Thursday, March 26, 2015

More Maryland Pyes

Col. Edward Pye 1620-1697 of Maryland  (con’t.)

As mentioned in the earlier blog on Col. Edward, his father, John, was one of the younger sons of Sir Walter Pye, Lord of Kilpec and The Mynde in Much Dewchurch, Herefordshire. Walter and his wife, Joan Rudhall, had 15 children, seven boys and eight girls. The boys were: Roger, Walter, Edward, William, John, Robert, and John. Roger died as an infant, Walter lived and became the successor to his father, Edward lived but died without issue, William died as a small boy, John died as an infant, Robert died in his twenties and before his father’s death. That left Walter, Edward and John (the second child to have this name) to carry on the Pye name in this branch of the family.

Sir Walter Pye1   - three sons able to inherit:
          Walter2 – Walter³
                     -   Robert³ - Elizabeth4
          Edward- no issue
          John2 – Edward³

When Sir Walter Pye1 died in 1637, his son Sir Walter2 (1610-1659) was his heir. The younger Sir Walter² held the Kilpeck/Mynde lands in 1649. This Sir Walter² was a MP (Member of Parliament) and a Royalist. He was relieved of his offices in 1648, when Oliver Cromwell governed during the interregnum.  He married Elizabeth Sanders and had three children, Walter3 (1628-1690), Catherine3 and Robert3 (1638-1690). Walter3 was the successor when the father died. He was an ardent Catholic who followed James II into exile in France. This Walter3 spent his remaining days on the Continent. Walter’s3 brother, Robert3 (1638-1680), married Meliora Drax (1650-1699) and had at least one daughter. No other children have been found for this marriage. By now, Robert’s3 brother had forfeited his lands by going to France and they passed to Robert3. His wife, Meliora’s two brothers, Sir James and Henry Drax either died without issue or left no surviving issue, leaving Robert3 and Meliora to inherit their large land holdings in Barbados. Their daughter, Elizabeth4, married Henry Gorges (Georges) a relative of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, early Gov. of Maine. {N.B. Ferdinando never set foot in the ‘new world.’}

From the National Archives at Kew, Surrey:

Meliora Pye, widow and administratrix of Robt. Pye. v. Edwd. Pye, Peter Smyth, and Eliz. Pye (an infant), by her guardian).: Goods and chattels and debts of Robert Pye, deceased (plaintiff's late husband), an annuity payable out of the estate of Robt. to Edwd. Pye (one of the defendants), and the jointure lands of the plaintiff, lying in Mynde, Kilpeck, Much Dewchurch, and Saint Devereux; and touching a meadow called "The Long Meadow," parcel of the manor of Kilpeck, and an annuity of 100l. {sic.- probably 100 £} payable to plaintiff (before her marriage with Robt.) out of "some estate in the Island of Barbadoes" settled upon her by her father, Sir James Drax, &c., &c.: Hereford
Date: 2 Jas 2 Held by: The National Archives, Kew  (1687)
{The Edward referred to here is Col. Edward Pye of Maryland.}

This implies that Edward was to receive an annuity and parcels of land in the Mynde, Kilpeck, Much Dewchurch and St. Devereux. It does not seem to say that Edward inherited all of the Pye lands in Herefordshire or in Barbados.

To make things more confusing, during this same time period, there are two
more men name Sir Robert Pye. The first one is the brother of Sir Walter Pye¹
(1571-1637) Knight Attorney General Court of Ward and Liveries. This Robert¹
(1584-1662), married Mary Crocker, had 7 children and established the
Faringdon, Berkshire branch of this family. From this line came the Poet Laureate Henry James Pye (1745-1813). He was not considered to be a very good poet and several nursery rhymes were written about him, such as Sing a Song of Sixpence.  But I digress. The elder Sir Robert¹ was a Royalist and his son, also Robert² was a Parliamentarian. The elder Robert¹ actually barricaded himself in his home in Faringdon while his son besieged the home in the name of Oliver Cromwell.  The home fell to the younger Robert² and eventually all lands were inherited by Henry James Pye, the Poet Laureate.

What this shows is that the lands at Mynde and Kilpeck came to Col. Edward Pye without much conflict from other family members. Edward had many aunts and uncles from both parents.

On his paternal side, his father’s sisters married:

Margaret m. Fulk Walwyn
Bridget m. Richard Chamberlayne (Chamberlayne descendants became prominent in the VA colony)
Joyce m. Henry Calverly
Ann m. Henry Williams
Alice m. Henry Lingen
Mary m. Thomas Thompkins
Frances m Henry Vaughn

On his maternal side his mother’s siblings married:

Henry Lingen m. Alice Pye
Roger Lingen   m. Anne Walwyn
Ann Lingen m. Nicholas Griffin
Magdalen Lingen m. Bodenham Gunter
Thomas Lingen m. Catherine Meysey

I offer these names since many of them, or their children and grandchildren went to the colonies, from VA to New England. It is known that an Edward Pye Chamberlayne was in the VA colonies at a fairly early date.
Edward and Anne Sewall Pye had four children. Due to the circumstances presented here, it appears that Col. Edward inherited some of the lands of Kilpeck, The Mynde and Much Dewchurch. There is speculation that he inherited lands in Barbados as well, although no legal document stating ownership has been found. When Edward died in 1697, his oldest son, Charles was his heir. These children were minors at that time and guardianship was awarded to Edward’s brother, Walter. Charles came into possession of Pyes Hardshift, 323 acres, and Pyes Chance, 141 acres, in Charles County, Maryland. Charles was an ardent supporter of the Stuarts, even though James I had died in 1701, and returned to England to support the cause.  While there he married Mary Elizabeth Booth, daughter of Charles and Barbara Syme Booth of Herefordshire. In 1714-15 another rebellion in support of the Stuarts arose. Charles became an active part of this, writing letters to France using an alias for himself and for the recipient. It was very cloak and dagger.
                                     St. Ignatius, Chapel Point

While in England, Charles is given credit for building Newhouse. This was either an addition to or a replacement of The Mynde. Given it’s size, it was most likely an addition. There are claims that Charles and Mary had 8 children. Since much of his time was spent in England and France, there isn’t a great deal of information concerning him in Maryland. His land holdings were being handled by Walter Pye, either his brother or a cousin. It is known he did eventually return to Maryland.
                             Calvert Marine Museum    along the Potomac in Southern MD

More of the Maryland Pyes yet to come.

Burke’s, A Genealogical and Heraldic Hhistory of the Commoners of Great Britain
Browne Willis, Notitia Parliamentaria, 1750 p. 229-239
Great Britain House of Commons, Journals of the House of Commons, Volume (1648-1651)
Wales Medieval Databse
Maryland GenForum

Maryland Archives

Saturday, March 21, 2015

A Brief Note

Happy Spring!

I decided it was time to let everyone know that I haven't taken an extended vacation. I am slowly recuperating from a nasty fall which broke my right arm and cracked my hip. Both injuries required surgery. I'm right handed so that has seriously impeded my research abilities. It has also made typing with one hand a new exercise in frustration. I can't sit in any one spot for very long either. I am now on the down side of the recovery process so I hope to be able to start posting blogs again within the next couple of weeks. I have really missed preparing, researching and writing these blogs. 

So with much appreciation for your patience, I will be back shortly with another blog.

The Pye Plate
Bette Pye Wing