William Layton (1630 - bef. 1708)

Born 1630 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 28 Jun 1708 before age 78 in Lower Freehold, Monmouth, Province of New Jersey

Problems/Questions Profile managers: H Husted [send private message] and Roger Wehr [send private message]

Biography

"WILLIAM LAYTON, an Englishman, ...was one of the pioneer settlers of Middletown, New Jersey."^[1]

"1688, Mch. 25. He had a patent for land granted to him which was surveyed June 9, 1688. Jan. 4, 1688, he recorded his cattle-mark. Apr. 30, 1703, John Stout, in a conveyance of land to his son Richard Stout, lying in Middletown, mentioned the lands of Richard Mount and William Layton as abutting properties."^[1]

Family

William is said to have married Violet Blackman. ^{[citation needed]} Violet Lawton was granted administration of his estate.

1. William Layton
2. Thomas Layton
3. Andrew Layton
4. John Layton
5. Samuel Layton
6. Mary Layton Drummond

Land Records

https://wwwnet-dos.state.nj.us/DOS_ArchivesDBPortal/EarlyLandRecords.aspx

• no William Lawton

as William Layton

• grant of 240 acres at Middletown 20 Sep 1676
• bought land from Anthony Page at Middletown 4 Oct 1676
• grant of 218 acres at Middletown
• grant of 100 acres at Middletown 24 Dec 1685
• William made a grant of 38 acres to Samuel Layton on 10 Aug 1704

Death and Legacy

"1702, Aug. 17-18, he made his will as William Lawton; proved June 28, 1708, in which he named his wife executrix, and she was probably the Violet Lawton to whom letters of administration were issued, and his six children."^[1]

Abstract of will^[2]

"1702 Aug. 17-8. Lawton, William, of Middletown; will of. Wife ___. Sons--William, Thomas, Andrew, John and Samuel; daughter Mary Drummond. Real and personal estate. Witnesses--Henry Marsh and Gav. Drummond. Proved June 28, 1708; letters testamentary granted to the executrix, Violet Lawton.

"Lib. 1, p. 207, and Monmouth Wills"

Research Notes: Biographical Text

Sources for Research Notes. See this footnote: ^[3]

William Laiton was probably born by 1646. ^[4]. The first clearcut, contemporaneous records of William's existence are in the Old Middletown Town Book, and place him in the East New Jersey Colony of North America in about 1667 or 1668. William always made his mark rather than signing his name, and seems to have been indifferent to its spelling. "Laiton" was the most common spelling used in East New Jersey in his generation. The family name appears variously as Laten, Laton, Lattone, Layten, Layton, Laton, Laten, Leyton, Layten, or Luton in the 17th Century East New Jersey Colony; also it gets misread as Caten and Caton. Lawton appears in William's 1702 will, and Leighton appears later.

William Laiton is usually assumed to be English. Like many other early Monmouth County settlers he probably didn't arrive directly from Europe. ^[5] Portsmouth, Rhode Island or Gravesend, Long Island may have been layover points, but there's no records of him at either place. 19th Century history book authors assumed he was from Rhode Island ^[6] except for a Scottish author, James Steen, who thought he was Scottish ^[7] and for James Snell who thought the Laytons were Irish. ^[8] The Bedfordshire-to-Rhode Island Lawtons have no record of his existence and do not acknowledge him as family. ^[9]

Like the other early Middletownshippers, William Laiton must either have been a self-made man or have come from a family with money. From the first the English East Jersey Colony of Monmouth was pay to play, ^[10] although once they'd worked off their indentures, indentured servants were able to take part, perhaps with the help of mortgages. ^[11]

The organizers of Middletown had chosen a well-drained location a few miles inland and a safe 100 feet or so above sea level. ^{[12] [13] [14]} They probably entered the mouth of Waackaack Creek (on Raritan Bay) and came uphill until they found a good spot. Settlers who lived on Long Island or Staten Island could sail back and forth in sloops while they prepared their new homes in East New Jersey. ^[15]

William Laiton is not one of the original twelve men named in the Monmouth Patent on 8 Nov 1665. ^[16] William is not on a partial list of people from Rhode Island and Long Island who paid ahead to help buy land from Indians. ^[10] Salter's book counts him as a "townshipper," "among original settlers of Monmouth, 1667." ^[17] William is usually given credit for arriving in East New Jersey in 1667 because his name appeared on the list of 36 subscribers of the 1667 Middletown lot-drawing. The drawing was held on December 30 and 31 in 1667^[18], and possibly took place in Shrewsbury in connection with the East New Jersey Colony's General Assembly which was meeting there that month. ^[19] Some subscribers were clearly not present and never moved in, but they were usually buying land for their sons, ^[20] whereas William himself soon took up residence. William had received town lot #14 and "feild" lot #30. ^[18] He may not have been able to move his family in until after James Grover had surveyed the town lots, which would have happened during 1668. ^[21] Salter puts William Layton on a list of settlers who probably arrived before the expiration of the three years' limit of the Patent, so presumably by 1668. ^[22]

The Middletown town lots were centered on an Indian path that would become King's Highway, ^[12] running west from its modern intersection with Route 35, until it comes to its western boundary about where Red Hill Road is today. There King's Highway bends to the north. William Laiton's town lot #14 was on the south side of the path, nearly facing today's Penelope Lane. ^[23] Off to the east, field lot #30 was at the SE corner of the "poplar feilds" where the land was becoming "montany," slanting towards the "upland" that would be called High Point and later Chapel Hill. ^{[24][25][26][13]} Lot #30 was almost across modern King's Highway East from where Woodgate Rd. joins King's Highway East from the southern side. ^[27] There is still an overgrown Layton or Layton-Shepherd burial ground at that location. ^[28]

Like most of the earliest Middletown settlers, William Laiton was a Baptist, and raised his children in the faith. Ellis wrote: ^{[29] [30]}

• "The Middletown Baptist Church is the oldest church of that denomination in the State of New Jersey, and was constituted in 1668 by the following-named persons, all of whom were of the Monmouth patentees : Richard Stout, John Stout, James Grover, Jonathan Brown, Obadiah Holmes, John Ruckman, William Cheeseman, John Wilson, Walter Wall, John Cox, Jonathan Holmes, George Mount, William Layton, William Compton, James Ashton, John Bowne, Thomas Whitlock, James Grover, Jr."

Since these 18 names (or their presumptive relative's names) are all among the 36 lot-subscribers from the 1667 Middletown drawing or on the list of those who paid ahead, it suggests that not enough time passed between the drawing and this sign-up sheet for many additional Baptists to have come to town, so the second event happened soon on the heels of the first. ^[22] Some history books date this church list to 1688, but by that time many more people had joined the colony and the list would surely have been longer. (No doubt a handwritten 6 was mistaken for an 8. See "Research Notes: Interpreting confusing dates in the Old Middletown Town Book.")

William Laiton registered his cattle "earemarkes" on or after 4 Jan 1669 (year adjusted for Gregorian Calendar), as did many other planters. ^{[31] [32]} The colony was coming alive as people brought their livestock and settled on their farms.

William Laiton collected more property over time, and the farm at lot #30 grew larger. The Middletown settlers were all eager for the Lords Proprietors to grant them more land parcels, which they could distribute to their growing families. ^[33]

William's will was written on 17-18 Aug 1702, with his name spelled "Lawton." ^[34] He died between then and 28 June 1708 when the will was proved at Shrewsbury. ^[35] Violet Lawton (presumably his wife) received letters of administration as executrix. The will mentioned "my loveing wife" but failed to name her as Violet or to clearly identify either Violet or "my loveing wife" as the mother of his children. ^[36] Violet received use of the home farm, which was to be divided between sons Andrew and John Layton at her convenience. The other children appear to have been grown up and settled already. William, Thomas, Samuel, and Mary are cut off with 3 shillings apiece, a legal formality, not a sign of rejection.

A less than usually abbreviated version of the will was provided by a Genforum correspondent Barbara Emery in 2000, presumably copied from Liber I, page 207, Monmouth Wills (Unrecorded Wills and Inventories. Monmouth County, New Jersey):

• "WILL of WILLIAM LAWTON. Dated Aug. 17, 1702, "At Midletown." Proved by oath of Henry Marsh, wit., that he saw wit., Gauen Drummond, sign, before Edward, Vifcount Cornbury, Gov., Shrewsbury, June 28, 1708.
• Gives: "to my loveing wife (my executrix) The use of all my reall and personall estat...the use of the land, "buildings orchards feild & with the conveniences...dureing hir liftime and my personall estat as Chatle, horse-, "hoges, sheep &c to dispose of in the time of hir life at hir pleasure payeing to my sones Wm, Thomas & Samuel Lawton "& daught-- Mary Drummond each of them three shilling a peace and to my sones Andrew and John Lawtons ther airs "... all my forsd reall estat as lands orchards ... and by my right to take up To be equallie divided betwixt "them to ... disposs of at ther pleasure ... so much of the same as shal suit my wife's convenience ...',
• Wits.:
• WILLIAM LAWTON [his mark]
• henry Marsh
• Gau:Drummond
• Oath of Violet Lawton, Executrix, before Edward, Viscount Cornbury, Gov., Changororas, June 28, 1708."

The inventory of William Laiton's personal estate (now he's "Laiton" again) was reported 19 Jun 1708 by Elisha Lawrence and Richard Stout, with the sum coming to £62.19.0. ^[37] Thus we can conclude he died by 19 Jun 1708.

Probably William and his wife (wives) are buried (without surviving gravestones) in the Layton Burial Ground (aka Layton Yard or Layton/Shepherd Cemetery) in Middletown, Monmouth County, up by Chapel Hill where the family farm was. ^[38]

The birthdates of William Laiton and his immediate children (and most of their marriage dates) are only ever calculated guesses. William's will evidently is the source of the familiar birth order that appears in Stillwell: William, Thomas, John, Andrew, Samuel, Mary. But the will also provides a different order for William's "sones" and a daughter: William, Thomas, Samuel, Mary; ^[39] then Andrew and John (or John and Andrew). ^[40] This order fits better with the order in which they were married and the order in which they died. Also the will treats Andrew and John differently from the others, which would make sense if they were still young boys in need of Violet's care. If Violet was a Scottish Covenanter and arrived in East New Jersey Colony in 1685, ^[41] she might have had to work off her indenture for four years and not been available for marriage until 1689. Hence Andrew and John could have been born about 1690. Certainly they were born before the will was written, in 1702.

William and wife #1 had (going by an order inferred from the will):

• William Layton
• Thomas Layton
• Samuel Layton
• Mary Layton

William and Violet had:

• Andrew Layton
• John Layton ^[40]

Research Notes: Interpreting confusing dates in the Old Middletown Town Book

John Stillwell's 1906 printed version of the Old Middletown Town Book (1667-1700) actually has the earmark registration starting in January of 1668 (on page 7), but be aware that the person who transcribed the text from the book's original handwritten form to prepare for printing didn't update these Julian Calendar dates to the modern, Gregorian Calendar. As you read along in Stillwell's printed Town Book, ^[42] 31 Dec 1667 is followed by 6 Jan 1667 and you seem to be in a time warp till an event in April, 1668. 16 Dec 1668 is followed presently by 1 and 4 Feb 1668, then 17 Mar 1668-1669, and then 3 May 1669. Events happen in the right order (except for later earmarks that were squeezed into remaining blank spaces), but the dates look wrong to us. 25 March begins the new year, Julian-style. Great Britain did not switch to the Gregorian Calendar until 1752. ^[43] Thus THE CHANCES ARE ALMOST ONE IN FOUR that any random event you blindly pick out of the Town Book will have its date off by a year unless you think to adjust it.

Stillwell's Historical and Genealogical Miscellany (Volume V) was published in 1932. Since Stillwell died in 1930, he may have had no chance to proofread for errors. Page 1 of the 1932 text has William Layton registering his cattle-mark on 4 Jan 1688, in disagreement with Stillwell's 1906 printed version of the Old Middletown Town Book, which wrote the date as Jan. 4, 1668. 1932 is too early for the editors to have been mislead by the modern digitalization flaw that can misread a 6 as an 8; however they may have looked at Stillwell's handwritten notes and mistaken a handwritten 6 for an 8. ^[44]

The Town Book follows up the earliest list of earmarks by having the then town clerk, Edward Tartt, declare in 1671 that he read off all the earmarks in public and made sure everyone agreed (page 9). Having the list of earmarks begin in 1688 and end in 1671 would be nonsense, so it must begin on 4 Jan 1668, except because of the Julian to Gregorian Calendar adjustment, it has to be 4 Jan 1669. Doubters should realize it's unlikely the Middletown settlers would have waited twenty years to record their earmarks.

Likewise the 1932 Miscellany has William Layton receiving a land patent on 25 Mar 1688 (the first day of the new year) and the land was surveyed by James Grover on 9 Jun 1688 (on page 1). This should surely be an event of 1668, in line with the procedure described in the Town Book on 31 Dec 1667 (on page 2), where James Grover is to survey the town lots that have just been assigned, and it's similar to the Town Book's description on 16 Dec 1668 (on page 7), where James Grover is to survey the meadow lots by the following June. James Grover the surveyor was dead by 1685. ^[45]

The Lewis Historical Publishers' unreliable History of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 1664-1920 in its printed version, published in 1922, has the Middletown lot-drawing occurring in 1677 (page 322), although twice it mentions that the Old Middletown Town Book started in 1667 (page 61, page 210). (The dates 1667-1700 actually appear in Stillwell's title.) The lot-drawing actually started on page one (in Stillwell's printed version from 1906) and is plainly dated Dec. 30, 1667. Another apparent error of the 1922 book is assigning to 1688 the list of members who "constituted" of the Middletown Baptist Church (on page 325-326) whereas Franklin Ellis's History of Monmouth County, New Jersey, placed it in 1668 (on pages 526-527), a date supported by evidence from the list itself. See "Research Notes: Biographical Text" in William Layton-9's WikiTree profile.

Digitalization into plain text can be blamed for many mistaken dates. Plaintext files may be easier on the eyes and easier to copy, but proof-reading against the original text is important. Text-reading software tends to turn 3's or 6's or even 0's into 8's. -- Pauline Layton, 4 Mar 2021.

Research Notes: The Rhode Island Lawtons

William Layton may be the son of Thomas Lawton of Portsmouth, Rhode Island and his wife Elizabeth Salisbury^[46][47] Research needed. (10 May 2017)

(In order to keep the William Layton-9 profile from becoming excessively long, I have created a Free Space page where speculations about William's origins can go on at length, namely https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Where_did_William_Layton_and_Violet_Lawton_come_from. It includes a critique of William Almond Layton. My addition to "Research Notes: The Rhode Island Lawtons" from 2021 can be seen there in its entirety. I'm leaving behind a couple of lines that predated my addition. -- Pauline Layton, 3 June 2023)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Stillwell, John. Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, Data Relating to the Settlement and Settlers of New York and New Jersey (New York, 1903-1932), volume 5, page 1
2. ↑ William Lawton of Middletown. Calender of Wills, 1670-1730. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, XXIII, 286.
3. ↑ Sources for Research Notes:
   • Beekman, George Crawford. Early Dutch Settlers of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Freehold, New Jersey: Moreau Brothers, 1901. See https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066011123;view=1up;seq=11
   • Ellis, Franklin. History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. R.T. Peck & Co., Philadelphia 1885. See https://archive.org/details/cu31924008592630
   • Glasgow, William Melancthon. History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America. Hill & Harvey, Baltimore, 1888. See https://archive.org/details/historyofreforme00glas
   • History of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 1664-1920. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1922. See https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044024267460&view=1up&seq=11 (beware untrustworthy dates).
   • Landsman, Ned C. Scotland and its First American Colony 1683-1765. Princeton NJ, 1985. See http://history.wdgordon.com/gordon20.htm
   • Nelson, William, editor. Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Vol. XXIII. Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Vol. I, 1670-1730. The Press Printing and Publishing Co., 269 Main Street, Paterson, N. J. 1901. See https://archive.org/stream/calendarofnewjer00newj#page/286/mode/2up
   • Nelson, William, editor. Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Vol. XXI. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State, 1664-1703. The Press Printing and Publishing Co., 269 Main Street, Paterson, N. J. 1901. See https://archive.org/stream/calendarofrecord02nels/calendarorecord02nels_djvu.txt
   • Olive Tree - Henry&Francis: see https://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/henryfrancis.shtml
   • Salter, Edwin. A History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. E. Gardner & son, Bayonne, NJ, 1890. See https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101072316381&view=1up&seq=5
   • Snell, James P. compiler. History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey. Philadelphia, Everts & Peck, 1881. See https://ia802704.us.archive.org/23/items/historyofsussexw00snel/historyofsussexw00snel.pdf
   • Steen, James. New Aberdeen, Or, The Scotch Settlement of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Journal Steam Print. Matawan, New Jersey, 1899. See https://archive.org/details/newaberdeenorsc00steegoog
   • Stillwell, John Edwin, M. D. Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, Data Relating to the Settlement and Settlers of New York and New Jersey volume V. New York, 1932. See https://archive.org/details/historicalgeneal05instil/page/n5/mode/2up
   • Stillwell, John Edwin, M. D., editor. The Old Middletown Town Book 1667 to 1700. New York, 1906? See https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t0ft94w76&view=1up&seq=9
   • Topological map. See https://www.topozone.com/new-jersey/monmouth-nj/city/keansburg/
   • Old Middletown Village: see Middletown Historic District at https://www.middletownnj.org/248/Middletown-Village
   • Middletown Historic District: Chapel Hill, at https://www.middletownnj.org/243/Chapel-Hill
   • Middletown tax map. See sheet 106, block 672, https://nj-middletown.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/2434/Middletown-Tax-Map-Sht-106_00
   • Layton Family Burial Ground: see https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2371311/layton-family-burial-ground
   • Anthony Layton's gravestone photo: see Find A Grave: Memorial #59124349.
   • LAWTON SOURCES:
   • Lawton, Elva. The descendants of Thomas Lawton of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. New York, 1949. Dr. Elva Lawton used parish records. See pages vii, ix, x. See https://archive.org/details/descendantsoftho00lawt
   • Matthew Frederick Lawton's "The Realm of Lawton" webpage at http://www.realmoflawton.net/ is useful. In 2018 this included information about the Lawton family seal with the demi-fox. Now in 2021 they seem to have accepted the "fox" is really the Cheshire Lawtons' "wolf" and they use the whole Cheshire coat of arms. The seal is no longer discussed. They don't explain how Lawtons came from Cheshire to Bedfordshire, however.
   • The Cheshire Lawtons' pedigree and coat of arms is in George Ormerud's "The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol. III," 1819. See <https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924088434059&view=1up&seq=34>
4. ↑ If William Laiton was to be at least 21 by the time of the Middletown lot drawing in 1667, he'd have been born by 1646.
5. ↑ His seeming inability to read and write suggests he was from the first generation born in the New World (schools would come later).
6. ↑ Rhode Island : for instance, see Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., page xxxvi
7. ↑ Scottish: see Steen's New Aberdeen, op. cit., page 48
8. ↑ Irish: See Snell's Sussex Co., op. cit., page 419.
9. ↑ See "Research Note: the Rhode Island Lawtons"
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Middletown subscribers who paid in advance: see Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., page 18-20
11. ↑ Indentured servants: see Ned C. Landsman's Scotland and Its First American Colony, 1683-1765, as reported by http://history.wdgordon.com/gordon20.htm
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Old Middletown Village: see Middletown Historic District at https://www.middletownnj.org/248/Middletown-Village
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Topological map. See https://www.topozone.com/new-jersey/monmouth-nj/city/keansburg/ Come south from Keansburg till you hit the Long Branch Railway, and see where King's Highway takes a big bend just north of the railway. Original downtown Middletown was on that east-west stretch of King's Highway. The Highway continues east to Chapel Hill and the "feild" lots, but the road has different names on this map whereas the roadmap calls it King's Highway East.
14. ↑ Elevation: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown_Township,_New_Jersey
15. ↑ Sloops: see Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., page 32, also see Beekman's Dutch Settlers, op. cit., pages 35, 91, 98.
16. ↑ Monmouth Patent: Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., page 10, page 15.
17. ↑ townshippers: see Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., page xxxvi. Also see where William Layten is included in the list of "township men" on page 360.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} lot-drawing: see Stillwell's Town Book, op. cit. pages 1-2.
19. ↑ General Assembly: see Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., pages 32-33
20. ↑ list of non-settlers: Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., page 361
21. ↑ surveying: see Stillwell Town Book, op. cit., page 2. See "Research Notes: Interpreting confusing dates in the Old Middletown Town Book."
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1} List of 52 people presumed to have brought their families before the three years of the patent were up in 1668 (in addition to those who prepaid): Salter's A History of Monmouth, op. cit., page 20
23. ↑ town lots: See Ellis, History of Monmouth, op. cit. page 522
24. ↑ poplar "feilds": see Stillwell's Town Book, op. cit., page 2.
25. ↑ Baptist Church on High Point in 1809, called Chapel Hill: See Ellis, History of Monmouth, op. cit. page 546.
26. ↑ See Middletown Historic District: Chapel Hill, at https://www.middletownnj.org/243/Chapel-Hill
27. ↑ Old lot #30 is sort of new lot #21 on modern Middletown tax map. See sheet 106, block 672, https://nj-middletown.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/2434/Middletown-Tax-Map-Sht-106_00
28. ↑ Layton Family Burial Ground between street addresses 541 and 551 on Kings Highway East, Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. See https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2371311/layton-family-burial-ground
29. ↑ Baptist church: see Ellis' History of Monmouth, op. cit. pages 526-527.
30. ↑ Inconveniently Ellis does not give his source, but it may be Morgan Edwards' "History" of the Baptists, 1792.
31. ↑ earemarkes: see Stillwell's Town Book, op. cit. page 8.
32. ↑ explanation of confusing dates: See "Research Notes: Interpreting confusing dates in the Old Middletown Town Book."
33. ↑ More text and footnotes pending.
34. ↑ Up until the time "Lawton" appears in William's will, that spelling doesn't seem to have been used for this family in East New Jersey. George Layton found a possibly apocryphal tale in a history book explaining that William's sons got together and decided to avoid "Lawton" and use "Layton" instead to distinguish themselves from the Rhode Island family. Although "Layton" did gradually see more use after 1700, the Laytons don't seem to have insisted on it until later.
35. ↑ William Lawton's will written and proved: see William Nelson's Calendar of New Jersey Wills, op. cit., page 286-7. (Lib. I, p. 207, Monmouth Wills.) Described thus: "1702 Aug. 17-8. Lawton, William, of Middletown; will of. Wife ____. Sons — William, Thomas, Andrew, John and Samuel; daughter Mary Drummond. Real and personal estate. Witnesses — Henry Marsh and Gav. Drummond. Proved June 28, 1708; letters testamentary granted to the executrix, Violet Lawton."
36. ↑ This possibly careless ambiguity has raised questions about whether William and Violet were really married, or how many of the children were Violet's. The religious climate of the time made their living in sin unlikely. The different treatment John and Andrew receive in the will suggests they were part of a later family, and Violet is entrusted with their care as though she was their mother. The way the birth order is jumbled in short summaries of the will suggests that at its first appearance in the will this list was attempting to show all the children are to be considered as equals (when in fact John and Andrew are getting favored treatment). Unfortunately this jumbled order is the one most frequently seen: William, Thomas, Andrew, John, Mary, Samuel.
37. ↑ Inventory for William Laiton's will: See William Nelson's Calendar of New Jersey Wills, op. cit., page 297
38. ↑ Descendant Anthony Layton is the only Layton buried there with a gravestone remaining. There's a photograph of it at Find A Grave: Memorial #59124349. Find-A-Grave provides a link to a roadmap, also the GPS information: latitude 40.3968900, longitude -74.0801000.
39. ↑ This tendency to list daughters separately keeps us from knowing Mary's precise position in the line-up. Since Mary is thought to have been married and having children by 1691, she must be older than John and Andrew who seem to have been minors in 1702, but that's all we know.
40. ↑ ^{40.0 40.1} Since John registered his earmarks before Andrew, John may be older.
41. ↑ Covenanters: see Dr. Glasgow's History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America, page 228 and following. Or see Olive Tree's Henry&Francis, which is more readable.
42. ↑ earmarks: see Stillwell's Town Book, op. cit. pages 7-10.
43. ↑ see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar#Replacement_by_the_Gregorian_calendar
44. ↑ I'm searching my records for examples I remember where late 18th or early 19th Century dates had ambiguous 6's and 8's with additional loops and flourishes. They are here somewhere. - Pauline Layton, 13 Mar 2021.
45. ↑ James Grover's will probated 1685: See William Nelson's Calendar of New Jersey Wills, op. cit., page 196.
46. ↑ http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/21855460/person/18002280029
47. ↑ http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/21855460/person/18002289388/mediax/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid|pgNum

• Shurtleff, William, and Lawton L. Shurtleff. The Shurtleff and Lawton Families: Genealogy and History. Lafayette, CA: Pine Hill Press, 2005. Print. Preview available via Google Books
• Lawton Hall. (2014, May 24). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:07, November 9, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lawton_Hall&oldid=609955543
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Yates Publishing, Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Roger Wehr, Jennifer Justice, and others for their work on this profile.