Holbrook line: Samuel Eddy, Immigrant, of Plymouth

He wasn't a Mayflower Pilgrim, but there he is, arriving in New England in 1630, probably, and settling in Plymouth Colony.  So he knew our Mayflower ancestors William Brewster, Myles Standish, and Edward Doty.  He was a tailor, so he may even have sewn clothes for them and their families.  How cool is that!  I also find it "cool" that there is quite a bit of material available about him, so let's start at the beginning. 

Samuel Eddy was born on or before May 15, 1608 in Cranbook, Kent, England, the child of William and Mary Fosten Eddy.  If that location and those parents seem familiar, it's because John Eddy, an ancestor on the Allen side of the family, was Samuel's brother.  I've written about John before.  We know little of Samuel's life in England, except that he was a PK, (preacher's kid, for those who don't recognize the initials).  His mother died in 1611 and his father died in 1616, so it's likely that his  guardian, older bother Phineas, was the one who decided that Samuel should learn the trade of a tailor.  We don't know how much schooling Samuel had, but the terms of his father's will said that he was to be educated before being put to a trade.  So presumably he at least had a few years of primary school, and could read and write.

It's believed that Samuel came to New England with his brother John in 1630.  John settled in Watertown but Samuel decided to stay in Plymouth Colony.  He had enough money left from his father's bequest to purchase a home within two years of his arrival.  It's not known for sure when he married, but it was probably around 1635 or 1636 because the children started arriving in 1637.  It is believed, but not for certain, that his wife was Elizabeth Savory.

Samuel and Elizabeth had somewhere between 5 and 8 children, depending on which list you believe.  Robert Charles Anderson in "The Great Migration Begins" credits them with five children, all born between 1637 and 1647.  Life may have been difficult for the two, as they sent at least three of the children to live with others, and to be taught a trade.  It's possible that there was not great call for a tailor in Plymouth, or perhaps there was competition.

Samuel was made a freeman on January 1, 1634/35, and was on the surviving tax lists for many years after.  He apparently had some sort of aptitude for real estate, because he bought several different parcels during his lifetime, and was granted more by the colony.  In 1632/33, his servant, Thomas Brian, ran away but I was not able to learn the resolution of this.  His wife Elizabeth was called to court two different times for being absent from the meeting house on Sunday.  Once she was doing laundry (which may have been a necessity as there was sickness in the house) and once she went to Boston because someone was ill there, and asked for her.  She was admonished, but apparently not punished further, both times.

Samuel was still practicing his tailor trade in 1675/76, because the colony paid him for making uniforms for the soldiers who fought in King Philip's War.   Samuel had been a member of the training band but by the time of this war, he was in his late 60's, and had probably been excused from duty.  Samuel and Elizabeth moved to Swansea, Massachusetts about 1680, and Samuel died there a year later.  He had apparently donated some of his land as a burial ground for his family there, and there are a lot of Eddy wills and estates through the 1700s and later.  Elizabeth died at Swansea in 1689.  I've been unable to locate a copy of the will or estate.

So here is Samuel Eddy, tailor, husband, father, church member, tax payer, and probably a good man.  It would be nice to know more about him, but we have enough information to recognize that he was a valued member of his society and an ancestor worthy of our respect.

The line of descend is:

Samuel Eddy-Elizabeth Savory
Zachariah Eddy-Alice Paddock
Zachariah Eddy-Amphyllis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phetteplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
  

Thomas Savory, maybe an immigrant?

This is more of a plea for help than a blog post, actually.  I've had such difficulty in pinning this man down that about all I can write about him will be theories and speculation.  The one thing I am reasonably certain of is that he married Mary (Marie) Woodcock (Woororke, or something similar) on January 26, 1595 in Hannington, Wiltshire, England.  This would probably make his birth date sometime in the early 1570's but that is really just a guess.  I show on my tree that his parents were Robert and Joan Savory, but I haven't seen good documentation for that and so I regard it merely as speculation.  Robert and Joan did have a child named Thomas in that time period and location, but so did at least one other couple, so I say "show me".

We don't know when he came to America.  In fact, there are those who don't think he came to America at all.  Because his daughter was Elizabeth Savory who married Samuel Eddy in Massachusetts Bay Colony, I lean toward the idea that he was here but I have no proof.  He most likely is not the Thomas who came to America in 1633, and neither is he the one who came on the Mary and John in 1634. 

There is even considerable dispute about his children.  Some lists do not include Elizabeth, but she does seem to fit in this family, due to her birth date of May 1607, between two of her brothers.  It's possible that Elizabeth came to America without her parents, but no proof has been found. 

So Thomas is a mystery, and I'm asking for help in finding him.  If he came to America, he deserves recognition.  If he didn't come to America, then how did Elizabeth get here, and were Thomas and Mary her parents? 

This blog post is written as quite evident proof that there is much more to be learn about our ancestors.  Did Thomas come to America and possibly live just a short time?  Did he stay in England and perhaps perish in the Civil War there?  Did he die on board ship?  How did he stay under the radar for so long?  I hope to update this blog post at some point in the future, but let this be evidence that finding accurate information about our ancestors is difficult!

The (supposed) line of descent is:

Thomas Savory-Mary Woodcocke
Elizabeth Savory-Samuel Eddy
Zechariah Eddy-Alice Paddock
Zechariah Eddy-Anphillis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phettiplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants