THE
STOCKTON FAMILY
“Omnia
Deo Pendent” All Depends On God
I would like to take
this time to thank everyone who took the time in helping me collect
these records on The Stockton Family of Roanoke, Virginia,
Kernersville, North Carolina and Princeton, New Jersey.
I have used parts of the collection of records from the Book
“The Stockton Family of New Jersey and Other Stocktons” by
Thomas Coates Stockton, M.D. of San Diego, California, research
records of Archibald Dicks Stockton(9) of Roanoke, Virginia, web site
research from Princeton University, web site research of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, other collections of records from
various family members of the Stockton Family of Virginia and North
Carolina, and my own research. A
good part of this document came from the Book “The Stockton
Family of New Jersey and Other Stocktons” which was copyrighted and
printed in Washington, D.C. by the Carnahan Press in the year 1911
by Mrs. Thomas Coates Stockton in honor of her late husband who past
away prior to its publication. As of this printing, July 4, 2005,
the Book and the following records of information are in the
possession of Russell Patrick Stockton(10), 2187 Carlyle Drive,
Marietta, Georgia 30062.
My e-mail
address is
r.stockton@att.net
After
talking with Stephen F. Stockton on several occasions and knowing the
time and money he has spent researching The Stockton Family Tree, I
hope he does not mine if I share his research article below with the
Stockton families of Kernersville, North Carolina and Roanoke,
Virginia.
Use of DNA Results in Conjunction with Existing Genealogical Research
Copyright, Stephen F. Stockton, Bloomington, Illinois USA; July
1, 2004
Stockton. The Stockton surname derives
from England, but is now also found in several former British
colonies. There are telephone listings for over 7000 Stockton
households in the United States, and the surname is well represented
in Canada and Australia.
The
meaning of the name is probably connected with some settlement in a
wooded area; that is, the first "Stocktons" probably resided
in some type of log structure, or stockade. In old English, "stoc"
means the cut trunks of a tree, and "tun" means a structure
or settlement. In a play on this meaning, one of the family coats of
arms is decorated with three tree stumps.
The name
was recorded in the 11th -century Domesday Book as the manor of "Stochetone"
in Shropshire, and an Adam de Stocton (roughly translated as
"Adam of the cut tree settlement") was mentioned in an 1196
document. There are several small settlements called Stockton in
England, but the name was historically concentrated in three areas of
England: (1) southern Cheshire and northern Shropshire, (2) Yorkshire
and the former Cleveland area, and (3) Essex, Middlesex, and London.
There are records showing that many of the London-area Stocktons came
to that place in the late middle ages, when many rural residents came
to the City to learn a trade.
DNA
studies may allow us to map some of the early branches of the family.
For example, we now know that a branch from the Cheshire-Shropshire
area has genes normally associated with a Norman origin. The ancestors
of this line may have accompanied William the Conqueror when he
defeated King Harold at Hastings in 1066, and could have been rewarded
with one of the most valuable spoils of war - land. Of course, at that
time, they probably did not have the surname "de Stocton",
and may have had no surname at all.
Three main
branches of the Stockton family have been identified in the United
States: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. There are others as
well, as evidenced by the results of the Stockton DNA Project.
There have
been some efforts to link the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
branches. One hypothesis was that the Pennsylvania and Virginia
branches were descendents of unrecorded children of Richard Stockton,
the immigrant who established the New Jersey branch in the middle
1600's. This theory seemed unlikely and is not supported by the recent
DNA evidence.
However,
DNA is supportive of another anecdotal story: that the founder of the
Pennsylvania branch, Robert Stockton, and the founder of the Virginia
branch, Davis Stockton, were brothers. Our DNA results cannot prove
that they were brothers, but does show that they had a common male
ancestor, which is consistent with the possibility of that sibling
relationship.
New Jersey Branch of the Stockton Family, Richard Stockton, the
founder of the New Jersey Stocktons, was first recorded in America at
Visslingen, near the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, in November, 1656.
He is recorded in a number of records there after that date, and he
was one of about two dozen signatories to the Flushing Remonstrance,
which was an early demand for freedom of religion in America. Just as
New Amsterdam became New York, Visslingen was renamed Flushing when
the British assumed control of the area in 1664. Richard Stockton's
village is today part of the New York City borough of Queens, and home
to the New York Mets baseball team.
It has
been variously claimed that Flushing's Richard ("the
Emigrant") Stockton was from all three of the main English
Stockton areas: London, Yorkshire-Durham, and Cheshire-Shropshire.
Colonial
Families of the United States of America, George N. MacKenzie, editor
(New York, 1907), states that Richard was descended from Randall
Stockton of London, who was himself from Cheshire. New Jersey
Biographical and Genealogical Notes from the Volumes of the New Jersey
Archives (New Jersey Historical Society, Trenton, 1916) says that
Richard descended from an English family at Stockton on the River Tees
in Durham. These sources are without citation.
Another
source, A History of the Stockton Family, by J.W. Stockton (Patterson
& White, Philadelphia, 1881), said that Richard "was the son
of John Stockton, of the parish of Malpas, in Cheshire, England, and
was born in the year 1606". The book goes on to claim that the
father, John, was of the Stockton family that resided at Kiddington,
in Malpas parish. This belief was then followed in T.C. Stockton's
book, The Stockton Family of New Jersey and Other Stocktons (Carnahan
Press, Washington DC, 1911).
The parish
church of the village of Malpas, Cheshire is St. Oswald's. It is
located on Church Street, about 150 yards west of the town center, or
"cross". In the attractive church building, which dates to
the 14th century, there are several reminders of the Stockton family
of the late 16th and early 17th century. One plaque records Owen
Stockton of Kiddington in Malpas, and his eldest son, John, who died
in 1610 and 1643 respectively. There are carvings in two very old
wooden church pews: "John Stockton 1626". There is also a
plaque to the memory of another John Stockton of Kiddington, who
passed in 1700.
The Stocktons
of Kiddington (today called Cuddington, an area just west of Malpas),
were landowners, wealthy for their time. They owned considerable land
in southern Cheshire and some in northern Shropshire, although they
were not titled. Records from the Church and at the College of Arms in
London document several generations of that family! Owen
(?-1610) was the father of John (1576-1643), whose eldest son was
Thomas (1609-1674), whose eldest son was John (about 1644-1700). That
latter John died childless, but he did have two brothers who carried
on the line away from Malpas.
Unfortunately,
the ancestry given Richard "the Emigrant" Stockton by J.W.
Stockton's The History of the Stockton Family is not accurate. The
parish records do record the birth of a Richard Stockton on 26 June
1606, but the father is shown as John Stockton of the Higher Wych in
Wigland in Malpas, which is an area just south of village of Malpas,
but very distinct from Kiddington in Malpas. In fact, none of the
official records of the Kiddington Stocktons mentions the birth of a
Richard to any of the males of that family.
Adding doubt
to the book's claim, we know that Richard "the Emigrant"
Stockton died in New Jersey in 1707. He was also fathering children as
late as 1680. It is therefore unlikely that he was born as early as
1606. It is more probable that he was born sometime in the period
1628-1632.
Ironically,
the John Stockton misidentified in the book as Richard's father was
probably related to Richard. Richard "the Emigrant" Stockton
was from the Stockton family of the Higher Wych in Wigland in Malpas
parish, and the misidentified father was probably his uncle or cousin.
There is
documentary evidence showing that Flushing's Richard "the
Emigrant" Stockton was a descendent of the Stocktons of the
Higher Wych in Wigland in Malpas, Cheshire. The evidence of this is
credible, but indirect and complex, and will be the subject of a
future article. However, no exact birth date or place for Richard has
yet been found.
The lineage of
the New Jersey Stocktons is well documented and identified with the
growth of the United States. Richard "the Emigrant"
Stockton's son, Richard "the Builder" Stockton, purchased
thousands of acres of land around Princeton, New Jersey from William
Penn and built the first Stockton home there. His son, John Stockton,
was a co-founder of Princeton University, and constructed the second
Stockton home, Morven (which later served as the governor's mansion,
and is today a state museum). John's son, Richard "the
Signer" Stockton, was a lawyer, a member of the Continental
Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Richard's
son, Richard "the Duke" Stockton was a lawyer and United
States Senator. Richard's son, Robert "the Commodore", was a
naval officer who led the forces that captured California and annexed
it into the United States - he was also the first governor of
California and a United States Senator. Robert's son, John Potter
Stockton, was attorney-general of New Jersey and also a United States
Senator. Further generations produced ambassadors, lawyers, military
officers, and corporate executives, as well as the author of this
article - a more ordinary person.
Four Branches of
Stocktons in Cheshire-Shropshire! We have already identified at least
two branches of the Stockton family from around Malpas, although the
Higher Wych in Wigland and the Kiddington in Wigland branches may
share a common ancestry prior to about 1500. There are records of
"de Stoctons" at Malpas as early as 1303, but the main
wealth of that line was passed into the Eaton family (and eventually
the Grosvenor family) with the marriage of Isabella de Stocton to
Robert de Eaton in 1334. Ormerod's
History of the
City and County Palatine of Chester says that a junior line to that
early family survived at Tushingham, which is adjacent to the Higher
Wych in Wigland, and could account for the Stocktons at the latter
place in the 1500's.
Like much of
Cheshire, the Kiddington Stocktons supported Charles I during the
English Civil War, and much of the family's property was lost to the
"sequestration" process after the King's beheading in 1649.
After the death of John Stockton in 1700, no survivors of that branch
remained in Malpas, although two of John's brothers had removed to
Ireland.
There was also
a branch of Stocktons around Whitchurch, in northern Shropshire.
Whitchurch is only about six miles from the village of Malpas, and
only four miles from the Higher Wych in Wigland. This branch is
discussed in an excellent article by Douglas Richardson in the New
England Historical & Genealogical Society Register (April, 1993).
There were a number of Stocktons farming in northern Shropshire during
the 16th-17th centuries, and both the Kiddington and Higher Wych in
Wigland branches had connections to Whitchurch.
Finally, there
is a branch of the Stockton family centered around Bunbury, which is
more north and east of Malpas in Cheshire.
In addition to
Richard "the Emigrant" Stockton's move to America sometime
prior to 1656, there is evidence of members of the Kiddington and
Whitchurch branches moving to Warwickshire, Norfolk, London, and
Surrey, as well as Ireland as mentioned above. Some members of the
Bunbury branch are in Canada.
London Stocktons!
This category includes Stocktons from the home counties in southeast
England. Following a common pattern, many of the London Stocktons were
born in other areas and removed to London to engage in the trades.
There were hundreds of Stocktons in the City during the 17th century,
and there are records of some who again removed away from London in
later years.
There were
Stocktons in Essex in the 15th century. One, Sir John Stockton, was a
mercer who became Lord Mayor of London in 1470. According to the
College of Arms, he was survived by a son, but allegedly that branch
then died out. However, the coat of arms registered to Sir John
Stockton was later used both by Stocktons in Malpas and the New Jersey
Stocktons. It is not known if there is a connection between the Essex
Stocktons and these other branches, or if the arms were being used
without authority.
Yorkshire Stocktons! Research documents a separate, major branch of
Stocktons in Yorkshire, Durham and the former Cleveland area during
the period 1560-1700, and presumably beyond. Some concentrations of
Stocktons were at Great Edstone, Ingleby Arncliffe, Kirby Misperton,
New Malton, Pickering Thorntondale, and Stokesley.
These
Stocktons are more likely to have had Viking or Anglo-Saxon
connections than the Stocktons in Cheshire-Shropshire, although this
can only be proven by conducting a DNA test on known descendents of
Yorkshire Stocktons.
Of course,
the largest place named Stockton in England, Stockton-on-Tees, is in
this same area, and was an early manor that could have lent its name
to the family. Just outside of the city of York, there is a small
settlement called Stockton-on-the-Forest.
Pennsylvania and Virginia Stocktons! With recent DNA findings
consistent with the anecdotal family tradition that Robert Stockton of
Pennsylvania and Davis Stockton of Virginia were brothers, more
credibility could be given to the further tradition that they were
"from the north of Ireland".
Obviously,
Stockton is not a common Irish name, and there are very few recorded
instances of Stocktons in Ireland. Unfortunately, because a 1922 fire
destroyed many Irish records, it is very difficult to trace the family
there.
As stated
above, among the few documented Stocktons in Ireland were Thomas
Stockton, his two sons, and his brother, John. All were descendents of
the Kiddington Stocktons of Malpas, Cheshire, and Thomas and his sons
were in Dublin in the period from about 1650-1674. They also had
connections with County Wicklow and County Louth.
Census
records indicate that there was a second John Stockton in County Clare
about the same time, but little is known of him at this time.
Dublin and
the three counties mentioned above are all in the central and southern
regions of Ireland, and not in Northern Ireland, so there is no
obvious connection to the "north of Ireland" tradition.
Although
there is no record of their arrival, Robert and Davis Stockton both
appeared in America in the 1730's. Robert settled in Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, and Davis was an early settler near Charlottesville,
Virginia. One of Robert's descendents was a governor of Maryland. The
descendents of Davis moved westward from Virginia, especially into
Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas. The Virginia Stocktons are
probably the largest group of Stocktons in the USA.
Stockton DNA! Stockton DNA research to date has proven its value. Long
after memories fade, ancestors pass, and paper records are lost or
destroyed, we all carry markers of our genealogical origins in every
cell of our bodies. The evidence carried is limited and must be
carefully interpreted, usually in conjunction with more ordinary
genealogical research. The Stockton DNA Project focuses on male DNA
because the family surname follows the male line.
Already,
the DNA evidence has illustrated that a link between the New Jersey
Stocktons and the Pennsylvania/Virginia Stocktons is unlikely - it is
fairly certain that Robert Stockton and Davis Stockton are not lost
sons of Richard "the Emigrant" Stockton. This also would
seem to rule out an earlier link between the branches.
The DNA
results have also confirmed previous genealogical research that
establishes a link from the New Jersey Stocktons back to the Malpas,
Cheshire area. DNA from several New Jersey Stocktons is a close match
with the DNA of at least one English resident descended from a
Stockton who resided in Wales, just west of Malpas.
Further
testing could establish more DNA groupings of Stocktons, in England
and other places. Once more groupings are established, further
linkages are likely to emerge. For example, it is possible that a
match to the Pennsylvania/Virginia Stocktons might be found. We know
that the DNA of the Pennsylvania/Virginia branch is not similar to the
New Jersey branch, and therefore is probably not similar to the Higher
Wych in Wigland branch, from which New Jersey branch descended.
However, as stated above, the Higher Wych in Wigland branch is not
necessarily related to the Kiddington branch, and it is still possible
that the Pennsylvania/Virginia branch is related to the Kiddington
branch. The Yorkshire branch is another possible match.
DNA is not
the sole answer for genealogical research, but it provides yet another
tool to be used in conjunction with standard research methods. We hope
to further investigate the Stockton family genealogy by encouraging
participation in both the DNA testing program and by obtaining known
lineage's from family members.
(This article
is provided under a revokable license and is published without
modification and with full attribution. No other use or reproduction
is authorized).
INTRODUCTION
The name Stockton is
derived from a place called Stockton. Lower’s Patronymic
Britannica mentions eight towns, in eight different localities,
all so called, so that the name may have originated in several
different places. Mr. J.W.
Stockton, in his History of the Stockton Family, says; “The
Stocktons are of English extraction. The family, which in point of
descent ranks with the most ancient in England, is styled
de
Stoctun in ancient Latin deeds.
The family name is derived from two Saxon words, Stoc and Tun. The meaning
of the word Stoc is “the stem or stock of a tree,” “a place,”
and Tun is a word signifying enclosure.
When the Roman institutions had been swept away, there
succeeded the feudal organization.
Tenures of land were then completely free.
Every considerable personage established himself in his domain
with his family and retainers, and built himself a dwelling.
Evidently our ancestors who first settled at Stockton enclosed
what was then all or in part a forest.
This elucidates at once the naming of Stockton Manor, from
which we our honored patronymic.
When we think of the signification of the two Saxon words Stoc and Tun, we see at once how appropriately this forest was
named Stockton, and our ancestors de Stockton.
“Surnames of
families were originally a kind of titles.
Those which arose in feudal times generally indicated a
territorial standing. They
began to be adopted in England during the reign of Edward the
Confessor, but did not become general until the reign of Edward the
Second, in the early part of the fourteenth century for previously the
custom obtained, as among the Hebrews and Greeks, of calling a man the
son of someone: as John, son of Richard (Richardson).”
“In a pedigree of
the Stockton family, in a history in the British Museum, we find that
the name was written de Stoctun in primitive days, we find that
the name was written Stockton.
This is the only change the name has undergone during a period
of at least eight hundred years, and this change is merely that caused
by the English spelling of the original Saxon words.”
“Long before
Richard Stockton came to America, the Latin prefix “de” which the
ancient distinction of the English nobility and which rightfully
belonged to our long-descended family, had been modestly dropped.”
It will be seen that
those who bear the name may not necessarily be of the same ancestry,
because it may be that each family in the different localities called
Stockton assumed the name, and there were others not of our ancestry
who have names nearly the same as Stockton, who have changed their
names to Stockton. On the other hand, there are those of our ancestry who, in
effect, have changed their name from Stockton by spelling it
Stoughton; as, for instance, can be seen by an examination of the
pedigree of Colonial Governor Stoughton, of Massachusetts, the donor
of Stoughton Hall at Harvard University, who was a descendant of
Godwin de Stoctun.
Name-substitution
has become so general in this country that it is quite unsafe to infer
the racial stock of American Families by their family names.
In New England the Springfield Republican, in 1905,
showed conclusively how many Irish settlers of New England had
formally chosen New England names, and the Russian Jews are following
hard after. There are
also the former slaves, who have assumed the family names of their
masters, including the slaves freed by the Stockton family in New
Jersey long previous to the Civil War, and whose descendants are now
practically white. Back
of such actions, also, one finds a good business reason, such as an
anxiety to escape from ridicule based on the old names.
In the early 1900’s, the New York courts had given notice of
person’s right to change his name without applying to a Judge, and
on each occasion there has been public surprise.
The New York State Court of Appeals, in an insurance case,
affirmed the right. Even
in scriptural times names were changed, as when Saul became Paul or
Jacob became Israel. Love of ancestry is potent influence against such a course,
but is merely a custom in these days that give a man the name of his
father.
Middle names were
once illegal and, as late as 1600, it is said there were only four
persons in all England who had two given names.
In 1620 the Mayflower sailed for America, and there was
neither a man nor a woman on board who had a middle name. If the names
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence be examined, it will
be found that only three of them had middle names.
Names that are derived from the original Saxon nouns that have
their origin in the common objects of nature and human life, are
general very ancient. Lincoln, for instance comes from the Saxon words
Link and Horn. The word
Link means “light.” In primitive times a horn was scraped until
part of its surface became transparent. With a light in it, it was
called a “linkhorn” (Lincoln).
The Runnels, Brooks and Fishes show how names were early given
by observation. Napoleon thought his name came from the Greek “Kalomeros,”
with the same meaning of “good part General Baden-Powell explained
in a Latin verse, after Mafeking, that his name meant “Ap-Joel”.
Along our northern border French Canadian names are spelled by
sound, with queer results, like “Forbare” for Faubert and
“Lavake” for l’Eveque. Traced to their source names are often of strange origin.
Mr. J.W. Stockton,
in his History of the Stockton Family, says, in regard to the
family coat of Arms: “According to the opinions of Camden and other
high authorities, hereditary arms of families were first introduced at
the beginning of the twelfth century.
When numerous armies, consisting of the troops of many
different nations, were engaged in expeditions to the Holy Land, they
were obliged to adopt some ensign or mark, in order to marshal the
vassals under the banner of their lord. The regulation of symbolic bearings, whereby they should be
distinguished, was entrusted to the Heralds, who made use of living
creatures, trees, etc., as symbolical signs to distinguish them in
war. In many cases these
signs allude to the name of the bearer and as early as the year twelve
hundred will find the Stockton arms which very evidently were granted
in allusion to the family name. The
arms are described in heraldic terms thus:
Vert
- three stock of trees raguly and erased, argent.
Crest - a lion rampant is supporting an Ionic pillar, proper.
The heraldic terms used here may be correctly defined, thus:
Shield
- green. Vert - Three stocks of trees shorn of their branches, silver.
Crest - lion
of natural colors. These were the arms originally granted to the
family; they were last borne by William, son of Owen Stockton, and are
registered to him at the Herald’s College.
 “A
second coat of arms was granted to the Stockton’s and this is the
same coat of arms we inherit and which has been borne by our Virginia
branch of the family during many centuries of its history in England
and America. These Arms
may be seen in the frontispiece and are described this:
The
gules
is a chevron vaire, agent and azure, between three mullets!
Translated, this would read: Shield red, a chevron vaire,
silver and blue, between three mullets, gold.”
The
chevron is an honorable ordinary, a term used to denote the
simple forms which were first used as a heraldic distinction, and
therefore called honorable ordinaries as conferring more honor than
later inventions, the military chieftains of different countries alone
being entitled to his mark of honor.
The chevron is described as a figure representing the gable of
a roof, and is a very ancient ordinary.”
“The
vaire is a kind of fur, formerly used as a lining for the
garments of knights. It
is represented in engravings by figures of small bells ranged in
lines. Mullet comes from
the French word molette, the rowel of a spur.”
“The crest
is the highest part among the ornaments of a coat of
arms. Different crests
are often assumed by different members of the same family, but the
lion rampant, supporting the lonic pillar, is the only crest
registered to our family at the Herald’s College.”
“The motto of the
Stockton family is
“Omnia
Deo Pendent” All
Depends On God. The
motto was generally founded upon the piety, loyalty, valor, etc., of
the person to whom the arms were granted.
Every motto has a history and a moral. Although chapters have
been written on this one subject, nothing could be said of the motto
itself. It is not
comprised and included in these three words, and our ancestors whom
first adopted this motto must have known that it would be perpetuated
by his descendants. Had
he written volumes for posterity, he could not have said more than is
embraced in these words, which come down to us embalmed in a tongue
that never varies. At first when the feudal system prevailed, none but
military chieftains bore coats of arms and heraldic honors were
confined to the nobility. This
is not the case nowadays, and modern arms, or those granted after the
War of the Roses, are very much confused.
“It is a mark of
distinction as indicative of antiquity when armorial bearings are
without much ornamentation, as is the case with the arms of the
Stockton family.”
“Many volumes have
been written on heraldry, and it would be filling the pages of this
work to little purpose to enter upon an inquiry as to the exact
signification of an art that has existed for centuries, and it is
scarcely necessary to remark that these honorable distinctions were so
highly prized as to form the chief ornaments, not only of the
habiliments of all persons of rank, but of the halls, palaces, and
churches of England during the many centuries of her history.
It is a common thing to see people canting heraldry or using
coats of arms to which they have no right whatever; but when one comes
honestly by a coat of arms, which has been used by the family to which
it belongs for centuries, and when it is so invaluable as a means of
keeping the trace of a family, it is perfectly right to make use of
it; and a coat of arms is just as much man’s property as his purse.
At the time of the Crusades heraldry formed an eye language,
and it will readily be seen how necessary symbols were for the purpose
of discriminating individuals when men of many different nations,
speaking in various tongues, were gathered together under the
leadership of one chief”.
The coat of arms of
the Stockton Family of New Jersey was engraved on the silver that was
brought over from England, and was buried at Princeton at the time of
the Revolution, and is still in the possession of the family.
It is also engraved on the case of a gold watch, made in
London, that belonged to Richard Stockton(4) “The Signer,” and now
in the possession of the family, and there can be no doubt of
connection between the Princeton family and the family of Malpas; for
if not the Princeton family would never have had right to use the coat
of arms on the silver brought over from England, because these States
were then English colonies, and, if it can be conceived that a man of
the character of Richard Stockton would have done such a thing, the
penalty for using the arms would have been severe.
Some members of the Malpas family, as the records in the
British Museum show, had moved to London, as Richard Stockton did, to
America, and these arms were engraved on their tombstones in London,
and it conclusive evidence that that family was originally of Malpas,
as was the family of Richard Stockton which came to America.
There are times when
the quoting of ancient history is warranted, particularly to prove a
statement of such a character as is named in connection with the
Stockton Family. Even
with the history studied from tombstones in uncanny fragments, it is
not a dull recital, for it tells the story of an ambition acquire the
remotest past and continued for centuries.
One memorial in
London tells the fact that Right Honorable John Stockton was Lord
Mayor of London in 1470 and in 1471.
His bones lay in the old St. Pancras Churchyard, now on Queen
Street, Cheapside, in the city of London. It is now a deserted
graveyard. In those days
the Lord Mayor of London took rank after the King.
He was the son of Richard Stockton, who was knighted on the
field by King Edward IV.
Another memorial
recites that Sir Edward Stockton was vicar of the Church at Cookham,
Berkshire, and that he was a leader in one of the early expeditions to
the Holy Land.
A memorial to John
Stockton, of Kiddington, Chester, England, who died on June 13, 1643,
says that he was an “Esquire,” while that of Owen Stockton his
father, of Baherseam, Surry, England, who died December 2, 1610, tells
posterity that he was a “gentleman.”
The Stockton
ancestors were anciently lords of the Manor of Stockton, which they
held under the barony of Malpas. The Stockton Township is in the
Parish Malpas, Cheshire, England.
Registers of baptisms are from 1561 - 1948, marriages 1561 -
1987 and burials 1561 - 1905. It
includes the hamlet of Oldcastle Health and the St. Osward Church.
It was originally a forest, enclosed by the original Stocktons,
in feudal times; hence the name, consisting of two Saxon words:
Stoc,
a place and
Tun,
an enclosure. It is known
that David de Stockton inherited the Manor of Stockton from his father
in 1250. The “de” in the surname indicated their nobility and
prominence!
The town of Malpas,
which includes the Manor of Stockton, is from which we get our name,
possesses many features of historical interest.
It is situated in Cheshire County on an elevation approximately
twenty-six miles southeast of the ancient city of Chester, eight miles
northwest of Whitchurch, five miles west of the Wales border, and one
Hundred and sixty-eight miles northwest of London.
A Roman legion founded the city of Chester on the River Dee in
the first century A.D. It remained under Roman occupation until 410 AD when the
empire began its fall. Chester
reached its pinnacle as a bustling port in the 13th and 14th
centuries.
On my visit to
Malpas on October 15, 1999, I noticed on my approach that the town of
Malpas rises from the countryside and is seen from any direction. At the center of the rise you notice Saint Oswald’s Church
of Malpas. Both Malpas
and the Church have aged gracefully over the years.
Malpas dates to the medieval days and the streets of Malpas are
very narrow and in some place only one line of traffic.
Some of the homes and shops date back to the 14th
century. I would estimate
the population of Malpas to be around 5,000 people.
Saint Oswald’s
Church was part of the Church of England and was built in the second
half of the 14th century on the site of an earlier Church.
The earliest records of a Church on the site go back to 1285.
When you approach the church you feel the warmth of time and
family history.
Below left is the east side of the church and to right is the west:
Below is the south side of the church:
Above is the
inside of the church looking west, the roof which was recently
remodeled and looking east.
When the Church was
originally built, there were gabled roofs on the nave, each aisle and
the chancel. The line of
these gabled roofs can still be seen on the end walls, particularly
above the tower arch. The
pillars and the arches of the nave were much lower than at the present
time, the exact height of these pillars can be seen on the North side
of the chancel arch where the original stringer is still visible.
The Church was remodeled in the late 15th century to
bring the building in line with newer developments of architecture and
fashion, but primarily to provide large stained glass windows.
The 14th century Church must have been very dark so
the roofs were removed and the side walls taken down to about sill
level. The walls were
rebuilt with the present windows.
The nave arcade was raised to its present height and the
clerestory added. The
only windows left untouched are those in the East walls of both aisles
and the large West window of the tower.
The present glass is mainly of the 18th and the 19th
century, with the exception of two windows that consist of the 16th
and the 17th century Flemish roundels and panels. The heightening of the Church necessitated the redesigning of
the roof; therefore the splendid camber beam roofs of flat
construction were built. These
were extensively restored and gilded between 1957 and 1966.
The pews in the Church date back to the 1880’s.
They replaced the old box pews that were installed in 1680.
Six of these survived and are now placed at the back of the
South aisle. There are
two Chapels at the Eastern end of the North and South aisles
surrounded by early 16th century screen work.
Preserved within each of these Chapels are fine alabaster
monumental tombs
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