NATHANIEL HAWLEY

Nathaniel Hawley, son of Samuel Sr, married Mary Ufford, daughter of Samuel, of Stratford, CT, in 1723, and they remained on the old homestead in Stratford, CT. The right to the remaining money due from the sale of the old homestead in England was secured to him by purchase from his brother Samuel. The old Stratford homestead was the home of Nathaniel’s son Josiah Hawley, who died in 1798.

Stratford Town Records, Book vi, page 195
The quit claim deed of Nathaniel Hawley to his brother, Samuel Hawley Jr, of fifteen acres of meadow to pay for the claims on money due for the property sold in England, is recorded.   It is a matter of history that payments were received from England after Nathaniel had purchased the claims, and the last received, as far as known, was in brass kettles.

About one hundred years after the last brass kettles were received, the story of the property in England became exciting, and as repeated from one to another, the amount increased until it was supposed that a very large sum was awaiting American claimants.  A gathering of the family was held, money raised and an agent with full authority was sent to England, but no property was found and the matter died quietly.

The Hawley Record, compiled and published by Elias Sill Hawley, 1890
Genealogical Note #27, page 457

Our more recent research has failed to provide us with any clues regarding the original ownership of this property.   There are no extant records in Derbyshire showing Hawley ownership of land in the appropriate time frame.   This does not necessarily mean there was no land, rather, the records that would prove it have remained elusive.