Albion's Seed

There are no Mayflower Pilgrims in my family tree, and if there were I'd probably shake them out.  A strange group of people they were, I don't think, no I know, they would not like me one bit, and I don't think I would like them either. Still, it would be interesting to sit across from them over a Thanksgiving dinner and ask  about their beliefs and their lives.  I wonder if they regretted leaving their homes to pitch up in a harsh and unwelcoming land?

Many of my ancestors came to America during  The Great Migration, 1630's- until the start of the English Civil War.  At that point reverse migration started with folks returning to live in a Puritan England. A book which I found to be very helpful in understanding something of their character, their beliefs, they ways of living is a called Albion's Seed  by David Hackett Fischer.

The book is divided into four sections, each focusing on a group of british migrants to America.  It includes the Puritans, The Cavaliers, and others from across England and Scotland.

Its a great book and I recommend it highly. You can find out more about this book by looking in my Genealogy Store. 

By David Hackett Fischer

Princess Nicketti Powhatan

I'm related to a Princess? 

Author's Warning: Some readers have become quite upset by this article. If there is not a doubt in your mind that Princess Nicketti is your ancestor, and you are here to reaffirm her story, stop reading now, this is not the site you're looking for. 

If you are unsure and decide to read it, and then you think your head will explode, I have provided photos of my Daylilys to rest your eyes until you recover enough to close the page. 

You might also want to read this blogpost on Cleopatra when you're done. Or this blogpost on Trader Hughes. There is also this post on Rice/Reese/Rhys Hughes.

When I was a newbie on Ancestry.com I was guilty, unknowingly, of contributing to one of the biggest headaches for genealogist, both amateur and professional,  today.  What was I doing that was so terrible. It was blindly copying names and dates from ancestry trees without bothering to see if the information was even remotely correct.  I did this with all my ancestors. What, or rather who,  brought that copy and pasting to an abrupt halt was a certain Princess Nicketti. 

Princess Nicketti is in dozens of trees on Ancestry.com as well as websites and blogs like this.  She was the niece of Pocohantas and married a "white man" named Trader Hughes. Some trees even include the names of her parents. When I told my husband that he was related to an Indian Princess he looked at me like I was a nut job, and in that moment I realized he was right. Now don't get me wrong, I would be happy to have some Indian genes, to help breakup my seemingly 100% European ancestry. So I decided to see what I could find out about the Princess. 

I searched both literature and  the web for proof of Nicketti's existence and guess what, I could not find one documented fact about her or her life.  Is she only a figment of someone's, and now a lot of someones,  imagination?  The problem is that hundreds of people are happily passing on this undocumented ancestor and hundreds more are adding her to their trees everyday.  Before long, fiction becomes fact and it becomes harder and harder to correct, hence the headache for those who really want an authentic tree.

Genealogy is a science, and like all sciences it is based on provable, documented facts.  If you are interested in genealogy you cannot include Nicketti in your family tree because there is no possible way to verify her existence. If all you are interested in is family history and lore, that's another thing altogether. I think it is a great story. But the story has crossed over into a genre known as "faction". A bare bones legend is suddenly dressed up with unverifiable if not downright unproven facts.  I guess I really take issue with all those people out there who have added specific dates and places to people who may or may not have existed.  

Does this mean that the Cabells and the Floyds and all the other who claim her as their ancestor did not have a ancestor who was Native American, of course not. With so much oral history it would be hard to believe that they did not have a white/Native marriage in their tree. But, can they say for certain that the woman in question was the daughter of Opechancanough, not they cannot. 

Here are some notes I have made from my search for Nicketti:

This is a copy from the book "The Cabell's and Their Kin", published in 1895 from which this legend arises:

"Opechancanough, the celebrated chief of the Powhatans, who was brutally murdered, while a prisoner, in 1644, left a lovely young daughter, the child of his old age, the Princess Nicketti —' she sweeps the dew from the flowers.' Some years after this graceful Indian maiden had reached the years of mature womanhood, a member [the name is not given) of one of the old Cavalier families of Virginia 'fell in love with her and she with him,'and the result was a clandestine marriage, and a half-breed Indian girl who married about the year 1680 a Welshman (others say a native of Devonshire, England,) named Nathaniel Davis, an Indian trader, and, according to some accounts, a Quaker; and from this alliance many notable people in the East and in the West have descended. Their daughter, Mary Davis (born about 1685), married Samuel Burks of Hanover (the ancestorsof the Burks family of Virginia), and their daughter, Elizabeth Burks, married Capt. William Cabell, the ancestor of the Cabells; Martha Davis, another daughter, married Abraham Venable, the ancestor of the Venables. Robert Davis, Sr., a son (the ancestor of 'the black Davises' of Kentucky, and from whom Jefferson Davis descended), had a daughter, Abadiah (or Abigail) Davis, who married William Floyd, the ancestor of the Floyds of Virginia and of the West. A daughter, or granddaughter, of the Quaker, married Gen'l Evan Shelby of Maryland, the ancestor of the Shelbys of the West. Samuel and Philip Davis of the Blue Mountains were sons, and there may have been other sons and daughters. [1]

From this narrative we get the following information:

• Princess Nicketti is the daughter of Opechanough
• No mothers name is mentioned
• Nicketti had to have been born prior to 1644, the year of her fathers death and the narrative says her father left a lovely young girl, not infant or baby, so many she was born even prior to 1634
• Nicketti married a son of an old Cavalier family of Virginia, not Trader Hughes
• The marriage results in the birth of one child a "half breed" daughter, unnamed
• Unnamed daughter marries in 1680 a Welshman/Englishman named Nathaniel Davis, he is an Indian trader
• Unnamed daughter and Nathaniel Davis have a daughter, b. 1685, named Mary Davis who marries Samuel Burkes.
• Unnamed daughter and Nathaniel Davis have daughter Martha who married Abraham Venable
• Unnamed daughter and Nathaniel have son Robert Davis who has a daughter Abadiah, she marries William Floyd
• Unnamed daughter and Nathaniel also have sons Samuel and Phillip.
• Unnamed daughter and Nathaniel have unnamed daughter or granddaughter who marries into the Shelby family.

*****

From the book by N. J. Floyd, Biographical Genealogies of the Virginia-Kentucky Floyd Family published in 1912, the author takes the above story and moves it a step forward. he has found a mother for Nicketti. Her name, he says is Cleopatra. [2] The author writes that he found a petition from Thomas Rolfe to visit his mother's sister and Opechenko, to whom he is allied. More about this later. In this book the author makes the following claims/statements:

• William Floyd married Abadiah Davis, daughter of Welshman Nathaniel Davis. Her mother is 1/2 Indian. Her grandmother was Princess Nicketti the granddaughter of Powhatan, her unknown mother, married a minor chief of the Cayuga tribe. 
• Nicketti married a noted hunter trader of Scottish origin. They lived near Balcony Falls of James River, here Nathaniel Davis met and married a woman who was the daughter of Nicketti and Trader Hughes. 
• Many years later the family denies Indian ancestry. The cause of their denial was the Native American warrior Cornstalk who fought in the battle of Point Pleasant. Captives told the settlers that he, Cornstalk, was a descendant of Powhatan, thereby, apparently putting off their ancestry linked to said Powhatan and through him the dreadful Cornstalk. 
• The states that he found the petition from Thomas Rolfe to Cleopatra in the archives of the Maryland Historical Society. So it is finally in 1912 that a connection was made from Cleopatra to Nicketti and her father becomes Opechancanough. 
• The author makes up a story of how Cleopatra arrived at her name. 

*****

The petition of Thomas Rolfe:

On 17 December 1641, Thomas Rolfe, now aged 26, was living in Virginia. He requested to see his mother's sister Cleopatra and Opechenko, to whom I am allied. This petition is the only document in which the name Cleopatra is found. Somehow in these few short words the author leaps to the  conclusion that Cleopatra and Opechancanough are married. The original records are gone but there are two copies of this petition. One is in the Bland Manuscript, written by 1730 and the Randolph Manuscript, a 19th century copy of the Bland. The Bland manuscript is written in many hands and contains copies of the original Virginia records. Here is a picture of the petition as written in the Bland Manuscript:

*****

Trader Hughes
I recently did a search through the internet looking for information on Trader Hughes, supposed husband of Nicketti.  I found the following information, Trader Hughes was:

• Welsh
• Scottish
• An English Cavalier
• An Aztec Indian
• A member of Virginia society
• His first name was John, Rees, or Rice or William, or some combination of these
• He was born in 1615 or 1635
• he was born in Wales but was a Scotsman
• He was an African indentured servant Convincing Blog with evidence that Trader Hughes was an African who married Nicketti 
• He and Nicketti had between one and twenty children
• Trader Hughes is supposed to have established a Trading Post in Amherst County, Virginia. Traders began moving into this area of Virginia between 1710 and 1720.  If Trader Hughes was born in as late as 1635 he would have been 85 years old when he set up shop. Nicketti would also be around 80-85.  This seems highly unlikely in an time when life expectancy was less than 50 and closer to 40. 
• A sea captain who sailed his relief ship into Jamestown and promptly married Nicketti, whisked her off to the mountains thereby becoming American's first 'mountain man.'

*****

This is from a message board, genealogy.com message #10793 from the year 2003:

I have found further evidence in the early records of colonial Virginia which indicate that Rees/Rice Hughes had a wife named Susanna. These records indicate that Rees/Rice Hughes (Hoe) and his wife Susanna had an indentured servant named John Price (Prise) whom they may have either beaten or starved to death. These records also indicate that Rees/Rice Hughes bought an Indian girl, which possibly accounts for the legend that he "married" the Indian Princess Nicketti. Rees/Rice Hughes may have had children with this Indian girl, and it's possible that one of their descendants was the Trader Hughes who lived on the upper James River. I know the actual facts are not as pretty as the legend, but I think we need to be truthful about the past, no matter how reprehensible it was.  Billie Harris

John Richard Hewing
I reference John Richard above, he according, to his descendants, was an African from the Portuguese colony in Angola. He was an indentured servant, brought to Virginia possibly to grow rice. He married Princess Nicketti. 

From another reader's comment
Another reader told be that he and his family believe that the man who married Nicketti was possibly and Aztec Indian who traveled up from Mexico.  He wore gold arm bracelets with emeralds. This story had been passed down in his family for generations. 

*****

John Dodson
This is another family story concerning Princess Nicketti.  It seems that she married John Dodson, who was one of the original Jamestown settlers. He arrived on the ship "The Susan Constant" with Captain John Smith in 1607. Many family trees say that John married the grand daughter of the Algonquin Chief Powhatan, Princess Nicketti Eagle Plume. Her parents were Chief Eagle Plume and his wife Cleopatra. The Dodson family claim that this was a story passed down by their ancestors.

*****

Some info on Nathaniel Davis from an internet family genealogy site: Ancestors of Patrick Martin Stevens, Jr.  

It is said he came to Virginia from Wales, and was a Quaker. He is sometimes noted as Quaker Davis, but, Lorene Martens, notes that "The Complete Book of Immigrants, 1607-1776" suggests that Nathaniel was "reprieved for transportation for Barbados June 1671, London." She recalls seeing somewhere that he was jailed and transported for stealing tobacco. "On 8 June 1671 Newgate prisoners reprieved to be transported to Barbados: London." 

Notes for Hugh Ap Lewis: Perhaps he died in Barbados, say some.... Some assert (see The Reads and Their Relatives, author unknown) that Hugh Lewis and Elizabeth were of "Barbados and Virginia." In the "Venables of Virginia," 1925, Elizabeth Marshall Venable asserts that "Hugh Lewis came first with his wife and daughter, Abadiah Lewis, and lost his wife in America and returned to Britain with Abadiah, his only daughter... both returned again to America, in Virginia, with Robert Davis, who came away without the consent of his parents, and served four years in Virginia, King and Queen, for his passage, and then married Abadiah Lewis, with whom he had immigrated." (Courtesy of Leona Latham-Simonini, 2007) 

So, if I'm reading the above right, he is saying that the first Abadiah was the daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth ap Lewis.  Elizabeth dies, Hugh and Abadiah return to England, where they meet up with Robert Davis, who re-immigrates with them to Virginia.   The daughter of Robert and Abadiah Davis, also called Abadiah marries William Floyd. Hum, there seems to be two versions of Abadiah.  She is also said to be the daughter of Nathaniel Davis  and Mary Elizabeth Hughes. 

*****

Another family tree states that Nathaniel Davis was born 17 April 1665 in St. Michael's Parish perhaps in Devonshire.  So here we are combining a very concrete date to a very indeterminate place, how the heck do you know his birthday? If he married Mary Hughes in 1680 then he would have been  15 on his wedding day. Another site says b. 1646 in Virginia, and other site even includes his middle name: Ambrose. This same site says that Nathaniel Davis' father was none other than Barnabus Davis who was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1610. Don't let the fact that Charlestown did not even exist until after 1630 stand in the way of your family tree. (FYI: there was a Barnabus Davis who immigrated to Charlestown, MA, and he did indeed have a son Nathaniel, but clearly, they are a separate family.)

*****

What does Dr. Jay Hansford C. Vest, Professor of American Indian Studies, University of North Carolina say about Trader Hughes and Nicketti? Vest, who has studied these people extensively, calls the story of Nicketti and Trader Hughes, folklore which does not fit into the historical setting and available documentation. Nicketti, he says cannot be both the daughter of Opechancanough and the wife of a Indian Trader living in the 1720s. I suggest most sane people would not find fault with this reasoning.   

He suggests instead, that the story of a princess daughter of Opechancanough who married a son of a Cavalier family fits neatly into the the life Cockacoeske. He writes that she was the daughter of his (Opechancanough) old age, and she was the woman who had a liaison with Calalierish Colonel John West. In about 1656 she gave birth to a son who was called called Captain John West. [3] 



******

Here are two short articles written about Nicketti:

Title: John Smith Captures Opechancanough
Source: Encyclopedia Virginia
Princess Nicketti is the name given to a Virginia Indian woman believed by some to have been the daughter of Opechancanough, a leader of the Powhatan Indians and the brother of the paramount chief Powhatan. While the name has been referenced almost exclusively on twenty-first-century genealogy websites by people claiming family relationship, no scholarly evidence exists that Princess Nicketti ever lived. A careful search of seventeenth-century records in Virginia yields no one by that name, male or female. And no name of a child of Opechancanough was ever recorded in that century. The writings about her stem from a single published source: Alexander Brown's genealogy The Cabells and Their Kin (1939). Significantly, Brown calls Nicketti's story only a "very interesting tradition" and adds, "I cannot vouch for it[s accuracy]," but he had heard about her from several prominent Piedmont Virginia families. Subsequent writers have quoted Brown's text as fact.

Another problem with the Princess Nicketti legend is that North American Indian tribes did not have princesses in the European sense. Most tribes were relatively egalitarian, and egalitarian societies do not produce aristocracies. Even the more hierarchical Indian cultures, such as the Powhatan, did not have European-style royalty. For one thing, there was not that great a distance between a paramount chief like Powhatan and the ordinary people, which is why anthropologists have traditionally referred to Powhatan as a chief, not as a king. For another, most Woodland Indian cultures (including the Powhatan one) practiced matrilineal inheritance, at least for ruling positions. That meant that a male chief's sons were not his heirs, and his daughters' social prominence would last only until he died. The real heirs were the children of a female chief, or the elder sister of a male one.

This is not Pocahontas!

Title: Pocahontas-Rolfe Celebration
Source: University of Virginia Special Collections
Despite the evidence against Princess Nicketti's existence, she remains a popular figure, especially among those interested in family history. As evidenced by the numerous claims of relation to Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas, and to the privileges granted those alleged relations in the Racial Integrity Acts, Virginians have long valued connections, real or mythological, to Indian "royalty." Those connections have most often been made through women, who likely are seen as less threatening than males like Opechancanough, for instance, who led Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1622-1632). Claims of ancestry through the Powhatan Indians are more common, as well, probably because it was an especially well-known tribe.

The American Indian author Vine Deloria has argued that Americans seek family connections to Indians in order to relate in a more personal way to the frontier and, perhaps, to expiate guilt related to the treatment of American Indians. Others have pointed out that during parts of the twentieth century claims of Indian ancestry sometimes exempted people from laws that segregated whites from nonwhites. For instance, in Virginia the Racial Integrity Acts, passed in the 1920s, outlawed marriage between whites and nonwhites (the latter classification included Virginia Indians, who state officials believed to be black) and required that people's racial statuses be recorded at birth; elite Virginians who claimed ancestry to Pocahontas, however, could still register as white.

"Nicketti" is not an identifiable Indian name, and is probably a corruption of some other name. It could be derived from "Necotowance," the former name of a creek in King William County, taken in turn from the personal name of Opechancanough's male successor. Nothing is known about that man except that he signed the Treaty of 1646 on behalf of many of the Powhatan tribes. He disappeared from the English records after 1649. 

Sources:

[1] Alexander Brown, The Cabells And Their Kin: A Memorial Volume of History, Biography, And Genealogy, (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & co., 1895).

[2] N. J. Floyd, Biographical Genealogies of the Virginia-Kentucky Floyd Families, (Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1912).

[3] Vest, Jay Hansford C. “Mormons and Indians in Central Virginia: J. Golden Kimball and the Mason Family's Native American Origins.” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 40, no. 3, 2014, pp. 127–154. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24243806.

*Rountree, Helen C. The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.

*Helen C. Rountree, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Old Dominion University, and author of Pocahontas's People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia Through Four Centuries (1990) and Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown (2005). 

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Learn how to professionally cite your sources for your genealogy proof with Elizabeth Shown Mills Handy Guide to Citing Sources available by clicking this link. 

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*Be polite! All nasty comments will be removed. Really nasty comments will be reported to Google.

*If you disagree, great. Leave a thoughtful well written comment and it will stay. If available leave a source which backs up your claim. 

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Giles Cromwell of Newbury, Massachusetts



Researching my ancestor Giles Cromwell who left England and settled in Newbury, MA has been both extremely frustrating and a great learning experience.  Frustrating because of all the erroneous errors attached to him that, in this great age of the internet, have multiplied and spread by copy and paste family researchers. I have dubbed this stuff "junky genealogy".    At the same time I have learned a great deal about genealogical research and English history while trying to find the "real Giles Cromwell". 

I think the best place to start is with whom Giles Cromwell was not rather than who he actually was. The vast majority of internet-based genealogies, including ancestry.com claim that Giles was the son of Sir Oliver Cromwell. This is not true and it would be funny except for the fact that so many people have copied this into their family trees confusing anyone who is looking for factual information. 

Sir Henry Cromwell 

Giles Cromwell, son of Sir Oliver Cromwell, grandson of Sir Henry, was born into turbulent times.  His father, born 1562, was the son of Sir Henry Cromwell, "the golden Knight", known for his lavish spending and lifestyle.  The family name was originally  Williams but they took on the name Cromwell in honor of their illustrious and ill fated ancestor Thomas Cromwell of Henry VIII fame.  Sir Henry was knighted by Queen Elizabeth after she spent two nights at Hitchenbrook, the family home, in 1564.  He served as a member of Parliament and served four times as the Sheriff of Huntingdon.  Sir Oliver's mother was Joan, daughter of Sir Ralph Warren, twice mayor of London.  Sir Henry died in January of 1604 and was buried at All Saint's Church in Huntingdon. He had already turned over Hinchenbrook to his son and heir, Sir Oliver in 1602.  

Sir Oliver Cromwell

 As the eldest son, Sir Oliver inherited the bulk of Sir Henry's estate. The family divided their time between the two great houses of Hitchenbrooke and Ramsey Abbey. Sir Oliver was first knighted Queen Elizabeth I. He was also knighted by King James of Scotland after his stay at Hitchenbrooke as he made his progress from Scotland to England to claim the English throne, following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603. Sir Oliver played an active role in Parliament, representing the county of Huntingdon at various times between 1604 and 1625.  He was one time the Sheriff of Huntingdon and Cambridgeshire. Like his father, Sir Oliver lived lavishly.  He was forced to sell Hinchenbrooke house in 1626. Sir Oliver died in 1655. 

Elizabeth Bromley 

Sir Oliver married twice.  His first wife was Elizabeth daughter of Sir Thomas Bromley, former Lord Chancellor of England.  They married sometime before 1586, she died on 27 July 1600.  

The children of Sir Oliver and Elizabeth were:

*Henry b. 1586 d. 1657 m. Baptina Pallavacini #2 Lucy Dyer

*John b. 1589 m. Abigail Cleere

*Catherine b. 1594 d. 1616 m. Sir Henry Pallavacini

*Jane d. 1638 m. Sir Toby Pallavacini, Jane is buried in St. Martin's Chipping Ongar, Essex

*Elizabeth d. 1666 m. Sir Richard Ingoldsby

Anna Hooftman 

Sir Oliver married Anna Hooftman on 7 July 1601. She was the daughter of Gielis van Eychelberg alias Hooftman of Antwerp.  Anna was the widow of Sir Horace Pallavacini a Genoese nobleman employed by Queen Elizabeth to raise funds, he died in 1600.  Sir Oliver's financial situation was vastly improved with this marriage as Anne was quite a wealthy widow.  To keep the money in the family he and Anne arranged for three of his children to marry three of hers. Anna died on 23 April 1626. In her will she left her son Giles various properties in the Low Countries.  

Children of Sir Oliver and Anna

Anna b. 1603 d. 1663 m. John Baldwine

Mary d. 1634 married Edward Rolte

Giles d. 1634 never married, buried in The Great Church in the Hague.


Oliver d. 1628 in Italy

On the side of the King in the English Civil War

 During the English Civil War of 1642-1651, Sir Oliver Cromwell and his sons were unswerving on the side of King Charles I. Although described as a man of Puritan callings, Sir Oliver was an ardent loyalist, he supported the Crown til the last, even to the point of raising troops at his own expense. 



His son and heir Henry had his estates sequestered by Parliament. Henry fought with the Royalist army at the battle of Winceby in 1643. Henry's son James was a Colonel in the Royalist army, and his son Henry so hated the name Cromwell that he reverted to using the surname of Williams.

Sir Oliver's son John was a Captain in the First Regiment of Foot sent by King James I to assist in recovering the Palatine for his daughter Elizabeth and his son-in-law Frederick the Elector of Palatine, the once King and Queen of Bohemia. John became a Colonel in Holland and was chosen by the Prince of Wales, the future King Charles II, to deliver a letter from Charles to his cousin Oliver Cromwell asking him to spare the life of his father, King Charles I.  Obviously Oliver Cromwell was not swayed by the missive from Charles.

William, third son of Sir Oliver was also in the service of Frederick, Elector of Palatine. He held the rank of Colonel and served in the wars for the Crown of Bohemia. He died of the plague in 1655 and is buried at Ramsey Abbey. 



Giles Cromwell son of Sir Oliver and Anna Hooftman was a Gentleman in Waiting to the King of Bohemia.  In a 17th century genealogy of the Hooftman van Eijehelberg family the writer remarks on the death of Anna Hooftman in May of 1626, he goes on to comment that he made the acquaintance of his cousin Giles Crommuel, a young man of about 21 years, who was a page at the court of the Queen of Bohemia, and resided at The Hague.  Giles is mentioned in a book "The Letters of Elizabeth Stuart:  Queen of Bohemia" by Nadine Akkerman.  She writes "he delivered a letter to Elizabeth from her husband Frederick. 

Wills

In 1 March 1632 Sir. Cornelius Hooftman wrote his will. He made a bequest to the children of Anna Hooftman now wife of Oliver Cromwell. He left them "different lands in the environs of Andver and money amounting to 12,400 carolus florins. Giles wrote his own will two years later on 2 May 1634. Giles was a loyal Palatine servant who left many bequests to the Gentlemen and Gentlewomen of the Queen of Bohemia.    In his will, of which I have a copy, he named his sister Anne Balwine, the children of his deceased sister Mary Rolte, his brother Henry, John and William.  He left his land and money that he had so recently recieved from his Uncle Cornelius Hooftman to the children of his sister Mary. There is no doubt that this is the will of Giles Cromwell, son of Sir Oliver Cromwell.  The will is kept in the Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies.  You can get a copy from the British website Access to Archives. He died and was buried in the Great Church of The Hague in May of 1634.

This is a brief synopsis of his will:



Bequeaths. money and jewels to: sisters Anne (wife of John Baldwin) and Mary (wife of Edward Rolte); Uncle Sir Cornelis Hooftman; Cousin Lord Gerard Van Randenrode; Uncle/Cousin Van Nispen; Godson Giles Rolt (nephew); brothers Palavicino; William Cromwell and John Cromwell; William Grudge and Edward Pue, servants; Peter Fannius, secretary of Bewershaven; ladies and Gentlewomen of Queen of Bohemia an Gentlemen (his comrades); cousins Van Sevender and Margaret Van Vosbergen.



I don't think you can argue this one.  Giles Cromwell, son of Sir Oliver, served the Queen of Bohemia at The Hague in the Netherlands.  He died and was buried there, he did not come to America. So, who is Giles Cromwell of Newbury?  

Giles Cromwell of Newbury

Giles Cromwell of Eling, England and Newbury, Massachusetts Okay, I know you're disappointed, but wouldn't you rather have the truth than some made up genealogy.  So, what do we know about Giles Cromwell of Newbury.  If he was the Giles married to Alice Weeks in 1630 he was probably born about 1600-1605. Eling  is quite close to the port city of Southampton so we can guess that Giles and Alice embarked on their new life from there. 

Arrival 

It is not known when Giles arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but we know he was in Newbury by 1645, when he contested the will of one Thomas Cromwell. His relationship with Thomas is unknown, possibly an Uncle or a cousin.  Both of Giles' wives were named Alice.  It is very possible that he was the Giles Cromwell, Miller, who married Alice Weeks in Eling, Southampton, England. 



Alice died sometime prior to 1648 when Giles married a second time to Alice Wiseman.

He wrote his will in 1672 and died, after a lifetime of hard work, on 24 Feb 1673.  He was unable to sign his name so he made his mark on the will.  He left his very modest estate to his surviving children, Phillip and Argentine.  That, my friends, is about all we know about Giles Cromwell of Newbury.

Note Jane Cromwell Pickering is also not a relation to Sir Oliver, nor is she related to our Giles, see my article on Jane Cromwell.

Conclusion

  I hope that you agree that other than their name and the fact that they were contemporaries living in the same time period, these two men had very little in common.  One the son of a wealthy, educated man, raised surrounded by Royalty and other persons of importance.  the entire family was zealous in it's loyalty and service  to the crown of England. The other Giles is a miller by trade from another part of the country, who leaves England to become a farmer of modest means in New England.  How anyone could suppose that these men are one and the same is beyond me.  I am quite happy to claim Giles Cromwell, miller and farmer, of Newbury as my ancestor. 

Sources:

P.W. Hasler, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1558-1603, digital images, The History of Parliament (www.http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/research/members/members-1558-1603 : accessed 27 December 2015), member profile for Cromwell, Oliver (?1566-1655), of Godmanchester and Hinchingbrooke, Hunts.).

James Waylen, The House of Cromwell, A Genealogical History of the Family and the Descendants of the Protector, (London : E. Stock, 1897), 14-15, digital images, Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 27 December 2015)

W. D. Sweeting, Fenland Notes and Queries, A Quarterly Antiquarian Journal for the Fenland, In the Counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge Lincoln, Northampton, Norfolk and Suffolk, Vol. 5 (Jan 1901-Oct 1903), 214, digital images, Archive (https://archive.org :accessed 27 December 2015).

Kathy Lynn Emerson, A Who's Who of TudorWomen, http://www.kateemersonhistoricals.com/TudorWomenHi-Hu.htm, accessed 27 December 2015, entry for Anna Hooftman. 

James Waylan, The House of Cromwell and the Story of Dunkirk, (London: Chapman Hall, 1880), 75, digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com : accessed 27 December 2015).

Mark Noble, Memoirs of the Protectorate: House of Cromwell, (London : Pearson & Rollason, 1784), digital image, Google Play (https://books.google.com : accessed 27 December 2015),58.

Hampshire Marriage Licences 1607-1640 by Church of England Diocese of Winchester by Arthur James Willis (1960), p. 68].



John J. Currier, History of Newbury, Mass., 1635-1902, (Boston: Damrell & Upham, 1902),digital images, Archive (http://www.archive.org).

Records and Files of the Quarterly Court of Essex County 



Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol 53, p. 236

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