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The Deane surname is of Saxon origin; however, it is by no means certain that all families who bear it are so. The first person found of the name is Robert *de Den or de Dene, who was "Pincerna, butler or sewer" to Edward the Confessor (Berry's Genealogies, Kent, Collins's Peerage, art. Sackville, II, 263, [ed. 1763]). He held estates in Normandy, as well as England. This isn't surprising because "De" before a Surname is a Norman influence. However, in the reign of Henry the Eighth the territorial prefix vanishes altogether, and the ancient name puts on the more common form of "Dene" without the distinctive particle, which had fallen into disuse after the abolishment of the Feudal system by Henry the Seventh.
Taunton and Chard, Somersetshire, England are situated in an extensive and fertile valley called Taunton Dean, on the River Tone. Dene, viz. Dean, is a Saxon word which signifies a valley or wooded place; but, it is very different from glen, which signifies a valley between hills. A dene sinks suddenly from the surrounding level of the land, and cannot be seen until close upon it's borders. The dene or valley region surrounding Taunton encompasses an approximately 30-mile area. Chard lies about 10 miles from Taunton.
John and Walter Deane, were the progenitors of many of those now bearing the names Deane and Dean in the United States. Walter was born near Chard, Somerset, England, about 1612. Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691 by Eugene A. Stratton, p. 278 gives his date of Christening in South Chard, Somerset, England as 13 May 1612, which places his birth earlier than set forth by Rev. S. Deane. He married Ellinor, a daughter of Richard STRONG, of Taunton, England. Ellinor came to New England with her brother, Elder John Strong, aboard the "Mary and John", in 1630.
Walter and his brother, John, sailed for New England on the ship "Speedwell" from Weymouth, Dorset, England on 22 APR 1637 with 6 servants, the same ship carrying Elizabeth Poole, Henry Cogan, and Giles Rickard.
They were in Boston initially; then, for about a year in Dorchester, and, finally, came with others to Cohannett. They took up their farms on the west bank of the river, about one mile from the center of the village. The road which passed by their homes was called Dean Street, and still bears that name today.
Walter was founder and stockholder in the first permanent iron works in America. He was also a tanner by trade, turning his tannery business over to his son, Ezra.
By June 5th 1638 a list of Plymouth Colony freemen contained seven names of men identified as being of Cohannett:
- Mr. William Poole
- Mr. John Gilbert, Sr.
- Mr. Henry Andrews
- John Strong
- John Deane
- Walter Deane, and
- Edward Case.
It is known that a large portion of the early settlers of Cohannett, Massachusetts, were originally from Taunton, County Somerset, England, and the surrounding vicinity. A document signed by many of the townsmen, including Walter Deane, stated that they chose the name of Taunton "...in honor and love to our dear country." Thus, Cohannett became known as Taunton.
On 3 March 1639/40 the General Court at Plymouth noted that the inhabitants of Taunton requested additional lands. The Court agreed that without the lands the inhabitants of Taunton could not survive; therefore, they were granted new lands between Taunton and Assonett.
Freemen were required by law to attend the General Court three times a year to represent their town at the Court’s proceedings. As expansion found new towns further away from court, on 5 March 1638/39 the General Court enacted a law providing that each town could elect annually two deputies to represent the freemen of the towns at court, becoming in fact a second legislative chamber. Only freemen could be elected as deputies, but all townsmen could vote, whether free or not, since non-freemen would have to help bear the expenses of the deputies’ travel to Plymouth. Deputies had existed as a political institution in Massachusetts since 1634, when towns led by Watertown, protested taxes being determined by the Bay Colony Assistants alone.
On 1 June 1641 the General Court ordered that the first seven freemen of Taunton, who had suffered great personal expense in traveling to attend the courts and in laying out lands to the town’s inhabitants, should have some additional lands, providing the lands did not exceed 40 acres apiece.
Walter was one of the principal holders responsible for the “Taunton South Purchase”. This was bought by a group of Taunton men from the Sachem, Philip, for £190. The land was purchased in two sections:
The first section was stated to be 3 miles broad on the river, and extended 4 miles back into the woods. It’s deed was dated 28 September 1672, and the price paid was £143. It was conveyed to a committee consisting of William Brenton, Esq.; William Harvey; James Walker; Richard Williams; Walter Deane; George May; and John Richmond. The second section was on the south side of the original section, and was 1 mile wide on the river, and 4 miles in length. It was purchased for £47 with the deed dated 1 October 1672. It was bought by Constant Southworth, treasurer of Plymouth Colony, who immediately transferred the deed to the committee listed above.
Shortly after the Taunton South Purchase the committee sold a tract of it 1 mile wide from east to west, and 2 miles long, lying in the southwest corner, to the town of Swansea. This piece was thereafter known as the “Two-Mile Purchase.” [History of Bristol County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent People; compiled under the supervision of Duane Hamilton Hurd; published by J. W. Lewis and Company of Philadelphia, 1883, p. 216]
Walter was a deputy to the Plymouth Court in 1640, and selectman of Taunton from 1679 to 1686. The Cape Towns invited the inhabitants of Taunton to come to them with their moveable property for protection during King Philip's War. William was one of the persons appointed to decline their invitation, and returned thanks for their kindness. The original of their letter, with the signatures in good preservation, is in the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Hinckley Papers, Vol. I, No. 3. There is another autograph of Walter Deane preserved, attached to an Inventory of the estate of William CREWE, 14 June 1672. In this autograph it is noted that he spelled his surname with the final "e", Deane.
Family of Ellinor StrongWife of Walter Deane
Much speculation has previously been given as to the parentage of Ellinor, wife of Walter Deane. She is reported to be the daughter of Richard Strong, and the daughter of William Cogan. This conflict has been resolved to my satisfaction through the following:
...Walter DEANE of Taunton, MA, and his wife Eleanor STRONG, now known to be the sister of John Strong, and a step-daughter of William Cogan, who married the mother of Eleanor and John Strong after the death of her husband, Richard Strong, in 1613. The present accepted facts show that the date of arrival of John Strong in Dorchester, Massachusetts should be placed five years later than the date previously given, and that he probably came with his brothers-in-law, John and Walter Deane, in 1635. Also, the death of his first wife took place in Dorchester, MA in 1635, and his marriage to Abigail FORD, shortly thereafter... [The Fulton-Hayden-Warner Ancestry in America, Leonard, Clarence Ettienne, Compiler; Tobias A. Wright, Printer and Publisher; 150 Bleecker Street, New York; 1923; p. 291]
John Strong was the son of Richard Strong and brother of Ellinor, of Somersetshire, England, and came to this country aboard the "Mary and John" in 1630. He settled first in Dorchester, was a resident of Hingham in 1635, and from there came to Taunton, where he was a freeman in 1637. He was appointed the first constable in 1638, and was once again appointed in 1639. He was a deputy in 1641 to 1643. He removed to Windsor, Connecticut and in 1659 to Northampton, where he became the first ruling elder in the church. He died there in 1699, aged ninety-four.
He had seventeen children. Caleb Strong, from 1800 to 1807 Governor of Massachusetts, was his descendant. His house lot in Taunton was on Dean Street, next to John Deane's lot on the west side. In 1689 he gave to Walter Deane, who married his sister Ellinor, a power of attorney to dispose of his real estate in Taunton.
[Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut, Vol. I-IV [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2002. Original data: Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. New York, NY: Lewis Publishing Company, 1911.]
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