Bartholomew Booth
Encyclopedia
Bartholomew Booth was a pioneer in American education. Oxford-educated, Booth was consecrated as a priest in the Church of England
before becoming a headmaster. Booth opened academies in Liverpool
then in Lancashire
and Essex
. He offered a wide curriculum, broadly following the educational philosophy of Benjamin Franklin
, and was a curate for what became the congregation of Saint John's Church (Hagerstown, Maryland)
.
. "Old George" Booth and grandson, "young George' Booth were leads in defending the Stuart monarchy. Old George Booth (1572-1652) married three times and died at the age of 80, in 1652. Outliving his son, who died in 1632, he was succeeded by his grandson, Young George. Old George Booth also married heiresses, thereby securing a firm financial base for the family. Marriage to Elizabeth Carrington also brought land southwest of Manchester into the Booth ambit, linking Dunham to Boothstown. Old George built the Elizabethan house at Dunham Massey, making it the family seat.
In 1618, Old George received a baronetcy from James the First. The Booths were low church Anglicans, suspect of Charles the First’s and Archbishop Laud’s high church reforms. They supported Parliament (1642), but became disaffected with the Cromwellian Protectorate. Young George was excluded from Parliament in Pride’s Purge (1648) due to his preferred negotiations with the king. Both George’s retired to Dunham to tend their lands. Old George died in 1652, l have secured the family’s future with marriages, land, and a hereditary title.
After Oliver Cromwell’s death and Richard Cromwell’s resignation, Young George moved into rebellion. He publicly backed the idea of Parliamentary supremacy knowing that once called, Parliament would restore the Monarchy. He made common cause with royalists such as Peter Leicester of Tabley. Booth’s co-conspirator at Chirk Castle erred in calling directly for Restoration. Booth’s Rebellion was put down. Following Wade’s march on London the next year, a decision was made to invite Charles Stuart to return. Young George Booth in the delegation to the Hague to approach the pretender. Because he was not in league with the regicides, George Booth was rewarded with the title “Lord Delamere.” Booth disliked the frivolity of the Restoration court.
The first recorded use "Lord (Baron) Delamere" was in 1661, when Charles the Second (1660–1685) elevated George Booth (1622–1684) for loyalty to the Crown. Old George resided in northern Chester, England at Dunham Massey Hall. His heir was Henry Booth.
Henry Booth, 2nd Lord Delamere and Earl of Warrington (1652–1694), was a proponent of the Protestant cause during the Glorious Revolution
, for which he was three times committed to the Tower of London
based on evidence, in part, from Nathaniel Wade
. Henry Booth was a ‘whig Jacobite,’ later noted for his centrist approach focused on the liberties of Parliament.
Being low church, both Young George and his heir favored Monmouth over James the Second. They were suspected of complicity in the Rye House Plot
. Old George Booth died in 1684. The 2nd Lord Delamere was then accused of treason following the Monmouth Rebellion
. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London
. The family pawned the Booth silver to fund his legal defense. The case did not come to trial. No evidence was found against him. The 2nd Lord Delamere returned to Cheshire. In 1688, William of Orange landed. The 2nd Lord formed a regiment and rallied the Cheshire gentry to support William and Mary. They marched, joined William and, in gratitude, the pretender made the 2nd Lord Delamere “Earl of Warrington.” Lord Delamere was also one of three Peers taking audience with James the Second, asking him to abdicate the throne. He then returned to Cheshire, became Lord Lieutenant and organised the army for its expedition to Ireland. James was defeated in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne. However, by this stage, the Booth family were in financial difficulty.
In 1694, the first Earl Warrington died with £50,000 of mortgages. The 2nd Earl needed to marry well. John Oldbury made a fortune in the East India Trade. Oldbury had no son, but did have two daughters. He was eager to marry them into the aristocracy. They Oldbury girls reputed to be worth £40,000 apiece. Warrington married Mary Oldbury, but the two were not temperamentally suited. Mary was neither well educated nor refined. Warrington was reserved and shy. They lived at opposite ends of the manor, but were together long to enough to have one child, Mary Booth. To prevent alienation, he created an estate so that her mother’s wealth would be inherited by Mary’s children. Mary Booth married the Earl of Stamford, Henry Grey. Mary administered her own financial affairs.
The 2nd Lord Delamere had a son named George (1688–1758) who became Earl of Warrington and 3rd Lord Delamere. The Earldom went extinct (1758) upon the death of 3rd Lord Delamere. He had no male heir. Earldoms only pass to direct male descendents.
The 3rd Lord Delamere’s brother Nathaniel did take up the title as the 4th Lord Delamere. But this title also became extinct on Nathaniel’s death in 1770. Nathaniel’s son, also named Henry (1710–1784), refused to take up the title Lord Delamere for personal reasons. This Henry Booth was entitled “Lord Delamere,” but he had no legitimate children. He refused to claim the Title, and the barony of Delamere terminated, reverting back to the Crown.
Bartholomew Booth was thought to be the son of this Henry’s illegitimate brother. Reverend Booth was nephew to Lord Henry Booth, Earl Delamere. Booth’s cousin and the Earl’s daughter, Lady Mary Booth, succeeded to the Delamere estate and married Earl Stamford.
and at Delamere, on the Antietam Creek near Hagerstown, Maryland
. Among his students were scions of the Revolutionary elite, including Benedict Arnold
, William Shippen, and members of the Washington family.
Bartholomew Booth himself graduated from Saint John’s College, Oxford in 1754, was ordained Deacon in St. Margaret’s Westminster in 1755 by Edmund Keene
, Bishop of Chester; was ordained priest in Chester Cathedral by the Bishop of Chester in 1758. He was then licensed for the chapel of St. Mary’s Chapel, Parish of Stockport and County of Chester (1760). Booth and his sons, William and Robert, accompanied by patrons Mrs. Bardsley and her sister, Miss Mary Valens came to the colony of Maryland in 1773, settling at the “Needwood Forest” near Petersvillle, Frederick County, Maryland
. At the outbreak of hostilities in patriots from Middletown, Maryland
threated the safety of Booth and his two female patrons. They sold Needwood to the Maryland Lee family and moved west to Washington County, Maryland, with other western Maryland Tories. Despite the local suspicion of his Tory leanings, Booth nonetheless was appointed to Frederick County’s Committee of Observation on January 24, 1775, by President John Hanson
.
, Edward Shippen
, Benedict Arnold
(sons Benjamin (aged 10) and Richard (aged 11)), Charles Lee
, and Hannah Washington (George's sister) (who enrolled her son, Bushrod Washington
. Needwood School in Frederick, County included fencing and dancing among its curricula.
’s theory of instruction. For example, August Christian Whitehair, born about 1760, graduated from Delamere and settled in modern-day Preston County, West Virginia in 1788, three years after Booth’s death. Whitehair studied under Booth and was the first teacher in the Preston County Union District (1790). The History of Preston County notes Whitehair to be an educational pioneer within the German settlement.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
before becoming a headmaster. Booth opened academies in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
then in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. He offered a wide curriculum, broadly following the educational philosophy of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, and was a curate for what became the congregation of Saint John's Church (Hagerstown, Maryland)
Saint John's Church (Hagerstown, Maryland)
St. John's Church, or St. John's Episcopal Church, founded in 1786, is an historic Episcopal church located at 101 South Prospect Street in the South Prospect Street Historic District of Hagerstown, Maryland...
.
The Booths of Delamere
The Booths of Dunham Massey were the force behind “the Booth Rebellion” during the Commonwealth. They were also a force in the RestorationRestoration (1660)
The term Restoration in reference to the year 1660 refers to the restoration of Charles II to his realms across the British Empire at that time.-England:...
. "Old George" Booth and grandson, "young George' Booth were leads in defending the Stuart monarchy. Old George Booth (1572-1652) married three times and died at the age of 80, in 1652. Outliving his son, who died in 1632, he was succeeded by his grandson, Young George. Old George Booth also married heiresses, thereby securing a firm financial base for the family. Marriage to Elizabeth Carrington also brought land southwest of Manchester into the Booth ambit, linking Dunham to Boothstown. Old George built the Elizabethan house at Dunham Massey, making it the family seat.
In 1618, Old George received a baronetcy from James the First. The Booths were low church Anglicans, suspect of Charles the First’s and Archbishop Laud’s high church reforms. They supported Parliament (1642), but became disaffected with the Cromwellian Protectorate. Young George was excluded from Parliament in Pride’s Purge (1648) due to his preferred negotiations with the king. Both George’s retired to Dunham to tend their lands. Old George died in 1652, l have secured the family’s future with marriages, land, and a hereditary title.
After Oliver Cromwell’s death and Richard Cromwell’s resignation, Young George moved into rebellion. He publicly backed the idea of Parliamentary supremacy knowing that once called, Parliament would restore the Monarchy. He made common cause with royalists such as Peter Leicester of Tabley. Booth’s co-conspirator at Chirk Castle erred in calling directly for Restoration. Booth’s Rebellion was put down. Following Wade’s march on London the next year, a decision was made to invite Charles Stuart to return. Young George Booth in the delegation to the Hague to approach the pretender. Because he was not in league with the regicides, George Booth was rewarded with the title “Lord Delamere.” Booth disliked the frivolity of the Restoration court.
The first recorded use "Lord (Baron) Delamere" was in 1661, when Charles the Second (1660–1685) elevated George Booth (1622–1684) for loyalty to the Crown. Old George resided in northern Chester, England at Dunham Massey Hall. His heir was Henry Booth.
Henry Booth, 2nd Lord Delamere and Earl of Warrington (1652–1694), was a proponent of the Protestant cause during the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
, for which he was three times committed to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
based on evidence, in part, from Nathaniel Wade
Nathaniel Wade
Nathaniel Wade was an English conspirator.-Life:Nathaniel Wade, born probably about 1666, was the third son of John Wade of the Wick-house, Arlingham, Gloucestershire. John Wade was a major in Oliver Cromwell's army and governor of the Isle of Man for a short period under the Protector. The maiden...
. Henry Booth was a ‘whig Jacobite,’ later noted for his centrist approach focused on the liberties of Parliament.
Being low church, both Young George and his heir favored Monmouth over James the Second. They were suspected of complicity in the Rye House Plot
Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York. Historians vary in their assessment of the degree to which details of the conspiracy were finalized....
. Old George Booth died in 1684. The 2nd Lord Delamere was then accused of treason following the Monmouth Rebellion
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. The family pawned the Booth silver to fund his legal defense. The case did not come to trial. No evidence was found against him. The 2nd Lord Delamere returned to Cheshire. In 1688, William of Orange landed. The 2nd Lord formed a regiment and rallied the Cheshire gentry to support William and Mary. They marched, joined William and, in gratitude, the pretender made the 2nd Lord Delamere “Earl of Warrington.” Lord Delamere was also one of three Peers taking audience with James the Second, asking him to abdicate the throne. He then returned to Cheshire, became Lord Lieutenant and organised the army for its expedition to Ireland. James was defeated in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne. However, by this stage, the Booth family were in financial difficulty.
In 1694, the first Earl Warrington died with £50,000 of mortgages. The 2nd Earl needed to marry well. John Oldbury made a fortune in the East India Trade. Oldbury had no son, but did have two daughters. He was eager to marry them into the aristocracy. They Oldbury girls reputed to be worth £40,000 apiece. Warrington married Mary Oldbury, but the two were not temperamentally suited. Mary was neither well educated nor refined. Warrington was reserved and shy. They lived at opposite ends of the manor, but were together long to enough to have one child, Mary Booth. To prevent alienation, he created an estate so that her mother’s wealth would be inherited by Mary’s children. Mary Booth married the Earl of Stamford, Henry Grey. Mary administered her own financial affairs.
The 2nd Lord Delamere had a son named George (1688–1758) who became Earl of Warrington and 3rd Lord Delamere. The Earldom went extinct (1758) upon the death of 3rd Lord Delamere. He had no male heir. Earldoms only pass to direct male descendents.
The 3rd Lord Delamere’s brother Nathaniel did take up the title as the 4th Lord Delamere. But this title also became extinct on Nathaniel’s death in 1770. Nathaniel’s son, also named Henry (1710–1784), refused to take up the title Lord Delamere for personal reasons. This Henry Booth was entitled “Lord Delamere,” but he had no legitimate children. He refused to claim the Title, and the barony of Delamere terminated, reverting back to the Crown.
Bartholomew Booth was thought to be the son of this Henry’s illegitimate brother. Reverend Booth was nephew to Lord Henry Booth, Earl Delamere. Booth’s cousin and the Earl’s daughter, Lady Mary Booth, succeeded to the Delamere estate and married Earl Stamford.
Emigration
Booth emigrated to colonial Maryland (1773) with two of his three sons, Robert and William, and two female patrons. He opened academies on the frontier at The Forest of Needwood outside what is now Burkittsville, MarylandBurkittsville, Maryland
Burkittsville is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 171 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Burkittsville is located at ....
and at Delamere, on the Antietam Creek near Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
. Among his students were scions of the Revolutionary elite, including Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
, William Shippen, and members of the Washington family.
Bartholomew Booth himself graduated from Saint John’s College, Oxford in 1754, was ordained Deacon in St. Margaret’s Westminster in 1755 by Edmund Keene
Edmund Keene
Edmund Keene was an English churchman and academic, Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, Bishop of Chester and Bishop of Ely.-Life:He was the third but second surviving son of Charles Keene, and younger brother of Sir Benjamin Keene, and was born at King's Lynn, Norfolk...
, Bishop of Chester; was ordained priest in Chester Cathedral by the Bishop of Chester in 1758. He was then licensed for the chapel of St. Mary’s Chapel, Parish of Stockport and County of Chester (1760). Booth and his sons, William and Robert, accompanied by patrons Mrs. Bardsley and her sister, Miss Mary Valens came to the colony of Maryland in 1773, settling at the “Needwood Forest” near Petersvillle, Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
. At the outbreak of hostilities in patriots from Middletown, Maryland
Middletown, Maryland
Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,668 at the 2000 census. Middletown is a small, rural community steeped in American history...
threated the safety of Booth and his two female patrons. They sold Needwood to the Maryland Lee family and moved west to Washington County, Maryland, with other western Maryland Tories. Despite the local suspicion of his Tory leanings, Booth nonetheless was appointed to Frederick County’s Committee of Observation on January 24, 1775, by President John Hanson
John Hanson
John Hanson was a merchant and public official from Maryland during the era of the American Revolution. After serving in a variety of roles for the Patriot cause in Maryland, in 1779 Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress...
.
The Devil’s Backbone
The site chosen for the American “Delamere” was at the Devil’s Backbone on Antietam Creek, adjacent to the old main road from Maryland’s eastern counties to the frontier in the Potomac highlands. It was at the Devil’s Backbone that General Edward Braddock’s army forded the Antietam on its way to oppose French occupation of the English frontier. Here Booth built his home and a mill. Two years before his death, the taxable land was documented at 1700 acres. He reopened the school, drawing as his clients Robert MorrisRobert Morris
Robert or Bob Morris is the name of:* Robert Hunter Morris , Lieutenant Governor of Colonial Pennsylvania from 1754 to 1756* Robert Morris , English writer on architecture...
, Edward Shippen
Edward Shippen
Edward Shippen was the second mayor of Philadelphia. He was appointed to a one year term by William Penn in 1701. In 1702, he was elected to a second one year term, making him the first elected mayor of Philadelphia...
, Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
(sons Benjamin (aged 10) and Richard (aged 11)), Charles Lee
Charles Lee
Charles Lee may refer to:*Charles Lee , former NFL player*Charles Lee *Charles Lee , British author*Charles Lee *Charles Lee...
, and Hannah Washington (George's sister) (who enrolled her son, Bushrod Washington
Bushrod Washington
Bushrod Washington was a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice and the nephew of George Washington.Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and was the son of John Augustine Washington, brother of the first president. Bushrod attended Delamere, an academy administered by the Rev....
. Needwood School in Frederick, County included fencing and dancing among its curricula.
Legacy
Even though the Needwood and Delamere schools only operated about a decade in duration, they launched other educators careers and advancing Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
’s theory of instruction. For example, August Christian Whitehair, born about 1760, graduated from Delamere and settled in modern-day Preston County, West Virginia in 1788, three years after Booth’s death. Whitehair studied under Booth and was the first teacher in the Preston County Union District (1790). The History of Preston County notes Whitehair to be an educational pioneer within the German settlement.