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
Edward2 - 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
Mary m. Thomas Thompkins
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
