THE ENGLISH ANCESTRY OF RICHARD' BELDEN OF WETHERSFIELD, CONNECTICUT With an Account of the Death in England of Richard Baildon, Son of Sir Francis Baildon of Kippax, Yorkshire By Paul C. Reed, FASG , and John C. B. Sharp Donald Lines Jacobus long ago criticized the proposed origin of the immigrant Richard' Belden, who first appeared in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1641. Vari­ ous authors have concluded that he was eldest son of Sir Francis Baildon of Kip­ pax in the West Riding of Yorkshire,' but, as Jacobus noted, "Richard Belden's estate was small, and his social position not what we should expect if he were son of a knight."2 "Some of this evidence fits the theory, but in toto does not seem to the editor [Jacobus] to make out a very impressive case." But no definitive dis­ proof had been found. After voicing general objections, Jacobus concluded: However, it is never wise to assume that a theory is incorrect merely because it has romantic and somewhat improbable elements; and while the editor is not personally impressed favorably with the Kippax theory, he would not be understood as dogmatically expressing a negative verdict. The proper verdict is: ''unproved; somewhat improbable; just possibly true."3 . A more recent study by Donald E. Poste established that the immigrant Rich­ ard Belden had indeed come from Yorkshire, and had lived in the chapelry of Heptonstall in the parish of Halifax. At the conclusion of his summary, Poste stated, "I shall not be able to perform further research on this subject but present these clues in the hope that someone else may be able and willing to follow through."4 Identifying the two Richards as the same person-based on the circumstantial evidence then known-did not seem entirely implausible. Though Richard Bail­ don of Kippax was nearly ten years older than what might be expected of Richard 1 Including Jessie Perry Van Zile Belden, Ancestors and Descendants ofRoyal Denison Belden (Syracuse, N.Y., 1898), 28-76 (hereafter cited as Belden, Ancestors and Descendants); and Henry R. Stiles, The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut... , 2 vols. (New York, 1904), 2:75- 76 (hereafter cited as Stiles, Ancient Wethersfield). W[illiam] Paley Baildon, Bai/don and the Bai/dons, 3 vols. (Bradford and London, 1912-27), 3:43 (hereafter cited as Bai/don), concludes that Richard ·of Wethersfield was son of Sir Francis, though his assessment of the immigrant's position and estate, upon which basis he justified this conclusion, is inaccurate. 2 Donald Lines Jacobus, "Notes on Wethersfield Families," TAG 10(1933-34):51 - 52, at 52. 3 [Donald Lines Jacobus], "Notes: Belden," TAG 10(1933- 34): 191- 92. 4 Donald E. Poste, "English Origin of the Beldens of Wethersfield," TAG 45( 1969): 135- 38. Poste, as had Jacobus, warned, that "[u]nfortunately, no documentary evidence has been found to prove the identity of Richard, son of Sir Francis, with Richard Belden ... of Wethersfield." 20 2001] English Ancestry ofRi chard Belden of Wethersfield, Conn. 21 Belden of Heptonstall, men did marry later in life. The son of Sir Francis Baildon had been left in relative poverty, and all his surviving brothers also died in a hwn­ ble estate. It is also known that Cuthbert and Martin Baildon, younger sons of Sir Francis, held Puritan beliefs, one serving under Cromwell during the Civil War. Richard Belden of Wethersfield also had some military implements listed in his estate at his death, and the son of Sir Francis is known to have served in the military abroad. 5 Sir Francis Baildon held part of Arringdon [Erringden] Park in Heptonstall, at the time of his death. And Richard Baildon, son of Sir Francis, seemed to disappear from English records at about the time Richard Belden of Heptonstall immigrated to Wethersfield. The present authors independently conducted further research into this prob­ lem, and have arrived at identical conclusions about the correct English ancestry of the immigrant Richard Belden: Unfortunately, the Richard Belden of Hepton­ stall, Yorkshire, who immigrated to Wethersfield, Connecticut, cannot be identi­ cal with the eldest son of Sir Francis Baildon of Kippax. Sir Francis Baildon's son Richard died in England several years before the immigrant Richard left for the New World. This article is presented in two parts. The first part, in this issue, presents the evidence concerning the family of the immigrant Richard Belden of Heptonstall, and then contrasts this with what is known of Richard Baildon, who died in 1630, son of Sir Francis Baildon. The second part will discuss the corrected English an­ cestry of the immigrant Richard Belden. FAMILY OF RICHARD BELDEN OF HEPTONST ALL, YORKSHIRE Heptonstall and neighboring Halifax were centers of Puritan belief,6 and it is not surprising that other families also left Heptonstall and Halifax for New Eng- s Richard Beldin ofWethersfield's inventory, dated 22 Aug. 1655, is given in Bai/don, 3:44, and included one silver spoon, one musket, one "karbine," and one rapier. The items appraised were modest, and the total, £112 l 7s., was not remarkable. 6 The parish of Halifax, which included the chapelry of Heptonstall among its twenty-four townships, was a center of Puritanism in the north. The first Protestant vicar at Halifax was Chris­ topher Ashburn, instituted in 1559, and succeeded by his son Francis in 1573 (John Watson, The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Halifax, in Yorkshire [London, 1775], 366-70). A large number of Halifax clergy and preachers were brought to the exercises for non-conformity between 1604 and 1628. They included three men who had served as curates of Heptonstall. William Aigin, ordained deacon in 1622, and curate of Heptonstall, was presented in 1636 for preaching without a license. Leonard Burton, another curate at Heptonstall, was presented in 1632 for hav­ ing no surplice. John Sowerby, curate of Heptonstall in 1627, was a Presbyterian and presented in 1637 for not praying before sermons. Some of the ministers actually immigrated to New England. Richard Denton, who was the minister of Coley chapel near Halifax, later became minister in Wethersfield. Oliver Heywood, the most famous minister of Coley, left notes about his predeces­ sors and he says that Richard Denton was minister for "about seven years." As he is supposed to 22 The American Genealogist [January land.7 The key to the Yorkshire identification of Richard 1 Belden of Wethersfield is the chronology of his family. His son, "John Belding of Weth[ersfield]," testi­ fied on 16 February 1661 that he was then "abt. 27 yrs. old," which would imply that he was born in about 1634.8 Poste quotes from "Genealogical items from the Medical Journal of John Winthrop" that Richard's son, Samuel Belden of Weth­ ersfield, was aged 26 and married in 1658 and so should have been born in about 1632.9 This matches their baptismal dates in the register at Heptonstall. Richard 1 "Beldon" married Margaret Ackrenden at Heptonstall on 9 December 1622.10 The Heptonstall register records the baptisms of six children: Susan Bel­ don (bp. 16 November 1623), Mary Beldon (bp. 17 July 1625), Grace Beldon (bp. 30 December 1627), Sara Beldon (bp. 2 May 1630), Samuell Bayldon (bp. 16 September 1632), and John Baldon (bp. 8 February 1634/5). 11 The residence given at the first baptism was the township of Langfield; the residence at the bap­ tisms of the other five children was Wadsworth. 12 Richard 1 Belden first appears in records at Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1641 .13 It may be that he and his family immigrated with a group of Yorkshire men who came over on between eight and eleven ships in 1638. Ezekiel Rogers minister of Rowley near Beverley was one of the organizers of this voyage. The original of the 1641 /2 Protestation Returns for the whole Halifax area still sur- have been appointed in 1631 , this would imply that he emigrated in 1638. (The Rev. Oliver Hey­ wood, B.A .. 1630-1702; His Autobiography, Diaries. Anecdote and Event Books; Illustrating the General and Family History of Yorkshire and Lancashire, ed. J. Horsfall Turner, 4 vols. [Brig­ house, Eng., 1881- 85], 4:11.) 7 New England emigrants from Heptonstall include James Draper of Roxbury, John Farrer of Woburn, Jonas and Jonathan Fairbanks of Watertown, Lancaster and Dedham, Thomas Green­ wood, of Cambridge, Miriam Stansfield of Roxbury, Abraham Sutcliffe of Scituate, John Tillot­ son of Saybrook, and Christopher Wadsworth of Cambridge and Duxbury. 8 Charles J. Hoadly, ed., Records of the Colony or Jurisdiction of New Haven, from May, 1653, to the Union . .. (Hartford, 1858), 444. 9 Poste, "Belden Origin," TAG 45(1969):135, citing TAG 9(1932-33):56; the original, dated 3 Aug. 1658, reads: "Belden, Samuel, 26 y ... a married man" (Winthrop Medical Journal, MS, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, p. 332). 10 Heptonstall, Yorkshire, parish register [Family History Library (FHL) film #1 ,450,489]. The Bishops' Transcripts (FHL film #990,61 OJ do not survive for all years during this period. The surname was spelled Beldon in the baptismal entry in 1627, Bay/don in 1632, and Baldon in 1634/5. 11 The surname was spelled in many ways in both New England and records in England. Bay/don was not the usual spelling used in the New World (Belden or Belding occurred most fre­ quently). But Richard's name was spelled Bay/don at least once in the Wethersfield, Conn., Land Records ( 1:214, dated 7 2m [April] 1641 ). 12 Heptonstall was a large rural chapelry and included a number of townships. Poste mistak­ en ly states that the residence given at John's baptism was Ayringden.