While researching for a possible book in the future, I came across this newspaper article. I am intrigued by it because I don't know all the names featured-yet. However, they all seem to have some connection to the Aldridge family, however, distant, and therefore they would be part of the Beeks family history, too
Here is the article,from the Huntington Herald Press of August 28, 1951, written by "Miss Barbara Beeks", Andrews correspondent:
"Meet at Park
A family gathering was held at the Memorial park Sunday in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Aldridge and Frances and Madeline Dunn, and Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Aldridge of Midland, Mich. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. Herman Harrell and son of Lagro, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Osborn and family, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Aldridge and son Bill, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Beeks and family, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Harrell and son of Lagro, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Beeks of Wabash, Mrs. Bonnie Clements, Mrs. Sherll Clements, Sr.;, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Urschel of Bippus, Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland Harshbarger and family, Mrs. Lucile Gressley and family of Walkerton, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Keefer and son, Mr. and Mrs. Floren Kreider and family of South Whitley, Mr. and Mrs. George Inyeart and daughter of Liberty Mills, Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Aldridge and family, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Harrell and son, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Aldridge and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Aldridge and Madeline Dunn."
Of course some of these people can be readily identified. Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Beeks and family would have included Donald, Barbara and Vicky. Others of their children and grandchildren in this list would be Anna Mae (Beeks) Osborn and children David, Diana and probably Ron (don't have his birth date) Norman Beeks, Bonnie (Beeks) Clements, Mary (Beeks) Harshbarger and children John and Roger.
Frank Aldridge and Sam Aldridge were sons of Harvey and Margaret Catherine Dunham Aldridge, so they would be siblings of Cleo Aldridge Beeks. I will have to do some more digging to figure out the rest of these connections, and to get them properly documented, but I'm pretty sure they all have a connection to one or another of the Aldridges. If someone could help me out here, I'll be glad to post updates to this post so everyone can be properly identified. Meanwhile, this will be a fun spare time project for me1
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Friday, November 24, 2017
Holbrook line: Thomas King, Immigrant
I have a lot of summaries of the life of Thomas King. who lived from 1605 to 1676/1677. Thomas was born in England, possibly in Shaftsbury, Dorset. The problem is that there are quite a few Thomas King's,, and it's hard to figure out which one he is. In addition, the maiden name of his wife is not agreed upon. Her first name was Anne but she may or may not have been a Tice. I am disinclined, at this point, to think that she was Anne Collins. We don't even know whether the children he had were all from one wife.
His parents are generally given as Thomas and Sarah or Susan King, also of Shaftsbury. The senior Thomas is sometimes said to have died in 1642 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts but I've not been able to find documentation for that. So we have uncertain parentage, uncertain wife, and are even uncertain when he arrived in the New World. We do know that a Thomas King arrived in 1635 but we don't know if that was our Thomas, Thomas's purported father, or another Thomas King entirely.
However, we do know that he went to Sudbury, which was founded in 1639. He was not one of the very earliest settlers, but apparently was one of those who came just a bit later. His wife died in childbirth in 1642, leaving Thomas with six children (the baby lived only a few days longer than his mother) . We don't know whether this wife was his first wife, or whether some of the first children had a different mother. Thomas was of a hardier sort than most men, as he stayed single for thirteen years, apparently raising his children himself, or with the help of his oldest children. He remarried in 1655, when his children were mostly grown or at least ready to earn their own living.
He acquired land in Sudbury and then in 1656 petitioned for land in what became Marlboro. Here he was a selectman and also assisted in laying out the roads for the new town. Again he acquired land and farmed.
He wrote his will on March 1, 1676/77 and it was proven on April 20, 1676/77. We don't know whether he died of illness, accident, or possibly in the Indian attacks of King Phillip's War, which took place at about this time. He certainly died at an unhappy time in the history of Marlboro.
His wife Bridge survived another nine years, dying in 1685.
I've not found reference to the Kings' religion but it was likely Puritan, based on family association (son Peter was a deacon, and assigned to rebuild the Sudbury church). I don't know if he was literate, or what he did in England before coming to America. But I do know he came, and survived what must have been a difficult life, and for that, I admire our Thomas King.
The line of descent is:
Thomas King-Ann
Sarah King-Nathaniel Joslin
Nathaniel Joslin-Esther Morse
Israel Joslin-Sarah Cleveland
Sarah Joslin-Edward Fay
Daniel Fay-Mary or Mercy Perrin
Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
His parents are generally given as Thomas and Sarah or Susan King, also of Shaftsbury. The senior Thomas is sometimes said to have died in 1642 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts but I've not been able to find documentation for that. So we have uncertain parentage, uncertain wife, and are even uncertain when he arrived in the New World. We do know that a Thomas King arrived in 1635 but we don't know if that was our Thomas, Thomas's purported father, or another Thomas King entirely.
However, we do know that he went to Sudbury, which was founded in 1639. He was not one of the very earliest settlers, but apparently was one of those who came just a bit later. His wife died in childbirth in 1642, leaving Thomas with six children (the baby lived only a few days longer than his mother) . We don't know whether this wife was his first wife, or whether some of the first children had a different mother. Thomas was of a hardier sort than most men, as he stayed single for thirteen years, apparently raising his children himself, or with the help of his oldest children. He remarried in 1655, when his children were mostly grown or at least ready to earn their own living.
He acquired land in Sudbury and then in 1656 petitioned for land in what became Marlboro. Here he was a selectman and also assisted in laying out the roads for the new town. Again he acquired land and farmed.
He wrote his will on March 1, 1676/77 and it was proven on April 20, 1676/77. We don't know whether he died of illness, accident, or possibly in the Indian attacks of King Phillip's War, which took place at about this time. He certainly died at an unhappy time in the history of Marlboro.
His wife Bridge survived another nine years, dying in 1685.
I've not found reference to the Kings' religion but it was likely Puritan, based on family association (son Peter was a deacon, and assigned to rebuild the Sudbury church). I don't know if he was literate, or what he did in England before coming to America. But I do know he came, and survived what must have been a difficult life, and for that, I admire our Thomas King.
The line of descent is:
Thomas King-Ann
Sarah King-Nathaniel Joslin
Nathaniel Joslin-Esther Morse
Israel Joslin-Sarah Cleveland
Sarah Joslin-Edward Fay
Daniel Fay-Mary or Mercy Perrin
Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Allen line: Thomas Sparrow, Immigrant
Thomas Sparrow, immigrant, is another enigma. He has been reported as born in several different locations with several different sets of parents. He undoubtedly came from England, and married Elizabeth Marsh, probably in Virginia. One problem in identifying this immigrant is that he had a son named Thomas, who had a son named Thomas, and they all showed up on records during the same time span.
It appears that Thomas was born probably around 1600, and was in Lower Norfolk Virginia by 1640. I've seen 1625 and 1635 given as dates for his arrival here, but we do know that in 1640 he was granted 300 acres on the Elizabeth River in payment for paying transportation costs from England for 5 people, plus himself presumably. Elizabeth Marsh may have already been here, so she may have been one of the persons he transported. Regardless, this is his ticket to land ownership.
The Sparrows were Puritans, and that was not the correct religion for settlers of Virginia. Puritans were harassed and eventually forced to attend church services of the Anglican church, and to pay tithes to them. When court cases were begun, the Sparrows moved to Maryland in order to practice their faith under a government that practiced religious tolerance. The Sparrows and their servant, John Dennis, moved in 1649. We don't know for sure how many children the Sparrows had, but at least four are attributed to them. The children's birth dates are sketchy so it is likely that there were some born in Virginia and some born in Maryland.
About 1650 Thomas acquired 590 acres on the west side of the Rhodes River in the East River Hundred and called the property Sparrow's Rest. The native Americans were still active in the area and it was only after a 1652 treaty with the Susquehannock Indians that more land became available. Thomas then purchased 600 acres called Sparrow's Rest at the mouth of Broad Creek, and another 200 acres called South Canton. The size of these purchases indicates that he was likely farming tobacco, and that his original land may already have been depleted by the time he purchased the second and third grants.
By 1656, Sparrow and most of his neighbors had heard of a woman named Elizabeth Harris, who was known as the first Quaker missionary. They attended a meeting at the West River Meeting House in 1656 and the whole family converted to the Quaker religion. Shortly after that, Thomas died, probably in early 1659.
I should note that there is a good deal of controversy about whether or not this couple had a daughter Charity, who married Richard Tydings. In general, it seems that there is no real evidence one way or the other. Long, long family traditions have given Charity these parents, but it is still possible that information will be found to disprove the theory that Charity was the child of this couple, or even that she was the child of this couple. There is no mention of her in her purported father's will, but that is not entirely an obstacle as she could have received her share before the death of her father, perhaps as a wedding gift. The jury is still out on this, but for now, I'm including Thomas in our family tree.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Sparrow-Elizabeth Marsh
Charity Sparrow-Richard Tydings
Pretitia Tydings-Dutton Lane
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anne Anderson
Nancy Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
It appears that Thomas was born probably around 1600, and was in Lower Norfolk Virginia by 1640. I've seen 1625 and 1635 given as dates for his arrival here, but we do know that in 1640 he was granted 300 acres on the Elizabeth River in payment for paying transportation costs from England for 5 people, plus himself presumably. Elizabeth Marsh may have already been here, so she may have been one of the persons he transported. Regardless, this is his ticket to land ownership.
The Sparrows were Puritans, and that was not the correct religion for settlers of Virginia. Puritans were harassed and eventually forced to attend church services of the Anglican church, and to pay tithes to them. When court cases were begun, the Sparrows moved to Maryland in order to practice their faith under a government that practiced religious tolerance. The Sparrows and their servant, John Dennis, moved in 1649. We don't know for sure how many children the Sparrows had, but at least four are attributed to them. The children's birth dates are sketchy so it is likely that there were some born in Virginia and some born in Maryland.
About 1650 Thomas acquired 590 acres on the west side of the Rhodes River in the East River Hundred and called the property Sparrow's Rest. The native Americans were still active in the area and it was only after a 1652 treaty with the Susquehannock Indians that more land became available. Thomas then purchased 600 acres called Sparrow's Rest at the mouth of Broad Creek, and another 200 acres called South Canton. The size of these purchases indicates that he was likely farming tobacco, and that his original land may already have been depleted by the time he purchased the second and third grants.
By 1656, Sparrow and most of his neighbors had heard of a woman named Elizabeth Harris, who was known as the first Quaker missionary. They attended a meeting at the West River Meeting House in 1656 and the whole family converted to the Quaker religion. Shortly after that, Thomas died, probably in early 1659.
I should note that there is a good deal of controversy about whether or not this couple had a daughter Charity, who married Richard Tydings. In general, it seems that there is no real evidence one way or the other. Long, long family traditions have given Charity these parents, but it is still possible that information will be found to disprove the theory that Charity was the child of this couple, or even that she was the child of this couple. There is no mention of her in her purported father's will, but that is not entirely an obstacle as she could have received her share before the death of her father, perhaps as a wedding gift. The jury is still out on this, but for now, I'm including Thomas in our family tree.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Sparrow-Elizabeth Marsh
Charity Sparrow-Richard Tydings
Pretitia Tydings-Dutton Lane
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anne Anderson
Nancy Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Friday, November 17, 2017
Harshbarger line: Bits and pieces from the Emanuel Harshbarger family
Here are some bits and pieces from the life of the Emanuel Harshbarger family, as found on Newspapers.com
From the Commercial Mail, Columbia City, Indiana Jan. 11, 1958, in a column that was looking back 50 years:
"The Emanuel Harshbarger family reported they thought they were the county's bread-eating champions. They baked 738 loaves of bread during 1907, also ate 483 cookies and 106 pies."
I don't have death dates noted for all of the eight children in this family, but I think some were already gone by then. Grover Harshbarger was just ready to turn 17, and I suspect he ate like a growing boy. In the 1910 census, just Grover and his brother Logan were listed as living at home. Daughter Bertha, then 13, was listed in the 1900 census. So the family that ate all this food wasn't large, unless perhaps Clara sold some of the excess to neighbors or a grocery store.
Then from the Commercial Mail, May 27,1961, also looking back 50 years:
"Ambrose Keister, Troy township, had a barn raising when a 30x50 foot barn with an L was raised by Emanuel Harshbarger and his special equipment." I'd love to know how that was done, and what the special equipment was!
And finally, from The Fort wayne Sentinel, of January 13, 1920
"Fire Does Slight Damage. (Special to the News.) Columbia City, Ind. Jan. 12.--
Fire was discovered in the Emanuel Harshbarger home, two miles north of town, at 9 o.clock yesterday morning, but little damage was done. it was communicated from a defective chimney in the space between the door and ceiling and it was necessary to chop several holes in the upstairs floor to get at the smouldering blaze. The family washing was being done and plenty of water was standing in vessels with which to fight the fire, which was finally extinguished by members of the family. The loss was small and was covered by insurance."
The common thread I'm seeing here was that this was a hard-working family. These are the kind of people who made America.
The line of descent:
Emanuel Harshbarger-Clara Harter
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
From the Commercial Mail, Columbia City, Indiana Jan. 11, 1958, in a column that was looking back 50 years:
"The Emanuel Harshbarger family reported they thought they were the county's bread-eating champions. They baked 738 loaves of bread during 1907, also ate 483 cookies and 106 pies."
I don't have death dates noted for all of the eight children in this family, but I think some were already gone by then. Grover Harshbarger was just ready to turn 17, and I suspect he ate like a growing boy. In the 1910 census, just Grover and his brother Logan were listed as living at home. Daughter Bertha, then 13, was listed in the 1900 census. So the family that ate all this food wasn't large, unless perhaps Clara sold some of the excess to neighbors or a grocery store.
Then from the Commercial Mail, May 27,1961, also looking back 50 years:
"Ambrose Keister, Troy township, had a barn raising when a 30x50 foot barn with an L was raised by Emanuel Harshbarger and his special equipment." I'd love to know how that was done, and what the special equipment was!
And finally, from The Fort wayne Sentinel, of January 13, 1920
"Fire Does Slight Damage. (Special to the News.) Columbia City, Ind. Jan. 12.--
Fire was discovered in the Emanuel Harshbarger home, two miles north of town, at 9 o.clock yesterday morning, but little damage was done. it was communicated from a defective chimney in the space between the door and ceiling and it was necessary to chop several holes in the upstairs floor to get at the smouldering blaze. The family washing was being done and plenty of water was standing in vessels with which to fight the fire, which was finally extinguished by members of the family. The loss was small and was covered by insurance."
The common thread I'm seeing here was that this was a hard-working family. These are the kind of people who made America.
The line of descent:
Emanuel Harshbarger-Clara Harter
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Beeks line: September 17, 1950 A farewell dinner given
I found this gem in the Huntington Herald Press of september 22,1950, page 4, in a column written by "Miss Barbara Beeks".
"Farewell Dinner Given"
"A farewell dinner was given at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Beeks and family Sunday in honor of their son, James Beeks, who left to join the armed forces at Camp Hood, Texas. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Keefer and son, Dewayne, Michigan; Loretta Scott, Lagro:, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Osborn and sons, David and Ronnie, and daughter Dianna, Lee Vought and son, Ronnie; Charles Senkpiel, Mt. Etna; Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Brown and son Bobbie; Vicky Beeks and the honored son. Supper guests were Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland Harshbarger and sons, Roger and Johnny. Mr. Beeks served one year in the army at Fort Braggs, N.C. and was discharged last spring. "
Jim's younger siblings, Norman, Donald, Bonnie, and Barbara seem to have all been living at home at this time, so unless they were working they were probably at the gathering too. Jim was the oldest surviving child of Wilbur and Cleo, and when he came home after his first discharge they must have counted their blessings, never imagining he would be called back and later sent to Korea.
I'm writing this on Veteran's Day although it won't post for a few days. Sometimes simple stories like this help us realize what our ancestors and relatives went through, and why we honor our service men and women. There may have been tears; there surely were proud and aching hearts, as Jim left for Texas.
"Farewell Dinner Given"
"A farewell dinner was given at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Beeks and family Sunday in honor of their son, James Beeks, who left to join the armed forces at Camp Hood, Texas. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Keefer and son, Dewayne, Michigan; Loretta Scott, Lagro:, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Osborn and sons, David and Ronnie, and daughter Dianna, Lee Vought and son, Ronnie; Charles Senkpiel, Mt. Etna; Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Brown and son Bobbie; Vicky Beeks and the honored son. Supper guests were Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland Harshbarger and sons, Roger and Johnny. Mr. Beeks served one year in the army at Fort Braggs, N.C. and was discharged last spring. "
Jim's younger siblings, Norman, Donald, Bonnie, and Barbara seem to have all been living at home at this time, so unless they were working they were probably at the gathering too. Jim was the oldest surviving child of Wilbur and Cleo, and when he came home after his first discharge they must have counted their blessings, never imagining he would be called back and later sent to Korea.
I'm writing this on Veteran's Day although it won't post for a few days. Sometimes simple stories like this help us realize what our ancestors and relatives went through, and why we honor our service men and women. There may have been tears; there surely were proud and aching hearts, as Jim left for Texas.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Holbrook line: Quentin Pray 1595-1667 Immigrant
And we have a winner! Quentin or Quintin Pray is pretty well documented because he got into so much minor trouble. His court records are fascinating, and because of them, we know quite a bit about him, although of course there are questions. It's kind of fun to find someone outside the normal "Puritan" culture, who left an interesting story to be told. I should mention that this information comes from Michael S. Caldwell's tree on rootsweb, as well as additional information found on geni and on Find a Grave. I have little personal research to add, but I'm glad to be able to write this story, anyway.
Quentin was born August 27,1595 in Chiddingstone, Kent, England. His father was probably Robert Pray, although I have also seen a Richard Pray listed as his father, with no mention of his mother to be found other than possibly "Marion". Wikipedia describes Chiddingstone as "a perfect example of a Tudor one street village". Quentin would have grown up here, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, in his early childhood.
We don't know what trade he worked or how he met his wife, Joan Valliance, but they married June 17, 1621 in Mayfield, Sussex, England. The two villages appear to be about 13 miles apart. Several of their children were baptized in Frant, which ispartly in Knet and partly in Sussex County.
Possibly for economic reasons, since we have no evidence of a Puritan leaning, or maybe because the couple was ready for an adventure, they came to America in 1643, on the ship "Ann Cleeve of London". John Winthrop, Jr had gone to England and arranged for a group of workmen, servants, and materials to come of Massachusetts for the purpose of setting up an ironworks. Presumably Quentin and family would then have been in debt to Winthrop for their passage, although it is possible that they came as indentured servants. It would be interesting to find the early papers of the Iron Works Company, to see what any contracts might say.
Quentin first went to Kittery, Maine, but was soon in Lynn, Massachusetts. There are references to him as a "fineryman" but I'm unable to determine whether this was a general term for ironworker, or whether this was a specific job within the process.
Starting in 1647, Quentin and sometimes his wife appeared before the quarterly court of Essex County several times on charges of swearing. The usual fine was five shillings, and on December 12, 1648, the two were fined 50 shillings, for five oaths. The reference doesn't say whether this took place during one marital discussion, or whether it was the result of some other dispute.
Quinton also was a witness when Nicholas Pynyon, who may have been a relative, was 'presented" for killing five children, on the testimony of his (Nicholas's) wife. I haven't found the results of this yet, but Nicholas was in the court records later, or possibly it was a son or other family member.
Finally, Quinton on July 11, 1649 was charged with hitting Nicholas Penion with a staff that had a two feet piece of iron on the end of it, breaking Nicholas's head, and for striking Thomas Billington, and for swearing. For all this, he was fined. Ironworkers must have had privileges that somehow kept them from the gallows! Quinton also may have been charged with striking Jno. Dimond, although the date for that isn't clear.
Sometime in the 1650's, probably about 1651, the Prays moved to Braintree and there he lived out his life. He was still working as an ironworker and possibly filed bankruptcy in 1653 (not sure whether this was a personal bankruptcy or the failure of the ironworks he was employed by). In 1664, he sold all his personal property to pay off personal debts, so things had not gone well for Quentin.
He died June 17, 1667 in Braintree. His wife Joan was given administration of the estate. The estate was valued at 74 pounds, three shillings. One interesting item in the inventory was three spinning wheels. This shows that there were several people living in the home. One record says that the youngest of possibly as many as 12 children was born at Braintree, which would have made Joan, if this was still the Joan he had married in 1621, a mother at a rather advanced age. Quentin must have trusted her judgement, to make her the administrator when she still had children at home.
I found no mention of church involvement for Quentin, which may possibly be inferred by his court record His inventory shows no books, although of course they may have been sold to settle that earlier debt. There's much we don't know about Quentin, but we know he led a colorful life, he was a hard worker, and he probably provided at least enough, if not generously, for his family. It will be fun to keep an eye out for more records as I study more in early Massachusetts history.
The line of descent is:
Quinton Pray-Joan Valliance
Richard Pray-Mary
John Pray-Sarah Brown
Mary Pray Richard Brown
Othniel Brown-Deborah Brown
Sarah Brown-Enos Eddy
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Lousi Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Yes, there are three separate Brown families in this line. Two go back to Chad Brown and Elizabeth Sharparowe but the other line doesn't seem to, or at least the connection is far up the tree.
Quentin was born August 27,1595 in Chiddingstone, Kent, England. His father was probably Robert Pray, although I have also seen a Richard Pray listed as his father, with no mention of his mother to be found other than possibly "Marion". Wikipedia describes Chiddingstone as "a perfect example of a Tudor one street village". Quentin would have grown up here, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, in his early childhood.
We don't know what trade he worked or how he met his wife, Joan Valliance, but they married June 17, 1621 in Mayfield, Sussex, England. The two villages appear to be about 13 miles apart. Several of their children were baptized in Frant, which ispartly in Knet and partly in Sussex County.
Possibly for economic reasons, since we have no evidence of a Puritan leaning, or maybe because the couple was ready for an adventure, they came to America in 1643, on the ship "Ann Cleeve of London". John Winthrop, Jr had gone to England and arranged for a group of workmen, servants, and materials to come of Massachusetts for the purpose of setting up an ironworks. Presumably Quentin and family would then have been in debt to Winthrop for their passage, although it is possible that they came as indentured servants. It would be interesting to find the early papers of the Iron Works Company, to see what any contracts might say.
Quentin first went to Kittery, Maine, but was soon in Lynn, Massachusetts. There are references to him as a "fineryman" but I'm unable to determine whether this was a general term for ironworker, or whether this was a specific job within the process.
Starting in 1647, Quentin and sometimes his wife appeared before the quarterly court of Essex County several times on charges of swearing. The usual fine was five shillings, and on December 12, 1648, the two were fined 50 shillings, for five oaths. The reference doesn't say whether this took place during one marital discussion, or whether it was the result of some other dispute.
Quinton also was a witness when Nicholas Pynyon, who may have been a relative, was 'presented" for killing five children, on the testimony of his (Nicholas's) wife. I haven't found the results of this yet, but Nicholas was in the court records later, or possibly it was a son or other family member.
Finally, Quinton on July 11, 1649 was charged with hitting Nicholas Penion with a staff that had a two feet piece of iron on the end of it, breaking Nicholas's head, and for striking Thomas Billington, and for swearing. For all this, he was fined. Ironworkers must have had privileges that somehow kept them from the gallows! Quinton also may have been charged with striking Jno. Dimond, although the date for that isn't clear.
Sometime in the 1650's, probably about 1651, the Prays moved to Braintree and there he lived out his life. He was still working as an ironworker and possibly filed bankruptcy in 1653 (not sure whether this was a personal bankruptcy or the failure of the ironworks he was employed by). In 1664, he sold all his personal property to pay off personal debts, so things had not gone well for Quentin.
He died June 17, 1667 in Braintree. His wife Joan was given administration of the estate. The estate was valued at 74 pounds, three shillings. One interesting item in the inventory was three spinning wheels. This shows that there were several people living in the home. One record says that the youngest of possibly as many as 12 children was born at Braintree, which would have made Joan, if this was still the Joan he had married in 1621, a mother at a rather advanced age. Quentin must have trusted her judgement, to make her the administrator when she still had children at home.
I found no mention of church involvement for Quentin, which may possibly be inferred by his court record His inventory shows no books, although of course they may have been sold to settle that earlier debt. There's much we don't know about Quentin, but we know he led a colorful life, he was a hard worker, and he probably provided at least enough, if not generously, for his family. It will be fun to keep an eye out for more records as I study more in early Massachusetts history.
The line of descent is:
Quinton Pray-Joan Valliance
Richard Pray-Mary
John Pray-Sarah Brown
Mary Pray Richard Brown
Othniel Brown-Deborah Brown
Sarah Brown-Enos Eddy
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Lousi Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Yes, there are three separate Brown families in this line. Two go back to Chad Brown and Elizabeth Sharparowe but the other line doesn't seem to, or at least the connection is far up the tree.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Allen line: Joseph Riley, possible Irishman, Immigrant
This post will be more a collection of ideas than a post of fact. Please take anything you read here with a grain of salt. I am trying to do more research to support this post but so far I'm coming up empty, and here is my deadline for writing this post.
I've written an earlier blog post about John Riley, and I think I had that one pretty much straight, but I could be wrong. Joseph seems, at the present time, to be more in the way of a myth, since I can't find records right now to support what I have finding on line. I'll post what I have found online here in the hopes that this will give us some clues as to where to look, or perhaps someone will recognize this man and be able to say, "No, he's not your guy, and here's why".
The first surprising thing is that Joseph seems to have been born on December 12, 1598 in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland. That is a bit unusual for our family, but stranger things have happened. His parents may have been Jonathan Riley and Sarah, whose name is given in some places as Deming. Deming is a good New England name but I'm not sure it's a good Irish name, so there is one of my hesitations with this tree.
The next "fact" I find about Joseph is that he married Mary Wright on January 23,1624 in Eland, Yorkshire, England. I am unable to figure out a really good reason that Joseph would have gone from Dublin to Yorkshire to marry, except, possibly, that his Riley grandparents, Daniel and Elizabeth Bist Riley, went from Yorkshire to Dublin. So there is a slight possibility that he had family in the area. it's also possible that Daniel and Elizabeth are also not factual.
It seems that Joseph and Mary arrived in New England in the late 1620s, because supposedly their son Thomas was born in Wethersfield, Hartford Connecticut in 1630. There's a problem here, however, as Wethersfield wasn't founded until 1822, quite a bit after our ancestor lived. Also, the trees are showing that Joseph died in Massachusetts, possibly Westfield, Hampden County. The problem with that is I have looked at those records (Westfield) and there are no Rileys at all listed there prior to, at least, 1700.
Joseph and Mary have been credited with at least five children: John, Sarah, William, Daniel, and Elizabeth, with John presumably being the oldest and being born in Dublin. However, I'm not finding records of the births of the children.
I would certainly like to find some documentation for this family. If they are from Dublin, then that makes them quite interesting people in our family. If they are not from Dublin, where are they from? And if John's parents aren't even Joseph and Mary, where do we go from here?
Do you see why sometimes it feels like banging one's head against a wall, in trying to verify "information"? I don't want to mislead anyone into believing that much of anything here has been proven, at least not be me. Yet, on the chance that this is correct, here we go:
The line of descent may be:
Joseph Riley-Mary Wright
John Riley-Grace Buck
John Riley-Margaret McCraney
Mary Riley-Joseph Ely
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
I've written an earlier blog post about John Riley, and I think I had that one pretty much straight, but I could be wrong. Joseph seems, at the present time, to be more in the way of a myth, since I can't find records right now to support what I have finding on line. I'll post what I have found online here in the hopes that this will give us some clues as to where to look, or perhaps someone will recognize this man and be able to say, "No, he's not your guy, and here's why".
The first surprising thing is that Joseph seems to have been born on December 12, 1598 in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland. That is a bit unusual for our family, but stranger things have happened. His parents may have been Jonathan Riley and Sarah, whose name is given in some places as Deming. Deming is a good New England name but I'm not sure it's a good Irish name, so there is one of my hesitations with this tree.
The next "fact" I find about Joseph is that he married Mary Wright on January 23,1624 in Eland, Yorkshire, England. I am unable to figure out a really good reason that Joseph would have gone from Dublin to Yorkshire to marry, except, possibly, that his Riley grandparents, Daniel and Elizabeth Bist Riley, went from Yorkshire to Dublin. So there is a slight possibility that he had family in the area. it's also possible that Daniel and Elizabeth are also not factual.
It seems that Joseph and Mary arrived in New England in the late 1620s, because supposedly their son Thomas was born in Wethersfield, Hartford Connecticut in 1630. There's a problem here, however, as Wethersfield wasn't founded until 1822, quite a bit after our ancestor lived. Also, the trees are showing that Joseph died in Massachusetts, possibly Westfield, Hampden County. The problem with that is I have looked at those records (Westfield) and there are no Rileys at all listed there prior to, at least, 1700.
Joseph and Mary have been credited with at least five children: John, Sarah, William, Daniel, and Elizabeth, with John presumably being the oldest and being born in Dublin. However, I'm not finding records of the births of the children.
I would certainly like to find some documentation for this family. If they are from Dublin, then that makes them quite interesting people in our family. If they are not from Dublin, where are they from? And if John's parents aren't even Joseph and Mary, where do we go from here?
Do you see why sometimes it feels like banging one's head against a wall, in trying to verify "information"? I don't want to mislead anyone into believing that much of anything here has been proven, at least not be me. Yet, on the chance that this is correct, here we go:
The line of descent may be:
Joseph Riley-Mary Wright
John Riley-Grace Buck
John Riley-Margaret McCraney
Mary Riley-Joseph Ely
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Friday, November 3, 2017
Harshbarger line: End of the Harshbarger line?
I sure have a long list of people in the Harshbarger line, in one convoluted fashion or another, whom I can't trace further back. Some are from Virginia, some from the Maryland and what became West Virginia area, and many were in Pennsylvania in early times. Some came from England, some from Germany and Switzerland. This is too wide of a geographic area, too many generations in time, and too expensive for me to possibly be able to find all of these people. I don't know if I'll ever find any of these ancestors. But by posting their names and what little I know about them, I am at least honoring them, and leaving bread crumbs for other researchers, perhaps.
John Gordon, father of Alice who married John Wyatt. Alice was born about 1752.
Anna Jackson born about 1630, wife of William Wyatt of Virginia
Jane widow Curtis, wife of Nicholas Cocke. She was born about 1627.
wife of Thomas Edmondson Thomas died 1715 in Essex County, Va.
Susannah Bryant, wife of John Boughan. She died 1726.
Mary, wife of James Boughan, 1640-1683
Thomasin widow Harper married James Boughan
wife of Thomas Allaman. He lived 1630-1706
Elizabeth wife of John Gregory. She lived 1625-1676.
Ann, wife of Thomas Edmondson, born about 1615 possibly in Ireland
Matthew Farmer 1743-1835, died in Miami County, Ohio and his wife Margaret
Caleb Bennett 1765-1841 died Miami County, Ohio and his wife Ann Catherine Wilson
Joseph Kirk 1754-1830 and his wife Sarah
Daniel Shultz 1730-1820
Magnus Walter and wife Maria Kocher, parents of Catherine Walter
Sarah widow Vetatoe wife of Johann Valentine Geiger. He lived 1718-1777
Christiana Hedwig Menner 1633-1710, wife of Jacob Friederich Bauer
first wife of Christian Brower. He lived 171-1771.
Anna Este, wife of Hubert Brower. She lived 1694-1786
Barbara, wife of Daniel Lawall. He lived 1716-1796.
Christian Bracker, father of Eva Bracker. She lived 1730-1800.
father of Johann Georg Harter. Georg lived 1727-1800
Margareth, wife of John Menter. He lived 1767-1821.
Margaret wife of Leonard Dulibon or Tulipan. He lived 1730-1786
wife of Franz Dulibon or Tulipan. He died Lancaster County, Pa.
Anna Elizabeth, wife of Johann Gebhard Huebschmann. He lied 1713-1771
Anna Marie Geise, wife of Daniel Kraemer. She died 1813 in Centre County, Pa.
Elisabeth, wife of Matthias Kraemer He died 1747
Johann Georg Drach, father of Maria Anna Drach. She lived 1706-1755.
Anna Barbara, wife of Johann Peter Behney. he lived 1715-1784.
Maria Otilia Weiler, wofe of Peter Jacob Fehler, born about 1711.
It's possible that some of these people didn't actually come to America. It's also possible that I've not included people on this list who actually did come, but I don't know enough to make that guess. I'm thinking of possibly a father for Joseph Kirk and parents for Sarah, for instance. Also many of these dates are "about" dates, for could be off by a few years. I have little to go on, and much to learn!
If you can help with any of these people, please contact me. happygenealogydancingATgmailDOTcom.
John Gordon, father of Alice who married John Wyatt. Alice was born about 1752.
Anna Jackson born about 1630, wife of William Wyatt of Virginia
Jane widow Curtis, wife of Nicholas Cocke. She was born about 1627.
wife of Thomas Edmondson Thomas died 1715 in Essex County, Va.
Susannah Bryant, wife of John Boughan. She died 1726.
Mary, wife of James Boughan, 1640-1683
Thomasin widow Harper married James Boughan
wife of Thomas Allaman. He lived 1630-1706
Elizabeth wife of John Gregory. She lived 1625-1676.
Ann, wife of Thomas Edmondson, born about 1615 possibly in Ireland
Matthew Farmer 1743-1835, died in Miami County, Ohio and his wife Margaret
Caleb Bennett 1765-1841 died Miami County, Ohio and his wife Ann Catherine Wilson
Joseph Kirk 1754-1830 and his wife Sarah
Daniel Shultz 1730-1820
Magnus Walter and wife Maria Kocher, parents of Catherine Walter
Sarah widow Vetatoe wife of Johann Valentine Geiger. He lived 1718-1777
Christiana Hedwig Menner 1633-1710, wife of Jacob Friederich Bauer
first wife of Christian Brower. He lived 171-1771.
Anna Este, wife of Hubert Brower. She lived 1694-1786
Barbara, wife of Daniel Lawall. He lived 1716-1796.
Christian Bracker, father of Eva Bracker. She lived 1730-1800.
father of Johann Georg Harter. Georg lived 1727-1800
Margareth, wife of John Menter. He lived 1767-1821.
Margaret wife of Leonard Dulibon or Tulipan. He lived 1730-1786
wife of Franz Dulibon or Tulipan. He died Lancaster County, Pa.
Anna Elizabeth, wife of Johann Gebhard Huebschmann. He lied 1713-1771
Anna Marie Geise, wife of Daniel Kraemer. She died 1813 in Centre County, Pa.
Elisabeth, wife of Matthias Kraemer He died 1747
Johann Georg Drach, father of Maria Anna Drach. She lived 1706-1755.
Anna Barbara, wife of Johann Peter Behney. he lived 1715-1784.
Maria Otilia Weiler, wofe of Peter Jacob Fehler, born about 1711.
It's possible that some of these people didn't actually come to America. It's also possible that I've not included people on this list who actually did come, but I don't know enough to make that guess. I'm thinking of possibly a father for Joseph Kirk and parents for Sarah, for instance. Also many of these dates are "about" dates, for could be off by a few years. I have little to go on, and much to learn!
If you can help with any of these people, please contact me. happygenealogydancingATgmailDOTcom.
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