Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Obituaries of Two of the Bolton Daughters: Adele and Mary Bolton


Adele Bolton was one of the children of Reverend Robert Bolton (1788-1857), founder of Christ Church and builder of the Priory in the Village of Pelham Manor, and his wife, Anne Jay Bolton (1793-1859).  Mary Statira Bolton, a sister of Adele, returned to England and married Reverend John Rooker, rector for many years of a Protestant Episcopal church at Bristol, England.  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham blog provides a little more information about these two Bolton sisters and transcribes several obituaries that appeared after their deaths.   

For many years Adele assisted her older sister, Nanette Bolton, with administration of the Priory School for Girls that operated in the Priory for nearly forty years during the mid-19th century. Adele was born in Hennley-on-the-Thames, England in about 1830. Before the age of six, she and her family came to this country and settled briefly on a farm in today's Village of Bronxville.  In about 1838, her father and members of the Bolton family began building the family home in today's Pelham Manor, naming it the Priory.  Within a few years the family also built Christ Church near the Priory.  

I have written before about Adele Bolton.  See, e.g.:

Thu., Mar. 31, 2016:  Adele Bolton, a Founder of Grace Episcopal Church and Administator of the Priory School for Girls.

Fri., Apr. 01, 2016:  The Portrait of "Mrs. Bolton" Attributed to Thomas Gainsborough That Once Hung in The Priory of Pelham Manor.

Adele Bolton died in her home on January 24, 1911.  Her funeral was held in her beloved Christ Church, founded by her father and family, on Friday, January 27, 1911.  She was buried in Beechwood Cemetery.

Adele Bolton's sister, Mary Statira Bolton, returned to England.  There she married Reverend John Rooker who served for many years as rector of an Episcopal church in Bristol, England.  He later became Rector Emeritus of the church.  She and her husband had four children, one of whom died at the age of four:  Anne Rooker, John Rooker (who became an Episcopal clergyman like his father, Mary Statira Rooker, and James Jay Rooker (born 1862; died 1866).  

Mary Statira Bolton Rooker died in Kent, England on March 24, 1900.



Adele Bolton in an Undated Photograph.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.



Memorial Tablet Dedicated to Memory of Adele Bolton
Installed on Wall Within Grace Episcopal Church, City Island.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the transcribed text of a number of obituaries of Adele Bolton and her sister, Mary Statira Bolton Rooker, published in local newspapers.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.
"MISS ADELE BOLTON.

Miss Adele Bolton, daughter of the late Rev. Robert Bolton, who founded the old Bolton Priory at Pelham Manor, and sister of the late Rev. Cornelius Bolton, for many years rector of the Church of the Redeemer, at North Pelham, died last night at Pelham Manor.

She was born in Henley-on-the-Thames, England, in 1830, and when six years old came to this country with her parents.  She was educated in the institution her father founded and at an early age became engaged in religious work.  She formed the present Grace Episcopal Church, in City Island, in the 50's from a mission which then existed there.

The only near relative who survives her is Miss Frances Bolton, a sister, who lives in England.  The funeral will be held in Christ Church, Pelham Manor, to-morrow, at 3:15 p.m.  The burial will be in Beechwood Cemetery."

Source:  MISS ADELE BOLTON, New-York Tribune, Jan. 26, 1911, p. 7, col. 6 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"Obituary Notes. . . . 

Miss ADELE BOLTON, daughter of the late Rev. Robert Bolton, the founder of Bolton Priory at Pelham Manor, died on Wednesday night at Pelham Manor.  She was born in England in 1830 and came to this country at the age of six.  She helped to organize the present Grace Episcopal Church on City Island out of a mission she had started there in the fifties.  Her sister, Miss Frances Bolton, who lives in England, survives her."

Source:  Obituary Notes . . . Miss ADELE BOLTON, N.Y. Times, Jan. 27, 1911, p. 11, col. 5 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"Died. . . . BOLTON. -- At New Rochelle, N.Y., on Jan. 24, 1911, Adele, daughter of the Rev. Robert Bolton of Bolton Priory, Pelham Manor, N.Y., in her 81st year.  Funeral service at Christ Church, Pelham Manor, N.Y., on Friday, at 3:15 P.M.  Train leaves Grand Central Depot at 2:15 P.M. and Willis Av. 2 P.M., connecting with trolley at Pelham and Pelham Manor stations to Christ Church.  European and Southern papers please copy."

Source:  Died. . . . BOLTON, N.Y. Times, Jan. 26, 1911, p. 11, col. 6 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"DEATH LIST OF A DAY. . . . 

Mrs. Mary S. Rooker.

Mrs. Mary S. Rooker died in Kent, England, on March 24.  She was born at Pelham Manor seventy years ago.  She married the Rev. John Rooker, rector for many years of a Protestant Episcopal church at Bristol, England.  He has for some time been rector emeritus.  Mrs. Rooker was a daughter of the Rev. Robert Bolton, who lived at the Priory, Pelham Manor, in 1836.  She leaves one son, the Rev. John Rooker, two daughters, and a sister, Miss A. Bolton, who still occupies the Priory at Pelham Manor."

Source:  DEATH LIST OF A DAY. . . . Mrs. Mary S. Rooker, N.Y. Times, Apr. 11, 1900, p. 
9, col. 6 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

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I have written extensively about members of the Bolton Family and the home they built known as the Priory, Bolton Priory, and Pelham Priory.  Seee.g.:  

Fri., Apr. 01, 2016:  The Portrait of "Mrs. Bolton" Attributed to Thomas Gainsborough That Once Hung in The Priory of Pelham Manor.

Thu., Mar. 31, 2016:  Adele Bolton, a Founder of Grace Episcopal Church and Administator of the Priory School for Girls.

Wed., Mar. 09, 2016:  The Passing of an Era: The Bolton Family Sells The Priory in 1883.

Wed., Mar. 02, 2016:  Daughter of Priory School for Girls Instructor Who Attended the School Details History of Historic Pelham Manor Institution.

Fri., Mar. 20, 2015:  Fire in 1932 Devastated the Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor.

Tue., Jun. 23, 2015:  Nanette Bolton of the Priory School for Girls in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Oct. 02, 2014:  Brief History of Grace Church on City Island in the Town of Pelham Published in 1886.

Wed., Sep. 24, 2014:  Where Was the Bolton Family Cottage Where Stained Glass Windows Were Created?

Thu., Sep. 04, 2014:  The Closing of the Pelham Priory School for Girls in 1882 and the Departure of Head Mistress Nanette Bolton for Europe.

Fri., Aug. 29, 2014:  Announcement of Two-Day Fair in Pelham in 1842 to Raise Money to Build Christ Church.

Wed., May 14, 2014:  Noted American Novelist Margaret Deland Attended Bolton Priory School in Pelham Manor

Thu., Sep. 03, 2009:  Advertisement for the Pelham Priory School Published in 1881

Wed., Sep. 02, 2009:  The Bolton Family's Sale of Bolton Priory in 1883.

Thu., Aug. 13, 2009:  History of Bolton Priory Published in 1910.

Tue., Jan. 20, 2009:  An Account of the Rev. J. L. Ver Mehr Regarding His Brief Stint as an Instructor of French and Italian at Pelham Priory in 1843

Fri., Mar. 2, 2007:  A Brief Account by American Author Margaret Deland of Her Education at Pelham Priory in the 19th Century.

Thu., Dec. 14, 2006:  Items from Bolton Priory in the Collections of The Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture, The New-York Historical Society.

Thu., Nov. 16, 2006:  Robert Bolton, Jr.'s Inscription to His Father Inside Book He Authored That Was Published in 1855.

Fri., Jul. 28, 2006: Image of Bolton Priory in the Town of Pelham Published in an 1859 Treatise on Landscape Gardening.

Wed., Jul. 26, 2006:  A Brief Account of Visits to Bolton Priory in the Early 1880s.

Wed., July 5, 2006: Bricks Laid by Washington Irving and Ivy from Kenilworth Castle at the Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor

Wed., March 15, 2006: A Biography of Cornelius W. Bolton Published in 1899

Wed., March 1, 2006: 1909 Real Estate Advertisement Showing Bolton Priory

Wed., Feb. 22, 2006: Doll Depicting Nanette Bolton in the Collection of The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham

Wed., Dec. 7, 2005: The Sale and Subdivision of the Bolton Priory Estate in the 1950s

Tue., Nov. 29, 2005: An Early, Interesting Photograph of Bolton Priory in the Village of Pelham Manor

Wed., Sep. 21, 2005: The Nanette Bolton Memorial Chapel Building at Christ Church in Pelham Manor

Tue., Aug. 23, 2005: Society Scandal: The "Strange" Story of Mrs. Adele Livingston Stevens Who Acquired the Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor

Wed., Jul. 13, 2005: 11 Priory Lane: The Rose Cottage

Fri., Jun. 10, 2005: Pelham's Most Magnificent Wedding Gift: The Bolton Priory

Tue., May 3, 2005: Colonel Frederick Hobbes Allen, An Owner of Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor

Thu., Apr. 7, 2005: Another Volume of William Jay Bolton's Sketches and Ruminations Located?

Mon., Apr. 4, 2005: Art and Poetry of William Jay Bolton of Bolton Priory in Pelham

See also Bell, Blake A., A Brief History of Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No., 16, Apr. 16, 2004, p. 8, col. 2.

I also have written about the history of Christ Church, an institution the history of which is integrally intertwined with that of the Priory, on numerous occasions.  Below are a few of the many articles on the topic.

Thu., Dec. 31, 2015:  Laying of the Cornerstone of the Parish House at Christ Church on June 10, 1928.

Thu., Nov. 12, 2015:  Charles Higbee, Eighth Rector of Christ Church in Pelham Manor, 1871-1893.

Tue., Oct. 27, 2015:  The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory: A Pelham Apparition.

Tue., Oct. 20, 2015:  Address Delivered by Reverend Robert Bolton on April 28, 1843 at the Laying of the Foundation Stone of Christ Church.

Thu., Oct. 15, 2015:  The Creation of Christ Church and its Consecration on September 15, 1843.  

Tue., Sep. 29, 2015:  Christ Church's 80th Anniversary Sermon by Rev. J. McVickar Haight on November 18, 1923.

Fri., Nov. 21, 2014:  Another Advertisement for Fair Held in 1842 to Fund Construction of Christ Church.

Fri., Aug. 29, 2014:  Announcement of Two-Day Fair in Pelham in 1842 to Raise Money to Build Christ Church.

Fri., Feb. 28, 2014:  Brief History of the Role Churches Played in the Growth of the Pelhams Published in 1926.

Fri., Dec. 25, 2009:  1906 Christmas Day Celebration at Christ Church in Pelham.

Fri., Aug. 14, 2009:  The Consecration of the Nanette Bolton Memorial Chapel at Christ Church in Pelham Manor on April 28, 1887.  


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