Sir Ferdinando Gorges, MP

Ferdinando Gorges

Sir Ferdinando Gorges (1565–1647), the "Father of English Colonization in North America", was an early English colonial entrepreneur and founder of the Province of Maine in 1622. Curiously, he never set foot on American soil.

Gorges was born in Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England around 1565, descended from a cadet branch of the Russells of Kingston Russell, Dorset. He was buried on 14 May 1647 in Long Ashton, Somerset, England.

Parents: Edward Gorges (1536-1567), of Wraxall, Somerset, England and Cecily Lygon, who married John Vivian after Edward Gorges' death.

Married:

1. on 24 Feb 1589 in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, England, to Ann (?-1620), daughter of Edward Bell, Esq. of Writtle, Essextmire. She died 26 Aug 1620 after 31 years of marriage.
2. on 21 Dec 1621 in Exeter, England, to Mary (?-1622), the widow of Thomas Achims, Esq. of Pelint, Cornwall, and daughter of Thomas Fulford, Esq. of Devonshire.
3. on 6 Dec 1627 in Ladock, Cornwall, to Dame Elizabeth (?-1627), daughter of Tristam Gorges, Esq. of St. Bedeaux, Devonshire; widow of William Bligh. [9]
4. on 28 September 1629 at Wraxall, Somerset, England, to Elizabeth Gorges (?-1658), daughter of Sir Thomas Gorges and widow of Sir Hugh Smyth of Ashton Court.

Children of Ferdinando Gorges and Ann Bell:

1. John Gorges, b. 23 Apr 1593 - d. 1656, m. 1. Lady Frances Clinton alias Fiennes. m. 2. Mary Meade. Inherited the province of Maine from his father.
2. Robert Gorges b. est 1595 in London, England, and d abt 1624 in England. After serving in the Venetian wars, Gorges was given a commission as Governor-General of New England and emigrated to modern Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1623, building his settlement on the site of the failed Wessagusset Colony.
3. Ellen Gorges
4. Honoria Gorges died young

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinando_Gorges

Notes

• from http://www.pilgrimhall.org/patentgorges.htm

Ferdinando Gorges today is little remembered. He founded no permanent colonies and most of his ventures were failures. His legacy rests on his enthusiastic and visionary support for other, more successful enterprises.
Ferdinando Gorges said of himself (in modernized English)
“I dealt not as merchants or tradesmen are wont, seeking only to make my own profit, my ends being to make perfect the thorough discovery of the Country (wherein I waded so far with the help of those that joined with me) as I opened the way for others, to make their gain, which has been the means to encourage their followers to prosecute it to their advantage.”

The Peirce Patent of 1621

from http://www.pilgrimhall.org/PatentIntro.htm

The legal arrangements under which the Pilgrims journeyed to America and established their colony, and which, ultimately, resulted in the colony’s demise in 1692 are among the most confusing aspects of the Plymouth experience. The “correct” way to proceed, as outlined in the surviving documents (and many documents do not survive), did not always reflect how affairs were actually conducted. ...
The earliest surviving state document for New England, the Second Peirce Patent is on display in Pilgrim Hall Museum. It is signed by five wealthy, influential and adventurous Englishmen: Lennox, Hamilton, Warwick, Sheffield, Gorges.

Biographical Summary

• from http://www.pilgrimhall.org/PatentGorges.htm

Ferdinando Gorges grew up a “West Country” boy, inspired by the exploits of Queen Elizabeth’s already-legendary West Country “sea dogs” - the Gilbert brothers (John, Humphrey and Adrian), Sir Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake, John Hawkins and Sir Richard Grenville. These daring and gallant heroes of privateering exploits had made their names by striking terror into Spanish hearts and by spearheading England’s colonial expansion through exploration and colonizing adventures.
All were loosely related – including young Ferdinando - and all shared a love of the sea, bold and intrepid characters, a yearning for profit and a strong sense of English identity. .... [see pdf file, attached]

• from: http://www.famousamericans.net/sirferdinandogorges/

Gorges ... was engaged in the conspiracy of Essex, and testified against the latter at his trial for treason in 1601. During the war with Spain he served in the royal navy with distinction, and in 1604 was appointed governor of Plymouth.
Being a friend of Sir Walter Raleigh, he became interested in the latter's plans for colonization in the New World; and when Weymouth returned from New England in 1605, bringing five Indians, Gorges took three of them, Manida, Sketwarroes, and Tisquantum known as Squanto, into his home, and after instructing them in the English language gained much information relative to their country, and determined to become a proprietor of land beyond the Atlantic.
His efforts resulted in the formation of the Plymouth, which with the London company was incorporated in 1606. Between these was divided the territory extending fifty miles inland from the 34th to the 45th parallel of north latitude. Plymouth company had the northern portion, which was styled North Virginia. The patentees were authorized to maintain the government for twenty-one years, with permission to impose taxes, to coin money, and to exercise all the power of a well-organized society.
After several unsuccessful expeditions, two ships were despatched from Plymouth in 1607, bearing a party who erected a fortified storehouse, near the mouth of the Kennebec, in Maine, which they called Fort George. Owing to the severity of the climate and many hardships, this colony was abandoned in the following spring. ...
In 1631 a grant of land was made to several persons, including Ferdinando Gorges, a grandson of Sir Ferdinando. This territory was situated on the Acomenticus River, and several settlements were made there ...
In 1639 ... Gorges obtained a new charter, which constituted him lord-proprietary of the province of Maine, with extraordinary governmental powers, which were to be transmissible with the property to his heirs and assigus. He prepared to visit New England, but the company became embarrassed for funds, and was obliged to sell the ship and pinnace which had been built. The first general court of this government, which exercised the powers of an "executive, legislative, and judicial body in the name of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, late proprietor of Maine," was held in Saco, 25 June, 1640.
On the death of Sir Ferdinando [1647], the estate was left to his son, JOHN, who totally neglected the province. After writing repeatedly to the heirs and receiving no replies, the Gorges colonies formed themselves into a body politic for the purpose of self-government, and submitted to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.

The St. Budeaux Church, Devon, England

from http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/StBudeaux/Stabb-StBudeaux.html

ST. BUDEAUX. St. Budeaux or St. Budock. This small church [plate 215a] dating from about 1563 is situated on the top of a hill from which there are very fine views of the surrounding country. ... The principal objects of interest which the church contains will be found in the mural monuments, and an altar tomb at the east end of the north aisle [plate 215b]. The latter is composed of slate and has coats of arms on the front and sides. The slab has three coats of arms, and the back has a coat of arms in the centre and the following inscription:-

1. Roger Budockshead of Budockshead Esquire ob: 1576
2. Sir William Gorges Kn: ob: 1583
3. Dame Winifred Gorges, ob: 1599
4. Tristram Gorges of Budockshead Esq: ob: 1607
5. Mrs. Elizabeth Gorges ob: 1607

Restored 1881 Chiefly at the expense of the Historical Society and Citizens of the state of Maine, U.S.A., in memory of Sir Ferdinando Gorges the first Proprietor and Governor of that Province. A.D. 1635 aided by some connections of the Gorges family in England.

• google images retrieved 14 Dec 2010

Weblinks

• Ferdinando Gorges
• Robert Gorges
• Thomas Gorges
• http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00366683&tree=LEO
• Sir Ferdinando Gorges
• Encyclopedia of World Biography on Ferdinando Gorges, Sir
• Early Encounters in North America: Sir Fernando Gorges

Sources

• Nigel Batty-Smith 2001
• Baxter, James P, Ferdinando Gorges, and Ferdinando Gorges. Sir Ferdinando Gorges and His Province of Maine: Including the Brief Relation, the Brief Narration, His Defence, the Charter Granted to Him, His Will, and His Letters. Publications of the Prince Society, Volume 2. Boston: Prince Society, 1890.

Further reading

• Brown, Frederick. The Pedigree of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. Boston: Brown, 1875. Print.
• Fuller, Henry M. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, 1566-1647: Naval and Military Commander, Father of English Colonization in America. New York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1952. Print.
• Gorges, Raymond, and Frederick Brown. The Story of a Family Through Eleven Centuries, Illustrated by Portraits and Pedigrees: Being a History of the Family of Gorges. Boston: s.n., 1944. Print.
• Papers Compiled by Raymond Gorges for a Book on the Gorges Family 1616-1940. Provided by the University of Virginia Library, 1970.
• Preston, Richard A. Gorges of Plymouth Fort: A Life of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Captain of Plymouth Fort, Governor of New England, and Lord of the Province of Maine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1953.
• Information about Gorges's colonial plans can also be found in Henry S. Burrage, Gorges and the Grant of the Province of Maine, 1622 (1923) and The Beginnings of Colonial Maine, 1602-1658 (1914).
• More general information is available in Herbert L. Osgood, The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century (3 vols., 1904-1907), and Charles M. Andrews, The Colonial Period of American History (4 vols., 1934-1938).

Footnotes

• [1] Edward Gorges was undoubtedly living in one of the old mansions of his family. Most families of wealth and distinction had their town houses, and Clerkenwell was a favorite place of residence for gentlemen desiring to take part in London life. (Baxter, p. 3)
• [2] The record of Ferdinando's birth or baptism has not yet come to light ... It was at Wraxall that the Gorges family were wont to record their births, marriages, and deaths, as though they took especial pride in solemnizing the important family events there; and the fact that the younger son's name is not to be found in the registers of the ancient parish church, so endeared to the family by long association, renders it probable that he was born at Clerkenwell while his father was lying sick there. Like his predessors, however, he is entitled as of Wraxall, the old manor of the Gorges family, which had then been in their possession for more than three centuries, (Baxter, p. 3)
• [3] Ferdinando's will bears the date of May 4th, 1647, and the date of his burial in the church at Long Ashton, a few rods from his residence called Ashton Phillips, is the 14th. (Baxter, p. 4)
• [4] There is no tomb to mark the resting place of Sir Ferdinando Georges, whose death took place during the troubled period of the Civil War; but it is supposed that his remains repose near those of his wife, whose burial-place is marked by a monumental structure. (Baxter, p. 152)
• [5] Edward's young widow was left with two sons: Edward, the elder, baptized September 5th, 1564, at Wraxall, and at the death of his father four years of age ; and Ferdinando ... (Baxter, p. 3)
• [6] Left by the death of her husband with the sole charge of two young children, it became the chief duty of Cicely Gorge to rear and educate them; and although she subsequently became the wife of John Vivian, we have reason to believe that she fairly filled her trust. (Baxter, p. 4)
• [7] [Ann Bell and Ferdinando Gorges ...] had four children, namely: John, Robert, Ellen, and Honoria; the last-named of whom died young. Of his domestic life, unfortunately, all knowledge is wanting, as nothing in the nature of family correspondence or biography has come down to us; hence we are obliged to confine ourselves almost wholly to events of a public nature in his life. (Baxter, p. 111)
• [8] Baxter, p. 127. Batty-Smith has the name of Ferdinando's second wife as Ursula.
• [9] The Dame Elizabeth had already been twice married: the last time to William Bligh, Esq., who died in the July previous to her marriage to Sir Ferdinando. Strange to relate, within a few weeks after his third marriage, Sir Ferdinando was again a widower. (Baxter, p. 149)
• [10] The close of the war, in which he had been of actively engaged, Sir Ferdinando celebrated by a fourth marriage; and this time with another cousin, who bore the same maiden name as his preceding wife, namely, Elizabeth Gorges, daughter of Sir Thomas Gorges and widow of Sir Hugh Smyth of Ashton Court. The marriage took place at Wraxall, the ancient seat of the Gorges family, on September 28th, 1629, and Sir Ferdinando went to reside at Ashton Phillips which belonged to his wife. (Baxter. p. 150)
• [11] Batty-Smith has her name as Elizabeth Gorges, Lady Smyth, buried in Long Ashton Church; daughter of Sir Thomas Gorges (1536-1610) and Helen Snakenbergh, Marchioness of Northampton (1549-1635).
• [12] His eldest son, John Gorges, inherited his Province of Maine, and at his death in 1656 bequeathed it to his son Ferdinando. (Baxter, p. 3)
• [13] Its remaining history may be briefly stated. The conflict for government continued between the representatives of the Gorges and Rigby interests, when Massachusetts practically settled the question at issue by running its northern boundary in accordance with a strict construction of its charter, which gave it a confiderable portion of the Province of Maine. (Baxter, p. 3)
• [14] To make her tenure wholly secure, Massachusetts purchased of Ferdinando Gorges, the grandson of Sir Ferdinando, in 1677, his title to the Province, by which it passed forever from the possession of his descendants. (Baxter, p. 196)

________________________

• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 22
• Gorges, Ferdinando by John Knox Laughton ?
• GORGES, Sir FERDINANDO (1566?–1647), naval and military commander, governor of Plymouth, the ‘father of English colonisation in America,’ of a family said to have been settled in Somersetshire from the time of Henry I, and holding estates in the parish of Wraxall from the time of Edward II, was the younger son of Edward Gorges of Wraxall, whose great-grandfather, Edmund Gorges, married Anne, eldest daughter of John Howard, first duke of Norfolk. Gorges's elder brother, Edward, was baptised at Wraxall on 5 Sept. 1564, and he himself is mentioned in his father's will, dated 10 Aug. 1568; the date of his birth may therefore be approximately fixed at 1566. It would seem that he early adopted the profession of arms; may possibly have served in the Low Countries under the Earl of Leicester, and probably against the Great Armada, with his father's cousin, Nicholas Gorges, who commanded the London contingent of the squadron under Lord Henry Seymour. He may have been with Norreys in Portugal in 1589, and was certainly with the Earl of Essex in Normandy in 1591. He is spoken of as having distinguished himself at the siege of Rouen, as being wounded, and knighted by the general (‘Journal of the Siege of Rouen,’ pp. 68, 71, in Camden Miscellany, vol. i.; Devereux, Lives of the Earls of Essex, i. 271). Some years before that he was acting as overseer of the fortifications of Plymouth and its neighbourhood (Calendar of State Papers, Dom. 1591, p. 152), and four years later is referred to, in a similar connection, as ‘a gentleman of worth and experience’ (ib. 13 Oct. 1595), though even at this later date certainly not more than thirty. But from this time onward he was intimately connected with Plymouth, and for many years was officially designated as ‘governor of the forts and island of Plymouth.’ His duties, however, did not by any means confine him to that neighbourhood. He does not appear to have had any part in the expedition to Cadiz in 1596, but is mentioned as having, with the Dreadnought and Foresight, joined Essex for the ‘Island Voyage’ in 1597 (Devereux, i. 434), though his name has no place in the lists as given by Monson or Lediard. We find him, after the expedition, arranging with the mayor of Plymouth for the return of ‘such parcels of armour and other furnitures as remain in the fort of Plymouth, furnished by the city [of London] for the late service to the islands’ (Gorges to Mr. John Trelawney, 30 Jan. 1597, Addit. MS. 5752, f. 104). In January 1598–9 Gorges is named as serjeant-major of the army in Ireland with Essex (Devereux, ii. 9), an appointment which he must have either refused, or given up within a very short time (Archæologia, xxxiii. 249). In July, at any rate, on a rumour of a threatened Spanish invasion, he was at Plymouth taking measures for the defence of the town (ib. xxxv. 213), and it would seem that he continued at Plymouth till January 1600–1, when, in answer to a summons from Essex [see Devereux, Robert, second Earl of Essex, (1567–1601)], he joined him in London on the 31st. By thus summoning him to London, Essex showed that he counted on him as a partisan—a fact that throws great doubt on Gorges's statement that he had not heard from Essex for two years before. His own evidence proves that he was at once received as a member of the party, that he was present at the meeting at Drury House on Tuesday, 3 Feb., when rebellion was at least suggested (Jardine, i. 332), and was still with Essex on 8 Feb., when the lord keeper, the lord chief justice, and others were made prisoners and (it was asserted) held as hostages by Essex. Whether alarmed by Raleigh's warning (Edwards, Life of Ralegh, i. 256; Archæologia, xxxiii. 250), and desirous to secure the lord keeper's interest in his favour, or misunderstanding an order of Essex, Gorges released the prisoners; and though arrested along with Essex and his companions, he seems to have been admitted at once as a witness against his chief. That he did not give his evidence with a clear conscience may be judged by Essex's address: ‘My lords, look upon Sir Ferdinando, and see if he looks like himself. All the world shall see by my death and his life whose testimony is the truest’ (Jardine, i. 335). Notwithstanding Gorges's subsequent protestations (Archæologia, xxxiii. 261) it cannot be maintained that his conduct at this period was in the slightest degree chivalrous. And yet, two years later, he was spoken of as implicated in the so-called ‘Main plot’ (Edwards, i. 396), though of the fact there was no evidence whatever, and, indeed, he seems to have been at the time on bad terms with Raleigh (ib. ii. 312).
• In 1605 George Weymouth [q. v.], returning from a voyage to the north-west, and bringing back five natives of North America, put into Plymouth. Gorges undertook the charge of three of these Indians, who, in course of time, as they learned English, described to him their country, its climate, its rivers and its harbours, with which they had an intelligent acquaintance. From this grew up in Gorges's mind a desire to colonise the country of which he had learned so much, and during the following years he set on foot many expeditions for discovery or settlement, though with but scanty success. A Plymouth company, associated with a company in London, was formed in 1606, and the two together obtained a grant from the crown of the territory in America, extending fifty miles inland, between the parallels of 34° and 45° north latitude. The attempts at settlement, however, all failed, and in 1619 the association was dissolved. Gorges then formed another company, incorporated on 3 Nov. 1620, under the name of ‘The Council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering, and governing of New England in America,’ the patent of which granted them the territory between latitudes 40° and 48°, and extending through the mainland, from sea to sea. It was not, however, till after several attempts, and difficulties arising out of the intrusion of dissolute interlopers, that the colony of New Plymouth was permanently settled in 1628. Others followed, but in 1635 the council resigned its charter to the king. In 1639 Gorges obtained a new charter, constituting him lord proprietary of the province of Maine, with powers of jurisdiction for himself and heirs.
• The great and lasting interest attaching to the foundation of the New England colonies has rendered this the most notable of the work of Gorges' long and busy life, of which, beyond this, only scanty traces now remain. In 1606 he was a commissioner for enforcing the orders of the council respecting the pilchard fishery, and in 1617 was engaged in a curious negotiation with the merchants and shipowners of the west-country, whom he was commissioned to invite to co-operate with those of London in measures for the suppression of piracy on the high seas, which, he wrote, ‘has in the last few years deprived the kingdom of no less than three hundred ships, with their lading and merchandises, and their seamen reduced to captivity’ (Hist. MSS. Comm. 9th Rep. App. p. 265 a and b). In 1623 he commanded the Great Neptune, apparently his own ship, and one of those which Penington [see Penington, Sir John] was ordered to place at the disposal of the Marquis d'Effiat. Gorges more than shared the scruples of his admiral and brother captains; and under the pretext of requiring full security for the safe return of his ship, finally brought her back to England, when the others were delivered to the French (Gardiner, Hist. of England, v. 378–94). When the civil war broke out, Gorges adhered to the king, and is mentioned in 1642 as living at Bristol, and concerting measures for the defence of the town, in consequence of which he was denounced by the parliament as a delinquent (Barrett, Hist. of Bristol, p. 414; Seyer, Hist. of Bristol, ii. 310). The house which he then occupied is now Colston's School (ib. 404). His advanced age must, however, have rendered him incapable of taking any active part in the hostilities, and he does not seem to have been seriously disturbed. He died in 1647.
• Gorges was married four times, and had issue, besides two daughters who both died young, two sons, John and Robert. Robert was in 1623 sent out as lieutenant-governor of the New England territory, with a large personal grant of land on the northern side of Massachusetts Bay. John succeeded to his father's vast territory, but left it to itself, and the interest of the Gorges family in it seems to have lapsed.
• [America Painted to the Life, by Ferdinando Gorges, Esq. (4to, 1658–9), is a series of pamphlets edited by John's son. One of these, A Briefe Narration of the Originall Undertakings of the Advancement of Plantations into the Parts of America, especially showing the Beginning, Progress, and Continuance of that of New England, by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, is the basis of all other accounts of Gorges's colonial work. The others, though professing to be partly written by the old knight, are, in reality, crude compilations of little worth; Jardine's Criminal Trials, i. 314 et seq.; Archæologia, xxxiii. 241 et seq.; Appleton's Dict. of American Biography; The Gorges' Pedigree, by the Rev. Frederick Brown, in the Historical and Genealogical Register, January 1875 (Boston, Mass.), is not free from errors, which can be corrected by a reference to the Somersetshire Visitation of 1623, in the Harleian Society's Publications, vol. xi., and more fully in a transcript in the Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 5822 ff. 136, 137; other references in the text.]
• From: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gorges,_Ferdinando_(DNB00) _________________
• GORGES, Sir Ferdinando (c.1568-1647), of Plymouth, Devon; later of Ashton Phillips, Som.
• b. c.1568, 2nd s. of Edward Gorges of Wraxall, Som. by Cecily, da. of William Lygon of Worcs. m. (1) 1589, Anne, da. of Edward Ball of Writtle, Essex; (2) Mary, da. of Thomas Fulford, wid. of Thomas Achim of Hall, Cornw.; (3) 1637, Elizabeth, da. of Tristram Gorges of St. Budeaux, Devon; (4) Elizabeth, da. of Hugh Smith, 2s. 2da. Kntd. 1591.
• Offices Held
  • Capt. under Leicester in Netherlands 1587; served under Lord Henry Seymour against the Armada 1588; on Portugal expedition 1589; served under Essex in Normandy 1591; gov. Plymouth 1591; j.p. Devon from 1595, dep. lt. 1595; lt. gov. Brill 1594; capt. Plymouth fort 1595-1601, from 1603; member, Plymouth Co. 1606, New England Co. 1620; commr. Virginia 1623; gov. New England 1637; lord proprietor, Maine 1639.
• Soldier, adventurer and colonial pioneer, Gorges came from an old Somerset family connected with the Queen by marriage through the Howards. His father, who died when Gorges was still a child, asked in his will that Sir George Norton and Nicholas Gorges, a relative at court, would be ‘friends and aiders to my little children’. He left Ferdinando a gold chain, £100 and the manor of Bircum, Somerset. By 1591 Gorges was a follower of the 2nd Earl of Essex, who knighted him in the Normandy campaign, and who returned him for Cardigan Boroughs in 1593. He was appointed to a Commons committee on the poor law, 12 Mar. In August 1596 he reported to Burghley from Plymouth on the spoils brought in from Cadiz, but his application for the post of vice-admiral of Devon was unsuccessful, possibly because of his close connexion with Essex. When, restless in Plymouth, Gorges wished to accompany Essex to Ireland, this too was vetoed. Following the Essex revolt of 1601 Gorges was imprisoned in the Gatehouse. He gave evidence against his patron, and was finally released. Gorges played a part in the early colonisation of New England.
• His declining years were spent at Ashton Phillips, the home of his fourth wife. He died in 1647.
• Except where otherwise stated this biography is based upon R. Gorges, Fam. through Eleven Cents. Other sources are: DNB; Vis. Som. (Harl. Soc. xi), 42; Clifton Antiq. Club, iv. 241; CSP Dom.1581-90, p. 542; 1591-4, pp. 52, 331-2; Plymouth Recs. 21; G. L. Beer, Origins Bristol Col. System, 308, 322; PCC 17 Babington; HMC Bath, v. 281; A. L. Rowse, Elizabethans and America, 90-2; Cam. Misc.i(4), p. 68; D’Ewes, 499; Lansd. 149, f. 31; J. P. Baxter, Ferdinando Gorges, i. 58; C. M. Andrews, Col. Period Amer. Hist. i. 89-92; Som. Arch. and Nat. Hist. Soc. xiii. 52, 57, 58, 61.
• From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/go... _________________
• Ferdinando GORGES (Sir Knight)
• Born: ABT 1565
• Died: 14 May 1647, Ashton Court, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England
• Father: Edward GORGES (Esq.)
• Mother: Cicely LYGON
• Married 1: Anne BELL (d. BEF 6 Aug 1620) 24 Feb 1590
• Children:
  • 1. John GORGES
  • 2. Robert GORGES
  • 3. Ellen GORGES
  • 4. Honora GORGES
• Married 2: Mary (Ursula) FULFORD (dau. of Thomas Fulford and Ursula Bamfield) 21 Dec 1621, Pelint, Cornwall, England
• Married 3: Elizabeth GORGES 6 Dec 1627, Ladlock, Cornwall, England / 28 Sep 1629, Wraxall, Somerset, England
• From: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/GORGES.htm#Ferdinando GORGES (Sir Knight)1 _____________
• LINK IS NOT FOR HIS CORRECT WIFE
• Sir Ferdinand Gorges
• Birth: 1565, England
• Death: May, 1647, England
• Sir Ferdinand Gorges was a naval and military commander.
• Family links:
• Spouse:
• Mary Harding (1570 - 1637)*
• Burial: Unknown
• Find A Grave Memorial# 70365326
• From: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=70365326 _______________
• Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his province of Maine. Including the Brief relations, the Brief narration, his defence, the charter granted to him, his will, and his letters (1890) Vol. 2
• https://archive.org/details/sirferdinandogo02baxt
• https://archive.org/stream/sirferdinandogo02baxt#page/161/mode/1up
• .... etc.
• 16. SIR EDWARD GORGES, the eldeft fon of the preceding, was born in 1483, and refided at the old manor of Wraxall. .... etc.
• https://archive.org/stream/sirferdinandogo02baxt#page/162/mode/1up
• .... From this date until near that of his death, which took place February 11th, 1565, at the age of eighty-two, his name is frequently met with in various records;430 but he feems to have led the peaceful life of a country gentleman of that period. he was buried in the chancel of the church at Wraxall with his ancefters. He married Mary, the daughter of Sir Anthony Pointz,431 and was the father of eight
• https://archive.org/stream/sirferdinandogo02baxt#page/163/mode/1up
• children; namely, Edmund (17), Sir William,432 Sir Nicholas,433 William, of Alderton,434 Sir Thomas,435 Jane,436 Elizabeth,437 and Mary.438
• https://archive.org/stream/sirferdinandogo02baxt#page/164/mode/1up
• 17. EDMUND GORGES. He married in 1531 Ann Walfhe, daughter of Sir John Walfhe, of Little Sodbury, Glocef-
• https://archive.org/stream/sirferdinandogo02baxt#page/165/mode/1up
• terfhire, .... Edmund Gorges died March 31ft, 1558,439 feven years before the death of his father, and left the following children: Edward (18), Robert,440 Henry,441, John,442 Francis,443 Samuel,444 Mary,445 Alice,446 Jane,447 Margaret,448 and Anne.449 We will only fpeak of
• 18. EDWARD GORGES. He was born about 1537, and married Cicely,450 daughter of William Lygon, of Madres-
• https://archive.org/stream/sirferdinandogo02baxt#page/166/mode/1up
• field, Worcefterfhire. .... he died at the age of thirty-one years. His death took place at Clerkenwell, in the fuburbs of London, Auguft 29th, 1568, and he was buried there in the parifh church of St. James. He left two young children, Edward 451 and Ferdinando Gorges (19), the latter of whom has attained celebrity largely on account of his efforts in eftablifhing colonies in New England; indeed, he has been termed the "Father of American Colonization."
• 19. SIR FERDINANDO GORGES was the nineteenth in defcent from Ranolph the Norman, and, as we have feen, defcended from a long line of notable anceftors, ....
• https://archive.org/stream/sirferdinandogo02baxt#page/167/mode/1up
• .... He was married, as has been before ftated, four times; firft on February 24th, 1589, at St. Margaret's, Weftminfter, to Ann, daughter of Edward Bell, Efq., of Writtle, Effex, and by her had four children ; namely, John (20), Robert, Ellen, and Honoria. The two daughters died young. The Lady Ann died Auguft 26th, 1620, and was buried at St. Sepulchre's, London. His fecond marriage was to Mary, fifter of Sir Francis Fulford, knight, and relict of Thomas Achim, Efq., of Hall, Cornwall, who died in 1619. Lady Mary Gorges died in 1622. Sir Ferdinando married thirdly, on December 6th, 1627, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Triftram Gorges, and widow, firft of Edward Courtney, of Landrake, Cornwall, and fecond, of William Bligh, Efq., of Botathan, Cornwall. She died at Ladock, Cornwall, where fhe was married to Sir Ferdinando, March 19th, 1628. Sir Ferdinando married, September 28th, 1629, fourthly, Lady Elizabeth Smythe, daughter of Sir Thomas Gorges, knight, and widow of Sir Hugh Smythe, knight, of Afhton Court, at Wraxall. After his marriage, Sir Ferdinando went to refide at Lower Court, or Afhton Phillips, as it was called, the property of Lady Elizabeth, and there he died. We will now confider briefly his fons, John and Robert Gorges.
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