Sarah Churchill

FIFTH GENERATION

1. Reverend John R. CHURCHILL Rector of Stinsford and Steeple M.A was born about 1603 in Muston, Dorset, England. He was instituted on 16 Mar 1636 in Stinsford, Dorset, England. He was instituted on 22 Jun 1637 in Steeple, Dorset, England. He signed a will on 14 Oct 1681 in Steeple, Dorset, England. He died in Mar 1682 in Steeple, Dorset, England. He was buried on 28 Mar 1682 in Steeple, Dorset, England.

He was married to Sarah surname unknown between 1639 and 1641 in Steeple, Dorset, England. Sarah’s birth date is uncertain but is given by an unreliable LDS submitter as 1602 making he older than her husband John Churchill. She died before 23 Oct 1678 in Steeple, Dorset, England. (She was buried on 23 Oct 1678 according to the parish register.) Reverend John R. CHURCHILL Rector of Stinsford and Steeple M.A and Sarah had the following children:

1.        +2       i.       Sarah CHURCHILL (born before Feb 1642).
2.        +3       ii.       Mary CHURCHILL (born before 6 May 1646).
3.        +4       iii.       Elizabeth CHURCHILL (born before Feb 1648).

Note on Sarah’s surname:

Sarah is listed in LDS records as "Mrs. Sarah Churchill." Today the honorific "Mrs." means a married woman and is applied to all married women regardless of their social status. However, in the 17th century Mrs. was the abbreviation for Mistress and was an honorific applied only to girls and women who had NEVER been married and were of gentry status. The source of the LDS record is questionable. To date no actual parish record has been found for either the marriage or the birth of this Sarah. However, assuming that the record is from a valid marriage record and the entry did include the honorific "Mrs" then the maiden name of Sarah would have been Churchill. To date no record for a Sarah Churchill who would have been born about 1602 has been found.

As mentioned above, the surname of Reverend John of Stinsford’s wife, Sara, is unknown. However, some LDS references taken from actual parish records call her “Mrs. Sarah Churchill.” It has been speculated that the honorific “Mrs.” meant that she was a Churchill widow; however, in this time the honorific “Mrs” or Mistress was used only for un-married gentry. Thus, a register entry “Mrs. Sarah Churchill” would have meant that Sarah was a maiden (never married) and of gentry status.

Harry Hadaway who has genealogy site http://www.gendex.com/users/hhadaway/ Hadaway/ hadawaypage.htm lists her surname as Sarah May and gives a Janice Melinda Maxwell as his source. Janice, however, says that she does not know Sarah’s maiden name. Janice is aware that Harry lists Sarah’s name as May based on her information. Janice said that she contacted Harry after his posting. Harry had apparently mistakenly entered the month of Janice’s date of death for John (the month of May) as Sarah’s surname. Mr. Hadaway acknowledged this but has never changed the information in his listing. It should be noted that that Janice’s date of death for the Reverend John is actually incorrect. Janice has 23 May 1659 but Sarah actually died bef 23 Oct 1678 but likely in the month of October. According to Hutchins and the actual Purbeck parish register, Sarah was buried on 23 Oct 1678. Actual death dates were rarely recorded in this period.

Sources

1. http://genforum.genealogy.com/churchill/messages/3023.html
2. http://genforum.genealogy.com/churchill/messages/3023.html