Jackson-Herman-Willig Family History
Our Family's Journey Through Time: 1677-2000
William Clayton: born in 1632 in Boxgrove, Sussex, England. He died in 1689 in Chichester, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Prudence (Lanckford) Clayton: born about 1632 in Surrey, England. She died sometime after 1690, probably in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Marriage: William Clayton and Prudence Lanckford were married on Nov. 7, 1653 in Chichester, Sussex, England.
Children: Mary Jane Clayton and 6 other siblings were all born in Sussex County, England.
[John Beales, Sr. was born in England; the date and location are undocumented. Evidently he immigrated as a young single Quaker man about the same time as the William Clayton family immigrated.]
Mary Jane (Clayton) Beales, daughter of William and Prudence Clayton named above, was born on Aug. 29, 1665 in Rumboldswyke, Sussex, England. She died on Dec. 26, 1726 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Her grave is located in the Friends Burial Ground of the Huntington Quaker Meeting House in Latimore Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania (see photo).
Marriage: John Beales, Sr. and Mary Jane (Clayton) Beales were married on Jan. 11, 1682 in Chester County, Pennsylvania [starting our "Generation 2"].
Children: John Beales, Jr. and 4 other children were all born in or around Chester County, Pennsylvania [starting our "Generation 3"].
On Dec. 7, 1663 William and Prudence (Lanckford) Clayton of Rumbleswyck, Sussex, England became members of the Society of Friends. William was then committed to jail in Sussex and fined six pounds for meeting with other Quakers. After refusing to pay his fines, William was jailed for six months in the House of Correction in the town of Arundel. After William Penn was granted lands in North America to found a new colony, it became a kind of "refuge" for Quakers to move to. So, in 1677 William Clayton sailed from London to New Jersey on the ship "Kent" as one of a company of commissioners appointed by William Penn to purchase Indian claims to the land around Burlington, New Jersey which Penn had been granted. William Clayton and the other commissioners arrived in New York in August, 1677. He then became one of the "Commissioners of Proprietors” who settled in Burlington, West Jersey. During the next four years, 1,400 additional settlers (mostly Quakers) settled there too. It appears that William Clayton may have left his family in England until he had established a home in the area because they are not mentioned in the 1677 Kent records. However, if they didn't accompany him on the first trip, they arrived shortly thereafter because Prudence witnessed a Quaker wedding in New Jersey in 1678.
Presumably, John Beals, Sr. immigrated as a single young man to the Penn Colony about 1677 and started engaging in farming. He attended Quaker meetings, probably the meeting that was being held in the home of William Clayton. John Beals and Mary Clayton, the daughter of William Clayton, were married at that Quaker Meeting in 1682. (The Chester Friends Meeting House was built a few years later.)
Historical Notes for William Clayton from Quaker Records:
On Aug. 6, 1678 William and Prudence (Lanckford) Clayton were among the witnesses to the first marriage in the records of the Burlington, West Jersey Quaker meeting.
In March, 1679 William Clayton purchased property from Hans Oelson in Marcus Hook (in present-day Delaware County, Pennsylvania), and his family first settled there.
In June, 1679 Honour Clayton, daughter of William and Prudence, was married at "Markers Hook" in the jurisdiction of the Burlington MM.
1681 William Clayton moved his family onto 500 acres he had purchased across the Delaware River in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
1683 William Clayton was a member of William Penn's Council. 1684 William Clayton was again a member of William Penn's Council.
1684-1685 William Clayton was acting "governor" of the Pennsylvania Colony while William Penn was in England [in reality, it was only Chester County, not what is now known as the State of Pennsylvania.]
1689 William Clayton died. There was no actual will, and a Will Bond was written by his widow, Prudence. She assigned the power of executor to her oldest son, William.
From the History of Chester County, Pennsylvania:
In County records: William Clayton was a Justice in first session of the court held at Upland 1681, a member of Governors Council 1683-84, a Justice of the Peace in 1684, a Justice of Upland court 1682, a member of the Provincial Council in 1682, a member of the Supreme Executive Council from Chester County 1683. Also, he is named on the 1722 tax list for Upper and Lower Chichester.
WILLIAM CLAYTON, possibly with his family, arrived on the ship "Kent" from London, in the company with certain Commissioners sent out by the Proprietors of New Jersey to purchase lands from the Indians. In March 1678/9, he purchased the share of Hans Oelson, one of the original grantees of Marcus Hook, and settled at that place. In religious persuasion he was a Friend (member of the Society of Friends, or a Quaker), and was an active and consistent member. He was also active in political matters. He was a member of Governor Markham's Council, and also of that of the Proprietary after his arrival, and at the same time served as one of the Justices of the Court of Upland County, and subsequently for that of Chester County, presiding at the first court held in Pennsylvania, under the Proprietary government. In November, 1684, he was elected President of the Provincial Council, which, at the time, was effectively the position of Governor of the Colony.
Quaker Corner Website
Wikipedia
Find a Grave.com
Geni.com
FamilySearch.org
Bill Putnam: Beals Family researcher