By Jared L. Olar
December 2018
The surname "Sherwood" indicates a family that lived in or adjacent to the famous Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. The forest's name comes from the Anglo-Saxon Scir-wudu, which literally means "bright forest," in the sense of a forest that is cultivated rather than wild or primeval. Our own Sherwood ancestors presumably descend from an earlier family from Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, but our known Sherwood line is only traceable to the village of Kettlebaston in Suffolk, East Anglia, which is located about 12 miles from Ipswich. The earliest proven generation in our Sherwood lineage is the English colonist THOMAS SHERWOOD (c.1586-1655), who left Kettlebaston in 1634 and settled in the colony of Connecticut. Some genealogists have proposed that Thomas was an otherwise unknown son of Esdras and Dorcas Sherwood of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The lineage of Esdras Sherwood can be traced back to the village of Syleham in Suffolk, as follows:
John Sherwood, ancestry unknown, born circa 1477 in Syleham, died circa 1504 in Ipswich, married Anne (NN).
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William Sherwood, son of John and Anne Sherwood, born circa 1490 in Ipswich, died circa 1593 in Ipswich, married circa 1513 to Margaret Spaulding, daughter of John and Ann Spalding.
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John Sherwood, son of William and Margaret Sherwood, born circa 1518 in Ipswich, died circa 1568 in Ipswich.
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Esdras Sherwood, son of John and Alice Sherwood, born 8 June 1542 in Ipswich, died 1606 in Ipswich, married circa 1585 to Dorcas (NN).
Barring further genealogical discoveries, it cannot be determined if Thomas Sherwood of Kettlebaston was a son of Esdras and Dorcas, so we shall now turn to an account of Thomas Sherwood and our line of his descendants. The narrative below is derived from Robert Charles Anderson's biography of Thomas Sherwood in The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume VI, R-S. (2009), pages 304-312, augmented and occasionally corrected by other sources such as Leslie Mahler's studies, "The English Home of Thomas Sherwood of Wethersfield, Stamford, and Fairfield, Conn.," in The American Genealogist, vol. 50 (2005), pages 278-282, and "The Parentage of Alice Tiler, First Wife of Thomas Sherwood of Wethersfield, Stamford, and Fairfield, Connecticut," in The American Genealogist vol. 82 (July 2007), pages 211-213, and Donald Lines Jacobus' paper, "Repercussions II: Sherwood of Fairfield and Stratford, Conn.," in The American Genealogist vol. 27 (1950), pages 156-159.
1. THOMAS SHERWOOD, perhaps, or perhaps not, a son of Esdras and Dorcas Sherwood, was born circa 1586 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England, died between 21 July 1655 and 7 Sept. 1655 in Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, presumably buried in the Old Burial Ground in Fairfield. Thomas' parentage and ancestry is unknown. Some researchers say his father was named Thomas, but others have proposed that he was a son of Esdras and Dorcas Sherwood of Ipswich, Suffolk, England (see above). Although it is possible that Thomas was a son of Esdras and Dorcas, baptismal records for only two children of Esdras and Dorcas have been found in the parish register of St. Nicholas' Church at Ipswich, but no record identifying our Thomas as one of their sons has been found.
In older genealogies, our ancestor Thomas Sherwood of Fairfield, Connecticut, is confused with Thomas Sherwood of Stratford, Connecticut, resulting in a large number of erroneous statements and claims about our Thomas and his wives and children. Some of those errors were even included on the large plaque erected in memory of our Thomas in the Old Burial Ground in Fairfield in 1950. More recent research has successfully disentangled the two Thomas Sherwoods, who both settled in Connecticut within 10 miles of each other and even died within three years of each other. Thus, although the memorial stone says our Thomas was a "Deputy of the General Court" and "Committeeman," in fact it was Thomas Sherwood of Stratford who held those offices. The stone also claims our Thomas as a soldier in the Pequot War on 1637, but that seems unlikely -- there is no way to tell whether or not Thomas, who was 51 in 1637, was one of the 26 militiamen that Wethersfield, Connecticut, had supplied for that war.
Thomas' first wife, whom he married circa 1610 in England, was ALICE TILER, baptised 16 Nov. 1585 in Hitcham, Suffolk, England, died circa 1637 in Fairfield, Connecticut, daughter of John and Joan Tiler. In the past, Thomas' first wife Alice was misidentified as Alice Seabrook, daughter of Robert Seabrook and Alice Goodspeed, but the chronology shows that to be impossible: Whereas Thomas' wife Alice was born in 1585, Alice Seabrook's parents were married 12 Sept. 1596 and their daughter Alice was born in 1606. Thomas Sherwood and Alice Tiler had seven daughters and one son.
In April 1634, when he was 48 years old, Thomas left Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England, and boarded the ship "Frances" with his wife Alice, age 47, and their children Anna, 14, Rose, 11, Thomas, 10, and Rebecca, 9, emigrating to New England (the ages are given as shown in the passenger list). The following year, in 1635, they joined the first settlers of Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, and moved there, where Thomas worked as a carpenter. Thomas' wife Alice died circa 1637, as is shown by the fact that in 1638 he had remarried to a woman named MARY (NN), died between 6 Jan. 1693 and 13 March 1694 in Fairfield, Connecticut. Mary was perhaps, or perhaps not, the Mary Onge who had sailed from England with the Sherwoods. Older genealogies claim that Mary's maiden name was Fitch, but there is no evidence for that. Donald Lines Jacobus noted in 1938 that Elizabeth Hubbell Schenck, in her History of Fairfield, made a slip of the pen when writing that the second wife of John Banks was "Mary Fitch," having confused the wife of Matthew Sherwood, Mary Fitch, with Matthew's mother Mary (see "The Second Wife of Joseph Loomis of Windsor, Conn.," New England Historical & Genealogical Register 92:303). Thomas Sherwood and his second wife Mary had three sons and three daughters, including our ancestor Stephen Sherwood.
Thomas sold his lands in Wethersfield in 1640 and went to Stamford, Connecticut. It was on 26 March 1640 that “Thomas Sherwood of Wethersfield . . . carpenter” sold to “George Wyllys of Hartford . . . gent., . . . my house & housing & homelot wherein I the said Tho[mas] Sherwood now dwell & hold in possession with all other my lots of meadowings, uplands & swamp grounds ... or hereafter to be belonging by reason of any future dividend or dividends according to the proportion of fifteen acres of meadow in large meadow & beaver meadow” in Wethersfield [Wethersfield Land Records 2:35].
This additional real estate transaction pertains to land that Thomas Sherwood had owned in Wethersfield before he moved to Stamford:
“The 4th month [June] & 21th day 1643 the lands of Gorg Willis Esquire lying in Wethersfeild in Connecticut: One piece as it now lyeth together containing thirty-four acres . . ., viz: a houselot bought of Ed[ward] Wodd containing ten acres & a piece of meadow bought of Thomas Sherwood containing ten acres, also a piece of meadow bought of John Sticklion containing fourteen acres . . ., one piece whereon a house and barn standeth containing three acres . . ., one piece in the great meadow containing four acres ..., one piece in the great meadow bought of Thomas Sherwood containing two acres ..., one piece in the great meadow containing four acres . . ., one piece which was Thomas Sherwood & Thomas Morehowse their houselot with other lands thereunto adjoining in all containing sixteen acres . . ., one piece bought of Nathaniel Foott containing three acres” [Wethersfield Land Records 1:62].
In 1648, Thomas sold his Stamford property to John Holly and settled in Fairfield, Connecticut, where he remained until his death in 1655. It is possible that Thomas was related to Thomas Morehouse, whose land holdings adjoined Thomas' in Wethersfield, and who accompanied him in his subsequent moves to Stamford and Fairfield.
Thomas Sherwood was called as a witness during the 1653 witchcraft trial of Goodwife Knapp of Fairfield, "a woman of good repute" and a "just and high-minded old lady" who had been falsely accused. Goodwife Knapp's trial ended in her unjust conviction and hanging. Thomas' second wife Mary was a friend of Goodwife Knapp, and Thomas accompanied her to the gallows and, after her hanging, guarded Knapp's body to prevent the fanatical Calvinists of Fairfield from desecrating it. Just before Knapp was killed, she came down from the gallows briefly and whispered in the ear of Roger Ludlow of Fairfield -- and Ludlow claimed that Knapp then accused another woman in town, Mary Staples, of witchcraft. When Ludlow began spreading this deadly calumny around town, Staples' husband Thomas sued Ludlow for defamation and won, after which Ludlow left Fairfield in disgrace in 1654. In the course of this lawsuit, Mary Sherwood testified that Roger Ludlow of Fairfield and several women of Fairfield had tried to coerce Knapp into falsely accusing Mary Staples of being a witch, but Knapp refused. The attorney representing Thomas and Mary Staples in this suit was John Banks, who married Thomas Sherwood's widow Mary a few years later (see below).
Thomas Sherwood made his will on 21 July 1655 in Fairfield, Connecticut. He probably died soon after, since an inventory of his estate was taken on 7 Sept. 1655, which means Thomas had died at some point between those two dates. Unfortunately the original will of Thomas Sherwood has been lost, and the recorded copy is in very poor condition. Problems reading the copy of Thomas' will led earlier genealogists to assign a daughter named "Margaret" to Thomas, but in fact the will refers to one of his two daughters "Mary," not "Marg." The most complete transcription of Thomas Sherwood's will was published by Andrew Sherwood in his 1929 volume Daniel L. Sherwood and his paternal ancestors: including Sherwood evidences both in England and America. In 1929 the original will still existed and evidently was in better condition. Following is the text of Thomas' will:
Imprimis. I give & bequeath unto the children of my first wife: I bequeath to my son Thomas five acres of upland lying upon the north end of Sasqua Neck. I bequeath to my daughter Jane twenty shillings. I bequeath to my daughter Tamsen twenty shillings. I bequeath to my daughter Mary twenty shillings. I bequeath to my daughter Sarah twenty shillings. I bequeath to my daughter Hanna twenty shillings. I bequeath to my daughter Rose twenty shillings. I bequeath to my daughter Rebecca forty shillings. I will that the above named legasies be payd within one year after my decease. I will & bequeath to my well beloved wife Mary Sherwood whom I make my executor & executrix of this my last will who shall pay the above named legasies. And also the legasies underwritten. As to my son Steven Sherwood I bequeath my dwelling house & homelot with all the buildings on this homelot & all the lott that layd next to my homelot on which I now live excepting half an acre--etc, etc. I will & bequeath to my son Matthew all my upland & meadow lying on the other side of Uncawy Creek namly on the east side of the said creek. I will & bequeath to my daughter Mary ten pounds. I will & bequeath to my daughter Ruth ten pounds. I will & bequeath to my daughter Abigail ten pounds. I wil & bequeath to my son Isaac that dwelling house next to my dwelling house that I now live in. And also I give him with the building on that homelot on which it standeth & he is to have the said half acre of land square off from the front the whole widence of the lot & soe downward. I give & bequeath to my loving & well beloved wife Mary Sherwood all the estate undivided whom I make mine Executor of this my last will Excepting a mare colt which my son Isaac shall have & that to his use & profit presently. I will that Steven have his portion when he is twenty years of age. And also that Matthew shall have his portion when he is twenty years old. And my son Isaac shall have four acres of meadow in the great meadow which I bought of Peter Merritt & five acres in the new field which he is to have at twenty years of age. To Mary, Abigaill & Ruth which I had by my last wife, -- etc., etc. And I desire my well beloved friends Thomas Staples & Nathan Gold to be overseers of this my last will. Signed in presence & Witnesses of us this twenty first day of July 1655. Thomas Sherwood Seal: Giles Smith, John Tomson, Proved October ye 25th. 1655. Fairfield, Connecticut, Probate Records, Liber 1.Folio 109-11.
About three years after Thomas' death, his widow Mary remarried to Fairfield attorney JOHN BANKS, born 1619 in Yorkshire, England, died 22 Jan. 1684 in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut. Their marriage is attested by a deed of 18 Jan. 1658/59 which mentions "John Banks hath married Mary Sherwood the relict." Mary survived until 1693. She made her will at Fairfield, Connecticut, on 6 Jan. 1693. In her will, she commended her soul to God and her body to a "comly burial," and made bequests to Ruth Sherwood, daughter of her son "Steven Sherwood"; to Mary Sherwood, daughter of her son Matthew Sherwood; to "hanah Lomis"; her daughter Ruth, her son Steven; son "Izack"; all the rest to her son Matthew Sherwood whom she named executor. Ensign Wheeler and James Bennett Sr. were to be overseers. Her will was witnessed by Mary Bennett and James Bennett Sr., and Mary signed with her mark. It was presented at Fairfield Court on 13 March 1693, along with her estate inventory totaling more than 71 pounds in value. Some sources claim without evidence that Mary died in Rye, Westchester County, New York, where her son Stephen lived, but her will was made and probated in Fairfield all within three months, so she obviously died in Fairfield.
The known children of Thomas Sherwood were:
-- JANE SHERWOOD, born circa 1611 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England.
-- MARY SHERWOOD, born and baptised in 1613 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England.
-- THOMASINE SHERWOOD ("Tamsen"), baptised 10 April 1615 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England, perhaps married William Belden of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
-- SARAH SHERWOOD, baptised 26 Jan. 1616/17 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England.
-- ANNA SHERWOOD, baptised 13 June 1619 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England.
-- ROSE SHERWOOD, baptised 10 Dec. 1620 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England, married 1st. Thomas Rumball, married 2nd. Thomas Barlow. married 3rd. Edward Nash.
-- REBECCA SHERWOOD, baptised 13 Oct. 1622 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England.
-- THOMAS SHERWOOD, born circa 1624 in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, England, married 1st. Sarah Wheeler, married 2nd. Ann Turney, married 3rd. Elizabeth Cable, married 4th. Sarah Colcy.
-- STEPHEN SHERWOOD, born circa 1638 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married 1st. Rebecca Turney, sister of his brother Thomas' 2nd wife Ann Turney.
-- MARY SHERWOOD, born circa 1640 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married Joseph Loomis.
-- RUTH SHERWOOD, born circa 1642 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married Joshua Holcombe.
-- MATTHEW SHERWOOD, born circa 1644 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married 1st. Sarah Turney, sister of Ann and Rebecca (above), married 2nd. Hannah (NN).
-- ABIGAIL SHERWOOD, born circa 1649 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married Daniel Lockwood.
-- ISAAC SHERWOOD, born circa 1651 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married Elizabeth Jackson.
2. STEPHEN SHERWOOD, son of Thomas and Mary Sherwood, born circa 1638 in Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut. In the 21 July 1655 will of his father Thomas Sherwood, Stephen was left his father's dwelling house and homelot, with the stipulation that Stephen would not receive his inheritance until he reached the age of 20 (circa 1658). Stephen married three times, and each of his marriages occurred in Fairfield, Connecticut. Stephen married first by 1661 to REBECCA TURNEY, born 16 Feb. 1639 in Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, died before 1688, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Turney. Stephen and Rebecca had nine sons and three daughters. Some time after Rebecca's death, Stephen remarried by 1688 to HANNAH JACKSON, born 1641 in Fairfield, Connecticut, died in Rye, Westchester County, Connecticut (now New York), widow of Philip Galpin and daughter of Henry and Mary Jackson. On 9 Nov. 1688, "Stephen Sherwood and Hannah his wife" appeared as administrators of "Philip Galpen deceased's estate." Stephen and Hannah had a son named Andrew, Stephen's youngest child. After Hannah's death, Stephen married a third time at an unknown date -- probably between 1697 and 1701 -- to MARY ADAMS, born 1647 in Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut, died April 1712 in Fairfield, Connecticut, daughter of Edward and Mary Adams. Mary had already been married and widowed twice, her first husband being Luke Guire and her second being (NN) Merwin. In his will of 7 August 1671, Mary's father Edward Adams included a bequest to "my daughter Mary Murvin and after her decease to her son Luke Guiwer."
Stephen is recorded as a freeman of Fairfield in 1664. In 1668, he bought John Coe's house and homelot on the north side of Manursing Island in Rye, Westchester County, New York (then in Connecticut. Stephen bought the remainder of the north neck of Manursing Island (totaling 46 acres) from John Banks Sr. in 1680, and then in 1685 he divided his neck of land on Manursing Island between his sons Stephen Jr. and Joseph.
The known children of Stephen Sherwood are:
-- STEPHEN SHERWOOD JR., born circa 1663 in Fairfield, Connecticut, died Aug. 1711 in Rye, Westerchester County, New York.
-- MARY SHERWOOD, born 1667 in Fairfield, Connecticut, died 1696 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married Daniel Burr.
3. ELIZABETH SHERWOOD, born circa 1668 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
-- JOSEPH SHERWOOD, born 1669 in Fairfield, Connecticut, died 1748 in Rye, New York, married Elizabeth Bloomer.
-- DANIEL SHERWOOD, born 1670 in Fairfield, Connecticut, died 1715 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married Tabitha Bennett.
-- NATHANIEL SHERWOOD SR., born 1672 in Rye, New York, died 1733 in Rye, New York.
-- RUTH SHERWOOD, born 1673 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married (NN) Merritt.
-- JABEZ SHERWOOD, born 1674 in Fairfield, Connecticut, died 1704 in Greenwich, Fairfied County, Connecticut.
-- JONATHAN SHERWOOD, born 1676 in Rye New York, died 1731 in New York.
-- SAMUEL SHERWOOD, born 1676 in Rye, New York, died 1742 in New York, married Sarah Higgins.
-- JOHN SHERWOOD, born 1680 in Rye, New York, died 1740 in Rye, New York.
-- JEHU SHERWOOD, born 1687 in Fairfield, Connecticut, died 1 Nov. 1757 in Fairfield, Connecticut, married Hannah (NN).
-- ANDREW SHERWOOD, born 1692 in Rye, New York, died 1735 in Westchester County, New York, married Ann Young.
3. ELIZABETH SHERWOOD, daughter of Stephen and Rebecca Sherwood, born circa 1668 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut; died in Rye, Westchester County, New York. Elizabeth married circa 1683 in Rye, Westchester County, to JOHN HOYT (John Haight), born 1664 or 1665 in East Chester, Westchester County, New York (others say he was born in Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut); died Feb. 1722 (others say he died 1723, others 1727, still others between 1723 and 1726) in Rye, Westchester County, New York, son of son of John and Mary Hoyt of Rye, Connecticut (now New York). Earlier sources incorrectly identify Elizabeth as Elizabeth "Purdy," daughter of Daniel Purdy, but Daniel died young and could not have had any children, and other researchers have identified Elizabeth as a member of the Sherwood family. The Historical and Genealogical Record, Dutchess and Putnam Counties, New York, 1912 - Part 2, page 453, provides this biography of Elizabeth's husband John Haight:
"John Haight, fourth child of John and Mary Haight, was born in East Chester, N.Y., in 1665. He took an active part in the public affairs in Westchester County and in 1696 was chosen town clerk of Rye, N.Y. He served as constable in 1702, and as Supervisor in 1711. He was elected member of Assembly in 1712, and re-elected in the years '13, '14 and '15. He subsequently was re-elected town Supervisor, and in 1719 was chosen church warden of Grace church at Rye, N.Y. In 1712 he obtained from King George II Royal Letters of Patent to the Charter of White Plains. He married Elizabeth Purdy (sic), daughter of Daniel Purdy (sic), who also had received letters patent to some 1500 acres in Westchester County."
John and Elizabeth Haight had five sons and three daughters:
-- JOHN HAIGHT
-- SAMUEL HAIGHT
-- JONATHAN HAIGHT
-- JOSEPH HAIGHT
-- DANIEL HAIGHT, born circa 1688.
-- ELIZABETH HAIGHT
-- EUNICE HAIGHT, born circa 1706, md. Joseph Close Jr.
-- MARY HAIGHT
Sherwood Genealogy Resources:
Kettlebaston Online Pictures of Kettlebaston St. Mary's Church in Kettlebaston, history and architecture Kettlebaston: Welcome to Our Village Find-A-Grave Memorial of Thomas Sherwood of Kettlebaston and Fairfieldk