Skip to main content

52 Ancestors 52 weeks: Week 10: The Names the Same.

 

5 x GREAT GRANDFATHER


 THOMAS PYE YEOMAN OF BREDGAR
 OR
 ADMIRAL SIR THOMAS PYE?
 

My 2x Great Grandfather was George Pye (1819-1855), his eldest brother being Thomas Pye of Wrinsted, Kent.

My 3x Great Grandfather was Thomas Pye of Charing, Kent. (1787-1833) spouse Maria Cromp(e) nee Weeks

My 4x Great Grandfather was Thomas Pye of Bredgar, Kent. (1753-1824) spouse Jane Hudson

My 5x Great Grandfather was Thomas Pye of Bredgar , Kent. (?-1786) spouse Susannah Spencer

It is probable that Thomas Pye of Lynsted, Kent, was his father, however at present I have been unable to authenticate this assertion.

As you can see there are a lot of Thomas Pye’s, but then with family naming patterns there are significant others in and around the area, the sons of brothers, so sifting through the various Thomas’ within the Kent area is a long job.

Muddying the waters is Admiral Sir Thomas Pye sometimes cited within Ancestry trees as the same man as my 5x Great Grandfather Thomas Pye of Bredgar. Although the Admiral Sir Thomas Pye was from Farringdon in Berkshire, he was MP for Rochester in Kent, which may add to the confusion.

It appears that his political tenure was unremarkable, voting with the Government throughout and not appearing to have spoken within the house. He was not particularly well received by the electorate. Losing his seat in 1774, Philip Stephens, secretary to the Admiralty observed in a letter to Lord Hardwicke in Nov 1774

 

‘With respect to Rochester I may fairly say, they are a set of ungrateful rascals, but indeed they had conceived an utter aversion to our Admiral Sir Thomas Pye, and I find they would have taken anybody who offered himself in preference to him.’

 

          PYE, Thomas (c.1713-85). | History of Parliament Online

 

The Admiral’s naval career was not without controversy either and it has reported that his advancement may relate more to connections than aptitude. In 1752 he became Commander in Chief of the Leeward Islands, however in 1755 he was replaced by Commodore Thomas Frankland, however Admiral Pye refused to hand over the office resulting in the Commodore reprimanding him for disobeying a superior officer and invoking other charges related to other irregularities during Pye’s tenure. However, the Admiral appeared to swerve censure and court martial by various events and perhaps powerful allies.

There are numerous newspaper reports and online articles regarding Admiral Sir Thomas Pye in relation to his career. His private life is equally well documented, with various relationships and a long-term affair with the married novelist Anna Maria Bennett, with whom he had at least 2 children, one being the actress, Harriet Pye Bennett.

Admiral Thomas Pye was married to Mary Shank, who died in 1764, in various biographies it is asserted that they had no children and yet in 1787, after the Admiral’s death, there is a newspaper marriage announcement.

14th May 1787 Salisbury and Winchester Journal

Saturday the 5th inst. Was married at Bath. Lieut Pye Bennett of the Royal Navy to Miss Mary Pye, daughter of the Late Admiral Sir Thomas Pye.

 

There is a comprehensive blog, with detail of the relationships and career of Admiral Sir Thomas Pye but most interestingly a breakdown of the Admiral’s will from which I have adapted my own list of his beneficiaries, information obtained from this blog are written in green.

Admiral Sir Thomas Pye (1713 – 1785) – Of Royal Descent – The Pye Family (wordpress.com)

I must admit I am curious in relation to Mary Pye who asserts she is the daughter of the Admiral, marrying into the Pye Bennett family. As those researching the Pye family of Bredgar will know, there is also a spinster Mary Pye, daughter of Thomas at the time of his death too.

So, whilst I understand how enticing it is to claim kinship to such a well-documented and connected Gentleman, their respected wills definitively show that despite co-incidence they are two separate entities.

 

 

 

Admiral Sir Thomas Pye’s will, proved 30th Dec 1785,  is easily accessed via the National Archive and genealogy site Ancestry. It runs to many pages but beneficiaries include:

Brothers – Robert Pye

Sister – Elizabeth

Secretary – James Primrose Maxwell

Unknown – ‘George Samuel Harris and his sister Sophia Harris son and daughter of the very amicable and ? People Captain Harris and Mrs Harris his wife.’ Hamden Allen Pye

Servant: Andrew Sinclair and wife Susan

Unknown – Lieutenant Thomas Pye Bennett (son)

Nephews – William Pye Charles Mallory, Captain James Anthony Pye Mallory, Lieutenant ?I Pye, Thomas Barrett and his wife Anna Maria Barrett

Unknown – Thomas Arthington Esq,

Caroline Sophia Pye/Bennett daughter and daughter of Ann Maria Bennett.

 

Nieces – Mary Pye eldest daughter of nephew Henry James Pye Esq of Farringdon, Matilda Pye, Polly Pye Bennett,

Harriett Pye Bennett, Mary Pye Bennett. Nancy Pye Bennett

 

I obtained a copy of Thomas Pye, yeoman of Bredgar will from Kentish studies

 

@ crown copyright

 

The will was proved June 20th 1786

Beneficiaries:

 First I charge all my Estate both real and personal with the payment of twenty pounds a year to my dear and loving wife Susan ...

Item I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Elizabeth wife of William Roberts of Bordon in the county of Kent the sum of one hundred and ninety pounds ...

Item I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary Pye the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds

Item I give and bequeath to my daughter Martha wife of James Tylden butcher of Milton in the county of Kent the sum of five guineas ...

Item I give and bequeath to my said daughter Martha Tylden in trust for her two children Susannah and William to their heirs and successors the messonage and house she now lives in situate and being in the town of Milton aforesaid with the slaughterhouse garden and Appurtenances thereunto belonging ...

Item I give and bequeath to my son Thomas Pye and to his heirs forever all the rest residue and remainder of my real and personal estate whatsoever and wheresoever and of what nature or kind sower whereof I shall die dispossessed after payment of all my just debts legacy's and Funeral expenses and Probate of this my last will and testament He paying there out the sum of twenty pounds of good and lawful money of Great Britain yearly and every yearly quarterly payments unto my aforesaid wife Susan Pye for the and during the term of her natural life …

Item I do hereby make ordain constitute and appoint her my said wife Susan Pye and my said son Thomas Pye joint executors of this my last Will and Testament.

 



Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 48. Strength.

  FLORENCE STEWART PERRY nee ANDREWS 1882-1957 Kindly shared by JP If you have read any of my previous posts you will have perhaps noticed, I write a lot about the women in my tree. In the most part this is because many focus on the males in their tree, their occupations, their military service etc, but there are often 'strong' women beside them, caring for their children, managing on what money may or may not be coming in and often undertaking sideline home work which was so badly paid. One of those women was my Great Grandmother Eliza Pitts, but I have already written about her under the theme, 'Loss'. So today I am writing about another lady, the wife of my half Grand-Uncle, Florence Stewart Perry nee Andrews wife of John Arthur Perry. When writing his autobiographical journal, 'By Devious Paths' John A. makes this dedication:-  Dedicated to the constant and faithful companion on my Pilgrimage, 'By Devious Paths MY WIFE. Writing this I am well aware that ...
4 comments
Read more

GEORGE ARTHUR PERRY 1851-1934: WHO ARE YOU MR P?

 GEORGE ARTHUR PERRY 1851-1934 WHO ARE YOU MR P? As with many people, my interest in genealogy started shortly after the death of my father. He had distanced himself from his family and rarely talked about them, so I really was starting from scratch. Small recollections of him speaking of an Uncle Ted, Uncle Percy, Uncle Ernie, Uncle Les and Auntie Dorrie, helped with a few of the names, whilst he also spoke of an older Uncle in Australia. Stories of his grandparents were sparce, he recalled a man, who wore a fez and smoking jacket and recalled that he had married the 'Nanny'. And so from these few snippets, so the the journey to find out 'Who are you Mr P?' began.  So where to begin with the story, well if I relayed the information as it was found, we would begin at the end and worked back to the mid 1870's until the brick wall was broken down when an incident occurred in 1881, which paved the way in finding the elusive early history due to a name change. The quest...
2 comments
Read more

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 31. Favourite Name.

EUGENIE MARIA MARY CRETON JAY  The Affair: An 1875 engraving shows a man snooping on his wife as she meets with her lover …   This weeks theme is difficult, it is like picking a favourite child. I rather like my 2x Great Grandmother's middle and chosen name, Rosella, but I have already written about her in a previous post:  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Mothers Day (mypynthdev.blogspot.com)   Incidently my mother said, if she had known the name before I was born she would have chosen it for me. I'm not sure how I would have felt about that as child/teenager. Another name that has drawn me over the years is Catherine Sophia Lissa Woodley and whilst she had, in my opinion, a lovely name, she has an interesting story of her own to tell, I have already written her story:  Catherine Sophia Lissa Woodley: Sister of Mercy (mypynthdev.blogspot.com) So who have I chosen for this weeks post? Well she does have a nice name, but I have for some reason been drawn to her, since s...
6 comments
Read more