James Clayton (aft. 1632)

Born after 1632 in Middlewich, Cheshire, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Delaware

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Biography

James was born about 1666. According to the research on the Clayton family in McCracken's "Welcome Claimants," James Clayton was born in England ca 1666 and was aged 16 in 1682, when he arrived with his family on the "Submission."^[1]

Family

His parents were James Clayton and Jane (unknown) His father was a blacksmith from Middlewich, Cheshire, born about 1632.^[1]

Migration

James Clayton was a William Penn fleet passenger.

"James Clayton of middle witch in the County of Chester black Smith and Jane his wife came in the Said Ship Submission at the time aforesaid [i.e. the 1682 voyage] with these children: James, Sarah, John, Mary, Josuah, Lydia."^[2] James is also recognized by the Welcome Society as a passenger on the William Penn fleet ship Submission.^[3]

Research notes

Date of birth based on recorded age at immigration.

• "The Sailing of the Submission", in Publ. Gen. Soc. Pa., Miscellany 1, Vol. 1 No. 1 (1895), p. 7. Gives the ship's log.

• Hepburn. Henry F: The Clayton Family, p. 21, 29.

• Cotrill, Elizabeth: GenForum post. Many further details about the Delaware family, primary and secondary sources indicated.

Note that Hepburn's accounts of the origins of the Pennsylvania Claytons and the Delaware Claytons are unsourced and fanciful. It would appear that those two families were not related to each other, and neither of them to the Virginia Claytons. Hepburn was evidently trying to accommodate the unfounded pronouncements of prominent men in the 19th century.

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According to the log, the passengers on the Submission (sailing from Liverpool to Pennsylvania 5 Sep 1682) included:

noted in the margin as being "Of Cheshire".

It has been suggested that the two youngest children were twins. Alternatively, the difference in spelling might be significant.

It is supposed that son John was the ancestor of most Claytons of Delaware, including the political family (see James Clayton).

It is also supposed that "Joseph" (age 5), if correctly transcribed in print, is a mistake for Joshua, and this was the noted Quaker preacher.

No connection is known with any of

• William Clayton of Pennsylvania, said to have arrived in the 1670s from Chichester, Sussex
• a Thomas Clayton said to have taken up land in Chester Co PA in 1682 ^[4]
• a Thomas Clayton said to have been a lawyer in Virginia ^[5]
• the Rev. John Clayton of James City VA (apparently descended from the Claytons of Fulwood)
• John Clayton the Attorney General of Virginia (descended from the Claytons of Oakenshaw).

__________

James Clayton, of whose parentage nothing is known, was born about 1632, probably in or near Middlewich, Cheshire, where he practiced his trade of blacksmith and married Jane (unknown), aged 48 in 1682, of whose maiden name we know nothing. With his wife and children listed in "Bucks Arrivals" he came to America in 1682 on the ship "Submission," one of William Penn's 1682 fleet.

"Bucks Arrivals" James Clayton of middle witch in the County of Chester black Smith & Jane his wife came in the Said Ship Submission at the time aforesaid [i.e., the 1682 voyage] with these Children: James, Sarah, John, Mary, Josuah, Lydia.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} George E. McCracken, "The Welcome Claimants: Proved, Disproved, and Doubtful," Philadelphia: The Welcome Society of Pennsylvania, 1985, p. 120.
2. ↑ J. H. Battle's "History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania," (Philadelphia, 1887), p. 675, cited in McCracken, p. 120.
3. ↑ "https://www.welcomesociety.org/ancestors-approved-memberships.html." William Penn Fleet ancestors approved for membership: The Welcome Society of Pennsylvania. Accessed 16 September 2018 Sj Baty.
4. ↑ Hepburn, p. 22
5. ↑ Hepburn, p. 22
6. ↑ J. H. Battle, "History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1887), cited in McCracken, p. 120.