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Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright with a BFA from Emerson College. His plays include THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR, REASONS FOR MOVING, THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE AMERICANS, THE WHITE SWALLOW, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, THE MOST WONDERFUL LOVE, WHEN IS A CLOCK, GLEE CLUB, THAT OLD SOFT SHOE and BRANDYWINE DISTILLERY FIRE. He served as Assistant Producer and Senior Writer for the live webcast from Times Square on New Year's Eve 2010-2012. As a freelance writer, he has contributed to Gamespy, Premiere, Complex Magazine, Maxim Online, and MTV Magazine. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Inc., New York Theatre Experience, and Samuel French.

Monday, January 05, 2009

A little more about how I'm related to Lizzie Borden

This is the gravestone of Edmond Freeman. (Born 1590 in England and died in 1682 in Sandwich, MA.) He was one of the nine founders of the town of Sandwich, and the Assistant to the Governor from 1640-1647, according to the gravestone.

Reading a bit more about this, I located this interview with William Pavao.

LBVML: I understand that you are related to the Bordens. What is your relation to them and was this one of the reasons you became so interested in the case?

Actually, I did not know I was a blood relative of the Bordens until this year!! I happened to be researching Lizzie's genealogy when I noticed her 4th great grandparents were Christopher Gifford and Deborah Perry. I immediately recognized these names.

My 8th great grandmother, Peace Perry (married John Mumford) was the daughter of Edward Perry and Mary Freeman. Peace had a sister Deborah who married Christopher Gifford. I immediately began doing extensive research to confirm this and the relationship is documented.What a coincidence!! Some things are just meant to be.

Therefore, both Lizzie and I are direct descendants of Edward Perry and his wife, Mary Freeman. They are Lizzie's 5th great-grandparents and my 9th great-grandparents. This makes Lizzie and I 6th cousins four times removed!!!Edward Perry came from England as a boy. His family settled in Sandwich, MA. He was a leading Quaker at a time when the Quaker faith was not allowed in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He suffered much persecution for his religious convictions. Some other direct descendants of Edward Perry and Mary Freeman include Oliver Hazard Perry (hero of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812) and his brother, Commodore Matthew Perry (who opened trade between the United States and Japan).Mary Freeman was the daughter of Edmund Freeman. He was the founder of the town of Sandwich, MA.

I have read that Edmund Freeman was the first white settler on Cape Cod. He also was the Deputy Governor of Plymouth Colony under Governor William Bradford. His grave along with that of his second wife, Elizabeth are today sites of great importance in Sandwich. I am glad to be able to discuss these ancestors of the Bordens because they add richness and new depth to the Borden's genealogy. We have heard much about the Borden family background, but nothing about this significant branch of the family.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

HEY WHATS UP CUZ! my name's Ethan and I was at that gravestone two days ago. Im on the cape for a week for my grandparents aniversary and we are direct decendants of edmond freeman. I was also shocked to learn that we were related to lizzie borden when I googled his name and read the wikipedia info. I know alot of info about his life and am continuing to learn more about my ancestors. One thing i recently learned was that edmonds grandson married a direct decendant to william wallace, so maybe one of us is to. sweet huh.

Unknown said...

My name is Matthew freeman also, and I too am related to Edmund Freeman and Lizzie Borden. I have genealogical evidence of ancestry on the Freeman's side dating back to as early as 1244.

Freeman said...

That's pretty amazing. Send me an e-mail. We should talk about that. Love to learn more!