Ancestry of Robert Cushman of Kent

Genealogists generally agree that Thomas Coucheman, (born 1538), is the father of Robert.  Many genealogists also accept that Thomas Croucheman (died 1567) is his grandfather, however there is disagreement on this portion of his ancestry.1

Robert Cushman’s  time in Canterbury (1586-1607) is described in a short article that appears on the Mayflower Quarterly. It can be accessed at:http://cushmansite.com/genealogy_folder/Robert%20Cushman%20in%20Canterbury%201596%20to%201607001.pdf

Establishing the ancestry of Robert Cushman of Kent faces four big challenges:

The first problem is that genealogy research depends upon surnames, and surnames are a relatively new invention.  Most people in England did not have anything approaching a hereditary surname until the end of the 14th century.

The second big problem can be blamed on the Normans who invaded England in 1066. They brought with them a new, upper-class fashion: a small number of very popular first names.

Unfortunately for genealogists, the English began to imitate their masters and adopt only the most popular Norman first names, especially royal ones such as Henry and Robert. This makes it difficult for the genealogist to determine which Henry is related to which Robert, especially when sons are often given the same first name as the father.

By the 1220's in Lincolnshire only 6 percent of some 624 tenants listed around Louth had Anglo-Saxon or Norse names.  But there were 86 Williams, 59 Roberts and 40 Johns.

By the thirteenth century the group of favored names had become much smaller, with John, Peter, Thomas and William at the head of the field for men and Elizabeth, Mary and Anne for women.2  A poll tax return for the Sheffield (Hallamshire) area in 1379 lists the forenames of 175 men. The list includes a total of only 20 different forenames.  Of these, over half were called John or William. Listed in order of frequency of use, the names are John 236 (33 percent), William 137 (19 percent) Thomas 85, Richard 67, Robert 64, Adam 35, Henry 28 and Roger 17.3

Having so many people with the same first name led to the wide spread use of surnames, because they were needed for more specific identification.  And so, surnames became commonplace among all classes of Englishmen. This fashion spread from the Norman aristocracy first to upper class Londoners, from the mid-twelfth century and slowly through the countryside in the fourteenth and early fifteenth century.  But, in the late fourteenth century there were still country-dwellers, for example in Lancashire at the time of the 1379 poll tax, known as son of someone or, in the case of women, by names such as: "Agnes Spenserdogheter" and "Eva Jacksonwyf"

The third big problem was language. When Julius Caesar landed in Kent in 55 BC, no one spoke English.4 In medieval times there were a great many different languages, dialects and accents. Englishmen living only a few miles from each other had speech patterns so different they were unable to understand one another.  So, when names were spoken or written down, they were rarely consistent.  This was also true on the continent.

"Just 150 years ago, roughly six generations, fewer than half of the people living in France actually spoke French. Most spoke local dialects and languages. In Italy around the same time, less than ten percent of the population was estimated to have spoken Italian."5

The fourth problem was literacy. Few people could read and write. As a result, when names were written down they were spelled phonetically.  And, with so many different accents and dialects, they were often written down with very different spellings.  For example, many medieval wills spell the same name several different ways, even in the same document. This produced name variants - different spellings of the same name.   For example, common variants of the Cushman name can sound alike -- Couchman, Coucheman, Cowcheman, Coutcheman, Cutcheman, Coushman, and Catchman. As time passed, additional evolutions and modifications to these name variants also took place.

These four problems combine to make it difficult to determine the ancestry of Robert Cushman of Kent, beyond his father, and perhaps his paternal grandfather. Research is continuing to attempt to extend his ancestry but, at this time, as with all genealogy research, the trail eventually fades into uncertainty, ambiguity and the mist of the unknown.

The ancestry of Robert Cushman of Kent is outlined on the accompanying page. click here.

Footnotes:

1 Robert E. Cushman, author of Robert Cushman of Kent, published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2005, at appendix 11, page 225, says:  "For reasons elsewhere to be treated, this writer does not find Elizabeth French's resort to Thomas Crocheman of Rolvenden, County Kent, and brother of testator John Crocheman, deceased 2 March 1523/4 and buried in the churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin, Rolvenden, confirmed a ancestor of Robert Cushman or of his father Thomas Couchman of Rolvenden who deceased 10th February 158/6."

The "reasons elsewhere to be treated" appear at page 228: "Items 1 and 2 of page 184 of Elizabeth French's genealogical Cushman research proposes that the brother, Thomas Crocheman, and executor of the Will of John Crocheman of Rolvenden (County Kent) deceased 2 March 1523/4 "was probably the father or grandfather of Thomas Cushman, husbandman, and testator of 1585/6" - the father, that is to say, of Robert Cushman baptized 9th February 1577/8.  This proposal is not confirmed by this author's studies after the extended services, findings and consultation with three English genealogist of County Kent, employed for the purpose of research on the question of the father of Thomas Couchman of Rolvenden." [Note: These papers have been lost. There is no way to confirm or evaluate the findings of Robert E. Cushman]

2. The Tribes of Britain: Who Are We? And Where Do We Come From? By David Miles, Weidenfeld and Niclolson, Great Britain, 2005. P. 238.

3. The Tribes of Britain: Who Are We? And Where Do We Come From? By David Miles, Weidenfeld and Niclolson, Great Britain, 2005. P. 238

4. The Tribes of Britain: Who Are We? And Where Do We Come From? By David Miles, Weidenfeld and Niclolson, Great Britain, 2005. P 18.

5. The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey by Spencer Wells, Random House Trade Paperbacks Edition, New York, 2002; p. 187-188.

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