The Ancestry of Hattie E. J. Bruce - the Wyeth Family

THE WYETH FAMILY

NICHOLAS WYETH [#1930], bap. Saxtead, Suffolk, Eng. 20 Jan 1600, d. 19 Jul 1680, m(1) MARGARET CLARKE, b. Westhorpe, England 1608, m(2) Rebecca (Craddock) Andrews, bap. London, Eng. 1 Nov 1623, d. Salem, MA May 1698. She m(1) Thomas Andrew, m(3) 16 Dec 1685 Thomas Fox.

About 1645 Nicholas Wyeth bought a house and land in Cambridge, Massachusetts on the westerly side of what is now Garden Street near Phillips Place. This land remained in possession of the Wyeth family for over two centuries.[1/702] Nicholas came to this country with his daughter Sarah and probably his wife Margaret. He later married Rebecca, the widow of Thomas Andrew. Nicholas was a mason and died July 19, 1680, aged 85 years.[3/31] We have from one source that Nicholas was baptised in 1600, yet Cambridge Vital Records give his age at death as 85 in 1680, so the birth record, and his ancestry for that matter, may be in doubt. The death record also claims that he "settled in Newtowne in 1630".[6] Another source has the Nicholas Wyeth family of four coming to New England with Reverend Shepard's company in 1635 in the ship Defence.[7/243]

Nicholas was granted lot 70 of 90 acres in the Shawshine grant of 1652.[1/59] Shawshine later became the town of Billerica. In the early 1660's, after the death of Oliver Cromwell and the restoration of the English monarchy under Charles II, the king cracked down on the Puritan colonies after their decade of freedoms under Cromwell. On Oct. 8, 1664 Nicholas was one of the signers (by mark in his case) of a document professing loyalty to the king but, at the same time, exhibiting an unwillingness to submit to arbitrary government, much like was done a hundred years later in the Revolution. The petition stated "... For as much as we have heard that theire have beene representations made unto his Majesty conserning divisions among us and dissatisfactions about the present goverment of this colonie; we whose names are under written, the inhabitants and householders of the towne above mentioned, doe hereby testify our unanimous satisfaction in and adhearing to the present government so long and orderly estableshed, and our earnest desire of the continuance theirof and of all the liberties and privileges pertaining theirunto which are contained in the charter granted by King James and King Charles the First of famous memory, under the encouredgment and security of which charter we or our fathers ventered over the ocean into this wildernesse through great hazards, charges, and difficulties; and we humbly desire our honored General Court would addresse themselves by humble petition to his Majesty for all his royall favour in the continuance of the present estableshment and of all the previleges theirof, and that we may not be subjected to the arbitrary power of any who are not chosen by this people according to theire patent". Ancestor Richard Cutter also signed this document.[1/7475]

Nicholas may have lived in Mellis, county of Suffolk, in England and come to New England about 1638. From his own words in his "confession" to Thomas Shepard upon joining the Cambridge church, Nicholas mentioned traveling four miles every sabbath to hear Mr. Salby and, later, sixteen miles to hear Mr. Burrows. Richard Selby was the rector of the church in Bedfield, Suffolk from 1584 to about 1610. Jeremiah Burroughs preached at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk from about 1624 until 1631. Ipswich is four miles from Bedfield and sixteen miles from Bury St. Edmunds.[4/1923] Mellis is nearby Ipswich. Nicholas was baptised in Saxtead, which is about ten miles north north east of Ipswich.[5/3]

Nicholas and his wife left England for religous reasons. "Hence I came to New England being persecuted and courted for going from the place where we lived and hence I used means to come hither where we might enjoy more freedom". Nicholas makes reference to many difficulties before and during his cross Atlantic voyage. He also mentioned that "God took away my son" at this point. It is not clear whether the boy died during the trip or when he was planning to leave England because those who were trying to discourage him from going used the death as an excuse that "the Lord was displeased for going on".[4/194]

See the overseas ancestor section for the ancestry of Nicholas and Margery (Clarke) Wyeth.

REF: [1] The History of Cambridge (1630-1877) - Lucius R. Paige,
         1877
     [2] New England Historic Genealogical Register, 1921
     [3] Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants 1620-1650
         - Charles Banks, 1937
     [4] Thomas Shepard's Confessions - edited by George Selement
         & Bruce C. Woolley, 1981
     [5] Horns A'Plenty - Agnes M. Grousset, 1980
     [6] Cambridge Vital Records
     [7] The New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol 146,
         1992

Children (by Margaret):

1. Sarah, bap. Saxtead, Suffolk, Eng. 28 Oct 1632, m. 11
   Dec 1651 John Fiske, b. Eng. abt. 1619, d. Watertown, MA
   28 Oct 1684
2. John, bap. Saxtead 18 Oct 1634, bur. Saxtead 23 Apr 1638

Children (by Rebecca in Cambridge):

3. Mary, b. 26 Jan 1649, d. May 1698 unmarried
4. Nicholas, b. 10 Aug 1651, d. abt. 1720, m(1) Arlington, MA
   6 Sep 1681 Lydia Fiske, b. Watertown 19 Apr 1647, d. Watertown
   10 Mar 1697, m(2) Watertown 30 Jun 1698 Deborah Parker
5. Martha, b. 10 Jul 1653, d. bef. 1680, m. Thomas Ives
6. John, b. 15 Jul 1655, d. Cambridge 13 Dec 1706
7. William, b. 1 Jan 1657, d. 1 Oct 1703 (by Indians)

Rebecca's children by Thomas Andrew:

8. Thomas Andrews, b. Watertown 15 Oct 1641, m. 30 Oct 1673 Martha
   Eccles
9. Daniel Andrews, arrested and jailed for witchcraft in 1692
10. Rebecca Andrews, bap. 18 Apr 1646, m(1) 26 Jun 1666 John Frost,
   d. 1672, m(2) George Jacobs


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