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William Asfordby (bef. 1638 - bef. 1698)

William Asfordby
Born before in Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married before 1667 in Lincolnshire, Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Died before at about age 59 in Marbletown, Ulster County, New Yorkmap
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Profile last modified | Created 14 Sep 2010
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Descendant of Surety Barons Saher de Quincy, Robert de Vere, and possibly others (see text).
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Contents

Biography

William Asfordby was the son and main heir of John Asfordby and Alice Wolley. He was baptized at Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire, on 29 Mar 1638.[1][2][3][4][5]

William married Martha Burton, daughter of William Burton of Burgh-in-the Marsh, Lincolnshire.[5] They presumably married in Lincolnshire where both families lived.[2][3][4] The date of their marriage is not known, but, given the baptism date of their children Martha and Charles, it will have probably have been before 1667. They had the following children:

  • Martha,[2][3] born before 1668: she was named in the 18 March 1667/8 will of a grandmother[4][5]
  • Charles,[2][3] baptised at Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire on 29 October 1668[4][6] who died young[5]
  • Susanna (first),[2][3] baptised at Mabelthorpe on 3 November 1669 and buried there the next day[4][5]
  • another Susanna), baptised at Mablethorpe on 22 February 1670 (possibly 1670/1)[7] who became the second wife of John Beatty[2][3][5]
  • Eleanor,[2][3] baptised at Kingston, New York on 26 February 1682[5]
  • Anne,[2][3] twin sister of Providence, baptised at Kingston, New York on 2 March 1684[5]
  • Providence,[2][3] twin sister of Anne, baptised at Kingston, New York on 2 March 1684[5]
  • Catherine,[2][3] baptised at Kingston, New York on 9 November 1685[5]

No later than 1674 William and his family settled in America, where they had property at Marbletown, in what became Ulster County, New York: there are records of a number of property transactions there. He was a member of the New York Assembly, a Marbletown magistrate and a Sheriff of Ulster County[2][3] from 1676.[5][8] He was temporarily suspended from his role as Sheriff because of allegations made by opponents, but was vindicated and reinstated.[5]

Court cases of 1675 and 1677 show that William retained interests in Lincolnshire property for at least a few years after his emigration.[9]

In 1677 William was a minor beneficiary under the will of his maternal uncle William Wolley.[2][3][10][11]

According to an editorial note in an 1860 edition of a Journal by William's friend Charles Wooley, William, saddled with debt, returned to England in 1687, leaving his wife and children in America.[12] The Journal itself says that William "lived in those parts [Marbletown] sixteen years", which may support the suggestion that William returned to England.[13]

In 1695 William's wife and his children "Susan, Mary, Helen, Ann and Katherine" were granted a patent for land at Marbletown, New York originally granted to William:[14] we do not know why the patent was transferred to them during William's lifetime.

If William did return to England for a time, he was back in America by his death. His oral will was made at his American home on 6 November 1697 in the presence of Captain Thomas Garton, John Cock and John Beatys, and was proved on 24 Feb 1697/8.[2][3][5] His wife was sole beneficiary and was granted administration of the estate.[5]

Sources

  1. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NG52-SXR : 10 April 2021), Gulielmus Asfordby, 1638
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. I, p.47, ASFORDBY 16, Google Books
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), p. 159, ASFORDBY 20
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 A R Maddison. Lincolnshire Pedigrees, Vol. I, Harleian Society, 1902, p. 46, Internet Archive
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Frank Allaben. The Ancestry of Leander Howard Crall, Grafton Press, 1908, pp. 92-93, 95-100 and 353-61, Internet Archive
  6. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGV3-F9R : 20 March 2020), William Asfordby in entry for Charles Asfordby, 1669
  7. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGV3-NQM : 20 March 2020), Will Asfordby in entry for Susanna Asfordby, 1670
  8. Mrs Samuel Rudloph Turk. Beatty-Asfordby. The ancestry of John Beatty and Susanna Asfordby, with some of their descendants, Frank Allaben Genealogical Company, 1909, pp. 102-103, Internet Archive
  9. The National Archives, refs. C 8/264/56, Discovery Centre catalogue entry, C 7/16/16, Discovery Centre catalogue entry and C 6/68/18, Discovery Centre catalogue entry
  10. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858, Ancestry.co.uk and linked image of will
  11. The National Archives, ref. PROB 11/354/473, Discovery Centre catalogue entry
  12. Charles Wooley, ed. by E B O'Callaghan. A Two Years Journal in New York, and Part of its Territories in America, William Gowans (New York), 1860 (Journal originally published in London in 1701), editorial note on p. 81, Internet Archive
  13. Charles Wooley, ed. by E B O'Callaghan. A Two Years Journal in New York, and Part of its Territories in America, p. 27, Internet Archie
  14. Calendar of Council Minutes 1668-1783, New York State Library Bulletin 58, March 1902, published by the University of the State of New York, 1902, p. 108, Internet Archive
  • Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Magna Carta Sureties, 1215, 5th Edition, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999, p. 103, line 84/18

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 18 August 2022.
William Asfordby is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, pages xxiii-xxix) and appears in trails identified by the Magna Carta Project to Magna Carta surety barons Saher de Quincy and Robert de Vere, that were badged by the Project in May 2015 and re-reviewed in August 2022. William is also the Gateway in a Richardson-documented trail to surety baron Robert FitzWalter (vol. I, pages 46-47 ASFORDBY) that was badged by the project in September 2022. These trails are detailed below.
See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".

Magna Carta Trails

Badged trails to Vere and Quincy (2015):
Gateway Ancestor William Asfordby (badged/100% 5-star)
1. William is the son of John Asfordby (badged/R&A 20 August 2022)
2. John is the son of Eleanor Newcomen (badged/re-reviewed 22 Aug 2022)
3. Eleanor is the daughter of Mary Skipwith (badged/re-reviewed 24 August 2022)
4. Mary is the daughter of John Skipwith (badged/re-reviewed 26 August 2022)
5. John is the son of William Skipwith (badged/100% 5-star, re-reviewed 29 August 2022)
6. William is the son of John Skipwith (badged/100% 5-star, re-reviewed 31 August 2022)
7. John is the son of William Skipwith (badged/100% 5-star, re-reviewed 1 September 2022)
8. William is the son of Margaret Willoughby (badged/100% 5-star, re-reviewed 3 September 2022)
9. Margaret is the daughter of Lucy Strange (badged/5-star, re-reviewed 7 April 2022)
10. Lucy is the daughter of Aline FitzAlan (badged/5-star, re-reviewed 8 April 2022)
11. Aline is the daughter of Alice de Warenne (badged/100% 5-star)
12. Alice is the daughter of Joan de Vere (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Joan is the daughter of Robert de Vere (badged/100% 5-star)
14. Robert is the son of Hugh de Vere (badged/100% 5-star)
15. Hugh is the son of Magna Carta Surety Baron Robert de Vere
14. Robert is the son Hawise de Quincy (100% 5-star)
15. Hawise is the daughter of Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy
Badged Richardson-documented trail to FitzWalter (MCA I:46-47 ASFORDBY):
6. William is the son of Katherine FitzWilliam (badged/R&A 7 Sep 2022)
7. Catherine is the daughter of Richard FitzWilliam (badged/R&A 8 Sep 2022)
8. Richard is the son of Edmond FitzWilliam (badged/R&A 9 Sep 2022)
9. Edmond is the son of Edmund FitzWilliam (badged/R&A 12 Sep 2022)
10. Edmund is the son of Elizabeth de Clinton (badged/R&A 14 Sep 2022)
11. Elizabeth is the daughter of William de Clinton (badged/R&A 18 Sep 2022)
12. William is the son of Ida de Odingsells (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Ida is the daughter of Ela FitzWalter (badged/100% 5-star)
14. Ela is the daughter of Walter FitzRobert (badged/100% 5-star)
15. Walter is the son of Magna Carta Surety Baron Robert FitzWalter




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with William:

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Comments: 7

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The current profile notes:

"His oral will was made at his American home on 6 November 1697 in the presence of Colonel Henricus Beckman, Captain Jacob Rutse, Captain Abram Hassbroeck (three Justices of the Peace for Ulster and Duchess County, New York) and John Beatys, and was proved on 24 Feb 1697/8"

Per the cited record (transcribed in "The Ancestry of Leander Howard Crall," p. 357), William declared his will in the presence of Captn. Thomas Garton, Mr. John Cock, and John Beatys (who subsequently testified before justices of the peace).

posted by Alton Fyncher
edited by Alton Fyncher
Thanks. I misread the source and will make a correction.
posted by Michael Cayley
A few comments and questions on the movements of William Asfordby:

(1) The current profile states, without citation, "No later than 1674 William and his family settled in New England, where they had property at Kingston and Marbletown, Ulster County, New York."

For clarification, William settled in New York, not New England. New York was never part of New England (excepting the brief de jure union of 1686-9). Ulster County did not exist at the time. It was formed by an act of 1 Nov 1683. William owned property in Marbletown. He bought land there on 18 Dec 1675 (Ulster Dutch Records 2:237) and was granted several patents in that time frame. I see no evidence of William owning land in the historically Dutch town of Kingston. Any statement to that effect probably owes to a misunderstanding, namely, that records in the Dutch Church of Kingston imply residence in Kingston. The church served a large region, including Marbletown.

In sum, no later than 1674, William and his family settled in Marbletown, New York, which which was laid out beginning 1668 as bounty for English soldiers stationed in adjacent Kingston following the capture of New Netherlands. Why? What connection did William and Martha (Burton) Asfordby have to the original proprietors of Marbletown? I do not know the answer to this genealogically salient question.

(2) William Asfordby almost certainly returned to England for several years in the late 1680s or early 1690s. We know this clearly, if indirectly, from Martha's appearance in records as a substitute for her husband. On 15 Aug 1695, patent was "granted to Martha Ashfordby and her daughters, Susan , Mary , Helen, Ann and Katherine for land at Marbletown originally patented to her husband" (Calendar of Council minutes 1668-1783, p. 108). Charles Wolley, probably kin of William, lived in New York 1678-80 and wrote a book about it published in England in 1700. In it, he passed off some racist tripe "I had confirm'd to me, by my friend Mr. William Asfordby, who lived in those parts sixteen years, and had for his Neighbour one Harman the Indian in Marble-Town, in the County of Ulster" (A two years journal in New York, and part of its territories in America, p. 27). Sixteen years would mean before 1674 to before 1690. That is, Charles Wolley conferred with William Asfordby when both were returned to England. E.B. O'Callaghan added notes to the 1860 edition of Wolley's journal. In a note on Asfordby, O'Callaghan cites records which he himself cataloged for the state, saying Asfordby "went for England" in 1687 (A two years journal in New York, and part of its territories in America , p. 81). O'Callaghan attributes the departure to debt. Certainly, William had recently mortgaged and sold property.

posted by Alton Fyncher
edited by Alton Fyncher
Thanks. I have amended the reference to New England and Ulster County. The sourcing for "no later than 1674..." is the same as the sourcing for the succeeding sentence. I would not normally cite the same sourcing twice for two successive sentences.

On Kingston, according to Douglas Richardson, in 1676 William "exchanged lots of land in Kingston, new York with Jan Rennels." I have now looked at the source for this, and you are right on this: Richardson appears to have made a slip - the relevant documentation was signed at Kingston. Richardson goes on to say that in 1678 William purchased property at Kingston from Rachel Fry. The record refers to Rachel's "right and title here at Kingston" which is ambiguous - it may mean the property was at Kingston or it may mean the right and title were recorded at Kingston. See the footnotes on page 361 of the Allaben work cited in the bio: https://archive.org/details/ancestryleander00allagoog/page/n410/mode/2up. I have removed the reference to Kingston.

Please see what I have done about the possibility that William may have returned to England. I do not regard the 1695 patent grant to William's wife and children as proof that he was then in England. Nor do I read the Journal entry by Charles Wooley as necessarily indicating that the two men conferred in England - merely that at some point William communicated information about his neighbour to Charles: this need not have have been in conversation - it could conceivably have been by letter; and, if it was in conversation, there is no indication when the conversation took place or whether it was in America or in England. We know that William was in America at the time he made his oral will. If you are able to find clearer evidence that William returned to England for a period, I would welcome it.

[corrected for typos]

posted by Michael Cayley
edited by Michael Cayley
Thank you for the thoughtful integration of my comments. O'Callaghan does provide sources, in the form of ten primary, contemporaneous records listed at the end of the note (all of which he was uniquely close to). He quotes one of these as saying William "went for England." Verifying this, that is, ordering the records (assuming they survived the Capitol Fire of 1911) would require legwork. But O'Callaghan merits some trust.
posted by Alton Fyncher
update: done

Hi! Please replace the coding for the Gateway template with the actual project box (see this page).

Thanks!

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett