Alleged Royal Ancestry of Edward Southworth

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Alleged Royal Ancestry of Edward Southworth

There is in print, and can often be found on the internet, a royal ancestry for Edward Southworth.^{[1] [2]} This line is no longer accepted, and is considered broken.^[3] The primary problem is there is no actual evidence as to the English origins of Edward, and there are multiple other possibilities which all remain unproven. ^[4]

The line was originally developed and privately published by Dr. Frederick Lewis Weis in the 1950s. It subsequently appeared in Dr. Weis’ well-known The Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists, (all editions 6th and earlier), which led to its wide-spread acceptance and is the reason it can be found on many trees on the internet. ^[1]

What is known with certainty is that:

1. Edward Southworth was part of the Puritan separatist community living in Leiden.
2. He married Alice Carpenter in Leiden
3. He had a brother Thomas Southworth who was present at his wedding.
4. The marriage record states that Edward Southworth and Alice Carpenter were from England.
5. The two sons of Edward Southworth and Alice Carpenter, Constant Southworth and Thomas Southworth, immigrated to New England.

So, the question is, who are the parents of Edward and Thomas Southworth of Leiden?

There are two primary theories: 1. They came from the Southworth family of Samlesbury, Lancashire and 2. They came from the Southworth family of Wellam and Clareborough, Nottinghamshire.

The Lancashire Origins Theory

Weis postulated that they were the children of Thomas Southworth of Samlesbury, Lancashire and of London, and his wife Rosamond Lister. This would give the New England immigrants Constant Southworth and Thomas Southworth a well-known ancestry which includes a line to Edward III, king of England.

The primary argument that Weis put forward goes like this:

1. Robert Cushman of the Pilgrim Company wrote a letter to Edward Southworth, formerly of Leiden, now living in London.
2. If he was living in London in 1620, he was likely from London prior to his move to Leiden.
3. If he was from London, then he was likely closely related to Thomas Southworth of Samlesbury who is known to have been living in London in the 1590s.
4. If he was closely related to Thomas Southworth of Samlesbury and London, then he is likely, actually the son of Thomas Southworth (since Thomas is known to have had sons Edward and Thomas).
5. Since there are no other good candidates for his father, Edward Southworth of Leiden must be the same person as Edward Southworth the son of Thomas of Salmesbury.

Comment: This is an absolutely awful string of assumptions. Starting with number one, it is known that many of the Leiden congregation had moved to the same parish in London where the letter was addressed in preparation for the Mayflower voyage. He had a reason to be in London no matter who his father was.

Other than than the fact that we have brothers Thomas and Edward living in Leiden, Thomas Southworth of Samlesbury is known to have sons named Thomas and Edward, there is nothing to connect the Leiden brothers to the Samlesbury family. But a name-is-the-same argument is not good enough, especially when we have better candidates.

The Nottinghamshire Origins Theory.

Are there any known connections connections to the Southworth family found in Wellam and Clareborough, Nottinghamshire? It turns out the answer is yes, quite a few.

In the 1992 Southworth article by William French, a connection between Rev. John Robinson, Rev. Richard Bernard, Rev. Richard Clyfton, Rev. John Smith, Mr. Hugo Bromhead, William Brewster, John Jennings, Elizabeth Pettinger, Thomas, Jane and Anne Peck, can all be shown by public records as having ties to the Southworth family of Notts.

One possibility, which has not been completely followed up on, is Richard Southworth of Clareborough, Nottinghamshire. He was a brother of Robert Southworth of Wellham. He had a son Thomas born in 1583 and a son Edward born in 1585. Dr. Weis knew of this family but quickly dismissed them without really having a good reason. The dates are approximately correct and this family did have Leiden connections. Richard is a strong candidate to be the father of the Leiden brothers.

There is also William Southworth of Heydon. He would have lived close to the Peck family of Heydon, which had close associations with the Pilgrims. His family is unknown, but should be investigated.

Arms of Southworth of Samelsbury Hall, Lancashire theory

Kirk Hess added this section, and I will answer the points raised.

From gen-medieval thread about the Southworth Arms petition to the NEGHS committee on heraldry which I assume they are in the proceedings archives (1932 and 1938; I am not a subscriber...) there was an embroidery among the effects of Governor Bradford that had the correct arms of Southworth of Samelsbury. It addresses the Nottingham theory which I summarized below, and there's some thought Edward and Alice's sons Constant and Thomas were educated at Blackburn Grammar School. Also Edward and Thomas were on the guild roll at Preston until they died. For reference, Samelsbury Hall is about 5 miles from both Preston and Blackburn. Comment: The SGM post was made without having read or having any understanding of the Mayflower Quarterly article. The embroidered coat of arms has no weight whatsoever. You don’t know who made it, when they made it, or why they made it. Most importantly, it can’t distinguish between the Southworth family of Samlesbury, and the Southworth family Nottinghamshire, as they essentially (minor tincture changes) used the exact same arms! The Nottingham family was certainly a cadet branch (connection unknown) to the Lincolnshire family.

The Nottingham theory is apparently from Colonel Banks, English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers 1929, which was addressed in this thread (I can't tell exactly the source of the refutation by Mary J. Sibley, Ph.D.) since the Wellam Southworths of Clareborough, Notts. had different Arms than Samelsbury Southworths, and more importantly we know Thomas was at Edwards wedding to Alice Carpenter in Leiden, but the Nottingham pair, Thomas died before the wedding. Comment: This is directly addressed in the Mayflower Quarterly article. It is certainly true that Thomas, son of Robert Southworth of Wellham, died in 1612 and so he cannot be the one in Leiden in 1613. However, what is incorrect is that this closes the door on the Nottinghamshire theory - there are multiple other Southworths who also had sons Edward and Thomas which remain as possible father's of the Leiden brothers.

There's also some thought Alice's sons Constant and Thomas attended Blackburn Grammar School before they both emigrated to live in Plymouth, there's a history Blackburn Grammar School, by George Alfred Stocks, published in 1909 but those volumes are not available online, apparently Sibley checked they weren't in there and then wrote the school and received no reply or maybe the reply is in the NEGHS archive? Edward and Thomas's supposed eldest brother John was one of the Governors of the school. Comment: No evidence and it wouldn't matter as no connection is shown or proven.

Conclusions:

1. The parents of Edward Southworth are unknown/unproved.
2. There is no direct evidence that Edward Southworth of Leiden had any connections to the Southworth family of Samlesbury. The theory is entirely based on matching the names Edward and Thomas - a name-is-the-same argument which does not constitute proof.
3. The Leiden Southworths likely came from Nottinghamshire where there are proven connections to other members of the Leiden congregation. The exact connection is unknown.
4. Richard Southworth of Clareborough who married there in 1569 Imogene Aston, and had 10 children including Thomas born 1583 and Edward born 1585 is the best candidate to be the father of the Leiden brothers. This is not yet proven.

Sources

Footnotes and citations:

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Ancestry of Ensign Constant and Captain Thomas Southworth of Plymouth and Duxbury Massachusetts. (Dublin, N.H.: privately printed, 1958). FamilySearch.org LINK.
2. ↑ e.g. Weis. Ancestral Roots, editions 6 and earlier.
3. ↑ Note that the line is called unsupported in Ancestral Roots after the 6th edition, and does not appear in Richardson's Royal Ancestry series.
4. ↑ French, Robert L. "Who Was Edward Southworth of Leyden?" in The Mayflower Quarterly, vol. 88 (1992):10-15.

Source List:

• French, Robert L. "Who Was Edward Southworth of Leyden?" in The Mayflower Quarterly, vol. 88 (1992):10-15.

• Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists, 8th edition (2004):14, Line 9. See earlier editions for comparison. Southworth line called unsupported. Ancestry.com LINK

• Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Ancestry of Ensign Constant and Captain Thomas Southworth of Plymouth and Duxbury Massachusetts. (Dublin, N.H.: privately printed, 1958). FamilySearch.org LINK.