Notes from Lynn Burton, Utah
In Marmaduke Burton's will, he does not mention his wife at all. I think he would be required by law to name her if she were living, right? My records have her still living at the time of his death, but they must be wrong. So I will need to establish an earlier death date for Elizabeth Lee Burton. Marmaduke was a blacksmith. I have not been able to find out anything at all about Elizabeth Lee. A researcher I hired in England (1960s) said her marriage to Marmaduke was also found in West Wickham! I haven't found it there - but if it is, that might be a clue as to where her family lived.
Where did these Burton's come from? There is a George Burton born in Sawley, but I can't find out anything about him. Other possibilities are: Yorkshire; or even still in Lancashire, but early records of Newchurch-in-Pendle are mostly unreadable or missing.
I have heard that there are 5 headstones bearing the name Marmaduke Burton in the Newchurch-in-Pendle churchyard, but none is mine. I find this very hard to believe.
A couple of years ago, a fifth cousin, Peter William Burton of Blackburn contacted me and gave me his line of descent from Marmaduke and Elizabeth Lee Burton. We corresponded for some time, but not much lately. Peter's father is about the same age as I am. You will also probably turn out to be a fifth cousin, twice removed.
I have offered a money prize to any of my grand nephews bearing the Burton name who will name a son Marmaduke. No takers. I tell them, they can call him "Duke" for short, and that helps a little bit, but still no takers. The name is also in the Tattersall family, as you know.
It is said that the Burton family lost their lands, titles, and money by the acts of Cromwell, but I have found no details of that.
This is from my researcher's report: "The parish register of Newchurch-in-Pendle commence[s] in 1721 and the Bishop's Transcripts of this register prior to that date have no entries for the years 1705-6, 1712, 1715-16, and 1718.
A search for the marriage of George Burton, back to 1700 in the Bishop's Transcript of this register, did not reveal an entry. Indeed a search in baptisms, marriages and burials from 1599 to 1717 revealed no further entries whatsoever to the name Burton. The search for George Burton's marriage was therefore extended to the registers of neighbouring parishes. The Lancashire parishes of Colne, Downham, Clitheroe, Whalley and Padiham, were searched from 1700 to 1717 without result. We then searched for the baptism of George Burton before 1700 in the Lancashire registers of Colne, Downham, Clitheroe, Whalley and Padiham, but without success.
George Burton was buried on 31st May 1764, this entry gives no indication of his age at his death. (no will was found for him). Ellen, widow of George Burton, late of Thorney-Holme, who was buried at Newchurch on 11th May 1773. "The Burton family do not appear to have been living in the parish of Newchurch-in-Pendle prior to 1717."
Another researcher I hired, C.R. Humphery-Smith, Director of Research, Achievements Ltd., Northgate, Canterbury, Kent, England, had sent me this info on 10th January 1969:-
"We found the East Wickham record of the marriage of Marmaduke Burton and Elizabeth Lee at Newchurch in Pendle, Lancashire in 1751." (I stated previously that it was in West Wickham, but it was East Wickham.) Since their marriage was by banns, it is very likely that the banns were published in both her parish and his parish, so she could have been from East Wickham. There are Lee (Leigh, Legh) families in that area.
Now I hired another researcher in England to go to the East Wickham parish to find the listing there. Surprise, surprise!. The researcher asked to see the records and it turned out that a previous cleric there had recently absconded and taken the record chest with him! By my having made the enquiry, it was the first discovery that the chest of records was missing! Just what happened with that situation I never have discovered. Were the records ever recovered? I just don't know. I should find out just what records are available for East Wickham at this time. The East Wickham reference may be totally of no help.
