John Guild and Elizabeth Crooke are the immigrant generation of my cousins’ Guild line, which eventually married into the Briggs and Tower families.

This couple is interesting because, although they married on 24 June 1645 in Dedham, (today) Suffolk, Massachusetts, neither and particularly Elizabeth arrived in New England with either of their parents. That might not be terribly surprising for a male over 21, but it is very unusual for a young unmarried female.

Elizabeth Crooke lived in Roxbury at the time of her marriage and one sister, Rebecca, was also living there are the time. However, Rebecca was also single and didn’t marry her husband, Peter Gardner, until eleven months after her sister, on 9 May 1646 in Roxbury.

Another mystery is the English origins of John and Elizabeth (Crooke) Guild. It is possible that John might be the son of Richard and Margery (Jorden) Guild of Ilketshall St. Margaret, Suffolk, England and that Elizabeth could be the daughter of Roger and Sarah (MNU) Crooke of Hammersmith, Middlesex, England who was baptized at St. Clement Danes Church on 19 July 1618.

However, as of today, no definite proof has been uncovered establishing the names of their parents.

Estimated birth years vary, not surprisingly, for this couple. Given that they married in 1645 and that grooms were typically about 25 and brides about 21 years old at the time of a first marriage, let’s estimate a birth year of 1620 for John Guild and 1624 for Elizabeth Crooke.

John and Elizabeth settled into life in Dedham, Massachusetts after their marriage and lived the rest of their lives in that town.

John and Elizabeth were the parents of seven children (All events in Dedham unless noted otherwise):

1. John, born 20 June 1646; died before 29 September 1649
2. Samuel, born 7 September 1647; died 1 January 1730; married Mary Woodcock, 29 September 1676
3. John, born 29 September 1649; died 24 January 1743, Wrentham, Norfolk, Massachusetts; married Sarah Fisher, 22 May 1677
4. Eleazer, born 30 September 1653; died 30 June 1655
5. Ebenezer, born 21 October 1657; died 21 April 1661
6. Elizabeth, born 11 November 1660; died 21 October 1740, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts; married George Robinson, 17 November 1680, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts
7. Benjamin, born 25 May 1664; died before 4 October 1682

Elizabeth predeceased her husband, passing away on 31 August 1669 in Dedham.

John Guild left a will, leaving everything to his three surviving children, Samuel, John and Elizabeth. He died on 4 October 1682, also in Dedham, Massachusetts.