Richard Booth, of Stratford

Richard Boothe, was born in England in 1607, for in an affidavit, March 15, 1687-8, he describes himself as about 81 years of age. From what part of England he came, or in what year is not fully known, nor is there certain evidence of his immediate ancestors, but his name — Richard — and those of John and Robert, are family names in the line of the Boothe families of Cheshire, England, an ancient house, connected also by marriage with several families of distinction. If, as is not improbable, Richard, of Stratford, were of that stock, the relationship, it is supposed, would be established through Richard, of Coggshill, and Baron in Cheshire, who was son of Sir William Boothe, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Warburton, and was born about 1570, and died in 1628. Richard Boothe's name and those of his descendants are prominent on Stratford records. His home lot, 29, indicates his settlement there among the earliest, but probably not before his marriage in 1640. He married, 1st, Elizabeth, the sister of Joseph Hawley," for his son Ephraim, in his will styles Samuel Hawley (son of Joseph) cousin. He was one of the proprietors of the township and received divisions of land located in various parts of the town, as did also the other proprietors. He was probably married twice and had eight children. The latest mention of him extant is in March, 1688-9, in his 82nd year.

Source: A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut by Orcutt, Samuel, 1824-1893

The expert Connecticut genealogist, Donald Lines Jacobus, wrote of Richard Boothe's ancestry:

"The Booth chart compiled by George Munson Booth of Chicago, Illinois, states that Richard was baptized at Great Budsworth, co. Cheshire, England, August 1608, a son of Edward (d. 1628), who was a son of William of Twemlow, co. Cheshire (by his wife Ellen, daughter of John Davenport of Davenport, who was a son of Edward of Twenlow, who was a son of Sir William Booth of Dunham Massie, co. Cheshire (d. 1519). The earlier generations of this pedigree are authentic, but I know not the authority for the connection of this line with Richard of Stratford." "It was somewhat natural, in the early days of genealogical study, to try to connect Richard Booth with the well-known family of that name in Cheshire, but his origin is as much a matter of speculation today as it ever was. His brother-in-law, Joseph Hawley was from Parwick, Derbyshire, and an origin in that county has recently been discovered for William Beardsley who came to New England in 1635 and was an original settler in Stratford in 1639. Hence we are more inclined to believe that Richard Booth was a member of the Derbyshire contingent than that he came from Cheshire. Certainly the Booth surname is frequently and prominently found in the records of County Derby."

Parentage of Richard Boothe, of Stratford

There are questions about Richard Booth's parentage. ThePeerage.com (cited below), lends additional weight to the case that Richard (1607) Booth is a descendant of the Booths of Dunham Massey (Massie) (Cheshire, England); Burke's Peerage and Gentry, however, identifies his parents as Richard (b.1578) Booth and Elizabeth Massey, which still would make him a grandson of Sir William Booth and Elizabeth Warburton; and great-grandson of George Bothe and Elizabeth Trafford, (but the name Edward does not appear among those of Richard (1578's) siblings).
The following details are from thePeerage's entry for Richard (1607) Booth:

"Richard Booth1 M, #346598, b. 5 March 1607, d. 1687

Last Edited=30 Mar 2009

Richard Booth was born on 5 March 1607.1 He was the son of Richard Booth and Elizabeth Massey.1 He married, firstly, Margaret Hardman, daughter of Geoffrey Hardman, on 3 July 1632.1 He married, secondly, Elizabeth Hawley, daughter of unknown Hawley, on 10 September 1640.1 He died in 1687.1

Children of Richard Booth and Elizabeth Hawley

1. Elizabeth Booth+1 b. 10 Sep 1641, d. 24 Oct 1739
2. Joseph Booth+1 b. 8 Mar 1656, d. 1 Sep 1703

Citations [S344] Burke's Peerage and Gentry, online http://www.burkes-peerage.net. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Gentry."

The following account assigns Richard's paternity to Edward Booth:

Richard Booth was born in 1607, and died after 15 March 1687/8 in Stratford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. He married circa 1640, Elizabeth Hawley, daughter of Samuel, (Judge), who was born circa 1607 in Parwich, Derbyshire, England.

In a list without date, but certainly before 1651, of every man's fence in the old field, Richard Booth is set down for eight rods. His home lot, numbered 29, was on the present Main Street, between those of Joshua Judson and Adam Hurd and directly across the street from that of Isaac Nichols, Sr. In 1662 he signed a document as Townsman, or as later called, Selectman. His name is in the list of inhabitants drawn up for Connecticut Colony, dated 28 March 1668. He was one of those who received land by 1670 in the section known as Nichols' Farms, where one branch of his descendants lived for several generations.

Donald Lines Jacobus wrote: "The Booth chart compiled by George Munson Booth of Chicago, Illinois, states that Richard was baptized at Great Budsworth, co. Cheshire, England, August 1608, a son of Edward (d. 1628), who was a son of William of Twemlow, co. Cheshire (by his wife Ellen, daughter of John Davenport of Davenport, who was a son of Edward of Twenlow, who was a son of Sir William Booth of Dunham Massie, co. Cheshire (d. 1519). The earlier generations of this pedigree are authentic, but I know not the authority for the connection of this line with Richard of Stratford."

"It was somewhat natural, in the early days of genealogical study, to try to connect Richard Booth with the well-known family of that name in Cheshire, but his origin is as much a matter of speculation today as it ever was. His brother-in-law, Joseph Hawley was from Parwick, Derbyshire, and an origin in that county has recently been discovered for William Beardsley who came to New England in 1635 and was an original settler in Stratford in 1639. Hence we are more inclined to believe that Richard Booth was a member of the Derbyshire contingent than that he came from Cheshire. Certainly the Booth surname is frequently and prominently found in the records of County Derby."

Birth: Mar. 5, 1607 Cheshire, England Death: 1688 Stratford Fairfield County Connecticut, USA

He was probably born in Great Budnarth, Cheshire, England on March 5, 1606-1607 to Edward Booth, Jr. and Marsia (surname unknown). He went to Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut in 1640 and became one of the earliest settlers. He married Elizabeth Hawley September 10, 1640 and they had eight children including Bethiah Booth who married Joseph (Ensign) Curtis, Sr. The records of Stratford, Connecticut say that he was descended from Charlemagne, Holy Roman Ruler of much of western Europe in the year 800 A. D. Richard Booth prospered in Stratford and has left thousands of descendants in this country.

Family links:

Children:

 Ephraim Booth (1648 - 1683)*

 Ebenezer Booth (1651 - 1732)*

 John Booth (1653 - 1728)*

 Joseph Booth (1656 - 1703)*

 Bethia Boothe Curtiss (1658 - 1699)*

Spouse:

 Elizabeth Hawley Booth (1607 - 1689)*

*Point here for explanation

Burial: Old Congregational Burying Ground Stratford Fairfield County Connecticut, USA

links

• http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=eliassillhawley&id...

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GEDCOM Note

:Richard Booth may or may not have arrived by 1640. He is protected by the PGM project because of known errors in his parentage. Category: Stratford, Connecticut CONTROVERSY: The parents of Richard Booth have not been verified as there is no agreement as to Richard's origins. There is more thanone Richard Booth in English records, from different locations, with different christening records, hence different parents. See discussionbelow, especially the notes of Donald Jacobus, a highly respected genealogist of early CT families. He has been detached from his previousparents of Richard Booth and Elizabeth Brooke.

Biography

:Birth 1607 Richard Booth was born
:Christening AUG 1608 Great Budnarth, Chchr, England??? :Also found :Christening 1607/1608 Derbyshire, England: Note: The date and location of Richard's birth has not been documented. Jacobus argues that it is likely that he came from Derbyshire (rather than Cheshire as some state) because so many others --including his brother-in-law-- who settled Stratford, CT in the 1630s came from Derbyshire and there a great number of Booths in Derbyshire records ofthe period.<ref>Jacobus, p.1</ref> Donald Lines Jacobus wrote: "The Booth chart compiled by George MunsonBooth of Chicago, Ill., states that Richard was bapt. at Great Budsworth, co. Cheshire, Eng., Aug. 1608, a son of Edward (d. 1628), who wasa son of William of Twemlow, co. Cheshire (by his wife Ellen, dau. ofJohn Davenport of Davenport), who was a son of Edward of Twenlow, whowas a son of Sir William Booth of Dunham Massie, co. Cheshire (d. 1519). The earlier generations of this pedigree are authentic, but I knownot the authority for the connection of this line with Richard of Stratford." "It was somewhat natural, in the early days of genealogical study, to try to connect Richard Booth with the well-known family of that name in Cheshire, but his origin is as much a matter of speculation today asit ever was. His brother-in-law, Joseph Hawley was from Parwick, Derbyshire, and an origin in that county has recently been discovered for William Beardsley who came to New England in 1635 and was an original settler in Stratford in 1639. Hence we are more inclined to believe that Richard Booth was a member of the Derbyshire contingent than that he came from Cheshire. Certainly the Booth surname is frequently and prominently found in the records of County Derby."[15] We are without definite records of more than one wife of Richard Booth, who because of certain records mentioning relationship is deduced to have been sister of Joseph Hawley and mother of the Booth children.  In the lack of a will or specific records, we may theorize that Richard was married once, twice, or even more times.  The conclusion thathe was twice married is based on a single record which refers to "my now wife",the assumption being that his invariably implied the existence of an earlier wife.  Often it did, but in other cases it was merely a legal bit of verbiage intended to distinguish a man's present wifefrom any other wife, whether a previous one or one he might acquire in the future.  Hence the implications of the term are far from certain. 

Note: One of the original settlers of Stratford, CT. Jacobus notes that although Stratford was settled in 1639, early records are so few that it is difficult assign a specific date to the arrival of the early settlers. He concludes that Booth and brother-in-law,Joseph Hawley were living there prior to 1650 and most likely arrivedca 1641 or shortly after. While the children's birthdates begin in 1641, they weren't recorded in Stratford records as a group until 1649,and no location is given thus not useful as evidence of Richard's arrival. Athough the list of the 17 original proprietors of the town has been lost,evidence points to Richard Booth as one of them. In 1724, AmbroseTompson age 72 and Ebenezer Boothe age 72 (son of Richard Booth) complain of injustice in the distribution of land, stating: "Our parents we suppose were actually or virtually among some of the very first settlers of the town of Stratford, which was settled with very great difficulty and charge, as we have been informed. The expense of one of ourparents for watching and warding and other charges, cost more than L40, money." [Stratford, CT Town Acts p.102] Richard Booth's name appears often in the town records of this day as "townsman" or selectman, and in other commissions of office and trust.  The prefix Mr before his name in the colonial records, indicates, under the rigid adjustment of social rank then observed, a position decidedly influential and respectable.  His large landed property he divided in this lifetime, among his children.  He left no will.  The latest mention of him extant, is a March 1688-89, in his 82nd year.  Asthe Congregational Burial Ground, west of Main street, was opened in 1678, he was doubtless buried there, and was his son Joseph, who outlived him not more than 12 to 15 years.  He owned, through grant and purchase, extensive property which he divided in his lifetime among his children. He was one of others who received land by 1670 in the section known as Nichols' Farms, where one branch of his descendants lived for several generations. Like others, his lands were spread over a considerable area, not necessarily adjoining one another. His home lot #29 was located on the west side of Main St., between Joshua Judson and Adam Hurd and across the street form Isaac Nichols, Sr. It was the fifth below the Bridgeport road. On March 15, 1687/88, he states he was about 81 and speaks of "my now wife", perhaps indicating he had an earlier wife. His first wife was Elizabeth Hawley, sister to Joseph Hawley the first town clerk and another early settler. No recorded will has been found but his children's names and birthdates are recorded at Stratford. It may be possible that Ulysses S. Grant descended from Richard Booth.National Genealogical Society quarterly, Volume 75:236?? Richard Boothe's name and those of his descendants are prominent on Stratford records. His home lot, 29 indicates his settlement there among the earliest, but probably before his marriage in 1640. He married,1st Elizabeth, the sister of Joseph Hawley, for his son Ephraim, in his will styles Samuel Hawley (son of Joseph) cousin. He was one of the proprietors of the township and received division of land located invarious parts of the town, as did also the other proprietors. He wasprobably[??] married twice and had eight children. The latest mention of him extant is in March, 1688/89, in his 82d year.<ref>p. 120 History of Stratford by Orcutt</ref> Early American Census shows Richard in Stratford, Fairfield Co CT in the years 1650,1655, 1658 & 1669.

Research notes==WikiData reference The Peerage give a baptism date 5 Mar 1607, citing Burke's Peerage and Gentry, online http://www.burkes-peerage.net. NOTE: No information found at this site which appears to be just a referral to other sites (as ofAugust 14, 2020)

Sources

<references />

• Roberts, Gary Boyd, Ancestors of American Presidents, Published in Cooperation with the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. Preliminary Edition by Carl Boyer, 3rd, Santa Clarita, California 1989. Also the 2009 edition. Footnote abbreviation: Roberts
• Booth Family Genealogy-Jacobus Title: Jacobus, Donald L. comp. The Genealogy of the Booth Family Booth Families of Connecticut for Six or More Generations (Eden C. Booth pub, 1952) Note: The compiler of this works is a professional genealogist although he does not cite specific sources except to say "Authorities Aside from Original Sources Consulted". Under thistitle he lists a number of local histories and other Booth genealogies as well as original town and church records.
• Booth Family Vol III compiled by John N Booth 1966 (uses Jacobus)
• Vital Records of (CT Towns of) Stratford, Newtown, Fairfield, Woodbury, weston, Berlin, Farmington, Roxbury, etc.
• Church Records (Congregational & Episcopalian) of Stratford, Hungtington, and Trumbull, Redding, Roxbury, South Britain, Easton, New Britain, Southington.
• History of Stratford by Orcutt
• Probate Recrods of Fairfield Stratford, Danbury, Woodbury, Farmington.
• Land Records Stratford, Newtown, Scattering
• Cemetery inscriptions, Hale Collection, State Library Hartford, manytowns
• Family Records, State Library Hartford, CT In many cases his dates differ from Orcutt's History of New Milford p.657-58.
• MSS: Booth Collection, Kate S. Fogarty, Fairfield Historical society\
• Pattersosn Genealogy, D. Williams Patterson, CT Historical society and numerous printed sources and family histories. see p 115-116
• Booth Line-Armericana 1920, "Russell-Baldwin Families"--(The Booth Line)," <i>Americana (American Historical Magazine) ; Jan-Dec 1920</i> Vol. 14:82 (Jan-Dec 1920): 79-83 Note: Assumption of the English ancestry of Richard Booth of Stratford is not proven.
• Colonial Connecticut Records, 1636 - 1776 (http://www.colonialct.uconn.edu/). "[Stratford] A list of Freemen as they are reputed amongst us.." 7 Aug 1669.
• Frederic Haines Curtiss, A Genealogy of the Curtiss Family Being a Record of the Descendants of Widow Elizabeth Curtiss who Settled in Stratford, Conn. 1639-40, Boston, Rockwell & Churchill Press, 1903, p. 2.
• Donald Lines Jacobus, History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, CD-Local and Family Histories: CT, 1600's - 1800's, (Produced in collaboration with the Genealogical Publishing Company, 2000), vol 1, p 87, 412.
• Hawley, Elias. The Hawley Record (E. H. Hutchinson & Co., Buffalo, N.Y., 1890) Page 436
• "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/SRS5-JJG : accessed 2014-11-11), entry for Richard /Booth/.
• 6913368: Old Congregational Burying Ground, Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut
• http://www.genealogieonline.nl/en/stamboom-baris/I74391.php