Amy (Brewster) Weld (1571 - 1608)

Born 1571 in England

Wife of Edmund Weld — married 12 Apr 1585 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England

Descendants

Died 22 Jul 1608 at about age 37 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Darin Neves [send private message] and Jim Manley [send private message]

Biography

Amye Brewster married Edmund WELD, son of John WELD Jr and Dorothy GRISWOLD, on 12 Apr 1585 at St. Peter's, Sudbury, Suffolk, ENG.^[1] Based on the marriage date, she was probably born about 1565 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England, and daughter of William Brewster who died there in 1593.^[1] Amye died after 3 May 1608 at England when the probate of her husband's will took place.^[1]

Children of Amye and Edmund Weld:

1. Daniel
2. John
3. Edmund
4. Mary
5. Thomas
6. Benjamin
7. Joseph
8. James
9. Elizabeth

She was called wife Amye by the will of Edmund WELD dated 5 Dec 1605 at Sudbury, Suffolk, ENG, making her sole executrix and bequeathing her the mansion house where he lived in Sudbury.^[1][2][3]

• Born between 1567 - 71 from different sources.

• Given name is written three different ways in marriage records to ‘’’Edmund Weld’’’, from different sources; ‘’’Amye Derselye’’’, ‘’’Amy Brewster’’’, ‘’’Amy Brewster Clark’’’.

• Diaries and letters of Francis Minot Weld, M.D., Francis Minot Weld (1842-1893), with a sketch of his life, a brief history and genealogy of the family of Weld

• ‘’’Edmund’’’ was a Churchwarden of St. Peter's in 1598 and again in 1603. And was chosen as one of the overseers to assess the parish in 1599. ‘’’Edmund’’’ was the father of ‘’’Daniel’’’ (the schoolmaster), ‘’’Thomas’’’ (the minister), and ‘’’Joseph Weld’’’ (the merchant, and later captain in the militia), all 3 sons emigrated to Roxbury, Massachusetts about 1632-33.

• ‘’’Edmund's’’’ father, ‘’’Thomas’’’ was a linen draper and was licensed to eat flesh during Lent, 1590. this was usually granted to a sick person on a doctor's certificate. ‘’’Thomas Weld’’’, widower, was buried April 8, 1597.

• ‘’’Hannah Johnson’’’ and ‘’’Polly Palmer’’’ with some of their kinsfolk and ‘’’Captain Joseph Weld’’’, born in Sudbury about 1601, emigrated to New England about 1635. His will was probated in Roxbury, MA in 1646. His brother, ‘’’Rev. Thomas Weld’’’, born in 1595, came to New England about 1632, and also another brother, ‘’’Daniel’’’, born in 1586.

• These three brothers were the sons of ‘’’Edmund Weld’’’, ‘’Mercer of Sudbury, Suffolk’’ (b. 1559 - will 1608) and his wife, ‘’’Amy Brewster’’’.

• ‘’’Edmund Weld’’’ and his sisters, ‘’’Mary’’’, b.1561, and ‘’’Prudence’’’, b. 1563, were the children of ‘’’Thomas Weld’’’, ‘’Draper of Sudbury’’, Suffolk, England, and he was born in 1535 and died 1597. The name of his wife is unknown, but she died in 1593.

• ‘’’Thomas Weld’’’ had a brother, ‘’’John’’’, b.1530, a sister ‘’’Margaret’’’, b. 1535, and a sister, ‘’’Margery’’’, b. 1538, whose will was dated 1561. These four were the children of ‘’’John the Elder’’’ of Long Medford County, Suffolk, b. 1505 and whose will was dated 1551. The father of ‘’’John the Elder’’’ was born about 1475.

Disputed Relationships

Amye was NOT a sister of the John DERESLYE mentioned in her husband's will.^[1]

Some websites say she is the half-sister of William Brewster, the Mayflower immigrant. but that William was from Nottinghamshire. No reputable source has been found for this.

"Amy Clark was the daughter of Sir Francis Clark of Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, England, and married there 4 Jun 1584, Edmund Weld. She inherited land in the Houghton Conquest from her father on 19 Jun 1600, land which Edmund and Amy Weld disposed of 15 Sep 1603 to John Bagley, of Manchester. After the death of Edmund, Amy married Sir Charles Blunt, (Knight) (Children are listed)."^[4]

In 1970 John G Hunt published an account of the family of William Brewster of Duncaster in NEHGR Volume 124 p 253 in 1970.^[5] This was a follow-up article to his previously published treatment of this family published in 1965 in TAG Volume 41 p 1-5^[6] In 2014 the General Society of Mayflower Descendants published the latest research on Elder William Brewster and the authors call these two articles the current state of research on this topic.^[7]

William Brewster of Scrooby only had four children: William, John, James and Prudence. This is the family of a very important historical character and it should be as accurate as possible. A whole list of children are getting copied to GENI, Wikitree, Familysearch, Ancestry and Werelate, etc. and there is no evidence to support their existence. We should raise the bar. If we include a name or a profile in the family tree of the only college educated Mayflower Passenger then we had better pony up a solid source to back up that name or profile. John G Hunt lists no children named Millicent (Brewster) Eames, Elizabeth Brewster, Henry Brewster, Edward Brewster, or Amy (Brewster) Weld. As stated above 2014 the General Society of Mayflower Descendants published the latest research on Elder William Brewster and they called these two articles by John G Hunt the current state of research on this topic.^[7] Therefore all profiles of children except for the three outlined by John G Hunt in NEHGR and TAG should be removed.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Douglas Richardson, "New England Weld Family," The American Genealogist, (New Haven CT: D L Jacobus, 1937-), AmericanAncestors.org, Jul 1979, 55:145-6.
2. ↑ Albert Wilcox Savage Jr, The New England Ancestry of Albert Wilcox Savage, Jr, (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press Inc., 1988), p 535
3. ↑ Henry F Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (AmericanAncestors.org: NEHGS, 2001-2018), Oct 1895, 49:496; giving will of Edmond Welde 1605.
4. ↑ Albert Wilcox Savage, New England Ancestry of of Albert Wilcox Savage, Jr, (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press Inc., 1988), p 535.
5. ↑ John G Hunt "The Mother of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower" in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1970) Volume 124 p 250-254 link to article at AmericanAncestors
6. ↑ John G Hunt, "New Light on the Brewsters of Scrooby and New England" in The American Genealogist (Demorest, Habersham, Georgia, United States: D.L. Jacobus, 1965) Vol 41 p 1-5 link
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Merrick, Barbara Lambert, and E. Virginia Hunt. William Brewster of the Mayflower: and his descendants for four generations. (Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2014), p 1-2, 2014. The GSMD "Silver Book"

• Suffolk, England, Extracted Parish Records
• UK, Extracted Probate Records, 1269-1975