Anthony Eames (abt. 1592 - 1686)

Born about 1592 in Fordington, Dorset, England

Husband of Margery (Unknown) Eames — married 1614 in Fordington, Dorset, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 6 Oct 1686 at about age 94 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Plymouth Colony

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Anthony Eames migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 2, p. 387) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Anthony Eames was born in Dorset, England.

Anthony Eames was born circa 1592 at Fordington, Dorset, England, the son of Thomas and Millicent (_______) Eames.^[1]

In Dorchester the Reverend John White (1575-1648), the rector of both Holy Trinity and St Peters, was inspired by this new adventure and started raising capital, enlisting the support of influential people and recruiting Puritans to move to New England. The Rev John White was so successful he raised many recruits locally and, although not generally used to embark emigrants as much as other ports like London, Plymouth and Bristol, he also started to commission ships to leave from Weymouth.

In 1630 the Rev John White organized another major emigration of 140 people from Somerset, Dorset , Devon, and specifically the towns of Dorchester, Bridport, Crewkerne and Exeter. They set sail from Plymouth on 20th March 1630 on board the Mary & John and arrived at Nantasket Point, (now called Dorchester) in Massachusetts. Family names said to have been included on this voyage and originating from Dorchester/Fordington were “ Dyer, Filer, Ford, Holman, Rockwell, Sandford, Terry, Upsall and Way”.

In 1633 they were followed by Anthony Eames, Church Warden of Fordington who set sail with his family including his daughter Millicent, the betrothed wife of William Sprague. They left from Weymouth in "The Recovery of London" and there appear to have been 26 families on board carrying with them “household goods, clothing and provisions for themselves, their wives, children and servants”.

Anthony Eames is shown to have embarked on the ship “Recovery” [also referred to as the ‘Recovery of London’] which sailed from Weymouth on 31st March 1633 for New England. We can be confident about the authenticity of this entry as the information comes from the Records of the Exchequer held at the National Archives at Kew in London [Ref: PRO:E190/875/8]. These were the “Port Books” completed by the Kings Remembrancer and they recorded the head of each group that embarked(36). Anthony Eames name appears on roll 20. The Master of the vessel was Gabriel Cornish, and his passengers were recorded as ‘Planters carrying with them household goods, clothing and provisions for themselves, their wives, children and servants, valued at £920 and allowed to pass free of customs by His Majesty's patent [Ref Coldham pg 107].

Departed Weymouth, England aboard the 'Recovery of London' on March 31, 1633/4, Gabriel CORNISH, master.

Lived at Fordington, St. George, Devon to 1631; Charlestown, MA 1634; Hingham, MA 1636; and Marshfield, MA 1653. Freeman Mar 9, 1636/7; Church warden at Fordington 1622,1627 and 1631; deputy to General Court 1637, 1638, 1643, 1653, 1658, and 1661 at Marshfield, MA; Capt. in militia 1644-1645. Anthony Eames was a proprietor of Charlestown MA in 1634. Two years later he moved to Hingham MA and in 1650 he moved to Marshfield MA.

Anthony, Hingham 1636, the same yr. had a house-lot granted him on Lower Plain ; was a deputy 1637, 1638, and 1643 ; frequently a town officer, and involved in the military difficulties of 1644-1645.^[2][3]

Anthony Eames is listed as one of the freemen in Marshfield, about the year 1658. ^[4]

Died on Oct 6 1686 in Marshfield, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay

Children

The children of Anthony and Margaret (_______) Eames, all born in England:^[1]

1. Millicent Eames b. say 1615; m. by 1635 William Sprague
2. Mark Eames b. say 1617; m. Hingham 26 May 1648 Elizabeth _____
3. John Eames bp Fordington 24 Jan 1618[/19]; d. Hingham 29 Nov 1641
4. Persis Eames bp Fordington 28 Oct 1621; m. by 1645 Michael Pierce
5. Elizabeth Eames bp Fordington 13 Jun 1624; m. by about 1651 Edward Wilder
6. Justus Eames bp Fordington 29 April 1627; m. Marshfield 2 May 1661 Mehitable Chillingsworth
7. Margery Eames bp Fordington 5 Dec 1630; m. Hingham 20 Oct 1653 John Jacob

• Perhaps Abigail the wife of Charles Stockbridge but this is only one of the possibilities.^[1] More information is on her profile; in summary the husband of Persis Eames (Michael Pierce) in his will called Charles Stockbridge "my brother". Charles' wife's first name was Abigail, so one possibility is that Charles Stockbridge and Michael Pierce were brothers-in-law through their marriage to the Eames sisters, Abigail and Persis.

Research Notes

From: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~fordingtondorset/genealogy/Files/FordingtonAnthonyEames.html Anthony's grandparents are said to be John Eames and his wife Joan but the only evidence I have so far been able to locate to support this is the burial of a ‘Jone Emes’ in Fordington on 7th June 1588 when she was described as ‘a widow’ and an ‘olde woman’. John & Joan are given as the parents of Thomas Eames who was almost certainly born in Fordington around the year 1549 well before our records commence. " NOTE: Wikitree shows paternal grandfather to be Thomas Eames, Sr.

• He was the youngest of five children of Thomas & Millicent Eames.
• He emigrated to America in 1633 and this an account of the facts that have survived to come down to us about him and his immediate family.
• "Anthony was about 23 years old when his father died and his eldest brother John inherited his estate in the year 1618."
• "Churchwarden 1622, 1627, 1631 & Constable of Fordington Manor 1630"
• "he was sworn in as Constable for the Manor of Fordington at the Quarter Sessions held in Sherborne from the 6th to 8th April 1630. "
• "It was at this juncture that Anthony decided to emigrate...Anthony was well informed about the settlement and the opportunities that were arising there from letters sent back to his sister-in-law Alice from her three brothers who went in 1628. He would have known for example that Ralph Sprague had been selected to sit on the first ever Jury empanelled in Charlestown and that he and his brother Richard were both made 'Freemen' in 1631. Just how close this relationship was is evident from the third brother William Sprague's subsequent marriage to his daughter in 1635 only a year after he was to arrive in Charlestown...another big incentive for Anthony was that settlers were being promised ownership of land. Although the Eames Family were Yeomen and well established in Fordington there is no mention of any of them actually owning land in England."
• "Anthony & Margery's final child Abigail is said to have been born in Fordington about 1632 but unfortunately baptism registers for that year (and 1634) have not survived"
• "Anthony Eames is shown to have embarked on the ship “Recovery” [also referred to as the ‘Recovery of London’] which sailed from Weymouth on 31st March 1633 for New England. ^[5]We can be confident about the authenticity of this entry as the information comes from the Records of the Exchequer held at the National Archives at Kew in London [Ref: PRO:E190/875/8]. These were the “Port Books” completed by the Kings Remembrancer and they recorded the head of each group that embarked(36). Anthony Eames name appears on roll 20. The Master of the vessel was Gabriel Cornish, and his passengers were recorded as ‘Planters carrying with them household goods, clothing and provisions for themselves, their wives, children and servants, valued at £920 and allowed to pass free of customs by His Majesty's patent [Ref Coldham pg 107]."
• "The first documentary evidence of their presence in Charlestown occurs on the 10th February 1634/5 when Anthony signed the “Selectmen Government Agreement” along with Richard & William Sprague(30). This agreement effectively set down the means by which 'Freemen Citizens' of Charlestown were to select their representatives for Government. "
• "the family were soon encouraged to move to Hingham where in 1636 a plot of land was granted to them on the lower plain.(16) From the outset Anthony appears to have been one of the foremost citizens of Hingham. He was admitted a 'Freeman', on 9th March 1636/7, was frequently a town officer, and represented the town in the general court in the years 1637 to 1639 and 1643 to 1644."
• "On the 13th of January 1638 Anthony Eames was one of the Deputies of the General Court who signed the charter granted by Winthrop for the 'Military Company of Massachusetts' that was later renamed the 'Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company', the third oldest chartered military organisation in the world...Anthony Eames was appointed as a Lieutenant in the Hingham 'Train Band' (i.e. Militia)...Anthony's appointment as a Lieutenant in New England would have been a natural development of using his experience gained in England from his service with the militia. Because of his rank in society and annual income he would have been required to provide his own horse and served in what was later to be called the Yeomanry to distinguish it from the infantry. Whether he held a command in England we will probably never know but he would have served and understood the way in which citizens were organised for the defence of the nation and local communities."
• "In 1641 Anthony also assisted in laying out the boundary line between Massachusetts Bay and the Plymouth Colonies.(19) and on 12th June 1643 he entered into a partnership to operate the first ever Corn Mill near the cove in Hingham for the use of the town. They were granted permission on condition that they paid for any damage which might be caused by' flowage'."
• "In the year 1645 Anthony Eames was involved in a local incident in Hingham which was to not only shatter the existing harmony within the settlement and result in long lasting divisions in the community but escalate into a major confrontation between his opponents and the authorities in Boston and end with what later became known as the 'impeachment of John Winthrop' a magistrate and that year Deputy Governor of the Colony...'The train-band of the town of Hingham, having chosen Anthony Eames to be their captain, 'presented him to the Standing Council for their allowance.' While the business was in this stage, the soldiers altered their minds, and in a second election gave the place to Bozoun Allen. The magistrates, thinking that an injustice and affront had been offered to Eames, determined that the former election should be held valid until the Court should take further order...' Anthony also returned to Hingham and took office as Captain in the Militia...Anthony also moved again (24), this time to Marshfield Hills in Plymouth Colony when on 10th December 1651 he and his son Mark bought a house and 100 acres of land lying upon the North River from Francis Godfrey...For many generations the Eames family continued to live there. Anthony was deputy to the general court at Plymouth from 1653 to 1658 and again in 1661 and became a member of the council of war. He was admitted freeman in the Plymouth Colony on 7 Jun 1653 and served the town as moderator."
• 1659: 28 May, 1659 Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Printed by order of the Legislature. Edited by Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D., Vol IV, Part 1, p. 380-381, Boston: From the press of William White, 1854. "In answer to the petition of Anthony Eames, who affirming that himself, with Mr Busby & Robt Martjn, were not only appointed to runne the ljne betwixt this pattent & Pljmouth pattent, which was pformed by them, but was promised sattisfaction for theire tjme & chardge, which he never receaved, & therefore humbly desireth that he may have due sattisfaction for his tjme & pajnes, or that his sonne in lawe, Michaell Pearse, may be free of a fine (which) was lajd upon him by the Country Court in June last, the Court judgeth it meete to order the country Tresurer to examine the accounts of the peticoner (sic) in refference to the pmisses, & yt (sic) payment be made of what shall be found to be his just due out of the country Tresury.^[6]
• "His wife Margery died in Marshfield and was buried on the last day of the year 1662. Anthony lived another 24 years by which time he was 91 years old. He was also buried at Marshfield on the 6 October 1686"^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB115/i/7373/389/22175476
2. ↑ Lincoln, Solomon. History of the Town of Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts (Caleb Gill, Jr. and Farmer and Brown, 1827)
3. ↑ History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts (The Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, 1893): Vol II, p.208
4. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. ed. "Records of the colony of New Plymouth, in New England." Boston, Massachusetts: William White, 1857. Archive.org. Web. 3 Nov 2017.
5. ↑ http://www.weymouth-dorset.co.uk/ships.html
6. ↑ Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England. Printed by order of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Edited by Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D. Vol IV. 1661-1668. Boston: From the Press of William White, 1855
7. ↑ http://www.opcdorset.org/fordingtondorset/Files/FordingtonAnthonyEames.html Pilgrims from Fordington, The EAMES Family An Account of the life of Captain Anthony Eames (1595 – 1686) Churchwarden of St Georges Church & Constable of Fordington Manor]©Compiled by Michael Russell OPC for Fordington December 2009 (Revised March 2010 - updated May 2011 with additional information on Jonathan Eames (1628-1702) update Aug 2015 to take account of Anthony, Margery and their son Mark being beneficiaries under the Will of Rogere Kete (d.1620)

See also:

• Plymouth County, MA: Plymouth Court Records, 1686-1859. CD-ROM. Boston, MA.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. Copyright, 2002, Pilgrim Society (subscription)
• Massachusetts: Miscellaneous Census Substitutes, 1630-1788, 1840, 1890 (subscription)
• New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.
• The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001.
• Massachusetts Census, 1790-1890 Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp. Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.Original data - Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.Orig Note: Record Collection 3553
• Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010. Ancestry.com online database Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Record Collection 7486
• Page image of The Will of Michael Peirce, page 128 and 129. Many other good early references for the Plymouth Colony. The Plymouth Scrapbook; the oldest original documents extant in Plymouth archives, printed verbatim, by Pope, Charles Henry, 1841-1918, ed. Publication date. 1918. https://ia800204.us.archive.org/0/items/plymouthscrapboo00pope/plymouthscrapboo00pope.pdf and https://archive.org/details/plymouthscrapboo00pope
• Passengers of the Recovery http://web.archive.org/web/20070611082107/http://www.winthropsociety.org/ships/recovery.htm
• The Compendium of American Genealogy, Vol. IV - Anthony Eames was propr. of Charleston, Mass., 1634; removed to Hingham, 1636 to Marshfield, 1650 dep. Gen. Ct. 1637-38 Capt. Hingham Mil Company 1644-45
• U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700
• Massachusetts, U.S., Applications of Freemen, 1630-1691