Broughton A village in Northamptonshire UK.

Clifford Beebe wrote the following in 1990: Broughton is a small village of approximately 2000 inhabitants 13 miles north of Northampton and 7 miles south of Kettering in the Midland section of England. The village, which is removed from the main highway, consists, principally of two streets, High Street and Church Street...... Most of the cottages which formerly had thatched roofs have had the thatching replaced by tile, though a few of the former remain. Other than the changes in the roofs, the cottages are the same as they were in 1893 (the time of a visit to the village by Clarence Beebe). Most homes date back to the 18th century, and one home which we visited had parts dating back to the 13th century. On approaching the village, the predominant feature is the spire of Saint Andrew's Church (John Beebe's Church), in which we attended a Sunday service. I have attempted to convey the general format and age of the various sections of the church in a diagram which follows. While the church building itself is old, the impression one obtains from visiting it is of a church in remarkably good condition. The interior has recently been painted, the entire floor has been carpeted and the stained glass window at the end of the chancel is in beautiful condition. You will note at the other end of the structure the location of the ancient parish record box to which Clarence Beebe refers in his visit as being "rusty and the records molding away." The record box itself has three locks as it was practice in the past to store the valuable church sacramental vessels in the box and it required the keys of the two church wardens plus the church rector to open for access. The records have now been moved to Delapre Abbey where they are adequately stored in the Northamptonshire records office. The Sunday service was attended by approximately 100 parishioners of all ages and the Rev Clyde Hilton preached a lively sermon. Mention was made during the service of our reason for being there and several people of the congregation were most cordial to us. I believe the following research was by Diane Wilson of "The Gables" in Broughton. These entries have been extracted from Broughton Parish Records. I only have a transcript of baptisms from 1558 to 1684, marriages from 1570 to 1745, and burials from 1559 to 1747. The oldest records are quite badly damaged on some pages and only fragments remain, some years are missing altogether. Spelling tended to be very free in past times and the name Beeby has several variations. I have listed the entries exactly as they appear. These are the only Beeby entries from these records and as there are no entries after 1640 and no burials at all, it seems likely that the family left the village. 1628 Beebis... the sonn of John Beebis and Rebeccha... wife baptised November 4th 1628 John Beeboe Churchwarden 1630 Rebecka Beebee the daughter of John Beebee and of Rebecka his wife was baptized August 11 1630 John Harris of ye parish of St Gyles in Northampton of the one party & Anne Beebee of the other party were marryed 28 Octob... 1633 Thomas & Samuel twins the sonnes of John Beebie and Reb... his wyfe were baptized the three... twentieth day of June 1634 Martha the daughter of Gabriel Baybye and Anne his wyfe was baptized the foureteenth day of September 1636 Nathaneel the sonne of John Beeby and Rebekkah his wyfe was baptized the three and twenty day of January 1638 Mary the daughter of John Beeby and Rebekah his wyfe was baptized the eighteenth day of March 1640 Hannah the daughter of John Beeby and Rebekah his wyfe was baptized the three and twentye day of June The Life and Times of John Beebe Broughton, Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. by Clifford Beebe, Gardner, Mass. USA 1990. This is the title of a small booklet written and produced by Clifford Beebe following a visit to Broughton with his wife (to whom it is dedicated) in October 1990. Clifford has kindly given me permission to reproduce extracts of his book so that the information can be made available to as many members of the Beebe family as possible. Clifford gives credit to Clarence Beebe "Beebe Geneology" 1904 and second edition 1923 - Norman Lake, Historian, Broughton - Diane Wilson, Historian, Broughton - Archivist, Delapre Abbey, Northampton. John Beebe's family. History. Clifford wrote: Many Beebes in the United States, especially those whose ancestors came from Connecticut, are descendants of John Beebe, who died en-route to America in 1650, having emigrated from Broughton, England with his family. After reading Clarence Beebe's account of his visit to Broughton in 1893 (which story is included herein), my wife, Mildred, and I decided to visit Broughton in October, 1990. An account of that visit and what we learned follows. Based on research done at Delapre Abbey, it appears that there were five generations preceding John Beebe who live in a nearby village called Great Abbington. Thanks to information from Mrs. Diane Wilson, who lives in Broughton and who extracted church records for the periods of 1620 - 1640, there are a number of entries relating to John Beebe and his family in these 20 years. The entries include the baptisms of sons Thomas and Samuel in 1633 as well as the appointment of John Beebe as church warden in 1628. The fact that John Beebe emigrated to Connecticut rather than Virginia would indicate that he had broken away from the Church of England. Clifford Beebe asked: "Why did John Beebe and his family emigrate from Broughton to the colonies, and why did they do so in 1649 and 1650?” The answer as closely as we can determine lies in the English Civil war. In about 1642, there were approximately 20,000 Parliamentarian Troops under the command of the Earl of Essex who were garrisoned in this area. The famous Battle of Naseby took place less than 20 miles from here. In 1649 Charles the First was beheaded. We can only surmise that, because of the unrest and turmoil in the country, John Beebe and his family decided to leave and seek the more tranquil areas of the colonies. Therefore, like others in this area, they joined the great emigration.