Person:Dorothy Unknown (341)

Dorothy was the wife of Silvanus Greenwood. No marriage record has been found for the couple so Dorothy's maiden name is unknown.

The first known record that includes reference to Dorothy is the baptism of their eldest daughter Elizabeth in East Grinstead on 2 May 1619. The couple then moved to the small village of Cowden, Kent, where their other nine known children were baptised:

• Dorothy bap. 3 Jun 1621
• Joan bap. 14 Dec 1623
• Silvanus bap. 10 Apr 1626
• Mary bap. 16 Nov 1628 and buried 29 Nov 1628 in Cowden
• Jeane bap. 16 Dec 1629
• Thomas bap. 14 Mar 1631 and buried 30 Aug 1633 in Cowden
• John bap. 21 Sep 1634
• Richard bap. 4 Jun 1637
• Henry bap. 1640

Although Dorothy wasn't named on the Cowden baptisms given that she died after Silvanus it can be assumed that she was the mother of all his children.

The record for Henry's baptism has been damaged however it partially reads "Henry sonne of Sil...", children of a Henry Greenwood were baptised in Cowden between 1666 and 1677 and there were no other Greenwood families known to be living in the area at the time so it is reasonable to assume that he was Silvanus' son.

At least four of Dorothy and Silvanus' children lived to adulthood.

Their eldest child Elizabeth married John Smith in Cowden in 1641 and had two daughters before dying in her mid-twenties. Her daughter Elizabeth was baptised the same day as Elizabeth Sr. was buried, so it's possible she died in childbirth.

Dorothy Jr. married Abraham Alchorne in Cowden in 1643 and during Silvanus's life she had two children and lived in Rotherfield, Sussex. She eventually had 5 children in total and after Rotherfield she lived in East Grinstead and Tonbridge, Kent.

Silvanus Jr. married Dorothy Beard on 19 Oct 1648 in Cowden. He eventually had 5 children, the first two baptised in Cowden and the others in East Grinstead.

Henry married Mercy Tomset in East Grinstead in 1665 and went on to have 7 children baptised in Cowden.

Silvanus Sr. never got to meet any of Silvanus Jr. or Henry's children because Sylvanus Sr. died and was buried in Cowden on 3 Nov 1648. Reference to the administration of Silvanus' estate can be found in the Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1649-1654. The original images haven't been examined so there might be more information of interest in the original records.

At some point Dorothy likely moved to East Grinstead where she probably lived with Silvanus. She was buried in East Grinstead on 28 Oct 1675. Her burial record comments that she was "poor".

Geographical and Historical Context

Cowden is a small village (2011 population 818) on the northern slopes of the Weald. Cowden lies between East Grinstead (7 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.

Dorathy was likely born at the end of the reign of Elizabeth I and lived through the reigns of James I, Charles I, the interregnum period and Charles II.

DNA Genealogy

If you are a descendant of Dorathy 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

1. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast)
   Elsabeth Greenwood dau. of Silvan & Dorathy bap. 2 May 1619 in East Grinstead, Sussex.
2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 England. Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com)
   East Grinstead, Bishop's Transcripts, 1675, Oct 28: Dorothy Greenwood widd poor.