Roger EASTMAN

                   Historical data in NOTES


The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. 
Devoted to the Interests of American Genealogy and Biography. 
Issued Quarterly. 
[SEAL] 
Volume XLVI, 1915. 
Published by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 226 East 58th Street, NY" 
Pages 58 - 62 
Some Early English Records Pertaining to the Eastman Family. 
By Charles R. Eastman, American Museum Natural History, N.Y. City.
Until comparatively recently nothing has been known of the origin of the Eastman family in this country beyond the fact that the first colonist of the name in New England, Roger Eastman, sailed for Boston, in the ship Confidence in 1638, and was one of the original settlers at Salisbury in Massachusetts Bay. The new settlement by the Merrimac was founded largely by Wiltshire emigrants, and a number of these, including heads of families by the names of Rolfe, Sanders, Whittier and Eastman, came from the parish of Downton, a few miles south of the shire town of Wiltshire. What Rowley and Newbury in England are to their daughter towns on this side the Atlantic, that Salisbury, England, is to our Salisbury in Massachusetts.
The Downton parish register was first searched for Eastman records by the present writer in the summer of 1910, and some notes on the origin of the family were published in the Granite Monthly, a New Hampshire magazine, for December of that year and the following October. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. George Eastman of Rochester, New York, it was possible to engage the services of an expert antiquary, Mr. Charles H. Hoppin, for the purpose of making a complete transcript of early Eastman family records preserved in Wiltshire archives. From the large quantity of material collected by this historian a selection has been made relating to the direct ancestral line to which the pioneer colonist Roger belongs, and this is included in the present article. Much more space than is here available would be required to contain all the extant information.
Ancestral Line of the Pioneer Colonist. 
First Generation
The ultimate progenitor of this line of whom authentic records have been preserved is John-1 Eastman of Charleton. Following is a literal transcript of his original will, dated April 26, 1564, and proved May 9, 1565.
"Archdeaconry of Court of Sarum[= Salisbury], Register 4, folio 193.
Testam. Johanis Estman de Downton.
In the name of god amen the xxvi day of aprill in the yere of o lord god mccccclxiiii, I, John Estman of Charleton within the pyshe of Downton, wthin the Countie of wyltess, husbandman, beynge sycke in body but pfitt in memory, do make my last will and testament after this maner & forme following. Ffyrst & principally I give and bequeath my sowle to almightie god my maker, redeamer and savior, trustying by the meyrytts of his blessed passion to be child of salvation, my body to be buryed within the churche of Saynt lawrence in Downton where my father doth lye.
Itm, I geve to our Lady church of Sar [= Cathedral at Salisbury] vi d. Itm, I geve to m vicar of Downton for my tythes forgotten xii-d. Itm, I geve & bequeath to the Reparations of my pyshe churche of Downton iii-s iiii-d. Itm, I geve & bequeath to the reparations of Catheryn brydge of Downton xiii-d. Itm, I geve & bequeath to Willm Estman my sonne x ltie shepe, v of them shalbe ewes & v of them shalbe lambes, & in money good and lawfull v-li & ii acres of wheate, the one lying in hoker linche & one half acre btwn the lyncherd & hym, & the other half acre by the grene thorne.
Itm, I geve & bequeath to John, Willm, Walter & Florence, sones & daughters to the said Willm Estman iii shepe apece, & to evry one of [them] in money good & lawfull x-s a pece, and to each of them one pewter platter apece, & betwene the said iii children I geve one sparked cowe, w-ch Cowe goeth now in the forrest, & shalbe distributed by the direction of ther father, yf any of thes said iiii children do decease or dye before they come to pfitt age to make ther wills that then the legatye of them that fayle or dye shall remayne to them that lyveth, equally to be devyded betwene them & go from the one to the other. Itm, I geve & bequeath unto John Eastman & to Willm his brother, sones to Roger Estman, iii shepe a pece & to each of them in money good and lawfull x-s apece & a pewter platter apece, & betwene them a blacke heyffer. Yf the said John or Willm decease or dye before they come to the age to make ther wills that then the legatye of the one shall remayne to the other.
Itm, I geve & bequeath to elizabeth barrye my sunt [= servant] ii yewe shepe. Itm, I geve & bequeath to Willm newman my sunt one yewe. Itm, I geve and bequeath to evry one of my god children iiii-d apece yf they will come & aske hitt of my executor. Itm, I geve and bequeath to Richard Carter pyshe clerke of Downton half a bs of wheat & as mutche of mault.
The Rest of all my goods movable and unmovable herein not bequeathed, my detts and legatyes payd, I geve & bequeath them all unto Roger my sonne makynge hym my whole and sole executor, desyring Rob Carpeter & Nycholas newman to be my ovrsears, & they shall have for their paynes iii-s iiii-d a pece. Wytnesses to this my last will & testament, Richard Cockes, willm Modye & Richard Cates.
Pbat fuit testm supa script Johanis Estman nup de Downton nre Jurems Arctimus save defunct cara magno Johe James in legibz bacc Office dni arctii sax ix-o. Die mes maij A Dni mts ccccc-o lxv-o. Ac p itm appbat ac Comissqz fuit ec."[Latin note appended to the will may be modernized as follows: "The above-written will of John Estman, late of Downton in our Jurisdiction of the Archdeaconry of Salisbury, deceased, was proved before Master John James, bachelor of law, official of the Lord Archdeacon of Salisbury, on the ninth day of the month of May in the year of our Lord 1565, and by him approved, etc., and [administration] was granted, etc"]
The foregoing document proves that the testator had only six grandchildren living in 1564, all of whom were minors. Two of the grandson were named William, one of whom belonged to the Family of Roger-2 Eastman and lived at Charleton, in the parish of Downton, and the other, who was son of the testator's executor, at Weeke, in the same parish. Concerning the family that lived at Weeke, it will be sufficient to note that William-3 Eastman (William-2, John-1), was twice married, first in 1599, to Elizabeth Kempe, and secondly to Edith ------, family name not found, who died in 1619. Downton parish records give the following as his children:
i. William-4, b. ----; d. 1606 
ii. Margaret-4, bp. 1604 
iii. Elizabeth-4, bp. 1610 
iv. Alice-4, bp. 1614
Second Generation
The foregoing will of John-1 Eastman is authority for giving to his son Roger-2 of Charleton only two children who had been born prior to the year 1564 and were still minors when that instrument was made. Other offspring, however, must have been born subsequent to the year 1564, for we find at the time of Roger's death, in February 1604, he, being then a widower, had eight children living whose names are known to us, and at least eight grandchildren. Besides these heirs, a married daughter of Roger-2, who had been the wife of one William Skeate, executor under the will of Roger-2, had previously deceased. Downton parish records show that Roger-2 Eastman was buried Feb 17, 1604. His will, dated Jan 11, of the same year, was proved six days following his death. The original will, unfortunately somewhat mutilated, together with the complete detailed inventory of the estate and administrator's bond is on file with the Consistory Court of Sarum [=Salisbury], and is an important genealogical document.
The injury to the will itself is of such nature that a portion of the left hand margin has been torn away, or "perhaps eaten by rats," as suggested by Mr. Hoppin, who prepared as exact transcript. The names of one or two of the beneficiaries are unfortunately lost, having been contained in the missing fragment, but from other sources we are clearly warranted in supplying one of them as William, who was either the eldest or second son. There are named as executor the testator's son-in-law, William Skeate, and as overseers "my well-beloved sonns Walter Eastman ye eldr & John Eastman." The remaining heirs, named in the order of their mention, were Nicholas and Roger Eastman, four Skeate granchildren, and Mary, Edith and Thomas Eastman. Witnesses to the will were John Bebmaton, Thomas Fursley, Walter Eastman and John Eastman. A seal is attached, bearing the device of a talbot passant.
Third Generation
We come now to the generation immediately preceding that of the emigrant Roger-4, and find entries in the Downton parish register for reconstructing the families of his uncle William-3 and father Nicholas-3 as follows:
William-3 Eastman (Roger-2, John-1), born some time prior to 1564; died after 1622. He married (1)Edith ----, who died in Oct 1605. He married (2) in 1607, ---- (name blank or illegible in Downton parish register). Resided at Downton. Children:
i. John-4, bp. March 29, 1603; d. 1663, leaving son John. 
ii. Richard-4, bp. Oct 27, 1605; buried Nove 1, 1605. 
iii. Greenway-4, bp. Aug 26, 1609; was "late of New Alresford in the Countie of Southampton" in March, 1660, at which time his widow was the wife of Thomas Bone. 
iv. William-4, bp. Oct 31, 1610. 
v. Thomas-4, bp. June 15, 1613. 
vi. Richard-4, bp. May 5, 1615. 
vii. Griffin-4 or "Griffith", bp. Oct 31, 1619; bur. Aug 31, 1623. 
viii. Hugh-4, bp. May 1, 1622.
Nicholas-3 Eastman (Roger-2, John-1), born probably between 1564 and 1570; died some time after 1625. He married Barbara ---- (family name probably Rooke), who was buried at Downton, July 9, 1625. Resided at Charleton. Children:
i. Thomas-4, bp. Jan 9, 1602/3; m. Oct 21, 1634, Alice Sanders, sister of John Sanders of Weeke. He was living in 1656. 
ii. John-4, bp. Dec 24, 1605; m. July 28, 1628, Margaret Newman. His will dated Jan 5, 1656/7, and proved April 4, 1657. Her will dated Nov 8, 1673, and probated Dec 4, 1673; both buried in the parish church at Downton. They had: 
i. Christiana-5, who m. John Noyes. 
ii. Barbara-5. 
iii. Alice-5, who m. James Barrowe. 
iv. Margaret-5, who m. Thomas Wheeler.
iii. Margaret-4, bp. March 26, 1608; m. July 20, 1635, Richard Howse. 
iv. Roger-4, bp. April 4, 1610; d. at Salisbury, Mass., Dec 16, 1694; m. Sarah ----, b. about 1620/1; d. at Salisbury, Mass., March 11, 1697/8. Will extant. 
v. Nicholas-4, bp. Nov 29, 1612. 
vi. Maurice-4 or "Morris", bp. April 26, 1615; will proved May 8, 1669, by his executors "William Rooke and Barbara his wife," designated in the will as "my kinsmen." Bequest of L100 to "my kinswoman Barbara Rooke, the daughter of William Rooke," and L50 to sister Mary Moody. Thomas Eastman overseer. 
vii. William-4, bp. Jan 21, 1617/8; had a son William; both living in 1669. 
viii. Alexander-4, bp. Sept 12, 1620. 
ix. Christiana-4, bp. Nov 24, 1622. 
x. Mary-4, bp. March 24, 1625; m. John Moody. She was living in 1669, as were also her three children; Mary, Edith and Maurice (or "Morris").
As has already been stated, the earliest ancestor who can be directly connected by authentic records with the line to which Roger, the founder of the family in this country belonged, is John-1 Eastman of Charleton who died in 1565. A number of Eastman items occur in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners' Court Rolls for the Manor of Downton, ranging in date from 14 Edw. IV to 30 Henry VIII (1475 - 1540). Under date of 1539 occur in these manor court rolls is found in the following entry, where mention is made of both a John and Roger Eastman of Charleton:
Membrane I. 1539.
Douton Manor. Court held here 17 December, 30 Henry VIII. 
Charleton: The tithingman there presents that Roger Estman has been sworn into the office of tithingman; and that (in reckoning the pannage of pigs) Roger Estman has two old and six young pigs; and John Estman the younger, one old pig....Nounton [Nunton]. John Estman has one old and two young pigs.
In conclusion is offered a copy of Eastman items taken from the vital records of Romsey, Hampshire, not previously published:
Chrystenings. 
8 Aprill, 1596. Elizabeth the daughter of John Eastman. 
13 Aprill, 1598. Roger the son of John Eastman. 
3 Aprill, 1599. John the son of John Eastman 
1 February, 1600. Margaret the daughter of John Eastman 
20 October, 1602. Anthony the son of John Eastman.
Burialls. 
6 October, 1602. John Eastman.