Talk by Eleanor Wescott Trismen, read at
the 15th Biennial Meeting in Vermont, August 8, 1964

First, in retrospect: We, the members of this family Society, must remember with reverence that we shall be forever grateful to our late National Society Founder, Roscoe Leighton Whitman. He spent many long hours during his life in compiling the two Westcott Genealogies so that future cousins would be able to enjoy their contents. His efforts have made it so much easier for Westcott descendants to join Patriotic organizations.

This year (1964) celebrates the 30th year since the National Society was founded by Mr. Whitman and a group of cousins at the Lexington Hotel in New York City in 1934.

I shall begin by quoting from an address given by Mr. Whitman at the 4th biennial meeting at Alexandria Bay on August 9, 1941. "There are four out standing epochs or memorable periods in the history of the West-cott family, as they have been revealed by the ancient records."

"First, the origin of the family in England exists undoubtedly with the Teutonic tribesmen - the Saxons, Angles and Jutes, all members of a Saxon confederation effected in the 4th century for mutual advancement and protection. They descended from a warlike people who first appear in the history of the Romans in the year 113 B.C."

Hordes of these tribesmen, who were celebrated for naval prowess, passed over from what is now Jutland peninsula of Denmark to the island of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries and completely subjugated the native Romans and over spread the south and southwest of the country. New detachments of the invaders followed with their chiefs. They founded eight kingdoms; among them was West Saxony or Wessex. About the year 827 they were united into one kingdom, called Anglia or England.

Among these erstwhile tribesmen was probably a man whose bloodstain was to run through the veins of Westcott men and women for all time. This statement is predicated on the fact that the family name is derived from that of one of the eight kingdoms they founded - Wessex. This appears unquestionable. The name was originally spelled Wescote and Westcote - the first syllable Wes as in Wessex; the second syllable, cote, indicating a place of residence - cottage, house, or enclosure.

As further verification of this nativity, history points out that the present shires of Devon and Somerset in southwest England comprise in part the old kingdom of Wessex or West Saxony. The first definite record of a person of the Wescote name is found in Devonshire in the 12th century; therefore these original bearers of the name had remained in the territory their ancestors had conquered six or seven centuries before Though secluded in the dim mystic past, records seem supportable of the beginning of the clan and the name appropriated to be known down through the generations. - - -

"The second epoch embraces a period with definite and positive records to substantiate them. These records are found in the London Museum. It is a period of nearly a century which every Westcott descend-ant may recall with justifiable pride."

From the years 1216 to 1307 - ninety-one years - John de Wescote and his son and namesake were Canons of the Church of England at the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Exeter, Devonshire. They were the son and grandson of Furbert de Wescote, who was born in Exeter in 1164. The father is the first of the Wescote name of whom definite information has been found. As there are no detailed records of the family prior to these great disciples of God and benefactors of humanity, members of the Westcott family today may be content to date the beginning of the family from them. Surely no more worthy founders of any family can be desired no greater inspiration to follow Christ's teachings. - - -

"The third epoch finds Wescotes really battling to retain and perpetuate the family name. Thomas de Wescote about 1414 married Elizabeth Littleton, sole heir of an old, rich, aristocratic royal family of Frankly in Worcestershire. Thomas de Wescote was a Knight in his own right and so two distinguished, titled families were united. Before the marriage, Elizabeth Littleton exacted an agreement from Sir Thomas that their first son should be baptized in her own family name. The first child of the union was a son and he was baptized Thomas de Littleton. The birth of other sons (Nicholas, Edmund, Guido) followed."

Finally it became the desire of the mother that all their four sons should bear her family name. To this Guido furiously dissented. It appears that a family quarrel followed which was finally settled by the father deeding the old Manor estate to Guido. Guido's father, Thomas, removed with his wife Elizabeth to her ancestral estate at Frankly.

"The old Manor estate was at what was known in the year 1300 and is still known in Devonshire as "Westcott". It may still be found on a map of that shire. The estate passed from the family ownership about the year 1500. Guido de Wescote became a Baron, married Alice Granville, and in the year 1450 was granted the Coat of Arms which is the cherished and deserved symbol of the Society of Stukely Westcott Descendants. This explains the meaning of the motto on the arms: "the name renewed". - - -

"The fourth epoch was the coming of the family founder, Stukely Westcott, to America in June, 1635."

Concerning the life of Stukely in America, I will continue. Stukely was born about 1592, probably near Ilchester, England. He married Juliana Marchant at the Baptist Church in Yeovil, England on Oct. 5, 1619, of which there is record. Note: In Mr. Whitman's first book, he recorded Stukely's wife as Rosanna Hill. Laura La Mance, the recorder, was the source of that data, with no proof. If Stukely did marry Rosanna, it was probably at a later date. There seems to be no record of that marriage. There is baptismal record of most of Stukely's and Juliana's children at Yeovil. Among Rhode Island Governor Arnold's papers was the following notation: "June 24, 1635 - arrived in Mass. Bay. Sailed from Dartmouth of Devon May 1, 1635, all but one of the party (Wm. Carpenter) coming from Winchester in southern Somerset or within five miles of that place. My Father, William Arnold, and his family "sett sayle" from England and arrived (Thurs.) June 24 1635. On board was Stukely Westcott, 43, of Yeovil and his wife, with children: Robert, Damaris, Samuel 13, Amos 4, Mercy, and Jeremiah."

As yet we have no definite proof of the names of the parents of Stukely. In 1935 a Mr. Russell Westcott gave the following record to Mr. Whitman: "The parents of Stukely, Richard (Sr.), and Rebecca were Guy (nickname for Guido) Westcott and wife Mary Stukely, daughter of Sir Lewis and Margaret (Arscote) Stukely."

Our Society did some research in England a few years ago, but found that early Devon and Somerset records are scarce. Because of religious strife, heavy tax burdens and controversies in England, many vital statistics were carelessly kept or lost, so it is difficult to trace various family lines. Our Society is thankful that it knows as much as it does about Stukely I and his whereabouts.

Stukely's children all lived to maturity except Samuel, who must have died shortly after his arrival in Massachusetts. The rest of the children married and have living descendants.

1. Damaris married the first Governor (B. Arnold) of R.I. (Royal Charter).
2. Mercy married Samuel Stafford.
3. Robert married Katherine (surname unknown). Robert was killed in King Philip's War in R.I. in 1675-6.
4. Amos married (1) Sarah Stafford, (2) Deborah Stafford (sisters).
5. Jeremiah married Eleanor England.

On March 16, 1676, at the age of 84, Stukely was driven from his home in Warwick, R.I. by the Indians at the time of King Philip's War in R.I. He took refuge on a neighboring island, where he died the following January 12, 1677, at his grandson's home in Portsmouth, R.I. - - -

In order to appreciate fully the interesting life of our Stukely Westcott, it is quite necessary to tell something of Roger Williams.

Roger Williams was born in 1606, the son of William Williams. He lived in Conwyl Cayo, a parish near Lampeter in Wales. Roger's wife was Mary Barnard. Roger and Mary "sett Sayle" for America on their honeymoon, and they landed in Boston Harbor on February 5, 1631.

In 1950 a Mr. Gilbert Rees published an interesting story about the life of Roger Williams. The book is called I SEEK A CITY. On the book cover it says: "It was the unquenchable fire of the religious zealot which enabled Roger Williams to carry out his beliefs in the face of some of the most maddening opposition ever placed in the path of a man with true faith in an ideal."

In the cold gray dawn of a bitter morning in 1636, Roger had no choice but to flee the onslaught of the City Fathers of Boston, who were determined that his non-conformist tongue should be silenced. With a handful of followers he set out for he new not where, sustained by the faith that somewhere, somehow he would be enabled to build the City of his dreams; a City where men could live together in peace and harmony, give vent to their right of freedom of speech, religious belief, and general way of life.

In referring to an account of Roger Williams by R. Elton, Roger Williams maintained that "the people were the origin of all free powers in government," but that they were "not invested by Jesus Christ with power to rule in his Church, that they could give no such power to the magistrate, and that to "introduce the civil sword" into the Kingdom of Christ was to confound heaven and earth, and "lay all upon heaps confusion." In other words, he advocated separation of Church and State, which, thank the good Lord, holds true today in our country.

In referring to the DAR Magazine, an excerpt from an educational article by Mrs. Ralph W. Wilkine, State Regent of Rhode Island: "Roger Williams, called "Netop" by the Indians, founded Providence in 1636." The history and tradition of this great City still exert their influence, and its charm and spirit can be felt not only in its people but in its monuments and in its beloved streets and buildings.

Providence started on a small Rock, which is now called "Roger Williams Rock" and is located in a small Park adjacent to a street bearing his name. When Williams came to R.I., he settled in what is now East Providence, but finding that the land was under Mass. jurisdiction, be took a canoe and paddled down the Seekonk River. An Indian is said to have been standing on a rock and called out a welcome to him: "What cheer Netop." Williams landed there. Later he settled near the site of a spring, which is now enclosed in a small Park on South Main Street. A Proprietor's Grant in 1721 reserved liberty for the inhabitants to fetch water at this spring forever.

Roger Williams often presided at the first town House during the years 1644-1647, and a tablet marks the site.

"For a hundred years after the founding of the town, the citizens established themselves and their families firmly at the headwaters of the Providence River and dedicated themselves to the task of building a free and prosperous community." - - -

Stukely Westcott, the Founder of one branch of the family in America, became a staunch follower of Roger Williams and his beliefs. Stuke-ly obtained a license from the General Court at Salem, Mass. on March 12, 1638, to remove with his family out of the jurisdiction of the Mass. Bay Colony. On August 8, 1638, Roger Williams "freely admitted twelve loving friends and neighbors" into equal ownership with himself in Rhode Island. Stukely's name headed that list.

Through his friendship to the Indians, Roger Williams acquired great tracts of land. He distributed parcels of land to his faithful followers. Stukely was one of the colony's largest land owners, owning up to 20,000 acres in Rhode Island. Stukely was also a co-founder of the first Bap-tist Church in America, called "The First Baptist Church of Providence." He was several times chosen "assistant" (corresponding to our Lieutenant Governor) and frequently was elected deputy to the Colonial Assembly. Stukely was truly a leader among the sturdy pioneers of Providence.

Based on old deeds of November 11, 1664, it is believed that Stukely Westcott's log cabin lot in Providence was located upon the present block bounded by Waterman St. and College St. on the south, and nearly in the center of that block extending from North Main St. eastwardly to Hope St. That location is not far from the old First Baptist Church.

As we know, Stukely and his family later moved to old Warwick in 1647, some miles south of Providence, where he owned land. At Warwick our Society placed and dedicated a marker in 1935 to his honor. The marker is located on a large boulder at the edge of his lot.

On May 12, 1682, Stukely sold his house, orchard, and lot in Providence to Samuel and Anna Bennett, whose granddaughter Priscilla was later to become the wife of Stukely's grandson Stukely.

Concerning Stukely's character, I will sum up with the following: Stukely Westcott must have been a man of courage and a man dedicated to his convictions of right and wrong. Because of religious strife and heavy tax burdens, he left his homeland to try a new life in the wilderness of America. Just remember it took him and his family two months to cross the Atlantic Ocean. And because he believed in separation of Church and State, he had the courage to leave Salem, Mass. to find a new life in the wilds of Rhode Island, following his beloved friend, Roger Williams. Stukely was a religious man and helped to found the First Baptist Church in America, at Providence. He was a leader among his fellow men, having held various posts in the early history of the Colony. He was a home-loving person, raising five children to maturity. And he must have been a fearless man, living a long life of 84 years enduring the hardships of cold winters, disease, and Indian raids. - - -

I will conclude my address with the following poem, written by Miss Alice Wilson of Seal Beach, California:

"Roll back the curtains of the years And let your eyes behold The distant times, the ancient ways, The sturdy men of old. Across the stormy deep they came, The forest wilds they trod, To find a home for Liberty, A Temple for their God." - - -