Lots of people "know" who George Allen is, where he came from, the names of his wives, and the names of his children. The problem is that there is no documentation for any of these facts, and they may or may not be as believed. So all I will say about George's early life is that he was born somewhere in England (most likely) about the year 1583 (most likely) and that he married more than once while in England.
Our first known record for him is in the records of his departure from England on an unnamed ship, from Weymouth, Dorsetshire, on March 20, 1634/35. On that record, he is erroneously listed as being age 24, but was probably closer to 50. His wife Katherine, who was 30, and sons George, 16, William,8, and Matthew, 6, and a servant, Edward Poole were with him. It seems likely based on ages that George was the son of an earlier marriage, and there may have been other children (females, who would not necessarily be listed on the manifest) who were also in the party. Daughter Rose, for instance, is generally thought to have been the child of George's first marriage, and she is not listed on the manifest.
George is sometimes referred to as an "Anabaptist", which would mean he did not believe in infant baptism. This may explain the difficulty in finding birth/baptismal records for the above noted children, which might provide clues to the parents and their location. Some of his children became part of the Quaker tradition, which was a difficult way to live in Puritan Massachusetts.
When George arrived in the New World, he was first at Weymouth, Massachusetts and within two years was an early settler of Sandwich, Massachusetts. His land in Weymouth seems to have been given or sold to sons George, Ralph, and John. We don't know how or when Ralph and John arrived in Weymouth, and again, we don't know their ages or the name of their mother.
George, despite being an "Anabaptist", was made a free man of Plymouth Colony September 3, 1639, when Sandwich officially became a town. That same day, he was appointed Constable, and held various other town offices during the early 1640s. He was also the deputy for Sandwich to Plymouth General Court from 1640-1644. This would have meant traveling from Sandwich, which is on the north side of Cape Cod, up the coast of what is now Massachusetts to Plymouth. This may have been a trip made by ship rather than horseback or walking, for by the time he was first elected, he would have been approaching age 60.
Within a few years of his last known election as deputy, his health failed him. His date of death isn't known, but he was buried May 2, 1648. His will was not dated but was proved June 7, 1649. His inventory, excluding real estate, was 44 pounds 16 s, and most of his estate was given to his wife and "five least children".
There is so much I'd like to know about George, including more about his religious beliefs. He would not have had to have been a member of the church in Plymouth Colony to be a free man, so what were his beliefs and practices? How did the family become acquainted with Quaker beliefs, and how many practiced that faith? Why was Sandwich more tolerant of Quakers than other towns, particularly in Massachusetts Bay Colony? I'd love to know who George's parents were, and I'd love to know why he decided to come to America when he was probably about 54 years old. Did his sons come first, and then encourage him to come, or did George lead the way and the older sons came later? I'd like to know who his wives were, and I'd like to know more about how he lived in Sandwich. Did Edward Poole stay with him as a servant, or if he eventually earned his freedom, did the family have other servants?
As usual, there are more questions than answers when I think about George Allen, but I have to admire him, as I do all immigrants who came to the New World when it was nothing but a few towns on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
The line of descent is:
George Allen-first wife (possibly Katherine Davis)
Rose Allen-Joseph Holway or Holley
Mary Holley-Nathaniel FitzRandolph
Samuel Fitzrandolph-Mary Jones
Prudence Fitzrandolph-Shubael Smith
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza M Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
Fun fact: There is also a line of descent for the Holbrook line:
George Allen-first wife
Samuel Allen-Ann Whitmore
Sarah Allen-Josiah Standish
Josiah Standish-Sarah Doty
Hannah Standish-Nathan Foster
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Sarah Goodenow
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph R Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendents
Most of the information for this post came from "The Great Migration" volume 1, pages 27-35.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Friday, December 26, 2014
Allen line: Thomas Dewey, Immigrant
Thomas Dewey is another mystery. His birth date is given as 1603 but it may be as late as 1613. He is generally said to have been born in Sandwich, Kent, England but the estimable "Great Migration Begins" series gives this little credence. The identity of his wife is also unsettled.
Regardless, we know that Thomas Dewey was in the New World by 1633, when he witnessed a nuncupative (oral) will of John Russell of Dorchester. He became a freeman in 1634, and was also granted land in Dorchester in 1634, which he sold in 1635 to Thomas Holcombe and Richard "Joanes". He was apparently part of the contingent that went from Dorchester to Windsor in 1635, because his name is on a list labelled as such from 1640. He married Frances, who may or may not have been Frances Randall but was certainly the widow of Joseph Clark on March 22, 1638/39 in Windsor, Ct. (Frances had two children when she married Thomas, had five children with Thomas, and then later married George Phelps and had several children with him.)
Windsor, Ct of course was a frontier town since Thomas had gone there as an original settler. This would have meant that homes, farms, roads, mills, church, and other necessities of life would have had to have been established by the first settlers and their servants. There is no known evidence that Thomas had servants, so he probably did much of the hard work himself. Also there were the native Americans to contend with, and on top of that, political problems between Springfield and Hartford, over how to deal with a grain famine when the natives demanded higher prices for their grain. This was in 1648, so Thomas may not have known about much of this.
Thomas died on April 27, 1648 in Windsor, 9 or 10 years after he and Frances were married. He left behind five children: Thomas, Josiah, Anna, Israel and Jedediah, and there may have been John also. His estate was valued at 213 pounds, of which 118 pounds was real estate. I've seen comments that this indicated he was not financially successful, but if he was somewhere between 35 and 45 years of age, this was not the estate of a pauper. A court appointed committee distributed the funds, of which Frances got 60 pounds. This wasn't a full third of the estate so I'm not sure why there wasn't more for Frances, but there may be extenuating circumstances that went into the decision. One of the Dewey descendents several generations down the line put up a monument in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, perhaps because none could be found in Windsor.
The line of descent is
Thomas Dewey-Frances possibly Randall
Thomas Dewey-Constant Hawes
Elizabeth Dewey-Thomas Noble
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church
Ruth Noble-Martin Root Jr.
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents
Fun fact: Admiral George Dewey of the Spanish American War is a descendent of Thomas and Frances, so we are distant, distant cousins to him. Admiral Dewey is the one person to have ever held the rank of "Admiral of the Navy".
Regardless, we know that Thomas Dewey was in the New World by 1633, when he witnessed a nuncupative (oral) will of John Russell of Dorchester. He became a freeman in 1634, and was also granted land in Dorchester in 1634, which he sold in 1635 to Thomas Holcombe and Richard "Joanes". He was apparently part of the contingent that went from Dorchester to Windsor in 1635, because his name is on a list labelled as such from 1640. He married Frances, who may or may not have been Frances Randall but was certainly the widow of Joseph Clark on March 22, 1638/39 in Windsor, Ct. (Frances had two children when she married Thomas, had five children with Thomas, and then later married George Phelps and had several children with him.)
Windsor, Ct of course was a frontier town since Thomas had gone there as an original settler. This would have meant that homes, farms, roads, mills, church, and other necessities of life would have had to have been established by the first settlers and their servants. There is no known evidence that Thomas had servants, so he probably did much of the hard work himself. Also there were the native Americans to contend with, and on top of that, political problems between Springfield and Hartford, over how to deal with a grain famine when the natives demanded higher prices for their grain. This was in 1648, so Thomas may not have known about much of this.
Thomas died on April 27, 1648 in Windsor, 9 or 10 years after he and Frances were married. He left behind five children: Thomas, Josiah, Anna, Israel and Jedediah, and there may have been John also. His estate was valued at 213 pounds, of which 118 pounds was real estate. I've seen comments that this indicated he was not financially successful, but if he was somewhere between 35 and 45 years of age, this was not the estate of a pauper. A court appointed committee distributed the funds, of which Frances got 60 pounds. This wasn't a full third of the estate so I'm not sure why there wasn't more for Frances, but there may be extenuating circumstances that went into the decision. One of the Dewey descendents several generations down the line put up a monument in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, perhaps because none could be found in Windsor.
The line of descent is
Thomas Dewey-Frances possibly Randall
Thomas Dewey-Constant Hawes
Elizabeth Dewey-Thomas Noble
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church
Ruth Noble-Martin Root Jr.
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents
Fun fact: Admiral George Dewey of the Spanish American War is a descendent of Thomas and Frances, so we are distant, distant cousins to him. Admiral Dewey is the one person to have ever held the rank of "Admiral of the Navy".
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Holbrook line: Ebenezer Southwell, the father of Eunice Southwell Pomeroy
If you've been following the posts for the Holbrook line, perhaps you'll remember that when I wrote about Thomas Judd, a reader questioned me about the Ebenezer Southwell-Elizabeth Judd line that I had included in my line of descent. She didn't think I had the correct parents for Eunice Southwell Pomeroy, and after looking at what she said, I was starting to doubt it, myself. I spent a couple of weeks scratching for information, some of which seemed to point one way and some of which pointed another way. Finally, a kind person answered my query on an Ancestor Message Board, which makes sense of much of what I had found. I needed her help to connect the dots, and I greatly appreciate Rose's help.
Since so many trees on line are showing Ebenezer's brother, Enoch, as the father of the Eunice who married Medad Pomeroy, I'd like to put what Rose pointed out and what I found independently in writing. First, as to Eunice, she is listed in the "Records of the Congregational Church in Suffield, Ct" as "Unis" Southwell. She was baptized there October 5, 1735, so her birth may have been a few days before that. Enoch Southwell, Ebenezer's brother, did indeed have a daughter named Eunice who was born in Northampton, Ma on October 11, 1735/36, but she was not married when she inherited part of her father's estate in 1778. A deed in 1779 calls her a "singlewoman". Our Eunice Southwell married Medad Pomeroy August 18, 1758 and died April 6, 1760, about a week after our Eunice Pomeroy was born.
Now, on to what I've learned about Ebenezer in the search to verify that he was indeed the father of our Eunice. Ebenezer was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1694 to William Southwell and Sarah Stebbins. He had two brothers and five sisters, and Ebenezer was the oldest of the sons. He married Elizabeth Judd, daughter of Samuel Judd and Maria Strong, on June 12, 1721. We are not sure what motivated him to move to Suffield, which was then part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but later became Connecticut, about 1723. There may have been economic reasons, or he may have gone with a relative or neighbor, or perhaps the young married couple just wanted to be on their own. The Southwells had at least 9 children, with Eunice possibly being the youngest of them.
There is a little bit of information in the "Documentary History of Suffield in the Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay 1660-1749" by Hezekiah Spencer Sheldon, about Ebenezer. He was elected one of several "Tything Men" on March 14, 1736/37. A tything man was expected to make sure church tithes were collected, to maintain order and discipline during church services, and to make sure there were no travelers on the road on Sunday, unless they had a truly serious reason to not be at their church service. In the movies, sometimes we see someone in a church building who had a long stick he could use to nudge children or to wake up their parents, and that would have been Ebenezer's job. I'm not sure how long he held that position, but he was elected surveyor of highways on March 10, 1739/40 , and then constable in 1741. In 1745, he was again a surveyor of highways.
He signed his name as "yeoman" on a petition to separate Suffield into a "West Suffield" but I didn't note the date for that. The town of Suffield had spread and grown enough that it was quite a ways for the people in the west to travel to church each Sunday.
I also found records of Ebenezer as as grantee for land in Hampden County, Massachusetts in 1751, purchased from Abraham Burbank. I'm a little confused about this because by 1751 Suffield, or West Suffield, was considered to be part of Connecticut. This may be Ebenezer's son Ebenezer, or I may not have interpreted it correctly. This is from volume 1 of an index for Hampden County that I found on Family Search. I haven't seen the original document.
The final record of Ebenezer is of his death on June 17, 1781 in Suffield. He was about 87 years old when he died. I have not yet located a death date for Elizabeth, so I will keep searching for that. I also haven't seen a will yet for Ebenezer. As usual, more remains to be done!
The line of descent is:
Ebenezer-Southwell-Elizabeth Judd
Eunice Southwell-Medad Pomeroy Jr.
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Euzebia Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendents
Since so many trees on line are showing Ebenezer's brother, Enoch, as the father of the Eunice who married Medad Pomeroy, I'd like to put what Rose pointed out and what I found independently in writing. First, as to Eunice, she is listed in the "Records of the Congregational Church in Suffield, Ct" as "Unis" Southwell. She was baptized there October 5, 1735, so her birth may have been a few days before that. Enoch Southwell, Ebenezer's brother, did indeed have a daughter named Eunice who was born in Northampton, Ma on October 11, 1735/36, but she was not married when she inherited part of her father's estate in 1778. A deed in 1779 calls her a "singlewoman". Our Eunice Southwell married Medad Pomeroy August 18, 1758 and died April 6, 1760, about a week after our Eunice Pomeroy was born.
Now, on to what I've learned about Ebenezer in the search to verify that he was indeed the father of our Eunice. Ebenezer was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1694 to William Southwell and Sarah Stebbins. He had two brothers and five sisters, and Ebenezer was the oldest of the sons. He married Elizabeth Judd, daughter of Samuel Judd and Maria Strong, on June 12, 1721. We are not sure what motivated him to move to Suffield, which was then part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but later became Connecticut, about 1723. There may have been economic reasons, or he may have gone with a relative or neighbor, or perhaps the young married couple just wanted to be on their own. The Southwells had at least 9 children, with Eunice possibly being the youngest of them.
There is a little bit of information in the "Documentary History of Suffield in the Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay 1660-1749" by Hezekiah Spencer Sheldon, about Ebenezer. He was elected one of several "Tything Men" on March 14, 1736/37. A tything man was expected to make sure church tithes were collected, to maintain order and discipline during church services, and to make sure there were no travelers on the road on Sunday, unless they had a truly serious reason to not be at their church service. In the movies, sometimes we see someone in a church building who had a long stick he could use to nudge children or to wake up their parents, and that would have been Ebenezer's job. I'm not sure how long he held that position, but he was elected surveyor of highways on March 10, 1739/40 , and then constable in 1741. In 1745, he was again a surveyor of highways.
He signed his name as "yeoman" on a petition to separate Suffield into a "West Suffield" but I didn't note the date for that. The town of Suffield had spread and grown enough that it was quite a ways for the people in the west to travel to church each Sunday.
I also found records of Ebenezer as as grantee for land in Hampden County, Massachusetts in 1751, purchased from Abraham Burbank. I'm a little confused about this because by 1751 Suffield, or West Suffield, was considered to be part of Connecticut. This may be Ebenezer's son Ebenezer, or I may not have interpreted it correctly. This is from volume 1 of an index for Hampden County that I found on Family Search. I haven't seen the original document.
The final record of Ebenezer is of his death on June 17, 1781 in Suffield. He was about 87 years old when he died. I have not yet located a death date for Elizabeth, so I will keep searching for that. I also haven't seen a will yet for Ebenezer. As usual, more remains to be done!
The line of descent is:
Ebenezer-Southwell-Elizabeth Judd
Eunice Southwell-Medad Pomeroy Jr.
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Euzebia Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendents
Friday, December 19, 2014
Harshbarger line: Grover Harshbarger and the Spanish Influenza
Grover Harshbarger enlisted in the US Army on February 29, 1918 and was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for his initial training. This was during the time period that troops were being rushed through training and sent overseas as quickly as possible, to fight in France and Germany primarily, in what became known as World War I. Of course, these men didn't know that. They thought they were fighting "The Great War" or "The War to End All Wars." Because he enlisted rather than waiting to be drafted, Grover, along with three other Whitley County men, was allowed to choose to serve in the Land Signal Corps. We know that this included weather observers, radiotelephone operators, and other communication services, but we don't know what he was being trained to do.
After basic training at Fort Leavenworth, he was transferred to Camp Lejeune, NC. He was nearing completion of his specialized training when he was attacked by an enemy on this side of the ocean, the Spanish influenza. The camp suffered an epidemic and Grover was one of the soldiers who fell ill. It was a very serious illness. Millions of people world wide died from it, and many soldiers died, too. Many of those Army members who survived were ill too long, and weakened too much, to be returned to their units, and so they were discharged. Grover was discharged on July 29, 1918, and we know it took several months for him to regain his strength. Fortunately his parents were both still living, so he returned home to Whitley County, Indiana and his parents, Emmanuel and Clara Harter Harshbarger, took care of him until he could take care of himself.
This is a hard post for me to write, because I could have written a better one if I had taken advantage of the opportunities I had. I remember talking with Grover about his military service, and I remember that he was proud of what he had done and sorry he couldn't go to the European theater with his unit. I wish I had asked him more questions, taken notes, and had a real story to tell here. Grover was good at telling stories so I must have been a poor listener.
Regardless, I wanted to write what I do remember so his descendents will know at least this much. The only documentation I have for this post is from the US Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, which gives his enlistment date and his release date, and an article in The Fort Wayne Sentinel, dated Monday, February 25, 1918.
If you have an older person in your family who served in the military, and you will see them over this holiday season, I encourage you to learn their story (record it if possible) and then write it down and let others in your family have copies. Then you won't have to write a blog post from 35 year old memories.
The line of descent is:
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
After basic training at Fort Leavenworth, he was transferred to Camp Lejeune, NC. He was nearing completion of his specialized training when he was attacked by an enemy on this side of the ocean, the Spanish influenza. The camp suffered an epidemic and Grover was one of the soldiers who fell ill. It was a very serious illness. Millions of people world wide died from it, and many soldiers died, too. Many of those Army members who survived were ill too long, and weakened too much, to be returned to their units, and so they were discharged. Grover was discharged on July 29, 1918, and we know it took several months for him to regain his strength. Fortunately his parents were both still living, so he returned home to Whitley County, Indiana and his parents, Emmanuel and Clara Harter Harshbarger, took care of him until he could take care of himself.
This is a hard post for me to write, because I could have written a better one if I had taken advantage of the opportunities I had. I remember talking with Grover about his military service, and I remember that he was proud of what he had done and sorry he couldn't go to the European theater with his unit. I wish I had asked him more questions, taken notes, and had a real story to tell here. Grover was good at telling stories so I must have been a poor listener.
Regardless, I wanted to write what I do remember so his descendents will know at least this much. The only documentation I have for this post is from the US Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, which gives his enlistment date and his release date, and an article in The Fort Wayne Sentinel, dated Monday, February 25, 1918.
If you have an older person in your family who served in the military, and you will see them over this holiday season, I encourage you to learn their story (record it if possible) and then write it down and let others in your family have copies. Then you won't have to write a blog post from 35 year old memories.
The line of descent is:
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Beeks line: Charles Booth c 1682-1714
This will be another short post, because I can find very little information about Charles. He may or may not be the original immigrant. Possibly he came to the New World with his parents, or was born shortly after arrival here. We don't know who his parents were. I have a possible, undocumented name of William for his father but am unable to locate any further information. It is quite possible that this was a Quaker family, but records haven't been located to prove that, either.
The first thing we really know about Charles is that he was indentured to Richard Woodworth as a mason, for 5 years, on April 1, 1695. Boys were generally indentured at the age of 12 or 13, so this gives an approximate age for Charles. He could have been older, and may have been indentured to pay for his passage to the New World, but the length of the indentureship tends to lean toward the younger age. The Woodworth family was Quaker, and was from Acton Parish, Cheshire England. This area should be searched for any possible relationship between the Woodworth and Booth families in England. Ten years later, when Charles had served his indentureship and presumably begun to save some money, he married Mary Elizabeth Conaway or Conway, per the Chester Monthly Meeting Minutes. This was a Quaker marriage, so it would have been a very simple event, probably occurring after a regular meeting.
We don't know very much about the rest of Charles' life, either. His four children were born in Chester County, and there is a possibility that a fifth child may have been born in Maryland, but this is unconfirmed. His four known children were Elizabeth, Mary, Lydia, and Jonathan. The possible fifth child is Thomas. He doesn't really "fit" the information we have since Charles married and died in Chester County, Pa, but I wanted to list Thomas as a possibility. Perhaps the information that he was born in Maryland is not correct, or perhaps this is a case of wandering state boundaries. We can believe that he was a respected man in his community for we find his name on a list of constables in 1708 and 1709. On both lists, he is reported as being in Upper Providence, Chester County, Pa.
Charles died about January 12, 1714 (possibly 1713) in Upper Providence, Chester County, Pa. Mary remarried in 1720 and may have died about 1746.
I know there are other families who are looking for more information about Charles so perhaps someday more information will be available. For now, this is what I have so I'm adding it to the Beeks line information, meager as it is. I will add more information as I find it. I'm hoping there is more information in Quaker records and perhaps in Cheshire County, England.
The line of descent is:
Charles Booth-Mary Elizabeth Conway
Lydia Booth-Isaac Malin
Sarah Malin-David Ruble
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
The first thing we really know about Charles is that he was indentured to Richard Woodworth as a mason, for 5 years, on April 1, 1695. Boys were generally indentured at the age of 12 or 13, so this gives an approximate age for Charles. He could have been older, and may have been indentured to pay for his passage to the New World, but the length of the indentureship tends to lean toward the younger age. The Woodworth family was Quaker, and was from Acton Parish, Cheshire England. This area should be searched for any possible relationship between the Woodworth and Booth families in England. Ten years later, when Charles had served his indentureship and presumably begun to save some money, he married Mary Elizabeth Conaway or Conway, per the Chester Monthly Meeting Minutes. This was a Quaker marriage, so it would have been a very simple event, probably occurring after a regular meeting.
We don't know very much about the rest of Charles' life, either. His four children were born in Chester County, and there is a possibility that a fifth child may have been born in Maryland, but this is unconfirmed. His four known children were Elizabeth, Mary, Lydia, and Jonathan. The possible fifth child is Thomas. He doesn't really "fit" the information we have since Charles married and died in Chester County, Pa, but I wanted to list Thomas as a possibility. Perhaps the information that he was born in Maryland is not correct, or perhaps this is a case of wandering state boundaries. We can believe that he was a respected man in his community for we find his name on a list of constables in 1708 and 1709. On both lists, he is reported as being in Upper Providence, Chester County, Pa.
Charles died about January 12, 1714 (possibly 1713) in Upper Providence, Chester County, Pa. Mary remarried in 1720 and may have died about 1746.
I know there are other families who are looking for more information about Charles so perhaps someday more information will be available. For now, this is what I have so I'm adding it to the Beeks line information, meager as it is. I will add more information as I find it. I'm hoping there is more information in Quaker records and perhaps in Cheshire County, England.
The line of descent is:
Charles Booth-Mary Elizabeth Conway
Lydia Booth-Isaac Malin
Sarah Malin-David Ruble
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
Friday, December 12, 2014
Allen line: Thomas Lamb, another immigrant ancestor
Thomas Lamb (Lambe) is another of our immigrant ancestors. Although much is known about him, there are still some questions, because what would family history be without unanswered questions? (One answer might be "finished!", but we are not anything close to being there yet.)
Thomas Lamb was born in Barnardiston, Suffolk, England in 1596 to Thomas and Elizabeth Aylett Lamb. He had two brothers, Edward and Samuel. The next time we hear of our Thomas, he and his wife Elizabeth (possibly the widow Smith who married a Thomas Lambe in Shropshire, England in 1621, but that is still unproven) and at least two sons are in the Winthrop Fleet coming to the New World. Thomas was a merchant, and also a Puritan, since he came in that fleet.
Thomas Lamb was one of the founders of Roxbury, receiving 18 acres of land there, between the Meeting House and the Stony River. His neighbors included John Johnson and Isaac Heath. He took the oath of the general court on May 18, 1631 and became a freeman on October 19, 1631. He was also one of the founders of the first church at Roxbury.
Thomas and Elizabeth had several children after arriving in Roxbury. John and Thomas had come with them, and Samuel was born about a month after their arrival in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their other children were Decline, Abiel, and Benjamin. Elizabeth died during or just following the birth of Benjamin in 1639, and Thomas married Dorothy Harbittle soon after. He needed a stepmother for all those children, and Dorothy appears to have been a good one. She also gave Thomas more children.
It's unclear whether he acted as a merchant at Roxbury, but by 1633 he was opening the first quarry in New England, on the island of Squantom in Boston Harbor. There are additional reports about land acquisitions up until his death on March 28, 1646 of a "grate colde". I would guess this was pneumonia. His inventory at the time of his death was 112 pounds, 8 shillings, 8 pence, which didn't include the land he owned. There was trouble with the estate, and it appears that there were still court proceedings in 1698, trying to prove who owned land that was contested between the Lamb descendents and those of Dorothy Harbittle's second husband, Thomas Hawley.
I of course would like to know more about Thomas's life in England. How did he become a merchant, or was that designation given to him only in Massachusetts? With his father dead when Thomas was just three years old, who cared for him and got him started in life? Was it his mother's family, or a paternal uncle? And when and how did he become a Puritan?
Our line of descent is:
Thomas Lamb-Elizabeth
John Lamb-Joanna Chapin
Samuel Lamb-Rebecca Bird
Samuel Lamb-Martha Stebbins
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John W Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents
Thomas Lamb was born in Barnardiston, Suffolk, England in 1596 to Thomas and Elizabeth Aylett Lamb. He had two brothers, Edward and Samuel. The next time we hear of our Thomas, he and his wife Elizabeth (possibly the widow Smith who married a Thomas Lambe in Shropshire, England in 1621, but that is still unproven) and at least two sons are in the Winthrop Fleet coming to the New World. Thomas was a merchant, and also a Puritan, since he came in that fleet.
Thomas Lamb was one of the founders of Roxbury, receiving 18 acres of land there, between the Meeting House and the Stony River. His neighbors included John Johnson and Isaac Heath. He took the oath of the general court on May 18, 1631 and became a freeman on October 19, 1631. He was also one of the founders of the first church at Roxbury.
Thomas and Elizabeth had several children after arriving in Roxbury. John and Thomas had come with them, and Samuel was born about a month after their arrival in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their other children were Decline, Abiel, and Benjamin. Elizabeth died during or just following the birth of Benjamin in 1639, and Thomas married Dorothy Harbittle soon after. He needed a stepmother for all those children, and Dorothy appears to have been a good one. She also gave Thomas more children.
It's unclear whether he acted as a merchant at Roxbury, but by 1633 he was opening the first quarry in New England, on the island of Squantom in Boston Harbor. There are additional reports about land acquisitions up until his death on March 28, 1646 of a "grate colde". I would guess this was pneumonia. His inventory at the time of his death was 112 pounds, 8 shillings, 8 pence, which didn't include the land he owned. There was trouble with the estate, and it appears that there were still court proceedings in 1698, trying to prove who owned land that was contested between the Lamb descendents and those of Dorothy Harbittle's second husband, Thomas Hawley.
I of course would like to know more about Thomas's life in England. How did he become a merchant, or was that designation given to him only in Massachusetts? With his father dead when Thomas was just three years old, who cared for him and got him started in life? Was it his mother's family, or a paternal uncle? And when and how did he become a Puritan?
Our line of descent is:
Thomas Lamb-Elizabeth
John Lamb-Joanna Chapin
Samuel Lamb-Rebecca Bird
Samuel Lamb-Martha Stebbins
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John W Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Holbrook line: A warning about my previous post about Thomas Judd
I was contacted by a reader (yes, I actually had a reader!) who questioned my previous post about Thomas Judd. She wasn't upset with what I said about Thomas Judd, but she wondered about having Eunice Southwell in his family line. I stated that Eunice Southwell was the daughter of Ebenezer Southwell and Elizabeth Judd. She believes that Eunice Southwell is the daughter of Enoch Southwell, so I started searching my records. Unfortunately, I have very little to support my statement, as it turns out.
I have listed Eunice Southwell as having been born in 1738 in Suffield, Connecticut. If this is correct, then she is possibly Ebenezer's daughter, as I find him in 1747 and 1748 serving on military expeditions from Suffield. But, the Pomeroys, the family Eunice married into, were from Northampton, Massachusetts. Enoch and Ebenezer Southwell were both born there to William Southwell, Enoch in 1700 and Ebenezer in 1693/1694. Enoch is listed as the father of Eunice who was born in 1735. This is a different date and location for my Eunice, or is my Eunice a figment of someone's imagination? I cannot find a birth record for her in Connecticut, or elsewhere, as Ebenezer's daughter.
So, have I been hoodwinked? For the time being, I think I don't know what I know, or think. Were there two Eunice Southwell's, or only one? Should I delete the portion of my tree that shows Ebenezer and Elizabeth Judd as Eunice's parents? I think for the time being, I'm going to change the tree to show the parents as "poss", which is my shorthand for possibly. I urge anyone to take my Thomas Judd post with a grain or ten of salt, while I try to find more information. I would love to find wills for Enoch and for Ebenezer, which would hopefully settle this question. Barring that, we need land records.
Stay tuned. There may be another post about the Southwells in the future, especially if I figure out the answer to this puzzle. I certainly thank my reader for questioning me, because facts are better than fiction, all the time!
I have listed Eunice Southwell as having been born in 1738 in Suffield, Connecticut. If this is correct, then she is possibly Ebenezer's daughter, as I find him in 1747 and 1748 serving on military expeditions from Suffield. But, the Pomeroys, the family Eunice married into, were from Northampton, Massachusetts. Enoch and Ebenezer Southwell were both born there to William Southwell, Enoch in 1700 and Ebenezer in 1693/1694. Enoch is listed as the father of Eunice who was born in 1735. This is a different date and location for my Eunice, or is my Eunice a figment of someone's imagination? I cannot find a birth record for her in Connecticut, or elsewhere, as Ebenezer's daughter.
So, have I been hoodwinked? For the time being, I think I don't know what I know, or think. Were there two Eunice Southwell's, or only one? Should I delete the portion of my tree that shows Ebenezer and Elizabeth Judd as Eunice's parents? I think for the time being, I'm going to change the tree to show the parents as "poss", which is my shorthand for possibly. I urge anyone to take my Thomas Judd post with a grain or ten of salt, while I try to find more information. I would love to find wills for Enoch and for Ebenezer, which would hopefully settle this question. Barring that, we need land records.
Stay tuned. There may be another post about the Southwells in the future, especially if I figure out the answer to this puzzle. I certainly thank my reader for questioning me, because facts are better than fiction, all the time!
Friday, December 5, 2014
Harshbarger line: Johann Matthias Kraemer 1692-date unknown
This will be a short post, because I know little about this man. However, I am trying to write about the immigrants in my children's family tree, and Matthias was one of them. The first thing we know for sure is that he arrived in Philadelphia in 1732. He is listed as 40 years old at the time, which would put him born about 1692. There is a Johann Matthias Craemer who was born on April 7, 1692 and baptized April 8, 1692 in Wolf (Kr. Bernkastel, Rhineland, Preussen, Germany, but his parents are Conradt Craemer and Anna Margaretha. All of the trees I can find list his parents as Johann Peter and Anna Barbara Lorenz Craemer, so one of these sets of parents are not correct.
At any rate, we know he married a woman named Elisabeth and they had at least two children, Andreas and Christina. Both were born in Germany. That is really all I know about Matthias at this point. His death date is given as 1793 which doesn't seem likely, so I suspect that the Matthias who died in 1793 would have been a son or nephew to our Matthias. Still, if he did live 101 years, we could make a really neat timeline for him!
Although much research remains to be done for Matthias (or I need to find what has already been done), we know that he came to the New World fairly early in the German immigration, when Philadelphia was not yet a city and when the frontier wasn't more than 50 miles from Philadelphia. I need to find land records or indenture records or something that will give me a clue as to where he went and what he did, and information about the rest of his family.
Nevertheless, we know that the immigrant ancestor was from what is now Germany, and we know that he would have either been Lutheran/Reformed (probably), or of one of the Anabaptist groups (less likely, but possible). Land, church, and death/burial records may be available, and if so, I will do a follow up post on him. I'd sure like to find a maiden name for Elisabeth, also! Maybe someone reading this will have answers to some of these questions.
The line of descent is:
Matthias Kraemer-Elisabeth
Andreas Kramer-Maria Magdalena Birckel
Daniel Kramer-Anna Maria Geise
Anna Maria Kramer-Andrew Kepler
Mary Kepler-George Harshbarger
Lewis Harshbarger-Catherine Mentzer
Emmanuel Harshbarger-Clara Harter
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
At any rate, we know he married a woman named Elisabeth and they had at least two children, Andreas and Christina. Both were born in Germany. That is really all I know about Matthias at this point. His death date is given as 1793 which doesn't seem likely, so I suspect that the Matthias who died in 1793 would have been a son or nephew to our Matthias. Still, if he did live 101 years, we could make a really neat timeline for him!
Although much research remains to be done for Matthias (or I need to find what has already been done), we know that he came to the New World fairly early in the German immigration, when Philadelphia was not yet a city and when the frontier wasn't more than 50 miles from Philadelphia. I need to find land records or indenture records or something that will give me a clue as to where he went and what he did, and information about the rest of his family.
Nevertheless, we know that the immigrant ancestor was from what is now Germany, and we know that he would have either been Lutheran/Reformed (probably), or of one of the Anabaptist groups (less likely, but possible). Land, church, and death/burial records may be available, and if so, I will do a follow up post on him. I'd sure like to find a maiden name for Elisabeth, also! Maybe someone reading this will have answers to some of these questions.
The line of descent is:
Matthias Kraemer-Elisabeth
Andreas Kramer-Maria Magdalena Birckel
Daniel Kramer-Anna Maria Geise
Anna Maria Kramer-Andrew Kepler
Mary Kepler-George Harshbarger
Lewis Harshbarger-Catherine Mentzer
Emmanuel Harshbarger-Clara Harter
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Beeks line: Nicholas Aldridge, immigrant, 1653-1708
Much of what we "know" about Nicholas Aldridge is conjecture. We know that he was baptized December 28, 1653 in East Wellow, Hampshire, England, to Nicholas Adridge and Martha. At present, Martha's maiden name is unknown. He was the oldest of six children, but was still a teen- ager when he sailed with his father to the New World in 1667. (I don't know whether the younger children came also, or came later, or perhaps stayed behind with other relatives.) The two Aldridges arrived at Annapolis, Maryland from South Hampton, England. They settled near the Severn River, close to All Hallows Parish, Maryland. The senior Nicholas lived only two years, and died March 2, 1669. Nicholas, our subject, would have been only a little over 15. He was in a strange land and it's hard to know how much or what he had learned to support himself as an almost grown orphan. The next ten years are a mystery at present.
By 1679, things were looking up for Nicholas. He married Martha Beeson or Besson in 1679 at All Hallows Parish, Maryland. The next year, on August 20, 1680, he purchased 300 acres of land named "Aldridge's Beginning" in Anne Arundel County. I can almost feel the hope in his heart as he came to manhood with a new bride and land of his own in the New World. By this time, the worst part of troubles with the native Americans and the worst part of the religious disputes between Catholics and Protestants was over. Slavery had already begun, but much labor was done by indentured servants and by the colonist's own family. The family of Nicholas and Martha began with son Thomas in 1680, and he would have been doing chores for most of the day by the time he was four or five. Thomas and his 9 brothers and sisters were all baptized or christened at All Hallow's Parish.
We don't know if Nicholas owned slaves or not, but it is certainly possible. He grew tobacco, and tobacco is a labor intensive crop. If he had cleared all 300 acres of land, then slaves would have been considered a necessity.
We know that Nicholas raised crops, had children, and apparently attended church services at All Hallow's Parish, but that is basically all that I have learned of him. He died November 20, 1708, at an age of approximately 55, and Martha died October 19, 1719.
I'd love to know more about him. Was he literate? If he owned slaves, how did he feel about that? Did he treat them well? What caused his death? If someone knows more about the life of this man, I'd love to hear from you!
The line of descent is
Nicholas Aldridge-Martha Besson
Thomas Aldridge-Elizabeth Purdy
John Aldridge-Eleanor Watkins
Jacob Aldridge-Eleanor Soper
John Simpson Aldridge-Mary Lakin
John Simpson Aldridge Jr.-Lucinda Wheeler
Darlington Aldridge-Leah Folsom
Harver H. Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
By 1679, things were looking up for Nicholas. He married Martha Beeson or Besson in 1679 at All Hallows Parish, Maryland. The next year, on August 20, 1680, he purchased 300 acres of land named "Aldridge's Beginning" in Anne Arundel County. I can almost feel the hope in his heart as he came to manhood with a new bride and land of his own in the New World. By this time, the worst part of troubles with the native Americans and the worst part of the religious disputes between Catholics and Protestants was over. Slavery had already begun, but much labor was done by indentured servants and by the colonist's own family. The family of Nicholas and Martha began with son Thomas in 1680, and he would have been doing chores for most of the day by the time he was four or five. Thomas and his 9 brothers and sisters were all baptized or christened at All Hallow's Parish.
We don't know if Nicholas owned slaves or not, but it is certainly possible. He grew tobacco, and tobacco is a labor intensive crop. If he had cleared all 300 acres of land, then slaves would have been considered a necessity.
We know that Nicholas raised crops, had children, and apparently attended church services at All Hallow's Parish, but that is basically all that I have learned of him. He died November 20, 1708, at an age of approximately 55, and Martha died October 19, 1719.
I'd love to know more about him. Was he literate? If he owned slaves, how did he feel about that? Did he treat them well? What caused his death? If someone knows more about the life of this man, I'd love to hear from you!
The line of descent is
Nicholas Aldridge-Martha Besson
Thomas Aldridge-Elizabeth Purdy
John Aldridge-Eleanor Watkins
Jacob Aldridge-Eleanor Soper
John Simpson Aldridge-Mary Lakin
John Simpson Aldridge Jr.-Lucinda Wheeler
Darlington Aldridge-Leah Folsom
Harver H. Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
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