dmond Freeman, senior, yeoman, and his wife Alice Coles lived at Pulborough, county Sussex, England, where he was buried on June 6, 1623. His will, dated May 20, 1623, and administered June 18, following, made his sons Edmond¹ and William his executors, and disposed of over £800 besides his various lands and tenements aside from a bequest to Edmond, it gave £20 to each of his children. The testator’s widow, Alice, sister of George Coles, of Amberly, county Sussex, spent her later years at Reigate, county Surrey, in the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Alice and John Beachamp [see Prence]; and her will, dated Nov. 13, 1650, and proved Mar. 5, 1651/2, included a bequest to Edmond¹ Freeman and his wife.

The children of this Edmond and Alice (Coles) Freeman, all born at Pulborough, were:

1. Edmond, see following.
2. Alice, baptized April 15, 1601; married Dec. 27, 1615 John Beauchamp of London and of Reigate, county Surrey.
3. William, married (1) bet. 1617 and 1624, Christian Hodsoll [daughter of John Hodsoll and his wife, the widow Faith (---) Bacon], who was the sister of the wife of Edmond¹. It was doubtless this William who married (2) May 15, 1638, the widow Jane Gratwick of Cowfield, and died Sep. 15, 1606.
4. Eleanor, baptized Aug. 25, 1603; buried April 7, 1618.
5. John, baptized Jan. 29, 1605/6 or 1606/7; living 1623.
6. Elizabeth, baptized Aug. 27, 1609; married John Coddington.

[Mary Walton Ferris, Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines, Vol. 2, (1931)]

Wm.E. WRIGHT: "GREENE & LEWIS"; [private]; Houston, TX; 1991; p 88. [Crandall homepage]

EDMUND FREEMAN: [Beverly J. Freeman. The Lineage of Richard Vernon Freeman. Privately published Auburn MA 1971. p.iii, 1]
Family tradition has the family coming from Devon. Circumstances indicate that they came from Oxford. The old family seat was at Fawley Court, Henley upon Thames, Oxford. Freemans have lived in Yorkshire and Stratford upon Avon "since time was".

[The American Genealogist. New Haven CT. 17:88]
Alternate spelling "Edmond". Edmund was a well-to-do yeoman of Pulborough. Marriage date not found. Will dated 30 May 1623 made bequests to wife, £200 and benefit of copyhold wherein I dwell and thirds of my lands for life; dau Alice Beauchamp £50; son John Freeman, three tenements in Pulborough now in occupation of the widow Sommers, Wepham and named Fouks in fee, also £100; to youngest dau. Elizabeth, £300; by seven grandchildren, £20 apiece, to my sister Harte £5; to kindred 20/ apiece; to the poor of the parish £5; to servants and others; to wives brother George Coles, £5; Edmund Freemand and William Freeman, my two eldest sons, to be my executors; rest of goods and lands to my executors; to Ligh church at Chichester, 6d. George Coles of Amberley and Nicholas Bell of Arundel (County Sussex) were to oversee will and have £5. My wife to have benefit of the lease for her life of the "brookes." Testator made his mark. Admininstration 18 Jun 1623 (P.C.C., Swann 59.) Buried in Pulborough church, as requested in his will.

[Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines Vol. 1: Dawes & Allied Families, privately printed 1931,1:349.]
Will dated 20 May 1623, administered 18 June 1623. Sons Edmond and William were executors. The will disposed of over £800 besides his various lands and tenements. [Plymouth & Cape Cod MA Genealogy]

Edmond FREEMAN Sr., son of John Freeman and Miss Isham, was born in 1570 in Pulborough, Sussex, Engalnd. He died on 06 Jun 1623 in Pulborough, Sussex, England. He married Alice COLES who died on 14 Feb 1651 in Relgate, Sussex, England. Edmond, whom I will refer to as "The Elder," is the earliest FREEMAN that we feel a reasonable degree of certainty about identifying by name as a direct ancestor. This belief is substantiated by the baptismal records of his son, who was also named, Edmond and who was also our next direct ancestor. According to that record, the baptism occured at St. Mary's Church in Pulborough, Sussex, England on July 25, 1596. The same record also gives us the name of the wife of Edmond, the Elder, and the mother of young Edmond as one Alice COLES.

The baptismal record is the only source of information that we have pertaining to either Edmond SR. or Alice COLES. A more common spelling of Edmond in that time period was "Edmund" and in some later records his son was referred to as "Edmund." Also, I don't know if it was the custom of their day to use the designations of Sr. and Jr., for which reasons the above named Edmond may be referred to as "the Elder" and "the Younger."

I think it may safely be assumed that both Edmond, the Elder, and his wife Alice COLES, lived out their lives and died in and around the county of Sussex in England. We can further reasonably assume that both of them were in their 60th years if, indeed, they were still living at the time Edmond, the Younger, and his family left England in 1635. Hopefully they were living and had the priviledge of knowing four of their grandchildren, and that they concurred in the decision of their son to venture forth to the New World. [LeVonda's Family Tree]

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