Medieval Names and Family Connections

Anyone who decides to research their family names, reaching back to medieval times in England, needs to be aware of a few really important things concerning names and how they were used.  Surnames have not always been there. For royalty, they came into use when William the Conqueror came to England in 1066. However it took another 200-300 years for surnames to be commonly used among the general population. Many areas of England used patronymics such as in Wales where ap, ab or av was added in front of a name. Gruffyd ap Rhys became Price, Daffyd ab Owen became Bowen, Miles ap Harry became Parry or Perry. There was also a Norman tradition of adding Fitz to a given name, such as FitzGerald, son of Gerald, FitzOsbern, son of Osbern, and FitzAlan, son of Alan. The addition of ‘son’ after a name showed the Danish influence, Adamson, Godwinson, Haroldson, to name a few. Danish daughters, on the other hand, were not given the same treatment.  Harold’s daughter would have been Haroldsdottir, Adam’s daughter would have been Adamsdottir and so on. A girl in the FitzGerald family would often use the place of birth, such as Emma de Teesbury (this is a fictional example) since that is where the family was when she was born. Her brothers would all be FitzGeralds, but she would be de Teesbury. To complicate things further, the father of the family could have a specific name such as de Pitres, but his son became the Sheriff of Gloucester so his son’s names was Walter of Gloucester. His grandson also became Sherriff of Gloucester and was known as Miles of Gloucester. Miles’ daughters all seem to be de Pitres and his sons were all called FitzMiles (these are known people)

.

This is in no way meant to scare a researcher off. It is simply a ‘heads up’ because you need to be prepared for any combination of names and spellings. They used their family names, place of birth, current living location and any titles they may have concurrently. For instance, one person could be known by his family name, by his place of birth, by an inherited or bestowed title all in the same paragraph. Spelling did not become standardized until the late 1800’s, so spelling was variable. I have seen copies of letters written where people’s names were mentioned and within the same letter, the names were spelled in several different ways. Be prepared for every eventuality when it comes to medieval names and spelling. Don’t dismiss a link because it isn’t spelled the way it is spelled today or the way you think it has to be spelled.

The other caveat is a couple of sources people use and should not. The Battle Abbey Roll and the Falaise Rolls have been discredited as to having any reliability in genealogy research. They were written in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, some say to help promote tourism in France and England and/or to raise a families status by giving them a pedigree. I can’t attest to the motivation for writing them, but I can pass on the word that serious historical researchers do not accept them as resources. A further note on this is Debrett’s Peerage is not highly recommended either.

My own research has taken me deep into the heart of several counties where I found de la Mare families located. If you wonder why I would find an interest in this name, it’s because it is the ancient name of the Pye Family. It took several hundred years and several different forms before it became Pye. But it did start out as a Norman name and following all the twists and turns it has taken, at times, has been a nightmare. I nearly gave up many times but the challenge remained there, calling me. What I have found is by no means complete. I’m grateful that I was able to answer a few of the questions I had.

I found that Edward the Confessor, King of England, had an interest in Normandy as his mother, Emma, was a Norman. {William the Conqueror was Emma’s nephew.} Edward had encouraged Normans to come to England and quite a few did. There is some evidence that the family of de la Mare were already land holders in Herefordshire before the Battle of Hastings in 1066. They may not have lived there, but they owned the land. The Welsh had been troublesome for years, so when William the Conquer became King of England, he established strong families along the borders. These families built castles and were prepared to defend the lands given to them. For many of these families, these lands were awarded to them for service to the King, either at the Battle of Hastings or for other services. But William was a shrewd King. He awarded lands to his loyal supporters in such a way that they could not become too powerful. Consequently, a land holder’s name can and will show up in several or many counties. Earlier de la Mares, in the time of Edward the Confessor, would have kept their lands and William the Conqueror would have awarded more.

It is believed that Kilpec Castle was already there when the de la Mares were given those lands along the Welsh border. It was a motte and bailey type castle, mostly made of wood. At some time it was probably strengthened with rock and boulders, but only a small part of it still survives. The first of the family to occupy this castle was William FitzNorman de la Mare.  In the Domesday Survey of 1086, (Kilpeck is called Chipeete) it was given by the Conqueror to William FitzNorman.  It became the administrative center of Archenfield.   In a history of the Kilpeck Church it is stated that William FitzNorman was a kinsman of Wm. Conq.  Another source calls him a 'natural son.'  The Kilpeck history also claims that William FitzNorman was a kinsman of Earl Mortimer. Unfortunately, this is not backed up by any documentation so there is no way of knowing if there is any connection between FitzNorman and the Conqueror. Be that as it may, the de la Mare family became part of a military defense along the Welsh border called The Marcher Lords. It was their duty to protect England from any invasions by the hostile Welsh and in return they received considerable amounts of land. Kilpeck Castle was one of many castles built along the boundary between Wales and England, but was not considered one of the four major powers who became prominent as Marcher Lords.

I have read and heard objections to the use of the name FitzNorman. Others question the name since it was not common at the time. My argument is that it wasn’t a name but a sobriquet, a nickname. The progenitor of this family was probably called ‘the Norman’ much as an immigrant Irish man might be called ‘Irish’, regardless what his name was.  Some studies have been done that show the brothers William and Hugh de la Mare, were sons of Robert Normannus, The Marshal, who owned lands in England during the time of Edward the Confessor – or before the Battle of Hastings. If Robert had spent some time in England where the Norman population was small, it would have been easy to call him The Norman. His sons became known as William and Hugh FitzNorman de la Mare or in another way William and Hugh de Mara. The name Robert does repeat in several following generations so I believe there is some merit to this argument, even though it can’t be verified with documents. I do not believe that Norman was the first name to which it was customary to add Fitz. My theory is that The Norman was known in England before 1066 and his sons were called FitzNorman instead of FitzRobert.

Since I have worked my way to the beginnings of the family de la Mare, I’ll try to follow a time line to bring forth the next several generations. My hope is to explain how the de la Mares scattered, took on different names and how one branch became the Pye family.

The Norman People and their Existing Descendants, by Sir Matthew Hale

The Notices of the Ellises of England, Scotland and Ireland, by William Smith Ellis, Esq. P.17-18.

 A General Introduction to Domesday Book,by Sir Henry Ellis

The Reynolds Connection

First, I must apologize for the lack of credit on the Mulley’s Cove photo in my last post. I didn’t realize the credit wasn’t attached to the photo until AFTER I’d posted the blog. So to correct that, the photo was taken by Ron Thistle in 2002. There is a site for Thistle family members to check out if they wish.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/t/h/i/Gary-H-Thistle-FL/

Cecil Reynolds wrote a series of letters in the 1990s, while he was in his 90’s, concerning the families of Mulley’s Cove and many of the marriages and intermarriages that took place. These letters are a wealth of information, much of it about the life and times of growing up in Newfoundland. He had researched the Reynolds (also recorded as Rennolls) family and what he wrote about astounded me. This is what I learned.

James Reynolds (1749-1834) was born in Rockbeare, Devon, the 2^nd son of the churchwarden. His older brother inherited the Devon lands and James was in need of an occupation. He became a bootmaker apprentice of the Lacey’s of Mulley’s Cove, in 1769. It is said that the Lacey’s made boots for the fishermen, boots similar to the type worn by the fishermen of the West Country, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. James’ apprenticeship was to last for seven years and during this time he was to live with the family and had to remain unmarried. By the time his term was over, the American Revolution had begun.

Boats were hauled in and out of Mulley's Cove from this old wench. Photo provided by Jim and Glenda Thistle

Newfoundland did not have a sustainable agricultural economy. They depended on the colonies to supplies them with foods they couldn’t grow. With the War came the British blockades of the American ports, so very few supplies were reaching Newfoundland. James found that the Lacey’s were well supplied with items from Devon, so he signed on for another seven years. The fact that the Lacey’s were well connected in Devon and made boots similar to those of that region, suggests, but doesn’t prove that they may have originated in Devon.

So it was that James, finally a man on his own at the age of 33/34, was finally able to marry and settle down. Cecil Reynolds in his letters, says he found that James married a teenager named Elizabeth Kennedy and they had at least 4 children: Elizabeth who married John Slade; James Jr., who married an Elizabeth; Lot, who married a Hannah and John, no wife found yet.

James Jr. was the father of Esther Reynolds who married John Lacy/Lacey. This James, a fisherman, had 4 daughters and one son, but he doesn’t appear in records after his son was born. There seems to be no death record or grave, so it seems he might have been lost at sea. The children were Elizabeth, who married William King; Esther (above); Sarah Ann married James Thistle; Mary who may have died young; and James 3rd who married Jane King.

‘So now we have all these additional names to tackle: Kennedy, Slade, Thistle and King.  There’s Devon, Dorset and Cornwall to check out to see who might be connected to where. Then there’s always the interesting family tale that there were two branches of the Pye family who settled in Newfoundland – one from Herefordshire and the other from  - you guessed it – Devon and Cornwall.

And I thought my gt. grandmother was a brick wall. Well, knocking down that wall has opened up many more avenues that need to be pursued.  Have my pick, have my shovel – off I go!

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Articles/cjr-ltr-5.shtml

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Articles/cjr-ltr-6.shtml

One Brick Wall Down

A few months ago, I posted several names that were solid brick walls in my research. One of them was Elizabeth Rachel Lacy, my gt. grandmother. I had been unable to find any documentation for her for many years. I finally decided to go back to what my cousin, Pete, had originally said about her. My reasoning was that he had been the first born grandson of Jesse Pye, who was the son of my elusive Elizabeth. He had spent many years listening to Jesse talk about his relatives and life in Newfoundland and Labrador. Just because I couldn’t find anything to prove what he had written didn’t mean some or all of it was not true.

So, I started off at square one, as they say. Elizabeth, who went by her middle name, as seems to be the way in NFLD, which was Rachel. It was always a given that her name was Lacy and not Lacey. But for my search purposes, I looked at every, Elizabeth and/or Rachel who had a Lacy/Lacey last name. Now the next thing Pete had recorded was that her parents were known as John Lacy and his wife Esther Reynolds. Off I went to connect the dots or so I hoped.

To begin with, The Grand Banks site for NFLD has added quite a few more searchable records. This was an enormous help. I was able to extend my search to places I hadn’t been able to check on before. I was looking for a Murray Cove near Carbonear. But with more records, I stumbled upon Mulley’s Cove and hit the jackpot. Over the years, the location’s name had become corrupted in our family’s version of the story, so my searching was in the wrong place. As Dick Eastman suggested in a recent newsletter, family history can be lost in just three generations. In this case, thankfully, it wasn’t lost, but some definite distortions had occurred.  But here I found that John Lacey had married Esther Reynolds on Nov 13 1839. Then I went into the census and found my gt. grandmother, Elizabeth Rachel Lacey, b. Jul 27 1843 in Mulley’s Cove. Finally I had validation of who her parents were and that she had 10 siblings. I also discovered that her name was spelled Lacey in all the records, contrary to every thing our family tale reported. Long ago I had discovered that one needed to look for every variation of the spelling, so this didn’t surprise me much. The Lacy ‘tale’ was based on John Lacy having been born in Belfast and that he was of the Irish Lacy family.

Now I realized that earlier records were also on line and to my surprise and delight, I found John Lacey was actually born in St. John’s, NFLD on Nov 13 1812, not in Ireland. His father was Robert Lacey and his mother was Rachel Thistle (nee) who married at St. John’s Congregational Church, May 6 1809. In 1817 Robert was a shoemaker but in later documents he became a fisherman. Robert’s father was John Lacey, also a shoemaker. So far I’ve found four children for Robert and Rachel: Daniel, John, William and Mary Ann. But now a new mystery presents itself, where was John Lacy/Lacey born?

I have discovered that, my Newfoundland ancestors were the hardiest, toughest people. They had large families and many of the children died young. As Darwin suggested in his Origin of the Species, these folks were “better designed for an immediate, local environment.”

Interestingly, while following some history on the Reynolds family, I discovered that this Lacy/Lacey family may have come from Devon, England and not from Ireland at all. The Reynolds history also suggested that the Thistle family came from the Channel Islands.

I was very satisfied with this session of research. Not only did I find my gt. grandmother, but I found her parents and her grandparents as well.

Reminder to self – do not shelve family history stories until they can be proven wrong!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_of_the_fittest

http://ngb.chebucto.org/

Thanksgiving Thoughts

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am often drawn to memories of my childhood in New England. The colder, dreary month of November on the coast of Massachusetts was memorable in its own way. The air smelled heavily of salt water, the dampness was chilling even for youngsters and the early darkness of each day drove us all home, to the welcome and warm smells of supper cooking. To be among familiar objects and family gathered around the dining room table, was to find a secure barrier against the wicked elements that could blow in off the mighty North Atlantic. It was an insulation against the unknown, a safe haven from the boogey man and a cheery cocoon for young minds with over active imaginations. It was Fall in Winthrop. We had raked leaves into huge piles, jumped into them a gazillion times and, yes, burned them in the gutters. I still miss the smell of burning leaves. We had made sure the storm windows were in place. This was no easy task as they had to be taken off and put on from the outside, on ladders. They were separate from the window frames and had spent the summer stored in the cellar awaiting the first cold blasts of approaching winter.  It was time to get out the hats, mittens, scarves, boots, warm jackets and leggings. How I hated the leggings!! Nothing like today's warm, nearly water proof outdoor gear, these leggings would be wet soon after the first snow angel.  We spent November getting ready for winter. Sometimes, winter hit with huge Nor'eastahs, dumping snow up to my chin, long before we were truly ready. But most of the time, November was just cold and gray. There was much to look forward to in November with lots of days off from school. We always had election day off, then Veteran's Day and then the two days for Thanksgiving. My older sisters were very into high school football. I went to many of the games too, with kids my own age. We spent weeks, before Thanksgiving, cutting up newspapers into strips and then into small squares, our very own home grown confetti. It was extra special when we could add the Sunday comics to the mix. All this was for the Thanksgiving football game, the last of the season, with a rival high school team. I didn't care a bit about the game. I was there to cheer with the cheerleaders, yell at the top of my lungs and throw confetti. It was glorious! The game was in the morning so by the time we got home, there was the heaven sent aroma of a turkey roasting in the oven. Our dinner was probably very traditional.  I'm not sure I ever asked any of my friends what they had for their dinners. I guess I thought everyone had what we had. This was before the day of frozen turkeys so ours was fresh and needed to be dunked in a sink full of cold water to clean it all out. My father made the onion stuffing with stale bread. He always stuffed the turkey the night before and we never got sick once!!!!  My mother and grandmother had made pies and fresh cranberry orange relish. I never did acquire a taste for this relish but still love canned cranberry sauce. My grandmother insisted on having mince meat pies, another item my taste buds never quite got used to. There was mashed potato, sweet potato, boiled onions, Hubbard squash, stuffing, turkey and gravy. It was a feast fit for royalty. Sometimes we had relatives join us, swelling our ranks to 10 or more at the table. Warm pies, including pumpkin, would be served with real whipped cream. After clean up, the dining room table would be turned into a giant card table as we all gathered around to play Up The River. Out came the cards and the betting chips; let the games begin. I don't remember if I ever won or lost.  I just remember it being the most fun. The room was full of laughter and silliness. The only thing you could win was chips - no cash value. So we just played and laughed and enjoyed.  Each Thanksgiving I am so grateful for these memories. As I relive them, I am once again with my parents, grandmother, sisters and other family. I'm visiting my beloved childhood home and touching a time that was saner, safer and happier than what we have today.  

Anthony Henry Pye 1590-1656 Cornwall, England

Anthony Henry Pye 1590-1656

Anthony Henry Pye, the son of Anthony Pye and Constance Pound m. Elizabeth Trethewey, 1614, in St. Stephen’s, Brannell. Since Anthony Henry was supposed to have been born in 1590, the following information probably refers to his father:

An Anthony Pye is listed in A2A in Parishes of St. Austell, St. Ewe and St. Mewan under the Edgecombe family and concerned with MINING, dated May 17 1590.

It will be noted that later dates of 1632, still have this Pye family connected to the Edgecombe’s.

I have been able to find five children for this couple:

Henry (c.1616 - c.1655) – Unk. Wife – a son, Henry

William (c. 1617 - ?)

John (c. 1619 - ?)

Jane (c. 1621- ?)

Robert (Bapt. Mar. 21 1623 – burial Aug. 17 1700)

Trying to read the Registers for all the different areas in Cornwall has been most unsuccessful. The handwriting is so indecipherable that I, at first, thought it was written in Latin. Possibly some of it is. I was only able to distinguish a few given names such as Elizabeth, John (Johannes), Jone and Walter. I finally gave up on the surnames. I didn’t see anything even approaching a similarity with Pye/Pie/Opie/Apie, which are all spelling variations. The last two variants are the closest to ap Hugh, where in Wales the ‘u’ is pronounced ‘y’ or long ‘i’.

So I will continue with the information I have on this family and as time permits will try to decipher the handwriting in the Cornwall Registers.

Using the Archives on line, A2A, housed in London, this information was found but it is uncertain if this is the same Anthony (paraphrased):

Possibly the Anthony who paid 5 yrs rent to Sir Richard Edgcumbe for land in Hewas Francis, on Apr 23 1632.

A2A LEASES Manor of Bodrugan File ref. ME/1289 date 23 Apr 1632 Scope and Content: Receipt by Sir Richard Edgcumbe for 2s. 6d. for five years high rent due from Anthony Pye for land in Hewas Francis; signature

Since Anthony Henry’s father died in 1627, it’s likely this statement is about him and not his father. There are a couple more Anthony’s in Cornwall but they don’t fit the timeline for 1632. So unless another Anthony shows up, I believe this Anthony to be the one mentioned in the 1632 Scope and Content.

Anthony Henry’s son, William, is said to have been born in Bodinnick. Without proof, I can only say that he was born in Cornwall. There is no known wife for him, but he had three known children:

Elizabeth m. Roger Crewes

John m. Jone (Unknown) – 3 children

Anthony of Grampound m. Phillipa Andrew Sep 8 1684 – 1 child

There is little more information on this Pye line. Serious efforts have been made to connect this family line with the Pyes who eventually settled in Newfoundland. However, although repeating names suggest family connections, no records have been discovered to verify any of it. Perhaps in time more information will become available.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/

http://ukga.org/england/Cornwall/visitations/index.html

Carew’s Survey of Cornwall.pdf

Alexander Pye 1535-1569

Alexander Pye was the son of John Pye and an unknown wife. He was born in
St. Stephen’s, Brannell, Cornwall, England, about 1535. Again, I will reiterate, there is not one speck of proof that Elizabeth Courtenay was married to John Pye or was the mother of Alexander. In fact, other records show that Elizabeth Courtenay was married to John Trethewey. Granted she could have been married more than once, but nowhere have I found one mention of John Pye being married to Elizabeth Courtenay. Whatever the case, Alexander was not the first born so the naming patterns of the time may not apply. I have found one curious tidbit that I hope to pursue to truth or fiction. The statement indicated that a John Pye had changed his name to Trethewey in order to inherit a certain amount of property. If that should prove true than we could have a Trethewey (Pye)/Courtenay marriage. Even if it is true, it does not mean they were the parents of Alexander. Research on these people has been slow and painful.

However, there have been some interesting finds. Boconnoc, Brannell, Boddinick and Bodmin are all geographically fairly close to each other. They are all near the River Fowey. Bodmin appears on maps to be nearly due north of the river mouth. Boddinick is on the east side of the river, near the mouth, and is known for being the residence of Daphne du Maurier, authoress. Brannell lies to the west in St. Stephen’s parish and Boconnoc lies to the north and east of the river. All four of these locations have been named in documents pertaining to the Pye family over the centuries. The River Fowey supported a large and thriving fishing and boat building community. One of the most interesting things I found was that one of the prominent families of Boddinick was Slade. They had many ships and transported local China clay or imported coal. One of the companies who processed and transported dried Cod from Battle Harbor, Newfoundland, to the Continent was the Slade Co. This was an unexpected find and supports the immigration of Pyes from Cornwall to Newfoundland. Be aware, I said ‘supports,’ I did not say “proves.’

 

 

Daphne de Maurier home, on the right. The Old Ferry Inn on the hill behind.

As mentioned in the last post, there was family history of the Pyes being connected to the Carminow’s. A correction is needed here as the lasted post stated incorrectly that the land was in St. Brannel. It should have said St. Stephen in Brannell. In searching geographical locations and their histories I did come upon this interesting statement in The History of Cornwall, by Fortescue Hitchings, Esq., Vo II, p. 612, 1824 …..

"The manor of Bodinneck, which belonged to the Carminows of Boconnoc, passed from this family to the Courtenays. Some considerable time afterwards it was in the family of Pye, by whom it was sold to John Tanner, Esq., M. P. for Grampound. This gentleman made Bodinneck his residence. This is now a farm house, the property of Lord Grenville."

 This shows there was some history of the Pyes owning property that had once belonged to the Carminow’s and Courtenays. There are records to show that some members of the Pye family married Tanners. However, these connections do not contribute anything to the man known as Alexander Pye.

Alexander was apparently not a very noteworthy person in the area that he lived. There is not much mention of him in the history books neither of that location nor in the records and documents of that era. He married Marion Corne (Coryn), who was the daughter of Richard Corne and Elizabeth Vyvyan (Vivian). Richard’s parents were Michael Coryn and (?) Lovedon. Elizabeth’s father was John Vyvyan. Her mother is unknown.

Alexander and Marion had at least 4 children. Incorrecty, I see that I posted Alexander’s name when it should have been Anthony and Constance Pound’s children that were described. As many times as I read over these blogs before posting, I still find these goofy mistakes. Another error, a misspelling, is Margaret Pye married William Catcher (Not Cathcher).

The following children were Alexander’s and Marion’s:

Anthony (c 1559-1627) m. Constance Pound (c 1560-?) – 9 children (These children were discussed in the last blog.)

Male Child

Males Child

Anna (c 1560-?) m. Willmus Tremayne on Aug 13 1579 (The name Tremayne has taken on many spellings since the 1600's. One of them is Trueman.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodinnick

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodmin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Stephen-in-Brannel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boconnoc

John Pye 1495 – 1582

Yet another John Pye comes forth as the son of John Pye and Ann de la Bere. It is said he was of Nansarth (Lansreath), of St. Stephen’s in Brannel, in Cornwall, though it does not appear he was born there. Not much is known about this John, not even the name of his wife. But he does appear in the The Visitations of Cornwall, comprising the Heralds’ visitations of 1530, 1573 and 1620, Lt. Col. J.L. Vivian, p. 287.

Having said that, there is no solid proof this is the same man who is John, s/o John Pye and Ann de la Bere. Every indicator seems to point in the direction of this being true, but lacking is the verification. So this continues to be a work in progress.  According to the pedigree shown in The Visitation, he had three sons, Alexander, John and John. The pedigree concentrates on Alexander, mentioning only that the first John had 2 sons and the second John had one son.  Although it may seem odd to us to have two children with the same name in one family, it wasn’t an uncommon thing in the 14^th and 15^th centuries. Usually it meant that the older one had died and the next child born was given the name of the diseased sibling, depending on whether male or female, of course. In this case, though, it appears that both men by the name of John lived to adulthood and had children. Most likely they had pet names they used or they used their middle names, which is a custom that shows also up in the Canadian Maritime Provinces in the 1800’s and 1900’s.

It has also been claimed that this John Pye married Elizabeth de Courtenay. Unfortunately, there is not a speck of evidence to support this. To date, the wife of this John is unknown. The story of this John seems to be that he left Herefordshire to claim his inheritance from his mother (de la Bere) in Devon and Cornwall, a much larger territory than what he would have received at the Mynde.  It has been stated, in several different places that land in St. Brannel, Cornwall, originally owned by the Carminow family, came into the hands of the Courtenays. This is quite likely as the two families had intermarried. What seems odd about this, is that later on the Pyes ended up with the land that had been in the hands of the Courtenays. The Pyes eventually sold the land to the Tanner family, which seems normal as there had been several marriages between the Pyes and the Tanners over the years. So we have a connection between the Carminows and the Courtenays and then between the Pyes and the Tanners, but nothing to connect the Pyes with the Courtenays.  This search continues on.

John’s son Alexander married Marion Corne, d/o Robert Corne and his wife Elizabeth Vyvyan (now commonly spelled Vivian). Alexander was the first born son, and I’m sure his name reflects his mother’s family. Through several generations there have been no male Pyes named Alexander. I’m convinced his name is a clue to who his mother or grandfather were, but, again, no proof.

Alexander and Marion’s Anthony married Constance Pownd (Pound), the d/o William Pownd. There is another family, John Pownd, whose daughter, Blanch, married Sir John Trelawny.  So far, I haven’t been able to connect these two Pound families, but the name Blanch is another clue, as it appears with some frequency in the Pye family.

The children of Alexander and Constance (Pound) Pye were:

Elizabeth (1579-1626) m. Thomas Burgess of Truro, Cornwall. They had 21           children. Their oldest son, another Thomas, 1601-1684, was b. in Truro           Cornwall, but d. in Sandwich MA. He and his wife (Dorothy Phippen) are    the ancestors of Thornton Burgess, early 1900’s author of children’s     book, i.e.  Old Mother West Wind.

Jane (1581-?) m. Henry Burgess

Margaret (c. 1583-?) m. William Cathcher – 10 children

John (1585-1617) m. Jane Tanner

Anthony II (1590-1656) m. Elizabeth Trethewey – 5 children

Thomas (1589- ?) m.  Grace Cosyn

Otwell (1591-bef. Sep 1683) m. Jane Thomas

Nathaniel (c. 1593-bef. Sep 1669) m. Jennifer

Joan (? -?) m. George Phippen (? – Jul 1650) Parents of Dorothy Phippen

I will leave this Cornwall branch of the Pyes to indulge in some more research. It’s quite possible the Nova Scotia and some of the Newfoundland families all originated in Cornwall. More investigation is necessary.

Visitations of Cornwall  Lt. Col. J. L. Vivian

The Visitation of the County of Cornwall 1620, Henry St. George, Harleian Society