Richard Sperry

1606 - 1698  (92 years)

• Name	Richard Sperry
  Birth	1606	Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England   [1, 2, 3]
  Baptised	16 Feb 1606	Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England   [1, 2, 3]
  Alternate birth	1607  [4]
  Baptism	16 Feb 1607	Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England   [4]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1698	New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut   [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]
  Person ID	I5397	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of LD, Ancestor of TNH
  Last Modified	9 Mar 2022

  
  

  Father	John Sperry,   b. 1568   d. Bef 1620, Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England (Age < 51 years)
  Mother	Mary   d. Aft 1606, Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, England
  Marriage	Abt 1596  [2, 4]
  Family ID	F5357	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Dennes,   b. Abt 1631, England d. Mar 1707, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut (Age ~ 76 years)
  Marriage	Abt 1648	New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut   [1, 7, 8]
  Children	+ 1. Esther Sperry,   b. 16 Sep 1654, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut d. 1707, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut (Age 52 years) + 2. Nathaniel Sperry,   b. 13 Aug 1656, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut d. 1735, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut (Age 78 years) + 3. Daniel Sperry,   b. 7 Jul 1665, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut d. 24 Apr 1750, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut (Age 84 years)
  Family ID	F6244	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	7 Jan 2024

  
  

• Notes

  "Richard Sperry was a proprietor of New Haven in 1685 and a member of the 'Night Watch.'" [Spooner Saga, citation details below.] "[T]he most famous incident involving Richard Sperry concerns the regicide judges, Edward Whalley and William Goffe. They had been denied amnesty for their part in the execution of Charles I and were being pursued for retribution by agents of his son, the restored King Charles II. New Haven was, perhaps, the most Puritan of all the colonies and, accordingly, Whalley and Goffe fled there for protection in the late spring and summer of 1661. In the period between May 13th and June 11th, they hid in the 'Judges' Cave' near the West Rock. Atwater's history [Edward E. Atwater, History of the Colony of New Haven to its absorption into Connecticut, 1881] states that this was located about a mile from Sperry's farm and that he and his family provided them with shelter in inclement weather as well as food, which it is told they left on a nearby stump. From a tradition handed down in the family, it has been said that Whalley and Goffe left the cave on June 11th because they had been frightened by a wild animal (supposedly they saw the 'glaring eyes' of a 'panther' at the entrance of the cave). However, this is probably merely a legend since Atwater makes no mention of it and indicates that they left their hiding place and showed themselves openly so that Davenport and others who might have been thought to be concealing them would be relieved of suspicion. It is not known where Whalley and Goffe went between June 11th and the following 22nd, however, on the latter date they returned openly to New Haven. At this time, they considered surrendering to the authorities, but by June 24th on the advice of friends they had changed their minds and, again, went into hiding at the Judges' Cave. Undoubtedly, as before the Sperry family provided sustenance for the regicides. Atwater reports that they remained in secret at the West Rock until August 19th 'when the search for them being pretty well over', Whalley and Goffe went to Milford where they stayed two years and afterward went to Hadley, Massachusetts. They were never captured by royal agents." [David R. Evans, Richard Sperry, immigrant. Evans's essay at that URL is a good overview of the facts and legends around Richard Sperry.]

  
  

• Sources

  [S662] The New England Ancestry of Alice Everett Johnson, 1899-1986: Memoirs, and Bollenbach Genealogy by W. M. Bollenbach, Jr. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 2003. [S4170] Ancestry of Jabez Perkins, 1766-1836, of New Haven, CT., Ashe/Wilkes Co., NC, Grayson Co., VA, Bureau/Putnam Co., IL, and Knox/Whitley Co., KY. by Steven C. Perkins. 1989-2000. [S4212] That Great Sperry Family: The Genealogy of the Sperry Brothers by Families and Generations by Harrison Spencer Sperry. Salt Lake City: Hawkes, 1977. [S4176] Evans Family Web Page by David R. Evans. 2016. [S727] Spooner Saga: Judah Paddock Spooner and His Wife Deborah Douglas of Connecticut and Vermont and Their Descendants by Esther Littleford Woodworth-Barnes. Boston: 1997., year only. [S185] Families of Ancient New Haven, originally published as New Haven Genealogical Magazine, vols. I-VIII, compiled by Donald Lines Jacobus. Rome, New York: Clarence D. Smith, 1923-1932. [S4170] Ancestry of Jabez Perkins, 1766-1836, of New Haven, CT., Ashe/Wilkes Co., NC, Grayson Co., VA, Bureau/Putnam Co., IL, and Knox/Whitley Co., KY. by Steven C. Perkins. 1989-2000., says "1644 (?)". [S4176] Evans Family Web Page by David R. Evans. 2016., says "~1647".