Descendants of William Fitch

Our Fitch ancestry commences in 1400. The spelling of the name has many variations. We see Fecche, Fieche, Fychhe, Fyche, and Fitche versions during the lifetime of our first documented ancestor. Over the years, there has been intensive research to connect the early Fitch family with the baronial family of Montfichet; it was finally determined that Richard de Montfichet, the last of that lineage died in 1258 without male heirs. Dr. Marc Fitch, who had spent nearly fifty years researching this family has concluded that the name Fitch derived from the word “fitch” which means vetch or fitch grass. Our early Fitch ancestors lived in Essex County, England, which is gently rolling countryside coupled with a fascinating history.

Our Fitch lineage starts with one William Fitch of Wicken Bonhunt which is located in northwest Essex County. William was born about 1400 and his death was reported at Widdington Court on 24 April 1455. He married ca 143x, the name and ancestry of his wife being unknown. William was a husbandman, a tenant farmer, who raised grain as well as sheep and cows. As a tenant farmer, he must have leased what land he had from either one or both of the local manor houses, i.e., the Manor of Wicken or the Manor of Bonhunt. It is important to have an understanding as to “ownwership” of land. Nobody owned the land except the King who gave possession by grant usually for some “quid pro quo”; in this case the land had been originally a grant to a Lord Robert Gernon in return for serving the king and providing troops and horses in time of war etc. The grantee then subdivided his total granted land by granting “seisin of” or “possession” to lessor manor houses who in turn granted seisin to tenant farmers who worked the farm in return for payments in crops to the manor houses. No one, per se, owned his land but in effect had title to which could be transferred or bequested. Eventually, the concept of “freehold” title did evolve with homes and buildings in the towns and cities. The evolution of the feudal system took a long time.

William is mentioned frequently in the Plea Rolls, i.e., Court of Common Pleas. In Sept. 1428 he puts himself against John Parker for breach of contract. In 1435 we find him against Thomas Wheler of Clavering for detaining 24 sheep. In 1436 he is against Thomas Punte and John Herlyng, both of Neuport for money owed. William Fitch was litigious soul. In 1438 he was against William Martyn of Little Wllen and in 1439 against John Bristowe of Totenham for a debt of L21. In the course of these various litigations, we find that our William Fitch sells grain and cattle. It is to be noted that William himself was the subject to a number of litigations. In 1440/41, William acquired some manorial land in Widdington, a few miles southeast of Wicken Bonhunt. By 1450 we find that our William Fitch has moved up the social ladder in that he is now referred to as a yoeman which translate to the fact he had acquired a reasonably sized estate of freehold land. He is now in a social class just below that of “Gentleman”. In 1458 he acquired additional land from the Widdington Manor. As previously noted our William Fitch died prior to 24 April 1466, the date it was reported in the Court of the Manor. This report spelled out that John Fitch is son and next heir of the same William. There are no records of any other children of our William Fitch.

References: FH93:1-9, 37-70, 215-216

John Fitch, son of the above William, was born in Wicken Bonhunt, Essex no later than 1437, based upon the fact that the Manor Court reported his age in 1467 as being “30 years or more”. He died prior 09 April 1469, the date of the Manor Court reporting his death. He married ca 1464, in Wicken Bonhunt, Juliana (–) whose surname and ancestry is unknown. Julianna (–) married, as he second husband, in 1468+ at Wicken Bonhunt, Richard Westerly and she died about 1475.

The earliest mention of John Fitch is in the Court of Common Pleas of June/July 1458 wherein John Fitch of Wicken, a husbandman, was attached to answer Geoffrey Clerk why, with force and arms the close of said Geoffrey at Wicken , he did break and his corn and grass to the value of 100 shillings there lately growing he did feed, tread down and consume. This document tells us that John is still in Wicken Bonhunt and that he is a tenant farmer. In short, the court is accusing John that he broke into(trespassed) Geoffrey Clerk’s field and that John’s animals were feeding there. It seems as though this went on for a whole summer and that the damage was 40 marks or about L25+. The outcome of this trial is not known.

John waited a little more than a year, after his father’s death, before he went to Manor Court to claim his inheritance, i.e., William’s land. It should be noted that this was not William’s freehold land but rather the land his father had “seisin of” from the Manor for tenant farming. So John had at age thirty almost five acres of freehold arable land and meadows. But not for long as John died at about age 31 when his son Thomas was only three years of age.

The Manor Court of 09 April 1469, in noting his death, clearly spells out the family relationships wherein “that John held one acre and a half of meadow, lying in Cresweldfeld, late John Revell’s and two acres of land whereof one acre lies in Purdonfeld late William Fitch, his father’s. And that Thomas is his son and next heir age three years. And because of his youth, the custody of the said land and meadow committed to his Mother Julian” , to hold and occupy the same to the use of the said heir et al”. This Manor Court document was instrumental in establishing the early lineage of our Fitch Ancestry. Earlier research based upon “Visitation lineages was different.

References:FH93:71-76,216

Thomas Fitch, the only known child of John and Julianna (–) Fitch, was born ca 1468 at Wicken Bonhunt, Essex and died 24 April 1514 at Lindsell, Essex which is about 10 miles southeast of Wicken Bonhunt. Thomas married, prior to 22 December 1490 at Lindsell, Essex, Agnes Algore, who was born ca 147x at Manor Lindsell and died prior to 03 May 1527 at Lindsell, Essex. She was the sole heiress of Robert and Margaret Cowley Algore of Manor Lindsell. Agnes Algore, who came from a family of means, brought considerable property to her marriage with Thomas Fitch. Briefly, we see John Algore who died 1413+ whose son was William and whose son was William who died 1468 whose son was Robert Algore who married Margaret Cowley in 1468; Margaret Cowley was an heiress in her own right.

One of the properties that Agnes inherited was the manor of Brazenhead which became the residence of Thomas and Agnes Algore Fitch. Of great interest if the “Brazenhead Knocker”

which was on the door of this manor house. The brass knocker, which is now in the British Museum, weights 15-20 pounds and how it came to Brazenhead manor has been subject to much research and debate. But it is agreed that it originally was made to serve as the knocker or the “sanctuary ring” of some large Abbey or Cathedral Church. It is very similar to the sanctuary ring/knocker found on the door of the ancient Durham Cathedral Church. The custom of the early times provided that you would receive sanctuary in the Cathedral if you could reach the “ring” before your pursuers overtook you, regardless of your crime. Once in the Sanctuary, you were “untouchable”. This was a manifestation of the power of the Church which was, in effect, greater than that of the King himself.

The land holdings of Thomas Fitch further increased with the passage of time. His holdings at Hubbardes increased in 1497 and , in November 1505, he finally acquired the property that his father John had left for his Mother, Julianna. Then in December 1505 his Mother-in-law Margaret Cowley Algore died and left property to her namesake, Margaret Fitch, eldest daughter of Thomas and Agnes Algore Fitch .As previously noted, Thomas Fitch died on 24 April 1514 at the age of 49 and was buried at the parish church in Lindsell. A brass, set in the floor before the chancel arch, was installed to commemorate Thomas and Agnes Algore Fitch and their children. A total of eleven children are shown; as there is documentation of only seven children, it is assumed they had four additional children who did not survive. The parish church also has a stained glass window with portraits of Thomas and Agnes Algore Fitch at prayer.

References:FH93:77-124, 216-217

Roger Fitch, probably the fifth child and youngest son of Thomas and Agnes Algore Fitch, was born after 1496, i.e., 1500+/- at Lindsell, Essex. He died prior to 22 February 1559, the date his will was proved, at Panfield, Essex which is a village about six and one half miles southeast of Lindsell. Panfield is a small rural village on the river Pant. Roger married, ca 152x/153x, probably at Lindsell, Margery (–) whose surname and ancestry is unknown. Margery (–) was born ca 150x and she died 1559+, i.e., she survived her husband.

Roger, being the youngest son, probably received the smallest share of his father’s estate. He calls himself yoeman in his will like his ancestor William Fitch. As such, he probably had a small landed estate. While Roger lived in Panfield, his property holding was in Bocking, Essex which is across the river from Panfield. Bocking was an important center in 16^th century. Roger, in 1531, with a group of associates, acquired an additional property which consisted of 135 acres including a domicile together with the right to some rental income in Great Barfield.which is located a few miles northeast of Panfield. On 25 September 1533 he acquired the land that had been willed to him by his father In 1535, Roger with associates purchased property including one messuage ( a dwelling with appurtenances), 24 acres of land, 4 acres of meadow, and 16 acres of pasture. In 1549, he, with William Gregyll, bought three houses and four gardens in Braintree. Roger’s property holdings were increasing.

Roger died early in 1559 at less than 60 years of age; he was the first of his lineage to leave a will, a rather extensive will at that. He bequested property to his wife Margery/Margaret; he left a fair amount of monies to his sons John, Thomas, William, and George; he provided lessor monies to his four daughters; and he provided for the poor households of Panfield and for “mending the highways”. Finally, he provided a number of “seams” (1 seam equals 8ushels) of gray wheat, malt, and barley for his three servants. It would seem that our Roger Fitch was a reasonably well off farmer who, with his wife Margery, had at least eleven children, seven sons and four daughter, all of which are mentioned in his will. There is little information available on the destinies of most of these children.

References:FH93: 125-154, 218-219

George Fitch, probably the sixth son of Roger and Margery (–) Fitch, was born, either in Panfield or Bocking, Essex, ca 1545 based upon being the youngest of the three sons under 21 in1559. He died between 12 May 1605 and 18 June 1605, the dates of writing and proving of his will at Edwardstone, Suffolkshire. George Fitch was married three times. He first married, at Little Canfield on 13 September 1574, Joan Thurgood who was born ca 155x in Elselham, Essex which is about 12 miles west of Panfield, Essex. Joan died prior to 24 December 1602 at Sudbury, Suffolk. She was the daughter of Nicholas Thurgood of Battles in Manuden. George married, as his 2^nd wife, on 21 January 1602+ at Edwardstone, Suffolk, Bridget (–) Gossard French, widow of John Gossard.and John French. Bridget died 25 August 1603 and George married, as his third wife, widow Joane (–) Taylor. First wife Joan Thurgod was the mother of all of George Fitch’s children.

George Fitch, as did three of his brothers, enter into the trade of being first a haberdasher and clothier and then a mercer. These are occupations that involve the manufacture of and trade in cloth. So it is likely that George had some sort of work shop and store and established himself in Braintree which was growing faster than Bocking. It is to be noted that the Bocking/Braintree area of Essex was a major center for the production of woolens. Braintree was an ancient town which appears in the Doomsday Book with the first church being on Chapel Hill near the Bishop’s manor house. The present church St. Michaels dates from 1200 with Romas bricks in the east wall of the chancel and in the base of the tower. Based upon his future activity in real estate, it would seem that George was successful in his haberdasher/clothier/mercer vocations.

In1578, George made the first of a great many property purchases wherein he bought a house and garden in Braintree. He had many transactions with John Lagden who evidently had much property in Braintree. In 1586, George bought two properties in Bocking which were evidently investments as he soon had them leased and producing income. In 1590, he bought a fourteen acre farm in Bocking. In 1599, George and his family moved to Sudbury, Suffolk and in1600 he bought land in the Great Henny. George subdivided this large Great Henny property and very profitably sold many lots. His move to Sudbury was probably due to his increasing activity as a mercer coupled with his real estate activity in the Great Henny. This coupled with the fact that he was getting older and thinking of retiring and living off his income from his various holdings. Sudbury was an ancient town noted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of the year 0798. In 1602 he moved from Sudbury to Edwardstone, Suffolk which is a few miles east of Sudbury. It was in Edwardstone that George married his second and third wives.

George was in his early sixties when he died. As noted his will was dated on 12 May and probated on 18 June 1605. There is not a detailed inventory but in reading the various bequests one sees an estate of considerable value. He provided ample for his third wife, Joan; Thomas the oldest son, who is but 29/30 years old, receives the entire Edwardstone estate, a large property with a large manor house, service buildings plus many acres of land. The four younger children receive cash bequests plus larger bequests when they become 21 years old; many hundreds of Ls are involved. For perspective, a school teacher had an annual salary of L5. George also had other bequests for grandchildren, his household and grounds staff, certain community situations etc.

References:FH93:155-183, 219-220, 235-246

Thomas Fitch, the eldest son of George and Joan Thurgood Fitch, was born, between 1574 and 1583, most likely in Braintree, Essex. He died in Bocking; his will was dated 11 December 1632 and proved 12 February 1633. He married, in Bocking on 08 August 1611, Ann Reeve who was born in 1590 at Gosfield, Essex and died 21 October 1669 at Hartford, Ct. She was the daughter of John and Mary Brock Reeve. John Reeve, of Bocking and later Gosfield, was born ca 156x and died 1621, will proved 09 January 1621. He is listed as a yoeman and was a trustee for a Bocking charity. His ancestry is unknown. Mary Brock, the wife of John Reeve and mother of Ann Reeve, was born ca 156x and was the daughter of William Brock, wp 15 June 1599, and Margery Bedell, the daughter of John Bedell of Notley, Essex. The noted William Brock of Bocking was the son of John Brock of Little Leighs, Essex and Agnes Wiseman of Canfield, Essex.

Our Thomas Fitch was a very successful clothier. As noted previously, the Bocking/Braintree, Essex area and Sudbury, Suffolk were the centers of the woolen industry. Raising sheep for their wool was of record since the Doomsday survey. The initial broad cloth industry was being replaced by the manufacture of worsted which is made from long staple wool that has been combed and twisted into yarn. For decades, the work was carried out in people’s homes. Over time, the several steps in the manufacturing process began to be organized and coordinated by enterprising men known as clothiers who bought the raw wool, parceled it out to workers in their homes, collected the woven cloth, and put it through the full milling and dye work. By the 16^th century a wealthy class of capitalists emerged. Unfortunately, while the clothiers grew rich, a majority of the workers starved. The evidence is that the daily earnings of the workers were in the order of 6 pence which was insufficient to support a family without supplementary produce from the land. The local corporations passed regulations determining the low rates of pay. Early on most of the home workers had their strips of land to farm. But as the industry grew, more people came to Bocking and Braintree and were living in the towns; these people had no land to farm. As such the times were becoming very difficult.

Our Thomas Fitch prospered. He is now referred to as a “gentleman”. In September 1613, Thomas bought two houses, two gardens, one orchard, 8 acres of land, 5 acres of meadow, and 11 acres of pasture with appurtenances. On 23 Septembver 1614, Thomas Fitch, clothier preferred charges against spinister Mary Goodwyn for stealing a “pillow-beere”, i.e., a pillowcase worth 11 pence. The General Sessions at Chelmsford found her guilty and she was sentenced to be whipped. Shades of “Les Miserables”. In September 1615, Thomas Fitch was again in real estate business. This time he bought 24 acres and turned around and sold 23 acres and ended up with a house and a garden for free.

Thomas’s family was growing. Their son James was born 24 December 1622. They subsequently had eight more children. An economic depression was in process in the late 1620s; King Charles and his Duke of Buckingham had involved England in disastrous wars with France and Spain which had a severe impact on the wool trade. Unemploymenr was endemic. The times were hard. However, our Thomas Fitch on 27 September 1630 bought 130 acres including several houses for which he paid L660, a very large sum of money.

Thomas Fitch, as noted died late in 1632/early 1633 at Bocking, Essex at age 52/53. He had a very extensive will and distributed much wealth among his family. He had a plethora of bequests for many friends and family staff. Thomas and Ann Reeve Fitch had eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. Four of the sons, i.e., Thomas, James, Samuel and Joseph came to New England with James being the first in 1638. The other three and their Mother Anne had arrived here by 1650. Second son John stayed in England and became a successful clothier. He died in the plague in1666. Son Nathaniel died unmarried in England at age 26 and son Jeremy became a “stapler”. Little is known of daughters Mary, Anne, and Sarah.

References:FH93:189-214, 220, 247-264

James Fitch, the third son of Thomas and Ann Reeve Fitch, was born on 24 December 1622 in Bocking, Essex and died 18 November 1702 at Lebanon, Ct. He first married, in October 1648 at Guilford, Ct., Abigail Whitford who was born on 01 September 1622 at Ockley, Surrey, Eg.and died 09 September 1659 at Saybrook, Ct. She was the daughter of Rev. Henry and Dorothy Sheaffe Whitford of Mortlake and Ockley, Surrey. Rev. James Fitch married, as his second wife in Oct. 1664 at Norwich, Ct., Priscilla Mason, the daughter of Major John and Anne Peck Mason of Windsor, Ct Priscilla survived her husband, James, and was alive in 1710.

James, at the time of his father’s death, was ten years old. He was a rather precocious child and his father had already decided that James was to be a university graduate. He was to receive L100 when he had been enrolled for two years in a bachelor of arts program at Cambridge University; “I desire he should be bred up a scholar”. James was also to receive L30 a year, to see him thru school, from his mother until such time he became a “master of arts”. However, under the influence of his father’s old friend, Rev. Thomas Hooker, James opted to go to New England in 1638, prior to completion of his studies at Cambridge. In New England he studied for the ministry under Rev. Thomas Hooker and Rev. Samuel Stone of Hartford, Ct.

Rev. James Fitch was ordained the first minister of Saybrook, Ct. in 1646 and with Major John Mason, his future father-in-law, led his flock thru the wilderness to found the new colony of Norwich, Ct. in 1659. Late in life, 1696+, Rev. James moved to Lebanon, Ct. which he had founded and named in honor of the “lofty cedars of Lebanon” found in the Bible. Several of Rev. James’s children were already settled there in Lebanon. Rev. James was considered “a wise, kind, good man, greatly beloved by his people, who during fifty years of his ministry exercised beneficent and extended influence, not only in spiritual matters, but in secular affairs. Rev. James’s positive influence with the Indians was the salvation of the colony in the trying times of King Philip’s War. He persuaded the Mohegan tribes to join the colonists against their mutual foe, King Philip. Rev. James received a grant of 100 acres from the Connecticut Colony in 1666. He was preacher of the first Election Sermon before the Connecticut General Court in May 1674. He was appointed Chaplain to the Army in May 1676.

The will of Rev. James Fitch was made 07 February 1696 and proved at Norwich, Ct. 02 December 1702. James and Abigail Whitford Fitch had six children, two sons, James and Samuel and four daughters, Abigail, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Dorothy all of whom are mentioned in his will. James and Priscilla Mason Fitch had eight children, seven sons and one daughter. All of these children, with the exception of a son, Jeremiah, are also mentioned in his will. There is probably another story of why Jeremiah, who was born in 1670 and died in 1736, was not mentioned in the will. In that all of the sons had been given land during the lifetime of Rev. James, the inventory was mainly household items, a library of books, and various moveables with a modest valuation of L247 16 shillings.

References:FH6:17,253-256; FH31:648-649; FH93:202,209-210,220; PH7:269; PH60:261-262

Hannah Fitch, the third daughter and fourth child of Rev. James and Abigail Whitford Fitch, was born 17 September 1653 in Saybrook, Ct. and died 30 July 1706 at Norwich, Ct. She married, on 30 June 1677 at Norwich, Ct., Thomas Mix who was born 30 August 1655 at New Haven, Ct. and died 30 July 1706 at Norwich, Ct. He was the son of Thomas and Rebecca Turner Mix of New Haven, Ct.

References:FH31:640; PH6:256; PH7:513; PH60:262