John, William and Margery Partridge arrived early in the 1600’s soon settling in the town of Medfield, Massachusetts. Since Margery, unmarried, resided in the house with an unmarried William, it has always been assumed that they must be siblings. It has also been assumed and recently been proven by DNA that John and William were brothers. But there was never any evidence making the proven connection between John and William until the recent DNA match.
While we definitely now know there is a sibling connection between all three, we are still left pondering whom are their parents? Unfortunately, back in 1903, an article on the Partridge family was published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Society which referenced the possibility of a Captain John Partridge and Jane Hogge being the parents of the Medfield branch. Since then, researchers have taken liberty in declaring this to be the case, without first conducting their own research on the matter. Over 10 years ago I debunked this claim, and provide an in depth study into it through my research blog:
Captain John Partridge of Navestock, England
My question then comes back to, who then were the parents of John, William and Margery Partridge?
Unfortunately, I can provide little further evidence to assist in the research other then what has been published elsewhere.
John and William witnessed the will of a John Beebe aboard a ship traversing the Atlantic Ocean to New England back in 1650. John Beebe came from Broughton, Northamptonshire, England. It is not known the connection that John and William may have had with John Beebe prior to the voyage, but a look at the parish records of Broughton would at the least be prudent.
John is mentioned in the annals of Dedham, Massachusetts in 1650 and William Partridge received land in Medfield in 1651, where John later followed in 1652.
Is anyone able to shed further light on this question?