Francis Estlack (abt. 1635 - abt. 1705)

Born about 1635 in Bermuda [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about 1705 at about age 70 in Gloucester County, New Jersey

Problems/Questions Profile manager: H Husted [send private message]

Biography

Francis Estlack was an early or significant Bermudan.

Francis was a Friend (Quaker)

Francis Estlack was a "public Quaker" and suffered mistreatment in Bermuda as a result of his convictions. He later emigrated to the Quaker settlement in Newtown, West Jersey (now in the vicinity of Haddonfield, Camden County, New Jersey.)

Name Variations

Estlacke (his book, p. 9)

Eastlack (his book, p. 91)

Estlake: in the Monthly Meeting record list of his children (see below)

Eastlake: His daughter Jemima's wedding record

Eslick, Eslik, Estlack: Son John's will^[1]

Estlick: Abstract of grandson William's will^[2]

Eastlacke: Account of administrator of William's will^[2]

Born in England or Bermuda?

One theory has him born in the southwest of England; the other theory is that he was born in Bermuda; in his treatise, Francis wrote that Bermuda was where he drew his first breath. The first records of him are from 1660 in Bermuda.

"Francis Estlack... lived in Devonshire, England during the reign of Charles I... He and other members of his sect were thrown into jail when they refused to render military service and were fined when they did not attend church services on Sundays. He removed his family to the Bermudas, in 1660, but there met with the same annoyances. Again he moved, with his family, and became a member of the Newton Colony, then beginning to build their homes and futures in what we now know as Camden and Gloucester counties... Francis Estlack had eight children, six of whom were born in the Bermudas."^[3]

The Baldacchinos' one-name study for Eastlack is a good starting point for those researching the family.

"Identified in 'The Eastlack Family' by John William Eastlack, Sr. John Eastlack's book suggests that Francis might be the son of Samuel and Margery Pentyre of Plymouth. This may be the case but we haven't yet found a baptism record for him or other connection in the records to Samuel and Margery. We would note though that other Estlack's were in Bermuda at the same time as Francis, including Robert (wife Dorothy) and Elizabeth who married John Dunscombe in Bermuda... We'll keep searching for evidence on Francis' parentage. We've checked the Plymouth Quaker records for Francis' marriage, however there is one early page then a frustrating gap from 1650-1660! After that time, the records are reasonably good but Francis and Margaret had set sail by then."^[4]

"We believe that Francis was the son of Robert Estlack born 1593, a grandson of Robert Estlake/Estlack who first brought the surname from Devon to Bodmin, Cornwall in the mid-1500s. Robert the grandson probably migrated to Bermuda following the death of his first wife and child in 1618, only a decade after the island was permanently settled by English colonists."^[5]

Life in Bermuda

"AMONG the Friends who settled in the island of Bermuda, some of whom were banished by the British authorities, while others followed to be near their families, was one Francis Eastlack, or Eastlake, as sometimes spelled, who appears to have been a prominent man in that place. He was persecuted in like manner by the rulers of the island for the course which he pursued in religious matters, and was frequently imprisoned and sometimes beaten and put in the stocks. In 1660, he was taken from a religious meeting and tied, hand and foot, so that he could not move; in 1666, he was beaten and fined, and, in other ways, maltreated in person, and despoiled of his goods. He was a public Friend, and proclaimed his views and doctrines among the people. This made him obnoxious to those in power, and the object of dislike to such as differed with him in opinion" (371).^[6]

Teacher at Warwick Academy?

Francis Estlack has been called a founder and/or one of the first teachers at Warwick Academy?!

"Warwick Academy celebrates its 350th birthday tomorrow, with a direct descendant of its founder there to help blow out the candles. American David Estlack’s ancestor Francis Estlack was a Quaker minister who founded the school in 1662 after he fled to the Island from Devon, England, to avoid religious persecution. The school is thought to be the oldest in the western hemisphere."^[7]

"He grew up to become a schoolmaster at Warwick Academy, founded in 1662 and one of the oldest schools in the Western Hemisphere."^[8]

Francis' Book

In 1683, he had published in London a 90 page book titled The Truth of Christ Jesus with the Professors thereof in the Island of Bermudas (Commonly Called Quakers) Cleared from the Three Ungodly False Charges charged upon them by Samp. Bond (Teacher in the said island) in a Book, Entituled, The Quakers in Bermudas Tryed, &c."^[9] The work was written in response to a Sampson Bond's work The Quakers in Bermudas Tryed, &c.

Emigration from Bermuda to West Jersey Colony

He emigrated with his wife Margaret (b. 1638) and children to the Quaker settlement in West Jersey colony in about 1675-1680.

Children

The Haddonfield Monthly Meeting Records contain a list of his children. ^[10] The microfilm of the original record is hard to read, but it looks like the top says "in Bermuda."^[11]

The names & birthes of some all of Francis Estlake's Children in(?) Bermuda(?)

Hepzabeth Estlake was borne ye 21 of ye first month ano 1650(?)

Mary borne the fifteenth of ye first month in the yeare 1660

Ruth borne the third day of the ninth month in 1663

Sarah borne the 14th of the fifth months... 1664(?)

George borne the nineteenth of the sixt month anno 1665

Miriam borne the thirtyeth of ye 4th month 1669

Jemiamah borne the third day of the 12th month 1671

Joseph borne the 16 of ye 9th month anno 1674

While in his history of Newton Township colony, Clement knew of only four children, he did know some of their marriages: "John, who married Sarah Thackara, daughter of Thomas; Hepsibah, who married Thomas Thackara; Jemima, who married William Sharp; and Elizabeth, who married Joseph Mickle."

Another list of his children online has some of their dates of death.

1. John Eastlack 1656 – 1736
2. Hepsibah Eastlack 1658 – 1714
3. Mary Eastlack 1660 –
4. Ruth Eastlack 1663 –
5. Sarah Eastlack 1665 –
6. George Eastlack 1667 –
7. Miriam Eastlack 1669 –
8. Jemima Eastlack 1671 – 1709
9. Joseph Estlack 1674 – 1772

there is sometimes an unsourced "Jeremiah Estlack" listed as his son (perhaps a transcription error for Jemima)

Sources

1. ↑ John Eslick (Eslik, Estlack). Calendar of Wills 1751-1760. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, XXXII, 168.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Wiliam Estlick. Calendar of Wills 1751-1760. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, XXXII, 169.
3. ↑ Unattributed Preface to John Cawman Eastlack's Diary published in 1952 by the Gloucester County Historical Society. The editor was Louis Moffett, perhaps this was his work or perhaps it was a the work of others in the GCHS. Eastlack, John C. Gloucester County in the Eighteen-Fifties: Being the Diary of John Cawman Eastlack. (Woodbury, NJ, Gloucester County Historical Society, 1952), p. 4. http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=14944
4. ↑ Baldacchino, Kim and Mark. (2010-2015). Broken link, not archived. Francis Estlack in Eastlake-Eastlack-Eslick Family Tree.
5. ↑ Baldacchino, Kim. "Eastlack families (USA)" in Eastlake One-Name Study, https://web.archive.org/web/20211124184418/http://eastlake.one-name.net/up/families-eastlack.htm
6. ↑ Clement, John. Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey. (Camden, N.J, Sinnickson Chew, 1877)
7. ↑ Jessie Moniz, "Descendant of Warwick Academy founder Francis Estlack on Island for 350th celebrations," The (Bermuda) Royal Gazette, 9 November 2012. Web archives. URL is broken and not archived
8. ↑ http://eastlake.brattonclovellyops.com/family-groups/usa-eastlack-families/
9. ↑ a PDF copy of this work is available on Ancestry or from Husted-87 if you are interested.
10. ↑ List of Children of Francis Estlake (aka Estlack, Eastlack) in records of Haddonfield Monthly Meeting, 1681-1741, p. 89. Available via U.S. Quaker Meeting Records.
11. ↑ See a screenshot here. If you have a different interpretation please advise.

See also:

Ford, W. C. (1921, May.) "Rev. Sampson Bond of the Bermudas." Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Pp. 295-318. https://books.google.com/books?id=2ho_AQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA309&ots=TfxE4f7RZu&dq=francis%20estlack&pg=PA309#v=snippet&q=Sampson%20Bond&f=false

Mastel, Sue, et al. (2011, April-June). "EASTLAKE: A DATA MINING EXERCISE." Journal of One-Name Studies, April-June 2011, pp. 10-13. Retrieved 25 June 2015 from http://www.one-name.org/journal/articles/vol10-10/vol10-10_Eastlake.pdf

Mercer, Julia E. Bermuda Settlers of the 17th Century: Genealogical Notes from Bermuda. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co, 1982. Print.

Tatum, Richard P, and Sarah E. G. Tatum. Tatum Narrative, 1626-1925. Philadelphia, 1925. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005769301 or http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=12965

EASTLACK, J. W. (1971). The Eastlack family: a record of the descendants of Francis Estlack, of Devonshire, England, who settled in Newton Township, Gloucester, County, New Jersey in the late 1600's. Baltimore, Md, J.W. Eastlack.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Kim and Mark Baldacchino for their work on the Eastlack family.