Hugh Burt - Ursula (Surname Unknown) Family Group

What We Know About This Family

An Overview of Their Lives

Hugh Burt and his first wife, Ursala, married and had eight children, at least three of whom died in England as infants or children. Ursala Burt was buried 3 Oct 1628, and widow Ann Holland Bassett married Hugh Burt sometime after the date of Ursula's burial and Jun 1635 when Hugh and Ann registered for passage on the Abigail.  Hugh (35) and Ann (32) Burt registered for passage on the Abigail  with Hugh’s son Edward  (8) and Ann’s son William (age 9 and the only Bassett on board) on 17 Jun 1635. The Abigail sailed from England to Massachusetts in that year. Hugh Burt, Jr. at age 15 was registered on 1 July 1635 by Shipmaster Robert Blackwell for the same passage. Other researchers have concluded that the ages given on the log may have been incorrect by a few years since Hugh Burt, Sr. according to Salem Court records, should have been about 44 years of age at the time. The Dorking they left had been experiencing the Black Plague since at least 1624. Ann's father was buried that year, and in the church register, we see the records of the first deaths due to plague. Whether any of the Bassetts or Burts were affected by the disease is unknown, but the deaths of so many of his children and both their spouses leaves no doubt of the perilous times in which they lived. Hugh's son, John Burt, elected not to accompany his father to the New World, and died at 18, not long after they left. The mystery child is Sarah Burt, who has neither a baptismal record nor a record of passage on the Abigail, but she subsequently married her step brother William Bassett, and they are our direct ancestors.

 

The Burt family settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Hugh Burt’s name appears among the original inhabitants of Lynn, who were given land in 1638.  He received 60 acres, and was known as a "husbandman" (farmer). Hugh was baptized in Dorking, Surrey, England on 9 Aug 1590, and was the son of John Burt. He married Ursula (surname unknown) by 1614, when their first child's baptism was recorded.

A little of the lives of Hugh and Ann Burt after they arrived in Massachusetts can be gleaned from the various court records of the time. Ann was sued on 25 Sep 1638 by Isaac Disberoe of Lynn. Hugh Burt answered for her in her absence, and neither the charge nor the outcome were recorded. Hugh Burt of Lynn counter-sued Isaac Disberoe on 24 Sep 1639. The case was continued until December, but again the outcome was not recorded.

On 4 Aug 1644, Hugh Burt appraised the estate of this same Hugh Churchman, in whose will Burt's son Edward was bequeathed 10 shillings. John Poole sued Hugh Burt and Robert Mansfield on 9 Jul 1644 for "taking away his arms". And on 4 Aug 1646, "Hugh Burt the elder" was admonished for "sleeping in time of service." (Church service?)

On 26 Mar 1661, Hugh Burt, then aged 70, deposed that he had lived in Lynn about 25 years and remembered the purchase of land by Richard Longley. In Nov 1661, Hugh Burt was expected in court to witness against Hugh Dickman for absence from public ordinances, but the court noted he did not come because "Hugh Burt was dead."

Hugh Burt died on 2 Nov 1661. His will dated 7 Oct 1661 and proved 26 Nov 1661 mentions "my son Will Bassitt". This mention is to the genealogists proof that Hugh Burt and Ann Bassett had married, although no record of the marriage has been located. He signed his will indicating at least a minimum ability to write (Ann made her mark on his will, indicating that she probably could not). The inventory of his estate totaled 143 pounds, 4 shillings, 9 d, of which 75 pounds was in real estate.

The court appearances cited above before Hugh Burt's death were of much smaller significance that those which plagued his widow. We know from the later records that Ann had talents as a midwife and nurse and offered these skills to her community. She was accused of witchcraft in the 1660s, but the charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Proof of Relationship

Genealogical publishings are our best proof of relationship.

What Else We Need to Learn

The goal of this project is to trace every line of ancestry to the arrival of its first immigrant to America. The basic information of each couple is considered complete when we know the dates of birth, marriage, and death for both spouses. their parents' names (or whether they were the immigrant), and the child or children in our ancestry line.

The research on this family is basically complete.