John
Barclay
Sr
Born in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Ancestors 
Husband of
Catherine (Rescrrick) Barclay
— married
23 Dec 1699 in New Jersey
Descendants 
Father of
John Barclay
Died about
at about age 81
in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey
Profile last modified
| Created 27 Jul 2011
This page has been accessed 5,455 times.
| Magna Carta Gateway Ancestor Descendant of Surety Barons Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, and possibly others (see text). Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta |
Contents |
Biography
John was a Friend (Quaker)
Birth and Parents
John was the son of David Barclay and Katherine Gordon.[1][2][3] His older brother Robert was born in December 1648,[1][2] so John may have been born about 1650. His birthplace may have been Gordonstown, Morayshire, Scotland where his brother Robert was born.[1][2]
East New Jersey
In 1684 John emigrated to East New Jersey, settling initially probably in Elizabethtown and then in Plainfield,[4] and after that in Perth Amboy.[1][2][4][5] That year his brother Robert, absentee Governor of East New Jersey, had granted him 500 acres called Plainfield. Another brother David sailed there in 1685 but died at sea, and his property passed to John.[6] In 1687, his brother Robert executed a deed in his favour of a tenth of a forty-eighth share of the land in the colony.[1][2]
A 1687 document suggests that John was on the council of the Deputy Governor of East New Jersey. In 1690 the proprietors of East New Jersey granted John lands on the Raritan River, Middlesex County, and further grants of land were made to him in 1693, 1696 and 1700. Over the period from 1686 to 1729 there are a significant number of other deeds involving him and relating to land in East New Jersey.[6]
John held a number of senior positions in East New Jersey:
- 1689 - Deputy Surveyor[1][2] (under George Keith[4])
- 1692 - Receiver General and Surveyor General[1][2] (the latter in succession to George Keith[4])
- 1695 - Deputy Secretary and Register[1][2]
- 1696 - Commissioner of the Court of Small Debts[1][2]
- 1698 - Register of the Court of Chancery[1][2][4]
- 1699 - Clerk of the Court of Common Rights[1][2]
John lost most of these positions when the Province of East New Jersey was transferred to the Crown[4] and Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, then Viscount Cornbury, became Governor of New Jersey in 1703: Lord Cornbury placed his own nominees in positions of office.[7]
John also served on the General Assembly of East New Jersey, being elected for Perth Amboy in 1692, and for Middlesex County in 1698. He was a member of the Assembly again in 1704, after the Crown took over the province,[1][2] representing Perth Amboy.[4]
In 1709 John was charged with tampering with official records:[1][2] this appears to have been connected to the transfer of some documents relating to the administration of East New Jersey before the Crown assumed responsibility for the province.[4] His appointment as Clerk of the Governor's Council in 1714[1][2] (which was after a change of Governor) suggests that this accusation did him no lasting damage.
Leaving the Mainstream Quakers
Between 1699 and 1703 John left the mainstream Quakers, joining the separatist group associated with George Keith. Possibly this was when George Keith returned to America in 1702. Keith's account of this return visit referred to John as having "come over to the Church" (meaning Keith's group) and as sailing with Keith to Virginia in 1704.[6]
In 1718 John became a junior warden of St Peter's Church, Perth Amboy, confirming that he had definitively left the Quakers. He was made clerk to the corporation of St Peter's in 1728, and vestryman in 1730.[6] His salary as clerk was £15 a year, and his acceptance of a position giving such a small reward suggests that he may have fallen on hard times.[4]
Marriage and Son
John married Katherine, whose last name at birth is unknown,[1][2] before 23 December 1699, when they both signed a deed relating to land in Plainfield, New Jersey.[6] They had one son:
Katherine was buried at Perth Amboy, New Jersey on 6 January 1702/3.[1][2] (Moffat gives this as the date of her death.[5])
Death and Estate
John Barclay died at Perth Amboy, New Jersey[1][2] between 22 and 29 April 1731.[5] It is probable that he was intestate as New Jersey records refer only to the right to administer the estate, not to a will or executor.[8]
On 29 December 1731 John's son John relinquished the right to administer his father's estate to William Bradford, stationer and principal creditor.[8] The appointment of William Bradford as administrator was confirmed on 31 December.[6] An inventory dated 3 January 1731/2 valued the estate at £275 7s 3d.[8]
Research Notes
Alleged wife Cornelia van Schaick and son Thomas
Reuben Burnham Moffat's 1904 book on the Barclays of New York demolishes the suggestion that John Barclay married Cornelia van Schaick and was the father of the Rev. Thomas Barclay, rector of St Peter's, Albany, New York.[6] Thomas has previously been shown on WikiTree as a son of John Barclay, and has been detached.
Previously shown wife
Margaret Ker has in the past been shown on WikiTree as wife of John. There is no evidence for this, and she is not mentioned as a wife by either Douglas Richardson[1][2] or Reuben Burnham Moffat.[5][6] A Y-DNA exercise completed October 2020 has demonstrated that this John Barclay of Urie was not the father of Margaret Ker's children.
The following children of Margaret Ker, the previously-shown wife, have been detached:
Suggestion of a second son in an 1812 book
Henry Mill in an 1812 book relating to Barclay genealogy said of the John Barclay of this profile, "he died only in the year 1731, leaving, as I am informed, two sons."[9] No source was given and no good evidence has been found for a second son.
John Barclay, I, Esq Birthdate: 1659 Birthplace: Urie, Kincardineshire, Scotland, United Kingdom Death: April 29, 1731 (71-72) Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, NJ, United States
Son of Colonel David Barclay 1610–1686 and Katherine Gordon Barclay 1621–1663.
Husband of Catherine Barclay and Cornelia Van Schaick
Father of John Gordon Barclay II; Catherine Dunbar and Thomas Barclay
Brother of Robert Barclay, Scottish Quaker The Apologist; David Barclay, 1650; Lucy Barclay and Jean Barclay of Urie and Half brother of Elizabeth Barkley
Previously-shown Daughter Catharine b 1714 in Ireland
Catharine Barclay, said to be born in Ireland in 1714, has previously been shown on WikiTree as a daughter of John. No evidence has been found for this, and the John Barclay of this profile was in North America at the time when Catherine is said to have been born in Ireland.
Sources
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 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. 101, BARCLAY 18.ii, Google Books
- ↑ 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 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. I, pp. 245-246, BARCLAY 19.ii
- ↑ Joseph Hunter (ed. J WClay). Familiae Minorum Gentium, pt. 2, Harleian Soc. 38, 1895, p. 432 (Barclay pedigree), Internet Archive
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 William A Whitehead. Contributions to the Early History of Perth Amboy and Adjoining Country, D Appleton and Company, 1856, pp. 42-43, Internet Archive
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Reuben Burnham Moffat. The Barclays of New York: Who They are and Who They are Not, and Some Other Barclays., Robert Grier Cooke, 1904, p. 57, Internet Archive
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Reuben Burnham Moffat, The Barclays of New York, pp. 1-16, Internet Archive
- ↑ History of Parliament Online, entry for HYDE, Edward, Visct. Cornbury (1661-1723)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 A van Doren Honeyman (ed.). Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Administrations &c, Volume II, 1730-1750, Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Vol. XXX, 1918, p. 36, Internet Archive
- ↑ Henry Mill. A Genealogical Account of the Barclays of Urie for upwards of Seven Hundred Years with Memoirs of Colonel David Barclay and his son Robert Barclay..., John Herbert, London, 1812, p.81, Internet Archive
- Moffat, Reuben Burnham. The Barclays of New York: Who They are and Who They are Not, and Some Other Barclays, Robert Grier Cooke, 1904, Internet Archive
- Wikipedia: John_Barclay_(New_Jersey)
Acknowledgements
Magna Carta Project
- This profile was revised for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 29 May 2021 and approved 1 Jun 2021 by Thiessen-117.
- John Barclay Sr is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, page xxiii) and is in a Richardson-documented trail to Magna Carta Surety Barons Richard de Clare and Gilbert de Clare (vol. I, pages 94-101 BARCLAY). This trail was re-developed in 2021 by Michael Cayley and was badged by the Magna Carta Project on 22 June 2021. See the Magna Carta Trails on Robert Barclay's profile to view the profiles in that trail.
- See Base Camp for more information about Magna Carta trails. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com
DNA
No known carriers of John's DNA have taken a DNA test.
No known carriers of John's DNA have taken a DNA test.
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
- Notice update for evaluation Oct 20, 2017.
John is 18 degrees from Emeril Lagasse, 18 degrees from Nigella Lawson, 14 degrees from Maggie Beer, 40 degrees from Mary Hunnings, 25 degrees from Joop Braakhekke, 25 degrees from Michael Chow, 19 degrees from Ree Drummond, 23 degrees from Paul Hollywood, 19 degrees from Matty Matheson, 21 degrees from Martha Stewart, 28 degrees from Danny Trejo and 25 degrees from Molly Yeh on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Research Notes https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/191258165/john-barclay Records Burial- Saint Peters Churchyard, Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA John Barclay Sr., Birth: 1659, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland DEATH 29 Apr 1731 (aged 71–72), Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. Saint Peters Churchyard Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA, MEMORIAL ID 191258165 · Family members attached to Memorial. KW 9/30/2021
many times headstones can be incorrect. For this reason I removed the research note you added because his death was already sourced.
Thanks, Traci
Jen
edited by Michael Cayley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barclay_(New_Jersey)
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Barclays_of_New_York_who_They_are_an.html?id=hGkJ5N4ZEd8C
It goes into get lengths to prove this wrong assumption. Now, I have assumed that John married Margaret Ker only with circumstantial evidence. Several of us are attempting to prove that assumption via Y DNA. Note from Jim Baucom this date.