Thomas Symes (1617 - 1669)

Born Mar 1617 in Pitminster, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Amy (Bridges) Symes — married 3 Jun 1640 in Keynsham, Somerset, England

Descendants

Died 22 Jan 1669 at age 51 in Winterbourne, Gloucestershire, England

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Biography

Third and youngest son of John Symes (1573-1661), esquire, of Poundisford Lodge in Pitminster Parish, by his wife Amy Horner Symes (d. 1638),^[1] daughter of Thomas Horner (1547-1612), esquire, lord of Cloford Manor, by his second wife Jane Popham Horner (d. 1591). He was baptized at Pitminster, March 22, 1616/17.^[2] Thomas married on June 3, 1640 at St John the Baptist Church in Keynsham, Somerset, to Amy Bridges (1621-1662),^[3] daughter of Edward Bridges (d. 1639), esquire, of Keynsham, by his wife Philippa Speke Bridges (d. 1628). A parish register for Winterbourne shows that Thomas Symes "hath given unto the church the summe of 20 shillings for a pew or seate (formerly Mr Williams') in the sayde church." On March 20, 1658 he witnessed the will of Thomas Buck, lord of Winterbourne manor, and in the will of Buck's widow Elizabeth, dated February 25, 1660, "my good friends Mr Thomas Symes & his wife" were each left a mourning ring in remembrance. In 1662 Thomas and his brother Henry Symes assigned the manor of Middlezoy to William Strode of Newnham. In the collection of the Gloucestershire Archives at Clarence Row, Alvin Street in Gloucester, is a volume labeled 'The Guise Family and Its Gloucestershire Properties' [reference no. D326/F1], an account book containing the estate and domestic memoranda of Thomas Symes of Winterbourne, including details of his children's births, his children's education at the 'College School' [later known as the King's School, Gloucester], expenditures and provisions for his children, hearth tax payments, royal aid, etc. from 1663-1670. The collection continues with an account of the estate's next proprietor, William Guise (1648-1716) and his son Henry (1678-1749).

Burial at Winterbourne

He was buried in the family vault beneath the chancel of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel at Winterbourne, Gloucestershire. The Symes monument includes this inscription to his memory:

Here also lyes the Body of Thomas Symes, of this Parish, Esqr. Son of John Symes, of Ponsford in the County of Somerset, Esqr. who deceased the 22 day of January 1669[/70], Aged 48 Years.

On the monument are these Arms: Azure, three escallops in pale or (Symes), impaling, Argent, on a cross sable a leopard's face or (Bridges).^[4]

Symes Monumental Inscription at Winterbourne

Sources

1. ↑ Frederic Thomas Colby, ed. The Visitation of the County of Somerset in the Year 1623. Harleian Society Publication, Volume 11. London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1876. Symes Pedigree, p. 110.
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812. Pitminster, Somerset. Baptism of Thomas Simes, 31 Mar 1617.
3. ↑ "England, Somerset, Church Records, 1501-1999", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6DMG-BMXQ : 10 August 2022), Thomas Simmes, 1640.
4. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2K-P5XH : 14 June 2022), Thomas Symes, 1668/69; Burial, Winterbourne, South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority, Gloucestershire, England, St. Michael the Archangel Churchyard; citing record ID 77809495, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. This profile was initially created on 7 Oct 2011 and sponsored by Todd Whitesides.