About the Phelps in America
Two Phelps ancestors are known to have emigrated from England to
America in the 1630s: William Phelps in 1630 aboard the Mary
and John of Plymouth, England, and
George Phelps aboard the Recovery of
London in 1635.
William Phelps married (1) Mary
(----),
who was buried at Crewkerne, 13 August 1626. She was the mother of
four children, all baptized at Crewkerne:
- William bapt. 9 Sep 1618.
- Samuel bapt. 5 Aug 1621.
- infant, bur. Crewkerne, Jan 1623-24.
- Nathaniel bapt. 6 Mar 1624-25.
William married (2) at Crewkerne, 14 Nov 1626, Ann Dover.
Ann was the mother of seven children:
- Cornelius, bapt. 13 Oct 1627.
- Joseph (a twin)
- Mary (a twin), bapt. 13 Nov 1628. This Mary died soon
after birth.
- Mary (another) bapt. 6 Dec 1629.
All the children above were baptized at Crewkerne. There is no further
record of Cornelius and the second Mary, both of whom are presumed
to have died young.
Ann had three additional children born in America:
See The
American Genealogist 65:161-166 (1990) for Myrtle Stevens Hyde's
article which resolves the problem of the identity of the wives
of William Phelps and contains all the Crewkerne records cited
by Anderson.
Of special note is the omission of George
Phelps as an immigrant on the Mary
and John. Two George Phillips are identified as
immigrating before 1633. The first was George Phillips,
minister, from Boxted, Essex, who migrated in 1630 to Watertown.
The second is George Phillips, origins unknown, who migrated
to Dorchester in 1632 and subsequently
went to Windsor in 1635. This George was born by 1592 (estimated
birth date based on the age of his wife) and died at Windsor, 9 Jul
1678. He had no children. Anderson comments that the earliest record
that can be assigned to George Phelps with confidence is dated
6 May 1635 when he was admitted a freeman in Dorchester.
He also states that the town clerks in both Dorchester and Windsor
seem to have been quite precise in distinguishing between George
Phillips and George Phelps, and in no instance in those
two towns has a record been noted Phelps was called Phillips or vice
versa. Anderson also mentions that there may have been a relationship
between William Phelps and George Phelps, but that
it remains unestablished. [For more information, see Researching
George [Phelps?] of the Ship Mary & John]
Perhaps the most important conclusion to come from this Great Migration
Study is recognition by a consensus of recognized genealogical scholars
that William Phelps of Massachusetts and Connecticut is NOT
the William Phelps of Tewkesbury records.
Their conclusions reinforce those reached through the research done
by Burt Spear and ![[Opens external site in new window]](../../resources/Icons/ico_external_site.gif) The Mary
and John Clearing House which some have refused to accept.
Several family genealogies were listed in the key to titles used
in more than one biographical sketch. Where a title is used in only
one sketch, the full bibliographic entry was contained in the sketch. The
Phelps Family in America by Oliver Seymore Phelps and Andrew
T. Servin was not identified as a source. This is only one more indication
that any statement it contains needs careful verification from records
which were not available to the authors one hundred years ago. Certainly
errors it contains should not be perpetuated when those errors are
identified and supported with evidence from primary sources.
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