Joseph Walton was the son of Richard Walton and Abigail Walmsley of Byberry, Philadelphia County.1 Born in 1754, Joseph was a twin; his twin brother Benjamin died in infancy. Abigail had been married before, to Isaac Comly. When Comly died he left her with two children, Agnes and Isaac, who were much older than Joseph.2 Joseph, Agnes, Isaac, and Joseph’s younger sister Esther, all grew up in Byberry, where Richard owned a grist mill on Byberry Greek.3 When Richard died in 1776 he left the mill to Joseph and Esther’s husband Ephraim Howell. Isaac Comly, Joseph’s half-brother, was the executor.4
In 1780 Joseph married Deborah Lee.5 Deborah was born in 1754, the daughter of John Lee and Sarah Carr. Her parents both died while Deborah was still under age, and she was taken under the care of Wrightstown Meeting.6 When she and Joseph married, she was a member of Wrightstown Meeting, and he got a certificate from Abington Meeting for the marriage. They settled in Byberry and were members of Byberry Meeting, where the births of their children were recorded.7
In 1786 Joseph came down with smallpox. The son of his half-brother Isaac Comly wrote the story in a memoir. Joseph said, “early in 1786 Uncle Joseph Walton caught smallpox in town and as none of our family had it but mother [Asenath Hampton Comly], it was concluded she must go there to help nurse him, and that John and myself were to go and be inoculated and have it there, and we went.”8
They later moved to Buckingham.9 Joseph died in 3rd month 1821. He did not leave a will, and his estate was administered by two sons-in-law, Abner and Joel Worthington. They presented their account to the Orphan’s Court in March 1822, showing an inventory of $426 and a balance after debts were paid of $260. This is not a large amount for the time, but it does not include the value of any real estate Joseph owned at his death. During his life he owned at least eight tracts, some large.10 Deborah died in December 1840, aged 86.11 She did not leave a will.
Joseph and Deborah had seven children who lived to marry. Five of them married Worthingtons.
Children of Joseph and Deborah:12
Sarah, b. 1781, d. 1858, m. about 1805 John Worthington, son of Benjamin Worthington and Hannah Malone. The marriage was contrary to discipline and John was disowned as a member of Byberry Meeting.13 They lived in Byberry and had seven known children there. John wrote his will in 1849, providing for an annuity for Sarah. He died in 1852.14 Sarah died in 1858. Children: Edward, Malvina, Benjamin, Lydia, George, Walton, Asenath.
Abigail, b. 1783, d. 1863, m. in 1804 Abner Worthington, son of Joseph and Sarah, married under the auspices of Byberry Meeting.15 They lived in Buckingham, Bucks County, and had three children: Eber, Sarah, Joseph.
Deborah, b. 1785, d. 1877, m. Anthony Worthington, son of Joseph and Esther. She is probably the Deborah Worthington, late Walton, disowned by Byberry Meeting in 6th month 1805. Anthony and Deborah lived in Buckingham and had children: Joel, Anthony, Robert, Esther, Ann.16 Anthony died before 1850, but Deborah lived until an old age. In the 1850 census she was living in Buckingham with her children Anthony, Ann and Esther.17 She was still there in 1870, in her own household, living with just a housekeeper.18 Deborah died in 1877 and is buried at Buckingham Friends.19
Asenath, b. 1788, married in 1810 Benjamin Tomlinson, son of John Tomlinson and Phebe Malone.20 They had no children.21
Agnes, b. 1790, m. in 1809 Joel Worthington, son of Joseph and Esther. The marriage was contrary to discipline and she was disowned by Byberry meeting in 8th month 1809. The names of their children are not definitely known, but were probably Abner, John, Deborah, and Sarah.22
Ann, b. 1792, m. Benjamin Worthington, son of Benjamin and Hannah. They were married by a minister, as Horsham Monthly Meeting reported on 5th month 1809.23 Benjamin and Ann did not appear to defend their conduct and a testimony was written against them on 8th month. Benjamin died before 1850, and Ann lived with her daughters, still around Byberry.24 Ann died in 1874 and was buried at William Penn Cemetery.25 Children: Amanda, Alfred, Rebecca, Abner, Mary.26
John, b. 1795, m. Elizabeth Matchner about 1816, daughter of John & Elizabeth (Strickler). John Walton is possibly the one who died in 1824, with letters of administration in Phila. Elizabeth lived until 1870.27 Children: Joseph, Jacob, Mary.28
- Norman W. Swayne, Byberry Waltons, 1958, p. 100. ↩
- Isaac’s son, also named Isaac, was the chief historian and genealogist of the families of Byberry, along with his brother Joseph. This Isaac the historian died in 1847. (Joseph Martindale, History of Byberry and Moreland, 1867, p. 281). ↩
- Byberry Waltons, p. 47. ↩
- Philadelphia County wills, Book Q, p. 353. ↩
- According to Swayne, a Bible owned 1937 by Walter Earle Walton says Deborah was of the Lee family of Virginia. (Byberry Waltons, p. 100). This is not supported by the evidence. She was from a Quaker family of Bucks County. ↩
- Wrightstown Minutes, 3rd month 1767, on Ancestry, US Quaker Meeting Records 1681-1935, Bucks County. All the Quaker records in this account can be found on Ancestry. ↩
- Member List 1797, Byberry Preparative Meeting, Philadelphia County, image 33. ↩
- Quoted in Byberry Waltons, pp. 100-101. The original has not been traced. This passage is not in Martindale or in Isaac Comly’s “Sketches of the History of Byberry”, Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, vol. 2, 1827, pp. 165- 203. ↩
- Byberry Waltons, p. 101. ↩
- Byberry Waltons, p. 101. ↩
- Byberry Preparative Meeting, Births and Deaths, image 89. ↩
- Byberry Waltons, pp, 10-101 and pp. 207-210, also the Member List 1797 of Byberry Meeting, image 33) The Byberry meeting list does not include Robert or Bernard, who are included in Byberry Waltons. Swayne included Robert because of Joseph Comly’s account, presumably the reference to land of Robert Walton bordering the Comly homestead in Byberry in 1852. This is weak evidence; it could have been sold to Robert rather than bequeathed. He included Bernard based on the time and place. This is also weak evidence. By this time the Walton family was large, and Swayne admitted that there were other places Bernard could fit. The Byberry Meeting Member List of 1797 seems to be the best available evidence, written at the time by people who knew the family personally. Swayne has a lot of material on Bernard, nothing on Robert. (Byberry Waltons, pp. 209-210) ↩
- Horsham Monthly Meeting Minutes, 6th month 1805. ↩
- Philadelphia County wills, 1852, #171, on Ancestry, Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, Philadelphia, 1852, Wills 150-199, images 126-133, including the account and inventory. ↩
- Their marriage certificate is on Ancestry, wrongly indexed under NJ, Camden, Haddonfield MM, Marriage Certificates 1782-1813, image 99. The first signers after Abigail and Abner were Joseph and Esther Worthington (his third wife), and Joseph and Deborah Walton, followed by Tomlinsons, Waltons, Worthingtons, and other members of the Byberry meeting. ↩
- Byberry Waltons, p. 208. ↩
- 1850 Federal Census, Bucks County, Buckingham, image 35. Deborah was 65 years old. ↩
- 1870 census, Buckingham, image 20. ↩
- Findagrave. Anthony is apparently buried there too, but there is no date of death given for him. ↩
- Joseph Martindale, History of Byberry and Moreland, 1867. ↩
- Byberry Waltons, p. 208. There is a Benjamin Tomlinson who died in 1826, left a will in Montgomery County, but the name of his wife was not Asenath. (Ancestry, PA Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993, Montgomery County, Wills 6-7, image 190. ↩
- Byberry Waltons, p. 208. ↩
- Horsham Monthly Meeting minutes, 5th month 1809. Horsham was the parent monthly meeting for Byberry at that time. ↩
- 1860 and 1870 federal census. ↩
- Findagrave. ↩
- Ancestry trees, no evidence. ↩
- MyHeritage Family Tree, no evidence given. ↩
- Ancestry trees, no evidence given. ↩