Alice Creyke

in 1645, the sibling quintet of Jane, Agatha, Martha, Eleanor and Alice emigrated to America and their Uncle William was charged with finding them suitable husbands. This he dutifully did within the states of Virginia and Maryland. However, as the grooms were middle-aged, most of the young sisters were widowed within ten to fifteen years.

The youngest of them, Alice Eltonhead, is said to have waited until her sixteenth birthday in order to marry wealthy, middle-aged tobacco planter Rowland Burnham, who owned a large tract of land within Middlesex County. Burnham died in 1656 after Alice had given him three sons and a daughter. She quickly married Henry Corbin (pictured left) who was killed during an Indian uprising in 1676 and Alice remarried again in 1677.

There have been many notable descendants of the five Eltonhead sisters from Sutton. Politician James Madison {1751-1836} is often considered the "father of the constitution" and was the great-great grandson of Martha. In 1809 Madison (pictured right) became the fourth American president and is to this day remembered through Madison Avenue and Madison Square Gardens in New York City, James Madison University in Virginia and by countless counties and towns in the United States that also bear his name.

Confederate general Robert E. Lee {1807-1870} was a descendant of Alice and the present US president, Barack Obama {1961- }, can also claim his lineage from the Eltonheads. President Obama, who between 1992 and 2004 taught constitutional law and General Lee, who rebelled against the American constitution, are fifth cousins, eight times removed.

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Alice Eltonhead was born at Eltonhead in 1630. She was married to her first husband, Virginia planter Rowland Burnham long enough to have three sons and a daughter. Rowland made out his will in 1655 when he was planning a voyage to London. On 25 July 1656 his 26-year-old widow married Henry Corbin, third son of Thomas Corbin and Winifred Grosvenor Corbin of Hall End in Warwickshire, England. The Maryland Provincial Court Records for 1654 show Henry Corbin trying to collect two debts -- one for 1,200 pounds of tobacco and the other for 1001 Musk Ratt skins. He was using skins to make hats in London -- where he called himself a draper.

Sources

1. Magna Carta Ancestry: A study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Richardson, Douglas, (Kimball G. Everingham, editor. 2nd edition, 2011), vol. 2 p. 123 Links

•  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mrmarsha&...
• http://www.suttonbeauty.org.uk/suttonhistory/lordsandmasters.html#e...

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Birth: 1627 Middlesex County Virginia, USA Death: Mar. 23, 1685 Middlesex County Virginia, USA

Prescot is a few mils north of the River Mersey and just east of Liverpool where ships are setting sail for Virginia and Maryland in the colonies. In 1607 at the age of 25, Richard Eltonhead married Ann Sutton, daughter of Edward Sutton of Rushton Spencer, Staffordshire, England. They were blessed with four sons and ten daughters. The youngest was Alice -- born in 1627 -- destined to be an ancestor of General Robert E. Lee of the American Civil War.

Alice married her first husband, Virginia planter Rowland Burnham long enough to have three sons and a daughter. Rowland made out is his will in 1655 when he was planning a voyage to London -- he and Alice were parents of three sons and a daughter. The will left Alice one-third of his land, one-third of the next tobacco crop and all the household furnishings and plates. On 25 July 1656 his 26 year old widow married Henry Corbin, who lost no time in proposing to the young widow whose beauty may be guessed at by viewing a portrait of her eldest daughter at the Lee estate, Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County. Henry Corbin, third son of Thomas Corbin and Winifred Grosvenor Corbin of Hall End in Warwickshire, England. the Maryland Provincial Court Records for 1654 show Henry Corbin trying to collect two debts -- one for 1,200 pounds of tobacco and the other for 1001 Musk Rat skins. He was using the skins to make hats in London -- where he called himself a draper.

Family links:

Spouse:

 Henry Corbin (1629 - 1675)*

Children:

 Laetitia Corbin Lee (1656 - 1706)*

 Gawin Corbin (1669 - 1745)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial: Christ Church Cemetery Christchurch Middlesex County Virginia, USA

Created by: Tricia Petitt Record added: May 10, 2017 Find A Grave Memorial# 179228077