The Booths of Stratford, Connecticut

Lucy Jane's grandparents were David and Nancy (Elkins) Wells. Recall that, according to the story making its way down through two family lines, David was murdered by "the Raiders or Ku Klux Klan as they were sometimes called" on the day the Civil War ended. Nancy Jane Elkins was born in 1822 and died from complications of measles in 1887, more than two decades after her husband's death. Nancy's father was Joseph Elkins (1789-1865), who, according to Lucy Jane, "died suddenly after being caught in a wind storm." Joseph's father was named Elijah (1760-1850), and his mother was Jerusha Booth (1771-1856). This brings us to the ancient Booth family whose origins appear to extend back to the 14th century with Sir Thomas de Booth (1330-1368). Several members of the Booth family, including our direct ancestors, were knighted by the king and thus had their names prefixed with "Sir."

The Booths lived in the northwest part of England near the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, more specifically in Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford, and Staffordshire. Our line of the family crossed the Atlantic and were amongst the first settlers in and founders of Stratford, Connecticut, named after Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare's birthplace. The first arrivals landed in 1639, possibly escaping the troubles in their homeland just prior to the outbreak of the English Civil War, or the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (i.e., England, Scotland, and Ireland). Because the community was founded by Puritans, it is reasonable to assume that the Booths themselves were Puritans.

Our generation's 10th great-grandfather was Richard Booth, born 5 March 1607 in Parwich, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. He married Elizabeth Hawley (1607-1689), daughter of Judge Samuel Hawley (1577-1643) and Katherine Booth Hawley (1576-1613). Their homestead in Stratford is shown in the map below, which can be found here along with a key to the numbers in the lots: Stratford first settlement map.

Lot 29 was assigned to Richard Booth, “whose land extended beyond the lots north
and ran northerly to the rocks.” I, J, and K were the house lots of Richard Booth,
Joseph Booth and John Booth respectively.

“The first settlement was made at a place now known as Sandy Hollow, an arm of the
Sound or creek, which penetrates a short distance from the Housatonic River, the
ancient name of which was Potatuck.”

In the late 18th century Richard and Elizabeth's 3rd great-granddaughter, Jerusha, somehow made it down to Virginia where she married Elijah Elkins. It is possible that her family was displaced by the War for Independence, but that's merely speculation.