EDMOND FREEMAN (Founder of Sandwich, Massachusetts)

I had always wondered who my distant relatives were and where my lineage originated. I had noticed different aspects of people and how they subconsciously interact based on culture lines and wanted to know if it’s nature or nurture that creates a type of person. When ancestry started their DNA process in 2012, I started to flirt with the idea of providing my DNA and uncovering some answers. In 2021 I started the journey to uncover my family history and see their story and their journey from the old world to the new world. Eight weeks after submitting my DNA I received the results and anxiously pored over a plethora of documents and potential matches. One that stuck out was my 11th great grandfather Edmund Freeman, he was the founder of sandwich, Massachusetts. Prior to this I had never heard of the town of Sandwich but was intrigued to know more about the town and Edmund Freeman.

Edmond Freeman gravesite Sandwich, Massachusetts

Edmund Freeman was born on July 25, 1596, in Pulborough England and was the son of Edmund and Alice Freeman[1]. Religious persecution during the seventeenth century against Protestants that refused to follow the Church of England were forced to leave during the 1600’s and this was the catalyst for the Mayflower voyage on September 16, 1620. Originally meant for Virginia as its destination, it went off course and landed in the Massachusetts bay and was known as the Plymouth colony. Freeman voyaged to Boston aboard the Abigail on June 4, 1635, with his wife Elizabeth and their children. The family settled in Saugus, Massachusetts in October 1635, in 1637 with the permission of the Plymouth colony, Freeman and ten others were allowed to settle in what is now known as Sandwich, Massachusetts[2].

Freeman later served as the assistant to the Governor of Plymouth Colony from 1640 to 1647. I had a difficult time locating information about his position as the assistant to the governor other than stating on his headstone of having said position. The Governor of Plymouth had a court of seven assistants that were used as advisors and were magistrates or justices of the peace[3].

Sandwich, Massachusetts was named for its similarity of vegetation and marshes to Sandwich, England. The new settlement was implemented for religious freedom from the Puritan settlement, and the need for agricultural purposes[4]. The marshes allowed for salt hay for cattle, that proved to be more plentiful compared to naturally cultivated hay. Sandwich grew to be a fishing and trading post, and by the nineteenth century had a prominent glass factory. The settlement that started with only ten families grew to over twenty thousand inhabitants according to the 2020 United States Census.

Elder William Brewster (Mayflower passenger)

Freeman’s son John Freeman married Mercy Prence whom was the daughter of Governor Thomas Prence. Mercy is the granddaughter of spiritual elder William Brewster, who was one of the one hundred and two passengers aboard the Mayflower[5]. DNA research has allowed me to track down documents linking my family lineage to the Mayflower and bestowed a pride with the direct connection to the nations founding.

Author's family tree showing Edmond Freeman as his 11th great grandfather

Edmond Freeman passed away in 1682, his grave marker denotes him as the town founder and assistant governor of Plymouth colony. Freeman’s legacy and lineage has passed through many generations, with countless individuals that have a bloodline to one of the early settlers. I feel grateful to count myself as one of the many that can link genetically to this great nation’s founders.

[1] Freeman, Robert R. 2005. Freeman Families of New England, in the 17th and 18th Centuries. 4-5.

[2] Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647. Vol. 2. Boston: Published for the Massachusetts Historical Society by Houghton Mifflin, 1990. 336.

[3] “Glossary & Notes on Plymouth Colony.” 2024. Illinois.edu. 2024. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/glossary.htm.

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[4] “Cape Cod History.” n.d. Archive.nytimes.com. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/fodors/fdrs_feat_44_2.html.

[5] Eugene Aubrey Stratton. 1986. Plymouth Colony, Its History & People, 1620-1691. Ancestry Publishing. 340-41.

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