Francis Purdy

Evidence needed to support as son of John Purdy & Elizabeth Purdy

Francis Purdy migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Purdy-31

Francis Purdy, also Purdie, Pardee, Purdee[1][2]

According to Perry Streeter,[3] Mary Brundish (John, Thomas) and Francis Purdy, who was b. abt. 1627 in England and d. 1658 at Fairfield, Fairfield Co., CT. She then m. 2nd John Hoyt/Hoit. He b. 2/12/1614 at York, England. d. 1684 at Rye, Westchester Co., NY (then Fairfield County, CT.) The 5 Purdy children were, as follows: John, Francis, Joseph, Daniel, and Mary. The 5 Hoyt/Hoit children were, as follows: Samuel, John Mary Rachel, and Simon.

Disputed Origins

According to the widely discredited book Allied families of Purdy, Fauconnier, Archer, Perrin, published in 1911, Francis was born about 1695 in York, England, married in England a woman named Mary Elizabeth ______, came to Concord, Mass about 1632, and next appears in Fairfield[4]. This history is not supported by any records and is fictional. The authors provide a list of referenced materials in a back section, but nothing is given to tie back to their claims about Francis. In the absence of any records it is unclear what basis they used for their assertions.

Colket in his "Early American Families..." shows a 1632 immigration date for Francis, and his primary source is the "Allied Families..." cited above[5]. His second source is a NYGB "Record" article on Francis' son Francis, which states that the "innumerable mistakes" in the "Allied Families..." book are not even worth refuting[6]. His third source is Jacobus, cited herein, which makes no attempt at placing Francis prior to his appearance in Fairfield.

The "Allied Families..." fiction is repeated almost verbatim in the New Englanders in Nova Scotia Manuscript[7].

Per a 1989 "Connecticut Nutmegger" article submitted by the Purdy Family Association, no Francis Purdy can be found in the records of York, England in the expected time period. However, they found a Francis Purdy born in Brundell near Norwich in Norfolk County. His father John Purdy and mother Alice Taylor married in 1582 and had sons John in 1584 and Francis in 1587. They propose that that Francis was perhaps the immigrant[8]. This article is currently (11 Jan 2023) reflected on WikiTree in the parents linked to Francis. This produces the scenario of a 1641 marriage between a 13 year old girl and a 54 year old man with no prior known marriage or children, and Francis having children into his mid-60s. This seems highly unlikely. These parents have been removed.

Based on actual records, Francis first appears in Fairfield in a 1642 probate record, cited below, recently married to a very young girl. He most certainly was born in England, given where early Fairfield and Wethersfield settlers came from. He was probably born between 1610 and 1620, given his marriage year.

Immigration

As mentioned above, there is only one discredited secondary source that has Francis arriving in 1632 and settling first at Concord, Massachusetts. Francis is not included in Anderson's "The Great Migration Directory", and Jacobus states simply that Francis Purdy was an early settler of Fairfield, Connecticut[9]. Going by known records, Francis should be assigned an immigration year of perhaps 1640 (but see research notes below).

Marriage

Francis married Mary Brundish / Brundage, oldest daughter of John and Rachel (Hubbard?) Brundish[10]. No marriage record has been found; a marriage record compiled from secondary sources is on AmericanAncestors[11]. John Brundish died in 1639. On John's inventory of 27 October 1639, and on a probate hearing of 2 April 1640 releasing John's property to Rachel, Rachel is described as having five children[9][12][13]. Rachel soon remarried. Her marriage date is commonly given as 5 August 1642, the date of an agreement (possibly a prenuptial) between Rachel and her second husband Anthony Wilson[9]. (Image on Ancestry in the Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 collection). On that agreement Rachel's daughter Mary is listed as the wife of Francis Purdy. Therefore Francis Purdy and Mary Brundish were married sometime between 2 April 1640 and 5 August 1642. According to her profile, Mary was baptized in England on 10 December 1628 (see her profile for citations). This would have her married at only 13 or 14 years old.

Children

1. John (ca 1648-1678); m. Elizabeth Brown (bpt. 1 Aug 1647). John's estate inventory was taken at Fairfield 26 Dec 1678; widow Elizabeth made oathe. She asked that her father (step father) John Hoit, and her brother Thomas Browne (or brother Hachaliah Browne) be made overseers.
2. Francis (ca 1650), was living at Rye in 1722. He had a daughter Mary who married Samuel Kniffen.
3. Joseph (ca 1652-1710), made a will 5 Oct 1709; Justice, Representative; m. Elizabeth, daughter of John Ogden
4. Mary, m. Deliverance Brown of Rye by 1678.
5. Daniel, alive in 1658, died young.

The birth order of youngest children Mary and Daniel is uncertain, and follows Jacobus.[9][3]

Note that as of 12 Jan 2023 there are children Thomas and Elizabeth attached to Francis. Those profiles have no sources and likely represent fictional persons.

In 1644 Francis and Mary witnessed the will of William Frost. The other witness was Ephraim Wheeler[14].

Death and Legacy

Francis died at Fairfield before 14 October 1658 (date of inventory)[15]. His inventory was that of a farmer. Five children were listed, all minors. (John, Francis, [Joseph], Daniel and Mary). John was to receive a double portion, which implies that he was the eldest. John Hoyt was to take care of the mare[9].

The farm home lot property does not appear on the inventory, and Mary is to have the use of it, indicating that the property was part of her dower.

20 years later, 1678, Moses Dimon purchased land in Fairfield from Deliverance Brown (husband of Mary), John Purdy, Francis Purdy and Joseph Purdy, all residents of Rye.[9]

After Francis' death, his widow Mary married John Hoyt about 1659. She, John, and her children soon removed to Rye, Westchester, New York Colony.[9]

Research Notes

Notes on removal to Fairfield: John Brundish died in Wethersfield in 1639, and the 27 April 1641 land inventory of Wethersfield shows his widow Rachel owning land there, which she sold by 1 May 1641. She must have moved to Fairfield about this time. In the 5 August 1642 agreement cited above Anthony Wilson gets the house and home lot in Fairfield "that was sometimes Rachel Brundishes", indicating that Rachel was of Fairfield long enough to have built a house there[10].

Francis may already have been living in Fairfield, but he also could have been of the Wethersfield area and moved to Fairfield with the Brundish family. Given the narrow time window, Francis and Mary could have been married in either Wethersfield or Fairfield.

Wethersfield was attacked by Pequots in April 1637, killing nine settlers and touching off the Pequot War. There was a major flood of the Connecticut River in 1639, along with continuing Indian conflicts. When John Brundish committed suicide, probably about September 1639, he left four children, and his widow was pregnant with another. However stressful this was for Rachel, it does not explain her assenting to the marriage of her 13 year old daughter Mary to Francis Purdy, unless Francis had some prior close acquaintance with the Brundish family. (No "early" children are known to have been born to Mary and Francis).

This implies that Francis was first of Wethersfield and then moved to Fairfield with Rachel. It also implies that Francis was of Wethersfield early enough to develop a close relationship with the Brundishes, so arrived there perhaps no later than 1638. There is no evidence that Francis was indentured to John Brundish, or that he was apprenticing to become a tanner, or that he had come with them from Watertown.

Why did Rachel move her family to Fairfield, in particular? The Brundishes were strict Puritans, and the move was likely occasioned by the irreconcilable split of the Wethersfield church in 1640, which resulted in many families relocating to other towns. Perhaps Rachel wanted Francis bound to her family as part of the move to a newly developing settlement. The marriage may have initially been a marriage of convenience, as no known children were born to Francis and Mary for four to six years.

Disputed children: Elizabeth Purdy (1648-1742) and Thomas Purdy (1645-1678) were removed as children due to lack of documentary evidence that a son Thomas or a daughter Elizabeth existed. All records enumerate John, Francis, Joseph, Mary and Daniel. John gets a double portion of Francis’s estate naming him the eldest. See g2g post.

WikiTree contributors, "Francis Purdy (abt.1610-bef.1658)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Purdy-31 : accessed 17 December 2024). cites

1. #Crowell, Fred E., (1920-1930) New Englanders in Nova Scotia Manuscript. R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, NEHGS, Boston, MA. [http://www.americanancestors.org/databases/new-englanders-in-nova-s... AmericanAncestors.org. accessed 7 June 2016 Page 198.
   1. New Englanders in Nova Scotia is a collection of materials, including a series of articles written by Fred Crowell for publication as a series in the Yarmouth Herald. Unfortunately, Mr. Crowell rarely mentioned his evidence or sources.
   2. A Brundage Family Genealogy, An Account of Some of the American Descendants of John Brundish (1593-1639), Who Came from England to Massachusetts in 1635 by Thomas William Brundage, 1989. The following web site appears to contain 13 pages of Chapter 2, and a couple pages of Chapter 3, that is, 3-33 and 3-34. There appears to be a total of 54 pages in Chapter 2 that is not in this web site. So, apparently there are only 13 pages out of 54 pages. See: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/73570863?p=21538652&r...
   3. Ana Falconer Perrin, Allied families of Purdy, Fauconnier, Archer, Perrin, New York: Frank Allaben Geneal. Co., c1911; p. 95-98.page 15
   4. COLKET, MEREDITH B., JR. Founders of Early American Families: Emigrants from Europe, 1607-1657. Cleveland: General Court of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, 1975.
   5. Sutton, "One branch of the Purdy Family of Westchester County", NYG&B Record, July 1938: Volume 69, issue 3, page 202; page 202
   6. New Englanders in Nova Scotia Manuscript. R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB398/i/12125/198/23901943
   7. Purdy Family Association, (1989) "Francis Purdy," in Connecticut Nutmegger, AmericanAncestors.org accessed 7 June 2016, (Vol 22: Page 308)
   8. Fairfield, CT: Families of Old Fairfield. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield. Compiled and edited by Donald Lines Jacobus. 2 vols. New Haven: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company, 1930-1932.; pages 107-108; page 495
   9. Anderson, Robert Charles, 1999 "John Brundish," Featured name. Great Migration 1634-1635, A-B. NEHGS, AmericanAncestors.org. accessed 7 June 2016 (Volume 1, A-B, Page 447).
   10. New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. TEXT: PURDY, Francis1 (-1658) & Mary [BRUNDISH/BRUNDAGE?], m/2 John HOYT ca 1659; by 1644?; Fairfield, CT {Briggs-DeGroff 389; Frame-Dana 248; Mead-Clark 70; Fairfield Fam. 1:108, 495; Fairfield Prob. 4; Lyon 3:73; Strang 139; French Anc. 59; Purdy 15; Hart Anc 140}; page 1239. < digital image >
   11. Records of the Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663; Published by The Connecticut Historical Society And The Society of Colonial Wars In The State of Connecticut, Hartford, 1928. Page 6 & 10; (FamilySearch.org link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSZC-S739-J : 4 April 2022)
   12. "John Brundish", Great Migration 1634-1635, A-B. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999., pages 445-447, pages 445-447
   13. The public records of the colony of Connecticut, 1636-1776; v. 01, pages 465-66, viewable on FamilySearch; page 466
   14. Fairfield Probate Records, image viewable on FamilySearch, Film 007627300, Image 28, [1]
   15. Josephine C. Frost, The Strang genealogy, descendants of Daniel Streing, of New Rochelle, New York..., 1916.
   16. James Carnahan Wetmore, The Wetmore family of America and its collateral branches : with genealogical, biographical, and historical notices, Albany, N.Y.: Munsell and Rol year?
   17. William Gedney Wallbridge, Descendants of Henry Wallbridge, who married Anna Amos December 25th, 1688 at Preston, Conn. : with some of the allied families,
   18. Fran L. Crawford, Morris D'Camp Crawford and his wife, Charlotte Holmes Crawford..., Ithaca, N.Y.: Priv. print. for F. L. Crawford, year?
   19. Seventeenth Century Colonial Ancestors, Vol. I
   20. Mary E. Carhart Dusenbury, A genealogical record of the descendants of Thomas Carhart, of Cornwall, England, New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1880
   21. Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography, ...
   22. Baird, Charles Washington, 1871 Chronicle of a border town: history of Rye, Westchester county, New York, 1660-1870, including Harrison and the White Plains till 1788. New York : A.D.F. Randolph and Co., Archive.or accessed 7 June 2016 Page 434.
   23. Brown, Carolyn, Early Families, PURDY to YOUNGS Citing History Of Rye, NY, Chronicle of a Border Town ...' by Baird.
   24. According to the following source, Frances Purdy was b. 1616, Yorkshire, England and he d. 10/4/1658, Fairfield, Fairfield, CT. Francis and Mary Elizabeth Brundage were m. 8/5/1642, Fairfield, Fairfield, CT. Francis' year of immigration was 1632. Finally, this source says that Francis' mother was Elizabeth Brandish and his father was John Purdy. See: "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:38C1-ZS7 : accessed 30 August 2019), entry for Mary Elizabeth /Brundage/, cites sources; "Burkitt Family Tree" file (2:2:2:MMDY-LF1), submitted 12 December 2016 by Mary Mejia [identity withheld for privacy].
2. Genealogist-to-Genealogist (G2G) Forum posts: Francis Purdy (1587 - bef. 1658) - Straightening out some of the conflict Jan 9, 2024. < link >
3. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LLCC-FWQ
4. Perrin, Anna Falconer, 1842-; Meeker, Mary Falconer Perrin, 1848- . Allied families of Purdy, Fauconnier, Archer, Perrin (1911). Page 15. < Archive.Org > (has errors)