In 1638, John & Sarah Osgood left Cottonworth Farmhouse, travelled to Southampton and sailed across to America on the good ship Confidence. They left England on the 24th April and, four months later, arrived in New Hampshire with their four children after four months at sea – a few days before Sarah gave birth to their son Stephen on 24th August.
John Osgood was born in Wherwell on 23rd July 1595, and he married Sarah Ann Booth at Wherwell on 1st June 1627. From the Confidence passenger list, we know that the children born before emigration were Sarah aged 9, John aged 7, Mary aged 5 and Elizabeth aged 2. Stephen was the first American-born Osgood, followed by Hannah in 1644.
When the Osgoods left England, Cottonworth (also spelt Cottingworth) was described as ‘a substantial farm of roughly 300-360 acres, with a farmhouse on the River Test’. Soon after landing, John was involved in the early government of Newbury and was made a Massachusetts freeman in 1639. About six years later, the Osgoods moved to Andover (today known as North Andover) and became one of its founding settlers and prominent citizens.
100 years before leaving Wherwell, 1538 is known as a ‘key peg’ in British History because it marked major milestones in the English Reformation. Key events were: Pope Paul III confirmed the excommunication of Henry VIII from the Roman Catholic church; Thomas Cromwell ordered every parish in England and Wales to keep official records of baptisms, marriages, and burials; English-language versions of the Bible replaced Latin versions; and the dissolution of the Monasteries.
In Wherwell, the three major impacts were: the destruction of Wherwell Abbey; lands previously owned by the Abbess were granted to Thomas West, 9th Baron De La Warr; and the local parish church – eventually dedicated to St Peter and Holy Cross – began incorporating new English Bibles and community Parish Registers.
A talk by Kathleen Osgood on Tuesday 6th October, 8pm in Wherwell Village Hall will explore a century in history which is remarkable for its religious fervour, its explorations, and its ideological shifts and which directly impacted her Osgood ancestors and drove them to leave the South of England.
The talk will take place on Tuesday 6 October at 8 pm at Wherwell Village Hall. Places cost £5 for non-members and can be reserved by emailing wherwellhistory@gmail.com.
