Good Omen, Bad Book, Connected Ancestors and a Free Book

Weird coincidences. Recently my friend Mike handed me a 1934 student history book entitled When We Were Colonies. He often gifts me oddities, antiques, little treasures that he’s over and done with. This one has been resting untouched on the shelf by the stair for over a month. Last night I grabbed it for the first time and opened up to a photo taken of Elder Brewster’s house in Scrooby, England (a historical museum in 1934 and today).

Two good omens that might goad me to visit England earlier than I had reckoned, one straight out of Steemit. Last week @petface posted about a trip to Lincolnshire. I am not familiar with any UK destination, however, whenever I see the word “shire” mentioned, my interest sparks and I immediately Google map the location to see how far away it is from Sutton-cum-lound, the ancestral stomping grounds of my patronym (the last name handed down to me by my father’s line). Turns out in Lincolnshire she was about an hour’s drive away. We shared a couple comments about my desire to visit England and the historical hamlets where Throop(e)s farmed and flourished since 1450 CE (as far as I can date them at present).
Sutton-cum-Lound is five miles from Scrooby. Several Throopes are buried in the churchyard. The following is an excerpt from the parish record where William Throope was churchwarden in Scrooby, five miles from Sutton-Cum-Lound. My ancestor tattled on William Brewster:

At Easter in Scrooby parish:
xxviie Aprilis 1598

{wm. Throope} } wm. Benson }
gard. } jurat
{Edward Sliued} } Raphe Chompney }
To the firste 2.3. theie haue nothinge to p[rese]nte
To the 4 theie p[rese]nte that theie lacke the paraphrases of
Erasmus & the table of the tenne commaundements [...?]
To the nynthe theire curat Mr Henrie Jones dothe not alwaies
weare the surplesse but for the moste p[ar]te & at the ministra
c[i]on of the sacramente he dothe use it.
To the 21 theie p[rese]nte will[ia]m Bruster for repeatinge of sermons
publiquelie in the churche w[it]hout authoritie for anie thinge
theie knowe
To the 31 theie p[rese]nte [“that” stricken out] Mr Rowland Stringer his wyfe & famelie
will[ia]m Bruster his wyfe & famelie Richard Jackson his wyfe
& famelie Anthonie Bentam & Edward Bentam & Wm. Bradley
for resortinge to other churches in service & sermon tyme
[inserted] & John Bett
To the 33 theie p[rese]nte Rowland Stringer and his wyfe for
Not receavinge the communion at Scroobie otherwise all is
well. But what is in question at yorke betweene Wm. Benson
& Elizabeth wrighte who hath defamed the said Wm. For
fornicac[i]on committed w[i]th her
[signed with marks and one signature:] R M
B X V [inverted]
Jo: Tibberde

William Brewster was to emigrate to Holland and then on the Mayflower to the New World in 1620. This William Throope, a great uncle to the Sutton-Cum-Lound Throope (5 miles from Scrooby), had to report to the Anglican Church about those who left the parish to worship at other churches. Also note the casual reference to rape, “But what is in question at yorke betweene Wm. Benson & Elizabeth wrighte who hath defamed the said Wm. For
fornicac[i]on committed w[i]th her”. Wow, how dare Ms. Wrighte “defame” Mr. Benson for fornicating her.
Very depressing.

Twenty-two years later, perhaps the same William Throope, churchwarden, or maybe his son, had the following to report on Easter:

Easter 1620
Churchwardens present the following: Henrie Wattes and his wife for usually chiding and brawling with their neighbours; [added in a different hand:] churchwardens further present Henerie Watson for abusing William Throope one of the churchwardens on Sunday 14 May last with scornful filthy terms, giving him the lie and saying three or four times 'turdd in his teeth'; Richard Rippon for abusing Thomas Oxeleye the other churchwarden in the churchyard on Sunday last with very filthy and unchristian speeches.
Place name given as Scroobie.
Written in another hand, 'emt in 20 Junij'.

My ancestor had turds in his teeth!

How strange that I opened an orphaned book (which I had little to no interest in), and just happened upon the page about William Brewster and a photo of his early 17th century separatist living room. I say it’s a great omen for near future travel to Sutton-cum-lound. But then straight on to Spain, after a day or two looking at English graves and sniffing the earth and air. Spain is my future. I can just feel it.

To celebrate this good omen and push me to make plane reservations, I present this safe link to my 2012 genealogy book/art project, End of the Line.
I painted the portraits of eleven Throop generations back to William, the first Throop(e) to arrive on the shores of the “new” world at Barnstable, Massachusetts in 1660.

Here is a painting of my father:

David Wells, the Talented (1942 - ) 2012. Acrylic on canvas. 16 x 20"

Thank you for reading. See you this summertime in England!

Van Morrison: