Friday, September 21, 2007

"Imprisoned by Andros"

That phrase caught my attention as I was studying an article (pages 97-103) from a July 1899 (vol. 3, no. 7) issue of The Essex Antiquarian which gave an account of my Andrews line. I found the article entitled "Descendants of John Andrews of Ipswich" through my research membership at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, utilizing their online collections. In this account, the progenitor of this particular branch of Andrews, Lt. John Andrews, born about 1618, is said to have been "imprisoned by Andros." The Andros in question is, of course, Edmund Andros who was governor of the Dominion of New England from 1686-1689. It appears that my Andrews family were among the majority of people with whom he was not popular. I was curious about why he was imprisoned and found the answer in Google books. In The Memorial History of Boston: Including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880 edited by Justin Winsor, vol. II, The Provincial Period, (Boston: Ticknor & Company, 1881), page 10 tells us that the town of Ipswich "had refused in open meeting to comply with the law and to levy the new taxes." John Andrews, along with five other men who were town leaders, were imprisoned under charges of high misdemeanors. It appears they ended up with a rather stiff fine after the trial. A very interesting account of this can also be found by scrolling down to John Andrews' name near the bottom of this Forsythe Family web page.

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