This is part of a series about my New England colonial ancestors who arrived by during the Great Migration. If you have early Massachusetts ancestry, be sure to check out AmericanAncestors, as the Great Migration Study Project can be viewed there with a membership to the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
This family sketch is a bit different than most of the others because I have familial ties to a father, Simon Tuttle, who died in England and his widowed wife, Isabel (Wells) Tuttle, who emigrated to New England with her three sons and their families. I descend from eldest son Richard and the wife of second son, John, who had previously been married to Thomas Lawrence, and two of her Lawrence daughters, Jane and Mary.
William Tuttle, the apparent youngest surviving son, also left England, but I have no known direct ancestral connection to him or his family.
Simon Tuttle was born c1565, possibly in Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England, where the Tuttle family lived. He married Isabel Wells, c1592.
Simon Tuttle died 15 June 1630 and was buried in Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England. Isabel survived him and was living in 1634. However, there is no burial record for her in England and she doesn’t appear in Massachusetts records. Therefore, it is believed that she either didn’t survive the 1635 ocean voyage or that she died soon after settling in Massachusetts.
The Tuttles were the parents of five known children, all sons:
- Richard, born c1593, probably Northamptonshire, England; died 8 May 1640, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married Anne Taylor, 19 June 1622, Barnwell St. Andrew, Northamptonshire, England. [Barnwell is about 10 miles distant from Ringstead.]
- John, born c1596, probably Northamptonshire, England; died 30 December 1656, Carrickfergus, Antrim, Ireland; married Joan Antrobus, c1627. Joan was the widow of Thomas Lawrence. More on the Lawrence clan in a bit.
- Thomas, born c1600, probably Northamptonshire, England; died after 20 January 1617.
- Simon, born c1604; no further record.
- William, baptized 26 December 1607, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England; died 1673, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut; married Elizabeth (MNU), after 1627, probably in England.
First, let’s look at the family of Richard Tuttle.
Anne (Taylor) Tuttle was born c1597, probably in Northamptonshire, England. After Richard died in 1640, Anne married (2) Edward Holyoke. Edward wrote his will on 25 December 1658, but made no mention of a wife, so she apparently died before that date.
Richard and Anne (Taylor) Tuttle were the parents of four children, all born in England and baptized in Ringstead:
- Hannah, baptized 17 August 1623; married (1) John Pantry, of Hartford, Connecticut, before 1649 (2) Thomas Wells, 23 June 1654, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.
- John, baptized 12 June 1625; died before 31 March 1687, Suffolk County, England, when his will was proved; married Mary Holyoke, 10 February 1646/47, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Mary was the daughter of his stepfather, Edward Holyoke, and she survived her husband John.
- Jonathan, baptized 11 November 1627; buried 13 October 1631, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England.
- Rebecca, baptized 27 May 1630; died before 1694, possibly in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, when Richard wrote his will, but mentioned no wife; married Richard Shatswell.
I am descended from John Tuttle who married Mary Holyoke.
Next, we have the family of John Tuttle and his wife, Joan (Antrobus) Lawrence, widow of Thomas Lawrence. I”ll share the Lawrence family data first, given that Thomas and Joan are my ancestors. Although John Tuttle and Joan also had children, I have no direct line through their children.
Thomas and Joan (Antrobus) Lawrence were both born and bred in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, where early records have survived, giving a complete snapshot of their family.
Thomas Lawrence, the son of John Lawrence, was baptized on 2 February 1589. He died after July 1624, probably in St. Albans. Joan Antrobus, daughter of Walter and Joan (Arnold) Antrobus, was baptized on 25 June 1592. It’s a bit odd, but their marriage record hasn’t been found. They likely married about 1609.
Children, all baptized in St. Albans:
- Joan, baptized 29 August 1610; buried 31 August 1610, St. Albans.
- Jane, baptized 18 December 1614; died 2 March 1680, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; married George Giddings, 20 February 1633, St. Albans. [Note – I am descended from George and Jane Giddings.]
- Mary, baptized 17 November 1616; buried 28 November 1616, St. Albans.
- John, baptized 26 July 1618; died after 1635.
- Thomas, baptized 8 March 1620; no further record.
- William, baptized 28 June 1622; died after 1635.
- Mary, baptized 10 April 1625; died 27 March 1715, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; married Thomas Burnham, c1645. [Note – I am descended from Thomas and Mary Burnham.]
John Tuttle married Joan (Antrobus) Lawrence married c1627 and had four children:
- Abigail, baptized 24 November 1628, St. Albans, Northamptonshire, England; died after 1635 and before 7 December 1656, as she is not in her father’s will on that date. [NOTE: There is controversy about Abigail and if John even had such a daughter.]
- Simon, baptized 10 January 1630/31, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England; died 11 January 1691/92, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; married Sarah Cogswell, before 1664.
- Sarah, baptized 4 September 1632; died after a deposition given on 13 June 1659, possibly Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; married Richard Martin, 1 February 1653/54, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
- John, baptized 21 March 1633/34, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England; died after 6 April 1637.
- Hannah, born c1636; married “a good husband one that loves her well and a handsome man,” about April 1657, Ireland. This is mentioned in the 6 April 1657 letter written by her mother. [Source is the Great Migration Study.]
John Tuttle had some business issues and fled to England and then Carrickfergus, Antrim, Ireland, where he died on 30 December 1656. Joan (Antrobus) (Lawrence) Tuttle died after 29 January 1660/61, probably also in Carrickfergus, Antrim, Ireland.
The Great Migration Study, found on AmericanAncestors (linkat the top) contains many more details about this family, who left many rich records.