James married Samantha Melissa Hazen WFT est 1859-1888. Samantha (daughter of James Johnson Hazen and Elizabeth Clark) was born in Jun 1843; died in 1939; was buried in North Sewickley Cemetery, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Edmund Boots, whose full name is said to have been Edmund Ambrose Boots, was born 12 October 1811, in Sussex County, England. He was baptized 22 December 1811, in the Wesleyan Chapel at Rye, Sussex County, England. The baptismal entry reads:

"Edmund, son of Ambrose Boots of the Parish of Ewhurst, Sussex & of Eliz. his wife was born on the 13th day of Octr. 1811 and christened on the 22 day of Decr. 1811 by B. Leggett."

There is a conflict between the birth date given in the baptismal record and the birth date cited in his obituary, but since the baptismal record is so much nearer the event, it is more likely to be correct. Edmund Boots died 27 December 1890, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He married 1st, in 1831, Eliza COLEMAN, daughter of William COLEMAN, who died a few months later, in 1832. In 1834, he married Mrs. Eliza Dean Caldwell JONES, daughter of Samuel CALDWELL, who was born in 1803 in Pennsylvania, and died 4 May 1881 in North Sewickley Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Edmund Boots and his second wife are buried in the North Sewickley Cemetery, North Sewickley Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Four children were born of this second marriage.

From the (1907) memoirs of Mary J. Belles, contained in the Concord Church Booklet:

"Edmund Boots and his wife, Eliza, were good and faithful members for many long years, he being class leader for 21 years. He reared four sons, two of whom are living. He died in a good old age, always humbly claiming that he was a 'sinner saved by grace.'"

The Obituaries of Edmund and Eliza Boots are also contained in the Concord Church Booklet:

OBITUARY of Edmund Boots: "ADVOCATE March 12, 1891. Edmund Boots was born Oct. 12, 1811, in Sussex County, England and died in North Sewickley Township, Beaver Co., Pa., Dec. 27, 1890. He was a member of the Wesleyan Society, in England. He came to America in 1830 and united with the M. E. Church. He was twice married. In 1831, to Eliza COLEMAN, who lived but a few months and in 1834 to Mrs. Eliza Jones, who died about nine years ago. He was a member of the church for 60 years, and sustained the relation of steward, trustee and class leader for a number of years. The last five or six years of his life were spent in great feebleness of body. He leaves a large connection of relatives who are comforted with the thought that he has exchanged the afflictions of life for the rest of heaven."

OBITUARY of Eliza Boots: "ADVOCATE, June 9, 1881. Sister Eliza Boots was born in 1803, and died in North Sewickley Township, Beaver Co., May 4, 1881. She was early taught to fear God, and entered the communion of the Presbyterian Church under the pastorate of Rev. Wm. McClain, which relation she sustained until her marriage in the year 1834, when she united with the M. E. Church. She was a firm believer in the merits of Jesus Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit, striving on her part 'to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.' Having been deprived of natural sight for nearly 12 years, she was patient and thankful that her spiritual vision was still granted unto her. She ever had humble views of herself, conscious of her weakness and inability to meet the trials and afflictions of life without Divine help. The last two years of her life were almost unendurable, causing her to express a desire to 'depart and be with Christ'. Her record is on high.
J. E. Williams"

From a History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, published in 1888, comes the following account of Edmund Boots:

"Edmund Boots, wagon maker, P. O. North Sewickley, was born in Sussex, England, Oct. 13, 1811, son of Ambrose and Elizabeth (Bull) Boots, the former of whom, a carpenter by trade, came to America in 1830, and Oct. 13th of the same year settled on Brush creek, North Sewickley township, this county, here remaining until his death. He had four sons, all born in the mother country, three yet living: John is deceased. Edmund was married in 1831 to Eliza, daughter of William Coleman. She died in 1832, and in 1834 Mr. Boots married Eliza, daughter of Samuel Caldwell. By this union there are four children: Samuel C., James D., Ambrose and Edmund R. Mr. Boots owns the property, consisting of seventy acres, where he has resided since 1830. He has been secretary of the school board of his township for eight years, and has held the office of supervisor two terms. He and Mrs. Boots are members of the Methodist Episcopal church; in politics he is a Republican."

The careful reader will note a couple of discrepancies in the forgoing account, as to birth date and number of sons. Biographical data provided by these early county histories was generally derived as much from oral tradition as from source documents, and often only as reliable as the memory of the person (or persons) who supplied the information.

The Will of Edmund Boots is found in Will Book "I", Page 61, public records of Beaver County, Pennsylvania:

"Last Will and Testament of Edmund Boots, Late of North Sewickley Twp., Registered Jan'y 8, 1891.

"I Edmund Boots of North Sewickly Township Beaver County and State of Pennsylvania Being weak in body but of sound mind memory and understanding do make and publish this my last will and testament hereby revokeing and making void all former wills by me at any former time made

"And first I direct and order my body be intered in a plain decent manner and that my just debts be paid and satisfied by my Executor hereinafter named as soon as conveinantly may be after my decease I dispose of my property in the following manner I give devise and bequeath to my son Ambrose Boots his heirs and assigns my farms of land forever consisting of about sixty two acres known as the Clark land also a piece of land containing four acres and one half known as the McDanel Lot situated in the above named Township, County and State I farther will order and direct that my son Ambrose Boots shall pay to my son James D. Boots Five hundred Dollars and also to my son Edmund R Boots Five hundred Dollars in one year from my decease but who nevertheless is to have three years from my decease to pay the above legacies by paying four per interest for the same after one year I proceed farther I give devise and bequeath to my Niece Harriet Caldwell her heirs and assigns forever the farm or lot on which I reside containing about seven and one half acres the purchase being made formerly from Coleman and Wilson as the deeds will show being in the township county and state above named I also Will give and bequeath to the aforesaid Harriet Caldwell all my household and kitchen furniture consisting of beds and beding tables chairs sewing machine and cc the discresionary power to be with my Executor wether the personal property be appriased or not I further will give and bequeath to the aforesaid Harriet Caldwell the choice of my Cows.

"I further will and direct that the remainder of my personall property shall be equality divided among the above named legates share and share alike

"I hereby ordain constitute and appoint Edmund R. Boots to be the Executor of this my last will and testament in witness whereof I Edmund Boots the testator have to this my will written on one sheet of paper set my hand and seal this tenth 10 day of September A.D. 1888.
Edmund Boots (Seal)

"Signed sealed and published and declared by the above named Edmund Boots as and for his last will and testament in the presence of us who have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses thereto in the presence of the said testator and of each other.
Daniel W. Swick

M. C. Smith
"The State of Pennsylvania
Beaver County

"Be it remembered that on the 8th day of January A. D. 1891, Daniel W. Swick and M. C. Smith personally appeared before me the Register for the Probate of Wills etc, in and for said county, they being the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing last will and testament of Edmund Boots late of North Sewickly township, deceased, and after being duly sworn according to law did depose and say that they were present and saw the said Edmund Boots sign the foregoing instrument of writing and heard him publish pronounce and declare the same to be his last will and testament and that at the time of his so doing the testator was of sound and disposing mind memory and understanding to the best of deponents' knowledge, observation and belief, and that they signed the same as witnesses thereto at the request of the said testator.

"And now, the testimony of the above named witnesses being sufficient, I do hereby admit the foregoing Will to Probate, and order the same to be recorded as such. Given under my hand the date last above named.
Orin H. Mathews
Register."

The foregoing Document is quoted exactly as it appears in the public records, quaint spelling and all. Of particular interest is the almost total lack of punctuation.

United States Census Records of 1840 for Beaver County, Pennsylvania, show the following:

North Sewickley Township - Page 67:
Head of family - Edmon Boots. Members of family, including head of family:
3 males under 5
1 male aged 20-30
1 female aged 20-30
Two of the three males under 5 would have been Ambrose Boots, born in 1839, and Samuel Boots, born in 1835; the third male under five may have been either a child who did not survive or a visiting relative; the male aged 20-30 was Edmund Boots; the female aged 20-30 was Eliza Boots.

United States Census Records of 1850, for Beaver County, Pennsylvania, show the following:
Name of Individual Age Sex Occupation Value of R/Est Birthplace
North Sewickley Township - Page 166B, Family No. 145
Edmond Boots 39 M Wagon Maker 1500 England
Eliza Boots 46 F Pa
Samuel Boots 15 M Farmer Pa
Ambrose Boots 11 M Pa
James Boots 9 M Pa
Edmond Boots 7 M Pa.

United States Census Records of 1860, for Beaver County, Pennsylvania, show the following:
Name of Individual Age Sex Occupation Value of R/Est Birthplace
North Sewickley Township, Page 563, Family No. 1035:
Edmund Boots 47 M Wagon Maker 2800 England
Eliza Boots 56 F Penna
Ambrose Boots 21 M Farmhand Penna
Edmund Boots 17 M Farmhand Penna.

Rye, Sussex, England

Edmund married Eliza Dean Caldwell in 1834 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Eliza (daughter of Samuel Caldwell) was born in 1803 in Pennsylvania; died on 4 May 1881 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania; was buried in North Sewickley Cemetery, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Elizabeth Clark WFT est 1818-1861. Elizabeth was born WFT est 1801-1824; died WFT est 1846-1912. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ambrose Boots was born in Sussex County, England, circa 1770. He was baptized in St. Mary's Church, Rye, Sussex County, England, 25 February 1770. He died in Beaver County, Pennsylvania about the year 1840 (the obituary of his widow, who died in 1847, says, in part, "and seven years since was called to follow his mortal remains to the tomb...").

He was married twice, but we do not know the name of his first wife, nor the number (if any) of their children. He married, 2nd, on 25 November 1809, in St. James Church, Ewhurst, Sussex County, England, Elizabeth BULL. The Marriage Register of this church reads:

"Ambrose Boots Widower of this Parish and Elizabeth Sharp widow of the same, were Married in this Church by Banns this twenty-fifth day of November in the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Nine By me Henry Hoager Rector of Beckley."

Elizabeth BULL had married previously, 10 June 1803, in St. James Church, Edward SHARP, who died two years thereafter (the Burials Register of St. James Church lists his burial, 25 March 1805). She had only one child by this marriage, presumably the "Mrs. Mary DENNIS" referred to in her obituary, q.v.
Elizabeth BULL was born 17 February 1777, in Sussex County, England, and died 22 November 1847, in North Sewickley Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Thus far, research in England has not revealed the names of her parents. Ambrose and Elizabeth resided in the hamlet of Staple Cross, in Sussex County. Staple Cross is only a mile or two from Ewhurst, where St. James Church is located.

Ewhurst Green village, as it is now known, has existed since medieval times, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror. This rural community is largely agricultural. A church history provides theh following:

[Gwen Jones and John Martin, The Parish Church of St. James the Great, Ewhurst, Sussex, 1981]:

"The vast majority (of residents) owned or tenanted small farms and combined small scale subsistence agriculture with another trade or craft. The two major stand-bys were cattle raising and timber.....Some small-holders managed to make a profit from cheese and butter making. More recently hops became a mainstay of many farmers and in our own century many have turned their land over to fruit. In addition, a great many people over the years must have practised those trades and crafts necessary to keep a self-sufficient community going. They became blacksmiths, millers, millwrights, wheelwrights, saddlers, carpenters, sawyers, brickmakers, glaziers, basket-makers, coopers, ropemakers, clockmakers, grocers, butchers, bakers, brewers, weavers, tailors and schoolteachers - all of them trades and occupations mentioned in the church registers (of Ewhurst Parish)."

The Church of St. James the Great, Ewhurst Green, Sussex County, England dates in part to the twelfth century, and today is little changed from the way it must have looked in 1809 when Ambrose Boots and Elizabeth Bull were married.

"The tower clearly reflects the two major periods of building which are discernible in many features of the architecture of this church. Traces of iron are visible in the stonework of the lower portion which together with the west doorway dates from the late twelfth century. The upper part and stair turret are fourteenth century. The windows are of the latter date with the exception of the topmost one which was inserted during the fifteenth century.

".....The west and north walls of the aisle are fourteenth century. The east wall has been rebuilt.....Part of the fourteenth century north wall again shows signs of rebuilding. The reconstruction of this wall and of the east walls of both aisles is known to have been carried out in 1769."

----------

Ambrose and Elizabeth had their oldest son, John, baptized in St. James Church in 1810, but by the time their second son, Edmund, was born in 1811, they had been caught up in the upsurge of nonconformity which had been taking place in the area since the late 1700's, and had apparently joined the Wesleyans (Methodists), because Edmund was baptized in the Wesleyan Chapel at Rye, and Samuel was baptized in the Wesleyan Chapel at Sandhurst in the County of Kent. Both of these baptismal records indicate that Ambrose and Elizabeth continued to reside and Staple Cross and were "of the Parish of Ewhurst."

In 1830, Ambrose and Elizabeth Boots and their three sons emigrated to America, along with her daughter Mary Sharp, settling in North Sewickley Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Tradition states that in addition to the three sons, John, Edmund, and Samuel, there was a brother of Ambrose named Benjamin Boots, who came along, and who settled in Virginia or Maryland. As yet, no research has been done to locate any record of Benjamin Boots in the United States. We do know that Ambrose had an older brother named Benjamin and at least one nephew named Benjamin.

A History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, published in 1888, contains an account of Samuel Boots [J. Fraise Richard, Levy S. Richard, and Thomas Henry, Hisroty of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, 1888, pages 750-751] which says, in part:

"......His (Samuel Boots') parents, Ambrose and Elizabeth (Bull) Boots, came to America in 1830, and settled in North Sewickley Township. The father was a carpenter until coming to Beaver county, when he carried on farming, with his eldest son, up to his death in 1844; his widow died in 1852. They had four children: Mary, John, Edmund and Samuel."

This same History of Beaver County contains an account of Edmund Boots which says, among other things:

"Edmund Boots, wagon maker, P. O. North Sewickley, was born in Sussex, England, Oct. 13, 1811, son of Ambrose and Elizabeth (Bull) Boots, the former of whom, a carpenter by trade, came to America in 1830, and Oct. 13th of the same year settled on Brush creek, North Sewickley township, this county, here remaining until his death."

Interestingly, although the former account has the wrong date for the death of Elizabeth Boots, it does place the deaths of Ambrose and Elizabeth eight years apart (her obituary says "and seven years since....."). The daughter Mary referred to is, of course, Mary Sharp, daughter of Elizabeth Boots and her first husband.

Ambrose Boots and family did not arrive in Beaver County in time to be enumerated in the 1830 Census of the United States. A search of the 1840 Census for Beaver County reveals no record of Ambrose Boots - evidently he died before the Census was taken. The 1840 Census does, however, list Samuel, Edmund, and John Boots as heads of families. With the family of John Boots is listed one female between the ages of 60 and 70, presumably, his widowed mother. It is unfortunate that Census Records prior to 1850 do not list the names of every individual resident in a particular household.

Although Ambrose and Elizabeth arrived in Beaver County in 1830, a search of the public records does not reveal that they purchased any real estate. The earliest record of land being purchased by any member of the Boots family is a Deed from Jacob Piersol to Samuel Boots dated 5 October 1835 conveying land on Brush Creek in North Sewickley Township. Ambrose Boots does, however, appear in the Beaver County Tax Records for 1833, which is the earliest record found of him in the Public Records of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He does not appear on the Tax Rolls in subsequent years.

It has not been possible to determine with 100% certainty where Ambrose and Elizabeth Boots are buried. The Concord M. E. Church, which their sons helped to found, did not establish a cemetery until more than fifty years after Ambrose and Elizabeth died, and none of the early generations of Boots relatives are buried there. All, or very nearly all, of the Boots family who died prior to 1900 are buried in the North Sewickley Cemetery. Ambrose and Elizabeth either lie in an unmarked grave in this cemetery, or possibly, in some small plot near their original home. The marker for the graves of John and Sylvia Boots is located in one of the oldest sections of the North Sewickley Cemetery, and is in the form of an obelisk of the kind that commonly had names on all four sides. All four sides of this monument, although badly eroded, clearly contained inscriptions at one time. Two of those inscriptions are definitely for John and Sylvia Boots. The other two could have contained the names of Ambrose and Elizabeth. However, they could just as easily have contained the names of two of the children of John and Sylvia Boots. We know that their son Richmond Boots died between 1850 and 1860, and the 1840 Census indicates that there was another child as well. The plot containing this marker is a large one, containing no other headstones except those of two of the children of Samuel and Harriet Boots, and could very easily contain any number of unmarked graves.

An anniversary booklet published in 1926 by the Concord Methodist Episcopal Church contains, among other items of interest, many obituaries of early members of the church including many of the Boots family.

The Obituary of Elizabeth Boots reads as follows:

"Departed this life Nov. 22, 1847, at the house of her son, Rev. John Boots, in Beaver County, Pa., Elizabeth Boots in the 71st year of her age. Sister Boots was born in Sussex County, England, Feb. 17, 1777, and emigrated to America in 1830. In the 24th year of her age she was united in the bonds of matrimony to Edward Sharp; in two short years she was left a widow with one child. In her 28th year, she was married to Ambrose Boots, and seven years since was called to follow his mortal remains to the tomb, and soon after her daughter, Mrs. Mary Dennis. She has left three sons, members of the M. E. Church; two are local preachers and one a class leader. A funeral sermon was preached by the writer of this notice, from a text that she had selected 30 years ago, viz: 'Oh death, where is thy sting; oh grave, where is thy victory? but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.' Advocate, Dec. 29, 1847.-G. McCaskey."

Another mystery remaining to be solved is why Ambrose and his family wound up in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. A clue may be the fact that by 1816 the family had become caught up in the Wesleyan movement. The family of Harriet Wilde, who became the wife of Samuel Boots, was involved with the Wesleyans as well. It is known that both the Boots family and Harriet Wilde were in transit from England at roughly the same time, although they were not acquainted. The link between the two families and their arrival in Pennsylvania will no doubt one day be found to be the Wesleyan Movement.

Rye, Sussex, England

Ambrose married Elizabeth Bull on 25 Nov 1809 in Ewhurst, Sussex County, England. Elizabeth (daughter of John Bull and Cary Darby) was born on 17 Feb 1777 in Sussex County, England; was christened on 9 Mar 1779; died on 22 Nov 1847 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania; was buried in North Sewickley Cemetery, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ewhurst, Sussex, England