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Constant Southworth

Ancestry of
Constant Southworth

(c1612 - 1678/9)
Great Migration Immigrant 1628


    Edward Southworth

    View famous kin of Edward Southworth

    • Father of Constant Southworth — 2nd Generation
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    • ABT 1590 
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    • BY 14 Aug 1623 
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    • Notes: 
    • The royal ancestry of Edward Southworth that has been published in the past is in doubt. See author Sue Allan's 2019 monograph In Search of Separatist Edward Southworth of Leiden: His Genealogical Origins Uncovered to see some of the latest circumstantial evidence and her conclusions regarding Edward Southworth's origins. Also, see Robert L. French's article "Who was Edward Southworth of Leyden?" in The Mayflower Quarterly (1992) 58:10-15.

      So here's what the experts have to say regarding Edward Southworth of Leyden's parentage:

      • Frederick Weis, Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, 5th ed., p. 128, regarding Edward Southworth of Leyden being the same as the son by that name of Thomas Southworth of Salmesbury: "perhaps identical with the above (i.e. Thomas's son Edward), but not proven (underlining is his), though his descendants used the Southworth of Samlesbury arms in contradistinction to the regular Southworth arms."
      • Frederick Weis, Ancestral Roots, 8th ed., p. 14, speaking about the alleged royal line which he displays in his book: "The only support for the connection between generations 41 and 42 (i.e. Edward being the son of Thomas) is the coincidence of dates and names. Edward of Leyden may or may not be the same man as Edward of London. The line is inadequately supported at this point."
      • Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, vol. 3, p. 1712, regarding Constant and his brother Thomas Southworth: "Various attempts have been made to extend the pedigree of the brothers beyond their father Edward, but none had yet been successful."
      • Gary Boyd Roberts, The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants, p. 309, "Clinching proof (or disproof) that Edward Southworth, son of Thomas Southworth and Rosamond Lister, was the Leyden Pilgrim of that name would be welcome. An alternative Nottinghamshire origin for Edward Southworth is suggested in The Mayflower Quarterly 58 (1992):10-15." The latter is an article by Robert French who first proposed the alternative that Sue Allan supports.
      • Gary Boyd Roberts, The Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants, p. 525, Roberts once again mentions the alternative first mentioned in The Mayflower Quarterly, then goes on to summarize Sue Allan's more recent argument. At the end he states, "Note that the surname of the mother of the newly-alleged Leyden Southworths of Clarborough, if Ashton rather than Aston (a common error), is that of the paternal grandmother of the formerly alleged Leyden Pilgrim, Edward Southworth of Salmesbury above. Further Ashton and Levesey research is eagerly awaited, as is more information on earlier Southworths of Clarborough, and clinching proof (or disproof) of one of these Edward Southworths as the Leyden Pilgrim and father of Constant and Thomas of Mass." Roberts also points out the the Clarborough Southworth's "share a coat of arms somewhat similar to that of the Southworths of Salmesbury." He also points out that "Robert Bradford, a cousin of Gov. William Bradford, married Elizabeth Southworth, sister of the proposed Edward and Thomas of Clarborough."

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