The family of Spry is a very old
one in Devon, mainly in Cornwall. A
Thomas Spry settled at Cutcrew in St German's in the reign of Henry VII. His son John married firstly Katherine
Trenowth,the co-heirs of John Trenowth of Tilland, of Cornwall, establishing
the family for centuries, and then Elizabeth Hendy.
Their sons were: Oliver 1545, John 1555 Robert 1560,. Each of those sons named their children in
the strict naming patterns which were the custom and the birth dates are an
estimate, as no birth records can be proven.
Robert married Jane Smith. Jane was born 1572 and died 1647 they are the
9th Great Grandparents.
But Jane was no ordinary
lady. Her name was Jane Smythe, also
known as Smith.
Her father was Sir Thomas
Customer Smythe born 1530 and died 1591.
He married Alice Judd.
Thomas Smythe or Smith of London, Ashford and Westenhanger,
Kent,
(1522–1591) was the collector of customs
duties (also known as a "customer") in London
during the Tudor period, and a Member of
Parliament for five English
constituencies.His father was a mercer in London, and he joined the Haberdasher Guild. He was an associate of Sir Andrew Judde, Lord Mayor of London. He married his daughter Alice
He and Alice had 13 children.
In 1588, Queen Elizabeth used the family castle Westenhanger, to house 14,000 troops who were to defend the coast against a Spanish invasion. In 1656, the exiled King Charles returned to England and hid in the castle.
Of interest is
the marriages of two of their son, Sir Thomas Smythe married as his third wife
Sarah Blount. Sarah had previously
married Lord Robert Sydney, 1563 - 1626, the 1st Earl of Leicester. 
They had a son Sir John Smythe born 1580, he was an MP. He married Lady Isabella Rich 1585 - 1632.
Lord Robert Sydney had also married Barbara Gamage 1565 - 1621. They had a son Lord Robert Sidney born 1595 - 1677 who married Lady Dorothy Percy 1598 - 1659
Their daughter was Lady Dorothy Sydney born
1617 - 1684. She married Robert Smythe,
the son of Sir John Smythe 1580 and Lady Isabella Rich
Quite a family jigsaw puzzle, but these families all cross into my own extended family history, so sorting the relationships was not that difficult, as soon as mention of Lady Isabella Rich was found!
One such relationship was Lady Mary
Boleyn. She married Sir William Carey
and they had a daughter
But Lettice married a few times. She married Sir Christopher Blount 1540 - 1601, Sir Robert Dudley 1532 - 1588, and Walter Devereux 1539 - 1576
From the marriage to Sir Walter Devereux,
they had a daughter Penelope Devereux born 1562 - 1607. 
She married Lord Phillip Sydney 1554 - 1586, Charles Blount 1563 - 1606 and Sir Robert Rich 1559 -1619.
From that marriage to Sir Robert Rich, came a daughter Lady Isabella Rich 1585 - 1632
Marriages in this period of time, become rather complicated, as it was rather common for a lady to marry four times.
However to add some intrigue, Mary was the sister of Ann Boleyn, the wife of King Henry VIII. But King Henry also bedded, Mary Boleyn, and discussion has arisen as to whether her two children with Sir William Carey are his, or King Henry VIII.
Lady Isabella Rich married Sir John Smythe, and they had a son Robert, who married back into the Sydney family, through his marriage to Dorothy Sydney 1617 - 1684.
Sir Thomas Smythe and Sarah Blount.
In the Spry family lineage these are the 9th great aunt/uncle of the children of Dale and Ethel Herron
Sir Thomas Smythe or Smith (c.1558 – 4 September 1625), was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until enveloped by scandal.
In 1580, young Smythe was admitted to the freedom of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and also of the Worshipful Company of Skinners. He quickly rose to wealth and distinction after entering politics to augment his business.
Smythe was made Auditor for the City of London from 1597 to 1598, and Treasurer of St Bartholomew's Hospital from 1597 to 1601. In 1597, he was briefly elected to Parliament for Aylesbury. In 1599, he was elected alderman for Farringdon Without and chosen as one of the two sheriffs of the City of London for 1600
Smythe financed numerous Elizabethan-era trade ventures and voyages of exploration during the early 17th century. In 1592, Smythe obtained settlement rights to the Virginia colony from Sir Walter Raleigh. When the East India Company was formed in October 1600, Smythe was appointed as its first governor by the charter dated 31 December, a position he held for only four months.
In February 1600 – 1601, Smythe, serving as London's sheriff, was suspected of being a supporter of the Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex who, on 8 February, went to Smythe's house in Gracechurch Street. Smythe advised Essex to turn himself in to the Lord Mayor of London. When Essex refused, Smythe left to confer with the Lord Mayor. When Smythe was later accused of complicity in the Essex Rebellion, he was examined before the Privy Council. He was fired from his office of sheriff and committed to the Tower of London. However, his imprisonment proved short due to Queen Elizabeth's death on 24 March 1603.
On 13 May 1603, after the accession of James I, Smythe was knighted. Later that year he was re-elected to Parliament for Dunwich in place of Sir Valentine Knightley, who was chosen to sit for Northamptonshire. After one of his sons married intro the aristocracy, Smythe became part of the "court faction" along with Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick. In 1614, Smythe was elected Member of Parliament for Sandwich and for Saltash in 1622.
In 1603, Smythe was re-elected governor of the East India Company, and, with one break in 1606–1607, continued to hold that office till July 1621, when he was discovered to be involved in the Virginia Company scandal. During this period, the company established trade with India.
Meanwhile, in 1604, Smythe was appointed one of the receivers for the Duchy of Cornwall, and, in June, was named special ambassador to the Russian Tsar Boris Godunov. Like Smythe's grandfather, Sir Andrew Judde, Lord Mayor of London (1550) and one of the founders of the Muscovy Company, Smythe involved himself in the Muscovy trade. Sailing from Gravesend on 13 June 1603, his party arrived at Arkhangelsk on 22 July, and was taken by way of Kholmogory and Vologda to Yaroslavl, where the tsar was. During that winter, Smythe obtained new privileges for the company. In the spring he went to Moscow to meet with associates. He returned to Arkhangelsk and sailed for England on 28 May 1604.
In 1609, Smythe obtained a royal charter for the London Virginia Company. He became the new colony's treasurer and de facto non-resident governor until his resignation in 1620—two years after Raleigh's execution, and two years before a major revolt caused by Smythe's policy of "rooting out" the native people.
To address the new colony's many problems, Smythe ordered both the end of religious conversion of the Native Americans and the expansion of the tobacco crop. In 1620, Smythe was formally charged with enriching himself at the expense of the company. King James revoked the colony's charter in 1624, making it a royal colony instead. Although Smythe was held to be partly to blame, and despite the king's hatred of tobacco and desire to form a Christian empire, Smythe nonetheless retained the king's support. Parliamentarians urging the graft investigation included Nicholas Ferrar (Smythe's former deputy) and Edwin Sandys. The inquiry continued until Smythe's death in 1625, despite the King's refusal to accepted the charges against Smythe. The King's officials continued to consult Smythe on all important matters relating to shipping and to eastern trade.
For several years Smythe served as one of the navy's chief commissioners. Smythe also served as governor of the Somers Islands from its split with the Virginia Company in 1614. His connection with the East India Company, the Virginia Company and the Muscovy Company, also led Smythe to promote and support voyages for the discovery of the North-West Passage in North America. William Baffin named Smith's Sound to honour the patron of his 1616 voyage of discovery. In January 1618–19, Smythe was appointed one of the commissioners for the settlement of the differences with the Dutch which, however, after years of discussion, remained for the time, unsettled.
Although his name was often spelled "Smith," it was always written "Smythe" by the man himself, as well as by his extended family at Strangford. Smythe married three times. The first two wives must have died young and without issue. He was already married to his third wife, Sarah, daughter of William Blount, by the time Smythe was sheriff of London. They had one daughter who died unmarried in 1627; and three sons, two of whom seem to have died before their father.
The eldest son, Sir John Smythe of Bidborough, married Isabella Rich, daughter of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and Penelope Devereux. Their children included Letitia Isabella Smythe (d. 1714), who married John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor.
The family, in the male line, ended with his great-great-grandson, Sir Sidney Stafford Smythe (1705–1778).
Smythe died at Sutton-at-Hone in Kent on 4 September 1625, and was buried in the local church. An elaborate monument to his memory was installed there.
During his lifetime, Smythe amassed a large fortune, a considerable part of which he devoted to charitable purposes. He endowed the free school of Tonbridge, which was founded by his grandfather, Sir Andrew Judd. He also established several charities for the poor of the parish of Tonbridge.
He signed the Second Charter for Virginia.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/va02.asp
Robert Smythe was instrumental in so many historical events. He was the brother in law, of Robert Sprye, who married his sister, Jane.
The aristocratic connections seemed to flow into the Spry relatives.
Robert Sprye married
Jane Smith
Robert and Jane are the 9th great
grandparents of the children of Dale and Ethel Herron.
They were married in
Maker, Cornwall, around 1593
Their children were Mary;
Susannah, John, 1594 and Robert 1598.
Robert Sprye born 1598, was a
lawyer, he studied at Oxford, and advocated the cause of the parliament in the
civil wars. He published several works,
and was appointed solicitor and sequestrator to the Parliamentary Committee of
the north of Devon for the sequestration of the estates of delinquents.
He wrote the book "The Rules of Civil Government Drawn from the
Best Examples of Foreign Nations" (1653)
Robert's brother was John Sprye
born 1594 - 1672 and he married Thomazine Johnson 1625 - 1701.
They are the 8th
great grandparents.
The children were Susannah 1651,
John 1652, Margaret 1662, Edward 1663,
Johane 1664.
Edward Sprye married Magdaline
Deeble 1667 - 1746. There was a number
of Deeble Family, in Plymouth, who were of the Quaker Faith, at that period of
time.
The children were Susannah 1689,
John Sprye 1691 and Edward Spry 1695
Edward Spry born 1695 - 1788, married Elizabeth Binney 1698 - 1745. They are the 6th GG.
The children were Magdalin 1721,
John 1723, Joan (Jane) 1725 Edward 1727,
Benny 1729, Magdaline 1731, and John 1733, and Jone 1733. (There is confusion over the
Joan and Jane)
Elizabeth Binney was born 1698 in
St Germans Cornwall, the daughter of John Binney and his wife Joan. John Binney was the son of Thomas Binney
Esq. He was born around 1680. Unfortunately digitised records for the
Binney family are very scarce.
Some early mentions of Binney in
Cornwall include Mary Binney in Morval Cornwall, in 1662, Frances Binny in 1628
in Whitchurch Devon, and John Binney in St Dominick Cornwall, in 1674.
The name was spelt, Binnie, Binny, Binning
and Binney.
The children were
John Sprye 1725 -
1730
Jane (Joan) Sprye 1725
- 1807 m William Kingdom
Edward Sprye 1727 - 1799
Benny Spry 1729
John Sprye 1730 - 1799 m Margaret Brooking 1739 - 1803
Magdaline Sprye 1731 - 1746
William Kingdom and Joan Sprye
Joan and William Kingdom had
rather a large family including:
- Jane Kingdom 1757
- William Kingdom 1759 - 1837 m Hephzibah Dutton 1758 - 1837
- Edward Kingdom 1760 - 1848 m Deborah Ross 1765
- Elizabeth Kingdom 1761 - 1856 m Thomas Mudge 1760 - 1843
- Mary Kingdom 1762 - 1856
- Ann Kingdom 1764 - 1824 m Captain Stephen Rains Royal Navy 1766 - 1824
- John Kingdom 1767 - 1848 m Mary Sparshott 1781 - 1860
- Binney Sprye Kingdom 1768 - 1788
- Samuel Kingdom 1769 - 1788
- Sarah Kingdom 1772 - 1861 m Thomas Dutton 1762 - 1847
- Sophia Kingdom 1776 - 1858 m Sir Marc Isambard Brunel 1769 - 1849
William Kingdom was a merchant,
and was associated with the Royal Navy.
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