Wescott/Wise Web Site

I am Robert Wise Wescott and I started this site. When I started to apply the family data to My Heritage.com I worked from material that was previously documented by Jennings Cropper Wise, Spencer Wise and my Great Uncle Henry Alexander Wise, I had no idea what an adventure was to unfold. Using their work as my starting point, followed by my own extensive reasearch, I have added many ancestors and came upon many new exciting discoveries. My research is listed under Sources in the MyHeritage Wescott/Wise website. On my paternal side I found that the Wise/Scarburgh family orgins were far more distinguished and colorful in England prior to their arrival  in America than I realized. I have a direct ancestor, Sir Baldwin Fulford (1415-1461), a 16 generations ago Grandfather, who lost his head for being loyal to the wrong king. Sir John Russell (1485-1554), the First Earl of Bedford is a first cousin. The Scarburgh and Wise family histories in the UK and America is fascinating reading. John Wise (1617-1695), the immigrant, who lived in Devon, more than likely learned of the oppurtunties available to Gentleman through the Virginia Company. Capt. Edmund Scarburgh (1584-1635) had excellent contacts in London, as his brother was Court physician to Kings Charles II, James II and William and Mary. All documented evidence leads to the conculsion that the Wise and Scarburgh families knew each other in the UK prior to coming to America. John Wise had to have courted Hannah Scarburgh prior to emirgrating to America and after settling returned to get Hannah to be his wife. Wise, it has been assumed was a second son, hence not heir to any of the vast Wise estates in the County of Devonshire and it is logical that during these adventurous times he would seek his fortune, as many of the gentry were doing, in the Virginia Colony.  The Wise family became involved in politics and goverance immeadiately upon arrival and continued to do so for many generations. An interesting Wise family fact is Naomie Anderson (1667-1728), my first cousin seven times removed, who was the daughter of Mary Wise (1649-1678), married Francis Makemie (1658-1708) who is called the "Father of Presbyterianism in America". One of the most significent discoveries in my research on my maternal side was that Temperance Flowerdew (1590-1628) arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1609. She survived the winter of 1610, called "Starving Time" when only 60 of the original 214 settlers survived. Her arrival at Jamestown makes her my first ancestor, on either side, to arrive in America. Temperance had stellar family connections and came from comfortable circumstances in England. Her second marriage was to Sir George Yeardley, a Governor of the Virginia Colony, a colorful and influential man himself. . to Virginia had to be included. Both Flowerdew and Yeardley are my 10th generation Great Grandparents.Working from my birth date, the Wise tree is traceable back for 24 generations; most of my other direct ancestors, on both paternal and maternal sides, can be traced for 9-12 generations. The majority of my ancestors were of English stock and settled on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. This site was created using MyHeritage.com. The site was last updated on May 10, 2021, and it currently has 15 registered member(s).