Source Text:

John Irish [1, 2, 3]
Born Abt 1617 Barrow, Somersetshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location
Gender Male
Book Reference 1
Died 05 Mar 1677 Duxbury, Plymouth Co., MA


From: W. L. Irish - b. about 1600, a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Kirby) Irish of the Parish of Clevedon (also spelled Clisdon) County of Somerset, England. He came to America in 1629 and is considered as the founder of the IRISH family here in the United States. John Irish came to Plymouth, Massachusetts with John Bradford, the son of Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. John Irish was living in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts in 1629, where he was of considerable note as a surveyor of lands. He left much property in Seaconnet, Rhode Island. He was a volunteer for the Pequot War in 1633-1637.

Also From: W. L. Irish
The IRISH Family seemed to have residence in Somersetshire, England as seen from an "Indenture" of said John Irish, dated April 20, 1629 and recorded July 12, 1697 at Taunton, Massachusetts. By the terms thereof: "John Irish, of the Parish of Clisdon County of Somerset, laborer, agreed with Timothy Hatherly, feltmaker, of the Parish of St. Gloves, in Southwark, County of Surrey, to abide with him five years at Plymouth, New England, having meat, drink and lodging and five pounds per year, and at the end of that time, 12 bushels of that country wheat, corn and 25 acres of land". Quite likely, John Irish came from England on "The Talbot", which arrived at Cape Ann, Salem, Massachusetts on June 27, 1629. "The Talbot" is the ship that brought Higginson in 1629, with Thomas Beecher as the Master.

From: Joe Travis
The vast majority of people found in this genealogy come directly from the book; "Descendants of John Irish The Immigrant 1629 - 1963 and Allied Families by Willis Luther Irish and Stella Bertha (Putnam) Irish" as published in 1964 by the Dingley Press of Freeport, Maine. The couple spent 25 years gathering information for the book. I owe them, and all descendants of John Irish 'the immigrant' owe them, a great debt of gratitude. There are areas of dispute, however, particularly concerning the early English ancestry of John.

Until I purchased a re-print of W. L. Irish's book, an early source of information on the Irish family was Paul Randall.

Paul Randall says of W. L. Irish's book " While this book is an excellent resource, there are many errors. In particular, his list of ancestors prior to the immigrant, John Irish, has been called a mix of "fact and fancy . several people have noted the unusual fact that the approximate dates of birth are all exactly 30 years apart from 1150 to 1450. Clearly the dates of birth are conjecture. I'll list at the end the sources given by W. L. Irish for these early ancestors from Sir Adam de Ireys down to John Irish, the Immigrant . this family history is now discredited"

The [discredited] history by W. L. Irish is as follows:
1. Sir Adam de Ireys b. abt 1070. "..was the earliest known ancestor. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon to the Holy Land on the First Crusade, and had an active part in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. During the Crusade, he slew a Saracen leader of high rank, severing his head from his body by one blow of his sword. For his service in the Crusade, he was knighted and given the right to a Coat of Arms. Sir Adam was a member of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, which was organized about 1100, to care for the wounded soldiers at Jerusalem.."
2. Hugh D'Iryshe b. abt 1115, m. Gertrude Tidial. Gertrude: "Gertru de Tidial (Tiliol), of an ancient and noble family."
3. Edmund D'Iryshe b. abt 1150, m. ? Dudley, (daughter of Randolph Dudley). Edmund "accompanied Richard the Lion-Hearted on the Third Crusade (1189-1192) and died near Jerusalem. It was he who was awarded the St. Georges Cross which appears on the shield of the family Coat of Arms."
4. Stephen D'Iryshe b. abt 1180, m. Joan Dacre. Children:
1. Randolph Iryshe "Randolph became Bishop of Carlisle (about 1220)."
2. Roger Iryshe b. abt 1210.
5. Roger Iryshe b. abt 1210. Roger "was Bishop of Carlisle after his brother, Randolph died."
6. William Iryshe b. abt 1240, m. Grace Hammer. Grace: "Of Flintshire, North Wales."
7. Roger Irishe b. abt 1270, m. Susannah Braithwaite, (daughter of Sir John Braithwaite). "Living in 1317."
8. Adam Irishe b. abt 1300, m. Hester Copeland, (daughter of Sir Robert Copeland). "..had two sons, -- the older one being Richard."
9. Richard Irishe b. abt 1330, m. Margaret Broughton, (daughter of John Broughton).
10. Christopher Irishe b. abt 1360, m. Matilda Ridman, (daughter of Richard Ridman). "Of Ireys."
11. Nathaniel Irishe b. abt 1390, m. Mary Dykes, (daughter of William Dykes).
12. John Irishe b. abt 1420, m. Ann Lamplaugh, (daughter of Sir Thomas Lamplaugh). John died abt 1470. John was "living at the time of Edward the IVth., (1461-1482). They had several daughters and one son, William."
13. William Irishe b. abt 1450, d. abt 1493. William "was an aide to the Duke of Gloucester in 1493. He married a daughter of Fleming of Rydell."
14. Sir William Irishe b. abt 1480, d. 1513. William "was knighted from the Earl of Surrey after the battle of Flodden Field, England, on September 9, 1513. He was killed at Kelso, Scotland, in 1513 at the time that Surrey was restored. Sir William Irishe is responsible for the twelve billets on the shield of the family Coat of Arms."
15. John Irishe b. abt 1500, m. Ann Middleton, (daughter of William Middleton). John died abt 1531. John "was High Sheriff of Dorsetshire in the 22nd year of the reign of Henry VIII (1531). Thus he served in the public service of England."
16. Charles Irishe b. abt 1525, m. 1545, Eleanor Mallory, (daughter of Sir William Mallory).
17. Jonathan Irishe b. abt 1560, m. Elizabeth Kirby, (daughter of Gilbert Kirby). "Of Ireys, England." W. L. Irish's book states that this Jonathan was not only the direct ancestor of the John Irish who came to Plymouth, Mass. in 1629, but also of the James Irish, who came to Gorham, Maine in 1710. He was "of the Parish of Clevedon (also spelled Clisdon) County of Somerset, England"

Also From: Paul Randall
A newer version of John Irish's ancestory, "John Irish was the illegitimate son of John, the elder, and Elizabeth Twytt, his servant. His father died in 1628 when John was 11; he signed his indenture papers at age 12 in 1629 at Clisdon Parish, Hampshire, England (see George E. Irish's book "John Irish" 1991). Still newer information has Elizabeth Twytt as having a daughter (not a son).

Again From: Joe Travis
Although W. L. Irish suggests "The Talbot" as the ship bringing John Irish to Plymouth Colony, I've been looking for other ships arriving in Plymouth Colony in 1629 (the year John is reported to have arrived). I found the following: John Wood then married Sarah Masterson, the dau of Richard Masterson and Mary Goodall, in 1640/41 (per LDS record). Sarah was b. in Eng in 1622. She and her family came to Plymouth in 1629 on another ship which was also named the "Mayflower". Another: Thomas Beard booked passage aboard the Mayflower on her second voyage to Massachusetts in 1629.

It appears that John Irish may have also have come to America on the ship 'Mayflower' - but not 'THE Mayflower', see below;

Concerning the 'original' Mayflower:
After several mis-identifications (such as the Mayflower under the command of William Pierce which brought additional colonists to Plymouth in 1629, or another Mayflower with a master named Thomas Jones, which had been a slave ship), R.G. Marsden was able to demonstrate in 1904 that the Mayflower in question was out of Harwich and later of London, Christopher Jones, master. Marsden searched the English High Court of Admiralty Records looking for a matching vessel which could have traveled from London between July, 1620 and May, 1621. This proved to be a lengthy operation as "Mayflower" was a popular ship's name; but, he eventually reduced the number to six, and finally to one, the Mayflower of Harwich, whose master was Christopher Jones. It was Christopher Jones who had witnessed the will of William Mullins, which was discovered in the public records at Somerset House in London, aboard the ship in 1621. After Mayflower's return to England in May of 1621, she was again involved in trade between London and France. The last mention in the Port Books was recorded on October 31, 1621. Her master, Christopher Jones, died in early 1622. On May 26, 1624, an application was received by the High Court of Admiralty from Mayflower owners, Robert Child, John Moore and the widow of Christopher Jones declaring the ship to be "in ruins" and requesting an appraisment. She was valued at £128 8s. 4d. This was the last recorded reference.

Source Facts:

birth, death, event, location, name, occupation, relative