Line of Descent: Rev. Peter Bulkley (1583-1659)
Non Conformist Preacher Became a Founder of Concord, MA
Mar 31, 2009
The son of the Rev. Edward Bulkley, Peter was born at Odell, Bedfordshire, England, where his father served the Church of England. At age 16, he entered Cambridge’s St. John’s College, then succeeded his non-conformist father as rector of Odell.
Peter Bulkley Leaves England
By the early 1630s, Bulkley’s preaching and refusal to wear the prescribed vestments and make the sign of the cross had gotten him in trouble with Archbishop William Laud. Desiring freedom from religious restrictions and his first wife, Jane Allen having died, he decided to practice his brand of Puritanism across the Atlantic in New England.
Accompanying Rev. Bulkley to Massachusetts were his second wife, Grace Chetwode and his sons, John, Benjamin and Daniel. His younger sons, Thomas, may have come at a later date. His son Peter was probably born in Massachusetts.
The Bulkley entourage, which included several of his followers, came to America aboard the Susan and Ellen in 1635. They were founders of Concord, MA.
Line of Descent
This is the lineage of Ellsworth Marcus Davis, who provided it to this author. He was a son of Clarence Marcus Davis and Charlotte C. Bartholomew and grandson of Lillie M. Gillette (1859-1932) and Edward J. Davis (1859-1893). Descent from the immigrant Peter Bulkley is:
- Thomas Bulkley, born 1617, England; died 1658, Fairfield, CT; married Sarah Jones (1620-1682). She was the daughter of the Rev. John Jones (1593-1664), another Cambridge graduate and Puritan minister who came to New England.
- Sarah Bulkley, born 1640, Concord, MA; died 1723, New Haven, CT; married Eleazer Brown (1642-1714) of New Haven.
- Elizabeth Brown (1670-1740) of New Haven; married Michael Todd (1653-1713).
- Elizabeth Todd (1690-1752) who wed Isaac Dayton in 1708 at New Haven; both died at North Haven, CT.
- Deborah Dayton (1724-1817) of New Haven; married there in 1745 Nathan Mansfield (1718-1783) of New Haven.
- Nathan Mansfield (1748-1835), a Minute Man at Lexington, who married Ann Tomlinson (1746-1838) in 1775 at Derby, CT, where both died.
- Betsey Mansfield (1777-1863) of Derby who wed there in 1801 Anson Gillette (1773-1846).
- Eli Gillette (1810-1899) of Derby, CT; married Eliza Bassett; both died at Seymour, CT.
- Lillie M. Gillette married Edward J. Davis and, as noted above, they were grandparents of Ellsworth Marcus Davis.
Rev. Peter Bulkley, the immigrant ancestor, was known for his knowledge of Latin and his poetry. He wrote one of the first books published in New England and died at Concord, MA, March 9, 1658/9. Some of his descendants spell the surname as Bulkeley.
(Companion articles give the Davis family descent from the Rev. Peter Prudden and information on the Society of the Descendants of Colonial Clergy.)
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