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MICHAEL METCALF
SARAH ELWYN (1593–1644)
Michael Metcalf was born about 1588/1590 in Tatterford, county Norfolk. He died on 27 December 1664, [LMH] probably in Dedham. He married his wife Sarah on 24 September 1591 in Heigham, county Norfolk [RLB] He married second the widow Mary (Sothy) Pidge of on 13 August 1645 in Dedham. [LMH][WCS] Mary Sothy, the daughter of Richard and Mary (Bentley) Sothey, married first Thomas Pigge in Saffron Walden, county Essex. [WCS] Thomas was buried on 30 December 1643 in Roxbury. [WCS]
Michael was the son of Reverent Leonard Metcalf, the rector of Tatterford, Norfolk. [RLB][GAM1] Leonard perhaps married the Amy buried on 22 December 1602 in Tatterford, and he was perhaps the son of Richard Metcalf of Apperside, Yorkshire. [RLB]
Sarah, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bensley) Elwyn, was baptized on 13 June 1593 in Heigham. [RLB] Sarah, the wife of Michael, died on 21 (12) 1644 in Dedham. [WBT]
I was persecuted in the land of my father's sepulchres, for not bowing at the name of Jesus, and observing other ceremonies in religion, forced upon me at the insistence of Bishop Wren of Norwich and his chancellor Dr. Corbet, whose violent measures troubled me in the Bishop's Court and returned me into the High Commissioner's Court. Suffering many times for the cause of religion, I was forced for the sake of the liberty of my conscience, to flee from my wife and children, to go into New England; taking ship for the voyage at London the 17th of Sept 1636; being by tempests tossed up and down the seas till the Christmas following; then veering about to Plymouth in Old England; in which time I met with may sore afflictions.
Leaving the ship, I went down to Yarmouth, in Norfolk county, whence I shipped myself and my family to New England; sailed 15th April 1637, and arrived three days before midsummer, with my wife, nine children, and a servant.
... my enemies conspired against me to take away my life, and sometimes, to avoid their hands, my wife did hide me in the roof of the house, covering me over with straw.
Transcription of letters [LMH]
Michael was a dornix weaver in Norwich. [LMH] He was admitted a freeman there on 21 June 1618. [LMH]
In 1635 Michael Metcalf, dornix weaver of Norwich, deposed that he was 45 and born in Tatterford. He testified regarding the practices of the clergy of St. Edmund's, Norfolk. [GAM1]
The following records may pertain to Michael. In 1624 Michael Metcalf and Xopher Church were searchers of the dornix weavers. In 1627/1628 Michael Metcalf and Thomas Tilney were wardens of the dornix weavers. On 1628,9,3, "Matthew" Metcalf was punished for disorder at this post. In 1629 Michael Metcalf and Xopher Church were sworn as wardens of the dornix weavers. [GAM1]
Dornix is a coarse fabric made from linen and wool and used on beds and for curtains and wall hangings.
On 8 April 1637 Michael Metcalf, a 49-year-old dornix weaver who wanted to go to Boston was examined. His party consisted of himself; his wife Sarah, age 39; his eight [John is missing from the list] children—Michael, Thomas, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, Martha, Jane, and Rebecca; and his servant Thomas Comberbach. [FNE]
Michael and his family arrived in New England in June 1637. Michael was admitted a townsman of Dedham on 14 Juy 1637. [LMH] He joined the church in 1639. [LMH] He was a selectman in 1641. [LMH]
In 1656 the town of Dedham engaged Michael Metcalf to teach school. He was to be paid twenty pounds. He was to teach at the schoolhouse, unless the weather was to extreme, and then he could teach at his home. The town was to ensure that the windows in the schoolhouse were adequate and that there was wood for a fire. [EDR0]
Michael Metcalf of Dedham made his will on 15 (9) 1664; it was proved on 1 February 1664/5. He mentioned his wife; his son John Metcalf of Dedham; his daughters Wilson, Elizabeth Bancroft, Martha Stow, Joane Walker and Rebecca Macintosh; his wife's daughter Martha Bullard; his daughter Sarah Onion; his daughter Stow's eldest son by her first husband, William Brignall; his grandchildren John Mackintosh and Robert Onion; his son Thomas Metcalf of Dedham. The witnesses were Peter Woodward and Jonathan Fairbanks. Inventory was taken on 1 February 1664/5; it amounted to £364.18.05.
Charges Against Bishop Wren [NWHN]
" ... And by reason of the continual superstitious bowing to and before the table, set altarwise, the suspending, silencing, driving away of the painful preaching Ministers, the suppressing and forbidding of sermons and prayer, the putting down of lectures, the suppressings means of knowledge and salvation, and introducing ignorance, superstition, and profaneness, many of His Majesties subjects to the number of three thousand, many of which used trades of spinning, weaving, knitting, and making of cloth, and stuff and stockings, some them setting a hundred poor people at work, have removed themselves, their families, and estates, into Holland, and other parts beyond the seas, and there set up, and taught the natives there, to the great hindrance of trade in this Kingdom, and to the impoverishing, and bringing to extreme want very many who were by those parties formerly set on work, to the great prejudice of His Majesty and his people."
Children of Michael and Sarah Metcalf: The first seven were born in St. Benedict's, Norwich; the last four in St. Edmundsbury. Births in Harris [LMH]
i. Michael Metcalf was born on 13 November 1617. He died young.
ii. Mary Metcalf was born on 14 February 1618. She married Henry Wilson on 24 November 1642. [LMH]
iii. Michael Metcalf was born on 29 August 1620. He died on 24 December 1654. He married Mary Fairbanks.
iv. John Metcalf was born on 5 September 1622. He died on 27 November 1675. [LMH] He married Mary Chickering on 22 March 1647. [LMH]
v. Sarah Metcalf was born on 10 September 1624. She married Robert Onion of Dedham. [LMH]
vi. Elizabeth Metcalf was born on 4 October 1626. She died on 1 May 1711 in Lynn. [BGEA] She married Thomas Bancroft of Reading on 15 September 1648. [LMH] Lieutenant Thomas Bancroft died on 19 August 1691. [BGEA] Thomas married first Alice Bacon.
vii. Martha Metcalf was born on 27 March 1628. She married first William Brignall. [LMH] She married second Christopher Smith on 2 August 1654. [LMH] She married third Unknown Stow. [LMH]
viii. Deacon Thomas Metcalf was born on 27 December 1629. He died on 16 November 1702. [LMH] He married first Sarah Paige on 12 September 1655 or 1656. [LMH] He married second Anne Paine on 2 December 1679. [LMH]
Thomas was a deacon at Dedham. [LMH]
ix. Ann Metcalf was born on 1 March 1631. She died young. [LMH]
x. Jane Metcalf was born on 24 March 1632. She died on 24 October 1701. [CWB] She married Samuel Walker of Rehoboth [LMH] or Philip Walker. [CWB] She married second John Polley as his fourth wife on 2 June 16684. [CWB] John was born about 1618. [CWB] He married first Susanna Bacon, the daughter of George Bacon of Hingham. [CWB] She was buried on 30 (2) 1664 in Roxbury. [CWB] John married second Mary Unknown, who died of small pox on 30 (6) 1666 in Roxbury. [CWB] He married third Hannah Cowdry, the daughter of Deacon William and Joanne (License) Cowdry, on 18 September 1667 in Reading. [CWB]
xi. Rebecca Metcalf was born on 5 April 1635. She married John Mackintosh of Dedham on 5 April 1659. [LMH]
| Bush's English Ancestry of Sarah Elwyn | ||
John Elwyn m. Katherine Bulwer |
||
| Peter Elwyn m. Lucy Unknown |(?) |
Thomas Bensley m. Agnes Unknown | |
|
| William Elwyn |(?) |
Thomas Bensley m. Joane Unknown | |
John Parker m. Elizabeth Unknown | |
| William Elwyn m. Alice Unknown | Simon Bensley m. Alice Parker | |
| | Thomas Elwyn m. Elizabeth Bensley |
||
| | Sarah Elwyn |
||
Richard L. Bush traces Sarah Elwyn's ancestry back to John Elwyn, born about 1450, and his wife Katherine Bulwer. The details of this ancestry are found in his article, listed below. He notes that there was a Peter Elwyn of Wiggenhall, county Norfolk who appears in the records in 1167. However, he says that tracing Sarah's family back to him requires more proof. [RLB] Clifford L. Stott argues that Bush's analysis is flawed; that it is inclusive "at best" that Sarah's grandfather William—a tanner—was the grandson of Peter Elwyn—a gentleman. [CLS]
References:
LMH. Luther Metcalf Harris, "Metcalf Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 6 (1852): 171–8.
RLB. Richard L. Bush, "The English Ancestry of Michael and Sarah (Elwyn) Meltcalf of Dedham, Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 166 (2012): 28–39.
GAM1. G. Andrews Moriarty, "Metcalf: Additional Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 86 (1932): 252–6.
NWHN. Nehemiah Wallington, Historical Notices of Events Occuring Chiefly in the Reign of Charles I, vol. 1 (Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Salzwasser Verlag GmbH, Germany, 2020), 161.
CLS. Clifford L. Stott, "The Elwyn Family Revisited," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 169 (2015): 51–56.
WBT. William B. Trask, "Early Records of Boston," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 8 (1854): 347.
EDR0. "Extract from Dedham Records, 1656," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 10 (1856): 282.
FNE. "The Founders of New England," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 14 (1860): 325.
WCS. Waldo Chamberlain Sprague, "The Pigg or Pidge Family in England and America," The American Genealogist 36 (1960): 110–7, specifically 111.
CWB. Claude W. Barlow, "John Polley and His Thirteen Daughters," The American Genealogist 41 (1965): 206–8.
BGEA. "Bancroft Genealogy," Essex Antiquarian 6 (1902): 57.
Last revised: 04-May-2023