A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt.

William Henry Whitmore

A Memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, Knt., / Governor of New England, New York and Virginia, &c., &c

SIR EDMUND ANDROS

CONCERNING the ancestry of Sir Edmund Andros, the sole printed authority is the memoir in the History of Guernsey by Jonathan Duncan, (London, 1841,) which occupies about three pages in that book. This sketch has been copied by Dr. E.B. O'Callaghan in his "Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York," (ii. 740), and also in a note in Woolley's Journal (Gowan's Bibliotheca Americana). It seems that Andros placed on record at Heralds' College a very elaborate pedigree of his family, September 18th, 1686, a few days before he sailed to assume the government of New England. Although this document was used probably by Duncan, it is now printed for the first time in full, from a transcript made by Joseph L. Chester, Esq., of London.

The family of Andros, or Andrews as it is more frequently spelt, was of great antiquity in Northamptonshire, being long settled at Winwick in that county. One branch, which was raised in 1641 to the dignity of Baronet, was resident at Denton in the same county; and from the similarity of the arms, it is evident that Sir Edmund claimed the same paternity. The pedigree recorded at Heralds' College is as follows.

[Heralds' College, Book 2 D, XIV. fol. 175b]

Andros.—Gules, a saltire or surmounted by another vert, on a chief argent 3 mullets sable. [No crest.]

Sausmarez.—Argent, on a chevron gules between 3 leopards' faces sable as many castles triple towered or. Crest: a falcon affrontant proper, beaked and membered or, [not wings expanded as in the armory.] Supporters: Dexter, a unicorn, tail cowarded, argent; Sinister, a greyhound argent collared gules garnished or.

["This is a true Account of the Marriages and Issues of my family, and of the Armes we have constantly borne since our coming into Guernsey, as also of the Arms Crest and Supporters of Sausmarez whose heir General we married. Witnes my hand this 18th of September, 1686.

"E. Andros."]

At the same time Sir Edmund recorded his coat-of-arms as described in the following document at Heralds' College, Grants of Arms, Book 1, 26. fol. 98.

"Whereas Sr Edmund Andros, Knight, Lord of ye Seignorie of Sausmarez in the Island of Guernsey, hath made application to me, Henry, Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshall of England &c. that his Arms may be Registered in the College of Arms in such manner as he may lawfully bear them, with respect to his Descent from the antient Family of Sausmarez in ye said Isle, there being no entries in the College of Arms of the Descents or Arms of the Families in that Isle: And whereas it hath been made out unto me that his Great Grandfather's Father, John Andros als. Andrews, an English Gentleman, borne in Northamptonshire, coming into the Isle of Guernsey as Lieutt. to Sr Peter Mewtis, Knight, the Governour, did there marry, Ao. 1543, with Judith de Sausmarez, only daughter of Thomas Sausmarez, son and heir of Thomas Sausmarez, Lords of the Seignorie of Sausmarez in the said Isle, which Judith did afterwards become heir to her brother George de Sausmarez, Lord of the said Seignorie: And that John Andros, Esqr., son and heir of the said John and Judith, had the sd. Seignorie with its appurtenances and all Rights and Privileges thereto belonging, adjudged to him by the Royal Commrs. of the said Isle, Ao. 1607, against the heirs male of the said Family of Sausmarez, who then sued for the same, as finding it to be held of the King by a certain Relief and certain Services, all which were inseparable from the said Seignorie: And whereas it hath been made [to] appear unto me by an Antient Seal of one Nicollas de Sausmarez, which seems to be between 2 and 300 years old, and by other Authorities, that the said Family of Sausmarez have constantly borne and used the Arms herein impressed, I the said Earl Marshall, considering that the forementioned Sr. Edmund Andros, Knt., and his Ancestors, from the time of the said John Andros who married the heir generall of Sausmarez as aforesaid, have successively done Homage to the Kings of England for ye sd Seignorie, and thereupon have been admitted into and received full possession thereof, do order and require, That the Arms of Andros (as the said Sr Edmund and his Ancestors ever since their coming into the said Isle have borne the same) quartered with the Arms of Sausmarez as they are hereunto annexed,1 be, together with the Pedigree of the said Sr Edmund Andros (herewith also transmitted) fairly registered in ye College of Arms by the Register of the said College, and allowed unto him the said Sr Edmund Andros, and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and of the body of his Great Grandfather John Andros, son and heir of the forementioned John Andros and Judith de Sausmarez, having, possessing and enjoying the said Seignorie, to be borne and used by him and them on all occasions according to the Law of Arms: And for so doing this shall be a sufficient warrant.

"Given under my hand and seal the 23d. day of September, 1686, in the second year of the Reigne of our Soveraigne Lord King James the Second, &c.

"Norfolke & Marshall."

To the Kings Heralds,

and Pursuivts. of Arms.

During the exile of the Stuarts, Edmund Andros served in the army of Prince Henry of Nassau (Palfrey, iii. 127), and was faithful to their cause. His family indeed was eminent among the adherents of the King, as appears by the pardon granted 13th August, 1660, by Charles II. to the inhabitants of Guernsey. In it he declares that Amice Andros, Edmund his son, and Charles his brother, Sir Henry Davie, bart, and Nathaniel Darell, during the preceding troubles "continued inviolably faithful to his Majesty, and consequently have no need to be comprised in this general pardon." So also we learn by the monument to Elizabeth, mother of Sir Edmund, that she "shared with her husband the troubles and exile to which he was exposed for several years in the service of Charles I. and Charles II."2

Edmund Andros received his first considerable preferment by being made Gentleman in Ordinary to the Queen of Bohemia in 1660. He had undoubtedly been attracted to her service through the position of his uncle, Sir Robert Stone, who was Cup-bearer to that princess, and he was afterwards more closely allied to her friends in consequence of his marriage. Whether any part of his youthful years while he was a page in the Royal service, had been spent in her household or not, it is worthy of notice that as a young man Andros was in a position to acquire the accomplishments of a Court, and to behold Royalty in its most fascinating form.

Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, was the only daughter of King James I. of England, and was born 19th August, 1596. She was married 27th Dec. 1612, to Frederick V., Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria and Silesia, who was soon elected King of Bohemia, but lost all his possessions by the fortune of war. He died at Mentz, November 19th, 1632, having had thirteen children, of whom the best known were Prince Rupert, and Sophia, wife of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, mother of George I. of England.

The Queen of Bohemia had shared the exile and misfortunes of her English relatives, and returned to England, 17th May, 1661. She died February 13th, 1662, at London.

Historians have agreed in describing this princess as a most charming woman. Jesse (Court of England) writes thus: "Lively in her manners, affectionate in her disposition, and beautiful in her person; throwing a charm and a refinement over the social intercourse of life; she yet possessed with all these qualities, a strength of mind which never became masculine; talents which were never obtrusive, and a warmth of heart which remained with her to the end." "In prosperity modest and unassuming; in adversity surmounting difficulties and dignifying poverty, her character was regarded with enthusiasm in her own time, and has won for her the admiration of posterity." "In the Low Countries she was so beloved as to be styled 'the Queen of Hearts.'"

During her long widowhood, her chief adviser and friend was William, Earl of Craven, and it was to the sister of the chosen heir to a portion of the honors of this nobleman, that Edmund Andros was married, in 1671. It has been believed that the Earl of Craven was married to the Queen, and he was certainly one of the bravest and most honored gentlemen of his time.

In 1666, Andros was made Major of a Regiment of foot, which was sent to America. Duncan writes that Andros distinguished himself in the war against the Dutch, and was in 1672, "commander of the forces in Barbados and had obtained the reputation of being skilled in American affairs."

In February, 1671, Andros married Marie, oldest daughter of Thomas Craven of Appletreewick, co. York, and thus sister to the "heir in reversion to the Barony of Hamsted-Marshall." This match is a sufficient proof of the estimation in which he was held, as the lady was sister of the designated heir of the Earl of Craven, his former patron. The pedigree of the Cravens will be best understood by the annexed tabular statement.3 The "Peerages" have left the matter obscure, but it has been rendered plain by some articles in "Notes and Queries" for 1868. The Earl of Craven, after the death of his brothers, entailed the Barony on his more distant cousins of Appletreewick, omitting the issue of his uncle Anthony Craven. At his death, April 9th, 1697, the title passed to William Craven, nephew of Lady Andros.

It is possible that Andros came to England for the marriage, and returned to Barbados; but we think it more probable that the regiment had been recalled to England. Duncan states that in April, 1672, a regiment raised for Prince Rupert was armed for the first time with the bayonet, that Andros was made Major, and the four Barbados companies then under his command were incorporated in it. In the same month, the proprietors of the Province of Carolina, of which the Earl of Craven was one, conferred on him the title of Landgrave, with four Baronies, containing 48,000 acres of land.

In April, 1674, Andros succeeded his father in his estates in Guernsey, and 30 June, was sworn as Bailly of the island, the reversion of that office having been before granted him.

We do not find mention of the occasion which recommended him to the attention of the Duke of York, but from his early attendance on the royal family, and his exceptional loyalty, he had probably long been known to that prince. Andros was accordingly selected to be the Governor of the Province of New York, which was claimed by the Duke, and had recently been restored to him by the Dutch. He arrived in this country, November 1st, 1674, accompanied by his wife.

A brief notice of the events which had occurred in this country immediately before his arrival, may render his subsequent proceedings more intelligible to the reader.

On the 27th of August, 1664, the Dutch Colony of New Netherland was surrendered to an English force under Col. Richard Nicolls. The King, Charles II., had already granted it, by patent dated 12 March, 1664, to his brother, the Duke of York. After it had been held by the English for over nine years, the Dutch had recaptured it, August 9, 1673; but under the terms of the treaty of peace, it was restored to its English owners. In a letter dated 7/17 July, 1674, the Dutch embassadors wrote that they had complied with the orders from the States-General to notify the King that the Province would be delivered to his agent; that Edmund Andros had been designated as the person, and was to sail before the end of the week. (N.Y. Col. Doc. ii. 733.) The Colony at that time was estimated to contain between six and seven thousand white inhabitants, to which number were to be added the English settlers on Long Island. Andros's commission, which was dated July 1, 1674, made him "Lieutenant and Governor" over that part of Maine which was styled Pemaquid, Long Island, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and the territory from the west side of Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay. This latter territory comprised not only the State of New York, but Delaware, New Jersey and a large portion of Connecticut; the claim of the Duke of York to which domains was by no means undisputed.

Andros was at the same time commissioned as captain of a regiment of foot, raised by the Duke of York for service in the Colony, and received the necessary money for the expenses attendant upon establishing the new government. He was accused by some of the Dutch colonists of having exacted a new and unlawful oath of allegiance from them, but this difficulty seems to have speedily subsided. His instructions had been explicit that he should not disturb those colonists who desired to remain in good faith, and we see no reason to doubt that Andros fulfilled his orders. He has left an account of his administration for the first three years (N.Y. Col. Doc. iii. 254-7) from which we take the principal items.

In October, 1674, he says, that having received possession of New York and reduced the east end of Long Island, he took in hand the turbulent at various other places; these once quieted, the country had been peaceful ever since. The next summer he commenced to press the Duke's claim to that part of the country between the Hudson and Connecticut rivers. He therefore wrote several letters to the Governor and General Court of Connecticut, but it may easily be believed that the claim was only a matter of form. In fact, both parties had a patent for the same land, since the Connecticut Charter covered all the land from the Narragansett Bay, due west to the South Sea, and the Duke of York's territory was to be carved from this domain. Andros indeed says with truth that the English claim had been abandoned, since under that patent Connecticut might claim "New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Carolina and the Spanish West Indies," as well as all New York. The Duke of York was not disposed to press the matter, and wrote to Andros in January, 1675-6, that he approved of the demand, as preserving his title entire, but hoped for some more convenient method of adjusting the boundaries in the future; the only stipulation he made, was that the Connecticut men should not approach within twenty miles of the Hudson River. Within a month, however, the hostile attitude of the Indians compelled the eastern colonists to apply to Andros for aid in the alarming position of affairs. On the 1st of July, 1675, a letter was sent by Gov. Winthrop of Connecticut to New York, and Andros not only was "much troubled at the Christians' misfortunes and hard disasters in those parts," but he proposed to start at once, with a force "ready to take such resolutions as may be fit for me," and to make the best of his way to Connecticut River; "his royal Highness's bounds," as he significantly termed them.

This was more than the colonists had anticipated; yet they were unwilling to bring the dispute of boundaries to an open rupture, especially at such a time. Andros, therefore, was allowed to come to Saybrook with his two small vessels, and was met by Robert Chapman and Thomas Bull in behalf of the Colony. Various protests were exchanged, and Andros caused the Duke of York's Charter and his commission to be read. After this ceremony, he declared he should depart immediately unless desired to stay. In return, the agents of the Colony, who had studiously disavowed any share in these proceedings, read a protest on the part of Connecticut. And so "his Honor was guarded with the town soldiers to the waterside, went on board, and presently fell down below the Fort, with salutes on both sides." (Trumbull, Col. Rec. Conn. ii. 584.) Thus both sides parted in peace, each content with its own performance; and a few years afterwards the boundary was settled by mutual concessions.

Andros pursued his plans for protecting his Colony, furnished the necessary arms and ammunition, and disarmed the friendly Indians. Returning to New York, he called together the neighboring sachems and renewed the treaties with them; and in August, 1675, he proceeded to Albany, where he succeeded in gaining the friendship of the Mohawks and other powerful tribes. For nearly a year, till the death of Philip, August 12th, 1676, Massachusetts and Connecticut suffered from the barbarous incursions of the Indians. During this time, Andros, by his own account, had remained unwillingly idle, his offers of assistance having been rejected by his neighbors. He would have brought into the field his Mohawk allies, but the offer being slighted he could only keep them true to their allegiance, build forts and boats, and prevent any increase of Philip's forces. He seems in fact to have been greatly offended by the assertions of the Massachusetts Colony, that it was at Albany, and through his connivance, that the hostile Indians had obtained their supplies of arms and ammunition. He sent two gentlemen to Boston to obtain satisfaction, and received only a letter "clearing the magistrates, but not the generalty, still aspersed without any known cause, complaint or notice." So indignant was he at this false accusation, that after his arrival in England, he petitioned the King in Council to cause inquiry into the truth of the matter; to which the agents, William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley merely replied, that they were not furnished with the information, and that evil-minded persons might have sold ammunition to the Indians despite the Governor's prohibition; in short, while evading all concessions or apologies, they insinuated the truth of the charge.

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1

The Andrews family of Denton bore "Gules, a saltire or, surmounted of another vert." O'Callaghan and Trumbull (Col. Rec. of Conn. iii. 392) have followed an error in Berry's History of Guernsey, wherein the arms of Andros are said to be "a chevron between three pelicans vulning themselves." Such a coat indeed is found on the monument of Amice Andros, but they undoubtedly belong to his wife Elizabeth Stone, the mother of Governor Andros.

2

"She lived with her husband 42 years and was the mother of 9 children." She died 25 Dec. 1686, aged 73. (Berry, Hist. Guernsey.)

3