Allen line: Henry Burt 1595-1662, Immigrant

Question: What do Ethan Allen, Grover Cleveland, and Winston Churchill have in common? 
Answer:  They are all descendants of Henry Burt, as are we of the Allen family.  I think that's so cool!  I haven't done the actual research to bear this out, but these are statements I've found on-line, and they appear to be plausible. 

This blog post is mostly based on research found at dunhamwilcox.net.  It is a thoroughly referenced source, and I'm grateful to have found it.  There's even an online book about Henry and his descendants, which is rather wordy but interesting.  Basically I'm using these and other sources to paraphrase what they've found, and to add my own little twist to this ancestor's story.

Henry Burt was born in 1595 in Harberton, Devon, England, the first child and first son of Henry and Iseult or Isolde Burt. (Her parents are as yet unknown.). Henry Senior was a clothier and seems to have done rather well for himself by the time he died in 1617.  Harberton was small (population about 1300 currently) so for a person to own 93 sheep and 32 lambs, plus cloth and yarn, several houses, an orchard, nursery, various out buildings, and more, he must have been at least of the middle class. 

Our Henry was one of at least seven children (these children were mentioned in the will, there may well have been others who died before Henry Sr.s death in 1617).  He was left 5 dwellings in his father's will, but there seems to be no mention of the sheep, cloth, and yarn that would have given Henry a trade, so perhaps that went to son John, who was left half the residue of the estate.

Henry did in fact become, or already had been, a clothier also, and was doing well enough financially in December of 1619 to marry Eulalia Marche.  He was a Puritan, of such measure that he occasionally read Sunday sermons to the congregation in his later years, apparently when the church was without a pastor or the pastor was ill or out of town.  Henry was in his early 40's when he decided to move his family to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

It's believed that they came, perhaps as a family, to Boston in 1638, although it could have been earlier.  By 1638 they were in Roxbury, where we learn that their home burned.  This would likely have included the tools of the clothing trade also, so it was a terrible loss.  It appears that there was some sort of "settlement" of about 8 pounds to the family, as recompense, and by 1639, the family was in Springfield, Massachusetts, which had been founded just four years earlier.

Henry quickly settled down in Springfield.  His town lot bordered on the Connecticut River.  He was on an early jury, was selectman for the town several years, and was made a freeman in April of 1648.  He was "Clerke of the Band", the militia, starting in 1648 also, and in 1649 was chosen "Clerke of the writts for this Towne." He was involved in two or three lawsuits during his lifetime, suing for debts he was owed.  Plus, there was the reference to his reading sermons on Sunday, perhaps because he was Clerke, perhpas because he had a strong speaking voice, or perhaps because he was regarded as a pious man. 

The Burts had children, a lot of children.  I'm finding lists of anywhere from 11 to 19 of them, some of whom died young.  It may have been after the birth of one of her children in England that Eulalia herself was thought to have died.  The family tradition is that she was laid out in her coffin and regained consciousness during her own funeral.  Further tradition has said that she brought the coffin to American with her and was buried in it many years later.  I suspect the "regained consciousness during her funeral" may be true but I wonder about the coffin story.  It's fun to think about it, though!

Henry died in Springfield on April 30, 1662, without a will.  However, there is a thorough inventory.  It includes, among other things, the house and land in town, two other parcels of land, farm implements and animals, two guns, and books valued at 10 shillings.  The total estate was 181 pounds, of which 47 pounds was owed, mostly to "Mr. Pynchon."

Eulalia, mother of many children, did not remarry, and died August 9, 1690, outliving her husband by 28 years.  She evidently still had her own housing, for she gave cows, bedding, land and household goods to her children.  This post is about Henry, but it certainly appears that he chose wisely in marrying Eulalia. 

There is much more that could be said about Henry, but this is intended to be a sketch only, so we at least know a bit about our immigrants.  Sometimes that leads to famous cousins, and interesting stories, and those are some of the reasons I write this blog. 

Here's the line of descent:

Henry Burt-Eulalia Marche
Abigail Burt-Francis Ball
Samuel Ball-Mary Graves
Mary Ball-John Hitchcock
Samuel Hitchcock-Ruth Stebbins
Margaret Hitchock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Roote
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Francis Ball Immigrant, died 1648

I sure could use some help with this ancestor.  He is erroneously confused with a Frances Ball in Virginia, who was a female and apparently not of this family.  His birth date is given as anywhere from 1599 to 1624.  His parents are given as William Ball and Alice Waltham, and if the parentage is correct and the age of the parents is correct, 1599 would be a likely date, but 1609 and even 1619 are within the realm of possibilities.  The most frequent place of birth given is Wiltshire, England, with no parish that I can locate.  So I am left wondering...

Is his father the William Ball who died in New Haven, Connecticut in 1647?

Was Abigail Burt, who was born in 1623, his first wife?  If Francis was born in 1599, she would have been 24 years his junior, and there would have been plenty of time for an earlier marriage.  Francis Ball and Abigail Burt, daughter of Henry Burt and Eulalia March,  were married in August of 1644 in Springfield, where Francis had arrived about a year earlier. They lived in Springfield, where they had two sons, and where Francis purchased land from John Woodcocke, valued at 5 pounds. 

The most common fact I find about Francis Ball is that he drowned in the "Great River", known to us as the Connecticut River, on October 3, 1648.  So either he was a mariner, unlucky on that day, or he was not used to water and a storm or accident may have caused his death.  Of course, there are other possible explanations but these two seem the most likely to me.

Abigail married Benjamin Munn in April of 1649, and after his death, she married Thomas Stebbins, who is an Allen ancestor through his first wife, Hannah Wright.  Abigail died in 1707, three times widowed and about 84 years old.

I sure would like to know more about Francis Ball.  I'd like to pin down his birthdate and birthplace, to verify whether William and Alice were his parents.  I'd like to know if the marriage to Abigail was his first marriage.  And I'd like to know how he happened to drown.  If someone has this information, please contact me!

The line of descent is

Francis Ball-Abigail Burt
Samuel Ball-Mary Graves
Mary Ball-John Hitchcock
Samuel Hitchcock-Ruth Stebbins
Margaret Hitchcock-Samuel Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants