Richard Snow (1607 - 1677)

Born Jun 1607 in Hartland, Devon, England

Ancestors

Husband of Annis (Barrat) Snow — married 1638 in Barbados

Descendants

Died 5 May 1677 at age 69 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Chet Snow [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Snow Name Study.

Genealogical Problem

Richard Snow and his wife, Annis/Avis/Ann, settled at Woburn, Massachusetts perhaps as late as 1645 when they are first of record there. He has been identified as the Richard Snow christened at Barnstaple, Devonshire 21 Dec 1608, son of Patrick and Marie (Sweete) Snow; AND as the Richard Snow christened at Hartland, Devonshire 24 Jun 1607, son of William and Elizabeth (de Tosberry) Snow.

Is either of these correct?

Richard emigrated to Barbados aboard the Expedition, aged 28, from Gravesend, Kent 20 Nov 1635. Annis/Avis/Ann immigrated to Barbados as Annis Barrat, aged 20, in 1635. Annis/Avis/Ann would have emigrated as Annis/Avis/Ann Snow, rather than Annis/Avis/Ann Barrat, if they had been married at this time.

There is said to be a record in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) of Richard Snow and Annis Barritt marrying at Bristol, London, England 20 Nov 1635. I cannot now find this record (can you help me find it?). The IGI was compiled from very many sources of varying quality from transcriptions of primary sources like parish registers to user submitted information. For three reasons this appears to be a user submitted record by a careless researcher. The location, Bristol, London, England, is non-sensical. The date, 20 Nov 1635, is the same as the date Richard was enrolled to emigrate at Gravesend, Kent. It wasn't possible to travel from Bristol, or even London, to Gravesend in the same day. And, of course, as already shown, if Annis/Avis/Ann had been married when she immigrated, she would have been named Snow.^[1]

The suggestion that Richard and Annis/Avis/Ann married at Woburn, Massachusetts comes from Clarence A. Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 2004). An understanding of how Torrey compiled this information reveals that he was not suggesting that this couple actually married at Woburn, rather that he found evidence that they were living as a couple in Woburn.

John and James Snow, the two eldest children of Richard and Annis/Avis/Ann, are usually said to have been born c.1640 and c.1642, though they both could have been a year or two younger. Some researchers have the birth of John at Woburn 16 Sep 1638. Woburn was first settled in 1640, so even if John was born in 1638, it was certainly not at Woburn. Woburn's vital records begin in 1641, and are thought to be fairly complete. If the family had been at Woburn before 1645, one would expect that the births of John and James would have been recorded. As no record of their births anywhere in Massachusetts has ever come to light, it's likely the family emigrated from Barbados c.1644 with their infant sons.

All of this suggests that Richard and Annis/Avis/Ann married at Barbados, perhaps as late as c.1640.

None of this suggests that Richard Snow of Woburn or his wife, Annis/Avis/Ann Barrat, had any connection with Devonshire whatsoever. In fact, it's hard to think of a scenario in which a man from Devonshire would emigrated on a ship leaving from Gravesend, a port used by Londoners. Neverthess, he was aged 28 at the time, and that gives him a lot of time to have moved around.

The given names of the suggested parents for Richard Snow of Woburn are Patrick and Marie, and William and Elizabeth. If either of these couples were, in fact, the parents of Richard Snow of Woburn, one would expect some of these names to appear amongst the descendants of Richard and Annis/Avis/Ann. They don't, though they had two granddaughters named Mary.

I don't see any evidence that either Patrick and Marie (Sweete) Snow of Barnstaple, Devonshire, or William and Elizabeth (de Tosberry) Snow of Harltand, Devonshire were related in any way to Richard Snow of Woburn.

I remain eager for any information that will illuminate this problem.

— Kimball G. Everingham Everingham-7 09:15, 4 April 2014 (EDT)

Was Richard Snow of 1635 later in Woburn MA?

• Owen N. Wilcox, History of the Family of Benjamin Snow who is a Descendant of Richard Snow of Woburn, Massachusetts, (Cleveland, Ohio: Gates Legal Publishing, 1907). Repository: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass.

Bound between pages 6 and 7 of the copy of this work at the NEHGS is a page that reads:

CORRECTION NOTE.

"The reader will note that on page seven of this book appears the statement that Richard Snow of Woburn died in 1711, and that consequently he could hardly have been one and the same with Richard Snow of the ship "Expedition". My authority for the date of the death of Richard Snow of Woburn was Sewall's History of Woburn. This date was evidently an error, for Richard died, as I have since learned, on May 5, 1677, leaving a will dated 30 (11) i.e. Nov 30, 1676 [kge: shouldn't this be Jan 30, 1676/7?], and which was probated June 19, 1677. By this instrument he bequeathed property to his wife Ann, and sons, John, James, Samuel and Zachary."

"This information effectually removes all the haze and uncertainty respecting Richard Snow's years that appear in this Volume, and the identity of Richard Snow of Woburn with the Richard Snow of the ship "Expedition" becomes not only possible, but quite probable. The compiler hopes that this explanatory note will overcome any false impression which he may have unwittingly created by his printed words, and he feels sure that it will add considerably to the genealogical value of the book."

An Alternate View

Richard Snow, born in 1607 or 1608 in Devon, sailed for the New World in November 1635 on the ship "Expedition" from Gravesend, Kent, and was sent to Barbados. It is probable that he there met and married Annis Avis (called "Annie") Barrat who arrived in Barbados also in 1635.^[2]

Controversy exists about the exact birth date and parents of Richard Snow. There are two current candidates: a Richard Snow born June 24, 1607 and another born December 21, 1608.^[3] One Richard Snow is said to be the son of Patrick Snow and Elizabeth de Tossberry (or alternately Patrick's first wife: Marie Sweete ).^[4] This Richard Snow was born December 21, 1608, in Barnstaple, Devonshire, England. The other Richard Snow was born June 24, 1607, in Hartland, Devonshire,^[5] but to William Snow and his wife, Elizabeth de Tossberry. As William and Patrick have been identified as brothers, this makes the two Richard Snows first cousins, therefore of the same patrilineal line. Their common grand-father is Richard Snow, married to Alice Mersthell (aka Musthill). See note #1 for newly-found information that may indicate the Richard Snow of Barnstaple, England, may NOT be the one who emigrated in 1635 to Barbados.

Richard and Annis must have decided they preferred to raise their family in New England because they left Barbados between 1636 and 1640. If they married in 1638, in Barbados, this explains the oft-cited September 16, 1638, birth date for their first son, John Snow, [but in Massachusetts - an easy error to make]. And they may have renewed their marriage vows in New England if proper records of the first marriage had not been preserved... It is highly unlikely they would have been admitted to the colony with a "bastard" son.

It should be noted that the IGI (Int'l Genealogical Index) records a marriage between Richard SNOW and Annis BARRITT in Bristol, London, [sic] England, in November 1635. As Annis was identified as being from the same village as Richard Snow, they may have married before embarking together on the "Expedition".^[6]

All of this data, much of it from original sources, supports that Richard Snow, born 1607, was from Devonshire and emigrated first to Barbados and then to Massachusetts between 1635-1640.^[7]

Birth

Date: ABT 1607

Place: England

Note: as he said, he was aged 28 years when he left London in 1635^[8][9]

Christening

Date: 21 DEC 1608

Place: Barnstable, Devonshire^[10]

Immigration

Date: 1636

Place: Barbados

Note: from Gravesend, Kent 20 Nov 1635 on the "Expedition"^[11][12]

Residence

Date: 1645

Place: Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts^[13][14]

Family

Husband: Richard Snow

Wife: Avis UNKNOWN

Child: James Snow

Child: John Snow

Child: Daniel Snow

Child: Samuel Snow

Child: Zachariah Snow

Marriage: ^[15]

Death

Date: 05 MAY 1677

Place: Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Note: Sewall's History of Woburn and derivative sources say 9 Nov 1711^{[16][17][18][19]}

Will

Date: 30 JAN 1676/77

Place: Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Note: some sources misinterpret 30 (11) 1676 as 30 Nov 1676^[20][21]

Probate

Date: 19 JUN 1677^[22][23]

Sources

1. ↑ Note by Chet Snow: I was the source of this information, seen in passing while researching Richard & Annis Snow earlier this year (April 2014). Unfortunately, I cannot find the exact reference (drat!) now. It may have been withdrawn. On: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5VL-JY4 - there is a marriage reference for a "Nathannel Snow" who married a "Ruth Morkcom" in Barnstaple, Devon, England, on May 21, 1673. In the marriage record, according to the IGI, a "Richard Snow" is named as father of the groom. If accurate, this would suggest that the Richard Snow of Barnstaple is NOT the Richard Snow who emigrated to Barbados and then New England in 1635 as how would he then have a son living in Barnstaple, England, in 1673? See below for an alternate Richard Snow, who may be correct. Added Nov. 30, 2014
2. ↑ Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s; Author: Gale Research Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009. Original data - Filby, P. William, ed. Note: Place: Barbados; Year: 1635; Page Number: 141. Note: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pili354&h=634153&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Note: Text: Birth date: abt 1615; Birth place: Arrival date: 1635; Arrival place: Barbados
3. ↑ NOTE: Virtually all "birth" dates from such old records are christening/baptism dates, the only date recorded. Unless one wants an astrology forecast, the few days' difference is negligible.
4. ↑ See: http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=538&p=localities.britisles.england.dev.general - for a brief genealogy of this family. NOTE by Chet Snow: Controversy exists over whether Elizabeth married Patrick Snow or William Snow in 1606; only further research of the local records in Hartland, Devon will resolve this. Research at "FamilySearch.org" has failed to turn up any record of Snow marriages in Hartland. See also: http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=538&p=localities.britisles.england.dev.general
5. ↑ Hartland is a small village just 22 miles west of Barnstaple.
6. ↑ ANNIS AVIS AVIS BARRAT - International Genealogical Index / BI - Gender: Female Birth: 1616 Of, Barnstaple, Devon, England -Death: After 1677 - ANNIS BARRITT - International Genealogical Index / BI - Spouse: RICHARD SNOW - Marriage: 20 NOV 1635 Bristol, London, England. NOTE: This record, cited in April 2014, from a rootsweb.com family tree apparently no longer exists. Note the location was "Bristol, London" - these are at opposite ends of England with London being much closer to Gravesend.
7. ↑ Added by Chet Snow, April 3, 2014. Revised November 30, 2014.
8. ↑ Source: #S332 Page: 6-8
9. ↑ Source: #S861
10. ↑ Source: #S1389
11. ↑ Source: #S332 Page: 6-8
12. ↑ Source: #S861 Page: 1
13. ↑ Source: #S332 Page: 6-8
14. ↑ Source: #S288 Page: 2:644-645
15. ↑ Source: #S97 Page: 1-5
16. ↑ Source: #S288 Page: 2:644-645
17. ↑ Snow: Page 1-5
18. ↑ Source: #S332 Page: 6-8
19. ↑ Source: #S861 Page: 1
20. ↑ Source: #S332 Page: 6-8
21. ↑ Source: #S861 Page: 4-5
22. ↑ Source: #S332 Page: 6-8
23. ↑ Source: #S861 Page: 1

• Source: S288 Ezra S. Stearns, History of Plymouth, New Hampshire, 2 vols., (Cambridge, Mass.: University Press, 1906)

• Snow, Nora Emma. The Snow-Estes Ancestry (Hillburn, New York, 1939) Page 1-5

• Source: S332 Owen N. Wilcox, History of the Family of Benjamin Snow who is a Descendant of Richard Snow of Woburn, Massachusetts, (Cleveland, Ohio: Gates Legal Publishing, 1907). Repository: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass.

• Source: S334 Mary Lovering Holman, Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his Wife Frances Helen Miller, 2 vols., (Concord, N.H.: privately printed at the Rumford Press, 1948–1953)

• "834 to 1993, ancestors and descendants of Frank H. and Ella Mae Snow : eight generations in America," Author: Snow, Darold V. (Darold Vernon), 1935- . From Richard Snow + Avis Barrat line. Online, see: https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&query=%2Bsubject_id%3A222177 - https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE1147252

• Source: S861 George Burwell Snow, "The Richard Snow Family", (Long Beach, Calif., typescript, c.1923). Repository: Family History Library Call Number: 929.273Sn61sg & 2055208/22. Available at Internet Archive

• Source: S97 George Oakes Jaquith and Georgetta Jaquith Walker, The Jaquith Family in America, (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1982)

• Source: S98 Gilman DuBois Frost, Dr. Gilman Frost's Genealogical Records of Hanover, New Hampshire, 15 microfilm reels, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972)

• Source: S1389 Mary Lynch Young, Descendants of Josiah Bull, Jr. (1738-1813) of Dutchess County, N.Y. and His Ancestry (Josiah3, John2, Isaac1), (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1992-1997). Repository: Sutro Library, San Francisco. Call Number: CS71.B935 1992.