Captain John Partridge was first indicated as a possible father of the Medfield, Mass. Branch of the Partridge family by the NEGHS back in 1903, and privately printed in 1904 in the Partridge Genealogy, by George H. Partridge:
It may be well, however, for the benefit of those who desire to extend their researches to England, to call attention to the fact that in the Visitation of Essex [1]Harl. Soc. Pub., xiii., part 1, p. 465, which was made in the year 1634, the children of Captain John Partridge of Navestock, were John, aged about 14 years, William, Jane and Margarett. From information obtained from the vicar of the parish of Navestock, in 1899, by Mr. Frank Harvey Partridge, of New York, it appears that of the foregoing children, William was born in 1622, and Margarett in 1628.
There was then made a comparison of William’s age as stated in his will made in 1692 as “about seventy years”[2]Suff. Co. Prob. Rec., vol xiii., p. 75, and the will of Margery Stacy, of Medfield, relict widow of Thomas Mason, made in 1695, as “about sixty and seven years.” George then goes on to write that:
These coincidences, while they prove nothing, should, it seems to the writer, be given consideration in clearing up the mystery of the English origin of the Medfield Partridge’s.
The picture here is a copy of the specific page from the 1634 Essex Visitation. Click on the image to see it full sized.
Further fuel to the fire was the reported mention of Capt. John Partridge in the annals of Boston, MA.
At issue with this report are my own findings which indicate that neither William nor Margarett appear in St Thomas’s Navistock [sic Navestock] Parish Records [FHL film # 1472587] for the years indicated.
- 1625 19 Apr bp William s/o John Partridge
- 1629 25 Jan bur William s/o Mr John Partridge
- 1630 8 Feb bp William s/o Mr John Partridge
So the 1634 visitation referenced initially as a possible source for proving the parentage of John and William Partridge, could not be the William Partridge of Medfield, MA, as he was likely born about 1622… the William in the visitation was only 4 and born in 1630.
Further evidence disputing the claim was accidentally discovered by Priscilla McElvein on a visit to St. Thomas, Navestock in 1993. A photograph was provided of the floor of St. Thomas Parish:
On the two markers:
Marker 1
John Partridge, gent, dyed 24 mar 1653 at age 34. [b 1619]
John Partridge [WI] son dyed 18 dec 1671 age 23. [b 1648]
Marker 2
John Partridge gent late of Drake’s Hill in Navestock, son and heir to John Partridge Citizen and Cutler of London, who dyed the 25th of Oct 1683 age 29. [b 1654]
The John Partridge mentioned in the visitation was aged about 14 years, or making him born about 1619-1620. The first John listed above was born in 1619 (15 Mar. 1618/1619 at Stepney, St. Dunstan, England) and died at Navestock in 1653.
The will of John Partridge of Navestock was written 1 Oct 1652 and probated 27 Jun 1663 [FHL ]. He mentions wife, Jane; son, John, and daughter, Margaret; and grandchildren Thomas and Jane Lake; son in law John Lake and cousin, John Comber.
I believe that the above information refutes any chance that the above mentioned visitation referenced our John, William and Margery Partridge of Medfield, MA. It further proves that John Partridge and Jane Hogge were not the parents of the Medfield branch of Partridges.
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