Person Page 443

WILLIAM EDDYE, VICAR OF CRANBROOK, CHURCH OF ST. DUNSTAN, the "Cathedral in the Weald", Cranbrook, County Kent, England. Earliest recorded and confirmed ancestor of the Eddy family line.

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Son, husband, father, grandfather, cleric, family patriarch. Born in 1560~* to unknown mother and Thomas Eddye~* (b. 1542~* in Bristol, d. 1578~*) at Bristol, England. No known siblings. Died at Cranbrook, County Kent, England in 1616. Actual burial site lost - most likely buried under the church Chancel as was tradition, or if in the church yard, marked by a wooden marker or cross that has been lost to time.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:
~*William's birth year, father's name, father's birth and death years HAVE NOT BEEN VERIFIED. Until it is verified and confirmed by the Eddy Family Association that Thomas Eddye was indeed William Eddye's father, William Eddye, Vicar of Cranbrook, officially remains the earliest known Eddy ancestor.

William Eddye enlisted as a "Sizar" at Trinity Hall, at the University of Cambridge, and received a B.A. degree in 1583. After graduation, William moved a short distance to Thurston Parish in County Suffolk, where he occupied the church position of "Curate" from about 1583 to about 1586. During this period he was enrolled at Trinity College, at the University of Cambridge and in 1586 received the degree of "Magister in Artibus" (Master of Arts).

On Nov 20, 1587 married (#1) Mary Fosten (d. Jul 1611), daughter of Ellen (Munn) and John Fosten. Sired eleven children (all born in England):
(1) Nathanaell* (or Nathaniel) (bapt. 1589 at Staplehurst, d. bfr. 1611).
(2) Mary (Marie) (bapt. 1591) <- m. Siemon (or Simon) Evernden. Children: Simeon (or Simon), Katherine, Robert.
(3) Phinias (bapt. 1593, d. bfr. 1641) <- m. Katherine Courthropp (d. bfr. 1639). Children: Peter (d. 1619), Anne, Margaret, Susanna, Abigail (d. btwn 12/1639-6/1641). Phinias moved to Portsmouth England. m. Christian (of unknown surname) sometime before December 1639.
(4) John** (bapt. 1597) <-immigrated to America on ship "Handmaid" at about age 33, landed at Plymouth (Plymouth Colony) on Oct 29, 1630 (O.S.). In genealogy records referred to as "John Eddy of Watertown". Children born in England: John (bapt. 1622, d. @ 8 mos), John [#2]* (bapt. 1624), Mary (bapt. 1625), Sarah. Children born in America: Pilgrim (b. 1634, d. young), Pilgrim [#2], John [#3]* (b. 1636/37), Benjamin (bur. 1639), Samuel (b. 1640), Ruth, Abigail (b. 1643, d. bfr. 1677).
(5) Eleanor "Ellen" (bapt. 1599, d. 1610).
(6) Abigail (bapt. 1601) <-m. John Benjamin. Bore eight children: John, Abigail, Samuel (b. 1628, d. 1669), Mary (d. 1646), Joseph (b. 1633), Joshua (d. 1684), Caleb (d. 1684), Abel (b. unkn). Immigrated with her husband and family to America in 1632 aboard the ship "Lion", sailing from Bristol England to Boston, Massachusetts - settled in Watertown, Massachusetts.
(7) Anna (or Anne) (bapt. 1603) <-m. Barnabas Wines (or Windes). Bore five children: Anna (b. abt. 1633), Barnabas (b. abt. 1636), Sarah (b. abt. 1640), Samuel (b. abt. 1645, d. 1728/29), Prudence (b. abt. 1650). Immigrated to America with her husband and family, date unknown, settled in Watertown, Massachusetts.
(8) Elizabeth (bapt. 1606, d. aft. 1617).
(9) Samuel** (b. 1608, bapt. 1608, d. 1687). <-immigrated to America on ship "Handmaid" at about age 22, landed at Plymouth (Plymouth Colony) on Oct 29, 1630 (O.S.). In genealogy records possibly referred to as "Samuel the Pilgrim". Married Elizabeth (most likely) Savery (or Savory). Sired nine children in Plymouth: John^^ (b. 1637, d. 1715) known as "John Eddy of Tisbury/Martha's Vineyard", married Hephzibah Doggett^^^ (or Daggett) (d. 1726) in 1658 at Watertown, Zachariah (b. 1639, d. 1718), Caleb (b. 1643), Obadiah (b. 1645), Hannah (b. 1647), and four children of unknown birth dates and unknown birth order: Elizabeth, Samuel, Ebenezer, and Joshua. Samuel and wife Elizabeth were both buried in the Eddy Cemetery, Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts.
(10) Zacharias (bapt. 1610, d. aft. 1616) <- speculation: may have immigrated to New England from Boxed England in 1639. Marriage unknown, children unknown.
(11) Nathaniel* (bapt. 1611, d. 1611).

Unless Zacharias married and had sons, - which there is no record of - there are no descendants of William, bearing the surname of Eddy, except those who trace back to either John (#4 above) or Samuel (#9 above).

On January 12, 1591, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Eddye was appointed the Vicar of Cranbrook by the head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Whitgift.

William's wife Mary (Fosten) died in July 1611, possibly at the birth of Nathaniel #2.

On Feb 22, 1613/14 O.S. at Cranbrook, County Kent, married (#2) Sarah Tayler (or Taylor) (last will dated Aug 1, 1637, proved Feb 5 1639/40 O.S.), who came to the marriage with at least two sons. Sired one child with Sarah:
(1) Priscilla (bapt. 1614, d. btw. October 1617-1637).

Under the rein of King James I, William died Nov 23, 1616 O.S. in Cranbrook, County Kent, England.

*See NOTE 1 below.

**See NOTE 2 below.

--NOTE 1--

Note that during this period of time it was not uncommon to find two or more children in a family with the same given name. To differentiate one child from another they would, in many cases, expand the given name as in "John the Elder" and "John the Younger", or assign a suffix as in "Henry I" and "Henry II". In all cases it was likely that if an earlier born child with the given name died, a later-born child might be given the same name - as is the case in John Eddy's family, with three sons named after him.

--NOTE 2--

Two of William's sons, John and Samuel, are the patriarchs of the largest clan of North American Eddy's. Other large Eddy clans - those descendants related to John Eddy of Taunton, and desendants related to John Eddy of Woodbridge (NJ) are spread across the United States and Canada. It has been established by DNA testing (as of April 2010) that the other two clans are not related in any way to William Eddye (see Note 3)

--NOTE 3--

REGARDING THE SPELLING OF THE EDDY SURNAME:
According to the Eddy Family Association's "Eddy Family in America". William Eddye was the earliest known recorded ancestor of this "Eddy" family line. Vicar Eddye spelled his name with the "ye" ending during his lifetime and in his last will and testament, however he used the "ie" ending for the spelling of his children's surname in his will (as "Eddie"). The "Eddye" spelling was supposedly carried into the next generation, but at some point the ending "e" was dropped resulting in "Eddy".

For the descendants of Vicar Eddye, "Eddy" has become the officially correct spelling within the greater English-rooted Eddy family line, and is used exclusively in all official references to family lineage for William's descendants. The spelling of Vicar Eddye's surname is an exception. In reality, family grave markers and monuments in the U.S., Canada, and England may, and do, include variations of the spelling of the surname "Eddy".

Other variations possibly used by Vicar Eddye's descendants: "Eddie", "Eedey", "Edey", "Edy", "Eddey", "Ady" and "Adye".

The Eddy Family Association has dozens of volumes on the Eddy's in America, and a fine discussion of the Eddy surname's origin in their books and online at: http://www.eddyfamilyassociation.com/ . Wikipedia also has an article on the Eddy surname at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddy_(surname)

Relationship to this memorial's creator: 9x Maternal Great Grandfather

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IF you find any problems with the facts or dates presented here, please bring them to the attention of the creator of this memorial for further research.
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