The Magazine for Collectors, November 1955 By HAZEL KRAFT EILERS In A Genealogy of the Lake Family by Arthur Adams and Sarah A. Risley (1915) there is quoted a letter from Pierre de Chaignon La Rose explaining the Coat-of-Arms and its symbols. In his interpretation he credits antiquity to the Arms because of its simplicity. He then goes on to say that this shield is an example of geratting which consists of differenting a simple shield to distinguish the arms of cadets by powdering the field with smaI1 charges additional to the original design. The first of nine modes of geratting given by The Boke of Saint Albans (1846) is that of sowing the field with small crosses. He discredits the idea that the cross crosslets fitchee are an indication of crusader ancestry. By the sixteenth century geratting had disappeared and in its place the system of differencing by single small charges became prominent and still exists. It is his contention, too, that the sea horse in the crest is a mild form of canting by a reference to the water. If this were not intended, the marine form of the horse would not have been employed. Canting is explained as the singing out of the name through the symbols on the shield - or punning. The bend is one of nine so-called Honourable Ordinaries, straight sided figures one-third the width of the shield, first symbols used to identify men encased in Armour. The bend is placed diagonally across the shield. The bend is a bearing of high honor, representing the scarf or shield suspender of a knight or military commander, denoting defense and protection. "A Genealogy of the Lake Family" by Arthur Adams and Sarah A. Risley (1915) is concerned with the descendants of John Lake of Gravesend. This John married Anne, daughter of Thomas Spicer. It is not known to which branch of the Lake family he belonged as his origin is still a problem. (It is the work of James C. Lake of 22024 Tulane, Farmington Hills, MI 48336 that places him as the son of John Lake, Jr. and Margaret Reade. It is the work of Hazel Kraft Eilers that places Margaret Reade as the husband of John Lake of Great Fanton Hall.) "A Genealogy of the Lake Family" lists ten other early settlers of the Lake name, much the same list as found in Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of New England. The ancestry of these other men has not been worked out either because of lack of records or because of lack of interest, as several left no descendants to search out their antecedents. "The American Genealogist" (1935) has an article on "The Early Rhode Island Lakes" by G. Andrews Moriarty. If you are a descendant of either Hannah (Lake) Gallop or Martha (Lake) Harris, it would be worthwhile to check the article in the New England Register (1930) on "The Ancestry of John Lake, husband of Margaret (Reade) Lake." [Ed. Note: The brothers, Thomas Lake I who married Sarah Peate, and John Lake III who married Anne Spicer, of which this work is concerned, can not be ascribed to this Coat-of-Arms as shown below.] 1. John Lake I was born in 1511 in Irby, Lincolnshire, England. He married Elizabeth Lone. She was born in 1515 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England. 2. John Lake II was born circa 1535. He married first Agnes Tharrot circa 1560. She was born circa 1540 and died in 1562. He married second Margaret Osgodby circa 1570. He died leaving a will dated April 26, 1575 and was buried in the parish of Irby-upon-Humher, Lincolnshire, England. John was "a little tailor in a little village." 3. Richard Lake I was born in 1570 and baptized on July 16, 1570 in Tetney, Lincolnshire, England and died on December 17, 1626 in Tetney, Lincolnshire, England. He married first Anne Wardell before 1600. She was a daughter of Edward Wardell III of Keeby. He was a Taylor. The will of "Richard Lakes of Tetney, Taylor" was dated September 2, 1626 and mentions his seven children by name. Baptismal records and the wills of the various family members establish the Lake line in England. Richard is also listed as being from Irby, Lincolnshire, England. 4. Sir Edward Lake was born in 1600 or 1601 and was baptized on February 22, 1600 or 1601 in Tetney, Lincolnshire, England and died on July 18, 1674 and was buried in Lincoln Cathedral. He married Anne Bibye a daughter of Simon Bibye (or Biby or Bybye). He received the degree of B. A. at Oxford in 1627. He was an eminent lawyer, becoming advocate general for Ireland. On the outbreak of the Civil Wars, he both fought and wrote on the King's side. At the battle of Edgehill he received sixteen wounds, and having lost the use of his left hand by a shot, he placed his horses bridle between his teeth and fought with his sword in his right hand. He was promised as his reward a barony and an augmentation to his arms by King Charles I, in 1643. But since the King was beheaded and the period of the Commonwealth intervened, nothing was done until 1661. King Charles II then made him Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln, and the augmented coat of arms promised by King Charles I was in 1661 formally authorized by the College of Arms. From Burke's Peerage and Baronetage (1905) comes the following: "Edward Lake, L.L.D. Chancellor of the diocese of Lincoln, was a devoted adherent of Charles I, for whom he fought at the battle of Naseby and received no less than sixteen wounds. He was by Charles I, in consideration of his zeal and loyalty, given a coat of augmentation, and an additional coat, and was named a baronet, with the privilege of nominating his successor to the title, but no patent was taken out at the time. Sir Edward, dying without issue in 1674, was succeeded by his grandnephew." The will of Sir Edward Lake is dated April 8, 1665; he added codicils in 1671 and in 1674, they being rendered necessary by the death of the executors successively named. This will is an interesting document, since it gives us much information in regard to the antecedents and connections of Sir Edward. He leaves a bequest to the Church at Normanton near Pontefract in Yorkshire, because it was the home of his paternal ancestors. He mentions his kinsman and servant Christopher Lake, his brother John Lake, his nephew Francis Lake of Hatcliffe, the eldest son of his brother Luke Lake, and Stephen, eldest son of his brother Thomas Lake. He named his half-brother Thomas Lake, Jr. executor, and directs that the male heirs forever may for their Christian name have the name Biby or Seaman, his wife's mother's surname, or Caly, an ancestor of the time of Edward Wardell III, in honor of his mother, a daughter of Edward Wardell. Thomas Lake, the brother in New England, died before Sir Edward, and in a codicil he names Thomas' son Stephen executor in his place; then Stephen died, and Thomas, Stephen's brother, is named. This son of his brother Thomas, Sir Bibye Lake, was his succeeding heir as shown below. 5. A Son who died as an infant before 1666. Richard Lake I married second Anne Morraly about 1614. She was a daughter of Edward Morraly of Claxby-by-Normandy. The will of Anne Morraly-Lake was dated May 16, 1627 and names her five then living children. 4. Richard Lake II was born in 1614 and died in 1646 or 1647. 4. Thomas Lake, Sr., Capt. was born in 1615 and was baptized on August 11, 1615 in Tetney, Co. Lincoln, England and died in Maine in August 1676. [According to the will of his brother, Edward, Thomas died before Edward and Edward died July 18, 1674.] He first settled in New Haven, Conn., where he married Mary Goodyear. She was a daughter of Stephen Goodyear, a prominent merchant and Deputy Governor. (Wotton's "The Baronetage of England", Vol. 3 states Thomas Lake "married Mary, daughter of Stephen Goodyer of London, goldfmith.") Several children of Thomas and Mary are mentioned in the Boston records, but only Stephen, Ann and Thomas grew up. Thomas was one of the leading men of his time in Boston and an influential merchant. He became Captain of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in Massachusetts in 1653. He was a ship owner in 1654 and that same year purchased half of Arrowsic Island in Kennebec, Maine. For many years he had a trading post there with large transactions with the Indians. He was made a freeman and then selectman in 1671. He was killed by Indians leaving a large estate for his family. 5. Stephen Lake who died young before 1674. 5. Eight children who did not leave issue. 5. Thomas Lake, Jr. was born on February 9, 1656 in Boston, Mass. and died on May 22, 1711. He married Elizabeth Story a daughter of John Story of Derbyshire, England. Thomas returned to England to live at Bishop's Norton, Lincolnshire. He was a barrister and a member of the Middle Temple. He lived at Bishop's Norton, Lincolnshire, England. Sir Edward Lake named Thomas as executor of his will after Thomas' father and older brother, Stephen, died. 6. Mary Lake 6. Sir Bibye Lake. He was a sub-governor of the African Company, and in 1711 received from Queen Ann a confirmation of the title, along with the Coat-of-Arms, granted to Sir Edward Lake. It is through this son that the Baronet line has continued in England. The descendants of Sir Bibye have held honorable places in English affairs down to the present [at least 1954 or 1956 when this book was written]. Counting from Sir Bibey, the seventh Baronet was Sir Vincent Atwell. 5. Ann Lake was born on October 12, 1663 and died in 1737. She married first the Rev. John Cotton. He was born in 1658 and died in 1710. She married second Dr. Increase Mather, Rev. by whom she "left numerous descendants." It is only through this daughter Ann that American descendants may trace this Lake ancestry. The lineage of Ann (Lake) Cotton Mather has been traced for several generations in England after many years of research. 4. Ambrose Lake was born in 1617. 4. John Lake was born in 1618 and baptized on November 19, 1618 in Tetney, Lincolnshire, England and died on August 6, 1677. He married Mary Coy. He was a taylor as was his father and grandfather before him. He was in Boston, Mass. by 1643 and made freeman in 1644. John and Mary left no issue. 4. Luke Lake was born in 1620. 5. Francis Lake of Hatcliffe. 4. Anne Lake was born in 1626. 2. Robert Lake was born in 1537 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England and died in 1574. 2. Richard Lake was born in 1539 in Rayleigh, Essex Co., England and died on September 24, 1599 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England and was buried in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England. 3. John Lake, Sr. was born in 1565 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England and died on December 10, 1612 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England. He married Elizabeth Sandell in 1590 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England. She was born in 1570 in Nevedon, Essex Co., England and died on May 4, 1616 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England. She was a daughter of John Sandell who was born in 1525 in Basildon, England and married Thomasine ???? who was born in 1525. 4. Anne Lake 4. Margaret Lake 4. John Lake, Jr. was born on September 26, 1590 in Normantown, Yorkshire, England and died after 1657 in Ipswich, Essex Co., England. He married Margaret Reade about 1616 in England. She was born on July 11, 1598 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England and died on September 24, 1672 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Mass. "The Ancestry of Bethia Harris" written in 1934 by Walter Goodwin Davis says "these Lakes are not of Visitation rank and no arms can be claimed for them." The ancestry of Margaret Reade-Lake long baffled genealogists, but it is now established that she was in fact the wife of this John Lake of Great Fanton Hall. Mistress Margaret Lake came to America in 1635, with her sister Elizabeth (Reade) Winthrop, wife of Governor John Winthrop, Jr., and two of her daughters, one of whom, Hannah, married John Gallup; the other named Martha married Thomas Harris of Ipswich, Esex Co., Mass. She also had a son John, who is said not to have come to this country but was actually disowned for abandoning his education. Her will is dated August 30, 1672, and was proved September 24, 1672. She mentions only her two daughters and their children. She was the daughter of Edmund Reade, of Wickford, Essex, England, and widow of John Lake. John Lake claimed descent from the same family to which Sir Edward Lake and Captain Thomas Lake, of Boston, belonged. 5. Daniel Lake died in 1643. In his will dated December 1642 when he was living in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England, he left 60 pounds to his brother John to pay John's way to America as John was disowned by his family for not continuing his education thus losing his inheritance. 5. Thomas Lake I was born in Wickford, Essex Co., England and was baptized on January 18, 1619 in Wickford, Essex Co., England. He married Sarah Peate in 1685. She was born on October 13, 1665 in Stratford, Fairfield Co., Conn. 5. Richard Lake was born in Wickford, Essex Co., England and baptized on May 21, 1620 in Wickford, Essex Co., England and died on May 22, 1620 in Wickford, Essex Co., England. 5. Hannah Anna Lake was born on July 3, 1621 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England and died on December 19, 1675 in Stonington, Conn. She married John Gallop in 1643 in Boston, Mass. 5. Elizabeth Lake was baptized on June 5, 1623 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England and died on August 31, 1623 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England. 5. Martha Lake was born and baptized on July 20, 1624 in North Benfleet, Essex Co., England and died on April 5, 1700 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Mass. She married first Arthur Harris in 1640 in Bridgewater, Mass. She married second Thomas Harris on November 15, 1647 in Ipswich, Exxes Co., Mass. 5. Elizabeth Lake was baptized on February 17, 1631. 5. Samuel Lake died on March 19, 1630. 5. John Lake III was born on July 6, 1626 in Wickford, Essex Co., England and died before August 4, 1696 in Gravesend, Long Island, Kings Co., N.Y. He married Anne Spicer before March 14, 1649 in Gravesend, Long Island, Kings Co., N.Y. She was born in 1632 in Brooklyn, Kings Co., N.Y. and died after 1709 in Gravesend, Long Island, Kings Co, N.Y. She was a daughter of Thomas Spicer and Micah ????.