Wadhamsgenealogy Mrs.HarrietWeeks(Wadhams)Stevens WADHAMS G ENEALOGY From t he painting by Paul K. M. Thomns. 1907 Precededy b a Sketch of the Wadham Family In England WITH I LLUSTRATIONS BY HARRIET W EEKS WADHAMS STEVENS it (MRS. G EORGE THOMAS STEVENS) FRANK A LLABEN GENEALOGICAL COMPANY Forty-Second Street Building New Y ork Copyright, 1 91 3, by Frank Allaben Genealogical Company DEC 2 r : g]3 d s V I 1*113 PREFACE In t he well known Hyde Genealogy, compiled by Chan cellor Walworth, is a short sketch of the Wadhams Fam ily tracing it back to the settler, John Wadham, of Wethersfield, Connecticut. The data for this sketch was furnished by my uncle, the Right Reverend Edgar P. Wadhams. Later he obtained some further data and, on his becoming Bishop of Ogdensburg, he gave this ma terial to me with the request that I continue the work. During the past twenty-five years, but more especially during the past five years, I have pursued the task of obtaining all available information relating to those of the name of Wadhams in America and elsewhere. Not withstanding my best endeavors it is probable that a con siderable number of those who should have been included in the work have not been found. The lineage of a few families by the name of Wadhams has been traced to a certain extent, but their connection with the main branch of the family has not yet been established. The records of these will be found in the Unconnected Lines. In t he preparation of the work I have freely consulted and availed myself of information from a considerable number of genealogical works to which I am much in debted. To the members of the family in all parts of our country who have so kindly responded to the requests for data for this genealogy I wish to return sincere thanks. To my husband, Doctor George Thomas Stevens, I make grateful acknowledgement for his sympathetic aid which has made this work possible. I wish also to thank my son, Doctor Charles Wadhams Stevens, who has efficient ly aided me both in research and in preparation of the manuscript. Harriet W eeks Wadhams Stevens v TABLEF O CONTENTS Preface The W adham Family in England ... First G eneration Second G eneration Third G eneration Fourth G eneration Fifth G eneration Sixth G eneration Seventh G eneration Eighth G eneration Ninth G eneration Tenth G eneration Unconnected L ines Wadham L ines from England Index LISTF O ILLUSTRATIONS Portraitf o Harriet Wadhams Stevens ii Portraitf o Nicholas Wadham x Portraitf o Dorothy Wadham i Branscombe C hurch 2 Pedigree o f Wadham 4 Monument i n Branscombe Church to John Wadham of M erefield and Edge, his wife, Joan Tre- garthen a nd her first husband, John Kaeway. 7 Sir William Wadham and his mother, Joan Wrothes- ley 9 Wadham C ollege, Oxford, England 10 Brasses i n Ilminster Church of the Founder and Foundress o f Wadham College. Oxford 12 Wadham C oat-of-Arms 14 Residence o f Seth and Ann Catlin Wadhams. built 1778 5 6 Wadhams F alls, Wadhams, New York 142 Portraitf o William Luman Wadhams 266 Residence o f William Luman Wadhams, Wadhams, N. Y 2 68 Portraitf o Rt. Rev. Edgar P. Wadhams. Bishop of Ogdensburg, N ew York 270 NICHOLAS W ADHAM, FOUNDER OF WADHAM COLLEGE From the picture in the Bodleian Gallery, Oxford THE W ADHAM FAMILY IN ENGLAND DOROTHY W ADHAM, FOUNDRESS OF WADHAM COLLEGE From the picture in the Bod i (lan Galli r, , Oxford THE W ADHAM FAMILY IN ENGLAND The W adham Family in England was one of great wealth and distinction as early as before the middle of the fourteenth century, when we have the mention of Sir John Wadham, who had come into possession of a manor in Knowston, near South Molton, in the north of Devon, known as the manor of Wadeham or Wadham, so called by its former owner, Ulf, the Saxon, in whose family, according to Lyson, in his "Magna Britannia," it had been "held in demesne ever since the time of Edward the Confessor (1042), and that it was not improbable he, Ulf, might have been the ancestor of the family of Wadham, of whom this was the original residence." Whethern o taking possession of this manor the new owner also assumed the name Wadham — literally, "home by the ford,"— is not known. During t he reign of Edward III (1327-1377), Sir John also became the possessor of the estate of the ancient fam ily Branscombe, which, like Knowston, was situated in the romantic and picturesque county of Devon. It is quite probable that both these fine estates, which re mained in their possession for nearly three hundred years, were occupied by the family at different seasons, though Prince states that they "migrated" to Branscombe, which is by the sea. Since they continued, however, to reside at East and West Wadham, in the north of Devon, it is more than likely that each of these estates was occupied alternately as the family seat. The m emory of the members of the family from gener ation to generation has been preserved in the churches at Branscombe, Whitechurch-Canonicorum, Ilton and II- minster, for these gentlemen seem to have been noted for their piety, as were their wives for their large families. The men appear to have rejoiced in erecting or enlarging churches, while the women took a laudable pride in the 1 2 W adhams Genealogy numberf o their offspring. A family of from ten to a score of sons and daughters seems to have been about the standard for these notable dames. The e arliest mention of a Wadham of Wadham Manor is that of Sir John Wadham, who was probably descended from William de Wadham, said by Pole, in his Disserta tion on Devon, to have been a freeholder in the time of Edward I (1272 to 1307). Hranscombe C hurch At I lminster, a town now of about seven thousand inhabitants, situated in Somersetshire, is the fine old par ish church. The beautiful north transept, the Wadham aisle as it was called, is said to have been erected by the Wadhams, and was for many generations their burial place. This transept, which is a fine example of the Per pendicular, and still contains two stately tombs of the Wadham F amily in England 3 Wadham f amily, dates from the middle of the fifteenth century. The earlier and grander of the two is a large altar tomb supporting a marble slab on which are the brasses. The inscription, now nearly effaced, is supposed to be in memory of Sir William, the father of Sir John. The s on of this Sir John was also Sir John, otherwise known as "The Judge," who was King's Sergeant and one of the Justices of the Common Pleas during the reign of Richard II (1377 to 1399). Little is known of him, though he is said to have been a man of pleasant de meanor and of good judgment. This last would seem to be confirmed by the statement of Pole (Sir W. Pole, Dissertation on Devon), that he "added considerably to the family estate and laid the foundation of their social importance." Naturally t hese men of great estates formed desirable alliances by marriage, for, as stated by Prince in his Worthies of Devon : "Five of these were knights who matched with divers daughters and heirs and became al lied to many great and noble houses, as Plantagenet, Worthesly, Bridges, Popham, Strangways, Tregarthain, etc, as may further appear from this pedigree thereof." (Prince, Worthies of Devon, p. 588, folio ed. 1701.) The acquisition of landed estates appears to have been a char acteristic procedure with the people of this name in these early times, for we are told that, in addition to the estates at Wadham and Branscombe, that of Redworthy in Ash- reigny was, 141 1, granted by Thomas Nitheway to Sir John Wadham and Jane his wife, with remainder to Thomas, his son. Also William Burleston conveyed to the same Sir John (the Judge) and his wife Jane the manor of Lustleigh. But beyond these estates the Judge purchased "The whole of the manor of Silverton, sithens which tyme it has contvnewed" in their possession down to the time of Nicholas Wadham, the Founder. (Pole, quoted in Rogers' Memorials of the West, England.) This second Sir John, the Judge, married Joan, daughter of Worthesly (pronounced Risley), and his death oc curred, according to Prince, at the end of the reign of Henry IV, but Rogers (Ibid, p. 156) says that it must 4 W adhams Genealogy have b een later; while Prince asserts that "He lieth in terred, most probably in the aisle belonging to the family at Branscombe," but Rogers remarks that this is con jecture, since there is no aisle to the church at Brans combe. But he adds that the north transept may have been his burial place, where the monument to the Found er's mother was first erected. Sir J ohn, the second, left two sons, William and Thom as, the latter of Redworthy in Ashreigny. Sir William, Sheriff of Devon, married Margaret, daughter of Wil liam Cheselden. His heir was John, who became Sir John, third, who married Elizabeth, one of the four daughters of Stephen Popham, the representative of an ancient Hampshire family as well as of Merefield, in Ilton near Ilminster. This John left two sons, John and Edward, also a daughter, Alice, who married Nicholas Stukeley, of Affeton, North Devon.