Who are the parents of Hanna and John Elton

+3 votes
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So, I've done a bit of digging, and now I'm looking for some feedback. Does any of this look possible to you? Do you know anything further about any of these possible parents? Any thoughts?

This is a questions that has been unanswered for a very long time. My hope is that with better access to more records and more connections with interested people, perhaps an answer will now be available.

Also, the English Civil was General was married to an Anna, who was in England at the time that Hannah was on Long Island, so he's NOT the husband.

Possible Parents and Origins

The following is based on the records stored in the Family Search Database. They are all birth/christening records. There are some issues with this source. First, the records seem really spotty. Entire regions seem to be missing from these records, but it could be that I'm just searching for less common names. Second, There don't seem to be many records anywhere for children born in the 1630s, probably owing to the civil war. Third, there don't seem to be any marriage records and very few death records. With all that, I did find a few possible parents for Hannah and John I looked through all of the records I could find for John Elton and Hannah Elton, spelled properly and born at about the right time. There were no Hannah Eltons born at the right time, so I used Anna instead. From what I can tell from the records, and I've only seen transcripts which may have been corrected for spelling, John always spells his name the same way, so it is probably spelled that way in the vital records. Also, most of the other spellings didn't look like they would sound the same as Elton (no Alton, Elden or Elten or similar). I found a few parents who had both a John and an Anna. It is possible that some of the other Johns and Annas also had unrecorded siblings, so I may not actually have found the right parents, but I've listed below some options. My hope is that others may have access to marriage records for Anna (Hannah) which would help or wills from the areas listing John and Hannah as living in America, for example. Once I found some potential parents, I went looking for Overtons in the area as there are no records of any Overtons in the US for Overtons born in the 1600, which Isaac's father would likely have been, so Hannah was likely married in England and left as a widow. (Unless Family Source is missing some death records, like for Isaac's father here in the US.) Here is what I've found:

1617 Anna Daughter of Robert and Elizabeth in Cole Orton, Leic'shire 1624 John son of Robert in Nottingham, Nott'shire 1604 Johannes Overton Son of Josephi Overton in Barwell, Leic'shire

1611 Anna Daughter of John in Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire 1610 John Son of John in Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire Several Overtons are in Hampshire, but they are in Romsey, which is a ways away. Some other Overtons are recorded as Hampshire, but they appear to be living on the Isle of Wight (both Whippingham and Freshwater are towns on the island)

1620 Anna daughter of John in Inkpen, Berkshire 1612, 1616, 1621 John son of John and Alice in Kingston Lisle, Berkshire (1612 and 1621 have the same birth date in January, so one may be a transcription error) No Overtons nearby except possibly the ones in Romsey

Inkpen is very close of Hurstbourne Tarrant, so this may be the same family. I haven't found many death records, so the 1620 Anna could be a second child.

The towns listed in the case of different towns are all within about 20 miles of each other and appear to have direct or mostly direct road access between the towns, so the distance seems plausible.
WikiTree profile: Hannah Elton
in Genealogy Help by J Briller G2G6 Mach 1 (12.0k points)
retagged by J Briller
Captain George Elton was a companion and fellow prisoner of General Overton. There are documents for his arrest and imprisonment in 1663. It appears he died in the Tower about 1665. There was a letter from his wife Elizabeth requesting to visit him, recorded February 7, 1664, where she wrote she feared his soon death.

1. Is it possible this is John and Hannah's father, they fleeing England because of the troubles and their father's activities? You indicated there were land records for John as early as 1652. Overton started his downhill slide in 1648.

2. Since George and Robert were close companions, is it possible that Hannah married a brother of the General? Or a cousin who also served in the rebellion? To come to New York, with just her brother, she had to be a widow or considered herself permanently separated from her husband.
Very interesting!

Thank you for this. It is information that I hadn't seen before.
Do you happen to know where Capt. George Elton was from, if I go looking for records of any possible children?
Not sure. I know the names from studying the Rebellion for my Master's Degree, as the Rebellion had significant impact on the art, literature and music of the time. I am now Ph.D Fine Arts. I know from my scribble notes, you can find references to Captain George Elton in Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Charles II 1660-1685 - Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, published 1862.
John's will is available - actual handwritten image -  in Ancestry and Anderson's Great Migration has a John Elton
Possible sources for clues, if you haven't already seen them

Tyler's Quarterly, Vol 2 , page 861, Genealogies of Virginia Families

The Overton Genealogy - Alvin Smith

Virginia Historical Genealogies - John Boddie

Overton , Braxton Historical Society, Journal 17 - article by Edward Woodyard

and according to Mathews American Armoury and Blue Book, Isaac Elton was entitled to display as Arms, azure, a bend within a border or crest, on a chapeau gules turnes up ermine a martlett sable. (does this resemble any such allowed Robert Overton and kin?)
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I did know about the Overton Genealogy, and I think I've seen a transcript of John Elton's will, so there is a wealth of information to troll. Many Thanks!

I only do this stuff to torment my wikitree peeps who will thusly toil away while I enjoy snacks and watch Godzilla movies laugh

Haha!

I found the Calendar of State papers, which led me to Howell's collection of State trials.

Capt. George Elton was imprisoned not for regicidal activities around the death of  Charles I but, rather, for an apparent attempted regicide of Charles II. George Elton was named by several conspirators who were later executed for treason. In some ways it is surprising that George Elton wasn't executed, but I also can't seem to find a trial for him, which should have been in Howell. I suspect he was never given a trial, despite being held for years.
It is possible that George Elton is actually the father of John and Hannah Elton because in his personal papers when he was captured he had a letter to his son John Elton and a similar letter to "Mrs. Overton", who might be his daughter Hannah. George also refused, consistently as far as I can tell, to take the Oath of Allegence. I haven't found precise proof yet of his relationship to John and Hannah, but this has been an interesting bit of research into an event that I hadn't know about.

Keep digging !!! Ain't genealogy fun yes

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