Immigration; Across the pond, and back again!

It was the 12th of April, 1632 when (my 9x great grandparents) Andrew Newell and Mary Pitt tied the knot at St Thomas the Martyr, Bristol. Mary was the daughter of William Pitt, the Sheriff of Bristol, a wealthy merchant, and ship's captain. Mary was clearly from a well to do family.  

St Thomas the Martyr; the tower, built in the 14th century would be the only part familiar to Andrew and Mary.

Andrew Newell seems to have hailed from Lyme Regis, and was possibly descended from Captain John Newall, a privateer who helped to capture Spanish bullion, off the coast of Dorset, in 1589. Captain John's family were also wealthy, following the capture of this bounty.

Just 7 years prior to Andrew and Mary's marriage Charles Stuart succeeded to the throne of England, Scotland, and of Ireland. During the reign of his father, James I had allowed some concessions that Puritans had demanded, in the writing of the 1604 Book of Common Prayer. But generally people of this particular non conformist strain of Christianity felt a sense of persecution and many Puritans were dissatisfied. When Charles I took the throne in 1625, the dissatisfaction was replaced by a sense of increasing persecution. 

Charles I of Great Britain and Ireland

Charles wanted to move the Church of England in a more traditional direction, which for Puritans was too close to catholicism for their liking. The Protestants of the country were also concerned with Charles' lack of support for Protestant countries who were battling with catholic forces in the Thirty Years War, whilst simultaneously forging a positive relationship with Spain. 

The Battle of White Mountain, 1620 depicts an important battle from the early stages of the Thirty Years' War.

In 1633 Charles started to impose religious restrictions on his people, restricting non-conformist preaching, and insisting on the use of the Book of Common Prayer. Straying from the prescribed liturgy was not allowed, and those who opposed these reforms were prosecuted, and then punished by pillory, by whip, by cropping (which was the removal of a person's ears), and indefinite imprisonment. 

Those desiring absolute religious freedom, rather than absolute monarchy, made efforts to leave England and start anew in the so called 'New World'. To make such a move would require an adventurous spirit, a strength of character, and money. Luckily Andrew and Mary Newell had all of the above. Within the first 10 years of the Newell marriage the religious and political state of England, Scotland, and Ireland had become so unstable that civil war had started. In 1642 both the Parliamentary forces and the Cavaliers, or Royalists (representing the King and absolute monarchy) started to arm themselves. Two years later, in 1644 Lyme Regis, the town that was most likely home to the Newell family, was laid siege by the Royalists.

The Cavaliers (Royalists) and the Roundheads (Parliamentarians)

Lyme Regis is now a sweet little seaside town, well known for its Jurassic Coast beaches, where fossils line the beaches, but back in the 1600s it was a busy bustling port with a deep harbour that could accommodate large ships. It was its importance as a port that earned it the title Regis, so named by Edward I, when he granted it a royal charter in 1284. By the mid 1600s Lyme Regis was a heavily Puritan town. This was unusual for the south west of England, which was more commonly a Royalist part of the country. In 1644 when the Royalists beseiged Lyme Regis the townsfolk held fast, and kept the town from being taken, until Parliamentary forces were able to support them via the sea. Lyme Regis remained staunchly Parliamentarian, and the cavaliers turned tail. 

It was three years later, in 1647 that Andrew, Mary, and their son John arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Charlestown had started to be settled by Europeans in around 1630, where prior to 1624 the area was called Mishawum by the indigenous Massachusett people. By 1641 Charlestwon had its first shipyard, and by 1648, the year after the Newells' arrival, the town had their first school house. In 1650 Charlestown had 150 houses; it was quite a bustling and busy town.

1648 was also the year when the first person of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was found guilty of witchcraft. Margaret Jones was a Puritan midwife. The case against her was built by using methods outlined in a manual written by Matthew Hopkins, Witch Finder General.

It seems that Andrew Newell died in the month of March 1684, when he was roughly 74 years of age. Mary's death is recorded in the Massachusetts Vital Records as 26th September 1684, where Andrew's previous passing is also mentioned.

Transcript: Mrs Mary, daughter of William Pitt, Sheriff of the City of Bristol, she being relict widow of Andrew Newell, March 1st, who died in the seventy eight year of her age, September twenty sixth, Anno sixteen hundred eighty four (1684)

John, their son, went on to be a cooper, and the clerk, or record keeper, for the town. He married Hannah Larkin, a first generation settler, with both parents from England. 

John Newell's signature on early Charlestown records.

Several generations and another brutal war later, and our branch of the Newell family had moved to Framingham, MA, a little further inland. The family, still in shipping, was headed by Captain George Newell; my 3x great grandfather. George, had at least 10 children. His first two children, with first wife Sophia Reed, were George and Frederick. 

Captain George Newell's house in Framingham, MA still stands, and forms part of an historic house tour of the area.

Brothers George and Frederick were again, sailors, and the latter was eventually to sail to the United Kingdom, now no longer at war with itself, but relatively peaceful. Frederick settled in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he met and married Christina Hall Main, a native Dunediner. 

A view of Leith, Scotland, 1841; the port where Frederick sailed to & from.

The Newells were back on British soil!

#Newell

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Newell-748

https://johnpnewell.com/uk-newells/lyme-regis-and-uplyme/

https://ofpa.org/genealogy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War#Trial_of_Charles_I_for_treason

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_Regis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Lyme_Regis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War

https://charlestownhistoricalsociety.org/history/historic-timeline/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlestown,_Boston

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Jones_%28Puritan_midwife%29