Person:Silvanus Greenwood (1)

Silvanus Greenwood Jr. was baptised 10 Apr 1626 in the small village of Cowden, Kent, England. He was the eldest son of Silvanus and Dorothy Greenwood. Although his mother wasn't named on Silvanus Jr.'s baptism record (she is only named on the East Grinstead baptism of his elder sister Elizabeth), Dorothy died after Silvanus Sr. so it can be assumed that she was the mother of all his children including Silvanus Jr.

Silvanus Jr. had at least three siblings who lived to adulthood:

• Elizabeth married John Smith in Cowden in 1641 and had two daughters before dying in her mid-twenties in 1644. Her daughter Elizabeth was baptised the same day as Elizabeth Sr. was buried, so it's possible she died in childbirth.
• Dorothy married Abraham Alchorne in Cowden in 1643 and moved to Rotherfield, Sussex where her first two children were baptised. She then had children baptised in East Grinstead and later in Tonbridge, Kent.
• Henry (Silvanus' youngest sibling born in 1640) married Mercy Tomset in East Grinstead in 1665 and went on to have 7 children baptised in Cowden.

1648 was a year of joy and sadness for 22 year-old Silvanus Jr. On 19 Oct 1648 he married Dorothy Beard in Cowden, but just a few weeks later his father died and was buried on 3 Nov 1648 in Cowden.

Silvanus Jr. and Dorothy had two children baptised in Cowden:

• Silvanus bap. 29 Jul 1649
• Dorothy bap. 2 Feb 1650

The family then moved 6 miles west to the market town of East Grinstead where three more children were baptised:

• Mary bap. 22 Nov 1652. She must have died before 1656 when another child was named Mary
• Elizabeth bap. 23 Mar 1654, bur. 4 Apr 1657
• Mary bap. 10 Jan 1656 d. 7 Oct 1657

Silvanus Jr.'s mother Dorothy was buried in East Grinstead on 28 Oct 1675. She wasn't buried in Cowden with Silvanus Sr. so it's likely she was living in East Grinstead at the time. Her only child known to be living in East Grinstead was Silvanus Jr. so it's likely she lived with him. She was probably in her late 70s at the time. Her burial record comments that she was "poor".

Silvanus Jr.'s eldest children lived to adulthood and eventually had families of their own however they were still unmarried when he died and was buried in East Grinstead on 9 Jan 1676, aged in his early 50s.

Geographical and Historical Context

Cowden is a small village (2011 population 818) on the northern slopes of the Weald. Cowden lies between East Grinstead (6 miles to the west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (10 miles to the east) and the market town of Tonbridge (12 miles to the northeast). There is iron ore in the area and Cowden had its own blast furnace from the late 1500s which produced guns for the Army and Navy as well as domestic and agricultural ware. The tiny parish church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene and the nave was built during the 13th century. Its slender wooden shingled spire is noticeably crooked.

Silvanus was likely born during the reign of Charles I. He lived through the tumultuous interregnum period and into the restoration era of Charles II.

DNA Genealogy

If you are a descendant of Silvanus Greenwood Jr. and would like to compare autosomal DNA results please contact Jocelyn_K_B (at) yahoo.com for kit numbers

St. Mary Magdalene's Church, Cowden

St. Swithun's Church, East Grinstead

East Grinstead High Street

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of Cowden (Kent). Parish registers for Cowden, 1566-1987. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1979-2003)
   Marriages 1648, Silvanus Greenwood Jun & Dorothy Beard October 19th.
2. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of Cowden (Kent). Parish registers for Cowden, 1566-1987. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1979-2003)
   Baptized 1649: Silvanus ye sonne of Silvanus Greenwood July 29th.
3. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of Cowden (Kent). Parish registers for Cowden, 1566-1987. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1979-2003)
   Baptized 1650: Dorothy the daughter of Silvanus Greenwood Feb 2.
4. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast)
   Mary Greenwood daughter of Silva Greenwood & Doro bap. 22 Nov 1652 in East Grinstead, Sussex.
5. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast)
   Mary Greenwood daughter of Silvanus Greenwood & Dorothe bap. 10 Jan 1656 in East Grinstead, Sussex, d. 7 Oct 1657.
6. ↑ ^6.0 6.1 England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast)
   Siluanns Greenwooden son of Siluanns Greenwooden bap. 10 Apr 1626 in Cowden, Kent.
7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 England. Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com)
   East Grinstead, Bishop's Transcript, 1676, Burials, Janua 9, Silvanus Grinwood.
8. ↑ Sussex Family History Group. Sussex Burials
   Elisabeth Greenwood d. of Silvanus Greenwood, a child, bur. 4 Apr 1657 at St.Swithin, East Grinstead.