William Walton
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth Date: Christening: 19 Aug 1629 - Oxhill, Warwickshire, England 1 Death: Burial: Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: Thomas Walton (1602- ) Mother: Catherin Miller ( - )
Spouses and Children
1. *Alice Martin ( - 25 Sep 1662) Marriage: 30 Sep 1657 - Oxhill, Warwickshire, England 2 3 Children: 1. Nathaniel Walton (Abt 1656-1733) 2. Hester Walton (Abt 1658- ) 3. Daniel Walton (Abt 1660-1719) 4. Thomas Walton (Abt 1661-1758) 5. William Walton (Abt 1664-1737)
Notes
General:
The following, slightly reformatted to improve readability, is from Byberry Waltons (Norman Walton Swayne, 1958), pgs 1-3. See map on page 2.
1 WILLIAM WALTON (1), baptized 19 Aug. 1629 in the parish of Oxhill, Warwickshire, England, married 30 Sep. 1657 Alice Martin. This is from Ms of Alfred R. Justice, whose search in England found that William's father was Thomas of 0xhill, baptized there 20 Apr. 1602, this Thomas' father was William of Oxhill, and this William's father was Thomas of Oxhill, will proved Oct. 1593, married Elizabeth. This carries the line three generations back of 1 William Walton (1) to his great grandfather. However, in this compilation he is given the number one and is called the first American Walton of his line, despite the belief that he never came to America. This allows the descendants of his four sons who did come, to be shown as one family.
The Friend, Vol. 28, page 381, says the place of nativity of the four sons was in the parish of Byberry in the southeast corner of Gloucestershire. So William, their father, evidently lived there, some distance southward from his place of baptism, for a considerable time. William Walton, together with Joseph Hunt of Stratford upon Avon and William Hunt of Radway, all in the county of Warwick, purchased from Edward Byllynge of London by lease and release 22 and 23 Sep. 1682, one tenth of a propriety of land in West New Jersey, a propriety being one hundredth of the province. William devised his interest in West Jersey to sons Nathaniel, Daniel, Thomas and William. The 1704 deed recorded in Gloucester Co., N. J. by which these four, residents of Phila. Co., Pa., conveyed this for 30 pounds to John Hugg of Gloucester Co., shows it was 100 acres adjoining land formerly surveyed to William Hunt, lying at the head of the town bounds of Gloucester and then in possession of Jacob Clements.
The four sons of William arrived in America probably about 1683, and soon after settled in Byberry Twp in Phila. Co. It has been published and frequently copied, that they arrived in 1675, but confirmation seems to be lacking. The belief that they did not arrive until about 1683, has come from the many documentary occurrences of their names soon after that time, but none before, and particularly from a letter the eldest, Nathaniel, wrote in 1713 to his brother William, the youngest. An account of this is in Isaac Comly's History of Byberry, prepared 1827: "Nathaniel in a letter which he wrote to his brother William, dated 'Bybury ye 7th of October 1713' says he paid for William's passage to this country, five pounds sterling; that he laboured hard for this money in Old England at a groat a day; that the principal and compound interest which he had forborne thirty years and upwards, had come almost to 200 pounds of old currency; that William had got him nothing, but might see he had made a man of him to that very day; and that he most certainly expected him to pay some way or other to his content; not, he adds, because he could not do without it, for, he blessed God, he had plenty of everything, but because it was his due, and William was able to pay it." At the time of this dun William's ten children had begun to marry. William then had been many years the principal preacher in Byberry Mtg, and without doubt was a respected citizen.
1st of 10th mo 1688 each of the four sons made his first recorded purchase of land, when each was deeded by Thomas Fairman of Shackamaxon for ten pounds, 100 acres of a 500 acres tract rec'd by Thomas in 1784 [sic] from William Penn. When plotted from the deeds it is evident these 400 acres comprised the southwestern four fifths of the tract on Thomas Holme's map of 1681 marked Robert Fairman. They lay in Byberry Twp along its northwestern boundary, next to Moreland Twp. Lines between the lands of the four brothers were almost parallel with each other and nearly at right angles to the Moreland line. The tracts were laid out in the order of age, Nathaniel's on the southwest, 100 to 103 perches in width, 140 to 190 perches in length, Thomas' next to the northeast, 77 to 75 perches wide, 190 to 220 perches long, Daniel's next to the northeast, 73 to 70 perches wide, 220 to 233 perches long, William' last to the northeast, 68 to 66 perches wide, 233 to 246 perches long, bounded on his northeast by other land of Thomas Fairman. This tract of 400 acres is in the form of a pointless wedge, running from a width of 140 rods on the southwest boundary of Nathaniel's land to a width of 246 rods on the northeast boundary of William's land, with a total length of 318 rods along Moreland Twp.
The History of Byberry and Moreland says "They arrived at New Castle early in 1675, provided with axes, hoes, etc., ready for making a settlement in the wilderness. From there they proceeded up the Delaware in search of a place for a settlement, carrying their whole stock of utensils, provisions, etc. on their backs. After some time spent in examining the country they arrived at the Poquessing Creek, and were so highly pleased with the level land in that vicinity, the abundance of good water, and the beautiful appearance of the country, that they determined upon making a settlement near the banks of that stream. Having neither the time nor the means for erecting a dwelling they dug a cave and covered it with bark and dirt. Therein they lived several months while they prepared the soil for crops. Not having any wheat two of the brothers, in the latter part of the same summer, walked to New Castle to procure a bushel of it. Shouldering half a bushel each, they carried it home, a distance of nearly fifty miles. For want of other implements the soil was prepared with hoes, and so well was the job done that they are said to have reaped sixty bushels at the next harvest. This was probably the first wheat ever raised in Byberry Twp."
The only known children of William Walton & Alice Martin were these four sons, from whom it seems likely most of the Waltons in the vicinity of Phila. have descended. The name has become common in that city and in the surrounding counties of Phila., Bucks, Montgomery and Chester. Some Walton descendants have crossed the Delaware into New Jersey, some have gone further north and west in Pennsylvania, a few south into Virginia, many from these last two states into Ohio, some on their way further west. They have scattered thinly throughout the United States and Canada. However, not nearly all Waltons in America have come from these Byberry settlers. The name has long been common in England, and Walton emigrants from there became immigrants into New England, New York, Virginia and probably elsewhere, some before the Byberry Waltons. Many have continued to arrive since, so even around Phila. many white Waltons are not of Byberry descent. These four are called the second generation:
2 Nathaniel b ab 1656 d 1733 m 1685 Martha Bownall or Bownel or Bowling b ab 1663 d 1741
3 Thomas b ab 1658 d 1758 m 1st 1690 Priscilla Hunn, m 2nd 1736 Elizabeth Eastburn b 1695
4 Daniel b ab 1660 d 1719 m 1688 Mary Lamb
5 William b ab 1662 d 1736 m 1689 Sarah Howell d 1749
BAPTISM:
England, Warwickshire, Parish Registers, 1535-1963 at familysearch.org:
Warwickshire, Oxhill, "Baptisms, marriages, burials 1658-1747", image 8/37:
1628 Will the sonne of Will Walton Junii 25.
1629 Will the sonne of Thomas Walton Augusti 19.
BURIAL:
England, Warwickshire, Parish Registers, 1535-1963 at familysearch.org:
Warwickshire, Oxhill, "Baptisms, marriages, burials 1658-1747", image 31/37:
1681 William Walton was buried Feb. 10th
Familysearch.org cites, without images, two other burials of a William Walton in Oxhill, one 10 Feb 1680 and the other 10 Feb 1682. Since the day is the same in all 3 records, they probably do not represent separate burials.
There were multiple William Waltons in Oxhill. The 1681 burial may or may not be for this William Walton. A burial in 1681 contradicts William's purchase of a propriety in New Jersey in 1682. A William Walton was buried in Hillmorton, Warwickshire in 1693.
ALFRED R. JUSTICE:
Typescript notes of Alfred R. Justice (1857-1932) can be read at
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/oclc/866160531?availability=Family%20History%20Library
Choose Volume 23 (Vail-West) and images 197-211/454. In these notes entitled "Walton of Warwickshire" Justice says very little about the English origins of Nathaniel, Thomas, Daniel, and William Walton. He does not say where they were born. He says that the four grantors in the deed of June 4, 1704 were identified as sons of William Walton, deceased, of Oxhill, County of Warwick, Kingdom of England.
WHICH WILLIAM WALTON?
This William Walton, whose father was Thomas and who was christened in Oxhill 19 Aug 1629, is the probable father of the 4 brothers who went to America, and he is the probable husband of Alice Martin. However, the other William Walton, who was the son of Will Walton and who was christened 25 Jun 1628 in Oxhill, might have been the husband of Alice Martin and/or the father of the 4 emigrants. There were 2 Thomas Waltons christened in Oxhill in the same time period (1631 and 1644), but we know that the father of the 4 emigrants was William Walton because 2 of them (and a sister) were christened simultaneously 19 Sep 1662 in Oxhill and were said to be children of William Walton.
BIRTH DATES and PLACES of CHILDREN:
Three of William's 5 known children (Nathaniel, Daniel, Hester) were baptized 19 Sep 1662 in Oxhill. This delayed baptism suggests that they were born elsewhere. Swayne says that the 4 brothers who emigrated to America were born in the parish of Byberry in the southeast corner of Gloucestershire, citing The Friend, Vol. 28, page 281. The Friend is a Quaker magazine that began publication in London in 1842. Volume 28 presumably corresponds to about 1870 -- 200 years after the facts. We need to know exactly what was said in The Friend, but its reliability seems dubious.
Thomas Walton was baptized 28 Oct 1661 in Idlicote as the son of William Walton and Alice his wife. Idlicote is about 2 miles S60W from Oxhill. On the same page as the christening record is a burial record for Alice Walton, the wife of William Walton. She was buried 25 Sep 1662.
William Walton was baptized 25 Sep 1664 in Oxhill. This might be another delayed christening, or William Walton, the father, might have remarried. I am assuming that the Idlicote records are relative to this family.
A remarriage seems unlikely since there is only one possible birth after Alice's death. Alice's early death could explain why William had 5 closely spaced children and then no more. The birth years of Nathaniel, Daniel, and Hester are just guesses. Thomas and William may or may not have been born shortly before their baptisms.
1 "Familysearch.org," "England, Warwickshire, Parish Registers, 1535-1963," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHXL-HHX), Will Walton, 19 Aug 1629; citing Christening, Oxhill, Warwickshire, Warwick County Record Office.
2 "Familysearch.org," "England, Warwickshire, Parish Registers, 1535-1963," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHXL-3S7), William Walton and Alce Martin, 30 Sep 1657; citing Marriage, Oxhill, Warwickshire. image 20/37.
3
Warwickshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812, Oxhill > 1700-1724; image 5/10. Repository: http://www.ancestry.com.
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