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To all who have an interest:
For 10 or more years I have developed extensive listings of English
Churchill families. My listing extends from the earliest English
families down to families of the 18th century, with a few lines
extending to the present day.
Over this time I have made note of 17th century English John Churchills
who were in the age range to be John of the Plymouth Colony. So far I
have found a total of ten. Each has been investigated to determine if
he could be John Churchill of the American Plymouth Colony. Nine of
these candidates cannot be John of Plymouth. This includes the most
advertised candidate, a John Churchill who was fictional but was said to
have been born in 1620 at (or of) Muston Manor in Piddlehinton Parish,
Dorset.
While researching Rockbeare, Devon families a couple of years ago I ran
upon a John Churchill who had a kinship with the early Rehoboth,
Plymouth Colony Martins and, thus, could be John Churchill of the
Plymouth Colony. So far this is unproven.
I have worked over a year on the evaluation but lately progress has
waned without positive proof. While I don't want this John Churchill to
turn into another “John of Muston,” I think the possible connection
should not be kept private or lost. With the possibility known someone
may one day happen on a scrap of information that proves the identity
So here goes. The following information has been collected for this
John Churchill of England.
1 Candidate 8: John Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary, Devon
The candidate is John Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary Parish, Devon,
baptized 15 Feb 1607. He was the third of six sons of Thomas & Isote
(Granger) (formerly Woolsey) Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary parish.
2 Related facts about John Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary and John
of Plymouth
1) The Ottery John Churchill had a cousin Beaton Churchill who
married Robert Martin of Ottery Saint Mary and died in 1632. This
Robert Martin either was (or was kinsman to) the Robert Martin of Ottery
Saint Mary who became Robert Martin of Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony. This
Robert Martin traveled to the American Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635
with the charismatic Reverend Joseph Hull. Reverend Hull was Rector of
Northleigh Parish, Devon and an Anglican non-conformist of the type that
would later come to be called Congregationalist.
2) Thomas Churchill the father of John Churchill of Ottery Saint
Mary was a Yeoman, thus John Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary was of that
class. From Plymouth records we know that John Churchill of Plymouth
was a Yeoman. Proof of this is that he was holding land in free and not
by copyhold. Only gentry could freehold in this time so John Churchill
was one of the five classes of gentry. His exact class is evident from
the fact that he was a Plymouth freeman. Freemen had the right to vote
and of the 5 classes of gentry only Yeoman and above could vote by
right. In his will, Joseph Churchill, John’s eldest son, calls himself
Yeoman. Thus, Joseph’s father John was a Yeoman.
3) Related Churchill families of Ottery Saint Mary were
non-conformist. But, there is no information that this John Churchill of
Ottery was a non-conformist.
4) The Reverend Joseph Hull was driven out of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony and in May of 1639 arrived in Plymouth. Robert Martin of Ottery
Saint Mary either followed or accompanied Joseph Hull to Plymouth.
Robert is first mentioned in Plymouth records in 1640 where he is called
Freeman. In 1643 Robert Martin removed to Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony to
become one of the earliest settlers there. The Ottery Saint Mary John
Churchill was kinsman to this Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony Robert Martin.
5) We know that John Churchill of the Plymouth Colony was kin to
his ward Abigail Clarke the daughter of the Plymouth Colony’s George and
Alice (Martin) Clarke. John Churchill of Plymouth, thus, was a kinsman
of either George Clarke or Alice Martin. Alice was a given name used by
these Devon Martins. There are related Devon Alice Martins who were of
the right age to have been the Alice Martin who married George Clarke at
Plymouth on 22 Jan 1638/39. But the English identity of Alice Martin of
Plymouth is unknown.
6) John Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary obtained a license on 31 Aug
1635 from the Bishop at Exeter, Devon to marry Mary Balaman of Whimple,
Devon. No parish record for the marriage has been found. However,
they did marry because they had the following issue:
i. John CHURCHILL, baptized on 16 May 1636 in Ottery Saint Mary, Devon.
This John was buried 17 May 1636.
ii. Isott CHURCHILL was baptized 23 Sep 1638 in Ottery Saint Mary,
Devon.
iii. John CHURCHILL was baptized on 21 Mar 1640/41 in Ottery Saint Mary,
Devon.
The Ottery Saint Mary John Churchill and his family disappear from
Ottery Saint Mary records after March 1641. Searches have been
conducted. There are no further records in Ottery Saint Mary or any of
the surrounding parishes for Mary (Balaman) Churchill, Isott or John
Churchill the junior.
In this period and through the English civil war Ottery was a garrison
town for Royalist troops. The soldiers brought disease to the parish,
stressed the local economy and oppressed the people. The cause of
disease was not understood. Many believed God had abandoned them. In
part, for this reason, Ottery Saint Mary became a hotbed of religious
unrest. Periodic waves of disease and death fueled non-conformist
activity. Many departed the area. Among those who departed were
followers of the Reverend Joseph Hull. By the end of the civil war
(1649) fully half the population of Ottery Saint Mary had perished. The
plague was active in 1640 and 1641 and Parish burial records are
incomplete.
If John Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary is John of Plymouth, then his
entire family perished between March of 1641 and 1643 when John
Churchill of Plymouth first appears in Plymouth Colony records. Whether
his family perished in England or in-route to the new world is unknown.
One final piece of information may bear upon the matter. From the
"Topographical Dictionary of 2,885 English Emigrants to New England
1620-1650" published by Southern Book Co. Baltimore 1957, there is a
scrap of information that says: "Richard Martin of Ottery St Mary" "To
Rehoboth, possibly the master of the Ship "Blessing" of Plymouth.
Possibly gentry according to Risdon.”
This entry refers to a passage that the bark Blessing of the Bay made
between Devon and Plymouth. MA. From James Savage we know that Blessing
was indeed at Plymouth in 1641.
In summary, we have a John Churchill of Ottery Saint Mary who was
kinsman to the Martins of Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony. This John lived in
a troubled area of Devon from which people were departing to the
Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Plymouth Colony. He had kinsmen Robert
Martin at Plymouth and kinsman Richard Martin in Devon, the latter of
which is associated with a ship making regular passages between Devon
and the American Colonies.
However, that John Churchill of Plymouth this was John Churchill of
Ottery Saint Mary is unknown.
Bill Churchill