Category Archives: Tuttle

Tuttle

Tuttle Extended Family, England to Massachusetts, 1635

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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:

  1. 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.]
  2. 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.
  3. Thomas, born c1600, probably Northamptonshire, England; died after 20 January 1617.
  4. Simon, born c1604; no further record.
  5. 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:

  1. Hannah, baptized 17 August 1623; married (1) John Pantry, of Hartford, Connecticut, before 1649 (2) Thomas Wells, 23 June 1654, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut.
  2. 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.
  3. Jonathan, baptized 11 November 1627; buried 13 October 1631, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England.
  4. 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:

  1. Joan, baptized 29 August 1610; buried 31 August 1610, St. Albans.
  2. 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.]
  3. Mary, baptized 17 November 1616; buried 28 November 1616, St. Albans.
  4. John, baptized 26 July 1618; died after 1635.
  5. Thomas, baptized 8 March 1620; no further record.
  6. William, baptized 28 June 1622; died after 1635.
  7. 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:

  1. 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.]
  2. Simon, baptized 10 January 1630/31, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England; died 11 January 1691/92, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; married Sarah Cogswell, before 1664.
  3. 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.
  4. John, baptized 21 March 1633/34, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England; died after 6 April 1637.
  5. 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.

 

 

Genealogy Blog Party, Tuttle

Isabel Wells Tuttle (1565-1635) – May Genealogy Blog Party: Marvelous Moms

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Elizabeth O’Neal’s May Genealogy Blog Party theme is, of course, all about Marvelous Moms.

This topic took a bit of thinking because I’ve written, often more than once, about my mother, grandmothers and even a fair number of my maternal ancestors for quite a few generations back.

Therefore, I decided to delve deep into my family tree to write about my 11X great grandmother, Isabel Wells, born about 1565, probably in Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England or in a town very close by.

She had to have been a very brave lady because at the age of 70 (which was quite ancient back in 1635), she appears on the passenger list of the Planter, a ship which made its way to Massachusetts. Her three surviving sons, Richard, John and William were also on board with their young families.

Little is known about Isabel’s family, except that she was the daughter of John Wells, also of Ringstead, who left a will probated on 25 March 1618.

Her father didn’t seem to be terribly concerned about including the given names of his children in the will, but it appears that Isabel had two sisters who lived at least long enough to marry and give birth – one possibly named Elizabeth, who married William Morton and the other who married Mr. Barwek (Barwick?).

John Wells named the following heirs:

1. John Morton, grandchild, not yet 12 years old, son of William Morton
2. William Morton, son-in-law of John Wells
3.Daughter Morton, possibly named Elizabeth, unless she was the same as Elizabeth the named granddaughter
4. Etheldred Morton, grandchild
5. Elizabeth Morton, grandchild
6. Anna Morton, grandchild
7. Custby Barwek, grandchild
8. Lewis Barwek, grandchild
9. Richard Tuttle, grandchild
10. Simon Tuttle, grandchild
11. William Tuttle, grandchild

He also named “my daughter Morton” and “my daughter Tootell,” plus William and John Wells, sons of his brother, Thomas Wells. As he left nothing to a “daughter Barwek,” it is possible that she predeceased her father, but that can’t be assumed since John Wells also had grandson John Tuttle, aged about 22 years in 1618. John Tuttle was not named in his grandfather’s will, for whatever reason.

As John Wells named no wife, she predeceased him; nor is there any indication as to whether the three daughters shared one mother. However, it seems certain that John Wells had no sons alive at the time he wrote his will. If there had been any, they would have inherited his land.

From this will, we can prove the following:

John Wells was likely born, say 1540, or within a few years of that date. He married at least once to an unknown wife who probably predeceased him. He was the father of three daughters. If the grandchildren are named based on the birth order of their mothers, then William Morton’s wife, maybe Elizabeth, was the eldest, followed by Isabel and then her sister who married Mr. Barwek (Barwick?).

John Wells also had at least one brother, Thomas, who in turn was the father of at least two boys, William and John.

Therefore, Isabel grew up in a village or small town (Ringstead today has only about 1,400 inhabitants), near extended family. While it is likely that she experienced the loss of one or more siblings, two os her sisters married, giving Isabel a number of nieces and nephews.

Her father and the Tuttle family were both living in comfortable circumstances, based on the bequests in family wills, so Isabel likely was part of what would be considered the middle class of its time.

Isabel Tuttle was listed as 70 years old on the Planter’s passenger list. There are no surviving birth or baptismal records from that region and time period. Her year of birth would have been about 1565 if her age was correct in 1635. She might have been born a bit later than 1565, maybe even as late as 1570, given that the birth of her first son is thought to have taken place about 1593. That would make her a first time mother at age 28, not old by today’s standards, but a bit older than typical for the 1500s.

Not only are birth and baptismal records non-existent for this time period, marriage records haven’t survived either. However, St. Mary’s Church, with parts of it dating to 1240 AD, is standing even today:


Google Maps

Isabel Wells married Simon Tuttle sometime before about 1593, the estimated year of birth for Richard Tuttle. Isabel and Simon Tuttle had at least five children, all sons:

1. Richard, born c1593; died 8 May 1640, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; married Anne Taylor, 19 June 1622, Barnwell St. Andrew, Northampton, England
2. John, born c1596; died 30 December 1656, Carrickfergus, Antrim, Northern Ireland; married Joan Antrobus, c1627
3. Thomas, died after 20 January 1617, when he is mentioned in John Wells’ will, and before 19 December 1627, when his father states in his own will that his son William received five pounds “which fell to him by the death of his brother Thomas.” Thomas would have been of legal age for siblings to inherit, so he was likely born before 1596.
4. Simon, died between 20 January 1617, when he is an heir to his grandfather, John Wells, and 19 December 1627, when he is not mentioned in his father’s will.
5. William, born c1607; died 1673, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut; married Elizabeth (MNU), after 1627.
Simon Tuttle died sometime between 19 December 1627, when he wrote his will, and 15 June 1630, the reputed date of his burial in Ringstead (as mentioned in Donald Lines Jacobus’ Hale House. . .)

Between Simon’s death and 1635, the Tuttle family en masse apparently made the huge decision to leave England for a new life in Massachusetts.

I can only imagine the thoughts that ran through Isabel’s mind. She was an elderly lady and knew that she didn’t have many years left. Should she stay in Ringstead, near family and friends, never to see her sons and their families again or should she leave England behind and take a chance on a new life?

I also have to wonder if Isabel was in relatively good health or if she was failing. I think regardless of her physical stamina, she couldn’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to Richard, John, William, their wives and all of her grandchildren.

Isabel Wells Tuttle most likely died during the voyage to the colonies and was buried at sea.

My line of descent:
Simon Tuttle & Elizabeth Wells
Richard Tuttle & Anne Taylor
John Tuttle & Mary Holyoke
Edward Tuttle & Abigail (MNU)
Joses Bucknam & Phebe Tuttle
James Bucknam & Mary Goddard
Joses Bucknam & Abigail Hay
Oliver Scripture & Mary Goddard Bucknam
George Rogers Tarbox & Mary Elizabeth Scripture
Calvin Segee Adams & Nellie F. Tarbox
Charles Edwin Adams & Annie Maude Stuart
Vernon Tarbox Adams & Hazel Ethel Coleman
George Michael Sabo & Doris Priscilla Adams
Linda Anne Sabo Stufflebean – me!

Antrobus, Tuttle

Walking in Their Footsteps: Joan Antrobus, Wife of Thomas Lawrence and John Tuttle

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It’s not often I have a chance to walk the footsteps that my ancestors took, but I had the chance to do just that on our recent cruise of the British Isles.

Joan Antrobus, of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, is my 10X great grandmother. The descent is a bit messy because I descend from her more than once. Added to the mix is that she married twice – first to Thomas Lawrence and then to John Tuttle. I’m also descended from the Tuttles, but from Richard Tuttle, brother of this John Tuttle.

The Lawrence saga begins in England. Joan/Joanna Antrobus, daughter of Walter Antrobus and Joan Arnold, was born in 1592 in St. Albans, Hertfordshire. She married (1) Thomas Lawrence about 1609. They had seven children, all in St. Albans:

Joan, born 29 August 1610; died 31 August 1610
Jane, born 18 December 1614: died 2 March 1680, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; married George Giddings (1609-1676), 20 February 1633, St. Albans, Hertfordshire
Mary, born 17 November 1616; died 28 November 1616
John, born 26 July 1618; died after 1635
Thomas, born 8 March 1620
William, born 28 June 1622
Mary, born 10 April 1625; died 27 March 1715, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; married Thomas Burnham (1619-1694), c1645

I am descended from both Jane, who married George Giddings and Mary, who married Thomas Burnham.

Thomas Lawrence died sometime after July 1624 and Joan/Joanna, widowed, with small children, married (2) John Tuttle, c1627.

John and Joanna had five children of their own, with Abigail, Simon and John being born in England. they emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the Planter in 1635:

Abigail, born 24 November 1628; died after 1635
Simon, born 10 January 1630/31; died 11 January 1691/2; married Sarah Cogswell
John, born 21 March 1633/34; died after 6 April 1657
Hannah, born c1636 died probably in Ireland; married before 20 March 1657 in Ireland
Sarah, who married Richard Martin

Now that I’ve shared some basic information, here is the rest of the story, which is well detailed in the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s Great Migration series. If you have access to it, there are numerous details about the Tuttles given.

This post will only cover the bare essentials. John Tuttle was a merchant and probably at least middle class for the time period. In 1649, he entered into a business deal that soured. His dealings were quite extensive as he traded in Barbados and contracted with London, England businessmen.

John and Joanna Tuttle were living in Ipswich as late as 1649, but their life circumstances changed rapidly after that. By 16 November 1649, the Tuttles were living in Boston. However, with business woes hanging over his head, John boarded a ship and sailed to Southampton, England. John was in Southampton by 6 March 1650/1 at which time he wrote a letter to John Gore (connected to his business dealings) in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Perhaps he traveled there to try to sort out the finances and get his business back on track. Records showed that he owed a “considerable sum of money,” but the amount isn’t stated.

It isn’t known exactly how long he was in Southampton, but John never again returned to the colonies. Instead, he moved on to Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. At some point before his death, wife Joanna and daughter Hannah joined him.

On 27 September 1659, George Giddings and Joseph Jewett were appointed administrators of John Tuttle’s estate with the notation that he left no will when he died “two or three years ago in Ireland.”

In fact, John Tuttle died on 30 December 1656. On 15 May 1661, “Johanna Tuttell,” was named executor of his will, which was allowed and proved in Ireland.

Joanna’s death date is unknown, just that her son Simon deposed in 1674 that he was the only surviving child of his deceased parents. She most likely died in Ireland, as apparently did daughter Hannah.

At the beginning of this post, I talked about walking in the footsteps of my ancestors. I have been to both Boston and Ipswich in Massachusetts, but had never been to Southampton, England or anywhere in Northern Ireland.

In May, I had the opportunity to visit both as our cruises sailed out of the Southampton harbor and one of our British Isle stops was Belfast, Northern Ireland. We had a long day in Belfast, so there was plenty of time to sightsee in the city and take the train a very short 20 miles to Carrickfergus.

Southampton was heavily damaged during World War II being a seaport with deep waters excellent for shipping supplies. Much of the city has been rebuilt.

A small part of the ancient city survived the bombing raids – the old city wall still has many sections standing and St. Michael’s Church, built, with parts of it built in 1070, escaped almost unscathed in the war.

Being Puritans, I don’t know whether the Tuttles would have attended services at a Church of England, but if they did attend services, St. Michael’s on Bugle Street was the parish church.

It is a beautiful building, simple inside but with beautiful stained glass windows. Photos in this post were all taken by me.


St. Michael’s Church, Bugle Street
Southampton, England

Across the street, there is an old Tudor building, which has survived through the ages:

The ancient walls, which I wouldn’t classify as ruins because while large sections are gone, there are still substantial portions doing their job today.

These walls were definitely built to last and they have!

We sailed from Southampton towards Ireland and then on to Northern Ireland, where we docked near Belfast. Dave and I decided to take the train to Carrickfergus before exploring Belfast since it was further away from the ship.

There was a local gentleman on the train who also got off in Carrickfergus. We had stopped to look at Dave’s map on his phone and he said he’d like to show us a bit of the town if we had a few minutes. He never said his name and his walkabout was such a whirlwind that we didn’t even think to ask. (The Irish accent wasn’t too easy to understand either!) However, we are grateful to him pointing out a few of the historic sites before we toured Carrickfergus Castle.

Right off the train, we entered the town through the old gate:


A Little Better View of the Old Gate

Next, we turned left down another street because the old gent wanted to point this building out:


Constructed in 1640!

This is one of the only buildings still left from the time that John and Johanna lived in Carrickfergus.

Less of the original wall has survived here compared to the one in Southampton as Carrickfergus was entirely encircled by a wall at one time:


Remnant of the Old Wall

The old parish church was a short walk from the waterfront, but it is Church of Ireland. I’ve never been to a church where I couldn’t figure out how to get in. None of the doors looked like a main entrance and all the doors were locked!

However, as John and Joanna were Puritans they likely didn’t attend Church of Ireland services. I was told that the Presbyterian Church first held services in Carrickfergus about the same time that the Tuttles moved there. Those services would probably have been held in someone’s home. I asked about burial practices. As they weren’t Church of Ireland, I was told that John and Joanna likely were buried down the road at an auxiliary cemetery that is still used today. We didn’t have time to walk down there.

Next, we headed onward to Carrickfergus Castle itself. We walked through a small square before we crossed a very busy street to the castle.

The castle is almost as old as St. Michael’s Church, as construction was started by John de Courcy about 1177.

The castle was there to protect and it was perfectly situated:

Invaders would have a tough time getting by this fortification.

I had the same feeling in Southampton and Carrickfergus that I get when I walk around old cemeteries where ancestors are buried. I feel like I’ve come back to visit them and pay my respects. I’ll probably never have another opportunity to visit Northern Ireland, so I am glad that this visit took me to the only spot with which I have any Irish connection.