Hi, I've read on this list as well as other places the claim that Thomas SHERWOOD (the one who sailed from Ipswich on the Francis in 1634) was the son of Esdras SHERWOOD of St.Nicholas, Ipswich, Suffolk co., England. I have no idea whether or not the connection is valid or simply conjecture (I've personally seen no proof--if someone can provide primary evidence or make a compelling case from circumstantial evidence of this connection I wish they would and put it online for all to see and enjoy). In the book "The Town Finances of Elizabethan Ipswich: Select Treasurers' and Chamberlains' Accounts" (Suffolk Records Society, vol.38) there are these references to Esdras SHERWOOD and Thomas SHERWOOD (supposedly brothers): 1577-8 Receiptes Rentes of the bocher's stalles The contry stalles: Thomas Sherwood 1586-7 Fearmes receyved for the outstawlles in the Butcherye: Thomas Sherwoode Esdras Sherwoode 1601-2 Rent received for the butcher's stalles: Thomas Sherewoode Esdras Sherewode My interpretation of this info is that Thomas and Esdras were butchers by trade and that Ipswich had designated areas of town where butchers could rent stalls in which to turn animals into delicious food. Also, according to the "Index of Wills Proved in the Perogative Court of Canterbury 1605-19" (London: The British Record Society Limited, 1912) a Thomas SHERWOOD, merchant of Ipswich, Suffolk had a will proved in 1609. Whether or not this Thomas is the same as Thomas the butcher is not known by me, but his will might have some interesting info in it. There is also a will filed at the Court of the Archdeacon of Suffolk in 1663 by a Widow Alice Sherwood of Ipswich--could she be the Alice who married Thomas at St.Nicholas, Ipswich in 1604? If so, then the Thomas-the-immigrant-son-of-Esdras theory goes down in flames. These wills are available on microfilm through the LDS Family History Centers. Additionally, in August 1624 a Faith SHERWOOD of Ipswich wrote a will which was probated 23 September 1624 and filed with the Archdeaconry of Suffolk (I have a copy of a transcription). Her husband was John SHERWOOD, a draper of Ipswich. She mentions in her will her husbands children (apparently from a previous marriage): Margaret, John and Thomas. After all this highly suggestable Ipswich stuff, I have to say that as far as I know (and as others, most notably Geoffrey SHERWOOD, have pointed out) there is no more reason to suspect that our immigrant Thomas SHERWOOD was a native of Ispwich than there is to suspect he was a native of any of the more than 500 parishes in Suffolk (or any of the countless parishes throughout East Anglia--many of whose church registers, to the best of my knowledge, have not been transferred to the IGI). However, I think that Thomas was probably from either Suffolk or Essex or a county neighboring one of those counties. It would be interesting to know the process by which the April 1634 New England bound Ipswich ships 'Francis' and 'Elizabeth' gathered their cargos--did the ships masters go out about Ipswich and surrounding environs gathering subscribers? How did word get out? Lastly, I wanted to mention that a few weeks ago someone posted a message on the the SEABROOK board at RootsWeb which stated that her grandfather was a SEABROOK who was born not far from Wingrave, Buckinghamshire and that her research showed that a daughter of Robert SEABROOK married a "Thomas SHERWOOD from Slapton". So those interested in the Thomas SHERWOOD of Stratford, CN might want to see what the poster of that message knows. Oddly, Slapton was the ancestral home of the three Turney sisters who married three sons of the other Thomas SHERWOOD (the one who sailed from Ipswich in the Francis in 1634). Dean Sanders deanws@webtv.net Thomas>Stephen>Joseph>Joseph>Joseph> Israel>Sarah SHERWOOD born 25 April 1787 in Yorktown, Westchester co., NY; married Oliver White KELLOGG; died 24 February 1854 in Dixon, Lee co., IL.