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Joseph Sayre
Born about 1640 [location unknown]
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Thomas Sayre and Unknown (Unknown) Sayre
Brother of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Husband of Martha (Unknown) Sayre — married 1665 [location unknown]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Daniel Sayre, Ephraim Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Thomas Sayre
Died before 11 Dec 1695 in Elizabethtown, Essex, New Jerseymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Joseph Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Birth
1.2 Marriage and Children
1.3 Civic Life
1.4 Death
2 Research Notes
3 Sources
Biography
Birth
Joseph was born to Thomas Sayre.[1][2] However, the year and place of his birth are unknown. Many early genealogies and online trees tend to list his birth within the 1630's in England. However, there are no primary/direct sources attesting to that fact.
The will of Joseph's father, Thomas, was written 16 Sep 1669 and may help give an approximate birth year for Joseph. Based on the order of the children's names in the will, Joseph was probably later in the birth order. Household goods were often given to children who were not yet married, and according to Thomas' will, three children divided the household goods: Job, Joseph, and Hannah (who, according to the will, was not yet married and not yet 18, so she must have been born sometime after 1651).
Joseph was bequeathed £40 sterling to be paid at £10 per year to be paid within five years after Thomas' death. The money was to be used to "procure hides towards his setting up as a tanner." If Joseph was not yet set up in his trade, and the money was to be paid over a period of about four years, and he was receiving household goods, there is a good chance he was not yet 21 years of age or married in 1669. He almost certainly was not born before 1640, as a birth in 1640 would make him 29 years of age in 1669 and he most likely would have been both set up in his trade and married by that time.
His brother Job was at least 21 in 1669 as he was appointed as executor of Thomas' will, but it seems he may not have been married yet either as he was included in the dividing of the household goods, but he did marry in June of 1670.
There are no known birth records, affidavits, death age, etc. upon which to determine the birth years of Joseph or his brother Job. Based on the indirect evidence above, and Hannah's approximate age, the birth years of the three youngest siblings are probably:
Job, ~1646
Joseph ~1648
Hannah ~1651
Joseph most likely was born after 1640 and probably by 1648, in America, possibly in Southampton, NY where his father had built a house by 1648.
Marriage and Children
He married Martha. {needs source}
In addition to Daniel, their children included Thomas Jr (b 1675), Ephriam (b 1677) and Sarah (b 1679). {needs source}
Civic Life
{Most of the following is taken from Banta's Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton[3] and needs to be re-written with source citations from the original.}
On a fragment of the town records in Southhampton is the following:
"Monday Jan. 13, 1667, laid out for Job and Joseph Sayre on the north side of Lieut. Post's, by Francis Sayre, on ye South side 51 poles; on the north side 48 poles; on ye East side 30 poles, on the West side 32 poles, for 10 acres."
He moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey around 1665 and was named one of the proprietors in Elizabeth in a deed from Richard Nicholls, the Governor.
He was a tanner and a farmer, and received 40 pounds in merchandise by his father's will towards setting him up as a tanner. He also received one third of his father's household effects, from which possibly it might be inferred that at that date he was not yet married, or had just begun housekeeping.
He signed a petition to the Governor in December 1667, was a witness there on 4 October 1671, and took the oath of allegiance to the Dutch on 11 September 1673. On 11 April 1676, a warrant for the survey of 180 acres of land at Elizabeth was issued to him. He died in December 1695. His will was dated 4 December 1695 and was apparently proved the same day.
Death
1695 Dec. 5. Will of Joseph Sayre of Elizabeth Town. Wife Martha, sons—Thomas, Ephraim, Daniel, dau. Sarah. Real and personal estate. Executors—Benjamin Meaker and Daniel Price. Witnesses—Benjamin Meaker, Henry Walwine, Samuel Whitehead. Proved Dec. 11,1695. 314[4]
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695
Research Notes
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabethtown, now Elizabeth, is located in northern New Jersey, just south of Newark and across from Staten Island, on the Passaic river. The area was originally settled by the Dutch and the Swedes in the 1630's. The Dutch colony of New Netherlands, which included New Jersey, was conquered by England in 1664. The Dutch, Swedish, and Finnish residents of New Jersey, along with their African slaves, were then joined by English, Scots, Irish, and Scots-Irish settlers. The Elizabethtown tract was purchased from the Indians on 28 October 1664.
Sources
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 22 at InternetArchive.org; transcript of will.
↑ New York: Abstracts of Wills, Admins. and Guardianships, 1787-1835, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006); Original manuscript in: Eardeley Genealogy Collection: New York State Abstracts of Wills, Brooklyn Historical Society; Wills, Riverhead, NY, Court of Sessions, Suffolk General Sessions, citing pages 21-23, entry for "Sayre," image 466 of 1626 by subscription AmericanAncestors.
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 31 at InternetArchive.org.
↑ William Nelson (editor), "Archives of the State of New Jersey", Volume XXI, page 230.
See also:
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton by Theodore Melrose
Sayre
Banta. Sayre Descendants of Thomas Sayer of Southhampton, NY. 1901. Pg 32
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695/
Thomas Sayre
Born about 20 Jul 1597 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, Englandmap
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Francis Sayre and Elizabeth (Atkins) Sayre
Brother of Francis Sayre, Elizabeth Sayre, Alice Sayre, John Sayre, William Sayre, Abel Sayre, Daniel Sayre, Rebecca Sayre, Job Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Tobias Sayre
Husband of Unknown (Unknown) Sayre — married about 1620 in Englandmap
Husband of Eleanor (Unknown) Howell — married before 14 Mar 1663 in New York Colonymap [uncertain]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre, Joseph Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Died before 10 Jun 1670 in Southampton, Long Island, New York Colonymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Thomas Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Immigration
1.2 At Massachusetts Bay
1.3 At Southampton
1.4 Death and Probate
1.5 Family
1.6 Research Notes
2 Sources
Biography
Puritan Great Migration
Thomas Sayre } immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Southampton, Long Island.
Thomas Sayre was one of the original founders of Southampton, the first English colony on Long Island.[1]
Thomas Seare, son of Francis Seare was baptised at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire on 20 Jul 1597.[2][3][4]
Life in England. Records mentioning "ye old family of Sayre"yeoman go back in Podington, Bedfordshire as early as 1309. Due to missing church records at Leighton Buzzard between 1615 - 1640, there is no mention of Thomas Sayre between the date of his baptism and 1638 in Lynn, Massachusetts. Are there any other sources of information from this time period? We are especially looking for marriage records, records of his children's births, the ship(s) on which they emigrated, and whether they came directly from England. A missing parish record might be overcome by marriage settlements which would be held at BARS for Bedfordshire. But it's debatable as to whether the Sayres were of sufficient rank to require marriage settlements. Emigration records are another matter altogether
Immigration
The details of Thomas Sayre's immigration are not known. He was of Lynn in Massachusetts Bay by 1638.
At Massachusetts Bay
Lynn, Massachusetts. Thomas Seyars and his brother Job had 60 acres each, in the town of Lynn, about 1638.[5] In a 1639 Court at Salem, a case of Trespass was held between Thomas Couldham of Lynn v. Thomas Seire of Lynn. Trespass[6]
At Southampton
The village of Southampton began with a small group of English Puritans who set sail from Lynn, Massachusetts and landed on June 12, 1640 at what is now known as Conscience Point. These settlers included Thomas Sayre, his brother Job Sayre, Edward Howell and Josiah Stanborough, amongst a small handful of others. Thomas Sayre was over forty years of age when he began his new life on what is now Long Island.
Shinnecock Native American guide oriented the settlers with the land, teaching them new farming techniques. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, fishing, farming (especially Long Island Potatoes and corn) and duck raising were the predominant industries. Thomas Sayre was listed as a farmer and tanner.
"In 1648 Thomas Sayre built the house on the town lot apportioned him in that year." As of 1901 it was still habitable, It was in family hands until 1892, sold to settle the owners estate but repurchased by a family member.[7] It was condemned as a fire hazard and torn down in 1912.
It stood "on the west side of the main street, north of the academy, cornerwise to the road, a rod or so back from the fence, surrounded by rose bushes and fragrant shrubbery, and shaded by tall trees which are young in comparison to the age of the house. The great chimney, the narrow windows, the massive frame, are all as they were; and the endurance of the old mansion is not yet half tested. The original roof, no doubt, was thatched, as were those of the church, parsonage and jail, built about the same time. And a village ordinance required that a permanent ladder reach from the chimney to the ground as a precaution against fire."[8]
Record Highlights: As frequently happens, a small population means that everyone, men only, serves in some civil capacity. Besides the following highlights, he acted as a juror nine times between 1653 and 58.[4][9]
October, 1648, he was the town drummer and "was alowed for his basse drumme the some of 13s, and his yeare begyneth the sayd daye. [4][9]
He was chosen several times to act with others to run the town. 10 Oct 1649, Chosen as one of three men "to agitate town business." [4][9] 6 Oct 1651, chosen as one of five men "for governing of town affairs" and "to act and order all town affairs whatsoever excepting matters of admitting of inhabitants or giving of lands" [4][9] 2 May 1657, chosen one of seven men "to have the managing of the present affair of the town concerning the safety thereof and get all men to lay down themselves in respect of their persons and estates to be disposed of by the said seven men in a way of righteousness." [4][9]
8 Mar 1649. Thomas and brother Job were on a list of freemen of the town, and a list of the townsmen 10 May 1649[9]
23 October 1650, "it was ordered that Thomas Sayre shall duly train with the company of town soldiers at their days appointed, excepting his personal pursuing of the Indians in a hostile way, or to go forth against the common enemy."[4][9]
6 October 1653, " It is concluded that Thomas Sayre shall have paid unto him by the town ten shillings as an allowance unto him for some pitts that he emparted to the highway, for which he was to have allowance by order made formerly when Mr. Wells and Mr. Gibbons were here."[4][9]
4 Feb 1656 he and others contributed to the rebuilding of Goodman Gouldsmiths house which was burned by Indians.[4]
19 June 1657, One of five men "chosen to lay out roads and view fences."[4][9]
9 December 1658, Chosen "overseer for mending the bridge."[4][9]
Thomas also occaisionally fell afoul of the courts.
18 November 1644, "Thomas Sayre was censured for some contemptuous carriage to Mr. Gosmer, being Magistrate, to pay ten shillings and to make public acknowledgment of his offense, which if he shall refuse, then to be liable to pay forty shillings."[4]
March, 1653, "Thomas Sayre and Joshua Barnes for speaking unseemly and unsavory words in the Court or concerning the Court were fined to pay ten shillings each. Note — ye fines remitted upon their acknowledgment March 6, 1654."[4][9]
6 Sep 1659, An action of trespass was entered against Thomas Sayre by Richard Post.[9]
Death and Probate
Thomas Sayre died in 1670. His will was dated 16 Sept 1669 – "In ye name of God, Amen. I Thomas Sayre of South Hampton, Long Island in the Com. Nov: Yorke, ... weake of Bodye ... my Soule unto God ... my Body unto earth ... unto my sonne ffrancis Sayre ... unto my donne Daniell Sayre ... sonne Joseph Sayre ... unto my daughter Damaris Atwater ... unto my daughter Mary Price ...unto my daughter Hannah Sayre ... my son Job Sayre my sole Executor ... 16th day of September, 1669. " His inventory taken 10 June 1670 was valued at £307.07.00[4][10][11]
Family
Thomas married (1) at England, between 1620 and 1630, say 1620, to a woman whose name is not known. She was the mother of his children. He married (2), before 14 March 1663.[12] Eleanor (_____) Howell, the widow of Edward Howell.[13] See also, Research Notes.
His children, ordered as named in Thomas will.[4]
Francis Sayre m. Sarah Wheeler (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd child b. 1665)
Daniel Sayre m. (1) Hannah Foster; (2) Sarah ___ (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd? child b. c. 1666.
Joseph Sayre m. Martha ___
Job Sayre m. (1) Sarah ____; m. (2) Hannah Raynor Howell (land laid out 1667, child b. 1672
Damaris Sayre m. David Atwater before 1647; ch. b 1647-1666
Mary Sayre m. Benjamin Price before 1669
Hannah Sayre was under 18 in 1669, so b. after 1651
Research Notes
Noteworthy. (a) 1st immigrant to America. Built one of the oldest homes in New York-South Hampton, Long Island; (b) Banta's 1901 Sayre Descendants. this is the "Founder" of the sayre family in Southampton, L.I. settlement.
First Wife. There are no contemporary records about Thomas's wife. Some records have her name as Aldrich; others as Aldred. Long Island Genealogy; The Sayre Family of Long Island includes a note about Margaret Aldrich, "some question has been submitted that this might not be the spouse of Thomas."
An email from Ralph Sayre addresses the Aldrich/Aldred association, writing, "I have tried for years to track down the source of this name. Clarence A. Torrey published that death date in his book, NEW ENGLAND MARRIAGES PRIOR TO 1700 ... used the surname Aldred. I had his source material searched at NEGHS and nothing turned up to show where he got that name and the accompanying notations ... Some secondary sources have given parents to Margaret Aldred as John and Agnes (Ross) Aldred--but to everyone that I have inquired, no primary source is known. If anyone can add light to this please email either Ralph or Long Island Genealogy. [14]
New England Marriages prior to 1700. Thomas Sayre (1597, 1590, 1594-1670), marriage circa 1620/1630; 1620 at England; wife Margaret Aldred (23 August 1634). Locations as Lynn/Southampton. Works consulted as "Johnson (,7) 12 Chart; NYGBR 12:132; Southampton 374; Sayre 16; Maltby Anc. 108+; Beecher-Bullard 89; Ludington-Saltus 199; Coe-Ward 87; Cory (1914) 79; Williams (#16) 271; Clark (1942)."[15]
Second marriage. See also the especially well summarized 2020 G2G, "Should Eleanor, wife of Edward Howell, be connected as 2nd wife of Thomas Sayre?"
That Thomas Sayre married, as his second wife, Eleanor (Ellinor), the widow of Edward Howell is advanced by a 1663 Southampton record,[16]
Edmund Howell sells to his father in law Thomas Sayer, all that belongs to said Edmund by right of his father deceased, from ye towne, in exchange for Thomas Sayre's share of the highway between the home lots of Thomas Sayre and Edmund Howell. March ye 14th 1663.
In print, this record is found to have been interpreted variously. As below, mostly from the G2G summary:
1887. George Howell. Early History of Southampton ... (p. 319) "Edmund Howell must have married a d. of Thomas Sayre."
1901. Thomas Banta author of the Sayre Family (p. 24) attributes an unknown daughter of Thomas Sayre, who married Edmond Howell.
1939. Herbert Seversmith. Colonial Families of Long Island. (footnote p. 1425) "Thomas Sayre was the "father" of Edmund Howell. Probably a step father, it may be that Eleanor, widow of Edward Howell, had married to Thomas Sayre. ... Further investigation is needed." (No further investigation observed).
1985. entered as fact in "Descendants of Edward Howell," The Genealogist, vol 5. p. 3 and footnote #17 p. 37 which cites Seversmith.
2011: Entered as fact in Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry. p. 426. Also found in his 2009 post here.
The second marriage to Eleanor (_____) Howell is not without controversy. A prior version of this profile reported,
There is a note at Edward Howell's profile that his widow married Thomas Sayre. It is an interesting lead for a second marriage. Especially of note is that her home had been burned by Indians. In his book on the Sayre family, Banta quotes that a house was burned by Indians and "only one gave more than Thomas Sayre." He uses this to suppose that Thomas was generous of heart.
An article in The American Genealogist (TAG) Vo. 38 (1962) page 226 says "...offers the likely solution that Edmund Howell's mother, Mrs. Eleanor Howell, may have married Thomas Sayre as his second wife. Eleanor survived her husband, Edward Howell, who died in 1655; Thomas Sayre had no wife living when he made his will in 1669."[17]
Daughter m. Edmund Howell. A prior version of this profile reported as an additional child, the daughter Banta had included, because Edmund Howell called Thomas Sayre father-in-law. The profile noted, "She may not exist. It may be that the wife of Edmund's father, Edward, married Thomas Sayre, both as second marriages."
Sources
↑ Howell, George Rogers. The early history of Southampton, L. I., New York (Albany : Weed, Parsons and company, 1887.)
↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 3 March 2017. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
↑ "Leighton Buzzard parish register 1562-1731" transcript by Bedford Archives and Records Service, Published by Bedfordshire County Council Vol XXXI 1945. p.7
↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Banta, Theodore Melvin. Sayre family; lineage of Thomas Sayre, a founder of Southampton. New York [The De Vinne press], 1901. pp. 13, 15-24
↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Volume 2. p. 270
↑ 'Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Voume 1 Vol 1.p. 12 [EQC 1:12]
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 The first book of records of the town of Southampton : with other ancient documents of historic value. Sag Harbor, N.Y.: John H. Hunt, book and job printer, 1874. page before the introduction. pp 1, 7, freeman 18, drum 52, freeman 55, townsmen 56, Oct 1649 57, training exemption 63, with Joshua Barnes 97, Jun 1657 114, Dec 58 124, w/Richard Post 125, townsman 152, Oct 1651 76, pitts 93, [land pp. 101, 140, 141, 151], [juryman pp [p. 84, 93, 112, 114, 117, 128, 139, 141]
↑ Thomas Sayre 1669 will, 1670 inventory, "New York Probate Records, 1629-1971"; images, FamilySearch in New York Wills 1665-1683 vol 1 image 88-90 of 323; will is image 88-89; inventory is image 89-90; 1671 Job Sayre statement is image 90.
↑ Record of Wills, 1665-1916; Index to Wills, 1662-1923 (New York County); Author: New York. Surrogate's Court (New York County); Probate Place: New York, New York. Notes: Wills, Vol 001, 1665-1683 Two different copies: at Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005518043_00068 https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005523957_00088
↑ Citing "Faris, Descendants of Edward Howell (1985): 5-9, 18-38," Douglas Richardson, "Ancestry of Edward Howell, of Southampton, Long Island (died 1655)," post to newsgroupsoc.history.medieval, 26 February 2009; GoogleGroups.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust."
↑ There has been no update or further input given as of 1 Dec 2015. Link to Ralph Sayre's e-mail is apparently not current. [NFD]
↑ Sayer-Aldred 1620/1630 marriage, New England Marriages prior to 1700 (2015), multiple vols., 2:1338 (Sayre); database and digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust; record noted as "abstract."
↑ The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. "Possible Sayre Connection of the Mother of the Daytons of Cumberland County, New Jersey" Vol. 38 (1962) p. 226.subscription needed
See also--
https://www.familysearch.org/service/records/storage/das-mem/patron/v2/TH-904-58848-1417-73/dist.txt?ctx=ArtCtxPublic
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton, by Theodore Melvin Banta, De Vinne Press, New York, 1901. Thomas Sayre, founder of Southhampton, Pages 15-24. Sayre Pg. 15
The Hissem-Montaque Family; The Sayre Family
Find A Grave: Memorial #106371405; Old Southampton Cemetery, Southampton NY
Sayre Family: Another hundred years by Ralph Sayre
Thomas Sayre: Before 1638 First Sayre To Emigrate From Eng.To Colonies, Probably Near Age 40
Collections of the New-York Historical Society (New York, 1893) Vol. 25: Abstracts of Wills on File in The Surrogate's Office, City of New York, Vol. 1, 1665-1707. Page 69
"Southampton Village History" on Village of Southampton, New York website, accessed 13 June, 2021
Long Island Genealogy
Sayre Family History by George Anagnost
Doug Sayer of Bethlehem PA took the 23 and me DNA test. His grandfather is noted in Banta's book so the Y chromosome is on 23 and Me. Douglas J-M410
Joseph Sayre
Born about 1640 [location unknown]
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Thomas Sayre and Unknown (Unknown) Sayre
Brother of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Husband of Martha (Unknown) Sayre — married 1665 [location unknown]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Daniel Sayre, Ephraim Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Thomas Sayre
Died before 11 Dec 1695 in Elizabethtown, Essex, New Jerseymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Joseph Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Birth
1.2 Marriage and Children
1.3 Civic Life
1.4 Death
2 Research Notes
3 Sources
Biography
Birth
Joseph was born to Thomas Sayre.[1][2] However, the year and place of his birth are unknown. Many early genealogies and online trees tend to list his birth within the 1630's in England. However, there are no primary/direct sources attesting to that fact.
The will of Joseph's father, Thomas, was written 16 Sep 1669 and may help give an approximate birth year for Joseph. Based on the order of the children's names in the will, Joseph was probably later in the birth order. Household goods were often given to children who were not yet married, and according to Thomas' will, three children divided the household goods: Job, Joseph, and Hannah (who, according to the will, was not yet married and not yet 18, so she must have been born sometime after 1651).
Joseph was bequeathed £40 sterling to be paid at £10 per year to be paid within five years after Thomas' death. The money was to be used to "procure hides towards his setting up as a tanner." If Joseph was not yet set up in his trade, and the money was to be paid over a period of about four years, and he was receiving household goods, there is a good chance he was not yet 21 years of age or married in 1669. He almost certainly was not born before 1640, as a birth in 1640 would make him 29 years of age in 1669 and he most likely would have been both set up in his trade and married by that time.
His brother Job was at least 21 in 1669 as he was appointed as executor of Thomas' will, but it seems he may not have been married yet either as he was included in the dividing of the household goods, but he did marry in June of 1670.
There are no known birth records, affidavits, death age, etc. upon which to determine the birth years of Joseph or his brother Job. Based on the indirect evidence above, and Hannah's approximate age, the birth years of the three youngest siblings are probably:
Job, ~1646
Joseph ~1648
Hannah ~1651
Joseph most likely was born after 1640 and probably by 1648, in America, possibly in Southampton, NY where his father had built a house by 1648.
Marriage and Children
He married Martha. {needs source}
In addition to Daniel, their children included Thomas Jr (b 1675), Ephriam (b 1677) and Sarah (b 1679). {needs source}
Civic Life
{Most of the following is taken from Banta's Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton[3] and needs to be re-written with source citations from the original.}
On a fragment of the town records in Southhampton is the following:
"Monday Jan. 13, 1667, laid out for Job and Joseph Sayre on the north side of Lieut. Post's, by Francis Sayre, on ye South side 51 poles; on the north side 48 poles; on ye East side 30 poles, on the West side 32 poles, for 10 acres."
He moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey around 1665 and was named one of the proprietors in Elizabeth in a deed from Richard Nicholls, the Governor.
He was a tanner and a farmer, and received 40 pounds in merchandise by his father's will towards setting him up as a tanner. He also received one third of his father's household effects, from which possibly it might be inferred that at that date he was not yet married, or had just begun housekeeping.
He signed a petition to the Governor in December 1667, was a witness there on 4 October 1671, and took the oath of allegiance to the Dutch on 11 September 1673. On 11 April 1676, a warrant for the survey of 180 acres of land at Elizabeth was issued to him. He died in December 1695. His will was dated 4 December 1695 and was apparently proved the same day.
Death
1695 Dec. 5. Will of Joseph Sayre of Elizabeth Town. Wife Martha, sons—Thomas, Ephraim, Daniel, dau. Sarah. Real and personal estate. Executors—Benjamin Meaker and Daniel Price. Witnesses—Benjamin Meaker, Henry Walwine, Samuel Whitehead. Proved Dec. 11,1695. 314[4]
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695
Research Notes
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabethtown, now Elizabeth, is located in northern New Jersey, just south of Newark and across from Staten Island, on the Passaic river. The area was originally settled by the Dutch and the Swedes in the 1630's. The Dutch colony of New Netherlands, which included New Jersey, was conquered by England in 1664. The Dutch, Swedish, and Finnish residents of New Jersey, along with their African slaves, were then joined by English, Scots, Irish, and Scots-Irish settlers. The Elizabethtown tract was purchased from the Indians on 28 October 1664.
Sources
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 22 at InternetArchive.org; transcript of will.
↑ New York: Abstracts of Wills, Admins. and Guardianships, 1787-1835, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006); Original manuscript in: Eardeley Genealogy Collection: New York State Abstracts of Wills, Brooklyn Historical Society; Wills, Riverhead, NY, Court of Sessions, Suffolk General Sessions, citing pages 21-23, entry for "Sayre," image 466 of 1626 by subscription AmericanAncestors.
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 31 at InternetArchive.org.
↑ William Nelson (editor), "Archives of the State of New Jersey", Volume XXI, page 230.
See also:
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton by Theodore Melrose
Sayre
Banta. Sayre Descendants of Thomas Sayer of Southhampton, NY. 1901. Pg 32
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695/
Thomas Sayre
Born about 20 Jul 1597 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, Englandmap
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Francis Sayre and Elizabeth (Atkins) Sayre
Brother of Francis Sayre, Elizabeth Sayre, Alice Sayre, John Sayre, William Sayre, Abel Sayre, Daniel Sayre, Rebecca Sayre, Job Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Tobias Sayre
Husband of Unknown (Unknown) Sayre — married about 1620 in Englandmap
Husband of Eleanor (Unknown) Howell — married before 14 Mar 1663 in New York Colonymap [uncertain]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre, Joseph Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Died before 10 Jun 1670 in Southampton, Long Island, New York Colonymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Thomas Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Immigration
1.2 At Massachusetts Bay
1.3 At Southampton
1.4 Death and Probate
1.5 Family
1.6 Research Notes
2 Sources
Biography
Puritan Great Migration
Thomas Sayre } immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Southampton, Long Island.
Thomas Sayre was one of the original founders of Southampton, the first English colony on Long Island.[1]
Thomas Seare, son of Francis Seare was baptised at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire on 20 Jul 1597.[2][3][4]
Life in England. Records mentioning "ye old family of Sayre"yeoman go back in Podington, Bedfordshire as early as 1309. Due to missing church records at Leighton Buzzard between 1615 - 1640, there is no mention of Thomas Sayre between the date of his baptism and 1638 in Lynn, Massachusetts. Are there any other sources of information from this time period? We are especially looking for marriage records, records of his children's births, the ship(s) on which they emigrated, and whether they came directly from England. A missing parish record might be overcome by marriage settlements which would be held at BARS for Bedfordshire. But it's debatable as to whether the Sayres were of sufficient rank to require marriage settlements. Emigration records are another matter altogether
Immigration
The details of Thomas Sayre's immigration are not known. He was of Lynn in Massachusetts Bay by 1638.
At Massachusetts Bay
Lynn, Massachusetts. Thomas Seyars and his brother Job had 60 acres each, in the town of Lynn, about 1638.[5] In a 1639 Court at Salem, a case of Trespass was held between Thomas Couldham of Lynn v. Thomas Seire of Lynn. Trespass[6]
At Southampton
The village of Southampton began with a small group of English Puritans who set sail from Lynn, Massachusetts and landed on June 12, 1640 at what is now known as Conscience Point. These settlers included Thomas Sayre, his brother Job Sayre, Edward Howell and Josiah Stanborough, amongst a small handful of others. Thomas Sayre was over forty years of age when he began his new life on what is now Long Island.
Shinnecock Native American guide oriented the settlers with the land, teaching them new farming techniques. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, fishing, farming (especially Long Island Potatoes and corn) and duck raising were the predominant industries. Thomas Sayre was listed as a farmer and tanner.
"In 1648 Thomas Sayre built the house on the town lot apportioned him in that year." As of 1901 it was still habitable, It was in family hands until 1892, sold to settle the owners estate but repurchased by a family member.[7] It was condemned as a fire hazard and torn down in 1912.
It stood "on the west side of the main street, north of the academy, cornerwise to the road, a rod or so back from the fence, surrounded by rose bushes and fragrant shrubbery, and shaded by tall trees which are young in comparison to the age of the house. The great chimney, the narrow windows, the massive frame, are all as they were; and the endurance of the old mansion is not yet half tested. The original roof, no doubt, was thatched, as were those of the church, parsonage and jail, built about the same time. And a village ordinance required that a permanent ladder reach from the chimney to the ground as a precaution against fire."[8]
Record Highlights: As frequently happens, a small population means that everyone, men only, serves in some civil capacity. Besides the following highlights, he acted as a juror nine times between 1653 and 58.[4][9]
October, 1648, he was the town drummer and "was alowed for his basse drumme the some of 13s, and his yeare begyneth the sayd daye. [4][9]
He was chosen several times to act with others to run the town. 10 Oct 1649, Chosen as one of three men "to agitate town business." [4][9] 6 Oct 1651, chosen as one of five men "for governing of town affairs" and "to act and order all town affairs whatsoever excepting matters of admitting of inhabitants or giving of lands" [4][9] 2 May 1657, chosen one of seven men "to have the managing of the present affair of the town concerning the safety thereof and get all men to lay down themselves in respect of their persons and estates to be disposed of by the said seven men in a way of righteousness." [4][9]
8 Mar 1649. Thomas and brother Job were on a list of freemen of the town, and a list of the townsmen 10 May 1649[9]
23 October 1650, "it was ordered that Thomas Sayre shall duly train with the company of town soldiers at their days appointed, excepting his personal pursuing of the Indians in a hostile way, or to go forth against the common enemy."[4][9]
6 October 1653, " It is concluded that Thomas Sayre shall have paid unto him by the town ten shillings as an allowance unto him for some pitts that he emparted to the highway, for which he was to have allowance by order made formerly when Mr. Wells and Mr. Gibbons were here."[4][9]
4 Feb 1656 he and others contributed to the rebuilding of Goodman Gouldsmiths house which was burned by Indians.[4]
19 June 1657, One of five men "chosen to lay out roads and view fences."[4][9]
9 December 1658, Chosen "overseer for mending the bridge."[4][9]
Thomas also occaisionally fell afoul of the courts.
18 November 1644, "Thomas Sayre was censured for some contemptuous carriage to Mr. Gosmer, being Magistrate, to pay ten shillings and to make public acknowledgment of his offense, which if he shall refuse, then to be liable to pay forty shillings."[4]
March, 1653, "Thomas Sayre and Joshua Barnes for speaking unseemly and unsavory words in the Court or concerning the Court were fined to pay ten shillings each. Note — ye fines remitted upon their acknowledgment March 6, 1654."[4][9]
6 Sep 1659, An action of trespass was entered against Thomas Sayre by Richard Post.[9]
Death and Probate
Thomas Sayre died in 1670. His will was dated 16 Sept 1669 – "In ye name of God, Amen. I Thomas Sayre of South Hampton, Long Island in the Com. Nov: Yorke, ... weake of Bodye ... my Soule unto God ... my Body unto earth ... unto my sonne ffrancis Sayre ... unto my donne Daniell Sayre ... sonne Joseph Sayre ... unto my daughter Damaris Atwater ... unto my daughter Mary Price ...unto my daughter Hannah Sayre ... my son Job Sayre my sole Executor ... 16th day of September, 1669. " His inventory taken 10 June 1670 was valued at £307.07.00[4][10][11]
Family
Thomas married (1) at England, between 1620 and 1630, say 1620, to a woman whose name is not known. She was the mother of his children. He married (2), before 14 March 1663.[12] Eleanor (_____) Howell, the widow of Edward Howell.[13] See also, Research Notes.
His children, ordered as named in Thomas will.[4]
Francis Sayre m. Sarah Wheeler (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd child b. 1665)
Daniel Sayre m. (1) Hannah Foster; (2) Sarah ___ (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd? child b. c. 1666.
Joseph Sayre m. Martha ___
Job Sayre m. (1) Sarah ____; m. (2) Hannah Raynor Howell (land laid out 1667, child b. 1672
Damaris Sayre m. David Atwater before 1647; ch. b 1647-1666
Mary Sayre m. Benjamin Price before 1669
Hannah Sayre was under 18 in 1669, so b. after 1651
Research Notes
Noteworthy. (a) 1st immigrant to America. Built one of the oldest homes in New York-South Hampton, Long Island; (b) Banta's 1901 Sayre Descendants. this is the "Founder" of the sayre family in Southampton, L.I. settlement.
First Wife. There are no contemporary records about Thomas's wife. Some records have her name as Aldrich; others as Aldred. Long Island Genealogy; The Sayre Family of Long Island includes a note about Margaret Aldrich, "some question has been submitted that this might not be the spouse of Thomas."
An email from Ralph Sayre addresses the Aldrich/Aldred association, writing, "I have tried for years to track down the source of this name. Clarence A. Torrey published that death date in his book, NEW ENGLAND MARRIAGES PRIOR TO 1700 ... used the surname Aldred. I had his source material searched at NEGHS and nothing turned up to show where he got that name and the accompanying notations ... Some secondary sources have given parents to Margaret Aldred as John and Agnes (Ross) Aldred--but to everyone that I have inquired, no primary source is known. If anyone can add light to this please email either Ralph or Long Island Genealogy. [14]
New England Marriages prior to 1700. Thomas Sayre (1597, 1590, 1594-1670), marriage circa 1620/1630; 1620 at England; wife Margaret Aldred (23 August 1634). Locations as Lynn/Southampton. Works consulted as "Johnson (,7) 12 Chart; NYGBR 12:132; Southampton 374; Sayre 16; Maltby Anc. 108+; Beecher-Bullard 89; Ludington-Saltus 199; Coe-Ward 87; Cory (1914) 79; Williams (#16) 271; Clark (1942)."[15]
Second marriage. See also the especially well summarized 2020 G2G, "Should Eleanor, wife of Edward Howell, be connected as 2nd wife of Thomas Sayre?"
That Thomas Sayre married, as his second wife, Eleanor (Ellinor), the widow of Edward Howell is advanced by a 1663 Southampton record,[16]
Edmund Howell sells to his father in law Thomas Sayer, all that belongs to said Edmund by right of his father deceased, from ye towne, in exchange for Thomas Sayre's share of the highway between the home lots of Thomas Sayre and Edmund Howell. March ye 14th 1663.
In print, this record is found to have been interpreted variously. As below, mostly from the G2G summary:
1887. George Howell. Early History of Southampton ... (p. 319) "Edmund Howell must have married a d. of Thomas Sayre."
1901. Thomas Banta author of the Sayre Family (p. 24) attributes an unknown daughter of Thomas Sayre, who married Edmond Howell.
1939. Herbert Seversmith. Colonial Families of Long Island. (footnote p. 1425) "Thomas Sayre was the "father" of Edmund Howell. Probably a step father, it may be that Eleanor, widow of Edward Howell, had married to Thomas Sayre. ... Further investigation is needed." (No further investigation observed).
1985. entered as fact in "Descendants of Edward Howell," The Genealogist, vol 5. p. 3 and footnote #17 p. 37 which cites Seversmith.
2011: Entered as fact in Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry. p. 426. Also found in his 2009 post here.
The second marriage to Eleanor (_____) Howell is not without controversy. A prior version of this profile reported,
There is a note at Edward Howell's profile that his widow married Thomas Sayre. It is an interesting lead for a second marriage. Especially of note is that her home had been burned by Indians. In his book on the Sayre family, Banta quotes that a house was burned by Indians and "only one gave more than Thomas Sayre." He uses this to suppose that Thomas was generous of heart.
An article in The American Genealogist (TAG) Vo. 38 (1962) page 226 says "...offers the likely solution that Edmund Howell's mother, Mrs. Eleanor Howell, may have married Thomas Sayre as his second wife. Eleanor survived her husband, Edward Howell, who died in 1655; Thomas Sayre had no wife living when he made his will in 1669."[17]
Daughter m. Edmund Howell. A prior version of this profile reported as an additional child, the daughter Banta had included, because Edmund Howell called Thomas Sayre father-in-law. The profile noted, "She may not exist. It may be that the wife of Edmund's father, Edward, married Thomas Sayre, both as second marriages."
Sources
↑ Howell, George Rogers. The early history of Southampton, L. I., New York (Albany : Weed, Parsons and company, 1887.)
↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 3 March 2017. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
↑ "Leighton Buzzard parish register 1562-1731" transcript by Bedford Archives and Records Service, Published by Bedfordshire County Council Vol XXXI 1945. p.7
↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Banta, Theodore Melvin. Sayre family; lineage of Thomas Sayre, a founder of Southampton. New York [The De Vinne press], 1901. pp. 13, 15-24
↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Volume 2. p. 270
↑ 'Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Voume 1 Vol 1.p. 12 [EQC 1:12]
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 The first book of records of the town of Southampton : with other ancient documents of historic value. Sag Harbor, N.Y.: John H. Hunt, book and job printer, 1874. page before the introduction. pp 1, 7, freeman 18, drum 52, freeman 55, townsmen 56, Oct 1649 57, training exemption 63, with Joshua Barnes 97, Jun 1657 114, Dec 58 124, w/Richard Post 125, townsman 152, Oct 1651 76, pitts 93, [land pp. 101, 140, 141, 151], [juryman pp [p. 84, 93, 112, 114, 117, 128, 139, 141]
↑ Thomas Sayre 1669 will, 1670 inventory, "New York Probate Records, 1629-1971"; images, FamilySearch in New York Wills 1665-1683 vol 1 image 88-90 of 323; will is image 88-89; inventory is image 89-90; 1671 Job Sayre statement is image 90.
↑ Record of Wills, 1665-1916; Index to Wills, 1662-1923 (New York County); Author: New York. Surrogate's Court (New York County); Probate Place: New York, New York. Notes: Wills, Vol 001, 1665-1683 Two different copies: at Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005518043_00068 https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005523957_00088
↑ Citing "Faris, Descendants of Edward Howell (1985): 5-9, 18-38," Douglas Richardson, "Ancestry of Edward Howell, of Southampton, Long Island (died 1655)," post to newsgroupsoc.history.medieval, 26 February 2009; GoogleGroups.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust."
↑ There has been no update or further input given as of 1 Dec 2015. Link to Ralph Sayre's e-mail is apparently not current. [NFD]
↑ Sayer-Aldred 1620/1630 marriage, New England Marriages prior to 1700 (2015), multiple vols., 2:1338 (Sayre); database and digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust; record noted as "abstract."
↑ The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. "Possible Sayre Connection of the Mother of the Daytons of Cumberland County, New Jersey" Vol. 38 (1962) p. 226.subscription needed
See also--
https://www.familysearch.org/service/records/storage/das-mem/patron/v2/TH-904-58848-1417-73/dist.txt?ctx=ArtCtxPublic
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton, by Theodore Melvin Banta, De Vinne Press, New York, 1901. Thomas Sayre, founder of Southhampton, Pages 15-24. Sayre Pg. 15
The Hissem-Montaque Family; The Sayre Family
Find A Grave: Memorial #106371405; Old Southampton Cemetery, Southampton NY
Sayre Family: Another hundred years by Ralph Sayre
Thomas Sayre: Before 1638 First Sayre To Emigrate From Eng.To Colonies, Probably Near Age 40
Collections of the New-York Historical Society (New York, 1893) Vol. 25: Abstracts of Wills on File in The Surrogate's Office, City of New York, Vol. 1, 1665-1707. Page 69
"Southampton Village History" on Village of Southampton, New York website, accessed 13 June, 2021
Long Island Genealogy
Sayre Family History by George Anagnost
Doug Sayer of Bethlehem PA took the 23 and me DNA test. His grandfather is noted in Banta's book so the Y chromosome is on 23 and Me. Douglas J-M410
from WikiTree
Joseph Sayre
Born about 1640 [location unknown]
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Thomas Sayre and Unknown (Unknown) Sayre
Brother of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Husband of Martha (Unknown) Sayre — married 1665 [location unknown]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Daniel Sayre, Ephraim Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Thomas Sayre
Died before 11 Dec 1695 in Elizabethtown, Essex, New Jerseymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Joseph Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Birth
1.2 Marriage and Children
1.3 Civic Life
1.4 Death
2 Research Notes
3 Sources
Biography
Birth
Joseph was born to Thomas Sayre.[1][2] However, the year and place of his birth are unknown. Many early genealogies and online trees tend to list his birth within the 1630's in England. However, there are no primary/direct sources attesting to that fact.
The will of Joseph's father, Thomas, was written 16 Sep 1669 and may help give an approximate birth year for Joseph. Based on the order of the children's names in the will, Joseph was probably later in the birth order. Household goods were often given to children who were not yet married, and according to Thomas' will, three children divided the household goods: Job, Joseph, and Hannah (who, according to the will, was not yet married and not yet 18, so she must have been born sometime after 1651).
Joseph was bequeathed £40 sterling to be paid at £10 per year to be paid within five years after Thomas' death. The money was to be used to "procure hides towards his setting up as a tanner." If Joseph was not yet set up in his trade, and the money was to be paid over a period of about four years, and he was receiving household goods, there is a good chance he was not yet 21 years of age or married in 1669. He almost certainly was not born before 1640, as a birth in 1640 would make him 29 years of age in 1669 and he most likely would have been both set up in his trade and married by that time.
His brother Job was at least 21 in 1669 as he was appointed as executor of Thomas' will, but it seems he may not have been married yet either as he was included in the dividing of the household goods, but he did marry in June of 1670.
There are no known birth records, affidavits, death age, etc. upon which to determine the birth years of Joseph or his brother Job. Based on the indirect evidence above, and Hannah's approximate age, the birth years of the three youngest siblings are probably:
Job, ~1646
Joseph ~1648
Hannah ~1651
Joseph most likely was born after 1640 and probably by 1648, in America, possibly in Southampton, NY where his father had built a house by 1648.
Marriage and Children
He married Martha. {needs source}
In addition to Daniel, their children included Thomas Jr (b 1675), Ephriam (b 1677) and Sarah (b 1679). {needs source}
Civic Life
{Most of the following is taken from Banta's Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton[3] and needs to be re-written with source citations from the original.}
On a fragment of the town records in Southhampton is the following:
"Monday Jan. 13, 1667, laid out for Job and Joseph Sayre on the north side of Lieut. Post's, by Francis Sayre, on ye South side 51 poles; on the north side 48 poles; on ye East side 30 poles, on the West side 32 poles, for 10 acres."
He moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey around 1665 and was named one of the proprietors in Elizabeth in a deed from Richard Nicholls, the Governor.
He was a tanner and a farmer, and received 40 pounds in merchandise by his father's will towards setting him up as a tanner. He also received one third of his father's household effects, from which possibly it might be inferred that at that date he was not yet married, or had just begun housekeeping.
He signed a petition to the Governor in December 1667, was a witness there on 4 October 1671, and took the oath of allegiance to the Dutch on 11 September 1673. On 11 April 1676, a warrant for the survey of 180 acres of land at Elizabeth was issued to him. He died in December 1695. His will was dated 4 December 1695 and was apparently proved the same day.
Death
1695 Dec. 5. Will of Joseph Sayre of Elizabeth Town. Wife Martha, sons—Thomas, Ephraim, Daniel, dau. Sarah. Real and personal estate. Executors—Benjamin Meaker and Daniel Price. Witnesses—Benjamin Meaker, Henry Walwine, Samuel Whitehead. Proved Dec. 11,1695. 314[4]
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695
Research Notes
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabethtown, now Elizabeth, is located in northern New Jersey, just south of Newark and across from Staten Island, on the Passaic river. The area was originally settled by the Dutch and the Swedes in the 1630's. The Dutch colony of New Netherlands, which included New Jersey, was conquered by England in 1664. The Dutch, Swedish, and Finnish residents of New Jersey, along with their African slaves, were then joined by English, Scots, Irish, and Scots-Irish settlers. The Elizabethtown tract was purchased from the Indians on 28 October 1664.
Sources
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 22 at InternetArchive.org; transcript of will.
↑ New York: Abstracts of Wills, Admins. and Guardianships, 1787-1835, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006); Original manuscript in: Eardeley Genealogy Collection: New York State Abstracts of Wills, Brooklyn Historical Society; Wills, Riverhead, NY, Court of Sessions, Suffolk General Sessions, citing pages 21-23, entry for "Sayre," image 466 of 1626 by subscription AmericanAncestors.
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 31 at InternetArchive.org.
↑ William Nelson (editor), "Archives of the State of New Jersey", Volume XXI, page 230.
See also:
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton by Theodore Melrose
Sayre
Banta. Sayre Descendants of Thomas Sayer of Southhampton, NY. 1901. Pg 32
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695/
Thomas Sayre
Born about 20 Jul 1597 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, Englandmap
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Francis Sayre and Elizabeth (Atkins) Sayre
Brother of Francis Sayre, Elizabeth Sayre, Alice Sayre, John Sayre, William Sayre, Abel Sayre, Daniel Sayre, Rebecca Sayre, Job Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Tobias Sayre
Husband of Unknown (Unknown) Sayre — married about 1620 in Englandmap
Husband of Eleanor (Unknown) Howell — married before 14 Mar 1663 in New York Colonymap [uncertain]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre, Joseph Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Died before 10 Jun 1670 in Southampton, Long Island, New York Colonymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Thomas Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Immigration
1.2 At Massachusetts Bay
1.3 At Southampton
1.4 Death and Probate
1.5 Family
1.6 Research Notes
2 Sources
Biography
Puritan Great Migration
Thomas Sayre } immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Southampton, Long Island.
Thomas Sayre was one of the original founders of Southampton, the first English colony on Long Island.[1]
Thomas Seare, son of Francis Seare was baptised at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire on 20 Jul 1597.[2][3][4]
Life in England. Records mentioning "ye old family of Sayre"yeoman go back in Podington, Bedfordshire as early as 1309. Due to missing church records at Leighton Buzzard between 1615 - 1640, there is no mention of Thomas Sayre between the date of his baptism and 1638 in Lynn, Massachusetts. Are there any other sources of information from this time period? We are especially looking for marriage records, records of his children's births, the ship(s) on which they emigrated, and whether they came directly from England. A missing parish record might be overcome by marriage settlements which would be held at BARS for Bedfordshire. But it's debatable as to whether the Sayres were of sufficient rank to require marriage settlements. Emigration records are another matter altogether
Immigration
The details of Thomas Sayre's immigration are not known. He was of Lynn in Massachusetts Bay by 1638.
At Massachusetts Bay
Lynn, Massachusetts. Thomas Seyars and his brother Job had 60 acres each, in the town of Lynn, about 1638.[5] In a 1639 Court at Salem, a case of Trespass was held between Thomas Couldham of Lynn v. Thomas Seire of Lynn. Trespass[6]
At Southampton
The village of Southampton began with a small group of English Puritans who set sail from Lynn, Massachusetts and landed on June 12, 1640 at what is now known as Conscience Point. These settlers included Thomas Sayre, his brother Job Sayre, Edward Howell and Josiah Stanborough, amongst a small handful of others. Thomas Sayre was over forty years of age when he began his new life on what is now Long Island.
Shinnecock Native American guide oriented the settlers with the land, teaching them new farming techniques. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, fishing, farming (especially Long Island Potatoes and corn) and duck raising were the predominant industries. Thomas Sayre was listed as a farmer and tanner.
"In 1648 Thomas Sayre built the house on the town lot apportioned him in that year." As of 1901 it was still habitable, It was in family hands until 1892, sold to settle the owners estate but repurchased by a family member.[7] It was condemned as a fire hazard and torn down in 1912.
It stood "on the west side of the main street, north of the academy, cornerwise to the road, a rod or so back from the fence, surrounded by rose bushes and fragrant shrubbery, and shaded by tall trees which are young in comparison to the age of the house. The great chimney, the narrow windows, the massive frame, are all as they were; and the endurance of the old mansion is not yet half tested. The original roof, no doubt, was thatched, as were those of the church, parsonage and jail, built about the same time. And a village ordinance required that a permanent ladder reach from the chimney to the ground as a precaution against fire."[8]
Record Highlights: As frequently happens, a small population means that everyone, men only, serves in some civil capacity. Besides the following highlights, he acted as a juror nine times between 1653 and 58.[4][9]
October, 1648, he was the town drummer and "was alowed for his basse drumme the some of 13s, and his yeare begyneth the sayd daye. [4][9]
He was chosen several times to act with others to run the town. 10 Oct 1649, Chosen as one of three men "to agitate town business." [4][9] 6 Oct 1651, chosen as one of five men "for governing of town affairs" and "to act and order all town affairs whatsoever excepting matters of admitting of inhabitants or giving of lands" [4][9] 2 May 1657, chosen one of seven men "to have the managing of the present affair of the town concerning the safety thereof and get all men to lay down themselves in respect of their persons and estates to be disposed of by the said seven men in a way of righteousness." [4][9]
8 Mar 1649. Thomas and brother Job were on a list of freemen of the town, and a list of the townsmen 10 May 1649[9]
23 October 1650, "it was ordered that Thomas Sayre shall duly train with the company of town soldiers at their days appointed, excepting his personal pursuing of the Indians in a hostile way, or to go forth against the common enemy."[4][9]
6 October 1653, " It is concluded that Thomas Sayre shall have paid unto him by the town ten shillings as an allowance unto him for some pitts that he emparted to the highway, for which he was to have allowance by order made formerly when Mr. Wells and Mr. Gibbons were here."[4][9]
4 Feb 1656 he and others contributed to the rebuilding of Goodman Gouldsmiths house which was burned by Indians.[4]
19 June 1657, One of five men "chosen to lay out roads and view fences."[4][9]
9 December 1658, Chosen "overseer for mending the bridge."[4][9]
Thomas also occaisionally fell afoul of the courts.
18 November 1644, "Thomas Sayre was censured for some contemptuous carriage to Mr. Gosmer, being Magistrate, to pay ten shillings and to make public acknowledgment of his offense, which if he shall refuse, then to be liable to pay forty shillings."[4]
March, 1653, "Thomas Sayre and Joshua Barnes for speaking unseemly and unsavory words in the Court or concerning the Court were fined to pay ten shillings each. Note — ye fines remitted upon their acknowledgment March 6, 1654."[4][9]
6 Sep 1659, An action of trespass was entered against Thomas Sayre by Richard Post.[9]
Death and Probate
Thomas Sayre died in 1670. His will was dated 16 Sept 1669 – "In ye name of God, Amen. I Thomas Sayre of South Hampton, Long Island in the Com. Nov: Yorke, ... weake of Bodye ... my Soule unto God ... my Body unto earth ... unto my sonne ffrancis Sayre ... unto my donne Daniell Sayre ... sonne Joseph Sayre ... unto my daughter Damaris Atwater ... unto my daughter Mary Price ...unto my daughter Hannah Sayre ... my son Job Sayre my sole Executor ... 16th day of September, 1669. " His inventory taken 10 June 1670 was valued at £307.07.00[4][10][11]
Family
Thomas married (1) at England, between 1620 and 1630, say 1620, to a woman whose name is not known. She was the mother of his children. He married (2), before 14 March 1663.[12] Eleanor (_____) Howell, the widow of Edward Howell.[13] See also, Research Notes.
His children, ordered as named in Thomas will.[4]
Francis Sayre m. Sarah Wheeler (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd child b. 1665)
Daniel Sayre m. (1) Hannah Foster; (2) Sarah ___ (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd? child b. c. 1666.
Joseph Sayre m. Martha ___
Job Sayre m. (1) Sarah ____; m. (2) Hannah Raynor Howell (land laid out 1667, child b. 1672
Damaris Sayre m. David Atwater before 1647; ch. b 1647-1666
Mary Sayre m. Benjamin Price before 1669
Hannah Sayre was under 18 in 1669, so b. after 1651
Research Notes
Noteworthy. (a) 1st immigrant to America. Built one of the oldest homes in New York-South Hampton, Long Island; (b) Banta's 1901 Sayre Descendants. this is the "Founder" of the sayre family in Southampton, L.I. settlement.
First Wife. There are no contemporary records about Thomas's wife. Some records have her name as Aldrich; others as Aldred. Long Island Genealogy; The Sayre Family of Long Island includes a note about Margaret Aldrich, "some question has been submitted that this might not be the spouse of Thomas."
An email from Ralph Sayre addresses the Aldrich/Aldred association, writing, "I have tried for years to track down the source of this name. Clarence A. Torrey published that death date in his book, NEW ENGLAND MARRIAGES PRIOR TO 1700 ... used the surname Aldred. I had his source material searched at NEGHS and nothing turned up to show where he got that name and the accompanying notations ... Some secondary sources have given parents to Margaret Aldred as John and Agnes (Ross) Aldred--but to everyone that I have inquired, no primary source is known. If anyone can add light to this please email either Ralph or Long Island Genealogy. [14]
New England Marriages prior to 1700. Thomas Sayre (1597, 1590, 1594-1670), marriage circa 1620/1630; 1620 at England; wife Margaret Aldred (23 August 1634). Locations as Lynn/Southampton. Works consulted as "Johnson (,7) 12 Chart; NYGBR 12:132; Southampton 374; Sayre 16; Maltby Anc. 108+; Beecher-Bullard 89; Ludington-Saltus 199; Coe-Ward 87; Cory (1914) 79; Williams (#16) 271; Clark (1942)."[15]
Second marriage. See also the especially well summarized 2020 G2G, "Should Eleanor, wife of Edward Howell, be connected as 2nd wife of Thomas Sayre?"
That Thomas Sayre married, as his second wife, Eleanor (Ellinor), the widow of Edward Howell is advanced by a 1663 Southampton record,[16]
Edmund Howell sells to his father in law Thomas Sayer, all that belongs to said Edmund by right of his father deceased, from ye towne, in exchange for Thomas Sayre's share of the highway between the home lots of Thomas Sayre and Edmund Howell. March ye 14th 1663.
In print, this record is found to have been interpreted variously. As below, mostly from the G2G summary:
1887. George Howell. Early History of Southampton ... (p. 319) "Edmund Howell must have married a d. of Thomas Sayre."
1901. Thomas Banta author of the Sayre Family (p. 24) attributes an unknown daughter of Thomas Sayre, who married Edmond Howell.
1939. Herbert Seversmith. Colonial Families of Long Island. (footnote p. 1425) "Thomas Sayre was the "father" of Edmund Howell. Probably a step father, it may be that Eleanor, widow of Edward Howell, had married to Thomas Sayre. ... Further investigation is needed." (No further investigation observed).
1985. entered as fact in "Descendants of Edward Howell," The Genealogist, vol 5. p. 3 and footnote #17 p. 37 which cites Seversmith.
2011: Entered as fact in Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry. p. 426. Also found in his 2009 post here.
The second marriage to Eleanor (_____) Howell is not without controversy. A prior version of this profile reported,
There is a note at Edward Howell's profile that his widow married Thomas Sayre. It is an interesting lead for a second marriage. Especially of note is that her home had been burned by Indians. In his book on the Sayre family, Banta quotes that a house was burned by Indians and "only one gave more than Thomas Sayre." He uses this to suppose that Thomas was generous of heart.
An article in The American Genealogist (TAG) Vo. 38 (1962) page 226 says "...offers the likely solution that Edmund Howell's mother, Mrs. Eleanor Howell, may have married Thomas Sayre as his second wife. Eleanor survived her husband, Edward Howell, who died in 1655; Thomas Sayre had no wife living when he made his will in 1669."[17]
Daughter m. Edmund Howell. A prior version of this profile reported as an additional child, the daughter Banta had included, because Edmund Howell called Thomas Sayre father-in-law. The profile noted, "She may not exist. It may be that the wife of Edmund's father, Edward, married Thomas Sayre, both as second marriages."
Sources
↑ Howell, George Rogers. The early history of Southampton, L. I., New York (Albany : Weed, Parsons and company, 1887.)
↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 3 March 2017. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
↑ "Leighton Buzzard parish register 1562-1731" transcript by Bedford Archives and Records Service, Published by Bedfordshire County Council Vol XXXI 1945. p.7
↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Banta, Theodore Melvin. Sayre family; lineage of Thomas Sayre, a founder of Southampton. New York [The De Vinne press], 1901. pp. 13, 15-24
↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Volume 2. p. 270
↑ 'Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Voume 1 Vol 1.p. 12 [EQC 1:12]
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 The first book of records of the town of Southampton : with other ancient documents of historic value. Sag Harbor, N.Y.: John H. Hunt, book and job printer, 1874. page before the introduction. pp 1, 7, freeman 18, drum 52, freeman 55, townsmen 56, Oct 1649 57, training exemption 63, with Joshua Barnes 97, Jun 1657 114, Dec 58 124, w/Richard Post 125, townsman 152, Oct 1651 76, pitts 93, [land pp. 101, 140, 141, 151], [juryman pp [p. 84, 93, 112, 114, 117, 128, 139, 141]
↑ Thomas Sayre 1669 will, 1670 inventory, "New York Probate Records, 1629-1971"; images, FamilySearch in New York Wills 1665-1683 vol 1 image 88-90 of 323; will is image 88-89; inventory is image 89-90; 1671 Job Sayre statement is image 90.
↑ Record of Wills, 1665-1916; Index to Wills, 1662-1923 (New York County); Author: New York. Surrogate's Court (New York County); Probate Place: New York, New York. Notes: Wills, Vol 001, 1665-1683 Two different copies: at Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005518043_00068 https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005523957_00088
↑ Citing "Faris, Descendants of Edward Howell (1985): 5-9, 18-38," Douglas Richardson, "Ancestry of Edward Howell, of Southampton, Long Island (died 1655)," post to newsgroupsoc.history.medieval, 26 February 2009; GoogleGroups.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust."
↑ There has been no update or further input given as of 1 Dec 2015. Link to Ralph Sayre's e-mail is apparently not current. [NFD]
↑ Sayer-Aldred 1620/1630 marriage, New England Marriages prior to 1700 (2015), multiple vols., 2:1338 (Sayre); database and digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust; record noted as "abstract."
↑ The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. "Possible Sayre Connection of the Mother of the Daytons of Cumberland County, New Jersey" Vol. 38 (1962) p. 226.subscription needed
See also--
https://www.familysearch.org/service/records/storage/das-mem/patron/v2/TH-904-58848-1417-73/dist.txt?ctx=ArtCtxPublic
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton, by Theodore Melvin Banta, De Vinne Press, New York, 1901. Thomas Sayre, founder of Southhampton, Pages 15-24. Sayre Pg. 15
The Hissem-Montaque Family; The Sayre Family
Find A Grave: Memorial #106371405; Old Southampton Cemetery, Southampton NY
Sayre Family: Another hundred years by Ralph Sayre
Thomas Sayre: Before 1638 First Sayre To Emigrate From Eng.To Colonies, Probably Near Age 40
Collections of the New-York Historical Society (New York, 1893) Vol. 25: Abstracts of Wills on File in The Surrogate's Office, City of New York, Vol. 1, 1665-1707. Page 69
"Southampton Village History" on Village of Southampton, New York website, accessed 13 June, 2021
Long Island Genealogy
Sayre Family History by George Anagnost
Doug Sayer of Bethlehem PA took the 23 and me DNA test. His grandfather is noted in Banta's book so the Y chromosome is on 23 and Me. Douglas J-M410
Joseph Sayre
Born about 1640 [location unknown]
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Thomas Sayre and Unknown (Unknown) Sayre
Brother of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Husband of Martha (Unknown) Sayre — married 1665 [location unknown]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Daniel Sayre, Ephraim Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Thomas Sayre
Died before 11 Dec 1695 in Elizabethtown, Essex, New Jerseymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Joseph Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Birth
1.2 Marriage and Children
1.3 Civic Life
1.4 Death
2 Research Notes
3 Sources
Biography
Birth
Joseph was born to Thomas Sayre.[1][2] However, the year and place of his birth are unknown. Many early genealogies and online trees tend to list his birth within the 1630's in England. However, there are no primary/direct sources attesting to that fact.
The will of Joseph's father, Thomas, was written 16 Sep 1669 and may help give an approximate birth year for Joseph. Based on the order of the children's names in the will, Joseph was probably later in the birth order. Household goods were often given to children who were not yet married, and according to Thomas' will, three children divided the household goods: Job, Joseph, and Hannah (who, according to the will, was not yet married and not yet 18, so she must have been born sometime after 1651).
Joseph was bequeathed £40 sterling to be paid at £10 per year to be paid within five years after Thomas' death. The money was to be used to "procure hides towards his setting up as a tanner." If Joseph was not yet set up in his trade, and the money was to be paid over a period of about four years, and he was receiving household goods, there is a good chance he was not yet 21 years of age or married in 1669. He almost certainly was not born before 1640, as a birth in 1640 would make him 29 years of age in 1669 and he most likely would have been both set up in his trade and married by that time.
His brother Job was at least 21 in 1669 as he was appointed as executor of Thomas' will, but it seems he may not have been married yet either as he was included in the dividing of the household goods, but he did marry in June of 1670.
There are no known birth records, affidavits, death age, etc. upon which to determine the birth years of Joseph or his brother Job. Based on the indirect evidence above, and Hannah's approximate age, the birth years of the three youngest siblings are probably:
Job, ~1646
Joseph ~1648
Hannah ~1651
Joseph most likely was born after 1640 and probably by 1648, in America, possibly in Southampton, NY where his father had built a house by 1648.
Marriage and Children
He married Martha. {needs source}
In addition to Daniel, their children included Thomas Jr (b 1675), Ephriam (b 1677) and Sarah (b 1679). {needs source}
Civic Life
{Most of the following is taken from Banta's Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton[3] and needs to be re-written with source citations from the original.}
On a fragment of the town records in Southhampton is the following:
"Monday Jan. 13, 1667, laid out for Job and Joseph Sayre on the north side of Lieut. Post's, by Francis Sayre, on ye South side 51 poles; on the north side 48 poles; on ye East side 30 poles, on the West side 32 poles, for 10 acres."
He moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey around 1665 and was named one of the proprietors in Elizabeth in a deed from Richard Nicholls, the Governor.
He was a tanner and a farmer, and received 40 pounds in merchandise by his father's will towards setting him up as a tanner. He also received one third of his father's household effects, from which possibly it might be inferred that at that date he was not yet married, or had just begun housekeeping.
He signed a petition to the Governor in December 1667, was a witness there on 4 October 1671, and took the oath of allegiance to the Dutch on 11 September 1673. On 11 April 1676, a warrant for the survey of 180 acres of land at Elizabeth was issued to him. He died in December 1695. His will was dated 4 December 1695 and was apparently proved the same day.
Death
1695 Dec. 5. Will of Joseph Sayre of Elizabeth Town. Wife Martha, sons—Thomas, Ephraim, Daniel, dau. Sarah. Real and personal estate. Executors—Benjamin Meaker and Daniel Price. Witnesses—Benjamin Meaker, Henry Walwine, Samuel Whitehead. Proved Dec. 11,1695. 314[4]
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695
Research Notes
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabethtown, now Elizabeth, is located in northern New Jersey, just south of Newark and across from Staten Island, on the Passaic river. The area was originally settled by the Dutch and the Swedes in the 1630's. The Dutch colony of New Netherlands, which included New Jersey, was conquered by England in 1664. The Dutch, Swedish, and Finnish residents of New Jersey, along with their African slaves, were then joined by English, Scots, Irish, and Scots-Irish settlers. The Elizabethtown tract was purchased from the Indians on 28 October 1664.
Sources
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 22 at InternetArchive.org; transcript of will.
↑ New York: Abstracts of Wills, Admins. and Guardianships, 1787-1835, (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006); Original manuscript in: Eardeley Genealogy Collection: New York State Abstracts of Wills, Brooklyn Historical Society; Wills, Riverhead, NY, Court of Sessions, Suffolk General Sessions, citing pages 21-23, entry for "Sayre," image 466 of 1626 by subscription AmericanAncestors.
↑ Theodore Melvin Banta, Sayre Family; Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton (New York: The De Vinne Press, 1901); image of p. 31 at InternetArchive.org.
↑ William Nelson (editor), "Archives of the State of New Jersey", Volume XXI, page 230.
See also:
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton by Theodore Melrose
Sayre
Banta. Sayre Descendants of Thomas Sayer of Southhampton, NY. 1901. Pg 32
Bond for the will in Trenton, NJ dated February 13, 1695/
Thomas Sayre
Born about 20 Jul 1597 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, Englandmap
ANCESTORS ancestors
Son of Francis Sayre and Elizabeth (Atkins) Sayre
Brother of Francis Sayre, Elizabeth Sayre, Alice Sayre, John Sayre, William Sayre, Abel Sayre, Daniel Sayre, Rebecca Sayre, Job Sayre, Sarah Sayre and Tobias Sayre
Husband of Unknown (Unknown) Sayre — married about 1620 in Englandmap
Husband of Eleanor (Unknown) Howell — married before 14 Mar 1663 in New York Colonymap [uncertain]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Father of Damaris (Sayre) Atwater, Francis Sayre, Mary (Sayre) Price, Daniel Sayre, Job Sayre, Joseph Sayre and Hannah (Sayre) Norris
Died before 10 Jun 1670 in Southampton, Long Island, New York Colonymap
The Puritan Great Migration.
Thomas Sayre migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Immigration
1.2 At Massachusetts Bay
1.3 At Southampton
1.4 Death and Probate
1.5 Family
1.6 Research Notes
2 Sources
Biography
Puritan Great Migration
Thomas Sayre } immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Southampton, Long Island.
Thomas Sayre was one of the original founders of Southampton, the first English colony on Long Island.[1]
Thomas Seare, son of Francis Seare was baptised at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire on 20 Jul 1597.[2][3][4]
Life in England. Records mentioning "ye old family of Sayre"yeoman go back in Podington, Bedfordshire as early as 1309. Due to missing church records at Leighton Buzzard between 1615 - 1640, there is no mention of Thomas Sayre between the date of his baptism and 1638 in Lynn, Massachusetts. Are there any other sources of information from this time period? We are especially looking for marriage records, records of his children's births, the ship(s) on which they emigrated, and whether they came directly from England. A missing parish record might be overcome by marriage settlements which would be held at BARS for Bedfordshire. But it's debatable as to whether the Sayres were of sufficient rank to require marriage settlements. Emigration records are another matter altogether
Immigration
The details of Thomas Sayre's immigration are not known. He was of Lynn in Massachusetts Bay by 1638.
At Massachusetts Bay
Lynn, Massachusetts. Thomas Seyars and his brother Job had 60 acres each, in the town of Lynn, about 1638.[5] In a 1639 Court at Salem, a case of Trespass was held between Thomas Couldham of Lynn v. Thomas Seire of Lynn. Trespass[6]
At Southampton
The village of Southampton began with a small group of English Puritans who set sail from Lynn, Massachusetts and landed on June 12, 1640 at what is now known as Conscience Point. These settlers included Thomas Sayre, his brother Job Sayre, Edward Howell and Josiah Stanborough, amongst a small handful of others. Thomas Sayre was over forty years of age when he began his new life on what is now Long Island.
Shinnecock Native American guide oriented the settlers with the land, teaching them new farming techniques. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, fishing, farming (especially Long Island Potatoes and corn) and duck raising were the predominant industries. Thomas Sayre was listed as a farmer and tanner.
"In 1648 Thomas Sayre built the house on the town lot apportioned him in that year." As of 1901 it was still habitable, It was in family hands until 1892, sold to settle the owners estate but repurchased by a family member.[7] It was condemned as a fire hazard and torn down in 1912.
It stood "on the west side of the main street, north of the academy, cornerwise to the road, a rod or so back from the fence, surrounded by rose bushes and fragrant shrubbery, and shaded by tall trees which are young in comparison to the age of the house. The great chimney, the narrow windows, the massive frame, are all as they were; and the endurance of the old mansion is not yet half tested. The original roof, no doubt, was thatched, as were those of the church, parsonage and jail, built about the same time. And a village ordinance required that a permanent ladder reach from the chimney to the ground as a precaution against fire."[8]
Record Highlights: As frequently happens, a small population means that everyone, men only, serves in some civil capacity. Besides the following highlights, he acted as a juror nine times between 1653 and 58.[4][9]
October, 1648, he was the town drummer and "was alowed for his basse drumme the some of 13s, and his yeare begyneth the sayd daye. [4][9]
He was chosen several times to act with others to run the town. 10 Oct 1649, Chosen as one of three men "to agitate town business." [4][9] 6 Oct 1651, chosen as one of five men "for governing of town affairs" and "to act and order all town affairs whatsoever excepting matters of admitting of inhabitants or giving of lands" [4][9] 2 May 1657, chosen one of seven men "to have the managing of the present affair of the town concerning the safety thereof and get all men to lay down themselves in respect of their persons and estates to be disposed of by the said seven men in a way of righteousness." [4][9]
8 Mar 1649. Thomas and brother Job were on a list of freemen of the town, and a list of the townsmen 10 May 1649[9]
23 October 1650, "it was ordered that Thomas Sayre shall duly train with the company of town soldiers at their days appointed, excepting his personal pursuing of the Indians in a hostile way, or to go forth against the common enemy."[4][9]
6 October 1653, " It is concluded that Thomas Sayre shall have paid unto him by the town ten shillings as an allowance unto him for some pitts that he emparted to the highway, for which he was to have allowance by order made formerly when Mr. Wells and Mr. Gibbons were here."[4][9]
4 Feb 1656 he and others contributed to the rebuilding of Goodman Gouldsmiths house which was burned by Indians.[4]
19 June 1657, One of five men "chosen to lay out roads and view fences."[4][9]
9 December 1658, Chosen "overseer for mending the bridge."[4][9]
Thomas also occaisionally fell afoul of the courts.
18 November 1644, "Thomas Sayre was censured for some contemptuous carriage to Mr. Gosmer, being Magistrate, to pay ten shillings and to make public acknowledgment of his offense, which if he shall refuse, then to be liable to pay forty shillings."[4]
March, 1653, "Thomas Sayre and Joshua Barnes for speaking unseemly and unsavory words in the Court or concerning the Court were fined to pay ten shillings each. Note — ye fines remitted upon their acknowledgment March 6, 1654."[4][9]
6 Sep 1659, An action of trespass was entered against Thomas Sayre by Richard Post.[9]
Death and Probate
Thomas Sayre died in 1670. His will was dated 16 Sept 1669 – "In ye name of God, Amen. I Thomas Sayre of South Hampton, Long Island in the Com. Nov: Yorke, ... weake of Bodye ... my Soule unto God ... my Body unto earth ... unto my sonne ffrancis Sayre ... unto my donne Daniell Sayre ... sonne Joseph Sayre ... unto my daughter Damaris Atwater ... unto my daughter Mary Price ...unto my daughter Hannah Sayre ... my son Job Sayre my sole Executor ... 16th day of September, 1669. " His inventory taken 10 June 1670 was valued at £307.07.00[4][10][11]
Family
Thomas married (1) at England, between 1620 and 1630, say 1620, to a woman whose name is not known. She was the mother of his children. He married (2), before 14 March 1663.[12] Eleanor (_____) Howell, the widow of Edward Howell.[13] See also, Research Notes.
His children, ordered as named in Thomas will.[4]
Francis Sayre m. Sarah Wheeler (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd child b. 1665)
Daniel Sayre m. (1) Hannah Foster; (2) Sarah ___ (Inhabitant 1657, 2nd? child b. c. 1666.
Joseph Sayre m. Martha ___
Job Sayre m. (1) Sarah ____; m. (2) Hannah Raynor Howell (land laid out 1667, child b. 1672
Damaris Sayre m. David Atwater before 1647; ch. b 1647-1666
Mary Sayre m. Benjamin Price before 1669
Hannah Sayre was under 18 in 1669, so b. after 1651
Research Notes
Noteworthy. (a) 1st immigrant to America. Built one of the oldest homes in New York-South Hampton, Long Island; (b) Banta's 1901 Sayre Descendants. this is the "Founder" of the sayre family in Southampton, L.I. settlement.
First Wife. There are no contemporary records about Thomas's wife. Some records have her name as Aldrich; others as Aldred. Long Island Genealogy; The Sayre Family of Long Island includes a note about Margaret Aldrich, "some question has been submitted that this might not be the spouse of Thomas."
An email from Ralph Sayre addresses the Aldrich/Aldred association, writing, "I have tried for years to track down the source of this name. Clarence A. Torrey published that death date in his book, NEW ENGLAND MARRIAGES PRIOR TO 1700 ... used the surname Aldred. I had his source material searched at NEGHS and nothing turned up to show where he got that name and the accompanying notations ... Some secondary sources have given parents to Margaret Aldred as John and Agnes (Ross) Aldred--but to everyone that I have inquired, no primary source is known. If anyone can add light to this please email either Ralph or Long Island Genealogy. [14]
New England Marriages prior to 1700. Thomas Sayre (1597, 1590, 1594-1670), marriage circa 1620/1630; 1620 at England; wife Margaret Aldred (23 August 1634). Locations as Lynn/Southampton. Works consulted as "Johnson (,7) 12 Chart; NYGBR 12:132; Southampton 374; Sayre 16; Maltby Anc. 108+; Beecher-Bullard 89; Ludington-Saltus 199; Coe-Ward 87; Cory (1914) 79; Williams (#16) 271; Clark (1942)."[15]
Second marriage. See also the especially well summarized 2020 G2G, "Should Eleanor, wife of Edward Howell, be connected as 2nd wife of Thomas Sayre?"
That Thomas Sayre married, as his second wife, Eleanor (Ellinor), the widow of Edward Howell is advanced by a 1663 Southampton record,[16]
Edmund Howell sells to his father in law Thomas Sayer, all that belongs to said Edmund by right of his father deceased, from ye towne, in exchange for Thomas Sayre's share of the highway between the home lots of Thomas Sayre and Edmund Howell. March ye 14th 1663.
In print, this record is found to have been interpreted variously. As below, mostly from the G2G summary:
1887. George Howell. Early History of Southampton ... (p. 319) "Edmund Howell must have married a d. of Thomas Sayre."
1901. Thomas Banta author of the Sayre Family (p. 24) attributes an unknown daughter of Thomas Sayre, who married Edmond Howell.
1939. Herbert Seversmith. Colonial Families of Long Island. (footnote p. 1425) "Thomas Sayre was the "father" of Edmund Howell. Probably a step father, it may be that Eleanor, widow of Edward Howell, had married to Thomas Sayre. ... Further investigation is needed." (No further investigation observed).
1985. entered as fact in "Descendants of Edward Howell," The Genealogist, vol 5. p. 3 and footnote #17 p. 37 which cites Seversmith.
2011: Entered as fact in Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry. p. 426. Also found in his 2009 post here.
The second marriage to Eleanor (_____) Howell is not without controversy. A prior version of this profile reported,
There is a note at Edward Howell's profile that his widow married Thomas Sayre. It is an interesting lead for a second marriage. Especially of note is that her home had been burned by Indians. In his book on the Sayre family, Banta quotes that a house was burned by Indians and "only one gave more than Thomas Sayre." He uses this to suppose that Thomas was generous of heart.
An article in The American Genealogist (TAG) Vo. 38 (1962) page 226 says "...offers the likely solution that Edmund Howell's mother, Mrs. Eleanor Howell, may have married Thomas Sayre as his second wife. Eleanor survived her husband, Edward Howell, who died in 1655; Thomas Sayre had no wife living when he made his will in 1669."[17]
Daughter m. Edmund Howell. A prior version of this profile reported as an additional child, the daughter Banta had included, because Edmund Howell called Thomas Sayre father-in-law. The profile noted, "She may not exist. It may be that the wife of Edmund's father, Edward, married Thomas Sayre, both as second marriages."
Sources
↑ Howell, George Rogers. The early history of Southampton, L. I., New York (Albany : Weed, Parsons and company, 1887.)
↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 3 March 2017. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
↑ "Leighton Buzzard parish register 1562-1731" transcript by Bedford Archives and Records Service, Published by Bedfordshire County Council Vol XXXI 1945. p.7
↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Banta, Theodore Melvin. Sayre family; lineage of Thomas Sayre, a founder of Southampton. New York [The De Vinne press], 1901. pp. 13, 15-24
↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Volume 2. p. 270
↑ 'Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911-1975) Voume 1 Vol 1.p. 12 [EQC 1:12]
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ Theodore M. Banta, Sayre Family ... (New York, [The De Vinne Press] 1901), 19; digital images, Hathi Trust.
↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 The first book of records of the town of Southampton : with other ancient documents of historic value. Sag Harbor, N.Y.: John H. Hunt, book and job printer, 1874. page before the introduction. pp 1, 7, freeman 18, drum 52, freeman 55, townsmen 56, Oct 1649 57, training exemption 63, with Joshua Barnes 97, Jun 1657 114, Dec 58 124, w/Richard Post 125, townsman 152, Oct 1651 76, pitts 93, [land pp. 101, 140, 141, 151], [juryman pp [p. 84, 93, 112, 114, 117, 128, 139, 141]
↑ Thomas Sayre 1669 will, 1670 inventory, "New York Probate Records, 1629-1971"; images, FamilySearch in New York Wills 1665-1683 vol 1 image 88-90 of 323; will is image 88-89; inventory is image 89-90; 1671 Job Sayre statement is image 90.
↑ Record of Wills, 1665-1916; Index to Wills, 1662-1923 (New York County); Author: New York. Surrogate's Court (New York County); Probate Place: New York, New York. Notes: Wills, Vol 001, 1665-1683 Two different copies: at Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005518043_00068 https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8800/images/005523957_00088
↑ Citing "Faris, Descendants of Edward Howell (1985): 5-9, 18-38," Douglas Richardson, "Ancestry of Edward Howell, of Southampton, Long Island (died 1655)," post to newsgroupsoc.history.medieval, 26 February 2009; GoogleGroups.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust."
↑ There has been no update or further input given as of 1 Dec 2015. Link to Ralph Sayre's e-mail is apparently not current. [NFD]
↑ Sayer-Aldred 1620/1630 marriage, New England Marriages prior to 1700 (2015), multiple vols., 2:1338 (Sayre); database and digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors.
↑ The Second Book of Records of the Town of Southampton ... (Sag-Harbor, N.Y. : J. H. Hunt, printer, 1677), 228; digital images, Hathi Trust; record noted as "abstract."
↑ The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. "Possible Sayre Connection of the Mother of the Daytons of Cumberland County, New Jersey" Vol. 38 (1962) p. 226.subscription needed
See also--
https://www.familysearch.org/service/records/storage/das-mem/patron/v2/TH-904-58848-1417-73/dist.txt?ctx=ArtCtxPublic
Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of Southampton, by Theodore Melvin Banta, De Vinne Press, New York, 1901. Thomas Sayre, founder of Southhampton, Pages 15-24. Sayre Pg. 15
The Hissem-Montaque Family; The Sayre Family
Find A Grave: Memorial #106371405; Old Southampton Cemetery, Southampton NY
Sayre Family: Another hundred years by Ralph Sayre
Thomas Sayre: Before 1638 First Sayre To Emigrate From Eng.To Colonies, Probably Near Age 40
Collections of the New-York Historical Society (New York, 1893) Vol. 25: Abstracts of Wills on File in The Surrogate's Office, City of New York, Vol. 1, 1665-1707. Page 69
"Southampton Village History" on Village of Southampton, New York website, accessed 13 June, 2021
Long Island Genealogy
Sayre Family History by George Anagnost
Doug Sayer of Bethlehem PA took the 23 and me DNA test. His grandfather is noted in Banta's book so the Y chromosome is on 23 and Me. Douglas J-M410
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