Bulkeley

Elizabeth Bulkeley b. 1637

/ Kirstin Miller

Elizabeth Bulkeley first cousin 10x removed on RootsMagic tree

Elizabeth Bulkeley was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1637. Her grandpa Reverend Peter Bulkeley, migrated from England and founded Concord, Massachusetts in 1635. Peter was the first pastor of First Parish Church in Concord, Edward, Elizabeth’s dad was the 3rd pastor and Elizabeth married a pastor, Joseph Emerson. Elizabeth and Joseph had 6 kids. Their son Edward Emerson married Rebecca Waldo, their great grandson was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a poem mentioning his 5th great grandpa Peter Bulkeley, Hamatreya, a couple lines, “Bulkeley, Hunt, Willard, Each of these landlords walked amidst his farm. Saying, T’is mine, my children’s and my name’s. Where are these men? Asleep beneath their grounds.  Earth laughs in flowers, to see her boastful boys. Mine and yours; Mine, not yours. Earth endures Stars abide -.”

Bulkeley, Elizabeth headstone

Elizabeth Browne headstone via Lucius Beebe Memorial Library Digital Heritage collection

When Joseph Emerson died in 1680, widow Elizabeth married John Browne. Elizabeth died in 1693, her 2nd husband John Browne died in 1717. They are both buried at Old Burying Ground in Wakefield, Massachusetts. A sign posted there, “The gravestones in this semi-circle were originally located in the town’s first Burying Ground, near the present site of the Bandstand. These stones represent some of the oldest expressions of Puritan gravestone art in New England”. Elizabeth’s headstone is art, hand made and created. Inscription: Memento Mori “remember you will die” Fugue Hora “the hour flees” Here lyes ye body of Mrs. Elizabeth Browne wife to Cap’n John Brown Esq and former wife of ye Reverend Mr Joseph Emerson of Mendon who deceased Septemb’r ye 4th 1693 in ye 56 year of her age.

Sources

Edward Bulkeley b. 1614

/ Kirstin Miller

Edward Bulkeley 8th great uncle on RootsMagic tree

Edward was born June 17, 1614 in Odell, England to Peter and Jane Allen Bulkeley, the oldest child of 9. Edward’s dad Peter was a Puritan pastor in Odell and was harassed by Archbishop Laud, so looking to leave England. The Buckeleys sailed to America in 1634 or 1635, secretly, “No doubt the long drawn out enrollments and lack of effort to standardize spelling of the names were reflections of the family’s attempt to board the ship without being apprehended. Son Edward preceded the rest of the family, becoming a member of Boston church on 22 March 1634/5”. Archbishop Laud’s story didn’t end well, He was sent to the Tower of London, then executed in 1645. King Charles would regret putting ’too much trust in Laud’.

Bulkeley, Edward house 1967Once they were in America the Bulkeleys lived in Concord where Edward was a freeman on May 6 1635. He married Lucien, last name unknown, in 1640 and they had 6 children. Around 1660 Edward built a house in Concord, on Main Street. “А deed referring to the property, with a dwelling on it, records the 1663 transfer of 10 acres of land located on today’s Main Street to Edward Bulkeley by his mother, widow of one of Concord’s founders and its first minister, Peter Bulkeley.” Today this home is at 92 Sudbury Road in Concord, a private residence, the house was moved in the 1800s. Edward died in 1696, his wife Lucien died in 1690. They are both probably buried at Old Hill Burying Ground in Concord, no headstones remain.

Edward, like his dad, was a Puritan pastor and was known for his ‘fiery’ sermons. When his dad died, Edward followed as pastor of the First Parish Church in Concord. This church is also still there in Concord, Massachusetts, now a Unitarian Universalist church. Each Sunday the congregation ends their service with this benediction:

Go out into the world in peace

Have courage

Hold on to what is good

Return to no person evil for evil

Strengthen the fainthearted

Support the weak

Help the suffering

Honor all beings

Sources

Sarah Bulkeley b. 1640

/ Kirstin Miller

Sarah Bulkeley 8th great grandma on RootsMagic tree

Sarah was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1640 to Thomas and Sarah Jones Bulkeley. Both grandpas were pastors, VIPs of their time, their writings, lives, arrival, all documented in detail. In 1640s Concord there was trouble, disagreements about religion, Sarah’s grandpas were on opposite sides. Sarah’s family was one of several that followed Pastor Jones and joined Pastors Davenport and Eaton in New Haven, Connecticut. Sarah’s dad Thomas was in his dad Peter’s will so even though Thomas chose the Jones side instead of the Bulkeley side he was still family. Sarah married Eleazer Brown in 1663, they had 7 children and stayed in New Haven. Sarah’s mom died in 1683, her will left books to her daughter Sarah: Graham’s Works 3 vols. Walker’s God’s Providence, and A View of False Christianity.
Sarah and Eleazer were most likely buried in what is no the Center Church on the Green Churchyard. This burial place has changed over the years, their headstones aren’t there anymore. There’s a memorial plaque at the site. “From the Settlement of New Haven 1638 to 1796 the adjoining ground was occupied as a common place of burial the a new burying ground was opened and divided into family lots and city squares. In 1813 this church was placed over the monuments of several whose names are engraved on tablets in the vestibule. In 1821 the remaining monuments were by consent of survivors and under direction of the city removed to the new ground. In a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump.(et) The dead shall be raised”.  The current church has a crypt, in the basement burials and headstones and they offer tours and a few photos here: https://centerchurchonthegreen.org/history/crypt/ .

Sources

Martha Bulkeley b. 1572

/ Kirstin Miller

Martha Bulkeley 11th great aunt on RootsMagic tree

Martha was born in Odell, Bedfordshire England in 1572. Her father and then her younger brother Peter were pastors at All Saints Parish in Odell. Martha would have been baptized and married in the church which was built in the 1400s and is still standing. Martha married Abraham Mellows around 1595. In 1630s England, Martha, her husband, her brother Peter and other friends and church members left England for America specifically for religious freedom. The Mellows arrived before 1633 when they were admitted to the First Church of Charlestown, Massachusetts.. “Abraham Mellows and Martha his wife and Edward Mellows their son … were admitted to Charlestown church on August 19 1633.”. The family stayed in Charlestown and Martha and Abraham had at least 8 children. Their son Edward was the first husband of Hannah Smith 9th great grandma.

  • Source
    Charlestown (Mass.). Records of the First church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1632-1789, Boston Printed for J.F. Hunnewell, by D. Clapp and Son 1880
    http://tinyurl.com/y66jzuk6

 

Thomas Bulkeley b. 1617

/ Kirstin Miller

Thomas Bulkeley 18 and his family left England in 1634 or 35: “No doubt the long drawn out enrollments and the lack of effort to standardize spelling of the name were reflections of the family’s attempt to board the ship without being apprehended” from The Great Migration Vol 1 page 464. Thomas’s father Peter, a Puritan minister  had issues with the Church of England and Archbishop Laud, one of many, who left for New England. The Bulkeleys settled in Concord, Massachusetts and were part of a solid Puritan community.

In 1637 there were breaks in the Puritan community, Anne Hutchinson was part of it. Rev. Peter Bulkeley called her the devil. The breakdown was the Antinomian Controversy.  At an Ecclesiastical Council Reverend Bulkeley,  Reverend John Jones, John Cotton and others agreed to carry on and compromise.

In 1640 Thomas married Sarah Jones, the daughter of the Reverend John Jones. Rev. Buckeley and Rev. Jones were friends, the families were happy with the marriage.

In 1644 Reverend John Jones had to leave Concord he couldn’t abide by the religious beliefs. He left for Fairfield, Connecticut, many families left with Reverend Jones. Reverend Bulkeley in Concord was left with about 30 followers. Thomas and Sarah had to choose a side, his dad’s or her dad’s they chose her dad Reverend Jones’s side and moved to Fairfield.

Antinomian Controversy was huge in early America. My very basic understanding with no offense or expertise intended, it was the Covenant of Works -do this and you are saved- VS the Covenant of Grace -Christ did this so all are saved-. The whole story is at Wikipedia with 139 source citations.

Thomas Bulkeley (1617 – 1658)
Sarah Bulkeley (1640 – 1723)
Rebecca Brown (1684 – 1768)
Mary English (1715 – 1791)
John Connable (1749 – 1813)
Obed Gaines (1793 – 1877)
William Newcomb Gaines (1825 – 1907)
Mary Ella Gaines (1855 – 1917)
William Earl Miller (1879 – 1949)
Faber W Miller (1905 – 1957)