Daniel Gookin, 1612-1687, assistant and major general of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Preface

HAT no extended biography of Daniel Gookin has heretofore been published is without doubt attributable to the paucity of the available material. About 1840 Mr. John Wingate Thornton began to gather information about his distinguished ancestor, and in 1847 the facts he had been able to get together were embodied in an article upon "The Gookin Family," printed that year in the first volume of "The New England Historical and Genealogical Register." For more than thirty years Mr. Thornton was an eager gleaner of every item he could discover concerning the " grand old American patriarch and sage." Though, to his deep regret, he was unable to carry out his design of writing a life of Daniel Gookin, by his early researches he laid a foundation for which I am greatly indebted.

It is now thirty-six years since Mr. Thornton resigned his cherished task to my hands and I began the collection of data for the present work. In the scant leisure of a busy life this has been necessarily a slow process ; and it is only within recent years that a considerable part of the information I sought has come to light. The more important facts of General Gookin's career are well known, but it has proved a difficult matter to supplement them with the mass of lesser items without which a well-rounded portrait could not be presented. Such a portrait I have endeavoured to prepare, but I am deeply sensible of many deficiencies. I have used the utmost care to secure accuracy of detail, and I can only hope that mistakes are few. Such as it is, the book is offered as a tribute to the memory of Daniel Gookin on the three-hundredth anniversary of his birth. It forms a part of an extended history of the Gookin family, other portions of which I hope to print at some future time.

The armorial bearings that appear in the head bands I have drawn for the several chapters are those of a number of

ix

X PREFACE

General Gookin's ancestors, and also the coats borne by his brother, John Gookin, and his uncle, Sir Vincent Gookin.

I desire here to make grateful acknowledgement to the many people who have contributed information or in one way or another have helped in the work of gathering material. It is impracticable to mention all by name, but I wish in particular to record my indebtedness to my wife for her very efficient assistance, to Miss Elizabeth Thornton for the family papers collected by her father and for her constant interest in my progress, to Mr. Lincoln N. Kinnicutt for his generous encouragement of the publication, to Mr. Charles T. Tatman for the photograph of General Gookin's sword now in his possession, to Mr. Hichard B. Townshend and Dr. Lyon G. Tyler for transcripts of documents, and to Mr. W. P. W. Phillimore and Mr. J. Henry Lea for aid in my researches in England.

Frederick William Gookin.

13 West Walton Place, Chicago, November 23, 191 2.

Chapter I

Fourth in descent from Arnold Gookin — The ancient Kentish families of Cokyn and Colkin — Early variations in the spelling of Gookin — Thomas Gookin of Bekesbourne — The Durrant family — Children of Thomas Gookin and Amy Durrant — The families of Denne, Tupton, and Hever — John Gookin of Ripple — Marriage and removal to Appleton — Removal to Little Betteshanger — Subscribes to Armada defense fund — Acquisition of Manor of Ripple Court — Children of John Gookin and Catherine Denne — Grant of Armorial bearings 3

Chapter II

The sons of John Gookin — Friendship between his sons Thomas and John — The widow of Thomas alienates her husband's family — The education of gentlemen's sons — Daniel Gookin's marriage to Mary Byrd — Rev. Richard Byrd — His education and early benefices — Tutor to Lord Burghley's grandson — In Paris with his charge — Young Cecil turns Papist — Letter to Burghley complaining of cruel treatment by English Ambassador — Archdeacon of Cleveland

— Canon of Canterbury Cathedral — Byrd's father-in-law Bishop Meye — Marriage to Amy Vowell — Education — Master of St. Catherine's Hall, Cambridge

— Archdeacon East Riding of Yorkshire — Friendship of Earl of Shrewsbury

— Appointed Bishop of Carlisle — Censured by the Puritans — Impoverished by relieving distress of poor people — Dies of plague — The families of Vowell, Hymerford, Copleston, and Fauntleroy 15

Chapter III

Early life — His brother Vincent settles in Ireland — Munster at beginning of seventeenth century — Daniel removes to Coolmain, county Cork — Death of his mother — Ripple Court turned over to his brother Thomas — John Gookin joins his son Daniel in Ireland — Daniel buys Manor of Carrigaline from Thomas Petley — Rival claim of Earl of Cork — Daniel sells Carrigaline to Cork and takes lease for twenty-two years — Shareholder in Virginia Company — The Longford plantation — Daniel sells to Francis Edgeworth . . 29

Chapter IV

Projects plantation in Virginia — Contract with 'Virginia Company for transport of cattle — Sails for Virginia in "The Flyinge Harte" — Arrival at Newport News

— Rejoicing by Company in London at good news — The Indian Massacre of March, 1622 — Daniel alone refuses order of concentration — Governor Wyatt his guest — Sails for England in the "Sea Flower" — Arrives in London bringing news of massacre — Obtains patent to Newport News plantation — Names it Marie's Mount — Takes share in New England Company — Dispatches the Providence to Virginia — An unprofitable venture — Muster of his Servants at Marie's Mount 38

xi xii CONTENTS

Chapter V

Attends meetings of Virginia Company — Death of his father — Fails to secure patent — Death of brother Thomas Gookin — Witness in suit of Thomas Milton vs. Jane Gookin — Wife Mary obtains loan from Lord Cork — Lease of Carrigaline sold to Lord Cork — Vincent Gookin knighted at Dublin — Daniel secures patent to Saint Brandan's Isle — Dies in City of Cork — Inventory of his effects — His children — Death of his mother at Bitton, Gloucestershire — His son John in Virginia — Marries Sarah Offley, widow of Captain Thorowgood — Dies at Lynn Haven — Widow marries Colonel Francis Yardley .... 49

Chapter VI

Boyhood at Carrigaline — Early visit to Virginia — Granted 2500 acres land on James River — Sale of Marie's Mount plantation — Marriage to Mary Dolling — Military Service — Return to Virginia — Captain of Upper Norfolk trained band — Granted 1400 acres on Rappahannock River — Signs Nansemond petition inviting Puritan ministers from New England — Tompson, Knowles, and James sail for Virginia — Cool reception by Governor Berkeley — Statute of conformity passed — Cotton Mather upon Tompson's mission — Daniel decides to leave Virginia — Acquires land in Maryland — Sails for Boston . . 61

Chapter VII

Arrival at Boston — Admitted to First Church — Residence in Roxbury — Friendship with Rev. John Eliot formed — Daniel's other neighbors and associates — Trade with Maryland and Virginia 72

Chapter VIII

Buys house in Cambridge — Granted farm at Shawshine — Captain of Cambridge trained band. — Distinguished residents of Cambridge — Chosen Deputy to the General Court — Visit to England in 1650 — Relatives then living — Again elected Deputy — Chosen Speaker — Elected an Assistant, or one of the Council of Magistrates — Assists Eliot in the work of Christianizing the Indians . 78

Chapter IX

Sails for England in autumn of 1654 — Changed conditions since last visit — Cromwell intent upon project for colonization of Jamaica — Daniel sent for and commissioned to urge New England colonists to remove thither — Instructions given him by the Council of State 85

Chapter X

Enters upon task reluctantly — Fate of Major Sedgwick's regiment — Daniel arrives at Boston on the Fraternity — Letters to Secretary Thurloe — Journey to Connecticut and New Haven colonies — Discouraging news from Jamaica makes his effort futile — Writes Secretary Thurloe his work at an end — Requests permission to return to England — Report of heavy mortality among the Nevis planters stops further efforts 92

CONTENTS xiii

Chapter XI

Again sails for England, November, 1657 — A narrow escape from losing his life — The state of England — Cromwell's death — Appointed Collector of Customs at Dunkirk — Appointed Deputy Treasurer at War — The Restoration — Daniel sails for home — Whalley and Goffe his fellow passengers — Arrival at Boston — The regicides at Cambridge — The controversy with the King's Commissioners — Daniel refuses to answer before them 104

Chapter XII

Granted 500 acres in the Pequot country — Rival claimants from Rhode Island — Daniel petitions the Commissioners — Sells the land to Simon Lynde — Granted another farm near Concord — The extent of his public service and other employments — Refuses appointment as licenser of the press — Takes part in public debate with the Anabaptists iii

Chapter XIII

Opens negotiations for purchase of colony of Maine — Letter to Ferdinand© Gorges — Interference by the Royal Commissioners — Letter to the Hon. Robert Boyle — Final report of the purchase of the Gorges claim 117

Chapter XIV

Daniel's work among the Indians — His estimate of Eliot's efforts to Christianize them — Daniel his constant associate and coadjutor — Appointed Superintendent of the Praying Indians — The nature of his work in this office — His compensation — Eliot writes the Commissioners of the Corporation for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians in New England — Daniel's account of a journey to the Nipmuck country in company with Eliot — Correspondence with Governor Prince 126

Chapter XV

The outbreak of King Philip's War — Unheeded warning given by Daniel Gookin

— He urges defensive measures — Advises utilizing the Christian Indian — Panic-stricken frenzy of the colonists — Their rage against Gookin — His firm stand — A Boston Merchant's letter to London 141

Chapter XVI

Calumnies echoed from other colonies — The Christian Indians removed to Deer Island — A winter visit to Concord — The fidelity of the Indians — Gookin and Danforth warned — The case of Richard Scott — The Christian Indians at last employed against the enemy — Daniel effects release of Mrs. Rowlandson from captivity — Eliot, Gookin, and Danforth run down in Boston harbor . 149

Chapter XVII

The election in 1676 — Daniel not returned as an Assistant — General Court appoints him Major of the Middlesex Regiment — His activity in raising troops for service in the field — The Indians removed from Deer Island — Eliot and Gookin resume their work among them — An attempt to run down Thomas Danforth

— Revulsion of feeling — Daniel again chosen Assistant .... 156 xiv CONTENTS

Chapter XVIII

Daniel writes Historical Account of the Doings and Sufferings of the Christian Indians — His Historical Collections of the Indians in New England — His History of New England — His equipment for this undertaking — The manuscript burned — A third tract i6i

Chapter XIX

The "Father of Worcester" — Preliminaries of Quinsigamond settlement — Daniel at head of Committee — Visit to the site — Work interrupted by Indian war — Renewed in 1683 — Town named Worcester — Conjectured reasons for the name — Close relation between Cromwell and several members of the Gookin family — Daniel's constant interest in the settlement 166

Chapter XX

Controversy over charter privileges — Divergent views in the colony — Daniel opposes sending agents to England — Opposes submission to the acts of trade — Makes written protest — Radical party in the ascendant — Daniel hailed as people's champion — Appointed Major General of the colony — Incurs Randolph's enmity — The abrogation of the charter 171

Chapter XXI

Death of Mrs. Gookin — Children of Daniel Gookin and Mary Dolling — Marriage to Mrs. Hannah Savage — Zeal in Indian work unabated — Illegal sale of liquor to Indians — General Gookin's last illness and death — Eliot solicits gift for his widow from Robert Boyle — Daniel's will — Declaration of his religious faith — His homestead in Cambridge — Inventory of estate — Death of Mrs. Hannah Gookin 179

Chapter XXII

Esteem of contemporaries — Nobility of character — Literary style — Originates doctrine "No taxation without representation" — George Bishop's railing — Daniel a just judge — The case of Silvanus Warro — Controversy with Caleb Grant — Justice Sewall's dream of Daniel Gookin 192

Index 199

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Armorial bearings of Major General Daniel Gookin : arms of Gookin quartering Durrant Frontispiece

Arms of Gookin : Gules, a chevron ermine, between three cocks, or.

Headband to Chapter I 3

St. Augustine's Church, Northbourne, Kent, and Interior of the old

church, Ripple, Kent 10

Armorial bearings granted John Gookin, Esquire, of Ripple Court,

Seal of Major General Daniel Gookin 14

Arms of Durrant of Littlebourne, Kent: sable, a cross-crosslet,

ermine. Headband to Chapter H 15

Hatchment used at the funeral of Thomas Gookin, Esquire, of Ripple Court, in January 1 625 : arms of Gookin quartering Durrant and impaling Thurston; argent, on a bend, gules, three mullets, or, in chief a bear (?), gules 16

Arms of Denne of Denne Hill, Kent: azure, three leopard's heads

couped at the neck, or. Headband to Chapter HI ... 29

Dovecote at Ripple Court built by General Gookin's cousin, John

Gookin, Esquire, in 1647 30

Arms of Byrd of Saffron Walden, Essex: quarterly, argent and sable, in the chief dexter quarter an eagle, sable. Headband to Chapter IV 38

Arms of Meye as borne by Bishop John Meye: sable, a chevron, or, between three cross-crosslets fitchee, argent; on a chief, or, three roses. Headband to Chapter V 49

Arms of Daniel Gookin of Carrigaline, Cork: arms of Gookin quartering Durrant, and impaling Byrd. Headband to Chapter VI . 61

Arms of Canon Richard Byrd: arms of Byrd impaling Meye.

Headband to Chapter VII 72

Arms of Tufton of Northiam, Sussex : argent, on a pale, sable, an

eagle, argent. Headband to Chapter VIII 78

Arms of Hever of Cranbrook, Kent: gules, a cross, argent, a label

of five, azure. Headband to Chapter IX 85

Arms of Nicholas Tufton, Esquire, of Northiam, Sussex: arms of Tufton with arms of Hever on an inescutcheon. Headband to Chapter X 92

XV xvi ILLUSTRATIONS

Facsimile of letter from Daniel Gookin to Secretary Thurloe . . 96

Jamaica colonization handbill circulated by Daniel Gookin . . 98

Arms of Apuldrefield of Ottreply in Challock, Kent: quarterly, 1st and 4th, sable, a cross voided, or, 2d and 3d, ermine, a bend, vaire, or and gules. Headband to Chapter XI . . . . 104

Arms of Fauntleroy of Fauntleroy's Marsh, Dorset : gules, three infant's heads couped at the shoulders, proper, crined or. Headband to Chapter XII Ill

Arms of Dryland of Kent : gules, guttee d'eau, a fess wavy, argent.

Headband to Chapter XIII • . . I17

Arms of Hymerford of East Coker, Somerset: argent, a chevron

between three drakes, sable. Headband to Chapter XIV . .126

Arms of Copleston of Copleston, Devon : argent, a chevron engrailed, gules, between three leopard's faces, azure. Headband to Chapter XV 141

Arms of William Hymerford of East Coker: arms of Hymerford with

arms of Copleston on an inescutcheon. Headband to Chapter XVI 149

Placard threatening the lives of Daniel Gookin and Thomas Danf orth 1 54

Arms of Vowell of Wells, Somerset: gules, three escutcheons, argent, each charged with a cinquefoil, azure. Headband to Chapter XVII .... 156

Arms of William Vowell of Creake Abbey, Norfolk: arms of Vowell, with arms of //>'w^r/«r^ quartering Copleston on an inescutcheon. Headband to Chapter XVIII 161

Arms of Ashhurst of Ashhurst, Kent: gules, a cross engrailed, or, in the

chief dexter quarter a fleur de lys, or. Headband to Chapter XIX 166

General Gookin's rapier, and cane carried by his grandson, Daniel

Gookin of Worcester, Massachusetts . . . . . . . 168^"^^

Arms of General Gookin's grandfather, John Gookin, Esquire, of Ripple Court: arms of Gcij^m quartering Z)«rr««/ and impaling Define. Headband to Chapter XX 171

Arms of John Gookin of Lynn Haven, Virginia : arms of Gookin quartering Durrant?iX\d. impaling Offley, argent, on a cross pattee flory, azure, between four Cornish choughs, a lion passant guardant, or. Headband to Chapter XXI .179

Tomb of Major General Daniel Gookin at Cambridge, Mass. . . 186

Arms of Sir Vincent Gookin, Knight, of Courtmacsherry, Cork : arms of Gookifi impaling arms of Crooke; a fess engrailed between three eagles, tinctures not known. Headband to Chapter XXII . . 192

Letter of Daniel Gookin to Captain Wade 196

Chapter I

ANIEL GOOKIN, the subject of this memoir, was the third son of Daniel Gookin of Carrigaline, Ireland, and the fourth in descent from Arnold Gookin, who, in the reign of King Henry VIII, lived in Ickham, a parish in the county of Kent, lying about five miles to the east and a little to the north of the city of Canterbury. Nothing is certainly known concerning Arnold Gookin save his place of residence, and, in a general way, the period in which he lived. In the pedigree signed by his great grandson Thomas Gookin, which appears in the Visitation of Kent in 1619, he is called " Arnoldus Gokin de com. Cantii." And in the record preserved at the College of Arms of the bearings granted to his grandson John Gookin of Ripple Court in 1609 by Sir William Segar, Garter King of Arms, he is described as "Arnoldus Cokeine alias Gookeine of Ickham in Kent."

Hasted, in his "History of Kent," says that Cokyn's Hospital in Canterbury was founded in 1 199 by William Cokyn, "whose name in his posterity long survived him in this city."^ The same authority also states that an aldermanry of Canterbury including the presidency of a ward-mote, or ward-court, held every three weeks, was transmitted by inheritance in fee, through several generations of Cokyns.^ In the reign of

1 2nd Edition Canterbury, i8oi, xil, 115-1 16. In Ireland's Kent, i, 133, the name is given as John Cokyn. ^Hasted's Kent, xi, 78.

4 THE COLKINS OF KENT

King Edward III one Edmund Cokyn alias Cockayne was returned, as a citizen of Canterbury, Member of Parliament at Westminster in 1343 and again in 1345 and 1353.^ Another citizen of Canterbury named John Colkin built a seat known as "Colkins" at Boughton-under-Blean and died possessed of it in the tenth year of Edward III (1340): several of his posterity were buried in the church at Boughton and their arms, a griffin segreant, figured in brass upon their tombstones, all of which had been "long since destroyed" when Hasted wrote his book at the end of the eighteenth century, save only one inscribed "Orate pro anima Johannis Colkin, obiit 18 April, 1405. "2 Under Edward I (1272-1307) the manor of Fredville or Froidville at Nonington, a few miles northwest of Dover, was owned by John Colkin, and it remained in his line until the close of the reign of Richard II (circa 1399)^ Hasted says this family bore a different coat of arms from the Boughton family but he does not state what their bearings were.

Although nothing has yet been discovered that throws any light upon Arnold Gookin's parentage, the surmise that he was the descendant of one or the other of these worthies is in accord with all of the circumstances with which we are acquainted and appears to be well within the limits of probability. In the sixteenth century the spelling of proper names was so erratic that inferences drawn therefrom should be made with much caution. Nevertheless it is worth noting that in the will of Jane Durrant,* dated November 12, 1548, the earliest known document in which a member of the Gookin family is named, Arnold's son is described as "Thos, Golkyn" and as "Thos. Golkyne." In the will of his brother-in-law John Durrant, made in 1561, Thomas is called "Thomas Golkyn" and his wife "Amy Golkin." Five years later the name appears upon the Bekesbourne Parish Register as "Goolkyn" and "Goolken"; while in 1587 the Rector of Northbourne

^ Hasted's Kent, xi, 48.

^Hasted's Kent, vii, II, 14-15 ; Weaver's Ancient Funeral Monuments, 1631, p. 274.

^Ireland's Kent, i, S9S ; Hasted, ix, 257. ^ See infra p. 6.

THOMAS GOOKIN OF BEKESBOURNE 5

thought "Govvkin" the proper form. Upon the Parish Register of Ripple the name occurs eight times between 1571 and 1582, and in each instance it is spelled **Gookyn." In Thomas Gookin's will made in 1595 the spelling "Gookin" appears for the first time so far as our present knowledge extends. Thomas signed the will with a cross, which may have been because he had not learned to write, but was, perhaps, because of the infirmity of old age. His grandson Thomas Gookin wrote the name Gokin. This is the only known variation from the normal spelling that has ever been made by a member of the family; to others, however, the name has always presented strange difficulty from the sixteenth century down to the present day.^

As two of Arnold Gookin's grandchildren were married in 1566, the date of his birth must have been some time in the reign of King Henry VII. His only child of whom there is record was his son Thomas, born at least as early as 1518, and probably several years before that. Thomas Gookin lived in Bekesbourne, which lies three miles from Canterbury in an easterly direction, the parishes of Littlebourne and Ickham adjoining it to the north and northeast. His wife, whom he married about 1538, though perhaps some years earlier, was Amy Durrant. She was the daughter of John Durrant of Littlebourne, who, as appears from the churchwarden's accounts for that parish, was one of the tenants of the Court Lodge at the time of the Reformation. He bore the arms: Sable, a cross-crosslet ermine. Dying before 1548 he left, besides his daughter Amy, an only surviving son, John Durrant, who was the owner of the ancient seat of Howlets or Owlets in the extreme northeastern angle of Bekesbourne close to the Ickham line in a vale facing the downs and not far from Littlebourne. The younger John Durrant was a rich man. His will, which was dated January 9, 1 560/1, and proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury June 5, 1563, was a voluminous affair, covering no less than twenty

^The author has noted a long list of variant spellings. Some of the most astonishing are quite recent; and as he writes these words a letter comes to him addressed to Mr. Evokin.

6 THE DURRANT FAMILY

pages. From it and the will of his mother, and the Littlebourne parish records, we get the following pedigree:

John Durrant = of Littlebourne, d. before 1 548.

Bur, at Littlebourne,

= Johane ....

Will Nov, 12, 1548, pr, Jan, 19, 1548/9, "Her son Richard Elgar, executor."

John Durrant = Ellys Denne, of "Owletts," sister of obit s. p., buried M ichael at Littlebourne, Denne.

April 16, 1563.

. . . .Durrant= second son, d. before 1548.

Amy Durrant

Thomas Golkin.

Mildred Durrant = '

William Swinford.

Elizabeth Durrant, unm. 1561.

A large portion of the estate of John Durrant the younger was devised to his sister Amy, and as he died without issue she inherited the Durrant arms, which thus became a part of the Gookin coat.

Amy Gookin died in February, 1 580/1, and was buried on the 15th of that month in the churchyard at Bekesbourne.^ Two years later Thomas Gookin married again, taking as his second wife Sybbell Blacke of Boughton-Aluph, widow. The license for this marriage was issued June 22, 1583.2 Fifteen years later Sybbell passed away. She was buried at Bekesbourne August 29, 1598. Thomas, who had reached a ripe old age, survived her less than a year, and was buried at Bekesbourne June 14, 1599. There were no children by the second marriage, but by Amy Durrant Thomas had John Gookin, his only son^ and heir, and five daughters, namely: Amy who married Robert Syme and had, before 1560, a daughter Alice; Thomasin, who married Robert Cowper or Cooper before 1560; Elizabeth, who married Thomas Long, an alderman of

^Bekesbourne Parish Register.

2 Cantab. Mar. Lie. istSer. C. 181.

•So described in his will, pr. July 7, 1599, Archdeaconry Court, Canterbury.

A DOUBLE WEDDING 7

Canterbury; Jhoane, who married John Sanders; and Cicely, who was baptized at Ickham January 8, 1558/9, and was buried there later in the same month. Amy, Thomasin, and Elizabeth were all older than John. Amy was the oldest and was probably born about 1540. John, who was presumably of legal age at the time of his marriage, must have come into the world as early as 1545.

On October 28 in the year 1566, the eighth of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a double wedding ceremony was performed in the little church at Bekesbourne, John Gookin taking as his wife Catherine Denne,^ while his sister Jhoane Gookin was married to John Sanders. Catherine Denne was the second daughter of William Denne of Kingston, Kent, Esquire, by his wife Agnes, daughter of Nicholas Tufton of Northiam Place in Sussex, Esquire, ancestor of the Earls of Thanet. The Denne family is one of the oldest of the Kentish gentry, claiming descent from Robert de Den, pincerna, butler, or sewer, to King Edward the Confessor. The following pedigree in which that descent is shown is taken from Berry's Kent Genealogies. 2

Robert de Den or De Dene, pincerna, = butler or sewer to Edward the Confessor. Held large estates in Sussex, Kent, and Normandy. Vide Dorset MSS., Collin's Peerage, and Harris' "Kent."

Robert de Dene (See Dorset MSS.) = . !

* There is some reason to think that this was not the first alliance between the Gookin and the Denne families. Thomas Gookin of Bekesbourne mentioned in his will, "Amy Dens and Elyzabethe Dens my kenswomen. " This points to a connection prior to the testator's time and suggests the possibility that Arnold Gookin's wife or his mother may have been a Denne, or that he may have had a sister who married into that family.

'Pages 269-270. Berry states that the pedigree is registered at the College of Arms down to the visitation of 1619. No attempt at verification has been made by the author of this memoir. See, however, Hasted ix, 344-46. Notes and Queries '»• 473-

DENNE PEDIGREE

Ralph de Dene, 20, William the Con- = queror, Lord of Buckhurst in Sussex See Cotton MSS. and Dugdale'sMon^ ast. Angl.

de Gatton

Robert de Dene. Held estates in Kent.

Endowed Bayham Abbey. See Cotton MSS.

^Sybylla

William de Denne, of Denne, parish = of Kingston, co. Kent. Lived in time of King John.

Sir Alured Denne of Denne, Knt., Sen-: eschal of the Priory of Christ Church, Canterbury, and Escheator of County of Kent,i9 Henry III (1234). Illustrious for his learning. Ap. by Henry III with Sir Henry de Bath to form the important laws of Romney Marsh.

He at this early period sealed with three leopard's heads.

Walter Denne of Denne, s. and heir^ as appears by charter dated 41 Henry III (1256).

Walter Denne of Denne. Enfeoffed ^ lands in Denne, 9 Edward I (1280).

I

John Denne of Denne, 2 Edward II ^ (1308).

Sir William Denne of Denne, Knt., s. and heir, 2 Edward III (1328). M. P. for Canterbury 19 Edw. II and for Kent 14 Edw. III.

DENNE PEDIGREE 9

Richard Denne of Denne, son and heir=: Agnes Apuldrefield daughter of

Apuldrefield of

Challock, CO. Kent

Thomas Denne of Denne, son and heir=Isabel de Earde, dau. of Robert

de Earde

John Denne of Denne, son and heir —Alice Ardearne, dau. of Richard

I Ardearne.

Michael Denne of Denne, eldest son. = Christian Combe, dau. and heir-

I ess of Combe.

Thomas Denne of Denne, alias Denne= Alice Eshehurst or Ashhurst. Hill, son and heir. I

William Denne of Kingston, co. Kent, = Agnes Tufton, dau. of Nicholas second son. D. 1572. Will pr. at Doctor's Commons.

Tufton^ of Northiam Place, Sussex. She d. Dec. 30, 1539.

1. Vincent Denne LL.D., son and heir. D. 1591. Married Jane, dau.

of ... . Kittall of London, and had five sons.

2. Thomas Denne of Addisham, Kent, 2d son, barrister-at-law. Mar-

ried Jane, dau. of John Swift, and had five sons and six daughters.

3. Mary Denne, eldest daughter. D. Feb. 28, 1599/1600, aged 72. She

married 1st, John Coppin of Deal, and 2d, about 1589, Thomas Boys of Eythorne and Barfriston, Kent.

4. Catherine Denne, 2d daughter, married October 28, 1 566, to John

Gookin.

William Denne of Kingston bore the ancient family coat: Azure, three leopard's heads couped at the neck, or.

^In "Memorials of the Family of Tufton, Earls of Thanet" a shadowy pedigree is given, said to be based upon ancient deeds in the possession of the Earl of Thanet, carrying the line back to one Elphege de Tolceton, Lord of the Manor of Sileham and Toketon, at Rainham, Kent, whose grandson, Sir William deToketon, was knighted and living about the latter end of the reign of Henry III. The author of the book, which was published at Gravesend in 1800, did not regard the evidence as conclusive. Nicholas Tufton died in 1538. His wife was Margaret Hever, daughter and heiress of John Hever of Cranbrooke, co. Kent, Esquire, a descendant of the Hevers of Hever Castle, co. Kent.

lo JOHN GOOKIN AT APPLETON

It is probable that Catherine Denne brought her husband a considerable addition to his fortune. The young couple remained in Bekesbourne for a little more than a year after their marriage and there their eldest daughter was baptized on August 28, 1567. Not long after this event they removed to Appleton, a short distance South of Walmer, John having purchased the lands there now known as Appleton Farms, which, prior to the dissolution, had been owned by the Monastery of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Thomas the Martyr, in the adjoining parish of East Langdon. At Appleton John and Catherine made their home for fifteen years or more, during which their family and their fortune steadily increased. Though their lands were in an outlying portion of the parish of Waldershare their church affiliation was with the parish of Ripple, where six of their children were baptized. Their nearest neighbors were the families of Thomas Marsh and his brother John Marsh, who lived about a quarter of a mile away, near the little hamlet of Marton,^ and Simon Edolph, whose seat, St. Radigund's Abbey, was only about a mile to the east on a tall hill. In after years all three of these families were allied by marriage with that of John Gookin. Mary, his third daughter, became, in 1586, the wife of Richard Marsh, son of Thomas; in 1610 her youngest sister was married to John Marsh's grandson Thomas Marsh; and about a quarter of a century later still John Gookin's grandson Thomas Gookin married Jane Edolph, granddaughter of Simon.