ENGLISH
BACKGROUND STUDIES
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4.0 TOPICALS Data for Some particular families which seem to frequently come up in these studies are listed next, together with data for places outside of England 4.1 BUTLERS Our first encounter with the Butlers was in Barbados where a dau. of Thomas and Sarah Helme married a Butler. The following is more on that family and on their settlements in America in PA, SC and other places. THIS IS A QUERY THAT WAS CUT AND PASTED IN FROM THE BUTLER PAGE AT GENFORUM _ CAN WE OBTAIN THIS BOOK? GOT TO BE HELMS IN IT. BUTLER FAMILY OF ENGLAND AND PENNSYLVANIA (First Five Generations) On page 4 of the book, the author lists the following Bibliography: On pages 4 and 5, she writes about "The Family of Butler," which is an overview of the history of the family clear back to Fitzwalter. On page 5, under "Additional Notes," she writes a one sentence statement: Page 8: JOHN BUTLER of Bedminster, England and Philadelphia, Pa.bapt. St. Mary Redcliff Church Oct. 5, 1674 m. 1703 Friends Mtg. Bristol, England., Bersheba Noble (Coombe) widow; to Philadelphia betw. 1704 & 1711 NOBLE BUTLER b. Bedminster, England. March 4 1704; d.
Pa. 1799 res. Uwchlan Twp. Chester Co., Pa. m. 1727 Rachel Jones
On page 9, she lists what appears to be children of Noble Butler and grandchildren: JOHN BUTLER (ca. 1734_1808) Chester County, Pa. m. 1. Elizabeth
Samuel m. 2. Margaret _____ WILLIAM BUTLER (1738_1821) Chester & Delaware Cos., Pa. m.
Jane Woodward NOBLE BUTLER (1739_1799) Penna. & Georgia m. _o_o_o_nah Beale BERSHEBA BUTLER (living 1782) Penna. & Georgia m. John McCowen BENJAMIN BUTLER (1743_1805) Washington Co., Pa. m. Mary Rees On page 12, the author seems to track her line through a Benjamin BUTLER, son of William BUTLER(?). This Benjamin, along with alleged brothers James and William, went "to South Carolina in the mid 1700's; that James and William settled in Edgefield County, S.C. and that Benjamin settled in Newberry County. We have proof that James settled in Edgefield County with a son named William who was born in Prince William County, Virginia in 1759. If there was a brother named William who came, too, no record of him is given in the Butler Family found in Vol. IV of the South Carolina Genealogical Magazine. Neither does Chapman mention a brother William in his History of Edgefield County. [She infers on page 104 that "William" might have been the father of Benjamin and James.] "We have proof that Benjamin settled in Newberry County because his name appears on the roll of the Bushy Creek Baptist Church in 1795, and later on the roll of the Bush River Baptist Church. "Benjamin probably had several children but we do not have proof of any but his son Henry." On page 12, she writes: I. Benjamin Butler who came to S.C. from Prince William County,
Virginia and settled in Newberry County, S.C. His son, The author continues to write about Henry, etc., and states that "Henry had a relative, Pierce Butler, who settled in the Charleston area. He came to South Carolina from Philadelphia. ... Tradition says that Pierce and Henry were brothers but this has been disproved through a search in the Archives in Ireland." On page 104, titled "PIERCE BUTLER," she quotes the Encyclopedia Britannica in which it states that Pierce Butler (July 11, 1744_Feb. 15, 1822), senator, was born in Carlow County, Ireland, the third son of Sir Robert Butler, Baronet, Member of Parliament for Carlow County 1729_61, and of Henrietta (Percy) Butler. The article states that he was the same man who resided in South Carolina. Correction _ Butler It is a 250 page book, also printed by Peachtree Letter Service, in
Atlanta, GA, in 1968. Butlers Cont Butlers of Bewsey BUTLERS OF BEWSEY Some artistic license was drawn into 18th and 19th century picture of Bewsay Hall on the Mersey at Burtonwood near Warrington. It was very charming, a 'beausite', with fronting lawns, backed by tall trees, and swans preening themselves on the river banks. Less remains now to fire the imagination. In the 12th century the 'botellers' of the Earls of Chester came here as Lords of Warrington, and generations rode out as barons and knights of the shire to sit in the council of kings. With retainers wearing their badge, three covered cups, many Butlers went forth to war.etc etc etc BUTLERS OF OTHER WYRESIDE FAMILIES 4.2 Callender This what I found on CALLENDER 4.3 DUESBURY From Caribbeana IV Below is the detailed information: Barbados Wills Marriages and Deaths from "The Columbian Magazine or Monthly Miscellany
published in Kingston Jamaica 1796_1800 4.4 FALKENBURG/FALCONBERG Falkenburg has been ascribed to both England and Germany. In England, the Falkenburg name was pronounced Falkenburg but spelt
"Fauconberg". That was an English gentry family with a pedigree as
long as your arm. Cecil O'Dell on Pa. 434 in his book "Pioneers of Old Frederick County
Va." indicated that Andrew "Falkenbrugh" was on the North River
Shenandoah by Jul 23 1737 when he signed a road petition with Jacob,
and Henry (Note: Woodstock is also a village in England - near Henley on Thames. That place suggests the English Fauconbergs, discussed elsewhere in this paper.) The significance is the wife of George Helms in NC was a Falkenbury/Fortenbury(sp). Obviously, everyone was having trouble with the spelling of that name. We are still working on the George Helm part of this. Sid Aronson thinks that George may have been a "renter", as we have not found a Helms land holding there. We do show a sketch of one of the three Falkenburg places which were said to have been side by side astraddle the old Wagon Road. Herewith the info as promised _ I could not get hold of a Burkes Peerage and have had to make do with Debretts. I copied the page in the library and I have a black line down some of the writing. FAUCONBERG AND CONYERS, BARONIES OF (Pelham).by Debretts Joan, suo jure Baroness Fauconberg married Sir William Nevill son of the Earl of Westmorland. [Note: Nevilles also became not only Earls of Westmorland but also Earls of Warwickshire at a later date]. Her husband died in 1463. Much later, an Alice Fauconberg married Sir John Conyers. William, first Baron Conyers born1863 married 1886 was also the 4th Earl of Yarborough. So, one could say that the Fauconbergs and the Nevills and the Conyers were related and future generations would be aware of this fact through their heraldry. Other Fauconberg branches married the Shireburn Weld_Blundells which are familiar names to us, which suggests some branches of this family remained Catholic and we have no chance of finding any baptisms which would not have been recorded in C of E records.. Subject: FAUCONBERG In the Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society Mag for November is an article on the Coats of Arms in the St Thomas Chapel which is situated in the East end of the South West Aisle of The Priory and Parish Church of St Mary, Lancaster, Lancashire. FAUCONBERG Other arms in this chapel are: BECKET (Archbishop of Canterbury 1162-70), CANTERBURY, HIGGIN (of Bury), ATKINSON (of Kirkby Lonsdale), WHEWELL (of Lancaster), ADAMS (of London). Regards Susan Falkenburg, General Henry Z. Jones places Falkenburgs(sp) in other places in Germany, than Holstein Like many other families, it appears that Falkenburgs have roots in many places. Like Henry Jones, we probably have to get specific. He is in the business of pinpointing specific home places and hometown church records. In that case, he (and his associates) have located the specific German connections of over 600 of the 800_odd on Gov. Hunter's NY list of Palatines. But he warns that there are errors in all of the lists involving the 33,000 Palatines. Many died at sea, of course. They were herded together on crowded ships much like the African Slaves of later years. Henry Jones has pinpointed a German source place (Neuweig) but indicated
that more work is needed. Somerset & Dorset Notes and Queries p 342 /V. L. Oliver 4.5 FORSTER/FOSTER This is what I found on FORSTER P222 Ann This is what if found on FOSTER P367 Edmund 4.6 FUNK This is the crux of the Funk involvement with Helms in Western Va, Funk is not English but was a key figure where we found the Falkenburgs and George Helms: The Funk mill from where the Falkenburg New Road Survey started in 1744. Starting at Funk's Mill, the survey next ran behind the place of George Helm, then to a Cedar Creek ford, and then Eastwards to the place of Robert McKay, Jr's place, near Cedarville, then South to the Shenandoah River, at near Front Royal, Va.. Funk Cemetery Location: Route 11 South of Strasburg to top of Fishers Hill on Cecil Fravel Farm. Cemetery located about one fourth mile West (South West) of house. There are three graves: 1. Elizabeth wife of Jacob Funk born Nov. 15, 1795 died May 30, 1876 aged 80 years 6 mos and 18 days 2. Jacob Funk born April 2, 1795 died March 15, 1872 aged 76 years 11 mos and 13 days 3. David Fisher died Mar 10, 1871 aged 90 years MILLS AND MILLERS Fisher, N. J., Grist Mill, Now Tumbling Run (Earlier, Funks Mill Run.) John Funk Mill earlier. Water powered. Little remains. Operating 1885. A dam was built upstream during the early 1900s and the mill was used to generate electricity. A large pipe was used to convey water from the dam to the mill at that time. The dam is still standing. Fishers Hill. Mill apparently taken down after it's use for electrical generation no longer practical ca 1930s. Corrected Funk, Henry, Mill, Cedar Creek. Funk, John, Mill, Funks Mill Run, (Now Tumbling Run), Fisher's Hill. Located near the Valley Pike, (Philadelphia Road) ca 1743-(the old Wagon Road). Water powered. (See Fisher, N. J. above)." There is supposed to have been a 1743 deed for John Funk , Sr, but we have not found it. Irene did find a description of a 1749 Deed to John Funk, Sr . I made a transcript of the 1749 Fairfax Deed to John Funk Sr. which links to the preexisting John Funk place at Tumbling Run, as follows: Partial Transcription of Fairfax Deed to John Funk, Sr., add-on of 355 acres in 1749, on Tumbling Run. Pa 248, Univ. of VA Library. "....unto John Funk, Senior, of the county of Frederick, a certain tract of waste and ungranted land in the said county on Tumbling Run, bounded by also a survey thereof made by George Byrne followeth : Beginning at a small Spanish oak and a small white oak, standing on a point corner to the said Funk''s former tract, and extending thence 52 W 212 poles along a ridge, and on the side of a gulley thence enclosing the said gulley, N 80 W 200 poles along a ridge and to the side of the ridge up a branch to a white oak on the N side of said ridge to as white oak on said ridge and on the S side of said gulley, thence enclosing the said gulley, N 80 W 200 poles to a stake near a marked-oak on a hillside, thence N 52 E 400 poles to another stake between two oaks and one white oak near path thence S 30 E 86 poles near two Spanish oaks standing in the line of the said Funk''s patented land on the E side of a road thence binding with his old lines to the said Tumbling Run and down the same to the beginning containing 355 acres... together with all rights.... 4 August 1749. Signed Fairfax " With this 355 acre add-on, John Funk, Sr was increasing his holdings near Tumbling Run, a moderate stream which bears that name to the present time. It is closely followed by a road presently labeled Funk''s Rd., SH 601, shown on present-day maps of that area. Funk Mill was located near there. That deed sort of proves the prior deed which we have not found, so far. It has been shown that a Jacob Funk lived there and is buried in a grave yard near Fishers Hill. This is the site of an early Funk''s Mill on Tumbling run. Thus, the Falkenburg survey in 1744 began near this site. The survey likely went down the Funk''s Mill Road (SH 601) to the Valley Road (presently Rte 11), passed behind George Helm''s place, possibly at the intersection of Funk''s road and the Valley Road, and thence N. to a crossing of Cedar Creek, and on to Mckay's place near Cedarville, and, finally, South to the Shenandoa River, approaching Front Royal. The Valley Pike or Road (Philadelphia Road), now Rte 11, dates from about 1743. We are yet to find anything on the George Helm's place, mentioned in the Survey. I personally think it was a node or turning point for the survey and was near that intersection. we have a picture of the signs at that intersection. Because of the build-up of, first, Rte 11, a major highway, now largely replaced in function by Interstate Rte 81, any evidence of prior places at that intersection will have disappeared long ago. Sid Aronson thinks George Helm(?), may have been a "renter", there. The Falkenburg place which we had previously found near Narrow Passage Creek, also on Rte 11, midway between Edinburg and Woodstock, was about 12 miles South of the intersection of Funk Rd and Rte 11. Now ,we have found, in the Paper, "Fairfax Land Suit" by H. B. McKay, there were three Falkenburg places, but so far we have only found one. The Funks have been shown to have had lots of land around Strasburg. The place we have focussed on for George Helm would have been on Funk land after about 1743. Since we do not find a Funk-to-Helm land transfer, I agree with Sid that George may have rented a place, maybe a "way-station" on the Valley Pike. Strasburg did not then exist. That area was totally owned by the Funks in the time period of interest, they having gotten it from Henry Willis in a 2030 a. purchase in 1743. There is a 1743 Willis Deed. However, we have sufficient information that we have "fixed" the Funk Mill place on Tumbling Run which was the start of the Falkenburg road survey in 1744. The next step is to review county land records in the several counties involved. We figure the survey went down Funk's Mill Road. State Rte 601. to an intersection at the old wagon road, and that is where we think the George Helm's place was-maybe just a way-station on the old road. Somewhere in that area to the left was the places of Joseph Helm and a Tidwell friend. As a major part of the study, we have been exploring the history of the Fairfax Land suit by Hite and Mckay which is in the background of all of this. Lord Fairfax refused to give deeds to some of the persons who Joist Hite and Robert McKay had sold property to, He had gotten a new survey which overlapped much of the area involved, such that these people had to go to Fairfax if they wanted a valid deed. It was a big mess. The court case took 15 years. So you can imagine the effect on all of the people there. Their land titles were held up that long. A few bought again from Fairfax, some fought it out in court. It went past our time for the Helms trip south (about 1747) so they probably took off right in the middle of it. We have not located the exact places of the Joseph Helm or Tidwell places. The actual trial was tried beginning in 1749, but the controversy had started long before that. It's sort of complex. The Helms are not mentioned in the transcript, of the trial as they wouldn't since by 1749 they had been in NC for about 2 years. It does really mix up searching for data. We have a copy of the transcript "Fairfax Land Suit Transcript of a copy in the British Museum". This copy leaves out some of the British material. Can't tell if we lost anything important to us. As it stands right now, we do not use any of it, except as background. As you saw, above, Funk took out a Fairfax grant in Aug 1749, right in the middle of the law suit's start, which started in Oct.. Many, who were able, did that to cover their hindsides. With the exception of Joseph Helm, our Helm/Helms people didn't even get a mention. (The Falkenburg survey was in1744). However, it appears that our people had the money to make the trip South, and to buy land in NC when they got there. We guess they never put down real roots there, else they might have lost it all. Most of the Helms we I have known weren't dumb. 4.7 MEREDITH The Merediths should be of the gentry class. Shropshire and Wales
where Merediths have been found were close to Gloucestershire and Worcestershire
was the next county. Merediths: This list invokes Wales, Ireland, and Shropshire, England. in Meredith
background. 4.8 Nelmes NELMES of Virginia And, there was a John Nelmes deceased in 1727, and a Charles Nelms 1725, and Samuel and Thomas, 1745-1750. That might have been spelled Helmes earlier but, after this, the name were propagated in Va as Nelmes There were 3 items on Lindsays (Anne, Eliz., and Opie) all indentured young people All of these relate to Apprenticeships in some way. Remember that John Helme of Charles Co. MD went to Va to verify a sig. for a widow Lindsey and that Leonard or Meredith Helm had a bond supported by a Lindsey. Another Nelmes: See Richard, below: NELMES in Britain From: markandjanboyes Three thoughts come up about the Nelmes spelling: The mention of Wales, while late in time for us, is interesting. A shown above, the idea that people stayed put in one place is not likely. |
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