One of my ancestral families, the Doggett or Daggett clan of Martha's Vineyard, settled on that island in the first half of the 17th century. Their matriarch was Hepzibah (or possibly Alice) Doggett, nee BROTHERTON, born around 1602 in Suffolk, England. At least one male in every generation of her descendants up to my paternal grandfather (born 1875) carried on the name BROTHERTON as either a first or middle name. Why was this name so prized?

I speculate that Hepzibah had, and passed on, some knowledge of being a descendant of Thomas of Brotherton, yet I can find no male line descending from him using the Brotherton name. Was there an illegitimate line called Brotherton? I have also speculated that Hepzibah was a child of John Brereton (Brere being another form of Brother) who was the cartographer for Bartholomew Gosnold's exploratory voyages to and around Martha's Vineyard around 1598-1605. Does anyone out there have any ideas?