Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Broughton, Norhamptonshire, England
Surnames/tags: Ladd Beebe

Contents 1 Pedigree of Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Analysis of Northamptonshire Parish Records 1.2.1 Northamptonshire Parish Records 1.3 Prior Art

Pedigree of Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe

By Randolph R Beebe, © December 2020.

Introduction

Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe (bef.1602-bef.1650), of Broughton, Northamptonshire, England is the matriarch of the Beebe family in North America. She was the wife of John Beebe Jr. (1600-1650) and the mother of all of his children; they being the original Beebe family who immigrated to North America in 1650. Clarence Beebe (1852-1932), the first published Beebe Genealogist, asserted in his 1904 A Monograph of the Family of Beebe, page 6 that 99% of the Beebes living in North America were descended from this family, and after an in-depth study of the Beebe family through 1850, I can attest that this assertion is well founded as only one other Beebe family has been affirmed to have immigrated to North America during, but late, in this time period. Hence Rebecca Ladd is a pivotal character in the ancestry of almost every person surnamed Beebe born in North America.

Genealogy has become an increasingly popular hobby in the US and has provided a generous funding source which has enabled Ancestry.com to continually build on it's massive database of indexed, thus searchable, documents relating to the descent of mankind in Western Civilization. One recent addition to this library are the parish records of the Church of England from the County of Northamptonshire in England. This set of records is particularly significant for Rebecca Ladd and an analysis of these records enables her ancestral pedigree to be reliably extended backward in history by two generations relative to genealogies created prior to the availability of these documents. This essay has been written to examine and document the information in these records as they relate to the pedigree of Rebeckah Ladd.

Analysis of Northamptonshire Parish Records

2020-12-08. Ancestry.com has recently scanned, indexed, and published the parish records for the Church of England in Northamptonshire; the records for Broughton having been made available within the last five years and those for Cransley seem to have appeared within the last year. Therefore, these records have only very recently become available for the general population of genealogists to examine, and the content of these records provide a strong chain of evidence to establish a factual pedigree for the lineage of Rebecca Ladd, with the relevant information extracted and transcribed for the reader later in this essay. Specifically, the baptism records for Broughton clearly establish that Rebecca Ladd was born in Broughton and was baptized in the Broughton parish by her parents Robert Ladd and Marye Ladd on 30 Oct 1602. This assertion is affirmed by the Broughton parish baptism records of her siblings both before and after her birth: John, Mary, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Hester, Susannah and Maria (children of Robert and Marye) which establish a family identity and a continuous, long term presence of the family in Broughton. However, it wasn't until the Cransley parish records were published, that it became possible to add clarity to the identity of Rebecca's father Robert Ladd, and to confidently push the envelope of her pedigree back another generation. The foundation for this observation is rooted in the close geographic proximity of Cransley and Broughton which lie less than a mile from each other, hence nearly the same village. Thus, the parish records for the Robert Ladd of Cransley and the Robert Ladd of Broughton, occurring in abutting time periods have an exceedingly high probability of being for one and the same Robert Ladd. Furthermore, this assertion becomes virtually certain when it is noted that Samuel Ladd, one of the two children baptized by Robert Ladd in Cransley, later pens a Broughton Last Will and Testament in which he names his sister, Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe, along with her children Samuel, John, Thomas, and Rebecca, as heirs to his estate. Here it should be noted that I have not actually seen an original copy of this will of Samuel Ladd, but genealogists Clifford Deming Beebe (1919-2002) and Dr. Alan Henry (1923-2011) both (see below) cite and quote from the document providing sufficient evidence to establish the document is both extant and relevant. Thus, information in the will of Samuel Ladd, conjoined with the information in the Broughton and Cransley parish records, establishes with an exceedingly high degree of certainty that the Robert Ladd documented in the Cransley and Broughton parish records were one and the same person; unfortunately his wife is not mentioned in the Cransley baptism records of his first two children, hence it is unknown whether or not Marye was their mother, though the absence of an interim marriage record provides a reasonable basis to assume that Mary was his first (and only) wife. If this assumption is correct, it then follows that Marye, in order to be the mother of Anna Ladd who was born in August of 1592, must then have been born sometime in 1574 or prior to that date.

Furthermore, the Cransley parish records establish that Anna, the first child of Robert and Marye Ladd was baptized on 20 August 1592, making it almost certain that Robert and Marye would have been born sometime prior to 1571. Additional examination of the Cransley records reveals that there was a Robert Ladd, son of Edward Lad baptized in the Cransley parish on 29 November 1568, hence it is exceedingly probable that this is the baptism record for the same Robert Ladd who later married Marye (unknown) and was the father of Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe and her siblings. The Cransley parish record also identifies other siblings for Robert son of Edward Lad, with the earliest birth being that of a brother Anthony on 13 May of 1562, thus it may be deduced that Edward was born about 1541 or perhaps a bit earlier. The records were examined for marriage records for Edward and Robert Ladd, but none were found, suggesting that they were likely married in the home village of their spouses rather than at Cransley or Broughton.

Northamptonshire Parish Records

• Primary Source, Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812 ^[1] Data extract:

1. ) Cransley, Northamptionshire Parish Records; image 6 of 79: Anthaney Lad the Sonne of Edward Lad Christened the 13 of May 1562 at the Church of England parish at Cransley, Northamptonshire England.
2. ) Cransley, Northamptionshire Parish Records; image 6 of 79: Robt Lad the Sonne of Edward Lad Christened the 4 of March 1563/4 at the Church of England parish at Cransley, Northamptonshire England.
3. ) Cransley, Northamptionshire Parish Records; image 5 of 79: Robt Lad the Sonne of Edward Lad buried the 8 of Julie 1565.
4. ) Cransley, Northamptionshire Parish Records; image 11 of 79: Jane Lad the Daughter of Edward Lad Christened the 16 of Februarie 1566 at the Church of England parish at Cransley, Northamptonshire England.
5. ) Cransley, Northamptionshire Parish Records; image 12 of 79: Robt Lad the Sonne of Edward Lad Christened the 29 of November 1568 at the Church of England parish at Cransley, Northamptonshire England.
6. ) Cransley, Northamptionshire Parish Records; image 12 of 79: Edward Lad the Sonne of Edward Lad baptised the 16 of Februarie 1569 at the Church of England parish in Cransley, Northamptonshire England.

• Primary Source, Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812 ^[2] Data Extract: Note the following records have been extracted from scanned images of the original Cransley and Broughton, Northamptonshire Church of England Parish Records as provided at Ancestry.com. The cited parish records are hyperlinked to the image of the original document stored in the Ancestry database; note, a paid up membership in Ancestry.com is required to access the the scanned images of these original 1592 - 1611 documents:

1. ) Children of Robert Ladd baptized at the Parish of Cransley, Northamptonshire, England:
   1. ) Cransley Parish Records; image 21 of 79: Anna Lad Daughter to Robt Lad baptised the 20 of August 1592.
   2. ) Cransley Parish Records; image 23 of 79: Samuel Lad Sonne to Robert Lad baptyzed the 14 of December 1595.
2. ) Children of Robert and Mary (Unknown) Ladd baptized at the Parish of Broughton, Northamptonshire, England:
   1. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 31 of 61: John Ladde the Sonne of Robt Ladd of Broughtn aforesayd husbandman, was baptized the xxi day of Februarye 1597.
   2. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 37 of 61: Marye Ladde, the Daughter of Robt Ladd of Broughton in the Countie of Northts husbandman, and of Mary hys wyffe, was bapt the xxiiiith day of August Ano Dom 1600.
   3. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 39 of 61: Marie Ladd, the Daughter of Robt Ladde of Bro in the Countye of Northts husbandman, and of Marie hys wyffe, was buried the xxiii of August 1602.
   4. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 40 of 61: Rebecca filia Robt Ladde baptized 30 die of Octbris 1602.
   5. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 42 of 61: Nathanaell filius Robert Ladd bapt. 20die Octobris 1604
   6. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 42 of 61: Elizabetha filia Robt Ladd bapt. 20d of Octobris 1604.
   7. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 42 of 61: Elizabetha filia Robt Ladd Sepult 22 die Octobris 1604.
   8. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 44 of 61: Hester Ladd, daughter of Robert Ladd was baptized ye First day of January 1607.
   9. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 45 of 61: Susanna ye Daughter of Robt Ladd & Mary his wife baptized the thirty day December 1609.
   10. ) Broughton Parish Records; image 47 of 61: Maria Ladd ye daughter of Rober and Mary Ladd baptized the xxiiii of November 1611.

Prior Art

An examination of prior, generally available and public genealogical information offered for Robert Ladd, suggests that this Wikitree profile is the first publication to connect Robert Ladd, father of Rebeckah (Ladd) Beebe (the matriarch of the North American Beebes) to a 29 November 1568 baptism at Cransley, Northamptonshire, England, and to be the Son of Edward Ladd. This assertion is based on an analysis of the original Broughton and Cransley Church of England parish records which have only recently been scanned and indexed (perhaps within the last five years) in the Ancestry.com genealogy information database. The anchor point for this analysis begins with the 1921 publication by Clarence Beebe entitled, John Beebe of Broughton, a Record of Genealogical Descent." where Clarence for the first time asserts (page 9) that the wife of John Beebe and mother of his children, the original Beebe immigrant to North America, was a woman named Rebecca Ladd of Broughton. Clarence Beebe did not mention Rebecca Ladd in his more comprehensive 1904 Genealogy, Monograph of the Family of Beebe, nor does he explicitly tell us where he found this marriage information, though other passages in his writing make it clear that he had traveled to Great Addington, and Broughton and had examined ancient legal records (the will of Alexander Beeby) and may have accessed the parish records at that time. It should be further noted that Clarence Beebe made no mention of the parents of Rebecca Ladd in any of his published works. In 1991, Clifford Beebe published a second generation Beebe Genealogy entitled Genealogy of the Family of Beebe Vol 1, in which he mentions that his updated Beebe Genealogy relied heavily on the new information found in the unpublished 1927 update of the Monograph etc. by Clarence Beebe. However, Clifford's Beebe next generation Beebe Genealogy adds only minimally to the knowledge base of the Ladd family, but does offer. from a reproduction of article of unknown origin, the following: “John Beby married Rebecca Ladd, of Broughton, North Hampton and sister of Samuel Ladd of Broughton, in whose will she is named.” It should also be mentioned that Clifford Beebe also traveled to England on a mission of genealogical discovery, and published a text summarizing the results of his study of the pre-North America Beebe pedigree, which may expand on the lineage of the Ladd family; however this document has not been accessed because it is protected by copyright and is presently available only in print form at two distant libraries, hence in the time of COVID is generally inaccessible.

The most recent effort to build a comprehensive, systematic genealogy of the North American Beebe family was compiled by Dr. Alan Henry, who died in 2011. Unfortunately, Dr. Henry failed to publish his 3000 page work prior to his death and the work remained unavailable until the summer of 2020 when Les Sullivan was granted permission, by the heir of Dr. Henry's estate, to publish the manuscript. The document is now available on Les Sullivan's web site and is available to be downloaded. This document provides a major advancement in the breadth (viz the number of Beebes covered in the manuscript) and depth (viz, citation of relevant source material) of information on the pedigree of the North American Beebe Family. Dr. Henry collaborated with Steve Walker in an effort to compile, examine, and analyze the early early records for the ancestors of John Beeby, the original North American immigrant, and they were able to expand the envelope of reliable lineage of this family by about three generations. However, even Dr. Henry's work offers but a minimal advancement in regard to the knowledge of the Ladd lineage, with the entirety of his work on the Ladds family as follows: “Note: Many sources give birth dates of John and Rebecca's children which are really the dates they were baptized in England. He married Rebecca Ladd, 1627 in Broughton, Northamptonshire, England, b. 1605 in England, d. BEF 1650 in England. Rebecca: She was of Broughton, Northamptonshire, England and was the sister of Samuel and Rev. Nathaniel Ladd of Broughton. In the will of Samuel Ladd, dated 23 Sep 1634 "To sister Rebecca Beebe, 5 pounds. To her son Samuel, 5 pounds. To each of her other children, viz.: to John, Thomas, and Rebecca, 10 shillings, being 1 pound, 10 shillings in all." One unproven record from LDS Library says that Rebecca is the child of Robert and Mary Ladd. Les Sullivan who lives near Cambridge, England says he has seen a record that calls Rebecca's mother "Marvis" but says the writing is very poor. Robert is said to have been b. Hannington, Northamps, England 1 Jan 1577, and was buried in Broughton 12 Mar 1658. Broughton parish register of burials 1632-1676 shows "Old Robert Ladd, a good old man died and was buried in a good old age". Robert's wife was b. 1580.

Dr. Henry affirms the existence of the will of Samuel Ladd, cited by Clifford Beebe in 1991, and provides us with a short extract from that will which powerfully correlates Rebeca (Ladd) Beebe, the sister of Samuel Ladd, as the same Rebecca Ladd identity married to John Beebe. Note that, as of Dec 2020 I have not been able to find a copy of this will in the indexed internet data base, but the work of Dr. Henry and Clifford Beebe is sufficient to establish that the document is extant and applies to the Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe identity of interest. Dr. Henry's writing also makes it perfectly clear that he had not personally seen any of the Broughton parish records for Rebeckah Ladd, nor that of her siblings, and considered his other information sources on the Ladd pedigree to be hearsay, but useful for further research. This, then, suggests that the Broughten, Northamptonshire, England parish records presently published and indexed in the Ancestry.com database, for Rebeckah Ladd were not available as late as 2011.

As of 8 Dec 2020, numerous Ancestry.com family trees also reflect the hearsay information regarding the lineage of Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe noted by Dr. Henry and this lore which has been published in a Find A Grave Find A Grave: Memorial #127633467 for Robert Ladd, with the following unsourced genealogical assertions and is frequently cited in tertiary family trees as an information source for these assertions:

1. ) Find A Grave: Memorial #127633467: Robert Ladd, son of Vincent Ladd (abt.1554-bef.1624) and Agnes (Denne) Ladd (abt.1550-bef.1625), was born 9 Jan 1577 at Northamptonshire, England and he died 12 Mar 1658 (aged 81) at Northamptonshire, England.
   1. ) Marriage. Robert Ladd married Mary Marvis (1580–1630).
   2. ) Children:
      1. ) Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe (1605–1650)
2. ) BURIAL. Robert Ladd was buried in the St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard at Elham, Shepway District, Kent, England
   1. ) Find a Grave Notes: " "
   2. ) Inscription, "{No Tombstone Photo}"

Based on the analysis previous offered, the only information offered in this FAG profile that is actually correct is the fact that Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe was the daughter of Robert Ladd. The balance of the genealogical assertions have been shown to be incorrect and may have been derived from the following sources:

1. ) Robert Lade (1583-1666), the son of Vincent Lade and Agnes, or Elizabeth (Denne) Lade (1563-) has been asserted to be the Robert Ladd who was the father of Rebecca Ladd of Broughton, possibly for the following reason:
   1. ) This Robert was married to a Mary (abt.1590-), and was born about 1585, roughly the correct time period to have been the father of Rebecca in 1603

However, it may be clearly shown that Robert Lade (1583-1666) could not have been the father of Rebecca of Broughton for the following reasons: 1). As his date of birth is known to be about 1583, he would have only been nine years of age when Rebecca's oldest sibling Anna was born. 2). The known records show Vincent Lade and his son Robert Lade to have been lifelong residents of Barham, Kent County England where they were born lived and died, a distance roughly 160 miles from Broughton, and there is no evidence this Robert Lade was ever in Broughton. 3). There is a will for Robert Lade of Barham, Kent England, in which he names a son Lancelot, a second son Francis and several un-named daughters as heirs. There is no mention of Rebecca's brother Nathaniel in this will, nor is there any evidence the Robert Ladd of Broughton ever had a son Lancelot nor Francis. 4). Robert Lade was a member of the Landed gentry, whereas there is no evidence that the Robert Ladd of Broughton was of this social class and may or may not have been a land owner. The second assertion in this profile which appears to be rooted in lore is the assertion that the maiden name of Rebecca's mother was Marvis. The most probable source of this assertion may be found in the observation made by Dr. Henry that it had been observed in a document that the mother of Rebecca was named Marvis, but the text was difficult to read. The source document for this observation is almost certainly the Broughton, Northamptonshire, England parish baptismal record for Rebecca Ladd, where her mother is identified as Marie, but the handwritten script could easily be transcribed Marvis IF and only if one chose to use the symbols of modern handwriting to interpret the name. However, using the "Old English" script symbology of the sixteenth century period, when these records were written, reveals that the lower case script r used in this period (and this particular text) appears inverted from the present day script r and consequently inserts what falsely appears to be a script v to the modern observer. Hence Rebecca's mother name is clearly Marie, (or Marye as written in the baptism records of her siblings) and not Marvis, and that is consistent with the records for her siblings where the spouse for Robert is identified as either Marye or Marie, which were interchangeable spellings of the name in this 16th century period.

As a final observance, it is exceedingly unlikely that a villager from Broughton, Northampton, England would have been buried in 160 miles away in the St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard at Elham, Shepway District, Kent, England, as noted in the Find A Grave profile, though this is a probable burial location for Robert Lade of Barham. It should also be noted that Dr. Henry