Person:William Clayton (3)

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

William Clayton (December 9, 1632 – 1689) was a settler of the Pennsylvania colony, one of the first councilors of Pennsylvania and a judge of the city of Philadelphia.

Biography

William Clayton received a patent for 500 acres in Chester Co., PA. Moved from Chygoes Island, which was renamed Burlington by the Quakers, and is no longer an island.

It has been determined that Willliam Clayton is NOT the son of a London lawyer, or Oxford University dignitary that was previously claimed.

A Will Bond in lieu of a Will was signed by his son, William Clayton, Jr. and is number 119 for the year 1689 in the Register of Wills office of the City and County of Philadelphia, PA.

Exactly when William Clayton became a Quaker is not known, but he was active as a Friend before he emigrated on the ship Kent to New Jersey. Samuel Janney in his "History of the Religious Society of Friends" speaks of a William Clayton going on a missionary trip to Ireland in 1656. Joseph Besse in his "Collections of Sufferings for Sussex" has this entry: "On the 7th day of the 12th month of this present year 1663, Edward Hamper, Nicholas Rickman, Tristram Martin, William Turner, John Baker, John Snafold, Richard Newman, William Clayton and Henry Wolger for the sake of truth they did profess in meeting together to wait upon the Lord with the rest of the Meeting (Chichester) then assembled, were by one Maj or Mills with his band of armed men and with guns and swords drawn and in a violent manner took out of the said meeting twenty persons and had them to an inn, where they were kept till midnight and in the meantime the said Major Mills sent for William Gratwick, called a Justice of the Peace in this County of Sussex, and for no other cause were the several persons afore named by him the said Gratwick, committed to goal and the rest he bound over to answer for that offence, so called, who accordingly appeared at the Assize, but were not called for anything said to them in relation to that matter, but at the following Sessions the aforementioned persons who were committed to goal were fined every many six pounds for the said meeting, and because for conscience sake they could not pay their fines aforesaid, they were committed to the House of Correction for six months in the town of Arundel (about 10 miles to the east) where they lay until it was expired, but here it is to be noted that John Snasfold aforesaid was fined but three pounds, and for not paying it lay there three months. "

And the same "Collection for Lancashire" has this entry for 1665: "As William Clayton was preaching in a Meeting at Padisham, the Priest of that Parish, attended by a Constable with a Warrant, came into the Meeting, pulled William out on the street, tore his coat. The Constable then carried him before the Justices, who tendered him the Oath of Allegiance, and upon his refusal to take it, committed him to prison till the next sessions, when the Justices fined him five pounds for being at an unlawful Assembly, and committed him to the House of Corrections for three months. The Officers, for pretended fees and charges of carrying him thither, took his coat off his back. The keeper put him into a dungeon for five days and nights, till some moderate people of the town procured him the common liberty of the house for the rest of the time."

Two Quakers, Edward Byllinge and John Fenwick were partners in a proprietorship for West Jersey purchased for Lord Berkeley. Because of financial difficulties, Byllinge signed over his share to William Penn and two other creditors who in turn sold proprietary lots to two companies of Friends, one from Yorkshire and one from London. Commissioners were appointed to "purchase from the Indians" or "to extinguish the Indian title" to the land and they shipped on the Kent. William Clayton was among those who came with these Commissioners. There were seventeen family heads listed on the Kent which started loading in March 4 1677 and finally sailed in the early summer. They passed the royal barge in the Thames and were given a blessing by King Charles II who was undoubtedly glad to see them go. After a stop in New York, the Kent sailed up the Delaware late in August and finally settled in "Chygoe's Island," This became Burlington, NJ. There were some scattered buildings from the Swedish settlement there, but during the first winter many of the settlers had to be sheltered in sheds, tents and stables. "The Concessions and Agreements of the Proprietors, Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Providence of West Jersey in America" had been drawn and signed before the trip was undertaken. This document of civil and religious liberty was the Friends first experiment in legislation. It created an executive and a legislative power, provided that a Governor be chosen by an Assembly which in turn was elected by the people, and became the basis for the common law of the province. This colony predated Pennsylvania by five years.

William Clayton and his wife, Prudence and family went to New Jersey on the ship KENT in 1677. He went with several commisioners from London who were sent out by the proprietors to New Jersey to purchase land from the Indians. William Clayton has a patent from the British government for land, and he settled first at Burlington, New Jersey. Later he moved to Pennsylvania near Chester, and was the most prominent member of the Chester Meeting - the meeting house which was built on land given for the purpose by James Brown. William Clayton was a member of the Provincial Council, and he presided at the first meeting of the council under the government of William Penn. He and the famous Daniel Francis Pastorius were the first 2 judges of Philadelphia. [quaker Yeoman, Dec 1994]

The fact that William Penn referred to William Clayton as "cousin" as well as "friend" has not been explained.

Time Line: William Clayton was born 1 year prior to the first town government in the colonies being organized in Dorchester, Massachusetts

Disputed Lineages

Are Prudence Lankford and Prudence Mickel the same person? Both seem to show the same children, but this could simply be a case of others incorrectly thinking that they were the same person.

[idahojo.ged]

From Chichester Miscellaneous Wills 1653 to 1668 - Vol. 21 B Consistory Co urt Will Register in West Sussex Record Offices, Chichester, England 16 A pr 1982, copied by Louis E. Jones we get the following:

William Clayton. In ye name of God I will Clayton of ye Parish of Pancr as without ye East Gate of Chichester in ye County of Sussex Timberman bei ng sick and weak in body yet of perfect memory Lord to be thanked doe ma ke and ordaine this my last will and testam in form following that I gi ve and beq. my souls into ye hand of Alm. God and my body to ye earth.

It: I give unto my sonne Will Clayton ye sum of 12 to be paid within o ne whole year after my deceas.

It: I give unto my grandchildren Will Clayton, Prudence Clayton ye childr en of my sonne Will Clayton ye sume of 20 s a piece to be pd unto them aft er they shall accomplish ye age of 21 yeares.

It: I give unto my son Ric Clayton ye sum of 20 s to be pd him once he sh all accomplish ye age of 21 yeares.

It: I give unto my son Thos Clayton ye summe of 20s to be paid him on ce he shall accomplish ye age of 21 years age.

It: I give and appoint that he be pd for ye planing to my sonne Thos. abo ve sd between Feb and ye first day of May respensing? ye date whereof un to Thos Coby.

It: I give and appoint my daughter Elizabeth Clayton ye s um of 40 s to be pd her when shall attayne to ye age of 20 and 1 yeare s. All the rest of my goods I give unto my loving wife Elizabeth Clayt on after my debts and funeral expenses be discharged for her well being a nd for ye bringing up of my youngest daughter Mary Clayton and doe ordai ne and make her my Testor of this my last will and testamen.-------------- --------will and ------------------------for as much as my wife may be una ble to manage my estate to ye bet _____________________________and f or as much as my loving friend John Peele of Pagham_______________________ __doe ordain and appoint my friend John Peele and doe give him full pow er and authority -----------------. Standing my ------------aforesa id as prove this my last will and meaning and to take an invt of all my go ods and to -----------------ye same until such time my debts ---------- ------. and I give my 2 friends William Stele and John Avery 2 s apiece f or their care and pains.

1st Feb 1658 Witnessed by Thomas Hopkin and John Rogers - signed by Will iam Clayton

1.   A. Donovan Faust (Foust). A Family History: The Ancestors of Thomas Wilson Faust. (1997).
2.   Marilyn W. Misch. Nat'l. Society Decendants of Early Quakers. (Volume #6 & 7, 1996/97).
3.   Parish registers of Boxgrove and St. Pancras.
4.   "Gregory/Williams Family" researched, compiled and submitted to Rootsweb by Terry Pickens McLean tmclean@@earthlink.net.
5. ↑ "Ancestry of Allen Grinnell Cleaver and Martha Irene Jessup - compiled by William Jessup Cleaver - published by Gateway Press, Inc, Baltimore,.
6. ↑ William Clayton (Governor), in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.