Hi! I would like to know about William Eldred, b. 4 SEP 1627 in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, married to Anne Lumpkin. Several sources say that his parents were Thomas Eldred and Anna Watson. Other sources say that this William was born in 1618 in England and his parents were Robert Eldred and Anne Garnham. Which ancestry is right or is this one of those ancestries where no one really knows? Thanks for any help! Nancy

And other sources say his parents John Eldred and Joan. Flip a coin. Merle W. Kuhn Nancy Powell wrote: > > Hi! > > I would like to know about William Eldred, b. 4 SEP 1627 in Yarmouth, > Massachusetts, married to Anne Lumpkin. Several sources say that his > parents were Thomas Eldred and Anna Watson. Other sources say that this > > William was born in 1618 in England and his parents were Robert Eldred > and Anne Garnham. Which ancestry is right or is this one of those > ancestries where no one really knows? > > Thanks for any help! > > Nancy > > ==== ELDRIDGE Mailing List ==== -- "Of all the things I ever lost, I miss my mind the most" Merle W. KUHN Kuhnie the COON hunter mkuhn@enter.net

Hi Nancy/ others interested William/Robert Eldred researchers. I have recently been searching for the English origins of my ancestor, Robert1 Eldred, and indirectly, by association, your William1. In this effort I utilized the service of East Anglia Village Research and information provided by a leading English "Eldred researcher." Incidentally, the latter individual is currently contributing to the Eldred Genforum surname on the Family Tree Maker web site The quick answer to your question as far as I am concerned is that "nobody really knows" or "flip a coin," as mentioned in a earlier response. About all I have accomplished, at this juncture, is to disprove some Robert/William candidates while identifying possible new "leads" As mentioned in Judge Eldridge's response, the parents of your William1 Eldred are almost definitely not Thomas Eldred and Anna Watson, of Ipswich. The will of Thomas Eldred, cited in Nelson Eldred's book, makes no mention of sons by the name Robert or William. On the possibility that this could be an oversight, or error, I had the appropriate Parish records and other documents from the Archives were reviewed. No records of sons by the name of Robert, and/or William for this family were found. Nelson Eldred, in his book "Robert Eldred of Yarmouth and Chatham, Massachusetts" published 1996, states that "it is believed that Robert 1 Eldred and William1 Eldred were brothers. Based upon this assumption they were both born in Winfarthing, Norfolk County, England" He lists Robert's parents as Robert Eldred and Joan of Winfarthing. Nelson's book "William Eldred of Yarmouth, Massachusetts," published 1995 states "William Eldred was born c1618, possibly in Winfarthing (3miles from New Buckingham), Norfolk County, England, the son of Robert and Anne Garnham." So there is a contradiction here. It may possibly be a clerical error in transcribing the script - 'Robert Eldred married widow Jo-Anne Clark of Banham, Jan 5 1633/4." Banham vs Garnham, that is. This Eldred family is cited in the manorial records of Winfarthing, which were provided in a Family Tree by my English Eldred contact. It has Robert1 cited in a disposition as born in 1601. He was also married (wife unk) and had children born 1633 and 1635. This places Robert1 in a much older age bracket than our immigrant was thought to be - not to mention an existing English family. Hardly fits marrying Elizabeth Nickerson in 1649 and subsequently fathering nine children. Unfortunately, there is a gap in the Winfarthing Parish records and no further information on William or Robert was found( e.g., will, marriage, death record, etc) William appears to have been the youngest of the family and is still considered a viable immigrant candidate. Henry, the eldest son of this family had a son named Robert, who was born in a more appropriate time frame to qualify as a "candidate." . There is no subsequent record of this Robert, until 1653, when he inherits his father's property. He is not physically present at "probate" but represented by a Lawyer. Was this Robert unable to be present because he was out of the country? Did Robert1 have a substantial financial windfall, from unknown sources, after 1753? Another possible contradiction. The book "Mobility and Migration - East Anglian Founders of New England" by Dr. Roger Thompson, has a reference to the "three Eldred brothers, Samuel, Robert, and William, who emigrated from Ipswich in Suffolk in 1635. Their family roots were believed to be in Knettishall on the NorfolkSuffolk borders." Robert Eldred that married widow Joan Clement had roots in Knettishall. The contradiction is that Samuel Eldred and his wife were married in Ipswich, Nov 25, 1640 and they appeared in Cambridge, Mass in 1641. Sooo - if he came over in 1635, he would have later returned to get married in 1640. Could have happened - not all that unusual. Comments solicited (g) Richard ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy Powell" Sent: February 14, 2001 7:30 PM Subject: [ELDRIDGE-L] William Eldred | Hi! | | I would like to know about William Eldred, b. 4 SEP 1627 in Yarmouth, | Massachusetts, married to Anne Lumpkin. Several sources say that his | parents were Thomas Eldred and Anna Watson. Other sources say that this | | William was born in 1618 in England and his parents were Robert Eldred | and Anne Garnham. Which ancestry is right or is this one of those | ancestries where no one really knows? | | Thanks for any help! | | Nancy | | | | | ==== ELDRIDGE Mailing List ==== | |