PART I Apparently the rootsweb system may have choked on my latest sent to Disbrow-L list: "Much MORE Evidence for Thomas of Eltisley Manor". So here it is again, split in two, with typos corrected... First, let me add here what I failed to mention: ....young Mary WINCH, noted below, proves my point by an excess of evidence! She too was aboard the ship FRANCIS in 1634, along with so many others of our "Disbrow Network." At age 15, she is attached to the Stebbins family on Banks' passenger list ("Planters of the Commonwealth," p 123). Her surname, an unusual one in my estimation, is also mentioned by the will of our Samuel Pennoyer in 1654 as "Robert WINCH," with several other male names, all members of the Company of Drapers of the City of London (this Company is also mentioned by Samuel Disbrowe in his will, 1680). The clothing trades are especially important to our "Network." My Fitch of Bocking were also cloth manufacturers, and it was the textile industry that had been fueling the new economy of the 16th/17th centuries, sending many newcomers into these often urbanized trades from once traditional land-based ways. This industry was still creating a new, upwardly mobile middle class by the time of our Disbrow Network, which seems to be a prime example. My latest posting follows: I have not been idle! There has just been a flood of new information, virtually all pointing in the 'startling' Disbrowe directions I've identified, taking all my time to keep up. I do keep careful notes, & must try from these to keep those still interested up-to-date too. The "latest" (with much more to come 'proving' our early CT Disbrow(e)s were clearly VERY closely inter-linked): THE SHERWOOD CONNECTION--- A"George Sherwood" is noted married to Mary Hobson, by BOTH the wills of Rose Disbrowe, her sister, & their f., William Hobson (Rose was 2nd w. to Samuel Disbrowe, bp. Eltisley 1619, of Guilford, CT to 1651 & Elsworth, Cambs). Some weeks ago now (&, yes, 'coincident' to my posting those 'Rose' wills) I found a "George Sharswood" in early CT, as noted by Barbour's "Fams. of Early Htfd" (p. 386) under his "Thomas MARSHALL" entry which I had copied long before (this "Marshall" d. 1692; recall that James Disbrowe (#1) m. Elizabeth MARSHALL, according to Bishop's Transcripts for Eltisley, 5 Aug 1605). Here is Barbour's entry on "Thomas Marshall," relevant portions: "Hfd 1668: Wethersfield Lane [SS note: this would be modern Wethersfield Ave.; Wethsfld is very important in our early family Networking]; will proved Dec 30, 1692. Suit vs. Mary Gibson of Boston [SS: there is a Boston MARSHALL connection at this time, w/ one of Thomas' sons engaged in maritime career there, but whose will is also proved at Htfd, he also had a son named "BENJAMIN MARSHALL", d. 1701 estate proved at Htfd---recall that my ancestor's sloop was also named "Benjamin Marshall," blt 1830, Coxsackie, NY---more later on my "spooky Marshall Connections"] admit est Thomas Marshall. Savage p 176 says wife of John Marshall 1685 of Hfd is dau. of John Stebbins & Margaret. Sgt George Darrow of New London m/1 Mary widow of George Sharswood? who d 1698 [SS: Barbour lists Geo. Darrow as m. to 2nd dau. of Thomas Marshall, b. 1678, Elizabeth m. 10 Aug 1702]. He mar/2 Aug 10, 1702 Elizabeth Marsh [SS: ...HAS Barbour made a mistake in transcription---he means ELIZABETH "MARSHALL" here!! Yet he has written 'MARSH' instead----are the two names of Marsh & Marshall variant?? Or is this just a mistake, one just EXACTLY like that made by the Green County(NY) Historical Society when first notifying me in 1997 about my ancestor, Scudder Squires' probate listing of his sloop, the "Benjamin MARSH (sic)"!! Whatever,...RECALL that the son of Samuel Disbrowe, Dr James, m. a dau of John Marsh of Hertfordshire, Abigail; Hartford, CT is believed named for Hertford---Recall too that a "John Marsh," perhaps his son, was also of Htfd at this same time, according to Henry Waters; John Marsh's homelot, on Map of 1640 Hartford, is immediately beside William BUTLER's, not far from Nicholas Disbrowe's too, who is up the hill a very short way!]. He died 1704. (see Montville Hist p 102) Wife of Thomas Marshall of Hfd named as dau of John & Margaret (--) Stebbins. (See Montville p 419-420)." Who is this George "SHARSWOOD" as noted above, did he have a wife named "Mary?" ....Yours truly is 'hound-dogging' other hints about this man in early CT! But recall that these folk went back & forth to England surprisingly OFTEN(!), visiting family back home, taking care of business, some to stay there for good, etc. Thomas Pennoyer, himself, f. to Lydia 'Penoir' who is now so heroic to us for her defending role in Mercy Disbrow's 1692 trial for witchcraft, is also listed in Mercy's trial transcripts (defensive for Mercy), noting his recent trip to ENGLAND thus: "The testimony of Thomas Pennoyer he saith, that the sheep that Mary Newman mentioned that died which she gives in testimony as he have [heard?] that she thought was bewitched to death died this last spring was four year it being before he went to England: the next summer after he came home from England was a contention between Goodwife Clawson [SS: she was Mercy's co-defendant] and Mary Newman about the girl taking apples or nuts or grapes or some such thing out of Goodman Clawson's lot:.... " (SS: thereby 'proving' that the sheep death could not have been by 'malificarum' scarum witchcraft, p. 343, David Hall, WITCH HUNTING, pub. 1999) The Isaac SHERWOOD Connection: ISAAC Sherwood is closely linked to my Thomas Disbrow at Compo, Fairfield, in several major ways. Isaac was son to the immigrant Thomas Sherwood who came over on the ship "Francis", 1634 from Ipswich, Eng (Ipswich, MA is also where many familiar names crop-up very early in the 'way-stopping,' eg: very near Isaac Disbrowe's briefly recorded sojourns on American soil, also at the north shore of MA). This ship, according to Banks, also carried Hugh & Hester MASON, Anthony WHITE, Richard & Justinian HOLDEN, William 'Hailton' (Holden), John GREENE, Robert Coe family (with John Coe ae 8), Robert & Judith Wing (of my Squires family interest), Roland Stebbins family of Bocking/Essex Co. (Bocking is where my CT Fitch came from, cloth manufacturers! NOTE Stebbins above in Barbour's entry on the Thomas Marshall family) and Mary Winch ae 15, ....Thurston Clarke, Nicholas Jennings. VIRTUALLY ALL OF THESE NAMES ON THE SHIP "FRANCIS" HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR DISBROWE NETWORK! FIRST: recall that our Thomas Disbrowe of Eltisley married a Susan MASON, 17 May 1650. The CT Masons, of famous Capt. John Mason of the Pequot War, etc, also very closely intermarried with another of my ancestral lines, the Rev. James Fitch line of CT, BOTH Rev. James (his second wife) & his son too (his wife is my ancestress---Capt. Mason thereby being my direct ancestor). Rev. James Fitch, himself, FIRST married the sister, Abigail Whitfield (also my ancestress), of Samuel Disbrowe's first wife Dorothy, both daus. of Rev. Henry Whitfield of Guilford, CT. The "White" surname, also on ship "Francis," is mentioned often in the wills of both Rose & William Hobson (including as his son-in-law Wm White, with a William White family also Pilgrims on ship "Mayflower", 1620---recall Peregrine White, etc). Dr. James Disbrowe's will (He was son of Samuel!) 26 Nov 1690, mentions a "spinster Mrs. Whitfield," bequeathing his house lease at Stepney to her if his own wife should not survive him "for & during so many years of the said lease the said Mary Whitfield shall live." (per Waters, Oct 1887 NEGHR, p. 354) The several "Holdens" noted as passengers too with Thomas Sherwood & family, are also listed by Waters with the Rose Disbrowe/William Hobson wills, NEGHR Ap 1891, these clearly mentioning New England, many familiar surnames, Revs. Wells, Hooker, Peters, Syms "(Ministers of New England)", one 1693 will for "Nath'l Hulton" (Holten/Holden) noted many GREENs/GREENEs (& a John Greene), and "Mr. Encrease Mather Minister of the Gospell in New England." Thomas Disbrowe's older sister, Rebecca, m. Rev. George GREENE of Eltisley in 1631, for example. One John GREENE is also aboard this same ship "Francis" with the Sherwoods in 1634. There was a John Green at Fairfield who first settled at "Bankside" (near Compo) which was named for Green, becoming "Greens Farms," my Uncle David Disbrow Squires lives still on Greens Farms Road in Westport, CT (see Schenk, p. 375). Was it this John Green, or his son or another altogether, that would also "get around," ...living at Stamford in 1650's, proprietor of Bedford by 1680, and whose estate was sold to Jeremiah Andrews (per Town of Bedford Hist Recs, vol 9, p. 61). Could the same John Green have owned homes at BOTH places: Stamford/Bedford & Greens Farms too?? The example of John Banks is instructive since that is exactly what he did. He was often a magistrate to the CT Court from both Rye & Fairfield, BOTH places at once (serving more often from Rye than even Peter Disbrow!!). The Andrews clan, related to Jeremiah above, also lived at Compo/Greens Farms for abt as many generations as our Disbrows were there too! An Andrews relative, John Jr. of Farmington branch, married into the family of the 2nd wife of Htfd's Nicholas Disbrowe (recall: she was dau. to Edward Shepard, who lived at Cambridge, MA in the same congregation of his "kinsman"--so I believe for several good reasons---the very famous Rev. Thomas Shepard, who came over on the DEFENCE with our own Rev. John Jones! There was also a "John Shepard" on early Htfd records). This John Green was a very active/important man, serving to lay boundaries for the "Country Road" within RYE, CT(NY), the same place where Peter Disbrow was a founding settler (this road is as mentioned also in Thomas Disbrow Jr's will, btw, recall he too has a VERY curious/provoking mention in the Rye Town Records of all places!). Green appears to have served as a Rep to the CT Court just as did Peter Disbrow and John Banks, Timothy Knapp....all from these very same border regions. A "Samuel Green" would operate the first printing press in America out of his house in Cambridge MA until the very important "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel" (mentioned in William Pennoyer's 1670 will) provided another press in 1665 at MA Bay Colony. It was this same "Society" which employed Marmaduke Johnson, a professional printer from England, to print Rev. John Eliot's now famous Indian Bible ("The Green Family, A Dynasty of Printers", p 90-91, "Genealogies of CT Families").. Rev. Eliot was a favorite of Rev. Henry Whitfield, and our own Samuel Disbrowe (as I noted in a previous post), & they both visited Eliot at Cambridge, MA on their way back to England in 1651 (per Guilford histories). Rev. Eliot's son Joseph would later become pastor of Samuel Disbrowe's own Guilford, CT,....and, much more significantly for us, he would ALSO figure very decisively into Mercy Disbrow's trial for witchcraft in 1692 (but more on THAT in a later post, together with the "Rev. Timothy Woodbridge" connection to Samuel Disbrowe of Elsworth, near Cambridge University in England!). The Robert Coe family, also abrd the FRANCIS in 1634, included one lad name "John Coe," ae 8, who would later go on to found the Town of Rye, CT/NY, together with our own Peter Disbrow in 1660 (w/ Thomas Stedwell,...NO, not "Stebbins!") by first purchasing Manussing Island from the Indians (per Baird, "Hist of Rye," p 9). END of Part I.