Francis Kendall
Though no record of death was found for Francis Kendall als. Miles prior to his departure to New England approximately 1640, a burial record was found for a Francis Kendall in Newport Pagnell in 1666. Because the record exists in a parish where Francis may have lived, this record cannot be ignored, and logical reasoning is needed to discount it as the burial record of Francis Kendall alias Miles.
Death in a time of plague
The years 1665 and 1666 were nothing short of horrific for London and in many other areas of England.[1] It was called the Great Plague for a reason. Although there had been periodic outbreaks since the bubonic pandemic of the 1340s (which killed as much as half the English population), none since then had taken as high a toll as the 1665-6 plague years did. It’s been estimated that nearly 100,000 died in London alone.
The Newport Pagnell register
The plague also took a toll on the English countryside which can be seen in the Newport Pagnell parish register.[2] Going back to 1664 (1 Jan 1663/4 through 31 Dec 1664), there was a total of only 44 burials.[3] That year, the deaths of children were identified by their parents’ or at least their fathers’ names. Married women were identified by their husbands’ names, and some women were noted as widows. This is typical of an English parish register in that time.
The year 1665 remained much the same as 1664 with a decrease to 37 burials, though the number was higher in the summer months, and occasionally there was more than one in a family.[4] The plague had not yet reached Newport Pagnell with the staggering number of deaths that would soon follow.
1666
The year 1666 was a clear departure from the norm.[5] In fact, it’s difficult to imagine the vast number of deaths in Newport Pagnell’s register all belonging to parish residents. Like other areas outside London, especially those only fifty miles away on a main road as Newport Pagnell was, it’s logical to assume some deaths were from those fleeing London.[6] In a time when the cause of the plague and its transmission were not understood, the only logical way to escape a miserable and painful death was to leave and hope to reach a plague-free area. Unfortunately, that action brought both the contagion and death toll to the countryside.
In Newport Pagnell, 1666 (1 Jan 1665/6-31 Dec 1666) started normally with only one death in January, none in February, seven in March, and five in April.[7] The month of May exploded with burials, totaling twenty-two, approximately half of some previous years’ count in one month. New trends started emerging, with only names being recorded, no relationships to parents or spouses noted. Another trend emerged with individuals having the same surname dying the same day or within a day or two, sometimes several of them within a week. This trend is easy to see with the less common surnames.
June of 1666 was much worse.[8] There were one hundred and three deaths that month alone and no burial day had less than two. It became common to see children identified by only their parents’ names, (ie: Edward Kendall’s child) and adults solely by their occupations or anything else that could be used to differentiate them. Many of the deceased were likely unknown in the parish and the recorders did their best to keep up. “A traveler’s child,” and, “Woodsmason’s child,” appeared as did entries like “Goodwife Leach,” and Widdow Jebin’s daughter,” or, “Wm. Prestland’s apprentice.” The clerk or clerks did what they could to fulfill their obligation even when no one knew or told them the name of the deceased. The fact that the records for 1666 were written in a neat and tidy hand indicates notes were likely made under great duress (with so many burials each day), which were later entered into the register. In a situation like that, details are often lost or forgotten.
Kendall and Mills/Miles deaths
As we see, during this struggle, the usual methods for differentiating individuals dropped off. Deaths for one day took up multiple lines in the parish register.[9] The entries for July and August continued the trend of listing only names or descriptions. It must be noted those are the only two months which have any Kendall or Miles/Mills entries in all of 1666.[10]
- Thomas Mills’ child 8 July
- Edward Kendall’s child 14 July
- Francis Kendall 18 August
- Katherin Kendall 19 August
- Richard Kendall 24 August
- William Kendall 30 August
- John Ken[ ] (rest of name lost in tight binding) 30 August
- Ralph Kendall 31 August
While it might be tempting to say this is the birth family of Francis Kendall alias Mylles because there is a Francis, Richard, John and Ralph, the fact is none of these entries use the alias surname. In addition, Ralph (of the Sherrington family) died in 1661, as evidenced by his burial and will.[11] Richard, his son, was in London. John, the only son left locally, wrote his will the 27th day of August 1666 naming his brother, Richard of Enfield as one of his executors.[12] It’s possible the John Ken[ ] is not a Kendall, but if he is, it’s highly unlikely he would name as an executor, a deceased brother (Richard) who died three days before in the same parish. There is no Katherin anywhere in the family of Francis, nor is there a William. There are too many conflicting and not enough matching details in this group of Kendalls to connect them to the birth family of Francis.
In wills and parish registers, we have proof of other Kendalls, Mylls, and Mylls alias Kendall families resident in Newport Pagnell who are more likely to have been most or all of those buried in 1666. Going back to 1600, the Newport Pagnell register lists several Kendall children in different families with the names Richard, John, and William. There was also a Katherin who was married to a John Kendall and they had children named Richard, William, and Thomas, making them a good fit for the Kendalls who died in 1666.
Additionally, we cannot be sure the Francis entry on 18 August 1666 is for a male. There are entries in the baptisms and marriages for Newport Pagnell using the Francis spelling for women. There is a January 1664 marriage of Francis Buckwayter to John Swinferat and a baptism of Francis, daughter of John Gates in November 1664. Just because the name was spelled with an i before the ending s does not mean it was for a male.
Where was Francis between 1640 and 1666?
Another reason to doubt the 1666 death belongs to the Francis baptized in Sherington in 1620 is that Francis Kendall alias Mylles is not found anywhere in Newport Pagnell, Sherington, or in that area of Buckinghamshire between the time he would have become an adult in approximately 1640 and the 1666 death. There is no record of his residence, no marriage, no children’s births, no children’s deaths, no possible marriages for his children, no mention of him in his father’s 1661 will (see analysis of the will for why), nor any other record that might have survived such as an apprenticeship or land transaction. In short, there is absolutely no record for any Francis Kendall, let alone a Francis Kendall alias Mylles in the Sherington/Newport Pagnell area between the time Francis became and adult and reached middle age, between the ages of twenty and forty-six. Given the records which were found for other adult males in his family who stayed in England, it’s unlikely Francis would simply disappear for twenty-six years.
Conclusion
There is not enough evidence to tie the 1666 death of the Francis Kendall in Newport Pagnell to the ancestral Francis Kendall alias Mylles who moved to Woburn, Massachusetts. It is unlikely he could have lived in Newport Pagnell for twenty-six years without showing up in any of the parish’s records. It is important to note his given name with the alias surname, which he used in Woburn, appears nowhere in Newport Pagnell or Sherington after he immigrated. Given the very good possibility the group of Kendall deaths in Newport Pagnell in August 1666 is another family, there is no reason to believe the 1666 burial record belongs to Francis Kendall alias Mylles of Woburn.
[1] Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org : accessed 20 June 2023), “Great Plague of London,” rev. 14:36, 14 June 2023.
[2] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, children of Raphe Kendall als. Miles, 1558-1718, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16; digitized images, Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 13 April 2023).
[3] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16, specifically 1664; digitized images, Family Search.
[4] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16, specifically 1665; digitized images, Family Search.
[5] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16, specifically 1666; digitized images, Family Search.
[6] Wikipedia, “Great Plague of London,” rev. 14:36, 14 June 2023.
[7] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16, specifically Jan-May 1666; digitized images, Family Search.
[8] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16, specifically June 1666; digitized images, Family Search.
[9] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16, specifically 1666; digitized images, Family Search.
[10] England, Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Parish Register for Newport Pagnell, 1558-1881, FHL microfilm 1,042,392, items 14-16, specifically June 1666; digitized images, Family Search.
[11] “Wills” database, Buckinghamshire Council Archives (https://shop.buckscc.gov.uk : accessed 25 April 2023), pdf of Rafe Kendall als. Miles, 1661.
[12] “England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 15 March 2023), John Kendall, 1666.
