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IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SUMMARY OF MY SOUTHMAYD FAMILY, GO here FOR MY AUNT CHARLOTTE'S FAMILY TREE OUTLINE.

SOUTHMAYD FAMILY GENEALOGY FORUM. CHECK OUT MESSAGES ON FAMILY. Click he re

SOUTHMEADE 1620 VISITATION OF DEVON CHART BY THOMAS COLBY (PDF FILE), ANNOTATED TO ADD WILLIAM THE AMERICAN COLONIST AND HIS FATHER, WILLIAM. CLICK here. VIVIAN'S VISITATION CHART FOR DEVON SHOWS THE SOUTHMEAD OWNERSHIP OF WRAY BARTON UNTIL IT ENDED WITH THE DEATH OF THE LAST MALE HEIR, JOHN ROWE SOUTHMEADE, IN 1839, AN UNINTERRUPTED PERIOD OF ALMOST 400 YEARS DURING THE REIGNS OF HENRY VI (1422-1471) THROUGH QUEEN VICTORIA (1837-1901). FOR THE PDF FILE, GO here.

THE SOUTHMEADE MANOR OF WRAY IN DEVON COUNTY FIRST APPEARS IN THE DOMESDAY SURVEY OF 1086, BEING HELD BY GODWIN. CLICK here FOR A PDF FILE ON THE DOMESDAY ENTRY. MORE ON THE MANOR OF WRAY AT THE TIME OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY CAN BE FOUND AT THE MHS WEB SITE here. THE NEXT RECORD OF THE MANOR WAS A TRANSFER FROM INGELRAM DE BRAY AND HIS WIFE, BEATRICE, TO RALPH DE CHEUERTON IN 1249 AS PART OF A LITIGATION CLAIM. CLICK here FOR THE PDF FILE RECORD ON THIS TRANSFER. THIS IS THE POINT AT WHICH THE 1620 VISITATION CHART SHOWS THE OWNERSHIP OF WRAY. THE SOUTHMEADE FAMILY ACQUIRED WRAY THOUGH THE MARRIAGE OF THOMAS SOUTHMEAD AND ALICE CORSETT CIRCA 1450. FOR A PDF FILE ON THE ACQUISITION OF ARMS AND THE ACQUISITION OF WRAY BARTON, GO here. CLICK here FOR A PICTURE OF THE WRAY MANOR HOUSE TAKEN IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. FOR A MAP SHOWING THE LOCATION OF WRAY BARTON OUTSIDE MORETONHAMPSTEAD, GO here.

THE SOUTHMEADE FAMILY ACQUIRED HERALDRY ARMS THROUGH THE MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM SOUTHMEADE AND JOANE CHARLES CIRCA 1500. BY THIS MARRIAGE, WILLIAM INHERITED THE CHARLES COAT OF ARMS THROUGH JOANE AS THE SOLE HEIR OF HER FATHER, JOHN CHARLES OF MORETON. CLICK here FOR A PDF FILE WITH INFORMATION ON HERALDRY. WILLIAM PAID TAXES IN 1526 AND 1543 WHILE IN POSSESSION OF WRAY. CLICK here FOR A PDF TAX RECORD.

AS TO WHERE THE SOUTHMEADE'S RESIDED PRIOR TO THE MARRIAGE OF THOMAS SOUTHMEADE TO ALICE CORSETT, THERE IS NO CERTAINTY. HOWEVER, IN THE EARLY 15TH CENTURY THERE WAS A SOUTHMEAD MANOR NEAR BRISTOL AND WALTER SOUTHMEDE IS RECORDED AS A FEOFFEE OF THE LANDS OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH IN BRISTOL. GO here FOR PDF INFORMATION ON WALTER SOUTHMEDE AND A COPY OF THE CHURCH DEED LISTING HIM. WAS WALTER SOUTHMEDE RELATED TO SIMON SOUTHMEDE OF NEARBY GLOUCESTER WHO SERVED AS A TRUSTEE IN TWO ESTATE INQUISITIONS IN 1400 AND 1403 INVOLVING THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER AND THE EARL OF STAFFORD? GO here FOR THE RECORD.

JOHN SOUTHMEADE OF WRAY, GENTLEMAN, WAS THE UNCLE OF WILLIAM SOUTHMEAD THE COLONIST AND THE OLDER BROTHER OF THE COLONIST'S FATHER, WILLIAM SOUTHMEAD. UNCLE JOHN DIED IN 1651 AND LEFT A WILL. WILLIAM THE COLONIST IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE BEQUESTS, PROBABLY DUE TO THE FACT HE PRE-DECEASED HIS UNCLE (1647). HOWEVER, ALL OF HIS SIBLINGS, SAVE YOUNGER BROTHER DANIEL SOUTHMEAD WHO ALSO PRE-DECEASED UNCLE JOHN, ARE MENTIONED THEREIN, AS ARE THE COLONIST'S AUNTS (NOT ALL OF UNCLE JOHN'S CHILDREN ARE MENTIONED IN HIS WILL EITHER). Click here.

UNCLE JOHN WAS A STAUNCH PURITAN NONCONFORMIST WHO WANTED TO MAKE MORETON A "GODLY TOWN ON THE HILL" (CLICK here FOR A PICTURE) AND WHO PURCHASED THE ADVOWSON AT ST. ANDREWS CHURCH IN MORETONHAMPSTEAD, DEVON , AND PUT HIS PURITAN SON-IN-LAW, FRANCIS WHIDDON (WHO MARRIED HIS DAUGHTER ANN), IN THE PULPIT. ON REV. WHIDDON'S DEATH, THE CHURCH PLACED A PLAQUE ON THE WALL, KNOWN AS THE WHIDDON MEMORIAL, WHICH ALSO ACKNOWLEDGES UNCLE JOHN. CLICK here TO VIEW IT AND here TO SEE PICTURES OF MORETONHAMPSTEAD WITH ST. ANDREWS CHURCH IN THE BACKGROUND. DURING UNCLE JOHN'S TENURE AS THE PURITAN LEADER IN MORETON, HE HAD THE ALMSHOUSE RENOVATED. IT WAS BUILT TO CARE FOR THE ILL AND POOR ON THE AREA. CLICK here TO VIEW IT AND here TO VIEW THE ARCHWAY STONE MEMORIALIZING THE DATE OF THE RENOVATION OF THE STRUCTURE.

UNCLE JOHN'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, AND WILLIAM THE COLONIST'S G-G-GRANDFATHER, WILLIAM SOUTHMEADE, DIED IN 1551 AND HIS ESTATE WAS SETTLED PURSUANT TO AN INQUISITION POST MORTEM BY THE CROWN. CLICK here TO VIEW THE ORDER FOR THE IPM AND here TO READ THE RESULT. THIS WILLIAM SOUTHMEADE WAS THE SON OF THOMAS SOUTHMEADE WHO ACQUIRED WRAY BARTON THROUGH MARRIAGE TO ALICE CORSETT CIRCA 1450. IT IS UNCLEAR WHAT THE REFERENCE TO "HELD OF THE HEIRS OF WILLIAM CARY, DECEASED" MEANS SINCE WRAY WAS HELD, ACCORDING TO THE VISITATION, PURSUANT TO THE MARRIAGE OF THOMAS TO ALICE.

THE MORETONHAMPSTEAD PARISH REGISTER IS FULL OF SOUTHMEAD ENTRIES FROM 1600 THROUGH THE DATE WILLIAM THE COLONIST LEFT FOR MASSACHUSETTS. CLICK here TO SEE A LIST OF FAMILY ENTRIES. THE MORETONHAMPSTEAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY HAS SEVERAL PAGES ON THE SOUTHMEADE FAMILY ON THEIR WEB SITE, SUCH AS here. THE WEB SITE FOR THE MORETONHAMPSTEAD WEB SITE IS here.

WHO IS HUGH SOUTHMEADE WHO DIED "OVERSEAS" IN 1609, AND WHO WAS ROBERT SOUTHMEADE TO WHOM HUGH'S ESTATE WAS GIVEN BY THE PCC AS HIS NEXT OF KIN? SEE PCC ENTRIES here AND THE HANDWRITTEN ENTRY here. THERE MUST BE A FAMILY CONNECTION.

THERE ARE NO RECORDS OF WHEN AND HOW WILLIAM "THE COLONIST" SOUTHMEADE CAME TO CAPE ANN, MASSACUSETTS. FILBY AND BANKS RECORD THAT HE CAME FROM DEVONSHIRE BETWEEN 1620 AND 1650. IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT HE IMMIGRATED IN 1640 AFTER HIS FATHER'S DEATH IN DEVON COUNTY IN THE SPRING OF 1640. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN 33 YEARS OLD IN 1640. HIS FATHER'S BURIAL ENTRY IN THE MORETONHAMPSTEAD PARISH REGISTER REFERED TO "WILLIAM SOUTHMEAD, SENIOR" WHICH WOULD LEAD TO THE CONCLUSION THAT WILLIAM JR. (THE COLONIST) WAS STILL LIVING IN MORETON AT THAT TIME. HOWEVER, IN 1630, WHEN THE COLONIST WAS 23, THERE WAS A FAMOUS VOYAGE BY THE MARY AND JOHN FROM PLYMOUTH, DEVON COUNTY, TO MASSACHUSETTS. IT WAS ORGANIZED BY REVEREND JOHN WHITE, A WELL KNOWN PURITAN PREACHER IN DORECESTER, ENGLAND, AND A PURITAN CONTEMPORARY OF UNCLE JOHN. THE PASSANGERS WERE PREDOMINANTLY DEVONIAN PURITANS, INCLUDING YOUNG, PURITAN MALES WHO WERE SEEKING ADVENTURE AND A NEW LIFE IN MASSACHUSETTS. AMONG THOSE ON THE VOYAGE WERE GAYLORDS AND FORDS, FAMILLIES INTO WHICH SOUTHMEADE'S MARRIED. THE PASSAGER LIST FOR THE MARY AND JOHN HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND. HOWEVER, IT HAS BEEN PARTIALLY RECONSTRUCTED FROM A FEW LETTERS, WRITTEN BY PASSRNGERS, WHICH HAVE SURVIVED. FOR A NARRATIVE ON THE MARY AND JOHN, AND LISTINGS OF SEVERAL PASSENGERS IDENTIFIED AS "WILLIAM" FROM DEVON, GO here. MORE ON THIS BELOW.

WILLIAM (THE COLONIST) SOUTHMAYD DEED RECORDS FOR SALEM, MA 1642-1647. PAGE 1 here. PAGE 2 here. PAGE 3 here. WILLIAM SOUTHMAYD LIVED ON A LOT LOCATED ON THE HARBOR IN GLOUCESTER, WHICH WAS GIVEN TO HIM BY JOHN ENDICOTT, THE LT. GOVERNOR OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY AND A PURITAN FROM DEVON COUNTY WHO UNDOUBTEDLY KNEW UNCLE JOHN. FOR A MAP, CLICK here. IT IS NOT CLEAR WHEN WILLIAM CAME TO CAPE ANN/GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. WE KNOW THAT AT THE TIME OF THE 1641 PROTESTANT RETURN BACK HOME IN DEVON, HIS FATHER HAD DIED AND HE WAS GONE, BUT HIS BROTHERS, UNCLE JOHN, AND HIS COUSIN, JOHN, JR. WERE STILL IN MORETONHAMPSTEAD. CLICK here FOR A PDF RECORD. WE ALSO KNOW THAT HE WAS MARRIED TO MILLICENT ADDIS IN GLOUCESTER IN 1642. CLICK here FOR A PDF RECORD. WE KNOW THAT WILLIAM AND MILLICENT'S CHILDREN WERE BORN IN GLOUCESTER OVER THE PERIOD 1643-1646; JOHN WHO DIED AS AN INFANT; WILLIAM; AND JOHN; CLICK here FOR A PDF RECORD, AND THAT WILLIAM HAD THE QUARTERLY COURT OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS, CONFIRM THEIR BIRTH DATES. CLICK here FOR A RECORD (WHICH CONTAINS WILLIAM'S SIGNATURE IN THE ORIGINAL, AN INDICATION OF SOME EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND). WE KNOW THAT WILLIAM WAS AN EARLY INHABITANT OF GLOUCESTER, CLICK here, AND THAT HIS ESTATE WAS SETTLED BY HIS WIFE AND FATHER-IN-LAW, WILLIAM ADDIS (A BREWER IN GLOUCESTER), IN 1648. CLICK here FOR A RECORD OF THE ESTATE AND ITS CONTENTS. WE DO NOT KNOW FOR CERTAIN WHEN, HOW, AND WHERE WILLIAM DIED, BUT THE FAMILY HISTORY INDICATES THAT IT WAS IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ABOUT 1647, WHEN HIS WIFE REMARRIED WILLIAM ASH IN GLOUCESTER. ADDIS INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND here. ALL BIOLOGICAL SOUTHMAYD MALES THAT EXIST IN THE WORLD TODAY ARE DESCENDED FROM WILLIAM THE COLONIST.

JOHN SOUTHMAYD, THE SECOND SURVIVING SON OF WILLIAM THE COLONIST AND MILLICANT ADDIS SOUTHMAYD, WAS APPARENTLY NEVER MARRIED AND DIED AT SEA.

WILLIAM SOUTHMAYD, JR. THE OLDEST SON OF THE COLONIST, WAS A PROMINANT MERCHANT IN NEW LONDON AND MIDDLETOWN, CN., IN THE LATE 17TH CENTURY. HE WAS RAISED BY HIS MOTHER IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF REVEREND THOMAS BEEBE IN NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, AFTER HIS FATHER DIED AND MILLICENT ADDIS SOUTHMAYD REMARRIED FOR THE SECOND TIME. HE FIRST SHOWS UP IN THE RECORDS OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT, IN 1667 AND PURCHASED A HOUSE AND A LOT IN MIDDLETOWN ON JUNE 16, 1675. WILLIAM, JR. WAS REPORTEDLY THE CAPTAIN OF A SHIP IN THE "WEST INDIES TRADE" AND MAY HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN SOME SLAVE TRADING. WILLIAM, JR. PURCHASED A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF LAND IN MIDDLETOWN. HE MARRIED ESTHER HAMLIN ON OCTOBER 16, 1673, IN MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT. SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF CAPTAIN GILES AND ESTHER CROWE HAMLIN. CAPTAIN GILES HAMLIN DIED IN 1689 AND LEFT A SIZABLE ESTATE, INCLUDING THE BEQUEST OF AN EW SHEEP TO EACH OF "MY TWO GRANDSONS JOHN & GILES SOUTHMAYD", AND DESIGNATING "MY MUCH HONORED FRIEND COL. JOHN ALLYN OF HARTFORD" AS AN OVERSEER OF HIS ESTATE. GO here TO SEE HIS WILL.

THE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM JR. AND ESTHER HAMLIN SOUTHMAYD WERE: WILLIAM (BORN JULY 24, 1674; DIED AS AN INFANT); JOHN (BORN AUGUST 23, 1676); WILLIAM (BORN MARCH 6, 1679, DIED AS A YOUNG MAN); GILES (BORN JANUARY 17, 1680, SETTLED IN MIDDLETOWN; DIED MAY 27, 1728) AND ESTHER (BORN OCTOBER 28, 1682; DIED DECEMBER 20, 1682). ESTHER HAMLIN SOUTHMAYD DIED ON NOVEMBER 11, 1682 AFTER THE BIRTH OR HER DAUGHTER, ESTHER.

AFTER ESTHER'S DEATH, WILLIAM, JR. MARRIED MARGARET ALLYN IN MAY OF 1684, THE THIRD DAUGHTER OF CAPTAIN HAMLIN'S "MUCH HONORED FRIEND", COLONEL JOHN ALLYN AND HANNAH SMITH ALLYN OF HARTFORD. COLONEL ALLYN WAS A VERY PROMINANT PURITAN WHO SERVED AS SECRETARY OF THE HARTFORD COLONY FOR THIRTY-FOUR YEARS AND AS ACTING GOVERNOR FOR TWO YEARS. MARGARET WAS ALSO THE GREAT-GRANDAUGHTER OF WILLIAM PYNCHON, THE FOUNDER OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. COL. JOHN ALLYN DIED NOVEMBER 11, 1696, LEAVING A SIZEABLE ESTATE, INCLUDING TWO SLAVES. GO here TO SEE HIS PROBATE RECORD.

WILLIAM JR. DIED ON DECEMBER 4, 1702, LEAVING A SIZEABLE ESTATE. CLICK here FOR AN INVENTORY OF HIS ESTATE. CLICK here TO SEE A PICTURE OF HIS TOMBSTONE NEXT TO THAT OF HIS SON, DANIEL SOUTHMAYD, IN MCDONOUGH CEMETERY, MIDDLETOWN, CN. HAVING MARRIED THE DAUGHTERS OF TWO PROMINANT AND WEALTHY MEN IN CONNECTICUT, IT IS FAIR TO SURMISE THAT WILLIAM, JR. WAS HIMSELF A MAN OF SOME REPUTATION AND PROMINANCE IN THAT COLONY. AS IN THE CASE OF HIS FATHER, ALL BIOLOGICAL SOUTHMAYD MALES THAT EXIST IN THE WORLD TODAY ARE DESCENDED FROM WILLIAM, JR.

THE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM JR. AND MARGARET ALLYN SOUTHMAYD WERE: ALLYN (BORN FEBRUARY 7, 1685; WAS A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE IN ST. JOHN'S NEWFOUNDLAND AND DIED UNMARRIED); DANIEL (BORN SEPTEMBER 16, 1687, DIED NOVEMBER 23, 1703); MARGARET (BORN AUGUST 11, 1691; DIED JUNE 11, 1773; MARRIED SAMUEL GAYLORD FEBRUARY 9, 1720); ANNA (BORN JANUARY 10, 1693; MARRIED NATHANIEL STILLMAN); JOSPEH (BORN MARCH 15, 1695; DIED JUNE 8, 1772; MARRIED ABIAH DOUGLASS); WILLIAM (BORN JANUARY 9, 1699; DIED OCTOBER 15, 1757; MARRIED MEHITABLE DWIGHT); AND MILICENT (BORN JANUARY 3, 1700; DIED DECEMBER 12, 1717). MARGARET ALLYN SOUTHMAYD DIED MARCH 16, 1733 IN MIDDLETOWN.

WILLIAM JR.'S OLDEST SON WAS REV. JOHN WILLIAM SOUTHMAYD, BORN AUGUST 23, 1767, IN MIDDLETOWN. HE WAS HARVARD EDUCATED IN THE CLASS OF 1697, AND WAS APPRENTLY MORE OF A HELL-RAISER THAN STUDENT WHILE AT HARVARD. (CLICK here FOR A HARVARD NARRATIVE ON HIM). A PROFESSOR HEDGE AT HARVARD LOVED TO RECOUNT THE STORY OF JOHN SOUTHMAYD PREPARING A CHAIR WHICH WAS SO CONSTRUCTED THAT WHEN AN UNSUSPECTING PERSON SAT DOWN IN IT, IT SUDDENLY COLLAPSED. J.S. MADE IT A POINT OF INVITING EACH MEMBER OF AN INCOMING FRESHMAN CLASS AT HARVARD TO HIS ROOM AND OFFERING THEM THE CHAIR AS SORT OF AN INITIATION RITUAL. THIS STUNT GAVE RISE TO LINES OF POETRY THAT WERE REQUIRED TO BE MEMORIZED BY HARVARD FRESHMAN AS A REMINDER OF WHOSE COMPANY TO AVOID DURING THEIR TENURE AT HARVARD:

BLESS'D IS THE MAN WHO HATH NOT LENT
TO WICKED REED HIS EAR,
NOR SPENT HIS LIFE AS COLLINS HATH
NOR SAT IN SOUTHMAYD'S CHAIR.

AFTER GRADUATION, REV. JOHN DISPUTED THE DISBURSEMENT OF WILLIAM, JR.'S ESTATE UNDER HIS FATHER'S WILL, AND PURSUANT TO THE POWER GIVEN TO HIS STEP-MOTHER MARGARET ALLYN SOUTHMAYD AS EXECUTOR, AND EVENTUALLY RECEIVED A GREATER PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS EVEN THOUGH THE COST OF HIS HARVARD EDUCATION WAS DEDUCTED FROM HIS INHERITANCE. CLICK here. REV. JOHN WAS MARRIED IN MIDDLETOWN, CN, IN 1700 TO SUSANNAH WARD, THE DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM AND SUSANNAH PHOEBE WARD.

PRIOR TO HIS MARRIAGE, ON NOVEMBER 2, 1699, THE SOCIETY OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ENGAGED REV. JOHN TO PREACH IN THEIR COMMUNITY. HE APPARENTLY COMMUTED FROM HIS HOME IN MIDDLETOWN. THE SOCIETY ATTEMPTED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS TO GET REV. JOHN TO MOVE TO THEIR COMMUNITY, BUT HE RESISTED DOING SO UNTIL 1704 WHEN HE AGREED TO MOVE TO WATERBURY AND BE "ORDAINED" THERE. HE DID SO ONLY AFTER THE SOCIETY HAD GRANTED HIM "HIS HOUS AND LANDS AND PROPIATY IN LANDS TO BE HIS OWN", A BONUS OF TEN POUNDS, AND AN ANNUAL SALARY OF FIFTY POUNDS IN PROVISIONS AND TEN POUNDS IN LABOR. A MAP SHOWING THE HOUSES OF THE ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS OF WATERBURY, INCLUDING REV. JOHN'S, IS here. HE WAS OFFICIALLY ORDAINED MAY 30, 1705, TO MINISTER TO A CHURCH OF TWELVE MALE MEMBERS AND THE PEOPLE OF THE TOWN. HE WENT ON TO BECOME A PROMINANT AND WEALTHY PASTOR OF THE WATERBURY CN ASSOCIATION ACTING AS THEIR PASTOR UNTIL HIS HEALTH BEGAN TO DETERIORATE IN 1738. (GO here) REV. JOHN ONCE WROTE THAT HE COULD STAND IN HIS DOOR AND LOOKING SOUTHWARD SAY THAT HE OWNED ALL THE LAND LYING BETWEEN THAT DOOR AND THE NAUGATUCK RIVER (WHICH BASED ON THE MAP SHOWN ABOVE WAS QUITE A BIT OF LAND). FOR A MAP OF THE LOT OWNERSHIP IN WATERBURY, CN CIRCA 1705, GO here. IN 1738, REV. JOHN PURCHASED AND DONATED LAND TO THE NORTHBURY SOCIETY FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ITS FIRST CHURCH.

IN ADDITION TO SERVING THE RELIGIOUS NEEDS OF WATERBURY, REV. JOHN HELD NUMEROUS CIVIC POSITIONS. IN 1721, HE WAS CHOSEN TOWN CLERK AND TREASURER, AND FILLED THESE OFFICES FOR THE NEXT 34 YEARS UNTIL HIS DEATH. HE WAS ALSO CHOSEN TO REPRESENT WATERBURY IN THE CONNECTICUT GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN HARTFORD IN 1740 AND FOR EVERY SESSION THEREAFTER UNTIL HIS DEATH. HE WAS CHOSEN TO BE A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE FOR THE COUNTY OF NEW HAVEN AND PARTICIPATED IN ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES THAT, INTER ALIA, STUDIED THE OPERATIONS OF WORK HOUSES AND HOUSES OF CORRECTION AND INVESTIGATED THE NEED FOR AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN THE COLONY.

REV. JOHN DIED NOVEMBER 14, 1755, AT THE AGE OF 79. HE HAD OUT-LIVED ALL OF HIS CHILDREN, EXCEPT DAUGHTER ESTHER. HIS ESTATE WAS VALUED AT MORE THAN 1,997 POUNDS. IT INCLUDED TWO SLAVES, SAMPSON AND FILLIS, WHO "...IF THEY BE FAITHFUL, CAREFUL AND INDUSTRIOUS IN HELPING TO BRING UP MY GRAND CHILDREN, WILLIAM, SAMUEL, ANNA, JOHN AND DANIEL SOUTHMAYD, TIL THE YOUNGEST BE TWELVE YEARS OF AGE, THEN THEY MAY BE FREE AND LIVE WITH ANY OF MY CHILDREN THEY SHALL CHOOSE, OR ANY OTHER PERSON..."

THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE THE END OF THE REV. JOHN STORY, BUT NOT SO. IN 1891, THE GRAND STREET CEMETERY IN WHICH HE WAS BURIED WAS RELOCATED AND REV. JOHN'S GRAVE WAS DUG UP AND HIS REMAINS REMOVED. GO here. IN THE PROCESS, WALTER H. HOLMES, M.D., DECIDED TO WRITE A MEDICAL STUDY ON REV. JOHN'S REMAINS WHICH HAD BEEN IN THE GROUND AT THAT POINT FOR 136 YEARS. THE ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN "THE BOSTON MEDICAL AND SURGICAL JOURNAL" OF JULY 23, 1891. GO here. IN THE ARTICLE, DR. HOLMES DESCRIBES IN GREAT DETAIL REV. JOHN'S SKULL, AND COMPARES IT TO THE SKULL OF A PRIMATIVE "MOUND BUILDER" OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY (FORTUNATELY, REV. JOHN'S SKULL IS REPORTED TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DEVELOPED AND IS DESCRIBED AS "LARGE AND MASSIVE"). REV. JOHN'S BODY WAS REINTURRED IN RIVERSIDE CEMETERY WITH A NEW HEADSTONE DONATED BY HIS DESCENDANT, MRS. LUCY BRONSON DUDLEY, BUT HIS SKULL WAS MISSING AT THE TIME OF REBURIAL AND HAS NOT, TO DATE, BEEN FOUND. THIS IS INDEED UNFORTUNATE INASMUCH AS REV. JOHN IN LIFE WAS APPARENTLY NEVER ONE TO LOSE HIS HEAD.

SOME MIDDLETOWN, CN BIRTH, DEATH AND MARRIAGE INFORMATION FOR THIS PERIOD IS here.

JOHN SOUTHMAYD, JR., THE SON OF REV. JOHN AND SUSANNAH WARD SOUTHMAYD, WAS BORN JUNE 21, 1710, IN WATERBURY, CN. HE WAS THEIR FOURTH CHILD FOLOWING THE BIRTHS OF THREE SISTERS, ESTER (B. 9-12-1701; D. 2-5-1777; MARRIED DANIEL STARR), SUSANNAH (B. 1-5-1704; D. 8-13-1741; MARRIED THOMAS BRONSON), AND ANNE (B. 10-27-1706; D. 8-11-1740; MARRIED JOSEPH BRONSON). HE WAS FOLLOWED BY A BROTHER, DANIEL (B. 4-19-1717; D. 1-12-1754; MARRIED HANNAH BROWN 3-24-1749) JOHN JR. MARRIED MILICENT GAYLORD ON APRIL 25, 1739, HIS FIRST COUSIN (THE DAUGHTER OF SAMUEL AND MARGARET SOUTHMAYD GAYLORD, WHO WAS THE DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM JR. AND HIS SECOND WIFE, MARGARET ALLYN, BUT NOT JOHN JR.'S PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER ESTER HAMLIN SOUTHMAYD).

SURPRISINGLY, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT JOHN JR., PERHAPS DUE TO THE FACT THAT HE DIED AT THE RELATIVELY YOUNG AGE OF 32, ON FEBRUARY 28, 1743. JOHN JR. WAS A CONSTABLE IN WATERBURY IN 1740 WHEN HE WAS FORCED TO BREAK UP A BOISTEROUS MEETING OF "NEW LIGHT" FOLLOWERS, OR BELIEVERS IN A NEW CHURCH DOCTRINE, IN ORDER TO KEEP THE PEACE OF THE COMMONWEALTH. JOHN JR. WAS APPARENTLY SYMPATHETIC TO THEIR CAUSE, HOWEVER, AND IN EARLY 1742 SUBSCRIBED TO A FUND FOR BUILDING THE NEW EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN WATERBRUY. HOWEVER, HE RETURNED TO THE ESTABLIHED CHURCH (OVER WHICH HIS FATHER HAD BEEN THE PASTOR) LATER IN 1742. BY DECEMBER OF 1742, JOHN JR. HAD APPARENTLY RETURNED TO THE GOOD GRACES OF THE ESTABLISHMENT IN WATERBURY AND WAS ELECTED TO THE OFFICES OF SELECTMAN, CONSTABLE, FENCE VIEWER, COLLECTOR OF THE COUNTRY RATE AND MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE. HE DIED TWO MONTHS LATER, PRESUMABLY AS AN "OLD LIGHT" AT THAT TIME. HE LEFT A WIDOW AND TWO SONS, WILLIAM (B. JUNE 27, 1740) AND SAMUEL (B. DECEMBER 10, 1742, OR ONLY TWO MONTHS BEFORE HIS FATHER'S DEATH).

IT APPEARS THAT JOHN JR. MAY HAVE SUFFERED FROM SOME FORM OF INFERIORITY COMPLEX BASED ON BEING THE OLDEST SON OF THE "GREAT MAN" OF WATERBURY. IN WITNESSING DEEDS FOR HIS FATHER, JOHN JR. HAD A HABIT OF SIGNING HIS NAME IN A SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER SIZE THAN HIS FATHER (THE "JOHN HANCOCK" STYLE) AND DID SO WITH THE TERM "JR" AT THE END. THERE IS NO SEPARATE SECTION ON JOHN JR. IN BRONSON'S HISTORY OF WATERBURY, OR IN ANY OTHER WORK ON THE TOWN COVERING THAT PERIOD, WHEREAS THERE IS A SECTION ON HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, DANIEL, AND A LARGE NARRATIVE ON REV. JOHN. NO MENTION IS FOUND ANYWHERE OF JOHN JR.'S EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, WHEREAS HIS BROTHER DANIEL WAS A 1741 YALE GRADUATE. THE FACTS SURROUNDING JOHN JR.'S DEATH ARE UNRECORDED, BUT UPON THE DEATH OF DANIEL, REV. JOHN'S REPLACEMENT IN THE PULPIT, MR. MARK LEAVENWORTH, WROTE AND DELIVERED A LONG AND DETAILED FUNERAL SERMON ON DANIEL. MOREOVER, THE REFERENCES TO JOHN JR. IN ACCOUNTS OF WATERBURY DURING HIS LIFETIME TEND TO REFER TO HIM, IF THEY REFER TO HIM AT ALL, SIMPLY AS "JOHN, THE CONSTABLE." HIS BRIEF FLIRTATION WITH LEAVING THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH IN WATERBURY, HIS FATHER'S CHURCH, FOR THE NEW LIGHT EPISCOPAL CHURCH MAY ALSO BE AN INDICATION OF SOME DEEP HELD RESENTMENT OF HIS FATHER'S STANDING IN THE COMMUNITY. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE LACK OF CONTEMPORARY INFORMATION ON JOHN JR., IT IS DIFFICULT TO CREATE AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF THE MAN.

FOLLOWING JOHN JR.'S DEATH, MILICENT REMARRIED TIMOTHY JUDD (A YALE ALUMNUS OF 1737) AND CONTINUED TO LIVE IN WATERBURY CN. WITH HER SONS.

WILLIAM SOUTHMAYD, THE ELDER SON OF JOHN SOUTHMAYD, JR., WAS BORN JUNE 27, 1740, IN WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT. WILLIAM GRADUATED WITH THE YALE CLASS OF 1761 AND IN TAKING HIS M.A. ARGUED THE AFFIRMATIVE OF "AN OMNES ANTICHRISTI NOTAE CONVENIANT PAPAE?" (AND WHY NOT, WHATEVER THAT MEANS?) HE THEN STUDIED THEOLOGY WITH THE REVEREND SAMUEL TODD (YALE 1734) OF THE NORTHBURY (NOW PLYMOUTH) CN. PARISH OF WATERBURY (TO WHOM WILLIAM'S GRANDFATHER, REV. JOHN, DONATED THE LAND FOR THEIR CHURCH IN 1738). HE WAS LICENSED TO PREACH BY THE NEW HAVEN ASSOCATION ON MAY 31, 1763.

WILLIAM APPARENTLY FOCUSED ON MORE THAN JUST THE GOSPEL WHILE STUDYING WITH REV. TODD, AND MARRIED HIS DAUGHTER, IRENE, ON OCTOBER 16, 1763, IN NORTHBURY, WHERE THEY MADE THEIR HOME. IN 1768, WILLIAM ASKED THE NEW HAVEN ASSOCIATION TO RENEW HIS LICENSE TO PREACH, AND WAS TOLD TO APPLY TO AN ASSOCIATION IN WHICH HE WAS BETTER KNOWN, SINCE HE DID NOT LIVE IN NEW HAVEN AT THE TIME, NOR HAD EVER LIVED THERE. LATER IN 1768, HE ATTENDED THE CAMBRIDGE COMMENCEMENT OF HARVARD COLLEGE, SHOWED HIS YALE M.A., AND ASKED "TO BE ADMITTED AD EUNDEM IN HARVARD COLLEGE." HIS REQUEST WAS APPROVED AND HE WAS ADMITTED AS AN OFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE HARVARD CLASS OF 1761, EX POST FACTO. THE RECORDS OF HARVARD COLLEGE REFLECT WILLIAM AS A MEMBER OF THAT CLASS. HIS HARVARD COLLEGE BIOGRAPHY IS here AS A PDF FILE. AT SOME POINT THEREAFTER, WILLIAM BEGAN PRACTICING LAW IN NORTHBURY.

WILLIAM JOINED A LOCAL (NORTHBURY) COMPANY OF VOLUNTEER SOLDIERS AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUATION AS A PRIVATE. HE WAS REPORTED AT FORT SCHUYLER IN APRIL OF 1776 IN CAPTIN DAVID SMITH'S COMPANY, AND AS A SERGEANT IN CAPTIN JESSE CURTIS' COMPANY IN APRIL AND MAY, 1777. IN JUNE 1777, HE IS AGAIN REPORTED AS SERVING UNDER CAPTAIN SMITH. HE DIED WHILE IN THE SERVICE OF HIS NEW COUNTRY ON JULY 31, 1778, AT LAKE CHAMPLAIN, NEW YORK. A PDF FILE COPY OF THE INVENTORY OF HIS ESTATE AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH IS here.

FOR SOUTHMAYD REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS CLICK here for page 1. CLICK here for page 2. A COPY OF WILLIAM'S SERVICE RECORD IS here. IN PDF FORMAT.

AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH, WILLIAM AND IRENE HAD PRODUCED JOHN WILLIAM (B. AUGUST 16, 1764), ALTHEA (B. JANUARY 21, 1767; MARRIED OBEDIAH WELLS); MARCIA (B. MAY 2, 1771; MARRIED STEPHEN BAKER); ALMERIA (B. MARCH 6, 1774, MARRIED JAMES HUNT); AND ERASTUS (B. AUGUST 24, 1777, D. JUNE 22, 1827). IRENE TODD SOUTHMAYD REMARRIED ELIPHAS WRIGHT ON NOVEMBER 10, 1779, AND THEY MOVED TO NORTHFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

JOHN SOUTHMAYD (OF MIDDLETOWN, THE COUSIN OF WILLIAM OF THE REVOLITION) 1803 LETTER FROM CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, TO MR. JOHN R. WILKINSON IN MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT. CLICK here. HE WAS IN CHARLESTON SELLING BUTTER AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL ITEMS HE HAD BROUGHT FROM MIDDLETOWN, CN. THIS DOCUMENT IS IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE LIBRARY.

JOHN W. SOUTHMAYD, THE SON OF WILLIAM OF THE REVOLUTION, WAS RAISED BY HIS UNCLE ELIAS JONES IN ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS, AFTER HIS FATHER'S DEATH AND HIS MOTHER'S REMARRIAGE. HE MOVED TO GEORGIA, VERMONT, CIRCA 1789 WHERE HE MARRIED MARTHA "PATTY" NICHOLS ON NOVEMBER 18, 1793, THE DAUGHTER OF NATHAN AND SARAH NICHOLS. PATTY WAS BORN SEPTEMBER 17, 1780, IN WESTMINSTER, VERMONT. JOHN W. WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE TOWN OF JAY, ESSEX COUNTY, NEW YORK, IN THE LATE 18TH CENTURY. FOR A NARRATIVE ON JAY'S FOUNDING GO TO http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cjohnson/Jay.html. HE WAS ALSO ONE OF THE OWNERS OF THE ARNOLD HILL IRON ORE COMPANY, A LARGE PRODUCER OF IRON ORE. HE HELD THIS INTEREST UNTIL HIS DEATH. WILLIAM AND PATTY HAD THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN: WILLIAM, BORN 1794 IN GEORGIA VERMONT AND DIED 5 DAYS LATER; NATHAN, BORN MAY 23, 1796 IN GEORGIA VERMONT, DIED DECEMBER 27, 1882; AND WILLIAM, BORN JULY 9, 1799 IN JAY, NEW YORK. THE COUPLE ALSO HAD FOUR DAUGHTERS WHO WERE STILL BORN.

HIS SON NATHAN SOUTHMAYD FOUGHT IN THE WAR OF 1812 AT THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK. GO here. NATHAN MARRIED CATHERINE BARBER DECEMBER 18, 1815, THE DAUGHTER OF SIMEON BARBER AND CATHERINE MOORE BARBER. AFTER HER DEATH ON JUNE 29, 1840, NATHAN MARRIED PHOEBE PHEROCIA SMITH IN WILMINGTON, NEW YORK, ON AUGUST 27, 1840. INFORMATION ON NATHAN'S FAMILY AND DESCENDANTS CAN BE FOUND here. HE DIED DECEMBER 27, 1882, IN JAY.

WILLIAM SOUTHMAYD, THE JUNIOR SON OF JOHN WILLIAM, MARRIED SUSAN MERRIL ON MARCH 20, 1823, THE DAUGHTER OF JOHN AND LYDIE HOLT MERRILL. SHE WAS BORN JUNE 1, 1800, IN VERMONT. HE WORKED FOR HIS FATHER AT THE ARNOLD IRON ORE MINE, FARMED, AND BUILT A LARGE STONE HOUSE NEAR JAY, NEW YORK, WHERE HE AND HIS WIFE OFTEN TOOK IN STRANGERS IN NEED OF A PLACE TO STAY AND A HOT MEAL. GO here FOR A PICTURE. ONE OF THEIR ITINERANT BORDERS PAID FOR HIS STAY BY PAINTING PORTRAITS OF WILLIAN AND SUSAN CIRCA 1830. GO here TO SEE THEM. HE DIED OCTOBER 23, 1861, IN JAY, NEW YORK, AND SUSAN DIED MAY 19, 1864, IN JAY. THE STONE HOUSE STILL STANDS TODAY AND IS OPERATED AS A BED AND BREAKFAST INN. GO here FOR MORE INFORMATION.

THE CHILDREN OF THEIR MARRIAGE WERE: SARAH, BORN APRIL 29, 1825, MARRIED REV. HIRAM BLANCHARD JANUARY 11, 1844; PAULINE SUSAN, BORN JUNE 24, 1827, DIED 1885 IN NYC; SUSAN EVELINE, BORN MAY 6, 1829; WILLAIM CLARK, BORN JUNE 5, 1831, DIED DECEMBER 26, 1893 IN VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA; NATHAN LEROY, BORN FEBRUARY 28, 1833; MILTON, BORN AUGUST 2, 1838, DIED MAY 17, 1839; JEFFERSON WATSON, BORN SEPTEMBER 26, 1839; AND WILLIAM, BORN AUGUST 5, 1858, DIED MARCH 17, 1859.

NATHAN LEROY SOUTHMAYD WAS BORN TO WILLIAM AND SUSAN SOUTHMAYD ON FEBRUARY 28, 1833, IN JAY, NEW YORK. IN 1849, HE MOVED TO APPLETON, WISCONSIN, AND THEREAFTER BEGAN A STEAMSHIP AND SHIPPING BUSINESS ON THE MISSOURI RIVER WITH HIS BROTHER, WILLIAM CLARK SOUTHMAYD. IN 1859, LEROY (AS HE PREFERRED TO BE CALLED) AND W.C. MOVED ON TO DENVER, COLORADO, AND SOUGHT GOLD IN THE GEORGIA GULCH AREA. NATHAN MOVED ON TO ALDER GULCH, MONTANA (THEN THE IDAHO TERRITORY) IN 1863, WHILE HIS BROTHER JOINED THE UNION ARMY IN THE CIVIL WAR. LEROY AND A.C. HALL TEAMED UP TO MINE GOLD IN AND AROUND ALDER GULCH. GO here FOR LAND RECORDS OF LEROY'S LAND CLAIMS.

IN NOVEMBER OF 1863, LEROY TOOK A STAGE COACH FROM VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA, TO BANNOCK. HE WAS CARRYING A SACK OF GOLD DUST AND TWO PISTOLS. THESE WERE ROUGH AND RUGGED TIMES IN THE MONTANA TERRITORY AND THE MINERS WERE UNDER THE CONSTANT THREAT OF ROBBERY FROM OUTLAWS, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF THE INFAMOUS PLUMMER GANG. LEROY'S STAGECOACH WAS HELD UP ON THIS TRIP AND LEROY'S GOLD AND PISTOLS WERE TAKEN FROM HIM. GO here FOR A NARRATIVE ON THE ROBBERY FROM N.P. LANGFORD'S VIGILANTE DAYS AND WAYS. AFTER LEROY AND THE COACH RETURNED TO VIRGINIA CITY, HE GOT TOGETHER OTHER MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA CITY COMMITTEE FOR VIGILANCE AND WENT AFTER THE ROBBERS. THEY SUCCEEDED IN FINDING THEM IN AN OLD BUNKHOUSE, LEROY RECOVERED HIS GOLD DUST AND PISTOLS, AND THE ROBBERS WERE TAKEN OUT AND HUNG. GO here FOR A HANGING PICTURE. THE CITIZENS OF VIRGINIA CITY CONTINUED THEIR EFFORTS IN ROUNDING UP THE OUTLAWS OVER THE NEXT YEAR AND HANGING THEM ONCE THEY WERE CAUGHT. AS A RESULT, THE "REIGN OF TERROR" IN THE AREA PROMPTLY ENDED. NATHAN LEROY SOUTHMAYD WAS A PROUD PARTICIPANT IN THE VIRGINIA CITY "VIGILANTES" OF THAT TIME. HE WAS ALSO A MASON.

IN 1866, LEROY RETURNED TO JAY, NEW YORK, AND MARRIED SARAH ELIZABETH BARTLETT, ON APRIL 11, 1866. SHE WAS BORN IN JAY JUNE 8, 1843, TO ELIHU AND SARAH MARTIN BARTLETT. THE COUPLE THEN RETURNED TO VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA, WHERE LEROY, WILLIAM CLARK, AND A.C. HALL CONTINUED THEIR MINING EFFORTS. THE 1870 CENSUS SHOWS THAT WILLIAN CLARK SOUTHMAYD, A.C.HALL AND HIS WIFE, AND "HOCK CHIN", A COOK, LIVED WITH THE SOUTHMAYD FAMILY IN VIRGINIA CITY. GO here.

NATHAN LEROY SOUTHMAYD DIED WHILE WORKING A MINE CLAIM NEAR VIRGINIA CITY ON MAY 29, 1883. A NEWSPAPER ACCOUNT OF HIS DEATH IS here. SARAH BARTLETT SOUTHMAYD DIED DECEMBER 29, 1917, IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AT THE HOME OF HER GRANDAUGHTER FLORENCE SOUTHMAYD COOPER. NATHAN LEROY, SARAH, AND THEIR INFANT DAUGHTER VIRGIE, ARE BURIED ON "BOOT HILL" ABOVE VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA. GO here FOR A PICTURE OF THEIR BURIAL PLOT, AND THAT OF "C.W. VET CAPT." WILLIAM CLARK SOUTHMAYD.

NATHAN LEROY AND SARAH HAD THREE CHILDREN: LEROY, BORN JULY 19, 1869, IN SUMMIT, MONTANA; LULA, BORN JUNE 8, 1872, IN VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA; DIED DECEMBER 23, 1938; AND VIRGIE, WHO DIED JANUARY 11, 1878, AS AN INFANT. THE CABIN IN WHICH LEROY SOUTHMAYD, THE SON, WAS BORN CAN BE SEEN here, AND IN FRONT IS THE PLACER MINE THAT HIS FATHER WAS WORKING AT THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH.

MANY SOUTHMAYD FAMILY MEMBERS IN MY LINE HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN GENEALOGY SINCE JOHN W. SOUTHMAYD PURCHASED THE FAMILY BIBLE IN 1815. HERE IS A PDF OUTLINE ON MY LINE THAT WAS RESEARCHED AND DRAWN UP BY MY GRANDMOTHER, CHARLOTTE PIXLEY SOUTHMAYD, AND HER SISTER IN LAW, LULA SOUTHMAYD, AND WAS REVISED INTO THE CURRENT FORM BY MY LATE AUNT, CHARLOTTE SOUTHMAYD VANRENSALEAR. GO here. THERE ARE A FEW INACCURACIES, BUT IT IS FOR THE MOST PART ACCURATE AND COMPLETE. O.A. SOUTHMAYD OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT, ALSO DID A GREAT DEAL OF RESEARCH AND SOME OF HIS FINDINGS ARE IN A LETTER here. GRACE SOUTHMAYD PREPARED A CHART OF HER LINE IN 1901 THROUGH RESEARCH APPARENTLY DONE AT THE MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, HISTORICAL SOCIETY. IT IS PRETTY ACCURATE, BUT HAS SOME FACTUAL ERRORS ACCORDING TO MY RESEARCH. GO here.

SOUTHMAYD, TEXAS WAS NAMED FOR A SOUTHMAYD FAMILY MEMBER. FOR THE STORY, click here. A NARRATIVE ON DANIEL STARR SOUTHMAYD AND JOANNA SOUTHMAYD, AND THEIR CHRISTIAN MINISTRY TO THE MEXICAN COLONY OF TEXAS, CAN BE FOUND IN PDF FORMAT here.

THE HYMN PLAYED IN THE BACKGROUND ON THIS WEB SITE IS "JESUS, MY ALL, TO HEAVEN IS GONE", WHICH WAS, ACCORDING TO THE SOUTHMAYD FAMILY BIBLE, THE FAVORITE HYMN OF WILLIAM SOUTHMAYD OF JAY, NEW YORK, THE WEBMASTER'S G-G-GRANDFATHER.

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