Elizabeth Backus

Elizabeth married William Backus circa 1627 aged 20? in Sheffield, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. Husband William born 1606, would have been aged 21. Parish records (no source) show Elizabeth dying February 9, 1643 Sheffield, Yorkshire, England and buried at Sheffield Cathedral.

Family

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-430447

Children of William Backus and Elizabeth Unknown:

• Sarah Backus, was baptized 31 August 1628 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. She married John Reynolds, of Norwich. Sarah died 22 July 1702 in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut Colony.
• (Unnamed infant) Backus was born say 1630 in Sheffield. He was buried 7 January 1630/31 in Sheffield.
• Mary Backus was baptized 6 May 1632 in Sheffield. . She married Benjamin Crane. Mary died 8 July 1717.
• William Backus jr. (Lieutenant ) was baptized 30 November 1634 in Sheffield. He died April 1721.
• Lydia Backus was baptized 31 December 1637 in Sheffield. She married John Bayley. Lydia died June 1696.
• (Unnamed infant) Backus He was buried 28 December 1640 in Sheffield. Possibly a twin of Stephen?
• Stephen Backus was baptized 3 January 1641 in Sheffield.

Incorrect parents

It can be found on the internet that her name was Elizabeth or Ellen and that her LNAB was Cooke. They also make her the daughter of Christopher Cooke and his wife Joan Coplestone. This is all incorrect.

There is no evidence that Christopher Cooke had a daughter Elizabeth or Ellen. Also the dates make it almost impossible for the wife of William Backus to have been a daughter of Christopher Cooke. There is also the problem that the origins of William Backus has been shown to be in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England where he and Elizabeth baptized their children. Her name is properly Elizabeth Unknown.

Identity

https://ntgen.tripod.com/bw/bkus_index.html

Identity of First Wife of Immigrant William, the Father

Apparently no progress has been made over the years in identifying the ancestry, and surname, of William's first wife, Elizabeth. Savage (Dictionary of New England Genealogy) used the name Sarah Gardiner for her, but the consensus of researchers now is that Sarah Charles was the first wife of William's son, William.

There are some earlier genealogies out there that have an error that is being repeated. It is now proven and known that Sarah Charles was the first wife of William Backus, Jr., the son of the elder immigrant. Some genealogies report her as the wife of the elder immigrant. This is based on both the wills of Sarah Charles father and William Backus, Jr. This error is from repeating the work of Savage, whose published work predated the Civil War. His work is a valuable aid in New England genealogy, but it does have errors, and this one of them. (For example, see NEGHR, Vol 142, p. 253-4, 1988)

Falsely attributed children found on Geni.com:

• John Backus, b. before February 28, 1619; [ Was Elizabeth aged 12 ?] at United Kingdom; Died February 28, 1619 in United Kingdom Infant death.
• Thomas Backus, b. March 24, 1620, at United Kingdom; Died 1629 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom Died Young.
• Ellen Backus circa 1623 at United Kingdom, Died 1626 in United Kingdom died young.
• Elizabeth Backus, b. circa 1626, at United Kingdom;, d. 1631 in United Kingdom died young.

(This was corrected October 2022.)

References

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-430447 cites
   1. Bingham, Everett F., "William Backus of Sheffield, Yorkshire, and Norwich, Connecticut" in NEHGR vol. 142 no.3 (July 1988): pages 253-254. AmericanAncestors.org Link
   2. Jacobus, Donald L., "Backus Correction," The American Genealogist 14:2 (Apr 1938), p. 242, Los Angeles Public Library.
   3. Backus, Mary Elizabeth Neilson, The New England Ancestry of Dana Converse Backus (Salem, Massachusetts: 1949.), pp. 2-5, Los Angeles Public Library, 929.2 B126.
   4. Backus, Reno Warburton, The Backus Families of Early New England (Minnesota: R. W. Backus, 1966.), pp. 4-6, Family History Library, 929.273 B128.
   5. Jacobus, Donald Lines, Hale, House and Related Families: Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978.), p. 452, Family History Library, 929.273 H135j 1978.
   6. "The Four Spencer Brothers," The American Genealogist 27:3 (Jul 1951), p. 165, Los Angeles Public LibraryBingham, Richard C., "Fenton Records in Sheffield, Yorkshire," NEHGR 153:4 (Oct 1999) (New England Historic, Genealogical Society.), p. 499, Los Angeles Public Library.
   7. Jacobus, Donald Lines, The Granberry Family and Allied Families (Hartford, Connecticut: E.F. Waterman, 1945.), p. 163, Family History Library, 929.273 G762j.Crane, Jonathan, "The Crane Family," NEHGR 27:1 (Jan 1873) (New England Historic, Genealogical Society.), p. 77, Los Angeles Public Library
   8. Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985.), p. 29, Los Angeles Public Library, Gen 974 T694.
2. Brainerd, Dwight. Ancestry of Thomas Chalmers Brainerd (Montreal, Quebec, 1948) Page 25 < Archive.Org >
3. https://ntgen.tripod.com/bw/bkus_index.html