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    The Rayners of Massachusetts: And Where We Came From
    The Rayners of Massachusetts: And Where We Came From
    The Rayners of Massachusetts: And Where We Came From
    Ebook240 pages1 hour

    The Rayners of Massachusetts: And Where We Came From

    By Edward Rayner

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    About this ebook

    Historical Non-fiction. I am an amateur genealogist, and The Rayners of Massachusetts is the story of my ancestors from 1989 in the United States back in time to England in 1415AD. As such, it combines genealogy, biography, and history.
    The story begins with my 16-G Grandfather John Raynor, during a period in English history characterized by wars, beheadings and the Black Plague pandemic. The early Raynors were successful merchants in the lucrative wool trade, then the backbone of the English economy, however subsequent generations included nobles, lords, ladies, knights, and other aristocrats.
    The story follows my ancestors in England until the Rev. John Reyner Sr. migrated across the stormy Atlantic together with his family to Plymouth in British Colonial America in 1635. Succeeding generations in my family tree settled mostly in Cambridge, Reading, and Boston. Most were primarily farmers, but there were also a colorful collection of tradesmen, bakers, clerics, tavern keepers, soldiers and sea captains (plus one pirate!).
    I wrote this story with my descendants in mind so that they may know where they came from, but other genealogists may also find my research useful, perhaps standing on my shoulders, as I did with the others that came before me.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEdward Rayner
    Release dateJul 31, 2021
    ISBN9780996547253
    The Rayners of Massachusetts: And Where We Came From

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      Book preview

      The Rayners of Massachusetts - Edward Rayner

      The Rayners of Massachusetts

      No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

      copyright ©2021 Edward Rayner

      All Rights Reserved.

      [email protected]

      ISBN: 978-0-9965472-5-3

      Foreword

      Welcome to The Rayners of Massachusetts. The genesis of this document stems from my ongoing interest in my family genealogy. The appeal began in 1989 when my father, Thomas Tremlett Rayner Sr., died. Dad was buried in the old Rayner/Tremlett family plot at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. The experience introduced me to several generations of Rayners, dating back to GG-Grandfather Charles L. Rayner, as well as his marriage to Cordelia Tremlett. While at the site, I was taken by the inscription of the marker for Cordelia’s brother, my GG-Granduncle Henry Martyn Tremlett, which read in part:

      ... died from wounds sustained at the Battle of Five Forks, March 31, 1865.¹

      I was intrigued, and an amateur genealogist was born. Years later Uncle Henry became one of two ancestors upon which I based my civil war book, The Colonel and The Vicar. Henry died in 1865.

      I’m going to take you back further in time, some 400 years to be precise. When I began my ancestral investigations, I had assumed that I was but a twig on the distant branch of a dwindling family tree. However, after a few years’ research I was able to determine that my family tree alone was comprised of more than 500 individuals.

      While the branch of my family settled in Massachusetts, other Rayners settled in other states, notably in Virginia and New York. Some Rayners migrated to countries other than America, such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

      Until recently, I thought the scope of this manuscript would be limited to only the Rayners of Massachusetts. This changed a few months ago when I finally discovered my ancestor that links the Massachusetts Rayners to my ancestors in England. As a result, the trunk of my family tree now spans eighteen generations dating back to 1415.

      Every effort has been made to be accurate and true to fact. The overwhelming majority of individuals in this document have confirmed dates for their birth (DOB), death (DOD), and marriage (DOM). Source citations (provenance or proof) are attached, and most are included in this document. However, bear in mind that as one travels back in time, especially before the eighteenth century, the less reliable the information becomes, if the information is available at all. I even found that mistakes and contradictions are not uncommon in the reference materials. Dates and names obtained from different sources for the same person are sometimes not the same.

      I have applied all available certainty. However, in some cases where evidence could not be cited I tried to interpret, interpolate, or rely on inference, and logically draw my own conclusions to the best of my ability. I hope that any errors that may have crept into this manuscript will be judged as gently as they may be. Living relatives are not included to protect privacy.

      This document, therefore, is based on historical non-fiction. However, in an effort to enhance readability, I have embellished a few historically accurate stories. I therefore deliberately blurred the separation between historical non-fiction and historical fiction, though names, dates and places were faithfully preserved. Be advised that non-fictitious information typically will be footnoted.

      A Note about Dates and Quotes: Bear in mind that before the typewriter was invented, the majority of data was hand-written by an official, often from verbal input. This could contribute to a different spelling, or perhaps some early bureaucrat might have had terrible personal handwriting so that, for example, a small o could easily become a small e.

      The oldest surnames in my family tree started out as being spelled Raynor (for the five oldest generations), then Reynor (for one generation), then Reyner (for three generations), then Reiner (for one generation), then Rainer (for one generation), and finally settling on Rayner (for the seven most recent generations).

      Borrowed quotes are supplied in the form that I found them and footnoted. In some cases the original archaic English text is preserved.

      In this document, the list of ancestors begins with the oldest, and then travels forward in history. I have divided this document into three sections, the first being what I’m calling Rayners in Antiquity, which encompasses the period starting from 1415 and John Raynor (1415 – undetermined) through to William Reyner (1579 – 1628). These were the Rayners of Yorkshire, England.

      The second section is what I’m calling the Colonial Period, which encompasses the period starting from 1635 and Rev. John Reyner (1605 – 1669) through to Deacon Thomas Rayner Jr. (1777 – 1845). These were the Rayners of Plymouth, Charlestown, and Reading.

      Finally, the third section is what I’m calling the Contemporary Period, which encompasses the period starting from 1851 and Charles Leander Rayner (1824 – 1869) through to Thomas Tremlett Rayner, Sr. (1918 – 1989). These were the Boston Rayners.

      I hope to create a lasting legacy that I may leave behind me, for other generations of Rayners, so that they may know their ancestors and where they came from, before the knowledge becomes irretrievably lost in the swiftly receding tide of time.

      Edward Rayner

      April, 2021

      Rayners In Antiquity (1451 – 1630)

      The Rayners In Antiquity Period begins in 1415 with the birth of John Raynor (1415 - ????), and ends with the beginning of the Colonial Period. This section describes the family line comprised of my known English ancestors and their wives that preceded Rev. John Reyner’s coming to America. The end of this period marks the transition from my family of British subjects to my family living in America. All of the former were born in, or residents of Yorkshire,² most from Batley Parish, Gildersome, Metropolitan Borough of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Though only my direct ancestors and their spouses are described here, there were numerous other Rayners in Yorkshire, some also living in Batley.

      The English were fastidious about record keeping, especially when a migration occurred to some other part of the British Empire to, for example, the New World, India, or Australia. Obviously the further one travels back in time, the records become increasingly limited and less reliable. My observation is that this becomes noticeable in the seventeenth century records, and data becomes extremely meager with the advent of the sixteenth century, although dates for birth, marriage, and death can sometimes be found. If you’re an intrepid researcher, nuggets can be found, such as parents and their children, which is often the foundation for verifying a past generation, or for beginning a future one.

      English Monarchs and Religion

      Some English history is furnished here in order to provide a historical reference for the document’s narrative. The Roman occupation (200BC – 410AD) was responsible for establishing Roman Catholicism as England’s first national religion. It remained so until The Protestant Reformation reached England in 1534 during the reign of King Henry VIII, and resulted in much religious strife and numerous animosities.

      The Church in England had remained united with Rome, until the King asked Pope Clement VII to grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon (Henry’s first wife) so that he could marry the then-pregnant Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused, as divorce was anathema to Catholicism, and as a result, Henry decided to separate from Rome, established The Church of England, and declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church (it’s good to be the king!). Then he married Anne, and banished Catherine to Kimbolton Castle, where she lived out her days until she died. At least she kept her head about her; Anne was not so lucky.

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