Beeks line: Thomas Blossom, the almost Mayflower Pilgrim

Actually, Thomas Blossom was a Mayflower Pilgrim.  However, he arrived on a later ship, also known as the Mayflower, in 1629.  Most of the passengers on this trip were those who had intended to arrive in 1620 with the first Pilgrims. However, Blossom and his fellow passengers had been on board the Speedwell, which turned out to be so leaky and unseaworthy that it was forced to turn back before the voyage was well underway. 

Thomas Blossom was born about 1580, probably in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, England, the son of Peter and Annabel Blossom.  Her maiden name is as yet unknown.  He was the youngest of four children; a fifth, Francis, Peter and Annabel's first born, had lived only about a month.  As the youngest child, he may have been pampered just a little bit, and he seems to have secured an education somehow. His later letters to William Bradford are not those of an uneducated man.

There isn't much known about Thomas's life as he was growing up.  His father was described as a husbandman and then a laborer, so he may have fallen upon hard times before he died in 1597. Thomas married Ann Helsden or Elsdon on November 10, 1605 in St Clement's Church, Cambridge, England.  (The church is still in existence and can be googled for interior views; however, it appears that the church bears little resemblance to the building of 1605.)

I'm not sure when Thomas would have acquired his Puritan views.  Most families that went to Leiden in 1609 had been Puritans for years, so perhaps Thomas and Ann had held their beliefs for years, or perhaps they were "late" converts.  Regardless, in 1609, the couple were in Pieterskerkhof, Leyden, Holland with the Separatists, and several children were born there.  The first two children died before the 1620 trip, and another son was born before 1620 and died in 1625.  Elizabeth, Thomas, and Peter were born in Leyden and accompanied their parents when the trip to Plymouth was finally accomplished in 1629.

Thomas was a deacon in the church at Plymouth Colony, but little else is known of him there.  He died of an infectious fever in 1632, along with at least 19 other colonists.  His widow was taxed 9 shillings in 1633, which seems to be the minimum amount that anyone was assessed.  Ann married Henry Rowley on October 17, 1633.   

Most of the information for this post came from a Robert Charles Anderson article called "Pilgrim Village Families Sketch" found on americanancestors.org, and from a book called "Plymouth Colony, Its History and People 1620-1691" by Eugene Aubrey Stratton. 

The line of descent is:

Thomas Blossom-Ann Helsdon
Elizabeth Blossom-Edward Fitzrandolph
Nathaniel Fitzrandolph-Mary Holley
Samuel Fitzrandolph-Mary Jones
Prudence Fitzrandolph-Shubael Smith
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah probably Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Beeks descendents

Beeks line: Edward Fitzrandolph, gateway immigrant

There is a lot of information on line about this gentleman, but I'm going to give a brief recap here because it's a possible a family member will read about him here for the first time.  This is a condensed version of his life.  He is important in the genealogy world because he was an immigrant in the Winthrop fleet of 1630, and because he has lines that tie him back to Scottish royalty (a direct descendent of William I of Scotland).

Edward Fitzrandolph, often referred to as Junior, was born to Edward Fitzrandolph and Francis Howis or Howes on July 8, 1607 (this may be his christening date) at Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, England.  Frances was Edward's third wife, so some of his brothers and sisters are more correctly called half brothers and sisters.  It appears that Edward had five full brothers and sisters:  Anthony, Ales (Alice), Christopher, Joseph, and John.  Edward was the oldest of them.

In 1630, when Edward was about 23 years old, he came to Massachusetts with the Winthrop fleet.  The Winthrop Fleet was a group of 8 ships, containing about 800 Puritans, that came to settle the Massachusetts Bay colony (not to be confused with Plymouth Colony).  He was settled at Scituate, Massachusetts, with his home being the 38th home built there.  He married Elizabeth Blossom there on May 10, 1637.  Her parents were Elder Thomas Blossom and Ann Heilson, who were passengers on the Speedwell, the ship that was forced to turn back after setting sail with the Mayflower.  Her parents returned to Holland, where Elizabeth was born. 

Edward and Elizabeth had at least 12 children, all born in Barnstable, where they had moved in 1639.  He lived in Barnstable and then West Barnstable until 1669, when he and six of the children moved to Piscataway, New Jersey.  It isn't known why he moved to Piscataway. Perhaps it was economics or perhaps it was religion. His son Nathaniel had married Mary Holley, and this family was Quaker. Perhaps Edward, or Elizabeth, or both, had Quaker leanings and were ready to be a little more free in their religious practices.  Perhaps it was for economics, or perhaps they had simply been approached and asked to help plant a new colony, much as we would ask someone reliable to help plant a new church. 

It is believed that Edward died in 1674 or 1675.  After a second marriage, Elizabeth was buried beside him in 1713, in what is now St James Churchyard in Piscataway. Their stones were lost when a skirmish was fought there during the Revolutionary War, and breastworks were thrown up against the British.  When the area was cleared after the war, the stones weren't found, so even in death, this couple was giving to the cause of their chosen homeland. 

He is referred to as a "yeoman", which would be a farmer of some importance.  I have not found that he was ever made a freeman of the colony, although that is possible.  He did bear arms and was available for military duty. 

I've used James Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, quotes from The Descendants of Edward Fitzrandolph and Elizabeth Blossom 1630-1950 by Louise Aymar Christian, and Genealogies of Barnstable Families by Amos Otis for this brief discussion. 

Here's the rather lengthy line of descent:

Edward Fitzrandolph-Elizabeth Blossom
Nathaniel Fitzrandolph-Mary Holley
Samuel Fitzrandolph-Mary Jones
Prudence Fitzrandolph-Shubael Smith
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Beeks children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren