Sunday, April 24, 2011

Col. Thomas Middleton, Surveyor of the Navy, world trader

Middleton, Col. Thomas
L&M say…
(d.1672). Navy Commissioner, Portsmouth 1664-7; Surveyor of the Navy 1667-72; Navy Commissioner, Chatham 1672.
Little is known of his background except that he had risen to rank of colonel in the Parliamentary Army, had traded with the West Indies and New England, and had travelled both in the New World and the Mediterranean, becoming a member of the Council for Plantations in 1660… (Further info has spoilers)

George Pemberton, seller of silk, 1709

Classified Ad found in the ancient newspapers here: http://www.gale.cengage.com

FOR SALE BY THE CANDLE
On Thursday the 27th Instant, will be Sold at Bat-son's Coffee-house in Cornhill, at 3 a clock in the Afternoon, Sundry sorts of Raw and Thrown silk. Catalogues to be had at the Place of Sale. By Geo. Pemberton.
Daily Courant, London, England, Monday, January 24, 1709, Issue 2261.

So here is a George Pemberton dealing in exotic commodities that reminds me of green olives.
For sale by candle, or more often, sale by inch of candle, refers to an auction practice begun in the late 15th century wherein the last bid placed before a candle went out (normally by burning to completion) was the winning bid.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Captaine Pemberton Imprisoned, 1643

In the following newspaper:
Kingdomes Weekly Intelligencer (London, England), May 23, 1643 - May 30, 1643; Issue 21
[http://www.gale.cengage.com/NLW/ then click on Gale News Vault, search for Pemberton in the "Entire Document"]
we read the following:
A Catalogue of the names of the Commanders and Officers taken Prisoners, are as followeth:
General Goring.
Sir Tho: Bland, Lieutenant Colonel to Sir George Wentworth.
...
Captaine Wildbore.
Captaine Rudstone.
Captaine Pemberton.
Captaine Croft.
...
Serjeant Major Carnaby, and Captain Nutall left wounded in Wakefield, upon their engagements to bee true prisoners.
[There follows a list of Lieutenants and then Ensigns, and then a thousand words about battles which I quote in part so as to identify the engagement; the record thereof beginning thus]
My Lord Fairfax dated at Leeds 23 May; hath this passage, the partie of horse and foote appeared before Wakefield [a place] about foure a clock on Sanday morning, where they found their enemies (who had Intelligence of their designe) readie to receive them; there was in the Towne Generall Goring, Serjeant Major General Mackworth, the Lord Goring, with many other principall Commanders and eminent persons, with about seven Troops of horse, and six Regiments containing 3000. foot, the Towne well fortified with works, and foure peeces of Ordnance, yet our men, both Commanders and Common soldiers, went on with undanted Courages, and notwithstanding Vallies of small and great shott from the Enemies, Charged up to their works, which they entered, seised upon their Ordnance, and turned them upon themselves, and prusued the enemies so close, as they beate quite out of the Towne the most part of the horse, and a great number of the foote, and made all the rest prisoners, and with them took foure peece of Ordnance, and all the Ammunition in the Towne, and a great number of Armes, and amongst the Prisoners, Generall Goring himselfe, with divers other Commanders and common Souldiers, in all about 1500 men and 27 Colours of foote, three Cornetts of horse, of wich I send a more particular list enclosed, the more exact and particular relation of this service, as it is testifies to me under the hands of the Principall Commanders employed in that designe, I doe rather account it a Miracle, then a Victory, and the Glory and praise to bee ascribed to God that wroght it, in which I hope I derogate nothing from the merits of the Commanders and Souldiers, who every one in his place and duty, shewed as much Courage and resolution as could bee expected from men: When the Towne was thus taken, they found their number and strength too weake to keep it, and their prisoners, so they left the place, and marcht away with their booty.


What I don't know is whether this Captaine is a land or sea captain. I presume land.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Tantalizing Connection between Graham's and my line

I finished extracting all the data from the Cheshire Parish Register Project here (http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~cprdb/) and then in searching through the data with Stapley as a keyword found this:

Sarah Pemberton
Christened: 21 Mar 1746 at Wybunbury, Cheshire, England
Residence: Stapley Cross
Father: Joseph Pemberton

This Christening is a century later than that of Sarah Middleton of Nantwich, who married my George Pemberton the first. What is tantalizing is:
the Sarah Pemberton name is right for a descendant of Sarah Middleton and George Pemberton,
the Stapley Cross connection,
Graham's father and grandfather's name of George,
and the father of this Sarah Pemberton is Joseph - the same as Graham's oldest Pemberton given name.

George Victor Pemberton DNA is in my line!!

Graham Pemberton, founder of pembertonfamily.net, submitted a DNA sample of his father George Victor Pemberton and the results show that line to be very close to mine. In fact there are now four samples in the Pemberton DNA Project that all support the deduction of a DNA profile for George Pemberton, ca 1685, in Cheshire, England. Graham's research is not back that far yet and this discovery should prove to be a help in tracing that line.