Chapter 2: Leads Prior to Henry Freakes/Friggs, Sr. (or I)
[CF Note: Prior to the first records of Henry Freaks/Friggs in Somerset County, Maryland in
1682 there are numerous records of persons named Friggs, Freaks, Frankes and variants entering
the Chesapeake Bay region. This chapter outlines the records known to this writer and discusses
their applicability, if any, to Henry Freaks/Friggs.]
1606-1623: Lead One, the first three charters of the Virginia Co. The Virginia Company of
London was first chartered by King James I of England in 1606. The first settlement was
established at Jamestown in 1607. Mentioned in this first Charter was a Sir Thomas Freake
(sometimes Freke and usually referred to as a Knight). Mentioned in the second charter for
Jamestown in 1609 was a Thomas Freake, Knight, who was probably the same man. Mentioned
in the third charter for Jamestown were Thomas Freake (sometimes Frake) and Henry Freake.
Both were referred to as "a man of God’s word", implying they might be ministers.
[CF Note: 1. It is highly unlikely that any of these men contributed to the future lines of Frakes,
Freakes, Friggs in Virginia or Maryland. Sir Thomas Freake invested in the Virginia Company,
and even made a trip or two over to the colony, but always returned to England. At least one
family history website connects him to the Freke line in Shroton, England. He might, in some
way, be a forebear of the John Freake who was later a merchant in Boston, MA, or possibly of
one of the William Freakes’ who later immigrated to Virginia, but the jury is still out on that. 2.
As for the two Freake/Frake men noted as “men of God’s Word”, the available historical
accounts of the Jamestown Colony indicate the overwhelming majority of the colonists in the
first three charters died from disease, exposure, starvation and Indian attacks. If by rough
estimate one said about 2,000 persons made up those first three groups of colonists, published
historical accounts indicate at least 3/4's of those died off from these privations. By 1623,
following the largest Indian uprising and massacre in 1622, an accounting document was
prepared for the Company and the Crown titled "The Living and Dead in Virginia, Feb. 16,
1623. (For details refer to the website with the URL
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/va/jamestown/census/1623cens.txt) This list of living
colonists in Virginia in 1623 shows no names remotely close to Frakes, Freakes, Friggs or
variants. The list of recently dead (from the Indian attacks) includes a Thomas Hakes and a
Thomas Triggs. Neither is identified as a minister, although a few of the living persons were so
identified. The fact is there are no known early Virginia lineages attributed to men of this name.
Although this is not definitive proof that Thomas Freake/Frake and Henry Freake perished in
Virginia colony, the odds weigh heavily in that direction. If they didn't return to England at
some time then they probably didn't survive the troubles of the early colony.]
1634: Lead Two, Lt. Friges. From the research of Howard L. Dickerson, on the Worcester,
MD GenWeb site, at URL http://members.aol.com/worcesgene/figgs.html. “The name Friggs or
Figgs appears about 1634 when Lt. Friges (some books spell it Figes) was transported as Captain
Claiborne’s assistant on the ship "Africa of London" to Virginia. Captain William Claiborne led
a group of Virginians, including Lt. Friges, to Kent Island, in the Chesapeake Bay just off the
northwest border of what was later to be Somerset County, Maryland. There they claimed Kent
13
Island as part of Virginia. They retained control of this island until the death of Captain
Claiborne in 1677.”
[CF Note: Delmarva historians believe the eastern shore of Maryland, the land east of the
Chesapeake Bay, and generally south of Kent Island, was barely settled by Europeans before the
1660s. If anybody was positioned to occupy the Indian lands on the Delmarva peninsula, it was
these Kent Island colonists. Unfortunately, the available historical records indicate the Somerset
county region of the Delmarva Peninsula was populated by settlers moving northwards from
Accomack County, Virginia, rather than from settlers in the north moving southwards. There is
little to no mention of this man, Lt. Friges, in the historical records to indicate what happened to
him later in life.]
1636-1637: Lead Three, Henry Freake in Massachusetts Bay Colony. From the Family Tree
Maker’s Family Archives CD #117, “Family History, New England Families #1, 1600s-1800s.”
From the History of Salem, MA: Vol. I (1626-1637)…Establishment of the Court…pp. 352354…The first session of the quarterly court in Salem was held June 27, 1636… At the first
session of the quarterly court, there were three civil cases to be adjudicated, but no criminal
proceedings… The trial jury consisted of … Henry Freake…”
From a posting on the RootsWeb, Dorset-L Archives message board, at URL
http://newsarch.rootsweb.com/th/read/DORSET/2003-01/1043237217, by Bob Frakes, dated
Wednesday 22 January 2003, Subject: [DOR] Freake - Massachusetts Bay Colony. Source cited:
“Historical Collections of Massachusetts”; Barber,1841, page 53. “The settlement of this town
was commenced by quite a number of families from Saugus or Lynn in 1637. The township was
from the Old Colony of Plymouth –
10 men of Saugus, namely:
Edmund Freeman Henry Freake
Thomas Dexter
Edward Dillingham
William Wood
John Carman
Richard Chadwell William Almy
Thomas Tupper
George Knott
They shall have liberty to view a place to sit down on and have sufficient land for three score
families upon the conditions propounded to them by the Governor and Mr. Winslow.”
[CF Note: 1. This is the earliest of the records for Freake or Freakes in the Massachusetts area.
2. The Boston area Freake(s) line are thought to have been nobility, or at least merchant class,
men from the line out of Dorset, England. These Massachusetts merchants include a John
Freake who dies in ship explosion. 3. It is this John Freake who researcher Stephen P. Frakes
thinks is the ancestor of the John Friggs/Frakes who ended up in Nelson County, KY in the
1790s. Thus we have a tension between the two basic, competing theories on this Frakes line;
14
that is, it either arose out of Boston, Massachusetts, or it has its roots in Somerset Maryland. 4.
There is no further documentation for this Henry Freake.]
1639-1670s: Lead Four, William Freak and variants in Virginia. From Early Settlers of
Maryland, by Gust Skordas, 1968, Genealogical Publishing Company. (An alphabetic index to
early settlers of Maryland whose names were written in land office record books. Covers years
1633-1680. Records probably at the Maryland Archives Hall of Records.)
Name
PgSkordas
Liber,
Folio
Remarks
William Freak
170
ABH
244
Transported 1639.
From the Maryland Archives Online.
http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000004/html/a
m4--127.html
“Judicial and Testamentary Business of the Provincial Court, 1637-1650”, Volume 4, page 127.
In October 1642, in a legal case before the Provincial Court at St. Mary’s, the plaintiff John
Hallowes demands Randall Revell make good on a debt of 2412 pounds tobacco due him. The
Court directs a warrant to Edward Parker or William Ffreke “to keep safe the said Randoll until
security not to depart out of the Province until he have satisfied all actions entered against him.”
[CF Note: 1. One record indicates a William Freak was transported to Maryland in 1639 and
another record indicates a William Freke in a court case in St. Mary’s , MD in 1642. Is this a
trail of a possible relation/father to Henry Friggs? The Delmarva peninsula was hardly populated
by white settlers prior to the 1660s. There is no hard evidence this man was in that area then
anyway. 2. The 1642 court record suggests the man named William Ffreke is some sort of
Sheriff, Constable or other officer of the court. The Provincial Court at St. Mary's was the chief
judicial body in the Province, for all matters civil and criminal, for the city and county of St.
Mary's, and having also appellate jurisdiction over the county courts. It is hard to tell from this
record what county of Maryland this dispute took place in, but we know a little about Randall
Revell from a biography of him in Clayton Torrance’s book Old Somerset on the Eastern Shore
of Maryland., pp. 306-310. Randall Revell was known to be located in Accomack Co., VA
from 1633 to 1637, and in St. Mary’s Co., MD between 1636 and 1644, and then from 1644 to
1662 he was back in Accomack Co., VA (although the name was then changed to Northampton
Co., VA.) Revell finally ended up in Somerset Co., MD on the Delmarva peninsula in 1662.
Therefore, the 1642 record cited above probably occurred when Revell was an inhabitant of the
St. Mary’s Co., MD area across the bay from the future site of Somerset Co., MD. This is the
best evidence available that this particular William Ffreke, was not in the Somerset Co., MD
area. 3. This is but the earliest of the many recorded William Freakes’ (or variants therof) who
came to Virginia (south of the Chesapeake Bay) and Maryland (west of the Chesapeake Bay), up
to the 1670s. Records in Joe Frakes 1998 book, Early Frakes Records, indicate there were from
four to six such William Freakes’. There is, as yet, no evidence of a direct connection between
any of these earlier men identified as William Freaks or Freakes and the Henry Freakes/Friggs
who declared his “end of servitude” in Somerset County, MD in 1682.]
15
1651-56: Lead Five, Henry Freeke/Freke/Freake of Devon, England. From the “LDS
Family Search” web site at URL http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/IGI:
“Henry Freeke, male
Spouse: Elizabeth Quicke
Marriage: 10 Jul 1651 Yarcombe, Devon, England”, and
“Henry Freke, male
Christening: 03 Jan 1653 Upottery, Devon, England
Death: 03 Jul 1654
Father: Henry Freke”, and
“Henry Freake, male
Christening: 03 Feb 1656 Upottery, Devon, England
Father: Henry Freake”
[CF Note: 1. Possibly related series of records for a single family in Devon shire or county,
England, but not proven this is the case, especially in light of the three name variants used and
the two separate towns cited. 2. Bristol, along with Plymouth, would have been the two main
ports in this part of southwestern England at the time. The possible association with the 1676
record of a Henry Freke transported out of Bristol on the Maryland Merchant bound for Virginia
is tantalizing (See the 1676 record later in this chapter.) There is no proof this is the same
family, or that these men are connected in any way to the Henry Freaks who claimed land in
Somerset County, Maryland in 1682. (See the 1682 entry in the chapter for Henry Freaks/Friggs
I.) But, if one were to go look for a man from England immigrating to the Colonies in the 1670s
as an indentured servant, the two sets of records in 1651-56, and 1676, are just what one might
hope to find. 3. There is no proof the man in Yarcombe is the same man as the one in Upottery,
but if he is then did the marriage take place in the bride’s hometown, and afterwards did they live
in husband’s home town? 4. This is speculation, but if the Henry Freake born in 1656 in
Upottery was the same man that shipped out of Bristol in 1676, then he would be 20 years old at
the time and this is a prime age for indenture and immigration.]
Circa 1662: From an email communication from John Lyon to Charles Frakes, dated February
05, 2004, Subject: Re: [LDR] A Caveat About William Robinson of Somerset County and Tax
Records.
“... always remember that you will never see a real Somerset land record citation of any kind
before 1662, when the first surveys were made for the benefit of a handful of dissident emigres
from Virginia - at Manokin and Annemessex. Some of these folk were, of course, Quakers. The
Catholic Calverts granted religious asylum to anyone. The County itself was not officially
organized until 1666. The MD-VA boundary down in that corner of Somerset was a little
mysterious for another decade, and only settled by agreement between the Calverts and Edmond
Scarborough of VA in the 1670s...”
1663: From the Ancestry.com website at http://msn.ancestry.com:
16
“Database: Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
Name: Jno Freeke
Year: 1663
Place: Virginia
Source Publication Code: 6220
Primary Immigrant: Freeke, Jno
Annotation: Record of 20,000 very early immigrants, with much relevant information. Taken
from Patent Books 1 through 5. Title page states, "In 5 volumes," but up to 1979 only three had
appeared. See nos. 6221 and 6223 for second and third volumes, published in 1977 and 1979.
Issued originally by Nugent in parts between 1929 and 1931; the parts were then largely
incorporated in this work, no. 6220. Stewart, item no. 9025, compiled the article, "Ancient
Planters [1607]," pages xxviii-xxxiv.
Source Bibliography: NUGENT, NELL MARION. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of
Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1666. Vol. 1. Richmond [VA]: Dietz Printing Co., 1934.
767p. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1983.
Page: 490”
1664: Lead Six, Mary Freek. From the research of George Rogers Frakes, of Oceanside, CA,
personal communication to this writer. “1664. Mary Freek was transported to Maryland. Liber
7, folio 529. The Early Settlers of Maryland by Gust Skordas, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.,
1979, pg. 170.”
From Early Settlers of Maryland, by Gust Skordas, 1968, Genealogical Publishing Company.
(An alphabetic index to early settlers of Maryland whose names were written in land office
record books. Covers years 1633-1680. Records probably at the Maryland Archives Hall of
Records.)
“Name
PgSkordas
Liber,
Folio
Remarks
Mary Freek
170
7
529
Transported 1664.”
From Maryland Land Office Records, Liber 7, Folio 529 (7:529), photocopy of original record
obtained from Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University, Maryland.
“1664... March (Quite? Exite?)... Samuel Groom enters rights Vizt Ann ffisher, Mary Mills,
Matthew Smith, Jane Wiginna (?), Christopher Benbridge, Mary ffreek, Roger Kirkman, Samuel
Barnes, and Thomas North, in all nine heads the which he hath sold to Mr. Jerome White.
Nicholas Goodridge witness the above sd. writing which was granted Mr. White.”
[CF Note: 1. In the original Land Office Record cited immediately above, this specific entry on
the page is undated. The top of the page has 1664 written on it. The two entries immediately
following this one are recorded as October 1, 1663 and December 18, 1663. It is possible this is
a 1663 record rather than 1664. 2. The location of this record is not discernible from the page or
the record, so there is no evidence it is even in Somerset County, Maryland. 3. It was once
thought this woman was a candidate for the wife of, or relation to, Henry Freakes/Friggs I. This
17
Mary Freek is probably not the same person as the Mary Robinson who married Isaac Noble first
and Henry Freakes/Friggs second, because name is already Freek, and these records were not
entered later on after the 1691 marriage of Henry Freakes/Friggs and a woman named Mary. 4.
There is no evidence regarding a relationship, or familial connection, between them. For
example, there is no evidence this is Henry Freakes/Friggs mother or sister. 5. See a possibly
connected record for 1665 in this chapter.]
1664-1672: Lead Seven, various Freakes, Frake and Frankes in early Accomack, VA. The
following five records are all from the 1998 edition of Joe Frakes book, Early Frakes Records.
They are for persons with the Freakes, Frake or Frankes name, who immigrated or were
transported into Accomack County, VA during the 1664-72 time frame:
“From "Certificates and Rights, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1709", Page 9; "Certificate
granted to Capt. John Savage for 4200 acres...Henry Frankes...1664." (Editors note: This is the
first known use of the Frankes variant.)
From "Certificates and Rights, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1709", Page 31; "Certificate
granted to Richard Bundick for 1000 acres, 18 December 1666...Thomas Freake". [CF Note:
See 1666 entry in this chapter for a second occurrence of this record.]
From "Certificates and Rights, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1709", Page 33; "Certificate
granted to Henry Eldridge for 800 acres, 18 March 1666/67...Robert Frake." [CF Note: See
1667 entry in this chapter for a second occurrence of this record.]
From "The Research of Robert Leroy Frakes"; "William Hickman, with 1,000 acres in
Accomack County, Va., at Arcadia, transported 20 persons, including Thomas Freake...1667."
From "Certificates and Rights, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1709", Page 48; "Certificate
granted to Charles Searburgh (Scarborgh) for 1,300 acres, 16 May 1672... on the list of those
transported...Elizabeth Franke."
[CF Note: These are possible candidates for progenitors or relatives of Henry Freakes/Friggs of
Old Somerset County, MD simply due to their proximity to Henry in place and time. Accomack
County, VA is due south of Old Somerset County, MD on the Delmarva Peninsula. Accomack
was populated first, and many of the early settlers of Old Somerset came from Accomack.]
1664-89: From Early Settlers of Maryland, by Gust Skordas, 1968, Genealogical Publishing
Company. (An alphabetic index to early settlers of Maryland whose names were written in land
office record books. Covers years 1633-1680. Records probably at the Maryland Archives Hall
of Records.)
Name
PgSkordas
Liber,
Folio
Remarks
Cox, Thomas,
113
9,
332
Transported in the
“Golden Wheat
Sheaf “, 1664.
18
Cox, Thomas,
113
7
556
Transported 1665
Cox, Thomas,
113
11
313
Of St. Mary’s Co.
Service 1667. (17,
fol. 30).
Cox, Thomas,
113
12
478, 498
Transported 1670
Cox, Thomas,
113
WC2
281
Immigrated 1689. Of
St. Mary’s Co.
[CF Note: 1. Thomas Cox is the name of the man who sold Henry Friggs the land named
“Friggs Adventure”. These records pertain to several Thomas Coxes. Need to determine which
ones, if any, are for our Thomas Cox. 2. Liber/Folio refer to volume and page of Land Patent
Records of the Land Office of Maryland from 1633-1680, probably recorded by the county
clerks, and the volumes now at the Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, MD.]
1665: Lead Eight, Mary Freake. From Early Frakes Records, with Frigg, Freke, Frake and
Other Variants, 1000-1820, by Joseph I. Frakes, Crescent City, FL. Privately published, 1998
ed.: “From "The Research of Robert Leroy Frakes"; taken from "Somerset County and the East
Shore", page 478;"; "Edward Hazard, Isaac Noble and Mary Freake all came to Somerset County
in 1665. Passage paid by Charles Hall and Alice Hall. Each received 50 acres. Also on the list,
John Walker." (Editors note: This is data given at a later date, not 1665, it indicates the abovementioned landed in 1665, Mary Freak refers to Mary Robinson. She married, first, Isaac Noble,
and, following his death, she married Henry Friggs/Freake. Passage paid, but no acreage
received by Charles Hall, does that indicate a relationship by Hall with Hazard, Noble and
Robinson families? Probably!)”
From the research of George Rogers Frakes, of Oceanside, CA, personal communication to this
writer. “These people were entitled to 50 acres of land for coming to Maryland to settle. Charles
Hall, himself, Ellis (Alice) Hall, Mary Freake, John Walker. Volume 10, page 343 of Land
Patent Books. Old Somerset on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, by Clayton Torrance, 1979.
From Old Somerset on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, by Clayton Torrance, 1935, Whittet and
Shepperson, Richmond, VA, reprinted 2000 by Willow Bend Books.
Pp. 473-479. “The following persons were entitled to 50 acres of land each for coming into
Maryland to settle…The names of these “rights” have been obtained from the Land Patent
Books, Hall of Records, Annapolis, which books contain records of surveys as made on warrants
issued and names of this proving ‘rights’ as well as patents issued. The references given refer to
volume and page of Land Patent Books…
January 20, 1665—Charles Hall, himself, Ellis [Alice] Hall, Mary Freake, John Walker
(10:343).”
19
From the Hall family web site at http://www.espl.org/MilesFiles2/sourcesj.htm#f30680b:
“Charles Hall Sr. was born in England circa 1635. He married Alice 'Ellis' (-----) before 1664 in
England. Alice was born circa 1646 in England. Charles immigrated to Maryland 1664, and
was credited with having transported into the Colony of Maryland the following persons: Ellis
(Alice) Hall, Mary Freake, and John Walker. On 6 Jun 1665 he patented "Hall's Choice," 300
acres. In 1685 Charles Hall and William Planner were among the first Somerset County
commissioners named to lay out towns in Somerset Co, MD. Charles died 1695 in Annamessex,
Somerset Co, MD, at 60 years of age. Alice Hall died 1724 in Somerset Co, MD, at 78 years of
age.”
From the RootsWeb site at URL http:\\archiver.rootsweb.com\th\read\HALL\200009\0970012848: “Charles Hall b circa 1630-35 England d Aug 1695 Somerset Co., MD married
Alice Hallam? B 1646 England d Apr 1724 Somerset Co., MD. It is notable that they had a son
Charles Hall b. 22 Feb 1665 who died 24 may 1709 Somerset Co., MD. And, daughter
Katherine Hall b 20 Jun 1670 Somerset Co., MD married William Planner. And, daughter Alice
Hall b 2 Jun 1673 Somerset Co., MD married John Roach, Jr. And, daughter Rachel Hall b 3 Jul
1677 Somerset Co., MD married Randall Revell.”
From Somerset County, Maryland Wills, Liber EB #9, 1710-1729. Abstracted by Leslie and
Neil Keddie, Waldo Books, 2001: “Folio 129, Charles Hall, planter, will written 06/09/1695,
will proved 08/13/1695.” The will record probably marks the date and year of Charles Hall,
Sr.’s death. He bequeathed to Alice his wife 50 acres of land called “Hopkins Destiny” lying on
the north side of the Annemessix River, so they were Somerset Co., MD residents. The will also
mentions his children Charles, Alice and Rachel; but not Katherine. Two additional daughters
are named, Mary and Sarah.
From Maryland Land Office Record, Liber 10, Folio 347 (10:347), photocopy of original land
patent record obtained from Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University, Maryland:
“Charles Hall, Patt. 300 Acres, Halls Choice... in consideration that Charles Hall of our said
province of Maryland planter hath due to him two hundred acres land within our said province
for transporting himself, Ellis Hall, Mary Freake (Peake?, Frake?) and John Walker into our said
province to inhabite and one hundred acres of land more by assignment from George Johnson...”
[CF Note: 1. Of all the references shown above, the original record is clear that Charles Hall
received land for transporting himself, an Ellis Hall, a John Walker, and a person whose name
might be Mary Freake, Peake or Frake. 2. Contrary to Robert Frakes’ research cited in the entry
from Joe Frakes book, the names Edward Hazard and Isaac Noble do not appear in the original
record of persons transported by Charles Hall. Other credible sources indicate Isaac Noble was
transported by Owen MacKrue. 3. Similarly, this Mary Freake is not the same person as Mary
Robinson, even though this is suggested in Joe Frakes 1998 book. This was not written at a later
date when she might have been using Freake as a married name, this is the original patent record
from 1666. This woman immigrated to Maryland with the name Freake or some variant thereof.
Other sources found after the date of Joe’s 1998 book indicate Mary Robinson was probably
transported by, or at least along with, her father or uncle named William Robinson. 4. Frakes
family researchers as yet do not know who this Mary Freake is, and have no leads for her
20
ancestry or descendants. 5. Per Somerset Judicials, various pages: Charles Hall is a planter and
Somerset county commissioner. William Planner is a planter, cattle owner, Somerset county
commissioner, vestryman in Coventry Parish, and juror. Randell Revell is a planter and
Somerset county commissioner. So Charles Hall’s children married into the families of the other
Somerset gentry. 6. There is, as yet, no proven linkage between Charles and Alice Hall of
Somerset County, Maryland and anyone connected with Henry Freakes/Friggs of Somerset,
Maryland.]
1665: Lead Nine, Alice Frigg. From Early Frakes Records, with Frigg, Freke, Frake and Other
Variants, 1000-1820, by Joseph I. Frakes, Crescent City, FL. Privately published, 1998 ed.:
“From "The Research of Robert Leroy Frakes" taken from "Early Settlers of Somerset County
and the Eastern Bank, Maryland"; "Alice Frigg immigrated to Maryland; also given 50 acres for
settling." (Editor's note: Somerset County, Maryland, was not formed until 1666, I assume this
means in that area. Some reports list the spelling as Figg, but, this editor has a copy of the
original entry, it is Frigg. This is the first known use of the Frigg variant as a family name. Note
the term "immigrated", not transported. This indicates she paid her passage. Perhaps, starting
with a husband who died during the crossing. If so, were there children? Probably the mother, or
grand-mother, of Henry Friggs? See 1715.)”
From the research of George Rogers Frakes, of Oceanside, CA, personal communication to this
writer. “1665. Alice Frigg immigrated to Maryland Liber 8, folio 503. Pg. 171. The Early
Settlers of Maryland by Gust Skordas, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1979, pg. 170.”
From Early Settlers of Maryland, by Gust Skordas, 1968, Genealogical Publishing Company.
(An alphabetic index to early settlers of Maryland whose names were written in land office
record books. Covers years 1633-1680. Records probably at the Maryland Archives Hall of
Records.)
Name
PgSkordas
Liber,
Folio
Remarks
Alice Frigg
171
8
503
Immigrated 1665.
[CF Note: 1. Frakes researchers do not yet know who this woman was. It is speculative to say
who she might be in the absence of proof. There is no evidence of her starting with a husband
who died during the crossing, nor of children. 2. If she was the mother, or grandmother, of the
Henry Freakes/Friggs who settled Friggs Adventure in Somerset County, MD, then Henry would
have been born around 1664/65 or shortly thereafter, about the same time as Alice’s arrival in
Maryland. She would have to be married as a Friggs, or he probably would not have kept Friggs
name, instead would have kept father’s name. That is, unless he was born a bastard child and
indentured as a result. This is all speculation, there is no evidence of a familial relationship
between this Alice Friggs and our Henry Freakes/Friggs of Old Somerset County, Maryland.]
1666: From Genealogy.com website, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, CDROM:
“Freake, Thomas
21
Place: Virginia Year: 1666
Primary immigrant: Freake, Thomas
Permanent entry number: 3822224
Accession number: 9999925797
Source publication code: 6212.30
Source publication page number: 31
Source publication: NOTTINGHAM, STRATTON. Certificates and Rights, Accomack
County, Virginia, 1663-1709. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co., Inc., 1997. 91p.
Source annotation: Date when grant was received for land in area cited. Original
certificates are on file at the Land Office, Richmond, Virginia. Other historical
information is also provided.”
1666: From Early Frakes Records, with Frigg, Freke, Frake and Other Variants, 1000-1820, by
Joseph I. Frakes, Crescent City, FL. Privately published, 1998 ed.: “From "Bristol and
America", Volume II, Page 291, a rare book, in which appears names of 10,000 Servants, not
arranged, indexed or categorized, which is a listing of servants to foreign plantations, who sailed
from the Port of Bristol, England; April 7, among those listed was....Henry ffreke.... on the
Maryland Merchant, whose destination was given as Virginia. (Editors note: This Henry is listed
as an indentured servant. It is doubtful that this would be the Henry who patented Friggs
Adventure in 1715.)
[CF Note: 1. See the 1676 entry in this same chapter regarding this Henry Freke and the Bristol
Register reference. Joe Frakes’ entry for 1666, above, may be about 10-years too early. See the
nearly identical entries for 1676 below. 2. This writer believes this man is a prime candidate for
the Henry Freakes/Friggs who claimed land in Maryland in 1682. The ages certainly could work
out. By my counting, if he is 16 in 1666, then he is born about 1650. A 7-year indenture after
1666 would end about 1673 at age 23. If he is the Henry Freaks who married Mary Noble then
he would be age 35 when witnessing Isaac Noble’s will in 1685, and age 41 at marriage to Mary
in 1691, and age 65 at death in 1715.]
1667: From Genealogy.com website, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, CDROM.
“Frake, Robert
Place: Virginia Year: 1666-1667
Primary immigrant: Frake, Robert
Permanent entry number: 3822399
Accession number: 9999926627
Source publication code: 6212.30
Source publication page number: 33
Source publication: NOTTINGHAM, STRATTON. Certificates and Rights, Accomack
County, Virginia, 1663-1709. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Co., Inc., 1997. 91p.
Source annotation: Date when grant was received for land in area cited. Original
certificates are on file at the Land Office, Richmond, Virginia. Other historical
information is also provided.”
22
1672: From the Archives of Maryland Online website at URL
http://speccol.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/sc4300/sc4341/sc4341.cfm, from Index 117,
an index to the book “A Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland”, by Carson Gibb, PhD.
(Not the actual data from the book.):
“Cox, Thomas
WT:705 Film No.: SR 7547
Of Somerset Co., service by 1672
Transcript. 17:30 [SR 7358]
MSA SC 4341-220”
[CF Note: “Service by 1672” indicates Thomas Cox was an indentured servant who worked off
his period of indenture by 1672, making him entitled to 50 acres of land. Thomas Cox is thought
to be the man who sold the land called “Friggs Adventure” to Henry Freakes/Friggs. Does this
imply Thomas Cox was transported about 1665 also, and served a 7-year indenture also? If so,
this would be consistent with the some of the data in the 1664-89 entry above that shows Thomas
Cox transported in 1664 or 1665.]
1676: Lead Ten, Henry Freke on the Maryland Merchant from Bristol. From Early Frakes
Records, with Frigg, Freke, Frake and Other Variants, 1000-1820, by Joseph I. Frakes, Crescent
City, FL. Privately published, 1998 ed.: “From "The Research of Robert Leroy Frakes"; Henry
Freke transported, on the Maryland Merchant, to Virginia by William Alford, Henry to serve
four years to William Alford.”
From the website of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, at the University
of Virginia, Virtual Jamestown Archive, Searchable Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign
Plantations, The Bristol Registers, at
http://www.iath.virginia.edu/vcdh/jamestown/indentures/advsearch_bristol.html
“The Bristol Registers records all indentured servants who left from the port of Bristol, England
from 1654-1686. The database contains records for approximately 10,000 indentured servants
sent from Bristol to the New World. The Bristol Registers database are taken from the book The
Bristol Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654-1686, by Peter Wilson Coldham,
published by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, in 1988, 491pp., this entry from
page 328…The original registers, entitled Servants to Foreign Plantations, were contained in two
leather-bound volumes and can be found in the archives of the Corporation of the City of Bristol,
England. Coldham has modernized the town and village names. Editorial comments added by
Coldham are indicated by parentheses and brackets…”
“Indentured Servants Basic Search Results:
Servant Information
Name: Henry Freke
Gender: Male
Occupation:
23
Place of Origin:
Spouse’s Name:
Agent Information
Name: William Alford
Gender: Male
Occupation:
Place of Origin:
Indenture Information
Date of Indenture: September 5, 1676
Indenture Length: 4 years
Destination: Virginia
Ship: Maryland Merchant
Servant’s Parents Information
Name:
Occupation:
Notes: 4 yrs Virginia by Maryland Merchant, Mr. William Trego
From the Ancestry.com website:
“Database:
Name:
Year:
Place:
Source Publication Code:
Primary Immigrant:
Annotation:
Source Bibliography:
Page:
Source Information:
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
Henry Freke
1676
Virginia
1218.5
Freke, Henry
Date of covenant or indenture of service and apprenticeship with
intended destination. Extracted from Servants to Foreign
Plantations, a two volume set discovered in the Council House of
Bristol. A summarized transcription by R. Hargreaves-Mawdsley
was published under the title Bristol and America.
COLDHAM, PETER WILSON. The Bristol Registers of Servants
Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654-1686. Baltimore: Genealogical
Publishing Co., 1988. 491p.
328
Gale Research. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s1900s [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005.
Original data: Filby, P. William, edit. Passenger and Immigration
Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research,
2003.”
24
[CF Note: 1. This is probably the same source record as that referred to by Joseph I. Frakes in
the 1666 entry above in this same chapter. Both the Coldham book (that is the online database
taken from it) and the Robert Leroy Frakes citation agree this Henry Freke came over in 1676,
probably not 1666. 2. Is he the same man as the Henry Freake/Friggs who settled in Friggs
Adventure? Answer, not known. His destination is Virginia and not Maryland, despite which
this could still be our man. The 1676 indenture date and 4-year period of indenture leads one to
believe he is free to acquire his 50 acres of land by 1680. This comes intriguingly close to the
entry later in this chronology for a Henry Freake whose service ends in 1682. 3. According to
online sources a man named Lt. Col. William Alford was born 1607, immigrated to Virginia by
1653, and died 1674, so the timing of this indenture record for Henry Freke leaves a little to be
desired with respect to that man. There is evidence of additional men named William
Alford/Allford in Virginia in this same time frame. See the next record from the Alford Family
Association. 4. Sources describe Mr. William Trego as a ships captain who traveled to Virginia
and Maryland. An entry in Early Settlers of Maryland, by Gust Skordas, Genealogical
Publishing Inc., Baltimore, MD 1968, pg. 63 states: “Treagoe (Trego), William Sr., Liber WC2,
Folio 72, Marriner 1679. Of the City of Bristol. Rights 1679. (WC2, Fol, 213-214.)” Another
entry in Settlers of Maryland, 1679-1783, Consolidated Edition, pg. 672, by Peter Wilson
Coldham, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD 2002, states: “Tregoe, William, mariner.
Dorchester county. Tract = Refuge. 50 acres. 19 April 1683.” This places William Trego on the
Delmarva peninsula, not too far from Henry Freakes, and in the exact same time frame as when
Henry purchased land called Flodders in Old Somerset County, Maryland.]
More on William Alford. From “In Search of My Alford Ancestors”, by Hugh Edwin Alford.
Alford American Family Association, Inc., Florissant, MO. Copyright 2000, first published
privately 1970.
“Chapter Five, English Records.
William Alford: Included in the 1,000 emigrants, referred to as sailing from Bristol, was a
William Alford, date, place of birth and marital status unknown. He sailed between 1654 and
1663, destination—Virginia.
This William has not been traced after his arrival in Virginia, but a William Alford witnessed
signatures on documents in Charles City County in 1653 (a year before the Bristol records began,
but records of that era are vague and this could have been the same William). A William Alford
also witnessed signatures in this county, twice in 1661, and once in 1662. A William Alford also
witnessed signatures in Isle of Wight County in 1671 and 1672. During this same period, a
"Paddy" of Isle of Wight County was bound to pay William Alford of Elizabeth City County
1653 pounds of tobacco. These various transactions in different counties could mean that
William Alford was an employee or representative of one of the British Companies responsible
for importing settlers.
In 1662, Richard Aylife received a grant of 248 acres of land in Northumberland County,
Virginia, for bringing in five persons, including a William Alford, and in 1670, William Hunt
received a grant of 1150 acres of land for bringing in twenty-three persons, including a William
Alford. This importation was to James City, Virginia and, of course, occurred before 1670. A
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William Alford served on a jury in James City in 1670. A Judgment was entered against a
William Alford in James City in 1671, and in September of that year, William Alford was
ordered to pay damages.
On March 4, 1675, Robert Gilbert was indicted for the murder of Colonel William Alford. A jury
brought a verdict of "Homicide by Misadventure". John Hurst married Colonel Alford's widow.
This William was an officer, either in the British Military Service (of which no record has been
found) or an officer in the Colonial Militia.
From the above, it will be seen that there are records of at least three William Alfords in Virginia
between 1650 and 1700. One was killed in 1674–5, probably the one imported by William Hunt,
before 1670; another died February 11, 1709 in Saint Peters Parish; and the destiny of the third
has not been established. There are reasons to believe that a fourth William was in the Colonies,
as the records indicate, at least one signature was witnessed by William Alford before 1654. If
this is correct, this William could have been a descendant of the Richard Alford who came to
James City in 1620-21.”]
From the same Bristol Registers online database search utility mentioned above, the following
record:
Servant Information
Name: William Alford
Gender: Male
Occupation: Yeoman
Indenture Information:
Date of Indenture: August 20, 1658.
Indenture Length: 4 years.
Destination: Virginia.
Agent Information
Name: William Weakley
Gender: Male
Occupation: Mariner”
26