Monthly Archives: June 2018

Many Burgesses for IOW Co. were from either side (Gloucestershire or Somerset) of the Bristol estuary, and traded from Bristol. They included John Seward (burgess in 1645), Arthur Smith (1645); John George (1647); Robert Pitt (1649); John Bond (1653), who … Continue reading →

1. … 1.1. Thomas Bennett, bapt. April 2, 1570. 1.1.1. Thomas Bennett, bapt. Nov. 5, 1603, who m. Agnes Beard, July 17, 1623, and who was the headright of his br., Richard, in 1636. 1.1.2. Governor Richard Bennett,* bapt. Aug. … Continue reading →

The John Wise who died in Virginia in 1695 is a murky figure. He is given the pedigree of the Wise family of Devon, intermarried with that of Dynham, on the twin pillars of him necesarilly being of the same … Continue reading →

As I have stated many times, in the English kinship system of old, the benefits of an advantageous marriage were shared by cousins, and this complicates any determination of ancestry based on associations. Nevertheless, my view of the descent of … Continue reading →

Some ‘Harris researchers of old’ are of the opinion that Thomas Harris of Virginia, d. 1688, was of Mells/ Nunney, Somerset. (The Harris family of both adjacent places were synonomous, as given elsewhere). They claim that the closely (consanguineously) connected … Continue reading →

My view of the ancestry of Thomas Harris, d. 1688, is partly concerned with his likely knowing Hodges Counsell, of Wedmore, the guardian of his son, and the likely connection of his family to that of Branch, and, thus, Francis … Continue reading →

Just as someone can be described today as ‘Pete the carpenter’, in Norman times the sobriquet ‘dapifer’ hides true identity. What is known of the latter class is that they were almost invariably junior kinsmen of the lord they served. … Continue reading →