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| 1869 Letter to uncle John Rouse from Frank and Eliza Barton. |
Here is the Barton letter mentioned in Henry Vamplew's 1869 letter. I first saw the name BARTON in my great grandfather John Portus' 1870 letter to "Hunckle and Ant" in Illinois about 15 years ago. Who was Mr. Barton? What significance did he have for great grandfather to mention him? Back then, I thought Mr. Barton was one of those "agents" who advertise work and land in America to entice people to emigrate. Well, this letter squashes that theory.
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| First page right side. |
Dear Sir,
I received your letter yesterday through Mrs Briggs and I am very much abliged to you for your kind offer. I had almost given up all hopes of hearing from you. So that I was not a littel surprized when it came. You will perceive that we are not at Horncastle now. We have been here about 5 or 6 weeks. I am sorry to tell you that 20 / – to the pound is about all we are worth. So that if you will be kind enough to send the tickets as you have
Eventhough this letter starts out "Dear Sir," later on in the letter we find it is written to John Rouse. John plays a prominent role in my three-letter scenario postings. I would love to get a look at a letter written to the Bartons, but that won't happen. I think this letter is written August 2, 1869. In the Skirbeck letter written Oct. 1869, from Henry Vamplew to uncle John, it mentions the Bartons had written. I would think this could be the letter.
The Bartons lived in Horncastle and then in Market Rasen about 25-30 miles northwest of Tumby Woodside which is about 10 miles south of Horncastle. Without a car, Market Rasen would probably be an over-night stay for anyone visiting from Tumby Woodside.
I checked Ancestry.com for 1861 census and found a Francis BARTON living in a Jackson household as a servant. I have no idea what kind of work he was doing by the time of this letter. He and Eliza weren't on the 1871 census because they had already received their tickets and were in America and are listed in the 1880 US census in rural Illinois.
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| Second page left side. |
[Eliza's writing here on]
Dear Unckall as my Husband has not time to finish is letter I may say that we were very glad to hear that you were all well and geting on so comfortably and I am glad Frank has written down to the middle of this page. He writes clear enough for me to transcribe and he uses punctuation unlike Henry in the previous letters posted. He is learned and you would think he was in a profession which he needs to know how to read and write. He doesn't seem to be the usual farm labourer or servant with a limited amount of learning who didn't need to know how in order to do those jobs back then.
At the bottom of this page is where Eliza takes over the letter. Why wouldn't Frank have the time to finish it? Well, anyway, here we find out the letter is written to "Unckall". (I love the spelling.) I knew this letter was written to uncle John Rouse since it was in the bunch of other letters I got last year, so now how is Mrs. Barton connected to uncle John?
Could the connection be through the DUDDLES? Are the Duddles related to Rouses? The Duddles name has been mentioned in two letters already, so there might be a connection. The ROUSEs and BARTONs know the Duddles family since they are all from the same area in Lincolnshire. How does Eliza and Frank fit in?
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| Second page right side. |
Conclude all
unite with me inlove to you
Doing a little poking around and checking what I had in my tree program, I found Eliza's father is Jarvis BRIGGS and her mother is Martha ROUSE (uncle John's sister). By 1861 census in Horncastle, her mother was a widow at 36; Martha is on the 1871 census, but I can't find her on 1881. I will leave further searching to a Rouse or Briggs family historian.
Their "baby" is Miriam who would have just been born not long before this letter was written. She is on the 1880 US census as 11 years old, born in England. If the letter were written in 1869 as thought, that would add up. The next child on that census was born in Illinois.
+ + + + +
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| First page left side. |
Waterloo Street
Market Rasen
Lincolnshire
England
I searched for "Frank" Barton and found his name is really Francis. I wasn't surprised by that finding, genealogists are always finding name variations and nicknames being used from time to time.
I wasn't sure when they were going to emigrate, but it had to have been sometime after the 1870 US census was taken because they weren't found anywhere. I haven't been able to find them on Ancestry.com passenger lists index either, but did find Eliza going back to England around 1892.
BARTONS MADE IT TO ILLINOIS
Francis Barton is found on the 1880 census in Norton, Buckingham Township, Kankakee County, Illinois, with five children: Miriam (11), Samuel (9), John (5), Charles (3), and Alice M (4 months). All children were born in Illinois except Miriam. Francis is a Preacher. That would make sense of the writing, spelling, punctuation. Being a preacher also might explain why he didn't have time to "finish" the letter -- maybe he was called on parish duties.
Settling in Norton, Kankakee County is interesting to me because now it ties with another Lincolnshire family PATCHETT. Martha, daughter of Michael and Martha (RADFORD) DUDDLES married Paddison Patchett about 1850 in the Tattershall/Coningsby area near Tumby. They migrated to Illinois sometime long before the Bartons.
On the 1870 US census for Norton, Kankakee County, I find Paddison, Martha, and seven children. I am sure they all knew one another because those villages in that area of Lincolnshire, England, are very close together. Three of their seven children were born in England. The fourth child (first born in Illinois) was 12 at the time of the census which puts the Patchett family in Illinois around 1858.
As I'm writing this, I recall another letter in the "bunch" that is from Kankakee County. I must root it out and read it again. Oh, what a sidetracking journey I'm on. These letters are answering a few questions I've been curious about for a long time plus filling in some of the blanks on collateral lines. It is also keeping me writing.
MOVING AROUND ILLINOIS
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| 1880 US census / Norton, Kankakee County, Illinois Francis Barton is a Preacher. Eliza is "Wife" |
On the 1900 census, the family I found the Barton family in Wheaton, DuPage County, straight north of Kankakee County about 70 miles, and about 25 miles west of Chicago. Francis is a "Laborer" not a preacher. I suspect preaching was his chosen profession, he moved his family up to Wheaton in particular because it known as a "religious" town.
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| 1900 US census / Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois Francis Barton is a Laborer. Eliza is "Wife" |
By 1910 census, Frank was listed as a minister in the Congregational Church in Wheaton.
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| 1910 US census / Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois Francis Barton is a Minister. Eliza is "Wife" |
And according to Alan Dugan who gave me permission to use the headstone image below, Francis was a "circuit riding preacher." Just a day ago, I contacted Alan through his Ancestry.com Dugan Family Tree where he has more pictures pertaining to his Barton family and Lincolnshire, England. We are distant cousins as it turns out through the Rouse family. Our common ancestor is Henry and Elizabeth (Clarke) Rouse.
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| Wheaton Cemetery in Wheaton, Illinois Francis Barton 1842-1918 Eliza (Briggs) Barton 1845-1922 |
Lincolnshire family connections don't end with the Duddles, Pattchetts, Rouses, etc. Wheaton also was the home of my g-g uncle James W. VAMPLEW - uncle John's nephew! To add to this mess, my g-g-grandfather James Vamplew was illegitimate son of James PATCHETT, Paddison's uncle! Story of James is on another post of August 25, 2012 "Puzzle Piece Payoff Started With The UK Censuses."
LINCOLNSHIRE AREA
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| You can see how close these villages were to one another. Horncastle and Market Rasen are further north off this view. "A•" = Tattershall; "B•" = Coningsby; "C•" = Tumby; "D•" = Tumby Woodside; "E•" = Mareham le Fen |
LETTER FROM KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS
Oh, here is a copy of the Kankakee letter I mentioned. I'm going to go through another whole story. It isn't complete but it tells a bit about the Bartons in downstate rural Illinois. Frank is preaching down there also.
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Norton kankakee Co Ills
Dear Uncle And Aunt
it is A long time since we herd any thing from you and I believe I rote the last letter but never mind so you answer this one well we are all well at present I had A letter from Mother a little while A Gos and she says do you ever hear from your Uncle Rouse for I do not she was well but had been quite sick our children are getting big Minnie was ten years old ?? day the diphtheria has been bad around hear some of the neighbors have lost 8 of their children a family lost 3 each an do others i but our ? be hat is very favorably we have 4 now 3 boys and 1 girl Frank had An axident last spring he was cuting edge and a thorn
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| flew into his eye and he is nearly blind of that eye but it dose not harm nor disfigure him any and the other is all sight we are trying to buy A farm of 80 ackers joining on to Mr Patchett but do not know yet wether we shall be able to make it or not but intend to pray pretty hard there is a house on it A nice Orchard on it we have got A town about 4 miles and A half from us and plenty of Cole about the same distance Frank is preaching on this cirket again he preached ?? fore 3 years and oak and on foe three more now he is stationed hear again by the ?? and request of the peple Now Uncle why can't you and Aunt come out to see us the cares run to Buckingham the name of our new town you would see the country and Mr Patchett and buy land at 25 dolars an acker |
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