John PAYNE & Hannah EARLE

John Payne, Sr.,
& Hannah Earle

- by Alice Marie Beard

If you want only genealogy and no stories, scroll down.
Otherwise, have a cup of tea, and I'll share a story:

One of the biggest reasons I do genealogy research is because it's fun. Each new family link is found in its own way. The "how I figured it out" on this line is particularly memorable. In the 1970s, I had seen a handwritten document with the names and birth dates of the John Payne/Hannah Earle family. However, the mother's maiden name was not noted. When I began hunting on this line, I got in touch with the historical and genealogy society in the county where I knew their children had married and had children, Vermilion Co., IL. The genealogy society in that area is the Illiana Genealogical & Historical Society, and it's a good one. For less than a couple of dollars, they sent an index of all the articles that had ever appeared in their newsletter. One looked like a good possibility: "The John Payne Family." The article was largely based on the research of a man now deceased, but the man had looked at the records that men love to look at: Military records. In the military records of one of Hannah's son's, he had found the man's place of birth (Orange Co., NY) and Hannah's maiden name, EARLE. Then I remembered from the old handwritten family list that Hannah had named a son Peter Earle Payne.

With that information, I guessed that Hannah's father was named Peter Earle and that he was from Orange Co., NY. I also guessed that he might have served in the American Revolution, or at least signed a Loyalty Oath. I made that guess because Hannah was born in 1775: A man old enough to have a child born in 1775 was the right age for the Revolutionary War, and a man who was as far west as Orange Co., NY, by 1775 likely had a bit of land that he would have wanted to protect by signing a Loyalty Oath. [Quick history lesson: During the Revolution, men of "fighting age" had to sign a "Loyalty Oath" or risk losing their land if the rebels won.] And I hoped that the man had some other descendant who was a genealogy buff and had established him as a "Patriot" with the Daughters of the American Revolution. I phoned the D.A.R. and asked if they had an established patriot named Peter Earle from Orange Co., NY; they did, but they did not list his children. My next hope was to find his will or estate settlement in Orange Co. Unfortunately, the state of New York charges $70 even to check to see if there is a record. I phoned the genealogy society of Orange Co., NY, and a kind woman mailed me a photo copy of the will of Peter Earle. The will named a daughter Hannah Payne, and the will settlement named Hannah's children.

Included with the copy of the will, this kind woman sent a brief note: "Hannah's mother was Elizabeth Bull. She was a granddaughter of William Bull and Sarah Wells." Armed with that info, I drove to Goshen, Orange Co., NY, taking my nine-year-old daughter. We left several hours later than I'd planned to leave, and the drive was longer than expected. We arrived in Goshen having taken not the best exit off the interstate, at two in the morning, looking a little bedraggled, lost, and grubby. The first motel I saw looked a little seedy, but we were tired. I walked into the motel office and asked, "Do you have a room for just the night? One mother, one child." The man in the office at the seedy motel looked my way, sneered briefly, and said, "No. Try the shelter down the road." By the time I got back in my car, I understood he was trying to direct me to a shelter for homeless women and children. The roads were dark and unfamiliar. After three in the morning, I gave up hunting for a hotel and decided to park my car in front of a 24-hour coffee shop, directly under a street light, lock the doors, recline the seats, and try to sleep. After all, the genealogy library opened in five hours.

An hour before the library opened, we could sleep no more and decided to do some driving and exploring in Goshen, NY. We passed a sign for the local Girl Scout council and saw it was named "The Sarah Wells Girl Scout Council." I thought, "Common name. One of our ancestors from here had that name. Wonder who the modern woman was by that name whom they named their council after." We drove a bit more, and I saw a sign that said, "The Sarah Wells Trail," and I thought, "That must be a hiking trail used by the local Girl Scouts. Maybe we can go for a morning walk." I never did find the "hiking trail" so I turned back to the library.

The genealogy librarian asked, "What names are you working?"

I answered, "Payne, Earle, Bull, Wells." I didn't know, but I'd said the magic words for Orange Co., NY, genealogy. The Girl Scout council had been named after my ancestor, and Sarah Wells Trail was a highway which followed the trail she had followed as a young girl when she was the first white person in the area and had helped to stake a land claim for some wealthy men.

For the rest of my day as I did my research, one person after another would point at me and whisper to a newcomer, "She's a Bull." Someone arranged chairs so my daughter could stretch out and finish her sleep. Others brought books and documents. When they heard I'd been unable to find a room, some invited me to their homes for the night. William Bull and his wife Sarah Wells lived in the 1700s, but they lived decently enough that -- over two hundred years after William and Sarah died -- their descendants are welcomed just for being their descendants.

HUSBAND: John PAYNE, Sr.
BORN: 30 Apr 1776, NY
DIED: 10 May 1864, Pontiac, Livingston Co., IL
BUR.: Payne Cemetery, Eppards Twp., Livingston Co., IL
MARR: Orange Co., NY
FATHER: Prosper PAYNE, Sr.
NOTE: John was 2nd married to Jane McCracken on 12 Feb 1857.
For the family story as it appeared in the Illiani Genealogist, click here.
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WIFE: Hannah EARLE (Her ancestor chart is below.)
BORN: 8 Mar 1775, Orange Co., NY
DIED: 5 Mar 1855, Vermilion Co., IL
BUR.: Songer Cemetery, west of Danville, Vermilion Co., IL
FATHER: Peter EARLE
MOTHER: Elizabeth BULL
NOTE: Hannah was named in her father Peter Earle's will, 1819 Orange Co., NY.
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CHILDREN
=============================
1.] Sabina PAYNE
BORN: 14 Mar 1797, Orange Co., NY
DIED: Aft 14 May 1856
SPOUSE: Nelson MILLS
MARR: Ohio Co., IN
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2.] Elias PAYNE
BORN: 11 Dec 1798, Orange Co., NY
DIED: Bef 1820
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3.] Lockey PAYNE
BORN: 15 Sep 1800, Orange Co., NY
DIED: Bef 1820
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4.] Delila PAYNE
BORN: 6 Jul 1801, Orange Co., NY
DIED: 9 Oct 1857, Catlin Twp, Vermilion Co., IL
BUR.: Songer Cemetery, Vermilion Co., IL
SPOUSE: Thomas W. DOUGLASS
MARR: 18 Feb 1818, Rising Sun, Ohio Co., IN
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5.] Peter Earle PAYNE
BORN: 9 Feb 1803, Orange Co., NY
DIED: Aft 1850
SPOUSE: Elizabeth AGUE
MARR: 1826
NOTE: Peter moved to California before 1850.
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6.] Morgan Lewis PAYNE, Captain
BORN: 20 Apr 1805, Orange Co., NY
DIED: 29 Apr 1878, Livingston Co., IL
BUR.: Southside Cemetery, Pontiac, Livingston Co., IL
SPOUSE: Rebecca ADAMS
MARR: 20 Jul 1826, Ohio Co., IN
SPOUSE: Sarah BARKLEY
NOTE: Civil War Captain. In Eppard's Point, Livingston Co., IL, 1860.
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7.] Esther PAYNE
BORN: 17 Mar 1807, Orange Co., NY
DIED: 17 Mar 1899, Danville, Vermilion Co., IL
BUR.: Springhill Cemetery, Danville, Vermilion Co., IL
SPOUSE #1: John THOMPSON
MARR #1: 1823, Ohio Co., IN
SPOUSE #2: John FINDLAY
MARR #2: Jul 1870
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8.] William Milton PAYNE, Sheriff
BORN: 14 May 1809, Orange Co., NY
DIED: 17 Nov 1897, Birmingham, AL
BUR.: Springhill Cemetery, Vermilion Co., IL
SPOUSE: Eliza HAMILTON
MARR: 29 Jul Ohio Co., IN
NOTE: Justice of Peace and Sheriff in Vermilion Co., IL.
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9.] Squire Lee PAYNE
BORN: 29 Jan 1811, Orange Co., NY
DIED: 7 Feb 1884
BUR.: Payne Cemetery, Eppard's Pt. Twp, Livingston Co., IL
SPOUSE: Charity REYNOLDS (d. 10 Jan 1850)
MARR: 6 Sep 1832
SPOUSE #2: Margaret A. CRAYCRAFT
MARR #2: 27 Jun 1850 (divorced)
NOTE: In Eppard's Point, Livingston Co., IL, in 1860.
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10.] Syntha PAYNE
BORN: 15 Sep 1813, Ohio
BUR.: Bef 1825
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11.] John PAYNE, Jr.
BORN: 6 Apr 1815, Hamilton Co., OH
DIED: 13 Sep 1863, Danville, Vermilion Co., IL
BUR.: Songer Cemetery, west of Danville, Vermilion Co., IL
SPOUSE #1: Virletta O'NEAL
MARR #1: 17 Jan 1836, Vermilion Co., IL
SPOUSE #2: Priscilla NIXON
MARR #2: 31 Aug 1854
NOTE: U.S. Army, Texas War of Liberation (Mexican War).
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12.] Martin L. PAYNE
BORN: 25 Feb 1817, Dearborn, Hamilton Co., Ohio
DIED: 2 Jul 1900, Albany, Oregon
SPOUSE #1: Mary PRICE
MARR #1: 19 Apr 1838, Vermilion Co., IL
SPOUSE #2: Emma Estella BUSBY
MARR #2: 31 Dec 1879, Albany, Linn Co., Oregon
NOTE: Martin left Vermilion Co., IL; settled in Oregon Teritory.
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NOTES:
HUSBAND - John PAYNE, Sr.
Shows on the 1860 census in Eppard's Point, Livingston Co., IL.
Buried at Payne's Cemetery, on County Road 950 N, between 1300 East and 1400 East, on the north side of the road, next to a creek, in Eppard's Point Township. There's a Mason symbol at top of grave stone. "John Payne; died May 10 1864; aged 88 years, 10 days."
John's 2nd wife was Jane McCracken; they married 12-Feb-1857 in Illinois. The marriage reportedly shocked his children.
10-Oct-1831, John filed claim on land in Vermilion Co., IL: in section 24, and in section 13 [township 19]; 11-Apr-1832, in sec. 12, township 19.

CHILD 6 - Morgan Lewis PAYNE, Captain
Became Captain of a Company of Militia from Vermilion Co., IL, in the Black Hawk War in 1831-32. Men from the county were called out to the village of Chicago (then a part of Vermilion Co.) to protect it from Black Hawk's Indiana. They went to the settlements at Naperville, Joliet, and Kankakee, the settlers having fled these areas for Chicago. After the area had been cleared of Indians, Capt. Morgan Payne was stationed in the Naperville-Joliet area to erect a Fort and return the settlers to their homes. He and his men spent 30-40 days there before they were released to return to their homes in Danville.

In 1836, he became involved in a law suit over a right-of-way dispute which developed into a fist-fight with the landowner. Abraham Lincoln of Springfield, the Circuit Judge for this District, was the presiding Judge over the trial that was held in Danville. [Lincoln had also been a captain during the Black Hawk War.]

Morgan and his younger brother John, Jr., both went to Texas and fought in the Mexican War. Captain M. L. Payne commanded a company in Texas until his enlistment ended. He returned to his old Indiana home where he raised another company, remaining in the conflict until Texas was "liberated" from Mexico.

When the Civil War broke out, Morgan raised a company to serve in the Union Army. Once when home on furlough, he did not get back to his company on time; consequently, he was mustered out of service. He immediately began working to get the mustering out order set aside by getting all the names of the officers on his petition which he sent to Washington, D.C. , to his old Danville friend, Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln's former law partner and his personal body guard. When Lincoln saw the petition, he asked Lamon if this was the same Payne who had been in the law suit in Danville years before. He learned it was, and Payne was restored to this former rank and commission. [from Beckwith's History of Vermilion Co., IL, published 1879]

CHILD 8 - William Milton PAYNE, Sheriff
Teacher of the first school in southwestern part of Danville Twp., at Payne's Point. County assessor & tax collector from 1851, assessor from 1854 to 1856; sheriff from 1862-1864; commissioner of highways. He was serving as Sheriff in August 1863 when his younger brother was shot during an argument which took place on the square in Danville. All this developed into a riot between the Northern and Southern sympathizers by the next morning. When Sheriff Payne attempted to put down the riot, another man was shot before he could get the two groups separated.

CHILD 9 - Squire Lee PAYNE
Highway Commissioner of Danville Twp., Vermilion Co., IL.

1st GENERATION
1 Hannah EARLE:
b 8 Mar 1775 Orange Co., NY;
m John PAYNE, Sr.,
d 5 Mar 1855 Vermilion Co., IL;
bur Songer Cemetery, Vermilion Co., IL.
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2nd GENERATION
2 Peter EARLE (Peter's pedigree is shown below in diagram format.):
b Abt 1748 Highland Mills, Orange Co., NY;
d 15 Mar 1819 Monroe, Orange Co., NY;
will dated 14 Jun 1818, will proved 27 Mar 1819 Orange Co., NY;
DAR-established patriot from NY;
signed Loyalty Oath;
Quaker, Society of Friends meeting at Cornwall, Orange Co., NY.
3 Elizabeth BULL:
b Abt 1752 Hamptonburgh, Orange Co., NY;
d 2 Feb 1794 Orange Co., NY;
Quaker.
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3rd GENERATION
4 John EARLL:
b 7 Jun 1712 RI;
m 1732;
d Bef 3 Aug 1786 Woodbury Clove, Highland Mills, Orange Co., NY;
will dated 15 May 1781; will proved 31 Aug 1786, Orange Co., NY;
DAR-established patriot from NY;
Quaker.
5 Rachel ADAMS:
b 27 Sep 1716 Pomfret, Windham Co., CT;
d Bef 31 Aug 1786;
Quaker.
6 John BULL, Captain:
b 3 May 1721 Hamptonburgh, Orange Co., NY;
chr 15 Sep 1721 in a Lutheran church;
d 1807 Orange Co., NY;
will dated 6 Apr 1795; will proved 1 Sep 1807 Orange Co., NY;
Captain in French & Indian War.
7 Hannah HOLLY:
b 13 Feb 1728 Orange Co., NY;
d 6 Oct 1810 Orange Co., NY.
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4th GENERATION
8 William EARLL:
b Abt 1666, of Portsmouth, Newport Co., RI;
m 26 Dec 1695.
9 Hepzibah BUTTS:
b probably Little Compton, Newport Co., RI;
d Aft 1702.
10 Richard ADAMS, Jr., Ensign:
b 1680 Sudbury Co., MA;
m 21 Jul 1709 Middlesex, Sudbury Co., MA;
d 3 Oct 1745;
Quaker;
one of the first settlers of Pomfred, Windham Co., CT.
11 Mary CADY:
b 20 Oct 1684 Groton, Middlesex Co., MA;
d 22 May 1752 Brooklyn, Windham Co., CT;
Quaker.
12 William BULL (stonemason extraordinaire):
b Abt 1691 Wolverhampton, England;
m 25 Aug 1718 Orange Co., NY;
d Abt 1756 Hamptonburgh, Orange Co., NY.
13 Sarah WELLS (Pioneer Maid of Wawayanda):
b 6 Apr 1694/1702;
d 21 Apr 1796 Orange Co., NY
Orphaned indentured servant; parents unknown.
After William died, Sarah 2nd married Johannes Miller (who died 1782).
She was sent by her master as a young child to be the first white settler of the Wawayanda area of Orange Co., NY, to secure a patent of thousands of acres of land for a group of rich men. She was promised 100 acres for what she did. Then her master, who had promised her the 100 acres, made every effort not to honor his agreement. Sarah is considered a heroine in Orange Co., NY. There's a Girl Scout troop named after her; there's a historical marker for her, and there's a road named after her called "The Sarah Wells Trail."
14 Ebenezer HOLLY:
b 31 Mar 1699 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT;
d Aft 30 May 1785 Orange Co., NY.
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5th GENERATION
16 Ralph EARLE:
chr 22 Apr 1632 Portsmouth, Newport Co., RI;
m Bef 26 Oct 1659;
d 1716 Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA.
17 Dorcas SPRAGUE:
b Abt 1638.
18 Thomas BUTTS:
b Abt 1641 Norfolk, England;
m Bef 1667;
d 1703 Little Compton, Newport Co., RI;
emigrated from Norfolk, England, in 1660 to Portsmouth & Little Compton, RI.
19 Elizabeth LAKE:
b Abt 1641 Dorchester, Suffolk Co., MA;
d Aft 1702 probably Little Compton, Newport Co., RI.
20 Richard ADAMS, Sr.:
b 19 Apr 1651 Marshfield, MA;
d 24 Aug 1728 Norwich, New London Co., CT.
21 Rebecca DAVIS:
b Abt 1660, of MA.
22 Daniel CADY:
b 27 Nov 1659 Watertown, Middlesex Co., MA;
d 14 Apr 1736 Canterbury, Windham Co., CT.
23 Mary GREEN:
b 21 May 1661 Cambridge, Middlesex Co., MA;
d 11 Apr 1736 Canterbury, Windham Co., CT.
24 John BULL:
chr 4 May 1645 Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Wolverhampton, England;
m Aft 6 Sep 1688;
d Aft 1691 Dublin, Ireland.
25 (John Bull's second wife):
d Aft 1691.
28 John HOLLY:
b 20 Apr 1670 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT;
m 19 Mar 1697 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT;
d Aft 31 Jul 1714 Orange Co., NY.
29 Mary CRESSY:
b Aft 1670 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT.
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6th GENERATION
32 Ralph EARLE: (ancestor of Lizzie Borden)
chr 9 Feb 1606 Stortford, Hertfordshire, England;
m 29 Aug 1631 Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England;
d 1678 Portsmouth, Newport Co., RI;
will dated 19 Nov 1673, Portsmouth, Newport Co., RI.
33 Joan SAVAGE: (ancestor of Lizzie Borden)
chr 18 Feb 1609 Wilford Parish, Hertfordshire, England;
d Aft 15 Sep 1699 Portsmouth, Newport, RI.
34 Francis SPRAGUE:
b 1599/1600 England;
bur Bef 1669 Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA.
35 Lydia ---:
b Abt 1602 England;
d 1660 Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA
38 Henry LAKE:
b England;
d Aft 21 Feb 1672/1673 Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA.
Henry had a brother named Thomas whose wife was also named "Alice." The parents of Henry & Thomas are unknown; however, it is known that the parents were not the David Lake & Alice Backster that many genealogists have claimed as the parents of Henry & Thomas.
39 Alice ---:
b England, of Dorchester, MA;
d Abt 1651 probably Boston, Suffolk Co., MA.
Executed for witchcraft because she believe she saw her dead baby;
Lived in Dorchester before her execution.
40 James ADAMS:
b Abt 1620 Plymouth, MA;
m 15 Jul 1646 Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA;
d 19 Jan 1653 at sea.
41 Frances VASSELL:
b 1623 Stephney, England;
d 1670.
42 Robert DAVIS:
b 1608 Penton, Grafton, Weyhill Parish, England;
d 19 Jul 1655 Sudbury Co., MA.
44 Nicholas CADY:
b 1627 England;
d Aft 1685 Groton, MA.
45 Judith KNAPP:
b 16 Jul 1629 Bures, Suffolk, England;
d 20 Aug 1668 Groton, Middlesex Co., MA.
46 William GREEN
47 Mary CRISPE
48 Peter BULL:
bur 8 Aug 1680.
49 Ellenor ---:
bur 19 Dec 1684.
56 Samuel HOLLY:
b 1641 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT;
m 25 Jun 1668 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT;
d 1709.
57 Mary CLOSE:
b 1645 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT;
d 1709 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT.
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7th GENERATION
64 Ralph EARLL:
b Abt 1580 Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England;
bur 20 Mar 1657 Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.
65 Margaret BROWNE (twin):
chr Jun 1581 St. Michael's, Bishop's Stortford, England;
bur 27 Nov 1647 Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.
66 Richard SAVAGE:
b Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England;
m 14 Jan 1599/1600 Widford Parish, Hertfordshire, England;
bur 17 Dec 1637 Widford Parish, Hertfordshire, England.
67 Mary WATERMAN (the widow Isacke):
b Abt 1563 Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England;
bur 5 May 1636 Widford Parish, Hertfordshire, England;
1st married Thomas Isacke 12 Jul 1584.
80 John ADAMS:
d 1633.
From Savage's Genealogical Dictionary: John Adams, of Plymouth, MA: One of the first comers, arrived in the Fortune, 9 Nov. 1621, married Ellen or Elinor Newton, as the sagacity of Judge Davis presumed for she came in the Ann, 1623, and was probably the only female north of Chesapeake Bay with such bapt. name. He died 1633, leaving wife and children James, John, and Susanna; and the records 24 Oct. of that year shows decent estate for that day. The widow married June following Kenelm Winslow.
81 Ellen NEWTON (may have been the widow Newton):
b 1598;
d 1681.
82 William VASSALL:
b 27 Aug 1592 Ratcliffe, Devon, England;
m 29 Jun 1613 Cold Norton, England;
d Aft 13 Jul 1655 Barbados;
will dated 13 Jul 1655 Barbados.
An assistant in the Massachusetts Bay Company, and one of the original patentees of New England lands. At a formal meeting of the Governor and Company held 15 October 1629, he, with others, was appointed "to go over." In the next year he arrived in America, but returned to England after a short stay, in the ship Lyon. In June 1635, he embarked for New England with wife and six children on board the Blessing. He settled first in Roxbury.
83 Anna KINGE:
b 1 Dec 1594, of Woodham, England;
d Barbados.
112 John HOLLY:
b 1618;
m Bef 1641 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT;
d 1681 Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT.
113 Mary WAITSILL:
b Aft 1620, of Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT.
114 --- CLOSE:
b Aft 1620.
115 Elizabeth ---:
b Aft 1620, of Stamford, Fairfield Co., CT.
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8th GENERATION
130 George BROWNE:
b Bishop's Stortford, England;
m 2 Oct 1580;
d Aft 1613.
131 Elizabeth LAWE:
b Bef 1561;
d 6 Feb 1612.
164 John VASSALL:
An alderman of London. In 1588 he fitted out and commanded two ships of war, with which he joined the royal navy to oppose the Spanish armada. He was the descendant of an ancient French family, traced back, it is claimed, to the 11th century, of the house of Du Vassal, Barons de Guerden, in Querci, Perigord. [To get to a another site on the 'net with an excellent paper on John Vassall and his descendants, click here. The paper you will find details John Vassall's life and the lives of several of his descendants, coming down the very line shown here.]
166 George KINGE:
b Abt 1567;
d 7 Dec 1625.
167 Joane LORRAN:
b Abt 1571
224 Samuel HOLLY:
225 Elizabeth ---

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