William Eltonhead

William Eltonhead {1616-1655} left Sutton and St.Helens for Maryland in around 1640 to become the special envoy to Lord Baltimore , the proprietor of the Maryland colony whose interests he oversaw. Back home his brother Richard Eltonhead fought for the Earl of Derby and monarch in the English civil war and as a consequence of being on the losing side became financially embarrassed.

Eltonhead could no longer afford dowries for his five young daughters, so 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 but as the grooms were middle-aged, most of the young sisters were widowed within 10-15 years.

Member of the Maryland Colonial Council, put to death by Puritans in 1655.

The Catholic Historical Review By American Catholic Historical

"William Eltonhead son Richard and Ann Sutton Eltonhead was the Hon William Eltonhead, a member of the Maryland Colonial Council, was put to death by the Puritans in 1665"

WILLIAM ELTONHEAD, pro. Mr. William Eltonhead, Esquire, special agent for Lord Baltimore in MD. He was sent to MD. by Lord Baltimore, 1654-5. He took the oath of fealty Jan. 2, 1646; was made member of the Privy Council Sep. 29, 1649, and took the oath as such July 22, 1650. He was killed in the conflict between Gov. Stone's party and that of Fendall, 1655. His wid., Jane, survived. His nuncupative will was pro. Calvert Co., Oct. 5, 1658; leaves his estate to wife and children, desiring wife to set apart land for Robert and Richard Fenwick. Mrs. E. and her child were probably dead in 1663, as "Thomas Taylor, the Lawfull heire" of Mrs. E., with Cuthbert Fenwick, Wm. Mills and John Bogue, guardians for the orphans Robert and Richard Fenwicke, petitioned the Assembly for permission to set apart 200 a. of land for the use of the said Robt. and Rich'd F.

(A Geanealogy of the Glassell Family, page 229)

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. Links

• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I0345...
•  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mrmarsha&...
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=monkeys&i...