James Prence

Other Events and Attributes:

• Departure: 1621
• Residence: 1632, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
• Residence: 1649, Nauset, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
• Residence: 1665, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Notes:

Thomas Prence --- from
http://www.caskey-family.com/genealogy/ThomasPrence.htm
Born: 1600 Near Cricklade In Wilts, Leclade, CG, England
Name Var: Prince
Note: Thomas Prince, Senior, carriage maker of All Hallows, Dorking, London, England, in his will of 1630 mentions, "my son Thomas Prence now remayninge in New England in parts beyond seas." The proper spelling of this surname is Prince and it was so written by his immediate and collateral forebares, but Gov. Thomas chose to write it as Prence.

Immigration: 1621
Note: Came to Plymouth Colony in the "Fortune".

Occupation: 1633
Note: Was the first elected Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Served either as Governor or Assistant Governor for the remainder of his years.

1st Marriage: 01 APR 1635 to Patience Brewster, daughter of Elder Brewster

Note: 1637 Details: He raised a corps of volunteers to assist the Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay Colonies in defeating the Pequot Indians. In 1638, he was active in the capturing, trial, and execution of four young servant men of Plymouth who attacked a solitary Indian at Pawtucket, within the Colony limits, robbing and mortally wounding him."

Birth of Daughter: Rebecca Prence
Birth of Daughter: Mary Prence
Birth of Daughter: Hannah Prence
Birth of Son: Thomas Prence

2nd Marriage: 01 APR 1635 to Mary Collier in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Birth of Daughter: Jane Prence
Birth of Daughter: Mary Prence
Birth of Daughter: Sarah Prence
Birth of Daughter: Elizabeth Prence
Birth of Daughter: Judith Prence

Note: 1644
Details: "He was the first of a group of Plymouth residents to settle at Eastham on Cape Cod in 1644, where he built his home in 1646. Legend, woodcut and poem testify to the pear tree which he brought from England and planted on his Eastham farm. . . He again became Governor in 1657, stipulating that he must continue to reside in Eastham, contrary to the usual requirement of Plymouth residence for Governors of the Colony. In October of 1665, the Colony finally requested his removal to Plymouth 'for the more convenient administration of justice'. The Colony purchased of Edward Gray the residence 'Plain Dealing' for the Governor's use, located nearly two miles from the center of town on the road to Boston."

Note: It was in 1660 when Thomas Prence was Governor of the Colony, and concerned his daughter. "The tolerant course of the elder Arthur Howland toward Quakers had earned the ill will of Gov. Prence, and when in 1660 he found Arthur Howland, Jr., had woed his daughter Elizabeth, he had the swain before the General court, where he was fined œ5 because he had disorderly and unrighteously endeavored to obtain the affections of Mistress Elizabeth Prence, and was put under a bond of œ50 to refrain and desist. But Prence, like Canute, was unable to control the forces of nature. This action was in July, but before the next spring the imperious Governor seems to have been forced to capitulate, for Arthur, Jr., and Elizabeth were united and in the course of events there was a Thomas Howland and a Prence Howland. Governor Prence's friend and neighbor, Constant Southworth, had a like experience with his daughter Elizabeth. In his will, 1679, he gave her "My next best bed and furniture, with my wife's best bed, provided she do not marry Wm. Fobes, but if she do, then to have 5s." The bed and adjuncts were then worth thirty times 5s, for a fine bed was thought a goodly bequest; but it was the grand old story; Elizabeth chose to have 5s with William, to two beds without him, and provided her own beds." - Lysander Salmon Richards, History of Marshfield, Volume One

3rd Marriage: BEF 08 DEC 1662 Apphia (Quick) Freeman
4th Marriage: BET 1665 - 1668 to Mary Howes, widow of Thomas Howes
Death: 29 MAR 1673 Plymouth, Massachusetts
Note: The Plymouth Church Records said of him, 'He was excellently qualifyed for the office of a Governour, he had a countenance full of majesty and therein as well as otherwise a terrour to evil doers'. (see also his will on page 74)."

Burial: 08 APR 1673 Plymouth, Massachusetts

Thomas married Patience Brewster on 5 Aug 1624 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. Patience (daughter of William Brewster, IV and Mary Love Wentworth) was born in 1600 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England; died on 12 Dec 1634 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; was buried in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth: unknown
Scrooby
Nottinghamshire, England
Death: 1634
Plymouth
Plymouth County
Massachusetts, USA

Patience Brewster was born most likely in Scrooby, England, to Elder William Brewster and Mary (maiden name varies by source). Her birthdate ranges from 1595 to 1603.

She arrived in Plymouth aboard the "Anne" in 1623 along with her sister, Fear. Her parents and brothers, Love and Wrestling, arrived during 1620 on the Mayflower. Her other brother, Jonathan, arrived with her future husband, Thomas Prence, on the ship Fortune.
On August 5, 1624, she married Thomas Prence who would, on January 1, 1634, become the 4th Governor of the Colony. Together, they had four children, Rebecca, Thomas, Hannah and Mercy.

She died in 1634 of "a pestilent feaver", and is buried on Burial Hill, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Some SOURCES:
1. BOOK: Mayflower Families in Progress, WILLIAM BREWSTER of the Mayflower and his Descendant for Four Generations, revised edition, 2000 (MFIP Brewster #20).

2. A History of the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts, With Genealogical Registers, by Justin Winsor, published online by Ancestry.com, The Generations Network, Inc., Provo, UT, 2007. Originally published Boston, 1849, reprinted for Clearfield Company, Inc. by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1995.

3. The History of Cape Cod: The Annals of The Thirteen Towns of Barnstable County, Volume II], by Frederick Freeman, Published Boston 1862, published online by Google Books 2009, original publisher Geo. C. Band & Avery & Cornhill, Boston, Mass. 1858

4. Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691, (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), pp. 340, 341


Family links:
Parents:
William Brewster (1566 - 1644)
Mary Brewster (1570 - 1627)

Spouse:
Thomas Prence (1600 - 1673)*

Children:
Mercy Prence Freeman (____ - 1711)*
Hannah Prence Mayo Sparrow (1629 - ____)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial:
Coles Hill Burial Ground
Plymouth
Plymouth County
Massachusetts, USA

Thomas married Elizabeth Tolderby in 1600 in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England. Elizabeth was born in 1577 in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England; died in 1630 in London, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Arrival: 1620, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Notes:

Birth: 1566
Scrooby
Nottinghamshire, England
Death: Apr. 10, 1644 Plymouth
Cemetery: Burial Hill Cemetery Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

Pilgrim colonist, leader and preacher
Elder William Brewster came from Scrooby, in north Nottinghamshire and reached what became the Plymouth Colony in the Mayflower in 1620. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary Brewster, and his sons, Love Brewster and Wrestling Brewster. The town of Brewster, Barnstable, MA was incorporated Febr 19, 1803 and was named for Elder William Brewster. A large part of the inhabitants being his descendants
William Brewster attended Peterhouse College, Cambridge 1580-1583; was postmaster and baliff-receiver at Scrooby, England 1590-1607. Organized Scrooby congregation 1606-1609; removed his family to Amsterdam and later to Leyden, Holland where he tutored 1609-1616 and was ruling Elder 1616-1619. He was in flight and hiding in England in 1619-1620 while arranging passage to New England. William, his wife and two youngest sons arrived Plymouth via the Mayflower in 1620. At Plymouth, William was Ruling Elder until 1643. He was also purchaser 1626; Undertaker 1627-1641

Spouse:
Mary Brewster (1570 - 1627)*

Children:
Patience Brewster Prence (1590 - 1634)*
Jonathan Brewster (1593 - 1659)*
Fear Brewster Allerton (1606 - 1634)*
Love Brewster (1611 - 1651)*
Wrestling Brewster (1614 - ____)*


Volume 1: The Brewster Genealogy 1566-1907
http://www.archive.org/details/brewstergenealog190801jone
Volume 2 (with name index in the back for research):
http://www.archive.org/details/brewstergenealog190802jone



William Brewster (c. 1566 – 10 April 1644) was an English official and Mayflower passenger in 1620. In Plymouth Colony he became a Separatists leader and preacher.[1]
Contents

William Brewster was most probably born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England, about 1566, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on 10 April 1644. He was the son of William Brewster and Mary (Smythe) (Simkinson) and he had a number of half-siblings. His paternal grandparents were William Brewster (1510–1558), and Maud Mann (1513–1558). His maternal grandfather was William Smythe (1505–1560).[2][3]

He studied briefly at Peterhouse, Cambridge before entering the service of William Davison in 1584.[4] Brewster was the only Pilgrim with political and diplomatic experience. With his mentor in prison, Brewster had returned home to Scrooby for a time, where he took up his father’s former position as postmaster.[5] Cambridge was a centre of thought concerning religious reformism, but Brewster had spent time in the Netherlands in connection with Davison's work, giving him opportunity to hear and see more of reformed religion. While, earlier in the 16th century, reformers had hoped to amend the Anglican church, by the end of it, many were looking toward splitting from it.[6] (See Brownist.)

Restrictions and pressures applied by the authorities convinced the congregation of a need to emigrate to the more sympathetic atmosphere of Holland, but leaving England without permission was illegal at the time, so that departure was a complex matter. On its first attempt, in 1607, the group was arrested at Scotia Creek, but in 1608 Brewster and others were successful in leaving from The Humber. In 1609, he was selected as ruling elder of the congregation.[5]
Life in Holland[edit]
A rare 17th-century "Brewster Chair," named after the original owned by William Brewster[7]

William lived near Pieterskerk (St Peter’s church] with his wife and children. He taught English to Leiden University students and was also a printer of religious pamphlets. His son, Jonathan, was a ribbonweaver. William was chosen as assistant and later as an elder to Pastor John Robinson. He was still an elder when he travelled to Plymouth Colony in 1620.[3]

In Leiden, the group managed to make a living. Brewster taught English and later, in 1616–1619, as the partner of one Thomas Brewer, printed and published religious books for sale in England, though they were proscribed there. In 1619, Brewster and Edward Winslow published a religious tract critical of the English king and his bishops. James ordered Brewster’s arrest, and when the king’s agents in Holland came to seize the Pilgrim elder, Brewster was forced into hiding just as preparations to depart for America entered the most critical phase. The printing type was seized by the authorities from the English ambassador, Sir Dudley Carleton, and Brewster's partner was arrested. Brewster escaped and, with the help of Robert Cushman and Sir Edwin Sandys, obtained a land patent from the London Virginia Company on behalf of himself and his colleagues.[8]

With Brewster in hiding, the Separatists looked to their deacon John Carver and to Robert Cushman to carry on negotiations with the appropriate officials in London.[9] In 1620 when it came time for the Mayflower departure, Elder Brewster returned to the Leiden congregation. He had been hiding out in Holland and perhaps even England for the last year. At the time of his return, Brewster was the highest-ranking layperson of the congregation and would be their designated spiritual leader in the New World.[10]

Brewster joined the first group of Separatists aboard the Mayflower on the voyage to North America. Brewster was accompanied by his wife, Mary Brewster, and his sons: Love Brewster and Wrestling Brewster.[11]
Mayflower voyage[edit]

Among children boarding the Mayflower were four children from Shipton in Shropshire placed as indentured servants with senior Separatists with William Brewster, John Carver and Robert Cushman, on behalf of Samuel More, husband of the children’s mother Katherine More. The children were placed without their mother’s permission after four rancorous years between the More adults over charges of adultery against Katherine More with her longtime lover, the children’s alleged father. Two children were placed with William and Mary Brewster – Mary More, age four and Richard More, age five. Mary was to die in the winter of 1620 as did two other siblings. Only Richard survived and lived with them until approximately 1627. The event has become a bizarre 17th century historic incident. It is not known what Brewster knew about the More children.[12]
Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899

The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on 6/16 September 1620. The small, 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of about 30–40 in extremely cramped conditions. By the second month out the ship was buffeted by strong westerly gales. The ship‘s timbers were badly shaken with caulking failing to keep out sea water. Passengers laid wet and ill even when in their berths. This, combined with a poor rations and unsanitary conditions for several months attributed to what would be fatal for many, especially the majority of women and children. On the journey there were two deaths, a crew member and a passenger. The worst was yet to come after arriving at their destination. In the space of several months almost half the passengers perished in the cold, harsh, unfamiliar New England winter.[13]

On 9/19 November 1620, after about 3 months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was the Cape Cod Hook, now called Provincetown Harbor. After several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on 11/21 November. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day.[13][14]
Landing and life in the New World[edit]

When the colonists landed at Plymouth Colony, Brewster became the senior elder of the colony, serving as its religious leader and as an adviser to Governor William Bradford. Brewster's son Jonathan joined the family in November 1621, arriving at Plymouth on the ship Fortune, and daughters Patience and Fear arrived in July 1623 aboard the Anne.[15]

As the only university educated member of the colony, Brewster took the part of the colony's religious leader until a pastor, Ralph Smith, arrived in 1629. Thereafter, he continued to preach irregularly until his death in April 1644. “He was tenderhearted and compassionate of such as were in misery,” Bradford write, “but especially of such as had been of good estate and rank and fallen unto want and poverty.” [16]

Brewster was granted land amongst the islands of Boston Harbor, and four of the outer islands (Great Brewster, Little Brewster, Middle Brewster and Outer Brewster) now bear his name. In 1632, Brewster received lands in nearby Duxbury and removed from Plymouth to create a farm there.[17]

In 1634, smallpox and influenza ravaged both the English and the Indians in the region. William Brewster, whose family had managed to survive the first terrible winter unscathed, lost two daughters, Fear and Patience, now married to Isaac Allerton and Thomas Prence, respectively.[18]

William Brewster died and was buried on 10 April 1644 at Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts. At present, a gravestone/memorial stone exists there for him. The memorial stone states that it is in honor of "Elder William Brewster Patriarch of the Pilgrims and their Ruling Elder 1609–1644". The burial place of his wife Mary "Mayflower", who died in 1627, is unknown."[19]
Family[edit]
Title page of a pamphlet published by William Brewster in Leiden

Sometime before 1593, in England, William Brewster married Mary "Mayflower" Wentworth, daughter of Thomas Wentworth, Esquire (1522–1574), and Grace Gascoigne (1532–1574).[20][21][22][23][24] She was born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England in 1569. She 'dyed at Plymouth, Massachusetts on 17 April 1627.' (Brewster Book).* Bradford says that, though she died ' long before' her husband, 'yet she dyed aged,' but by her affidavit of 1609 she was less than sixty years of age and it is probable that her ' great & continuall labours, with others crosses, and sorrows, hastened it (t. a. old age) before y* time.'[25]

The children of William and Mary were:

Elder Jonathan Brewster (12 August 1593 – 7 August 1659) married Lucretia Oldham of Derby on 10 April 1624,[23][26][27][28][29] and were the parents of eight children.
Patience Brewster (c. 1600 – 12 December 1634)[23] married Gov. Thomas Prence of Lechlade, Gloucestershire, 4 children.
Fear Brewster (c. 1606 – before 1634)[23] so called because she was born at the height of the Puritans' persecution. Married Isaac Allerton of London, 2 children.
Unnamed child was born, died and buried in 1609 in Leiden, Holland.[23]
Love Brewster was born in Leiden, Holland about 1611 and died between 6 October 1650 and 31 January 1650/1, at Duxbury, Massachusetts.[23][30][31] At the age of about 9, he travelled with his father, mother and brother, Wrestling, on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts. He married Sarah Collier in Plymouth, Massachusetts on 15 May 1634. Love and Sarah were the parents of 4 children.
Wrestling Brewster was born in 1614 in Leiden, Holland; was living in 1627, died unmarried before the 1644 settlement of his father's estate.[23]

William married Mary Love Wentworth in 1592 in , Nottinghamshire, England. Mary (daughter of Thomas Wentworth and Grace Margaret (Lady) Gascoigne) was born in Sep 1568 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England; died on 17 Apr 1627 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Arrival: 1620, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

William married Mary Smyth in 1563 in Stainforth, Yorkshire, England. Mary was born in 1535 in , Nottinghamshire, England; died in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England; was buried in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Grace Margaret (Lady) Gascoigne. Grace was born in 1517 in Gawthorpe, Lansingcroft, Yorkshire, England; died on 27 Mar 1574 in Lassingcroft, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Maude Brewster. Maude was born in 1510 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England; died on 11 Oct 1558 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England; was buried in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]