Robert Royce of Connecticut

Robert Royce (Abt 1606-1676) of New London CT is probably the ancestor of most Royces in North America today, but his origins in England (specifically Martock, Somerset) have proven a headache for those attempting to take the record back further. Records of Robert Royce's birth in Somerset and of his early family there have never been found. This discrepancy has lead to a cycle of inference and speculation that has created, among other things, about 20 different birthdates for Royce in Somerset and about 20 different surnames for his wife Mary – most often "Sims", though this proposal has been disproven as noted below.

"The often claimed marriage to Mary Sims on Jun 04, 1634 cannot be substantiated. Extensive research in the Long Sutton, Martok and Lubenham, Somerset, England parish churches failed to show any marriage in 1634 between a Robert Royce by any spelling and a Mary Sims (Syms). The closest that could be found was between a Robert Rayce and a Mary Sims on Jun 04, 1624 in Long Sutton. Clarence Leslie Hewitt, Jr. in an article originally published in the NEGHS Register and later in "English Origins of New England Families", Series 2, Volume 3 pp 42-45 titled "Some Light on the Marriage of Robert and Mary Royce of Connecticut" concludes this could not be the correct date because the earliest recorded birth of a child, Sarah, was 1633-34 and they had seven children total." ( http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/d/o/b/Michael-E-Dobsonhttp://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/d/o/b/Michael-E-Dobson )

This gives just some idea of the problem. In researching my own Royce history (I am not a descendant of Robert Royce) I may inadvertantly have found the answer.

On hearing vague mention of Somerset England as a possible point of origin for the Royses of Ireland (my line), I started in on the Royces of Somerset. Initially I thought that sorting out this family would take a long time since there are over 1250 entries for Royces in Somerset on the IGI alone. On closer inspection, however, I found that at least 1200 of these entries are in fact entries for Robert Royce himself and for various members of his family as contributed anonymously by over a thousand people. Of these records, not one is from a genuine parish roster.

If you rake these 1200 + records, the total number of genuine birth record entries from County Somerset parishes is: eleven. And a fairly random eleven at that. There are twenty or thirty Royce marriages on record in the county but virtually all of these appear to have been fly by night, with few Royces having had more than one child christened there.

At the time of the 1881 census, stray births aside, there is only one Royce family (arguably two) in all of Somerset.

Factor in official records from all four of the counties that surround Somerset (Devon, Dorset Wiltshire, Gloucester), and there is still nothing.

All this makes clear that there is not – and evidently there never has been – a viable Royce presence in Somerset or in any county of Southwestern England. Far from being a Royce epicentre some 1200 people strong, County Somerset and surroundings are a veritable No-Man's-Land when it comes to people with the surname Royce.

This begs the question, "Was Robert Royce really from Somerset?" Records of his birth, of his marriage, of the christenings of his known children, have never been found there, even though records from every conceivable parish at which he and his wife Mary {Unknown} might have been parishioners have records preserved and available for the time that he and his family are believed to have resided there. In short – and in spite of folk legend, whether primary or secondary – there is really no evidence for Robert Royce's (b. Abt 1606) family having been from Martock, or from anywhere in Somerset. And, even on the off-chance that Royce did live at Somerset for a time and his records have simply gone missing, there is still no evidence to indicate a substantial Royce presence in Somerset. Robert Royce's family, if not Royce himself, almost certainly came from somewhere else before making passage to the New World.

Anyway once the above suspicion was adopted as a hypothesis, answers came swiftly. Locations in England aside, here is what is known about Robert Royce's family, with dates postulated on the basis of death records etc as found at Connecticut.


1 Robert Royce
. . . + Mary
. . . . . . 2 Jonathan Royce, b. Bet. 1631-1635 England, d. JUL 1690 New London, CT.
. . . . . . 2 Sarah Royce b. Bet. 1633-1634 England, d. 01 MAY 1711 New London, CT.
. . . . . . 2 Nehemiah Royce b. Abt 1636 England, d. 01 NOV 1706 New Haven, CT.
. . . . . . 2 Samuel Royce b. 01 NOV 1644 New London, CT, d. Bef. 24 DEC 1711 New Haven, CT.
. . . . . . 2 Ruth Royce b. 07 DEC 1645 New Haven, CT, d. MAY 1695 New Haven, CT.
. . . . . . 2 Nathaniel Royce b. 24 APR 1647 New Haven, CT, d. 08 FEB 1726/1727 New Haven, CT.
. . . . . . 2 Isaac Royce b. Abt 1648 New Haven, CT, d. Abt 1681 New Haven, CT.


The first three children of Robert and Mary are known to have been born in England during the dates given above. "Nehemiah" is the oddest name out. A search for Nehemiah Royce b. England, any year, leads to only a single official batch record (plus about forty "extras" from Martock):


1 Robert Royce
. . . + Mary
. . . . . . 2 Nehemiah Royce chr. 30 MAY 1637 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.


Only one Nehemiah Royce in all of England, coincidentally christened 1637, whose parents coincidentally are named Robert and Mary. What are the odds? Next let's check the Saint Michael, Stamford batch (1560-1949) for all occurrences of the name Royce.


1 Richard Royce
. . . + Unknown
. . . . . . 2 Rebeckah Royce chr. 13 JAN 1626 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 John Royce chr. 15 FEB 1628 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.

1 Robert Royce
. . . + Mary
. . . . . . 2 John Royce chr. 21 APR 1633 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 Sarah Royce chr. 08 FEB 1634 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 Nehemiah Royce chr. 30 MAY 1637 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.

1 John Royse
. . . + Anne
. . . . . . 2 Elisabeth Royse chr. 10 MAY 1638 Saint Michael, Stamford Linclon.

1 William Royce
. . . + Susanna
. . . . . . 2 George Royce chr. 27 APR 1772 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 Thomas Royce chr. 28 MAR 1774 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.


That's strange. Not only do Nehemiah's birthdate and the names of Nehemiah's parents match Nehemiah Royce of CT exactly, he has two siblings with exactly the same names that Robert and Mary's children have, born during exactly the times that those children were born. Again, what are the odds. Did a Robert Royce ever marry a Mary in County Lincolnshire.


1 Robert Royse
. . . + Mary Jugkson 08 APR 1627 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.


One match, and coincidentally just a few years before John Royce was born. Still, six years between a marriage and the first child is something of a stretch – did a Robert and Mary Royce have any other children christened at any other Lincolnshire churches in the 1600s.


1 Robert Royce
. . . + Mary
. . . . . . 2 John Royce chr. 20 DEC 1627 All Saints, Stamford, Lincoln, d. 29 MAY 1628.
. . . . . . 2 John Royce chr. 29 JUN 1629 All Saints, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 Mary Royce chr. 10 JUL 1631 All Saints, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 John Royce chr. 21 APR 1633 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 Sarah Royce chr. 08 FEB 1634 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 Nehemiah Royce chr. 30 MAY 1637 Saint Michael Stamford, Lincoln.


From the records it would appear so – a John Royce who died, followed by another John Royce who presumably also died before a third John Royce was born in 1633, and a daughter Mary, who – if we take this to be Robert Royce of CT and his wife Mary, and I do – it would appear also died. There are no children of a Robert and Mary Royce on record in Lincolnshire after Nehemiah Royce. Can we clear up the "John and Anne" who also christened their children at the same church in Stamford at about this time.


1 John Royce
. . . + Anne Jackson 02 NOV 1636 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln.
. . . . . . 2 Elizabeth Royce chr. 10 MAY 1638 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln, d. 05 MAY 1638.


"Anne Jackson" – which would seem to indicate that the bizarre surname of what is probably John Royce's sister-in-law, "Jugkson", is somebody's odd rendering of the surname Jackson. Robert Royce married Mary Jackson on 08 APR 1627 in Stamford, Lincolnshire; John Royce married Anne Jackson on 02 NOV 1636 in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

An interesting development in having apparently located Robert Royce of CT in Stamford, Lincolnshire, is that this district (South Kesteven) borders on Rutland, Bedford and Leicester Counties; and in contrast to Somerset and the counties of southwestern England, Royces abound in this region. In fact, this part of England's Eastern Midlands is the only clear epicentre of Royces that I have found that predates a later arrival of Huguenot Royces (Le Roy, De Roy > Royse / Royce) in County Kent and Greater London, and the surname Royce in this part of the Midlands is as old as the hills. Are there any batch record occurrences of a Robert Royce b. late 1500s or early 1600s in this area.


1 William Royce
. . . + Unknown
. . . . . . 2 Robert Royce chr. 03 NOV 1605 Ketton Cum Tixover, Rutland.
. . . . . . 2 George Royce chr. 18 JUN 1608 Ketton Cum Tixover, Rutland.


Only one, geographically a perfect fit. Does this Robert Royce have a brother John lying around anywhere in another parish – John Royce with a father William who was b. early 1600s.


1 William Royce
. . . + Unknown
. . . . . . 2 Joan Royce chr. 31 MAY 1600 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire, d. 02 JUN 1600.
. . . . . . 2 David Royce chr. 09 AUG 1601 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire.
. . . . . . 2 Matthew Royce chr. 18 SEP 1604 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire.
. . . . . . 2 Robert Royce chr. 03 NOV 1605 Ketton Cum Tixover, Rutland.
. . . . . . 2 Elizabeth Royce chr. 21 JUN 1607 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire.
. . . . . . 2 George Royce chr. 18 JUN 1608 Ketton Cum Tixover, Rutland.
. . . . . . 2 John Royce chr. 13 NOV 1609 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire.
. . . . . . 2 Richard Royce chr. 21 MAR 1612 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire.
. . . . . . 2 Hester Royce chr. 21 MAY 1616 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire.


Here has been incorporated the family of the only John Royce born to a father William Royce in the 1600s. Now: Berkshire is more than a few counties removed from Rutland, but the dates of christenings at the two parishes fit well. "William Royce" is also the only Royce on record at either of these parishes. Are there any William Royce marriages dating from this period.


1 William Royce
. . . + Joan Casebird 01 OCT 1598 Kingston Bagpuize, Berkshire.


Bullseye. "William Royce" is far vaguer a name at this time in history than was "Robert Royce", so while I could speculate further on William Royce's parentage at this point I won't. Research would best first be carried out in order to confirm that the William Royce of Berkshire is indeed contiguous with William Royce of Ketton Cum Tixover Rutland. There's a reasonable chance he is, or that the family is at least mobile, as there are no records for a Matthew Royce, Richard Royce, George Royce, etc line in Berkshire after this point.

So now we're left the task of explaining why Robert Royce of CT is actually from Rutland-Lincolnshire rather than Somerset. For this I have no answer apart from that there are no Royces situated in Somerset and therefore, pending actual Somerset documentation, there is no real reason to believe that Robert Royce's family came from Martock. Perhaps he was "from" Somerset in the sense that this is the point from which he embarked for the New World (Somerset is located on England's southwest coast). I have not seen reference to the document that contains the original Martock mention, only references to Royce's supposed origin there being repeated again and again. Without such reference I would not have been inclined to assume that this is where Robert Royce's family came from in the first place.

In any event, the best way to confirm or refute the hypothesis that Robert Royce of Ketton Cum Tixover Rutland and Stamford Lincolnshire is Robert Royce of CT is to obtain Y-DNA from Lincolnshire Royces who descend from Robert Royce's brother John and to compare this with the Robert Royce Y-DNA profile already on file at the Edmund Rice Association ( http://www.edmund-rice.org/http://www.edmund-rice.org/ ). Of course, these things are always easier said than done. Since the Ketton Cum Tixover Royces are the earliest branch of Royces on record in Rutland and William's family may ultimately have given rise to the Rutland Royces (situated primarily in Oakham), even a comparison of Robert Royce's Y-DNA with Rutland Royce DNA in general might yield interesting results.