William Burton Landowner in Accomac, Somerset and Sussex

•&MEM 7.• 7. • • • • • • • • .,7.• • • 603 rrfl The Pennsylvania • GENEALOGICAL Magazine EM MiTaffentaiMadMeiTeliMAYMYsgiaiRaigiVAM 63 William Burton Landowner in Accomac, Somerset and Sussex MARY BURTON DERRICKSON MCCURDY T HE first William Burton of Accomac County, Virginia, has been said to have come to Virginia in 1635 and to have been the second son of Thomas Burton of Longner Hall, Shropshire, England, lineal descendant of Sir Edward Burton, knighted in 1460. This tradition is found in pedigrees published in Munsell's American Ancestry as well as in the collected notes of Miss M. Atherton Leach deposited with the Pennsylvania Genealogical Society.' It will be shown in this paper that these statements are in error as applied to the William Burton in question. The following William Burtons have been noted among the early Virginia immigrants: one, aged 20, embarked on the Globe of London for Virginia 7 August 1635; another, aged 24, embarked on the Thomas for Virginia 21 August 1635; another, transported by Henry Bradley of Upper Norfolk County in 1643; another, transported by Thomas Hawkins of Miss Leach Is cited by John Goodwin Herndon, "Notes on the Ancestry of Robert Burton (1730-1785) of Sussex County. Delaware, and Some Related Lines 1 Cotton, Leatherbony, Bagwell, Robinson, Rickards. and Russell," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. XVIII (1951). 143-164. For Munsell, see Note 6 below. J. C. HOtten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality 1600-1700 (Baltimore, 1962)1 119* 126. 4 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Northumberland County in 165314; a and another, a headright of Mr. John Wilcocks of Northampton County in 1660: This last reference seems to be the earliest record of any William Burton in Eastern Shore Virginia, and there is reason to suppose that he is the William Burton of Accomac with whom this paper is concerned. As to the statement that William Burton of Accomac came to Virginia in 1635, there is the information in Miss Leach's notes that a certain William Burton left England on 21 August 1635, for Virginia in the ship Thomas commanded by Henry Taverner, master. In the list of William Burtons given above it will be seen that there were two of that name leaving England in 1635 on two different boats and of two different ages, one born in 1611 and one in 1615, too late to have been the William born at Longner Hall, son of Thomas Burton. William Burton (Longner Hall) had a son born in 1609, named William. whose history will be taken up later. As to either one of the 1635 Williams being the same as William Burton of Accomac, it seems that they were born too early: for at his death in 1695/6 he left three sons of eight years of age or younger, and, though this would not be impossible for a very old man, there are indications in his career and the age of his associates that he was born nearer to 16401 It is possible that he was a son of one of the 1635 Williams, but we have no proof. The tradition linking William Burton of Accomac to Longner Hail seems to have originated with the Rev. Gideon J. Burton (b. 1832), an Episcopal minister of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, whose pedigree was published in Munsell's American Ancestry of 1890." When certain puzzles and confusions in this pedigree were pointed out by William T. Tomlinson, a New York lawyer and descendant of William Burton, in a letter of Nell M. Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants (Baltimore, 1969), 150, 284. Northampton Orders, Bk. 8, 72! 30 July 1660, land certificate to John Wilcocks. My references in this paper are to records at the County Court Houses at Eastville, Northampton County, Va., at Accomac, Accomac County, Va., and at Georgetown, Sussex County, Del. Duplicates of Northampton and Accomac court records are at the Virginia Archives, State Library, Richmond, Va.. and of Sussex County, Del. court records at the Delaware Archiv., Hall of Records, Dover, Del. 5 There seems to be no deposition of William Burton in the Northampton and Acconmc court records in which his age is stated; however, there are depositions of several associates, friends and neighbors who are referred to later in this paper, making it possible to date the births of the following! John Fereby, in 1641; John Bagwell, in 1639 or 1640: his brother Thom. Bagwell, in 1642; William Nock, in 1644. 5 Frank Munsell, ed., American Ancestry: Giving the Name and Descent, in the Male 5 1623-1666 4 Line, of Americans whose Ancestors Settled in the United States previous to the Declaration of Independence, A.D. 1776. (Albany, N.Y., 1890). References to Gideon Burton are found in Vol. V. 180 f. and 237. William Burton 5 20 January 1917, to Gideon Burton's daughter, Mrs. Sarah Summers Burton Hughes, his request for further information was met by a letter from the grandson, 24 January 1917, stating that his grandfather's papers were in storage and unavailable but expressing the utmost confidence in his research, in the following terms: I personally assure you, however, that he took infinite pains in compiling the data in question and on numerous occasions while we lived abroad spent the week-end with the Buttons at Longner Hall, Shropshire, where not only as a relative but also as an intimate friend he had free access to all the family archives. There is not the slightest doubt nor has it ever been questioned, [concerning] our direct connection with the Burtons of Longner Hall. As for the accuracy of the descent in America, it has been accepted by the Society of Colonial Dames, and also Colonial Wars as authentic. . • . Anything my grandfather wrote was based on fact as he spared neither time or pains or expense to verify every detail and as a child I often travelled all over England with hint staying in venerable manors and curious houses to my eyes, with their vaulted ceilings of carved wood, marble floors and liveried servants. In spite of these assertions by Burton Donnel Hughes, there was justification for William Tomlinson's skepticism, as borne out by later research. For example, in tracing his American line from William Burton of Accomac, the Rev. Gideon Burton confused the family of William Burton of Accomac with that of Robert Burton (alias Spencer) of Accomac and Sussex,' and he mistakenly put the succession as from William to Robert to William to Woolsey, instead of from William to Woolsey to Woolsey, as he should have done, inserting the Robert to William succession where it does not belong, and omitting the Woolsey who was the father of the Woolsey listed. Furthermore, the English connection was by no means firmly established. Tomlinson, in his letter of 20 January 1917, wrote: The ancestry of Burton of Longner Hall will be found in Burke's Landed Gentry, 8th Edition, Vol. 1, pages 259 and 260, (1894)• . . . This line shows that Thomas was born in 1542 and died in 1619, that his first son was Edward, his heir, his second son, William, and his third son, John. No descendants of either William or John are given and no mention is made of the marriage of either, or of the death of either. The dates of their births are not given. Thomas was 77 years of age at the time of his death. If his son William came over in 1635, this was 16 years after the death of Thomas. Robert Burton came into Accomac as Robert Spencer, but before the Accomac court, January 19, 1677/8, he testified that he had gone under the name of Spencer since infancy but had now been informed by letter from relatives in England that his true name was Robert Burton, which some he would now go by henceforth until death. Accomac Records, Vol. VI, 84. Both Robert Burton and William Burton lived in Accomac, but Robert finally moved to Sussex on land he bought from Andreas Derrickson in 1693, adjoining land belonging to William Burton of Accomac. Robert's eldest son, born in 1677 (Herndon, 153, cited in Note 1), was named William, which may have caused some of the confusion in identity. There is no proof of any kinship between Robert Burton and the William Burton of this paper, father of Woolsey Burton of Sussex. 6 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine He went on to admit that the supposed connection was just barely possible, but he wondered if the William of Accomac might not have been the son of the immigrant of 1635. The need of at least another generation has occurred to others who have studied the matter!' In spite of the difficulty of connecting William Burton of Accomac (d. 1695/6) with Longner Hall, the pedigrees in Munsell and elsewhere have maintained it. However, Miss Leach in her notes on this supposed origin remarks, "I have never seen the authority." William Tomlinson and his cousin Mrs. Mary L- Burton Derrickson, the present writer's mother, unable to obtain any further information on Gideon Burton's research but supposing it was thorough and based on inside word from England, accepted the connection with Longner Hall on faith and proceeded to have the coat of arms of the Burtons of Longner Hall painted for their use. I visited Longner Hall in 1956, out of curiosity, and since then have tried to learn more about William, the second son of Thomas Burton (1542-1619). Correspondence with the Librarian of the Borough of Shrewsbury has yielded some new facts. In a first letter of 14 January 1971, the Librarian, Mr. M. F. Messenger, sent a pedigree from the George Morris Genealogies showing that none of the sons of Thomas Burton had settled in Virginia. In particular, the second son, William Burton of Atcham, citizen of London, who married Susan Lee, had a son William who lived in Kingston-uponThames in Surrey and who died 28 December 1657. Furthermore, Thomas Burton's heir, Edward, had no sons in Virginia, and Edward's grandson Thomas, born in 1637, died 24 April 1695 — that is, at about the same time as William Burton of Accomac, William Burton of Atcham, citizen of London, seems to have derived his name from William Beiste of Atcham, the father of his mother Katherine, and the name is passed on to his son. Neither of these William Burtons settled in America. Before receiving Mr. Messenger's letter I had discovered that a William Burton, son of William of Atcham, Salop, matriculated at Queen's College, Oxford, 20 May 1625, at the age of 16 (which makes him born in 1609).' He was Greek lecturer at Gloucester Hall, and for some years was assistant to the famous schoolmaster of Kent, Thomas Farnabie. He became master of the Free School at Kingston-upon-Thames. He died 28 December 1657, and was buried at St. Clement Danes, London. Two years before his death he was taken with palsy and retired to London. Upon receipt of Mr. Messenger's letter it became perfectly clear to me that Thomas Burton's son William was the father of this scholar. See Herndon, 143, cited in Note I. Oxonienses 1500-1714, Vol. 1. 219. William Burton 7 Now the problem was whether there was any other way for William Burton of Accomac to be derived from Longner Hall. Could he have been a grandson of the William of Longner Hall through his son William, the scholar, or through another as yet unknown son? The Shrewsbury Librarian's answer to this question, in a letter of 29 April 1971, was this: We have carried out a further search of the Burton pedigree following your letter of April 21st., checking again the George Morris MSS as well as those of Joseph Morris and Hardwicke. There are no other children, according to these sources, of the marriage of William Burton senior and Susan Lee. In addition he verified the Alumni Oxonienses account of William Burton junior, the scholar, and gave several other references, one of which was Burtons own Commentary on Antoninus his Itinerary , and another, Anthony a Wood's Athenae Oxonienses. Burton in his Commentary tells about his family at Longner Hall, dwelling especially on his great-grandfather Edward who is buried in the garden there.'" Anthony a Wood furnishes other details." He traces the pedigree back through William and Thomas to Edward Burton, and refers to the scholar's daughter Appollonia, wife of one Calverley of Pewter Street in Westminster, who informed him that her father was born within the precincts of Austin Friars in London- Besides this one daughter Appollonia no child of his is known. Being a poor man, he evidently left no will; at least none has been found in the indexes. His papers, manuscripts, Roman coins collected around Shrewsbury, etc., passed into the hands of a former student, Thomas Thynne, Esq., who became heir of the large estate of Longleet in Wiltshire and received at length the title of Viscount Weymouth. It seems a proper conclusion that William Burton the scholar had no son. At present we must conclude that there is no direct connection, if any, between William Burton of Accomac and the Burtons of Longner Hall. Certainly he was not the son of Thomas Burton of that place. Burton is a fairly common name in England, which makes it difficult to discover the English origin of William Burton of Accomac. East Anglia might hold a clue, for Burtons are numerous there and a great many of the early immigrants to Virginia came from that area. There also might be a clue in his Virginia associates, since there was a tendency for the early immigrants to cluster together according to their place of origin. Again, there might be a clue in the names of his children, the name Woolsey being par10 William Barton, A Commentary on Antoninus his Itinerary or Journies of the Roman Empire, So Far as it Concernoh Brdain (London, 1658). 136 - 138. Anthony a Wood, Arnow Oxonienses. An exact history of all the writers and bishops Who have had their education in The most ancient and famous University of Oxford (1500-1690) (London, 1690). Vol • 2, 138. 8 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine ticularly distinctive; Woolsey is a Suffolk name. I have checked out several William Burtons in England, however, without success. Harrison did not attempt to connect the Burtons of Henrico County, Virginia, with any English ancestor in his Burton Chronicles of Colonial Virginia," though he thought it possible that they came from London. In the appendix of that book he deals with the Burtons of the Eastern Shore, using material supplied him by Stratton Nottingham, whose earliest record of William Burton concerns a transaction of 5 January 1665/6, in which William Burton of Accomac was selling cattle to Mary Cole of Northampton." My own research into the history of William Burton of Accomac has located a certificate granted at court in Northampton County 30 July 1660, to John Wilcocks for 1000 acres for transporting 20 persons into the county, among them William Burton. Here is the complete list: Ann Wilcocks, Rose Yardly, Mary Avery, Cornelius Johnson, John Custis, Wm Marshall, Robt Marklockson, Henry Yardley. Wm Burton, Arien Ames, John Wilcocks, Wm St. Johns, Mary Barber, Ann Jeanes, Geo Jenkins, John Floyd, fflorence Pornroy, Wm Taylor, John Fereby, Wm Pryer." I have been able to identify some of these persons besides William Burton. Ann Wilcocks was at this time the wife of John Wilcocks, who lists himself. She was born Ann Custis, daughter of John Custis, a native of Gloucestershire who kept an inn for Englishmen in Rotterdam, where Col. Argo11 Yardley, as a widower, married her in 1649 when he took a cargo of tobacco from Virginia to Rotterdam. Her father and her brothers, John and William Custis, appear soon afterwards in the Northampton records. The brothers took the Oath of Fidelity in 1658, which means that they were being naturalized after at least four years of residence. John soon became High Sheriff. Before this time, after the death of Yardley in 1655, Ann had married John Wilcocks; and her stepdaughter Rose Yardley, and her son Henry Yardley, are both on Wilcocks's list." Several others on this headright list are found in other Northampton records. The date of a headright certificate does not tell us when the person named 12 Francis Burton Harrison, Burton Chronicles of Colonial Virginial being excerpts from the existing records) particularly relating to the Hamm of the valley of the James and Appomattox; with especial reference to the ancestry of Jesse Burton of Lynchburg (17507 , 1795). Privately printed, 1933. 1.4 Northampton County Bk. 7, 8, folio 10 at back of book: 5 Jan. 1665/6, sale of cattle by William Burton to Mary Cole Sc Northampton Orders, cited in Note 4- This item does not appear as a Virginia land grant in Nugent, cited in Note 3. A copy of the certificate is published in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, XXVIII 119201. 149 f. 1-11 See esp. Ralph T. Whitelaw, Virginia's Eastern Shore, A History of Northampton and Accomack Counties, (Gloucester. Mass.. 1968), 1, 108, 290. William Burton 9 arrived in the colony. For example, John Custis and Ann Wilcocks and her family were not newcomers to Virginia in 1660, the date of Wilcocks's list. The system of headrights was instituted to encourage settlement in Virginia. Anyone who paid for his own transportation to settle there was entitled to receive 50 acres of land for his own "personal adventure" and a like amount for any person or "head" he brought in at his expense. Headrights could be collected over a period of time before being presented to the clerk of the court for certification. They were often sold or used in payment of debts, and so could pass from hand to hand before being presented to the court. Those who had been transported at another's expense might become indentured servants, a modification of the old apprentice system, for a period of some 5 to 7 years; such indentured servants could be persons of any social class, young and unskilled or craftsmen. The presence of William Burton's name on Wilcocks's 1660 list indicates that he had arrived in Northampton County before that time, but not how long before, nor under what circumstances. He might have brought himself in and sold his headright, or been brought in by someone other than Wilcocks. It is possible that he was transported from mainland Virginia rather than from England; and he may indeed have been descended from an earlier colonist. John Wilcocks died in 1662. Whether William Burton had sold his headright to Wilcocks or done service for him in return for his transportation into Northampton, he was in 1662 on the list of tithables in Northampton as an independent individual." In the same list Mr. John Custis is tithable for 16 persons, and his brother Mr. William Custis for 5. But in 1663 William Burton's name is not found among the tithables of either Northampton or the newly formed Accomac. Perhaps he is hidden among the 18 unnamed tithables of Mr. John Custis at that date, for in 1664, when Custis's tithables are named, William Burton is fourth in the list, which is headed by the name of Capt- John Custis.' t In 1665 William Burton is again missing from the lists of tithables, although Capt. John Custis names his 16 tithables for this year." Since John Custis was a merchant, plying between Virginia and Holland, it is possible that William Burton as an associate was absent abroad on his business in 1665. But he is present in Accomac (now a separate county) as early as 5 January 1665/6, when he is selling cattle to Mary Cole. At the end of this year, December 18, he is summoned with others to appear before the 5,, Northampton Orders cited in Note 4, 138*. 1662 tithables. Since William Burton was tithable at this time, he was at least 16 years old. m Northampton Orders cited in Note 4, 175 for 1663, and 197 for 1664: John Custis's tithables. .Northampton Orders, Bk. 9, 14: 1665, John Custis's tithables. 10 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Accomac court for absence from jury duty, but is acquitted on 17 January 1666/7, proving lawful excuse." It is in 1667 that he first appears as a tithable in Accomac," when he is listed as responsible for one tithe. From this time on he is a resident of Accomac, tithable there up to his death in all the years for which records are preserved. In 1668 he began acquiring Accomac land. All of it was on the seaboard side, close to the present Locustville; a part of it was an island — Cedar Island, north of Burton's Bay. Probably around 1670 he married Ann Stratton, daughter of Thomas and Agnes Stratton of Northampton, and thus became more closely connected with her father's half-brothers John and Thomas Bagwell, his associates in various later dealings. He was a member of the Established Church and was appointed to the vestry of Hungar's Parish in 1672." Over the years he engaged in numerous legal disputes, enabling one to trace his history in some detail through the Accomac court records; in particular, he and his wife quarreled with their neighbor William Custis, but the rift was not permanent. Besides his various extensive tracts in Accomac, he acquired thousands of acres of land along the seaboard farther north in Maryland and on both sides of the Indian River in what is now Sussex County, Delaware. His first grant of land in the Delaware region was authorized 20 September 1677," by Gov• ernor Andros, representing the Duke of York. This land was in Long Neck, and was described as situated on the north side of the Great River at the head of a small creek called Indian Cabin Creek. The Great River of this description is the present Indian River, and the tract of land, a few miles from Angola, has long been called, after the house built there by his son Woolsey, the "White House" farm. The seal of the Andros grant is preserved in the Delaware Archives. In 1682 the Duke of York conceded this region in which William Burton had his grant, to William Penn, and thereafter it was known as Sussex County in the territories of Pennsylvania. In 1679 William Burton sold 500 acres of his Long Neck tract in Sussex County to his wife's half-uncle, Thomas Bagwell.' After the death of the parties to this sale there was litigation over it for a hundred years. Other references to his Sussex land indicate that he kept in touch with what was rs Accomac Orders 1666-1670, 14: 17 Jan. 1666/7, acquittal of William Burton for absence from Jury. Accomac Deeds and Wills 1664-1671, 65 1667, William Burton in tithable list. Accomac Deeds 1671-1673, 193: 1672, election of William Burton to vestry. 22 Sussex Co., Del., Patent Book, fol. 79: 20 September 1677. Patent to William Barton. Also in William Burton's will (see Note 26). J. Thomas Scharf, History of Delaware 1609 - 1888 (Philadelphiw 1888), II. 1268. William Burton 11 going on there, though he continued to reside in Accomac. For example, on 20 February 1689/90, he joined with Thomas Bagwell in a case against John Barker for killing stock on their Sussex plantation and marking seven head of cattle to his own use, and claimed damage to the amount of 20.000 pounds of tobacco and cost. Barker failing to appear at court, the sheriff returned Nicholas Millichop, Thomas Powell, and John Simkin as bail for Barker's appearance, and a month later Millichop as bail was ordered to pay 3500 pounds of tobacco and costs." Of the many details that could be given concerning William Burton's life in Accomac, it will suffice here to note that in 1692/3, 21 March, his name was on Governor Andros's list of justices of the peace for that county, and that he was reappointed in the two subsequent years before his death.' His will was made 5 January 1695/6." Death had occurred by 18 February, on which date John Revell and Robert Scott, two of the witnesses to the will, made oath in open court that they recognized the document. It was presented before the justices at court 17 March, and was recorded 24 March. This will, which shows William Burton's knowledge of the law and surveying (he was appointed a surveyor in 1675), is extremely long and detailed, specifying the history and boundaries of each piece of land bequeathed, with directions for entailment, to his nine sons in order of seniority, William, John, Thomas, Benjamin, Joseph, Stratton, Woolsey, Jacob. and Samuel, and making bequests to his wife Ann and his daughter Agnes Revell, wife of his "loving son-in-law" John Revell, and to their children, Frances. Edward, and Elizabeth Revell. Executors were his wife Ann and his son William, but William on 18 February relinquished his executorship. Witnesses were John Revell, Robert Scott, and Robert Edge. The will requested that his "well beloved friends" Capt. William Custis with whom he had quarreled and William Nock " and his "loving son in law" John Revell, and also his "very good friend Mr. John Hill of Lewis Town in the Territories of Pennsylvania," should assist in the interpreting and carrying out of the will "to see that my Children may not receive any wrong or prejudice." In the preamble he referred to his property as "that Estate wch God of his goodness far above my desires hath .Accomac Wills and Orders 1682-1697, 177. and 181: 1689/90. William Burton and Thomas Bagwell vs John Barker. .Accomac Wills 1692-1715, Part I, 7 for 1692/3. 59 for 1694, 75 for 1695: appointments of William Burton as Justice of the Peace. 05 /bid., 100: will of William Burton. This is the first will for any William Burton in Virginia. 2, Nock, one of the Accomac Quakers, lived on adjoining land. It is of interest that his son Thomas, also a Quaker, settled in Kent County, Del., where he bought "Tidbury" near Rising Sun in 1715. 12 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine been pleased to bless me with" and expressed confidence in his joyful resurrection through the merits and mediation of his blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He signed himself "Willi Burton." By the will the Sussex County land, both that granted by Andros and other pieces, went to four of the nine sons. John, his second son, was to receive the Long Neck grant (minus the half sold to Thomas Bagwell), and Joseph, his fifth son, and Woolsey, his seventh, were each to have one half of the 775 acres on the north side of the Indian River next to Long Neck which had been obtained from John Barker. Joseph's portion was next to the land of Robert Burton. These two tracts were entailed between these three sons. If John died without lawful heir, his land was to descend to Woolsey, in which case Joseph was to have Woolsey's half of the 775-acre tract as well as his own- This tract was entailed between Joseph and Woolsey and their heirs. The eighth son, Jacob, was to receive a tract purchased from Thomas Jones "of Lewistown" on the north side of the Indian River next to John's tract. All bequests to the sons were to become effective when they reached 21, if their mother lived until then, or at 18 in case of her prior death. Ann Burton remarried. Her second husband, James Alexander, made bequests to all nine of his Burton stepsons in his will of 1708/9. Three years later Ann Burton, now the widow Alexander, herself died. Her will (probated 4 March 1711/12) " mentioned eight of her nine Burton sons, her son-in-law John Revell, and her Revell grandchildren. John Burton is known to have died earlier, as his will was probated in Sussex County 10 March 1708/9." He left no heirs: therefore, by the entailment in his father's will, Woolsey. who turned 21 in 1709, received the Long Neck grant and Joseph the whole of the 775 acres bounded by Woolsey on one side and by Robert Burton on the other. Jacob also died without heirs, as shown by his will probated in Sussex 20 January 1716/ 1 V' Of the four Burton brothers who originally inherited the William Burton land on the north side of the Indian River in Sussex County, Woolsey was the only one living after 25 February 1719/20, when Joseph's will " was probated in Sussex County leaving his estate to his wife Elizabeth "' and four minor children. Woolsey died a little over ten years later. His will (made 88 Accomac Wills 1692-1715, Part II, 560: 4 March 1711/12, will of Ann Burton Alexander8 . Sussex Wills, Liber A, 443: 10 March 170819, will of John Burton. 8 . Ibid., 94: 20 January 1716/17, will of Jacob Burton. .1bid., 124: 25 February 1719/20i will of Joseph Barton. 88 Elizabeth was the daughter of his neighbor Robert Barton, by his first wife, Catharine. Herndon, 152. cited in Note 1. William Burton 13 in Sussex County 9 April 1728, and probated there 8 July 1730) " follows the example of his father's, describing each tract of land in detail and entailing it within the family. He made bequests to his wife Ann," three sons and four daughters. At the time of his death his eldest child, John, was 18. Another son was born after the will was made." From the inscription on Woolsey Burton's tombstone, which runs, "Here lies the body of Woolsey Burton, Esq. who departed this life May 21, 1730, age 42 yrs. 3 mo. 1 day," we can infer that the date of his birth was February 20, 1687/8. This tombstone and the tombstone of his wife Ann Burton Plaskett stand in a little brick-walled graveyard very close to the west end of their house built about 1717, a one-and-a-half-story, whitewashed, Flemish bond brick structure in its original location overlooking the Indian River. .a Susses Wills, Liber A, 231; 8 July 1730, will of Woolsey Burton. 34 Herndon, 148, cited in Note 1, argues very convincingly that Ann was the stepdaughter of Robert Burton, the daughter of his second wife Comfort Bagwell Leatherbury by her first husband Perry Leatherbury, Sr., of Accomac. " The Register of St. George's Chapel, kept at the Episcopal Rectory, Rehoboth Beach. Del., has the births of all the children of Woolsey and An' Burton. See p. 4 f. St. George's Chapel was organized in Indian River Hundred in 1706- Information Wanted Mrs. Harry C. Hammel], 468 Snyder Ave., Pitman, N.J., 08071 is compiling a MacNeill genealogy and will exchange MacNeill information. She seeks the parents of CHARLES MACNEILL who M. EI,IZABETH MATTHEWS, dau. of the Duke of Argyle. Their son JAMES MACNEILL, SR., b. 1790 Malpeque, Prince Edward Island, Canada; d. 28 April 1883, or. 93 yrs., Lot 7, Burton, Pr. Ed. Is., m. (when and where?) MARY TAYLOR (dau. of whom?) b. 1800, Malpeque, d. 28 April 1891, an. 91 years. Mr. James McNeill, 811 Griffith St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19111 wants to purchase History of Ireland, by Dr. Godfrey Keating, and Irish Pedigrees by John O'Hart. In collaboration with Mrs. Hammel!, he is compiling MACNEILL - MACNEEL genealogy of the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Scotland, to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania and Cape Fear, North Carolina. Alternate IMES: PRESTON* LEE.