Pilgrims from Fordington
The ROSE Family

(Also spelt ROSSE or ROWSE or ROUSE)
©Compiled by Michael Russell OPC for Fordington March 2010


Thomas Rose (born c1591/92) of Fordington Dorset England

Summary

Details are given below of the research carried out into the life of Thomas ROSE who married Anne EAMES in Fordington in 1618, and raised a family there between 1619 and 1631. Although many records both in England and Massachusetts are missing I believe there is a wealth of evidence which supports the contention that the family emigrated to New England with Anne's brother Anthony EAMES in 1634 and settled in Scituate Massachusetts sometime prior to the year 1640.

Marriage to Anne EAMES (c1593/94)
in Fordington 14 Jan 1618/19

The first authoritive record (1 to 3) we have of Thomas ROSE is his marriage in Fordington on the 14th January 1618/19 to Anne EAMES in St Georges Church by Rev Edward PELE who had been rector there since 1616. Fordington’s high street actually continues from that of Dorchester and events in one inevitably spilled over into the other so they have to a large extent a common social history although Fordington tended to house more workers of the land rather than tradesmen as in Dorchester. We are lucky to the extent that the book ‘Fire from Heaven’ written by David Underdown gives an excellent and very vivid account of life in the town as Thomas & Anne would have known it. Their marriage was only 5 years after the disastrous fire of 1613 so they were first hand observers of the Rev John WHITE’s creation of a new godly community in Dorchester. The fire is estimated to have destroyed about 170 houses, about half the town, but only a few houses on the boundary with All Saints were actually in Fordington. John White's schemes for restoration however affected everyone to a greater or lesser extent.

Whilst Thomas and Anne were having their family in Fordington (1619-1634) The charismatic Rev John WHITE, Rector of Holy Trinity and St Peters churches in Dorchester, was preaching to huge congregations there three times a week. By 1631 they were said to number over 1,000 in each church. He was already a highly respected puritan minister who entertained ministers from all around Dorset and even some from the continent. He was not only the prime moving force behind funding the restoration of the town after 1613 but developed numerous self funding schemes for the betterment of the town. He enlisted the support of the Rev Robert CHEEKE master of the Free School since 1595 in his drive to improve education in the town and they became firm friends. In 1617 he was instrumental in Robert Cheeke's appointment as Rector of the third important church in Dorchester, All Saints. Between them they helped form the under school at Trinity; John White deciding on its master. When Robert Cheeke died in 1627 John White steadily steered selection of his replacement finally settling on the appointment on the fiery Rev William BENN. Perhaps more important for our account, in 1624 he convinced 119 people, primarily from the area, to invest in the 'Dorchester Company' including burgesses, JP’s, many Ministers and even the Mayors for 1631 and 1632. Apart from Robert Cheeke another of these investors was the Rev Edward PELE who was of course the rector of St Georges church who had married Thomas & Anne. In those days church was where you heard about all the news and events of the day as they were announced from the pulpit or worked into the sermon all laced with the rectors view. There was a lot going on and there is no doubt that Thomas & Anne would have been well up to date with the drive to establish new settlements in New England.

More specifically what was happening around Thomas and Anne:-
  • Thomas and Anne married on 14 Jan 1618/9. This date is significant as Anne's father Thomas EAMES had died earlier that year on 25 June 1618 and his estate inherited by her older brother John. With her mother having died in 1614, John, who now controlled the family’s finances, would have had a prime interest in seeing his sister well settled and provided for. We now know that her father and brothers John and Anthony were all Yeomen. During the Stuart period social class mattered and with marriage only seven months after her father’s death I can’t see John being happy for her to marry beneath her as this would have reflected upon him as well – so it’s reasonable to presume Thomas was also a Yeoman or at least a husbandman. John’s situation however would have meant that an early marriage was desirable as it relieved him of a heavy responsibility and this appears to be what happened.
  • Anne's brother Richard Eames had married Alice SPRAGUE the elder sister of the 3 Sprague brothers who with the help of the Rev John White had emigrated to New England in 1628. This has significance as well as it was letters back from America that convinced Anthony Eames to go as well. It was an exciting time and there is no reason to suppose that these letters would have had any less impact upon Anne and her husband than on her brother. Yeomen let alone husbandmen in Dorset stood no real chance of owning land or becoming freemen of the town so it was a real chance of stepping up the social scale.
  • During this time Anne’s brother Anthony EAMES was churchwarden of St Georges church (1622, 1627, 1631), Constable of Fordington (1630), close friend of the Rev Edward PELE and as churchwarden & constable knew John WHITE well and actually participated in his vision by emigrating to New England in 1634.  This is also a significant date as we can’t locate anything else about Thomas & Anne ROSE and their surviving children after 1631 and it raises the distinct possibility that they went with them but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

The Family of Thomas & Anne ROSE
Born in Fordington 1619-1631

Bishops Transcripts for St George's church Fordington record the baptism of four children (and the burial of two of them) as shown below. There is a long gap between the baptism of Lydia ROSE on 5th March 1625/26 and that of Thomas ROSE junior baptised on 23 January 1630/31. Baptisms for the year 1629 are however missing and the pattern of births suggests that another child may have been born to them during that year. Burials are also missing for that year and 1632 but if there was a child and it survived there may have been three rather than two children in the family when they emigrated in c1634.


15th Century Baptismal Font St Georges Church
  • The baptism by the Rev Edward PELE of their 1st child Thomas ROSE on 19 Dec 1619
  • The baptism by the Rev Edward PELE of their 2nd child Hannah ROSE on 22 Oct 1622 [Anne’s brother Anthony EAMES signed this return as churchwarden]
  • The baptism by the Rev Edward PELE of their 3rd child Lydia ROSE on 5 Mar 1625/26
  • The burial by the Rev Robert TURCHIN (curate) of Thomas ROSE [junior] on 7 April 1628
  • The baptism by the Rev Robert TURCHIN (curate) of their 4th child Thomas ROSE on 23 January 1630/31
  • The burial by the Rev Robert TURCHIN (curate) of Lydia ROSE on 12 April 1631 [Anne’s brother Anthony EAMES signed this return as churchwarden]
At the very least we have a consistent record of the family in Fordington until 1631. Anne's other brother John also became churchwarden of St George’s church in 1635 as did in later years Edward the son of her brother Richard EAMES. This family and its social background can give us confidence that all children would have been baptised whilst they were in England. Where we can’t find baptisms it is because the records themselves have not survived. Baptisms are complete from their marriage to 1640 with the exception of the years 1629, 1632, 1634 and 1636 so the absence of more children born to Thomas & Anne ROSE or the death of any other members of the family may be an indicator that they left Fordington.

Emigration

As Thomas & Anne ROSE and their family disappear from Fordington after 1631, and there is strong evidence of a family of that name being in Scituate MA before 1640 I am reasonably confident that they emigrated with Anne's brother Antony EAMES and his family on the 'Recovery of London' which set sail from Weymouth on 31st March 1634, arriving in Charlestown in about July of that year.

Although some further research is needed (See Genealogical Notes 4 & 5 below) there is no obvious sign that they moved elsewhere in England. The evidence that Anthony EAMES emigrated on the 'Recovery of London' comes from one of the port books of the Kings Remembrancer held at the National Archives in Kew. These were locally created records of customs duties paid. We are lucky in that they normally did not record passengers at all but one book [Ref E/190/875/8] specifically names 26 planters sailing to New England in 1634 (one of which is Anthony Eames) with a note that they had been allowed to export ‘diverse sorts of household stuff, apparel & other provisions’ to the value of £960 6s 8d, free of duty. The names listed would be the head of each family group who had satisfied the port official regarding duty not a definitive list of those on board. It is always possible that they sailed to New England on a different ship but despite research no evidence has come to light to this effect(6).

New England

We know that Anthony EAMES and his family landed initially at Charlestown in what is now called Massachusetts and quickly reestablished contact with the three Sprague brothers. For example Anthony signed the 'Selectmen Government Agreement' along with Richard and William SPRAGUE on 10th February 1634/35. His daughter Millicent also married the youngest brother William SPRAGUE in Charlestown on 26th May 1635 and Margery EAMES, Anthony's wife was admitted to the church there 13 days later. William and Millicent had their first child Anthony Sprague baptised in Charlestown on 2nd September 1635 before Anthony and his son-in-law moved to live in Hingham where he was granted land. From the outset Anthony appears to have been one of the foremost citizens of Hingham. He was admitted a 'Freeman', on 9th March 1636/7, was frequently a town officer, and represented the town in the general court in the years 1637 to 1639 and 1643 to 1644. He had sufficient means to invest in a Corn Mill with two partners and in 1638 was elected Lieutenant of the Hingham Train Band [Militia] and Captain in 1645. A few years after difficulties arose over his appointment as Captain, Anthony and his son Mark EAMES moved (on the 10th Feb 1651) to live in Marshfield Hills where they bought a house and 100 acres of land lying on the North River where the family remained for many generations.

From published works in America we seem to have at least 3 generations of a Thomas ROSE located in the same area with descendants of both families continuing to live in the same towns:-.

The earliest references seem to point to an immigrant called Thomas Rose of Scituate and Marshfield (7) who was one of the original settlers of a tract of fertile land 2 miles in length and one in breadth called 'Two Miles' granted to Scituate in the year 1640 (8 & 9). If the Thomas Rose in Fordington went with Anthony Eames as suspected he would have arrived in Charlestown in July 1634 a time when large numbers were beginning to arrive from England. Most of the settlers especially yeomen and husbandmen wanted to establish their own smallholding's, and own rather than rent the land as they had in England. New towns were being established and its not surprising to find Anthony Eames along with his son-in-law William Sprague moving to Hingham in 1636 where they were granted land on the lower plain which would have been more fertile for planting. Its reasonable to suppose that Thomas Rose would have looked to do the same. Scituate is located midway between Hingham and Marshfield a distance of approx 12 miles and easy walking distance by standards of the day. Following the impeachment of John Winthrop in 1645 and the problems he experienced in Hingham, Anthony Eames and his son Mark decided in 1651 to move again and it is interesting that they chose to buy 100 acres of land at Marshfield, which is about the same distance but on the other side of Scituate.

Many (although not all) of the original settlers who first arrived in Scituate in 1628 are known, as are those who received grants of land when the town was formally laid out under a court order in 1633 and a further distribution made in 1634 (10). As we might expect Thomas Rose is not among them only appearing in 1640 when he was granted land at 'Two Miles'. These settlers were said to worship in the south parish and the loss of the church registers may account for the lack of more precise baptisms, marriages and deaths in Scituate during these early years. (9 &11) Among them may have been the burials of Thomas & Anne Rose and the baptism/burial of more children.

If this is Thomas Rose from Fordington what about his known children Thomas & Hannah?

Regarding their son Thomas ROSE junior

There is also reference to a Thomas Rose being in Two Miles in 1660 who had a son Thomas Rose (where the son is specifically referred to as 'of the third generation') (12). We do know a little more about them. First the father had a brother John Rose who lived at Marshfield and died whilst gunning on the beach (verdict perished by the severity of the weather) in the year 1676. Its just possible that he might have been born in Fordington in 1629 in which case he would have been 47. This demonstrates that the Rose family were in both Marshfield and Scituate. Thomas married twice and his death is recorded as 2 May 1710 in Scituate (13). This is most useful as it clearly cannot be Thomas Rose (1st generation) as he would have been about 119, but a reasonable age for Thomas Rose (2nd generation) as 79. We know nothing about Thomas Rose's first wife other than the fact that she gave him a son John who was killed at the battle of Rehoboth in 1676 (12 & 18 ). This is a particularly important piece of information as we know Thomas (2nd generation) also lived in Scituate in 1660 and accounts of this battle are detailed. The train band in which he served with 17 other men from Scituate(19) was under the command of Captain Michael Pierce(14) (also killed) who had married Persis Eames the daughter of Anthony and Margery Eames in Scituate c1645 and raised a large family there. So the Eames family were also in Scituate. Thomas Rose may have had other children by his first marriage as we only know about John because of his involvement in the battle.

The battle of Rehoboth was on 26th March 1676 at Pawtucket and is followed by an account of another raid by the Indians (20 ) this time at Hingham on the 19th May 1676 when John Jacobs of Glad Tidings the son of John Jacobs senior and Margery Eames another daughter of Anthony EAMES’s was slain. The following day there was a major attack on Scituate and at the foot of the page reference is made to the Indians attacking the principal garrison there at Charles Stockbridge’s House. Charles Stockbridge married Abigail Eames the youngest daughter of Anthony EAMES about 1657 and they had 6 children in Scituate.

Thomas married for a second time and for much of this information i am grateful to the Pane-Joyce genealogy. The exact date is not known but the Scituate Town records have "Thomas Roose was to Alise Hatch the" and the date is missing. In a modern hand has been added December "1665" or perhaps 1666, the last figure being doubtful. Another hand has added "wid Jonas Pickles".(14) Alice Hatch was baptised back in England in Tenterden Kent on 25 Sep 1636 and came to New England with her parents and many others(9). She married Jonas Pickles in Scituate on 23 Dec 1657(12 &15) and had five children by him between 1658 and 1663(16). Jonas died between 15 Dec 1664 and 27 Sep 1665 in Scituate. When Thomas Rose married Alice Pickles he removed to her residence in Scituate and made a covenant with the minor children of Jonas Pickles 'that if God give him children he will give his estate equally to those children and to the children of Jonas Pickles(17).

There is an article written about this family to which I currently do not have access, and it needs to be checked as it is quoted as a source and may contain additional information [Christine Rose, “Immigrant Thomas Rose of Scituate and Marshfield MAu,” The American Genealogist, 63 (1988): 96-101.] .

Thomas Rose and Alice Pickles (nee Hatch) had the following six children(13):-
    Thomas Rose 10 Sep 1666; Thomas lived near his father, fifty rods south west, on the same side of the way(12)
    Patient Rose 31 Mar 1668;
    Hannah Rose 23 May 1669. On 22 Oct 1695 when Hannah was 26, she married Ezekial Main by whom she had 9 children. Hannah died in Stonington, CT, on 19 Jul 1724; she was 55
    Jeremiah Rose b circa 1675(17) in 1698 he married Elizabeth Collamore daughter of Captain Anthony Collamore and Sarah chittenden by whom he had 4 children (Thomas b 23 Aug 1699 died young; Gideon b 8 may 1701; Elizabeth b 13 Sep 1703 died 4 Sep 1787) & Thomas b 10 Mar 1706/7) Jeremiah died 23 Feb 1709/10 Scituate and Elizabeth 18 Jan 1758 Scituate.
    Jabez Rose. He had an illegitimate child by Abigail Standlake c1700 named Jabez Stanley before marriage to Mary Bryant on 6 May 1707 in Scituate by whom he had a daughter Mary born posthumously 7 Feb 1707/8. Jabez died on 23 Oct 1707 in Scituate
    Mary Rose b c1674 married 20 Dec 1694 to John Palmer by whom she had 8 children between 1695-1716.
Regarding their daughter Hannah ROSE.

A Thomas Wilder is said to have married Hannah Eames another daughter of Anthony Eames in Charlestown c1640, but the records that survive do not give her surname. So far no evidence has emerged of a Hannah Eames ever being born to Anthony and Margery Eames. (See genealogical note 32 on his biography). Hannah Rose's childhood friend Elizabeth Eames however, who certainly was a daughter of Anthony & Margery Eames and of a similar age to Hannah, married Edward Wilder of Hingham (the brother of Thomas Wilder) & raised 11 children there. There is a possibility, and no more than that at this stage, that confusion has arisen with Hannah Rose because of their close family relationship as Hannah Rose was baptised at the right time, grew up with Elizabeth Eames, Hannah's mother was Anthony Eames sister, and Hannah would have been in Charlestown from c1634. If she did marry Thomas Wilder in 1640 perhaps this had something to do with Thomas Rose's appearance in Scituate that year.
Based on the information that has so far come to light we already have a consistent record of close association between the family of a Thomas Rose in Scituate & Marshfield with Anthony Eames and his children of Charlestown, Hingham, Marshfield and Scituate.

Genealogical Notes on Research in England:-

[Last updated April 2012]

 (1). BACKGROUND RESEARCH: A full scan of all records so far transcribed for Fordington and Dorchester was carried out (March 2010) resulting in the following list of entries. The first two for the years 1406 and 1418, appear to relate to owners of property and being 200 years before Thomas Rose there is no indication that they relate to his family.

The next two entries however relate to an Avis ROSE of Fordington who is quite likely to be a close relative of Thomas, perhaps his sister. On the 18th March 1615/16 she is described as, a single woman,and was bound over in the sum of £20 by Sir Francis Ashley, one of the local JP's, to the next quarter sessions to give evidence against Mary WHITE the wife of a husbandman John WHITE of Fordington. This date is contemporary with when Thomas Rose, the subject of this account, was in Fordington and Avis seems to be associating with people from the same social class as Thomas. We know Avis ROSE married in the parish of Holy Trinity in Dorchester on the 17th September 1617 to a James LUKES [or LUCAS] . They lived however in Fordington and had a child, Mary LUCAS, baptised there on the 13 June 1619. Unfortunately James died and was buried in Fordington on 30 May 1620, followed by Avis on 31 May 1627, and their daughter Mary seven months later on 15 Dec 1627. The death of the entire family makes it difficult to be sure, but appearing in the records when and where she did, coupled with the absence of any other people with the same surname in the records at this date, makes it likely that she was related to Thomas Rose.

Whilst others may be related there is currently insufficient information to prove a link beyond reasonable doubt so the information so far collected is simply recorded for future reference. As transcriptions are continuing to be made for Fordington & Dorchester we may find out more about these individuals in due course.
  • 1406, 20 July A Thomas Gardyner granted a tenement to a William ROSE and his heirs in Dorchester See Charters 133 & 134
  • 1418, 17 Jan 1418 a Robert ROSER released all right to a tenement in Dorchester See Charter 303
  • 1614, Christian the daughter of Henry ROSE was baptised at Melcombe Regis 20th Nov 1614
  • 1615/16, 18 Mar Avis ROSE of Fordington, single woman, bound over in the sum of £20. Bound to appear at the next Sessions to give evidence against Mary WHITE, wife of John WHITE of Fordington, husbandman. Source:- The casebook of Sir Frances Ashley JP Recorder of Dorchester 1614-1635
  • 1617, 15 Sep in Holy Trinity Church Dorchester marriage of James LUCKES & Avis ROSE were married
  • 1619, Margaret daughter of Henry ROSE baptised 27th May 1619 at melcombe Regis
  • 1631, William ROSE and Alice MOULIM were married at melcombe Regis 5th may 1631
  • 1633, 24 June in Holy Trinity Church Dorchester marriage of Nicholas ROSE & Ann VINCENT
  • 1634, Henry ROSE and Dorothy CADe were married at melcombe Regis 27th Nov 1634
  • 1638, 01 Apr in Melcombe Regis William son of William and Alice ROSE baptised
  • 1662, 30 Mar In All Saints Dorchester Nicholas ROSSE [i.e. ROSE] buried
  • 1675/76 , 23 Jan Agnes ROSE widow was buried all Saints Dorchester
  • 1677, 25 July in All Saints church Dorchester : William RIALL of Lillington co Dorset & Ellinor ROSE of Abbotsburie (Abbotsbury)
  • 1689, 7 May at Holy Trinity George son of Mr Thomas Rose baptised [Note:- See link to Dr Thomas ROSE MD (1650/1-1700) for more comments about this family]
  • 1689, 12 July Will of Anne Rose, Spinster of Dorchester, Dorset proved Prerogative Court of Canterbury
  • 1691, 12 Nov Mary ye daughter of Dr Thomas ROSE baptised [Note:- See link to Dr Thomas ROSE MD (1650/1-1700) for more comments about this family]
  • 1693, 22 Jun Elizabeth ye daughter of Dr Thomas Rose baptised Holy Trinity [Note:- See link to Dr Thomas ROSE MD (1650/1-1700) for more comments about this family]
  • 1693, 22 Aug Mortgage Thomas ROSE of Bridport, mariner DHC D/FRY/47
  • 1694, 30 Mar Elizabeth ye wife of Thomas Rose Dr of Physick buried Holy Trinity [Note:- See link to Dr Thomas ROSE MD (1650/1-1700) for more comments about this family]
  • 1695, 1 Sep 1695 Thomas ROSE MD became 3rd husband of Katherine nee HURDING in Dorchester See 1677 Visitation of Dorset page 36 [Note:- See link to Dr Thomas ROSE MD (1650/1-1700) for more comments about this family]
  • 1697, 27 Jun The son of Thomas ROSE was buried All Saints Dorchester
  • 1697/98 , 04 Feb Jane the wife of John ROSSE [i.e. ROSE] was buried All Saints Dorchester [Note a John Rose was buried at HT on 30 jan 1703/4 ]
  • 1701, 20 Oct Will of Thomas Rose, Doctor in Physic of Dorchester, Dorset [Note:- See link to Dr Thomas ROSE MD (1650/1-1700) for more comments about this family]
  • 1703/4 - 30 Jan John Rose buried Holy Trinity [Note:- Jane wife of a John Rose nuried at All Saints 4th Feb 1697/8]
  • 1705, 18 Jul Thomas ROSE Property as in DHC D/FRY/43-44 Thomas Rose has received £10 as part of £50; £40 still remaining to be paid
  • 1705, 28 Sep Eleanor Rose widow buried Holy Trinity
  • 1708, 05 Dec Ann Rose widow buried Holy Trinity
  • 1709, 17 Nov Mrs Catharine Rose buried Holy Trinity. Will proved 23 Dec of Katherine Rose, Widow of Dorchester, Dorset proved Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Note we know the wife of Thomas Rose died 1701 as there is the following monumental inscription in Holy Trinity the church: - On the south wall near the east end was a mural monument of white marble: - "To the pious memory of Dorothy TURNER, widow late of this town. She died 9 Nov 1718, aged in years but much more in piety and virtue. Near this place also lies the body of Katherine ROSE widow of Thomas ROSE late of this town MD. They were the only surviving sisters and co-heirs of John HURDING on Longbredy in this county Esq. by whose death that ancient and religious family was extinct. [Note:- See link to Dr Thomas ROSE MD (1650/1-1700) for more comments about this family] This whole family were Gentlemen and a social class well above our Thomas Rose and I cant locate a direct link to out Thomas & anne so I have not pursued any further.
  • 1711, 20 Jul Will of George Rose of Dorchester, Dorset proved PCC 11/522
  • 1720, 18 Aug Richard Rose & Mary Tuexbury married Holy Trinity Dorchester
  • 1721, 28 Jun John s of Richard & Mary ROSE christened All Saints church Dorchester
  • 1723, 12 Jul Indenture regarding George ROSE gentleman deceased Trinity College, Cambridge
  • 1724, Overseer Accounts for the years 1724, 1726 to 1729 (the only years transcribed) show a Dr ROSE's Mills being assessed for rates
  • 1725, 14 Apr Elizabeth d of Richard & Mary ROSE christened All Saints church Dorchester
  • 1727, 19 Apr Mary d of Richard & Mary ROES [ROSE] christened All Saints church Dorchester
  • 1731, 22 Dec Ref to lease from Churchill ROSE Esq in a settlement examination for Ralph Bulpin dated 19 Dec 1740
  • 1752, 29 Mar Churchill ROSE of Netherbury, and his sister Anna Maria, lease for a year tenement and burgage in Dorchester to James Ayling DHC  D/RGB/KF59  
  • 1758, Stephen POPE & Mary ROSE married 14-Sep by licence St Georges church Fordington
  • 1760, John GUNDRY Gentleman & Elizabeth ROSE married 06-Jan 1760 by license Holy Trinity church Dorchester
  • 1774, Thomas BUDDEN of Fordington & Jane ROSE married 21-Sep 1773 Holy Trinity church Dorchester
  • 1803, Richard ROSE of All Saints & Sarah NORRIS married 02-May 1803 Holy Trinity Dorchester
  • 1805, Henry MACK of Fordington & Mary ROSE married All Saints church Dorchester (lived at the turnpike gate hence "Max Gate" 17 Sept
  • 1806, Henry SMITH of Chidcock & Sarah ROSE 23 March married All Saints church Dorchester
  • 1816, Nov 22 – John ROSE age 50 of South Back Street buried Holy Trinity Dorchester
  • 1834, August 17 William SPRAKE otp X his mark & Elizabeth BEALE X her mark otp were married by Banns by Henry Moule: Witnesses : John LEGG & Elizabeth ROSE
  • 1836, 1 Oct, George ROSE Record of Seamans Service
  • 1875, 8 May Eva Louisa daughter of George William & Julia ROSE baptised abode High street occupation farmer
  • 1885, Charlotte ROSE of Cannings Court Farm, Dorchester: will 1885 proved 1885 DHC D/TCW/F24  1747-1887
  • 1888, 28 June Leonard ROSE Record of Seamans Service
  • 1889, 7 May Edwin ROSE Record of Seamans Service
  • 1968, 1 May Certificate for burial or cremation of Daisy ROSE aged 49, who died at Dorchester DHC PE/WCL/IN/1/2/10  
(2). RESEARCH CONVENTIONS : - Before taking research further it was necessary to set out some sensible search parameters. The absence of many of the original records makes it inevitable that sooner or later we have to estimate the birth year. A lack of professional approach often leads us all astray but in compiling a report there has to be an acceptable convention. The problem can be seen clearly with Church of Latter Day Saints (CLDS) member records for Thomas and Anne. If you search the IGI for Thomas Rose using a birth date of 1590, a variance of 20 years either side of that, British isles, England, and Dorset you are presented with a listing of 57 records for the whole of Dorset during 1570 to 1610. Every one of these relates to a member entry (i.e. not a CLDS extraction programme) for our Thomas and Anne Rose and they have estimated birth dates ranging from 1584 to 1601. This is clearly not acceptable from an analysis point of view so for this report I have developed the following convention which is specific to this location and time period. Where year of birth is unknown it has been estimated (identified by use of the letter 'c' for circa before the year) as being 27 years old for a man and 25 years old for a woman. These are averages applying to the Tudor period (1485-1603) for England. See the 'History Today' website under 'Courtship in Tudor England' and many others. It continued however during the House of Stuart (1603-1714). The ' Oxford Illustrated History of Britain' states regarding the Stuart Period" In all social groups, marriage was usually deferred until both partners were in their mid twenties and the wife only had twelve to fifteen childbearing years before her. The reason for this pattern of late marriage seems to be the firm convention that the couple save up enough money to launch themselves as an independent household before they wed. For the better off, this frequently meant university, legal training, an apprenticeship of seven years or more; for the less well off a long term of domestic service, living in with all found but little in the way of cash wages. I have tested these average ages for marriage against the few cases where we know the baptism and marriage dates of people in the family. Anthony Eames children are a good example. John of course died aged 22 still unmarried. Anthony’s daughter Persis was 24, Elizabeth 27, Justus was 34 and Margery 23. Other marriages seem to also hold true. Anthony's brother John bap 1586/7 married about 1619 when he was 32, more important it was the year after he inherited his father’s estate and became financially secure. Conversely Richards’s son Edward Eames was only 20 when he married, but he was an only child and his father had died 4 years earlier so again married when financially secure. It seems a reasonable basis therefore to estimate their birth year. birth of Thomas Rose as circa 1591/92and that of his wife Anne Eames as circa 1593/94. In the case of Anne this is much earlier than I have previously thought and will mean some re-evaluation of my biography on Anthony Eames family. To place a reasonable limitation on searches for death records I have used 100 years from known or estimated birth.

(3). ANCESTRAL RESEARCH:-
There is a reasonable chance that Thomas Rose was born in Fordington but most records from around this period have not survived. Some fragments do, but are very badly water damaged making transcription a nightmare. No suitable record has been identified. The closest parishes to Fordington are in Dorchester and the records for All Saints and St Peters only survive from 1653 leaving a very big hole in our most promising area of research. Those for Holy Trinity Dorchester however do go back to 1559 but still await a major transcription project. These records which reside at the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester do need to be checked as they represent the best hope of locating something. Widening the search to the whole of Dorset does not reveal any baptisms in the IGI (from an extraction programme) for an Avis or Thomas ROSE within 20 years either side of his estimated birth year. Wiltshire County Archives hold a larger number of Wills etc for ROSE families. I did locate a Will for a Thomas ROSE, a yeoman, at Tisbury near Shaftsbury dated 1613, and an administration bond and inventory for a Thomas Rose husbandman dated 1619 located in Donhead St Andrew also near Shaftsbury and other wills for this family, but Tisbury is 30 miles away and we have no indication as to what his fathers name actually was or that this is might be where they came from. ROSE is a common surname in England so baptisms can be found in other counties around this date but we need some indication of where the family originated to make further research worthwhile.

(4). Although it does not seem likely Thomas & Anne could have simply moved away from Fordington about the same time that Anthony emigrated so I looked for them being elsewhere. The problem we have here is that both Thomas and Anne were very popular names in England and the IGI for example lists 24 baptisms in the range 1621 to 1641 when we might have expected more children. Some can be eliminated as they form part of families where the earliest children were being born when we know Thomas & Anne were in Fordington (e.g. like those in Great Waltham Essex) but others would take research to be sure. All I can say is that none seem likely to be them and there is no evidence to show that they would have suddenly upped sticks and moved to these areas of the country. An added problem is that during this part of the 17th Century many if not most registers are exactly like those in Fordington i.e. they only record the father’s Christian & Surname. The CLDS search programme does not allow a search for unknown children of a single parent and this is far more likely to be the majority of entries. If Thomas & Anne did remain in England a better approach might be to look for their deaths see (5) below.

(5).WILLS SEARCH for Thomas & Anne ROSE in England: In case they did not emigrate but moved elsewhere in England a search was made for Wills and Administration Orders for both a Thomas and an Ann(e) ROSE at the National and Wiltshire Archives & Dorset History Center which holds wills for the Archdeaconry court of Dorset during the period 1631 (last known date in England) and 1692 (estimated date to be 100 years old). It is always difficult to know how much research to undertake to prove a negative as it can be a bit of a bottomless pit; the most promising however are detailed below and they should be obtained and researched to make sure these relate to the families with the ROSE surname already residing in those parishes and not our family from Fordington.
  • Thomas ROSE Fisherman of Corfe castle deceased Inventory of his goods & Chattles 24 Jun 1639 DHC Ref No: Cc/W; Event Record No: 270. (Image avialbale Ancestry.com)
  • Thomas ROSE Yeoman of Sturminster Newton Dorset Will: 11 Mar 1660 National Archives Ref 11/288
  • Thomas ROSE Marbler of Corfe castle Will:26 Apr 1661; Bequests:- Elias Benville Seaman; grandson Benjamin Rose; Ann wife & exectutrix; friends Anthony Ffursman and Robert Browne his son-in-law overseers proved 2nd Oct 1661: DHC Ref No: Cc/W; Event Record No: 299. (Image avialbale Ancestry.com)
  • Thomas ROSE Tanner of Sturminster Newton Inventory: 11 Sep 1662; 2 of the appraisers Richard & Thomas Rose £85.14.6d: DHC Ref No.Bc/I/R; Event Record N0: 97.
  • Thomas ROSE Turner of Wimborne Minster Dorset Will: 28 May 1666 National Archives Ref 11/320
  • Thomas ROSE Yeoman of Wimborne Minster Dorset Will: 10 Jun 1671 National Archives Ref 11/336
  • Thomas ROSE unknown profession of Bishops Canning Dorset Administration Bond and Inventory Wiltshire Archives Ref P24/787
(6). EMIGRATION : -
A great deal of painstaking research has been done in America to try and come up with a list of people that are known, or it is thought highly likely, to have made the trip. They have tried to identify ships, recording the date they sailed, port of embarkation and place of disembarkation. Ships passenger lists are rare in the 17th century so they have added names from other records. Some relate to point of embarkation but people listed are often just the head of the family group, or because they were often compiled weeks prior to actual sailing date some may not have boarded and others joined before departure. Remember a ship might wait a month or more for the right winds or currents to depart. Others have been listed as they are mentioned in personal diaries or people appear in early records closely associated with the arrival of new settlers such as the granting of land or becoming a freeman of the town or admission to a church. As such these records are far from perfect and often mean different genealogists have stated that the same ancestor arrived on different boats. They are what they are but remain a valuable source of information.

One such on line listing is:- http://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
This does list a Thomas ROSE as emigrating to Virginia on the ‘Jonathan’. The source given is a publication: - “John Camden Hotten: London, 1874. Reprint by Empire State Book Co., New York. Publish date guessed to be in the 1940's. (In Lady Anne's library)”. This book lists Musters of the Inhabitants in Virginia 1624/1625 (chapters, pages 201 thru 265), which lists the muster captain, and what ship the individual arrived on. The entry for Thomas ROSE states “aged 35 at muster, Mulberie Island, servant to Capt William Pierce”. This gives a potential birth date for this Thomas Rose of 1589/90, too close to our estimate for the birth of the Thomas Rose in Fordington of 1591/92 to be ignored.

 With regard to the ship he sailed upon i.e. the ‘Jonathan’ it states “Coldham reports the ‘Jonathan’ was sent by the Virginia Company in February1620 with 200 persons, pg 22”. On the website it shows a date range of 1609-1620 which I don’t quite understand and gives port of embarkation as Plymouth and destination as Boston. This sort of thing worries me. As far as I know Boston did not exist in 1620 let alone 1609 so presumably it’s another generalisation for that part of the coast but where did it come from and what led them to that conclusion? I have not researched the Virginia Company, although I know some invested in it from Dorchester pre John Whites exploits, but if the boat was commissioned by the Virginia Company why go to Boston?

Although the birth dates are close if we return to the known facts about Thomas Rose in Fordington I can’t really see how he could have been in Virginia in 1620 to 1624/5 and raising a family in Fordington as well. It is strange however that he should be listed as the servant of Capt William Pierce given some of my comments in the next section about a Michael Pierce of Scituate.

I recommend therefore further research in America by a competent researcher to try and ascertain what happened to Thomas Rose of Virginia, who exactly William Pierce was, and more definite details about the voyages of the’ Jonathan’ to see whether this adds to the picture. I do not have the time to follow this up but you need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he is not associated with the Thomas Rose in Massachusetts, as seems likely to be the case.

There are lots of publications in America about passenger lists to which I do not have access. One example might be “Ship Passenger Lists – National and New England 1600-1825 which might enlighten us on what ground has already been covered and they all need to be scanned for Thomas Rose to see whether they add anything to our knowledge base.

Genealogical Notes on Research in America:-

 (7). From the American genealogist Vol 63 No. 2 (April 1988) 96-101:- "Immigrant Thomas Rose of Scituate & Marshfield MA".

(8). From Memorials of Marshfield by Marcia Thomas - Boston 1854:- "On the present westerly bounds of the township is a tract of fertile land 2 miles in length and one in breadth called 'Two Miles'. This was granted to Scituate in 1640 and in 1788 annexed to Marshfield. It was settled by Richard Sylvester, Robert Sproat, Thomas Rose & the descendants of Walter son of elder William Hatch of Scituate".

(9). From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel Deane On page 7: Talking about the grant of 1640 for ‘Two Miles’ it states “The territory extended two miles on the river and one mile back. Its bounds might now be easily ascertained, Pembroke Line being the southerly boundary and the ‘Ford Farm’ the northerly. A committee appointed by the Court (Mr Hatherly, Edward Foster, and Humphrey Turner) laid out the lands. Among the early settlers were Robert Sprout, Thomas Rose, Richard Sylvester, and some of the Hatch family.  It also states 'that the people of' two mile' generally belonged to the south parish and attended worship there'.

(10). From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel Deane On Page 8 it gives the origins of the settlement at Scituate naming some of the men in possession of land there before 1628. They are said mainly to come from Kent in England. It also makes clear that the main expansion in people came in 1633 when the village was properly laid out by order of the Court. A second allocation of land was made at Scituate in 1634 with the issues resolved by the granting of "Two miles" being settled in 1640.

(11). From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel Deane Page 30 gives the history of the north parish of Scituate and page 34 the south parish and at the start on page 30 states the “earliest parish registers have been lost”

(12).From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel Deane On pages 332 and 333 notes are provided specifically on Thomas Rose where it states;-
    Was in Two Mile in 1660. He also had a brother John in Marshfield, 'who died in 1676, gunning on the beach (Verdict) perished by severity of the weather. He (i.e. Thomas) had a son John who was one of the slain in the Rehoboth battle 1676. Thomas Rose married a 2nd wife, Alice the widow of Jonas Pickles in 1666, and removed to Scituate proper. At which time we see on record a Covenant with the heirs of John Pickles “that if God give him children he will give his estate equally to those children and the children of Jonas Pickles”. He had a son Thomas, (of the third generation removed to Dighton) who lived near him fifty rods south west on the same side of the way. He had a son Gideon born 1702 (who married Lidia Turner 1723) whose son Gideon lived near the north end of Jordan lane where Laban, his son, deceased 1816. Thomas senior had a son Gideon whose sons:-
    • Jabez left a son Jabez born 1707
    • Jeremiah married Elizabeth daughter of Captain Anthony Collamore 1698 and deceased 1699 leaving one son Thomas whose prosperity are in Hanover. Elizabeth the widow married Timothy Symmes.
(13). Vital Records of Scituate, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, NEHGS, Boston, 1909, two volumes.

(14). From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel Deane On page 119 Michael Pierce of Scituate was elected Lieutenant in 1666 and made Captain of the Train Band in 1669.

(15). “Scituate Births, marriages, and deaths,” transcribed by George Ernest Bowman, Mayflower Descendant, various volumes.

(16) Jonas Pickles and Alice Hatch had the following children : Jonas Pickles bap 5 Feb 1658/9 died young bef 1663; marcy Pickles bap 28 Dec 1660; Nathan Pickles bap 28 Jan 1661; Lydia Pickles bap 10 Apr 1662; and Jonas Pickles bap 10 mar 1663 died before 1664.

(17). L. Vernon Briggs, History and Genealogy of the Briggs Family, 1254-1937, 1938, Three volumes

(18). From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel DeaneOn Page 122 & 123 it gives an account of the battle on 26th March 1676 at Pawtucket led by Michael Pierce

(19). From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel DeaneOn Page 124 it interestingly names all those slain at Pawtucket. This includes 18 from Scituate including Michael Pierce and John ROWSE (ROSE) the son of Thomas Rose (2nd generation).

(20). From 'The History of Scituate MA from its first settlement to 1831' by Samuel DeaneOn Page 125


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