Ancestors and Origins of Jeffrey Ferris (c.1610-1666); Genealogy, Family Stories and Family Trees

87 Pages·2016·16.9 MB·English

The Origins of Jeffrey Ferris (born c.1604 to c.1610, died 1666)
and Some Ferrers-Ferris Family Stories
6 November 2018, R. Riegel
(See Pedigree Chart and GEDCOM file by clicking here.)
Right: Stained glass window of Jeffrey Ferris in the First Congregational Church of
Greenwich, Connecticut. (Designed in 1896.)
The search for the parents of Jeffrey Ferris (born c.1604 to c.1610, died 1666) has
been fruitless for several centuries. Birth, baptismal, marriage or other records of his
early existence in England have not been found. Only cryptic clues were left by
Reverend E. B. Huntngton in his 1868 book the History of Stamford, Connecticut.
Those limited clues were that the Ferris name came from Leicestershire, that it is
derived from Gualchelme de Feriers and his son, Henry, that Henry de Feriers
received large grants of land from William the Conqueror and that "tradition" says
Jeffrey's wife was "high born" and from the “aristocracy.”
Because finding a link to Jeffrey Ferris' father has proven impossible thus far, I
decided to trace the descendants of Henry de Feriers and the history of those
descendants to see if any clues could be found. Perhaps the information in this
document will help someone make a connection.
Jeffrey Ferris immigrated to America before 1635 and settled initially in Watertown,
near Boston before ultimately being one of the original founders of Greenwich,
Connecticut. Greenwich was named after Greenwich, England (on the outskirts of
London) which was the location of the primary royal palace at that time. Several
Ferrises worked at that palace in the 16th and 17th centuries, one as a Royal
Surgeon to King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, another as a bailiff to the Privy
Council and a Royal Court messenger. Other Ferrises lived and worked in London
in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. They were Merchant Adventurers involved
in the royally chartered companies that sponsored Sir Walter Raleigh's explorations
of the New World, the colonization of Virginia and the Mayflower's voyage to
Plymouth, as well as being Members of Parliament and London Aldermen.
The following is how Reverend E.B. Huntington described Jeffrey Ferris's ancestors in his 1868 book the
History of Stamford, Connecticut at page 31:
The name Ferris is from Leicestershire, house of Feriers, from Henry, son of Gualchelme [aka
Walkelin] de Feriers, to whom William the Conqueror gave large grants of land in the three
shires of Stafford, Derby and Leicester.
Tradition invests the emigration of this family to this country with the hues of romantic
adventure — the ancestress, high born, following her plebeian lover out into this western world,
to share with him here the fortunes which English aristocracy would not allow there.
While Reverend Huntington is likely correct that Jeffrey Ferris descended from the “house of Feriers,” he
was not able to identify Jeffrey's parents or where they had lived in England.
Below you will see that the “de Feriers” surname has been spelled many different ways over the centuries,
including “de Ferrariis,” “de Ferrar,” “de Ferrers,” “Ferryes,” “Ferreris” and “Ferris.” In fact, the probate
records for Jeffrey Ferris' second wife, Susanna Norman, add some support to Reverend Huntington's
conclusion and suggest that the spelling of Jeffrey's surname may not have been written in stone. Those
probate records state that:
Jeffrey ffereies, by mariage with his wife Susanna, now Decceased, Stand ingaged to pay certain
Legacies Due to the Children of Robert Lockwood … [Emphasis added.]
Rather than “Ferris,” Jeffrey's surname was spelled “Fereies.” [The double f (“ff”) was used in place of the
capital letter F.] Earlier, in 1640, when the New Haven, Connecticut colony helped to establish the
settlement of Stamford, a contemporaneous record was made listing the Stamford settlers and the number
of bushels of corn they would repay to New Haven. Included in that list was Jeffrey Ferris, but his name
was spelled “Jef. Firries,” yielding yet another variation of the spelling of the Ferrers-Ferris surname. See
History of Stamford, Connecticut, Rev. E.B. Huntington (1868), p. 18. And, finally, Jeffrey signed a marriage
contract in May 1661 using his mark indicating he could not read or write. The person who prepared that
contract spelled his name (next to the mark) as “Jeffery fferrys.”
Evolution of the Ferris-Ferrers-de Ferrières Surname
The “Henry de Feriers” (1036-
1088) referenced by Reverend
Huntington came from a small
village in Normandy now named
Ferrières-Saint-Hilaire. (The “de”
in Henry's name is French for
“from” or “of.” So, in English, his
name would be “Henry from
Ferrières.”) He was titled
“Seigneur” or “Lord” because his
lands had been granted by higher
nobility. He accompanied William
the Conquerer (1028-1087) to
England in 1066 when William
claimed the right to succeed King
Edward the Confessor who had
died that year. Henry de Feriers
was accompanied to England by his brother William (who died at the Battle of Hastings) and was granted
substantial land holdings in England after that battle.
In his 1845 book The History of the Town and Castle of
Tamworth, Charles Ferrers Raymund Palmer (1819-1900), at
p. 369 stated:
Henry [1036-1088], assumed the surname de Ferrariis
or Ferrers, from a small town in Gastenois, abounding
with iron-mines. In allusion to his name, he bore six horse-
shoes for his arms. He came into England with the
Conqueror... He seated himself at Tutbury-castle.
The Dictionary of National Biography, Vol.18 (1889), p. 385,
further describes Henry de Ferrers (Feriers) (1036-1088) as
follows:
Doomsday commissioner, was the son of Walkelin, lord of
Ferrières Saint-Hilaire in Normandy... Wace [a 12th
century poet and chronicler] makes him as “Henri le Sire
de Ferriers,” present at the battle of Hastings.
(The Doomsday Book was a 1086 survey for tax purposes of all of King William's lands, livestock and
people in England. It was called Doomsday because it was, like the Last Judgment, unappealable. The
word “doomsday” is derived from the Old and Middle English word “domesday.”)
J. Charles Cox summarized Henry de Feriers' estates and manors in England in the Journal of the
Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Volume 9, January 1887, p. 118 as follows :
From this survey, known as the Domesday Book, it appears that he at that time (1086-7) held 114
manors or lordships in Derbyshire, 35 in Leicestershire, 20 in Berkshire, 3 in Wiltshire, 5 in Essex, 7
in Oxfordshire, 6 in Warwickshire, 2 each in Lincolnshire, Herefordshire, and Buckinghamshire, 1 in
Gloucestershire, 3 each in Hampshire and Nottinghamshire, and 7 in Staffordshire, besides the
castle and borough of Tutbury.
Also see A Reappraisal of Duffield Castle for DerwentWISE and the National Trust, by The Jessop
Consultancy (May 2015). A detailed listing of Henry de Feriers' estates and manors appears at page 85
below. The entry in the Doomsday Book for Duffield, by way of example, reads as follows:
Translation from Latin at left: In Duffield, Bradley, Holbrook,
Muleford, Makeney and Milford: Lord: Henry de Ferrers. Taxable
units: Taxable value 7.2 geld units. Value: Value to lord in 1066:
£9. Value to lord in 1086: £7. Households: 32 villagers. 8
smallholders. 10 slaves. 1 priest. Ploughland: 7.2 ploughlands
(land for). 3 lord's plough teams. 8 men's plough teams. Other
resources: Meadow 20 acres. Woodland 4 * 2 leagues. 2 mills,
value 0.4. 1 church. [See Open Domesday to find entries for
Entry for Duffield in the Doomsday Book
specific locations with images, maps and translations.]
The de Feriers or de Ferrers surname mutated, evolved and varied in spelling over time. That evolution is
reflected in various manuscripts and books dating from the 12th to 17th centuries. Early manuscripts were
typically written in Latin and names were often spelled phonetically as they sounded to the writer.
Uniformity of spelling was not as common then as it is now and even the Latin language evolved in England
under the influence of the Anglo-Norman, French and English languages. See British Medieval Latin at the
Dictionary of Medieval Latin.
The earliest contemporary manuscripts refer to “Henry de
Feriers” or “de Ferrers” (1036-1088) as “Henricus de
Ferrariis” and his son Robert (1062-1139; 1st Earl of Derby)
as “Robt de Ferrars.” See Medieval Lands, Chapter 3. Derby
and sources cited therein. The surname “de Ferrariis,”
however, continued to be used in contemporary manuscripts
at least until the 5th Earl of Derby, William de Ferrariis
Anglo-Saxon noblemen at leisure from an
(c.1193-1254). As noted by Medieval Lands, this 5th Earl of Anglo-Saxon calendar, 11th century.
Derby was also referenced as “William de Ferrers” in the
Annals of Tewkesbury, (c.1263) p. 156 and his father was mentioned as “William de Ferreres” (1172-1247)
in the Annales Londonienses, (before 1330) p. 44. In addition, the wife of the 5th Earl of Derby, William de
Ferrariis-Ferrers (c.1193-1254), Sibyl Marshal (1201-1245), was referenced as “Sibilla comitissa de
Ferreys” in the Annals of Ireland (c.1219). And finally, the son of the 5th Earl of Derby, William de Ferrariis-
Ferrers (c.1193-1254), also named William (1240-1288), was referenced as “Willelmus Ferreris” by John of
Fordun, about a century later (c.1380). See Medieval Lands.
As you can see, by about 1400 the surname de Feriers or de Ferrariis had evolved to include de Ferrers,
de Ferreres, de Ferrars, de Ferreys and Ferreris. This last evolution in the 15th century (Ferreris) does
approach the spelling of the surname as Ferris. But despite this evolution, the “Ferieres” surname was
used as late as 1460 in at least one official document to refer to the Ferrers family of Groby in
Leicestershire. In the Catalogue of the Stowe Manuscripts in the British Museum, Vol. 1 (1895), p. 86 is the
following entry relating to Henry Ferrers (1440-1499):
3. Instructions from [Richard], Duke of York (ob, 1460), to "John Grave..., and to the Remenant of the
Juree empanelled upon an assise betwen the lord Ferieres [Ferrers] of Groby and Thomas Ferieres
squier in co. Essex, "praying them" to appere and joyne in the saide enquest for the deliuerance of
the same assise at the day foresaide without any longer delay"; "at oure Castel of Sandhalle*
[Sandal, on York], 17 Sept. s.a. f.6. [Emphasis added.]
The bracketed name “[Ferrers]” was included in the original Stowe Catalogue to clarify that the name
“Ferieres” in the original 15th century document referred to the Ferrers.
But by the mid-1500's, the English Royal Court appears to have identified the name “Ferrers” with the name
“Ferris.” Before arriving at the spelling “Ferris,” however, alternate spellings like Ferys, Ferrys and Feres
were also used. See, for example, the listings for Oxford graduates under the name Ferris for Richard
Ferris “(Ferys or Feres)” B.D. 1506, Thomas Ferris “(Ferrys)” B.Med. 1516, Ellis Ferris “(Eligius Ferys)” B.D.
1522 and Henry Ferris “(Fferes)” 1562 in Alumni Oxonienses, The Members of the University of Oxford,
1500-1714, Vol II – Early Series, (E-K), J. Foster (1891), p. 493. All of these Ferris Oxford students are
among the descendants of Henry de Feriers (1036-1088). In addition, in The Visitations of the County of
Sussex, 1530 and 1633-4, Benolte and Philipot (1905), Robert de Ferraiis-Ferrers (1090-1163; the
grandson of Henri de Ferriers (1036-1088)) is noted as Sir Robert Ferris, his son is noted as Earl William
Ferrys (p. 4) and his grandson as Earl William Ferres (1193-1254; p. 73).
This change in the spelling of the Ferriers-Ferrers surname can be explained by a general shift of
pronunciation in the English language which began around the 15th century called the Great Vowel Shift.
During this period, among other changes, people stopped pronouncing the “r” when it followed a vowel. For
example, “butter” was pronounced like “buta” (/ˈbʌtə/) and “hard” was pronounced like “had” (/ˈhɑːd/).
Following this evolving convention, the final “r” in the surname “Ferriers” was dropped to become “Ferries”
and “Ferrers” became “Ferres.” Spelling the Ferris surname phonetically resulted in numerous variations.
(See Rhoticity in English, Wikipedia.) In addition, words spelled with two e's (“ee” as in meet) were
pronounced like mate at the beginning of the Great Vowel Shift (c.1400) but evolved
into their modern pronunciation in the 16th century. And, that modern “ee” sound
like in meet could be represented in written English by the letter “i” later in the Great
Vowel Shift period (c.1500). Therefore, the spelling of the surname Ferris as
“Ferrys” or “Ferries” better represents now how that surname sounded phonetically
to listeners in the late 16th and early 17th centuries
When researching the history of the Ferrers-Ferris family, it would be wise to
remember the effect accents changing over time as well as regional accents could
have on the pronunciation of various surnames. For example, English speakers in
the late 15th century began to drop the “h” when it appeared at the beginning of a
word. Thus, the surname “Harris” would have been pronounced as “arris.” And, in
regional speech the letter “f” was sometimes used to represent the sound of the
letter “v” as in the word “of.” (See Early Modern English and West Country English,
Wikipedia and see That’s all, ffoulkes!, Grammarphobia.)
Sir Edward Ferrers-Ferys (1468-1535)
Another early alteration of the surname Ferrariis-Ferrers to a surname similar to
Ferris was recorded in the Royal records of a meeting between King Henry VIII and
King Francis I of France near Calais in 1520 called the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
Sir Edward Ferrers (1468-1535) was in attendance at that meeting.
Sir Edward Ferrers (1468-1535) was the son of Sir Henry Ferrers (1440-1499) and
Margaret Hextall. (See his direct ancestors at right). He was born in Kent which
includes Canterbury and Dover in the southeast of England and which was the
home of his mother's family. He married Constance Brome in 1507. Upon her
father's death in 1517, she inherited Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire which was
then inherited through the Ferrers family. See The History of Parliament, The
House of Commons,1509-1558, Vol I (1982), p. 128.
Probably because he was a younger son, Edward Ferrers' father apparently introduced him into service at
court because he was at the surrender of the great seal in 1500 and at the funeral of King Henry VII in
1509. He was knighted for his service at the Battle of the Spurs in Calais, France in 1513 and then served
at the St. Thomas Day Banquet at the Greenwich royal palace in 1517. He served as the Sheriff of Kent
and as a Member of Parliament.
But it is in the records of the elaborate meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold that we find further written
evidence of how the Ferrers surname could be altered. In the Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic,
Henry VIII, Volume 3, 1519-1523 at pages 231-239, Edward Ferrers' presence at the meeting is recorded as
“Sir Edw. Ferys.” Pronounced in modern English as it is spelled, that surname does approach the sound of
the surname Ferris.
The Field of the Cloth of Gold, oil painting c.1545, in the Royal Collection
Also noted in the records for the meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold were “Sir John Feryes” from
Stafford and “Lord Ferrers” from Hereford. I have not been able to identify Sir John Feryes, but Stafford is
in the north of England near a former Ferrers castle called Chartley. It would not surprise me if “Sir John
Feryes” were a younger son of a Ferrers. I have also not been able to identify Lord Ferrers, but Hereford is
northwest of Gloucester in the southwest of England.
George Ferrers-Ferris (Feris, Ferres, Feries; 1510-1579)
The next recorded alteration of the Ferrers surname was written by John Foxe (1516-1587), an English
historian and the author of Actes and Monuments (commonly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs) which was
first published in 1563. In his “George Ferrers: A Fleetingly Famous Gentleman” (the first chapter of a book
in progress about George Ferrers), Professor Charles Beem of the University of North Carolina summarizes
Foxe's entries about George Ferrers as follows:
According to the Online John Foxe Project, [George] Ferrers is identified in several Elizabethan
editions of Actes and Monuments as a “Feries” that was imprisoned in the Tower in Aug. 1553,
perhaps in support of the Jane Grey plot to displace Edward VI’s elder half-sister Mary in the royal
succession, and a “Lord Feris” who was present at Mary I’s coronation in October. [Emphasis
added.]
See The Unabridged Acts and Monuments Online or TAMO; 1576 Edition, Book 10, Page 1419 (1553). The
listing of Cambridge University Alumni in Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part I, Vol II, John Venn (1922) at p. 134
notes that George Ferrers was admitted in 1534 to Lincoln's Inn as George “Ferres.”
In addition, another contemporary diarist, Edward Underhill, recorded the alteration
of the Ferrers surname after his encounters with George Ferrers during Wyatt's
Rebellion in 1554. See “The Watch at the Court and in the City, on the Eve of
Wyat‟s Attack,” Appendix VIII. The Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of
Mary . ed. Nichols. (1850), p. 128 et seq.
Through family connections, Edward Underhill joined King Henry VIII's personal
troops, fought against the French in 1544 and was close enough to the royal family
that Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554) became a godparent to his son. (Lady Jane Grey
was the third great granddaughter of Elizabeth Ferrers (1419-1483) the 6th
Baroness Ferrers of Groby.) Edward Underhill was also a member of Parliament in
1553 but Queen Mary I's Privy Council sent him to Newgate Prison for several
weeks that year for writing a ballad against popery. When Wyatt's Rebellion against
Queen Mary I (r. 1553-1558) occurred in early 1554, Underhill was at Whitehall
Palace from which he accompanied Georges Ferrers and Clement Throckmorton to
the City of London. Professor Charles Beem describes what happened next in his
“George Ferrers: A Fleetingly Famous Gentleman:”
The next occasion when an individual
appears in the historical record who was
indisputably George Ferrers was during the
Wyatt Revolt, which erupted at the end of
January 1554, over Mary’s determination to
take her Catholic Hapsburg cousin, prince
Philip of Spain, as her husband. In Edward
Underhill’s account, Ferrers remained
prestigious enough to be sent by Mary’s Privy
Council to Lord William Howard, who was in
charge of the watch at London Bridge. After
Ferrers joined Underhill’s party, they
approached Ludgate, which was locked. Of
the three men in their party, Ferrers was the
most well known, as he attempted to use his
fame to get inside the city walls, a tactic that
failed miserably. Nevertheless, after the Queen’s forces had crushed the
revolt, Ferrers was rewarded with £100 for his efforts.
Edward Underhill, himself, described his initial encounter with George Ferrers in “The Watch at the Court
and in the City, on the Eve of Wyat‟s Attack,” as follows:
When I came to the courte gate, ther I mett with Mr. Clement T hrouge-martone, and George Feris,
tindynge ther lynges to go to London. Mr. Througemarton was cume post frome Coventry, and
hadde byne with the quene to declare unto her the takynge of the duke of Suffoke. Mr. Feris was
sentt from the councell unto the lorde William Hawwarde, who hadde the charge of the whache att
London bryge. [Emphasis added.]
Underhill further described their encounter at Ludgate as follows:
"And," sayde Ferris, "I am Ferris, that was lorde off misrule with kynge Edwarde, and am sentt from the
councell unto my lorde William, who hathe the charge of the brige, as yow knowe, uppon weyghtie
affayres, and therfore lett us in, or eles ye be nott the quenes fryndes." [Emphasis added.]
Thomas Wyatt attacking the Byward Tower in 1554 by George Cruikshank (1840)
George Ferrers-Ferris (1510-1579) is descended from the Ferrers of Saint Albans as shown in the ancestor
tree on the preceding page. His second great grandmother was Agatha Breakspear (aka Brekesper), also
from Saint Albans. Breakspear is a rather rare surname but was shared by Nicholas Breakspear (1100-
1159), also from St. Albans, who became Pope Adrian IV in 1154 (and the only English Pope). Perhaps not
coincidentally, Agatha's father's given name was Adrian. (See The Abbey of Saint Alban, Some Extracts
from Its Early History, Rev. H.J.B. Nicholson (1887), p. 16.) In addition, the Curia Regis rolls (royal court
records) for Surrey in 1206, included a Geoffrey Brekesper. Perhaps the given name Geoffrey came from
the ancestors of Georges Ferrers-Ferris. George Ferrers-Ferris did have at least two sons, Julius (d.1596)
and Richard (d. before 1598).
The Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 18 (1889) states that Georges Ferrers-Ferris was a Protestant,
a Member of Parliament from Plymouth and describes him further as follows:
FERRERS, GEORGE (1500?-1579), poet and politician, was son of Thomas Ferrers of St. Albans,
Hertfordshire, where he was born at the beginning of the sixteenth century. He took the degree of
bachelor of canon law at Cambridge in 1531, and is said without authority to have studied at
Oxford... In 1535 he was granted by the crown the manor of Flamstead, Hertfordshire, and in 1542
was elected M.P. for Plymouth.
...At Christmas 1551 Ferrers was directed to prepare a series of pageants and pastimes on a very
gorgeous scale to distract the young king [Edward VI], who was reported to be sorrowing over the
execution of his uncle Somerset (GRAFTON). Instead of the ordinary title of lord of misrule borne by
the director of the court festivities, Ferrers was given the superior designation of 'master of the king's
pastimes.' The performances took place at Greenwich.
And a Wikipedia article about George Ferrers-Ferris describes his marriages and children as follows:
Ferrers' first wife was Elizabeth [Bacon], the widow of his friend Humphrey Bourchier (d.1540),
whom he married by 10 December 1541. On 29 July 1548 he obtained the reversion of her right to
the lease of Markyate Priory. His second wife was Jane, the daughter of John Southcote of St .
Albans, whom he married by licence dated 5 March 1546, and with whom he had a son, Julius.
Ferrers married, as his third wife, by licence dated 29 November 1569, Margaret Preston..., [H]e had
at least three other sons and two daughters.
Sir Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris (Ferryes, Ferreys; 1540-1608)
The next recorded alterations of the Ferrers surname
appear in the Papers of the Ferrers Family of
Tamworth Castle from 1371 to 1806 which are in
collections of the Folger Shakespeare Library in
Washington, D.C. and in the notes of the Privy Council
of England in 1593, Acts of the Privy Council of
England, Vol. 24 (1901).
Both of the above sources
include entries relating to
Humphrey Ferrers (1540-
1608) who inherited Tamworth
Castle in Staffordshire when
Tamworth Castle by Turner, c.1830 his father died in 1576. He
served as a Sheriff for
Warwickshire and a Justice of the Peace for Staffordshire and was ordered to set a
guard over Mary Queen of Scots when she was held prisoner at Tutbury Castle. He
was knighted in 1603. See The History of the Town and Castle of Tamworth,
Charles Ferrers Raymund Palmer (1845).
Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris' (1540-1608) direct ancestors are shown at right.
An abstract of the Shakespeare Library's Papers of the Ferrers Family of Tamworth
Castle from 1371 to 1806 describes the collection as:
Family and official papers of the Ferrers family of Tamworth Castle dating
from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century (mostly mid-sixteenth century
to mid-seventeenth century) concerning the family’s political, legal, financial,
personal, and manorial affairs mostly in Derbyshire, Essex, Leicestershire,
Staffordshire, and Warwickshire.
One of the items cataloged was summarized by the Folger Library as follows
(L.e.514):
Letter from Thomas Ferrers, London, to Sir Humphrey Ferrers, Walton
[Walton-on-Trent in Derbyshire, near Tutbury Castle]: autograph manuscript
signed, 1599 January 17
... Describes the New Year's present he gave to the Queen ("a small
standing cope verry well wroght and maid in Noremberg") and her reaction
when he met with her on January 12 in the "great Chamber" (she said, "I doe
estime ytt greattley, and doe kepe ytt for myne owne vse ... But I estime the
giver much more"). Discusses the situation with Spain. Thanks him for gifts
("the kynd tokins") which he received from him. (The gift of the cup is
mentioned in a New Year's gift roll, Folger MS Z.d.17: "By Mr Ferris a
Merchant one guilte Cuppe with a Couer stayned with sondry colores &
some siluer leaves poiz.")
[Emphasis added.]
Note that the Folger Library cataloged this letter as being from Thomas Ferrers to
Sir Humphrey Ferrers but the gift to the Queen is noted by the Palace staff as being
from “Mr. Ferris” and that portion of the summary is in quotes. (While Sir
Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris had both a brother and a son named Thomas, this letter
was likely from his brother.)
In another letter in the Folger Library dated December 12
1607, Thomas Grantham wrote to Sir John Ferrers (1566-
1633) at Tamworth Castle, Sir Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris'
(1540-1608) son, who lived from 1566 to 1633. (item
L.e.654). That letter is summarized and quoted by the
library as follows:
Has delivered £30 to "my sister" Ferrers. Would have
sent his bond, which he wrote for, but he does not
have it. Believes Lady Puckering has the bond and
advises him to ask her for it. "I cannot tell whether I
should thanke my sister Ferris or the vnseasonable
weather for her company." Wishes to be counted
among those who wish him all possible happiness.
The Privy Council (right) meeting with the
Again, while the library indicates the letter refers to “my Spanish ambassadors (left) in 1604. From the
sister Ferrers,” the letter actually says “my sister Ferris.” National Portrait Gallery.
“Lady Puckering” refers to Sir John Ferrers' (1566-1633)
wife, Dorothy Puckering (1570-1616).
In addition to the royal court, the notes of the Privy Council of England in 1593, Acts of the Privy Council of
England, Vol. 24 (1901), refer to Sir Humphrey Ferrers as “Sir Humfrey Ferris,” “Sir Humfry Ferryes” and
“Sir Humfry Ferreys.” See p. 318:
A letter to Sir Humfrey Ferris and Sir Henry Goodiere, knightes. There hathe ben exhibited unto us
by one Henrie Orton of Draighton Bassstt the complaint inclosed against Sir Christopher Blunt,
knight, by the which he pretendethe …
Also at p. 379 [1593]:
A letter to Sir George Hastinges, Sir Thomas Stanhopp and Sir Humfry Ferryes, knightes. Not
longe since uppon complaint exhibited unto us by certaine gentlemen of the countyes of Derby and
Leicester howe prejudyciall it would be that certaine iron milles begon and erected by Chrystofer
Croftes, gentleman, and the same (as yet) not fully fynished, should go forwarde, wee wrott our
letters unto him to surcease his further workinge untill the commynge downe of the Justices ...
Also at p. 422 [1593]:
A letter to Sir George Hastinges, Sir Thomas Stanhopp and Sir Humfry Ferreys. Whereas wee
wrott unto you not long since uppon humble suite made unto us by Christofer Croftes, gentleman, to
permitt him, notwithstandinge anie former letters, to goe forward with his workes, carryages and all
other thinges appertanynge to his milles untill other order should be taken therein by us ...
Of course, you will note the spelling of ordinary words in the above quotations is strange to modern English.
But with these examples it is perhaps easier to understand how a single surname could be spelled
differently in the same era, let alone over centuries. In addition, reading and writing were not universal skills
in 16th and 17th centuries.
Thomas Ferrers-Ferris (b.aft. 1540-d.aft. 1604) and the Merchant Adventurers
Thomas Ferrers-Ferris (b.aft.1540-d.aft.1604), a brother of Sir Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris (1540-1608)
described immediately above, was a Deputy Governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London,
a Special Ambassador to Denmark in 1603 and was the most prominent member of the Ferrers family in
England during the Elizabethan era (1558-1603). See Prominent Elizabethans, p. 76 on Folgerpedia which
is part of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Also see Catalogue of the Stowe Manuscripts in the British
Museum, Vol. 1 (1895), p. 126, entry 43 (and see entries 46, 51, 55, 61 and 65 on pp. 126-129).
The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Merchant Adventurers, of which Thomas Ferrers-Ferris was
Deputy Governor, as follows:
Merchant Adventurers [was a] company of English merchants who engaged in trade with the
Netherlands (and later with northwest Germany) from the early 15th century to 1806. The company,
chartered in 1407, principally engaged in the export of finished cloth from the burgeoning English
woolen industry. Its heyday extended from the late 15th century to 1564, during which period it sent
its fleets to its market at Antwerp in the Spanish Netherlands with cloth to be sold at the annual fairs.
By the middle of the 16th century, as much as three-fourths of English foreign trade was controlled
by the London officers of the company, many of whom served as financiers and advisers to the
Tudor monarchs. After 1564 the Merchant Adventurers lost its market in the Spanish Netherlands
and a long search for a new one followed. After 1611 its foreign trading activities were centred at
Hamburg and one or another town in the republican United Provinces.
The Merchant Adventurers in London also backed the efforts to colonize Virgina and Plymouth (including
the voyage of the Mayflower) in the early 17th century and had backed Sir Walter Raleigh's (1552-1618)
explorations in the New World. Raleigh married the niece of Clement Throckmorton who had accompanied
Georges Ferrers-Ferris during Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554. (See p. 5 supra.) Thomas Ferrers-Ferris likely
would have known Sir Walter Raleigh at Court.
Another merchant adventurer in London was Sir William Cokayne (1561-1626) who was a third cousin of
Barbara Cokayne (1517-1560), the mother of Thomas Ferrers-Ferris and Sir Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris. Sir
William Cokayne was a Governor of the Eastland Company (which traded in the Baltic and Russia), sheriff
of London in 1609, Governor of Londonderry (Ulster, Northern Ireland) in 1613 and Lord Mayor of London,
England in 1619-20.
Queen Elizabeth also appointed Thomas Ferrers-Ferris as Robert Devereux's (1585-1601; 2nd Earl of
Essex) interpreter on a trip to Stade, Germany, just outside of Hamburg in 1598. (Robert Devreux was the
3rd great grandson of Anne Ferrers (1438-1468) and had been brought up at Chartley Castle which Anne
Ferrers had inherited from her father, William de Ferrers (1412-1450). Devreux was beheaded for treason
in 1601. His was the last beheading at the Tower of London.)
Certainly, the children and grandchildren of Thomas Ferrers-Ferris
(b.aft. 1540-d.aft. 1604) and his brothers would have encountered a
milieu rich with adventurous tales from around the world. I have not
been able to find the names of Thomas Ferrers-Ferris' wife or
children, nor the children of his brothers Edward (b.aft.1540), Henry
(b.aft.1540-d.1602) or George (b.aft.1540-d.1615). There were,
however, baptisms for children of a Thomas Fferris or Firris at St.
Margaret's, Westminster around 1600. (St. Margaret's is next door to
Westminster Abbey and across the street from Parliament.) The first
baptism was for Margaret Fferris on 29 Jan 1598 (Gregorian), the
next was for Margaret Fferris on 14 Apr 1600 or 1601 and the last for
Johane (or Joan) Firris (Ffirris) on 27 Oct 1603. (From
The Boyhood of Raleigh by Sir John FindMyPast.com.) (The spellling of Joan Ffirris' surname with an “Fi”
Everett Millais, 1870 is similar to the spelling of Jeffrey Ferris' surname as “Firries” in the
1640 New Haven records noted on page 2 above.) These births
seem a bit late to be the children of Thomas Ferrers-Ferris (b.aft.1540-d.aft.1604) but they could be the
children of Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris' son who was also named Thomas (b.1567) and who began studies at
Trinity College, Oxford in 1583 at the age of 16. Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714, Vol II – Early Series, (E-
K), J. Foster (1891), p. 493.
In addition, Thomas Ferrers-Ferris' brother, Sir Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris (1540-1608), had a son named
John (1566-1633) who had a son named Humphrey (1600-1634). Sir Humphrey Ferrers-Ferris' (1540-
1608) other sons were Walter who had three sons whose names are unknown, Thomas (b.1567) who had
two sons and Edward (b.1573) who had four sons, also unknown. The children of these unknown sons
would likely have been born around the turn from the 16th to the 17th century, as was Jeffrey Ferris.