¦A W ii n i I Ifi & |j ii Jim1 1 m ;n^^Ri fa t». f^af^^nnnbis! % I cs I7 1 I-B<n I ;s !?t!( rv^Sili^Mr — — n ~ ?^ E -I - - — = 3^- - w - -__^ -~~~ — — •^E— ¦ - - ; — — IZjT 3 (A (A U) laJ laJ Id IT y o O E o Z QJ (M - - 0 (0 . "I - -— — i v Z U — v. 2 d 0 J 3^- - > - - <q: U DC it ffl Q z J 2 U IQ. -I h = =P © - - »¦* E —^ i *"*E •¦* E ¦¦• E w= •^E - - ¦ *-, w -,'¦:. v v¦¦ . v -, '., v , ' -- ; ¦ ­- > - • v ; : : - s . , . ' ­ - -¦ , \ f y , , .\ v , v- ,f, '-" v - ¦ "»' r­r- -r - '' v - • - -.. A-. ,v, .'- . ,^ ¦\. ¦ - > - '¦¦¦¦ '-^­'-^-o­o- '-. '­'- .. : ' ..'-.• ".A -y'" '.. .. ' v '' ' *¦' "'¦" n '' '-. / ,n", '.-.'' .­.- <""'•­<""'•- ,J -'^ • '-. " ¦'".'• ;" - '; > :i.­:i.- V ,-r' v \­\- \ - ' • -'l .- V- - x-o. }; '1 > * " .v -'- > - ,*• v x ' - \ ? «^ 1 - ;y i. "^ - . '¦> J '- X ' A ' X s- ',*V -''-> 0 ¦ V"' NXN >? \V\ '. o > * * ¦. '< ,** ,,V <> \ Z> \^ , /^^"vj/- o\ THE BTJRRA.GE MEMORIAL A GEKEALOGICAL HTSTOKY or the DESCENDANTS OP JOHN BURKAGE ? WHO SETTLED IN CHARLESTOWN, MASS., IN 1637. Br ALVAH A. BURRAGE. V A/ — Ihave come To speak with lips that rather should bo dumb; For what are words? At e\ery step 1tread The dust that wore the tootpiints of the dead, But for whose life my life had rever known This faded ve sture which Itcalls its own. Here sleeps my father's siro, and they who gave That earler lite here found their peaeeinl grave. Indays gone by Isought the hallowed ground, Climbed yon long sloni ;the sacred spot Ifound Where all unsullied lies the winter snow, "Where all unfathered spring's pale violets blow, And tracked from stone to stone the Saxon name That marks the blood Ineed not blush to claim,— Blood snch as warmed the Pilgrimsons oftoil, Who held from God the charter of the soil. —Jffolmet. BOSTON: ALFRED MUDGE AND SON, PRINTERS, No. 34 SCHOOL STREET. 1877. /'/ -4, >% o.m t 300 '00 / PREFACE. « The writer first became interested in genealogical matters about the year 1855. Finding that nothing was known respecting the ancestors of persons bearing his name, who lived in New England previous to the nineteenth century, he commenced making investigations and col­ lecting materials, for a genealogical history of that branch of the Burrage family. The result of his labors appears in the following pages. Owing to business engagements and some public duties, leisure for the arrangement of the materials and the preparation of the work was not found until the present time. Itis to be regretted that the materials are so scanty. All,such as they are, have been gathered from public records and the recollec­ tion of persons now living. No family histories or traditions have been handed down to enlighten us respecting the lives of the first three generations that dwelt in New England. The men of that time were so engrossed by the difficult task of preserving themselves and their generation, that they had little time or leisure to reflect upon the generations of the past or to think of those of the future. Then itis probable that more items of family history would have been preserved, had the different generations continued to reside in the same houses or the same towns lived in by their ancestors. Ithas been deemed proper to give a brief sketch of the heads of families, and most prominent persons, of the first nine generations, embodying the most important facts gathered respecting the life and character of each, and in addition to give a complete genealogical 4 PItEFACE. record, as far as is possible, of the ancestors and descendants of John Burrage, who settled in Charlestown in 1637. In some cases ithas been found difficult to obtain facts, owing to lack of interest with many persons respecting their ancestors or those with whom they are connected by ties of consanguinity. The author desires to acknowledge his obligations to Mr.Hamilton Burrage, Mrs. Elizabeth Bradley, and Mr. John Brisk Burrage for facts in regard to their respective branches of the family, and to Mr.Joseph Millsand others, who have furnished valuable information. Boston, August 15, 1877. THE BURRAGE MEMORIAL. CHAPTEE I. The name of Bukrage first appears in the town and county records of England in the sixteenth century. As a surname, it has undergone many orthographic changes. It is found written in the earlier records, Burgh, Burough, Borough, Borage, Bearadge, Bur­ rish, Beridge, Burridge, Burrage, etc., etc. Respecting its origin, there is room for considerable speculation; but we are inclined to accept the theory of the late H. Gr. Somerby, who was an expert insuch matters, hav­ ing devoted the greater part of his lifeto genealogical investigations. We are indebted to him for most of the items in these pages gleaned from English records. In a letter, dated Dec. 4, 1858, he says, "The name of Burrage, anciently written Burgh, is local, and derived from the village of Burgh, in the county of Norfolk, from which place, at an early period, branches of the family removed and settled in various parts of the country, where they appear in ancient records as con­ siderable landholders." In a previous letter (dated inLondon, April2,1858), 6 THE BURKAGE MEMORIAL. accompanying " copies of wills and parish records, he had written, The name, as you willperceive, is spelt in every possible way, all originating, no doubt, from Burgh, which by a roll of the r sounds very like Burrage, and was probably thus corrupted." The word "burgh" is of Saxon origin, and signifies a place of defence or security, whether itbe a mountain, a walled town, or other place in which a community fortifythem­ selves. Itis the appellation ofmany towns and several old castles in the counties of Suffolk, Cumberland, Lin­ coln, and England. In pursuing his investigations, the genealogist, as well as the student of general history, finds the field of his researches confined within comparatively narrow bounds. He soon finds himself confronted by an insu­ perable barrier to further progress inthe lack of intel­ lectual development prior to a certain period, which \ incapacitated mankind from making and preserving any record of themselves or their acts. Surnames did not become hereditary inEngland with the nobility until the fourteenth century, and a much later period dated their adoption by the common people. By this circumstance, and the fact that there were no public records of births, marriages, and deaths previous to the sixteenth century, the field of genealogical research is, under the most favorable circumstances, restricted to narrow limits. We can go but a little way towards tracing our pedigree to the primal pair or EARLY RECORDS IN ENGLAND. 7 to Mr.Darwin's progenitors of the race; but while we are unable to trace the stream to its source inthe wilds of savage nature, itis an interesting and grateful task to follow its course as far as we are permitted, to learn all we can respecting the men and women whose blood and temperaments we inherit. The registries of the counties of Suffolk, Essex, and Norfolk show that persons bearing the name of Burrage were quite numerous in those counties, especially in Norfolk, in the sixteenth century, and were landholders ofconsiderable importance. They were generally styled yeomen, and evidently belonged to the great middle class, to which England is mainly indebted for the emi- OLD CHURCH INNORTON SDBCOURSE, BUILT IN 1387. 8 THE BTJRRAGE MEMORIAL. nent names inher literature and the great deeds of her history. John Burrage,* whose lineage it is the purpose of these pages to trace, was born in Norton Subcourse,f a parish of Norfolk County (near Norwich), England. According to the parish records, he was baptized April 10, 1616. The first of his- ancestors of whom we have a record was Kobert Burrage, of Seething, another small parish, near Norton Subcourse. His wife's name was Eose. His willis dated Jan. 2, 1559. (See Appendix A.) He had two sons, Kobert and Richard. Richard removed to Norton Subcourse, where, according to the parish records, he had ten children, seven sons and three daughters. There is no record of his marriage or of his death. His third son, Thomas Burrage, who was born Feb. 28, 1581, was married Aug. 19, 1606, to Frances Dey. They had seven children, five daughters and two sons. John, the fifth child and the eldest son, * See Appendix B, evidence respecting his identity and the originof the coat of arms on title-page. t Norton Subcourse is a small parish (or village) situated about twelve miles southeasterly from Norwich, which has been a large place and a city of note for more than one thousand years. InKing Canute's time, Norwich was a flshiug town. Itwas occupied by the Romans soon after the conquest, in the forty-sixth year after Christ. Itis the most ancient manufacturing town in England, and has been noted for its woollen fabrics since the reign of Henry I. The name of Burrage stillappears initsdirectory. (See Appendix C.) Norton Subcourse is described by the London Post-Office Directory of 1853 as follows: "Awidely scattered village, four miles east from Loddon, is inClavering Hundreds and Union; contained in1851, 428 inhabitants. Its area is 1,8-49 acres." The church, which was built in1387, isdescribed in Bromfleld's "History ofNorfolk County," 1736, as "a single pile and thatched, witha round tower and three bells." JOHN BURRAGE OF NORTON SUBCOURSE. 9 was baptized, as before stated, April10, 1616. Thomas Barrage died March 2, 1632. By will,of which he ap­ pointed his wife executrix, he left the possession and use of all of his property to his wife during her life, with a proviso that, at her death, the greater portion of his estate should go to his son John upon the con­ dition that he should pay out certain legacies named, to his brother and each of his sisters.