See also

Family of Bygod + EGGLESTON and Mary + TALCOTT

Husband: Bygod + EGGLESTON (1586-1674)
Wife: Mary + TALCOTT (1592-1617)
Children: James + EGGLESTON (1613-1679)
Mary EGGLESTON (1613- )
James EGGLESTON (1620- )
Marriage 1610 England1

Husband: Bygod + EGGLESTON

picture

Bygod + EGGLESTON

Name: Bygod + EGGLESTON
Sex: Male
Father: James + EGGLESTON (1562-1612)
Mother: Margaret + HARKER (c. 1565-1636)
Birth 20 Feb 1586 Settrington, Northumberland, England2
Immigration 1630 (age 43-44) to Nantasket, MA, US3,4
Death 1 Sep 1674 (age 88) Windsor, Hartford, CT, US
Burial Palisado Cemetary5
Windsor, Hartford, Ct, US

Wife: Mary + TALCOTT

Name: Mary + TALCOTT
Sex: Female
Father: John + TALCOTT (1562-1604)
Mother: Anne + SKINNER (1570-1637)
Birth 1592
Death 1617 (age 24-25)

Child 1: James + EGGLESTON

Name: James + EGGLESTON
Sex: Male
Spouse: Hester + WILLIAMS (1636-1720)
Birth 30 Mar 1613 Norwich, Norfolkshire, England
Death 1 Dec 1679 (age 66) Windsor, Hartford, CT, US

Child 2: Mary EGGLESTON

Name: Mary EGGLESTON
Sex: Female
Birth 1613

Child 3: James EGGLESTON

Name: James EGGLESTON
Sex: Male
Birth 1620

Note on Husband: Bygod + EGGLESTON

Bigod Eggleston was baptized Settrington, Yorkshire, 20 February 1586[/7], son of "James Egeleston." (Rosalie Eggleston and Linda Eggleston McBroom have identified the mother of Bigod Eggleston as Margaret, daughter of Miles Harker of Settrington.)

He came to Massachusetts Bay with his family in 1630. It is likely that he traveled aboard the Mary & John only if he had moved his family to Devon, Dorset, or Somerset by 1630. English records of this family 1615-30 have not been found..

Like the Mary & John passengers, they first settled in Dorchester MA & moved to Windsor CT in 1635. He died in Windsor 1 September 1674 "near 100 year old" (but actually eighty-seven).

MARRIAGE: (1) By 1612 _____ _____; not seen in any record.

(2) By about 1634 _____ _____; on 5 June 1645 "Baggett Egleston, for bequeathing his wife to a young man, is fined 20s.;" living on 13 November 1673 when named in her husband's will.

Anderson's Great Migration Begins, pp. 621 et seq.

 

Marjorie Russell's Russell Roots and Branches (Provo, Utah: Press Pub. Ltd., 1981) says: "Bygod Eggleston was the father of Samuel Eggleston (1.7.31). Bygod was Christened on 20 February 1586/1587 at Settrington, York, England, the son of James and Juliane (Bygod) Eggleston (L9.121 and L9.122) Bygod died 1 September 1674 at Windsor, Hartford, Conecticut. He had married three times; first to Mary Talcott, born about 1592 of Norwich, Norfolk, England, where she died. Bygod then married Mary Wall. Mary was born about 1610 of Braintree, Essex, England, the daughter of Moses and Ann (Skinner) Wall. Mary was also married to Robert Aylett. She died probably on 8 December 1657. Bygod finally married Sarah Talcott. Sarah was born about 1591, of Windsor. She died 25 July 1689 at Windsor"

 

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Bygod (Beget)13 Eggleston (James 14) was born 1586/87 and was baptized February 20, 1587 at Settrington, Yorkshire, England. He died September 1,1674 at Windsor, Connecticut at the age of 88. His father was James Eggleston, his mother's origins are somewhat uncertain. See article THE MOTHER OF BYGOD EGGLESTON OF WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT by Rosalie Eggleston, Ph.D., and Linda Eggleston McBroom for an in depth discussion of who she might be, and the possible origin of Bygod's unusual first name.

 

Bygod, a probable passenger of the ship "Mary & John," which sailed from England just a few days ahead of The Winthrop Fleet 0f 1630 . He first settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630 and was one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut in 1635. He brought to the colonies with him three sons, James, John and Samuel. A daughter Mary, another son James, and his first wife, are assumed to have died before Bygod left England and little else is known about them.

 

He married again, Mary, and again, her surname** is unknown. Together they had seven children; Thomas, Mercy (Marcy), Sarah, Rebecca (Deborah), Abigail, Joseph and Benjamin. Bygod was fined 20 shillings in 1645 for "bequeathing his wife to a young man." The young man, a George Tuckye, was fined 40 shillings, but he took off and didn't pay.

 

Bygod survived his second wife as well, and married for a third and final time. Once again, her name is unknown. No known children came of this marriage.

 

He had at least 63 grandchildren and 144 great-grandchildren.

 

The will of Bygod Eggleston.

 

For more info on the Winthrop Fleet visit the Winthrop Society AOL Home Page http://members.aol.com/winthropsq/society.htm *There are various spellings his first name in the records: Bygod, Bigot, Bigod, Baggett, Bagot, Begat. He was baptized Bygod, he signed his name Bigod and his will was Begat. ItÕs been speculated that his fellow Puritans found the name Bygod a teensy bit blasphemous, hence some of the alternative spellings.

 

* * There's a great deal of speculation as to who Bygod's wives might have been, Mary Talcott is often named as one of them, however little hard information has come to light to support this guess. Who these women were remains one of the mysteries surrounding Bygod's life. Maybe somewhere there's a dusty old document that will one day solve this one for all of us.

 

This information comes from Myke Egleston's fantastic site at http://hometown.aol.com/MREgleston/index.html

 

Bygod (Beget) Eggleston and his first wife had the following children:

 

3639 i. James Eggleston was born 14 APR 1612, St. Margaret's, Norwich, Norfolk, England. He died 20 AUG 1613, Norwich, Norfolk, England.

 

3640 ii. Mary Eggleston b. 1613, England

 

3641 ii. James Eggleston b. BET 1618 AND 1620, Norwich, Norfolk, England Death: 17 DEC 1679, Windsor, Ct.

 

3642 ii. Samuel Eggleston b. ABT 1620, England

 

Bygod (Beget) Eggleston and Mary ____ had the following children:

 

3643 i. Thomas Eggleston was born in Windsor, Hartford, CT 26 August 1638.

 

3645 v. Marcy (Mary) Eggleston was born in Windsor, Hartford, CT 29 May 1641. Marcy died 8 December 1657 in Windsor, Hartford, CT, at 16 years of age.

 

3646 vi. Sarah Eggleston was born in Windsor, Hartford, CT 28 March 1643. Sarah died 15 July 1713 in Simsbury, Hartford, CT, at 70 years of age. She married John Pettibone 16 February 1664 in Windsor, Hrtfrd, Cn.

 

+ 2215 ix. Abigail Eggleston was born 12 June 1648.

 

3649 x. Joseph Eggleston was born in Windsor, Hartford, CT 30 March 1651.

 

3650 xi. Benjamin Eggleston was born in Windsor, Hartford, CT 18 December 1653. Benjamin died 16 December 1729 in Windsor, Hartford, CT, at 75 years of age. He married twice. He married Hannah Osborn 6 March 1678 in Near Windsor, Connecticut. Hannah was born 18 December 1657 in Windsor, Hartford, CT. Hannah was the daughter of John Osborn and Anne Oldage. Hannah died in Windsor, Hartford, CT. He married Mary Dible 2 December 1708.

 

3651 xii. Rebecca Eggleston was born 8 DEC 1664, Windsor, Ct .

JoanB84added this on 30 Jun 2012

 

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THE MOTHER OF BYGOD1 EGGLESTON

OF WINDSOR, CONNECTICUTBy Rosalie Eggleston, Ph.D.,and Linda Eggleston McBroom

Bygod1 Eggleston was among the founders of Dorchester, Massechusetts, in 1630 and of Windsor, Connecticut, in 1635. He was born to JamesA Eggleston in 1586/7 and baptised at Settrington, Yorkshire, England.

 

Probably no early colonist has had more erroneous conjectures made about him than Bygod Eggleston. This is due to the total absence of records relating to his mother and his wives. We now have proof that his mother was not Juliana Harker, as has been widely accepted in the past. The conjecture was based on the fact that in his will of 1612, James Eggleston named Julian as his wife and a neighbor, Ralph Harker, as his brother. The assumption was that Ralph had an older sister named Juliana or Julian who married James Eggleston and became the mother of his eight children. (For details of Eggleston and Harker families, see the 1991 book by the present authors: Bygod Eggleston: Englishman & Colonist and some of his Descendants The Mary & John Clearing House, 562-305th St., Toledo OH 43611, hereafter Eggleston.)

 

Three recently discovered wills prove that there was no Juliana in the Harker family and that the wife mentioned in James Eggleston's will was Juliana Frear, daughter of John Frear of Thorp Bassett, a parish adjacent to Settrington. (We are indebted to Robert Charles Anderson, coeditor of TAG, for discovering the will Richard Harker of London and to Tim Owston for discovering the wills of John Freer [Frear, Frere, Fryer] of Thorpe Bassett and Juliana Bainton of Settrington.)

 

If we assume that Juliana Frear was the mother of all eight of Jame's children, then we are left with the problem of why he called Ralph Harker his brother. The solution to this problem may lie in a fact which seems to have escaped the notice of earlier writers on Bygod's family. There was an age difference of about twenty-five years between the eldest child, Bygod, and the youngest, Alice. That seems a long time for one mother to bear children in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. James Eggleston's family can be divided into two sets of four children separated by a lapse of eight years. This suggests that Jame's first wife died and he remarried.

 

Following is a list of names and baptismal dates of those children which are recorded in the Settrington Parish Register with the exceptions of Dorothy and Alice; we know of their existence from the wills of James and Juliana.

 

Date of baptism Name of child13 Feb, 1586/7 Bygod [say 1589] Dorothy

 

8 Oct. 1592 Elizabeth2 Nov. 1595 Jane

 

 

[a gap of nearly eight years ]

 

19 June 1603 James6 April 1606 John28 Feb. 1608/9 Margaret[say 1611] Alice

 

 

In our book about Bygod Eggleston, we gave the will of Miles Harker, Ralph's father, and noted two phrases which indicate that he did not name all of his children (Eggleston, 16). Fortunately, Ralph Harker, eldest son of Miles, left a will which names all four of his sisters, three of whom were not mentioned by Miles.

 

Richard Harker's will, dated 1 March "one thowsand Five hundred threscore & fourteene" [1574/5] and proved on 19 April 1575, may be found in the Preragative Court of Cantebury (14 Pyckering [Family History Library (FHL), Salt Lake City, film #091,953]). It is a long and detailed will which shows that Richard Harker, mercer, of the parish of St. Dunstan's in the East in the City of London, had become a wealthy Elizabethan gentleman. He bequeathed fine and fashionable clothes as well as gold for death's head rings, jewels, silver spoons, gilded table items, swords and amour. He left to his wife Elizabeth, his two London houses and some disputed property in Cheshire, and made elaborate arrangements in the event that she was with child. He had paid the £13 necessary to renew the lease to his father's farm in Settrington. His brother George was one of the witnesses of Richard's will which indicates that he was also in London.

 

Following are abstracts of those parts of Richard Harker's will relevant to the Eggleston problem:

 

To my four sisters Isabell, Agnes, Margarett and Elizabeth £3 6s. And 8d. Each.To my brother Georg[Eggleston] Harker £10 and wearing apparel.

To my brother Thomas Harker £5.

To my brother Raffe Harker 40s. "In considerac[I]on that he hath my father's Farme which I paid for and oughte to have-notwithstandinge I am contented that my mother in Lawe have the same during the terme of hir widowho[o]d and then the same Farme to retorne and revert againe to the said Rauffe Harker."

To the poor of Settrington in the county of York, 40s.

 

 

Here we learn the names of Isabel, Agnes and Margaret whom Miles did not name in his will. We also learn that Dorothy Harker named in Miles's will was not his first wife and not the mother of Richard who calls her mother-in-law, meaning stepmother. SONS OF MILES HARKER

 

Richard: Named as eldest in Miles Harker's will. Married Elizabeth Williamson at St. Dinstan in the East, London, on 12 December 1572.

George: Named in both wills. Probably lived in London.

Thomas: Named in both wills.

Ralph: Named in both wills. Baptised at Settrington 23 May 1561. Married

Isabel Berryman, daughter of Petronell and Anthony Berryman of East Heslerton, Yorkshire, about 1586. Ralph Harker's children were:

 

i Petronell bp.9 Feb. 1588/9ii Miles bp.30 Aug. 1590.

iii John bp. 24 June 1592

iv Isabel bp. 17 June 1594, d.y.

v Elizabeth bp. 25 July 1596, d.y.

[A gap of eight years ]vi Elizabeth bp. 12 Sept. 1604.

 

 

In his will of 1612, James A Eggleston said: "Item I do give unto my brother Ralf Harker his fower children everye one of them one Ewe." In our book about Bygod Eggleston, we said that there should have been five children belonging to Ralph Harker in 1612 when James Eggleston made his will (Eggleston, 15). It was obvious that Ralph's first Elizabeth had died as an infant. We suggested that Petrnell might have died young also. We now know that it was Isabel who died young. In a will dated 20 November 1615, John Owston of East Heslerton left legacies to the same four children of Ralph Harker and named them as Miles, John, Petronell and Elizabeth (Perogative Court of York [PCY] 33:712). DAUGHTERS OF MILES HARKER

 

Isabel. Named only in Richard Harker's will. Isabel married James Melton at Settrington on 16 August 1573.

 

Agnes. Named only in Richard Harker's will. An Agnes Barker or Harker married John Harke at Settrington on 27 June 1568. He died and Agnes married William Johnson on 23 October 1575. After Johnson's death Agnes married Nicholas Roome. Agnes died in December 1607. There is some doubt about whether this Agnes was a daughter of Miles Harker, but we think that she was. No other Barker's are recorded in the Settrington register at that time.

 

Margaret. Named only in Richard's will. No further records have been found for Margaret Harker.

 

Elizabeth. Named in both wills. Baptised at Settrington on 31 January 1563/4. She married (1) John Nicholson of West Heslerton and (2) John Knaggs, and had issue by both husbands. Elizabeth left a will dated 1620 in which she named her brother "Raiph" Harker and his son Miles (PCY 36:530). One of the witnesses of her will was Robert Lamb, who was probably her stepfather. Her mother Dorothy, widow of Miles Harker, married Robert Lamb on 13 August 1581. This Dorothy could not have been Dorothy Bigod, daughter of Sir Francis, as some have conjectured.

 

 

From the information above, we can see that Miles Harker did not have a daughter named Juliana. All of his daughters appear to be accounted for except Margaret. We believe that Margaret Harker married James Eggleston. We have already noted the eight-year gap in the births of the children of James Eggleston that suggests that he had had two wives, and this solution is that James named his first daughter from his second marriage after his deceased wife, Margaret, a common practice of the time.

 

Margaret (Harker) Eggleston must have died sometime between the births of Jane in 1595 and James Jr. In 1603. By about 1602, James Eggleston married Juliana Frear, as the will of her father shows. John Frear's will, executed on 18 April 1605 and proved on 3 October 1605 is given here in full as transcribed by Linda Eggleston McBroom (PCY 29:704):

 

THE WILL OF JOHN FREAR OF THORPE BASSETT

 

In the name of god Amen the xviijth day of Aprill an[n]o d[o]m[in]I 1605 I john Frear of Thorpe bassette in the County of York, Yeoman, sicke in body but sounde & p[er]fecte in remembrance thankes be to almighty god make this my last will & testament in manner & forme followinge. First I bequeath my soule unto allmightie god and my body to be buried within the church yarde of Thorp basset

 

It[e]m I give unto my sonne Thomas Freare xxxs I give unto my sonne in lawe James Eggleston of Settrington iiijli ijs

 

It[e]m I give unto the fower children of Lancelote Atley to be equallye devided amonest them five poundes

 

It[e]m I give unto Christopher harker of Scagglethrop [i.e., Scagglethorpe] my sonne in law [?] vjs viijd

 

It[e]m I give unto Christofer Jenkinson a bonde wherein he stoode bounde to pay unto me five pounds

 

It[e]m I doe give him more one cowe & fower shorne sheepe

 

It[e]m I doe give unto Lancelote Jenkinson a lambe

 

It[e]m my landes house garth [i.e., enclosed yard] and houses I give unto Elizabeth Freare my wife

 

It[e]m I freely forgive my sonne Thomas Freare three pounds xs w[hi]ch he oweth unto me

 

It[e]m I freely forgive my sonne in law James Eggleston xviijs & iiijd which he oweth unto me for a cowe

 

The rest of all my gooded my debts paid and fun[er]alle discharged I freely give to Elizabeth Freare my wife and Thomas Freare my sonne whome I doe make joynt exequutors of this my last will & testament

 

Witnesses hereof Richard Sandyman John Blenthorne and George Benson

 

 

Terms of relationships found in early wills sometimes differ from our modern concepts of them. "Son-in-law," for example, could mean a stepson or spouse of a daughter. We have proof that John Freare was using our modern meaning of the term. He also named Christopher Harker as his son-in-law and we have a record of Harker's marriage to Helen Frear.

 

There are three names in particular to notice in this will. James Eggleston, Christopher Jenkinson and Christopher Harker all married daughters of John Frear. Lancelot Atley may also have married a Frear daughter. The Settrington register and the IGI record the marriages of the two Christophers but not of James or Lancelot. They were probably married at Thorpe Bassett, and the register for that parish does not begin until 1656 with sketchy Bishop's Transcripts beginning in 1604. Christopher Jenkinson was married to Alice Frear on 1 July 1582, and Christopher Harker married Helen Frear on 17 May 1590, both at Settrington. These female Frears had a brother Leonard Frear who lived at Settrington. Leonard married Jane Swinburn on 3 May 1579.

 

In his will, John Frear did not name Christopher Jenkinson as his son-in law, yet we have the record of his marriage to Alice. It seems more than probable that Alice had died before John Frear made his will. A substantial legacy went to Christopher and a lamb to Lancelot Jenkinson. This son seems to have been the only issue of Alice and Christopher Jenkinson.

 

Thomas Frear, James Eggleston, Christopher Harker and the Atley children all recieved the exact equivalent of £5. Jame's wain, or wagon, was worth 18s. And he received £4.2 in cash which totals exactly £5.

 

Christopher Harker of Scagglethorpe within the parish of Settrington was a son of Robert Harker and possibly a cousin to Ralph, son of Miles. James Eggleston and Christopher Harker were brothers-in-law through marriage. There is no reason to attempt to link Christopher with the fact that James called Ralph his brother. James left a substantial legacy of a ewe to each of Ralph's four children, and he left nothing to Christopher Harker. This suggests a stronger bond between James and Ralph.

 

The Frears seemed to have been quite wealthy land owners. John Frear could call himself a yeoman, largely on the basis of his ownership of a freehold farm in Thorpe Bassett. In addition, he held the leases to four farms in Settrington. He passed these leases on to his son, Leonard, in 1594/5. Leonard then sold the leases to three of the farms, but kept the largest one for himself and lived there. It had more acres than any other mixed farm in Settrington.(HARKER. King and A. Harris, eds., A Survey of the Manor of Settrington, Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series, 126[1962]; this survey of land holdings in Settrington was carried out by John Mansfiled, the Queen'Settrington surveyor, in 1599/1600.)

 

Leonard Frear had also purchased two freehold farms in Settrington. One of them was the parcel of land on which the dovecote was situated. This desirable property came into the possession of James Eggleston who passed it on to his young son, James Jr., in his will. In our book about Bygod Eggleston, we discussed the prestige attached to the ownership of the dovecote (Eggleston, 44-45). There could be only one on any manor because of the damage that too many birds could cause to rops. On most manors, only the landlord was allowed to own the dovecote, but at this time Settrington was Crown property and did not have a resodent landlord. There were probably a number of freeholders who coveted the dovecote because it provided a valuable source of fresh meat and eggs as well as fertilizer from the bird droppings.

 

We do not know if Leonard Frear gave or sold the dovecote to his brother in-law and sister, Juliana. Leonard died in 1601 and that is why his name did not appear in John Frear's will of 1605. Leonard left a will but all that remains of it now is the Latin probate in the York Act Books. At any rate, Leonard must have favored James and Juliana by letting them have it before 1601. Perhaps he gave it to them as a wedding present.

 

JamesA Eggleston did not leave any money or property to Juliana, but left his freehold farm to be divided between his sons John and James Jr., who were only seven and ten years old when their father made his will. In those days, the lives of widows with small children were very difficult. Juliana had four children of her own all under ten years of age, and Alice could not have been more than two or three. Of James Eggleston's older children, only Elizabeth remained in Settrington. Bygod, Dorothy and Jane were in Norwich before 1611 when Bygod's name appears in the Norwich militia lists.

 

On 15 June 1614, more than a year after James Eggleston died, Juliana Eggleston married William Bainton. No doubt he took over the running of the farm until James Jr., and John reached the age of majority. Bainton's will, dated 4 December 1632, shows that he had been a loving husband to Juliana and a caring stepfather to her children. (Eggleston, 12-13)

 

This marriage of Juliana to William Bainton explains the name Juland Banton in the third will being discussed in the article. The parish clerk or whoever wrote down the will from Juliana's dictation had a very poor concept of spelling, even of the phonetic spelling of that time. However, Juliana's is probably the most important will that we have found. We give it here in full.

 

THE WILL OF JULIANA BAINTONOF SETTRINGTON, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND

 

In the name of god amen and the friste day of Januarye in the year of our lord god one thoussand six hundredth thirtie sixe [I.e., 1636/7] Curante I Juland banton off Settrington in the Countie off yorke weda being sicke in body but of p[er]ficke mynd and memorie thankes be to god doe make amd ordaine this my last will and Tesstament in maanor and Forom Follwing vid First I give soule to Allmightie god who gave it and to Jesus Christe who bought it and to the holy ghoste who sanctifyed it and my bodie to be buried in the Church yard off Settrington: I do give Frances thrope and Elezebeth thrope my dowter two dowteres vs betwext them and one Letell Cheste by Legesses I do give to my sone John egellston my kowe and all her Fowther: by Legesse painge to my dowter Margrett Anfessonxxs by one brasse pot by Legasse I do give to Jane egellston my sone James egellston dowter one Cobbart and hatt by Legasse I do give to my dowter dorotye Barwicke which is at noreg xxs by Legasse I give to my dowter Jane Clarke which is at nereg xxs by Legasse I do give to Mary egellston youngeste dowter to my sone James egellston my best brass pott by Legasse I do give to my sone James egellston one spett by Legasse I do give to John egellston sone to John egellston one Chest by Legasse I do give to Margrett daffesson one smoke and apperon by Legasse dettes that I do owe Folleith I do owe unto barbera Fowller-xxs I do owe unto alsse abbutt xxs. I do owe unto Jaine egellston dowter to James egellston iis vjd I do owe unto John egellston sone to John egellston iis vid. dettes owing me my cussein Lenard Freare doth owe me-iiijli my debts and Funerall exspences paid I do make my two Sones James egellston and John egellston Full exectores off this my Last will and Testament In witness heare off I the said Juland banton have heare unto sett my hand the day and yeare above written in the P[re]sence off us

 

John Frearemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm(mark) mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmJuland banton

 

(mark)Margrett davesson

 

 

Unlike other Yorkshire wills, Juliana's was not found among those probated by the Prerogative Court of York. It was probated more than a year after it was written in the Deanery of Buckrose where Settrington was situated. Juliana was buried on 8 January 1636[/7], just a week after the will was written, but the will was not probated until February 1637/8. Apparently this will is not available on microfilm in the United States. We obtained our copy from the Borthwick Institute in York, England, and have their permission to publish this transcription made by Linda Eggleston McBroom (ref.: Buckrose D 1637/8).

 

Juliana Bainton did not have many worldly possesssions to bequeath to her children, grandchildren and stepdaughters, but she named all of James Eggleston's children, except Bygod who by 1636 was in Windsor, Connecticut.

 

Referring to page 9 of our book about Bygod Eggleston, we can see that Julianna had the following children and grandchildren at the time of her death:

 

James Jr. who married Jane ___ and had two daughters named Jane,aged four years, and Mary,aged about two years.

 

John who married Ursula Fisher and had two sons: James,aged less than four years, and John,aged less than one year.

 

Margaret seemed to be Juliana's mainstay in life and death. The Settrington register shows that she was married to John Avison, but in the will her married name appears in various forms such as "davesson." There are no records of any children of Margaret and John Avison. In 1639, Margaret, widow, married Roger Thorpe of Settrington. We wonder if he was related to the former husband of Margaret's deceased half-sister, Elizabeth, whose two daughters are mentioned in Juliana's will, Frances and Elizabeth Thorpe or Throp.

 

Alice whose name appears as "alis" in Juliana's will was obviously married to a Burnbe, probably Burnby. There were several Burnbys in Settrington then, but we cannot identify which one married Alice Eggleston.

 

 

Juliana named all of the children and grandchildren she had, but she also named or implied James Eggleston's older children, except, of course, Bygod. Dorothy, Elizabeth and Jane must have been her stepdaughters rather than daughters. Frances and Elizabeth Thorpe must have been the daughters of Elizabeth, and she must have died before Juliana made her will.

 

Juliana named [step]daughters Dorothy Barwicke "which is at noreg" and Jane Clarke "which is at noreg" In our book about Bygod Eggleston (p. 60) we said that we thought that Dorothy and Jane went to Norwich with Bygod because they were the only ones of James's children to receive legacies from their uncle Sylvester Eggleston who lived in that town. Juliana's will proves that we were right about that and we were also right about about Jane Eggleston's marriage to Samuel Clarke at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, in November of 1632. We have not found record of Dorothy's marriage.

 

Some of the items which Juliana bequeathed require clarification. She was a widow ("weda"). Her son John received Juliana's cow and all her fodder ("fowther"). Alice received all of her mother's wearing apparel and one piece of white "cateye," which may have been some kind of cloth. Margaret received a smock ("smoke") and apron ("aperron"). Others received pots, chests and a cupboard ("cubbart").

 

As usuals in wills of this period, Juliana listed debts owed and owing. Juliana still owed 20s. to Alice Abbot, the same amount that William Bainton owed her when he made his will in 1632. It is difficult to understand why Juliana owed 2s. 6d. to her infant grandchildren, Jane and John. Perhaps there was a custom that grandchildren gave baptismal gifts of money to their grandchildren and Juliana had not paid the money.

 

Most interesting is the statement that her cousin Leonard Frear owed her some money. In those days the term cousin could mean any relative other than parents, uncle, aunt or brother. We can tell from the parish register that this Leonard Frear Juliana's great-nephew, grandson of her brother Leonard Frear who once owned the dovecote and who died in 1601. The John Frear who witnessed her will was probably another great-nephew. The mention of these two Frears is futher confirmation that Juliana was a member of that family.

 

The three wills discussed in this article clear up some of the questions relating to Bygod Eggleston's maternal ancestry. If we are right about Margaret Harker's being Bygod's mother, then the problem of why James Eggleston called Ralph Harker his brother is resolved.

 

Rosalie Eggleston, a retired universtiy teacher of Birmingham, England, and Linda Eggleston McBroom, of Steilacoom, Washington, are an aunt and neice team who have been working on the English and American Egglestons for several years.

***Reprinted here by permission of the authors and The American Genealogist. The above article originally appeared in The American Genealogist, Whole Number 276 Vol. 69, No.4, October 1994, pp 193-201.

 

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Update on the Mother of Bygod Eggleston from the same authors.

 

The following is from a Mary & John Clearing House order form. I am neither affiliated with The Mary & John Clearing House nor with the authors and the information is provided as a service to Eggleston researchers.

 

The book Bygod Eggleston: Englishman & Colonist and Some of His Descendants, By Dr. Rosalie Eggleston & Linda McBroom. Softbound. 1991. 137 pages.

 

This is the most comprehensive book ever published on the English ancestry of Bygod Eggleston (1586-1674) of Windsor, Connecticut. This work is the result of extensive new research by Dr. Rosalie Eggleston of Birmingham, England & Linda McBroom of Steilacoom, Washington. They visited and photographed the towns of Settrington & Norwich, where Bygod Eggleston lived and found new records never before published. This book contains many photos and maps and also the first four generations on Bygod Eggleston's descendants.

 

Bygod Eggleston: Englishman & Colonist and Some of His Descendants is available from:

 

The Mary & John Clearing House

5602-305th StreetToledo, Ohio 43611 Price is $16.00 plus $1.25 for shipping and handling.

 

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The East Yorkshire village of Settrington, was once the domain of a family named Bygod. They lived in the manor and lorded over the farms in the area. In the 1530’s the owner of the manor was Sir Francis Bygod, and he took part in the "Pilgrimage of Grace", a northern revolt against Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries. The revolt failed and the state took horrible retribution against them and their property, effectively wiping out the Bygod’s of Settrington.

 

In this little village, in the Church of All Saints, on February 20 1586, a baby boy was baptized Bygod Eggleston. His parents were James Eggleston and Margaret Harker Eggleston. Was he named after a relative of Margaret’s? There is speculation that her mother was a Bygod. But, other sources discount that. It does seem likely that the boy was named after the family of the estate. Whether this was due to family ties, or out of respect for the former family of the manor, may never be known.

 

James and Margaret had three daughters, after their son was born, and then, Margaret died. James remarried, a Juliana Frear, and had four more children before he died in 1613. But, it seems that Bygod and two of his sisters, Dorothy and Jane, did not live with their father and stepmother, but instead moved to Norwich to live with their father’s brother, Sylvester. Elizabeth stayed in Settrington. It was in Norwich that Bygod was on the militia list. This was not a standing army, but a list of all able-bodied householders and their servants who could be called to muster several times a year, Sylvester and his son, Edmund, appear there also. On this list Bygod is listed as a servant of Robert Coulson.

 

It was also while in Norwich that Bygod married for the first time. There doesn’t seem to be any record of his wife’s name, but together they had five children: James, born in April 1612 and died in August 1613, Mary, who was baptized at St. Margaret’s Church in Norfolk on Jan 19 1613, another James, born in 1617, John, born about 1620 and Samuel, born in 1627. Perhaps Bygod’s wife died in childbirth, as so many women did, because she did not emigrate with the young family in 1630.

 

From Norwich, on the eastern side of England, to Plymouth, in the southwest, was a tremendous journey in 1630, but apparently Bygod Eggleston and his four surviving children made that journey, in preparation for an even more unthinkable journey – that to the New World, for they were part of the company that boarded the "Mary and John" with the Rev. Warham, a noted minister from Exeter, the capital of Devonshire.

 

Before the March 20th departure, on a day of solemn fasting and prayer, the people who had gathered formed into a Congregational church, intending to go to North America in order to enjoy civil and religious privileges. They chose the Rev. John Warham and the Rev John Maverick to be their pastor and teacher.

On March 20th, 1630, a few days before the Great Migration began with the departure of the seven-ship Winthrop fleet, the "Mary and John", a 400-ton ship with 140 persons on board, departed Plymouth. They arrived in Nantasket (now Hull) Massachusetts, 70 days later on the 30th of May. The master of the vessel, Captain Squeb, refused to sail up the Charles River, as planned, because he feared running the ship aground in waters that he had no charts for. Instead, he left his passengers and all their 150,000 pounds of livestock, provisions and equipment in a desolate locale 20 miles from where they wanted to be. Later the captain would be obliged to pay damages for this conduct, but that was no help to the settlers.

 

Fortunately there were some earlier settlers in this area and they were able to obtain a boat and they proceeded up the Charles River to the place called Watertown. They landed their goods and erected a shelter to cover them, but they soon found that a nearby neck of land called Mattapan, was a more desirable location for their many cattle, and they removed to there and began a settlement in the early part of June. They named the place Dorchester, after the town in England, because that had been the home of many of the settlers.

 

In the summer of 1635, the Rev. John Warham and his congregation picked up and moved again. They moved westward, to an area at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers, to a place the Indians called Matianuck, where a few settlers had established themselves two years earlier. When Rev. Warham and sixty members of his congregation arrived, they renamed the place Dorchester. Two years later the name was changed to Windsor, by decree of the colony’s General Court. Bygod Eggleston is listed as one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut. Windsor is about six miles north of where the city of Hartford, Connecticut stands today.

 

Bygod married again, once he was established in Connecticut. His second wife’s name was Mary, but there is no clear indication what her maiden name was. Bygod and Mary had seven children: Thomas, 1638, Mercy, 1641, Sarah, 1643, Rebecca, 1644 (she died young), Abigail, 1648, Joseph, 1651, and Benjamin, 1653.

 

An interesting bit of information is that apparently, Bygod was fined 20 shillings in 1645 for "bequeathing his wife to a young man." The young man, a George Tuckye, was fined 40 shillings, but he took off and didn't pay. Why Bygod thought he needed a young man for his wife is certainly questionable, as Bygod was 67 years old when he fathered his youngest son, Benjamin.

 

By some accounts Bygod survived his second wife as well, and married for a third and final time. Once again, her name is unknown. No known children came of this marriage.

 

In 1646, Bygod’s son John, who had come over with him from England, died. He was about 25 years old.

 

James Eggleston, another son from Bygod’s first marriage became a freeman in 1637. He married Hester Williams, who had been born in Connecticut in 1639, in 1656 and had nine children. He fought in the Pequot Indian War and for his he was granted 50 acres of land in 1671. James died on December 1, 1679, just five years after the death of his father, on September 1, 1674. Bygod's Will was written in 1673, just a year before his death.

 

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Bygod Eggleston was born in Settrington, East Riding (now N. Yorkshire), England. There are various spellings of his first name in the records: Bygod, Bigod, Baggett, Bagot, Begat. He was baptized Bygod, he signed his name Bigod and in his will was Begat. It has been speculated that his fellow Puritans found the name Bygod a bit blasphemous, hence some of the alternative spellings.

 

Unlike his brothers, Bygod did not remain at home. The parish records of St Margaret's de Westwick, at Norwich, show that by 1612 he had removed to that city (Norwich, Norfolk, England) where his uncle was living, was married, and on 13 April had recorded the baptism of a son, James. The boy died and was buried on 15 Aug 1613, but in the meantime a daughter, Mary, was baptized on 6 Jan 1613. By the will of their uncle, probated 29 Sep 1612, Bygod and his sisters Dorothy and Jane each received a legacy of 20 shillings, and in the next year each of them -- Bygod, Dorothy, James, Elizabeth, Margaret and Alice -- inherited 6 pounds from their father's estate; their brothers divided the buildings and lands between them and were given the remainder of the estate after legacies, debts, funeral expenses, and the gifts to Ralf Harker and his family had been deducted (Ralf Harker may have married James Eggleston's sister, see G.S.C. Hartford Times, 9 Mar 1946).

 

What Bygod was doing at this time we do not know; his own will, made many years later, suggests that perhaps he worked with skins or hides. Apparently he left Norwich soon after 1613, for there is no further mention of him in the records; yet he must have been living somewhere in England for 17 years longer before he came to America. Stiles speaks of the tradition that he came from Exeter, but there is no real proof of this. Certain it is, however, that during this time two more sons, James and Samuel, emigrants to New England, like their father, were born to him; his will is proof of their parentage. James, who was old enough to be a soldier in the Pequot War of 1637, was probably the elder, and may have been born in 1617 or earlier; traditionally Samuel was his twin, but in fact he may have been younger, perhaps born not before 1620. It may be noted that James became a freeman earlier than Samuel, and that his eldest child was seven years older than Samuel's. A daughter, Mary, another son James, and his wife Juliane (surname in dispute), are assumed to have died before Bygod left left England and little else is known about them.

 

Bygod, and his two sons, James and Samuel, were among the 140 West Country Englishmen who left Plymouth, England on the "Mary and John" on 20 March, 1630. They landed 10 weeks later at Dorchester, MA. Five years later (1635), a majority of the so-called "Dorchester Company" trekked 110 miles through the wilderness to settle in the CT river valley as what we now know as Windsor, CT. There, at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut rivers, a trading post had been established as the first English settlement in CT on 26 Sept, 1633. Surviving the rigors of New England winters, Indian hostilities and a host of other challenges, they raised their families in the staunch Puritan traditions of their mentor, Rev. John White, the so-called patriarch of Dorchester (Dorset).

 

He married again, Mary (surname unknown). Together they had seven children: Thomas, Mercy (Mary), Sarah, Rebecca (Deborah), Abigail, Joseph and Benjamin.

 

In 1645 Bygod was involved in a curious affair that is difficult to interpret accurately. According to the Public Records of the Colony of CT I, 127, at a Particular Court held at Hartford 5 Jun 1645, "Baggett Eggleston, for bequething his wife to a young man, is fyned 20 s. George Tuckye, for his misdemeanor in words to Egleston's wife, is fyned 40s and to be bownd to his good behavior and to appear the next Court." Tucky did not appear at the next session, and nothing further about the affair is to be found in the records. Whatever happened, it did not seem to have seriously interrupted Bygod Egleston's family life. He was at that time 58 years old, had four young children besides his two older sons, and was to have three more within the next eight years. Although The Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, p. 105, says this must be regarded as a joke, a fanciful account in the Knickerbocker Monthly for January, 1851, represents Bygod as an aging man of plebian character whose wife is constantly quarreling with him because of his failure to attain higher social position; this bickering makes him angry enough to wish to be rid of her.

 

Bygod and his son James were admitted as freemen of CT Colony 21 May 1657 (Pub. Rec. Col. Conn. I, 297), the name being spelled "Begatt Eglestone." Son Samuel was admitted the following year. On 18 Jan 1659/70 his name is in the list of householders in Windsor who had paid for seating in the meeting-house, and in May, 1668, it is reported that for 50s he undertook "to cleanse the meeting-house this year" and for 28s to beat the drum for meetings (Stiles). "Begat Eggleston" and his sons James and Thomas are on the list of freeman dated 11 Oct 1669 (Pub. Rec. Col. Conn. II, 519; N. E. Reg. 5, 247). Stiles describes his hand holdings in Windsor as follows:

 

"Lot gr. on Backer Row, 14-1/2 r. wide from the Palisado Road; sold place to Nicholas Hoyt and resided 1654 in the Palisado, his lot being N of the meeting-house, bounded E on the highway, N by the palisades; and in 1654 the Town gave him the 1 rod road between him and the Elias Parkman lot, and the road across the N end of his lot between it and the palisades, during the pleasure of the Town. His lot in the _______ and his family have been deducted.

 

Bygod survived his second wife as well, and married a third and final time. Once again, her name is unknown. No known children came of this marriage. He had at least 63 grandchildren and 144 greatgrandchildren.

 

Matthew Grant of Windsor records Bygod Egleston's death: "Begat Egelstone dyed septem'r 1, 74 nere 100 yer ould." As a matter of fact, he was only 87.

 

Bygod's will shows that a widow survived him and there is a record that she contributed 4 s. in cloth to the CT Fund for the Relief of the Poor in Other Colonies, which was raised in 1676. The Windsor records also say that the widow Egleston died 25 July 1689.

 

The Will of Bygod Eggleston reads as follows:

 

Vol. III Page 136 Hartford District 1635 - 1700 by Manwaring.Eglestone, Bygatt, Windsor.

Invt. L116-03-00. Taken 24 October, 1674 by Old William Trail, Thomas Dibble, Matthew GrantWill dated 13 November, 1673.

 

I, Bigat Egellstone of Windsor in ye county of hartford being aged and weake do make this my last will and testament as followeth I comit my soule into ye hands of god and my body to be buryed in seemly manner by my friends: my Estate which is but small: This is my will, my House and land after my decease I give to my son Benjamin he being ye staff of my age on this condition that he shall maintain his moothere During her life and paye my Debts And in case my son Joseph suold come and demand a portion he brother shall pay him forty shilloings as he is able with conveneinency also to my son James and my son Samuell and my son Thomas And to my daughters Mary Sarah and Abigaile to eyther of these three shillings apeece all ye rest of my estate I give to my son Benjamin and doo make him my exsequitor.

 

Begat Egleston

 

Witnesses:Matt ffuler (Nath.Ssyler), Abraham Randall, John Hosford.

 

Sources: Our Eggleston and Allied Families, by Elsie E. Kempton, 1975; The American Genealogist, Vol. x, pp 197-8; Vital record for Mercy from the CT Historical Society; Eggleston Genealogy by F. Eggleston Robbins; Eggleston ... Facts and Fiction by Genevieve Tylee Kieupura; National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol 57, #4, p 255; The Mary and John by Maude Pinney Kuhns; Edwin D Witter, Jr; Boston City Document No. 9, Dorchester Town REcords; Dorothy Griebel, Lynnfield, MA 1995.5

Sources

1"US and International Marriage Records, 1550-1900" (on-line, Yates Publishing, Provo, UT).
2"Yorkshire, England Extracted Parish Records".
3"US and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500-1900".
4"New England, The Great Migration and the The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 record".
5"Find a Grave".