Ralph Partridge (abt. 1579 - abt. 1658)

Born about 12 Apr 1579 in Sutton-by-Dover, Kent, England

Husband of Patience (Bathurst) Partridge — married 24 Jan 1608 in All Saints, Chillenden, Kent, England

Descendants

Died about Apr 1658 at about age 78 in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony

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Ralph Partridge migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 255) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

It has been believed over many years that Ralph Partridge, the son of Thomas Partridge, was baptized on April 12, 1579, at Sutton Valence, Kent, England.^[1]

However, the original parish record of the baptism event refers to a Rodolphus or Redolphus Partridge, baptised on 11 Apr 1579; although some later transcriptions from this single entry have read the date either as 10, 11 or 12 April. It is believed unlikely that this baptism relates to Ralph Partridge, since Rodolphus is more likely a Latinisation of the name Rudolph or Randolph; and Ralph has a brother Randolph who remained in Kent, England until his death, to whom these baptism records seem to apply.^[2][3][4] This infers that, whilst we know the baptism date for Randolph Partridge, that for Ralph Partridge has either been lost or not yet discovered. It is known that he is the son of Thomas Partridge; but without knowing his age or date of baptism, we cannot determine whether he was born to Thomas's first wife Joan, or his second wife, the widower Joanna Burford.

Ralph married Patience Bathurst at All Saints, Chillenden, Kent, England on 24 Jan 1608/09^[5][6].

Ralph had been a minister of the Church of England and had arrived at Boston on November 17, 1636.^[7][8] He moved to Duxbury in 1637. There was a George Partridge in Duxbury at the same time that Ralph Partridge lived there, but there is no relationship between the two, Partridge being a relatively common English surname.^[9] Rev. Partridge was the first minister of the church at Duxbury, Massachusetts in 1637.^[10] He served there until he died there about April 1658 (between 25 Mar 1658 and 4 May 4 1658).^[11] The commonly cited alternate death date of September 29, 1655, has probably been calculated based on the date of his will.^[12], with 9 days added to correct for old-style dating. Rev. Partridge was so well-respected that the noted Cotton Mather wrote about him in "Magnalia".^[13]

In his Will dated 29 September 1655, Ralph mentioned the following relatives: his daughter Elizabeth Thacher, her eldest son Thomas Thacher, her second son Richard Thacher, her youngest son Peter Thacher, and her eldest daughter Patricia Kemp; his eldest daughter Mary, wife of John Marshall and her sons Robert and John; his deceased wife Patience; his sister Elizabeth Tidge.^[14][15] His inventory "taken this 25. 2nd 1658" had numerous books, and was exhibited to the Court of Plymouth on 4 May 1658.^[15]

Sources

1. ↑ Leslie Mahler "The English Ancestry of Patience (Bathurst) Partridge, Wife of Rev. Ralph Partridge of Duxbury, Massachusetts." The American Genealogist (TAG), Vol 86, No 2, Jul-Oct 2012 (published Dec 2013) p 91. View with NEHGS membership
2. ↑ Kent History & Library Centre / Kent Baptisms 1576-1657, ref. P360/1/A/1 (includes the original handwritten Parish Record) St. Mary the Virgin, Sutton Valence, Kent / 11 April 1579 baptism of Rodolphus Partridge, father's name "Thome" [="Thomas"]; note that "Rodolphus" is likely the Latin transcription of either Rudolph or Randolph;
3. ↑ England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975, Parish Baptisms (transcription only) Sutton Valence, Kent / 12 Apr 1579 baptism of Rodolphus Partridge, father Thomas Partridge;
4. ↑ Kent Baptisms / Sutton Valence Baptisms 1576-1889 (transcription only) St. Mary the Virgin, Sutton Valence, Kent / 10 Apr 1579 baptism of Redolphus Partridge, son of Thomas;
5. ↑ Canterbury Cathedral Archives ref. U3/156/1/1 pp.11-12, Kent Marriages & Banns 1559-1755 / All Saints Church, Chillenden, Kent / 24 Jan 1608 marriage of Raphe [= "Ralph"] Partridge, clerk, minister of Sutton, Kent; and Patience Bathurst, residence Chillenden, Kent;
6. ↑ England Marriages 1538–1973 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NNC2-8LZ : 10 February 2018), Raphe Partridge and Patience Bathurst, 24 Jan 1608/09; citing Chillenden, Kent, England, index based upon data collected by Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,751,813;
7. ↑ Banks, Charles Edward. The Planters of the Commonwealth. (1930): pages 179-180.
8. ↑ Winthrop, John; James savage ed. Winthrop's Journal: The History of New England from 1630 to 1649, volume 1. (Boston, 1825): page 205.
9. ↑ Winsor, Justin. History of the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts (Crosby & Nichols, Boston, 1849), p. 67, 171. OpenLibrary
10. ↑ History of Duxbury p. 171
11. ↑ These dates are based on information from the History of Duxbury, p. 173: "1658. The church suffered a sad bereavement in the death of their beloved pastor, which occurred in the present year. And here it seems best to follow, the words of Secretary Morton, who, in recording his death in his Memorial, thus mentions him: 'Mr. Ralph Partridge died in a good old Age, having for the space of fourty years dispensed the Word of God with very little impediment by sickness.' " In the 1600s, the new year began on March 25th, so the earliest he could have died was March 25, the first day of 1658; the latest was the date his will was proved, May 4th, 1658.
12. ↑ History of Duxbury, p. 177: "Mr. Partridge's will bears date Sept. 20th, 1655..."
13. ↑ Mather, Cotton. Magnalia Christi Americana: Or, The Ecclesiastical History of New-England; from Its First Planting, in the Year 1620, Unto the Year of Our Lord 1698. In Seven Books (Hartford: S. Andrus and Son, 1855). Page 404.
14. ↑ Winsor, Justin. Abstracts of the Earliest Wills in the Probate Office, Plymouth, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., Oct 1851). Vol 5, page 387.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897D-VS6Z : 6 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 187 of 616; State Archives, Boston. Page 67-74.

• Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society (Massachusetts Historical Society, 1795) Vol. 4, Page 111
• Venn, John Archibald, Comp. Alumni Cantabrigienses (Cambridge University Press, 1924) Vol 3, page 316.
• Totten, John R. The Laying of Two Genealogical Ghosts, by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume 35, No. 2, pp. 101-107. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, April 1904.