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ELDREDGE
HarwichtoHaaerhill
Beingnoteson the early Eldredgegenerationsnnd direct descendants
of RobertEldred(ge)of
Chathamand Harctsichthrough William, William, Isaac,Isaac,lr. Samueland Cyrus. The
latter left Harwich and traaeledNorth to the Hauerhill/Lnlt)rence
areain Massachusetts.
All
descendants
of Cyrushaaebeen
accounted
as
as
possible.
for far
Compiledby
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F A M I L YH I S T O R YL I B R A R Y
35 NCRTH W EST T E M P L E
SALT LAKE CITY. UTAH84150
THE ELDREDFAMILY
Eldredwho uas ofllat bra-nch
oflehosaphat
of the descendants
a genealogy
This is exclusiaely
WilIiAm',-Samltel2,
being
of
descent
lehosaphaF,
of the Etdredfamily ii Ameiiia'- the line
settle
in Greene
to
Eldred
the
u)as
latter,
The
and
first
lehosaphats,
lehosaphats.
iehosapha\,
County,Illinoiswith hisfamilY.
properI will attemptto answerin an expository
Hoieaer, beforedealingwiih the genealogy
as- Whoarethe
that ari tiketyto popinto the reader'smind. Suchquestions
mynnerquestions
Wheredid theycomefrom?How farbackdoweknowof them,etc'?
Eldreds?
afterthediwn of ciailizationseaeraltribesof menwereknownto existon theneckof
Sometime
the Cimbricpeninsulain northwesternEurope,which todayis the proainceof Schleswig'They
no doubthadmigratedtherethroughthecourseof centuries
from thecradle9fllte humanracein
glacier,had settledthere.Theywere
afterihe retreatof the second
CentralAsia, aid sometime
knownas Saxons,and oneamongthemwasour AncestralEldred.Not the Saxonsthat inhabit
modernSaxonyin Germany,for the Cimbricpeninsulawherethey settledurasa portionof
peopleratherthan a Teuton,
modernDenmark.Theywerea Nordic- almosta Scandinaaian
Their languagewas uiterly differentfrom the Germanspokenin Saxonytoday.Ptolemyfirs_t
mentionsthim about the middle of the 2nd century. We hear of them in connectionwith
a.nd
moreand morefrequen.t,
in the North Seain 286.Theseraidsbecame
piratical
'they expeditions
portionof north and southwestGermany.Beginning
a considerable
eaentuallyconquered
-449
their maraudingscarriedthem to Briton where they conqueredthe natiae Britons
in
centuriesof Romansupportandnowpowerless
weakenedby
followingthefall of that Empire.
The Saxonswereapparentlysatisfiedto settledown in Briton, for after the 6th centurywe
the,
hearnothingfurther'ofthemasa searouingpeople.Theothertribes,whoalsohadoccupied
and
the
they were
them in this inaasionof Briton
Jutes
Cimbricpeiinsula, aicompanied
(Angland);,
name,
its
England
giaing
and
Anglo-Saxon
the
term
Angles.Thelattercompleting
It il doubtfulhowfar the SaxbnsushoinuadedBritonwerereallydistinctfrom theAngles,for all.
their ffiiities bothin languageand customarewith the latter,and not with the old Saxonsof,
the Continent,TheseSaioni were warriors, heaailybearded,wearinghornedhelmetsand
or swordthrust.,Although
carryingcircularleathershieldsthat couldthrow offa lanceor arroTlr
this
practicedidn't appear
as
they ttied in familiestherewereno family namesor surnames,
himselfby - such
uniil the 11thcentury,lnstead,eachindiaidualhadonenameto distinguish
"The
Terrible"was
terrible,etc.TheSaxonwordfor thenoun
asstrong,fast, small,handsome,
"eldred",andhenceour name.
Briton eachtribe set up its own kingdom,and at first the
Whenthe Saxonsfirst conquered
- eachclaimingits
countrywasdisruptedby warsand riaalry betweendifferentcommunities
god, Woden.Finally only the dyytastyof the Wut_
king to bedescended
from the mythological
Saions alone suruiaed,and its king, Egbert of Wessex,who was descended
from kings of
line
of
Saxonkings.
Thus
began,the
ruler of the unitedSaxonsin 802.
migrationtime, became
ln"the years 946-955an Eldredznhospelledthe nameEdredzuasKing of Englandi1tjlis
his
He wastheyoungestsonof Edwardthe Elderwho ruled 899-925,andsucceeded
succession.
brotherEdmundI who ruled940-946.
ln L066an EldredwasArchbishopof Canterbury,and it washewho crownedHaroldll, King
a aery,oldand importantSaxonfamily in a land of Saxons,and
of England.TheEldredsTuere
GeneralArmory says,-".They
theywere and in England,still are- proudof thefact. Burkes
'
liaedin the
are-descended
from a airy ancientfamily claimingSaxonoigin,' Theyhaaenlzaays
inWilts,
heldlands
they
Suraeyof 1085showedthat
southandeasiof England.TheDomesday
SalopandYork.ln latercenturiestheyrnerefoundfor the
Detson,Gloucester,
Dorset,Somerset,
mostpart in Berkshire,Essex,Suffolk,Sussex,Surrey, Norfolk,and in nnd aroundLondon,
They raeremostly of the landedgentry and yeomanry.It was not until after the Norman
preaalent.Hence,thosewho had beencalling
Coiquestthat the surnamegenerallybecame
EldredmadeEldredtheir lastar t'amilynameandprefixedChristianor first namesto
themselaes
eachmemberof thefamily; thus thefamily nameof Eldredcanbedatedasbeingabout900years
old.
8
An old engravingol John Eldred o{ Creat Saxonv
u'ith his epiraphsand brascs,
C v n . n t c v l v N v r r t t - p E RE i R E M E R c A N D oP E n r o rI
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FON ITTE TO DE.IiTH .I.4I6KT fiff, ENr{rlFT ]
rATE oF qvlTL ovrgoNr,,
Irq::nv
G P'"'ncH sET DEATH:s CoMt^ssloN I
Pll:.q
lNorTrnrelrs
ii;;--*'
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ssr S DEJ'I I11y.
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M,{.sTtSStMvS
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Tvi4 posvr1tr vF )z Lt '
lloc
z'Ao
Mo?{vMEN'
j
Dourr.rt
J r)i:Ii\f -FjLu:rtED
t)tzt/
,\rt.r/r,tttt ( /ttttt/,.
9
- -l
I
@[}uvlgz
*!.r! Witliam the conquerorof Normandy
Howeaer,after the Battle of Hastingsin 1.066the Eldredsincluded,who wereof any position
aiyeatraHaroid the SaxonKing, these"Saxons,
were mad,e
in the Country were practicailywiped out. Thosesuraiaing.aftu the Con-quest
exactly
Nor*on serfsind ,,i th, Normlanskeptno recordsof their serfsit will ne:e! beknown
the
that
belieaed
is
lt
rnhathappinedto the family in the 400yearsfolloruingthe Conque-st.
extinciwith ius.ta fragment,existingin Lincolnshire.
famityaimostbecame
instead
But with tl* potiiig i1 li*, o"i o1Feudilismthereceisedto beSaxonsandNormans;
weremoldedinto Englishme"q"!_thenentriessuch
a fusionof att the bloids'occupying'Briton
"ln the,,6thyear of
VIII.(15.16)'
oJ tn, foilowing beganto appearon public record'
\nry
Iands in
ThomasCoupe"confir*ed io' Reginal'dEtdrod of Gnateshall,Yeomanand others,
to Agnes his
Gnnteshall,iying letueen ,ropJ of lohn Eldred. ReginatdEldred, confirmed
of Agnes,L3
widow, lonn ntired of Easthope,ReginaldGent, and-lohnEldred,youngerson
Fromihe negiitersof BardwellCounty,Suffolk'
pieces'oitanA."
'
Ales (Alice)BurdysNoa' 2'
1561 WilliamEldred-married
27th of september'
1562- Anne Eldred,daughterof wiltiam, baptized,
^
j.563- Ealse(Alice)Eldr\d the ilife of WilliamEldredwasburiedNoa.2.
L564- WitliamEldredandAgneswest married16thof March.
FromthewiII of Sir Henry Lelloof Asbdon,Essex'lan' 7, 1629:
to lohn Eldredtheelder20 pounds'
Bequests
,,l'oureBenjaminEtdred400poundswhichmy executors
I
shallpay,should
.not'"
,,WhereasI and
Palaceof Westkeeping
and
together
Fleet
the
purchased
Eldred
-the
John
his righti to theaboaeto mefor 8,000pounds'..
minsterjointly, sinielohn Eldredhasreleased
lndia
To my nrpir,r* Henry HopkinsI giue all the aboaeand aII my interestsin the East
Abequestto lohn Eldred'sson,Nathaniel,my god-son."
Compaiy.
aboaewho
Thomisfldrid of Knatishall,Suffolk,is oneof thefirtJ tf thatfragmentmentioned
on publiciecordfollowing'iheinterim. He wasbortnabout1450anddiedin about1530'
appears
are liuin{tuday, and it is aeryprobablethat all oJ.tl9 Eldredstoday,are
His directdescendants
who utasbornabout1470anddiedin 1566.Fromthen
iricrndrd fromhim or his ror, i,{irhoia"s,
zuith
on the lamity grew and prospered.ThomasEldredthe Mariner sailedaroundthe world
and
Caaendishin 1586.He tnasfrom lpswichand was the fatherg! Ioh! Eldre.dof Colchester
the
same
about
liaed
who
Eldred
Oliaersin Essexwho had a'grant'of arms in L634.William
"The GunnersGlasse"
time wasthe MasterGunner"ofDoiaerCastle.He wroten bookentitled
aspracticedin his day.
treatiseon artillery technique
whichis theonly complete
10
a greatmerchant,
became
Anotherlohn Eldred,knownaslohn of GreatSaxham,1552-1632,
owninga fleetof shipsthat carriedhim to all cornersof the raorldfor trade.His traaelsto Tripoli
He wasAldermanof the
in Hackluyt'sCollectionof Vovages,
and Babylonin L583aredescribed
City of Londonand wasoneof thefoundersof the Stateof Virginia;from 7609to 1624he zoasa
memberof his Majesty'sCouncilfor the Virginia Companyof London.As a directorof this
all know,
companyhegranteda patentto the Pilgrimsin 7620to settlein Virginin, but, as Ttre
contraruwindsblewthemto CapeCod.
tn tigZ he purchasedthe Manor of GreatSaxham,Suffolk,with the beliefthat this was the
ancestralhomeof his Saxonancestors.Howeaer,in this he was probablymistakenas Great
Saxhamoriginallybelongedto the Saxon,Britulf, Sonof Leomar,whoselandsthe Conquerer
William had bestowedupon the monasteryof St. Edmund.In 1546 u:ith the dissolutionof
the abbeyof GreatSaxham- consistingof 420 acresof land, 1-5acresof meadow
monasteries
the churchand rectory-was
and pasture,31-acresof woodand a windmill, the manor-house,
giaen to priaateownershipby Henry Vlll. lohn Eldred'sdaughter,Dorothy, marriedThomas
Lee,who wastheancestorof GeneralRobertE, Lee.
"Qv, on a bendraguleSable,3
ln 1592,lohn wasgiaena grant of armsdefinedasfollowsbesants,a martletfor difference;Crest,An Arabian headcoupedproper,beardedand crined
Sable,tied aboutwith a bandand the pendantargent,the endsgemellyand fringes Gules,"
(This is the coat-of-arms
and crestthat yoh asan Eldred,areentitledto use.)He wasburiedin
Great SaxhamChurch wherea bust of him remainsto this day, togetherwith his brassand
inscriptions.(Brynleylones, the present(1940)Rectorof Great Saxham,utouldgladly show
you theancientChurchRegister,etc.,shouldyou eaeraisit GreatSaxham,Bury St. Edmunds,
Suffolk,England.)
His eldestson, Sir RiaetEldred,fell heir to the estateand wascreateda Baronetin L641.He
died in L652with no children,and his wife, Lady Ann Eldred,held CourtsBaronat Great
Saxhamfor seaeralyearsafter,TheManorfinally left thefamily in 1745.
And now u)eare down to whereour originalAmericanAncestorappearson the scene,His
in the
namewas William Eldred,and thefirst we hearof him is in Yarmouth,Massachusetts,
year L645,althoughhe wasprobablyin Yarmouthfor seaeralyearsbeforethat. At the present
time no oneknowsdefinitelywhen WiIIiamcamelver; wherehe camet'rom;or whatfamily he
belongsto. Thereis muchdataand manyopinionsto beweighedin determiningthis; but in the
no onecanproaethat he hasthe right
endyou will haaeto form your orDnconclusionbecause
answer.I will giaeyou my guesslater,but herearethefacts.Williamcouldhaaecomefrom any
of the little knozunEldredt'amiliesof the time who werenot auspiciousenoughto hnaetheir
lineagerecorded
firmly likelohn of Saxham(eaenthoughdistantlytheyareall probablyrelated
to him.) Thereis a ParishRecordmostlikely in somelittle toutnin Norfolkthat would tell us
eaerythingif we only knew whereto lookfor it. lt is knoutndefinitelythat William utasnot
unlessyou wish to placecredence
in the beliefthat lohn was
amonglohn's directdescendants
marriedfiae timesand oneof his childrenby oneof thesemarriageswasnamedWil.liam,born
L627.Thereis nothing to proaethis beyonda singlerecordin the ChurchRegister.lohn hada
not amonghis
brotherPeter,a grocerof BraudStreet,London,and we know that William Ttras
Peter
whose
names
unknown,
and it is
and
also
had
two
older
brothers
are
descendants.
lohn
with them that I like to let my fancy roam in the follozaingu)ay.lohn zaasraisedat Neru
Buckenham,
Norfolk.I assumethat the two unknozunolderbrothersinheritedthe plot of land,
andlohn andPeterwent to Londonto seektheir fortunes.
Now our Witliam seemsto harsetied himselfup raith Norfolk peoplein many ways. He
marrieda Nonaich, No(olk girl in L647. Therelioedat Yarmouthat the sametime he did a
to behis brother.ThisRobertnteknowcamefrom N-o$olk.He
RobertEldredwhommanybelieae
sailedfromYarmouth,Norfotkin 1637,and usithhim werehis wife to.be,andhis in-Iawsto be,
alt of Norwich. So I say possiblyWilliam was the grandsonof oneof theseunknownNorfolk
about 1615. The
brothers.They rnerebirn about 1,546.William, it is my opinion,zuas.born
1624.
Courtof Canterburyin
followingWill wasproaedin thePrerogatiae
of winfarthington,CountyNorfolk
wlLL oFROBERT ELDRED,Yeoman
Dated27lanuary,2l lamesI (1624)
P.C.C.Byrde34.
I bequeathto my wife, loan, atl my houses,lands, etc., in Winfarthington,for life, rylth
contingentremainiersiafterher death,to my sonHenry and his issue,to my sonWalterandhis
heirsfor eaer,the latterto pay my sonThomas200marks.
To thesaidWalter,my dwellinghouse'
To my sonHenry, thelandcalledSmerkens.
40
To iy son Robert,my landsin lersefietdand Bresingham,No(olk, he to paymy executors
Ibs.
To my son Richard, my lands in Shelfhanger,No(olk, after the deathof Agnes Grubb,
widow,andI giaehim also60lbs.at his ageof 24.
To my wifejoan,40 tbs.dueto herfroi the znillof herfirst husband,ClementClarke.
To my sonWILLIAMELDRED,200markstobepaidhimat hisageof 24.
To my daughter,ElizabethEldred,L00lbs.
3lbs.
To my daughter,LydiaMaPeson,
To my roife'sdaughter,AliceArborough,40 shillings.
To my seraant,MargaretClark,20 shillings'
To my sonsWalterandRobert,furniture.
Robert
gent.,andmy nephew.
and executors
Residuirylegatees
lohn Busctonof Dekleb-orough,
my
Superaisor,
by
said
loan-AssizeoiOiit Heywood,they to giaethe residueto yy children
(Mark),
Wm' Cocke
sonWaiter.Signed(Ma*)."Witiesses:HumphreyWarner,Thos.Barron
named.
(Mark),Proaed:23April, 1624bytheexecutors
The town of Winfarthingtonis 3 milesfrom New Buckenham.I belieaeWiIIiamwas born
him 32 whenhemarried.This wouldmakehim 9 whenhisfather
about L6L5which wouldm"ake
died.He couldn'tget his inheritanceuntil heutas24 or 1639,his elderbrothersownedthefarm,
his 200marks,and went to Americaabout
so he stayedat Winfarthingtonuntit 1639,collected
1G40which is aboutwhen1ur Williamdid arriae.Although this is all only beautifulconjecture
I will fabricateour OId CountryTreeon the assumptionthat this is so until betterinformation
refutesit.
T2
THE NEW WORLD
So muchfor his nncestry- now for the NezuWorld. Thereshon:edup at Plyltouth Co.lony,
at aboutlhe sametime 3 Eldreds- Samuel,RobertanC William.It is not
Massachusitts,
relatedor not. Robertand Williammight haaebeen,but not Samuel.
theyzoere
knownwh.ether
beforg7651,.
of him by addingthnt he is t'irst heardof in Medford,Massachusetts
Wecandispose
and
interesting
led
an
He
andfinaUyStonington,Connecticut.
Massichusetti,
thenCambridge,
of zuhomthereare hundredsin America
historicalexiitenceas did many of his descendants
today,althoughmanuof themspellthe nameEldridgeor Eldredge- but that is anotherfamily
treealtoghether.
"Rose" of Yarmouth,England;
Rober'iwe first learn aboutfrom the Registerof the ship
WilliamAndrews,lr., Master.
"April17, 1.637.
of Robert+,
Examination
to
pass."
desirous
is
Singleman,
This weknowto beRobertEldred,
to notethat in thissameship'sregisterrnefind thefollowing:
It is alsointeresting
"April 8, 1637- WiIIiamLumpkinof Norwich, Norfolk,Locksmith,age33 andElizabethhis
wife;'age34, with l child and seraant,ThomasHowe,aredesirousto go to Bostonto inhabit
is Anne Lumpkinwho marriedour WilliamEldredin
and reinaine."Thedaughtermentioned
to note
not on theboat.Anotherentry in the registerinteresting
1647.William,howeaer,TDas
is:
"April 8, 7637,Wittiam Nickersonof Norzuich,Norfolk.Weaaer,aged33. Anne, his wife,
to go to Bostonto liae'"
andAnne,desirous
Robert,Elizabeth,
aged34 andchildren,Nicholas,
I{obertEldredand the aboaeEtizabethNickersonureremarriedin 7649.He was boundout for
his passageto NichotasSympkinsof Bostonand transferredfor 3 years,May 21, 16,39,.to
GouernoiPenceof Plymouth.He wasliaing at Plymouthin 1643for wefind him listedunder
this Plymouthrecord"Aigust L643,Plymouth.TheNamesof all theMalesthat areableto beareArmes
from XVI
Yeares
old to 60 Yearernithin the seaerallTowneshipps'"
Thesiteof
as did the Nickersons.
Shortluafter 7643he went to Ynrmouth,Massachusetts,
At first
a
lost
boy.
Yarmouihi"tselfwasfirst aisitedin L62Lby aboatfrom Plymouthin searchof
it zuasknownasMattacheese
from an Indian tribeliaing there.On lanuary L7, L639,Plymouth
laterin that sameyear
Colonygrantedland to seaeralmenfor foundingYarmouth.Sometime
SamualRider and William Lumpkin left
by nameof Thatcher,Crow, HoTDes,
these"seltlers
In
Plymouthto foundYarmouth.Thelastnameyou will recallas our William'sfather-,in-law.
1644therernere2l- homesthere.AII the settlersagreedthat Miles Standishshouldbeon the
Town Committee.No mentionof an Eldredis madein a list of arm bearersin 1643,so both
Robertand William must hauecometo Yarmouthshortlyafter L643,On October31, 1649
RobertmarriedEtizabethNickerson.He is listedashaaingtakenthe oathoft'idelityasa freeman
in 7657.FromtheRecordof Finesof OctoberCourt 7667is takenthefollowingwritings to GeneralNichollsis fined: 10:00:00
William Nickerson
for sendingscandalous
RobertEldredfor consentingto oneof thesezuritingsis fined: 05:00:00
Account,lune 4, 1668.Debtsduethe Countreyby ratesandfinesasfolloweth:
Treasurers
RobertEldred- 20:00:00
luly 8, 1669- RobertEldredpaidthe20:00:00
In
left Yarmouthandfoundedthe town ot'Chathnm,Massachusetts.
m tAA4WitliamNickerson
the progenitorsof the ChathamEldredsmany9f
and became
L665Robertand his wit'efollozued
Eldridge- but that is anotherfamily
zuhomliaeat Chathamtodayatthoughtheyspellthenam.e
treealtogether.