Hello,
I am starting this discussion because the origins of Richard ‘of Sudbury’ Newton, of Sudbury and Marlborough, MA are unknown.
From Wikitree: "The factual sources for Richard Newton state that Richard's origins, date of birth and parents are unknown[1] [2]. A modern researcher concluded the same, after a personal examination of the archives in St Mary Bures, England in 1989[3] [4]. Any claim of knowledge of birth date, place or parents should be accompanied by credible sources, citing specific documents and facts from the period, rather than online statements such as those noted below. When a source is found, allowances should be made for the existence of other men named Richard Newton in England at that time.
The 2013 Early New England Families article[2] sums it up nicely:
"Richard's age at death is given in the town records as "almost a hundred years old," which most likely was a general estimate for a very old man. He had outlived his wife, who would have been the most knowledgeable on the subject. Assuming he was in his 90s when he died in 1701, his birth might have been anywhere from about 1601 to 1612. If born in 1601, his marriage in 1636 would have been at age 35; if born 1612 he would have been 24". "
Source - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Newton-105
One of the multiple sets of unsourced parents associated with Richard Newton, and the one which is shown here on Geni, is Robert Newton and Carrol Ann Newton. This would make Richard Newton of Massachusetts an uncle of the famous scientist, Sir Isaac Newton. Unfortunately this connection is incorrect. According to Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, Sir Isaac Newton's grandfather did have a son named Richard, but that Richard of Sudbury Newton, 1609, of Colsterworth, England, was buried in Colsterworth in 1665 and did not emigrate to the Americas. Richard Newton of Colsterworth also had children born after 1639 (the year the other Richard Newton first appears in Massachusetts records) in England. See https://archive.org/details/miscellaneagenea01unse/page/172/mode/2up
The birth date of April 09, 1609 which Richard ‘of Sudbury’ Newton of Massachusetts has on Geni is actually the baptism date of Richard Newton, of Colsterworth, see https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=9841&h=5895456...
The exact birth date of the immigrant Richard Newton is unknown and the only clue is a remark that he was "almost a hundrid years old" when he died in Marlborough, MA. Source - http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Marlborough/Images/Marlboro...
Unless someone can come forward with primary sources to support possible parents for the immigrant Richard Newton I propose that we detach him from the parents currently listed for him and list his parents as unknown.
Sincerely,
Tamas Caldwell-Gilbert
