Research Project: Undocumented Roger¹ Stories

Conrad W. Terrill and Nancy Tyrrel Theodore, last updated 4 Apr. 2010

Many persons over the course of the past two centuries have written a great deal about our Roger¹ Terrill—much of which leaves us wondering how they could possibly have known some of these things. What some have written flatly contradicts what others have written. Did Roger¹ come over on the Lyon in 1632? Or was it the Hector in 1637? (Likely, we suspect, it was neither.) But perhaps some of what has been written is based on information passed down through the generations. We can deplore the fact that those who wrote down these stories did not reveal their bases; but perhaps there's a more positive approach. This project aims at collecting Roger¹ stories in one place, and examining them critically. We welcome DOR-Terrill members to conribute or point out other Roger¹ stories of which they're aware. We're looking mainly for old published stories. If you happen to know of any, or if you happen to know the basis of any of the stories you see collected here, we hope to hear from you (contact Conrad Terrill). DOR-Terrill appreciates your help. This article will be changing as we have the chance to add accounts of other undocumented stories.

Roger¹ Story in The Burnett Genealogy, by Edgar Albert Burnett, 1941: This book contains a four paragraph account of the Roger¹ Terrill story, nicely written but not well-enough documented, from our perspective. This is one of the stories which claims that Roger came to America on the Hector, in 1637. The contention may be based on a quotation attributed to a "Major St. S. Turrell," who "says" that "He [Roger Terrill] seems to have been a companion of Lord Leigh, son of the Earl of Marlborough who came to Boston in the Hector." (As indeed Lord Ley did, in 1637.) This Major St. S. Turrell also said that "Roger Terrill also had a private charter from the government to locate lands in any of the colonies, and it was his charter that was used by the Peter Prudden Company ..." We would like to find out who Major St. S. Turrell was, and what he might have published. And we would like to know more about this "private charter" story. which we've never seen mention of anywhere else. (Click here to see our latest full report.)