Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

Waters has made public in his recent pamphlet; and which he speaks of (p. 8),* unwittingly, as though it had been hitherto an untrodden track. As far back as 1864, Colonel Chester was aware of the connection with Luton; and on p. 74 of his Washington notebook, in the College of Arms, the Admon. of 30 May, 1677, [re-]"discovered" by Mr. Waters, in 1884 or 1885, will be found duly

set out.

Following the same chain of facts as Mr. Waters has since done, Colonel Chester likewise went to the Tring Registers, but unfortunately only by proxy; and, still more unfortunately, he rested contented with the information sent to him by that proxy. Had Colonel Chester gone to Tring and examined the books himself, in all probability Mr. Waters would have been entirely forestalled twenty years back. On page 35 of his notebook, the Colonel has copied a letter he received from Tring, from which it will be seen that he never knew the Registers there actually chronicled the baptism of a Lawrence, son of the Rev. Lawrence Washington.

From same [Rev. C. J. Robinson, curate of Great Berkhampstead, Herts], May 16, 1864.

666

I have searched carefully the Par. Regrs of Tring, co. Herts, from 1580 to 1710. The only entries of the name of Washington which I could find are these:

'1641. Oct. 14, William, soun of Mr. Larrance Washenton.’— Baptized.

1654-5. Jan. 19, Mrs. Washington.'-Buried.

'No occurrence of the name is to be found among the Marriages; but I should add that the Registers have been ill kept, and there are many gaps in them.'" Since the publication of Mr. Waters's pamphlet, I have been able to identify the Chancery suit referred to by Colonel Chester in 1866-see Mr. Whitmore's additions to the pamphlet, at p. 50.§

Chancery Proceedings, Charles I., Bills and Answers, Bundle WW 35, No. 43. Washington versus Browne.

[ocr errors]

Bill of complaint [exhibited 20 Oct. 1640"] of "your daylie oratour Lawrence Washington, of Purleyn [sic], in the Countie of Essex, cl[erk, That] whereas your said oratour, in or about the moneth of July in the eight yeare of his Maties raigne that now is, was indebted vnto John Browne, of the Citty of Oxford, in the summe of sixtie & nyne pounds & eighteene shillings, or thereabouts, And for security of payment thereof, at a day betweene him & your oratour agreed upon, your oratour did enter into an Obligacion to the said John Browne, of the penaltie of one hundred & ffortie powndes, or thereabouts, condicioned for the payment of the said summe of sixtie nyne pownds, eighteene shillings, or thereabouts, at a day now past, Weh said Bond the said John Brown[e] left in the hands of one Mr Haruey, of London, And appointed your oratour to pay the moneyes as they grewe due & payable. to the said Mr Haruey... And your oratour did. . pay unto the sd Mr Haruey, to his

.

REGISTER Vol. 43, p. 382, ante p. 355.-EDITOR OF REGISTER.

+ Surely Mr. Greenstreet does not mean that Mr. Waters ought to have called his finding this admon. a "re-discovery" when neither he nor the public had any knowledge of a previous discovery. Mr. Waters had no opportunity, as far as he knew, of seeing Col. Chester's collections and learning what he had found.-EDITOR OF REGIster.

We think that Mr. Greenstreet is hardly warranted in saying that, "Had Colonel Chester gone to Tring and examined the books himself, in all probability Mr. Waters would have been entirely forestalled twenty years back." Mr. Greenstreet seems to ignore one of the most important discoveries made by Mr. Waters, namely, that memorandum written on the day of the probate of Andrew Knowling's will, showing the presence in Court of Lawrence Washington, M.A., acting as surrogate and therefore a clergyman. If that paper or some other equally conclusive evidence had not been discovered, the pedigree of George Washington would have been left still shooting in the air. We appreciate as highly as anyone the rare skill of Col. Chester in genealogical research and the success with which his labors were so often crowned. His editorial work on the Harleian Society's volumes, particularly that on the Registers on Westminster Abbey, which shows a wealth of antiquarian learning; his Life of John Rogers; his contributions to the REGISTER and other periodicals; and his vast genealogical collections in manuscript, now in the College of Arms, are a lasting monument to his memory. The Washington collections are very extensive. To Col. Chester is due the credit of having solved problems that had baffled the ablest antiquaries.-EDITOR OF REGISTER.

§ REGISTER Vol. 43, p. 423, ante p. 401.-EDITOR OF REGISTER.

[ocr errors]

the said Browne's use, severall summes of money, at severall tymes, in part of satisfaction of the said] bond.. And your oratour further sheweth, that, about seaven yeares since, one Mr Parr, now Bi[shop of the Isle of Man, and one M Atherton Burch, having a Chamber ioyntly betweene thein in Braz Nose Colledge, in Oxford aforesaid, they the said [Mr Parr and] Mr Burch did, at their joynt charges, furnish the same Chamber. . . And in & about such furnishing thereof did ioyntly expend about ffortie pownds, that is to say, each of them twentie pownds a peece. . . And afterwards the said Mr Parr being to leaue the said Chamber and Colledge, And your oratour being to succeed him in the same Chamber, hee the said Mr Parr did contract & agree with your oratour, and therevpon your oratour.. I did buy of the said Mr Parr all his interest, part & share of all & every the said goods and furniture. . . but tooke no particular Inventory thereof. . And, after that, your orator finding other particular goods & furniture to bee more fitting & convenyent for his particular use, did bring into the said Chamber severall other goods and chattells. of the value of ffifteene pownds, or thereabouts. . . Now so it is, may it please your good lordshipp, that your oratour having some occasion to take a long journey from Oxford & and [sic] to be absent from thence some tyme, and and the said Mr Burch then dying in the said Chamber, wherein all the said goods furniture were, whilst your oratour was absent, The said John Browne, pretending that the said Mr Burch was somthing indebted to him, the said Browne, and hee takeing, or pretending to take or have Administracion of the goods of the said Mr Burch, did not onely enter upon, and take and carry away all the said goods and furniture wherein the said Mr Burch and your oratour had ioynt interests, but also all the goods and chattels whatsoever wch were the particular and sole estate and goods of your said oratour, and wherein neither the said Mr Burch nor the said John Browne had any colour of interest, and whereto they, nor either of them could lay any clayme or title," &c.

Answer of John Browne the defendant, sworn 20 Oct. 1640-Sets out that the complainant, being indebted to him 691. 168., entered into an obligation dated 20 July 1632, subsequently buying goods of him to the amount of 61. Os. 2d.,* and shortly after left his fellowship and aboade in the Vniuersity of Oxon." The complainant has paid to the said Mr. John Harvey several sums on account, namely, about May 1633, 407., and, about May 1636, 107., but never paid any more either to Mr. Harvey or the defendant.

I have to express my obligation to Mr. G. E. Cokayne, F.S.A., Norroy King of Arms, for kind permission to make use of Colonel Chester's MS.

Mr. Moncure D. Conway contributed to the New York Nation for March 19, 1891, an elaborate article, entitled, "The Earliest Washingtons in Virginia,” in which he shows that a branch of the Washington family was settled in Virginia as early as 1636, a patent for land having been taken out by Arthur Washington in that year. He may have been the ancestor of the Surrey County Washingtons noticed in the REGISTER for July, 1890 (vol. 44, pages 307-8, ante pp. 458-9), among whom Arthur was a favorite name. No connection has been traced between this family and the Westmoreland County Washingtons. Much interesting matter about the various families of Washington is found in the article.

The illustrated article by Mr. Conway on "The English Ancestry of Washington," announced by us in our last number (ante, p. 511) as to be published in Harper's Magazine, appeared in the number for May, 1891. Since the publication of Mr. Waters's discoveries in the REGISTER for October, 1889, ante pp. 352-403, Mr. Conway has visited England and gathered material bearing on the subject

[ocr errors]

The items of this later bill are:-"Sixe elnes and a hal[f of] for two shirts, and the making of them. One paire of worsted hose. Strapps for bootes. One paire of graye hose. One cloake bagge. Seaven yards of phillissety. ffive yards and a halfe of homes. One elne and a quarterne of canvas. One yard and an (sic) half of thick cotton. Two yards of bayes cotton. Half an ounce of silke. ffoure dozen] ns. One dozen of ribband points, buckram, pastbord & claspes. Three quarternes of large ffringe. One skinne for pocketts. One half elne of loopelace. of belliepeeces. Half a quarterne of taffaty. Two yards of tape. One paire of worsted hose, and one yard and a halfe of eightpennye ribband. One paire of roses. Six elnes and an (sic) halfe of holland, and making two. Two fine holland hands, and three paire of cuffes and strings."

[ocr errors]

.

[graphic]
[graphic][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed][ocr errors][subsumed]

Signatures to the Will of Col. John Washington. See page 526.

[ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]
[ocr errors]

Gen. Washington's endorsement. See page 526.

[graphic]

of his article. He was also allowed by George E. Cokayne, M.A., F.S.A., the friend and executor of Col. Joseph L. Chester, LL.D., D.C.L., the use of the Washington collectanea of that distinguished antiquary contained in a thick folio volume. Mr. Conway is now a believer in the theory of Mr. Waters. In the Harper article are given the main points of the evidence in relation to the Ancestry of Washington. One new fact of great importance is that Lawrence Washington, rector of Purleigh, had a wife living in 1649, as shown by the order of the " Committee on Plundered Ministers," August 15 in that year, that "Mr. John Rogers, minister of the sequestered rectory of Purleigh in Dingey Hundreds do pay the fifth part of the tithes and profits of said Rectory unto Mrs. Washington, according to a formal order of ye Com. of Plundered ministers." On September 20th the Committee " Ordered that Mr. John Rogers and Mrs. Washington be heard on Wednesday in the sessions." On the last page of the book this decision of the Committee is recorded: "ffifth part of Purleigh ordered to the plundered Rector's wife." Mr. Conway was also discoverer of the fact found in the original will, that Col. John Washington the emigrant had a sister Martha, as already announced in the REGISTER. Both of these new facts strengthen the position taken by Mr. Waters.

Mr. Conway's contribution to Harper's Magazine is very interesting, particularly to those who have a curiosity to know all they can about the homes of the emigrant ancestor of President Washington, and of his kindred. Very graphic descriptions of the localities are given. The illustrations like all those in Harper are of a high order of merit. They consist of views of the churches of Tring and Luton, and the baptistry of the latter; brasses in St. James Church, Sulgrave; Gen. Washington's seals; and fac-similes of the autograph of Col. John Washington, and of entries in the Tring parish registers. As Harper's Magazine has a large circulation in England, we hope this article will meet the eyes of antiquaries in the localities with which Lawrence Washington and his wife Amphillis were connected, and that they will try to discover the records of Mr. Washington's marriage and death; the record of the baptism of his son John; the name of the living which the rector of Purleigh held after that living was sequestered, and other evidence bearing on the Washington pedigree.-EDITOR.]

I hope that Mr. Conway's article will inspire the clergymen near Tring and Luton to examine their records for mention of Lawrence Washington's marriage. The circumstantial evidence of the marriage of Rev. Lawrence Washington to Amphillis Rhodes is very, very strong, but not conclusive. The proof is still to be found. The fact is that a Lawrence Washington, M.A., was in January, 1649-50, acting in the court at which a guardian was appointed for one of the children of Amphillis Washington. Until some evidence is produced we must hold that this Lawrence Washington, M.A., is identical with the rector of Purleigh. We cannot, however, yet say that Lawrence Washington, husband of Amphillis, was a clergyman, though the baptisms at Tring call him "Mr." It is not impossible that some cousin and namesake of the Rev. Lawrence of Purleigh, was the husband, and persuaded him to be present at the court and act as surrogate. This is highly improbable; but coincidence and circumstantial evidence are not clear proofs. Therefore until new evidence is obtained, the Washington pedigree is not to be taken as wholly proved.-W. H. WHITMORE.

[THE following may be relied upon as authentic transcripts of the wills of the American ancestors of George Washington. They possess interest to the genealogist and historical student, and are presented in the following order: First, the emigrant John Washington-the great-grandfather of the General. Second, Lawrence Washington, also an emigrant, and brother of John. Third, Lawrence Washington, son of John and nephew of Lawrence the emigrant. Fourth, Deed of release from Roger and Mildred (Washington) Gregory to Augustine Washington. This Mildred Gregory was daughter of Lawrence Washington and sister of Augustine Washington, and the aunt and god-mother of George Washington. Mildred inherited from her father Hunting Creek plantation now "Mount Vernon," which she and her husband by this deed conveyed to her brother Augustine. Fifth, Augustine Washington, son of Lawrence and grandson of John. Sixth, Lawrence Washington, son of Augustine Washington, half-brother of George and great-grandson of John the emigrant and patentee of the Hunting Creek plantation.

« AnteriorContinuar »