Henry
Bright
Born before in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Ancestors 
Son of Henry Bright
and Mary (Woodgate) Cole
Brother of
Mary Bright, Thomas Bright, Elizabeth (Bright) Dell, John Bright, Martha Bright, Stephen Bright, Samuel Bright and Anne Bright
Husband of
Anne (Goldstone) Bright
— married
before 1635 in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Descendants 
Father of
Anna Bright, Abigail (Bright) Odlin, Mary (Bright) Coolidge, John Bright, Hannah (Bright) Ruggles, Elizabeth (Bright) Hastings, Nathaniel Bright Sr. and Beriah (Bright) Fowle
Died
after age 83
in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Profile last modified
| Created 25 Sep 2010
This page has been accessed 3,251 times.
| Henry Bright migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 239) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Contents |
Biography
Henry Bright was baptized at St. James, in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, 29 Dec 1602, son of Henry and Mary (____) Brights.[1]
He emigrated in 1630, initially arriving at Boston, removing to Watertown. He may have made return trips to England in 1631 and returned by 1634.[2]
That he was literate is demonstrated by the deeds and will he signed; his inventory included "a parcel of books very much worn by often using."[3]
- "On 7 November 1634 'It is ordered that Henry Bright shall be set in the bilbowes for swearing' [BRCR 1:133]. On 6 March 1637/8 Henry Bright was presented at court, apparently for 'being in company & drinking more than was convenient,' but was dismissed [MBCR 1:219]"[4]
He married by 1635 Anna Goldstone, daughter of Henry Goldstone of Watertown.[5]
- "He was first referred to as Sergeant Bright on 8 February 1647/8 [WaTR 14], although he may well have held this position earlier, as he was appointed surveyor of arms in Watertown in 1640 [MBCR 1:298]."[6]
- He appears as Sergeant for many years until an 8 Apr 1664 selectman's meeting held at "Deacon Bright's" a title used in records thereafter.
He died 9 Oct 1686 as a result of an injury:
- "Deacon Bright carrying home chairs, &c. used at Mr. Bayly's [ordination], is hurt by his cart none seeing, so that he dies October 9, Saturday. It seems he was the only officer left in that church."[7]
Last Will & Testament
Dated 25 Jan 1680, codicil 25 Oct 1685, proved 13 Nov 1686.[8]
- to my eldest son, John Bright... [much land & property]
- if John die without issue reaching the age of twenty-one, this bequest to go to 'his brother Nathaniel'
- and if he [Nathaniel] and his issue also fail, then to 'my five daughters equally'
- to my daughter-in-law Mary Bright during her widowhood the use of my legacy given to my son John if they did without surviving issue... [implying a son who had died by this time]
- to my son Nathaniell...
- to my daughters Anna and Eliz[abeth] each a silver spoon
- to my daughters Mary, Abigail, Beriah and to my daughter-in-law Mary Bright 10s each to buy a silver spoon
- to my five daughters, viz: Anna Ruggles, Elizabeth Hastings, Mary Coolidge, Abigail Audly, Beriah Fowle...
In his codicil he noted that whereas "since the sealing of this my will, I have disbursed for the settlement of my son Nathaniel Bright more and otherwise than I did then appoint, I do now hereby declare my will that those my outlands which I had some time purposed for his settlement... from my father Goldstone... [and other land]... all these several parcels of land I do will and appoint shall be divided" as follows... [SPR 11:44].
His inventory was valued at L680 of which $519 10s was real estate.[SPR 9:321-23]
Children
- Anna, b abt 1635, bur Watertown 28 Oct 1638, aged 4 years[9]
- Abigail, b Watertown 12 Oct 1637[10]; ;m by 1666 Elisha Odlin (eldest child b Boston 3 Sep 1666)[11], son of John Odlin.
- Mary, b Watertown 23 Apr 1639[12]; m Watertwon 15 Oct 1657 Nathaniel Coolidge[13]
- John, b Watertown 14 May 1641[14]; m Watertown 7 May 675 Mary Barsham[15], dau of William Barsham
- Hannah, b Watertown 17 Mar 1642/3[16]; m Roxbury 26 May 1670 Samuel Ruggles[17]
- Elizabeth b say 1645; m Cambridge 23 July 1674 Walter Hastings[18]
- Nathaniel, b Watertown 5 May 1647[19]; m Watertown 21 Jul 1691 Mary Coolidge[20]
- Beriah, b Watertown 22 Sep 1649[21]; m Charlestown 30 Nov 1671 Isaac Fowle[22]
Notes
- "Bond published an extensive pedigree of the Bright family in England, with voluminous notes [Bond 96-104, 706-18]. ' For materials of this information, we are chiefly indebted to the personal researches of Mr. Somberby, and for the condensation and arrangement of them in the following pages, we are much indebted to Mr. Jonathan R. Bright, of Waltham" [Bond 706].
- "This pedigree places the immigrant as that Henry Bright baptized at St. James, Bury St. Edmunds, 29 Dec 1602, son of Henry Bright and his wife Mary. The crucial evidence in favor of this identification is the will of Elizabeth Dell, widow, who names her brother, "Master Henry Bright, of New England" [Bond 101, 709, 713]. On 20 July "Henry Bright of New England, the natural and lawful brother of Mrs. Elizabeth Dell widow late of Bow in the county of Middlesex in England deceased" gave a receipt to "William Foorth" for L200 which had been his legacy from Elizabeth Dell [SLRR 3:170]. Whereas "by the last will and testament of Elizabeth Dell widow late of Bow, in the county of Middlesex in the Commonwealth of England, deceased, there are certain legacies given unto the children of Henry Bright of Watertown... brother to the said Elizbeth Dell, videlicet to Mary, Abigail, John, Anna, Elizabeth, Nathaniel and Beriah ten pounds apiece... Nathaniell Cooladge of the said Watertown and Mary his wife being one of the daughters of the said Henry Bright..." [SLR 3:286]]. These [and other] receipts, in combination with the wills and other documents presente in Bond, show that the identification is correct."[23]
- "There was at Watertown a second Henry Bright, referred to in the records as Henry Bright Sr or "Old Bright" who may have been related to the immigrant we treat here. He appeared rarely in the records, and was one of the poorest men in town, beng supported by the town in his latter years."[24]
Sources
- ↑ Bond, Henry. Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1855) Bond 99, 709
- ↑ The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. Henry Bright. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/i/12107/239/235173988 GMB, p 239
- ↑ GMB, p 239
- ↑ GMB, p 243
- ↑ SPR 11:44.
- ↑ GMB, p 243
- ↑ Sewall, p 123
- ↑ GMB, p 240-241
- ↑ Watertown VR, p 6
- ↑ Watertown VR, p 5
- ↑ Boston VR, p 101
- ↑ Watertown VR, p 6
- ↑ Watertown VR, p 20
- ↑ Watertown VR, p 40
- ↑ Watertown VR, p 40
- ↑ Watertown VR, p 10
- ↑ GMB p. 242
- ↑ GMB p. 242
- ↑ Watertown VR p 13
- ↑ Watertown VR p 49
- ↑ Watertown VR p 14
- ↑ Charlestown VR, p 1:81; see Eugene Chalmers Fowle, comp., Descendants of George Fowle (1610/11?-1682) of Charlestown, Massachusetts (Boston 1990), pp 18-20, for details on this family.
- ↑ GMB, pp 242-243
- ↑ GMB, p 243
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Featured National Park champion connections: Henry is 12 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 19 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 11 degrees from George Catlin, 14 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 22 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 12 degrees from George Grinnell, 23 degrees from Anton Kröller, 12 degrees from Stephen Mather, 20 degrees from Kara McKean, 13 degrees from John Muir, 13 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 25 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
As well, when the quote passage concerning Bond's work from Anderson's article is re-written, a caution would be in order as regards Somerby. For those not familiar with the Somerby controversy, see the WikiTree page, "Horatio Gates Somerby Fraud."
Anderson called Henry's mother, "Mary _____."
Henry's WikiTree profile calls out a maiden name for this mother. Her profile, sourced only to "Ancestry Family Trees" reports this maiden name and sports parents.
Is there a reason we are not following Anderson as to the mother's identification?
Finally, so many of the various references sport such short names. Were these references actually consulted in the process of developing the biography? If so, then more information about the sources might be provided. Where available, links, including public domain links, would be nice. If they were not consulted, then Anderson should be cited and his source included in the reference.
edited by GeneJ X
Best, Erlon
Ann died at age 4. I left a note for the PM of Anne (Bright-858 Ruggles, asking her to make correction.