Steward Southgate was born on "W'ens Sept. 8. 1703 11, before Noon Combs"[1]
Little is known about the Steward's early life in Combs. However, it is known that in 1717 Steward's father, Richard, his wife, two sons and three daughters, set sail for New England alongside Richard's brother James, Daniel and Deborah Denny, and Thomas Prince, the preacher, who had been lodging with Richard Southgate for two years. This fact has been determined from the detailed and fascinating journal that Prince kept on his transatlantic journey from England to Boston.[2]
Richard had already travelled to New England two years prior to this familial voyage, and had purchased land rights in Leicester, Massachusetts.
Steward Southgate is listed in the History of the town of Palmer, Massachusetts as Harvard educated, and was clearly a man of some expertise, as many records exist concerning his surveying and land purchases. He was first clerk of Palmer, MA[3] and lived there for a time with his first wife, Elizabeth Scott.
Elizabeth and Steward had seven children, during which time the family relocated to Leicester, MA, but Elizabeth died in 1748.
Before the death of his first wife, Steward had separated from the First Congregationalist Church in Leicester, and become a Quaker. It was in this setting that he met his second wife, Elizabeth Potter, daughter of one of the founding members of the Leicester Friends meeting.
Steward married Elizabeth on 26 Oct 1749[4]
Steward Southgate died at Leicester, Massachusetts on December 18, 1764 at the age of 61 years.[5]. He left a will, which has been transcribed <a href="https://southgate.one-name.net/index.php/2021/10/09/the-will-inventory-and-accounts-of-steward-southgate-d-1765-leicester-massachusetts/">here</a>. He is buried at the Quaker Cemetery in Leicester, Massachusetts.[6]
This week's featured connections are Redheads: Steward is 15 degrees from Catherine of Aragón, 15 degrees from Clara Bow, 23 degrees from Julia Gillard, 14 degrees from Nancy Hart, 8 degrees from Rutherford Hayes, 8 degrees from Rita Hayworth, 16 degrees from Leonard Kelly, 17 degrees from Rose Leslie, 15 degrees from Damian Lewis, 16 degrees from Maureen O'Hara, 23 degrees from Jopie Schaft and 32 degrees from Eirik Thorvaldsson on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
S > Southgate > Steward Southgate
Categories: Suffolk, Southgate Name Study | Quaker Cemetery, Leicester, Massachusetts