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Edmund Frost History
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Born August 28, 1593 at Hartest, Suffolk, England, to John Frost and Mrs. Frost.
Married to Thomasine approximately 1630 at Hartest, Suffolk, England.
Children:
John Frost
Thomas Frost
Samuel (1)
Joseph Frost
James Frost
Mary Frost
Ephraim Frost
Thomas FrostThomasine died June 13, 1653 at Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
Note: Edmund's wife is often misstated as Thomasine Belgrave, who was actually the wife of an Edward Frost in the same general time frame. The surname of Edmunds wife Thomasine is unknown, but is not Belgrave.
Married to Mary approximately 1653 (at Cambridge, Middlesex Co., MA?).
Child: Sarah
Mary Died before 1669.
Married to Reana before 1669.
Reana died before November 3, 1675 when an inventory of her estate was made.
Reana had three previous marriages. Edmund James before 1640. William Andrews ~August 11, 1640. Robert Daniel May 2, 1654.
Edmund died July 12, 1672 at Cambridge, Middlesex Co., MA.
Edmund's father, John Frost, resided in Suffolk, England, and was one of the clergymen who dissented from the Church of England and were silenced by Archibishop Luad in the early 1600's. I have unsubstantiated information that John also emmigrated to America in the 1630's. John and his wife (name not known) had at least two children, Edmund and John.
Edmund was a "preaching elder" and was obliged to leave England under an assumed name because he dissented from Church views. In 1635 he came to Cambridge, MA with his first wife (Thomasine) and son John. Edmund became a freeman March 3, 1636 (I believe this means he fulfilled his obligations relative to his passage to America). Edmund was one of the original members of the First Congregational Church of Cambridge, and was installed as an Elder on February 11, 1636.
It appears that Edmund came to America on either the ship Great Hope, or the Defense.
I have unsubstantiated information that Edmund and his father died on the same date. I also have credible information that Edmund's eldest son John died later the same year. I don't know if this is erroneous information, simple coincidence, an accident involving Edmund and his father, or if there was an outbreak of some disease - not unusual in those early days of settlement.
August 28, 2000
I've recently come across various bits of information concerning Edmund et al. It isn't
reliable enough to state with much certainty, but some of it may be true, and hopefully
it is at least interesting. I also have some pages from the book "Frost Genealogy - In Five
Families", by Norman Seaver Frost (1926). This has some interesting prospects, and I'll be
adding information from that book soon. (This is a widely respected and well known book).
There are indications that the Great Hope was the intended ship for Edmund and his fellow travelers. It was reported that it sunk in or near the harbour, so they had to wait and then take the Defense. There is evidence that there are harbour logs in Boston that show the Great Hope in port a year later, so it is doubtfull that it sunk. It is possible, however, that the Great Hope was not sea worthy at the designated time when Edmund was leaving, so they waited and took the Defense.
One of the problems with getting good information about Edmund's beginnings is that it is fairly clear that when he came here he came under a false name, to avoid the religious persecution he was fleeing from. It appears that his real name is Edmund Frost, but that wouldn't be what was on the ship's registry.
I have found many conflicting stories about Edmund's parents etc. None of them have enough documentation to be sure, and some simply don't hold together. All the stories and evidence, however, indicate that Edmund's father was named John. Some people then say that John's father was William, others John. There is also a fair bit of confusion as to who came to America, and who died when. One theory I have is that Edmund's "son" John who came here with Edmund was actually his brother. The reason I think this may be true is there isn't any information indicating that his brother came here, yet there is evidence that he was not only here, but that he died here. In addition, Edmund, his brother John, and his son John all died in a short period of time (two on the same day). Sounds like it was time to clean up the books! Finally, if I understant how things went down, Edmund's transport to America was paid for by the church (his money and property were taken away by the "other" church/government). His passage would have included his wife and children, but not his brother. Edmund and his father may well have wanted to get Edmund's brother out of the country before some one/all got killed.
Edmund and his fore-fathers were clearly Elders of the church on both sides of the Atlantic. Edmund started and led a new church - either in Ipswich or Cambridge. Either way, Edmund was a respected leader in the church.