Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Agnes Harris

Female 1604 - Aft 1680  (~ 76 years)


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  • Name Agnes Harris 
    Christened 6 Apr 1604  Barnstaple, Devon, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Died Aft 4/04 May 1679/80  Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I4421  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Family William Spencer,   c. 11 Oct 1601, Saint Mary, Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. From 4 Mar 1640 to 22 May 1640, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 38 years) 
    Married Bef 1633  of Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F2061  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. Partial excerpt from the biography of William Spencer from the book "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633," Volumes I-III (see notes of William Spencer for full citation):
      "William Spencer...
      Migration: 1631
      First Residence: Cambridge
      Removes: Hartford 1639 Estate: ...In his nuncupative will, dated 14 March and 4 May 1640 and 4 March 1640/1, William Spencer bequeathed that the estate that he hath in New England, and also that which may come to his wife hereafter, that is, any part of his wife's portion if any do come, that all the estate be divided as followeth: ...to my wife one third part of all my estate ... to my son Samuel one third part ... to my two daughters Sarah and Elizabeth one third part ... the children to be brought up with the improvement of the whole estate that I leave both to my wife and Children. Also my mind is my Cousin Matthew Allyn, my brother John Pratt and John Taylcoate, that these three parties or any two of them shall have the oversight of my estate, and in case that they shall see in their judgement the estate to be wasted, that they shall have power to take the children and their portions [blank] for their bringing up, and to pay the children their portions that remain at the several times above written. Also my mind is that my wife shall have no power to alienate or make sale of my house or any part of my land I leave without the consent of two of the parties that are to oversee my estate [CCCR 1:449-50; Manwaring 1:36-37]... It was agreed that if any of the children died before they came of age, "the survivor & survivors shall receive it at the time when it should have been paid to the deceased, if he or she had lived, and if they all die before the said time, then it shall be paid to Agnes Edwards or her lawful attorney of the said Agnes, the mother of the said Children" [Manwaring1:37]. The estate of William Spencer, deceased, was brought to court 24 June 1650 and, "with the information of the overseers in the presence of Thomas Spencer, brother to the said William, with the consent of the wife of William Edwards, they do judge that £30 is as much as the estate here will bear to be sequestered for the use of the children, which is to be paid to them according to the will of the said William Spencer ... provided also that whatsoever shall be paid here or in England of any estate due to the wife of the said William Spencer while she was the wife of William Spencer, or that shall come from Concord, two thirds thereof shall be and remain to the proper use of the children aforesaid" [RPCC 85-86]... Death: Hartford after 4 May 1640 [Manwaring 1:36-37] and probably before 22 May 1640 [Aspinwall 141]. Marriage: By about 1633 Agnes Harris, baptized Barnstaple, Devonshire, 6 April 1604, daughter of Bartholomew and Elizabeth (Collamore) Harris. She married (2) Hartford 11 December 1645 William Edwards [TAG 63:33-45]... Bibliographic Note: In 1988 Douglas Richardson ably demonstrated the identity of Agnes Harris, wife of William Spencer [TAG 63:33-45]."

      2. The book "Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut," Lucius Barnes Barbour, 1982 ed.: "William Spencer son of Gerald and Alice bp. Oct 11, 1601 (Eng), died 1640, mar. Agnes who m. William Edwards. Early member 1st Church [of Hartford]. Name on Founders Monument [of Hartford]. Children:
      Sarah, b. 1636, m. John Case.
      Samuel, B. 1639, m. Sarah.
      Elizabeth, m/1 William Wellman m/2 Jacob Joy.
      Cambridge 1631; brother of Thomas; freeman Mass. March 4, 1632-3; deputy for Newtown May 1632, May 1634, March 1634-5, March 1635-6, Sept 1636, May 1637, Sept 1637, March 1637-8; chosen Lieut. for Newtown March 1636-7; one of the founders of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co. and had other evidences of the public favor bestowed on him. Removed to Hartford 1639; where his home lot was about where the Union depot now stands. Was deputy in August and Sep. 1639, and appointed with Wyllys and Webster to revise the laws of the colony; townsman 1640; inv. ₤291-12-2. He appoints "my cosin Matthew Allyn, my brother John Pratt" and John Talcott to be overseers of this estate. Will dated March 4, presented May 4, 1640."

      3. The book "The Thomas Spencer Family of Hartford, Connecticut in the Line of Samuel Spencer of Cromwell, Connecticut 1744-1818," comp. by Frank Farnsworth Starr for James J. Goodwin, Hartford, Conn., copy in Connecticut Historical Society Library, Hartford, CT, pp. 11-13:
      "William Spencer...
      In his will, which is dated May 4, 1640, and was probated March 4, 1640-1, he mentioned his wife, son Samuel, daughters Sarah and Elizabeth, and appointed 'my Cosen Mathew Allen, my brother John Pratt and John Taylcoate... shall haue the Ouersight of my Estate.' (Conn. Colonial Records, vol. 1, pp. 449, 450, 451.)In the inventory of his estate there is mentioned 'land yet remayneing at Concord in the Bay.' (This was probably part of the grant of '300 acres of ground beyond Concord by the 'Alewife Ryver' made to him by the General Court of Massachusetts in May, 1638. Mass Conlonial Records, vol. 1, p. 228.)
      June 24, 1650. 'This Courte taking into Consideracon the estate of William Spencer deceased with the Information of the ov'seers In the presence of Thomas Spencer Brother to the said William, with the Consent of the wife of William Edwards: they doe Judge that 30t is as much as the Estate here will bare to bee Sequestered for the use of the children w'ch is to bee paid to them according to the will of the said William Spencer, provided that sufficient security bee given in to the satisfaction of the ou'seers for the payment of the debts of the said William Spencer, and the aforesaid sum of 30t to the said children as aforesaid: And provided allso that whatsoever shall bee paid here or in England of any Estate due to the wife of the said William Spencer while Shee was the wife of William Spencer, or that Shall come from Concord: two thirds thereof shall bee and remaine to the propper use of the children aforesaid. (Conn. Particular Court Records, vol. 9, p. 10.)' [Note: widow of William Spencer married William Edwards.]

      4. "The American Genealogist," Vol. 27 "The Four Spencer Brothers: Their Ancestors and Descendants," compiled by Donald Lines Jacobus, M. A., pp. 167-68:
      "William1 Spencer, baptized at Stotfold, Beds, England, 11 Oct. 1601, died at Hartford, Conn., 1640; married Agnes [probably Tucker], who married second, William Edwards, by whom she became ancestress of the noted Tucker family.
      William's will, 4 May 1640, mentions cousin Matthew Allyn and brother John Pratt. The reason for concluding that his wife Agnes was a Tucker is stated in New York Gen. and Biog. Record, 71:220, and we understand that investigations are now in progress to prove that she was daughter of Richard and Agnes (Wyatt) Tucker, which would make her a relative of Matthew Allyn's Wyatt wife; and she may have been sister of John Pratt's wife, thus explaining the terms used in Spencer's will.
      Children:
      i. Elizabeth2, b. ca. 1633; m. (1) in 161i9, William Wellman, who d. at Killingworth, 9 Aug. 1671; eight children; m. (2) 23 May 1672, Jacob Joy, who d. 1690, son of Walter and Deborah; four children. [see 37:7]
      ii. Sarah, b. ca. 1635; d. at Simsbury, 3 Nov. 1691 ae. 55; m. before 17 Aug. 1656, John Case, who d. 21 Feb. 1703/4; ten children. He m. (2) Elizabeth (Moore) Loomis.
      iii. Samuel, b. ca. 1638; d. ca. 1716."

      5. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, partial excerpts about Agnes Harris from pp. 134-140 (see husband's notes for the full transcript):
      "William1 Spencer (1601-1640), AN EARLY LEADER IN NEW England, and HIS WIFE, Agnes HARRIS (1604-), ANCESTRESS of The EdwardS Family of CONNECTICUT...
      Agnes HARRIS Spencer and William EdwardS.
      There have been several published reports on the chronology of Agnes HARRIS, wife of William1 Spencer, who after the death of her first husband, married William Edwards on 11 December 1645 in Hartford, Connecticut. Agnes Harris was a native of Barnstaple, county Devon, England, where she was born 6 April 1604, daughter of Bartholomew and Elizabeth (Collamore) Harris. A descendant of Agnes Harris (Donald C. Bergquist) believes it likely that she came to New England in 1632 on the "Charles". C.E. Banks in his passenger list, notes that the Allyn relatives of Agnes Harris "probably" were on board the "Charles", including Mathew Allyn, his wife Margaret Allyn (a cousin to Agnes) and children Mary and John Allyn. Banks did not list Agnes Harris as a possible passenger.
      We need to examine the chronology for William Spencer to seek an answer for the time of arrival of Agnes Harris in New England. From the detailed records of the Massachusetts Bay Company, the name of William1 Spencer first appears in the listings of the General Court (governing body of the MBC) on 9 Jan 1632. William's name does not appear again until March of 1634 in the Court meeting at Newe Town (Cambridge). According to Tepper's "Passengers to America", William Spencer and John Spencer (Ipswich) were on the "Mary and John" which left England on 24 March 1633 (C. E. Banks gives the year 1634 but this probably was due to the confusion of listing some dates 1633/34). In any event, William was back in England for perhaps a year and apparently returned to Newe Towne in the summer of 1633. It was not until nearly a year later (March 1634) that his name again appears in the General Court records. One might speculate that William's trip to England was a matrimonial mission related to Agnes Harris. We wonder immediately how he was acquainted with a female from Devonshire in the far southwest of England while William originally came from eastern England.
      Some writers have speculated that Agnes Harris may have come to New England with the Mathew Allyn family in 1632 on the "Charles". If such had been the case, Agnes easily could have established contact with William Spencer. If this is a possibility, why would William have made the long trip back to England in 1632 and 1633? Such speculation now can be laid to rest. Of course we are still left with the mystery as to how William and Agnes became acquainted in the first place since she was a native of southwest England and William had been born and raised far to the east in co. Bedfordshire.
      As we noted earlier, William Spencer and Agnes Harris had three children: Elizabeth2 Spencer (ca.1633-) who married William Wellman in 1649 and later Jacob Joy; Sarah2 Spencer (ca. 1635-1691) who married John Case; and Samuel2 Spencer (ca.1636-) who married Sarah Meakins. All three children were born at Newe Towne before the family moved to Hartford, which probably occurred in 1638 or 1639. William Spencer died a short time later in 1640. In a later section, we will review the background of William's land transactions and his official duties in Hartford.
      A few years ago (1988), R.S. Pitkin outlined the remarkable line of descendants coming down from William Edwards (second husband of Agnes) and Agnes Harris Spencer-Edwards. Perhaps we first think of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), the great New England theologian who was a great grandson of Agnes Harris. The descendants from Jonathan present a remarkable picture. Jonathan had daughters Esther (1732-1758) and Mary (1734-1807) as well as son Timothy (1738-1813). Mary Edwards was the wife of Timothy Dwight (1752-1817), 8th President of Yale (1795-1817). Esther Edwards was the mother of Aaron Burr (1756-1836), Vice President of the U.S. (1801-1805). Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804.
      Aaron Burr's sister Sarah (1754-1797) was married to Tapping Reeve (1744-1823), Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court) 1814-1816.
      Jonathan Edwards' son Timothy was the gr gr grandfather of Edith Kermit Carow (1861-), wife of President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919).
      A gr grandson of Elizabeth Edwards (1697-1733), sister to Jonathan, was Gideon Tomlinson (1780-1854) who was the 8th governor of Connecticut, 1827-1831.
      The lines descending from Agnes Harris Spencer-Edwards certainly have few parallels in American history. This remarkable lineage impels us to look more closely at the history of William Edwards (1618-1680) and the limited accounts of his ancestry.
      McCracken states that William Edwards was baptized at St. Botolph's, London, 1 Nov 1618, son of the Rev. Richard and Anne Edwards. McCracken seems somewhat uncertain of the identification, but if true, there would have been a fourteen year spread between widow Agnes Harris Spencer (b. 1604) and William Edwards (b. 1618). Since their son Richard was born in 1647, this would have placed his mother's age at 43 when the son was born.
      Goodwin states that "Mrs. Ann Edwards, the mother of Mr. William Edwards, was married in England to her second husband, Mr. James Cole, who together with her son William Edwards, then a young man, and Abigail Cole, daughter of James Cole, by his first wife, came early to New England, and were among the first settlers of Hartford. Mr. James Cole died in 1652, leaving a will."
      Manwaring presents a copy of this will showing that James Cole left nearly all his possessions to son Daniel Cole and daughter A big all Cole. However, provision was made for his wife Ann to have limited shelter and income from the estate. William Edwards was almost excluded from the will excepting for the bequest of a few tools.
      The Cole family indeed was among the very early settlers of Hartford. Confirmation of this fact is found in some of the first notes written by William Spencer at the annual town meeting in Hartford of 23 December 1639. William made a list of "the names of such inhabitants as have a right in undivided lands." Among the 95 names were William Spencer 40, John Talcott 90, William Andrews 30, Robert Day 14, James Cole 10, Thomas Hooker 20, and William Parker 12. It is apparent from this range of numbers, that James Cole was somewhat low "on the totem pole."
      "...There are very few other references to James Cole and his stepson William Edwards in Love's History of Hartford. As noted earlier, James Cole was a Hartford land owner as early as 1639, three years after the founding of the city. How the Cole family came to New England is clouded in mystery. None of the usual sources for passenger records (Tepper, Banks, Coldham, Winthrop) offer any clues to this family's passage. There is no record of prior residence at Newe Towne (Cambridge) as was true for so many of the first settlers at Hartford in 1635 and 1636.
      Goodwin gives a death date of James Cole as 1652. Manwaring gives a date of November 1652 for the probate of the will. In the same legal records, William Edwards was listed as a "cooper" in Hartford in 1654. In May 1668, William Edwards filed suit in behalf of his wife Agnes (Harris) Spencer-Edwards against Nathaniel Bearding (father of Sarah) for "illegal possession of land belonging to said Edwards on the east side of the Great River, for a surrender of said land." In March 1673, Richard Edwards (b. 1647), only son of William and Agnes, acted as attorney for his mother in a suit against Daniel Arnold.
      The Connecticut Census of 1670 lists Mrs. Cole, William Edwards, and Richard Edwards all of Hartford.
      In 1684, William Edwards conveyed a tract of land to Thomas Lord which originally had been acquired by William Spencer (first husband of Agnes) in 1639. This land consisted of four tracts in the Middle Ox Pasture owned by four of the original settlers. (Goodwin gave William Edwards death year as 1672, so we have a conflict in dates. Also, Love's history shows William Edwards being paid two shillings in 1679 for the burial of a prisoner.
      We can close the story of Agnes Harris Spencer-Edwards and her second husband, William Edwards, noting that William did not play any significant role in the history of Hartford. Indeed, he is barely mentioned in the most prominent book on the history of the city. He was a cooper by trade, but otherwise seemed to hold no public or civil office of any consequence. This is perhaps all the more surprising from a genetic viewpoint considering the illustrious descendants who followed him.
      Footnote:
      Subsequent to the completion of this chapter on William Spencer and Agnes Harris, an important entry was found in the IGI (Microfiche A0034) that seems to provide definite proof that William and Agnes Harris were married in Stotfold, Beds, in 1633. The actual entries were listed as his marriage to Agnes Pratt and also to Agnes Heane or Hearn. We believe that the entry of Agnes Pratt perhaps was as a witness and that the name of Heane or Hearn were misspellings of Harris. Possibly the misspellings also may be the result of the misreading of the old English script or of a faded manuscript. Douglas Richardson (TAG, 1988) was the first to identify the name of Agnes Harris as the wife of William Spencer, but the confirmation of place and date of marriage is especially interesting.
      The fact that the marriage was in Stotfold, Beds, also may indicate that the parents of William Spencer (Gerard Spencer and Alice Whitbread) still remained at the site of the old homestead in Beds.
      References
      BANKS, C.E. "Topographical Dictionary of 2,885 English Emigrants to New England 1620-1650". Gen. Publ. Co., Baltimore, 1981.
      BERGQUIST, Donald C. "A Visit to Barnstaple, County Devon". Le Despencer, Vol. 16, May 1992.
      DeFOREST, L.E. "Moore and Allied Families". 1938.
      Goodwin, N. "Genealogical Notes - Contributions to the Family History of Some of the First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts". Gen. Publ. Co., Baltimore, 1982.
      LOVE, W.D. "The Colonial History of Hartford". Connecticut Printers, 1935.
      McCRACKEN, G.E. "Tucker-Wyatt-Allyn-Pratt. The Wife of William1 Spencer and William Edwards". The American Genealogist, Vol. 42. No. 2.1966.
      MANWARING, C.W. "A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records". Vol. I. Hartford District, 1635-1700. R.S. Peck & Co., Hartford, 1904.
      Paige, L.R. "History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1630-1877". The Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1877.
      PITKIN, R.S. "Notable Descendants of Agnes Harris Spencer-Edwards". Le Despencer, Vol. 12, Oct. 1988.
      RichardSON, D. "The English Origin of Agnes Harris of Hartford, Conn. Wife of William1 Spencer and William Edwards". The American Genealogist 63:33-45. 1988.
      Spencer, Henry C. "Lieut. William Spencer, Gentleman of New Towne, Mass. and Hartford, Conn. (1601-1640)". Le Despencer, Vol. 10, April 1986.
      TEPPER, M. "Passengers to America". Gen. Publ. Co., Baltimore, 1980.
      "Original Distribution of Lands in Hartford Among the Settlers". February, 1639-1640. Conn. Hist. Soc. 1912.
      "The Records of the Town of Cambridge (Newe Towne), Mass. 1630-1703". Cambridge, 1901."

      6. The book "The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants…," by Gary Boyd Roberts (Baltimore, 2008), pp. 548-49:
      "1. Hugh Capet, King of France, d. 996 = Adelaide of Poitou
      2. Edith of France = Rainier IV, Count of Hainault
      3. Beatrix of Hainault = Ebles I, Count ul'Roucy
      4. Alice of Roucy = Hildouin IV, Count of Montdidier
      5. Margaret of Montdidier = Hugh I, Count of Clermont
      6. Adeliza of Clermont = Gilbert de Clare
      7. Richard de Clare = Adeliza de Meschines
      8. Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford = Maud de St. Hilaire
      9. Aveline de Clare = Geoffrey FitzPiers
      10. Hawise FitzGeoffrey = Sir Reynold de Mohun
      11. Alice de Mohun = Robert de Beauchamp
      12. Sir Humphrey de Beauchamp = Sybil Oliver
      13. Sir John Beauchamp = Joan de Nonant
      14. Sir John Beauchamp = Margaret Whalesburgh
      15. Elizabeth Beauchamp = William Fortescue
      16. William Fortescue = Matilda Falwell
      17. John Fortescue = Joan Prutteston
      18. Joan Fortescue = Thomas Hext
      19. Thomas Hext = Wilmot Poyntz
      20. Margery Hext = John Collamore
      21. Henry Collamore (brother of Peter) = Margaret Blight
      22. Elizabeth Collamore = Bartholomew Harris
      23. Agnes Harris of Conn. = (1) William Spencer; (2) William Edwards.
      Sources: AR7, lines 106, 151, 246, 246B, 246E, TAG 63(1988):33-45, TG 9(1988):6-9, 27-30 esp., and for Anthony Collamore, unpublished research of Douglas Richardson of Salt Lake City, based partly on VD, pp. 216-17, Charles Hatch, "Genealogy of the Descendants of Anthony Collamore of Scituate, Massachusetts" (1915), pp. 9-25, and the Northam, Devon, parish register; "(Journal of) North Carolina Genealogy" 16 (1970)1537-52 and "BLG" (1952), pp. 638, 1685-86 (de Carteret), Colin G. Winn, "The Pouletts of Hinton St. George" (1976), p. 23 and tabular pedigree opposite p. 120, and VD, pp. 598 (Pollard), 484 (Hext). For William Blackmer/Blackmore of Mass., whose parentage lacks proof, see M.L. Holman, "The Scott Genealogy" (1919), pp. 265-66."

      7. The periodical "The American Genealogist" 63[1988]:33-45, "The English Origin of Agnes Harris, of Hartford, Conn., Wife of William1 Spencer and William1 Edwards," by Douglas Richardson:
      I. The Identity and Origin of Agnes Harris
      For many years, the genealogical world has been ignorant of the identity and English origin of Agnes, wife successively of William1 Spencer and William1 Edwards, both of Hartford, Conn. Evidence from American sources suggested that she was born sometime around 1605, probably in Devonshire, England, that she was related in some manner to Matthew Allyn, an early settler at Cambridge, Mass., and Windsor, Conn., and that she must have been related to John Pratt of Hartford, Conn. (this final clue proved illusory). Agnes married first, probably in Cambridge, Mass., William Spencer; in 1639, they moved to Hartford, Conn., where, after Spencer's premature death in 1640, she married second, by 11 Dec. 1645, William Edwards of Hartford, who was born in 1618 and was considerably younger than his bride. Agnes was last known to be alive in 1680, and probably died soon after. She was survived by children born to both marriages. (For Agnes and her husbands, see Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, "Hale, House and Related Families" [Hartford 1952] pp. 527-29, and the citations therein.)
      A number of suggestions have been made about Agnes's maiden name, but no conclusive evidence has ever been produced. The problem was last discussed at length by George E. McCracken, then editor of "The American Genealogist," in his article "Tucker-Hyatt-Allyn-Pratt: The Wife of William Spencer and William Edwards" (TAG 42[1965]:65-76), which made use of the studies of the Spencers by Donald Lines Jacobus (TAG 27(1951]:79-87, 161-95, 28[1952]:57-83, see also 32[1956]:129-42), of the Edwardses by Elizur Yale Smith (NYGBR 70[1939]:104-10, 71[1940]:218-24, 323-33, 72[1941]: 56-61, see also 62[1931]:116-20 and 70:269-70) and of the Tuckers by Roderick Bissell Jones (undated clipping from Hartford Times ca.1939). Dr. McCracken's article investigated a plausible theory that Agnes was a Tucker, a hypothesis which he carne to reject. The article, which ends without proposing an alternative theory, served as a springboard for my own work.
      The central clues to Agnes's identity are found in the will of her first husband, William Spencer, and in a 1765 biography of her great grandson, the celebrated Puritan theologian, Jonathan Edwards.
      A. Evidence from the Will
      Agnes' first husband, William Spencer, was baptized on 11 Oct. 1601 in Stotfold, co. Bedford, England, the son of Gershom and Alice (Whitbread) Spencer (TAG 27[1951]:84, 162). He first appeared in New England in 1632, at "Newe Towne" (which became Cambridge in 1638), Mass., where he was among the first settlers. He almost certainly met Agnes there, probably at the home of her kinfolk, Matthew and Margaret (Wyatt) Allyn, and we speculate that Agnes immigrated as a servant in their household. William Spencer was a Cambridge selectman in 1635, Town Clerk 1631-35, Deputy or Representative to the General Court 1632 and 1634-37, Lieutenant of the first Cambridge Train-Band in 1637, and one of four original members (1639) of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company (Lucius R. Paige, "History of Cambridge, Mass." [Boston 1877], hereafter Cambridge Hist., pp. 8, 11, 17, 21, 32, 36, 43, 397, 460, 468, 659). In 1639, he moved to Hartford, Conn., where he was Selectman, Deputy (1636-40), and part of a committee charged with revising the laws of the colony (Cambridge Hist. p. 659).
      William Spencer died suddenly in 1640, leaving a nuncupative (i.e., oral) will, the recorded copy of which is dated both 4 March and 4 May of that year. The will appears in "Public Records of Connecticut'' (Hartford 1850-90) 1:449 and in Charles W. Manwaring, "A Digest of Connecticut Probate Records (3 vols. [Hartford 1804-6] 1:36). It contains two clauses of significance to the problem of Agnes's origin:
      Imp[rimis]: [William Spencer's] will is that the Estate that he hath in New England and also that wch may com to his wife hereafter, that any p[ar]te of his Wifes portion yf any doe come that all the Estate be dyvyded as foloweth...
      Also my mynd is my Cosen Mathew Allen, my brother John Pratt and John Taylcoate [i.e.; Talcott), that these three Partyes or any two of them shall haue Ouer sight of my Estate...
      The first clause of William Spencer's will states that his wife was still due her "portion," perhaps in an inheritance of some sort in England, and implies that, if it could be obtained, it was of sufficient worth for provision to be made for it in his will. Ten years later, in 1650, the court itself gave consideration to the matter. After setting aside £30 for the use of the three Spencer children, ordered that "whatsoever Shall bee paid heere or in England of any Estate due to the wife of the said William Spencer while Shee was the wife of William Spencer ... two thirds thereof Shall bee and remaine to the proper vse of the Children aforesaid." The wording of the court order suggests that Agnes was expecting a settlement or inheritance that involved certain sums of money. Hence, Agnes was probably form a family of better than average circumstances.
      We now turn to the second and more important clause cited above from William Spencer's will. In that clause, his "cosen" Matthew Allyn of Windsor, Conn., and his "brother" John Pratt of Hartford. George McCracken analyzed this clause with care and concluded that since Spencer, whose origin is known, had no apparent relationship with Allyns or Wyatts and since he had no sister or half-sister who could have married John Pratt (whose origin is known), any relationship between William Spencer and Matthew Allyn or John Pratt must have come through Spencer's Agnes wife or through the wives of Spencer, Allyn, or Pratt (TAG 42:66-69). Complicating the problem is that, in this period, the term "brother" could be used to connote a spiritual relationship, i.e., a brother in the church. (Later investigation showed that that was apparently the case with William Spencer's reference to John Pratt.)
      William Spencer called Matthew Allyn his "cosen," a term that was used broadly during this period and could even designate a kinsman of remote degree. As already noted, if Spencer and Allyn were kin to each other, the relationship must have come through Spencer's wife Agnes or through the respective wives of the two men. Thus, if we know the origin of Matthew Allyn and his wife, we would have a place to start looking for Agnes's origin.
      Fortunately, the English origin of both Matthew Allyn and his wife has been known for some 90 years. In 1897, Francis Olcott Allen revealed their origin and published extracts of the pertinent English records in NEHGR (51:212-14; see also my expanded and corrected series of Allyn records TAG 57[1981]:115-19). Matthew Allyn, the immigrant, was baptized at Braunton, co. Devon, on 17 April 1605, the youngest of six children of Richard Allyn the elder of Braunton by his wife, Margaret Wyatt. Matthew Allyn married at Braunton on 2 Feb. 1626/7, another Margaret Wyatt, who was one of the six children of John Wyatt, gentleman, and his wife Frances Chichester of Braunton, where this Margaret had been baptized on 8 March 1594/5 (she was some ten years older than her husband). Since both Matthew and Margaret (Wyatt) Allyn were natives of Braunton, co. Devon, it seemed that Braunton and its environs would be a good place to start a search for William Spencer's wife Agnes.
      B The 1765 Biography of Jonathan Edwards
      Apparently, Roderick Bissell Jones and Elizur Yale Smith independently discovered the significance of a passage from Samuel Hopkins' biography of the famous theologian and leader the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758): "The Life and Character of the late Reverend, Learned and Pious Mr. Jonathan Edwards" (Boston 1765) (undated "Hartford Times" clipping ca.1939; NYGBR 71[1940]:220). The following quotation from page 2 of Hopkins' work appears in George McCracken's TAG article (42:69):
      "The father of Mr. Richard Edwards [grandfather of Jonathan] was Mr. William Edwards, who came from England young and unmarried. His wife was Mrs. Agnes Edwards, who also came out of England, had two brothers, in England, one of them mayor of Exeter, and the other of Barnstable [sic]."
      This passage is of singular importance; it not only gives us a direct clue to Agnes's identity, it also supports the hypothesis that Agnes was from Devonshire, like her probable kinsman, Matthew Allyn, and it supports the conclusion that Agnes was probably from a better-than-average family background, if her two brothers were in fact English mayors. The passage, however, is not contemporary with the events it describes, and we must be prepared for the possibility that tradition had altered some of the facts it reports.
      Both Roderick Bissell Jones and Elizur Yale Smith examined the lists of mayors for Barnstaple and Exeter, co. Devon, to see if the lists produced the names of two men who might have been brothers of Agnes. Only one surname appeared on both lists during the appropriate time period: James Tucker, mayor of Exeter in 1638, and Walter Tucker, mayor of Barnstaple in 1639. Both Jones and Smith reported this information, and Jones prepared an ancestor table of Agnes which made her a daughter of the Rycharde Tooker who married Angnis Wyott in Barnstaple on 30 Jan. 1609/10.
      That Agnes was probably a Tucker was generally accepted until Dr. McCracken investigated the problem further. In his TAG article, he showed that the two Tucker mayors were not siblings and that there was nothing to connect Agnes with either or to connect Matthew and Margaret (Wyatt) Allyn with the two mayors or with Rycharde and Angnis (Wyott) Tucker.
      At this stage, I commenced my own research. I initially decided to see whether the immigrant Matthew Allyn or his wife Margaret Wyatt might have had a suitable kinswoman named Agnes in either of their families. I obtained a microfilm of a modern transcript of the Braunton, co. Devon, Parish register; it revealed that the given name Agnes was extremely popular in this area of Devonshire during this period. With so many available women named Agnes, this did not appear to be the best approach to solving the problem.
      Next, I reasoned that the tradition that Agnes had had two brothers who were mayors of Exeter and Barnstaple might be only partly correct. Maybe just one of her brothers was a mayor. If so, the Barnstaple mayor seemed the more promising candidate as Barnstaple lies just six and a half miles east of Braunton, where Matthew and Margaret Allyn originated; Exeter is on the south side of Devon, much further from Braunton.
      Although I felt as if I were looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, I obtained a list of the early Barnstaple mayors from the clerk of the Barnstaple Town Council, and I began a search to see if any of the mayors during the appropriate time period might have had a sister Agnes of a suitable age. In this search, I was greatly aided by the fact that the parish registers of Barnstaple from 1538 to 1812 have been published in book form (Thomas Wainwright, ed., "Barnstaple Parish Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials" (Exeter) and that all early baptism and marriage records have been abstracted for the LDS International Genealogical Index (IGI).
      After considerable cross-checking, I came up with only one suitable candidate: Richard Harris, who was mayor of Barnstaple in 1648. He appeared to the Richard Harris baptized at Barnstaple in 1608, son of Mr. Bartholomew Harris, a Barnstaple merchant, and Elizabeth his wife. The IGI showed that this Richard Harris had an older sister Agnes baptized at Barnstaple on 6 April 1604, for whom I was able to find no marriage or burial record. The IGI indicated that Bartholomew Harris and Elizabeth Collamore were married in 1586/7 at nearby Braunton, home parish of the immigrants Matthew and Margaret Allyn. The dates, names, and places certainly looked good, but how was I to prove that I had the right Agnes?
      The obvious answer was to try to find all probates for members of this immediate Harris family to see if Agnes (___) (Spencer) Edwards might be mentioned. Inasmuch as Agnes's first husband, William Spencer, was expecting his wife to receive an estate or settlement in 1640, the likelihood seemed good that Agnes might be mentioned in an English will.
      All Probate records of the diocese of Exeter (including the episcopal consistory, principal registry, and archdeaconries of Exeter and Barnstaple) were destroyed when a German bomb hit the probate registry in 1942. Fortunately, the Oswyn Murray Collection (hereafter Murray Coll.) at the Family History Library (until recently the Genealogical Library) in Salt Lake City preserves abstracts of some of these lost records, and some Harris wills were proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (hereafter PCC).
      On 22 Nov. 1615, administration on the estate of Bartholomew Harrries of Barnstaple, yeoman, was granted to his wife Elizabeth; her bond of the same date was supported by William Collamore of "Tawton Epi[scopi]," (i.e., Bishops Tawton), yeoman (Exeter, Barum [i.e., Barnstaple] Archdeaconry, in Murray Coll. 8/36).
      The wills of Bartholomew's widow Elizabeth (Collamore) Harris, of the daughter Priscilla Harris, and of their son Richard Harris provided the evidence that the right Agnes had at last been found. In her will dated 15 Sept. 1647 and proved 27 Jan. 1648[/9], Elizabeth Harris left a bequest to her daughter Agnes Edwards' children (PCC 9 Fairfax); and Priscilla Harris of Northam, co, Devon, in her will dated 8 Jan. 1650[/1] and proved 12 Sept. 1651 left a bequest of £20 to her "sister Agnes liveing in New England," and if Agnes was deceased, the money was to go to Agnes's children (PCC 173 Grey). The third significant will was that of Agnes`s brother, Richard Harris of Barnstaple, co. Devon, dated 10 Jan. 1664[/5] and proved 2 May 1665; in it, he left his "sister Edwards" £10, and, if his daughters died without issue, a one-half interest in his manor and advowson of Exbourne, co. Devon, was willed to his sister Edwards's eldest son (name not given). Abstracts of these three significant wills and of other relevant probates are given in the appendix to this article. (Other abstracts of the will of Priscilla Harris appear in Waters p. 766 and in George Sherwood's "American Colonists in English Records," 2nd ser. (London 1933] p. 131, but since Priscilla did not provide the last name of her sister "Agnes... in New England, their discovery did not lead to Agnes's identification.)
      Taken together, these wills prove that Agnes Harris of Barnstaple, co. Devon, married by 1647 a man with the surname of Edwards, that she was living in New England in 1651 and that she was still alive in 1665. These facts, of course, fit the life of Agnes, wife of William Spencer and of William Edwards; the only pre-1700 Edwards wife named Agnes in New England was the wife of William Edwards of Hartford, Conn. (Clarence Almon Torrey, "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" [Baltimore 1985] pp. 243-45). (The name Agnes was interchangeable with Ann or Anna; Torrey does include several Edwards's wives named Ann(a).)
      The tradition that reported that Agnes's other brother was a mayor or Exeter was only partly correct. Agnes Harris had a brother named George Harris who became a wealthy merchant of Exeter; although he himself was not mayor of Exeter, his father-in-law, John Marshall, was mayor there in 1615-16. (John Marshall wall kindly identified for me by Charles Fitch-Northen of Paignton, Devon, England; another Marshall son-in-law, Thomas Trowbridge was an immigrant to New England [for the Trowbridges, see TAG 18(1942):129-37; Mr. Pitch-Northen's ancestor table and royal line for Thomas Trowbridge in TAG 57(1981):31-33 will be superseded by his article projected for a future issue of "The Genealogist"].) It seems likely that the "portion" Agnes was hoping to receive was from the will of her brother George Harris (dated 24 Jan. 1628(/9?), codicils dated 1 April 1629 and 27 June 1635, proved 22 Aug. 1635); he left "To my own loving mother Elizabeth H[arris] widow, all a estate in certain houses called Heales houses & £400 to be bestowed on her other children" (my emphasis)) (PCC 87 Sadler abstracted in Murray Coll. 8/36).
      Finally, I made another attempt to link Agnes Harris to Matthew Allyn or to Allyn's wife, Margaret Wyatt. I hope to discuss Agnes's more distant ancestry in another article; here I need only mention that Agnes Harris and Margaret Wyatt may be fifth cousins through their common descent from the Portescue family of Whympston in the parish of Modbury, co. Devon. But there is also a distinct possibility of a link between Agnes's maternal grandfather, Henry Collamore and Margaret Wyatt. This link would apparently pre-date the Braunton parish register and thus would be extremely difficult to prove. Recently, however, I located a chancery proceeding dated 1502-3 which seems promising ("List of Early Proceedings Preserved in the Public Record Office, London," 4 [printed as Lists and Indexes No. 29]:91).
      The defendants in the case were William Wyot and Thomasyn his wife, executrix of Pyers (or Peter) Colamour of Aysshe Rogus, co, Devon. The plaintiff was William Lugge, who sued to get performance on the settlement of his marriage to Pyers Colamour's daughter Johanne. Although I cannot be certain, Pyers Colamour may have been an ancestor of Agnes Harris's grandfather, Henry Collamore. A(y)sshe Rogus (more commonly called Ash Barton) is in the eastern side of the parish of Braunton, in close proximity to Luscott in the same parish, where Henry Collamore was reared (for A[y]sshe Rogus, see J.E.B Gower, et al., "The Place-Names of Devon" [Cambridge 1931] Pt. 1:32).
      II The Harris Family of Barnstaple, co. Devon
      1 (Mr.) BARTHOLOMEWA HARRIS was born say 1560, place unknown; he was buried at Barnstaple, co. Devon, on 10 Oct. 1615. He married at Braunton, co. Devon, on 18 Jan. 1586/7 ELIZABETH COLLAMORE, daughter of Henry and Margaret (Blight) Collamore of Bishops Tawton, co. Devon. She was baptized at Bishops Tawton on 2 Sept. 1566 and was buried at Barnstaple on 7 Dec. 1647.
      Following their marriage, Bartholomew Harris and his wife settled in Barnstaple, co. Devon, where he was a merchant. Prior to 1599, Bartholomew appeared in the parish records without the honorific designation of "Mr." Starting in 1599, and in all parish records thereafter, the courtesy titles of "Mr." and "Mrs." were applied to him and his wife. In 1597, George Peard was elected Member of Parliament for Barnstaple, co. Devon, in place of Bartholomew Harris, "a choice mislyked by the Earl of Bath," who claimed the right to nominate one member ("Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association," hereafter Rep. & Trans. Devon Assoc., 72:257).
      According to the list of mayors provided by the clerk of the Barnstaple Town Council, Bartholomew Harris was elected Mayor of Barnstaple in 1602. As mayor, his duties were wide, since he was ex officio a justice of the peace and of gaol delivery, clerk of the market, escheator of the town, general warden of orphans, and general overseer of the poor. As chief magistrate, he stood responsible to the Privy Council in London and before the Lord Lieutenant locally. In addition, he had to receive and entertain a steady flow of dignitaries. There were, for instance, twice yearly visits of the justices of assize, the occasional appearance of the Lord Lieutenant, and visits of county magnates as well as commissioners from London, all of whom had to be suitably entertained. Moreover, the mayor was expected to bear the expense of journeys to London, of messengers to be sent there, of tours of inspection of municipal property and of clerical assistance. As part of his duties in regulating the economic life of the community, he also had to supervise various subordinates who handled day-to-day routine of the markets. (For further particulars on the duties of a Devonshire mayor of this period, See Wallace T. MacCaffrey, "Exeter 1540-1640" [Cambridge, Mass., 1958] pp. 43-47.)
      Sometime prior to 1610, Bartholomew Harris was named as one of the trustees of the town grammar school in St. Anne's Chapel, and in that year, Harris and the other trustees conveyed some 42 properties to Penticost Dodderidge and William Shapleigh (Rep. & Trans. Devon Assoc. 80:157).
      During this period, there was a strong tendency for a few families to monopolize the office of mayor. Thus, Bartholomew Harris was possibly related to the John Harris (died 1602) who served at Mayor of Barnstaple in 1578 and 1596, and to the Richard Harris (died 1637), who served as mayor there in 1608 and 1626. The wills of both John and Richard Harris have survived. John Harris's will was dated 6 Feb. 1600/1 and proved 31 Jan. 1601/2 (PCC 2 Montague) and Richard Harris's will was dated 8 May 1637 and proved 10 Oct. 1637 (PCC 130 Goare). The wills and parish records make it clear that John was Richard's father and that there was apparently some relationship between these two men and Bartholomew Harris, for John named Bartholomew one of his executors. Unfortunately, John Harris's will does not specify the exact relationship, and further research has not clarified the matter.
      On 22 Nov. 1615, administration of the estate of Bartholomew Harries [sic) of Barnstaple, yeoman, was granted to Elizabeth his wife; the bond (also dated 22 Nov.) was signed by Elizabeth Harries of Barnstaple, widow, and by [her brother] William Collamore of Tawton Epi[scopi], yeoman. The inventory was taken the previous day by [Bartholomew's father-in-law] Henry Collamore of Tawton Bishop, by the latter's sans John, Thomas, and William Collamore, and by Matthew Tooker of Barnstaple, fuller (Exeter, Barum Archdeaconry [abstracts of the destroyed papers appear in Murray Coil. 8/36]). His widow Elizabeth Harris left a will dated 15 Sept. 1647 (proved 27 Jan. 1648/9), which mentioned her four surviving children and several grandchildren (see appendix).
      Children (HARRIS) of BartholomewA and Elizabeth (Collamore), all baptized at Barnstaple, co. Devon:
      i. GEORGE bp. 15 March 1588/9; d. prob. Exeter, co. Devon, 28 June 1635 (second codicil to will); m. St. Mary Arches, Exeter, 19 June 1621, ALICE MARSHALL, dau. of John and Alice (Bevys) of Exeter. (Alice's sister, Elizabeth Marshall, m. St. Mary Arches, 26 March 1627, Thomas Trowbridge, later of New Haven, Conn.) George Harris became a merchant at Exeter. His widow Alice m. (2) Sowton, co. Devon, 5 Jan. 1636/7 George Warren, gent., and was living as late as 28 April 1648, when she and George Warren presented her son's will to be proved. George and Alice (Marshall) Harris had only one child; Bartholomew of London, who d.s.p., leaving a will dated 30 Nov. 1640 and proved 28 April 1641 (PCC 45 Evelyn, as abstracted in Murray Coll. 8/36). On his death the manor and advowson of Exbourne, co. Devon, acquired by his father, went to his father's youngest brother, Richard (below).
      ii AGNES bp. 2 Jan. 1590/1; bur. Barnstaple 28 Aug. 1593.
      iii PRISCILLA bp. 9 Dec. 1592; bur. Northam, co. Devon, 2 Aug. 1651; unm. She left a will dated 7 Jan. 1650[/1] and proved 12 Sept. 1651 (PCC 173 Grey).
      iv JOHANE (or Joan) bp. 9 Dec. 1595; d. prob. bef. 15 Sept. 1647, the date of her mother's will, in which she is not mentioned; almost certainly m. ___ STRAWBRIDGE and had a son Bartholomew who was named in the will of his grandmother Elizabeth Harris (1647) and of his uncle Richard Harris (1665). The latter document says that Bartholomew Straubridge was than living in Somersetshire.
      v JOHN bp. 12 Nov. 1597; living 8 May 1605, when he was named in the will of his great uncle, John Collamore of Braunton, co. Devon (proved 1606 [FCC 12 Stafford]); apparently d. bef. 24 Jan. 1628[/9?], the date of his-brother George's will, in which he is not mentioned, nor is he mentioned in any later family wills.
      vi PHILLIP bp. 1 Dec. 1599; bur. Barnstaple 7 Feb. 1599/1600.
      vii PHILLIPA, bp. 15 Dec. 1600; bur. Barnstaple 14 Sept. 1682; m. (1) by 30 Nov. 1631 WILLIAM BAKER, yeoman, bp. Barnstaple 24 Oct. 1585, son of George Baker, Mayor of Barnstaple, by his wife Joan Witheridge. According to a chart of the Harris family in the family files in the Westcountry Studies Library, Exeter (chart bequeathed in 1939 to the Exeter City Library by the Rev. Treasurer J.F. Chanter, M.A.), William Baker left a will dated 15 June 1645 and proved 22 Feb. 1647/8. Phillippa m. (2) Barnstaple 22 Oct. 1648, as his third wife, JOHN GREAD, brewer, who served as Mayor of Barnstaple; he was bur. Barnstaple 4 May 1670, leaving a will dated 15 Sept. 1669 and proved 25 June 1670 (PCC 75 Penn). Philippa had four children by her Baker marriage, of whom only one survived to adulthood, Priscilla (bp. 1636), who m. John Fairchild (Harris chart).
      viii ELIZABETH bp. 28 Nov. 1602; bur. Barnstaple 25 April 1635; unm.
      ix AGNES bp. 6 April 1604; living Hartford, Conn., 1680; m. (1) prob. Cambridge (then "Newe Towne"), Mass., WILLIAM1 SPENCER; m. (2) Hartford, Conn., 11 Dec. 1645 WILLIAM1 EDWARDS, b. 1618.
      x RICHARD bp. 30 April 1608; bur. Barnstaple 1 Feb. 1664/5; m. (1) Barnstaple 15 April 1638 REBECCA DOWNE, bp. 15 March 1616/7, dau. of Nicholas Downe, Mayor of Barnstaple, bur. there 12 Jan. 1656/7. He m. (2) Barnstaple 22 July 1657 ELIZABETH MARTIN, bp. 9 Oct. 1622, dau. of John Martin, Mayor of Barnstaple, by his wife Amy Doddridge, bur. there 15 Dec. 1698. A merchant and Mayor of Barnstaple, Richard Harris carried on trade with New England, as shown by the Port Books in the Public Record Office, London (NGSQ 77[1983]:185, 290). Richard had at least eight or nine known daughters born to his two marriages, but only one survived to adulthood, Elizabeth (1660-1688), who m. Arnoll Beare. After her father's death, she inherited the manor of Exbourne, co. Devon, which was in turn inherited by her only child Elizabeth Beare (1683/4-1712), who m. the Rev. Francis Tucker of Landkey, Devon. Following Elizabeth (Beare) Tucker's death, the manor was inherited by her only child and heir, Elizabeth Tucker (1705-1765), who m. Philip Lethbridge of Barnstaple. The descent of the manor is given in the chart of the Harris family, cited above.
      xi MARY bp. 20 Jan. 1609/10; living 15 Sept. 1669 when she is mentioned in the will of her brother-in-law, John Gread; (1) Barnstaple 12 Aug. 1647 JOHN GRIBBLE; m. (2) Pilton, co. Devon, 5 May 1652, JOHN THORNE. By her first marriage, Mary had one child that died in infancy.
      Appendix: Abstracts of Harris Probates
      BARTHOLOMEW HARRIES of Barnstaple, co. Devon, yeoman. 22 Nov. 1615, Administration of the estate of Bartholomew Harries of Barnstaple, yeoman, granted to Elizabeth his wife. Inventory taken 21 Nov. 1615 by Henry Collamore of Tawton Bishop [and] John, Thomas, & William Collamore, his sons, & Mathew Tooker of Barnstaple, fuller: £202. Bond signed 22 Nov. 1615 by Elizabeth Harries of Barnstaple, widow, & William Collamore of Tawton Epi[scopi], yeoman, in £400. Witnesses: John Dyre, Henry Rowcliff. (Exeter, Barum Archdeaconry [original destroyed by enemy action in 1942], abstract in Murray Coll. 8/36)
      GEORGE HARRIS of Exeter, co, Devon, merchant. Will. 24 Jan. 1628[/9?]. Weak in body. To be buried in St. Peter's Church, Exon. [i.e., Exeter]. To son Bartholomew H[arris], according to custom of said city, 1/3 part of my estate & house wherein my own mother dwells in Barnstaple after the death of my mother & my wife to whom I give said houses for life; remainder to said son; remainder to brother Richard H[arris]. To my own loving mother Elizabeth H[arris] widow, all my estate in certain houses called Heales house & £400 to be bestowed on her other children. To Mr. Lewis Palmer of Barnstaple, merchant, £10 to cover all claims in respect or any passage or intercourse betwixt us two. If my son die underage, his portion to be divided between my Mother Elizabeth H[arris] & my brother Richard H[arris]. To worthy friend John Lynne Esq., now mayor of this city, £50, praying him to assist my wife in all affairs about my estate. To my uncle William Collamore of Tawton £20 out of the sum due to me from him by bond. To John Collamore of "Lyskett" for love & kindred £10. To respected friend James Calthropp, of Exon., public notary, £10. To poor of Exeter £10, & of Barum [i.e., Barnstaple] £10. Residue to well beloved wife Alice H[arris], whom I make my executrix. Overseers: well beloved friends John Lynne & Mr. Robert Walker & my cousin John Collamore. Witnesses: Jas. Calthropp, Thomas Bridgman.
      Codicil. 1 April 1629. To my brother Richard H[arris] £200, & if he die before me being now beyond the seas, my son to have it, & if he die underage, my executrix to employ it in pious uses. To my uncle John Collamore £20.
      Codicil. 27 June 1635. George Harris of Exon., "Marchant," lying sick on his bed of the sickness whereof he died the Sunday following being the 28 June: I give my Manor of Exbourne & all my houses in Barnstaple to my son Bartholomew but my wife shall have the profit of the manor for 10 years after my death & grant estates according to the custom. Witnesses: George Potter, Rawling Pincombe, Nathaniel Truslowe.
      Proved 22 Aug. 1635 by Alice Harris, oath coram mag[ist]ro [i.e., before the magistrate; Roberto Parsons. (PCC 87 Sadler as abstracted in Murray Coll. 8/36)
      BARTHOLOMEW HARRIS of the City of London, "Marchant," son & heir of George H[arris] late of Exon. Marchant, decd. Will. 30 Nov. 1640. In perfect health. To my brother George Warren £300 & to the other children of my mother £200 each. To my brother-in-law Thomas Warren & my two sisters Hester & Grace Warren £20 each. To my uncle Richard H[arris], £5 for a ring & to his children £3 each. To my grandmother Mris. Elizabeth H[arris] 40s. for a ring. To all my aunts, the sisters of my father George H[arris] decd. 40s. each & to their children 20s. each. To my uncle James Marshall & my aunt Susan Lamb £3 each for rings. To all the children of my uncle Marshall & aunts by the mother's side 30s. each. To my uncle Peter Beavis Esq. £5 for a ring. To the poor of parish of St. Mary Arches in Exon, where I was born £5. Residue to go to my dear mother Alice Warren & my father-in-law George Warren, whom I make my executors. My uncle Peter Beavis Esq. who was instructed by my father George H[arris] decd. in the purchasing of certain lands, Advowson & patronage of the church of Exbourne as appears by deed dated 18 April 1633. Wherein he doth acknowledge the trust &c. to convey over to my executors all that my estate for such term of years as is yet to run. Witnesses; Edw. Sleighes[?], Geo. Mawhood, Sam: Hunch, John Pigeon.
      Proved 28 April 1641 by Alice George Warren. (PCC 45 Evelyn, as abstracted in Murray Coll. 8/36)
      ELIZABETH HARRIS, widow, of Barnstaple, co. Devon. Will. 15 Sept. 1647, 23 Charles [I]. Weak of Body. To poor of Barnstaple £4. To be expended for my funeral & mourning clothes L20. To my son Richard Harris my best "Ciprus" chest, "my little Ciprus Chest with my smale Scriptorye." To my son Richard Harris & his wife & my daughter Phillipp Baker 40s. apiece to be bestowed on them in "three severall gold rings." To my daughter Agnes Edwards' children £30. To my grandchild Priscilla Baker £10 at age of 21. To my grandchild Bartholomewe Strabridge £10 at age of 24. To my grandchildren Marie & Elizabeth, the daughters of my son Richard Harris, £8 apiece. Residue to my daughter Priscilla Harris, whom I make sole executrix. Overseer: [blank]. Signed by mark. Witnesses: William Broock, Tobias Cooper.
      Proved 27 Jan. 1648[/9], London, by Priscilla Harris, daughter & Executrix. (PCC 9 Fairfax)
      PRESCILLA HARRIS of Northam, co. Devon, spinster. Will. 7 Jan. 1650[/1]. To poor of Northam £4. To poor of Barnstaple £4. "I give and bequeath unto my sister Agnes liveing in New England twenty poundes And unto her children thirty poundes equally to be devided amongst them And if my said sister Agnes be not liveing at the time of my death Then my will and meaning is that her Children shall also have the twenty poundes given her equally to be devided also amongst them." To my sister Mary Grible £10 and also my two dwelling houses in Budporte in Barnstaple. To my cousin Priscilla Baker £20 "and also one of my gold rings that which hath deaths head stamped or cut in it." To my cousin Bartholomew Strabridge £10. To my brother Richard Harris's eldest daughter my chain of gold. To my cousin Rebecca Harris my silver salt and one of my gold rings. All of my wearing apparel to my sister Phillip Greed & sister Agnes & sister Mary & cousin Priscilla Baker. To my master & mistress Leigh, to their son-in-law Mr. John Berry, unto my brother-in-law John Greed & sister Phillip his wife, & unto Master John Thomas 30s, apiece to be bestowed in gold rings by my executor. To Mr. William Berry & his sister Honor 10s. apiece to bestow in rings & unto all the rest of their brothers & sisters I give 5s. each. To Bartholomew Shapton the younger 30s. & unto his two sisters & brother John Shapton 10s. each. To my godchildren "Priscilla Anthony Davids daughter" & John Barry 5s. each. All the rest of my godchildren 2s. each. To every one of Mr. Leighe's servants 2s. 6d. Touching the money which Master William Leighe owes me: he or his now wife shall keep the same for two years after my death without paying interest. Executor to pay legacies out of that money. Residue to my brother Richard Harris, whom I make sole executor. £20 to be bestowed in my funeral by my executor. Signed by mark. Witnesses: John Barry, Richard Bartlett.
      Proved 12 Sept. 1651, London, "before Sr Nathaniel Brent Doctor of Laws Master or Keeper of the Prerogative Court" by oath of Richard Harris, brother of the deceased and executor. (PCC 173 Grey)
      RICHARD HARRIS of Barnestaple, co. Devon, merchant. Will. 18 Jan. 1664[/5], 16 Charles II. "[T]he unprofitable servant of god being weake of body..." To be interred "without any funerall pompe whatsoever." For my manor of Exbourne, co. Devon, I empower my executors to grant estate in that tenement thereof with George Bent to be determinable 2 lives, according to my agreement with him. I give the said manor & right of patronage of the church of Exborne [sic] to my daughters & the heirs of their bodies. "[A]nd for default of such issue I give and devise the one moyety of the said Mannor and Advowson unto the eldest sonne of My sister Edwards and the heires of his body lawfully to be begotten ... and for default of such issue I give and devise the said moyety unto each and every other sonne of my sister Edwards one after another successively as each and every of them shalbe in seniority and precedency of age..." The other moyety of said manor & advowson unto eldest son of my cousin Priscilla Fairchild of Barnstaple [if his heirs fail, to each son of Priscilla successively in seniority, & then to heirs of her body (i.e., daughters of Priscilla)]. In the failure of heirs of my body, my executors shall forever take one rent, charge of £10 out of my said manor of Exborne for relief of the poor in the almshouse in Barnstaple built by gift of Mr. Penrose late deceased. To my dear wife Elizabeth Harris, my messuage, farm, & tenement called Portsmouth or situated in Portsmouth in the Parish of Landkey; after her decease, said messuage [etc.] to my daughters & the heirs of their body. For default of such issue, one moyety thereof to "the eldest sonne of my sister Edwards" [same provisions for succession as for the manor of Exbourne]. The other moyety to eldest son of my cousin Priscilla Fairchild [same terms]. In the failure of heirs of my body, £10 yearly rent from said messuage [etc.] called Portsmouth to go toward relief of the poor in aforesaid almshouse. My farm & tenement called Wastacobb in parish of Landkey, & farm & tenement called Whittamoores in parish of Bishopps Towton, & my tenement called Hole in parish of Barnstaple unto my wife for life "if my respective estates therein soe long shall continue and indure." After her decease, said farms [etc.] to my daughters. If my said wife brings writ of dower against any of the "Mannors messuages and heirditaments whereof I have bin seised," all the devises and gifts to her herein shall be void. To my cousin Priscilla Fairechild, house & tenement in Barnstaple where my brother Dreade now dwells, for the term of threescore years to be "accompted" from the deaths of my brother & sister Greade "if the said Priscilla soe long shall happen to live." To my sister Greade £10. To my sister Thorne £10. To my sister Edwards £10. To my father Martin, brother Martin, brother Watts & his wife, Brother Slatt[?] and his wife, my sister Mary Downe, my sister Katherine Downe, my cousin Martin Blake, & my cousin Jonathan Hammer 40s. apiece to be bestowed by them in mourning rings. To my brother Downe £30 & to his son Nicholas Downe £10. To Mr. Eyres, minister of Pilton, £1 to be bestowed in a ring. To my cousin Mary Downe, daughter of my sister Mary Downe, £1 to be bestowed in a mourning ring. To my cousin Bartholomew Straubridge in "Sommersetshire" £10. To my servant Robert Chichester £5 & to my servant Hest: Slowman £2 10s, & to Margaret Ax £2. To Johan Davy & to Margaret Cornish of Barnstaple 20s. apiece. To my executors £50 to be employed toward relief of poor in almshouse aforesaid. Residue to my daughters equally to be divided. Executors: loving friends my aforesaid brother Mr. John Downe, my cousin Mr. William Wescombe, my brother John Greade, Mr. Thomas Dennys, & Nicholas Dennis of Barnestaple, and I request that "they bee as helpfull and assistant unto my deare wife and children after my decease as possibly they can..." To each of them besides John Downe (who has already been given a legacy] 40s. each to be bestowed in a ring. To my dear wife, my house & garden during her life where I dwell in Barnstaple & all household goods in said house. Witnesses: John Cure, John Swayne,
      Proved 2 May 1665 by Nicholas Dennis armiger, John Downs, William Westcombe, & John Bread, the executors. (FCC 50 Hyde)"

      8. FHL book 929.273 L995m "Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Rice Lyon and his Wife Harriet Wade Rice...," by Patty Barthell Myers (2003), pp. 548-50:
      "WILLIAM1 SPENCER, eldest child of Gerard Spencer and Alice Whitbred, bpt. Stotfold, Co. Bedford, England 11 Oct 1601; d. Hartford, Conn., spring 1640; m. AGNES HARRIS, d/o Bartholomew Harris and Elizabeth Collamore. Agnes m/2 at Hartford 11 Dec 1645 William Edwards, bpt. St. Botolph's, Aldgate, London 1 Nov 1618, s/o Rev. Richard and Anne (___) Edwards. William Edwards and Agnes (Harris) Spencer had a son Richard Edwards, b. Hartford 1 May 1647; d. there 20 Apr 1718; m/1 Elizabeth Tuttle, divorced; m/2 Mary Talcott. Agnes d. aft. 1680. (Jacobus, Hale, House and Related Fam., pp. 527-9.)
      William Spencer was brother of Thomas Spencer of Hartford, Michael Spencer of Lynn, Mass., Gerard Spencer of Haddam, Conn., and John Spencer of Newbury, Mass., who d. in England without heirs. (TAG 27:84 (1951) "The Four Spencer Brothers, Their Ancestors and Desc.," by Donald Lines Jacobus.) The ancestry of Agnes Harris can be traced to Hugh Capet, King of France (Gary Boyd Roberts, Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants, p. 445.)
      William Spencer was at Cambridge, Mass., in 1631; was a freeman of Massachusetts 4 Mar 1632/3; deputy for Newtown May 1632, May 1634, Mar 1634/5, Mar 1635/6, Sept 1636, May 1637, Sept. 1637, Mar 1637/8; chosen Lieutenant for Newtown Mar 1636/7; one of the founders of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co. He removed to Hartford in 1639, where his home lot was about where Union depot now stands. He was deputy in Aug and Sept 1639, and appointed with Wyllys and Webster to revise the laws of the colony.
      SPENCER, WILLIA. Invt. £231.12.02
      A coppy of the will & testament of Willia Spencer, late of Hartford, deceased, prsented in Court vpon oath by John Taylcott & John Pratt, of the said towne. A noate of the mynd and will of Willia Spencer, for prsent. the 4th of May, 1640.
      lmprs. His will is that the estate that he hath in New Ingland, and also that wch may corn to his wife hereafter, that is, any prte of his wifes portion yf [if) any doe com, that all the estate be dyuyded [divided) as followeth:
      I give to my wife one third pile of all my estate.
      I give to my sonne Samuell one third prte:
      I give to my two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, one third partte.
      The children to be brought vppe wth the improvement of the whole estate that I leave both to my wife and children.
      Also my mynd is, my Cosen Matthew Allyn, my brother John Pratt, and John Taylcoate, that these three partyes or any two of them shall have the Oversight of my Estate; and in case that they should see in theire judgement the Estate to be wasted, that they shall haue power to take the children and their portions (___) for their bringing vppe, and to pay the Children their portions that remayne at the severall tymes above written.
      Also my mynd is, that my wife shall have no power to alienatt or make sale of my howse or any prte of my land I leave wthout the consent of two of the prtyes that are to ouersee my Estate.
      These last three lines were added subsequently in the hand writing of Secretary John Allyn. The distribution of the estate appeares in the Records the perticular Courte, the 24th June, 1650, fol. 10, and the Coppyes of the bills given to the Courte for the payment of the £30 to the children are in the Booke of Records of Lands for the Severall townes, at ye other end of it. The original bills are vppon fyle of wills & Inventories.
      (Manwaring, Conn. Probate Recs., 1635-1650, pp. 36-7.)
      i ELIZABETH2 SPENCER, b. c1633; m/1 1649 WILLIAM WELLMAN, who d. at Killingworth 9 Aug 1671 (will made 14 Mar 1668/9, proved 16 Sept 1671). She m/2 Killingworth 23 May 1672 JACOB JOY, who d. Fairfield 1690, s/o Walter and Deborah Joy. Children (WELLMAN): Mary b. c1650, m/1 Thomas Howard of Norwich, m/2 William Moore; Martha b. c1652/3, m. Clement Minor; Benjamin b. c1654, d. young; Elizabeth b. c1657, m. John Shether; William b. c1661, m/1 Elizabeth (___), m/2 Elizabeth Griswold, prob. widow of Isaac Griswold; Sarah b. 16 Oct 1665, d. young; Samuel b. 19 Jan 1667/8, d. young. Rachel b. c1670. Children (JOY): Deborah b. Killingworth 23 Feb 1672/3, m. Andrew Ward; Jacob b. Killingworth 14 Mar 1674/5, d. young; Walter b. Killingworth 14 Aug 1677, d. young; Mary b. Killingworth 17 Sept 1680, m. Peter Ward. (TAG 37:7-8 (1961) "William Spencer's Daughter Elizabeth, The Wellman Family," by George E. McCracken.)
      ii SARAH SPENCER, b. c1635; d. Simsbury, Conn., 3 Nov 1691, aged 55; m. bef. 17 Aug 1656 JOHN CASE. See The Case Line.
      iii SAMUEL, SPENCER, b. c1638; d. Hartford, Conn. c1716; m. SARAH ?RICHARDS, who d. 24 Apr 1706. Children: Samuel b. c1668, d. 26 Mar 1748, m. Hepzibah Church, d/o Dea. Edward Church of Hatfield, Mass.; Sarah b. c1671, m. Joseph Easton of Hartford, s/o Joseph Easton of the same; Hannah b. Jul 1674, m. Caleb Stanley Jr., of Hartford; Elizabeth b. c1676, m. Lt. Nathaniel Marsh of Hartford; Rachel b. c1678, m. Capt. Joseph Cook of Hartford; Mary b. c1681, m. Capt. Cyprian Nichols; Abigail b. c1684, m. Joseph Symons; Agnes bpt. 20 Nov 1687, m/1 Nathaniel Humphrey, m/2 John Hubbard. (TAG 27:165-6, "The Four Spencer Brothers, Their Ancestors and Desc.," by Donald Lines Jacobus.
      (Goodwin, p. 310-11; Barbour, p. 556; see also Anderson's