The GIDDINGS Family of Oakley and Clapham in Bedfordshire, Englance and Ipswich in Massachusetts

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First Generation

MICHAEL GIDDINGS (d. 1615) of Oakley

Parents: Unknown

Michael Giddings was buried on 2 Apr 1615 in Oakley, Bedfordshire. [Ref] He married Catherine Unknown. She was buried on 14 Feb 1625/6 in Oakley. [Ref]

Michael Gyddyn of Clapham, husbandman, signed his will with his mark on 13 Mar 1614/5; it was proved on 17 Apr 1615. [Ref] He mentions his son John and his five children; his son Henry and his five children; his son William; his son Robert and his two children; his son James and his child; his son Richard; his daughter Jone Savage and her three children; his daughter Elizabeth; Caterynne, his wife. [Ref]

Cattron Gidding signed her will with her mark on 9 Feb 1625. [Ref] She mentions her sons William, Robert, James and Richard; her daughters Jone Savidge and Elizabeth. [Ref]

Children of Michael Giddings and Catherine Unknown:

1. Joan Giddings married William Savage on 21 May 1604. [Ref]
2. John Giddings was buried on 19 Feb 1619/20, recorded in Oakley and Clapham. He married Joan Purrier.
3. Henry Giddings was buried on 18 Mar 1616/7 in Oakley. [Ref] He married Elizabeth Russell on 15 Oct 1604 in Clapham. [Ref]
4. William Giddings
5. Robert Giddings
6. James Giddings
7. Richard Giddings may have been the Richard who was buried on 29 Apr 1657 in Clapham. [Ref] He married Mary Whitman on 22 Jun 1620 in Clapham. [Ref] She was probably buried on 21 Apr 1660 in Clapham. [Ref]
8. Elizabeth Giddings was buried on 30 Dec 1630 in Oakley. [Ref] She was unmarried. [Ref] In her will, dated 30 Oct 1630, she mentions her brother Robert, her sister Joan Savidg, her brother Henry and his sons, her brother Richard, her brother William. She calls Robert Phage her brother. [Ref] Elizabeth probably lived with Robert and Joan (Purrier) (Giddings) Phage. [Ref]

THOMAS PURRIER of Clapham (d. 1623/9)

Parents: Unknown

Thomas died between 22 Feb 1622/[?3] and 28 Apr 1629.

Thomas Purrier married the widow Isabel Tilbrooke on 16 Jan 1586/7 in Oakley. [Ref] Isabel was buried on 13 Dec 1621 in Clapham. [Ref] Isabel was probably the widow of John Tilbrooke. [Ref]

John Tilbrooke was buried on 4 Oct 1586. [Ref] John signed his will on 25 Mar 1585/6; it was proved on 23 Feb 1586/7. [Ref] He mentions his wife Isabel; sons Lewis and John; daughters Catherine and Mary. [Ref]

Thomas Purrier, husbandman of Clapham, signed his will with his mark on 22 Feb 1622/[?3]; it was proved on 28 Apr 1629. [Ref] He mentions his daughter Joan, now the wife of Robert Phage and Joan's children Thomas, Mary, Martha and Rebecca and George Giddings. [Ref]

Children of Thomas Purrier and Isabel Unknown:

1. Joan Purrier was baptised on 1 May 1588. She married first John Giddings. She married second Robert Phage.

Second Generation

JOHN GIDDINGS (d. 1620) of Clapham

Parents: Michael Giddings

John Giddings was buried on 19 Feb 1619/20, recorded in Oakley and Clapham. [Ref] He married Joan Purrier on 20 Jan 1607/8 in Clapham. [Ref]

John Giddings of Clapham, husbandman, signed his will on 7 Feb 1619/20; it was proved on 3 Apr 1620. He mentions his wife Joan and his underage son George. [Ref] The Clapham Memorial Roll of 21 Apr 1623 states that John Giddings had died seized of a messuage and about 30 acres of land and that George Giddings, his son and heir, is of full age [!]. [Ref]

Children of John Giddings and Joan Purrier:

1. George Giddings was baptised on 24 Sep 1609 in Clapham. He died on 1 Jun 1676 in Ipswich. He married Jane Lawrence.
2. Mary Giddings was baptised on 2 Feb 1611 in Clapham. [Ref] She was buried on 19 Oct 1625 in Clapham. [Ref]
3. Martha Giddings was baptised on 14 Aug 1614 in Clapham. [Ref] Greene [Ref] argues that it is unlikely that she married John Proctor of Ipswich. [Ref]
4. Rebecca Giddings was bapised on 10 Oct 1619 in Clapham. [Ref]

JOAN PURRIER (bp. 1588)

Parents: Thomas Purrier and Isabel Unknown

Joan Purrier was baptised on 1 May 1588. [Ref] She married first John Giddings 1 on 20 Jan 1607/8 in Clapham. [Ref] She married second Robert Phage (Fage). [Ref]

Children of Joan Purrier and Robert Phage:

1. Thomas Phage was baptised on 18 Oct 1621 in Clapham. [Ref]
2. William Phage was baptised on 30 Oct 1625 in Clapham. [Ref]

THOMAS LAWRENCE (bp. 1588 - 1625)

Parents: Unknown

Thomas Lawrence was baptised on 2 Feb 1588/9. [Ref] He died on 20 Mar 1624/5. [Ref] He married Joanna Antrobus [Ref] on 23 Oct 1609 in St. Albans. [Ref]

Thomas was probably Chief Burger of St. Albans in 1622. [Ref]

George Giddings, age 25, and Jane Giddings, age 20, are on a 2 Apr 1635 list of passengers to be transported to New England on the Planter. Also on the list are John Tuttle (39) a mercer, and Joan Tuttle (42). They are travelling with children John (17), William (12) and Mary (9) Lawrence and Abigail (6), Simon (4), Sarah (2) and John (1) Tuttle, as well as Joanna Antrobus (65). [Ref]

Presumably, this implies that Joan Tuttle is Joanna (Antrobus) Tuttle, the mother of Jane Lawrence and daughter of Joanna (Unknown) Antrobus. The Lawrence children are from her marriage with Thomas Lawrence and the Tuttle children are from her second marriage. Joanna must have been married in to John in 1629.

Children of Thomas Lawrence and Jane Antrobus:

1. Joan Lawrence was baptised on 29 Aug 1610 in St. Albans. [Ref] She died there on 31 Aug 1610. [Ref]
2. Jane Lawrence was baptised on 18 Dec 1614 in St. Albans. She died on 2 Mar 1680/[1?]. She married George Giddings.
3. Mary Lawrence was baptised on 17 Nov 1616 in St. Albans. [Ref] She died there on 28 Nov 1616. [Ref]
4. John Lawrence was baptised on 26 Jul 1618 in St. Albans. [Ref] He died in 1699 in Long Island. [Ref] He married Susanna Unknown. [Ref]
   He moved to Long Island and became one of the patantees of Hampstead. [Ref] He and 16 others obtained the patant of Flushing. [Ref] He owned a small trading vessel called the Adventure and he traded on the Hudson and around Long Island. [Ref] He was a Commissioner to the General Assembly in Hartford in Oct 1663. [Ref]
   
5. William Lawrence was baptised in 1622. [Ref] He died in 1680 in Long Island. [Ref]
6. Mary Lawrence was baptised in 1625. [Ref] She died on 27 Mar 1715 in Ipswich. [Ref] She married Lt. Thomas Burnham in 1645. [Ref] Mary, the wife of Thomas Burnam, deposed that she was 35 on 29 Apr 1659. [Ref]

Third Generation

GEORGE GIDDINGS (bp. 1609 - 1676) of Ipswich

Parents: John Giddings and Joan Purrier

George Giddings was baptised on 24 Sep 1609 in Clapham. [Ref] He died on 1 Jun 1676 in Ipswich. [Ref][Ref] He married Jane Lawrence on 20 Feb 1633/4. [Ref]

George Giddings, age 25, and Jane Giddings, age 20, are on a 2 Apr 1635 list of passengers to be transported to New England on the Planter. Also on the list are Jane's mother, grandmother, younger siblings and her mother's second husband and family, as well as Thomas Carter (25), Michael Williamson (30) and Elizabeth Morrison (12), servants of George Giddings. [Ref] George is refered to as a husbandman.

George Giddings is on the 7 Sep 1638 list of freemen. [Ref] He was on the grand jury at the 28 [probably Dec] 1641, 28 (7) 1652, 30 Sep 1656, Mar 1667, 27 Sep 1670 and 28 Mar 1671 courts in Ipswich. [Ref] He was on the trial jury at the 24 (7) 1650, 28 Mar 1654, 28 (7) 1658 and 28 Sep 1669 courts in Ipswich. [Ref] When Mordicha Larcum sued Mr. Waldo, George was chosen to be one of the three arbiters in Mar 1656.

Goodman Gidding was the Ipswich member of a committee on colony assessment on 13 May 1640. [Ref] He was on a committee on bounds between Salisbury and Haverhill. [Ref] He was on a committee on a bridge at Lynn on 23 May 1655. [Ref] He was on a committee on bounds between Hampton and Salisbury on 14 Oct 1656. [Ref] He was on a committee on gifts to the colony on 23 May 1655 and 22 May 1661. [Ref]

Mr. George Giddings was deputy to the General Court 12 times between 2 Jun 1641 and 15 May 1672. [Ref] He was a selectman in Ipswich in 1673. [Ref]

He is on a 19 Dec 1648 list of taxpayers in Ipswich. [Ref]

Joseph Witte was committed to George Giddings at the Mar 1650 court; Edward Gillman claimed a right to him, but if he could not prove it within a month, George was to bind him to some trade. [Ref]

George's mother-in-law Joanna (Antrobus) (Lawrence) Tuttle wrote him letters on 6 Apr 1657 and 20 Mar 1657/8. He and Mr. Joseph Jewett were appointed administrators of the estate of Mr. John Tuttle, his mother-in-law's second husband. [Ref]

George Giddings and Thomas Burnam deposed that they were about 40 [!] on 29 Mar 1659; they refered to "Simon Tuttell" [George's half brother] as their brother. [Ref]

George Giddings apparently died intestate as the court ordered a division of his estate in Sep 1676. His five sons, Thomas, John, James, Samuel and Joseph, were to split the estate, with Thomas receiving a double portion. They were to allow George's widow the use of his house and to pay her 25 pounds a year. They were to pay their sisters Rebecca, Abigail and Mary £50 each after subtracting any portions already paid. [Ref]

George's move up the social ladder is striking. His father was only a husbandman, although clearly not at the bottom of the economic scale. George apparently did well enough in England to marry into a socially superior family and to bring three servants to New England with him, although he still referred to himself as a husbandman. In New England, he is intially addressed as "Goodman", but soon becomes a member of the oligarchy and one of the wealthier men in Ipswich. By 1641, he is refered to as "Mr. George Giddings".

On 26 Mar 1677, John Proctor, Sr. referred to his "brother Giddens". [Ref]

JANE LAWRENCE (bp. 1614 - 1681)

Parents: Thomas Lawrence and Joanna Antrobus

Jane Lawrence was baptised on 18 Dec 1614 in St. Albans. [Ref] She died on 2 Mar 1680 [/1?] [Ref] She married George Giddings on 20 Feb 1633/4. [Ref]

Jane's mother wrote to a letter to her from Carrickfergus, Ireland on 3 Oct 1656. [Ref]

Jane Lawrence is descended from royalty [Ref]

1. Robert, I King of France, d. 923 = Aelis
2. Adela Hildebrand of France = Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, descendant of Emperor Charlemagne, d. 814
3. Robert, Count of Meaux and Troyes = Adelaide of Burgundy
4. Adela of Vermandois = Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou
5. Ermengarde of Anjou = Conan I, Duke of Brittany
6. Judith of Brittany = Richard II, Duke of Normandy
7. Robert I, Duke of Normandy = Herleve of Falaise
8. Adelaide of Normandy, full sister of William the Conqueror = either Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu (descendant of Hugh Capet, King of France, d. 996) or of Lambert, Count of Lens (descendant of Louis IV, King of France, d. 954)
9. Judith of Ponthieu or Lens = Waltheof II, Earl of Huntington, Northampton and Northumberland
10. Matilda of Northumberland = Simon de Liz, Earl of Huntington and Northampton
11. Walter FitzRobert = Maud de Lucy
12. Alice Fitzwalter, sister of Robert Fitzwalter, leader of the Magna Carta barons = Gilbert Peche
13. Hamon Peche = Eve
14. Gilbert Peche, 1st Baron Peche = Iseult
15. Gilbert Peche, 2nd Baron Peche = Joan
16. Katherine Peche = Thomas Notbeam
17. Margaret Notbeam = John Hinkley
18. Cecily Hinkley = Henry Caldebeck
19. Thomasine Caldebeck = Thomas Underhill
20. Anne Underhill = Thomas Knighton
21. Joan Knighton = Charles Bull
22. Richard Bull = Alice Hunt
23. Elizabeth Bull = John Lawrence
24. Thomas Lawrence = Joan Antrobus
25. Jane Lawrence

Fourth Generation

JOHN GIDDINGS (b. abt 1638)

Parents: George Giddings and Jane Lawrence

John Giddings was born about 1638. [Ref] He married Sarah Alcock. [Ref]

John deposed that he was about 21 and referred to his grandmother Tuttle on 29 Mar 1659. [Ref]

Children of John Giddings and Sarah Alcock: [I can find no record of their births]

1. Elizabeth Giddings married Mark Haskell on 16 Dec 1685 in Gloucester. [Ref] Mark, the son of William and Mary (Tybbot) Haskell, was born on 8 Apr 1658. He died on 8 Sep 1691 in Gloucester. [Ref]
2. Jane Giddings married Joseph Harraden on 26 Nov 1691 in Gloucester. [Ref] Joseph, the son of Edward and Sarah Stevens, was born on 18 Aug 1668. [Ref] He married second Hannah Stevens on 1 Feb 1700. [Ref]
3. Sarah Giddings married Capt. John Harraden. [Ref] John, the son of Edward and Sarah Harraden, was born on 7 Aug 1663. [Ref] He died on 11 Nov 1724 in Gloucester. [Ref]
4. Job Giddings was born about 1676. He died on 27 Feb 1708/9. He married Sarah Butler.
5. Lieut. Solomon Giddings (conjectured son) was born about 1678. He died on 26 Jun 1748, age 70, in Ipswich. [Ref] He married Margery Goodhue after 9 Nov 1706 (int.) in Ipswich. [Ref] She died on 18 Jun 1762, age 80, in Ipswich. [Ref]
6. Joshua Giddings was lost at sea in Oct 1716. [Ref] He married Abigail Unknown. [Ref] She might be the widow Abigail who died of small pox on 5 Jan 1729 in Ipswich. [Ref]
   Joshua moved to Gloucester about 1707. [Ref]
7. Thomas Giddings married Sarah Andrews after 1 Jun 1706 (int.) in Ipswich. [Ref] He was a tailor. [Ref] He moved to Gloucester, but probably returned to Chebacco. [Ref]
8. Mary Giddings married Benjamin York. [Ref

Fifth Generation

JOB GIDDINGS (1676 - 1709) of Ipswich

Parents: John Giddings and Sarah Alcock

Job Giddings was born about 1676. He died on 27 Feb 1708/9. [Ref][Ref][Ref] He is buried in the ancient graveyard in Chebacco parish, Ipswich. [Ref] He married Sarah Butler.

Job was a tailor of Chebacco parish, Ipswich. [Ref]

His widow Sarah was granted one-third of his estate. His eldest son, Job, received one third. His daughter Sarah received one-sixth and his son John received one-sixth. [Ref]

Job's gravestone says: Here lyes ye body/of Job Giddings/died in ye 33/year of his age/February ye/27th day/1708/9.

Children of Job Giddings and Sarah Butler:

1. Job Giddings
2. Sarah Giddings was born about 1704. She died on 14 Sep 1788 in Hampton, Windham, CT. She married William Bennett 2.
3. John Giddings was born about 1706. He died on 24 Oct 1727, age 21, and is buried in the ancient graveyard in Chebacco parish, Ipswich. [Ref][Ref]

Sixth Generation

SARAH GIDDINGS (abt 1704-1788)

Parents: Job Giddings and Sarah Butler

Sarah Giddings was born about 1704. She died on 14 Sep 1788 in Hampton, Windham, CT. [Ref][Ref says she was 84] She is buried in the South Cemetery in Hampton. [Ref] She married William Bennett in Ipswich; their intention is dated 23 Dec 1721. [Ref]

Sarah Bennett is mentioned in her grandfather William Butler's will. [Ref]

A 1722 deed refers to Sarah, the daughter of Job Giddings, deceased, and wife of William Bennett, Jr. [Ref]

References

Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Vol. 3, Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003.

Babson, John J., Notes and Additions to the History of Gloucester, Gloucester, M.V.B. Perley, Telegraph Office, 1990.

Barbour Vital Records for Windham County Connecticut, Windham County, CT, USGenWeb Project.

Claypool, Edward, 'Bailey-Giddings-Butler,' Notes and Queries Section, New England Historical and Genealogical Register 59, 1905, 216-7.

Dow, George Francis, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Essex Institute, 1911.

Editors, "Early Settlers of Essex and Old Norfolk," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 6, 1852, 205-208, 243-254, 339-346; 7, 1853, 83 - , 357 -; 7, 1853, p. 357 - 360; 8, 1854, p. 49 - 54.

Editors, Essex Antiquarian 4, 1900, p. 64.

Editors, "Essex Inscriptions: Ancient Burial Place," Essex Antiquarian 7, 1903, 49-58.

Editors, "Founders of New England," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 14, 1860, 297 - 346.

Editors, "Notes," Essex Antiquarian 8, 1904, 189.

Editors, "Will of Riard Haffeeld," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3; 1849, 156.

Ferris, Mary Walton, Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines: A memorial volume containing the American ancestry of Rufus R. Dawes, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Cuneo Press, 1931-1943.

Greene, David L., "The English Origins of George Giddings of Ipswich, Massachusetts," New Enland Historical and Genealogical Register 135, 1981, 274- .

Headstone Inscriptions for the South Cemetery, Hampton, Connecticut, Hale Collection, Windham County, CT, USGenWeb Project.

Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, New England Historic and Genealogical Society.

Roberts, Gary Boyd, Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants, Genealogical Publishing Co., c. 2004.

Wait, Luther, trans., "Ipswich Proceedings," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 2, 1848, 50-53.

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