John Pedrick - Miriam Family Group

What We Know About This Family

Noteworthy

John and Miriam Pedrick parented three of the direct ancestors in this Family Tree. The chart below traces our ancestry to its Pedrick roots.

An Overview of Their Lives

John Pedrick (also spelled Pederick or Pederithe) was one of the early settlers in Marblehead. His origins before he arrived in the Colony are a grand mystery. It is purported that this John may have been the son of a regicide (Sir John Bourchier) and had changed his name when leaving England for America.

Samuel Roads wrote in the History and Traditions of Marblehead, page 334:

One of the earliest of those who erected houses and resided upon the Neck was John Pedrick, whose name appears among the householders of Marblehead in 1665. He possessed a large amount of property in real estate, and being a man of considerable means, devoted much of his time to the cultivation of the soil. From records and traditions of his family. it appears that he was of high lineage, and that Pedrick was not his real name. Coming to America at a time when the English government strongly opposed the emigration of families of upper class, a disguise was rendered necessary, and he had recourse, as did many other of his rank and station in society, to an assumed name. He brought with him money, servants, laborers, farming implements, and household furniture. Some of the persons who came with him, it is said — but in no way related to him or his family — were permitted to take his name. That it was his intention to throw off the disguise and resume his legitimate name there can be little doubt, but as the years passed on and his property accumulated, it was evident that the act would be attended by great inconvenience, and the idea was abandoned.

Over the generations his family would assemble a massive fleet of clipper ships that would trade as far as China, India and Brazil during the 18th century. Major John Pedrick, son of our direct ancestors Joseph and Sarah Martin Pedrick himself owned 25 vessels. (Be sure to visit the documents section there). The Martins also saw generations of maritime Captains. Much of this fleet was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War. 

John Pedrick settled in Marblehead about 1648, and like most Marbleheaders, took up fishing. We know from various sources that about 1654 at the age of 29 or so, John married a woman named Miriam when she was 17 years of age. Together between 1655 and 1680 they had nine known children who survived to adulthood with 25 years between the eldest, Agnes, and their last born, Joanna. In the 1670s, the family moved to eight acres of land on Marblehead Neck.

John died between August 1686 when his will was written and October of the same year, when his estate was probated. His will gave insight to the names of his children who were all mentioned receiving 1/4 acre each with the residue to his wife for her lifetime, with a double share then going to John as the oldest son and the remainder split evenly among the other eight.

His widow Miriam was 49 years old at the time her husband died. She married Richard Grose (Gross) in 1688, and they were together almost 23 years until his death in 1711. Interestingly, Richard Gross was the widower of another of our direct ancestors, Mary Chinn Browne. Miriam died at the age of 80 in 1717, and as inscribed on her tombstone at Old Burial Hill, she left 180 living children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In 1674, Marblehead had 114 householders. John and Miriam Pedrick made a significant contribution to the population of Marblehead. Their son John and all their daughters married and had families, some of them quite large. Three descendants who achieved relative renown were US Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story (son of Dr. Elijah and Mehitable Pedrick Story); his son, the sculptor William Wetmore Story; and the actress Barbara Stanwyck.

The descendency for Justice Story: John and Ann Pedrick > John Pedrick and Mary Browne > Joseph Pedrick and Sarah Martin > Major John Pedrick and Mehitable Stacey > Mehitable Pedrick and Dr. Elisha Story > Justice Chief Story. (Justice Story and his wife Sarah Waldo Wetmore were the parents of sculptor William Wetmore Story).

The descendancy of Barbara Stanwyck: John and Ann Pedrick> Sarah Pedrick and David Oliver > David Oliver > Hannah Stacey > John Oliver and Mary Shortwell > Mary Oliver and Thomas Stephens > Thomas Stevens and Sarah Grover > Joseph Stevens and Abby Spencer > Byron Stevens and Catherine McPhee > Ruby Catherine Stevens aka Barbara Stanwyck.

 

About the Children

• Agnes and Deacon John Stacey were our direct ancestors and have their own family group page. Their son Benjamin was the first husband of Martha Trevitt who married Joseph Swett, Jr. after Benjamin's death. Their daughter, Martha Swett, married Jeremiah Lee, one of the wealthiest men in the Colonies up to the Revolution.


• John Pederick, their oldest son, married Mary Browne, the daughter of William Browne and his wife Mary Chinn (who when widowed married Richard Gross).. They had nine known children, two of whom were our direct ancestors. Their son Richard married Jean Merrett, and their son William married Jane Chapman. John was one of two sons. His brother Benjamin did not have children, so the surname Pedrick in Marblehead can be credited to John and his numerous grandsons. John and Mary Browne Pedrick have their own family group page.


• Mary Pedrick appeared in court accused of fornication before marriage. She was married at the time she appeared.


• Ann Pedrick was married to John Barrett, spelled Parrott in her father's will when he died in 1686. They had three children. She then married Pentecost Blackinton, and together they had eight known children. She predeceased her second husband when all her children with Pentecost were very young. He then married the widow of Peter Figgett, Mary Bondfield. He and Mary had three more children who were all born in Attleborough in Bristol County where he died. Two of these three were twins who sadly did not survive infancy. It appears none of Ann's children returned to Marblehead.


• Sarah was married to Henry Brintnall (Brentnall) at the time her father died. She and her husband had three children before Henry died a couple of years after her father's death. David Oliver had escaped with his parents and brother from their home on Parker's Island (Georgetown), Maine during the Indian uprisings and settled in Marblehead where David was born. His parents returned to Maine, but David married Sarah and they remained in Marblehead where all their children were born. David and Sarah Pedrick Oliver were our direct ancestors and have their own family group page.


• Miriam or Meriam married three times. Her first husband Samuel Waldron, married Jan 1689, "being sick" made his will on the 28 Nov 1691 bequeathing to his father John Waldron "whatever debts may be due," to his sister Rebecka Stevens 6 Pounds and the remainder, and "to my wife Miriam for the maintenance of her self and the child she now goes with." Samuel died in Marblehead on 8 Dec 1691. The inventory was taken 15 Jan 1692, amounting to 206.14 pounds, and presented to Miriam Waldron, Widow, and executrix (Essex Probate Records, 303:67,68). Her son Samuel Waldron was baptized on 24 Apr 1692. Miriam Pederick Waldron secondly married on 12 Apr 1694 Benjamin Henley, son of Elias, who had been baptized at the First Church of Salem on 8 Aug 1672. Miriam "Henley", widow, was appointed administratrix of the estate of Benjamin Henly, mariner, late of Marblehead, deceased, 14 Sep 1704. Their son John Henley was baptized 10 Mar 1695. Their daughter Miriam Henley was baptized 21 Mar 1697. Mariam Pederick Waldron Henley then married in Marblehead Abraham Lashere (Lasher) on 29 Sep 1704. Their daughter Elizabeth Lasher was baptized on 25 Aug 1706. -- The Magazine of History with Notes and Queries, Volume 18, Page 43, The Henley Families)


• Elizabeth's first child was Elizabeth Pedrick. Her mother was fined for having an illegitimate child. Soon after, Elizabeth married her first husband Thomas Rhodes. They had three children before he died about seven years later. She lived as a single parent for six years before she married Joseph Aborne. As his widow four years later, she filed a claim against her former father-in-law, Moses Aborne, about the distribution of part of her husband's estate, and he was required or agreed to pay that claim. She married third a man with the surname Bull.
  


• Benjamin Pedrick was alive when his father's will was probated, but no other information about him is known.


• Johanna, who was born 25 years after her eldest sibling, was married to Elias Cook. They had three known children.
  

Proof of Relationship

The genealogical records are our best proof of relationship for our direct ancestors in this family.

What Else We Need to Learn

The goal of this project is to trace every line of ancestry to the arrival of its first immigrant to America. The basic information of each couple is considered complete when we know the dates of birth, marriage, and death for both spouses. their parents' names (or whether they were the immigrant), and the child or children in our ancestry line.

The research on this family is basically complete.