William Batte, Esq.

William Batte, Esq., was baptized at St Peter's Church, Birstall,[1] on 15 July 1632.[2] He immigrated to Charles City County, Virginia with his father and family in 1649, when he was about seventeen years old.[2]

He married 1st before 5 Sept. 1655 Susan Aston, widow of [Lieut. Col.] Edward Major, and daughter of [Lieut. Col.] Walter Aston, Gent.[2]

They had no known issue.[2] He removed to Isle of Wight County, Virginia, but soon returned to England.[2]

He married 2nd Elizabeth Horton, daughter of William Horton and they had three sons (William, John, and Gledhill) and three daughters (Elizabeth, Judith, and Martha).[2]

SOURCE: Biographical Sketches Virginians.com

ii. William Batte was born in 1629 in England. William "was a burgess for Elizabeth City Co. in 1658/9."

William Batte, the son of Capt. John Batte and Martha Mallory, was born 15 July 1632. He came to Virginia with his parents but evidently returned to England where he died.

Charles City County court records show a William Batte married Mrs. Susanna (Aston) Major before 1656. That year he called Mrs. Hannah Aston “mother [stepmother]” when he sold her some cattle. Susanna was the widow of Lt. Col. Edward Major of Nansemond and daughter of Lt. Col. Walter Aston. William Batte wrote the following document in May 1654 in England and it was recorded in Charles City County 3 April 1657.

Charles City County Court Know all men by these presents that I, William Batte, gent. do willingly allow my brothers, sic. Tho and Henry Batte (in consideration of their interest in Virginia) shall have 11 cowes, one heifer of two years old, two yearling heifers with their increase, the sd. cattell to remain upon our plantation in Charles City until they come of age. I do also allow that they shall each of them have two men servants with good clothes and bedding for four years which is according to the custom of the country, and each of them a feather bed with curtens, blankets, rug, and two pair sheets to each bed, and that they shall have sufficient meat, drink, apparrell, and lodging with other necessities until they come of age as above sd. Reserving only out of this the male cattel for my own use - Lastly, I do allow that the plantation shall be sold only for their proper use and benefit lying in Isle of Wight County, and that they shall equally have as much interest in the plantation in Charles City commonly called Spring Gardens as my self.

Rev. Philip Mallory witnessed this document in England. Thomas Mallory and a William Batte witnessed it in Charles City County. This second William Batte was perhaps the same William Batte who patented land in Charles City County in 1670. William evidently inherited the Isle of Wight land from his father. Capt. John Batte had bought land in Isle of Wight County from John Upton 3 February 1654/5. In 1657 Thomas Harris of Chippoakes in Surry County sold a tract of land he had acquired from William Batte and Mrs. Margaret Upton, widow of Lt. Col. John Upton. We could speculate that William had planned to settle in Virginia with his brothers because his eldest brother John would inherit all the Batte properties in England. Yet when he learned that his father and brother, both named John, had died, he returned to England to claim his inheritance. By this document, William may be arranging for the care of his two younger brothers who were to remain in Virginia. William inherited Oakwell Hall and several other estates after the reported death of his father. Yet he also inherited some of his financial woes. William wrote that he was “arrested, imprisoned and wounded by soldiers” who apprehended him for the debts of his father. On 3 June 1659, the following record appeared in the Charles City Court orders.

Charles City County Court Upon petition of Thos. Batts, gent. and a probability that his brother William is dead, the court hath ordered that all the cattle belonging to the sd. Thomas and his brother Henry be delivered unto him, the said Thomas, he giving good caution to keep the court harmless, and that the male cattel belonging to the sd. William Batts shall be and remain in the hands and custody of his attorney, Mr. Thos. Holford.

The records do not explain the circumstance surrounding William’s probable death, and for good reason. He was not dead. This was evidently a convenient for simplifying the transfer of the livestock. Back in England, his first wife now dead, William married Elizabeth Horton, the daughter of William Horton of Barkisland, in Yorkshire. Although William succeeded to the Batte estates, including Oakwell Hall, he apparently lived with his mother-in-law. John Holdsworth leased Oakwell Hall for thirteen years beginning in 1658. William did not live with his mother-in-law for economy only. He was evidently greatly in debt and tied up his assets for the benefit of his wife and six children. William Batte was buried at Birstall Parish 7 September 1673. Oliver Heywood, a diarist of the times, wrote later of widow Elizabeth that she “lives in prosperity with her family, when others suffer from her poor husband’s failure, who died in many thousand pounds debt.” His wife survived until 1685 and was buried 10 August. (From Virginians.com)

GEDCOM Note

William succeeded his father of Okewell in England.

GEDCOM Note

William lived at Okewell Yorshire.