Godfrey in 1664
Rob Brun del Re, P.Eng January 2020
My research continues and I think it’s now getting both tougher and more interesting. In this update I recap what we know about Godfrey and his times and review a working theory that the Nims family’s association with fleeing “regicides” might have brought Godfrey to America.
A strong caveat: I am in no way wedded to this regicide association theory. I will not be disappointed if it turns out to be fantasy. I have been following where the facts lead me. My motivation is to solve the riddle of Godfrey’s emigration - its timing, background, and circumstances.
Current Facts about Godfrey’s Origin and Emigration from London
Godfrey was born in Westminster, London England in October 1648
Baptized at St. Clement-Danes church, City of Westminster, London
“Godfray Nymm” - son of Henry Nymm and Ellen Denes. The parents were Innkeepers of the New Inn Back Gate, an adjunct to the New Inn, one of four Inns of Court, City of Westminster, London
By September 1667 he was in Northampton, Massachusetts, aged 18, almost 19
There is no record of any family accompanying him or record of any other “Nims” in America at the time
In the summer of 1667, Godfrey was brought to trial as a “ringleader of the villanies” at the Bartlett residence theft in Northampton, MA
He testified that his motivation was to get supplies to help him “run away to the ffrench”
No-one spoke in Godfrey’s defence during the trial when the other boys all had help from family members
Godfrey and the other boys readily admitted their guilt
Observations / Deductions
Godfrey likely travelled to America alone (without family), or in the company of like individuals – probably young men of all ages, indentured for crimes, sold into slavery, or who had exchanged their passage to America for a period of indenture
I believe he came to America no earlier than 1660 and no later than summer 1666, (aged 12-18). I’m calling this the “Godfrey arrival window”
The absence of “help” during the trial for mischief is significant. The other boys had friends or family testify on their behalves’. Godfrey seems to still be alone in the Massachusetts colony
Godfrey testified that he participated in the theft because he wanted to “run away to the ffrench”. This seems like a very specific goal and might well have hidden significance.
The ready admission of guilt to the theft is odd, as if there was something else to hide.
Follow up Question: How and why did Godfrey get to Northampton by 1667?
Regicide Connection Working Theory
It seems exceedingly odd to me that a young lad from a hustling, bustling metropolis like London would show up alone in a frontier town in Massachusetts. I’m convinced there was some level of personal connection – i.e. he was somehow sent to live and work with people he or his family knew in the New World.
Additionally, according to my current research related to the residents of Northampton, Hadley, Hatfield, Deerfield, Northfield, and surrounding towns at that time, no-one is identified specifically as coming from London, let alone Westminster. They came from Dorchester, New Haven, Medford, Boston etc, and Wales, Ireland, Sussex and the south of England etc. - except for the regicide Generals in hiding.
My working theory is that this personal connection involved an interesting episode of historical significance: the escape of two of Charles I’s “regicides” to America. I am researching the idea that Godfrey was connected to, or affiliated with, Edward Whalley and William Goffe, who fled the restored monarchy and found sanctuary in America.
The timing and circumstances of Godfrey’s arrival in Northampton are obscure and hard to discern. This may well be intentional - so as to keep the Generals’ whereabouts secret, if he was in fact with them in some way.
Facts: Regicides in America
Let’s look at some facts that - although not “proof” - provide enough circumstantial evidence to warrant further research. These include some newly discovered facts that left me reeling but also led to further research.
Generals Whalley and Goffe fled England and arrived in Massachusetts in July 1660 after Charles II was restored to the throne. Their journey took place right at the beginning of the estimated “Godfrey arrival window”
Beginning in 1664, the Generals hid at the home of the Rev. John Russell on Main Street in Hadley, Mass., a mere 3 miles from Northampton, Mass.
The Generals’ stay with the Russell’s was a secret known only to a few trusted people; even the Russell’s neighbours were unaware of their presence
From 1667 to the Generals’ deaths, supposedly in Hadley, Godfrey lived no more than a few miles from the Hadley hiding place
The Generals were aided by a network of like-minded (Puritan) ministers and supporters, with regular communication between England and Hadley
Facts: Regicides’ Family Connections
General Edward Whalley’s sister Jane married a notable Puritan Minister, the Rev. William Hooke of London
The Rev. Hooke and his wife, Jane, had spent time in America, mostly New Haven, Connecticut, returning to England ca. 1656 for William’s appointment as one of Protector Oliver Cromwell’s chaplains at Whitehall
General Whalley was General William Goffe’s father-in-law. His daughter, Frances, was married to Goffe
The Hookes were aunt and uncle to Frances Whalley Goffe
This information encouraged me to do further research into the Generals’ families and networks.
The Generals’ support network included a series of notable Christian ministers and luminaries including the Rev. John Davenport; Rev. John Russell and Peter Tilton in Hadley; Governors Leete, Endicott and Winthrop; Cotton and Increase Mather; Micah Tompkins and Richard Sperry in New Haven; Humphrey Davie in Boston; Rev. William and Jane Hooke; and a Mr. Gold in London; among other conspirators and benefactors.
These various people, at great risk to themselves, harboured the generals, funded them, moved them from place to place, alerted them to dangers, helped them communicate, visited and comforted them, secreted them away in their own homes, or otherwise directly hindered the efforts of English bounty hunters. Had the regicides been discovered they would have been arrested and deported back to England to face a certain, and most grisly death.
Facts: Regicides’ Communication/Support Network
William Hooke relocated to London from America ca. 1656 where he was made a “Master of the Savoy Hospital”. The Savoy was approximately 200 yards from Henry Nymm’s New Inn Back Gate in the City of Westminster, London and also close to The St. Clement-Danes church where Godfrey was baptised.
Rev. William Hooke and his wife, Jane, harboured their niece, General Goffe’s wife, Frances, and her children in their home in London
Letters exist between the Rev. Russell and the Generals in Hadley with the Hooke family, documenting the the primary method of communication between the Generals in Hadley and their families and supporters in England
Melinda S. Zook writes in Protestantism, Politics, and Women in Britain 1660-1714, “But the 1660’s were difficult times. William Hooke lost his living and was caring for his niece, Frances Goffe and her daughters, in addition to his own large family. Still William and Jane’s connection with America remained healthy and the Hooke household was a hub of trans-Atlantic communication with the godly” (1)
The proximity of Rev. Hooke’s work at the Savoy Hospital to the Nims’ Inn was compelling but I wanted to see if I could make a stronger case for the families being acquainted. I wondered, ‘Where was this “Hooke household”?’ It seemed impossible to find the household of a specific family in 1660’s London. However, on close reading of Charles Ray Palmer’s, The Rev. William Hooke, 1601-1678, I found an almost incredible footnote: “... Prof. Lyon-Turner, in his indefatigable search for traces of William Hooke has found evidence that in 1665, or early in 1666 he occupied a house in West Harding Street.” (2)
West Harding Street, City of Westminster, London, is approximately 250 yards East of St. Clement-Danes church and approximately 300 yards from the New Inn Back Gate.
Additionally, shortly after the initial publication of this article, I found reference in Samuel Pepys Diary that Gen. Whalley himself occupied a house on King’s Street in Westminster before his escape to America (3)
Let’s look at a map of London with these places identified. West Harding Street still exists and the locations of the Savoy, the New Inn and of course St. Clement-Danes church are known, or available on old maps:
Stitching the facts together
Beginning in 1664, two regicides were in hiding in the home of Rev. Russel in Hadley, Mass., three miles from Northampton where we can place Godfrey as early as 1667;
Rev. Hooke had a post at the Savoy Hospital just down the road from Henry Nymms’ Inn;
Rev. Hooke was Chaplain at Whitehall under Protector Cromwell a mile from the Nymms’ Inn;
The Hooke - Goffe - Whalley households (combined at different times) lived in West Harding St. near the Nymms’ Inn and the Nymms’ Family church;
General Whalley lived in King’s Street which runs in front of the Palace of Whitehall a short walk from the Nymms’ Inn;
The Hooke household in the 1660’s was a “hub of Trans-Atlantic communications with the godly”.
This shows a strong probability that the Nymms Family members were acquainted with the regicides and their families. it’s quite possible that Henry Nymm, Ellen Denes Nymm, or even Godfrey himself crossed paths with members of the Hooke household on the streets of Westminster. They may have shared the same pew at church, attended the same social functions and entertainments, or shopped at the same food stalls.
For all we know the Generals might have lodged at the New Inn Back Gate during the trial of Charles I in 1649 at Westminster or when attending the King's beheading at Whitehall Palace. Whitehall was also on King Street, also a stone’s throw from St. Clement-Danes, and the Nymm’s inn.
Current Conclusions
Young Godfrey travels alone to a part of Massachusetts inhabited by no other residents of the City of Westminster, London except for the regicides.
Godfrey testifies at his theft trial that he needs the money to run away to the French (French Canada). Could the motive have been more specifically running away from the English? Was he concerned that his association with the regicides or knowledge of their whereabouts put him at risk of arrest, deportation, and execution by the English authorities?
References:
“Protestantism, Politics, and Women in Britain 1660-1714”, Melinda S. Zook, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013 (p.35).
“The Rev. William Hooke, 1601-1678”, Charles Ray Palmer, D.D., The Tuttle, Moorehouse and Taylor Press, 1912 (p.27 footnote).
“My Lady Castlemaine”, P.W. Sargeant, Hutchinson & Co., 1912 (p.34)
Next Chapter: Chapter 11 - Chapter Coming Soon