Notes
Note N4182
Index
BiographyBiography
Birth
Born: About 1593 (say 1585-1595).
No exact birth date has ever been found for Alice Freeman. The date of about 1593 is an estimate based solely on the fact that she was married by 1613 and had her first child born in 1614. See notes on errors below.
Marriages and Children
Married: 1st - John Tompson of Little Preston in the parish of Preston Capes, co. Northampton about 1614 which is the estimated birth date of their first child. He had been previously married to an unknown wife by whom he had one son, John Tompson. On 11 April 1616, John Tompson and Alice his wife jointly purchased a moiety of the manor of Saxby.[1] [2] This is the earliest actual record of Alice Freeman. He died 6 November 1626 in London. [2]
Married: 2nd - Robert Parke, as his second wife, shortly after 30 May 1644, possibly in Roxbury, Massachusetts. On this date, a curious order was entered by the clerk of the House of Deputies into the records of the General Court: [3]
The peticõn of Robert Parke is graunted by ye whole Courte, and hath libtye to pceed in marriage wth Alice Tompson wthout furthr publishẽ.
No actual record of the marriage has been found, and the location is uncertain. See notes on errors below.
Children of John Tompson by an unknown 1st wife: [4]
John Tompson - was named as son and heir in the IPM of his father which also makes clear that Alice Freeman was not his mother. Though heir to his father he did not receive the manor of Saxby as it had been entailed to the heirs of his father by Alice Freeman; Saxby went to his younger half-brother Thomas Tompson. The IPM gives his birth date as 1 October 1610. [2]
Children of John Tompson and Alice Freeman:[4] [5]
Margaret Tompson. Born about 1614. Apparently oldest child and likely born before August 1614 when the parish records at Preston Capes begin. [5] She married Robert Peake, son of Boniface and Joan (Clarke) Peake, on 31 July 1634 at Cranford St. John, Northamptonshire. [6]
Thomas Tompson - was named in the IPM of his father specifically as the son of John and Alice. The IPM gives his birth date as 23 December 1616. [2] He was baptized on the same date at Preston Capes, Northamptonshire. [5] He did not travel to New England with his mother and sisters. In several records he is called Thomas Tompson of London, fishmonger. He inherited from his parents a moiety of the manor of Saxby, co. Leicester which was originally purchased for £650 by John and Alice Tompson on 1 April 1616 with a remainder interest to the heirs of John by his wife Alice.[1] Saxby was originally leased at the time of the 1616 sale to Richard Trist of Mayford for a term of 40 years. This lease was then transferred to Rev. William Spencer by Richard Trist and Thomas Tompson on 23 September 1639. [7] [8] In May of 1641 all remaining lands in Saxby were leased to William Spencer by Thomas Tompson for the term of 99 years.[9] Finally, William Spencer assigned this lease and Thomas Tompson outright sold all interest to Robert Richardson of Coston for the sum £700. [10] Thomas Tompson is last noted living on 2 December 1643, but was dead prior to 27 January 1646 when his brother Samuel, executor of the will of Thomas Tompson of London fishmonger, was in an agreement of general release with Robert Richardson.[11] On 10 October 1646, a case was settled between Robert Parke and Alice his wife of Wetherfield, in New England and Robert Richardson over the land and the advowson of Saxby, with a quitclaim by Robert Parke and his wife to Robert Richardson. [12]
Samuel Tompson - bp. 25 May 1618 at Preston Capes. [13] [5]This baptism was not found/missed in the original research on the family, so this son is usually not the list of children of John and Alice Tompson. He married Elizabeth Dayrell at Shalstone, Bucks on 27 Feb 1639. They had one known child Elizabeth baptised at Preston Capes on 19 Aug 1641. He was the executor of his brother’s will prior to 27 January 1646. In it he is called Samuel Tompson of Preston Parva in parish of Preston Capes, co. Northampton, gent. Like his older brother, he did not travel to New England with his mother.
Mary Tompson - baptized 14 November 1619 at Preston Capes. Married Joseph Wise on 3 December 1641,and had 12 children. She died 4 August 1693 at Roxbury.
Dorothy Tompson - baptized 2 July 1621 at Preston Capes; buried 19 October 1621.
Bridgett Tompson - baptized 11 September 1622 at Preston Capes. She married Capt. George Denison in March 1640 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Almost immediately after their marriage, letters of attorney were sent to London to collect the inheritance of her father. They had two children, Sarah and Hannah, both baptized at Roxbury. Bridget died of ‘fever and consumption’ and was buried at Roxbury in August 1643.
Dority Tompson - baptized 5 July 1624 at Preston Capes. She married Thomas Parke, the son of her step-father Robert Parke by his first marriage to Martha Chaplin
Nathaniel Tompson - baptized 16 October 1625 at Preston Capes.
Martha Tompson - baptized 17 December 1626 at Preston Capes.
Death
Died: Between 2 June 1652 and 14 May 1660.
Precise death dates have been attributed to Alice Freeman in trusted secondary sources; however, they have been shown to be incorrect. [14] She is last known living when she witnessed a deed in New London, Connecticut on 2 June 1652.[15] She was almost certainly dead when her husband Robert Parke did not mention her in his will on 14 May 1660. [16][17] See notes on errors below.
Commentary and Notes
Her brother Thomas Freeman of Cranford, gent. left a will dated 14 August 1637, codicil dated 23 August 1637 and proved September 1637. [5] In it, he names a large number of family members. This includes his "sister Tompson" and her children Samuel, Nathaniel, Mary, Bridget, Dorothy and Martha; "Thomas Tompson my sisters sonne;" "my kinsman Robert Peake of Achurch" (husband of Margaret Tompson); "my loving brother in lawe William Spenser."
Alice Freeman was a second cousin of Gov. George Wyllys of Connecticut, she being a granddaughter of Ursula Coles and he a grandson of Amy Coles. In 1644, Gov. Wyllys wrote a letter to his son George which outlines some of the family connections: [18]
The bearer hereof is mr Parke of Weathersfield he borrowed 12ii of me his going hence & is to pay it to you in London, he married my Cosin Thompson, & his sonne Thomas hath married hir Daughter dorothy Tompson. He is come over to receave his sonnes wives pcon & to take some order for what is belonging to his wife when he comes to you or you meete with him I pray you use him very kindly. . . he hath assured a good Estate of Land in wethersfield unto his sonne Thomas & my Cosin dorothy his wife & their heires more than hir pcon deserveth & hath dealt very lovingly wth his wife in what he hath disoposed unto her, acquaint my cosin Spencer herewth I pray you by letter who is to pay the pcon if you see him not in London, & comend me & my wife unto my Cosin Spencer & his wife & tell him I request him to use him kindly & dispatch his business wth as soon as may be for his spedier returne.
Disproved Royal Ancestry
A Royal Ancestry was developed and published for Alice Freeman to John, king of England. This was repeated in multiple secondary sources.[14] This line has been broken in two places. First, it has been shown that Joan de Harley, wife of John de Besford, was not a daughter of Sir Robert de Harley by his wife Joan Corbet. [19] [20] Second, Margaret ferch Llewelyn is no longer considered a granddaughter of John, king of England.
(NOTE: Alice does descend from the Saxon King of England Ethelred II - "The Unready." Gary Boyd Roberts has incorporated this line into his works. One can also assemble it by linking sections of the following lines from Weis, "Ancestral Roots," 8th Edition: 43A, 43, 42, 41, 34.)