THE BEECH TREE by Dorothy Boake Panzer A HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF THE BOAKE FAMILY OF ENGLAND, IRELAND, AMERICA AND CANADA FROM 1333-1970 Drawing by Eugenia S. Paul St. Giles Parish Great Orton Cumberland County England FORWARD "Talent, in the shape of people with superior gifts, always flies from an impoverished coiintry to a new and potentially richer coiintry. And that is why the center of civilization moved slowly away from its Siimarian oriqin,· as it has indeed been movinq almost ever since." C. D. Darlington We, as human beings, are the sum total of all those who have gone before us. This is applicable not only in the field of genetics but in education, religion, occupation, nationality, and even in politics. To deny our heritage is to deny ourselves. To know and understand our past, to study and appreciate our progenitors, to value and love those misty ancestors whose names we may never know but whose contribu­ tions are essential to the very skein of life, and to pass on to future generations our knowledge of this personal history is a challenge and an opportunity. Attempting to unravel the often twisted threads which make up the webwork structure of our past is an invigorating and rewarding experience. '>Ve are especially fortunate because our forefathers had the daring and initiative to venture forth into new lands; first to Ireland from England, and then to land in the New '>V orld in both America and Canada. These ancestors were endowed with special attributes and talents which, combined with hard work and opportunities to pioneer, enabled them to create a life for themselves and their families unlike any other the world had ever known. Their reasons for leaving the Old World, their reasons for settling in specific localities, their reasons for migrating westward during the great era of expansion; their choice of a religion, of an occupation, of an education for their children are all the threads that are woven into the complex pattern of human life. This pattern, these many colored, intricate interlacings and overlays, is carried on through generation after generation and is clearly apparent in us today; just as the color of our eyes, hair, skin, the shape of our bodies and the length of our noses is manifested in us through the pattern of our inherited gene structure. Genealogy and History are handmaidens, therefore a study of the Boake Family can only be relevant in light of the social, econonnc, 3 religious and political history influencing it throughout the centuries. For example, what strong motivating forces make a man uproot his family after generations upon the same land? vVhat courage does it take, what strength of character or power of conviction is required? Does fear and a chance for escape enter into the picture? We are all aware of the devastating effect war can have upon our lives but just as influencial are small laws passed by governments as well as chance meetings and associations. 'I'hese often insignificant events affect the course of a family's future and should be studied in this reference. When I began research into the Boake Family I had very little with which to start; a few facts, many rumors. -With the help of relatives and friends and the generosity of my husband I have been able to trace our Canadian Family back to 1824, our American Family back to 1732, our Irish Family back to 1693, and our English Family all the way back to 1333. The mists of Norwegian History hide the be­ ginnings. My deep gratitude to my mother, Bess (Cook) Boake, who was wise enough to save the family Bibles and all the pictures as well as the letters, notes, clippings, etc. etc. ad infinitum without which I could not have started. Also, grateful thanks to my first cousin once removed, Raymond Boake Talbot, who had the perspicacity to live a long life and to retain a sharp memory of things past. His ability to identify pictures, draw maps, relate incidents, recall even the minutest details of Carthage, Ohio in the 1880 's and 1890 's has been of inestimable value in my attempts to bring this genealogy to "life". The chapter on the Boake Family in Canada would not have been possible without the untiring efforts of Victor Ersyll and Daffy Boake of Toronto. The entire chapter is almost entirely their work and I hereby greatfully acknowledge their contributions. In the course of this study I have also followed through on as many of the allied families as I could possibly trace in the time allotted. After this book is published I shall continue research for many years and hope, at some future date, to publish an addition. If this small work should encourage just one of you to undertake this fascinating hobby, I shall feel that my time has been well spent. Or, should some yet unborn greatgrandchild appreciate the fact that he has been able to glimpse into the past of his country and the way in which his forebears fit into the stream of his American Heritage, then the time and money spent on this venture shall not have been in vain. I, therefore, dedicate this book to all future generations into whose hands will fall the cherished memories of the past; and I charge you, beloved greatgrandchild, guard well your heritage ! Downey, California Dorothy Boake Panzer 1970 Chapter I BACKGROUND Beginning in about 800 A.D. from the narrow rugged fjords, from the mists which covered the North Sea, from the less than fertile lands of Scandinavia strong, daring and often ruthless men ventured forth to raid the islands near their homeland. Many returned to the countries we know now as Norway, Sweden and Denmark with booty obtained from their raids and then their sons and grandsons also went ''viking'' and some of them found the alien lands more to their liking and so they remained. Imagine, if you will, the long rough sea journeys in open boats rowed by the warriors themselves with black and amber shields slung low on the sides of their boats. Think of the terror they brought to the areas ravaged and how impregnable they were with their shields locked and battleaxes swinging. Many of these conquerors remained as settlers, bringing their Scandinavian women with them, or more often intermarrying with the local natives. They early dis­ covered that the rough and stony lands near the sea were less fertile than the earth inland and so they became farmers and sheepherders and soon they forgot their homeland to the north and, except for a strange 'Norwegian dialect' still prevalent in the areas of Northwest England, they became Englishmen or Scotsmen or Irishmen, and, farther south in Gaul, Norman. For more than 200 years these Vikings terrorized the coasts of Europe, Britain and Ireland. The causes for these raids are almost as obscure as the name "Viking" itself (signifying one who goes adventuring by sea). One important factor was overpopulation. Scandinavian inland regions are mountainous and inhospitable, therefore settlements were limited to the narrow coastal areas which soon became overcrowded. In addition; as their ships ventured farther afield, trade expanded and these Northmen became accustomed to greater luxuries which could only be obtained in distant lands. Probably the most decisive factor was the practice of polygamy by Scandinavian chieftans and the ad­ herence to the rule of primogeniture which left numerous younger sons who were obliged to make their own way by means of conquest at home or piracy abroad. This group, it is assumed, provided most of the leaders for the Viking descent upon Europe. Unlike earlier barbaric migrations these Vikings were not pushed out of their land by con­ tinuing hoards of barbarians flowing from the steppes but rather they exploded upon the world due to internal pressures. At about the same time the Swedes, Norwegians and Danes embarked upon separate courses. The Swedes went eastward toward Russia, the Danes southward and the Norwegians pursued their adventures chiefly to the west. In the 9th 5 century they colonized the largely uninhabited islands of Iceland, the Faeroes, the Hebrides and Orkneys; occupied half of Ireland as well as large areas of Scotland and Northwest England.1 On the British Isles the area most heavily settled by these Norwegian Vikings is present day Cumberland County, England, then known as Cumbria to the Saxons and Strathclyde to the Britons. This "northern kingdom" comprised what we know as Northwest England and South­ west Scotland and in the days of the Roman occupation it was chiefly inhabited by Picts who were joined later in the Christian era by the Britons who had been forced to flee to this remote region when the Saxon invaders conquered most of Britain. The Romans had early established there a fort city which they called Luguvallium (present day Carlisle) on the western end of Hadrian's Wall which marked the northern limits of the Roman occupation. Tribal revolts and Scottish raids continually assailed this northern frontier system, and in places the wall and its supporting camps were utterly wrecked, making it easier for border raids which kept Cumbria in a constant state of turmoil for centuries. Strathclyde remained an independent kingdom until it was overthrown in 937 by the English; however, Edmund I found this remote land too difficult to control so in 945 he leased it to Malcolm I, king of the Scots. It remained a province of Scotland for many years and the southern area ( that portion which is now Cumberland County, England) was held by Scotland at the time of the Norman Invasion and did not become a part of Britain until 1177 except for a brief period when it was captured by 'IVilliam II (known as 'IVilliam Rufus), son of William the Conqueror.