My eighth great grandmother, Eulalia Marche, can be considered a legend in many ways. In 1635, Eulalia, her husband Henry Burt, and their six children left their home in England to start a new life in the New England colonies.
However, the legend that I am going to write about happened before the family left England.
The Family Legend
The story I am going to share can't be verified with documentation. This is a story that has been passed down through generations. The story has been written down in several books but without any significant evidence.
A family legend, regardless of evidence, can provide important clues about the lives of our ancestors because legends like this one tend to leave a mark on the page of the family's story.
The story starts in Devon, England in about the year 1615, Eulalia Marche was 15 years old. It is told that she became very sick and was not expected to live. At some point, Eulalia became catatonic and slipped into a coma. A funeral was planned. There was most likely a wake held for up to two days before the funeral. At the time a wake was typically held in the family home of the deceased.
History of the "Wake"
Eulalia lay in her casket, as her friends and families grieved the life of someone so young, As the service progressed, psalms were sung and tears were shed.
However, Eulalia surprised her audience when during the service she sat upright in her casket.
I can only imagine the mix of surprise, joy, and fear that her friends and family felt.
I have found this story shared in several books and websites. Most of the books were written by a descendant of Henry Burt and Eulalia.
The maiden name of Mr. Burt's wife is unknown, but her Christian name was Eulalia. Of her there is an interesting legend. The Rev. Dr. Ezra Stiles, a noted clergyman, and from 1778 to 1795 the President of Yale College, was directly descended from Henry and Eulalia Burt, through their daughter, Dorcas, who married John Stiles of Windsor. Dr. Stiles prepared in 1764 a genealogy of his family, in which he says : "There is a tradition in the family that the mother of this Dorcas Burt, before she came over from England, was laid out for dead and put in her coffin, but at her funeral signs of life appeared, and she recovered and came to New England, settled at Springfield, and here in America had nineteen children, ten of whom lived to have children, one of whom was this Dorcas." Like most oral traditions, there are in this some apparent discrepancies; there can be no doubt but that our ancestress, Eulalia, was on the point of being buried alive, for such startling events leave deep and lasting impressions that are transmitted from generation to generation with little variation.1
To put this into the context of Eulalia's life:
- Eulalia was born on December 28th, 1600
- Eulalia's father Richard Marche passed away on April 29, 1612, Eulalia was 11 years old
- Eulalia falls ill to a sickness that almost takes her life in about 1615
- Eulalia's mother Joan (Martyn) Marche passed away on May 21st, 1616
- Eulalia's brother William Marche passed away in May of 1617
- Eulalia's sister Elizabeth Marche passed away in May of 1619
- Eulalia's sister Anias Marche passed away in November of 1619
During the seven years surrounding Eulalia's close call with death, she lost both of her parents, as well as, three out of five of her siblings.
The fact that Eulalia Marche survived her brush with death and the tragic death of several family members in itself makes her legendary in my opinion. However, this was not the end of the legendary events in her life.
Eulalia married her husband Henry Burt on December 28th, 1619 in Dean Prior, Devon, England at the age of 19. Between January 14th, 1621, and December 4th, 1638 ten children were born to Henry and Eulalia Burt.
After the birth of their tenth child, Elizabeth Burt, Henry and Eulalia made the tough decision to immigrate to the new world. They sailed to the new world and settled in Massachusetts. Eulalia went on to give birth to five more children and live until the age of 89. Eulalia Burt is a legend in our family.
I am also a descendant of Eulalia Marche and am from North America but now live in Devon, UK. I visited Sherford, the village Eulalia grew up in, and talked to someone who was in the village hall about village history. He took my name and number and said he’d give me a call after talking to a villager who is interested in local history. He did call back with this very story, saying that it is still remembered in the village and told me the house she lived in, which is still there. I’ve knocked on the door a couple of times, but no one has been there to ask if I can peek in. It must have been very surprising to have remembered to story for 400 years!
Thank you for sharing. A story can be so powerful! I would love to see a photo of the house if you have one. Do you know the address?
Eulalia was my 10 GGM through Mercy and her daughter Mercy, down through the Allen line..
Im just reading these stories. So amazing. Im so thankful that people document and and share it with the world, so their stories are passed down…
Wait, this info contradicts itself. The top says they immigrated in 1635 and the bottom says after 1638. Which one is it?
Thank you for reading the post and pointing this discrepancy out. I will do some follow-up research and update the post.
Our family said Henry and Eulalia emigrated in 1639. But that is confusing, as they were reportedly on the ship Mary and John, which made 3 voyages between 1630 and 1633 (?). Also, their house burned down and they were compensated by Roxbury Colony in 1637. It is my opinion they emigrated prior to 1636 to Roxbury, where other Puritans settled, then were identified later when they moved to Plymouth. Since John was a wool merchant, living in the larger colony of Plymouth makes sense to me. He and his family also left Plymouth with John Pynchon and settled an even larger colony (which name escapes me at the moment, sorry). Any details are very much appreciated. Thanks!
I am a descendant of Eulalia also. I originally found my connection to her on my paternal side about a decade ago but within the last year discovered that there is a connection on my maternal side as well. My parents are decended from 2 of Eulalia and Henry’s children.
That is really interesting! I’m not surprised. The Burt family seemed to have a history of having larger families and were some of Massachusetts’ earliest settlers. Researching the Burt/Marche family history is both daunting and rewarding!
Thank you for reading my post and sharing your story!
Rebecca
Genealogist on a Journey
I suspect descendants of Eulalia are legion (one only needs to look at the Burt Genealogy which is available for download on archive.org). I am particularly interested in any of your readers who can trace back to Eulalia on their matrilinear line – the female only side of the family (mother-daughter-daughter, etc.). FamilyTreeDNA can test mitochondrial dna – I have about 25 matches to mine and several of those (including me) have traditional trees showing descent to different of Eulalia’s daughters (I descend from both Abigail and Mary). If any of your readers take this test, I hope they will contact me through the email address they will see when checking their mtDNA matches.