C

The natural interest which all Americans must feel in every detail of the family and connections of our great first President has been powerfully stimulated by the able paper of Mr. Henry F. Waters, in the October number of the REGISTER (ante, pp. 352-403), which has finally, let us hope, settled the vexed question of the origin of John and Lawrence Washington, the Emigrants of Virginia, and it now seems in order to adduce every scrap of evidence bearing on the descendants of John Washington of Whitfield, the founder of the line, for preservation for the use of the future writer of the Genealogy of the Family. As is well known, Sir Lawrence Washington, Knt., the second Register of the High Court of Chancery of that name, and the nephew of Robert Washington of Sulgrave, the Ancestor of the Virginia line, acquired by purchase the estate of Garsdon in Wiltshire from the Moodys to whom it had been granted by King Henry VIII. as a reward to one William Moody, his footman, for saving his life on the occasion of an accident which befel him in the hunting field.* The family seem in fact, as will be shown, to have been in this neighborhood for upward of a hundred years (1570–1685) and perhaps still earlier than the former date.

In the year 1887 the writer spent some weeks in Malmesbury and vicinity engaged in genealogical researches, and twice visited the Church at Garsdon where the Rev. Dr. Gray, the Rector, afforded him every facility for the investigation of the monuments existing there. The principal of these is the mural monument of Sir Lawrence Washington, Knt., the first owner of Garsdon Manor of the name, who died in 1643, and which was cited by Mr. Waters in his paper. This once splendid memorial of gilt and painted freestone, surmounted by an oval shield of the Arms of Washington and Lewyn and with an inscription cut on a black marble slab surrounded by a wreath, was taken down during the destructive "restoration" of the edifice in 1855 and has never been replaced. The marble slab was used as a barrow plank by the masons and broken in two, and the fragments of the whole lay neglected for years in a corner of the building until at length, in 1877, some enterprising disciple of Artemus Ward literally carried off the whole bodily with the intention of exhibiting it in America, and had actually reached Southampton with his plunder, when Dr. Gray, who had then just been inducted to the living, discovered the desecration, pursued him and compelled its return. The broken parts of the slab are now united and protected by a strong oaken frame, pending the proper restoration of the monument to its place on the chancel wall.‡

The other four are floor tombs in the Chancel covered with large inscribed slabs of black marble, without armorial bearings, but each has a similar pattern of an urn engraved beneath the inscription. The first three of these are very distinct, but the last is so heel worn that it was only with the greatest difficulty that the writer was able to clearly indentify the fragments given. All are now well protected by strips of husk matting.

To the Memory of Sr | Laurence Washington | Kt lately chiefe Register of the Chauncery of known Pyety of Charitye exemplarye A louinge | Husband A tender Father A boun- tifull Master A constant Relieuer of | the Poore and to those of this Parish A | perpetuall Benefactour Whom it pleased God to take unto his Peace from the fury of the insuing Warrs Oxon Maij 14to Here | interred 24° Ano. Dni. 1643° Etat Suæ 64° | Where allso lyeth Dame Anne his wife who | deceased Junij 13to and was buried 16to Ano | Dni. 1645.

Hic Patrios cineres curauit filius Urna
Condere qui tumulo nunc jacet Ille pius.

Aubrey's Collections for Wilts, p. 25.-Garesden.

It is greatly to be regretted that the Parish Registers have perished previous to 1737, and that the fragmentary Bishop's Transcripts at Salisbury yield absolutely no entries of the name.

The Arms in the shield, shown in the accompanying illustration, are as follows:-Quarterly, 1 & 4, argent, two bars and in chief three mullets gules (Washington); 2 & 3, ——— ? a cross patonce between four cinquefoils or (-?); surcharged with a crescent or. Impaling per pale gules and azure three bucks' heads couped or (Lewyn).

The pious Son his Parents here inter'd

Who hath his share in Urne for them prepar'd.

Here Lyeth ye Body of Lavrence | Washington Esq' the only Son of Sr Lavrence Washington who | Departed this life Jan 17 was | Bvried Feb 11 Ano. Dni. 1661 and | Inclosed By Elinor his Wife | April 18 Ano. Dni. 1663 | Etat Suæ 39.

En mercede virum Pensatum muner[a d*]igna

Prospicit ille suis diua supersta sibi

Behold how duty well perform'd is paide

His Sire he him here his deerst hath laide.

[Sacrum Met]moria Annæ Filiae | Lavrentij Washington Eqvitis | Et vxoris Christopheri Gise | Hic Sepvltæ Jvnij 4to An: Do: | 1642 Ætat Svæ 20.

Here lyes ye body of Dame | Elienor Pargiter 2nd Daughter of Wm. Guise of Elmore in ye | County of Gloucester Esqr| First married to Lawrence | Washington Esq. afterwards | to Sr Wm. Pargiter of Gritt | worth in ye County of North | Hampton Kt. Who departing this life the 19th Day of July in | the Year of Our Lord 1685 | ordered her remains to be deposited here in hopes of a blessed Resurrection.‡

1601. July-George Washington & Johann Hatt were maryed the 20th daye. 1625. May 2-George Washington buried.

1640. Buried the same daye (i. e. April 28)

(blank) servant to Sir

Lawrence Washington of Garsden whose legg was taken off by
Mr. Phillips, Chirugeion.

Will of Henrye Washington of Malmesburie, dated 2 Julij 1570; no Probate act or date of probate given; To be buried in parish Churchyard

Obliterated.

+ Covered by the corner of a pew.

A splendid set of Communion Silver, which was presented to the Church by Lady Pargiter in 1684, is still preserved and in perfect condition. It consists of four pieces, engraved with the monogram I H S in a halo with emblems of the Crucifixion and with the following inscription:

"This was given by the Lady Pargiter to Garsdon Church, shee was formally Wife to Lawrence Washington, Esq., who both lye buried here."

It is said that this plate owes its escape from the almost universal spoliation of the time of the Commonwealth to the superstition of the peasants of the neighborhood, who believed that a Demon, or other "unco"" being was confined in the box which contained it, and their fears being, fortunately, greater than their curiosity, it remained untouched and forgotten in a garret until the latter part of the last century, when it was restored to its former use.

Comparison with the Malmesbury Registers, hereafter cited, will enable us to construct this last mutilated inscription with certainty as follows. (Beneath this Place the Bod (ies) of Lawrence (the son) & D(a)me Jone (the) wife of (Geo)r(g)e (Wash)ington (are buried.) The same authority shows us that its period (there is no trace of a date on the slab) must be placed between 1601 and 1625, probably within a year or two of the former date, thus carrying back the connection of the Washingtons with Garsdon to the first decade of the 17th century.

of St. Pouls of Malmesburie; To daughter Elyn Washington " my presse, a fether bede & a flocke bede & payer of fine sheyts & payer canvas shetes, a fine diaper metclothe, 2 coffers, 8 platters, 4 sawsers & 3 Candelstickes, the beste Chaffeyn dyshe, a latin Bassen, a Cistren & a Querne, mi beste Crocke, 2 Salt Sellers, my beste Couerlet & Bolster "; To cosin Alls Halle 2 Pottingers, a sawser & a candelsticke; Wiffe Agnis to be Residuary Legatee and Executrix; Supervisers Willia Shellard & Rauffee meale. Consistory Court Sarum, Vol. I. fo. 32.

It seems to the writer highly probable that the above Henry and George Washington were the unnamed sons of Lawrence Washington, the Mayor of Northampton, younger brothers of Robert of Sulgrave and Lawrence (the father of Sir Lawrence of Garsdon) and therefore the uncles of the latter; their presence in the neighborhood (Garsdon is on the outskirts of Malmesbury and only about two miles distant) having no doubt caused their nephew to settle here. An examination of the Feet of Fines in the Public Record Office would perhaps give the exact date at which Garsdon was purchased from the Moodys, which is said to be 1640, but the last entry found in the Malmesbury Registers shows the Washingtons in full possession of the estate in the first month of that year, and it is likely that it was acquired earlier than has been supposed.

The Manor House of Garsdon, the former residence of the Washingtons, is not far from the Church on the Malmesbury road. The greater part of the mansion has perished, and what remains is now occupied as a farm house-it is the property of the Earl of Suffolk, whose residence, Charlton Park, is near Malmesbury. The Coat of Arms of the Washingtons which was above the door was “appropriated" by a former tenant on his removal some 35 years since, and is now built into a farm house a few miles distant.

The Rector, Dr. Thomas S. Gray, is most anxious to restore the mural monument to its former condition and location, and is likewise planning the erection of a " Washington Memorial School" in the parish. It is greatly to be hoped that the interest excited by Mr. Waters's brilliant discovery may enable him to carry out this long cherished design, and our wealthy and patriotic Americans should be among the first to lend a helping hand to the good work.-J. HENRY LEA of Cedarhurst, Fairhaven, Mass.

D

I venture to contribute the following information, which seems to indicate that two John Washingtons emigrated to Virginia about the same time, and, as is so often the case in genealogies, there might be some danger of confusing one with the other.

In the records of Surry County, Virginia, we find that John Washington was betrothed in 1658 to Mary Flood, widow, whom he afterwards married. She had previously married a Mr. Blunt, and after Mr. Washington's death she married Charles Ford, so she must have been a very attractive woman. By Mrs. Flood he had one child, Richard Washington, who sold land in 1678 and died in 1725. He married Elizabeth Jordan, who died in 1735. She was the daughter of Arthur Jordan, who died in 1698. The children of this marriage were: George, Richard, John, William, Thomas (died in 1749), James, Arthur, Elizabeth (married Samson and Robert Lanier), Priscilla, Faith and Mary. The estate of Mr. John Washington was about three miles below the present town of Claremont, on the banks of the James River, and about nine miles above Jamestown. We also find in the records that a Thomas Wrenn, who died in 1775, speaks of his daughter Rebecca Washington. The gentlemanly Clerk of the Court tells me that a Mr. Washington still lives in Isle of Wight County, just over the border from Surry, who is no doubt descended from the first John Washington. Some of the papers on which I base this communication are as follows:"Be it known unto all men by these presents that whereas a contract of matrimony is agreed upon between me John Washington and Mary Flood,

widow, and the said Washington from divers good causes and considerations me thereunto moving, doe before the celebration and solemnization thereof, by these presents engage and oblige myself, my heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, to give and deliver, or cause to be given and delivered unto Robert Stanton, Clerke, feoffe in trust, one mare filly of one year old, to and for the sole use and behoof of Thomas Blunt, son of the said Mary. his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, with male and female increase forever, which said mare filly is to be delivered as abovesaid the day that the said Thomas Blunt shall attain to ten years of age, in Surry County, and further I the said John Washington do hereby oblige myself to acknowledge this my real and voluntary act and deed in the next court to be holden for the county of Surry, and to have it recorded accordingly in the said County records. Witness my hand and seal. Dated the 15th day JOHN WASHINGTON

of 9ber stile Anglia, anno Domini 1658.

Signed, sealed and delivered in the

[sealed with red wax.]

Charles Ford had a patent, 19 May, 1638, bounded north by James River, southerly by the woods, easterly by land of John Flood, westerly by Sunken Marsh. He died intestate, the land escheated to the King and was granted by the Governor to Thos. Blunt and Richard Washington, orphans and sons in law unto the said Charles Ford.

Blunt and Washington sold 140 acres to John Gorring on 1 March, 29th year of Charles II. (1678).

THOMAS M. CLEEMANN, 2135 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

Mr. Cleemann referred us to A. S. Edwards, Esq., Clerk of Courts, Surry Court House, Va., for confirmation of the statements. A proof of the foregoing note was sent to Mr. Edwards, who has most kindly read and revised it. He adds that "Benjamin Sidway, one of the witnesses, seems to have married the widow of Benjamin Harrison, the first of that name in Virginia. January 16, 1652, Benj. Sidway, by order of the Court, conveyed certain land belonging to Peeter Harrison, orphan of Benjamin Harrison. Then Benj. Sidway and Mary his wife convey certain lands in their own right; and in 1687-8 Mary Sidway by will disposes of certain property to her two sons Benjamin Harrison and Thomas Sidway. Thomas Flood was guardian of Benjamin Harrison, who died in 1712.” Mr. Edwards also adds that Mary Sidway in her will also devised a horse to her granddaughter Hannah Harrison. Benjamin Harrison, the Speaker, &c., who died in 1712, by his will devised £400 to his daughter Hannah, which helps to identify those persons.

We have already (ante, p. 446) quoted Meade on the origin of the Harrisons. The first Benjamin (Speaker, &c.) was born in 1650. Mr. Edwards seems to make it certain that his father was a Benjamin also.-Wм. H. WHITMORE.

E

In preparing the Institutions of the Archdeaconry of Bedford for the press, I came across the following re Washington, which may be of interest.

1642, Aug. 12, Wm. Pargiter, clk., inst. to Rectory of Carlton, Patrons, Sr. John Washington, Knt., and Robert Pargiter, pro hac vice.

According to the pedigree in Mr. Waters's pamphlet, Sr. John Washington m. for his 2nd wife Dorothy, d. of Wm. Pargiter of Gretworth.

What became of this Wm. Pargiter I have not yet ascertained, as the next institution in point of time is wanting.-F. A. BLAYDES of Bedford, England.

GEORGE POPHAM.—

IN the name of the Allmighty, being Father, Son and Holy Ghost three parsonnes and one God eternall I make my Will and Testament and is that my soule I betake into the handes of my saide God and Saviour twenty poundes to my Nephew Edwarde Popham wth me in voyage ffyve poundes to Thomas Oxnan my servaunt all the rest unto the above Lettice Maior whome I make my sole executrix. In witnes whereof I hereunto have subscribed the laste of Maie one thousande six hundred and seaven. GEORGE POPHAM.

The halfe lyne blotted was myne owne doing.
George Popham.

Proved 2 December 1608.

Windebancke, 112.

[Capt. George Popham, the testator, was president of what is called the Popham Colony, and died there Feb. 5, 1607-8. His nephew, Edward Popham, whom he names, was a son of his brother Alexander Popham. See Visitation of Somersetshire, vol. 11, of the Harleian Society's Publications, pp. 87-8.—ED.]

SIR JOHN POPHAM of Wellington, Somerset, Knight, chief justice of all Pleas, 21 September 1604, proved 17 June 1608. Wife Amye. Son and heir Sir Francis Popham, knight, and his daughters. Sara Popham one of the daughters of Ferdinando Popham, my nephew, deceased. Amye Mallett the child of my daughter. My five daughters Penelope Hannam, Elinor Warre, Elizabeth Champernowne, Katherine Rogers and Mary Mallett. John Horner, my daughter Horner's son. George Rogers my godson. My trusty friends and cousins Edward Popham of Huntworth and James Clarke Esq. Grandchild Amye Pyne (separated from her husband). Sons in law John Mallett, Sir Richard Champernowne knight, Thomas Horner, Edward Rogers and Roger Warre Esq."

Then follows Sententia, in which the executrix and relict is called Anna. Windebancke, 58.

[Sir John Popham, Knt., the testator, was a son of Alexander Popham. He was born in Huntworth, Somersetshire, 1531, and died June 10, 1607. A biographical sketch of him, by James P. Baxter, will be found in "Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine," edited by Mr. Baxter, and published by the Prince Society, vol. i. pp. 72-3. His elder brother, Edward, was the father of the preceding Capt. George Popham, and of Ferdinando Popham, who is named in the will. See Burke's History of the Commoners, vol. ii. pp. 196-201, and Visitation of Somersetshire, ubi supra.-EDITOR.]

Sir GEORGE SOMERS of Barne, in the county of Dorset, knight, intending to pass the seas in a voyage towards the land called Virginia, makes his will 23 April 1609, proved 16 August 1611. He makes bequests to the poor of Whitechurch and of Lyme Regis, Dorset, to John and William Somers, sons of his brother John, Toby Somers, another son and Mary Somers, a daughter of said brother John. Nicholas Somers, eldest son of Nicholas Somers deceased, and his brother Matthew Somers, to release their rights in all the testators lands and tenements in Whitechurch, Marshwood and Upway and to have, after the death of wife Dame Joan, certain tenements &c. in Lyme Regis, to the said Matthew Somers the capital messuage and farm called or known by the name of Waybay House, situate and being in the parish of Upway, and other lands. Brother John Somers, of Lyme Regis, to be sole executor, and Richard Hodie, gentleman, James Heywood, gentleman, and Baldwin Sanford to be overseers. The witnesses were Thomas Moleins, John Boylden and Henry Corbinne. Then follows an inventory of household goods.

Wood, 71.