THE BARCROFT FAMILY IN AMERICA
Compiled by
Cheska Callow Wheatley
Compiled by
Cheska Callow Wheatley
The tuition bond which was filed at Chester in 1696, by his father, contains the categoric mention of the child's late grandfather for whom he was named, "Ambrose Barcroft of Colne." This bond gave legal promise that Ambrose was to be "well and honestly" educated and brought up, and that he should inherit the child's portion due him from the estate of his grandfather, Ambrose of the Foulridge and Noyna branch.
Thus, with provision for his education made doubly sure, heir by birth to the peculiar privileges of the eldest son of an ancient and honorable English family, Ambrose Barcroft's youth was probably uneventful. After the lapse of more than two hundred years the varied circumstances of his life are known to us only through official records.
The court rolls of the Manor of Colne afford glimpses of his movements which suggest a restlessness not in keeping with family traits as apparent in others of the name, as will be seen by his absences from home and finally by his far journeys. These rolls note the normal beginnings, the usual obligatons of a "feoffee to uses" in Colne Manor, and in association with a certain John Blakey whose name, or one of the family, appears on the Colne Court rolls with Ambrose's grandfather thirty years before.
In connection with the estate of John Malham of Colne, under date April 19, 1710, Ambrose is designated "of Foulridge Hall," on June 28, 1711, "of Deptford, co. Kent," and on July 16, 1716, he had gone as far as Canterbury, co. Kent. Previous to this, he had given his power of attorney in turn to his brothers John and Thomas of Foulridge. And in November, 1720 when there was a question of the surrender of certain lands belonging to the Blakey estate, and Ambrose's co-feoffee was declared deceased, he also was recorded "pariter defuncti,"--likewise deceased.
But the court sitting at Colne in October, 1725, was called upon to enroll the following declaration, which gives the most unmistakable testimony as to where Ambrose Barcroft had gone. The date, 12 July 1723, shows that two years had elapsed after the paper had been executed before it was enrolled. It reads as follows:
" Know all men by these presents That I Ambrose Barcroft of Solebury in the County of Bucks in the province of Pensilvania gentl' surviving feoffee in trust to Edward Knowles late of Colne decd...apoint my trusty and well beloved bror John Barcroft of Colne in the county of Lancaster and Kingdom of England my true and lawfull Attorney for me and in my name to alien...and give up...all ye right etc. of me the said Ambrose Barcroft of in & unto one messuage in Colne called Kingshead etc. To the use of behoof of Richard Stephenson of Colne."
The time of Ambrose's departure from England is unknown, but the parish registers of Lancashire give dates which shed some light on parts of his life. The register of Whalley Parish for the year 1702 contains the record of his marriage to Maria WALSHAM of Whalley on 23 June 1702. The registers also record that two sons were born to this marriage, William and Ambrose, and that Mary (Maria) was buried on 5 May 1705 in Colne parish.
Two of these entries on the registers place Ambrose Barcroft at Foulridge Hall, and one of the court rolls gives his residence there as late as 1710. These records of Lancashire are supplemented in a very remarkable and striking manner by public records of the Province of Pennsylvania.
A deed he received for land he purchased in Solebury Township, Bucks County, PA on 8 June 1723 indicates his whereabouts in the interim of 1705-1723. The deed describes him as "Ambrose Barcroft of Talbot County in the province of Maryland, gentleman." A search of the Maryland Archives by Emma Runk failed to shed any additional light on the date or length of time he may have been a resident of Maryland.
Ambrose Barcroft was commissioned justice of the peace for Bucks County on 4 Jan 1722. In colonial times this appointment carried with it the continuity of the judicial power in the office of Judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions, and it may have been in the course of the discharge of his public duties as Justice of the Peace that Ambrose Barcroft met his death. The record of it sets forth the fact "that by drowning and misfortune" he died. More fully the statement reads, "The said Ambrose Barcroft the twentieth day of December in company with his son Ambrose Barcroft about thirty miles from Solebury...Rideing through one of the branches of the Delaware river then and there by reason of the stumbling of the horse whereon the said Ambrose the father then rode, the said Ambrose the father fell from the horse aforesaid into the said river. By means whereof he the said Ambrose the father was then and there instantly Drowned." The inquistion post mortem was held on Christmas day, 1724, at Solebury, Pennsylvania.
Having married and lost his first wife before leaving Foulridge, Lancashire, he married a second time, presumably in Pennsylvania, place and time unknown. Only the wife's first name -- Elizabeth -- is known. One son was born of this marriage, John Barcroft.
Ambrose died intestate and on 29 Dec 1724, his widow Elizabeth, renounced her right to administer the estate and on 21 Apr 1725 letters of administraton were granted to the son Ambrose Barcroft. Elizabeth Barcroft next appears in the county records on an application for a marriage license which was granted to "Charles MORGAN of the county of Bucks and the province of Pennsylvania and Elizabeth Barcroft of the same county and province, widow." This license was granted on 21 Sep 1727. She was still living in April 1743 when her son Ambrose gave a mortgage on the paternal lands at Solebury but nothing additional is known of her.
(1) William BARCROFT bpt.5 Nov 1702 England, died 22 Mar 1754 Lancashire, England, m. Ellen COCKSHOTT.
(2) Ambrose BARCROFT bpt 21 Mar 1703/4 Colne Parish, England, m. Hannah ----
The child of Ambrose BARCROFT and his wife Elizabeth -----:
(3) John BARCROFT b. 6 Jan 1724 Solebury, Bucks Co., PA, d. Feb 1795 Flemington, NJ, m. bef. 1748 to Hannah ----
The children of John Barcroft and Hannah ---- were:
(1) Ambrose BARCROFT (1748-1795) m. Phebe QUINBY
(2) William BARCROFT (1750)
(3) Rachel BARCROFT (1752)
(4) Jonas BARCROFT (1755-1813) m. about 1794 Mrs. Sarah LEE COLLINS, daughter of William LEE.
(5) Elizabeth BARCROFT (1758) m. Reuben LAKE
(6) John BARCROFT Jr. (1760-1829) m. 1786 Lydia LEE (1765-1826).
(7) Hannah BARCROFT (1762) m. Thomas LAKE
(8) Wood BARCROFT (1764-1811) m. Anna JEWELL
(9) Mary BARCROFT (1766-1769)
(1) Hannah BARCROFT (1787)
(2) Rachel BARCROFT (1788)
(3) Esther BARCROFT (1788)
(4) Lee Sanders BARCROFT (1790-1869) m. Anne BURNETT.
(5) William BARCROFT (1791)
(6) Sanders BARCROFT (1801-1802)
(7) Rebecca BARCROFT (1803)
(8) John BARCROFT (1803-1870) m. Anna STONE
(1) Mary Ann BARCROFT
(2) Elias Burnett BARCROFT (1820-1898) m. Sarah ROADRUCK
(3) Lydia BARCROFT (1822) m. William WELLS
(4) William BARCROFT (1824)
(5) Anne Amelia BARCROFT (1827-1919) m. George Washington BARTON.
(6) Mary BARCROFT (1829-1912) m. David A. SMITH
(7) John L. BARCROFT (1832) m. Elizabeth FOWLER
(8) David F. BARCROFT (1834-1912) m. Elizabeth WALKER and Elizabeth RIDENBAUGH
(9) Ralph L. BARCROFT (1837-1909) m. Rebecca FOWLER
Sarah Barcroft descends from Ambrose > John (1724) > John (1760) > Lee S.(1790) > Elias (1820).
Janet Levinsky descends from Ambrose > Ambrose (1704) > Ambrose (1745) > Alice (1787).
Barbara Person descends from from Ambrose > John (1724) > John (1760) > Lee S.(1790) > Anne (1827).
Vi Poland descends from Ambrose > John (1724) > John (1760) > Lee S.(1790) > David (1834).
Greg Ray descends from Ambrose > John (1724) > John (1760) > Lee S.(1790) > David (1834).
Earl Sandness descends from from Ambrose > Ambrose (1704) > Ambrose > James > Aaron > Anna Barcroft Smith > Gerald B. Smith > Geraldine Smith Sandness.
Harriet Sturk descends from Ambrose > John (1724) > Jonas (1775).> John (1799)
Cheska Wheatley descends from from Ambrose > John (1724) > John (1760) > Lee S.(1790) > Anne (1827).
Let me know if you are descended from one of these families and wish to have your name and e-mail address linked to this page so other Barcroft researchers might contact you!
Visit Sharyn's Coshocton Co., OH web page.
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