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 1874
‘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 1852 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 1864, 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:
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.
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