Re: JAMES PRUDDEN
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In reply to:
JAMES PRUDDEN
Harold Rhodes 7/09/05
Harold,
In addition to your Ann Prudden (baptized 08 February 1617 in Kings Walden, Hertfordshire, and who married Samuel Coley in Connecticut), James Prudden had a daughter Elizabeth Prudden (baptized in Kings Walden on 17 December 1615), who married 1st William Slough (ca. 1640 in Milford, Connecticut) and 2nd Roger Prichard (in 1653 in Milford).
At www.familysearch.org, there is a record of a Thomas "Pridden", who was christened 21 November 1613 atthe Church of St John the Evangelist, (originally built in the 13th century, but apparently much altered over the centuries) in the parish of Digswell, Hertfordshire, England.This Thomas was the son of a James "Pridden", and this information was extracted from the parish registers and is available at the LDS indexing project (batch) number: C07231-1.Having worked with old handwritten script in fading documents, I am of the belief that the name transcribed as "Pridden" was actually Prudden.By referring to a map of England, one can see that Digswell isless than 10 miles ESE of Kings Walden, and is less than 2 miles from Codicote, Hertfordshire.I mention Codicote because at least one researcher, who hassubmitted info to the Latter Day Saints Pedigree Resource Files, has found that there was a "Sibill Michel" who was baptized at Codicote on 06 November 1583, and she is a good candidate to be the Sybil Mitchell who married James Prudden on 7 April 1608 in Kings Walden.In looking at the baptismal records of various "Michel" families from Codicote at that time period, it seems to me that Sybil might well be the daughter of a Thomas Michel, who had children from 1581 to 1600.This would then fit with James and Sybil naming a son Thomas (in 1613).It also leads to the possibility that James was the subject of the August 1579 baptism at Baldock, also in Hertfordshire and not far from Kings Walden.This James was the son of a John (rather than the Robert who was father of the Reverend Peter Prudden), but while I believe most agree that James Prudden was related to the Reverend, there is no clear evidence that they were brothers.
In addition to Ann, Elizabeth and possibly Thomas Prudden, I am working on a theory that James and Sybil had a daughter named Frances, born about 1609 or 1611.I believe that she accompanied her father and siblings to North America and, about 1636, was living in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where the Reverend Prudden was also residing (prior to his 1639/1640 move to Milford, CT).Sometime between 1637 and 1639, I believe that this Frances Prudden married Roger Prichard, and by 1643, they had moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where she died (childless, I believe) in 1651.Roger Prichard then left Springfield and moved to Milford, where he married his widowed sister-in-law, Elizabeth (Prudden) Slough.Roger and Elizabeth had two sons, Joseph (b. 1654, and died in infancy) and Benjamin (born in 1658).
I believe it is possible that James and Sybil had not only Frances, Thomas, Elizabeth and Ann, but possibly one more child (gender unknown, but likely born about 1609-1611 in Hertfordshire).
An open issue is the reported burial record from 1618 Kings Walden for a wife of a James Prudden supposedly named Elizabeth.I don't know if this was a mistranscription (human error) for the burial of Sybil, or if Sybil had died earlier and James had married a second time, to an Elizabeth (maiden name unknown).If James was married twice, then it will be tricky deciding which wife was the mother of which children.
Does this agree with the information you have?Can you correct any errors I might have made, and/or supplement my information and inferences?