William CLAYTON

  Noted events in his life were:

• See also. http://drwilliams.org/genealogy/3919.htm

• Will, 1658, Sussex County, ENGLAND. WILL OF WILLIAM CLAYTON, of the parish of St. Pancras, Chichester,
Sussex, England, 1 Feb 1658/9.
Consistory Court Will Register 1653-1668 in Chichester Miscellaneous
Wills 1653-1668, vol. 218, Ref. ST61/218 at the West Sussex Record
Office, Chichester, Sussex. Copied and transcribed by Marilyn London
Winton, 1984.
"WILLIAM CLAYTON. In the name of God I Will Clayton of the Parish of
Pancras without the East Gate, of Chichester in the County of Sussex,
Timberman, being sick & weak in body yet of perfect memory Lord to be
thanked, do make & ordain this my last will & Testament in form following.
First I give and bequeath my soul into the hand of Almighty God and my
body to the earth.
....Item: I give unto my son Will Clayton the sum of 12 pence to be paid
within on whole year after my decease.
....Item: I give unto my grandchildrenWilliam Clayton [and] Prudence
Clayton the children of my son Will Clayton the sum of 20 shillings
apiece to be paid unto them after they shall accomplish the age of 21
years.
....Item: I give unto my son Richard Clayton the sum of 20 shillings to
be paid him when he shall accomplish the age of 21 years.
....Item: I give unto my son Thomas Clayton the sum of 20 shillings to be
paid him when he shall accomplish the age of 21 years.
....Also I give and appoint 5 pounds for the placing of my son Thomas
above said between this and the first day of May next ensuing the date
hereof unto Thomas Coby.
....Item: I give also unto my daughter Elizabeth Clayton the sum of 40
shillings to be paid her within one whole year of my decease.
....Item: I give unto my daughter Mary Clayton the sum of 5 pounds to be
paid her when she shall attain to the age of 20 and 1 years.
....All the rest of my goods I give unto my loving wifeElizabeth Clayton
after my debts and funeral expenses be discharged for her well being and
for the bringing up of my youngest daughter Mary Clayton, and do ordain
and make her my Executor of this my last will and testament. But my will
& meaning is that for as much as my wife may be uncapable to manage my
estate to the best use and for
the payment of debts in the due order, and for as much as my loving
friend John Peche [Peachey] of Pagham doth stand bound with me for much
of my only debts, I do ordain and appoint my friend John
Peche [Peachey] and do give him full power and authority (not
withstanding my Executor above said) to prove this my last will & meaning
and to take an inventory of all my goods and to sell the same until such
time my debts & funeral expenses be discharged, and then to resign up the
Executorship into the hands of my loving wife, and to my meaning above
said he being paid all such charges as he shall be at in this business.
....And I do ordain & appoint & my will & meaning is & I do desire my 2
friends & do give them powers to call the above named John Peche
[Peachey] unto an account & unto such accounts as are needful & as often
as they shall think fit, namely William Steele, miller, & living without
the east gate of Chichester, & John Avery, shoemaker in Chichester, & I
do desire them that they do see this my last will be performed tothe
true intent & meaning hereof, & I do give my 2 friends Will Steele & John
Avery 2 shillings apiece for their care & pains & to have their expenses
borne from time to time when they shall be employed about my business.
....In witness hereunto I have set to my hand & seal this first day of
February, [the year] of the lord 165 & 8.
William Clayton
In witness, us, ....Thomas Hopkins ....John Rogers

• Immigration: to America on the ship "Kent," 1677, Salem County, NJ. Came to America in 1677 on the ship "Kent", landing in the Delaware River north of Salem West Jersey.

• Residence: moved from Burlington NJ, 1681, Chester County, PA. Lived in Burlington NJ moved to Chichester Twp Chester Co., PA in 1681.

• Occupation: Judge: PA.

• Occupation: Governor, 1684-1685, PA.

• Biography. From History of Chester Co., PA
1) 1722 tax list Upper and Lower Chichester
2) was Justice in first session of the court held at Upland 1682
3) member of Governors Council 1683-84
4) Justice of the Peace 1684
5) Justice of Upland court Sept 13 1681
6) Provincial council of Chester Co. PA 1 yr Nov 1682
7) Member of the Supreme Executive Council from Chester Co., PA 1683.

WILLIAM CLAYTON, with his family, arrived in the ship "Kent" from London, in company with certain Commissioners sent out by the Proprietors of New Jersey to purchase lands from the Indians, etc. In March, 1678-9, he purchased the share of Hans Oelson, one of the original grantees of Marcus Hook, and settled at that place. In religious persuasion he was a Friend, and was an active and consistent member. He was also active in political matters. He was a member of Governor Markham's Council, and also of that of the Proprietary after his arrival, and at the same time served as one of the Justices of the Court of Upland county, and subsequently for that of Chester county, presiding at the first court held in Pennsylvania, under the Proprietary government.(*) On 8 mo. 24, 1684, he was elected President of the Provincial Council, which, for the time being, was practically the position of Governor of the Colony.

• Notes. William Clayton received a patent for 500 acres in Chester Co.,PA. Moved from Chygoes Island, which was renamed Burlington by the Quakers, and is no longer an island.

It has been determined that Willliam Clayton is NOT the son of a London lawyer, or Oxford University dignitary that was previously claimed.

A Will Bond in lieu of a Will was signed by his son, William Clayton, Jr. and is number 119 for the year 1689 in the Register of Wills office of the City and County of Philadelphia, PA.

Exactly when William Clayton became a Quaker is not known, but he was active as a Friend before he emigrated on the ship Kent to New Jersey. Samuel Janney in his "History of the Religious Society of Friends" speaks of a William Clayton going on a missionary trip to Ireland in 1656. Joseph Besse in his "Collections of Sufferings for Sussex" has this entry: "On the 7th day of the 12th month of this present year 1663, Edward Hamper, Nicholas Rickman, Tristram Martin, William Turner, John Baker, John Snafold, Richard Newman, William Clayton and Henry Wolger for the sake of truth they did profess in meeting together to wait upon the Lord with the rest of the Meeting (Chichester) then assembled, were by one Major Mills with his band of armed men and with guns and swords drawn and in a violent manner took out of the said meeting twenty persons and had them to an inn, where they were kept till midnight and in the meantime the said Major Mills sent for William Gratwick, called a Justice of the Peace in this County of Sussex, and for no other cause were the several persons afore named by him the said Gratwick, committed to goal and the rest he bound over to answer for that offence,, so called, who accordingly appeared at the Assize, but were not called for anything said to them in relation to that matter, but at the following Sessions the aforementioned persons who were committed to goal were fined every many six pounds for the said meeting, and because for conscience sake they could not pay their fines aforesaid, they were committed to the House of Correction for six months in the town of Arundel (about 10 miles to the east) where they lay until it was expired, but here it is to be noted that John Snasfold aforesaid was fined but three pounds, and for not paying it lay there three months. "

And the same "Collection for Lancashire" has this entry for 1665: "As William Clayton was preaching in a Meeting at Padisham, the Priest of that Parish, attended by a Constable with a Warrant, came into the Meeting, pulled William out on the street,, tore his coat. The Constable then carried him before the Justices, who tendered him the Oath of Allegiance, and upon his refusal to take it, committed him to prison till the next sessions, when the Justices fined him five pounds for being at an unlawful Assembly, and committed him to the House of Corrections for three months. The Officers, for pretended fees and charges of carrying him thither, took his coat off his back. The keeper put him into a dungeon for five days and nights, till some moderate people of the town procured him the common liberty of the house for the rest of the time."

Two Quakers, Edward Byllinge and John Fenwick were partners in a proprietorship for West Jersey purchased for Lord Berkeley. Because of financial difficulties, Byllinge signed over his share to William Penn and two other creditors who in turn sold proprietary lots to two companies of Friends, one from Yorkshire and one from London. Commissioners were appointed to "purchase from the Indians" or "to extinguish the Indian title" to the land and they shipped ion the Kent. William Clayton was among those who came with these Commissioners. There were seventeen family heads listed on the Kent which started loading in March 4 1677 and finally sailed in the early summer. They passed the royal barge in the Thames and were given a blessing by King Charles II who was undoubtedly glad to see them go. After a stop in New York, the Kent sailed up the Delaware late in August and finally settled in "Chygoe's Island," This became Burlington, NJ. There were some scattered buildings from the Swedish settlement there, but during the first winter many of the settlers had to be sheltered in sheds, tents and stables. "The Concessions and Agreements of the Proprietors, Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Providence of West Jersey in America" had been drawn and signed before the trip was undertaken. This document of civil and religious liberty was the Friends first experiment in legislation. It created an executive and a legislative power, provided that a Governor be chosen by an Assembly which in turn was elected by the people, and became the basis for the common law of the province. This colony predated Pennsylvania by five years.

The fact that William Penn referred to William Clayton as "cousin" as well as "friend" has not been explained.

Time Line: William Clayton was born 1 year prior to the first town government in the colonies being organized in Dorchester, Massachusetts

THE KENT
The Kent carried colonists to West New Jersey with Gregory Marlow as master and loaded in London for New Jersey 19 March to 31 March 1677. There followed loadings for other ports, but she sailed before May. The Kent sailed first to New York, arriving either the 4th, 12th or 16th August. Then after a short stay, the Kent sailed across the bay to Perth Amboy, after which she headed south to the Delaware, landing first at the mouth of Raccoon Creek where she is said to have disembarked some 230 passengers of a total of 270. She then moved on to Chygoes Island, now Burlington. Other histories state that she landed at Raccoon Creek after an early June halt at New Castle, then to Burlington on 23 June. However, the arrival time in New York is known from the minutes of the New York government, with which the Commissioners (aboard the Kent) met during their stay there. The Yorkshire purchasers settled the 1st tenth, from Assinpink to Rancocas. The London purchasers settled the 2nd tenth, from Rancocas to Timber Creek.
http://drwilliams.org/genealogy/3919.htm

William married Prudence LANCKFORD on 7 Nov 1653 in Sussex County, ENGLAND. (Prudence LANCKFORD was born about 1631 in Broughton, Hampshire, England and died in 1689 in Chester County, PA.)

  Marriage Notes:

St. Pacras Parish., Chichester, Sussex, England