Edward Giles, of Salem

See "The Great Migration Begins." Came to Salem in 1633. Married Widow Bridget Verry, by 6 Oct 1635. Died between 17 Dec 1649 and 10 Dec 1656.

Visit The Giles Memorial by John Adams Vinton on the web.Google it.

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 23 2021, 20:43:53 UTC

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GEDCOM Note

According to Torrey, he had a first wife about whom nothing is known.

Edward is also known as Edmond or Edmund.

He died sometime between 17 dec 1649 (when he appears in the town records) and 10 dec 1656 whehn “Widd. Giles” appeared in a probate inventory.

On 6 October 1635, “Edward Gyles was fined 40s. for knowing his wife carnally before marriage”

“Banks derives ‘Edmund Gyles’ from Meere, Somersetshire, citing only ‘Banks Mss.’ [Topo Dict 143]; further investigation of Banks may provide a clue to the origin of this immigrant.”

“In 1631 a ‘Goodman Gyles’ owed money to the estate of MARY RING of Plymouth, and the widow Ring had purchased of ‘EDdm[ond] Gyles’ a ruff [MD 1:30,33,34, citing PCPR 1:4,6]. Given the movement of several Plymouth men to Salem in the early 1630s, this Edmond Gyles may be the same as teh Edmond or Edward Giles who is in Salem by 1634.”

From: "Burns, Greg" ≤greg.burns@velocitawireless.com>
To: "'kristin@media.mit.edu'" ≤kristin@media.mit.edu>
Subject: Edward Giles
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 07:31:08 -0400

Hello Kristin, I have recently discovered that I am related to Edward Giles of Salem/Beverly, MA through my maternal grandmother Mary Cecilia Giles Connolly.     I notice that he was from Meare, Somerset however in checking this in the LDS IGI I find an identical Edward, dates, wife's name the same as coming from Salisbury, Wiltshire. I'm a bit confused as to what data I'm to rely on. Please let me know when possible.

Thanks! Greg Burns

Hi, Greg-

After checking my Giles Report, I see that my source for "Meare, Somerset" is the most reliable "The Great Migration Begins..." by Robert Charles Anderson. It was one of the first books published in this now decade-old series. The NEHGS decided to chronicle every Great Migrant (those who came between 1610 & the English Civil War) to New England and have scoured every extant piece of colonial paper to produce genealogical biographies of them all. It is a well-documented & thoroughly vetted work. I'm pretty good about correcting things - I'd rather have it *right* than "my version right", if you know what I mean - but I'm gonna stand by Meare...

You can read more about it in the first few paragraphs of the Giles Register Report (http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~kristin/fambly/Giles/GilesRegisterRepo...)

That said, though...the good folks at NEHGS *do* say "probably". So, there is the possibility that he might have come from somewhere else. However, I have trouble believing Wiltshire...only because so few early migrants came from there. But a lot came from Somerset & Dorset & other western, sea-touching shires and from the eastern Puritan "hotbeds", like - I think, I'm doing this from memory - Kent & Middlesex around London.

As you can see from the discussion of his origins, it is possible that there were two Edward Giles. A good example of this being the two William Sargents of Essex co., MA. Hard to believe with identical dates & wives. But, possible...

Does the LDS entry have a source cited? If this source is an early family genealogy, chances are that the Salisbury, Wiltshire information was simply incorrect. I'm finding a lot of old family genealogy information is being corrected with the new reliance on original sources and the thrust of new genealogy being "get it right" instead of "make the family look good".

Anyway, these thoughts are off the top of my head. Please let me know what you think or if they make any sense.

Cheers.

Kristin
From: "Burns, Greg" ≤greg.burns@velocitawireless.com>
To: "'Kristin C. Hall'" ≤kristin@media.mit.edu>
Subject: RE: Edward Giles
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 09:31:55 -0400

From: Kristin C. Hall [mailto:kristin@media.mit.edu]
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005 8:45 AM
To: Burns, Greg
Cc: kristin@media.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Edward Giles

Hi, Greg-

After checking my Giles Report, I see that my source for "Meare, Somerset" is the most reliable "The Great Migration Begins..." by Robert Charles Anderson. It was one of the first books published in this now decade-old series. The NEHGS decided to chronicle every Great Migrant (those who came between 1610 & the English Civil War) to New England and have scoured every extant piece of colonial paper to produce genealogical biographies of them all. It is a well-documented & thoroughly vetted work. I'm pretty good about correcting things - I'd rather have it *right* than "my version right", if you know what I mean - but I'm gonna stand by Meare...OK...I totally agree about getting it "right".

You can read more about it in the first few paragraphs of the Giles Register Report (http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~kristin/fambly/Giles/GilesRegisterRepo...)

That said, though...the good folks at NEHGS *do* say "probably". So, there is the possibility that he might have come from somewhere else. However, I have trouble believing Wiltshire...only because so few early migrants came from there. But a lot came from Somerset & Dorset & other western, sea-touching shires and from the eastern Puritan "hotbeds", like - I think, I'm doing this from memory - Kent & Middlesex around London.  Yes...in fact I thought they were from Kent. Seems that some of my Giles line were Baptists and Kent had a big population of Baptists having the religion introduced by the Dutch who traded vigorously with Kent.

As you can see from the discussion of his origins, it is possible that there were two Edward Giles. A good example of this being the two William Sargents of Essex co., MA. Hard to believe with identical dates & wives. But, possible... Yes...I see on the report that he married Bridget in Salem. The way the IGI is written, he married her in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Does the LDS entry have a source cited? No...just a "submitter". Perhaps you might want to take a look at the IGI.  If this source is an early family genealogy, chances are that the Salisbury, Wiltshire information was simply incorrect. I'm finding a lot of old family genealogy information is being corrected with the new reliance on original sources and the thrust of new genealogy being "get it right" instead of "make the family look good".

Anyway, these thoughts are off the top of my head. Please let me know what you think or if they make any sense.
So...this stuff is an unending detective story that I enjoy immensely. At the moment I can see that I'm related to Samuel, son of Eleazar. Seems that in the mid 1700's or so a migration to Canada took place and Samuel married a Canadian woman and raised a family there. Perhaps they were British sympathizers. Later though, William, son of Samuel came back to NY and ended up in Staten Island. My direct line descent comes from John B. Giles, a cousin of the American Giles', who emigrated in c 1825. It was his son John who hooked-up with Mary Bridget Kennedy. She is reputed to have been a servant in the Giles household. It is believed that this union caused the family to disown John for marrying an Irish Catholic girl. It is widely believed that she was pregnant at the time. John converted to Catholicism but died between 1865 and 70. Mary moved to Elizabeth, NJ with her children, Mary Ann and John, my great grandfather. She died in 1894 at age 49 and my great grandfather died in 1916 in his early 50's. I always thought it odd that there was never any mention of any Giles relatives accept for my grandmother's brothers and sisters. 

Your thoughts?? Thanks Much! Greg
Cheers.

Kristin

Hello Kristin, I have recently discovered that I am related to Edward Giles of Salem/Beverly, MA through my maternal grandmother Mary Cecilia Giles Connolly.     I notice that he was from Meare, Somerset however in checking this in the LDS IGI I find an identical Edward, dates, wife's name the same as coming from Salisbury, Wiltshire. I'm a bit confused as to what data I'm to rely on. Please let me know when possible.

Thanks! Greg Burns

--

• *******************

Kristin Carole Hall
Project Coordinator, Consumer Electronics Lab
http://cel.media.mit.edu
MIT Media Laboratory
E15-368 * 20 Ames Street * Cambridge, MA 02142
kristin@media.mit.edu
617-452-5686 [tel] * 617-253-7240 [fax]

"When tempted to fight fire with fire, try to remember that the pros use water."
http://www.kristincarolehall.net
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 15:32:30 -0400
To: "Burns, Greg" ≤greg.burns@velocitawireless.com>,
"'Kristin C. Hall'" ≤kristin@media.mit.edu>
From: "Kristin C. Hall" ≤kristin@media.mit.edu>
Subject: RE: Edward Giles
Cc: kristin@media.mit.edu

Hi, Greg-

Okay. So it sounds like the LDS report might be either based on some unsubstantiated research or -- most likely -- by someone who might have accidentally confused some facts about various men named "Edward Giles". Our guy definitely married Bridget in Salem - there are vital records which substantiate that.

Baptists in Kent...of course! I'd never made the Dutch connection before! Little did they know they'd all get tossed out to Rhode Island once they got to MA. Ah...the sheer irony of the Puritans' religious intolerance!

Like you, the wonderful detective work of genealogy is addictive. I think your theory that the migration to Canada was "Tory-based" is probably true. I've heard tales of Tories being dumped at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River after the Americans won the war. If it was earlier, it is possible that they were taken prisoner during the French & Indian Wars. But most of the kidnapping was earlier in those wars (late 1600s). It would be fun to find why they went.

Wow...it is interesting that John converted to Catholicism. And I'm not at all surprised that he would be disowned for marrying an Irish Catholic in antebellum North America. After all, the Irish were considered dirty, illiterate, brawling, drunken apes at that time. ("No Irish Need Apply" and all) My own 1840s Irish ancestors very quickly Anglicized their surnames and were relegated to menial work like curriers.

With John converting to Catholicism & all ties to the family broken, I can see where the Giles name would not be spoken in the household. Those deep wounds can cause some long-held animosities & grudges.

Kristin

From: Kristin C. Hall [mailto:kristin@media.mit.edu]
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005 3:33 PM
To: Burns, Greg; 'Kristin C. Hall'
Cc: kristin@media.mit.edu
Subject: RE: Edward Giles

Hi, Greg-

Okay. So it sounds like the LDS report might be either based on some unsubstantiated research or -- most likely -- by someone who might have accidentally confused some facts about various men named "Edward Giles". Our guy definitely married Bridget in Salem - there are vital records which substantiate that.

Baptists in Kent...of course! I'd never made the Dutch connection before! Little did they know they'd all get tossed out to Rhode Island once they got to MA. Ah...the sheer irony of the Puritans' religious intolerance!

Like you, the wonderful detective work of genealogy is addictive. I think your theory that the migration to Canada was "Tory-based" is probably true. I've heard tales of Tories being dumped at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River after the Americans won the war. If it was earlier, it is possible that they were taken prisoner during the French & Indian Wars. But most of the kidnapping was earlier in those wars (late 1600s). It would be fun to find why they went.

Wow...it is interesting that John converted to Catholicism. And I'm not at all surprised that he would be disowned for marrying an Irish Catholic in antebellum North America. After all, the Irish were considered dirty, illiterate, brawling, drunken apes at that time. ("No Irish Need Apply" and all) My own 1840s Irish ancestors very quickly Anglicized their surnames and were relegated to menial work like curriers.

With John converting to Catholicism & all ties to the family broken, I can see where the Giles name would not be spoken in the household. Those deep wounds can cause some long-held animosities & grudges.

Kristin

Hello Kristin, please take a look at the Very/Verry Family website. Go into Yahoo...input Samuel Very of Salem, MA...Interesting info comes up on Bridget Very...wife of Edward Giles. Please let me know what you think. Thanks! Greg Burns
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:36:26 -0500
To: "Burns, Greg" ≤greg.burns@velocitawireless.com>
From: "Kristin C. Hall" ≤kristin@media.mit.edu>
Subject: RE: Edward Giles

Hi, Greg-

If I've already answered, my apologies for the inbox clutter, else apologies for so long a wait before my reply. I was out for 3 weeks, then returned to nearly 700 emails, so I am working my way back.

I'm assuming that this is the page you were referring to?  http://www.members.tripod.com/~ntgen/bw/very_index.html

If so, that is really interesting since the way it is written, it implies that Bridget either had divorced Thomas or never bothered to do so before marrying Giles (more common than one would think...) Then, one looks at the header which implies that she was a widow. Hmm...the citations are from a really respected peer-reviewed journal, though. Also, I never thought to look up her in The Great Migration books (patriarchal thinking...bad researcher! no donut!) but will do so to see if she is in the first set (to 1630). With a "V" surname, it would be ages before she would come out in the second set of books (after 1630) since they are only up to the mid-alphabet...

It is a page I'd like to examine more closely, along with the article in "The American Genealogist" to which it refers. However, it seems good and would extend the family further back into England quite nicely!

Cheers and Thank You!

Kristin

Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 11:03:46 -0500
To: kristin@media.mit.edu
From: Pat ≤larau@mac.com>
Subject: Giles Family

Kristin, I want to thank you for sharing your Giles genealogy. John and Mehitabell Giles Collins were my 8th g Grand parents.That is as far as I had got on the Giles side. Now when I go to Salt Lake in May I can document this and be able to search across the pond. Thanks again.

Cheers~~~
Pat Rauch
St. Augustine, FL
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 10:59:55 -0400
To: Pat ≤larau@mac.com>
From: "Kristin C. Hall" ≤kristin@media.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: Giles Family
Cc: kristin@media.mit.edu

Hello, Pat-

First of all, apologies. I have been away from my own email for, literally, months while I attended to both my day job & launching both label & first CD. Exciting stuff, but left me with no time for anything else!
I am always delighted to meet a new cousin! I'd love to see your work on the family. Is it posted somewhere?

Cheers.

Kristin
Source Link: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000144050309823label=@S70@
Source Link: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000205517131861label=@S293@
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Source Link: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000205517131863label=@S154@
Source Link: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000173426643826label=@S75@
Source Link: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000205517131867label=@S944@
Source Link: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000205517131868label=@S945@