William BELDEN

Other Events and Attributes:

• Also Known As: William Beldon

Notes:

Excerpt from "Connecticut Puritan Settlers": tradition says, that two brothers by the name of Belden, were among the first settlers of the colony of Conencticut, and that they made their first location at Wethersfield, but that one of them, (William), after a while, on the settlement of Norwalk, removed thither. As early as Feb. 7, 1641, and among the earliest grants, Richard had eight distnect tracts of land allotted to him by the town, and little or no mention is made of William, save that he had three sons, Samuel, Daniel and John, born by his first wife, Tomisin; yet Williams death is found in Wethersfield, about 1660, and Samuel and John are found at Norwalk, about 1673.

Source: Belden/Baildon by Stephen M. Lawson: William Belden, of Wethersfield, died in 1655. His will dated 27 March 1655, may be found in Hartford County Probate records, in the Particular Court for the years 1650-1663, Volume II, pages 69-70. No land records have been discovered for him although he is mentioned in several records.
Descendants believe William to be the first son of the emigrant Richard, and that he was born about 1622.
In the "Parish Registers of Heptonstall", by Edith Horsfall (Yorkshire Register Society 1925) as cited by Donald E. Poste, there is a William baptized 23 April 1609, shown as a son of Lawrance Beldon of Ayringden.
In this same Register, a Richard Beldon is mentioned although his birth is not shown. William and Richard have been shown as brothers, father and son, and also as cousins. A research agency in 1935, wrote that they were distant cousins, that William Belden came to America in 1646 and established a home in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he married Thomasine Allen (?). The researcher (name and address now lost), as well as others, made the statement that all Beldens were descended from the large family of the name lving in York County, England.
Most writers have seemed inclined to accept as fact that Richard Belden was the son of Sir Francis Bayldon. Particularly in view of the English history of a Yorkshire manor and family, "Baildon and the Baildons, by Wm. Paley Baildon, ed. by Francis J. Baildon", we used the same assumption in our "Family Hustory of Judge Ellsworth B. Belden (1969).
If Richard Belden was the son of Sir Francis Baildon (Bayldon), then William Belden, of Wethersfield, was not his brother. As Richard was the only one named in Wethersfield records as having a house or land, we have placed William as Richard's first son......

"Belden Ancestry in England" by Stephen M. Lawson states that the parentage of Richard Belden (d. Aug. 1655, Wethersfield, Hartford Co, CT) has not been absolutely proved. The most probable BELDEN ancestry is presented here, summaried from a two part article "the English Ancestry of Richard Belden of Wethersfield, Connecticut, With the Probable Ancestry of William Belden of Wethersfield," by Paul C. REED in "The American Genealogist (76:1-2, Jan and Apr 2001). Refer to the "Appendix on the Belden English Ancestry". Which states the following: The parentage of Richard Belden (d. Aug. 1655, Wethersfield, Hartford Co., CT) has not been absolutely proved. the 'traditional' viewpoint is that he was the son of Sir Francis BAILDON and Margaret GOODRICK who was baptized May 26, 1591 at Kippax, Yorkshire, England. However, there is no documentary evidence identifying Richard BELDEN of Wethersfield as the Richard BAILDON baptized at Kippax. Researcher Paul C. Reed has written a two-part article published in "The American Genealogist" in January and April 2001 in which he concludes, "Richard Baildon, the son of Sir Francis Baildon, died in England. He was not the New England immigrant," and that "The best deduction that can be made is that Richard Belden, born about 1598-1599, was the eldest son of Lawrence Beldon, bnaptized shortly before the commencement of the Heptonstall registry."

Note: For the above reasons, I am putting William Belden as the son of Lawrence Beldon.

William married Thomasine (Tamsen) SHERWOOD in 1646 in Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Conn. Thomasine (daughter of Thomas SHERWOOD and Alice SEABROOK) was born on 24 Oct 1615 in Bocking, England; died on 04 Jan 1684 in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[Slosson 11-20-00 Greene.FTW]

No actual marriage records seem to exist, although there is no questions that
her given name was Susanna, there has never previiously been an effort to
establish her maiden name as Belding. With direct proof lacking, this
conclusion has beeen reached by certain other corroborating data, which is
explained more fully under the note for her son, Nathaniel. It would appear from
the evidence available that she came to Bedford as a married woman, and that she
was a widow at the time of her marriage to Eleazer Slason. No record has been
found covering any previous marriage, and the compiler, although morally
convinced the statement is correct, does not submit it as a fact. William and
Thomasine Belding were among the early and prominent settlers of Deerfield, MA,
although the town was not settled until after Susanna Belding was born. There
is also no doubt that the Belding family of Deerfield and the Belden family of
Norwalk were one and the same family. The Deerfield records usually used the
Belding spelling, and these records make frequent references to the individuals
of the family who moved to Norwalk. The Norwalk records rarely spell the name
other than Belden, although the Belding spelling is known. Whenever the name
enters the records of Stamford there seems to be an unsettled quality to the
matter, and both spellings are used on occaision, apparently indiscriminately.
The Deerfield records show Susanna's birth date and connection to the family,
and trace the relationships mentioned in the note for son, Nathaniel.

Susanna married Eleazer SLAWSON in 1680 in Bedford, Westchester, New York. Eleazer (son of George SLAWSON and Mrs. George SLAWSON) was born on 09 Feb 1643 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died in May 1698 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Also Known As: Daniel Belding
• Residence: Daniel Belden

Notes:

When Daniel and Elizabeth and Esther, went to Canada, whence he came back in 1698.

Daniel married Elizabeth FOOTE on 10 Nov 1670 in Hatfield, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Elizabeth (daughter of Nathaniel FOOTE, Jr. and Elizabeth SMITH) was born in 1654 in Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA; died on 16 Sep 1696 in Deerfield, Franklin Co., Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Daniel married Hepzibah BUELL on 17 Feb 1699. Hepzibah (daughter of William BUELL and Mary POST) was born on 11 Dec 1649 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, USA; died on 29 Feb 1704 in On Way to Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Daniel married Sarah HAWKES after Mar 1704. Sarah was born about 1656; died on 17 Dec 1751. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military Service: 12 Dec 1676; Served in King Philip's War, for which he received a grant of land at Norwalk, Connecticut.

Family/Spouse: Ruth ?. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Marie married David DEMING on 16 Aug 1678 in Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. David (son of John DEMING and Honour TREAT) was born in abt. 1652 in Wethersfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut; died on 04 Mar 1725 in Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]