Richard Eltonhead

Richard Eltonhead fought for the Earl of Derby and the monarch King Charles I in the first English civil war. As a consequence of supporting the defeated Royalist Cavaliers, Richard lost most of his wealth and was no longer able to afford dowries for his five young daughters.

The Eltonhead (or Eltonhed) family were of Lancashire County, England, and descended from Henry of Eltonhed through Thomas, Henry, Nicholas, John, Richard, William, to Richard of Eltonhed, Gent., in the eighth generation from Henry. Richard was aged eighty-two, September 23, 1664. He married Ann, the daughter of Edward Sutton, of Rushton Spencer, County of Stafford. He was the father of Jane, who married Cuthbert Fenwick. She was the sister of Richard of "Eltonhead" and William Eltonhead. The latter was Privy Councillor of Maryland and was shot in cold blood after the battle of Severn, "for treason," by the Puritans. His uncle, Edward Eltonhead, was one of the "Masters" of the English "High Court of Chancery."
(Ancestral Records and Portraits vol 2, page 544)

Descendants of Richard Eltonhead of Lancashire, England

Richard's brother William, an official in Maryland for Lord Baltimore, found husbands in Maryland and Virginia in the 1640s for Richard's five younger daughters. They married middle-aged planters who were satisfied that their youth and the fertility record of their parents made up for not having a dowry. Three became young widows in the 1650s. Now they had property and they married three of the most prominent men in Virginia.

Jane Eltonhead born in 1622 married Cuthbert Fenwick in 1640s and settled near old capital of Maryland, St. Mary, where their descendants still live in the 21st century.

Eleanor Eltonhead born in 1623(?) married William Brocas in 1640s, father of her children. Her second husband was John Carter. They had no children. She died in 1656 and is buried at Christ Church in Lancaster County, Virginia.

Agatha Eltonhead was christened 10 February 1623 at Saint Mary's in Prescot, England. Her first husband was Luke Stubbins. Then she married Ralph Wormeley and became hostess of Rosegill in Middlesex County, Virginia, and mother of two sons, including the second Ralph Wormeley -- who like his father was prominent in Virginia colonial politics. Upon marriage to her third husband Sir Henry Chicheley, Agatha became Lady Agatha. Her Oxford-educated third husband came from the same family as an Archbishop of Canterbury. Sir Henry served twice as acting governor of Virginia and was in political hot water after the Bacon Rebellion -- which seems to have been about the falling price of tobacco on the London Market.

Martha Eltonhead was christened 10 February 1628 at Saint Mary's in Prescot. She was married in 1645 in Lancaster County, Virginia, to Edwin Conway.

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.

An Illustrated History of Sutton in St.Helens, Lancashire Part 2 (of 68) - Sutton's Lords & Masters #1

Back in England in 1676, Richard Eltonhead sold Elton Head Hall to Thomas Roughley of Sherdley for £2700 and died in 1688, leaving an estate worth just £5. The remaining family moved to Liverpool and later emigrated themselves. The street sign in Elton Head Road serves as a permanent reminder of the once powerful Sutton family who fell on hard times but did well across the Atlantic. Incidentally the Eltonheads were also the first to start mining in Sutton when, around 1540, a seam of coal was accidentally discovered during the digging of a clay pit. (See Mineworking in Sutton)
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Birth: Jan., 1581
Death: Jan., 1665

Recusant and Royalist who resided at Eltonhead Hall in Sutton. Described as Richard Eltonhead, the Elder, of Sutton, Gentleman, he petitioned the Committee of Compounding on June 19, 1649, charged with assisting the King's forces against Parliament. He registered his pedigree on September 23rd in William Dugdale's 1664 Heraldic Visitation of Lancashire.

Richard was baptized at Prescot, January 6, 1580/81, and buried there, January 18, 1664/65.

Buried January 18, 1664/65, St Mary Churchyard Prescot Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley Merseyside, England Find a Grave

(Research): Information on the Eltonhead line from Mrs. Jon West of Palmyra, N.Y. 1973 who also states "I understand the name Eltonhead was once 'Norres'-(Hugh le Norrys, Hugh le Haigh). Another source:«i» The Family Forest Descendants of Richard Eltonhed «/i»by Bruce H. Harrison gives his & Ann Sutton's children as: Richard Ann m. Edmund Vail Katharine b.1609 m. Thomas Mease John d. 1612 Elizabeth b. 1613 m. Henry Parham Barbara b. 1616 d. 1689 Jane m. 1) Robert Morrison 2) Cuthbert Fenwick Agatha Henry b. 1623 Eleanor m.1) Col. John Carter 1624-1669 Lancaster co. Va. son of Robert Carter & Petronella Curete 2)Capt. Willilam Brocas Martha m. Edwin Conway Alice m. 1)Rowland Burnham 2) Hon. Henry Corbin James d. aft 1658 Descendants of Richard Eltonhed The Family Forest Descendants of Richard Eltonhed by The Family Forest Leadership Edition Bruce H. Harrison Millisecond Publishing. Co. Inc. POB 6168 Kamuela, HI 96743 2004 FamilyForest.com

From: «i»acvancestors.com«/i»:
He inherited the manor of Eltonhead form his uncle Thomas Eltonhead, since his father had predeceased Thomas. He was appointed the overseer in 1609 if his uncle Thomas. The manor of Eltonhead & other premises in Sutton were held of William, Earl of Derby. by a 20th part of a knight's fee & by rent of a pair of gloves. The properties were judged to be worth "per annum clear 4 pounds sterling".
Eltonhead consisted of 12 messuages (houses with their surrounding land & buildings), 6 cottages, a dove house, a windmill, 4 tofts (main residences with outbuildings & adjacent lands), 20 gardens, 20 orchards, 100 acres of land, 30 acres of meadow, 100 acres of moss, 13 shillings, & 4 pence rent in Eltonhead & Sutton. Of Richard's 8 daughters, 5 possibly 6 emigrated to Virginia or Maryland. Perhaps the Cromwellian era of their exodus had made life more difficult. Richard was a loyalist, as were the father's of his daughter's husbands. In 1642 his estates were ordered sold since he had supported Charles I. In 1649 he petitioned regarding his 'capital messuage & lands called Eltonhead & Sutton', claiming a deduction of 120 pounds, it being a debt due on a bond to Thomas Barnes, who sued him 'to the outlawry' in 1646. In 1652 Richard was required to pay 'loyalist composition fines' to the treasury. His fine seems to have been comparatively light, but those of many loyalists were ruinous.

Sources

1. Magna Carta Ancestry: A study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Richardson, Douglas, (Kimball G. Everingham, editor. 2nd edition, 2011), vol. 2 p. 122