BIOGRAPHIES INDEX

The Grafton Family

By Steven R. Butler

FN=Footnote to be added at some future date.

Introduction | William Grafton, Sr. | William Grafton, Jr. | Cassandra Grafton

Introduction

I am related to the Grafton family by virtue of the marriage of my fifth great-grandfather Francis Jenkins [3] to Cassandra Grafton, who was the daughter of William Grafton, Jr., who was the son of William Grafton, Sr.

In Colonial times, the Grafton family resided in the eastern portion of Baltimore County, Maryland, which in 1773 became Harford County. It appears that most, if not all their property lay on both the north and south sides of Deer Creek. Harford County adjoins Pennsylvania on the north. The eastern boundary is the Susquehanna River. The city of Baltimore lies a few miles southwest and Philadelphia a little further to the northeast.

William Grafton, Sr.
ABT. 1685-1767

William Grafton, Sr., a Baltimore County, Maryland tobacco planter, was born about 1685. An uncorroborated source states that Grafton was born in England and that he immigrated to America in 1699, when he was about 14 years of age. This suggests that he came either as a young indentured servant or with his parents, whose names are unknown. Another sources suggests that he arrived about 1725, when he would have been about forty years of age. It is possible, of course, that he was born in America. The fact of the matter is that William's place of birth is just not known for sure.

William Grafton Sr.'s wife was named Margaret (maiden name unknown).FN The date and place of their marriage is unknown, but is supposed to have been in Baltimore County sometime between 1705 and 1715. Together, they had at least four children (not necessarily shown in birth order):

1. Christian or Christina (married Maurice Baker)
2. William Jr., born about 1717 (married Phoebe Howell)
3. Ann (married Daniel Preston)
4. Mary (married Smithson)
FN

The earliest known public record of William Grafton is dated 1723. At the age of about 38, he received a patent from Maryland's colonial government for 100 acres of land. FN

On 4 November 1724, at the age of about 39, Grafton witnessed a Baltimore County deed that transferred ownership of a tract of land from James Tracy to George Hitchcock.FN

On 5 June 1725, Baltimore County planter Thomas Preston and his wife Elizabeth, in consideration of the sum of £15, sold an unspecified amount of land to William Grafton, presumably in Baltimore County. Daniel Scott and Joseph Readus were witnesses.FN

In 1726, William Grafton gave 100 acres of land (for which he had received a patent in 1723), as a gift to John and Susannah Constant, Jr., "during their natural lives and thereafter to their children." Thomas Sheredine witnessed this document. This land appears to have been a wedding gift, leading me to wonder, although I have no proof of it, if Susannah Constant was in fact a daughter of William and Margaret Grafton and John Constant their son-in-law (which would mean, of course, that Grafton and his wife had at least five children, not just four).FN

On 6 November 1735, in consideration of 4,600 pounds of tobacco, Lewis Demoss, Jr., "late of Baltimore County, Maryland," sold 69 acres on the south side of Deer Creek to William Grafton. Richard Gist and Thomas Dodd were witnesses to the transaction.FN

This same month (November 1735), William and Margaret Grafton sold part of a tract called "Antioch" to their son-in-law Maurice Baker, husband of Christian or Christina Grafton. FN

On 5 January 1737, Ann Grafton, daughter of William and Margaret, married Daniel Preston, age 22. Ann's age at marriage is unknown. FN

In November 1738, William Grafton's servant, Catherine Shaw, who may have either been a free black or mulatto, was tried for bastardry (her sixth offense). In the previous case, the child's father was a slave. The father in this instance is unnamed or unknown. FN

On 5 May 1739, Isaac and Margaret Webster of Baltimore County sold William Grafton 100 acres of land for the remarkably small sum of £11. Samuel Lee and Samuel Webster witnessed the document.FN

In June 1739, Hannah Shaw, another of William Grafton's servants, admits to having a child by a slave. The child, whose gender is unmentioned, is sold to Grafton, to be his servant until age 30. FN

For 700 pounds of tobacco, William Grafton purchased 40 acres of land from Thomas and Sarah Braizer of Baltimore County. Henry Thomas and Grafton's sons-in-law Daniel Preston witnessed the deed, dated 4 August 1742. FN

Between 1742 and 1751, Grafton witnessed three deeds to which he was not a party.FN

In March 1744/5, Ruth Shaw, daughter of Catherine, is bound to William Grafton (as an indentured servant?). FN

On 13 May 1751, William Brazier sold an additional 100 acres of land to William Grafton for the incredibly small sum of £5. Shipwith Rigbie and James Scott witnessed the deed. FN

On 2 April 1754, James Billingsley, a Quaker planter of Baltimore County, and his wife Elizabeth sold 100 acres of land to William Grafton for £12, 15 shillings. Robert Adair and Walter Tolley were witnesses. FN

Nearly ten years later, on 8 March 1764, James and Elizabeth Billingsley conveyed 82 acres of a 100-acre tract to William Grafton, in consideration of the sum of £60. Isaac Webster and Aquila Johns were witnesses.FN

On 12 May 1764, William Grafton gave a deposition in court, in which his age was given as 79 years.FN

William Grafton, Sr. died on 4 October 1767 at the age of about 82. His will, proved on 26 October 1767, provides evidence of some considerable wealth. , In terms of land, he owned no fewer than nine tracts, the total acreage of which is unknown. It appears that most of these tracts were on or near Deer Creek, a waterway that flows eastward into the Susquehanna River, which in turn provides access to Chesapeake Bay. These tracts were named "Frenchman's Repose," "Bedmont" (conveyed by James Billingsley), "Grafton's Entrance," "Grafton's Angle," "Grafton's Fancy," "Good Endeavour," Brashure's Desire," "Grafton's Lot," and "William's Lot" (possibly also known as "Grafton's Lot.")

Here is his will, in its entirety:

In the inventory of William Grafton, Sr.'s estate, 21 slaves were listed by gender, name, age, and monetary value:

1. Woman, Flouro, age 33, £50 (left in will to daughter, Mary)
2. Woman, Hannah, age 19 £55 (left in will to daughter, Mary)
3. Child, Margret, age 3 mo., £6 (left in will to daughter, Mary)
4. Woman, Nan, age 22, £55 (left in will to all eight grandchildren)
5. Child, Sarah, age 4, £18 (not mentioned by name in will)
6. Woman, Sal, age 16, £40 (left in will to all eight grandchildren)
7. Girl, Rose, age 6, £25 (left in will to all eight grandchildren)
8. Girl, Rachel, age 12, £35 (left in will to granddaughter Priscilla Grafton
9. Man, Czar, age 24, £60 (left in will to all eight grandchildren)
10. Man, Jack, age 19, £60 (left in will to all eight grandchildren)
11. Man, Will, age 40, £40 (left in will to daughter, Ann)
12. Woman, Bess, age 26, £55 (left in will to daughter, Ann)
13. Girl, Lize, age 9, £30 (left in will to daughter, Ann)
14. Girl, Cillor, age 2, £15 (left in will to daughter, Ann)
15. Child, James, age 3 mo., £6 (left in will to daughter, Ann)
16. Man, Tom, age 60, £20 (left in will to daughter, Christian)
17. Woman, Bess, age 50, £20 (left in will to daughter, Christian)
18. Man, Anthony, age 30, £55 (left in will to daughter, Christian)
19. Woman, Dinah, age 19, £55 (left in will to daughter, Christian)
20. Girl, Sue, age 12, £40 (left in will to daughter, Christian)
21. Child, Tom, age 2, £16 (left in will to son, William)

TOTAL VALUE: £756

FN

Not included in this list was a slave called "Sampson," who had earlier been "delivered" to William's daughter Mary, nor a slave he refers to in his will as "Young Sal" (unless he meant Sarah, above).FN

The date and place of death of William Grafton's wife, Margaret, which obviously occurred prior to 1767 (since no mention of her is made in his will), is unknown. Neither is it known where William and Margaret Grafton were buried.

WILLIAM GRAFTON, JR. (ABT. 1717-1769)

William Grafton, Jr. was born about 1717, probably in Baltimore County, Maryland. His parents were William and Margaret Grafton.

It is held that William Grafton's first wife was named Phebe (also spelled Pheby or Phoebe) Howell, born 3 November 1726, place unknown. They were almost certainly married when Pheby was in her teens, because she is supposed to have given birth to eight children before dying about 1752, or earlier. In all likelihood, they were married about 1740, when she was fourteen. If so, then Pheby spent almost all her married life pregnant. Their children (not necessarily shown in birth order) were:

1. William (III)
2. Samuel
3. Daniel
4. Aquila
5. Nathaniel
6. Cassandra, born 2 June 1745
7. Margaret
8. Priscilla
FN

In 1752, following the death of his first wife, William Grafton, Jr. married Sarah Billingsly, a daughter of a Quaker neighbor named James Billingsley. William and Sarah had no children together. FN

It appears that William Grafton, Jr. and his family resided with his parents on their plantation until the death of William Grafton, Sr., at which time he inherited the use of the house in which he was then residing, a two-year-old slave, and one shilling. This meager inheritance suggests that father and son were estranged. FN

In 1768, William Grafton, Jr. was one of 901 citizens of the eastern portion of "Baltemore County" who signed a petition addressed to the Royal Governor, Horatio Sharpe, protesting a possible move of the county seat from Joppa to "Baltemore Town." The petition was unsuccessful. FN

When William Grafton, Jr. died on 19 August 1769, at the age of about 52, his will mentioned only one tract of land, "Grafton's Entrance," which he left to his wife Sarah, who appears to have lived there for the remainder of her life. (This is curious, however, because in his will, William's father left "Grafton's Entrance," or at least part of it to Wiliam's sister, Christian Baker.)FN The date of Sarah Grafton's death is unknown.

At the time of his death, it appears that William Grafton, Jr. had only one slave (a man named Tom who does not appear to be the same "Tom" left to him by his father) and two indentured servants.FN Unfortunately, no inventory of his estate is on record in Baltimore County.

The will of William Grafton, Jr. is shown below in its entirety:

Cassandra Grafton
DOB 1745-DOD Unknown

Cassandra Grafton was one of the three daughters of William Grafton, Jr. and his first wife, Phoebe Howell. On March 7, 1760, in Baltimore County, Maryland, Cassamdra married Francis Jenkins [2].

This website copyright © 1996-2018 by Steven R. Butler, Ph.D. All rights reserved.