Today's post examines the parentage of Craig Throckmorton (1809-1863), father of Amelia Throckmorton (1843-1877). This is, unexpectedly, a work in progress. I had thought this part of the Throckmorton ancestry was well known, but in the process of looking at the documentation it turned out to be uncertain.

Two authored genealogical works on the Throckmorton family have been pointed out previously, and now one more has been added:

• Throckmorton Family History by Frances Grimes Sitherwood ¹ (TFH).
• A Genealogical and Historical Account of the Throckmorton Family by C. Wickliffe Throckmorton ² (GHATF).
• Historical and Genealogical Miscellany: Early Settlers of New Jersey and their Descendants by John E. Stillwell ³ (HGM).

Of the three authored works on the Throckmorton family, only one has a Craig Throckmorton, TFH, on a page titled "Unconnected Throckmortons" ⁴ says:

"3060. Capt. Craig Throckmorton, b. New Jersey, 180-; m. Rhoda. He was a sea captain. His widow lived to be upward into her nineties, dying in 1904. Probably res. Tuckerton, N.J. Order of births of children uncertain."

It has been found that Familysearch.org ⁵ has a death record for Craig Throckmorton, naming father, John Throckmorton, and mother's first name, Zilpha. The original record seems to be locked so that one must go to a Family History Center (FHC) to view it. It will be obtained and evaluated soon, but it may not contain any more information than the transcribed data here:

     Name: Craig Throckmorton
     Birth Date: abt 1811
     Birth Place: Sweedsboro, Burlington Co , New Jersey
     Death Date: 17 Jan 1863
     Death Place: Down Shour, Burlington Co., New Jersey
     Death Age: 52 years
     Occupation: Laborer
     Gender: Male
     Residence: Burlington Co., New Jersey
     Father Name: John Throckmorton
     Mother Name: Zilpha
     FHL Film Number: 493705

Down Shore in Burlington County would be south of Tuckerton, out along the Great Bay Boulevard vicinity.

The accuracy of individual pieces of information even on primary records varies. A death record is created very near the date of the death, so the death date can be considered very accurate. However, the parents names are only as good as the person who provided it to the person recording the death record. Its accuracy can be suspect, and in such cases corroborating evidence can be helpful, unless that information comes from the same (perhaps inaccurate) source. It can be a challenge to know.

Various records say that Zilpha's surname is Green or Jeffrey. Upon further investigation, it seems that her maiden name is Jeffrey, and that she had also married one John Henry Green (1746-1796). So it seems that when she married John Throckmorton, she could have been known as Zilpha Green. The Marriage Record shows John Throckmorton marrying a Zilpha Green in 1798. This is two years after John Henry Green passed, so it fits.

However, a death date from some publicly submitted online trees for Zilpha Jeffery is 1790, so if that is correct, she couldn't have been Craig Throckmorton's mother. Further research is under way.

At present, it seems reasonable to accept that Craig's father was John Throckmorton. But it seems there was more than one John Throckmorton born in Shrewsbury at roughly the same time.

One of them appears as being born in 1773 in Shrewsbury. See the public tree record on Familysearch.org for Craig Throckmorton, and scroll down to look at his reported parents. But this is not a primary source and one must be cautious about accepting the details.

Another John Throckmorton (1779-1812), born in Shrewsbury in the same time frame is found in HGM⁶ and references a will (now obtained) that gives some family relations and given names that are at least food for thought. For example, this John Throckmorton married one Lydia Craig (Abt. 1782-1838) in 1806. See the Will Record and Marriage Record.

One could suspect that they had a son and named him Craig. The Craig Throckmorton of interest was born in 1809 or close to it. But the will in 1812 does not mention a son of that name. And Craig's death record above, if it can be fully trusted, names Craig's mother as Zilpha.

At this point I am tending toward believing that the first John Throckmorton is indeed the father of Craig Throckmorton. But it gives me some concern because Craig is an unusual name in the Throckmorton line, and the other John Throckmorton married Lydia Craig. It seems too much of a coincidence. But perhaps both John's, from the same area, were close enough that the relative chose the name Craig for their son rather than the father. More records are being sought.

As this is further studied, it can be pointed out that the apparent lineages of these two John Throckmortons converge at common ancestors John Throckmorton (1688-1741) m. Mary Stillwell (1690-1739). See the Wikitree link. The first John Throckmorton above is the Grandson of this John and descends from this John's son James. The second John Throckmorton above is the Great Grandson of this John and descends from this John's son Joseph.

But either path will have the same royal and noble ancestors that this series is leading toward.

To be continued.