The Pye Plate: Edmond Honington Freeman c 1574- c 1624

Edmond Honington Freeman and his wife Alice are my 10x great grandparents. They were apparently fairly well established in England and it appears that at least some of their offspring were educated.

Edmond Honington Freeman was b. c. 1572 in Pulborough, co. Sussex, England. He was the s/o John Freeman and Tryphona Isham.¹{Pronounced Eye-sham} She was from Northamptonshire, probably from a place called Isham. This name is a habitational name taking the Celtic word for the River Ise and combining it with the Old English word Ham, meaning 'homestead.' ² She may have been related to Sir John Isham, High Sheriff of Northamptonshire.³ Edmond married Alice Coles, b. c. 1574- 1652 and they lived their entire lives in England. Edmond died when he was 52. Alice spent her later years with her daughter Alice and her son-in-law John de Beauchamp (Beecham). He was also a contributor to the Plymouth Colony but he never removed to there.

They married in Pulborough and had 6 children:

i. Edmond (1596-1682) m1. (in 1617) Bennett Hodsall (1597-1630) – 6 children m2. (in c. 1635) Elizabeth Unknown – 1 child

William (1600-1666) m. Christian Hodsall (1600-1638)
Alice (1601-?) m. John de Beauchamp
Eleanor (1603-1618)
John (1606-1629)
Elizabeth (1609-?)

1. Edmond Freeman, b. in Billinghurst, co. Sussex and Bennett Hodsall, b. in Pulborough, co. Sussex were married on Oct 12 1617 in Gravely, England. Bennett died in Pulborough on Apr 12 1630 at the age of 32. He married his second wife, Elizabeth (it has been suggested her name was Gurney), in England and in 1635 departed on the ship Abigail with his wife, 2 sons and 2 daughters. It is said he was a man of “much consideration in England and brought with him much valuable plate.” He first settled in Lynn, Massachusetts Bay Colony, but after receiving permission from the Plymouth Colony for a grant of land, he moved to Sandwich around 1637. Edmond's family may have had connections with families of the aristocracy. His sister's marriage to John de Beauchamp indicates her social position. The de Beauchamp family had roots in Normandy and one branch of the family had been Earls of Warwick. Over 200-300 years the family had long time relationships with many of the notable noble families of England. Bennett Hodsall's parents were John Hodsall and Faith Gratwick. There is much confusion concerning this couple's dates of birth and marriage. There doesn't seem to be any reliable sources to turn to, so I will merely present them as the parents of Bennett Hodsall. (N.B. - the name is also spelled Hodsoll and sometimes with only one 'l'.)

Edmond and Bennett had children:

i. Alice (1619-1651) m. (in 1639) William Paddy

ii. Edmond (1620-1673) m. (in 1646) Rebecca Prence

iii. Bennett (1621-1633)

iv. Elizabeth (1624-1692) m. (in 1644) John Ellis

2. v. John (1626-1719) m. (in 1649/50) Mercy Prence (1631-1711) – 10 children

vi. Nathaniel (1629-1629)

2. John married Mercy Prence, d/o Gov. Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster and sister of Rebecca who married John's brother Edmond. Mercy was b. bef. Sep 28 1631 in Plymouth Colony and she died in 1711 in Eastham, MA. John was prominent in public affairs as a deputy, selectman and as an assistant to the Gov. He was a deacon in the church and a Major in the military. He was a large land holder in the Orleans part of Eastham throughout his life. He was an early settler of Eastham along with Gov. Thomas Prence and has often been considered one of its Founding Fathers. On his death, his will gave his two slaves their freedom and conditions to ensure their well being, as well as providing bequests to his children.

John and Mercy had children:

i.. John (1651-1721) m. (in 1672) Sarah Merrick – 8 child

ii. Thomas (1653-1715) m. (in 1673) Rebecca Sparrow (1655-1739) – 10 children 3. iii. Edmond (1657-1717)⁴ m1. (in 1677) Ruth Merrick

m2. (c. 1681) Sarah Mayo (1660-1746) – 12 children

iv. Mercy (1659-1744) m. (in 1679) Samuel Knowles (1651-1737) – 11 children

v. William (1663-1687) m. Lydia Sparrow (1660-?) - 2 children

vi. Patience (1664-1745) m. (in 1682) Samuel Paine (1652-1712) – 9 children

vii. Hannah (1664-1743) m. (in 1681) John Mayo (1656-1727) - 8 children

viii. Prince (1665-1665)

ix. Nathaniel (1669-1760) m. Mary Howland (1664-1743) – 6 children

x. Bennett (1671-1716) m. (in 1689) John Paine (1661-1731) – 13 children.

All descendants of John and Mercy Prence Freeman are Mayflower Descendants of William Brewster. The husbands of Patience and Bennett were brothers and Mayflower Descendants of Stephen Hopkins. Edmund's wife and Hannah's husband were brother an sister. With the children I have been able to find, John and Mercy were the grandparents of at least 79 grandchildren.