistrate again. The first time he had served in a colony office since his removal to Springfield in 1636. He was in England in 1650 to oversee the publication of his book, The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption. This book held views contrary to the prevalent Calvinistic view of atonement. The publication caused quite a stir in the magistry. The General Court condemned his book as false, heretical, and erroneous, and ordered Rev. John Norton to answer it. The Court ordered the burning of his book in the marketplace of Boston. They also threatened to prosecute William unless he retract his statements publicly and in writing both here and in England. Upon his return to New England, he was hauled before court. In May, 1651, Pynchon appeared and explained or modified the obnoxious opinions. The judgment of the Court was deferred till the next session in May, 1652. Hoping to give him time to change his mind and attitude in these matters. William, fed up with the persecuting and intolerant spirit of the authorities in the Bay, returned to England, with his wife and son-in-law, Henry Semith, before his court date. Henry returned and he and Ann moved to England late in 1654. He left his son John to care for the business in Springfield. There in 1655, he published a new edition of his book, with additions and other books concerning religion. He died in England in October 29, 1661, at the age of seventy-two. He is buried in the church yard at Wraysbury. He outlived both his wife and daugter Ann who died within a few days of one another in Oct. 1657. William was the primary force responsible in the establishment of the first court in western Massachusetts and the administration of justice in the region until 1651. ________________________________________ { } { } { } = = = ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ = = = { } { } { } Downloaded 2010 from http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/k/o/s/Lille-Koski-CA/GENE1-0038.html Major John Pynchon (son of William Pynchon, the settler), b. in England in 1625, came to New England with his father when but 5 years old. He. m. Oct. 30, 1645, Amy Wyllys, b. in England in 1624, (dau. of Gov. Geo. Wyllys of Hartford, Ct., and Mary -----). He was a man of very superior talents, character and social position. He represented the town of Springfield in the General Court in 1659, '62 and '63, and was for 21 years (1665-86) an "Assistant" in it. He was spoken of and addressed by the title of "The Worshipful." From 1652 to 1660 (when Hampshire Co. was incorporated) he, with two others, had a joint commission to hear and determine causes, and from 1692 to 1702 he was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Hampshire Co. He was a large farmer and landholder, and owned several saw-mills and grist-mills, and was much engaged in public business. Even as far off as New London, Ct., then was, he bought 2,400 acres there, in company with James Rogers. In King Philip's war, in 1675, his brick house, built in 1660, was used as a fort for defense. At the beginning of the attack in June he was in Hadley. He d. Jan. 17, 1702-3, aet. 76. His wife d. Jan. 9, 1698-9, aet. 74. --The History of the Descendants of John Dwight of Dedham, Mass. by Benjamin W. Dwight, Vol. II, 1874, page 630. John Pynchon (1626-1703) was born in Springfield, Essex County, England, and came to New England with his father, William, in 1630. His family settled in Roxbury and relocated when his father founded the town of Springfield in 1636. The village was the northernmost trading post of the Connecticut Colony, seated on major trading routes including the Connecticut River. In 1652, William Pynchon returned to England, leaving the management of Springfield and of the family business to John, then only twenty-six. John expanded his father's holdings, establishing trading posts to the west (Westfield) and northward (Northampton, Hadley). John expanded his business interests to include Boston and Barbados, and directly shipped Connecticut Valley furs to England on the company's own ships. He ran the town of Springfield and represented it in Boston. He was captain of the Springfield militia and fought in King Philips' War (1675-76). By the time of his death, he was the wealthiest and most powerful landowner in Massachusetts. { } { } { } = = = ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ = = = { } { } { } ________________________________________ Continued in the family fur trade business from Springfield, Mass. Trade additionally included the Hudson Valley (agent was Timothy Cooper) < see page 18 of Traders and Gentlefolk (Cynthia A. Kierner) ISBN 0-8014-2638-3 (1992) ________________________________________ MAJOR JOHN "PYNCHON, or PINCHEON, JOHN, Springfield, only s. of William, b. in Eng. 1625, brot. with three sis. and their mo. by his f. in the fleet with Winth. 1630, m. 30 Oct. Hartford rec. says 6 Nov. 1645, Amy, d. of George Wyllys of Hartford, who d. 9 Jan. 1699, had Joseph, b. 26 July 1646, H.C. 1664; John, 15 Oct. 1647; Mary, 28 Oct. 1650; William, 11 Oct. 1653, d. in a few mos.; and Mehitable, 22 Nov. 1661, d. young. He was freem. 1648, rep. 1659, 62, 3, and 4, in 1665 an Assist. and ever aft. to the abolit. of the old form of governm. 1686; next of the Counc. to Andros, major of the Hampsh. reg. from its format. and during the usurp of A[ndros] call. col. and was the chief man in all the W.[?] yet Mather unwisely dictat. to the king who took somebody else for the honor of counc. in his new chart. 1692, but the people next yr. correct. that blunder, and he was chos. until 1702, every yr. exc. 1699; and Phips made him Judge of Pro. in June 1692. He d. 17 Jan. 1703." --- James Savage, *A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England*, 1860-62, v 3, p 497-8. Joseph Charles Pynchon gives (1898) the date of death of William as 1654, and of Mehitabel, 24 Jul 1663. "The fur trade, heart of New England's commercial relations between Puritans and Indians hit its peak in the mid-forties, then suffered a steady decline until the outbreak of King Philip's War. Several unrelated factors came together to undermine the trade. A decline in the fur supply played a part; once the beaver had been taken from the New England streams and lakes the source of supply was at an end. The beaver, kingpin of the New England trade, was an animal of low fertility, and the New Englanders were so hemmed in by physical and political geography that they could not probe the interior of the continent for new supplies. Needless to say, the beaver of New England did not disappear suddenly or completely, as John Pynchon's account books make abundantly clear. Moreover, when the English civil war of the 1640's temporarily dampened commercial relations with the mother country, New England merchants increasingly turned to the West Indian trade, whee there was no market for furs, and to fishing. (P) The decline of the fur trade meant in arge part the decline of the Indian trade. First Plymouth, then Rhode Isalnd, and finally the Bay Colony, saw their commerce with the Indians dwindle down to a shadow of its 1640 dimensions. The Puritans, too, contributed to the trend; through an intelligent self-interest not unmingled with the Puritan ethic, they had imposed costly restraints on themselves and had refused to exploit the most enticing prospects for quick profit. By 1647 Governor Winthrop complained that the New England restrictions on weapons were tjhe "occasion whereof the greatest part of the beaver trade was drawn to the French and Dutch." And Roger Williams, in some respects the most thorough-going Puritan of them all, insisted on supplying the Indians only with goods that tended to civilize them. (P) While it lasted the thriving commerce with the Indians had given the Puritan colonies a badly needed economic base. ..... Not only did the traffic in furs prove a tonic to the infant economy of New England, but Indian trade played an important part in settling the upper Connecticut Valley. To a somewhat lesser extent it also helped settle the interior sections of the Bay area. The early traders, in keeping with the Puritan ethos, were town builders as well as merchants. (P) The most useful by-product of commerce with the Indians was wampum. This was no mean asset to a people, accustomed to an active internal commerce, who found themselves abruptly deprived of their familiar circulating currency. Some form of money was needed to permit a ready exchange of goods within the English colonies as well as between the colonists and their Indian neighbors. It was the red man who provided the solution. But for the curious polished beads, the wheels of New England's economy would have turned at a far slower pace. (P) What impact commercial relations with the white man had on the Indian is harder to measure. While today's needs and standards place little value on an iron hoe or a metal knife, these were items of overwhelming significance to a native. A durable hoe or an iron plow could vastly increase the yield of his cornfields, while a metal knife or hatchet could aid him in countless ways --- peaceful and otherwise. And European cloth offered comfortable clothing at far less effort than finding and curing an animal skin. By the 1670's the New England Indian was dependent upon a continuing supply of certain European commodities; his everyday life had been changed more than the white man;s by their commercial reltions. (P) Of this the Puritan was largely unaware. He had engoyed the trade in furs and other goods as long as they had brought comfortable returns, but bythe time King PHilip's War put a temporary stop to interracial commerce, he had found other sources of profitable trade. Further, beginning at about the time that the fur trade was passing its crest, a new relationship with the Indians began to arouse keen interest in New England. For it was in 1646 that John Eliot and his associates first carried the Gospel to the natives. From then until the holocaust of 1675-1676, missionary activities would be the most significant aspect of Indian-white relations in New England." --- Alden T. Vaughan, *New England Frontier, Puritans and Indians, 1620-1675*, Boston (Little, Brown & Co.) 1965, p 232-234 "Direct contact with farming settlers was minimal for those interior Indian bands engaged in large-scale fur trading. As immigrants filled up the area around Boston in the early 1630s, English traders moved their posts inland, positioning themselves on major water routes. Of these, the most successful were the Pynchons, father William and son John, who moved from Roxbury to found Springfield on the Connecticut River in 1636. Ethnohistorian Peter Thomas has shown how the elder Pynchon declined to join the new Connecticut Colony, instead preferring political ties with the more safely distant Massachusetts Bay. As a result, he was made a magistrate over the Connecticut Valley with virtually dictatorial powers to match the economic power he brought in the form of capital and trade connections. The Pynchons traded cloth and other goods not only for pelts but also for land for themselves and the town at Springfield, maize to supply their employees, and wampum --- in heavy demand both by Indians throughout the Northeast and by currency-hungry settlers. During the peak *recorded* years between 1632 and 1658 --- the volume in years preceding was probably higher --- John Pynchon's shipments of beaver pelts alone weighed nearly 14,000 pounds, bringing gross profits of nearly #7,000 [pounds]. While insignificant compared to that of the Dutch on the Hudson or of the French on the St. Lawrence, Pynchon's volume made him one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in New England. For the Pocumtucks, Norwottucks, Woronocos, and Agawams of the middle Connecticut Valley, direct contact with the Pynchons brought the power and prestige that came from overseeing the flow of goods between southern New England and Indians on the north and west." --- Laurence M. Hauptman and James D. Wherry (editors), *The Pequots in Southern New England; The Fall and Rise of an American Indian Nation*, Norman OK and London (Univ of Oklahoma Pr), 1990, "Indians and Colonists in Southern New England after the Pequot War: An Uneasy Balance" by Neal Salisbury, p 82-83 "JOHN PYNCHON'S date and place of birth are uncertain but it seems probable that he was born at Springfield in Essex in 1626. It is doubtful that he arrived in New England with the remainder of the Pynchon family. The records do not reveal the nature or extent of John's education, which may have been under the tutelage of John Eliot at Roxbury and of the Reverend Moxon at Springfield. In October 1645 he married Amy Wyllys of Hartford, daughter of the late Governor George Wyllys of the Connecticut colony. He became a freeman of the Bay colony on April 13, 1648. Upon attaining maturity, he presumably participated in the fur trading and other pursuits of his father. "However, few facts are known as to John until November 1650 when he first held public office, being elected a selectman and also town treasurer of Springfield. He was chosen selectman again in 1651 and 1652, but was discharged from this office on November 27, 1652, when he, Samuel Chapin, and Elizur Holyoke [DIRECT ANCESTOR], by order of the General Court, took their oaths before the selectmen as commissioners for the town of Springfield. In the same month Pynchon was also chosen recorder, to record lands, town orders, and "the publike occasions of the Towne." "John Pynchon was named in each of the commissions issued by the General Court after November 1652 for the administration of justice in Springfield and its environs. Presumably by virtue of certain of these commissions he sat initially on the County Court for Hampshire which heard its first causes in March 1663. In May 1659 and again in May 1662 and the two succeeding years Pynchon was chosen deputy for Springfield. On May 3, 1665 he was chosen an assistant -- an office which he retained until May 1686. "During these twenty-one years Pynchon held court at Springfield by virtue of his authority as magistrate; he sat on the County Court, with associates (and for part of the period, another assistant, Peter Tilton), by virtue of such position; and, of course, he sat on the Court of Assistants (although not too frequently), and participated in the judicial work of the General Court. As a member of the General Court Pynchon appears to have played a minor role. In his years as assistant he was named to only a few committees, apart from those relating to protection and settlement of the frontiers of the colony. In February 1659/60 he was again chosen town treasurer, serving for three successive terms, and clerk or recorder of Springfield. He was also elected selectman in which capacity he served the town for most of the next eleven years. Lastly, he was chosen moderator to preside at town meetings; with a few intervals he continued in this office until 1694. "During the period between 1660 and 1685 scarcely a year passed that Pynchon was not appointed to some *ad hoc* town committee. These committees dealt with such matters as town rates, town boundaries, accounts of selectmen, settlement of the county government, county rates, laying out of highways, disposition of town lands, establishment of mills, lands at Woronoco, poor relief, Indian matters, a new meeting house, defense measures, lands at Freshwater Brook, and land grants to the minister. "On the county level Pynchon headed the County Court for Hampshire. The records of this court, and those of the later Court of General Sessions of the Peace, in a number of instances show him charged with the duty of providing for or maintaining the house of correction at Springfield. ..... "In most New England histories John Pynchon makes but a fleeting appearance, usually as a military leader in King Philip's War and in later defensive actions against Indian and French marauders. Under the First Charter he was successively confirmed as lietenant (1653), captain (1657), and sergeant major (1671) in the military establishment of western Massachusetts. However, prior to the outbreak of King Philip's War Pynchon was rarely called upon to act in a military capacity. In August 1664 Captains Thomas Clarke and Pynchon were dispatched by the General Court to inform the English commissioners engaged "in reducing the Dutch at the Monhatoes into the obedience of his Majestie" of the military assistance to be furnished by the Bay colony. As deputies, both men were signatories to the articles of capitulation consented to later in the month at New Amsterdam. "John Pynchon took no conspicuous part in King Philp's War as a field commander; his role was largely confined to pressing the Bay and the Connecticut authorities for succor and to coordinating the activities of the local, the Bay, and the Connecticut forces. When, on August 4, 1675, he confirmed Indian intelligence of the attack on Brookfield by the Nipmucks, Pynchon immediately sent to Hartford for aid in securing Springfield, succoring Brookfield, and giving "present chase" to the Indians, stating: "We are very raw and our People of this Towne extreamely scattered so that our owne Place needs all and how soone these Indians may be upon this Towne we know not." "On the same date he informed John Winthrop, Jr., of the presence of Philip and a small band of followers at Ashquoash, no more than twenty-three miles from Springfield, having escaped from the Pocasset swamp on the night of July 29. He urged swift action to destroy Philip, but the Connecticut authorities were skeptical of the intelligence. ..... " ... The first combat along the River took place when a party of English was ambushed on Augut 25 below Deerfield while pursuing some River Indians who formerly occupied a fort on the west bank of the River between Northampton and Hadley. Although disarmed by the committee of militia, these Indians, pretending great fidelity to the English and promising that they would fight against Philip, had been rearmed in the hope they might do the same service as the Mohegans and Naticks. When it became plain that they were not trustworthy, the council at Hadley demanded their arms on August 24 but met a show of defiance which culminated in their quitting their fort. Advice to Pynchon from the Connecticut Council to forbear from forcibly disarming the Indians, "least it might prove to be provoakeing or discourageing to our Indian Neighboures," arrived too late. Pynchon, who was "of a differing mind" from those favoring disarming, thus offending some, wrote that "when I Recollect things: I cant but conclude that this was a Contrived busyness of the Indians." "All the marching and countermarching provided no effective answer to Indian tactics which uncluded an attack upon Deerfield and the ambushing of forces marching to the relief of Northfield, for, as Pynchon despondently noted, " when we go out after the Indians they doe so sculk in swamps we cannot find them and yet do waylay our people to there destruction." Perhaps influenced by Pynchon's pessimistic attitude in matters military, a council of war on September 8 decided to give up operations in the field and only garrison the towns. This view proved unacceptable to Connecticut which urged a more aggressive campaign. However, a few days after the initial decision bolder counsels had prevailed at Hadley and, a vigorous campaign having been agreed upon, Major [Robert] Treat {son of DIRECT ANCESTOR] was sent up the River with a large force of Connecticut troops. ..... "On September 21 the council of war at Hatfield was notified by the Commissioners for the United Colonies at Boston that they had decided to raise a thousand men. Pynchon was appointed commander-in-chief; the council chose Major Treat as second in command. ..... "In a letter to Governor Leverett, dated October 8 [1675] ... Pynchon declared: "Sir I am not capable of holding any Command being more and more unfit and almost confounded in my understanding, the Lord direct your Pitch on a meeter person than ever I was: According to Liberty from the Councill I shall devolve all upon Captain Appleton unless Major Treat return againe." ..... "Pynchon received the news that he had been relieved by Captain Samuel Appleton [DIRECT ANCESTOR] on October 12, "the Councill having seriously considered the earnest desires of Major Pincheon and the great affliction upon him and his family." .... "Under Appleton, who lacked tact and personal ties, the reluctance of Connecticut to have its troops remain in garrison in Massachusetts towns, intensified by fear that Hartford and Wethersfield would become the scene of hostilities, constituted a serious operational handficap. ..... "Pynchon's military duties did not end with King Philip's War. In April 1677 Pynchon and James Richards of Hartford made a "long, troublesome and hazardous" journey to Albany on behalf of Connecticut and Massachusetts to renew ancient friendships with the Mohawks and to settle and conclude a "league of Freindship and amity between the English of New England" and the Mohawks, looking to protection for the "friendly Indians" and destruction of "enemy" Indians allied with the French. ..... "In addition to holding many offices and engaging in numerous activities on the public behalf, John Pynchon was the foremost trader, merchant, and landowner of western Massachusetts. While the fur trade in the Connecticut Valley declined in importance after 1652, it still remained an important source of income for John Pynchon until a few years before King Philip's War. Most of his fur trading activities were carried on through agents at such locations as Westfield, Northampton, Hadley, and Albany. "In 1659 Pynchon joined a number of influential merchants of Salem and Boston to form a company having as its objective a share in the western fur trade and an end to the Dutch monopoly. ..... "Pynchon, through his "country-store" activities, was the principal supplier of manufactured goods to Springfield and the upper towns, By sale or barter he obtained quantities of products such as corn, wheat and other grains, peas, flax, hay, beef, pork, tar, and timber. These products plus those from his own extensive lands were shipped from Warehouse Point to Boston and other New England ports, to New York, and even to the West Indies. Cattle might be driven overland to points such as New London and even Boston. John Pynchon, Jr. was a merchant in Boston for a number of years but the integration of the commercial enterprises of father and son has not been studied. John Pynchon was also a partner in land speculation with James Rogers, the foremost New London merchant of the sixties and seventies, and it seems likely they were engaged in joint mercantile enterprises. At various times Pynchon owned and operated grist-mills, corn-mills, and sawmills. "John Pynchon's far-flung ventures included an interest with Samuel Wyllys and Richard Lord of Connecticut (c. 1682-87) in a sugar plantation called Cabbage Tree in Antigua in the Leeward Islands. During the period between 1652 and 1689 he owned or had interests in at least five vessels, apparently engaged largely in the coastal trade. In 1692 he had an interest in a plant for the distillation of turpentine and the production of rosin. ..... At a November 1700 Suffield town meeting the undertaking of Pynchon and John Eliot of Windsor to set up an ironworks was approved. Pynchon might also finance local artisans, such as blacksmiths, who could furnish goods useful in the Indian trade. "Pynchon was also interested in several mining ventures. ..... As already indicated, Pynchon was a large landowner. ..... Although Pynchon has been accused in effect of immoral, if not illegal, conduct in using his "monopolistic" position to accumulate extensice land holdings, no evidence has been found supporting such accusations. ..... However, the statement has been made that Pynchon and James Rogers of New London, as partners in land speculation, "engrossed" over 2000 acres in Groton from small holders. ..... See this link for images of Pynchon's Landholdings and other articles on him; http://memorialhall.mass.edu/turns/view.jsp?itemid=5711&subthemeid=6 Major John Pynchon was the son of William Pynchon, who was born in Springfield, in England on October 11, 1590. William's mother was Frances (Brett) Pynchon, and William was the grandson of Jane Empson. There is no evidence that William attended university in England, although it is agreed by historians and biographers that he was very well-educated. This is based on his own writings and extensive knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew writers. William held numerous offices of responsibility in the colony and he kept journals of records of all kinds, a practice which his son John carried on. William spent a good deal of his later life thinking and writing on religious matters. In England William was a member of the group of Adventures which later became the Massachusetts Bay Company. William's father, John went to school at New College (Oxford) with the Rev. John White of Dorset, and William was probably acquainted with him before becoming a member of this group of Adventures. William came to New England with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630 with his wife Anna Agnes Andrews and four children. Ann was the daughter of William Andrew of Twiwell, Northamptonshire, and was a member of a old Warwickshire family. They settled first at Roxbury where he was the principle founder. Anna died there in the first year and he later married Widow Frances Stamford. He was the first member to join the newly formed Congregational church of Roxbury in 1632. In 1636 he led a party from Roxbury, among whom were Henry Semith, his son-in-law, Jehu Burr, and Miles Morgan, to the Connecticut River, and began the settlement of Agawam, which he named Springfield, after his hometown in England. He was a magistrate there for many years and made a good deal of money in the beaver trade. He did very well at trading with the natives, becoming the second largest trader in new England. Willam served as a Massachusetts Bay Magistrate from 1630-36, and again from 1642-50/51, and as Treasurer 1632-33. Oddly he did not become a Freeman until August 11, 1642, yet he had always behaved as one from the day of his arrival. It may be that it was an oversight, that may have been noticed in May of 1642, when William was elected Magistrate again. The first time he had served in a colony office since his removal to Springfield in 1636. He was in England in 1650 to oversee the publication of his book, The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption. This book held views contrary to the prevalent Calvinistic view of atonement. The publication caused quite a stir in the magistry. The General Court condemned his book as false, heretical, and erroneous, and ordered Rev. John Norton to answer it. The Court ordered the burning of his book in the marketplace of Boston. They also threatened to prosecute William unless he retract his statements publicly and in writing both here and in England. Upon his return to New England, he was hauled before court. In May, 1651, Pynchon appeared and explained or modified the obnoxious opinions. The judgment of the Court was deferred till the next session in May, 1652. Hoping to give him time to change his mind and attitude in these matters. William, fed up with the persecuting and intolerant spirit of the authorities in the Bay, returned to England, with his wife and son-in-law, Henry Semith, before his court date. Henry returned and he and Ann moved to England late in 1654. He left his son John to care for the business in Springfield. There in 1655, he published a new edition of his book, with additions and other books concerning religion. He died in England in October 29, 1661, at the age of seventy-two. He is buried in the church yard at Wraysbury. He outlived both his wife and daugter Ann who died within a few days of one another in Oct. 1657. William was the primary force responsible in the establishment of the first court in western Massachusetts and the administration of justice in the region until 1651. { } { } { } = = = ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ = = = { } { } { } Downloaded 2010 from http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/k/o/s/Lille-Koski-CA/GENE1-0038.html Major John Pynchon (son of William Pynchon, the settler), b. in England in 1625, came to New England with his father when but 5 years old. He. m. Oct. 30, 1645, Amy Wyllys, b. in England in 1624, (dau. of Gov. Geo. Wyllys of Hartford, Ct., and Mary ________________________________________ ). He was a man of very superior talents, character and social position. He represented the town of Springfield in the General Court in 1659, '62 and '63, and was for 21 years (1665-86) an "Assistant" in it. He was spoken of and addressed by the title of "The Worshipful." From 1652 to 1660 (when Hampshire Co. was incorporated) he, with two others, had a joint commission to hear and determine causes, and from 1692 to 1702 he was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Hampshire Co. He was a large farmer and landholder, and owned several saw-mills and grist-mills, and was much engaged in public business. Even as far off as New London, Ct., then was, he bought 2,400 acres there, in company with James Rogers. In King Philip's war, in 1675, his brick house, built in 1660, was used as a fort for defense. At the beginning of the attack in June he was in Hadley. He d. Jan. 17, 1702-3, aet. 76. His wife d. Jan. 9, 1698-9, aet. 74. --The History of the Descendants of John Dwight of Dedham, Mass. by Benjamin W. Dwight, Vol. II, 1874, page 630. John Pynchon (1626-1703) was born in Springfield, Essex County, England, and came to New England with his father, William, in 1630. His family settled in Roxbury and relocated when his father founded the town of Springfield in 1636. The village was the northernmost trading post of the Connecticut Colony, seated on major trading routes including the Connecticut River. In 1652, William Pynchon returned to England, leaving the management of Springfield and of the family business to John, then only twenty-six. John expanded his father's holdings, establishing trading posts to the west (Westfield) and northward (Northampton, Hadley). John expanded his business interests to include Boston and Barbados, and directly shipped Connecticut Valley furs to England on the company's own ships. He ran the town of Springfield and represented it in Boston. He was captain of the Springfield militia and fought in King Philips' War (1675-76). By the time of his death, he was the wealthiest and most powerful landowner in Massachusetts. { } { } { } = = = ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ = = = { } { } { } Continued in the family fur trade business from Springfield, Mass. Trade additionally included the Hudson Valley (agent was Timothy Cooper) < see page 18 of Traders and Gentlefolk (Cynthia A. Kierner) ISBN 0-8014-2638-3 (1992) Springfield Cemetery John Pynchon Will AMY (AMMIE) WYLLYS was born 1 July 1625, in Fenton Compton, Warwickshire, England, to Governor George Wyllys, one of the first colonial governors of Connecticut, (1590-1644) and Bridget Young (1590-1629.) She was the last child of four. Her mother died 11 March 1629, in Fenny Compton, England, when Amy was about 8; her mother was 39. Her father died 8 March 1644, at age 54. Amy came to America with her father. She married Colonel John Pynchon, 20 October 1645, in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. The only women’s signature in a collection of Massachusetts is Amy Wyllys Pynchon’s. She was the wife of the most prominent man of that day in Western Massachusetts, and also had the best specimen of women’s handwriting among the papers of the time. Probably not half a dozen women in Springfield in the early years of the town’s history could write their names, and those who attempted to do so were usually inferior to their brothers and husbands in the use of the quill. The following is from Springfield, Massachusetts, Vital Records: “Mrs. Amy Pynchon the wife of the worshipful Colonell John Pynchon who lived with him in the state of marriage aboute 53 yeares and about the 74th yeare of her age departed this life January the 9th 1698/99.” Amy Wyllys passed away 9 January 1699, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at age 73. Springfield Cemetery Children of John Pynchon and Amy Wyllys: 1.Joseph Pynchon, b. 26 July 1646, Springfield; d. 30 Dec. 1682, Boston. 2.John Pynchon was born 15 October 1647, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at daybreak and baptized. His parents were Colonel John Pynchon (1620-1703) and Amy Wyllys (1625-1699.) He married Margaret Hubbard, 1 July 1672. John Pynchon died 25 April 1721, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at about age 74. 3.Mary Pynchon, b. 28 Oct 1650, Springfield; d. 1675, Springfield. 4.William Pynchon, b. 11 Oct 1653, Hartford; d. 15 Jun 1654, Hampden. 5.Mehitabel Pynchon, b. 22 Nov 1661, Hartford; d. 24 July 1663, Massachusetts. 6.Joseph Pynchon, b. abt. 1663, Springfield. (Source: The First Wife of Governor Wyllys of Connecticut, and Her Family. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. [New England Historic Genealogical Society, April 1899], 220.) + 8.COL. JOHN PYNCHON II (1647-1721) MARGARET HUBBARD (1647-1716) JOHN PYNCHON was born 15 October 1647, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at daybreak and baptized. His parents were Colonel John Pynchon (1620-1703) and Amy Wyllys (1625-1699.) He was a student at Harvard with his brother, Joseph, for a while until he moved to Boston, became a merchant, and began trading on his own account. He was a clerk of the court of sessions and of common pleas, register of deeds. He married Margaret Hubbard 1 July 1672. During the Indian wars, their children were born in Ipswich. He was made judge in 1709. He made great improvements in Springfield, and in the neighboring towns, county and colony to which he belonged, in layout out the lands in Springfield, Suffield, Enfield, Wilbraham, Ludlow, and Longmeadow. He was one of the Commissioners of the United Colonies in 1683. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the King Phillip’s War. He commanded all the Connecticut Valley Troops (1675.) John Pynchon died 25 April 1721, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at about age 74. Springfield, Cemetery MARGARET HUBBARD was born 17 October 1647, in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, to Rev. William Hubbard (1621-1704) and Mary Rogers (1625-1694.) She married John Pynchon 1 July 1672. Margaret Hubbard passed away 11 November 1716, in Springfield, Massachusetts, at age 69. Children of John Pynchon and Margaret Hubbard: 1.John Pynchon III was born 15 October 1674, of Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, to John Pynchon (1647-1721) and Margaret Hubbard (1647-1716.) He married (1) Bathshua Taylor, 18 February 1702; (2) *Phebe Sexton, 3 November 1711. John Pynchon died 12 July 1742, of Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at age 68. 2.Margaret Pynchon, b. 1680, Springfield; md. Nathaniel Downing. 3.William Pynchon, b. 1689, Springfield; md. Catherine Brewer, 15 May 1721; d. 1 Jan 1741. + 9.COL. JOHN PYNCHON III (1674-1742) PHEBE (PHOEBE) SEXTON (1686-1722) JOHN PYNCHON was born 15 October 1674, at Springfield, Hampton, Massachusetts, to John Pynchon (1647-1721) and Margaret Hubbard (1647-1716.) John entered Harvard college when young, remaining two years. His grandfather took him away and procured for him the office of Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and Court of Sessions, at Springfield. He was afterwards appointed or chosen County Register. He lived with his grandfather some years, who was first Justice of the Court. He married (1) Bathshua Taylor, 18 February 1702, daughter of the Rev. William Taylor, of Westfield. Bathshua died June 1710. He married (2) *Phebe Sexton, 3 November 1711, at Enfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. John Pynchon died 12 July 1742, of Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at age 68. Col. John Pynchon, Jr. b. in 1674, m. Feb 18, 1702, Bathshua Taylor, b. in 1683 (dau. of Rev. Edward Taylor of Westfield, Mass., and Elizabeth Fitch his first, dau. of Rev. James Fitch of Norwich, Ct.). She d. June 20, 1710, age. 27, and he m. for 2d wife, Nov. 3, 1711, Phebe Sexton of Enfield, Ct., b. Jan. 7, 1686. She d. Oct. 17, 1722, age 36. He is called in the records of him "a man of great improvements in Springfield and the neighboring towns, and in laying out the lands in Springfield and Suffield, Enfield and Longmeadow." He was also one of the commissioners of the united colonies. He was a trader. He. d. July 12, 1742, age 68.--The History of the Descendants of John Dwight of Dedham, Mass. by Benjamin W. Dwight, Vol. II, 1874, page 631. Springfield Cemetery PHEBE SEXTON was born 7 January 1686, at Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, to James Sexton (1660-1741) and Hannah Fowler (1654-1701.) Phebe married John Pynchon, 3 November 1711, at Enfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. Phebe Sexton passed away 17 October 1722, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at age 35, after having twins Margaret and Elizabeth in 1722. Springfield Cemetery Children of John Pynchon and Phebe Sexton: 1.Martha Pynchon, b. 1712, Springfield; d. 8 Dec. 1712. Child. 2.Edward Pynchon, b. 9 Apr 1713, Springfield; md. Rebecca Stoughton, 15 Dec. 1763; d. 3 Nov 1777. 3.Nathaniel Pynchon, b. 3 Mar 1715, Springfield; d. 10 Oct 1722. Child. 4.Captain George Pynchon was born 20 April 1717, at Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, to John Pynchon (1674-1742) and Phebe Sexton (1686-1722.) He married Hannah Bartlett, 21 December 1738, in Springfield. Captain George Pynchon died 26 June 1797, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at age 80. 5.Dr. Charles Pynchon, b. 31 Jan 1719, Springfield; md. Anna Dwight, 30 Jul 1740; d. 19 Aug 1783. 6.Margaret Pynchon, b. 1722, Springfield; d. 27 Oct 1722. Child. 7.Elizabeth Pynchon, 1722, Springfield; d. + 10.CAPTAIN GEORGE PYNCHON (1717-1797) HANNAH BARTLETT (1720-1751) CAPTAIN GEORGE PYNCHON was born 20 April 1717, at Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, to John Pynchon (1674-1742) and Phebe Sexton (1686-1722.) He married Hannah Bartlett, 21 December 1738, in Springfield. Captain George Pynchon died 26 June 1797, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, at age 80. HANNAH BARTLETT was born about 1720 of Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, to Professor Walter or Peter Bartlett (1700- ) and Unknown. She married George Pynchon, 21 December 1738, in Springfield. Hannah Bartlett died 10 August 1751, in Springfield, at about age 31. Children of George Pynchon and Hannah Bartlett: 1.George Pynchon was born 27 April 1739, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, to Captain George Pynchon (1717-1797) and Hannah Bartlett (1720-1797.) He married Lois Hickcox, 25 January 1763, in Granville, Hampden, Massachusetts George Pynchon died 23 May 1775, at age 36. 2.Louisa (Lovice) Pynchon, b. 9 August 1740, Springfield; md. Lemuel Pomeroy; d. 6 Oct 1775. 3.Nathaniel Pynchon, b. 1 January 1743, Springfield; d. 2 Aug 1764. 4.Walter Pynchon, b. 5 Sep 1744, Springfield, d. 1744. Child. 5.Peter Pynchon, b. 30 Aug 1746, Springfield; d. 24 Jan 1750. Child. 6.Margaret Pynchon, b. 19 Mar 1747, Springfield; d. 25 Jun 1772. 7.Peter Pynchon, b. 24 Jan 1750 or 1750, Springfield, d. bef. 1756. Child. + 11.GEORGE PYNCHON (1739-1775) LOIS HICKCOX (1745-1811) GEORGE PYNCHON was born 27 April 1739, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, to Captain George Pynchon (1717-1797) and Hannah Bartlett (1720-1797.) He married Lois Hickcox, 25 January 1763, in Granville, Hampden, Massachusetts. George Pynchon died 23 May 1775, at age 36. LOIS HICKCOX was born 6 February 1746, in Durham, Middlesex, Connecticut, to Stephen Hickox (1714- ) and Lydia Seward (1722-1811.) She married George Pynchon, 25 January 1763, in Granville, Hampden, Massachusetts. Lois Hickcox passed away in about 1811, at about age 66. Children of George Pynchon and Lois Hickcox: 1.Theophlus Pynchon, b. 17 Mar 1763, Granville. 2.Nathaniel Pynchon, b. 10 May 1765, Granville. 3.George Pynchon, Jr., b. 19 June 1767, Granville. 4.Electa (Ellen) Pynchon, b. 9 Sep 1769, Springfield. 5.Lois Pynchon, b. 25 Aug 1771, Granville. 6.Margaret Pynchon was born, 4 January 1775, in Granville, Hampden, Massachusetts, to George Pynchon (1739-1775) and Lois Hickcox (1745-1811.) She married Major Daniel Burbank, 21 March 1793, Williamstown, Berkshire, Massachusetts. Margaret Pynchon passed away 14 July 1826, in Exeter, Scott, Illinois, at age 51. + LIEUTENANT DANIEL BURBANK (1770-1832) 12. MARGARET PYNCHON (1775-1826) LIEUTENANT DANIEL BURBANK was born 4 April, 1736, Sudbury, Middlesex, Mass; died 27 September 1802, Williamstown, Mass.; marriage int., 19 Mar 1764, Warren, Mass., Mary, daughter of Hezekiah and Judith (Hayward) Marks. (She was born 18 July 1740, Warren, Mass.; died 25 February, 1808, age 68 years, Williamstown, Mass.) Many of the inhabitants of Sudbury took up land in Western (now Warren) Mass., and it is known that Daniel's Reed relatives, thru his mother Mary (Reed) Burbank, were of Warren. He went there as a young man and fell in love with the beautiful Mary Marks. Her grandfather is listed in the History of N. Brookfield, page 680: Joseph Marks, of Springfield, where he had a grant of land located on the west side of the river, dated 2 February, 1685; was a soldier in Captain Bull's company, which was sent to Albany and Schenectady in November 1689, to protect the settlers there against the French and Indians. In a skirmish Joseph Marks was taken prisoner to Canada. He escaped and returned about March 1692, and soon after came to Brookfield, where he received a grant of 60 acres and later 180 acres. His was one of the fortified homes necessary in the Indian Wars of that time. Mark's Garrison stood near the south west end of Wickaboag pond on a knoll below the junction of the waters of the pond with the Quaboag River. It is related that one day Mary, wife of Joseph Marks, being left alone, discovered hostile Indians in the neighborhood of the garrison waiting for a favorable opportunity to attack the settlement. She immediately put on her husband's wig, hat, great coat; and taking his gun, went to the top of the fortification, and marched backwards and forwards vociferating, like a vigilant sentinel, all's well! all's well! This led the Indians to believe that they could not take the place by surprise, and fearing an open and protracted assault, they retreated. This was the Grandmother of Mary (Marks) Burbank. History of Berkshire Co. Mass., Thomas Dunton was from Western, now Warren, Massachusetts. So far as can be known, his was the first family to settle directly on the bank of the Hoosac River. For a number of years, Dunton owned house lot 13 and sold to prominent parties the outlots drawn in succession by this house lot. Thomas Dunton sold to Daniel Burbank, also of Western, the second division fifty-acre lot 56, October 1763. (After he bought this land he went back to Warren and married his wife Mary Marks, and brought her back to West Hoosac, (now Williamstown, Mass.,) and built a framed house of one room. He soon doubled this farm, buying the adjoining fifty-acre lot 57 half a mile from South Williamstown on the road to New Ashford. Daniel Burbank was a Lieutenant in the military company of South Williamstown and fought in the Battle of Bennington, Vermont, and his oldest son, Samuel, at the instance of his mother while the Bennington battle was going forward, put his ear to the ground, and heard successive discharges of cannon. His neighbors crowded around him on his return, wanted to know if he felt afraid during the battle; and he answered, "After they had fired once, and we had fired once, I was no more afraid on the battlefield than I am on the potato field!" He fought in several other engagements during the Revolutionary War. Burbank's lots were level and fertile and heavily wooded. The Ashford brook crossed these lots not far from their eastern end but a little before its junction with the Hancock brook, and the road to the South crossed them diagonally just about their middle. He had at first but one neighbor, and that was Isaac Stratton, living then in a log house on lot 53, just north of the Hancock brook. Burbank's own axe was the first to make clearings on his lots 56 and 57, and his own plow was the first that ever stirred the rich soil there. He added several parcels of 25 acre plots during his life. Both Burbank and his wife were original members of the one church and their place of meeting was more than five miles from their home. The roads were rough, and over Stone Hill it was very steep both ways, but it is altogether likely that they were in their pew in the new meetinghouse, after 1768, most of the Sundays of the year; and he was certainly often at the church meetings on week days. History of Berkshire County, page 250, also gives: “Soon after the incorporation of New Ashford, just south of Williamstown, into a district, 17 December 1782, it was voted that we will build a house of public worship -- and they chose Samuel Hand, Daniel Burbank, and Gideon Wheeler, Esq., a committee to pitch a stake where said house will stand. The significance of this past proceeding is that the men chosen to pitch this stake were from adjoining towns. Burbank was very active in community affairs and was a very religious and respected citizen. He owned land in Marcellus, Onadaga County, New York. He probably got it thru his Revolutionary services, but he never settled on it as we will find thru his will -- he gave it to his sons Daniel and John. His long life of service ended 27 September 1802, aged 66 years, at Williamstown, Mass., where he is buried. His wife survived him a little over five years; however, in that time she never applied for a Government pension on the services of her husband. During her widowhood, she lived on the old farm at Williamstown with her oldest son, Samuel and two youngest daughters, Rachel and Lydia, all three never marrying. She died 25 February, 1808, aged 67 years, at Williamstown, and is buried there. The will of Lieutenant Daniel Burbank is as follows, which was allowed 4 January 1803, and recorded in Book 11, page 242. In the name of God. Amen. I Daniel Burbank of Williamstown, in the County of Berkshire and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Gentlemen, being weak in body but sound in mind and memory blessed by almighty God therefor, taking into consideration the mortality of man, do make and ordain this my last will and testament. First I give and bequeath my soul to God who gave, and my body to the earth in hope of a joyful resurrection through Jesus Christ my Savior, and the estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me, I give and bequeath in the manner following, viz: 1st. I will that all my lawful debts together with my funeral charges be punctually paid to my executor to be hereafter named. 2nd. To my beloved wife Mary Burbank I give and bequeath one-third part of all my estate both real and personal not herein disposed of during her natural life. 3rd. I give and bequeath to my eldest son Samuel Burbank the residue of all my sd. estate not otherwise disposed of by this will and testament. 4th. I give to my son Daniel Burbank, one-hundred acres of land lying in the Township of Marcellus in the County of Onadaga in the State of New York to be taken from off the east part of my land lying in that Township and -- 5th. I give to my son John Burbank all the residue of my land lying in the sd. Township of Marcellus. 6th. To my son Asa Burbank in consideration of his having received an education I give only the sum of ($80.00) eighty dollars for the purpose of purchasing a horse, saddle and bridle. 7th. I give to my daughter Mary Baker the sum of ($300.00) three hundred dollars, including the sum of ($110.00) one hundred and ten dollars which she has already received to be paid within one year after my decease by my executor. 8th. I give to my daughter Sarah the like sum of ($300.00) three hundred dollars, to be paid by my said executor within two years after my decease. 9th. I give to my daughter Rachel the like sum of ($300.00) three hundred dollars to be paid as aforesaid within three years after my decease. 10th. To my daughter Lydia I give the like sum of ($300.00) three hundred dollars to be paid as and when she shall arrive at the age of twenty-one and she is to be supported by my son Samuel until of lawful age. Lastly I nominate and appoint my son Samuel Burbank, sole executor to this my last will and testament. Signed Sealed published pronounced and declared by the said Daniel Burbank as his last will and testament this 23rd. day of September in the year of our Lord, 1802. In the presence of us: Wm Young Wm. Towner Daniel Burbank Ara Roberts (SEAL) Daniel Burbank was born 7 May 1770 in Williamstown, Berkshire, Massachusetts, to Daniel Burbank and Mary Marks. He married Margaret Pynchon who was the fourth great grandchild of Major William Pynchon, immigrant in 1630, with Governor Winthrop who settled Springfield, Massachusetts. Margaret was born 4 January 1775 in Granville, Hampden, Massachusetts, to George Pynchon and Lois Hickcox. Daniel and Margaret 21 May 1793 in Williamstown, Berkshire, Massachusetts. Daniel served in the war of 1812 as a Major at Niagara, New York. In 1818 or 1820 he and a few other families built a flat boat on the Allegheny River at a place called Olean Point. It was one of the forks of the Ohio River. They came on down to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they stopped until the spring of 1820. As they moved on they stopped at Shawnate, Illinois, on the Ohio River then on to McLeans Borough, the county seat of Hamilton. They went farther west to Swimming Point, then to Exeter County of Morgan. In the year 1826, July 14th, Margaret Pynchon Burbank died. The older daughters, Aveline and Margaret, kept house for the family. Daniel married a widow with four boys and two girls. Shortly after they moved to Meredosia on the Illinois River. Daniel Burbank died 27 October 1832, at the hand of his second wife. The following is written by his son, Daniel Mark Burbank: “He was at home, he being quite feeble having lost the use of his right hand by a felon and brutal cure of his wife and doctor. They sought to destroy him and to take away his means and made all preparations one morning to cut off his hand. When I asked him if he was against having it done, he being very poor in health and confined to his bed, he said my son I don’t know what is best. I replied, don’t father have it cut off. The doctor told me to shut my mouth and the old woman clinching me by the hair of the head and ordered me out of the doors. I then said father they shant cut off your hand. I then ceased my little fowling piece and drove the doctor and the woman out of the house. When my father covered his face with the sheet and wept. I then sent for my brother-in-law [Adam Conrad]. He came and took my father home to his house. There he was nursed. His hand got well, but withered down till it was nothing but skin and bone. Here he stayed for some time till after me and my sister had left there. He came on to Cincinnati. There spent the summer with his son, Lester. “When in the fall of 1832 he went back to his home farm. His wife married again to another man by the name of Brown. His property was all used up. He landed in the night. In the morning went up to his house and found that Brown had left. His wife urged him to take breakfast. This he refused, but took a cup of coffee, went back to the Hotel was taking to vomiting. Lived 3 or 4 days and died on 27 of October 1832. It was said by the neighbors and doctors that this woman had poisoned him to death. His body was taken to the town of Exeter and buried by the side of my mother West of this town on a high rolling ridge.” They had six sons and five daughters. MARGARET PYNCHON was born 4 January 1775, in Granville, Hampden, Massachusetts to George Pynchon (1739-1775) and Lois Hickcox (1745-1811.) Her father died 23 May 1775, about five months after she was born. Her mother never remarried. She married Major Daniel Burbank, 21 March 1793, in Williamstown, Berkshire, Massachusetts. She and her husband Daniel first settled in Sheldon, New York. Then about 1815 Daniel and Margaret left Sheldon on a flat boat travelling down the Ohio River. They settled near Cincinnati, Ohio, until about 1819 at which time they traveled again on the river to Shawneetown, Illinois, where the federal land office had recently been opened. Daniel and Margaret settled west of Shawneetown in Hamilton County, Illinois, for a couple of years. Their final migration was about 100 miles north to the area around the town of Exeter where Daniel purchased land on 16 January 1826. She died 14 July 1826 in Exeter, Scott, Illinois, and was buried there at the age of 50. Oak Hill Cemetery, Exeter, Scott County, Illinois Children of Major Daniel Burbank and Margaret Pynchon: 1.Asa Burbank, b. 12 Aug 1794, Marcellus, NY; d. 4 Nov 1801, at age 7. Child. 2.Lester Burbank, b. 17 May 1796, Marcellus, NY; md. Lois Sherman, 1817, NY; d. 30 Jan 1854, Kentucky. 3.Samuel Burbank, b. 21 Apr 1798, d. 27 July 1800, Marcellus, NY, at age 2. Child. 4.Sophia Burbank, b. 10 Mar 1800, Marcellus, NY; md. Ennis Maulding, 1 Mar 1820, Hamilton, Ill.; d. 1839, Wayne Co., Illinois. 5.Asa Burbank, b. 14 Nov 1802, Marcellus; d. 27 Dec 1804, Marcellus, NY, at the age of 2. Child. 6.Louisa Jane Burbank, b. 12 Oct 1804, Sheldon, NY; md. William Maulding, 9 Oct 1821, Hamilton, Ill.; d. 23 Jan 1872, Ill. 7.Mary Aveline Burbank, b. 12 Dec 1806, Sheldon, NY; md. Orlando Kellogg, 27 Jan 1828, Morgan, Ill., d. 24 July 1887, Naples, Illinois. 8.Margaret Burbank, b. 1809; d. 1855. 9.Mary Ann Burbank, b. 1811; d. 1865. 10.Daniel Mark Burbank was born 3 December 1814, in Delphi, Delaware, New York, (somewhere in Western New York) to Major Daniel Burbank (1770-1832) and Margaret Pynchon (1775-1826.) He married (1) Lydia VanBlaricom, 31 Dec 1835, (10 Dec 1816-18 Sep 1838); (2) Abigail Blodgett, 3 Aug 1839, (1811-1852); (3) *Sarah Zurviah Southworth, 10 September 1852, South Pass, Fremont, Wyoming (1835-1927.) Daniel Mark Burbank died 31 Jan 1894, Brigham City, Utah, at age 79. 11.August Ripley Burbank, b. 15 Apr 1817, Cincinnati, Ohio; md. Mary Ellen Eckles, 1 May 1845, Jacksonville, Ill.; d. Oct 1902, Lafayette, Oregon. (Only daughter, Evaline C. Burbank, 1861-1880, drowned in the ocean.) + 3-a. RICHARD STEVENS (1496-1579) SIBELL CAMPYN MARCHAND (1501-) \\ RICHARD STEVENS was born about 1496 of Writtle, Essex, England to John Stevens (1459-1500) and Joan Atheward (1468-1555.) He married Sibbell (Frances) Campyn Marchand, of Stepney, Middlesex, England, 17 November 1515. Richard Stevens died 9 January 1579, in Writtle, Essex, England, age 79. SIBBELL CAMPYN MARCHAND was born about 1501 of Writtle, Essex, England, to unknown parents. She married Richard Stevens 17 November 1515, in Stepney, Middlesex, England. We do not know when Sibbell passed away. Child of Richard Stevens and Sibell Campyn Marchand: 1.Elizabeth Stevens (Stephens) was born about 1507 of Writtle, Essex, England, to Richard Stevens (1496-1579) and Sibell Campyn Marchand (1501-.) She married William Pynchon about 1530, of Writtle, Essex, England, at age 23. Elizabeth Stephens died in about 1535, age 28. + 3-a. JOHN STEVENS III (1460-1500) 3-a-1. JOAN ATHEWARD (1468-1555) JOHN STEVENS III was born about 1460, of North Marston, Buckinghamshire, England to Thomas Stevens (1421-1491) and Alexandra Lugg (1425-1460.) He married Joan Atheward in about 1490, of Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. John Stevens died in about 1500 of Frocester, Gloucestershire, England, age 41. ALICE ATHEWARD was born about 1468 of North Marston, Buckinghamshire, England to Sir John Atheward (1436-1509) andAlice Buckland (1448-1485.) She married John Stevens in about 1490, of Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. Alice Atheward passed away about 1555 of England, when she was 87 years old. Child of John Stevens and Joan Atheward: 1.Richard Stevens was born about 1496 of Writtle, Essex, England to John Stevens (1460-1500) and Alice Atheward (1468-1555.) He married Sibbell (Frances) Campyn Marchand, of Stepney, Middlesex, England. England. Richard Stevens died 9 January 1579, in Writtle, Essex, England, age 79. + 3-a. THOMAS STEVENS (1420-1490) ALEXANDRA LUGG (1425-1460) \\ THOMAS STEVENS was born about 1420 of Lewynesmede, Gloucestershire, England, to John Lewynsude Stephens (1401-1430) and Alice Shaw (1400-1421.) He married Alexandra Lugg about 1458 of Bristol, Gloucester, England. Thomas Stevens died about 1490, of Lewynsmede, Glouchestershire, England, age 70. Buried at Kelmscott, Oxford, Gloucestershire, England. ALEXANDRA LUGG was born about 1425 of Frocester, Gloucestershire, England, to Edward Lugg (1381-) and Alice Unknown (1386-1421.) She married Thomas Stevens about 1458 of Bristol, Gloucester, England. Alexandra Lugg passed away about 1460 of Lewnsmede, Gloucestershire, England, age 35. Buried at Kelmescott County, Oxford, Gloucestershire, England. Children of Thomas Stevens and Alexandra Lugg: 1.John Stevens III was born about 1459, of North Marston, Buckinghamshire, England to Thomas Stevens (1420-) and Unknown. He married Joan Atheward in about 1478, of Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. John Stevens died in about 1500 of Frocester, Gloucestershire, England, age 41. + 3-a. BARON JOHN LEWYNSUDE STEPHENS (1401-1430) \\ ALICE SHAW (1400-1421) \\ BARON JOHN LEWYNSUDE STEVENS, Baron of Lewynesmede, was born about 1401 of Gloucestershire, England, to John, Baron of Lewynesmede, Lord Mayor of Bristol, Stephens (1379-1418) and Margaret De Droke (1382-1417.) He married Alice Shaw before 1420. John Stevens died about 1430, of Lewynesmede, Gloucestershire, England, age 29. ALICE SHAW was born about 1400 of Lewynsmede, Gloucestershire, England, to James Mackintosh Shaw (1382-1412) and Lady Stratherrick Elizabeth Le Grant (1381-.) She married John Stevens before 1420. Alice Shaw Died after 1420, of Lewynmede, Gloucestershire, England, age 21. Child of John Stephens and Alice Shaw: 1.Thomas Stevens was born about 1420 of Lewynesmede, Gloucestershire, England, to John Lewynsude Stephens (1401-1430) and Alice Shaw (1400-1421.) He married Alexandra Lugg about 1458 of Bristol, Gloucester, England. Thomas Stevens died about 1490, of Lewynsmede, Glouchestershire, England, age 70. Buried at Kelmscott, Oxford, Gloucestershire, England. + 3-a-1. SIR JOHN ATHEWARD (1436-1508) ALICE BUCKLAND (1448-1484) \\ SIR JOHN ATHEWARD was born about 1436 of Lancashire, England, to Sir William Atheward (1406-1441) and Margaret Byron (1405-1486.) He married Alice Buckland. John Atheward died about 1508 in England, age 65. ALICE BUCKLAND was born about 1448 of Hereford, Herefordshire, England, to unknown parents. She married John Atherton. Alice passed away about 1484, of Ormskirk, Lancashire, England, age 36. Child John Atheward and Alice Buckland: 1.Alice Atheward was born about 1468 of North Marston, Buckinghamshire, England to Sir John Atheward (1436-1508) and Alice Buckland (1448-1484.) She married John Stevens in about 1490, of Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England. Alice Atheward passed away about 1555 of England, when she was 87 years old. + 3-a-1. SIR WILLIAM ATHEWARD (1409-1440) \\ MARGARET BYRON (1412-1521) \\ SIR WILLIAM ATHEWARD was born about 1409, of Atherton, Lancashire, England to William Atherton (1382-1414) and Elizabeth Pilkington (1394-1414.) He married Margaret Byron in about 1423, of Clayton, Sussex, England. William Atheward died in about 1440, of Leigh, Lancashire, England, at age 31. MARGARET BYRON was born about 1412, in England to John Byron (1387-1465) and Margery Booth (1380-1460.) She married William Atheward in about 1423, of Clayton, Sussex, England. Margaret Byron died in about 1521, of Staunton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, England, age 109? Child of William Atheward and Margaret Byron: 1.William Atherton (1430-) 2.William Atherton (1433-) 3.John Atheward was born about 1436 of Lancashire, England, William Atheward (1409-1441) and Margaret Byron (1405-1486.) He married Alice Buckland. John Atheward died about 1508 in England, age 65. 4.Nicholas Atheward (1438-) + 4-a: SIR RICHARD EMPSON (1500-1587) \\ JANE HILL (1500-1598) \\ SIR RICHARD EMPSON was born about 1500 of Writtle, Essex, England, to unknown parents. He married Jane Hill about 1542, of Writtle, Essex, England. Sir Richard Empson, of Northamptonshire, was beheaded at London on Tower-hill. Richard Empson died before 14 February 1587, of Essexshire, England, age 87. JANE HILL was born about 1500 of Springfield, Essex, England, to unknown parents. She married Sir Richard Empson about 1542, of Writtle, Essex, England. Jane Hill died about 1598, of Writtle, Essex, England, age 98. Child of Richard Empson and Jane Hill: 1.Jane Empson was born about 1542, of Writtle, Essex, England, to Sir Richard Empson (1500-1587) and Jane Hill (1500-1598.) She married (1) *John Pynchon of Writtle also, about 1458. The widow Jane Pynchon married (2) Sir Thomas Wilson, Secretary of State under Queen Elizabeth I, about 1576 of England. Jane Empson’s death occurred on 10 November 1587, in Essex, England, at about age 53. + 5-a. THOMAS BRETT (1542-1615) \\ JANE UNKNOWN (1546-1568) \\ THOMAS BRETT was born about 1542, of Terling, Essex, England, to unknown parents. He married Jane Unknown. Thomas Brett died about 1615, of Bromfield, Essex, England, age 73. JANE UNKNOWN was born about 1546, of Terling, Essex, England, to unknown parents. She married Thomas Brett. Jane died about 1568 of Terling, Essex, England, age 23. Child of Thomas and Jane Brett: 1. Frances Brett was born about 1569 of Terling, Essex, England to Thomas Brett(1542-1615) and Jane Unknown (1546-1569.) She married John Pynchon, 3 October 1588, Springfield, Essex, England. Frances Brett passed away about 1616 in Springfield, age 47. 2.William Brett (-1516) + 6-a. WILLIAM ANDREW (1582-) 6-a-1. BRIGETTA RISLEY (1572-1638) WILLIAM ANDREW was born about 1582, of Twywell, Northampton, England, to William Andrew (1550-1612) and Bridget Unknown (1559-.) He married Brigetta Risely. We do not know when Andrew died. BRIGETTA RISELY was born about 1572, of Oundle, Northampton, England, to John Risley (1549-1609) and Elizabeth Scrunshire (1547-1634.) She married William Andrew. Brigetta Risely passed away 19 January 1638, at Twywell, Northampton, England, age 66. Children of William Andrew and Brigetta Risely: 1.Nicholas Andrews (1575-) 2.Frances Andrew (1592-) 3.Agnes Anna Andrews was born about 1593, of Northamptonshire, England, to William Andrew (1582-) and Brigetta Risley (1573-1638) Anna married William Pynchon of Springfield, Essex, England, about 1623. They arrived at Salem, Massachusetts, 4 June 1630, from England. Anna Andrew passed away in 1630, of Roxbury, Norfolk, Massachusetts, at about 30 years old, in the same year as she sailed to New England, leaving her four living children. 4.Thomas Andrews (1596-) 5.Edward Andrews (1598-) 6.Ellen Andrew (1602-1604) 7.Brigetta Andrews (1604-) 8.Elizabeth Andrew (1604-) 9.William Andrews + 6-a. WILLIAM ANDREW (1550-1612) BRIDGET UNKNOWN (1559-) \\ WILLIAM ANDREW was christened 21 December 1550, at Lowick, Northampton, England. His parents were William Andrew (1524-1585) and Elizabeth Unknown (1528-.) He married Bridget about 1579, of Twywell, Northampton, England. William Andrew was buried 1 May 1612, at Twywell, Northampton, England, age 62. BRIDGET UNKNOWN was born about 1559, of Twywell, Northampton, England, to unknown parents. She married William Andrew about 1579, of Twywell, Northampton, England. We do not know when Bridget died. Children of William and Bridget Andrew: 1.Elizabeth Andrew (1580) 2.William Andrew was born about 1582, of Twywell, Northampton, England, to William Andrew (1550-1612) and Bridget Unknown (1559-.) He married Brigetta Risely. We do not know when Andrew died. 3.Edward Andrew (1584-) 4.Thomas Andrew (1586-) 5.Nicholas Andrew (1589-) 6.Francis Andrew (1593-1593) 7.An Andrew (1597-) 8.Ellen Andrew (1602-1604) + 6-a. WILLIAM ANDREW (1524-1585) ELIZABETH UNKNOWN (1528-) \\ WILLIAM ANDREW was born about 1524 of Lowick, Thorthampton, England, to Unknown father and Mrs. Priscilla Andrews (1503-1582.) He married Elizabeth unknown about 1544, of Lowick, Northampton, England. William Andrew was buried 12 June 1585, in Lowick, Northampton, England, age 61. ELIZABETH UNKNOWN was born about 1524 of Lowick, Northampton, England, to unknown parents. She married William Andrew about 1544, of Lowick, Northampton, England. We do not know when Elizabeth died. Children of William Andrew and Elizabeth Unknown: 1.Richard Andrew (1549-1573) 2.William Andrew was christened 21 December 1550, at Lowick, Northampton, England. His parents were William Andrew (1524-1585) and Elizabeth Unknown (1528-.) He married Bridget about 1579, of Twywell, Northampton, England. William Andrew was buried 1 May 1612, at Twywell, Northampton, England, age 62. 3.Thomas Andrew (1551-1613) 4.Edward Andrew (1552-1553) 5.Edward Andrew (1553-1608) 5.Grace Andrew (1557-) 6.Jone Andrew (1559-) 7.Catheren Andrew (1562-) 8.Thomas Andrew (1567-) + 6-a. UNKNOWN ANDREWS \\ PRISCILLA UNKNOWN(1503-1582)\\ UNKNOWN ANDREWS PRISCILLA UNKNOWN was born about 1503, of Lowick, Northampton, England, to unknown parents. She married Mr. Andrews. Priscilla was buried 21 June 1582, Lowick, Northampton, England, age 79. Children of Mr. Andrews and Priscilla: 1.William Andrew was born about 1524 of Lowick, Thorthampton, England, to Unknown father and Mrs. Priscilla Andrews (1503-1582.) He married Elizabeth unknown about 1544, of Lowick, Northampton, England. William Andrew was buried 12 June 1585, in Lowick, Northampton, England, age 61. 2.Ursula Andrew (1542-) + 6-a-1. JOHN RISLEY (1548-1609) 6-a-1-a. ELIZABETH SCRUNSHIRE (1546-1634) JOHN RISLEY was born about 1548, of Twywell, Northamptonshire, England, to William Risley (1518-) and Anne Hyde (1522.) He married Elizabeth Scrunshire, in England. John Risely died about 1609, of Nordstrand, Nordfriesland, Schlewig-Holstein, Germany, age 61. ELIZABETH SCRUNSHIRE was born about 1546, of Oundle, Northamptonshire, England, to Robert Scrumshire (1524-) and unknown. She married (1) John Ford Charde, about 1566, of Oundle, Northamptonshire England; (2) *John Risley about 1573 of Oundle, Northamptonshire, England. Elizabeth Scrunshire passed away in about 1634, age 88. Child of John Risley and Elizabeth Scrunshire: 1.Brigetta Risley was born about 1572, of Oundle, Northampton, England, to John Risley (1549-1609) and Elizabeth Scrunshire (1547-1634.) She married William Andrew. Brigetta Risely passed away 19 January 1638, at Twywell, Northampton, England, age 66. + 6-a-1. WILLIAM RISLEY (1518-) \\ ANNE HYDE (1522-) \\ WILLIAM RISELY was born about 1518, of Rotley, Twywell, England, to unknown parents. He married Anne Hyde. We do not know when William Risely died. ANNE HYDE was born about 1522 of Rotley, Twywell, England, to unknown parents. She married William Risely. We do not know when Anne died. Child of William Risley and Anne Hyde: 1.John Risley was born about 1548, of Twywell, Northamptonshire, England, to William Risley (1518-) and Anne Hyde (1522-.) He married Elizabeth Scrunshire, in England. John Risely died about 1609, of Nordstrand, Nordfriesland, Schlewig-Holstein, Germany, age 61. + 6-a-1-a. ROBERT SCRUNSHIRE (1524-) UNKNOWN \\ ROBERT SCRUNSHIRE was born about 1524 of England, to Thomas Skrymshire (1488-1551) and Mary John Unknown (1501-1533.) He married Unknown. We do not know when Robert died. Child of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scrunshire: 1.Elizabeth Scrunshire was born about 1546, of Oundle, Northamptonshire, England, to Robert Scrunshire and unknown. She married (1) John Ford Charde, about 1566, of Oundle, Northamptonshire England; (2) *John Risley about 1573 of Oundle, Northamptonshire, England. Elizabeth Scrunshire passed away in about 1634, age 88. + 6-a-1-a. THOMAS SKRYMSHIRE (SCRIMSHIRE) (1488-1551) MARY JOAN UNKNOWN (1501-1533) \\ THOMAS SKRYMSHIRE was born about 1488, of Darley Hall, Hertforshire, England, to William Skrimshire (1469-1552) and Alice Widderington (Witherington) (1469-1559.) He married Mary Joan Unknown about 1521, of France. Thomas Skrymshire died 12 September 1551, at Norbury, Staffordshire, England, age 64. About Thomas Skrymsher (Scrimshire) Thomas Skrymsher, the Prothonotary [principle clerk of a court], died in 1551, and was buried at Norbury on the 18th September. His Will, which is dated 26th January 1550-1, was proved in London on the 12th February of the year following. In it he desires to be buried in a vault in the chancel of Norbury Church under an alabaster stone which he had caused to be laid there (now gone), and he reveals that he adhered to the Roman Catholic faith by a bequest of "20 marks for the wealth of my sister Selman's soul, and of all Christian souls," and the residue of his estate "for the good of his soul," not forgetting, however, to leave £6 13s. 44. for the poor of Norbury. Besides daughters, he left two sons, John and Thomas. Skrymsher is a spelling derivative of'Scrimgeour', the hereditary title of the banner bearers of the Scottish Kings. Thomas Skrimshire of Norbury, co. Stafford, was not a native of that county but was presumably from North Muskham (Muschamp), co. Nottingham, where a Skrinshire family of minor gentry was well established. The Skrimshire arms were--Gules, a lion rampant o r within a border vair (Skrimshire), quartering Azure, a chevron between thre e flies argent (Muschamp), which would indicate a claim to an ancestral marriage with an heiress of a family which took its name from the manor or parish of Muschamp. In his History of Staffordshire, Mr. Thoroton says "In Batheley [a hamlet in North Muskham] there yet remains a branch of the family of Scrimshire which have been resident and owners of land in these hamlets and towns of Muskham above 400 years. The first I have taken notice of was Hugh de Skirmessour and Christian his wife about King John's time." He also includes several detached Skrimshire records, only one of which is important to us. In 17 Henry VIII (1525-1526) Richard Skrymsher, Thomas Skrymsher, Henry Sutt on, esquire, William Skrymsher, clerk, and Robert Hewes claimed against Renald Fawcett two messuages four tofts, 100 acres of land, 20 acres of meadow an d 20 acres of pasture in South Muskham and Carleton. Thomas Skrymsher was doubtless our Norbury man while Richard was his elder brother and father of William Skrimshire, Thomas's nephew and executor... Norbury is a small scattered village near the Junction Canal. Its parish contains 5270 acres of land, and 353 inhabitants. The Earl of Lichfield is the principal owner, and lord of the manor of Norbury, which was formerly held successively by the families of Kilpeck, Marmion, Butler, and Skrymsher, who had a moated mansion or castle in this neighborhood, at the head of the 'Wild Moors', which formed a royal waste, extending from Knightley down to the Rivers Tern and Severn, near Newport Thomas was a Prothonotary of the Common Pleas In 1540 he bought Norbury Manor which at the time was said to be 400 years old. In 1540 completed the purchase from Sir Philip Boteler Thomas also purchased very large adjoining estates, including Aqualate, Johnston Hall, High Offley, Orselow and Forton. Will: of Norbury date 26 Jan 1550/12 Feb 1551 Had a cousin Thomas Morton [will 1551] Puchased Aqualate Hall in Forton in 1535 With his wife Margaret purchased from Humphrey Bourchier High Offley in 1539. Purchased 1/3 of Tyrley in 1543. Purchased Mere in Forton from Sir John Leger and his wife Catherine in 1547-51/ He was Escheator of Staffordshire 1528-9, 1535-6. J.P. for Staffordshire 1531-d. He was M.P. of Staffordshire ?-1536, 1539-40. NORBURY CHURCH North Burie was a Saxon settlement and the records go back to that period. St. Chad, the first Bishop of Mercia, may have founded the church here and it is interesting to think that the ecclesiastical boundaries have not been changed since they were originally marked out by the Saxon Moor. The Church of St. Peter lies to the north-east of the village, the building consisting of a central aisled nave, a chancel slightly narrower and shorter than the nave and a west tower, which is the main entrance to the church. The building is of the mid-14th century; it is remarkable for the purity of its style, and is built of local red sandstone. The tower was faced with brick-work in Georgian times. It is supposed that the builder was Ralph le Botiler, who succeeded his father of Lord of the Manor in 1307. The high standard of design and craftmanship suggests a wealthy patron. The chancel is given greater dignity than the nave by a more elaborate treatment. The east wall contains a larger magnificent five-light window of Gothic design. The walls contian two two-light windows. There are two doors with pointed heads. A fine 14th century string course at sill level has a scroll moulding and runs the entire length of both north and south walls. In the south chancel wall is an arcade of four arches which formed a piscina and three sedilia. On the north chancel wall is a large recess under a cinquefoil arch which houses a fine painted stone efigy in chainmail with sheild bearing the Botiler Arms; it is thought to represent either the elder or younger Ralph le Botiler. The pointed chancel arch is tall and wide and on both sides is framed under a scroll moulded hood with carved human heads as stops. The north and south walls of the nave have three two-light plain glass windows filled with simple geometric tracery, the headpieces consisting of three pointed trefoils. All the windows are framed internally under scrolled hood moulds. There is a holy water stoup hidden by the panelling of the pews on the east side of the south doorway which is more elaborately moulded. At the east end of the south nave wall is a trefoil-headed piscina. Both nave and chancel have very fine original trussed-rafter roofs. In the chancel roof the rafters are moulded and have foliage stops above the wall plate. Georgian alterations began in 1759. The tower arch was blocked up and a doorway inserted. The tower walls were partly rebuilt and partly enclosed in red brick, the parapet being decorated with four stone pinnacles. The tower consists of porch, ringing chamber and belfry. A further restoration took place between 1826 and 1829 when a gallery was installed at the west end of the nave, probably for musicians. The level of the chancel floor was raised also during this period of restoration. In 1873 an attempt was made to restore the mediaeval character of the church and much of the previous century's work was undone. The present tracery was inserted in the east window and the plaster ceiling of the chancel was removed. In 1886 the west gallery was removed and also the 18th century pews. No mediaeval screens survive; there is an ancient oak chest carved out of a tree trunk and fitted with three locks in the porch. The pulpit incorporates some Jacobean carving and the 17th century altar rails have flat moulded balusters. The Georgian font is of the 'wine-glass' type, with a shallow bowll and a barred stem [dated 1738]. In addition to the Botiler tomb in the chancel, a fine brass to Clawise [d. 1360], widow of Ralph le Botiler the younger, was moved to its present position in 1913; it is the oldest Staffordshire brass memorial plate. Three alabaster figures found during the alterations of 1826-29 are preserved. A mutilated male effigy is considered to be that of Sir Edward Botiler [d. 1412], the other figures are believed to be his wife and mother. On the south wall of the chancel is a monument to Charles Skrymsher [d. 1708]. Other wall tablets include one to the Rev'd Sambrooke Higgins [d. 1823] and three others to members of the Burne family. In 1553 there were three bells and a sanctus bell. There are now five bells. The registers date from 1538. The list of Rectors commences with William Dean de Northbury-King John's reign. Thomas was a Catholic; Protonotary of the Court of Common Pleas; Escheator, Staffordshire 1528-9 1535-6; J.P., Staffordshire 1531-d; M.P., Staffordshire ?-1536 1539-1540 1550-1551 Thomas Skrymsher of Norbury, Esq., made his will on January 26, 1550/1 and it was proved on February 12, 1551/2/ He directed that he be buried in the chancel of Norbury church under the alabaster stone that he had caused to be made. ... He mentions Edward Mitton Thomas made his will on January 26, 1550/51 and it was proved on February 12, 1551/52. Mentioned in the will are a sone Thomas Skrymsher; daughter Mary, wife of Anthony Asteley; son John Skrymsher; son Anthony Astley (article suggests he is the son of his late wife, and is husband to his daughter Mary); Edward Mitton; godson Thomas Selvester, the wife of son Roos; daughter Colyer. Executors were nephew William Skrymsher, and cousin Thomas Moreton. ________________________________________ Skrymsher is a spelling derivative of'Scrimgeour', the hereditary title of the banner bearers of the Scottish Kings. Thomas Skrimshire of Norbury, co. Stafford, was not a native of that county but was presumably from North Muskham (Muschamp), co. Nottingham, where a Skrinshire family of minor gentry was well established. The Skrimshire arms were--Gules, a lion rampant o r within a border vair (Skrimshire), quartering Azure, a chevron between thre e flies argent (Muschamp), which would indicate a claim to an ancestral marriage with an heiress of a family which took its name from the manor or parish of Muschamp. In his History of Staffordshire, Mr. Thoroton says "In Batheley [a hamlet in North Muskham] there yet remains a branch of the family of Scrimshire which have been resident and owners of land in these hamlets and towns of Muskham above 400 years. The first I have taken notice of was Hugh de Skirmessour and Christian his wife about King John's time." He also includes several detached Skrimshire records, only one of which is important to us. In 17 Henry VIII (1525-1526) Richard Skrymsher, Thomas Skrymsher, Henry Sutt on, esquire, William Skrymsher, clerk, and Robert Hewes claimed against Renald Fawcett two messuages four tofts, 100 acres of land, 20 acres of meadow an d 20 acres of pasture in South Muskham and Carleton. Thomas Skrymsher was doubtless our Norbury man while Richard was his elder brother and father of William Skrimshire, Thomas's nephew and executor... Norbury is a small scattered village near the Junction Canal. Its parish contains 5270 acres of land, and 353 inhabitants. The Earl of Lichfield is the principal owner, and lord of the manor of Norbury, which was formerly held successively by the families of Kilpeck, Marmion, Butler, and Skrymsher, who had a moated mansion or castle in this neighborhood, at the head of the 'Wild Moors', which formed a royal waste, extending from Knightley down to the Rivers Tern and Severn, near Newport Thomas was a Prothonotary of the Common Pleas In 1540 he bought Norbury Manor which at the time was said to be 400 years old. In 1540 completed the purchase from Sir Philip Boteler Thomas also purchased very large adjoining estates, including Aqualate, Johnston Hall, High Offley, Orselow and Forton. Will: of Norbury date 26 Jan 1550/12 Feb 1551 Had a cousin Thomas Morton [will 1551] Puchased Aqualate Hall in Forton in 1535 With his wife Margaret purchased from Humphrey Bourchier High Offley in 1539. Purchased 1/3 of Tyrley in 1543. Purchased Mere in Forton from Sir John Leger and his wife Catherine in 1547-51/ He was Escheator of Staffordshire 1528-9, 1535-6. J.P. for Staffordshire 1531-d. He was M.P. of Staffordshire ?-1536, 1539-40. NORBURY CHURCH North Burie was a Saxon settlement and the records go back to that period. St. Chad, the first Bishop of Mercia, may have founded the church here and it is interesting to think that the ecclesiastical boundaries have not been changed since they were originally marked out by the Saxon Moor. The Church of St. Peter lies to the north-east of the village, the building consisting of a central aisled nave, a chancel slightly narrower and shorter than the nave and a west tower, which is the main entrance to the church. The building is of the mid-14th century; it is remarkable for the purity of its style, and is built of local red sandstone. The tower was faced with brick-work in Georgian times. It is supposed that the builder was Ralph le Botiler, who succeeded his father of Lord of the Manor in 1307. The high standard of design and craftmanship suggests a wealthy patron. The chancel is given greater dignity than the nave by a more elaborate treatment. The east wall contains a larger magnificent five-light window of Gothic design. The walls contian two two-light windows. There are two doors with pointed heads. A fine 14th century string course at sill level has a scroll moulding and runs the entire length of both north and south walls. In the south chancel wall is an arcade of four arches which formed a piscina and three sedilia. On the north chancel wall is a large recess under a cinquefoil arch which houses a fine painted stone efigy in chainmail with sheild bearing the Botiler Arms; it is thought to represent either the elder or younger Ralph le Botiler. The pointed chancel arch is tall and wide and on both sides is framed under a scroll moulded hood with carved human heads as stops. The north and south walls of the nave have three two-light plain glass windows filled with simple geometric tracery, the headpieces consisting of three pointed trefoils. All the windows are framed internally under scrolled hood moulds. There is a holy water stoup hidden by the panelling of the pews on the east side of the south doorway which is more elaborately moulded. At the east end of the south nave wall is a trefoil-headed piscina. Both nave and chancel have very fine original trussed-rafter roofs. In the chancel roof the rafters are moulded and have foliage stops above the wall plate. Georgian alterations began in 1759. The tower arch was blocked up and a doorway inserted. The tower walls were partly rebuilt and partly enclosed in red brick, the parapet being decorated with four stone pinnacles. The tower consists of porch, ringing chamber and belfry. A further restoration took place between 1826 and 1829 when a gallery was installed at the west end of the nave, probably for musicians. The level of the chancel floor was raised also during this period of restoration. In 1873 an attempt was made to restore the mediaeval character of the church and much of the previous century's work was undone. The present tracery was inserted in the east window and the plaster ceiling of the chancel was removed. In 1886 the west gallery was removed and also the 18th century pews. No mediaeval screens survive; there is an ancient oak chest carved out of a tree trunk and fitted with three locks in the porch. The pulpit incorporates some Jacobean carving and the 17th century altar rails have flat moulded balusters. The Georgian font is of the 'wine-glass' type, with a shallow bowll and a barred stem [dated 1738]. In addition to the Botiler tomb in the chancel, a fine brass to Clawise [d. 1360], widow of Ralph le Botiler the younger, was moved to its present position in 1913; it is the oldest Staffordshire brass memorial plate. Three alabaster figures found during the alterations of 1826-29 are preserved. A mutilated male effigy is considered to be that of Sir Edward Botiler [d. 1412], the other figures are believed to be his wife and mother. On the south wall of the chancel is a monument to Charles Skrymsher [d. 1708]. Other wall tablets include one to the Rev'd Sambrooke Higgins [d. 1823] and three others to members of the Burne family. In 1553 there were three bells and a sanctus bell. There are now five bells. The registers date from 1538. The list of Rectors commences with William Dean de Northbury-King John's reign. Thomas was a Catholic; Protonotary of the Court of Common Pleas; Escheator, Staffordshire 1528-9 1535-6; J.P., Staffordshire 1531-d; M.P., Staffordshire ?-1536 1539-1540 MARY JOAN UNKNOWN was born about 1501, of Swineshed, Lincolnshire, England, to unknown parents She married Thomas Skrymshire about 1521, of France. Mary Jane passed away about 1533, of Qulton, Cheshire England. She was buried in London, England, age 32. Children of Thomas Skrymshire and Mary Jane: 1.Elizabeth Skrymshire, b. 1511, md. Mr. Roos. 2.John Skrymshire, 1515-1586. 2.Joyce Scrimshire, 1517-; md. Mr. Collier. 3.Thomas Skrymshire, 1517-. 4.Mary Skrymshire, b. 1522-; md. Mr. Astley. 4.Robert Scrumshire was born about 1524 of England, to Thomas Skrymshire (1488-1551) and Mary Joan Unknown (1501-1533.) He married Unknown. We do not know when Robert died. 5.Anne Skrymshire, 1526-1571. + 6-a-1-a. WILLIAM SKRIMSHIRE (1469-1552) \\ 1-a-1-a-1. ALICE WITHERINGTON (WIDDERINGTON) (1468-1558) WILLIAM SKRIMSHIRE was born about 1469 of Darley Hall, Oulton, Cheshire, England, to Geoffrey Skrymshire (1431-) and Margaret Muschamp (1436-.) He married (1) Alice Starkey (1538-) and (2) *Alice Witherington. William Skrimshire died in about 1552, of Norbury, Staffordshire, England, age 83. ALICE WITHERINGTON (WIDDERINGTON) was born about 1468 of Shropshire, England, to Thomas Widderington (1436-) and Unknown. She married William Skrimshire. Alice passed away in about 1558 of Shropshire, England, age 90. Child of William Swineshead and Alice Witherington: 1.Thomas Skrymshire was born about 1488, of Darley Hall, Hertforshire, England, to William Skrimshire (1469-1552) and Alice Witherington (1469-1559.) He married Mary Joan Swynshed about 1521, of France. Thomas Skrymshire died 12 September 1551, at Norbury, Staffordshire, England, age 64. + 6-a-1-a.GEOFFREY SKRYMSHIRE (1431-) \\ MARGARET MUSCHAMP (1436-) \\ GEOFFREY SKRYMSHIRE was born about 1431 of North Muskham, Nottinghamshire, England, to unknown parents. He married Margaret Muschamp about 1467 of England. We do not know when he died in England. MARGARET MUSCHAMP was born about 1436 of Stafford, Staffordshire, England, to unknown parents. She married Geoffrey Skrymshire, about 1467 of England. Margaret Muschamp died at unknown time and place. Child of Geoffrey Skrymshire and Margaret Muschamp: 1.William Skrimshire was born about 1469 of Darley Hall, Oulton, Cheshire, England, to Geoffrey Skrymshire (1431-) and Margaret Muschamp (1436-.) He married (1) Alice Starkey (1538-) and (2) *Alice Witherington. William Skrimshire died in about 1552, of Norbury, Staffordshire, England, age 83. + 6-a-1-a-1. THOMAS WIDDRINGTON (1436-) UNKNOWN THOMAS WIDDRINGTON was born about 1436 of Ellington, Northumberland, England, to Sir Roger de Woderyngton (1403-1451,) Kt. and Margaret Unknown. He married unknown. Thomas Widdrington died at unknown time. Child of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Widdrington: 1.Alice Widdrington (Witherington) was born about 1460 of Shropshire, England, to Thomas Widderington (1436-) and Unknown. She married William Swineshead. Alice passed away in about 1559 of Shropshire, England, age 90. + 6-a-1-a-1. SIR ROGER de WODERYNGTON, KNIGHT (1403-1451) \\ MARGARET UNKNOWN \\ SIR ROGER de WODERYNGTON, KNIGHT was born about 1403, of Morpeth, Northumberland, England, to Sir John de Widdrington, Knight, MP, (1371-1444) and Catherine Acton (1477-1420.) He married (1) Elizabeth deGrey and (2) *Margaret Unknown. Sir Roger de Woderyington died 2 August 1451, Northumberland, England, age 48. Child of Roger de Woderyngton and Elizabeth deGrey: 1.Thomas Widdrington was born about 1436 of Ellington, Northumberland, England, to Sir Roger de Woderyngton (1403-1451,) Kt. and Margaret Unknown. He married unknown. Thomas Widdrington died at unknown time. +   PYNCHON FAMILY GENERATIONS BIRTHDEATH 1.Sir John Pynchon\\ Unknown\\14711520 2.Lord Nicholas Pynchon Agnes Stephens\\1496 15001533 1555 3 3-a.Sir William Pynchon Elizabeth Stevens1513 15071553 15353-a. Richard Stevens 1496-1579 & Sibell Campyn Marchand 1501- \\ 3-a. John Stevens 1460-1500 & 3-a-1. Alice Atheward 1468-1555 3-a. Thomas Stevens 1420- \\ Unknown\\ 3-a-1. John Atheward 1433-1508 & Unknown 3-a-1. William Atheward 1409-1440 \\ & Margaret Byron 1440-1412 \\ 4. 4-a.John Pynchon Jane Empson1534 15421573 15874-a. Richard Empson 1500-1587\\ & Jane Hill 1500-1598\\ 5. 5-a.John Pynchon Frances Brett1564 15691610 16105-a. Thomas Brett 1542-1615 \\ Jane Unknown 1546-1568 \\ 6. 6-a.Gov. William Pynchon Agnes Anna Andrew Both Imm. 16301590 15931662 16306-a. William Andrew 1582- & 6-a-1. Brigetta Risley 1572-1638 6-a. William Andrew 1550-1612 & Bridget Unknown 1559\\ 6-a. William Andrew 1524-1585 & Elizabeth Unknown 1528- \\ 6-a. Unknown & Mrs. Priscilla Andrews 1503-1582 \\ 6-a-1. John Risley 1548-1609 & 6-a-1-a. Elizabeth Scrunshire 1546-1634 6-a-1. William Risley 1518- &\\ Anne Hyde (1522-) \\ 6-a-1-a. Robert Scrunshire 1524- & Unknown \\ 6-a-1-a. Thomas Skrymshire 1488-1551 & Mary Joan unknown 1501-1533 \\ 6-a-1-a. William Skimshire 1469-1552 & 6-a-1-a-1. Alice Widdrington 1468-1558 6-a-1-a. Geoffrey Skrymshire 1431 \\ & Margaret Muschamp 1436 \\ 6-a-1-a-1. Thomas Widdrington 1436- & Unknown 6-a-1-a-1. Roger de Woderyngton 1403-1451\\ & Margaret Unknown\\ 7.Col. John Pynchon Imm. 1630 Amy Wyllys Imm. 16381625 16251703 1699 (See Wyllys) 8. Col. John Pynchon Margaret Hubbard 1647 1647 1721 1716 (See Hubbard) 9.Col. John Pynchon Phoebe Sexton1674 16861742 1722 (See Sexton) 10.Cap. George Pynchon Hannah Bartlett1717 17201797 1751 (See Bartlett) 11.George Pynchon Lois Hickox1739 17461775 1811 (See Hickox) 12.Daniel Burbank Margaret Pynchon1770 17751832 1826(See Burbank) 13.Daniel Mark Burbank Sarah Zurviah Southworth1814 18351894 1927 14.Brigham South. Burbank Mary Elizabeth Pett1855 18561943 1951 15.Silas Andrew Marble Mary Evaline Burbank1883 18811961 1970 15.Merlin Junius Romer Emma Margrette Marble1914 19181974 2004