| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. Internet https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Humphrey-71 accessed 9 Sep 2021:
"In the October 1992 issue of "The American Genealogist," Douglas Richardson presented convincing evidence that the parents of Michael Humphrey were Michael and Martha (Pride) Humphrey. The Samuel and Susanna of the oft-quoted letter were Michael's siblings. The part of the letter with the signature has been lost.
"New Light on the English Origins of Michael Humphrey (died 1695) of Windsor, Connecticut." by Douglas Richardson:
(Mr.) Michael Humphrey, the New England immigrant, surfaced in 1643, at Windsor, Connecticut. He moved to Simsbury CT about 1670. He married at Windsor, on 14 October 1647, to Pricilla Grant, the daughter of Matthew and Pricilla Grant. She was born September 14, 1626, in England, the exact place still unknown. Well over a hundred years ago, American genealogists attempted to locate the English origins of Michael Humphrey. In this case they were aided by an original letter written by the immigrant's mother, which in 1869, was still held by one of Michael Humphrey's descendants. This letter is printed in full in the book The Humphreys Family in America, by Frederick Humphrey, M.D., published 1883, pages 98-99.
The letter in question was dated January 24, 1648/9, and was written at a place in England named Lyme. Lyme Regis, Dorset is doubtless the place intended. The letter was addressed to "my endeared son." Although most of the letter is general in nature, the mother specifically mentioned that the last letter she had received from her son, Michael, was dated circa December, 1647, which told of his recent marriage.
The mother's letter as preserved in 1869, was missing her signature at the close of the letter. Towards the bottom on the letter, about ten lines were torn away and thus the letter was missing its closing statements. This unfortunate circumstance served to confuse American genealogists as they mistook a postscript on the reverse page to be the final conclusion of the letter.
The postscript was located on the back side of the letter and it reads simply "More that we are all thy dear affectionate friends to the end of the world. Mr. Samuell Humphrey 1648 and Susana Humphrey 1648". American genealogists took this to be the signatures of Michael Humphrey's parents, but this can hardly be the case. The letter itself clearly indicates that it was written by Michael Humphrey's mother alone. No reference is made in the body of the letter to Michael's father then being alive, thus presumably he was already deceased. Had the letter been written jointly by both parents, the letter would have begun "Our endeared son", not "My endeared son". Also, it is unlikely that Michael's mother would call herself Michael's "friend to the end of the world". The best explanation is that Samuel and Susanna Humphrey who signed the postscript were Michael Humphrey's brother and sister, not father and mother. In support of this, American colonial records prove that the immigrant did have a brother, (Mr.) Samuel Humphrey, who in the 1660's was a merchant in St. Malo, France.
American genealogists did attempt to have the Lyme Regis parish registers checked for any pertinent information on Michael Humphrey's family. One Mr. Ware of Honiton, Devonshire carefully searched the parish registers and reportedly found no trace of the family in these records. Oddly enough, the Lyme Regis registers have a gap in the baptisms from 1572 to 1662. Thus, the failure to find Michael Humphrey's family would easily be explained by the missing records. In 1881, Col. Joseph Chester again checked the Lyme Regis registers and he reported that there was "no trace" of the family in the parish registers of Lyme. He also examined various probate indexes for the immigrant's purported parents, Samuel and Susanna "Humphry" and Thomas Wise, both of Lyme, on July, 1655. No attempt was made to trace the Wise family. Here is where the matter lay for many, many decades.
Unknown to the American researchers in the late 1800's, the Bishop's Transcripts for the parish of Lyme Regis, Dorset, survived and they contain records for much of the period not covered by the parish registers. Today, these records are available on microfilm from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (being found on SLC Microfilm # 1,239,204). Although there are a few years covered starting in 1579, near continuous coverage actually starts in 1608. Surviving Bishop's Transcripts are available for the years, 1608-1609, 1613-1617, 1620-1621, 1623, 1625-1628, 1630-1634, and then coverage commences again near continuously from 1666 forward.
Recently, these records were examined for any entries pertaining to the Humphrey family, and happily, the baptism of the immigrant Michael Humphrey, was located. As it turns out, the immigrant was baptized September 10, 1620, at Lyme Regis, Dorset, being the son of an earlier Michael Humphrey. The immigrant was one of at least 12 children born to two different wives, a family which included two sets of Michaels, two Johns, and two Samuels. Also, as thought probable, the transcripts reveal that the immigrant had signed the postscript to the mother's letter in 1649.
Here are the pertinent Humphrey entries as abstracted from the Lyme Regis Bishop's Transcripts:
Baptisms:
15 Sept. 1608 Sara daughter of Michaell Humffrey baptized.
24 Oct. 1608 Alice daughter of Lewis Humffrey baptized.
12 May 1616 Marie daughter of Michaell Humfrey baptized
10 Sept. 1620 Michaell son of Michaell Humfrey baptized.
29 Feb. 1623/4 Josias son of Michaell Humfrey baptized
16 Oct. 1625 John son of Michaell Humfrey baptized.
2 Dec. 1627 Susan daughter of Michaell Humphrey baptized
4 July 1630 Martha daughter of Michaell Humfrey baptized
Marriages:
( ) April 1608 Thomas Humffrey & Mar(garet?) ff(ose?).
Burials:
14 Oct. 1613 Ann wife of Michaell Humffrey buried
8 June 1620 Michael son of Michaell Humfrey buried
22 Jul 1621 Samuell son of Michael Humfrey buried
2 June 1623 John son of Michaell Humfrey buried
22 Mar. 1626/7 Jone daughter of Lewis Humfrey deceased buried
7 Mar. 1630/1 Martha daughter of Michaell Humfry buried.
28 Dec 1634 Hanna daughter of Michaell Humfrey buried
10 Feb. 1668/9 Susanah wife of Thomas Wise
7 March 1673/4 Thomas Wise
Although the extant Bishop's Transcripts for Lyme Regis do not tell us the whole story, now we at least know that there was a Humphrey family living at Lyme Regis from at least as early as 1608, to as late as 1669 (i.e., burial of Susannah (Humphrey) Wise). Using the above records and other available sources, the immediate family of the immigrant may now be reconstructed."
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
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