Edmund Freeman
Encyclopedia
Edmund Freeman was one of the founders of Sandwich, Massachusetts
and an Assistant Governor of Plymouth Colony
under Governor William Bradford.
, England and was baptised July 25, 1596. Edmund married firstly to Bennett Hodsoll on June 16, 1617, she was buried at Pulborough on April 12, 1630. Freeman along with his second wife Elizabeth and his family set sail from Plymouth, England on 4 June 1635 aboard The Abigail. During the crossing an epidemic of smallpox broke out on shipboard. They arrived in Boston on 8 October 1635 and then settled in Saugus
.
Edmund (or Edmond) Freeman was admitted freeman at Plymouth
on 23 January 1637.
He was one of the nine founders of Sandwich, Massachusetts. Freeman died in 1682 in Sandwich. He is buried in a well-known, marked private burial plot in Sandwich along with his second wife Elizabeth.
She was a daughter of Gov. Thomas Prence
and Patience Brewster, a daughter of Elder William Brewster (pilgrim)
, (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower.
His son John Freeman bapt. on January 28, 1626/1627,at Billingshurst, Sussex County, England and died on October 28, 1719 at Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.
First as a Lieutenant, then as Captain, and later as Major he took an active part in the Indian Wars. He was a major in the expedition against Indians at Saconet in 1677. He served as a member Council of War from 1667-76. He served as captain in the fight against Indians at Taunton in 1675. He was a major of Barnstable Troop in 1685 and Deputy at Eastham for eight years. He served as a selectman for ten years starting in 1663. On December 7, 1692, he was appointed to the Bench of the Court of Common Pleas. For many years he was a Deacon of the Eastham Congregational Church.
John married Mercy Prence, on February 13, 1649 at Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. She was born circa 1631 at Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts and died on September 28, 1711 at Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.
She was a daughter of Gov. Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster, a daughter of Elder William Brewster (pilgrim), (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower
.
Through him descends the notorious Lizzie Borden.
There is no good evidence for the maiden surname of Elizabeth, second wife of Edmund Freeman. Robert Charles Anderson lists her surname as blank.
Homer Worthington Brainard says she was a widow, Elizabeth Perry. Both Rosemary Canfield and Henry J. Perry suggest that she may have been the Elizabeth Raymer who married at Shipley, Sussex, 10 Aug 1632, Edmund Freeman. Shipley is a village about four miles from Billinghurst on the road to Cowfold.
Sandwich, Massachusetts
Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,675 at the 2010 census. The Town Hall is located right next to the Dexter Grist Mill, in the historic district of town....
and an Assistant Governor of Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
under Governor William Bradford.
Early life
Freeman was the son of Edmund and Alice (Coles) Freeman of Pulborough, SussexSussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England and was baptised July 25, 1596. Edmund married firstly to Bennett Hodsoll on June 16, 1617, she was buried at Pulborough on April 12, 1630. Freeman along with his second wife Elizabeth and his family set sail from Plymouth, England on 4 June 1635 aboard The Abigail. During the crossing an epidemic of smallpox broke out on shipboard. They arrived in Boston on 8 October 1635 and then settled in Saugus
Saugus
-Places:* Saugus, Massachusetts* Saugus, Santa Clarita, California, named after its sister city in Massachusetts* Saugus, Montana, a rural town in Prairie County-Ships:* USS Saugus , Canonicus-class single-turret monitor...
.
Edmund (or Edmond) Freeman was admitted freeman at Plymouth
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
on 23 January 1637.
He was one of the nine founders of Sandwich, Massachusetts. Freeman died in 1682 in Sandwich. He is buried in a well-known, marked private burial plot in Sandwich along with his second wife Elizabeth.
Marriage and family
His son Edmund Freeman, Jr. baptized on November 26, 1620 at Billingshurst, Sussex County, England and died before January 5, 1703/1704. He married Rebecca Prence, on April 22, 1646 at Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. She was born circa 1625 at Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts and died before July 18, 1651 at Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.She was a daughter of Gov. Thomas Prence
Thomas Prence
Thomas Prence was a co-founder of Eastham, Massachusetts, a political leader in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, and governor of Plymouth .-Early life:...
and Patience Brewster, a daughter of Elder William Brewster (pilgrim)
William Brewster (Pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...
, (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower.
His son John Freeman bapt. on January 28, 1626/1627,at Billingshurst, Sussex County, England and died on October 28, 1719 at Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.
First as a Lieutenant, then as Captain, and later as Major he took an active part in the Indian Wars. He was a major in the expedition against Indians at Saconet in 1677. He served as a member Council of War from 1667-76. He served as captain in the fight against Indians at Taunton in 1675. He was a major of Barnstable Troop in 1685 and Deputy at Eastham for eight years. He served as a selectman for ten years starting in 1663. On December 7, 1692, he was appointed to the Bench of the Court of Common Pleas. For many years he was a Deacon of the Eastham Congregational Church.
John married Mercy Prence, on February 13, 1649 at Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. She was born circa 1631 at Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts and died on September 28, 1711 at Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.
She was a daughter of Gov. Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster, a daughter of Elder William Brewster (pilgrim), (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
.
Through him descends the notorious Lizzie Borden.
There is no good evidence for the maiden surname of Elizabeth, second wife of Edmund Freeman. Robert Charles Anderson lists her surname as blank.
Homer Worthington Brainard says she was a widow, Elizabeth Perry. Both Rosemary Canfield and Henry J. Perry suggest that she may have been the Elizabeth Raymer who married at Shipley, Sussex, 10 Aug 1632, Edmund Freeman. Shipley is a village about four miles from Billinghurst on the road to Cowfold.