| Notes |
- From "Complete Book of Emigrants": Administration with will of George Parkhurst of Ipswich, Suffolk, bound for Virginia.
Their immigration date has been estimated by the fact that the last child, Benjamin, was born in 1632 in Massachusetts.
"50 Great Migration Colonists," by John B. Threlfall, 1990, includes George Parkhurst and Phebe Leete, p 256-288.
From "American Wills Proved in London 1611-1775" CG929.3421:
George Parkhurst of Ipswich, Suffolk, gent, now bound for VA by the "Primrose" of London, dated 21 Jul 1834. My whole estate to my exex. Anne Wonham, gent(lewoman) with the profits now in the hands of Mr. John Cotton dwelling in Cannon Street, London. Wits: Thomas Draper, Richard Thoroton, Johan Browne, Humphrey Bruan, and John Owsebie.
Pr 9 Feb 1635 by Anne Wonham. (PROB 11/167/14).
from FT Vol 9/2737
George Parkhurst came from England in 1635. He was at Watertown, Mass. with his children, George, Jr., and Phoebe, in 1642. These two children he at least brought with him. He seems to have had considerable means for he owned a large tract of land besides his homestead of 12 acres. In 1643 he was admitted freeman and seems to have been a sturdy man and of upright character. In 1645 he sold his estates at Watertown, Mass. and removed to Boston. The name of his first wife has not been found.
The Parkhurst Coat of Arms:
CREST: Demi-griffin with wings adorced sable, holding in the dexter claw a cutlass argent, hilt and pommel or.
ARMS: Quarterly-argent, four bucks tripping sable. Ermine on cross sable. In chief gules three crescent or.
MOTTO: Crux Praesidium Nostrum (The Cross our Stay)
EXPLANATION: The crescent was bestowed upon one who was enlightened and honored by the gracious aspects of his sovereign. The red or gules indicates military fortitude, and the or, or gold, indicated generosity. The cross which is known as the honorable ordinary was born by those who had actually taken part in the Crusades and pilgramage to the Holy Land. It is on such arms as these that the record of long forgotten bravery and valor is kept alive through the ages though other records have been lost in the centuries that have elapsed since the arms were granted.
Everything that points upward in the coat-of-arms indicates so much royalty. The cresent points upward, the sword, the tail of the demi-griffin, etc.
The cresent is also a mark of cadency by the second son. A distinguishing mark added to the shield of arms to distinguish various branches of the family, one from the other. When the son inherits the estates of his father he removes the marksf cadency and transfers it to his son.
The most historic arms known to heraldry are born by Americans in consequence of the residence here of many scions of the ancient nobility of England and Europe decended from younger sons.
The Griffin (Gryphon or Griffin) a fabulous beast which combines the body and hind legs of the lion with the head and forelegs like those of an eagle. It also has ears. It is rampart therefore blazoned as "segreant". It is equipped with wingsherefore is not a male gryphon.
Parkhurt of London coat-of-arms. Out of the palisado Coronet or a buck's head erased argent, attired of the first.
According to the data gathered by various members of the Parkhurst family our family name is derived of Norman and French derivation, being composed of "pure" (the French work for Park) and "hurst" (the Anglo Saxon word for wood). The Part family dates to William The Conquerer in England, and the derivation of the word suggests that it was contempaneous with the beginning of French influence in England. "Parkhurst" first appears in the Doomsday Book which was published in 1086 and it mentions "Parkhurst Forest" in the Isle of Wight. This was the earliest recorded royal park, a district of 3000 acres nominally held by the government. It was however a public common and was enclosed in 1815, 150 acres being reserved by the Crown as a nursery for navy timber. The village of Parkhurst was near it and a few miles away was Osborne House, the Winter residence of Queen Victoria. The Parkhurst family from the Isle of Wight removed to England between four and five hundred years ago and built "Parkhurst Manor in Surrey County, England, between Epsom and Guilford. Here we find the earliest authentic records of the Parkhurst family in George Parkhurst of Guilford who was the father of Bishop John Parkhurst who was born at Guilford in 1511. George Parkhurst was living in Guilford in the later part of the fifteenth century. George Parkhurst Jr., of Watertown, Mass., named his eldest son John, a custom which has been contniued by his descendents. Dr. E. Parkhurst of London, England, who belongs to the Guilford branch of the family, states that there has been a similar custom of naming the oldest son John in his family for many generations. Parkhurst Manor, about 25 miles south of London, Between Epsom and Guilford, remained in the family until 1745. At this place in 1629, Sir Robert Parkhurst, afterwards Lord Mayor of London, held his feudal court. From Surrey County, England, the Parkhurst seem to have divided into four branches, Guilford, Norfolk, London and Catwsby, with identical coats-of-arms, thus showing their common ancestry. We are not sure from which of these four brances the American Parkhurst sprung, but it seems probable that George Parkhurst of Guilford was the great-grandfather of George Parkhurst of Watertown, Mass. The names George and John appear almost exclusively in this branch of the family. The names John first appearing in the Parkhurst line with Bishop John Parkhurst of 1811-12. We find the same combination of these names in this branch of family as in the American branch; that is, George Parkhurst naming his son George, and George Jr., naming his eldest son John. And these two names appear rarely in the other branches of the Parkhurst family.
Manning and Bray's History of Surrey, England Volume 1, shows the following Parkhursts' as living in Guilford, England in 1530; George Parkhurst Sr., age 30, and his son Henry, aged 8; George Parkhurst Jr 1539; George Parkhurst, Mayor of Guilfd (1604-1609) (1623-1634); George Parkhurst, father of Bishop John Parkhurst. Henry Parkhurst was Mayor Of Guilford in 1673. Thomas Parkhurst was Mayor of Guilford for several years.
Bishop John Parkhurst, the son of George Parkhurst, was a Bachelor of Divinity at Oxford, England, 1529. In 1532, he entered Holy Order tho' he was much fonder of poetry and oratory. He at length became rector of the rich church Clieves in Gucestershire, England, where he did much good by his hospitality and charity. Soon after King Edward's death, because of his liberal religious views, he incurred the displeasure of Queen Mary and for a time was in danger of losing his life. He went into exile at Zurich, Switzerland, during the remainder of her reign.
On his return to England, he was made Bishop or Norwich by Queen Elizabeth in 1560, which position he held unti his death on February 2, 1574. (See visitation of Norfolk, England, 1563; Norfolk Archives, Vol 2, page 15.) He translated the Aporapha at the command of Queen Elizabeth. He was also author of a number of Latin books. Some of his unpublished manuscripts are still to be found in the British Museum.
His father's coat-of-arms was similar to that borne by the other branches of the Parkhurst family. The three crescents were added to it when John Parkhurst became Bishop. Another crest, which was used by the Giulford branch and also the Norfk branch of the family has a silver buck's head raised out of a palisade coronet of gold. (See Fairbanks' Crests)
Among the famous Parkhursts of the eighteenth century was Reverand John Parkhurst of Catesby, North Hamptonshire, England. He was the author of the first Greek Lexicon which is still in use. He died in 1797, without issue, and was buried in e Epsom church where there is a monument to his memory.
The churches and churchyards of Epsom, Dorking and Guilford, England are rich in memorials to the Parkhursts.
(Much of this data is from the collections of Gabriel H. Parkhurst of Bath, New York.)
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1589 - 1675 (~ 86 years)
