John BLANDFORD/BLANFORD 1611-1687, From England to Massachusetts

John BLANFORD, sometimes written as BLANDFORD, is the 8th great-grandfather of my ex-husband, 9th great-grandfather to our children, and 10th great-grandfather to the grandchildren! He is an end-of-line ancestor on our LEWIS-RICE family tree.

We do not have an exact birth date for John, mainly because we are not certain exactly where he was born. A number of people believe he was born in or near Sutton Mandeville in Wiltshire England. The church pictured here, All Saints, dates from 1270, and is still in use, with a fairly small parish. The surname BLANFORD is generally considered a locational surname, referring to the name of a place, but there are other possibilities. Click on this link for a brief explanation. Since he is listed as 27 years on the ship list, described below, he was likely born in 1611 plus or minus a year.

The first mention we have of him is on the ship, Confidence, as listed on Olive Tree Genealogy website, Ships lists:
CONFIDENCE, of London, two hundred tons, John Gibson, Master. She salled from Southampton the last of April, "by vertue of the Lord Treasurers warrant of the 11th of April,1638."

On this ships list, John, aged 27, is listed as "his servant" along with two other young men, in reference to coming with a wealthy linen merchant, Walter Haynes and his family, of Sutton Mansfield [Mandeville], Wiltshire. This is of course a clue to John's possible birthplace in Wiltshire. Note that a descendant of John BLANFORD married a descendant of Walter HAYNES, leading directly to the RICE line. They all braided together, a not uncommon occurrence in early settlements.

Before the time John was 30, he had acreage in Sudbury, and he married Mary ___ [unknown], likely in Sudbury, Massachusetts. To date, we are not certain who Mary was, in this early time of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Over 20,000 immigrants, mainly Puritans from England, came to the region in the 1630s.

Unfortunately, Mary is seen in the Sudbury town vital records to have died April 10, 1641 in Sudbury, likely in childbirth, although that information is not given. It is possible that John and Mary had a daughter named Mary born approximately 1639, but it is not confirmed as yet. On the other hand, there is confusion in these vital records re John and Mary's daughter, Sarah, whose birthday is given as Jan 2, 1642, parents named as John and Mary. This may be a confusion in transcriptions or possibly in writing down the old/new dates issue. Sarah is the direct ancestor here, so I am continuing to search for more details of which of John's wives was her mother. Currently, on logical analysis, it seems most likely Dorothie was her mother, and the transcription was incorrect listing Mary as her mother.

Children of John and Mary:
   1.  Mary? b. abt 1639, d. Feb 1676 Framingham MA; m. 1) Oct 5, 1652 to Jonathan Paddleford; 2) Oct 5 1663 to Thomas Eames.  Not proven.
   2.  Sarah [ancestor], b. Nov 27, 1642 [?], d. March 16, 1724/25 Ashburnham MA; m. 1) Sep 11, 1665 to Elias/Elijah KEYES d. bef 1679,  5 children; m. 2) abt 1679 to John Maynard, 3 children.
     

After his first wife's death, John married a widow, Mrs. Dorothie Wright [unknown surname], on March 10, 1641/42 [1642], as seen in records in Sudbury MA vital records [transcribed].
Children of John and Dorothie, all born in Sudbury MA:
   2. or is Sarah their first child? b. Nov 27, 1642, d. March 16, 1724/25 Ashburnham MA; m. 1) Sep 11, 1665 to Elias/Elijah KEYES d. bef 1679,  5 children; m. 2) abt 1679 to John Maynard, 3 children.  The record below was a Sudbury MA record sent to Boston with other early MA vital records:

   3.  Hannah, b. Mar 7, 1643/44, m. Dec 23, 1667 to Javits "Jabez" Brown; no further research done
   4.  John jr, b. Mar 6, 1645/46, d. Nov 18, 1719 Sudbury; no further research done
   5.  Lydia, b. Jan 28, 1646/47; no further research done
   6.  Stephen, b. Dec 3, 1649, d. abt Feb 28 1699/00; m. Jun 9, 1682 to Susannah Long; 2 children known
   5.  Thomas, b. abt 1651; no further research done

The Sudbury Archives hold many documents re John BLANFORD, including listings of Sudbury land grants, land adjustments, and various town issues such as sizing the town commons, naming constables, naming surveyors for different purposes. This excellent resource also provides historical context and editor notes to each document, if/as indicated.

John died on Oct 23rd, 1687, in Sudbury, aged 76 years old. His wife, Dorothie lived until some time before 21 June 1703.  In John's will, his inventory of goods and lands amounted to approximately £167  I still need to write out the will, having just found it, along with his wife, Dorothie's will and inventory; her inventory valued at just over £41. Below is a snippet of John's will, which is several pages long, including inventory and probate, plus witness statements.

And what did I realize as I went through researching Sudbury?  That a number of the names on the list of early settlers in Sudbury intermarried and ended up in the RICE line. Somehow I hadn't noticed that when I first started researching John BLANFORD. Blind, clearly. One of the reasons I write on individuals is that I always learn something more about the ancestors, the resources, the quality of sources, and mapping. Some of the surnames are: RICE, NOYES, KEYES, HAYNES, BENT, HOW, KING, GOODENOW. They all show up within 5 generations.

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If any of these are ancestors of yours, I would be happy to hear from you with your comments or corrected information. I am also very happy to share any details I might have that are not shown on this post. Contact information is found at the very bottom of this blog.

Blooger has a glitch which is stopping me from replying to your comments, but please do know that I appreciate your comments very much. You make my day! Thanks so much for stopping by to read my family blog. 

Robert KEYES 1606-1647, Immigrant to Massachusetts

Robert KEYES is the 8th great-grandfather to my ex-husband and his brother, 9th to their children, 10th to the grandchildren. He is an early immigrant from the south of England to Massachusetts in New England. Information for this post came from the book The Great Migration Begins by Robert C Anderson, NEHGS, as well as a book "Genealogy Robert Keyes of Watertown Mass, Solomon Keyes of Newbury and Chelmsford Mass, 1653. And their descendants." by Asa Keyes, 1850. Vital records of early Massachusetts were also consulted.

In the description of Robert KEYES from the Great Migration Begins [1620-1635] pp1128-1131, the editor states that Robert Keyes' history in New England is somewhat anomalous to other immigrants. Amongst some apparently missing birth registrations, and no town grant of land, he does appear to be:
  "...a solid married man with a family in progress, who is in a record made just before his death called "Mr." [high respect]. But in othe ways he does not fit the mold; he did not become a town proprietor, he did not become a freeman, and he does not appear to have left any estate at his death."

It is assumed that Robert and his wife came from the south of England, possibly Kent. However, there is not yet consensus of Robert's English ancestry, nor of his wife. Note the spelling of KEYES is quite variable: Keies, Case, Key[s], Kaye[s], and so on.

Robert was born, possibly in Kent, about 1606 to [possibly] John & Susan KEYES. Nothing is known of occupations of his father, nor of Robert as an adult in England. About 1630, he married Sarah [unknown maiden name]. Their known/accepted children follow, all but the first and last born in Watertown, MA. I have not completed research on all the children of these children:
   1.  Solomon, b. est 1631 England; m. Oct 2, 1653 Newbury MA to Frances Grant, children.
   2.  Sarah, b. May 26 1633 [MA reg.] Watertown MA, d. 1707; m. Jul 8, 1656 in Salisbury MA to Samuel Buswell, children.
   3.   Peter, b. est 1635 Watertown MA, m. Elizabeth est 1660 Watertown MA; children
   4.   Rebecca, b. Mar 17, 1637/38 [MA reg.] Watertown MA, m. est 1660 to William Smith, children
   5.   Phebe, b. Jun 17 1639 [MA reg,] Watertown MA, m. est 1663 to John French, children
   6.   Mary, b. Feb 1641/42 [MA reg.] Watertown MA, buried July 20, 1642 Watertown.
   7.   Elias [ancestor], b. May 20 1643 Watertown MA, d bef 1679 Sudbury MA; m. Sep 11, 1665 in Sudbury MA to Sarah BLANDFORD, 5 children; Sarah m. 2nd John Gage 1679, 3 more children.
   8.   Mary, b. Jun 16 1645 [MA reg] Sudbury MA, d. Dec 20 1668 in Newbury MA to Benjamin Gage; died in childbirth with infant.

Robert purchased a 3 acre homestall of land in Watertown from Wm. Wilcocks. This land was bounded E. and N. by Thomas Brigham, and S. and W. by Sir Richard Saltonstall. Sir Richard Saltonstall  came with the Winthrop Fleet of 11 ships in 1630; he was the nephew of Sir Richard Saltonstall, Lord Mayor of London during the time of Queen Elizabeth I.

It is not clear if the Keyes had a close relationship with Sir Saltonstall, although the senior Sir Saltonstall married a Grace Kaye who has been speculated to be a relation of Robert Keyes. Without knowing Robert KEYES' English heritage nor his birthplace, it is difficult to be certain of relationships between these early immigrants. Note that Robert's name "Robert Keies" can be found at the base of the monument to Sir Richard Saltonstall at Watertown MA. This might imply a specific relationship. Much more research is needed to be certain of this speculation.

Robert's life in this early Massachusetts colony came to an untimely end with his death July 16, 1647, aged 41 years.  His eldest child, Solomon, would be about 16 yrs, the youngest, Mary, only 2 years of age. No details of his death is given, nor any mentioned in genealogies/records of the times that I have found, to date.

Although there does not appear to be a will for Robert, nor any records of his estate, it seems that his wife Sarah managed well enough with her 7 children. On Nov 7, 1658, Sarah married another widow from Ipswich MA, John Gage, who also had 7 children of roughly similar ages. Sarah was widowed for a second time, when John Gage died in 1673. Her estate and inventory showed a total of £28 2s, and the particulars were divided between the three living [married] daughters, Sarah, Rebecca, and Phebe.

As you can see there needs more research to see if any more details might be teased out about Robert and his life in England as well as in Massachusetts. Research is never done...

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If you have more to offer about Robert and his family, including any corrections, I would be very pleased to hear about it. My email contact is at the very bottom of the blog page.

Blooger has a glitch which is stopping me from replying to your comments, but please do know that I appreciate your comments very much. You make my day! Thanks so much for stopping by to read my family blog.