General
James
Cudworth
Born before in Aller, Langport, Somerset, England
Ancestors 
Son of Ralph Cudworth
and Mary (Machell) Stoughton
Brother of
Elizabeth (Cudworth) Beacham, Ralph Cudworth, Mary Cudworth, Jane Cudworth and John Cudworth Esq.
Husband of
Mary (Parker) Cudworth
— married
1 Feb 1634 in Northam, Devon, England
Descendants 
Father of
James Cudworth, Mary (Cudworth) Whitcomb, Johnathan Cudworth, Israel Cudworth, Joanna Cudworth, Son Cudworth and Jonathan Cudworth
Died about
after about age 69
in London, England
Profile managers:
Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree 
[send private message], Magna Carta Project WikiTree [send private message], and David Drabold [send private message]
[send private message], Magna Carta Project WikiTree [send private message], and David Drabold [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 28 Aug 2009
This page has been accessed 7,909 times.
| James Cudworth migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 2, p. 249) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
| No Magna Carta Trail This profile does not meet the requirements of the Magna Carta project but is managed by the project to ensure the integrity of the profiles that do. See text for details. Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta |
Contents |
Biography
Birth and Baptism
James Cudworth was baptized at Aller, Somerset, England, 2 Aug 1612.[1][2][3] He was the son and heir of Rev. Ralph Cudworth, D.D., Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge (d.1624). His mother was Mary Machell, who had been a nurse to Prince Henry, eldest son of King James I.
Family Connections
James Cudworth's step-father John Stoughton succeeded James's father Ralph Cudworth as Rector of Aller and married Ralph's widow (James's mother). Two of John Stoughton's brothers, Thomas and Israel Stoughton, were early immigrants to Massachusetts, part of Governor Winthrop's fleet in 1630. Perhaps this influenced James Cudworth's decision to immigrate to New England. Israel Stoughton's son William was later the chief magistrate at the Salem Witch Trials.
James's brother Ralph Cudworth was the leader of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Platonists "Cambridge Platonists". Brother Ralph's father-in-law was Matthew Cradock, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company (who never actually went to America).
Marriage
"The parish register of Northam, Devonshire, contains the record of a marriage between James Cudworth and Mary Parker on 1 February 1633/4. There are many reasons to think that this record applies to the immigrant. First, the timing would be just right. The date would be just ahead of the sailing season for passenger vessels, and would confirm that Cudworth came to New England in 1634, and not in 1632 as some have thought. Second, this marriage occurs fifteen months before the birth of the first known child of this couple, an appropriate interval. Third, Northam is close to Barnstaple, one of the outports from which many West Countrymen departed for New England. Fourth, there is no other record for the surname Cudworth in the Northam parish register."[4]
Death
Late in life, James Cudworth returned to England on a mission to the king, for Plymouth Colony, to obtain a patent giving formal authorization for the colony's government. [2] He is believed to have died in England sometime between September 15, 1681, the date of his will, and the date of inventory, June 20, 1682. The will was proved on July 7, 1682. His death was believed to have been from smallpox and due to practices of the 17th century regarding the burial of smallpox victims, his body may have been disposed of rather than having been formally buried.[5][2]
There is a memorial stone for James Cudworth at the "Men of Kent Cemetery" in Scituate. [6]
Will
"In his will, dated 15 September 1681 and proved 7 July 1682, 'James Cudworth Sr. of Scituate' ordered that his estate was to be 'equally divided amongst my children into six parts or portions, my eldest son James Cudworth, he to have a double share, wiht what he hath already received'; to 'my son Israell' one sixth-part; to 'my son Jonathan' one-sixth part; to 'my daughter Marey's four children Israel Whetcomme, Robert, James and Mary,' one-sixth share equally divided; to 'my daughter Joannah Jones' one-sixth part; 'Israel Whetcome and Robert Whetcome and James' to receive their shares at age 21, and 'Mary Whetcome at the aged afoesaid, or date of marriage'; 'my sons [to] enjoy and possess all my lands, the eldest son James two-thirds, Israell and Jonathan each of them one-third'; 'what the moveables fall short of making good Joannah's portion and the four grandchildrens' portions' to be paid out of the sons' estates; 'my three sons James, Israell and Jonathan' joint executors."[7]
"Major" James Cudworth's inventory in Scituate was taken on 20 June 1682.[8]
Further Reading
- There is a Wikipedia Article] on James Cudworth (colonist)
- Accounts of his Military Activities is in Soldiers in King Philip's War by George Madison Bodge
Sources
- ↑ "Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812," database with images, Ancestry.com; baptism record for "James Cudworth the sonn of Mr Raph Cudworth," 2 Aug 1612, Aller, Somerset, England; citing Reference Number: D\P\all/2/1/1; South West Heritage Trust, Taunton, England
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F, pp. 249 - 258
- ↑ 'Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Vol II, pages 11-12
- ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F (2008), p. 255.
- ↑ Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691 (Salt Lake City: 1986), p. 275
- ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/239057266/james-cudworth : accessed 9 June 2022), memorial page for General James Cudworth (1615–1682), Find A Grave: Memorial #239057266 citing Men of Kent Cemetery, Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by CMWJR (contributor 50059520) .
- ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L97D-V3D4 : 15 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 541 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
- ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-V3QK : 15 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 542 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
- Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F (2008) pp. 249-258.
- Royal Ancestry of James Cudworth, Gent., (died 1682), of Scituate and Barnstable, Massachusetts [contains a broken lineage with incorrect parents for Cudworth's mother Mary Machell].
- NEHGR 14 (1860): 101–104 (letter of James Cudworth dated 1634 names his cousin, [Zachariah] Symmes, of Charlestown, Massachusetts).
- The pioneers of Massachusetts, a descriptive list, drawn from records of the colonies, towns and churches and other contemporaneous documents by Pope, Charles Henry, 1841-1918 Published 1900
- Scott genealogy : [descendants of John Scott of Roxbury ... by Holman, Mary Lovering, 1868-1947 Published 1919: 259–262.
- Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, (2011), Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Royal Ancestry series, 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), volume II, page 11-12, [Major] James Cudworth [contains a broken lineage with incorrect parents for Cudworth's mother Mary Machell]. WorldCat: Find in a Library
- Pratt, Early Planters of Scituate (1929): 210–235.
- Calder & Cudworth, Recs. of the Cudworth Fam. (1974).
- Spear, Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John 1630 18 (1992): 39–43.
Acknowledgements
Magna Carta Project
- James Cudworth is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, pages xxiii-xxix) in a Richardson-documented trail to Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod (vol. II, pages 8-12 CUDWORTH). This trail, set forth in the Magna Carta Trails section of his mother's profile, is disputed and uncertain. There is, though, another possible route from James to Magna Carta Surety Baron ancestry.
- The issues turn on who were the parents of James's mother Mary Machell. For details of the debate, see this G2G discussion. A possible - but not proven - alternative for the ancestry of James Cudworth's mother includes descents from several Magna Carta barons. See his mother'sprofile for more information.
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DNA
No known carriers of James's DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
No known carriers of James's DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
- Is James Cudworth a false gateway ancestor? Feb 27, 2018.
Australian Connections: James is 17 degrees from Cate Blanchett, 22 degrees from Russell Crowe, 17 degrees from Howard Florey, 23 degrees from Dawn Fraser, 28 degrees from Cathy Freeman, 22 degrees from Barry Humphries, 18 degrees from Bert Jacka, 24 degrees from Hugh Jackman, 19 degrees from Bertram Mackennal, 18 degrees from Rupert Murdoch, 15 degrees from Banjo Paterson and 13 degrees from Henry Ross on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
Categories: Gateway Ancestors | King Philip's War | Puritan Great Migration
It is noted that Elizabeth (Cudworth) Beacham, Cudworth-184 had three daughters. They would be compared to a separate research on the two possible mothers of Mary Matchell.
I am afraid that MtDNA would not help until a large amount of traditional genealogical research had been done.
At the moment we do not know if there are any living matrilineal descendants of Elizabeth (Cudworth) Beaucham or the two candidates for Mary Machell's mother. That would need to be securely established by traditional genealogy methods. On WikiTree itself, we have no profiles for daughters of any of these three people.
Even if living matrilineal descendants can be securely identified for all three, and they take MtDNA tests, the relatively unchanging nature of MtDNA over long periods of time may make it difficult to use MtDNA to solve the puzzle of who was Mary Machell's mother. It is conceivable that MtDNA would suggest ruling one out, but that is far from certain.
edited by Michael Cayley
That said...Roberts does not list his sources so his works are not considered as reliable as others. We'd also need to see the Debretts research. Do you have a copy you can share or a link?
Please also see what is said in the Acknowledgements section on this profile.
As Traci has indicated, we would not regard Gary Boyd Roberts as a particularly reliable source. We would not cite Debrett's Ancestry as a source for James Cudworth's parents without seeing what their evidence was. As far as I am aware, there is no dispute about who James Cudworth's own parents were.
edited by Michael Cayley
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Pre-1700_Resource_Page https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Pre-1700_Profiles
Looking forward to your contributions!
Quite right. The page has been edited by a number of people recently. It needs a careful review. I guess I am waiting to see where the chips fall on the current "discussions".