God's truth shall prevail Starr

Why were some small parishes in Kent such hotspots for early migration to the New World?

From her posting below it is clear that Diane and I are on the same wavelength. Whilst she is pursuing the magnificent names of some of the early Puritan settlers, I have been prompted to research the diversity of reasons behind the migrations especially as they relate to one small corner of Kent. As well as doing the initial research I also arrange family history holidays and accompany my clients on their visits and over the years I have realised that the villages of Biddenden, Benenden, Cranbrook and Wadhurst are frequently recurring points of interest to a number of unrelated American clients, to the point that I feel that I have carved my own furrow in the Biddenden church car park from the regularity of my visits. These parishes were positive hotspots for migration and it was not just Puritans who decided to up sticks. Patriotic royalists, merchants making many journeys back and forth and never really breaking their ties with the old country, owners of grand estates in Kent wanting to increase their holdings in the New World. All of them turning up on the eastern shores with their own agenda. How did they all get on once they arrived or was surviving top of the list for the first few years?

If you happen to herald from the villages mentioned above or close neighbours like Sissinghurst, Frittenden, Tenterden then I would love to add your story to my study.

Diane Thomas writes:

Over 18 years of professional researching, I have built up quite a collection of the curious Puritan Christian names, that occurred particularly in the period around 1580-1660, and particularly in Kent and Sussex where I do most of my research.

I have decided to use these as the basis of some serious research into how these strange names developed and spread: e.g. connections between the families that used them; the role of the clergy who baptised the children; and to what degree the names spread to America with the 17th century Pilgrims.

We all perhaps know some of the famous ones such as Praise-God Barebones pictured here), but here are some of my favourites from my collection:

• Faintnot Wines (not least because he sounds like an off-licence

• God’s-truth-shall-prevayle Starr

• Sin-denye Hornsby

• What-God-Will Crosland

• Repent-in-time Post

•

I would be grateful for any other really unusual examples.

God’s-truth-shall-prevayle had shortened her name to Truthshallprevail by the time she sailed to Massachusetts Bay on the Hercules in 1645 with her brother Comfort. They had many other strangely named siblings. Comfort Starr was one of the founders of Havard College. Faintnot Wines also emigrated on the same ship.