Thomas Very was buried in Strood, Kent, England, and all of his children were baptized there. He did not migrate to America. (TAG 1997:198-9)

See the Kent, England Page, including a photograph of St. Nicholas church, which might very well be the church in which the baptisms and burial took place.

His wife, Bridget, is the immigrant, and likely came to America with one of her Scudder uncles, bringing her two sons: Samuel and Thomas, probably about 10 and 12. She is almost certainly a granddaughter of Henry Scudder of Strood, Kent, England. (TAG 1997:198-9)  See the Scudder Page for more.
 

Matriarch to Two American Families: Bridget is the matriarch to two American families from her marriages to Thomas Very and to Edward Giles.

Born:  Bridget was born, probably abt 1600. (Oldest child, Samuel, born abt 1619, per Savage, youngest born May 11, 1645.)

Immigration:  The widow and her family migrated before 1635/6, when the widow married Edward Giles in Salem. Although I don't believe a marriage record has been located to determine they were married in America, this seems certain as Edward was fined 40s for "knoweing his wife carnally before marriage."

Spouse:  Her spouse, Thomas Verry, was buried in Strood, Kent, England on October 29, 1631.

Children: Her son, Samuel, married Alice Woodis, daughter of John Woodis (also Woodhouse, Woodice). Thomas married Hannah Giles, likely a child of Edward Giles from a previous marriage. (Reference by Savage to her being the daughter of a Thomas Giles has been disproved.)
 

President William Howard Taft. We Very descendants are half-cousins of William Howard Taft, 27th President, as the matriarch of our family, Bridget, married second Edward Giles abt 1635/6 and had a family with him. William Howard Taft is a descendant of Bridget through one of her sons, Eleazer Giles, as follows:

 
 1   Bridget 1600 - 1669
  *2nd Husband of Bridget:
..  +Edward Giles 1600 - 1669
.... 2   Eleazer Giles 1640 - 1726
....  *2nd Wife of Eleazer Giles:
........  +Elizabeth Bishop 1657 - 1732
........... 3   John Giles 1681 - 1738
...............  +Ann Andrews 1681 -
.................. 4   Mehitable Giles 1716 - 1799
......................  +Jonathan Waters 1715 - 1786
........................ 5   Asa Waters 1742 - 1813
............................  +Sarah Goodale 1746 - 1828
............................... 6   Asa Waters, Jr. 1769 - 1841
...................................  +Susan Trask Holman 1784 - 1849
...................................... 7   Susan Holman Waters 1803 - 1866
..........................................  +Samuel Davenport Torrey 1789 - 1877
............................................ 8   Louisa Maria Torrey 1827 - 1907
................................................  +Alphonso Taft 1810 - 1891
................................................... 9   William Howard Taft, President 1857 - 1930

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Dictionary of New England Settlers - Savage

TAG 72:285-300: A New England Immigrant Kinship Network, Jane Fletcher Fiske, F. A. S. G.,
(Editor of NEHGR, but contributor/author of this TAG article.) Gives the English origins of one set of grandparents for Bridget (her Scudder grandparents) as well as her Scudder aunts and uncles and cousins, some of which were also American immigrants: Thomas Scudder of Salem, John and Elizabeth Scudder, with their mother Elizabeth (Stoughton) Scudder Chamberlain and others.

Who is father of Mary (__) Cutler??  Which husband of Bridget is the father of the daughter Mary, wife of Thomas Cutler, mentioned in her will, written 1669, proved 1680? Is she Mary Very or Mary Giles? The author of TAG 1997:198-9 thinks it more likely she is from Edward Giles than Thomas Verry, though not definite. This is because of the spacing of the kids during their tenure, right up to his death; coupled with Mary's second marriage to a man estimated to have been born in 1630. There isn't much room to squeeze in another birth after 1630 before Thomas Very's death in Oct, 1631, and there is no baptism recorded for her, while all the others, except Samuel, are recorded in baptism records. There is an outside possibility she might even be a daughter from another husband between 1631 (Thomas Very died in 1631) and 1635/6, when she married Edward Giles. Another factor is the fine he received for fornication before marriage. How better for the authorities to become aware of such behavior than a child born before the requisite nine months have passed?

Thomas Wife - Kin to Step Dad - Edward Giles?   Savage reports that the younger son of Bridget Very, Thomas, married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Giles. Is she kin to her step-dad, Edward Giles? The TAG article 1997:198-9 thinks this lady is likely a daughter of Edward from a previous marriage.. The presentation by Savage, that she was a daughter of a Thomas Giles, has been disproved.

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Bridget's son, Samuel Very, had eleven children.
 
A major branch from his sister, or half-sister,  is: Cutler.
Major branches from the daughters will have the surnames: Beans, Marsh, Nurse, Cook

See the Marsh Page for continuing with our branch.

Bridget (___) Very is the matriarch to two American families. The first, my family, is to Thomas Verry, of Strood, Kent, England. Savage implies that she came to America as a widow with her family, then married Edward Giles in 1636 and had a family with him. Most of these grandchildren were born in or around Salem, Mass. This is the family I have for her, from the New England Dictionary by Savage and TAG 72:285-300, 1997. For more details and subsequent generations, see my database.

I have posted her children and grandchildren in register format, with sources, to GenForum.

Descendants of Bridget (___) Very - the "Widow Bridget Very"

 1   Bridget (___) 1600 - 1671
..  +Thomas Verry 1600 - 1631
........ 2   Samuel Very 1622 - 1684
............  +Alice Woodis 1630 -
.................. 3   Samuel Very 1651 - 1697
......................  +Abigail Woodin, ? 1651 -
.................. 3   Sarah Very 1653 -
......................  +James Cook 1653 -
.................. 3   Elizabeth Very 1655 - 1684
......................  +John Nurse 1645 - << May have witch trial connections
.................. 3   Thomas Very 1657 -
......................  +Elizabeth Proctor 1660 - << May have witch trial connections
.................. 3   John Very 1659 -
......................  +Hannah 1659 -
.................. 3   Joseph (1) Very 1661 - 1663
.................. 3   Isaac Very 1663 -
......................  +Mary 1663 -
.................. 3   Joseph Very 1664 - 1694
.................. 3   Hannah Very 1666 -
......................  +William Beans 1666 -
.................. 3   Benjamin Very 1668 -
......................  +Jemima Newhall 1668 -
.................. 3   Mary Very 1668 -
......................  +Jonathan Marsh 1672 - 1750 << My branch
.................. 3   Jonathan Very 1680 -
......................  +Mary Symonds 1690 -
........ 2   Thomas Very 1625 - 1694
............  +Hannah Giles 1626 -
.................. 3   Ephraim Very 1651 -
.................. 3   Hannah Very 1653 -
......................  +Bartholomew Foster 1653 -
.................. 3   Bridget Very 1654 -
.................. 3   Thomas Very 1656 -
.................. 3   Samuel Very 1659 -
.................. 3   Abigail Very 1661 -
......................  +Ralph Andrews 1661 -
.................. 3   Edward Very 1663 -
.................. 3   Elizabeth Very 1666 -
.................. 3   Francis Very 1668 -
........ 2   Bridget Very 1627 - 1632
........ 2   Francis Very 1629 -
........ 2   Temperance Very 1631 - 1631
  *2nd Husband of Bridget:
..  +Edward Giles 1600 - 1650
........ 2   Mary Giles 1635 -
............  +Thomas Cutler 1623 - 1683
........  *2nd Husband of Mary Giles:
............  +Matthew Smith 1630 -
........ 2   Mehitable Giles 1637 -
............  +John Collins 1637 -
........  *2nd Husband of Mehitable Giles:
............  +Jeremiah Butman 1637 -
........ 2   Remember Giles 1639 -
............  +Henry Moses 1639 -
........ 2   Eleazer Giles 1640 - 1726
............  +Sarah More 1640 - 1676
.................. 3   Sarah Giles 1666 -
.................. 3   Elizabeth Giles 1667 -
.................. 3   Hannah Giles 1670 -
.................. 3   Mary Giles 1672 -
.................. 3   Susanna Giles 1674 -
.................. 3   Eleazer (1) Giles 1676 - 1690
........  *2nd Wife of Eleazer Giles:
............  +Elizabeth Bishop 1657 - 1732
.................. 3   James (1) Giles 1679 - 1691
.................. 3   John Giles 1681 - 1738
......................  +Ann Andrews 1681 -
.................. 3   Abigail Giles 1684 -
.................. 3   Ruth Giles 1687 -
.................. 3   Edward Giles 1689 -
.................. 3   James Giles 1691 -
.................. 3   Samuel Giles 1694 -
.................. 3   Eleazer Giles 1698 -
.................. 3   Mehitable Giles 1701 -
........ 2   John Giles 1645 - 1715
............  +Unknown First Wife 1645 -
.................. 3   John Giles 1665 -
........  *2nd Wife of John Giles:
............  +Elizabeth Galley 1645 -
.................. 3   Eleazur Giles 1680 -
.................. 3   Mary Giles 1681 -
......................  +John Wheeler 1681 -
.................. 3   Bridget Giles 1683 -

 
 1   Thomas Very 1600 - 1636  << died in England
....  +Bridget (___) 1600 - 1669 << Widow migrated to America with young children
.... 2   Samuel Very 1619 -
..........  +Alice Woodis 1630 -
........... 3   Mary Very 1668 -
.................  +Jonathan Marsh 1672 - 1750
.................. 4   Jonathan Marsh 1699 -
........................  +Esther Osborn 1705 -
........................ 5   Zebediah Marsh 1734 -
..............................  +Mary Coats 1740 -
............................... 6   Lucretia Marsh 1764 - 1851
.....................................  +Nehemiah Fisher, Deacon 1764 - 1846
...................................... 7   Nehemiah Willis Fisher 1805 - 1859
............................................  +Abigail Whitney Bruce 1806 - 1884
............................................ 8   Eleanor Serepta Fisher 1843 - 1924
..................................................  +Henry Gilbert Baldwin 1836 - 1894
................................................... 9   Arthur Willis Baldwin 1876 - 1961
.........................................................  +Inez Evangeline Hallock 1886 - 1976

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Related Links:

Vere GenForum handles Very and Verey queries.

See the Scudder Network Kinship Page at this site for more on the origins of Bridget and her kinship to other American immigrants.
 
 

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