Harmon ‘Herman’ Atwood

Harmon Atwood, born Oct. 3, 1613, baptized St Martin Parish Church, (now in London) Atwood Annals, C A Atwood 1965

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Atwood-57
Atwood-57 created 13 Sep 2010 | Last modified 3 Mar 2023

Herman Atwood immigrated to New England in 1641 as an employee of Thomas Buttolph. He was from Sanderstead, Surrey.[1] Samuel Worthen stated that he was a son of Deacon John and Mary L. (Smith) Atwood; he did not describe his basis for this information.[2]

He was admitted to the Church in Boston on 24 February 1644, and that same year was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.[1][2]

He was married to Ann Copp in Boston, Massachusetts, on 11 August 1646.[3] Two children were born to their marriage: John and Sarah Atwood. [1][4][5]

Hermon Atwood died in Boston before 13 October 1651, when inventory of his estate was taken and valued at 34 pounds, 3 shillings. The estate was proved on 19 November 1651; administration was granted to Ann Atwood, wife of the deceased, on behalf of herself and two children.[6]

Research notes

From the All Saints, Sanderstead, Parish Register:[7]

• Thomas bp. 17 Feb 1610, son of Herman Atwood.
• Opp* bp. 20 March 1613 daughter of Herman Atwood.
• John bp. 7 Jan 1615 son of Herman Atwood.

These records are for a different Herman Atwood, but the people are likely to be closely related to him.

Comments

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/970811/was-henry-wood-son-of-john-wood...

John "the Leather Seller" is reported to have baptised son Harmon 3 Oct. 1613 and John 24 Dec. 1614 at St. Martin's in London. FindMyPast shows transcriptions of these baptisms at Westminster, but the transcription does not indicate the father's name. The children's names are Harmon Atwood and John Atwood.

Alicia Crane Williams says only that Elijah Francis Atwood provided no evidence of the parental links that he claimed. He did provide some vital records, so what is missing is really the proper correlation that this and that records refering to "John Atwood" are referring to the same person.

ACW does note that it is possible John Atwood the Leather Seller was father to Harmon, and notes Pope's Pioneers as the reference. If this is credible, and if there is a credible case to be made that this Harmon was the same baptized at Westminster in 1614, then it seems clear that at least he had a brother John.

But there would be a lot to prove here:

• Harmon who appeared in Boston can be reasonably attributed the baptismal record at Westminster
• John of Plymouth was brother of Harmon. For this, Elijah Francis Atwood cites a 1631 lawsuit where John sued his brother Harmon. Some effort should be made to track this down.
• Even then, the connection of John of Plymouth as brother to Henry and Stephen is based tenuously on coincidence of land and freeman records for timing and proximity, as well as family lore. It is not an unreasonable deduction, but it makes it even more important to shore up the first two bullet points.

Y-DNA would not help determine if Henry, Stephen, John, and Harmon were brothers versus, say, cousins or some other sort of kin. But it would be very useful if it could show that Harmon was related to one of the others, since that seems to be the weakest link. Are there Harmon descendants who have tested the Y-chromosome?

Source: “John Wood Alias Atwood of Plymouth, Massachusetts,” by Alicia Crane Williams. Mayflower Descendant: A Journal of Pilgrim Genealogy and History. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1899- . (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010) volume 44, Page 137. < AmericanAncestors >

---

Sources

1. GEDCOM Note Family arms are: lion rampant between acorns, crest, arm erect holding a battle axe. These are displayed on the front of the old Sanderstead mansion.
2. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWDG-6LH : 11 February 2018, Harmon Atwood, 03 Oct 1613); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 845,235.
3. Atwood, Charles, and Woodgate, Henry Arthur. History of the AtwoodFamily, in England and the United States. Boston: Press of G.H. Ware, 1888.* Thwing Collection: Inhabitants and Estates of the Town of Boston, 1630–1800 and The Crooked and Narrow Streets of Boston, 1630–1822. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014.) page 1912.
4. Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700. Vol. 1, page 52: ATWOOD,Herman/Harman (-1651) & Ann COPP (-1661), m/2 Thomas SAXTON 1651/2; 11 Aug 1646; Boston {McCormick-Hamilton 272; Cape Cod Lib. 41:2; Warner-Harrington 791; McIntire Anc. 318; Boston 24; Sv. 1:77, 457; Pope's Pioneers 23; Pillsbury Anc. 683; Reg. 8.
5. Worthen, Samuel Copp. "Descendants of William Copp of Copp's Hill inAuthenticated Lines, Through His Older Son, Elder David Copp of the First Church of Boston." The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, v. 62 (1931), no. 4, pages 338-370.
6. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHQ3-ZBB : 4 November 2017), Herman Atwood and Anne Capp, 11 Aug 1646; citing Marriage, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 818,093.
7. Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Apr 30 2016, 8:42:52 UTC

• Immigration: 1642
• Immigration: Dec 16 1642 - Boston, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America
  • Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Feb 21 2019, 23:41:35 UTC
• https://www.familytreedna.com/public/AtwoodsofSandersteadCourt?ifra...