'"fHE BROMLEY GENEALOGY BEING A RECORD OF THE DESCENDANTS OF LUKE BROMLEY OF WARWICK, R. I., AND STONINGTON, CONN. BY VIOLA A. BROMLEY AUTHOR OF "TUE DERDY GENEALOGY" FREDERICK I-I. Hr£CHCOCK GENEALOGICAL PUBLISHER 105 WEST FORTIETH STREET NEW YORK COPYRIGHT,. }911 BY VIOLA A. BROMLEY Available from: DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED HUSBAND REV. HENRY BROMLEY CONTENTS PAGE ORIGIN OF THE BROMLEY NAME xi ENGLISII BROMLEYS • xiii FIRST GENERATION 3 SECOND GENERATION G 'l'BIRD GENERATION • 11 FOUitTH GENERATION 14 FIFTH GENERATION • 25 SIXTH GENERATION . 51 SEVENTH GENERATION 103 El0HTH GENEllA'rI0N 217 NINTll GENERATION • 283 SOUTHEUN BROMLEYS 2!)7 UNCONNECTED BR0MLEYS 317 RECENT lMMIORANTS 323 OTHER FAMILIES THAN BROMLEY 343 APPENDIX . 355 INDEX TO MAIN GENEAT.OGY 35!) INDE;,: TO SOUTHERN AND UNCONNECTED LINES 421 v1l ILLUSTRATIONS Portrait of Mt·s. Viola Il1·0111ley l!'rontisr,iec(• FACING PAGE Muster Roll of Connecticut Regiment ~8 Sucllem I'lulu l•'nrm 30 Fil'st Iluptlst Cllurclt, Nonvlch, Conu. 3~ Bromley Group 34 llromley Group l'ortrult of' ltl'V. lleury llromltiy 108 llromley Group 1•>'> Portrait of Jolm Heury Bromley 14li Portrait of Harriet Matilda B1·omley 174 Portrait of JHrs. Johu E. Stewart . 220 Tllree Generations of Bromleys 224 Portrait of Rev. and i\Irs. C. C. Hart 24G Portrait of Esther Lavina Bigelow 248 Portrait of Eunice Bigelow Hurt 2;;0 Portmlt of Dr. John Brnmley aoo Home of Cllildren of Dr. John Bromley 302 Ix THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME BROMLEY BY BnoMLEY F. 'rAYLOil. 'l'he etymology of a word, particularly of a proper name, not only settles the original orthography, but sometimes furnishes light upon the history of a people or a family which otherwise would have passed into oblivion. 'l'he word "Bromley" is composed of two Saxon words-Hrorn (broom, whence bramble) and leagh or leah (ley or lea) (u pince, meadow or gruss land) meuning sedge­ land. 'l'he eonnty of Kent, England, was tlic first whereon the Anglo-Saxons, under Hengist and IIorsa, set foot; low-lying mea­ dow nnd swa!Up lam.I, in large part, between the River 'l'humes and the sea, there must have been some part of it especially noted for its crops of broomsedge and brambles, and that part was some­ where in the neighborhood of the present city of Bromley, a few miles from Lonclon. 'L'he Saxons were accustomed to hold certain portions-Brom-leys-of their lands in common-a euslom con­ tinued by their descendants in New England-but as the popula­ tion inereaseu these commons were encroached upon and finally disappeared. When surnames came into vogue after the Crusades, Bome large landctl proprietor, with extensive brornfoys, took £or his patronymic the name applied to his fields, aml thus established the Bromley gens. lt will be note<l that, contrary to the usual rule, in this case the town was named after the family, not the family after the town. The etymology o{ the Bromley name proves the family to have been one of pure Anglo-Saxon strain; that its Eng­ lish tlomicile indicates a very early migration-maybe they were among that puissant warrior band who, too eagerly for the Britons' welfare, accepted a pressing invitation to their shores-and I am pretty sure they were Roundheads and square heads as well. It will be further noted that the first syllable of the name shou1d be spelled B-r-o-m (vowel pronounced as o in hot). In the earliest records which we find in Warwick, R. I., the name is always spelled Bromley. 'l'he b in Christopher's name evidently was a phonetic enor-some people say chimbley for chimney. Dewey 1st dropped the interloper and Isaac restored the ancient spelling and pronunciation. But the change of the vowel o to u before m and n, is often met with among people whose ears are unattuned to the niceties of sound, and used to be considered a sure sign by which to xi 'rHE ORIGIN OF 'l'HE NAME BRO:MLEY identify a simon-pure Yankee. Still one has the right, both in law and custom, to write his family cognomen as he pleases, so long as it is recognizable, and I have known several families the branches of which, through ignorance or caprice, differed in this regard. Didn't the immortal Shakespeare leave half a dozen autographs, no two of which were alike? Then why should common mortals re­ frain from following his example? The Bromley, Brommeley, Bromiley, Bromlay, Bramley, Brum­ ley, Brumbly, one and the same :family, is among the oldest in this country; the earlier members had numerous progeny, and when they began to scatter numbers of the emigrants left no trace behind. To connect the various branches in consequence of the long period of time, 27'0 years or more, it is necessary that we ascertain one's ancestors for several generations. In New England, where especial attention was paid by township and church officials to family rec­ ords, the task was not difficult; but in the South few can go back beyond the grandfather or great-grandfather. Some of our own kin settled in Maryland or Virginia before the Revolution. 'rhe Bromley family has not:ping to be ashamed of-and much to be proud. '!'hey have made an impress upon communities among which they have dwelt. And when you cross the water to our an­ cestral English home, you will find that not only one, but several, have been knighted or otherwise honored for services in the council or the field. xii ENGLISH BROMLEYS . Title: Henry Bromley, Lord Montford, Baron of Horseheath. Creation: Lord Montfort, Baron of Horseheath, in the County of Cambridge, May 9, 1741, 14 Geo. II. Arms: Quarterly: per pale, dovetail, Gules and Or. Crest: Upon a wreath, a demi-lion rampant, Sable, issuing out of a mural crown, Or, holding a standard, Vert, charged with a g1'iphon passani, Or, the staff proper, headed, Argent. Supporters: On the dexter side an unicorn, cream-colored, gorged with a ducal coronet, thereto a chain, reflexed over his back, horned and unguled, Or. On the sinister side a horse, Argent, pelleted ( or Spotted Sable), collared dovetail Azure, thereon three lozenges, Or. · Motto: Non inferiora secutus.1 2 JOHN BROMLEY of Staffordshire branched from the Bromleys of Shropi3hire, but born and living in this county, at Bromley, followed the fortunate Arms of King Henry the Fifth in France. It happened that in a battle near Corby, the french fell so furi­ ously, that they got away with the Kings Standard of Guinne, to the great dismay of our Army. But Bromley heart had no room for fear or grief, anger had so fully possessed it insomuch that valiantly he recovered the captive standard and by his exemplary prowess largely contributed to that days victory. Hereupon Hugh Stafford, Lord Boucher, conferred upon him a yearly pension of forty :pounds during life. Afterwards King Henry the Fifth, 'Extract from Collins's Peer,:,ge of EnI1land,, Lonuon, 1812, Vol. VII, page 247. • Xon .inferiora sccutus. Translation: Not following meaner things. xiii ENGLISH BROMLEYS {1418) Knighted him for his ventrous activity and made him Capt. of Dampfront and Great Constable of Bossi ville Ross in France and further rewarded him by the grant of forty pounds yearly, in land and his heirs, the patent whereof is extant in the Tower. He died about the middle of the reign of King Henry the Sixth. (Fuller's Worthies.) Srn THmus first and second, also the third baronet Col. Henry Bromley. Col. Henry died in 1652 during the reign of Cromwell. He improverished himself in his fightior the Royalist Cause. It is possible for this reason that one of his younger sons may have emi­ grated thither and from whom we are descended, and again this may be only conjecture. Col. Henry is described as a handsome man.1 (Hist. Latin and Old Norman French.) REV. W.UTER DAVENPORT BRo:r.rLEY, whose son Bromley Daven­ port Esq. (1877) is a representative from N. Warwickshire in the British Parliment; &c Page 37, Bromley Davenport Esq, Jl.1. P. the present proprietor of the family estates in Cheshire, and whose resi­ dence is Baginton Hall, about three miles from Coventry. Bagin­ ton Hall was long the seat of the Bromley family. The estate wae purchased by the family in the reign of James 1st and the original Hall was built by Secretary Bromley. 'rhis century or two before an<l has stood a monument to its founders for about five hundred years, with material changes and additions. (Dave11po1·t Gen- ealogy.) ~ , Mrs. Lucy Chester) married William Bromley Esq. of Baggin­ ton, Eldest son of Hon. William Bromley Esq. Secretary of State to Queen Ann. (William and Mary College Quarterly.) Mr. John F. Bromley of Granville, N. Y., has in his possession a book with the following inscription on the first leaf: "To the Right Honorable William Bromley Sometime Speaker in the House of Commons and after that Principal Secretary of State to Her Majesty. Queen Anne of ever Blessed Memory." THE HonN DANCE. Among the quaint old customs and ceremonies still kept alive in English country districts there is only one "horn dance," and that is to be found at Abbots Bromley, in Staffordshire. Every year at the village wake the dance is still carried out. The origin of the horn dance is lost in the mists of history, but it has been traced . back as far as the eleventh century. Until the seventeenth century 'l\Irs.