Frances Stafford

Frances married Benjamin Congdon, II 1 Dec 1701. Benjamin (son of Benjamin Congdon and Elizabeth Albro) was born Abt 1676, Portsmouth, RI; died Abt Oct 1756, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

1. Benjamin Congdon, III was born 20 Oct 1702; died 1777, Nova Scotia, Canada.
2. Joseph Congdon was born 15 Feb 1704/05; died Abt Oct 1777, North Kingstown, RI.
3. John Congdon was born 23 Sep 1706; died Abt 15 Oct 1764.
4. James Congdon was born 1713.

Joseph married Sarah Holden Abt 1678. Sarah (daughter of Randall HOLDEN and Frances DUNGAN) was born Feb 1657/58, Warwick, RI; died 1731. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Her will names her sons -- Stukley (eldest), Joseph (second), and John (third), four living daughters -- Frances, Elisabeth, Mary, & Margaret, and three Smith granddaughters.

Notes:

See "A Line of Descent from Thomas Stafford of Warwick" in the RI Genealogical Register, Vol. 17, by A. G. Beaman. According to Beaman, Thomas came to Plymouth Colony about 1626, then to Providence, and soon afterward to Warwick where he lived the rest of his life.

Note copied by Trish Harmon, posted on RIKENT mailing list: "Thomas, father of Samuel, was in Plymouth, Massachusetts as early as 1626, of Portsmouth and Newport, Rhode Island in 1638, then of Providence, Rhode Island where he constructed the first grist mill at the mouth of the Moosausick River; he moved to Old Warwick from Providence in 1650 and at the head of Mill Cove built a grist mill for the settlers. Was admitted freeman in 1638 (source: Stukely Westcott book by J. Bullock)."

Thomas married Elizabeth Unknown Abt 1633. Elizabeth was born Abt 1614; died Aft 1677. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Randall Holden was one of the signers of the first Portsmouth Compact, 7 March 1638. He was also one of the original settlers of Warwick, along with the Gortons and Greenes.

On 24 March 1639 Randall Holden witnessed the deed of the purchase of Rhode Island (Aquidneck Island) from the Indians. (source: RI Genealogical Register, Vol 14, p. 220)

Randall married Frances DUNGAN 1648, Warwick, Kent Co., RI. Frances (daughter of William DUNGAN and Frances LATHAM) was born 1630, London, England; died 1697, Warwick, Kent Co., RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

William & Frances and their family resided in St. Martin's in the Fields, London, England. William was a "Gentleman."

William married Frances LATHAM Abt 1628. Frances (daughter of Lewis LATHAM and Elizabeth Unknown) was born 15 Feb 1609/10, Kempston, Bedford, England; died Sep 1677, Newport, RI; was buried , Governor's Lot, Newport, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

When Frances died in 1677, she left 86 grandchildren.

The following note is from a website: "The writer can state definitely that the Dungan family, of whom were the Earls of Limerick, was the only manorial family into which Frances Latham could have married, her father being the King's Sergeant Falconer, and a member of his household. There is no doubt in the writer's mind after an extended search, that William Dungan was a grandson of Sir John Dungan by his wife Margaret Forster, and this conclusion was arrived at by Mr. Howard O. Folker and an Irish genealogist in Dublin, who conducted their investigations without consultation with the writer." (source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mylines/dungan108_09.htm)

The following information is from another website: http://pages.prodigy.net/reed_wurts/heraldry/latham.htm

Frances Latham now generally called "The Mother of Governors," because no less than fourteen of her direct descendants, and many sons-in-law in succeeding generations, became Governors or Lieut. Governors. Baptized 15 February 1609/10, she was the eldest of nine children of Lewis Latham whose portrait is in the collection of the late George W. Elkins, a descendant of Lewis Latham.

He who was of Elston, co. Bedford, England, was born about, 1584 and buried 15 May 1655, aged about 71 years. He was a member of the King's household, and Falconer to Prince Henry in 1612, and later was Sergeant Falconer to King Charles I.

ARMS-Or, on a chief indented azure, three bezants
CREST-An eagle standing on an empty cradle with wings displayed, reguardant or.

(NEHGR, Roll of Arms, Vol. LXXXII, p. 156; A.R. Justice, ANCESTRY OF JEREMY CLARKE..., p. 72)

We can imagine Frances as a young girl on the moors in companionship with her father as he attended the Royal Princes, Henry and Charlie, in their hunting with falcons, ever a favorite royal sport, the birds being highly trained to search out and pounce upon rabbit, grouse and other small game and bring them to their master.

Frances Latham was married in 1627 at age 17 to William Dungan, Gentleman, who was born about 1606, a London Merchant and Perfumer. His wares were in great demand and quite necessary to offset the obnoxious odors arising from the gutters in a thickly settled district subject to heavy fog and having surface drainage.

They made their home at St. Martins-in-the-Fields where later he died and was buried 20 September 1636, leaving her a widow at age 26 with four little children between the ages of 2 and 8 years. By his Will dated 13 September 1636 he gave all his property to his wife Frances, after bequeathing