Esdras Reade, tailor of Southwark, Surrey

Biography

Deacon Esdras Reade was a tailor, who lived successively at Boston, Salem, Wenham, Chelmsford, again
at Boston, and Woburn and died in Boston on 27 July 1680 aged 85, buried in the Copp's Hill Burying Ground.

Esdras Reade was of the Parish of St. Mary Overy, Southwark, Surrey. He was born about 1600 (deposed 1657:10:29 aged 57 years of age). He married in the Parish of St. Magnus Martyr on 18 Oct. 1621 to Elizabeth Watson, of that parish. In this record he is listed as Esdras Reade, of the Parish of St. Mary Overy, Southwark. Elizabeth Reade, age and marital status not given, who was buried on 10 Oct. 1629 after the baptism of their first five children. It is said that the wife who crossed the Atlantic with Esdras was named Alice. That is not correct. He married second to Sarah Dickinsson at Saint Katherine's by the Tower, London, 22 Feb 1630/1. He emigrated to New England in 1638 with his wife Sarah and his children. He was admitted to the church in May 1640.

A suit was brought in 1633 by Esdras Reade, tailor, of London , against his uncle, John Reade, husbandman, of Sutton Mallet, Parish of Moorlinch, Somersetshire. It was determined that Esdras was son of Esdras Reade (d. ca. 1611) and of his wife Bathsheba (d. ca. 1630) and that the elder Esdras was son of the widow Agnes Reade, living at Sutton Mallet in 1583.

The children of Esdras Reade, tailor or brewer, were as follows (first 5 with first wife and last three with second wife):

1. Elizabeth, bapt. 29 Aug, 1622, Southwark; probablv the child, father not named, buried 1$ Feb . 1622/3.
2. Sarah, bapt. 8 Jan. 1623/4, Southwark; probably the child, father not named, buried 17 Seot. 1621
3. Philip, bp. 25 July 1625, Southwark; probably the child, father not named, buried 26 Dec. 1626. Another Philip Reade, son of James, was bapt. in this parish in 1621, but by 1626 he would hardlv have been called an infant.
4. Rebecca, bp. 27 Sept 1627, Southwark; father's occupation given as brewer; d. before 25 Dec. 1702.
5. Jonathan, bp. 22 Dec. 1611 Southwark; probablv the infant, father not named, buried 27 Dec. 1631.
6. Jonathan, bp. 13 Aug. 1635, Southwark; probablv the infant, father not named, bur\ed 16 Aug. 1635.
7. Bethia, b. ca. 1637-8 bp. 31 May 1640, Salem, Mass; d. Canterbury, Conn., 2 Dec. 1717.
8. Obadiah, b. 1640, bp. 31 May 1640, Salem; d. Boston, 19 Feb. 1721/2 in 82nd year.

Sources

1. Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 p 242 (Boston, Massachusetts. New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 2015) p 279: Esdras Read: Southwark, Surrey; 1638; Boston, Salem, Wenham, Chelmsford, Wobrun [BTR 1:36; STR 1:84; SChR 9, 10; WnTR 1:1; MBCR 1:378; TAG 28:149-53; NEHGR 60:137-39. 63:200-1. 140:180; GMC 50:307-10]
2. George E. McCracken, NEW LIGHT ON ESDRAS READE, TAILOR in TAG 28:149
3. Dr . C. E. Banks' Topographical Dictionary of English Emigrants to New England, 1620-1650 Philadelphia, 1937) p. 170,
4. The Reade Record 10 (1917)
5. Charles French Read NEHGR 60 :137-9
6. Alanson H. Reed NEHGR 63:200 f
7. John B. Threlfall, "One Less Wife fro Esdras Reade of Boston, Mass." in NEHGR 140:180
8. NEHGR 84:450
9. James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary of New England 3:515 f
10. Charles H. Pope, Pioneers of Massachusetts p. 380
11. Jacob Whittemore Reed, History of the Reed Family in Europe and in America (Boston, 80!) p 151 and p 272
12. John Brooks Threlfall, Fifty Great Migration Colonists To New England & Their Origins (Madison, Wisconsin, 1990) 307-10
13. Torrey 2:1254 1637 England READE, Esdras (-1680, Boston) & 1/wf Alice?/Elizabeth WATSON; by 1622, by 1637; Salem/Chelmsford {Salem 3:30; Backus Anc. 143, 144; TAG 28:150; Wenham Ch. Rec. 77; Reade Rec. ,3:2, ,5:2, 7; Johnson (,1) 62-63; Reg. 60:137+, 63:200, 84:450}
14. Torrey 2:1254 1670 Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States READ, Esdras (-1680, Boston) & 2/wf Sarah ____; by 1670; Woburn {Reade Rec. ,3:2; Reg. 60:137+}
15. http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Esdras_Reade_(1)
16. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Reade-611

Warning

Researchers should take care when reading earlier Read / Reed / Reade genealogies. They are full of errors. In some earlier accounts Esdras Reade was called Elias Reade in error. He was purportedly the son of William Reade of Kent. This is all in error. Please read below if you would like more information about this. If not skip this section because the information from the top of this page is from the latest peer reviewed sources and is corrected. Note he never had sons William and Philip either.

"1. Elias, who is supposed to be a son of William Reade of Maidstone, in the county of Kent, professor of divinity, and his wife Lucy, was born in 1595; and the first that is known of him is in Woburn, Mass. He had sons William and Philip, who were both born in England."

Reference:

1. "History of The Reed Family in Europe and America." By: Jacob Wittenmore Reed. Member of the New-England Historic-Genealogical Society Published: Boston Printed by Johyn Wilson and Son. 22, School Street Year: 1861 Reprinted by: Higginson Book Company, 148 Washington Street, Post Office Box 778. Salem, Massachusetts 01970. Phone: 978-745-7170 http://www.higginsonbooks.com

PAGE 272: ELIAS READ (READE, REED)

   CHAPTER VII.

Elias Read, and his Descendants.
1. ELIAS, who is supposed to be a son of William Reade of MAIDSTONE, in t
he County of KENT, Professor of Divinity, and HIS WIFE, LUCY was born in 1
595; and the first that is know of him is in WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS. He h
ad sons William and Philip, who were BOTH BORN in ENGLAND.
2. Philip, the son of Elias, was born in 1623 (the book states). He married Abigail. Their children were- Philip, born March 13, 1671; Jacob, Jan 30, 1673; Abigial, Oct 26, 1675; Amy, June 3, 1678. He was a PHYSICIAN, and settled first in Lynn. In 1669, he made a COMPLAINT against MARGARET, the WIFE of JOHN GIFFORD, for WITCHCRAFT. The complaint was not fully sustained; and, the GIFFORD FAMILY being influential (Mr. Gifford being agent of the IRON-WORKS,- an important position in those times), it operated against the popularity of DR. REED; and he, the next year, MOVED TO CONCORD, where he practised his PROFESSION many years. The unhappy effects of his controversy at Lynn followed him to CONCORD, where he was bitterly persecuted by or thought he influence of the GIFFORD FAMILY, and at one time went to JAIL for Something growing out of it. He was ONE of the TRUSTEES of the ESTATE of JOHN PROCTOR of SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS; appointed in 1689. This Mr. Proctor is supposed to be the FATHER of the PERSON of the same name WHO was HUNG at SALEM, for WITCHCRAFT, in 1692; the principal evidence which contributed to his conviction being the testimony of the Celebrated COTTON MATHER, D.D., who testified that he had seen EVIL SPIRITS COME BEHIND Mr. PROCTOR, and hold conversations with him, during the trial. DR. REED had an extensive PRACTICE in CONCORD, and many other towns in the Counties of MIDDLESEX and ESSEX. He died at CONCORD, May 10, 1696: his wife died April 16, 1709.
From NEHGR (see source list above):

The Myth Of Elias Read.—This name, in Jacob W. Reed's "History of the Reed Family," Boston, 1861, p. 272, is given as that of an original immigrant from England to America, and as the founder of one of the pioneer New England Ueed families. As a matter of fact there was not one of the original immigrants of the Reads, however spelled, that bore the name Elias. An explanation of the error in Mr. Reed's statement is found in the source of his information.

Mr. Thomas B. Wyman of Charlestown, Mass., a noted genealogist in his day, in the course of his work made an " Abstract of Middlesex Court Files from 1649 to 1075," which manuscript is now preserved in the library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. On p. 74, among abstracts from the original court papers in the case of Johnson v. Viaales, appears this entry:

" 1657. 10. 29. Test: Elias Reed about 57 (fifty seven) years of age."

From an examination of the original Middlesex County Court Records at East Cambridge, it was found that the record of testimony reads Esdras Read upon the face of it, and is endorsed very plainly on the back " Ezdras Read. test. Sworne in Court 29. (10) 57 " (29 Dec. 1657).

Mr. Reed undoubtedly took the name Elias from Wyman's copy, as stated above, without verifying it by comparison with the original papers, and so put into print an erroneous statement which has been widely spread in other genealogical works. Esdras Read is a well known original immigrant (History of the Reed Family, p. 151), who lived at an early date in Woburn, Middlesex County, and the statement in regard to the mythical Elias, that" the first that Is known of him is in Woburn, Mass.," (p. 272) plainly relates to Esdras. The further statement that " Elias, who is supposed to be a son of William Reade of Maidstone in the county of Kent, professor of divinity, and his wife Lucy, was born in 1595, " of course does not hold good when the Elias in question never existed! Neither does the statement hold in regard to Esdras, for it is not known what was his native place in England, and by his own testimony above he was born about the year 1600. Further (p. 272) it is stated that Elias " had sons William and Philip, who were both born in England." Not a word of other mention or information is given in regard to this son William. As there was early in Woburn a William Read, doubtless this was the one Mr. Reed had in mind as a son of Elias, but the mistake he made here he failed to correct when later it is evident he knew that William of Woburn was himself an original immigrant and made record of him as such (p. 61). Philip, mentioned above as the other son of Elias, is the well known Doctor Philip Read of Concord who died there in 1696 and was himself an original immigrant, coming to New England but a short time prior to 1660 and founding the Concord branch of the Read Family.

Next (pages 286-7) we find, without a word of explanation as to the reason of the failure to make prior mention with that of sons William and Philip above, the statements that

"2. Thomas, son of Ellas, settled in Sudbury and died July 25, 1659 . . .;

3. Thomas, son of Thomas of Sudbury, married Mary Bigelow . . .;

4. Thomas, son of Thomas and Mary of Sudbury, married Mary Wood. . .; 6. Thomas, son of Thomas and Mary of Sudbury, born May 22, 1678."

Now the birth of Thomas No. 5 is correct, being so given upon the town records of Sudbury. If, therefore, we suppose his father, Thomas No. 4, married at the age of 21, and his first child Thomas No. 5 was born at 22, and that Thomas No. 3 and Thomas No. 2 each did the same, it would give us 1678-22=1656-22= 1634-22=1612-1595 (the given date of Elias's birth)=17 years. So Elias would have been only 16 years of age at the time of his marriage, and 17 at the birth of his first child. But the space of years for each generation is too short, and the age of Elias is too youthful to make the genealogical table a true one, even had the name Elias been a correct one. Clearly on the face of it there is a mistake.

As a matter of fact, Thomas No. 2 who died July 25, 1659, never was resident in Sudbury. He died in Boston, and his estate is a matter of record there in the Suffolk Registry of Probate. He probably belonged to one of the Salem families.

Referring to Thomas No. 3 above, he himself was an original Immigrant and is mentioned in the town records of Sudbury as early as 1655. He came from the city of Colchester, Co. Essex, England, and was the son of Thomas Read, a carpenter in that city, whose will is of record in Somerset House, London (see Hudson's History of Sudbury for further information furnished by the writer).

New England Historic Genealogical Society - 1909 - New England

THE MYTH OF ELIAS READ.— This name, in Jacob W. ... was born in 1595, " of course does not hold good when the Elias in question never existed ! ...

End Warning

Please Merge

Esdras Reade, tailor of Southwark, Surrey

Biography

Deacon Esdras Reade was a tailor and brewer. He lived successively at Boston, Salem, Wenham, Chelmsford, again
at Boston, and Woburn. He was born about 1600 (deposed 1657:10:29 aged 57 years of age). He died in Boston on 27 July 1680 aged 85, buried in the Copp's Hill Burying Ground.

Esdras Reade was of the Parish of St. Mary Overy, Southwark, Surrey. He married in the Parish of St. Magnus Martyr on 18 Oct. 1621 to Elizabeth Watson, of that parish. In this record he is listed as Esdras Reade, of the Parish of St. Mary Overy, Southwark.Elizabeth Reade, age and marital status not given, who was buried on 10 Oct. 1629 after the baptism of their first four children. It is said that the wife who crossed the Atlantic with Esdras was named Alice. That is not correct. He married second to Sarah Dickinsson at Saint Katherine's by the Tower, London, 22 Feb 1630/1. He emigrated to New England in 1638 with his wife Sarah and his children. He was admitted to the church in May 1640.

A suit was brought in 1633 by Esdras Reade, tailor, of London , against his uncle, John Reade, husbandman, of Sutton Mallet, Parish of Moorlinch, Somersetshire. It was determined that Esdras was son of Esdras Reade (d. ca. 1611) and of his wife Bathsheba (d. ca. 1630) and that the elder Esdras was son of the widow Agnes Reade, living at Sutton Mallet in 1583.

The children of Esdras Reade, tailor or brewer, were as follows (first 4 with first wife and last 4 with second wife):

1. Elizabeth, bapt. 29 Aug, 1622, Southwark; probably the child, father not named, buried 15 Feb 1622/3.
2. Sarah, bapt. 8 Jan. 1623/4, Southwark; probably the child, father not named, buried 17 Seot. 1624
3. Philip, bp. 25 July 1625, Southwark; probably the child, father not named, buried 26 Dec 1626. Another Philip Reade, son of James, was bapt. in this parish in 1621, but by 1626 he would hardly have been called an infant.
4. Rebecca, bp. 27 Sept 1627, Southwark; father's occupation given as brewer; d. before 25 Dec. 1702.
5. Jonathan, bp. 22 Dec. 1631 Southwark; probably the infant, father not named, buried 27 Dec. 1631.
6. Jonathan, bp. 13 Aug. 1635, Southwark; probably the infant, father not named, buried 16 Aug. 1635.
7. Bethia, b. ca. 1637-8 bp. 31 May 1640, Salem, Mass; d. Canterbury, Conn., 2 Dec. 1717.
8. Obadiah, b. 1640, bp. 31 May 1640, Salem; d. Boston, 19 Feb. 1721/2 in 82nd year.

Sources

1. Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 p 242 (Boston, Massachusetts. New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 2015) p 279: Esdras Read: Southwark, Surrey; 1638; Boston, Salem, Wenham, Chelmsford, Wobrun [BTR 1:36; STR 1:84; SChR 9, 10; WnTR 1:1; MBCR 1:378; TAG 28:149-53; NEHGR 60:137-39. 63:200-1. 140:180; GMC 50:307-10]
2. George E. McCracken, NEW LIGHT ON ESDRAS READE, TAILOR in TAG 28:149
3. Dr . C. E. Banks' Topographical Dictionary of English Emigrants to New England, 1620-1650 Philadelphia, 1937) p. 170,
4. The Reade Record 10 (1917)
5. Charles French Read NEHGR 60 :137-9
6. Alanson H. Reed NEHGR 63:200 f
7. John B. Threlfall, "One Less Wife fro Esdras Reade of Boston, Mass." in NEHGR 140:180
8. NEHGR 84:450
9. James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary of New England 3:515 f
10. Charles H. Pope, Pioneers of Massachusetts p. 380
11. Jacob Whittemore Reed, History of the Reed Family in Europe and in America (Boston, 80!) p 151 and p 272
12. John Brooks Threlfall, Fifty Great Migration Colonists To New England & Their Origins (Madison, Wisconsin, 1990) 307-10
13. Torrey 2:1254 1637 England READE, Esdras (-1680, Boston) & 1/wf Alice?/Elizabeth WATSON; by 1622, by 1637; Salem/Chelmsford {Salem 3:30; Backus Anc. 143, 144; TAG 28:150; Wenham Ch. Rec. 77; Reade Rec. ,3:2, ,5:2, 7; Johnson (,1) 62-63; Reg. 60:137+, 63:200, 84:450}
14. Torrey 2:1254 1670 Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States READ, Esdras (-1680, Boston) & 2/wf Sarah ____; by 1670; Woburn {Reade Rec. ,3:2; Reg. 60:137+}
15. http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Esdras_Reade_(1)
16. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Reade-611

Warning

Researchers should take care when reading earlier Read / Reed / Reade genealogies. They are full of errors. In some earlier accounts Esdras Reade was called Elias Reade in error. He was purportedly the son of William Reade of Kent. This is all in error. Please read below if you would like more information about this. If not skip this section because the information from the top of this page is from the latest peer reviewed sources and is corrected. Note he never had sons William. He did have a son named Philip but he died as a child and was not the Philip Reade of New England.

"1. Elias, who is supposed to be a son of William Reade of Maidstone, in the county of Kent, professor of divinity, and his wife Lucy, was born in 1595; and the first that is known of him is in Woburn, Mass. He had sons William and Philip, who were both born in England."

Reference:

1. "History of The Reed Family in Europe and America." By: Jacob Wittenmore Reed. Member of the New-England Historic-Genealogical Society Published: Boston Printed by Johyn Wilson and Son. 22, School Street Year: 1861 Reprinted by: Higginson Book Company, 148 Washington Street, Post Office Box 778. Salem, Massachusetts 01970. Phone: 978-745-7170 http://www.higginsonbooks.com

PAGE 272: ELIAS READ (READE, REED)

   CHAPTER VII.

Elias Read, and his Descendants.
1. ELIAS, who is supposed to be a son of William Reade of MAIDSTONE, in t
he County of KENT, Professor of Divinity, and HIS WIFE, LUCY was born in 1
595; and the first that is know of him is in WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS. He h
ad sons William and Philip, who were BOTH BORN in ENGLAND.
2. Philip, the son of Elias, was born in 1623 (the book states). He married Abigail. Their children were- Philip, born March 13, 1671; Jacob, Jan 30, 1673; Abigial, Oct 26, 1675; Amy, June 3, 1678. He was a PHYSICIAN, and settled first in Lynn. In 1669, he made a COMPLAINT against MARGARET, the WIFE of JOHN GIFFORD, for WITCHCRAFT. The complaint was not fully sustained; and, the GIFFORD FAMILY being influential (Mr. Gifford being agent of the IRON-WORKS,- an important position in those times), it operated against the popularity of DR. REED; and he, the next year, MOVED TO CONCORD, where he practised his PROFESSION many years. The unhappy effects of his controversy at Lynn followed him to CONCORD, where he was bitterly persecuted by or thought he influence of the GIFFORD FAMILY, and at one time went to JAIL for Something growing out of it. He was ONE of the TRUSTEES of the ESTATE of JOHN PROCTOR of SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS; appointed in 1689. This Mr. Proctor is supposed to be the FATHER of the PERSON of the same name WHO was HUNG at SALEM, for WITCHCRAFT, in 1692; the principal evidence which contributed to his conviction being the testimony of the Celebrated COTTON MATHER, D.D., who testified that he had seen EVIL SPIRITS COME BEHIND Mr. PROCTOR, and hold conversations with him, during the trial. DR. REED had an extensive PRACTICE in CONCORD, and many other towns in the Counties of MIDDLESEX and ESSEX. He died at CONCORD, May 10, 1696: his wife died April 16, 1709.
From NEHGR (see source list above):

The Myth Of Elias Read.—This name, in Jacob W. Reed's "History of the Reed Family," Boston, 1861, p. 272, is given as that of an original immigrant from England to America, and as the founder of one of the pioneer New England Ueed families. As a matter of fact there was not one of the original immigrants of the Reads, however spelled, that bore the name Elias. An explanation of the error in Mr. Reed's statement is found in the source of his information.

Mr. Thomas B. Wyman of Charlestown, Mass., a noted genealogist in his day, in the course of his work made an " Abstract of Middlesex Court Files from 1649 to 1075," which manuscript is now preserved in the library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. On p. 74, among abstracts from the original court papers in the case of Johnson v. Viaales, appears this entry:

" 1657. 10. 29. Test: Elias Reed about 57 (fifty seven) years of age."

From an examination of the original Middlesex County Court Records at East Cambridge, it was found that the record of testimony reads Esdras Read upon the face of it, and is endorsed very plainly on the back " Ezdras Read. test. Sworne in Court 29. (10) 57 " (29 Dec. 1657).

Mr. Reed undoubtedly took the name Elias from Wyman's copy, as stated above, without verifying it by comparison with the original papers, and so put into print an erroneous statement which has been widely spread in other genealogical works. Esdras Read is a well known original immigrant (History of the Reed Family, p. 151), who lived at an early date in Woburn, Middlesex County, and the statement in regard to the mythical Elias, that" the first that Is known of him is in Woburn, Mass.," (p. 272) plainly relates to Esdras. The further statement that " Elias, who is supposed to be a son of William Reade of Maidstone in the county of Kent, professor of divinity, and his wife Lucy, was born in 1595, " of course does not hold good when the Elias in question never existed! Neither does the statement hold in regard to Esdras, for it is not known what was his native place in England, and by his own testimony above he was born about the year 1600. Further (p. 272) it is stated that Elias " had sons William and Philip, who were both born in England." Not a word of other mention or information is given in regard to this son William. As there was early in Woburn a William Read, doubtless this was the one Mr. Reed had in mind as a son of Elias, but the mistake he made here he failed to correct when later it is evident he knew that William of Woburn was himself an original immigrant and made record of him as such (p. 61). Philip, mentioned above as the other son of Elias, is the well known Doctor Philip Read of Concord who died there in 1696 and was himself an original immigrant, coming to New England but a short time prior to 1660 and founding the Concord branch of the Read Family.

Next (pages 286-7) we find, without a word of explanation as to the reason of the failure to make prior mention with that of sons William and Philip above, the statements that

"2. Thomas, son of Ellas, settled in Sudbury and died July 25, 1659 . . .;

3. Thomas, son of Thomas of Sudbury, married Mary Bigelow . . .;

4. Thomas, son of Thomas and Mary of Sudbury, married Mary Wood. . .; 6. Thomas, son of Thomas and Mary of Sudbury, born May 22, 1678."

Now the birth of Thomas No. 5 is correct, being so given upon the town records of Sudbury. If, therefore, we suppose his father, Thomas No. 4, married at the age of 21, and his first child Thomas No. 5 was born at 22, and that Thomas No. 3 and Thomas No. 2 each did the same, it would give us 1678-22=1656-22= 1634-22=1612-1595 (the given date of Elias's birth)=17 years. So Elias would have been only 16 years of age at the time of his marriage, and 17 at the birth of his first child. But the space of years for each generation is too short, and the age of Elias is too youthful to make the genealogical table a true one, even had the name Elias been a correct one. Clearly on the face of it there is a mistake.

As a matter of fact, Thomas No. 2 who died July 25, 1659, never was resident in Sudbury. He died in Boston, and his estate is a matter of record there in the Suffolk Registry of Probate. He probably belonged to one of the Salem families.

Referring to Thomas No. 3 above, he himself was an original Immigrant and is mentioned in the town records of Sudbury as early as 1655. He came from the city of Colchester, Co. Essex, England, and was the son of Thomas Read, a carpenter in that city, whose will is of record in Somerset House, London (see Hudson's History of Sudbury for further information furnished by the writer).

New England Historic Genealogical Society - 1909 - New England

THE MYTH OF ELIAS READ.— This name, in Jacob W. ... was born in 1595, " of course does not hold good when the Elias in question never existed ! ...

End Warning