Hello all.
So, in 2004, we were sent a mystery from a relative of ours surrounding a distant ancestor, George Busby. The first appearance of George in the records (on Ancestry) is in the village of Culworth, Northamptonshire, when he married Mary Tack (1773-1835) in 1795. We also know about his children, and that he died in Culworth in 1823. The first mystery is that no single record exists of him before 1795, and we can find no reference to his parents anywhere.
So, in 2004, a relative sent us a family hearsay story passed down through the generations in his family. It goes like this. After the date of the Mayflower voyage, circa 1650, a group of men, maybe as many as a hundred, emigrated to America from Northampton. Among them was a man with the surname Busby.
On arrival, Busby married and had three children, at least one of whom was a son. Busby later returned to England. His son is said to have taken a Red Indian squaw as his common law wife, as Christian marriages were not then allowed with the Indians. They were therefore not recorded. Together they had two children, both boys.
Later, he was sent a message from England saying that his father, the original emigrant, had died and left him an inheritance of some land. He returned immediately to England taking his family with him. Once he returned, he discovered no inheritance, and shortly following arrival his wife and one of his sons died. He decided to remain in England, and his other son, who survived, is said to have been my direct ancestor and was either George Busby, or a relation of his.
I have done some research on this recently. I have found a Nicholas Busby who left Norwich in 1637, taking a family with him. Besides the surname, this man does not seem to match the man in question.
It may be that the family did not go to America at any point, but this lead is as convincing as any others, as no trace of George Busby prior to 1795 or of his parents can be found. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
