by Laura Knight
Quite a few Knights are found in the Parish of St Bride Fleet Street, including one Peter Knight, born 1620, son of Peter and Cicely Knight who has been discussed HERE. Even if this Peter is not the one we are looking for (though I suspect he is), it appears possible that quite a few of the Knights of St Bride ended up in Virginia, (and I know for a fact that one with an unusual name certainly did), so I was prompted to explore the environment with some care.
The Parish Registry of St Bride Fleet Street that I cover in this discussion begins in September 1587 and ends in 1653; 164 leaves are devoted to marriages. The baptism register is a lot longer and way more dense; it begins the 1st day of February 1587 and since New Year’s Day back then was March 25, by the time we get a third of the way down the page, it is 1588; there are about 435 leaves just jam-packed with babies being baptized; it ends on the 22nd day of September 1653. The burials registry begins 3 October 1595; for sobering reading, nothing can top it; the number of strangers with no names, homeless people including children, dying in the streets is a grim insight on life in London in those times. Because St Bride was near Fleet prison, they also handled the dead from there with alarming regularity. The services that the Church performed in those times was invaluable, and no doubt difficult and troubling.
As in other European cities of the period, the plague was the endemic in 17th century London. The disease periodically erupted into massive epidemics. There were 30,000 deaths due to the plague in 1603, 35,000 in 1625, and 10,000 in 1636, as well as smaller numbers in other years. (Moote, A. Lloyd (2008). The Great Plague: The Story of London's Most Deadly Year. London: JHU Press.)
London at that time consisted of a city of about 448 acres surrounded by a city wall, which had originally been built to keep out bandits and armies. There were gates at Ludgate, Newgate, Aldersgate, Cripplegate, Moorgate and Bishopsgate and to the south lay the River Thames and London Bridge. In the poorer parts of the city, hygiene was impossible to maintain in the overcrowded tenements and garrets. There was no sanitation, and open drains flowed along the centre of winding streets. The cobbles were slippery with animal dung, rubbish and the slops thrown out of the houses, muddy and buzzing with flies in summer and awash with sewage in winter. The City Corporation employed "rakers" to remove the worst of the filth and it was transported to mounds outside the walls where it accumulated and continued to decompose. The stench was overwhelming and people walked around with handkerchiefs or nosegays pressed against their nostrils.
Some of the city's necessities such as coal arrived by barge, but most came by road. Carts, carriages, horses and pedestrians were crowded together and the gateways in the wall formed bottlenecks through which it was difficult to progress. The nineteen-arch London Bridge was even more congested. The better-off used hackney carriages and sedan chairs to get to their destinations without getting filthy. The poor walked, and might be splashed by the wheeled vehicles and drenched by slops being thrown out and water falling from the overhanging roofs. Another hazard was the choking black smoke belching forth from factories which made soap, from breweries and iron smelters and from about 15,000 houses burning coal. (Ref.)
Ancestry.com provides two versions of the St Bride registers: photographs of the original pages, and images of a transcript that appears to have been made by trained archivists of the London Metropolitan Archives, and thus is pretty good. I spent some time comparing the transcripts to the originals and found very few errors.
At this point, we want to know something about the parish itself. Wikipedia will do for our purposes here, extracted, condensed and arranged for brevity:
St. Bride's may be one of the most ancient churches in London, with worship perhaps dating back to the conversion of the Middle Saxons in the 7th century. It has been conjectured that, as the patron saint is Bridget of Ireland, it may have been founded by Celtic monks, missionaries proselytising the English.
The present St Bride's is at least the seventh church to have stood on the site. Traditionally, it was founded by St Bridget in the sixth century. Whether or not she founded it personally, the remnants of the first church appear to have significant similarities to a church of the same date in Kildare, Ireland. The Norman church, built in the 11th century, was of both religious and secular significance; in 1210, King John held a parliament there. It was replaced by a larger church in the 15th century.
St Bride's association with the newspaper business began in 1500, when Wynkyn de Worde set up a printing press next door. De Worde was known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England. Until 1695, London was the only city in England where printing was permitted by law.
Our attention is caught by mention of Wynkin de Worde and William Caxton, so we naturally wanted to know more about them, again, borrowing and condensing Wikipedia:
William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491) was an English merchant, diplomat, and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer was the first English retailer of printed books. Neither his parentage nor date of birth is known for certain. In the preface to his first printed work The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, he claims to have been born and educated in the Weald of Kent. In 1438 he was apprenticed to Robert Large, a wealthy London silk mercer.
The first book known to have been produced by Caxton in London was an edition of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (Blake, 2004–07). Another early title was Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres (Sayings of the Philosophers), first printed on 18 November 1477, translated by Earl Rivers, the king's brother-in-law. Caxton's translations of the Golden Legend (1483) and The Book of the Knight in the Tower (1484) contain perhaps the earliest verses of the Bible to be printed in English. He produced the first translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses in English. Caxton produced chivalric romances (such as Fierabras), the most important of which was Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1485); classical works; and English and Roman histories.
In the late 1580s, one Eleanor White, daughter to the gentleman artist and explorer John White, was married in St Bride's, to the tiler and bricklayer Ananias Dare. Their daughter Virginia Dare was to be the first English child born in North America. She was born on Roanoke Island on 18 August 1587.
St Bride's has had a number of notable parishioners, including John Milton (1608-1674), John Dryden (1631-1700), and the diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), who was baptized in the church. Pepys buried his brother Tom in the church in 1664, but by this stage the vaults were so overcrowded that Pepys had to bribe the gravedigger to "justle together" the corpses in order to make room.
So, we now know that there was a great tradition of writing associated with St. Bride, that our Knights were rubbing shoulders with some very interesting and educated people, and we are intrigued by the reference to being “educated in the Weald of Kent” since there was a raft of Knights in Kent! We also notice that Caxton was apprenticed to a silk mercer – a silk merchant, in other words, which means that merchants could be scholars, and we know from the Colonial records that both Peter Knights were merchants too. Writing was closely associated with mercantile families because sales, contracts and accounts and guild activities all required a good knowledge of reading and writing and the law.
Finally, we notice the association of John White, the explorer, with St. Bride’s. As it happens, a Nicholas White and a Katherine Knight were Protestant Recusants burned at the stake in 1558, during the reign of Queen Mary; less than 20 years later, a William White of Adisham Kent married an Ellen Knight.
As an aside, I will note here that, despite the claim of Wikipedia (and others), I did not find the baptism of Samuel Pepys in the register and I looked pretty carefully. Perhaps it is there and the spelling is really weird?
Coming back to our topic, I want to expand the area of scrutiny to the geographical location; what was around in the neighborhood? What influences could be felt on the parishioners of St Bride’s? What about Fleet Street itself? Again, Wikipedia gives us clues:
Fleet Street is a major street in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was named.
Having been an important through route since Roman times, businesses were established along the road during the Middle Ages. Senior clergy lived in Fleet Street during this period where there are several churches including Temple Church and St Bride's. Fleet Street became known for printing and publishing at the start of the 16th century when William Caxton's apprentice, Wynkyn de Worde, set up a printing shop near Shoe Lane, while at around the same time Richard Pynson set up as publisher and printer next to St Dunstan's Church. More printers and publishers followed, mainly supplying the legal trade in the four Inns of Court around the area, but also publishing books and plays.
As a principal route leading to and from the City, Fleet Street was especially noted for its taverns and coffeehouses. Many notable persons of literary and political fame such as Samuel Johnson frequented these, and journalists would regularly meet in pubs to collect stories. Some, such as Ye Olde Cock Tavern at No. 22 and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese at No. 145, have survived to the 21st century and are Grade II listed in the present time.
To the south lies an area of legal buildings known as the Temple, formerly the property of the Knights Templar, which at its core includes two of the four Inns of Court: the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple. There are many lawyers' offices (especially barristers' chambers) in the vicinity.
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional accommodation. Each also has a church or chapel attached to it and is a self-contained precinct where barristers traditionally train and practice. In the 16th century and earlier, students or apprentices learned their craft primarily by attending court and sharing both accommodations and education during the legal terms. Prior to the English Civil War in 1642, this training lasted at least seven years; subsequently, the Inns focused their residency requirements on dining together in the company of experienced barristers, to enable learning through contact and networking with experts.
The Inns played an important role in the history of the English Renaissance theatre. Notable literary figures and playwrights who resided in the Inns of Court include John Donne (1572-1631, Francis Beaumont (1584-1616), John Fletcher 1579-1625), John Marston (1576-1634), Thomas Lodge (1558-1625), Thomas Campion (1567-1620), Abraham Fraunce (1560-1593), Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), and George Gascoigne (1535-1577).
Fleet Street is mentioned in several of Charles Dickens' works. The eponymous club in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, more commonly known as The Pickwick Papers, is set in the street, as is Tellson's Bank In A Tale of Two Cities.
So, now we know that not only the church, but the whole neighborhood is associated with writing, literary pursuits, mercantile interests, legal activity, exploration, all of which often intertwine in the most interesting ways; and the glue that holds them all together and makes them work is writing. In the Wikipedia article, I also noted with interest the names “More” (Moore), Gascoigne, Fletcher, and “Bacon” since those were names well known in Colonial Virginia, and were often associated with Knights.
Again, keep in mind that the marriage registry begins September 1587 and ends in 1653 and the baptism register begins the 1st day of February 1587 and since New Year’s Day back then was March 25, by our calendar, this was 1588; it ends on the 22nd day of September 1653. Basically, the two registers cover the same period of time. I will include a number of images of parts of the actual registry to illustrate the trials of reading and abstracting records from such a text.
The earliest part of the registry contains an entry for the marriage of a Robert Arrowsmith and Jane Brice 30 November 1587. It seems that Mr. Arrowsmith was either a vicar of the church or a scribe because we find this marriage listed:
James Stanlye of Abchurch & Mary Walker xix Feb. The marke of John X Greene Citizen and Baker of London. Cosen and Governour of Mary Walker of the parishe of St Botolphes Bishopgate, her father and mother deceased. Per me Jacobum Stanley. By me Robert Arrowsmith
There are other entries signed off by Mr. Arrowsmith. Keep the name in mind because it will come up again in a much more interesting context.
The first Knight to appear in this registry is the baptism of Henry Arrow Knight (Knyte), son of Robert, 30 Sep 1594:
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As I said, this Robert Knight (with the baptism of his son, Henry Arrow), is the first Knight to appear in this registry though we don’t know about what went before in older registries; nevertheless, we can note that it is 7 years of no Knights since this register began which suggests that they arrived from somewhere else. The name “Arrow” certainly caught my eye; middle names were unusual at the time and this coming not long after reading “Arrowsmith” piqued my curiosity just a bit.
Three years later, a strange name appears: 9 Feb 1597: Elizabeth Halfe Knight dau. of Peter Halfe Knight
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I quickly did some side research and learned that this is actually a family name so, unless anything else suggests otherwise, I think we can set this one aside.
The next baptism of interest to us is Cicely Moore (Sysley), dau of Thomas Moore, 26 Aug 1599. This one is easy enough to read though you need to take note of the interesting formation of the letter S according to the scribal conventions of the time.
Of course we are reminded of the association of Sir Thomas More with St Bride, and I did some quick searching and found that Sir Thomas More's son, John More (1509-1547) married an Anne Cresacre (1510-1577) and apparently had at least two sons, Edward and Thomas (1538-1605). This Thomas married Mary Scrope (1528-1607) and they had at least two sons and a daughter, John More (1557-1610), Thomas More (1568-1616), and Cicely (no dates found). This latter Thomas More appears to very likely be the father of Cicely who would be named for her aunt. This is the only Cicely I noted in the register, but there could be others found with a more concentrated search. I did note quite a few Moores (as the scribes were spelling it at that time and place) and Cicely apparently had brothers who were having children baptized there. Moore family researchers might want to look into this; my interest was mainly Knights and it appears that this Cicely Moore married a Peter Knight and was mother of Peter Knight b. 1620 and baptized at St Bride.
Further down on the same page where the baptism of Cicely Moore is recorded, we encounter our next Knight, Francis, son of Stephen, baptized 29 Aug 1599. Notice what looks like a double lower case ff to our eyes which was used to represent an upper case F by the scribes of the time. Francis will appear in the burial registry on 6 Sep 1599:
A year later, we find Anna Knight, daughter of Thomas Knight, baptized 24 Aug 1600:
The ancestry.com version of this record gives her name as Ann when relating to the original images, and Anna when connecting to the the Met Archives transcription. Curiously, even with her records attached, or her details made explicit, she does not give a return in a general search though the Ann Knight dau of Peter Knight baptized 23 Dec 1599 at St. Margaret Pattens does come up; the ancestry.com search system is often as much a hindrance as a help.
In any event what we notice about the above records is that, after 7 years of no Knights, we rather suddenly have a Robert Knight, father of Henry Arrow Knight, a Stephen Knight, father of Francis, and a Thomas Knight, father of Anna Knight; the three children born within a 6 year period. It's not a flood of Knights, but things get busy further on.
Five years later, Thomas Knight baptizes another child, Henry Knight, 25 Feb 1605 (in general, I usually automatically translate dates to our modern calender system, but don't hold me to it!). You will notice that we have a different scribe at this point and a whole new handwriting to study in order to figure out the quirks. Notice the words "the sonne" following the name of the child:
Henry will appear in the burials registry on 20 Aug 1606, inscribed in a much nicer hand:
Earlier in the same year that Henry was buried, we have one of the very few Knight marriages in the St Bride registry: John Knight and Eleanor Jordan (Elynor Jordyn), 7 May 1606:
Three years later, on 20 Mar 1609, Thomas Knight appears again with daughter, Grace:
Grace will die the following year and was buried 12 Aug 1610. Here I will note that the ancestry.com data entry person failed to take note of the month change in the transcription of this record and listed the baptism as being in February.
In the burials registry, we find Arthur Knight, son of Arthur Knight, buried on 25 Aug 1610:
This Arthur being buried by St Bride at this point is an interesting item since Arthur is new. Here we have an Arthur with a son being buried and there is no son of Arthur – or daughter - in the baptismal registry up to this point in time; of course, we could assume that the child was born and died at the same time, but having a name means a baptism, so why isn't it there?
The indexing of this registry by ancestry is something of a mess, too. There are entire pages where none of the indexed names match the names on the images. In other words, just running a search on ancestry.com that gives no returns does not always mean that there are no records. I’m very divided about ancestry; about half the time I find it very helpful and a boon to genealogy, but an almost equal half is given to frustration, dismay, and even anger that so many people are paying for what is sometimes a very inaccurate record service. You have to go through records yourself - which takes a lot of time and you could go blind! - and even that is not 100% because reading old text is difficult and it is easy to miss things. But I digress.
The next Knight item in chronological order is the marriage of Jayne Knight and Charles Harrison (Harryson) on 25 Jul 1611. We don’t know yet how she fits in but the name of her husband will turn out to be a clue.
Arthur Knight appears again almost immediately with the birth of a son, Will. or William Knight, 24 Oct 1611:
Who is this Arthur Knight, the father who just suddenly appears this way, buries a child, and then baptizes another. Is Arthur related in any way to our already present Knights? Are we seeing a family gathering obrothers and sisters and cousins? The bottom line is that the Arthur buried above was born/baptized elsewhere and that is another clue to these Knights coming from another place and congregating in the parish of St Bride for some reason. The next entry may partly explain the connection to St. Bride:
Jayne Knight, dau. of Thomas Knight, Scryvener, 1 Mar 1611/12. Is it possible that the Jayne Knight married above could be a sister of Thomas and may have been godmother to the child? Godparents were often aunts or uncles or cousins and often, the baptized child was given the name of the godparent. I've included a close-up of the name of the father and his profession below; again, notice the characteristic letter S in the word "Skryvener". Note also the "Tho." abbreviation for "Thomas". They sure wrote funny in those days!.
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Having already researched the church and the parish, we immediately can appreciate the presence of a scrivener, or scribe, here. I did a general internet search for “Thomas Knight, Scrivener”. The result was most interesting. I found a Thomas Knight, scrivener, on “British History Online”. It seems that in the court sessions held 3 and 4 Oct 1616, “Thomas Knight, scrivener, and Joan his wife… Katherine, wife of Richard Knight, scrivener”, were charged with “not coming to church from the above date for the space of two months then next following.” (Ref.) They showed up a second time in February of 1618, charged with recusancy: “Thomas Knight, scrivener, and Joan his wife, Katherine, wife of Richard Knight”. (Ref) What struck me as interesting was that quite a few of the names in the long list on both occasions, could be found in the St Bride register and then, later, in the colony of Virginia! In fact, St Bride itself was beginning to look like a breeding ground for colonists.
But, that is in the future. We are just now only in 1612. And the charge of recusancy is a little confusing since we see Thomas Knight, Scrivener, at least attending church long enough to baptize several children thus far!
Now here is something that appears to be very odd: 4 years after we learn that Thomas Knight is a Scrivener, we see this: William Knight (Will. Knyght) son to Thomas Knight (Tho Knyght) “Paynter”, 8 Feb 1616. Ancestry.com sure thinks it is "Paynter". However, our eyes, now accustomed to the scribal conventions of the time know immediately that this is not what we are seeing.
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I went over the page carefully and noted that the scribe is now occasionally including the names of the wives/mothers, but his penmanship is truly awful. The following are two other entries that include wives as examples:
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The first is John with Jayne and the second is Tho. with Barbarah. The "Jayne" looks an awful lot like the alleged "Paynter". What looks like a C is actually meant to indicate “and” or “&”. It took me a bit to find a P, but here one that helps us exclude that as the initial letter of our problem word and here it is in the name Thomas Passemore:
I studied the previous two pages, and the following two pages, and it appears that this writer is sometimes including the names of wives, sometimes including the occupation, and sometimes including some sort of comment, apparently about legitimacy. It appears to me, noting other flourishes at the end of names, that what we are seeing is quite simply the name Jayne with a flourish or just a messy ending. After reading hundreds of old documents that show the multiple spellings of different names, how names were sometimes Latinized and sometimes not (such as James turned into Jacobus), it just simply seems to me that we have here evidence that our Thomas Knight, Scrivener, was the same Thomas Knight, Scrivener, later charged with recusancy, and his wife's name was Jayne in the parish register, and Joan in the official court documents. (Or whoever transcribed the official court record transformed Jayne into Joan.) I think that we can also answer the question as to why the previous child of Thomas Knight was named "Jayne"; not because of a connection to the previously married Jayne Knight, but simply because she was being named after her mother.
I should also note that this particular scribe appears to have been dyslexic because he wrote “John” as “Jhon” about 7 times out of 10; sometimes he got it right, and other scribes certainly wrote it “John” and not “Jhon”; there were other similar anomalies. In the 17th century, only about 30% of adult men were fully literate – able to read and write - and only 10% of women were. This broke down to about 100% of the gentry including merchants, 60% for wealthier farmers and tradesmen, and for poor farmers and laborers, only about 15%. However, a good number of those who could not write their own names, could still read a little at a basic level; that is, they were partly literate. It should also be noted that the earliest immigrants to the American colonies were more literate than the general population of the countries they left. We will discover in the records that both Capt. Peter Knight and his wife, Anne, were literate. But again, I digress.
Following the birth of William Knight to Thomas and Jayne Knight, we encounter another of the very few Knight marriages in St Bride: Ann Knight to Thomas Hurst on 15 Jun 1617. And then, the following year, we first encounter a Peter Knight at St Bride - with his wife Cicely (Sisley) - baptizing his daughter, Elizabeth on 3 Jan 1618
There is something important to note about this: several children of this Peter Knight were baptized and buried in St Bride, but he most certainly was not married there. I went through the marriage register at least three times searching and Peter and Cicely, parents of Peter b. 1620 are just not there. I will also note again that I think it is highly likely that this Cicely is the same one who was herself baptized at St Bride in 1599 since I found no other Cicely/Sisley in the entire register (!) except the appearance at her baptism in 1599, and then as mother to the children of Peter Knight. (Someone else may find a Sisley/Cicely or two – it’s a difficult register to read and I can’t claim omniscience!) If I am right, Cicely Moore Knight was 19 when Elizabeth was registered, and that was a bit later than most young girls were marrying and having their first child, so there is that to consider also; they could have married elsewhere and they could also have had children that were not registered at St Bride; I have not found a marriage for them elsewhere.
Apparently, after the scribal experimentation of the previous couple of years, (or possible Parliamentary mandate about collecting registry data) someone decided that wives names should be included consistently, and so it was most of the time, but not always as the next record of interest shows: Rebecka dau to Thomas Knight, 21 Apr 1618; no wife mentioned. I know it looks like Roberta, but later records confirm that it is Rebecka and keep in mind the limitations of our scribe here.
Rebecka Knight has other records and she is, in fact, a key to opening up our knowledge about some of these Knights of St Bride. As it happens, Rebecka was to marry an Arthur Blackmore who went to Virginia and, apparently died there. His will was probated in England, however, as the following record shows:
1664 – Mar 31 – London St Gregory – Will – John Knight – Will of Arthur Blackmore, Cit & painter stainer of London with Bequests to sons Humphrey Blackmore, Arthur Blackmore; daughters Frances, Mary and Sara; brother-in-law Mr. John Knight and his wife; Mr. Anthony Reed; wife and executrix Rebecka Knight Blackmore; overseers, John Knight and Mr. Patrick Barrett and John Hartry. Apparently, he died in the colonies. (Coldham 1992, p. 16)
We learn from this that Rebecka has a brother, John Knight, obviously the son of Thomas Knight, Scrivener. Rebecka and her husband, Arthur Blackmore, lead us to the will of this John Knight which is instructive enough to include it at this point:
1680 – Jan 27 – London St Bride - Will – John Knight, Esq –“Principall chirurgeon to his Majestie… (Charles II)… to be buryed … with as little ceremony as may be in the parish Church of St Brides in Fleet Street in London…”; to the daughters of my sister Francis Bodham at present unmarried, to each of them, 300 pounds; to Thomas Ward (Nord?), son of my sister, Catherine, 300 pounds to be paid to him half a year after the expiration of his apprenticeship; to the sons of sister Elizabeth Francis, viz Edward and Thomas, 300 pounds to be divided between them; to each of my sisters, viz Rebecka Blackamore, Elizabeth Francis, Francis Bodham, and Sarah Mangridge, 100 pounds apiece; to Susan King, my late wife’s sister, an annuity of 6 pounds per annum during her natural life; to Rose Whale, Elizabeth Whale, and Mary Whale, daughters of my late wife’s sister, Anne Whale, 50 pounds apiece; to nephew Arthur Blackamore, son of my eldest sister Rebecka Blackamore, 5 shillings; to Mary Goodwin and Sarah Blackamore, daughters of the said Rebecka, 10 pounds; to Mary Goodwyn, daughter of the previously mentioned Mary Goodwyn, 20 pounds; discussion of monies owed to him; mention of late brother, William Knight, his wife Elizabeth Knight, and their two children, arrangement for annuity to said widow of brother; to good friend Joshua Drayner, Apothecary, 30 pounds; to good old friend John Sayers, Esq … master Cooke 50 pounds; to my good friend Mrs. Sayers, wife of John Sayers, a ruby ring set with diamonds which was my wife’s, and also my traveling chariot; to John Sayers, Edward Sayers and Joseph Sayers, sons of John Sayers, 5 pounds apiece; to my loving brother (in-law?), Sir Burnrowth Goines (or squire) of Westbury in the county of Gloucester, Knight, silver basin and ewer; to friend Robert Heyton, traveling plate; to servant Elizabeth Brown, 200 pounds and all the furniture of my purple chamber provided she be living with me, a servant, at the day of my decease; to my brother (in-law) John Mangridge, my biggest silver __ and ___; to sister Elizabeth Francis, my blue bed with the furniture of the blue and yellow chamber at Newhall; to my sister Francis Bodham, my own bed together with the furniture of my chamber I lie in at Albemarle house; to my servants John Franklin and Christopher Todd, all my books of phisick and chirugery and all my instruments to be equally divided, and to each of them 10 pounds; to the said Christopher Todd, the whole furniture and equipment standing in his lodging in Durham yard; to Mr. James Davies of Whitehall the two rings which I always wore upon my fingers; to my man Shepard, 40 shillings if he is my servant at the day of my death; to my good friend Samuel Pepys, 8 (or 18) volumes of Gotfried (followed by several names which might be individual authors or titles, in Latin); to the library of the College of Gonville and Caius in Cambridge, to W___ Society… my written originals all my manuscripts of … and the rest of this is in Latin, though it appears to discuss the texts being given; to my most noble friends, the right honorable Henry Earl Clarenden and his brother the right honorable Lawrence Hyde Esq, … the sum of 50 pounds to buy them rings… something about my daughter Fanny being of age and signing and sealing my testament of agreement between her husband and myself (this latter part is very difficult; needs an expert); to the two sons of my sister Elizabeth Francis and the son of my sister Francis Bodham, viz Edward and Thomas Francis and Edward Bodham, all the remainder of my estate to be equally divided amongst them share and share alike; friend John Sayer and brother (in-law) Edward Bodham, executors. Codicil: to the College of Gonville at Cambridge, all my manuscripts of Heraldry, being about 50 folios… 2 volumes of the Baronage of which are by myself added most of the arms describing the masters and fellows of the said college they are arresting men with these essential documents that they would let the town of Ipswich have theirs & they now have (this latter part also unclear) …. I do also give to the said library of Gonville and Caius, Godwyns Catalogue of Bishop Whirt where in the margins inserted the arms of most of the Bishops and these faithfully obtained from tombs, stone work, glass windows Seats and esscutial ornaments… I give to the town of Ipswich the Monstrum Angelorum in 3 volumes… etc. (This codicil is fascinating and I would like to see the entire will properly transcribed for historical reasons.) (Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858, PROB 11: Will Registers, 1674-1687, Piece 364: Bath, Quire Numbers 124-185 (1680))
This will helps a great deal in sorting out some relationships, but it also raises more questions. Notice his bequest to Henry, Earl Clarenden. Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, was brother-in-law of King James II. He was the eldest son of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, and his second wife, Frances Aylesbury. He was thus a brother of Anne Hyde, and maternal uncle to both Queen Mary II and Queen Anne. Both he and his brother Laurence Hyde were brought up partly at Antwerp and Breda, by their mother. Clarendon before 1660 made use of Henry as copyist, decipherer, and confidential secretary, in his correspondence with distant royalists. In 1680, the influence of his brother-in-law James, Duke of York made him a privy councillor. Around the same time he was named keeper of Denmark House and treasurer and receiver-general of the queen's revenues. At this time, and often, he had money troubles. The friendship of the Duke of York led to his inclusion with his brother Lawrence in the group whom the Commons early in January 1681 told the king were persons inclined to popery. Clarendon County, South Carolina and Hyde County, North Carolina are named after him.
When reading the name "Hyde" I couldn't help but think of a record in the Albemarle Parish register of Surry/Sussex Counties, Virginia dating to almost 100 years after the above will was writting showing a friendship between John Knight and the Hydes.
1754 - Jan 4 – Surry/Sussex VA – Albemarle Parish: Note made by the Rev. William Willie in the Parish Death Register: “Benjamin Hyde and Mary his wife, Sarah, Cherry, Hannah, their children. d. Jan 4, 1754, All muder’d by their own Negro Man! The Man was murder’d in the Field, and all the rest in the House, all their Heads were cut off, only the Child, an infant, had its Brains dashed out. The Negro was the most obdurate Wretch I Ever conversd with, for nothing that I could say to him cou’d prevail upon to own it to be wrong!” (Richards 1958, p. 217)
The Aylesburys are connected to the Knights in a Warwickshire Knight family and following that trail up and down brings up the following list of records which I will excerpt from my main list of Records where you can find sources and more details. We want to get back to the St Bride register, but this is an important trail to follow and I don't want to drop the opportunity. In the following, if you are at all familiar with many of the main Knight families of Colonial Virginia, you will recognize quite a few trigger names
1399 – Warwickshire Warwick – Admin – Thomas Knight – Misc. Deeds and Documents: Accounts of T. Knight, receiver of the estates of the Earl of Warwick.
1548 – Sep 6 – Warwickshire Wootton Wawen – Bap – William Knight - s/o John & Margaret
1559 - Feb 16 – London St Botolphs – Will - William Knight, Gent - Mentions lands in Warwickshire.
1576 – Nov 14 – Warwickshire Tredington – Mar – Peter Knight & Christian Worther
1581 – Apr 24 – Warwickshire Wootton Wawen – Will – William Knight – Sons Nicholas, Thomas, Edward, Richard, John; daus: Marie, Alice, Mabell, Elizabeth; Manor called "Barrells".
1602 – Apr 1 – Warwickshire Castle Bromwich – Admin – Richard Knight, Yeoman - Marriage settlement for son, John Knight.
1603 –Warwickshire Castle Bromwich – Chancery Suit – John Knight - Stone v Collins. Plaintiffs: Henry Stone. Defendants: Thomas Collins, Elizabeth Collins his wife, John Knight, Martha Knight
1606 – Warwickshire – Will - John Knight - Son John Knight.
1621 – Warwickshire – Admin – Francis Knight - Bond between Francis Knight, John Knight, Obadiah Sharpe and Thomas Saunders to fulfil the covenants of a lease.
1631 – Nov 25 – Oxfordshire Banbury – Will – William Knight, Gent – youngest son, William Knight, my house in Sheeps Street in the Borough of Banbury wherein William Sprigg and Thomas Pedly now dwell, with all fields, orchards, gardens, profit, thereto belonging; and properties in Northamptonshire in the tenure or accupation of Mr Nicholas Salter, my brother-in-law; property in Warwickshire which I late purchased of Richard Gresell, Gent, and other properties, to said William Knight; entailed to his heirs, male, and failing heirs, to my older son, Bezaliel Knight, and his heirs; grandchild, Mary Gill, daughter of my daughter, Mary; grandson, Thomas Gill; grandchild, William Knight, the Iron spade (?) given me by Walter ___ being the same the ____ papists dug under the Parliament house with. Bezaliel Knight to be executor.
1646 – Jun 20 – Warwickshire Castle Bromwich – Will – John Knight, Yeoman – To be buried in the churchyard of Alton where his father was buried; son-in-law Thomas Aylesbury (Ailesbury); daughter Anne Aylesbury; grandchild ___ Aylesbury; sister Dorothy; cousin Elizabeth; cousin Hannah Somerland; daughter-in-law Joan Fuller; her son, Thomas (Knight?); John Foster, Anne Foster and Maria Foster, three of the children of my son-in-law William Foster; wife Anne Knight.
1646 – Warwickshire Rowington – Admin – William Knight the Younger - Deeds of a messuage and virgate or yardland of land at Mowsley End in Rowington; Includes post-nuptial marriage settlement of William Knight the younger of Clements Inn, London, gent and Margaret King, 1646
1652 – Jul – Warwickshire Barrells – Will – Nicholas Knight – To be buried next to wife; son, William Knight, and grandson John Knight, old weapons ... to youngest son, John Knight, my house in Willonhall street called Challongow in the tenure of Susannah Knight, Widow; if no heirs from John Knight, property then to go to son Robert Knight and his heirs; if no heirs, then to grandson Henry Lea; if no heirs, then to grandson Thomas Knight and his heirs; ... sister Moonestone; daughter Anna Lea; grandchildren Elizabeth Hanbury and Thomas Knight; daughter Adams, daughter Hopkins, daughter Lea and daughter Brooks; son Robert Knight, son (in-law) Robert Adams, and grandson John Knight to be executors; Thomas Lea and William Hurlston to be overseers.
1655 – Jun 8 – Warwickshire Castle Bromwich – Will – Anne Knight, Widow – Wishes to be buried near her deceased husband; daughter, Joane Foster, wife of William Foster; kinsman John Dolphin; son (in-law) Thomas Aylesbury; daughter Anne Aylesbury and Thomas Aylesbury her husband; Thomas and Anne Aylesbury to be jointly executor and executrix; Thomas Foster overseer.
1657 – May 7 – Warwickshire Rowington – Will – Joane Knight, Widow – son-in-law Robert Knight; uncle Roger Jackson; sister Adams, 20 shillings; to sister Margaret Lourceston, 20 shillings; to sister Lea, 20 shillings; to sister Hopkins, 20 shillings; to aunt Susanna Knight; brother John Knight; Elizabeth Knight, daughter of my son-in-law, John Knight; son-in-law John Knight and brother Robert Adams and Thomas Bryers to be executors.
1658 – Dec 16 – Warwickshire Henley in Arden – Will – Richard Knight – sons Richard Knight, John Knight, Joseph Knight; daughter Susanna; son-in-law Thomas Bird, husband of daughter Margaret; sons John and Joseph and daughter Susanna are joint executors; George Ward, William Cowper and John Frankson overseers. Wit: George Ward, William Cowper, John Fouke.
1662 – Feb 4 – Oxfordshire Bodicott – Admin – William Knight - Lease and release between William Knight, Bodicott, Oxfordshire, John Knight and Charles Knight (sons of the late Bezaleell Knight), of the first part, Ambrose Holbech, Mollington, of the second part and John Gorstelowe and William Southall, Mollington, of the third part. Details the payment of six hundred and forty pounds to William Knight by Ambrose Holbech and the payment of five shillings to John Knight and Charles Knight by Ambrose Holbech regarding a messuage and 2 yardlands in Mollington previously in the occupation of Erasmus Grevill, to be held forever. Includes related fines and receipts
1662 – Feb 4 – Oxfordshire Bodicott – Admin – William Knight - Conveyance from the sons of Bezaleel Knight to William Knight of property in Mollington; Release between John Knight, London, and Charles Knight, London, (sons of Bezaleell Knight) of the first part and William Knight, Bodicote, of the second part. Details the payment of one hundred pounds apiece to John Knight and Charles Knight by William Knight regarding a messuage in Banbury, a messuage in Daventry and a messuage and 2 1/2 yardlands in Mollington purchased by William Knight from Richard Grevill except 1 yardland known as Knocks Yardland, to be held forever. Includes related quitclaim. (Warwickshire County Record Office, Ref: CR0457/56/36)
1681 – Nov 15 – Warwickshire Wootton Wawen – Will – John Knight, Gent – “I John Knight of Barrells"…. eldest son, William Knight; son Edmund Knight; brother Robert Knight; gives to son William his two “fee farm rents” and all his free land “in the tenure of Carrington”; sister-in-law Mary Rawlins, daughter of testator’s late father-in-law, Edmund Rawlins; daughter ___ Martin; cousins John Knight, Thomas Knight, Elizabeth Knight, Sarah Knight; kinswoman Elizabeth Rogers; George Fulwood, Gent, trustee; son William Knight, who is to be executor; son-in-law William Martin to be assistant to executor; Wit: Devereaux Wilson, William Martin, John Morris, Mary Smart.
Barrells is in the parish of Ullenhall which was made a separate parish from Wootton Wawen in 1861. . Above the east window in the parish church of St Mary there is a moulded stone panel with an achievement of arms of Knight of Barrells.
Barrells Hall stands in a beautifully wooded park. The estate was bought by Robert Knight, Lord Luxborough (afterwards Earl of Catherlough), from his second cousin Raleigh Knight in 1730. From 1739 to 1756 Lady Luxborough lived here, apart from her husband, and made the house the centre of a literary circle, including the poets Shenstone, Somerville, Jago of Beaudesert, and Richard Graves. The south front of the house, with a lofty portico, was probably built by the earl about 1770. Later additions and alterations were made by the Newtons. It is now the property of Mr. J. W. Marsh...
The reputed manor of BARRELLS is first mentioned in 1681, when it was among the possessions of John Knight. In 1730 Robert Knight purchased 'the manor and estate' from Raleigh Knight. In 1769 Robert Knight, then Earl of Catherlough, was still holding it, and it passed at his death in 1772 to his natural son Robert Knight, after which it descended with the manor of Ullenhall.
A small estate here belonging to the Abbey of Bordesley was described in 1535 as 'the manor of Ulnall Henley with Denseyes Yende', valued at £3 13s. 5½d. including 'perquisites of the court there'. After the Dissolution it was granted as 'the grange of Ownall' to Clement Throckmorton, and any manorial rights were presumably lost. (Ref.)
All-in-all, the above families look very promising as the possible origins of our Virginia Knights. Now, back to St Bride. Recall that we paused at Rebecka dau to Thomas Knight, baptized 21 Apr 1618 and found that she was a key to collecting together a certain set of records. The next item in chronological order is a marriage bond for Arthur Knight - whom we have met already - and a 2nd wife, Ursula Salter, dated 5 Oct 1619. (Did you notice the Salter connection to the Warwickshire Knights in the records just above?) Anyway, the first wife is barely cold in her grave when Arthur is acquiring another.
The handwriting on this one is really awful, but here is a good approximation of what it says in abstract:
05 Oct 1619 This day appeared … Arthur Knight, of St Bride's, London, Haberdasher and a widower, aged about 32 yeares… to marry with Ursula Salter, of London, maiden aged 22 yeares, dau. of William Salter, of Bellvella in Ireland … etc etc … to marry at St Leonard's, Bromley…
Signed Arthur Knight (he was clearly literate)
Finally we come to Peter Knight, son of Peter Knight and Cicely (Peeter and Sisseley), bap 2 July 1620.
Most egregiously, ancestry.com has this birth listed as “Peeter Smyth” even though the English transcriber who compiled these registries for the London Metropolitan Archives, and which transcriptions are ALSO available on ancestry.com, realized it was Peeter Knight. Interestingly, the same page includes, at the bottom, another Knight entry that ancestry.com got right, David Knight, son of Edward Knight and his wife Elizabeth 30 Aug 1620:
Who is Edward? He isn’t in the baptism or marriage registry himself, so he was born/baptized and married elsewhere. IF this is his first child and he is behaving normally, he is probably about 18 or 19 years old, i.e. born c. 1599/1600, or at least contemporary with Peter Knight SR since they both had children in the same year and those children were possibly cousins. Also, one needs to be aware when searching that registry scribes often enough wrote “Edward” when the name was “Edmond” and vice versa.
In between Peter and David, on the same page, is Mary Knight, dau of Arthur Knight and his wife "Ann", 15 Jul 1620:
We know that Arthur has just married Ursula so this shows us that records can be wrong. The scribe was familiar with the first wife and just automatically wrote in her name.
The following year, the next Knight to appear is Alice Knight, dau. to Peter Knight his wife Cicely (Sisley), 8 Sep 1621. She will be buried just a few days later on the 13th of September.
Next, Arthur Knight, son of Arthur and Ursula is born/baptized 18 Nov 1621. He, too, will be buried just a few days later on 25 November.
Next we have John Knight, son to Thomas Knight and Sara, 18 Sep 1622.
Either our Thomas has married a new wife, or we are dealing here with another Thomas. I think it is the same Thomas and a new wife. We've already seen how fast new wives were acquired; it was essential to life in those days.
Next, William Knight, son of Arthur Knight and Ursula, 27 Feb 1623:
Now, this William poses a problem considering what has been noted above about the first William, son of Arthur, born back in 1611. At this point, we really need to consider that the first William died or there wouldn’t have been a second William. Consider the order of births here: a first set of Arthur followed by William, and then a second set, Arthur followed by William. Clearly, if we are not talking about the most astonishing error on the part of the register scribes, we have to think that the first Arthur was buried at St Bride, but not baptized there, and the first William was baptized there but not buried there. But if so, where was he buried and by whom? And to further complicate matters, Arthur and Ursula will have still another William some years later, so most certainly this second William we see being baptized here died but was not buried at St. Bride either unless someone with better eyes than mine finds him! It seems that Arthur was bound and determined to have a son named William, though he did not seem so dedicated to having one named Arthur because they gave up on that name after the second one died as far as I can see. Also note the span of years between the first appearance of Arthur Knight, burying his son, Arthur, in 1610, and this present baptism in 1623: that's 13 years. Yes, we know he acquired a second wife in 1619, but still...
The next record is a new arrival to St Bride's: Adria Knight, dau of John Knight and Adria, bap 21 Mar 1623:
She will be buried 8 Aug 1626. I searched around and found the marriage record for this couple:
1616 – Mar 3 – London St Andrew Holborn – Mar – John Knight & Adria Taylor
Is this John Knight a brother of Thomas Knight, father of Rebeckah and John?
Next in chronological order, we find a Sara Knight, dau. to John Knight, buried 25 Aug 1624. It says “an infant” so may mean she was stillborn. She is not in the baptismal register. Note that ancestry.com has this listed as “Cartwright Knight” because their transcriber is untrained and cannot figure out that the first letter is an S. Please look at the image carefully: "Sara Knight daughter to John Knight". Apparently, they were not yet adding the mother's name to the burials register.
Thomas Knight and wife Sarah appear again with dau Sarah, bap 15 Sep 1624. She will be buried the following 2 January.
Katherine Knight, dau to Arthur Knight and Ursula, 27 Mar 1625.
William Knight, son of Peter Knight and Cicely (Sible), 1 May 1625. Notice the letter C in the word "Christenings" at the top:
Thomas Knight son to Arthur Knight and Ursula 16 Mar 1625/6
Margaret Knight buried 31 Aug 1625 – probably died of plague as did so many in this year. She must have been an adult because no parent is listed.
And then, _____ daughter to Peter Knight buried 3 Sep 1625. Since Alice, the only other daughter of Peter we know of from the register, died and was buried shortly after birth, the remaining dau of Peter Knight that we know of is Elizabeth, b. 1618. It’s bad enough losing a child shortly after birth, but more terrible to lose one at the age of 7 when strong attachments have been formed. This must have been a crushing blow. We can also note that this death followed that of Margaret Knight by just a few days; it may mean nothing, since the plague was in full bore attack and there were 35,000 deaths in London that year, but it could also mean two deaths in the same household: a spinster aunt or widow living in the household, and then a child. (I will note that in several returns, ancestry.com has this death listed as “male” even though the two records from which it is extracted, the original registry and the transcription, say clearly “daughter” or “d.”. It sometimes seems to me that it is disrespectful to the dead to treat the records of tragedy with such carelessness.) Below is the actual entry, just one of a very long list of burials on that single day.
Next we find Katherine Knight, dau to Thomas Knight and Sara 16 Apr 1626.
Elizabeth Knight, daughter to Thomas Knight and Sara, 10 Feb 1627.
William Knight, son to John Knight and Adria, 2 Mar 1627.
Nicholas Knight, son to Arthur Knight and Ursula, 11 Apr 1628.
John Knight, son to John and Adria buried 14 May 1628 with the usual interesting letters J, h and s in full display:
Now, three years after the death of their 7 yr old daughter Elizabeth, Peter Knight and Cicely name a new baby Elizabeth Knight 24 June 1628 and this confirms our supposition that it was Elizabeth who died. This Elizabeth will also die and be buried the following January 23 1629.
Three months later, on 3 Apr 1629, Peter Knight himself was buried and we know it was the elder because he was described in the burial record as "Haberdasher and housekeeper" that is, homeowner.
Being a haberdasher connects him to Arthur Knight who was also a haberdasher but we don't know how either of them may connect to Thomas Knight, father of Rebeckah and John Knight, whose will we have. There is a record of a Cicely Knight marrying a Thomas Collins in Romsey, Hampshire, on 15 Apr 1630, almost a year after the death of Peter; this is pretty much in line with how things were done at the time. A woman with a child or children needed a supporter and protector if her husband had not left her wealthy. I have been unable to find anything further about this Thomas Collins of Hampshire; perhaps he is to be found in Warwickshire where the same was named in the 1603 Chancery Suit of Stone vs. Collins above which features a John Knight and wife, Martha, as defendants?
Whatever and wherever we hope to find anything, one thing is certain: Peter Knight, b. 1620 at St Bride Fleet Street, disappears at the age of 10. If he is our Peter Knight of Northumberland, what was he doing for 18 years in between his first confirmed sighting in Northumberland Count, Virginia? We can note that there is a William Knight, a John Knight, a Thomas Knight and an Isaac Knight also in Northumberland County at the same time, and surely related, but how?
Rebeckah Knight, daughter to Arthur Knight, buried 1 Jan 1630.
Our next record is the baptism of Katherine Knight, dau to Francis Knight and wife, Katherine, on 21 Apr 1630. This is the first appearance of this Francis and again, there is no marriage at St. Bride’s. The Francis who was born to Stephen 29 Aug 1599 was buried 6 Sep that same year. But perhaps that is a clue as to the possible family? The same one Stephen comes from if we could figure that out?
Next is a second William Knight, son to John Knight and Adria/Audrey 15 Aug 1630; the first William was buried the previous year.
Then there is this in the burials register: 15 Jan 1631, buried Mary, daughter to Leonard Knight, White Friars.
Whitefriars is an area in the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. Until 1540, it was the site of a Carmelite monastery, from which it gets its name. During its heyday, the priory sprawled the area from Fleet Street to the Thames. At its western end was the Temple and to its east was Water Lane (now called Whitefriars Street). A church, cloisters, garden and cemetery were housed in the ground. But, for some reason, Leonard Knight buried his daughter at St Bride's.
Mary Knight, daughter to Arthur Knight and Ursula, 2 May 1631.
Burial: William Knight, son of John Knight 1 Jul 1631.
Thomas Knight, son to Francis Knight and Katherine /Catherin, 9 Mar 1632.
William Knight, son to Arthur Knight and Ursula 3 May 1632. This is Arthur’s 3rd William so, even though I did not find the burial in the register, we can be sure the second one has died, possibly in the plague outbreak of 1625.
Samuel Knight, son to Arthur Knight and Ursula 14 Jul 1633.
Burial: Mary, daughter to Arthur Knight, 27 Sep 1633.
Burial: A stillborn child of Francis Knight, 18 Nov 1633.
Thomas Knight, son to John Knight and Katherine 23 Jan 1634.
Elizabeth Knight, daughter to Thomas Knight and Katherine, 29 Jan 1634. Thomas and wife Sarah last appeared in 1627; could this possibly be yet a third wife?
Susan Knight, daughter to Francis Knight and Katherine 12 Mar 1634.
Ann Knight, daughter to John Knight and Adria /Audry, 18 Mar 1635.
Warner Knight, son of Arthur and Ursula, bap. 26 Oct 1635
Finally,twins: Steven Knight and Salter Knight, sons to Arthur Knight and Ursula, 12 Mar 1637. Salter will later show up in Virginia in association with friends of Peter Knight of Gloucester. It’s an unusual name and is thus a key clue that we are probably following the right trail of breadcrumbs at least for one of our Virginia Peters. Here (and in a previous record not shown), Arthur is now a "Mr." That seems to be a social grade between Yeoman and Gent. Apparently, Arthur was successful!
Next we have Mary dau. to John Knight wife Ann 21 Oct 1644. It's been 9 years since John and Adria baptized a child and I didn't find any related burials, but that's not surprising. But is this the same John? Possible, but not necessarily so.
John Knight son of John Knight wife Ann 3 Aug 1647.
Elizabeth Knight dau. of William Knight wife Elizabeth 14 Sep 1649.
Notice in the above that the scribe apparently put the record in later and had to really squeeze to make it fit! Notice also the letter transposition: Kinght instead of Knight; whoever inserted this was dyslexic and/or careless.
Next: John Knight, son of Henry Knight wife Margaret, 19 Oct 1650:
Here is the burial of a Sarah Knight, but there are no indicators to help us connect her. It looks like it says “in Thewherne” or “in the Wherne” or “the W lane” or “the W land”. Perhaps someone else can figure it out.
Change of hand again. At this point, I was wondering if I would survive to the end of this task. Mary Knight, dau of John Knight and Anne 11 Feb 1651. This is their second Mary so the first, b. 1644, must have died.
Next: William Knight son of William and wife Elizabeth 25 Sep 1652. It looks like it says, at the end “she slaind” or “slaine”. Notice that the formation of the letter “h” has morphed since the beginning of the registers.
Next, (Ledyah) Lydia Knight dau of John Knight wife Anne 7 June 1653:
William Knight son of John Knight wife Katherine 14 Aug 1653.
And that’s the last page of that register.
The number of family names, and even specific individuals, found in the St Bride Register, later to be found in Virginia, is phenomenally high. This set of registers should be the highest priority for transcribing by genealogical archivists. As I was going through it, not only was I taking screen shots, but I kept a notebook with a running list of names.
Walker, Glover, Maye, Percy, Gibbs, Farmer, Littleberry, Brasseur, Hambleton, Stokes, Coleman, Walker, Townsend, Aubrey, Bell, Saunders, Moore, Spier, Clarke, Bland, Cadwallader, Sharpe, Reynolds, Peacocke, Robert Corker, Welch, Welsh, Jones, Vaughan, Morgan, Lea, Thompson, Baylie, Lewis, Middleton, Hope, Grimes, Carter, Tyldesley, Holme, Jordan, Kempe, Passmore, Watkins, Adams, Payne, Martin, Gascoyne, Cumberland, Jackson, Woodard, Hornsby, Medows, Young, Baker, Dampier, Cooper, Wright, Cole, Harrison, Bennett, Watson, Foster, Lovell, Stafford, Cox, Parker, King, Penny, White, Collins, Kent, Cartwright, Salter, Lee, Payton, Parr, Steward, Hill, French, Knapp, Poindexter, Fletcher, Dukes, Palmer, Hornsby, Warren, Pride, Abbott, Simpson, Cocke, Young, Cooke, Bagnoll, Blackstone, Spooner, Jones, Arnold, Witt, Cobb, Price, Sommerfield, Lowell, Gray, Roberts, Appleton, Davis, Poole, Howell, Edwards, Mason, Larkin, Knowles, Henderson, Barber, Mathews, Nelson, Browne, Woodhouse, Waller, Wilcoce, Giles, Taylor, Whitehead, Gray, Oakley (Ockley), Pendleton, Staples, Prior, Oldis, Tatnell, Roper, Stanton, Stone, Friend, Flood, Knowlton, Ennis, Lluellin, Sparrow, Moon, Poole, Bridges, Hancocke, Boone.
The burials register of St Bride has a William Mesles, bur. 8 May 1620, and his widow, Eleanor, buried 12 Apr 1633. These are pretty obviously the parents of Luke Mesles found in Surry County, VA, in 1635 and founder of the later called Mizell/Mizelle families.
Over at St Andrew Holborn, we find a Gregory Kindred, a Godfrey Bell, Thomas Boddy, Johnsons, Langfords, Lawfords, more Knights and I didn't read more than a few pages of that one.
Going back to St Brides, what do we find? Robert Woodson, son to Phillip Woodson and wife Sarah, bap 9 Sep 1638:
In addition to Robert, baptized at St Bride, there is a John Woodson, baptized in Hurst, Berkshire, May 1634. His father was a John Woodson.
Searching for the father of Phillip Woodson, I found his bap record in St Ebbe, Oxfordshire, 24 Nov 1611, father, John Woodson.
It says: “The 24 of November Philip ye sonne of John Woodson chimneysweep.”
This appears to be the ONLY Philip on record thus far. There could be others, but this is what is there and I think we need to take this into consideration. His father is listed as “John, a chimneysweep” and if Philip, son of the chimneysweep could make it to London to better himself, it is entirely possible that he had another son named John who could have been the father of John Woodson of Berkshire b. 1634. Then, it is possible that the two cousins could have decided to travel to Virginia to better their lives even more!
I know you may be wondering about the meaning of Robert Arrowsmith that I said you should remember, but this page is already super long so ...
To be continued.