Anne, wife of Richard Buffington, was probably born in or near Great Marie, Buckinghamshire, England. This page includes immigrant ancestors who were not affiliated with the Quaker, Huguenot or German and Swiss migrations. Most are from the British Isles, but the earliest is from Sweden.

Ann, wife of Richard Buffington, (d. 1698-1700) Richard Buffington (c.1654-1748) Oliver Cope (?-1697) Benjamin Mairs (c.1782-after 1830) Joseph Mairs (1799-1870) Rachel Kennedy (c1782-after 1830) William Sams (?-after 1696) Timothy Stidham (c1617-1686)

Ann or Anne, wife of Richard Buffington, was probably born in or near Great Marle, , Buckinghamshire, England. She is believed to have married Richard in England and had their first two children there before migrating to West New Jersey about 1675. In the 1965 book, "The Buffington Family in America," Ralph M. Buffington wrote of Ann: "She was an outspoken woman of strongly individualistic views. She often did not conform to the conventions of her day and she was ready to stand by her friends in their difficulties, and lend her support as needs be in their non-adherence to the Quaker rules and regulations of the Province." Judging by the court records of Chester County, that may be an understatement. On 5 June 1689, Ann Buffington was convicted on charges of defiling her marriage bed. A witness testified that as he was coming from Concord down to Chichester, he saw a man and woman on the ground with "ye man lying upon ye top of ye woman and ye woman looking up he saw it was Anne Buffington." The same witness, who also served as prosecutor, later said "Anne Buffington was very earnest to know who this man and woman was for said shee there is never a woman hereabouts that hath a black hatt butt I and then it must needs be me." The jury sentenced her to "10 strips upon her bear backe well laid on and 12 months imprisonment att hard labour." In 1695, Ann was again called before the bar of justice. A grand jury charged her with helping Robert Roman take the wife of Henry Hastings away from her husband and children and ordered her to appear at the next court. Ann did not appear because she was ill. Then in March 1698, Ann Buffington and several other individuals were charged with being witnesses at an unlawful marriage. But through it all, Richard seems to have stood by her. He even joined in providing the bond in the 1689 case. And some of their children were apparently born after that incident

Richard Buffington was born c.1654 in Great Marle, Buckinghamshire, England, possibly the second son of Richard and Helen Boveington.. He died Jan/Feb 1747/8 in Chester County, Penn. Richard and his family immigrated to West New Jersey about 1675, probably on ship Griffin. But he was in Upland (now Chester), Penn., by 1677. His first marriage to Ann was apparently in England. He married second 1708 Frances Vane, widow of John Grubb. He married third c. 1720 Alice Palmer. Most of his children were with his first wife. Three were with third wife. Richard served as constable in Aston in 1688. Later he served as constable of Westtown 1700-1702 and was followed in office by Robert Jefferis, another of my immigrant ancestors. Richard was Baptist in religion. In 1715, he was among congregation that reformed to eventually became Brandywine Baptist Church, oldest of that denomination in area. Congregation had previously existed from 1692 to 1701, when it disbanded, and Richard was baptised 26 Aug. 1699 in Crum Creek Oliver Cope was possibly born in Abury, Wiltshire, England, a son of John and Elizabeth Cope. He died late May or early June 1697 in New Castle County, Del. Oliver migrated to Pennsylvania about 1683. He bought 250 acres of land from William Penn on 8 Sept. 1681, while in England. Indenture says Oliver was tailor. His land was surveyed in Jan. 1685/6. Richard Buffington was one of trustees named his will. Although he came about same time, it does not appear that he was a Quaker, although many of his descendants were. He married Rebecca ?? about 1670 in England.They had at least four children. She died 1728, probably in New Castle County, Del. Son-in-law granted letters of administration for her estate on 16 May 1728.

Benjamin Mairs was born c.1782, probably in the Ulster part of Ireland. He died after 1830, possibly in Jefferson County, Ohio. Best guess is that he and his wife, Rachel Kennedy, came to this country about 1815. He and his family were naturalized 24 Sep. 1822 in Jefferson County, Ohio. Benjamin and Rachel had at least four children. Joseph Mairs was born 3 June 1799 in County Derry, Ireland (Ulster), a son of Benjamin Mairs and Rachel Kennedy. He died 13 July 1870, in Sullivan County, Mo. Joseph came to United States about 1816 with his parents. He, his parents and siblings were naturalized as citizens of United States on 24 Sept. 1822 in Jefferson County, Ohio. One questionable source says he taught school several terms in Pennsylvania; was supposedly proficient in mathematics and penmanship and was once offered $3,500 per year salary to teach in Philadelphia, which he declined. He did study medicine and began practice in Jackson County, (W.)Va., where he moved before 1830 from Jefferson County, Ohio. He abandoned medical practice about 1860, perhaps earlier as he is called farmer in 1850 census, and moved to Sullivan County, Mo., in 1865, where he farmed until death (died while working in hay field). He married Margaret Bell 18 July 1822, in Jefferson County, Ohio. They had nine children. Margaret Bell was born c.1801, possibly in Virginia, and died 11 Sept. 1851 in Jackson County (W.)Va.

Rachel Kennedy was born c.1782, probably in the Ulster part of Ireland. She died after 1830, possibly in Jefferson County, Ohio. Naturalized 24 Sept. 1822, in Jefferson County, Ohio. Rachel and husband

Benjamin Mairs had at least four children. William Sams was born in England. He died after 1696 in Old Rappahannock (now Richmond) County, Va. William sailed from Bristol, England, in 1653, imported by Peter Knight for his plantation on Wicomico river in Northumberland County, Va. With George Morris, William was granted 2,500 acres on north side of Rappahannock River on a great branch (Cat Point Creek) 28 July 1662. William was granted 1,438 acres alone on 30 Oct. 1669. He witnessed a will on Oct. 22, 1696. No records of marriage, children or death have been found, but circumstancial evidence indicates he is probably father of James Sams Sr. Timothy Stidham [Timen Stiddem] was born in Hammell, according to his will, which is probably Hammel, Denmark. He died 1686 near present-day Wilmington, Dela. His father, Luloff Stiddem, originally of Copenhagen, became a prominent resident of Gothenburg, Sweden. Timen made his first trip to New Sweden (Delaware) as a barber-surgeon on the ship Kalmar Nyckel, arriving 29 March 1638. He returned on the Kalmar Nyckel's second voyage in 1640 and stayed until 1644, when he returned to Sweden. Timen departed for his third voyage to New Sweden in 1949 aboard the Fama with a wife and two young children (a third was born on the voyage). The Fama wrecked near Puerto Rico. After several days, the passengers and crew were taken prisoner by a Spanish ship. Timen's family was killed, but he survived and eventually made his way back to Sweden. Timen sailed for America for last time 2 Feb. 1654 on the Orn. He arrived in Delaware 21 or 22 May. Timen became city surgeon of Christina (Wilmington) in 1662. He received a large land grant in 1671 from the Duke of York through Gov. Sir Francis Lovelace, which was probably just confirmation of what he had held under the Swedes. All his children who reached adulthood are apparently by his second wife, whose name is unknown. He married third about 1680 Christina Thorrson Wallraven, widow of Wallraven Jansson de Vos and daughter of Olof and Elice Thorrson. She outlived Timothy by about 12 years. Timothy's will signed 1 Feb. 1686 and proved 24 April 1686. He died a wealthy landowner.

For a more comprehensive look at the life and times of Timen Stiddem and information about some of his descendants in Delaware and elsewhere, visit the website of The Timen Stiddem Societylogo copyright The Timen Stiddem Society

Allen Gatham has placed on his website a letter written in 1824 by my four-great grandfather, William Stidham, a grandson of Timen Stiddem, to William's brothers Jonas and David. The links in this paragraph and signature image should open a new window or tab in your browser so that you can return to this page by simply closing the new window or tab.

The first Swedish ship to bring settlers to Delaware, the Kalmar Nyckel has been recreated by the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation.

Title: BUFFINGTON Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Friday 13 May 05 18:02 BST (UK)

Iam looking for info on Richard Buffington born 1655 in Great Marle, Thames, Buckinghamshire. MArried to Anne ?. Emigrated to America and died Chester CO, Pennsylvania. Any info would be helpful. So Thomas Buffington was born in Chester Co, Pennsylvania.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Carmela on Saturday 14 May 05 02:36 BST (UK) Hi Michelle, First of all, I think the village that you are interested in, is Great Marlow, Buckingshire. I guess you got your info from the IGI. I just checked to see what they had and could not believe what I saw ::). They are all church member submitted records and as such may be complete nonsense. The many different names given to Great Marlow shows that these submitters did not do much research.(I particularly like "Great Marble" ;D) There was one marriage extracted from original records, so there is some hope that some Buffingtons did actually live in Great Marlow in the 1600s. Would I be right in guessing that your Buffingtons were Quakers? I have done some Bucks(short form of the county name) research, but don't know much about Quaker records. If no one on RootsChat can help you, I would suggest that you contact the local family history societies; there are two of them, either or both will be very helpful. They will do look-ups for a very reasonable fee. If the Buffingtons lived in Buckinghamshire for any length of time, they will be able to find any existing records. Very little is available online. See: http://www.bucksfhs.org.uk/ http://www.bucksgs.org.uk/ A good place to learn more about genealogical research in England and details about each county, place names, parishes, etc. is Genuki. Link to Bucks page: http://met.open.ac.uk/genuki/big/eng/BKM/ Hope this is of some help. Good Luck in your search, Carmela

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Saturday 14 May 05 13:41 BST (UK)

Thank you Carmella I will do that. It's funny Great Marble.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Trisha on Friday 10 March 06 11:01 GMT (UK) Hi Michelle, I hope you're still looking for this post. I live in Marlow and have access to the baptism registers you mentioned.So I went and had a look. Around that date there is no family called BUFFINGTON. However ,there is a Family called BOVINGTON(They also spell it later on as BAVINGTON.They also have a Richard born in 1655 in Great Marlow. Surnames at this time can change dramatically through illitracy or just bad spellings. So in case you're interested:Birth-(not baptism) March 15th 1655/6 Richard BOVINGTON-son of Thomas and Amie?(the question mark was in the register). Hope that helps,if you think it's him I'll go back and try to find his father's birth. Best wishes, Trisha :) :)

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Sunday 12 March 06 18:40 GMT (UK) Trisha, I am still looking for info on this family. I would guess Buffington might have been Bovington in the surname line. I would greatly appreciate any help or connections in England. I am real curious about these families. I have one line I can tie to, Stapylton's. Their family crest may be in Windsor Castle but not confirmed yet. on two lines I know of I am the 36th generation American and another maybe around 46th American. I love history. Thanks in Advance for any info you have given to me, I know every little helps.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: behindthefrogs on Wednesday 22 March 06 22:24 GMT (UK) The Stapletons are one of the families notable for using a Saracen's head as their crest. I am here using the term crest strictly to refer to the crest on top of the helmet not as the loose term for the coat of arms. This crest alludes to crusading ancestors and may have been replaced by a fan of feathers or a cockscomb at a later date. Other branches of the family

used a Unicorn's Head or a Talbot (which is a breed of hound) Exeter College, Oxford University uses the arms of its founder Walter de Stapledon (1314). This shield is very difficult to describe. It is basically two bends nebully (diagonal stripes with jigsaw puzzle edges) with a border containing seven symbols which look a bit like keys.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Saturday 25 March 06 20:10 GMT (UK) Wow! Thanks for the description of the crest. Can you tell me where it's located?

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: behindthefrogs on Saturday 25 March 06 20:55 GMT (UK) The answer to where I found the information I am afraid is my bookcase. It is mostly narative but Fairbournes Crests does contain some of the decription and a small black and white picture of the Saracen's head. You ought to be able to find the Exeter College Coat of Arms by googling. The book I got that from didn't have a crest illustrated but the college may. The shield again was black and white and not worth scanning. Sorry David

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Sunday 26 March 06 15:32 BST (UK) thanks for the info! I can probably find the book, now I know where to look.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: behindthefrogs on Sunday 26 March 06 16:45 BST (UK) Its not worth looking for Fairbourne's Crests there is nothing more there to help you. David

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Friday 31 March 06 23:34 BST (UK) Thank You!

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: buff on Saturday 03 June 06 23:29 BST (UK) The spelling of the name Buffington is unique only to America and began with Richard Buffington when he arrived in 1676. It is the spelling he used to sign the West Jersey Compact a few years later with William Penn and about 250 others. The name has underwent a number of spellings in England. Early examples were Abovton, Boveton, Bovington and so on until the name came to be spelled Buffington. If anyone is interested I can post the whole list. Richard's first cousin Thomas followed Richard to the Colonies a few years later and also spelled his name Buffington. From these two Buffingtons all others in America have descended.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Valda on Sunday 11 June 06 12:05 BST (UK) I don't think the spelling of Buffington is unique to America. This Buffington Prerogative Court of Canterbury will predates the 1676 date you give by 19 years. Will of Thomas Buffington, Yeoman of Heston, Middlesex 07 September 1657 PROB 11/265 There are two later dated Buffington PCC wills. and these baptisms on the IGI taken from actual parish register entries also predate 1676 MARGARET BUFFINGTON Birth: 20 JAN 1664 Christening: 05 FEB 1664 St Giles Cripplegate, London Father: JOHN BUFFINGTON Mother: LUCEY SARAH BUFFINGTON Christening: 06 MAR 1669 St Giles Cripplegate, London Father: WILLIAM BUFFINGTON

Mother: ANN and earliest of all predating 1676 by 99 years KATERYN BUFFINGTON Christening: 10 NOV 1577 Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey Father: JOHN BUFFINGTON JOHN BUFFINGTON Christening: 20 SEP 1579 Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey Father: JOHN BUFFINGTON THOMAS BUFFINGTON Christening: 26 MAY 1583 Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey Father: JOHN BUFFINGTON JOHN BUFFYNGETTON Christening: 22 MAY 1592 Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey Father: JOHN BUFFYNGETTON Is there enough information in Bovington Great Marlow wills, both those held in Buckinghamshire Record Office and PCC wills like this Will of John Bovington, Yeoman of Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire 28 April 1652 PROB 11/221 to make the Bovington/Buffington spelling change from this source? What is the actual evidence that Richard Buffington was born a Richard Bovington circa 1655 in Great Marlow? Regards Valda

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: newburychap on Thursday 23 November 06 13:24 GMT (UK) Quote from: Michelle Renslow on Sunday 12 March 06 18:40 GMT (UK) I have one line I can tie to, Stapylton's. Their family crest may be in Windsor Castle but not confirmed yet. on two lines I know of I am the 36th generation American and another maybe around 46th American. I love history. In English heraldry there is no such thing as a 'family crest' - arms are awarded to individuals. Obviously members of the same family will often use variations of the same set of arms (the crest as an element of the arms could be used by many of the family through the

years). Others of the same surname but unrelated or only distantly related could be granted totally different arms. Records of the arms granted to all Stapletons etc. will be held at the College of Arms in London. Where do you get 'in Windsor Castle' from? It may mean that a Stapleton was buried there (St George's Chapel) and the arms or crest are on a tomb; or he one was a Knight of the Garter (I guess they have records of those) - or it could be carved on some gift to a monarch etc. etc. If you want to follow it up contact the Windsor Castle Archives and hope they have it catalogued. 36th generation American - is it possible to trace back that far? Once you get to your native American line how do you follow it?

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Thursday 23 November 06 19:33 GMT (UK) I have a huge family and there are several geneologists in each line. I have 3 (including me) in my father's line and only two in my mother's, for my generation and grandfather's generation. It is possible to trace that far back if there is records or journals, the prize possession are the family bibles here in America. From history women have given birth at the time of menstruation. usually age 13-14 when they could possibly be married off. Like I said in this one line I can be 36th american. Especially if my ancestors landed in the U.S. around 1600. My father's line I can't trace past 8th generation because the ancestor with the last name of Weese came from Germany. There is no record of his father. Except for a German Hessian soldier who fought in the French and Indian war Via Canada. Who had several sons one of which has the same name as my missing link. I also got the info about the Crest in Windor castle from a geneologist who had helped trace the line. I have 13 Knights of the Garter in my line. I am thinking It was a Father and son thing. I am not too sure about certain things because I have not seen them with my own eyes. But documents and bio's I have seen have pegged the last Knight in the U.s. due to the fact they wouldn't conform to the Rules of England. So he and his family fled here. I will get in tough with the Windsor Geneology archives soon. I find this intriguing and would love to know what these people did.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: behindthefrogs on Thursday 23 November 06 19:51 GMT (UK) Quote from: Michelle Renslow on Thursday 23 November 06 19:33 GMT (UK) I have a huge family and there are several geneologists in each line. I have 3 (including me) in my father's line and only two in my mother's, for my generation and grandfather's generation. It is possible to trace that far back if there is records or journals, the prize possession are the family bibles here in America. From history women have given birth at the time of menstruation. usually age 13-14 when they could possibly be married off. Like I said in this one line I can be 36th american. Especially if my ancestors landed in the U.S.

around 1600. If the average difference between generations was 20 years and even with your very young mothers this would be very unusual. This would cover 720 years. This means that your first ancestor would have been born in America in 1280. If it was fifteen which is impossible then you are still talking about 1460. The usual estimate is thirty years which means in circa the year 900. Someone has been using huge amounts of imagination. David

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: newburychap on Friday 24 November 06 10:37 GMT (UK) 36 generations at 13 years per generation takes us back to 1538 (36 x 13 = 468; 2006-468 = 1538). That is before the first colony in N America. That is assuming that every one of your ancestors was born to a 13 year old parent and then produced a child at age 13. I'm sorry I don't find that credible. Was your mother or father 13 when you were born? Are you 13 or under now? It doesn't take many variations from the 13 year cycle to get you back another 50 years - to 1488. At that point you will be able to rewrite the history books if you can prove descent from European stock in the Americas. For me it takes only 11 or 12 generations to get back to 1600 (there are plenty of fathers in their 30s or 40s). If I believed earlier genealogists in my line I could go back to mediaeval times, nobility etc. - but my own research has shown a very dodgy assumption or two in the earlier research. My advice is to treat all information that is handed to you as suspect until you can check it against reliable sources. Many people (and you may well be one) are descended from Knights of the Garter etc.- but even more want to be and can be quite creative when finding that elusive link.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Sunday 26 November 06 22:54 GMT (UK) Yes it is highly unusual. the average marriage age for a women in my family line is 16-18. The only line I can lay claim to is my father's blood line, and I am only the tenth generation here. The earliest Ancestor documented were some Quakers with William Penn to scout out

land for settlers. I don't doubt there were other's here before the Colonies of Plymouth Rock. I am not claiming to have everything documented. I would like to get help in debunking a few things and to obtain these documents and I am not absolutley sure I am the 36 th american generation. One family geneologist has claimed to have gone all the way up to Noah and his Family (Ark). I won't go that far! no documents to support such a thing.

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Valda on Monday 27 November 06 07:33 GMT (UK) William Penn didn't come to America until 1677. Taking the year 2006 (which ignores your generation) minus 1677 equals 329 years. Divide 329 by 16 and you still only get 20.5 generations. The sailing of the Mayflower was in 1620 so only 57 years pre William Penn (still only 24 generations ignoring your own, if all the women or at least the fathers had children at 16 - so were 15 at the start of the pregnancy and you were descended from the eldest child which had to survive each time). Unless you are claiming descent from the Virginia settlement (still only 1584 - just another 36 years earlier than the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock you cannot get any earlier in America. Virginia is the earliest settlement, excluding the Vikings and a failed shortlived Spanish settlement. So the furthest you could possibly stretch (and it really is a very big stretch) would be the 23rd generation. Quakers were not known for such young marriages even in America and you started with the premise of Richard Buffington born circa 1655 in Buckingham married supposedly no earlier than circa 1673 (and still in England). Which of his children do you claim descent from? What have you actually proved so far? Regards Valda

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Tuesday 28 November 06 22:03 GMT (UK) this is the current line I am working on in decending order: Richard Buffington (Anne ?) 30 may 1655 in Great Marle Thomas Buffington (Ruth Cope) 1680 in Chester co, Pennsylvania William Buffington (Alice Rupp) 1700 in Chester co, Pennsylvania John Buffington (Sara Evans Young) 28 Oct 1731 in Chester Co, Pennsylvania Phebe Buffington (James Sheward) 1768 in Chester Co, Pennsylvania

Sarah Sheward (Daniel Weese) 1787 in Pennsylvania James Weese (Catherine Kirkendall) 1810 in Ohio John Oliver Weese (Sarah Ann Ratcliff) 1843 in Iowa John Henry Weese (Nancy Pearl James) 1867 Iowa John Edward Weese (Nancy Gates) 1894 in Weese Crossing, Arkansas Leslie H Weese (Modena Rose Shaffer) 1915 in Arkansas Roger Weese (Robin Bevil) in Texas Me in Phoenix, Az 8) I also have a Thomas Buffington Poss father of Richard born in 1604 (guessing England) That's were this line stops with the info and Helpful hints. I have approximately 5 branches so far from my family tree that come out of England. This is the one I am currently active in.The last name could be Bovington because of the traditional spellings, illiteracy, plus family name change. This lne I can go back 12 Generations. Now if I follow the Sheward line up from James Sheward I hit 2 more lines Matlock (Matlack) and Haines (Hanes) Both into North Hamptonshire, England. Matlack goes up 5 more ancestors into Nottinghamshire around 1586 and Haines goes up 5 also into Sussex Co, 1614. 1 of my Dad's mom's line goes up to one of the Last Knights of the Garter (Stapylton).

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: behindthefrogs on Tuesday 28 November 06 23:32 GMT (UK) Quote from: Michelle Renslow on Tuesday 28 November 06 22:03 GMT (UK) This lne I can go back 12 Generations. Now if I follow the Sheward line up from James Sheward I hit 2 more lines Matlock (Matlack) and Haines (Hanes) Both into North Hamptonshire, England. Matlack goes up 5 more ancestors into Nottinghamshire around 1586 and Haines goes up 5 also into Sussex Co, 1614. 1 of my Dad's mom's line goes up to one of the Last Knights of the Garter (Stapylton). If you talk about modern counties this should either read "Both in Northamptonshire" or "Both in North Hampshire" probably the former. David

Title: Re: Buffington Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Valda on Wednesday 29 November 06 06:57 GMT (UK)

13 generations in America including yourself - that would be about the right time span and number of generations from the middle of the C17th. 'one of the Last Knights of the Garter'? The order still exists http://www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/garterlist.htm Regards Valda

Title: Re: BUFFINGTON Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Wednesday 29 November 06 20:51 GMT (UK) I recognize some of the names on the list. Miles and Bryan Stapylton being two. I was reading somewhere in the library a book about the Knights. With this list it might be possible to get all the way up to 1300's with this line. Will it be hard to get a copy of some of these documents?

Title: Re: BUFFINGTON Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Valda on Thursday 30 November 06 09:09 GMT (UK) Try http://www.abebooks.com/ Regards Valda

Title: Re: BUFFINGTON Family of Great Marle, Thames Post by: Michelle Renslow on Friday 01 December 06 20:55 GMT (UK) Thank You for your help! I will try Abe books. RootsChat.Com | Powered by SMF 1.0.7. 2001-2005, Lewis Media. All Rights Reserved.

Richard Buffington Sr1654-1747by Ken Freeman

Richard Buffington, Sr. was born on the 30th of May 1654 in Great Maile upon Thames, Buckinghamshire, England. His parent's names are not known at this time. Nothing is known of his youth in England. He married Anne ________in England. They had two daughters there. Their first child was Ann. She married Benjamin Hickman in 1701 in America. Their second child was Ruth. She married Ezekiel Harlan, also in America. Richard and Anne emigrated from England in 1681. They were Quakers and came to America to escape the religious persecution of the Church of England. They arrived in the bitter winter of 1681. They settled first in West Jersey, where Richard was a signatory of the West Jersey Compact. Then they moved to Upland, which later became Chester, prior to William Penn's signing of the Crown Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania. Their third child was Richard, Jr. born in 1681 and died in 1741. He married Phoebe Grubb in 1710. Their fourth child was Thomas born in 1685. He married first: Ruth Cope and second: Ann Matthews. Their fifth child was William. Nothing more is know of him. Their sixth child was John who died in 1736. He married Sarah Eaverson. Their seventh child was Hannah. She married Jeremiah Dean in 1720.

Their eighth child was Mary. She married first: William Baldwin, and second: Charles Turner. Their ninth child was Elizabeth. She married first: Peter Collins, and second: John Freeman. Their tenth child was Lydia, who died in 1757. She married George Martin. Anne ________Buffington died in 1695. Richard married the second time the following year. His second wife was Frances Vane Grubb. She was the widow of John Grubb, Richard's former business partner. Richard disowned the Quaker religion in 1699. He joined the Ana Baptist Church on the 26th of June 1699. Frances Vane (Grubb) Buffington died in 1720. She and Richard had no children. Richard married the third time that same year. His third wife was Alice Palmer. Their first child, Richard's eleventh, was Abigale, born in September of 1721. She married first: Edward Seed, and second: David Fling. Their second child, Richard's twelfth, was Joseph, who died in 1785. Their third child, Richard's thirteenth, was Alice. She married first: Robert. McArthur, and second: James Hance. The West Jersey newspaper announced Richard's 85th birthday on the 30th of May 1739 saying "the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to the number of 115 met together at his house in Chester County. In addition to the blood descent, there were 9 sons-inlaw and daughters-in-law and 12 great grandchildren-in-law. His eldest son, (Richard, Jr.) now in the 60th year of his age was the first born of English descent in this province." Richard Buffington, Sr. died in 1747.

He was the first American known to will money to the Baptist church. He willed 5 pounds to the Ana Baptist Society. Richard, Sr. and Anne ________Buffington were my great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents.