William Elben from Maryland to Ohio, 1776

Whose family migrated to Ohio, Illinois, Idaho, Washington,
and California

Second Generation

This page was updated by Mara French on 8/17/13. An asterisk (*) shows continuation of that line. Send any corrections or additions to this chart to marafrench@mindspring.com. Revisions: 2012, 2013.

Contents

Elben Home Page

William Elben of Ohio Home Page

Elben DNA Test Results

Maps of Maryland and Delaware

Early Elben Family in Maryland

Outline of Most Elben Families

Outline of William Elben

Bibliography

GENEALOGY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Also see the Sturtevant family at http://www.frenchfamilyassoc.com/ELBEN/Sturtevant.htm. As we find substantial data that shows this family connects with this Elben line, we will combine them; as for now, the DNA matches exactly, but the name was changed due to adoption.

Second Generation

Children of Matthew Elbourn and Anne Row, 1.5

2.1* William Elbourn, b. 27 Mar 1757 to Matthew Elbourn and Anne Row in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, after the marriage of Matthew’s parents on 23 Feb 1756 in Baldock. It is fairly evident that this William and Matthew are the 2 enlistees together in the Revolutionary War.

Marriage

William m. Sarah Fitzjohn on 31 Dec 1775 in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, at age 18.

This document tells us quite a lot.

1. The name Elbourn was also spelled Elborn in England.

2. This was the first marriage for both of them, as bachelor and spinster are indicated.

3. Neither one of them could write, nor perhaps read. That is the reason the name Elborn was spelled every which way.

4. It was signed in the presence of William Thurgood who was married to “a” Sarah Elborn, who was not born an Elborn, as she was a widow when she married for the second time to William Thurgood. He was b. 19 Mar 1718 in Baldock to Thomas and Mary Thorogood, similar in age to Matthew Elbourn who was born 30 Sep 1716 in Baldock. The relationship between Matthew and Sarah Elborn is unknown. We need to find out who was the husband of the Sarah Elbourn listed as a widow in the 1790 census of Kent Co., MD. The ages of her children would indicate that she was born before 1760; therefore the Sarah born in 1757 would match.

5. William and Sarah Elbourn may have named their children William and/or Sarah or Ann after William’s and Sarah’s mothers, or George after Sarah’s father. These children would have been born in 1776-1778. I checked children born between 1772-1782 and bound 13. Of these, the only one who fits is Ann, b. 11 Aug 1776 to William and Sarah of Baldock; in fact she was born 9 months after their marriage occurred and in the same village.

Fitzjohn Family

Sarah Fitzjohn was b. 9 May 1757 to George and Ann Fitzjohn and christened on 23 Jul 1758 in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. George was probably born before 1722 as their first child was born in 1741. This coincides with Matthew’s birthdate of 1716.

The fact that William married Sarah Fitzjohn on 31 Dec 1775 definitely fits in well, as William probably died during the Rev. War, leaving Sarah as a widow in the 1790 census of Kent Co., MD. Sarah Fitzjohn was born on 9 May 1757 to George and Anne Fitzjohn in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. She was baptized on 23 Jul 1758 in Baldock. This fits precisely. Just knowing that both William’s and Sarah’s mothers were both named Anne, could indicate that they named a daughter Ann, and perhaps their sons would be William or George.

No burial record for either William or Sarah Elbourn exists in Baldock indicating that they could have immigrated to Maryland, but we still need more proof.

The Fitzjohn family of Baldock was quite large:

Elizabeth born 31 Aug 1740, dau. of William and Elizabeth

Anne born 18 Sep 1741, dau. of George and Anne
Mary born 14 Aug 1743, dau. of George and Anne
George born 7 Mar 1745, dau. of George and Anne
George born 18 Sep 1747, son of George and Anne, George died either on 25 Mar 1778 or 18 Feb 1799 both records in Baldock.
Thomas born 27 Oct 1750, son of George and Anne
William born 23 Mar 1755, son of George and Anne
Sarah born 9 May 1757, dau. of George and Anne
Anne born 20 Apr 1760, dau. of George and Anne

John born 3 Jan 1743, son of George and Elizabeth
Edward born 31 Dec 1746, son of George and Elizabeth
John born 29 Oct 1749, son of George and Elizabeth

No more children were born to William Elbourn and Sarah Fitzjohn between 1777 and 1780 in England, therefore he could have immigrated ca. 1777 to Maryland had had son William and another dau. before 1780 at which time he enlisted in the Rev. War in Maryland. William probably died by 1783, and in the 1790 census of Kent Co., MD, Sarah was age 33, a widow, living with a male under 16 years of age or born after 1774 and before 1783, who could definitely have been William, b. ca. 1779, who moved to Ohio in 1804. The 3 females would have been Sarah Fitzjohn, dau. Ann, and another unknown daughter. If we could find these birthdates in Maryland, it would synch this family. Matthew enlisted in the Rev. War in Mary on 4 May 1779.

Revolutionary War

William was in the Revolutionary War in Kent Co., MD, enlisted on 16 May 1781 for three years, not heard of on 1 Jan 1782, sick in Williamsburg, March 1782 muster. He had married Sarah and left her and 3 small children. For details, see Early Elbon Families or Details about William Elben.

1790 Census

Sarah Elbon, widow of William Elben, appears in the 1790 census of Kent Co., MD, page 81, Image 2, Middle District, Langford Bay, Kent Co., MD.

0 males 16 years and upwards
1 male under 16 years born after 1774, probably William
3 females, including Sarah, head of household, no ages given
No slaves

The AGBI (American Genealogical Biographical Index) determined that she was born in Maryland in 1750. Another thought would be that the “Elborn” shown below could have been “Elbon” where the “n” had 2 humps as in cursive writing.

Perhaps a clue to who she was could be found in names of neighbors, which include: Jane Kaley, John Davis, Elizabeth Graves, John Tittle, Cafty Cronnaday, Mary Greene, Lazarus Tittle. Elizabeth Graves was b. 5 Mar 1746 at St. Paul’s Parish, Kent Co., MD, where many births took place, including the birth of Mary Green on 28 Apr 1725. John Tittle was b. 1748 in Queen Anne’s Co., MD, and d. 6 Aug 1792. See details about St. Paul’s Church.

Various head of households in the 1790 census of Kent Co., MD, are widows, perhaps from men dying in the Revolutionary War. See Kent County History

Data to be Researched

Sarah unk, b. 1755 (date shown on her death record in Baldock). For her first marriage, she must have married a man named Elborn, as she was a widow when marrying for the second time with the name Elborn. Surnames of women named Sarah and born in Baldock between 1754-1756 are Blazeley (m. Isaac Anderson), Bunton (m. Thomas Woodhouse), Clarke, Davy (m. Benjamin Smith or William Flanders), Dilley (m. Nathaniel Bennett), Draper, Fox, Huitson, Lee (m. John Hunt or William Fitzjohn), Molds, North (m. George Hemmings), and Spicer.

She remained in Baldock and shows intent on marrying William Thurgood on 1 Nov 1789 in Baldock. Just 4 months later, the marriage was recorded on 22 Mar 1790 in the same parish in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, at age 35. This document states that Sarah Elborn was a widow. She could not write, but William could. Her first marriage to Elborn occurred between 1770-1790, which also means that he must have died between 1770-1790. A burial exists for William Elborn on 12 Dec 1788 in Baldock, which states he was a labourer and does not give the name of his wife or father.

This also brings up the fact that Sarah was not born an Elborn, as this was her second marriage. So far there is a total of 93 records of “a” Sarah marrying between 1770 and 1790 in Baldock. Looking for a Groom with the surname Elborn, there is only the marriage of Sarah Fitzjohn to William Elborn on 31 Dec 1775. This would indicate that William Elborn died before 1790 so that Sarah Elborn could have married William Thurgood. And yes, there was a William Elborn in Baldock who died on 12 Dec 1788. So, perhaps between his marriage and death (1775-1788), they may have had children. The only birth that shows is Ann Elborn on 11 Aug 1776, whose parents were William and Sarah of Baldock.

Sarah Thurgood d. 5 Jun 1838 at age 83 in Baldock, and was buried at St. Mary the Virgin. Several men named William Thurgood have death records in Baldock, but the most logical one is on 3 Dec 1817 showing he was age 73 and born in 1744 in Baldock.

The baptisms listed for possible children of this pair between 1790-1800 are nonexistent in Baldock. Nine births for Thurgood were recorded, but with different parents other than William and Sarah. One explanation could be that William Thurgood might have died, as there is a record of a William Thurgood dying on 30 Nov 1792 in Baldock, the son of Goodwyn Thurgood and Martha. Also, a Sarah Thurgood shows a burial record on 12 Aug 1792 in nearby Furneux Pelham. The surname Thurgood is abundant in Furneaux Pelham, but the surname Elborn does not appear at all.

2.x Reuben Elbourn, b. 1763. It would seem logical that Reuben was born here, but there is absolutely no evidence so far, except that he and “a” William Elbourn were in the Revolutionary War together.