Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Abraham Dains

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Descendants of Abraham Dains

Generation No. 1

1. ABRAHAM² DAINS (UNKNOWN¹)¹ was born Abt. 1640 in North Yarmouth, near Casco, Maine or possibly Devonshire, England ², and died Bef. January 1690/91 in Norwich, New London, CT². She married SARAH PEAKE³ December 27, 1671 in Windham , CT or in New London, CT ⁴, daughter of WILLIAM PEAKE and ELIZABETH. She was born 1651 in Norwich, New London, CT⁴, and died in Lynne, CT⁴.

Notes for ABRAHAM DAINS:
[Bob Dean.FTW]

Due to limited education and poor writing skills during these early times, the name Dains was spelled various ways. Some records such as ship passenger lists and census reports have recorded the name as Dain, Daynes, Deens, Deenes, Deans, Deanes ...but church records and others such as land deeds and entitlements confirm the accurate version to be Dains. The present-day version, DEAN, first appears about 1750.

LDS Church records indicate Abraham Dains probably was born in Devonshire, England and arrived at Casco, Maine (now Portland) probably in the autumn of 1663. Casco was a small seaport village in the 1660's and was constantly subjected to night raids by the Indians who burned cabins, killed and scalped the men, carrying off the women and children into captivity. Abraham, finding the Maine winter and living conditions too rough, apparently moved during the following spring to New London, CT. According to SAVAGE, Abraham arrived at New London "from Casco" in 1664. A further reference indicates court orders were published in that year prohibiting the use of "cardes and shfflebords" and warning the inbabitants "not to entertane strange young men." Transient residents who were not grantees and householders, were the persons affected by this order and it aroused them to the necessity of applying for permission to remain. Among the roll of petitioners we find the name of Abraham Dains. "All other sojourners not mentioned carrying themselves well were allowed to live in the towne, else lyable upon warning to begone." It would seem Abraham Dains was a newcomer to the town. A letter from the Connecticut State Library at Hartford states that Abraham DAYNES of New London, 1664, "is supposed to have come from Casco, Maine."

William Peake's residence in New London was west of the town plot on the path leading to Fog-Plain. The marriage of his daughter Sarah to Abraham Daynes is recorded in New London, as are the births of some of their children. Other births are recorded in Norwich. The next several generations of the family seem to have lived in the region of the towns of Norwich, Canterbury, Plainfield and Washington in the counties of New London and Windham, Connecticut. "Abraham Dains died before 1691, for his widow Sarah married Micah Rood, January 15, 1691."

Ref: Calkins History of New London, Connecticut
Norwich, Connecticut, Vital Records, Vo. 1, p.29
Canterbury, Connecticut, Vital Records
Mather's Refugees from Long Island to Connecticut, p.321

Bardsley's "DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH & WELSH SURNAMES" gives Dain, Dains, Daines, Deen, Dean,
Deane as derivates from " AT THE DENE" . Similarly, the index to the published "VITAL RECORDS OF
NORWICH, CT 1659-1849" lists Dean, Deane, Deans, Deens, Dayns, Daynes, Dains, Daines as all being derived from the same family.

The following is an exerpt from "EARLY NEW ENGLAND PEOPLE PROFILE" by Titcomb 929.174, T532e.
"DEAN: "The name of Den, or Dene, which is the ancient way of spelling what is now written DEANE,
makes its appearance in England soon after the introduction of surnames. It was apparently derived from the Saxon word den, or dene, a valley. From different modes of spelling the word dene or den have arisen two surnames, which at the present time are entirely distinct, viz., DEANE and DENNE." In the reign of Elizabeth, the letter 'a' was introducted into the name so that Dene became Deane. There are in England four distinct families of Deanes, from which all the others are off-shoots. "The first person of the name of whom we have any record, was Robert de Den or de Dene, who was 'Butler or sewer' to Edward
the Confessor. He held estates in Normandy, as well as in England, and may have been one of the Norman favorites which this monarch called around him. From Edward the Confessor, Robert de Den may have received estates in England of sufficiently greater importance than his Norman heritage, to induce him to assume their appellation. Confirmatory of this conjecture, it may be remarked that this family was not deprived of their estates at the Conquest." Another person of the name, early met with, is
Sir William of Dene, who was, at the time of the Conquest, owner of Throwly in Kent, the seat of an ancient "priory of Priors Aliens" suppressed in 1415. "There were many distinguished knights by the name of Dene, who, though it is impossible to identify them with any individual family, are fixed to counties by the valuable ROLL OF KNIGHTS, in the eighth year of the reign of Edward II."

The following is an exerpt from "OUR ANCESTORS" by Frances M. Smith. ........"Dene of Dene in the forest of Dene" and "Dene of Deneland" are family designations centuries old. The Denes pride themselves upon their Saxon descent, and accordingly, the prefix "at" is frequently used in conjunction with the name, in the thirtheenth and fourteenth centuries. De Dene, de Dyne, and de Deyne are also found in the records up to the reign of Henry VIII. Den or dene is the Saxon word for valley, a word still in use.

Robert de Den (or de Dene) was 'pincerna," or Butler to Edward the Confessor. Ralph de la Dene, Hampshire, was living at the end of the twelfth century. Five of the family had the honor of knighthood during the reign of Edward I and are named in the "Roll of Knights" in that era. Henry Dene was Lord Chancellor under Henry VII, Sir Richard Deane was Mayor of London at the end of the seventeenth century, and Sir Anthony Deane was high in naval affairs. At Springfield Castle, in Ireland, may be seen portraits of Moses Deane and his wife, dressed in the style of Covenanters. They were the parents of Matthew Deane who purchased large estates in Ireland...and given a baronetage by the Queen.

The Coat of Arms ascribed to the family founded by Richard de Dene, time of Edward III, is blazoned; Gules, a lion, couchant, guardant, or on a chief argent, three crescents of the field. Crest: a demi-lion rampant, or in his dexter paw a crescent gules. Motto: Forti et fideli nihil difficile. This motto is also used by Baron Muskerry of Deane of Ireland. He, however, has different arms, with angels winged and bearing palm branches for supporters. There are a number of coats of arms belonging to different branches of the family blazoned for the name spelled Dean, Deane, and Deans.

Children of ABRAHAM DAINS and SARAH PEAKE are:

2.	i.	JOHANNA³ DAINS, b. February 02, 1671/72, New London, CT; d. Bef. 1743, Stonington, New London, CT.
3.	ii.	JOHN DAINS, b. February 16, 1673/74, New London, CT; d. May 14, 1751, Long Island, NY.
4.	iii.	THOMAS DAINS, b. July 16, 1677, New London, CT; d. October 01, 1739, Coventry, CT.
5.	iv.	EBENEZER DAINS, b. October 27, 1680, Norwich, New London, Ct; d. May 22, 1753, Cantebury, Windham Co., CT.
	v.	SARAH DAINS⁵, b. January 19, 1682/83, Norwich, New London, Conn.⁶.
6.	vi.	EPHRIAM DAINS, b. January 15, 1685/86, Norwich, New London, CT; d. Abt. March 17, 1757, Norwich, New London, CT.

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