<<Richard Hawes <snip> sailed from London, England to America on the ship "Truelove", Joseph Gibbs, Master, 19 September 1635. History does not record why.>> Hello Robert, I've been interested in the Truelove emigrants for some time, as among them were a man called Ralph Tomkins and his family, from Wendover (no relations to me, but most American Tompkins families claim to be descended from them). The English homes of most of the Truelove emigrants are unknown, but at least four families on the ship came from a small area of south Buckinghamshire - the Tomkins from Wendover, a Preston family from Chesham; the Hawes from Gt Missenden; and two men called Barstow from Princes Risborough (see CE Banks, Planters of the Commonwealth). I've often wondered about this group - about their backgrounds, and the circumstances in which they emigrated. Were they Puritans fleeing persecution, or were they economic migrants? Did ALL the emigrants on the Truelove come from south Buckinghamshire, or just the four families we know of? In either case, were the Buckinghamshire ones a group who resolved to emigrate together, or did they all meet for the first time on the docks in London? If they were a group, who was their leader? Did they stick together in New England? Unfortunately I've never found the time to start investigating them properly. However one little piece of desktop research which I've just carried out is to look in 'The World of Rural Dissenters, 1520-1725', a collection of essays in part focused on the religious dissenters of the Chilterns in the 16th and 17th centuries (edited by Margaret Spufford, Cambridge University Press, 1995). One of the concerns of the book is to determine how much nonconformity ran in the family in the Chilterns - to find out if the 17th century Puritans were literally the descendants of the early 16th century Lollards (ie descendants by blood - not just in spirit). It doesn't mention any dissenting Tomkins, Preston or Barstow, but it does mention your Thomas (E) Hawes of Princes Risborough, who left a will in 1554, and some of his immediate family. At least one of them - his son Robert - was probably the Lollard of that name who is mentioned in Foxe's Book of Martyrs as one of a group who were active in the Hughenden-Princes Risborough-Chesham area in the 1530s. The authors of the book would no doubt have been very pleased to learn that 100 years later one of the family emigrated to New England - they would probably see that as evidence of Puritan leanings being passed down through the family. <<As taken from the genealogy "Richard Hawes of Dorchester, MA and some of his Descendants", the decadency of Richard (1) Hawes is as follows: Thomas (E) Hawes of the parish of Prince's Risborough left a will dated 27 May 1554, proved at Myssenden. Richard (D) Hawes left a will dated 14 June 1590 that was probated 17 February 1594, marr. Alice who proceeded him in death. Richard (C) Hawes left a will dated 29 March 1627 that was proved 07 June 1627, marr. Cisley who outlived him. Bennett (B), b. ca 1565, was mentioned in his father's will of 1627. The date of his death is unknown. Richard (A) Hawes, b. ca. 1586, d. at Great Missenden between 09 September 1665 and 11 January 1666, about 80 years of age. The name of his wife or wives is not known. Great Missenden burials give several from which to choose. I am beginning my research to identify if Richard (1) had any siblings or other family and of their descendants.>> I can't tell you anything about your Richard (1), but from a little more desktop research I can say that you may be able find out something about him and the earlier generations in some of the publications of the Buckinghamshire Record Society, if you can find them in a reference library over there. For instance the 1522 Muster Roll (published in the Society's vol 17) lists several Hawes, including the following: in Walton, near Little Missenden: John Hawse (assessed on freehold land worth 2s and goods worth £2) in Princes Risborough: William Hawse (assessed on freehold land worth 1s 6d and goods worth £2 13s 4d), John Hawse (goods worth £5) in Great Kimble: Thomas Hawse (goods worth £3 6s 8d),Henry Hawse (goods worth £1), Richard Hawse (neither land nor goods) in High Wycombe: Benett Hawse (no land, no goods - presumably a hired servant?) in Wendover: Thomas Hawes (£2 goods), William Hawes (£10 land, £1 goods), John Hawes (neither land nor goods) in West Wycombe: Hugh Hawys (goods £10) The Calendar of Bucks Wills (vol 32) records the wills of quite a few Hawes living in the Wycombe-Risborough area in the 16th and early 17th century, besides the ones mentioned above - for example those of a Benet Hawse of Great Wycombe in 1545 and a John Hawes of Princes Risborough in 1579. You will probably be able to buy photocopies of these wills from the Buckinghamshire Record Office. Vol 19 (Courts of the Archdeaconry of Buckingham, 1483-1523) shows that the Hawes family have been in Princes Risborough since at least the 15th century - it has several references to them, including one to a Thomas Haws who was sued for breach of faith and perjury in 1489 and again in 1491. Good luck, Matt Tompkins