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MYLES STANDISH

                                                                             Myles Standish was Born in The Isle of Man

Myles Standish's Will

The evidence relating to the Manx origins of Myles Standish is based on documentary and circumstantial evidence and is corroborated by oral tradition in the Isle of Man.

The starting point for the investigation is his will, dated the 7th March 1655 (1656 according to our present Calendar) and exhibited before the court at Plymouth, Massachusetts, on the 4th May 1657.* The relevant part of the will is as follows:

"I give unto my son & heire apparent Allexander Standish all my lands as heire apparent by lawful Descent in Ormistick Borsconge Wright-ington Maudsley Newburrow Craston and the He of man and given to mee as right heire by lawfull Descent but Surruptuously Detained from mee my great G(ran)dfather being a 2cond or younger brother from the house of Standish of Standish."

It would seem likely that the details of the properties in Lancashire given in the will have been taken from a trust deed executed by Thomas Standish on the 7th July 1540 {see entry 7 in Appendix    (1) by which lands in Lancashire corresponding to those mentioned in Myles Standish's will were transferred to trustees for the benefit of his daughter and brothers.

The Four main Branches of the Standish Family

The senior branch of the Standish family had its seat at Standish Hall in the parish of Standish, which is situated not far from Wigan in Lancashire.

The second branch of the family were the Standishes who had their seat at Duxbury which is near Chorley, also in Lancashire. Their family church was in Chorley.

A sub-branch of the Standishes of Standish was situated at Ormskirk in Lancashire, which lies South-West of Standish Hall. The Manx branch of the Standish family was descended from the Ormskirk branch of the family.

It seems abundantly evident that the lands claimed by Myles Standish belonged to the Ormskirk/Manx branch of the Standish family and not to either the Standishes of Standish or to the Standishes of Duxbury. This point has been very fully researched by the late Canon Porteus, who supports this view, and the writer of this Monograph has arrived at the same conclusion.

According to Porteus, the generally accepted view in America is that Myles Standish was born in 1584 although a minority view is of the opinion that he was born in 1586/7. The Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Dictionary of National Biography both give 1584 as his year of birth. It must be noted that William Standish the Younger inherited Ellanbane in 1607 at which date he must have been at least 21, which would mean that his date of birth must have been not later than 1586, and this supports the date of 1584 (and not 1586/7) as being the year in which Myles Standish was born.

American writers, however, consider that Myles Standish was born in Lancashire, the earliest authority for this being Nathaniel Morton, whose New Englands Memoriall was printed in 1669, thirteen years after the death of Myles Standish. A possible explanation for this is that, at that period, many Englishmen considered the Isle of Man to be part of Lancashire because it was owned by the Earls of Derby, who had their seats at Knowsley and Lathom in Lancashire. In addition, it seems prob-

able that Myles spent some time in Lancashire in view of his intimate knowledge of the Lancashire estates which had belonged to his branch of the Standish family and which he claimed. The fact that he called one of his sons Alexander (not a name to be found in the Manx branch of the family is significant).

A branch of the Standish family did live at Duxbury and the main branch of Standish of Standish Hall lived in Standish Parish However, neither of those families held any of the Lancashire properties mentioned in the will of Myles Standish nor did either of them own land in the Isle of Man. It is clear that Myles Standish'was a descendant of the Ormskirk branch of the family to which Robert Standish of Ormskirk and his sons Thomas, John and Huan belonged, as that branch owned the properties mentioned in Myles' will.

The Lancashire Lands

There is no direct evidence as to the ground on which Myles Standish based his claim to the Lancashire properties but William Stopford/Stop-forth obviously discovered, after his purchases from Hugh Standish, that there was a doubt as to Hugh's title as otherwise he would not have obtained the Deeds of Release from John Standish of Man in 1572. The reason for this doubt was probably the divorce in 1558 of Jane (Joanna) Stanley, otherwise Standish, and Thomas Standish. Previous divorce proceed­ings had been instituted in 1539, but there would appear to have been a reconciliation. Archdeacon Hanson {correctly Hampson) was Archdeacon of Richmond and also Vicar of Rochdale when he granted the 1558 div­orce and would appear to have been acting as Commissary for the Arch­deacon of Chester. At this period, the only divorce (in the complete sense) was, as mentioned earlier, a divorce on the grounds of nullity.

It seems likely that, after the divorce, Hugh and his mother moved to Wigan because Hugh Standish is described as "lately of Wigan" in deeds of 1566 and 1569.This would be consistent with his mother having been divorced. It seems also worth noting that his mother was resident in Wigan in 1576

In view of the divorce in 1558 Hugh would not have had any legal right to the Lancashire properties as his mother's marriage would have been void ab initio. It would then be necessary to look at the Trust Deed of 1540 to ascertain the legal heir to the estates. This would account for the Deeds of Release of 1572 obtained by William Stop-ford/Stopforth from John Standish of Man. William Stopford/Stopforth had connections with the Earls of Derby and with the Isle of Man. It seems, however, that Hugh and his mother concealed the fact of the divorce and William Stopford/Stopforth appears to have been in doubt regarding the legal position as, in addition to the Deeds of Release from John Standish, he also obtained a release from Hugh Standish's mother in 1576 It is, however, arguable whether, in law, the Deeds of Release executed by John Standish of Man would have been sufficient to bar the entail to the English estates created by the Trust Deed of 1540 as against Myles Standish unless those estates would have passed for valuable consideration into the hands of innocent third parties. It seems reasonable to suppose that Myles Standish based his claim to the Lancashire properties on grounds similar to those which had raised doubts in the mind of William Stopford/Stopforth, namely, that he was heir apparent by virtue of his being heir apparent to John Standish the Father. His title would have been based on:

(a)    the Trust Deed of 1540;

(b)    the divorce of Thomas Standish on the grounds of the nullity of his
marriage with Jane (Joanna) Stanley; and

(c)     his  (Myles')  descent from Huan,  younger brother of Thomas Standish.

It is not possible to show when John Standish the Father succeeded Huan, son of Robert Standish, but it must have been prior to 1572.

If Myles Standish did receive a school education, it seems reasonable to assume that he went to school in Lancashire in view of the very close con­nections between the Isle of Man and Lancashire and in view of the fact that branches of the Standish family lived in that county. The most likely school for Myles to have attended was Rivington Grammar School, which still exists. It was founded by Bishop Pilkington, "low church" Bishop of Durham, and received a charter from Queen Elizabeth I.The School was supported by the Standishes of Duxbury - Alexander Standish of Duxbury was enrolled there in 1575 at the age of eight. As mentioned earlier, Myles Standish's father and grandfather were both clerks of Anglican Parishes in the Isle of Man and it seems not unreasonable, in view of his connections with the Standishes of Duxbury, to consider that, if he did attend a school in Lancashire, he went to Rivington. If he did so, he may well have resided with the Standishes of Duxbury.

Furthermore, evidence of Myles' puritanical education is supported by the fact that he joined the Pilgrim Fathers and by the fact that, among the books in his library were many by puritans, including those of John Mayer, D.D. (1583-1664), author of An Antidote to Popery. As will be discussed later, under "Myles Standish's Military and Continental Career", it seems reasonable to conclude that, when in Leiden, he was a member of the English Reformed Church there.

It could well be that, when he was being educated in Lancashire, he acquired his knowledge of the Standishes and of the Lancashire estates which he claimed in his will.. - G.V.C Young

 

 

 

 

Points Made By C.V.C Young.

"Myles was uncertain whether his great­grandfather was John or Huan". - C.V.C Young

The problem for historians is how to construe the words in Myles' will which state "My great G(ran)dfather being a 2cond or younger brother from the house of Standish of Standish" - C.V.C Young

In order to make sense, this must be construed as second or younger than second brother descended from the house of Standish of Standish. The words in italics have been added for the purposes of clarification and do not alter the testator's meaning.  - C.V.C Young

What happened to John, the second son of Robert, is unknown.   - C.V.C Young

 

The Webmasters Notes.

Huan was the third son of a Standish Marriage?

The problem for historians is how to construe the words of C.V.C Young - did he alter the testator's meaning?

The Will of Myles Standish.

I give unto my son & heire apparent Allexander Standish all my lands as heire apparent by Lawful Descent in Ormistick Borsconge Wright-ington Maudsley Newburrow Craston and the Isle of man and given to mee as right heire by lawfull Descent but Surruptuously Detained from mee   - Myles Standish

Myles states in his Will that he is the "heire apparent" and the lands are his by "Lawful Descent" thus he could NOT have been uncertain about his great-grandfathers name or the position of his great-grandfather in the Standish family tree.

The statement by Myles "second son of a Standish Marriage and the younger brother of the Eldest son" gives a precise position in the Standish Family Tree thus Myles can prove in a court of law that the lands are his by lawful descent and have been unlawfully detained from him.   - Webmaster