Henry Milton [Milton-356]

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: England
Surnames/tags: Milton Melton

Having researched the Melton/Milton family for over 40 years, I find the following statement an unproductive rehash of past research and speculation over relationships presented in the decades-old family pedigree that I am working to source. I have not seen any current research in parish records or countless other documents presented to prove or disprove the pedigree. Before concluding that the Milton family claims are specious or unsupported, I believe researchers should attempt to verify the facts. CJM

Specious Theory of Parentage

Due to the prominence of the family of John Milton, the poet, and the relative availability of genealogical information relating to them compared to other early Miltons, some American genealogists of Milton families have made speculative claims regarding a line of descent from John Milton or his ancestors to American lineages. These claims include the claim that (1) Mary Milton, the mother of George Boone's wife (and Daniel Boone's grandmother), Mary Maugridge, was the daughter of John Milton the poet or his (falsely) claimed "cousin" Richard Milton/Melton, (2) the claim that this profile's Henry Milton, who was a member of the ill-fated Roanoke Colony, was the son of the poet's grandfather Richard Milton, and (3) the claim that Thomas Milton and his supposed son Richard Milton/Melton, who appear in Jamestown records in 1620-1624, were the son and grandson respectively, of the poet's grandfather Richard Milton. These claims are entirely unsupported by any reliable evidence and should be considered specious. Many of these claims are contained in Coming to America: The Melton/Milton compiled by Michael R. Leisure, which contains the disclaimer that he did not personally research some of the connections and that some may be "at best circumstantial."^[1]

About the claim that this profile's Henry Milton was the son of the poet's grandfather Richard Milton, (1) the name Milton was very common in England, (2) there is no evidence that the poet's grandfather Richard Milton had a son named Henry, and (3) there is no evidence connecting this profile's Henry Milton to the poet's grandfather Richard Milton or any of his confirmed relatives or to the area of Stanton St. John, Oxfordshire.

Since it it not reasonably plausible that this profile's Henry Milton was the son of Richard Milton of Stanton St. Johns, Oxfordshire, there is no reason to believe that this profile's Henry Milton was born in Stanton St. Johns, Oxfordshire.