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Thomas Bancroft

Male - 1627


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  • Name Thomas Bancroft 
    Gender Male 
    Buried From 13 Oct 1626 to 11 Oct 1627  Swarkeston, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I2239  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father Ralph or Rauffe Bancroft,   d. Aft 1611, Chellaston, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother Alice,   d. Chellaston, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F1325  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Rebecca,   bur. From 1627 to 1639, Swarkeston, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. John Bancroft,   b. Abt 1593, of, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1637, Atlantic Ocean Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 44 years)
     2. Ralph Bancroft
     3. Thomas Bancroft,   b. Abt 1596, of Swarkstone, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Nov 1658, Bradley, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 62 years)
     4. Dorothy Bancroft,   b. Bef 1610, of Swarkestone, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1627  (Age > 19 years)
     5. Elizabeth Bancroft,   b. Bef 1610, of Swarkestone, Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1627  (Age > 19 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F389  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. Henry R. Stiles, "The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut," 1892, v. 2, p. 41:
      "John Bancroft came in the 'James' from London, Eng., Apr. 1632; arrived 12 Jun (8 weeks passage); res. Lynn Mass.; d. 1637; 'Col. Rec. Mass.,' 3 Sep 1633; 'Winthrop's Journal,' 12 Sep 1663; 'Hubbard's Hist. New Engl.,' p. 156. His wid. Jane received 100 acres of land at Lynn, 1638. Nov. 19, 1644, Jona. Strattan and Thos. Talmadge, Jr., of Southampton, Long Island (a settlement emanating from Lynn), petitioned for the peaceable settlement of the lot betwixt them, 'which formerly was gr. unto Widd. Bancroft,' which was consented to. Tradition in the Bancroft family says she m. (2) a man who removed with her and her children to Connecticut. "Savage' mentions ch. John and Thomas.
      Children (born England):
      A. Anna, m. 13 May 1647, John Griffin; sett. Simsbury; 10 children.
      B. John.
      C. Thomas.
      D. Samuel.
      E. William (acc. to 'Hinman,' for which we find no authority.)
      Thomas Bancroft, poet (a native of Swarkstonem, on the Trent, Derbyshire, where his parents were buriedm and who pr a vol. of epigrams and epitaphs, 1639, London, Eng.) says of his brother John Bancroft:
      'You sold your land the lighter hence to go
      To foreign coasts, yet (Fate would have it so)
      Did ne'er New England reach, but went with them
      That journery toward New Jerusalem.'
      Tradition speaks of a sojourn on Long Island and the death there of one of the three brothers; that one then went to Mass. and one to Connecticut."

      2. From Ancesty.com's "English Origins of New England Families," Vol. III, pp. 513-519, Article: "Genealogicial Gleanings among the English Archives." Communicated by J. Henry Lea, Esq.
      The following extracts, taken from original wills filed in the Consistory Court of Lichfield, and the Prerogative Court ot Canterbury, England, go far toward building a complete pedigree of the ancestry and collateral relatives of John Bancroft, who, with his wife Jane, came to New England in the "James" in 1682 (Hotton's Lists, p. 160. CoL Rec. of Mass., 3 Sept., 1633. Winthrop's Journal. Hubbard's Hist. of New England, p. 156.), settled at Lynn, and died in 1687, leaving children Anne, John and Thomas (and possibly Samuel and William), probably all born in England, although they are not mentioned in the pas­senger list with their parents (there called Barcroft, as noted by Savage - Savage's Gen. Dict., I, 110.), but perhaps omitted on account of their youth, as they were probably born after 1627. His widow had a grant of land in Lynn in 1638, and afterward removed to Southampton, L. I., and thence to Connecticut. She died before 19 November, 1644, when we find Jonathan Stratton and Thomas Talmadge, Jr., of Southampton, petitioning for a settlement between them of the lot "which formerly was granted to Widdow Bancroft." (Southampton Court Records, extracted by J. M. Bancroft, or Bloomfield, N. J.) He has left a large and notable posterity, preeminent among whom may be noted the distinguished historian, Hubert Howe Bancroft.
      The complete identification of the emigrant depends on a volume of poetry published two years after his death, by a younger brother, Thomas Bancroft of Swarkeston (t Stephen Biog. Dict., III., 112), who, beside mention of his parents as then buried in that place, refers to his elder brother, John Bancroft, in these lines ("Two Bookes of Epigrammes and Epitaphs" (481), pp. 86, 4to, Lond., 1639): ­
      "You sold your land the lighter hence to go
      To foreign coasts, yet (Fate would have it so)
      Did ne'er New England reach, but went with them
      That journey toward New Jeruselem."
      In view of the proved facts, we may safely neglect the poetic license of the elegist, who makes his brother die upon the passage instead of shortly after his arrival on our shores.
      The identity of the Thomas Bancroft of Swarkeston, whose will was proved in 1621, with the father of the two brothers, is unmistakable. A careful examination of the Swarkeston Parish Register (which fortunately dates from 1604), and perhaps others in the neighborhood, will of course be necessary to absolutely prove some conjectured points, as well as to pro­vide cumulative proof regarding the emigrant, while an examination of the Derby Feet of Fines, for the sale of his patrimony, might also be in order in this connection.
      Probate of the Will of John Bancroft of Wolstanton, Co. Stafford, granted 8 February, 1546-7, to "Blanch Bancroft, the relict, and Thomas Rowley, the Executors named in the will. (Wolstanton lies in teh parish jurisdiction of newcastle-under-Lyne and Stoke-upon-Trentt and about twenty miles N.W. or Derby, around which all the other localties named in the wills cluster closely.)
      The above entry in the Act Books contains the earliest mention of the name in the Lichfield Consistory, and is the only record remaining, the will having perished. The Calendars show two earlier occurences, both Johns, in 1543 and 1545, but examination of the original wills shows them to be Bromcroft and Bonrose respectively, and evidently not at all of the family in question. The testator, as being the earliest known of the name, may be conjectured, with much reason, to be the prepositor of the whole Derbyshire and Staffordshire clan, from whom our American emigrant certainly sprung.
      Will of Rauffe Bancroft of Chellaston, Co. Derby, dated 21 Apri11557. To be buried in Church of Chellaston "nere my first wife." My mother shall have the land at Barrow. To my son Christopher land in Swarston and 6 spoones that were his mothers. To son Rauffe lease of Cottun held of mayster Bradshaw of Osmaston. (There are no less than five hamlets called Cotton in Staffordshire, the adjoining county, one of which is no doubt intended. Osmaston is near Derby, to the north­west.) My leases of the Peake Hoone Lays (,) Parsons piece, etc., held of mayster Rolston of Swarston. To churches of Bulton, Alvaston, Swarston, Barrow and Chellaston each 1s. and sheep. Legacies to Swarston and Taine Bridges in the more. Godsons: Ruaffe Bancroft, Rauffe Wandyll, Rauffe Potter and Ellen Wryght (sic). To each of the children of my sister Jane a lamb. Names Willm. Tickyll, Richd Hoone and John Knight. To daughter Margaret her mothers goods at Barowe. Servant Robert Norman. Father in law Christopher Wryght. Godson Rauffe Pymm. To daughter Agnes goods wch were my first wifes. Son William. My children all under 24. To dau. Marye pan that was her mothers. "My five children I had by my first wife. My gostly father Sr Thos. Gilbert." "Yf my wife be now with chylde." Wife Alice and son William Executors. Overseers: John Bancroft my brother, Richard Walleer, Willm Wandyll and Thos. Ryvett my brother-in-law. Witnesses: Sr John Gilbert, Curat, Jno. Bancroft, Richd: Walleer, Wm: Wandyll, Thos. Ryvett, Robt. Nowell and Wm: Tyckyll. Inventory taken 10 May 1557 byWm: Mayre, Tho: Haryngworthe, Richd. Forde and Tho: Stone; total £269-19-5. Proved at Lichfield 18 September 1557 by relict Alice, power reserved to William Bancroft the other Exor.
      Will of John Bancroft of Chellaston, Co. Derby, dated 11 May 1557. "My boys" under 21. To ___ my eldest son, the Hall I now dwell in. To ___ my second son, the overhouse. To ___ my third son, part of land in Swarston, he paying his fourth brother xv. Ii. To daughter Margett goods &c., if any other daur. by my wife the same. GodChildren: Mary Bancroft, Phylyp Wandyll and Ciceley Hodkynson. " Everyone of my sisters shall have a new xii. d." John Storer. Servant John Meakyn. My mayd Katheryn. My mother Bancroft shall have 2/. A Iamb to each of my sister Jane's children. To sisters in law Joyce Mee and Alice Harynworth a new vi. d. To father in law and mother in law the same. George Haryngworth and Christopher my brother in law. To brothers in law Robert Mayre, Richard Walker and William Wandyll goods &c. To sisters in law Agnes Haryngworth and Alyce Bancroft vi. d. each. Master Rolston of Swarston, Roger Bryddon of Derby. To each of the children of my brother in law Wm: Wandyll and of my sister Alderman a lamb. To John Pereson Sen. and Jr. clothing. Wife Margaret and son Ralph Executors. Overseers: Richd. Walker, Wm: Wandyll, Richd: Haryngworth and Thomas Haryrgworth my brother in law. Witnesses: Sr Thos. Gilbert, Curat, Ric Walker, Wm: Wandell, Henry Storer, and Riohd: Haryngworth. Inventory taken 18 September 1557 by Thos. Haryngworth, Thos: Stone, Nicholas Peerson and Wm: Roberts; total £150-9-0. Proved at Lichfield 24 January 1557 by relict Margaret, power reserved for son Ralph, the other Excr.
      Admon. of William Bancroft of Chellaston, Co. Derby, granted at Lich­field 22 Apri1 1611 to Ralph Bancroft, the brother, for the tuition of Catherine, Thomas, Margaret and Mary, the children of the deceased, minors. Inventory taken 20 May 1611 by John Olyver, Willm More, Willm Smyeth & Roger Meare; total £125-16-2, exhibited at Derby 8 November 1611.
      Will of Thomas Bancroft of Swarston alias Swarkeston, Co. Derby, yeoman, dated 18 October 1626. To be buried in the Church of Swarkeston. To my Wife Rebecca. £4: yearly out of land in Swarston. To Ralph Ban­croft, my second son, house in Swarston now occupied by my eldest son John Bancroft. To Thomas Bancroft, my third son, 40/ yearly. To Katherine Bancroft, my kinswoman, 30/. To Margaret Bancroft, sister of the said Katherine. Thomas Byard, my apprentice servant. Alexander Arnefield, my servant. To every grandchild I have one ewe. Residue to my five children, John, Ralph, Thomas, Dorothy and Elizabeth. Executors: John Bancroft, my son, and John Erington, my son in lawe. Overseers: Robert Gilbert, of Barrow, my neighbor, and Thomas Senior, my son in law. Witnesses: John Bould, Thomas Pomfret, Ralphe Bancrofte and Thos: Senior. Inventory taken 19 October 2 Chas. I., by Roger Gilbert, John Joyner, Thos: BouId and Richd: Shepardd; total £275-17-2. Proved at Lichfield 11 October 1627 by John Bancroft the son, power reserved for John Errington, the other Exor.
      Will of Thomas Bancroft of Chellaston, County Derby, yeoman, dated 16 March 1628. My son William Bancroft, under 21. To Dorothy my wife messuage farm &c in Chellaston and she Executrix (afterward called "my now wife"). (As this Dorothy seems certainly to have been daughter of James Forman, the fol­lowing entry in the Lincoln Marriage Licenses is probably only a coincidence:­1602-3, March 1 - Thos Bancrofte & Dorothy Burton. (St. Mich.)." although she may have been a widow at the time.) Daughter Elizabeth Bancroft, under 21. The children of James Farman. To Margaret Bancroft; 2/, and to Catherine Bancroft the same. Overseers; James Forman (sic) my loving father in law, and Thos: Hollingworth, my loving unkle (A curious and suggestive entry is found in the following marriage license in the Vicar General's office, at London, half a century later:- - "1676, Sep. 26 - Robert Barcroft, of Westminster, Midx., Gent., Bach'r, abt 35, & Mrs Mary Hollingworth, of St. Sepulchre's, London. Spr, abt 21; consent of mother Mrs. Eliza­beth Hollingworth, of'same, Widow; at St. George's, Southwark, or Knightsbridge or Marybone, Midx."). Witnesses: Roger Allestrge (sic; probably Allestry, a well known Derbyshire family name, is intended), James Wildess and Richard Cartwright. Inventory (no date) taken by Richd: Whingates, William Soor and Richd: Farman; total £85-8-4. Proved at Lichfield 24 July 1629 by the Extrx. named.
      The above extracts cover all wills in the Lichfield Consistory, prior to the Commonwealth, which I can with certainty identify with the family of the Emigrant at this time. From the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, however, I obtain the following additional evidence:
      Will of William Bancrofte of Chelllston, Co. Derby, yeoman, dated 21 June 1649. I commit mybody to be buried in the church or church-yard of the parish where I shall end my nat: life. I bequeath unto my sister Katherine Newton, 60 li. To my two uncles William Farman and John Farman, 15 Ii. apiece. I give to my aunt Elizabeth Farman, 15 Ii. To my aunt Ellen, being the wife of John Farman, 15 Ii. I bequeath to Thomas Forman (sic), son of my aunt Elizabeth, 10 Ii. To Frances Farmer, daughter of John Farmer, 10 Ii. I give to the two eldest children of Wil­liam Farman, my uncle, which are now living, to either of them, 10 Ii. I give to my aunt Katherine 10 Ii., provided that if she shall in any wise sue or molest my executors concerning any part of my lands and Tene­ments, then I give her only 10s. Item, to each one of the children of William Pickering of Chellaston, 20s. I give to the four children of my father-in-law, Gilbert Newton, 20 li. I give to Anne Orme of Chellaston, 20s. To my uncle George Farman and my father-in-law, Gilbert Newton, to their only proper use and behoof, all my lands and tenements in Chellas­ton, in consideration that they be my executors, and pay my debts and legacies out of the same. Overseers: my friends James Wildes and Rich­ard Domelawe. I give my cousin Thomas Bancroftes children of Brad­ley, 10 Ii. equally amongst them.(signed) Wm. BancroftE.
      Witnesses: Tho. Lightwood; William WIllis; Elizabeth Forman; Ellen Forman; Thomas Forman. Proved 8 June 1650 by George Farmer and Gilbert Newton, the executors named. (P. C. C. Pembroke, 89.)
      The above will is of especial interest as showing that Thomas Bancroft the Poet, brother of the Emigrant, was already residing at Bradley so early as 1649, and that he was then married and had issue.
      In the next number of these Gleanings, I shall submit the pedigree de­duced from all.
      The search of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, which was promised for this number of these Gleanings, in completion of the testamentary evi­dences on the Bancrofts to the Commonwealth period, has proved most dis­appointing, for, while a large number of wills and admons. were found, none have been received which fit certainly into the direct ancestry of the emigrant, John Bancroft, although both here and in the Lichfield Court there are many which throw light on the collateral branches. The following Admon. seems to be that of Ralph, presumably the eldest son of John and Margaret (Hollingsworth) Bancroft of Chellaston, and while hIs loca­tion is somewhat remote, it is by no means impossible, and the absence of the name in that neighborhood before that time (In Calendars of Exchequer Court York, 1389-1619) adds to the probability that he was a Derbyshire man who had crossed the border.
      Admon. of Ralph Bancroft of South Cave, Co. Yorks, deceased intestate, granted 12 February 1616 to Alice Bancroft, widow, the relict, to administer the goods, credits, etc. P. C. C. Adm. Act Bk 105.
      A word may be in order in this connection as to the construction of the tentative pedigree which follows. It is absolutely certain that Thomas Ban­croft of Swarkeston, father of our emigrant, was the grand-son of John and Margaret (Hollingsworth) Bancroft of Chellaston - the wills leave no pos­sible doubt on this point, but they do leave us in uncertainty as to which of the four sons of John was his parent; but of these we may dismiss William of Chellaston, who died intestate in 1611, as his son Thomas, then under age (See his tuition, on page 86, ante.), could not have been a grandfather at the making of his will fifteen years after! Thomas of Chellaston, whose will we have in 1629, may be also dismissed, as he left an only son William, who died without issue be­fore 1650. This reduces us to Ralph and the unknown fourth son, and as I believe the latter to have died long before, and unmarried, it narrows the probability to Ralph (of South Cave?), to whom (by his wife Alice?) I have ventured to attribute the descent, subject to correction by future discoveries. It is greatly to be desired that the parish registers involved, all of which, with the exception of Barrow, go far back enough to serve our purpose (Viz: Chellaston 1570, Bradley 1579, Swarkeston 16O4, So. Cave 1558, and Barrow 1735), should be examined, but this of course falls outside the province of these Gleanings.The wills of the comigerous families of Hollingsworth, Wright, Ryvett, Forman, Alderman, and others, would also add much to our know­ledge of this interesting family.
      The pedigree follows:
      [Pedigree formulated from the research work of J. Henry Lea, Esq., in the English probate records (note he indicates additional work should be done to look at the parish records - something he had not done - to confirm this proposed pedigree).]
      1. ___ Bancroft, of Chellaston, Barrow, or Swarkeston, Co. Derby? Md. ___ ___, relict, living in 1557 and legatee of lands in Barrow by will of her son Ralph, of Chellaston, Derby, dated 21 Apr 1557.
      2. Ralph Bancroft of Chellaston, co. Derby; will dated 21 Apr, probated 13 Sep 1557; bur. at Chellaston: md. (2) Alice (dau. of Christopher Wright; liv. and ex., 1557). First wife, dec'd before 1557 and bur. at Chellaston.
      2. Jane and other daus. (2 or 3), who married Thos. Ryvett, Wm. Wandyll, and ___ Alderman.
      2. John Bancroft, of Chellaston; son of above, married Margaret Hollingsworth (or Haryngworth); will dated May 11, 1556; proved at Lichfield, 24 Jan 1557, and inventoried 18 Sep 1557. Will refers to "my boys under 21. To my oldest son (Ralph) the Hall I now dwell in; to my second son the over house; to my third son part of the land in Swarston (Swarkeston), he paying his fourth brother xv li."
      3. Ralph Bancroft, liv. 1611, and admr. of his bro. William (Qu. - if of So. Cave, Yorks., and adm. 12 Feb 1616, to relict Alice.); md. Alice ___. By process of elimination, most likely candidate for father of Thomas Bancroft (see Henry Lea's rationale for this).
      4. Thomas Bancroft of Swarkeston, yeoman; will dated 13 Oct 1626; probated at Lichfield 11 Oct 1627; bur. at Swarkeston; md. Rebecca ___, liv. 1627, but bur. at Swarkeston before 1639.
      5. John Bancroft, eldest son, was of Swarkeston 1627; come to NE. in the "James," 12 Apr 1632; d. 1637; md. Jane ___, widow and had grant of 100 ac. of land in 1638, removed to Southhampton, L.I., and after to Windsor, Ct., was dec'd in 1644 when her land was divided between Jona. Stratton and Thos. Talmadge, Jr.; she had prob. mar. a second time.
      6. Anne Bancroft, m. 13 May 1647 to John Griffin of Windsor, CT.
      6. John Bancroft of Windsor, CT; md. 3 Dec 1650 Hannah Dupper; she md. 2d to John Ludlam.
      6. Thomas Bancroft of Enfield, CT.
      6. Samuel Bancroft. (According to Hinman.)
      6. William Bancroft. (According to Hinman.)
      5. Ralph Bancroft, second son; legatee of lands in Swarkeston, in 1627. The other Thomas who was born 1621 and died 1691 in Lynn, Mass., may have been the son of this Ralph.
      5. Thomas Bancroft, 3rd son; poet, author in 1639; of Bradley, near Ashbourne, Derby, 1649-1658; had issue.
      5. Dorothy. (Two daughters who married to John Errignton and Thomas Senior, but unsure as which daughter married which of the two men.)
      5. Elizabeth. (Two daughters who married to John Errignton and Thomas Senior, but unsure as which daughter married which of the two men.)
      3. William Bancroft of Chellaston, d. 1611; adm. 12 Apr to bro. Ralph; bur. 20 May 1611; wife's name unknown but dec'd before 1611.
      4. Thomas Bancroft, a minor in 1611.
      4. Catherine.
      4. Margaret.
      4. Mary.
      3. Thomas Bancroft of Chellaston, yeoman; will dated 16 mar 1628; probated 24 Jul 1629; wife is Dorothy, dau. of James Forman.
      4. William Bancroft, of Chellaston, yeoman; will dated 21 Jun 1649, probated 8 Jun 1650; no issue (Pembroke, 89.); md. dau. of Gilbert Newton.
      4. Elizabeth.
      4. Margaret.
      4. Catherine, md. ___ Newton.
      3. ___ Bancroft, a son; name unknown; liv. 1557.
      3. Margrett Bancroft, only daughter, liv. 1557.

      3. From the Internet 29 Dec 2007 <http://www.geocities.com/heartland/estates/9785/tag1.html> of the Souther Family Association provides the following alternate viewpoint which unlinks John Bancroft the Emigrant with Thomas Bancroft the poet. Thomas' poem leaves room for interpretation subject to whether the poet took poetic license as to when John died:
      "Bancroft Addenda, with Sowther and Gilbert Notes, by John G. Hunt, B.S.C., Arlington, Virginia. This page was last updated on October 6, 2004.
      The following article is taken from: The American Genealogist, Volume 42, Number 4, pp. 210-116:
      In 1961 Dr. George E. McCracken (TAG, supra, 37; 154-160) developed these facts concerning Bancrofts of early New England;
      i. Thomas Bancroft, eminent poet, native of Swarkestone, Derbyshire, was alive at Bradley in that shire as late as 1658. His brothers were Ralph and John Bancroft, the latter of whom sold his land preparatory to removing to New England but died before 1639 prior to arriving in the New World; see evidence below.
      ii. To be distinguished from the said John Bancroft, a certain John Barcroft, with wife Jane, was of Boston, Massachusetts in 1633; not known to have had any Children, nor is there record in America of this couple after 1633.
      iii. The Widow Bancroft of Lynn, Massachusetts, 1638, was likely in 1644 of Southampton, New York; there is no evidence that her name was Jane, as has sometimes been supposed, doubtless in confusion with Jane Barcroft, above. The widow possibly had daughters that married John Stratton and Thomas Talmage, Jr., two early settlers of Long Island.
      iv. The said Widow Bancroft may have had sons John and Thomas Bancroft who were living in the Connecticut valley in the 1640's and 1650's; their sister seems to have been Anne or Hannah who married Sgt. John Griffin at Windsor, Connecticut, in 1647.
      v. In records of Dedham, Massachusetts of the year 1647, appears the name of Thomas Bancroft, then aged about 22 years; although he later removed to Lynn, there is no good reason to think him akin to the Widow Bancroft. His name, however and that of his son Ralph, conform to the theory that he was somehow related to the aforesaid poet, Thomas Bancroft.
      Much of the material that Dr. McCracken reviewed had been gathered some sixty years earlier by J. Henry Lea who summarized his findings in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 56:84-87, 196 f. Most curiously, however, Mr. Lea seems to have neglected to consult the will of John Bancroft of Kings Newton, in the parish of Melbourne, Derbyshire, dated 5 Jan 1634/5 and proved 12 May following by his relict Anne (PCC 55 Sadler). Asking to be buried in the parish church of Melburne, the testator left his goods to wife Anne for life, stipulating that she should divide equally between the children, with the elder son John getting the usual double share and the other six children one share each, they not named but two of the seven children are minor sons and perhaps not yet apprenticed. And if any things shall happen to be doubtful concerning my meaning, ... "or that my wyfe shall happen to remoue from the place where shee now dwelleth it is my mynd and will that my Ouerseers hereafter named or any two of them shall expound the said doubt and it shalbe at my said wiues pleasure to remoue and dwell wth my children where shee pleaseth pvided that shee do yt by the consent of my said ouseers or any two of them." As will be seen below, this implication of a possible moved elsewhere may be significant of plans laid before the final illness of the testator. Overseers were Henry Beighton of Ticknail, Nathaniel Sowther of Derby and John Ratcliffe of Kings Newton; witnesses were Nathaniel Sowther, Thomas Grimbold and Robte Draper [he by mark]. Sowther may have served as scrivener for the will, on which point see below.
      As shown by Dr. McCracken, Mr. Lea made some wrong assumptions, the worst of which was that John Bancroft, the poet's brother, actually arrived in New England, dying soon afterwards. Both Meredith B. Colket, Jr. and Dr. McCracken reject this assumption, and with reason, for in memory of John Bancroft, his brother, are these words of the poet Thomas Bancroft, printed in 1639, and reprinted by John Nichols, History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, (London 1804), vol. 3, pt. 2, p. *886 [sic, not 886].
      You sold your land, the lightlier hence to go To foreign coasts; yet (Fates would have it so) Did ne'er New England reach, but went with them That journey towards New Jerusalem.
      The question therefore now arises as to whether John Bancroft of Kings Newton, whose will we have abstracted, can have been brother to the poet, Thomas Bancroft. It must be noted that Kings Newton adjoins Swarkeston, the two being separated only by the River Trent. Moreover, the fact that the testator stipulated burial in the church seems to link him with the family of Bancroft long seated at Chellaston and Swarkeston, who in several wills abstracted by Mr. Lea, had also specified burial in their church, a privilege reserved for few persons. What seems much more meaningful, however, is the fact that Nathaniel Sowther of Derby, seemingly closest friend to the deceased John Bancroft, removed - almost immediately after Bancroft's death - to New England, where in 1636 he was given the position of Secretary to the colony of Plymouth. That Secretary Sowther of Plymouth was the Sowther of John Bancroft's will will be readily apparent from a comparison of the sign manual or cipher appended to his signature as witness to the Bancroft will with a similar signature to a 1653 deed of John and Martha Cogan of Boston where Sowther was then Notary Public. This deed is preserved in the Massachusetts Historical Society which kindly permits our reproduction of the part containing the signature.
      [Images of Signatures, not available here.]
      [In an appendix hereto we add notes concerning Sowther.]
      Considering the foregoing facts, we are entitled to think it possible that Sowther, as closest friend to John Bancroft, may have carried the latter's family to the New World in 1636 or that he may have been the instrument who made possible their removal to New England around that time. We know from the poet that his elder brother, John, who lived in any case in the immediate neighborhood of Kings Newton, had died before 1639, having planned removal to New England. It seems rather likely that it was the John Bancroft of Swarkeston who sold his lands, say in 1633, and removed to the hamlet across the river, dying there at Kings Newton before he could complete his plans to migrate from England.
      There are bits of evidence that conform to our reconstruction of the Bancroft story. In the first place, each of the three children attributed to the Widow Bancroft in Connecticut, had a daughter Anne or Hannah and a son Nathaniel. The girls' names easily could honor, the relict of John Bancroft of Kings Newton, their supposed grandmother, while the name Nathaniel could easily have been meant to honor Sowther, their supposed benefactor.
      Significantly, also, it is to be noted that Thomas Talmage, Jr., of Long Island, in 1644 named one of his sons Nathaniel (a name not earlier found in this family). Moreover, Talmage had a daughter Hannah or Anna. His position as secretary or recorder at Easthampton, L.I., ties in nicely with that of Nathaniel Sowther, who was, if we are right, benefactor of Talmage's supposed wife's family (see Arthur White Talmage, Talmage Genealogy, [1909], pp. 23 f.).
      In addition, we cite a Suffolk County, Massachusetts deed of 22d da. 9th mo. 1648 (Lib. 1, ff 96), which states: Mr. Robt Saltonstall of Boston (granted) to Mr. Nicholas Davison of Charlston his dwelling house in Windsor uppon Connecticut formerly the possession of ffrancis Stiles of Windsor, and now or late in the occupation of Tho. Gilbert and John Banckraft.
      That Gilbert and Bancroft occupied the same house could mean little, but when in Mr. Lea's cited paper we read of acquaintance between the Bancrofts of Chellaston and Swarkeston and the Gilberts of Barrow, which adjoins Swarkeston, we may commence to think that Bancroft of the Connecticut Valley in 1648 was quite possibly from the same part of England as Thomas Gilbert, and that their forefathers can have been acquainted. This, then, is a clue that the Connecticut valley Bancrofts and Gilberts may have come from Swarkeston or vicinity. Hand in glove with the foregoing facts is the comparable relationship that seems to have existed between Nathaniel Sowther and the Bancroft family on the one hand and between Elder William Brewster of Plymouth and Sowther, on the other.
      It appears obvious that the ruling elder's influence may have accounted for the immediate appointment of Sowther, a newcomer, as Secretary of Plymouth Colony in 1636. For the elder's son Jonathan had in 1624 married Lucretia Oldham of Derby, who must have known Sowther in that city, where he plainly seems to have been a scrivener. Indeed, it is not at all farfetched to think that Lucretia may have been closely akin to Sowther for here mother seems to have been that Philippa Sowther (daughter of John), who was baptized in the parish of All Saints, Derby, 6 July 1568 in which parish she married 17 November 1588 William Ouldham, known to have been the father of Lucretia, aforesaid (see New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 111:242 and the manuscript parish registers of All Saints, Derby).
      At the time of Sowther's arrival at Plymouth in 1636, Jonathan Brewster was occupying an important trading post for Plymouth on the then remote Connecticut River; see George F. Willison, Saints and Strangers, 1945 edition, pp. 296, 302; p. 347 in paperback edition (1965), which is neither a reprint nor condensation of the 1945 but a revision of it, by the author himself.
      It is not to be thought that Sowther's wife (whom he had married in 1613 at Derby) would have relished the continual shepherding of the Bancroft widow and her seven children, by her busy husband. So that even if Widow Bancroft came to Plymouth, where she has not been found recorded, it is likely that she may have removed not long afterwards. Connecticut was in 1636 too unstable for a widow with Children; Lynn appears to have been first stopping place and when many of that town removed to Long Island before 1650, the widow Bancroft may well have gone with them, Connecticut still not being thought too secure. Yet it is likely that some of her children found homes along the River Connecticut, perhaps through the influence of Sowtherand his kinsfolk, the BREWSTERs The trade of young John Bancroft of Windsor, a ferryman, suggests the fondness that his supposed uncle, the poet Thomas Bancroft, had for the River Trent. We give this extract from the poet's words (Nichols, loc. cit.):
      To Trent
      Sweet River, on whose flowery margin laid I with the slippery fish have often play'd At fast and loose. . .
      Bancroft descendants will perhaps wish to read what the poet said of his own parents "buried near together in Swarston church" (Nichols, ibid.):
      Here lies a pair of peerless friends Whose goodness (like a precious chain) Adorn'd their souls in lives and ends; Whom when Detraction's self would stain She drops her tears instead of gall And helps to mourn their funeral.
      In tracing back the Sowther family at Derby, we find that John Sowter occurs 6 January 1498 in an extract from the court roll of the manor of Belper (Beau Repaire), Derbyshire, at Duffield, re 1 acre at Stanley (some five miles northeast of Derby - Derbyshire Charters, p. 37, no. 288). It was perhaps his son and namesake who served as churchwarden of the parish of All Saints, Derby, between 1535 and 1545 (History of the Parish of All Saints, Derby). About 1547 and again about 1554, John Sowter of Derby, plumber, and Agnes his wife, daughter of Thomas Fynymore, deceased, claimed property at Hanbury, Staffordshire, against Elizabeth Stafford and Alice her daughter, wife of John Greenwaye (Public Records Office, Lists and Indexes, 54:163; 55:95).
      Perhaps a son of John and Agnes was that John SOWTER whose Children, baptized at All Saints, included:
      Thomas Sowter, baptized April 1567 Philippa Sowter, baptized 6 July 1568, married at age 20 to William Ouldham(probably the man of that name buried at All Saints, Derby, 26 June 1636). Their daughter Lucretia, baptized 1600, married 1624 in New England (New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 111:242).
      The aforesaid Thomas Sowter may well have been father of Nathaniel Sowther or Sowter of Derby, who deposed 19 October 1654 aged about 62 (Suffolk County, Massachusetts Deeds 2:85), so was born circa 1592. He married at St. Peter's, Derby, 28 March 1613, Alice Devonport. In 1634 Nathaniel Sowther was appointed overseer of the will of John Bancroft, signed the will as a witness (see above) and possibly was the scrivener who wrote out the text of the will. In 1653 he also signed as witness the Cogan deed and there are clear resemblances at least in some words between the handwriting of the Bancroft will and the Cogan deed and whatever differences are visible may obviously be the result of the natural changes in the handwriting of any man in a period of nineteen years or the conditions surrounding the production of the document.
      For the subsequent history of Nathaniel Sowther in New England, see the fine article by Mrs. John E. Barclay which follows immediately. Now, however, there remains to be presented additional information tending to show the connection between Connecticut Gilberts and the part of Old England whence came, supposedly, our Connecticut Bancrofts.
      Thomas Gilbert, named above as at Windsor, Connecticut in 1648, had sons Jonathan and Josiah who were styled kinsmen by the Widow Katharine (relict of John) Harrison of Wethersfield, Connecticut, at the time of her extended trial as a witch (Homer W. Brainard, Harold S. Gilbert and Clarence A. Torrey, The Gilbert Family, (1954), 5 f..; Henry R. Stiles, History of Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1:276, 2:416). During the trial she testified in 1670 that she had been in Connecticut nineteen years, coming directly from England (R. E. Dale, Boston Evening Transcript, 11 July 1934).
      Earlier in the proceedings against Widow Harrison, Elizabeth, wife of Simon Smith of Thirty Miles Island testified in 1668 that "Katharine was ... one that told fortunes ... and also would oft speak and boast of her great familiarity with Mr. Lilly, one that told fortunes and foretold many matters that in future times were to be accomplished" (John M. Taylor, The Witchcraft Dulusion in Colonial Connecticut, (New York, 1908), p. 56. In responding to the accusation, the widow cited as witnesses, among others, both Jonathan and Josiah Gilbert - it seems clear that she was related to them.
      Who was the Mr. Lilly named by the widow's accuser? According to the Dictionary of National Biography, William Lilly (1602-1681), noted astrologer and fortune teller was born at Diseworth, Leics. In 1620, when 18 years of age, after being educated in a school at Ashby de la Zouch near Diseworth, he removed to London where his chequered career brought him into correspondence with the King of Sweden and friendship with Elias Ashmole, the famed antiquarian and astrologer.
      We doubt that Katharine, widow Harrison, personally knew Mr. Lilly; her first daughter Rebecca was born at Wethersfield in 1654 and it would seem that Katharine herself was not born much before 1624, if that early; yet we think it quite possible that either her husband or her kinfolk had known Lilly as a youth before Lilly left his native shire. Diseworth, his birthplace, lies about six miles from Barrow on Trent, adjoining Swarkeston, which could very well be the parish where the Gilberts of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield originated. Two men named John Harrison were testators in the early 1600's, both of Bredon (close to both Barrow and Diseworth (see British Record Society, Index to Leicestershire Wills, Vols. 27, 51).
      Too, it must be recalled that Thomas Bancroft of Swarkeston, father of the poet, in his will in 1626, named as overseer his neighbor, Roger Gilbert of Barrow, where the Gilberts had long flourished (see New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 56: 84-87; The Genealogist, n.s., 7:138-140). The original will of Elizabeth Gilbert, spinster, late of Barrow, dated 20 March 1614 (nuncupative), now in the Public Library, Lichfield, Staffordshire, tells us that her grandsire was William Gilbert, father of her uncle Roger Gilbert whose children she named as John, Elizabeth, Francis, William, Sarah and Anne. There is even a remote chance that the latter, Anne, may have been the wife of John Bancroft who died a resident of Melbourne. Note also that Thomas Gilbert married Anne Ward, 26 June 1611, at Swarkeston.
      [Editor's Note: We are happy to print Mr. Hunt's interesting speculation concerning the Bancroft origin. The newly discovered will is important and the onomastic arguments and chronology fit nicely, but it is a bit strange that the Widow Bancroft shows up first at Lynn and not at Plymouth wit the SowtherS.]
      Richard Dennis Souther, Souther Family Association. Copyright © 1998 - 2007 - Richard Dennis Souther."