John Sperry (1540 - 1613)

Born 1540 in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England

Husband of Agnes (Rawlings) Sperry — married 1562 in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England

Descendants

Died 1613 at about age 73 in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Theodore Palmer [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Sperry Name Study.

It is estimated that John Sperry was born about 1540 in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England. The parishes of England began keeping records of baptisms, burials & marriages in 1538, although many early registers are lost or missing. There are no baptism records for Thurleigh earlier than 1562, so if he was from Thurleigh his roots are likely to remain a mystery^[1] A family history research trip to Thurleigh (September 25 - October 5, 1992), a search of St. Petersburg church records did not produce a record.^[2]

What Parish Records Show

• John married Agnes Rawlins at Thurleigh between July & September of 1562.^[3][4]
• John died before 1613 ^[5]
• Agnes, widow, was buried on March 13, 1613 at Thurleigh ^[6][7]

What "The Great Sperry Family" Shows

• John married Agnes Rawlins May 19, 1562
• Gives no death date for John.
• Shows all baptism dates for children exactly the same.

Children

Dates are for baptism not birth

• John March 20, 1563/4
• Judith 12 Mar 1564/5
• John 18 Jan 1567/8 - from this we can assume the first John (1563) died young as it was common to name the next child born of the same sex after the one that had died.
• Thomas 12 Feb 1569/70 (father's Christian name not given. William Sperry was also baptizing children at this time)
• Robert 11 Dec 1570 No father's Christian name.
• Walter 29 May 1575 No father's Christian name.^[8]

Notes

While records were copied while in England, the originals were not in the best shape (pages were darkening from age & spotted, the writing was fading). The black & white copies were even darker & almost impossible to read.

Sources

1. ↑ That Great Sperry Family, Harrison Spencer Sperry, Hawkes Publishing Inc., 1977, p. 14
2. ↑ research trip to Thurleigh (September 25 - October 5, 1992), search of St. Petersburg church records
3. ↑ Bedfordshire Parish Registers - Parish Register of Thurleigh - Thurleigh Marriages, A19
4. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/bedfordshirepari28bedf#page/n28
5. ↑ Bedfordshire Parish Registers - Parish Register of Thurleigh - Thurleigh Burials, A30
6. ↑ Bedfordshire Parish Registers - Parish Register of Thurleigh - Thurleigh Burials, A30
7. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/bedfordshirepari28bedf#page/n39
8. ↑ All children are from Bedfordshire Parish Registers - Parish Register of Thurleigh - Thurleigh Baptisms, A1