Holbrook line: Enos Eddy 1774-after 1840

 Oh, my goodness.  Enos Eddy was a traveling man!  Or, there was more than one man by that name.  We know he had a son Enos, but even before the younger son became a man, there are confusing records for him.  The confusions are many and the records are fewer.  

Let's start with what we know for sure.  Enos Eddy was the son of Enos and Sarah Brown Eddy.  He was born in Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island on June 6, 1774.  He was one of four children born to the couple. Enos, the father, died in 1784 and I've been unable to find a death date for Sarah.  Our Enos would have been raised either as an orphan or in a step father's home.  Either way, he may have been either indentured or apprenticed to someone, because that's what often happened in that time period.  (Apprenticeship would imply he was taught a trade; if he was indentured he may not have had that opportunity.)  That's as much as I've learned so far about Enos Eddy's early life.

He married Deborah Paine, daughter of Nathan and Lillis Winsor Paine, on March 18, 1794 in Glocester.  They had at least 14 children together. The first few may have been born in Glocester but by 1798 he was in Kingston, New York, and by 1802 the Eddy family had moved to Richfield, Otsego, New York, which is quite a distance from Glocester.  Richfield is near the eastern end of Lake Ontario.  Enos is listed there in the census of 1800 and the tax records of 1802 and 1803. where he is listed as owning a house and farm.  The 1803 list shows several men by the name of Eddy, so they may have traveled there as a group, or it may be a matter of chain migration.  

In 1810, we find him in Smithfield, Madison County, New York, with 9 children under the age of 16.  Smithfield is 150 miles south and a little to the east of Richfield.  In 1820, he seems to be in Sweden, Genesee County, New York with 7 people under the age of 25, and he and Deborah are both listed as 45 and over.  So he's moved about 125 miles west and is now south of Lake Ontario.  Enos Jr is in Cazenovia, Madison County, New York for this census.

And then it gets confusing.  The only Enos Eddy I can find in New York is listed in Cecilius, Cattauragus County, NY, where the name is Enos Eddy Junior.  This appears to be son Enos, but there is a man of the right age (50-59) also there.  Was our Enos visiting his son, perhaps helping him get settled in a new location, helping him clear fields and plant crops?  If so, where is Deborah?  I've not been able to locate a separate census entry for her.  The 1840 census is even more confusing, because while there is a listing for Enos Eddy in Mansfield, Cattaraugus County, NY, there is no tick mark that would be likely to be either Enos.  The two oldest males are between 13 and 20.  

So what has happened to Enos, the subject of this post?  Is he deceased?  I have an undocumented death date of "after 1840" but I don't know what that is based on.  I also have a death date of 1817 in Darien, Genesee County, New York.  Again, that is not documented but it is incorrect because children were born as late as 1822.  I wonder if "1817" is a typo for "1847"?  And if it was 1847, where was he in 1840?  I wonder if he was possibly working on Lake Ontario and wasn't counted by the census takers, but that is just speculation.  As far as we know, he was principally a farmer.  

We do have a cemetery inscription for Deborah, "wife of Enos Eddy", at Walker cemetery, southwest of South Byron, Genesee County, with a death date of February 16, 1849. It's possible that Enos is there, too, and that either there was no stone or the stone is now gone.  And the wording seems to indicate that Enos may still be alive, because if he was gone, the wording would likely be "widow".  

So that's what is known about Enos.  I have so many questions.  I've been unable to locate a will or probate papers,  I've not found him in any on line listings of militia or soldiers for the War of 1812, although he was of the right age and location to be in some of the major battles of that war.  Did he participate?  What was his religion?  Why did he move so frequently?  Was he the man aged 50-59 with his son in 1830?  

I plan to keep digging for answers to some of these questions.  As of now, the lack of information is giving me an itch I need to scratch!  

The line of descent is:

Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine

Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

Beeks line: Christian Gutknecht 1729-1795

 First, an apology.  Usually when I write a blog post, I have at least one new piece of information, one that hasn't been widely reported, about my subject.  That is not the case with this blog post.  Everything I have found comes from the popular genealogy websites such as geni and wikitree.  We are fortunate that at least this basic information is available, and it is likely available only because Christian Gutknecht is one of former President Barack Obama's ancestors.  So for those few people who might someday read this, and for whom geni and wikitree are not their go-to sources, here's a brief recap of what is known about him.

Christian Gutknecht was born June 24, 1722 in Bischwiller, Basse-Alsace, France.  "Gutknecht", however, is not a French name; it may be German in origin.  Bischwiller is right on the border of France and Germany and it has changed hands more than once over the centuries.  Christian's father, Hans Michael Gutknecht, was born in Switzerland, and his mother, Anna Barbara Keiffer, was born in Alsace.  So that gives us a clue that Hans Michael lived in Bischwiller at the time of his marriage and thereafter.  It's quite possible that the Gutknechts moved to Bischwiller in search of religious freedom, but that is a subject for another time.  

Christian married at least once and perhaps twice.  The marriage that we know of is to Mgdalena Maria Grunholtz, the daughter of Johann Michael and Magdalena Mischler Grunholtz. They were married on April 25, 1746 in Bischwiller.  Three years later, the couple arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on board the Christian.  The ship made the common trip of Rotterdam to Cowes to Philadelphia, arriving on September 13, 1749. 

I've seen lists of several children for the Gutknechts, including Samuel and Catherine.  There may well be others, but I've not seen that documentation.

We don't know whether Christian was able to pay for the passage of himself and his family, or whether he had to serve an indentureship in order to begin building a new life in America.  We do know that he settled in Germantown, and probably never left there.  The only occupation we are able to determine is "tobacco preparer", which is sort of nebulous.  My best guess is that he owned or worked in a small shop,perhaps cutting or shredding tobacco in preparation for making cigars, or for use in pipes.  

We also know that he attended St Michael's Lutheran Church, because there are records there of the christening, and sadly, the burials, of some of his children, as well as his own burial record.  The church history is rather interesting.  The first pastor was an ancestor in the Harshbarger line, and the pastor during the Revolutionary War was decidedly pro-American.  There are several Revolutionary War veterans buried at the cemetery.

I've not been able to identify Christian as a military participant in the Revolutionary War, but he was surely affected by it.  A major Revolutionary War battle took place there, on October 4, 1777, with over 1100 Americans killed, wounded, or captured.  Great Britain "won" that battle and it must have been a frightening time for all the townspeople.  It's possible that Christian fought, it's possible that he helped in a civilian capacity, and of course it's possible that Magdalena also was involved.  Or perhaps they all escaped to the countryside, we just don't know.  Germantown would have been tense for quite some time, as the British had captured Philadelphia and made their headquarters there.  (Meanwhile, the American army headed for Valley Forge.)

That's really the last we know of Christian's life, real or supposed, until his death on December 25, 1795.  I've seen a census record from 1790 showing Christian in Mecklenburg, North Carolina but this seems to be a much younger man, based on the ages of the people in his household.  It is possible that this is Christian's son, also named Christian, who was born in 1756.  

I've not found a will or estate papers, nor have I yet found tax records for Christian. But we know he lived through at least two major events, the trip over and the Revolutionary War, and can wonder about any effect that the French and Indian war might have had on his life.  We know he was a Lutheran.  And we know that he is one of many ancestors who contributed to our family as well as to his country.  

The line of descent is

Christian Gutnecht-Magdalena Grunholtz

Samuel Goodnight-Magdalena Berkheimer

Catherine Goodnight-Jacob Dunham

Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese

Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge

Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks

Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Their descendants

Holbrook line: Jesse Holbrook 1729-1815 A captain and a Gentleman

Who knew Jesse Holbrook could have so many answers, and raise so many questions?  He is such an interesting man and I can't imagine why I've waited so long to write about my fifth great grandfather.  Here are a few highlights from his life:

Jesse was born July 21, 1729 in Bellingham, Massachusetts, to Joseph and Mary Cook Holbrook.  The Holbrooks had been in Massachusetts almost forever, with his great great grandfather, Thomas, being the original immigrant in 1635.  He was the youngest of nine children, so may have been a bit pampered.  Alternatively, he may have been the kind of child who over-achieves, not willing that older brothers and sisters should be able to do something he couldn't do.  

Jesse was a Baptist and apparently at one time went to jail for not paying his taxes, which would have gone partly to support the Congregationalist church.  There is fascinating information about the church fights, and the town fights, during Bellingham's history, on the official Bellingham, Massachusetts website.  This town didn't know political correctness in the 18th century!  

Jesse married Abigail Thayer, daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Wheelock Thayer, on March 28, 1753.  Elnathan Wight was the pastor of the church at the time, and it is probably that he conducted the ceremony.  Jesse and Abigail had as many as 7 children, adding to the great number of Holbrooks who already lived in the small village.  These children had not only their siblings for playmates and companions, but also their cousins, on both sides of the family.  And if they weren't related to someone, chances are their children or grandchildren would be!  

I have notes in my file that say Jesse was in the militia during the French and Indian War.  Unfortunately, I did not list my source and I can't locate one now to support that statement, so will only state that it is entirely possible, as he was of the appropriate age, and many men (Ia large percentage) of men served in one or more of the campaigns.  

We do know that Jesse Holbrook was a captain in the militia when word was received in 1775 of the battle of Lexington and Concord, and he and his unit marched to Lexington in support of the patriot effort.  He is credited with about a month of service, intermittent, during 1775 and 1776.  By this time he was past the age of 45, and it would not have been an easy effort, physically.  He also saw two of his sons go off as soldiers, at least one of whom was in the war for as long as three years.  

Later in his life, he became known less as Captain and more as "Gentleman".  This is how he describes himself in his will, and other papers in his estate packet repeat the term.  He was a respected man, for his service, for his financial status, and presumably for his standing in the church.  There are records of his 1798 tax status which show that on that particular page, the combination of his and his late son Amariah's taxes were the third highest on that page.

Jesse wrote his will in 1808, which provided for Abigail, then giving half the estate to his son Jesse Junior and the other half to be divided among his grandchildren, specifically including Tryphena Holbrook, who was to receive the same share as the other grandchildren. By the time Jesse died on March 18, 1815, he had been a widower for a little over ten years.

(Tryphena is a bit of a mystery.  She was the daughter of Jesse's son Amariah, but was also listed specifically in Amariah's will.  Was she an adopted child, or one born before Amariah's marriage, or is there another situation?  I've not been able to determine this and it is an interesting question.)

Jesse's estate package is one of the most interesting I've seen.  Not only is there a will, but there is an inventory, and not only is there an inventory, but there is also a record of who bought what when the personal property was sold.  And here is where we learn not only about Jesse's life, but about that of his daughter in law, Molly Wright Holbrook, the widow of Amariah.  

I've long felt a special connection to Molly, for reasons I can't explain.  For a long time, she was a brick wall, and I admired her because I saw her as an independent person, since she never married after the 1797 death of Amariah, and raised her 7 children by herself (except, of course, for the village of relatives who undoubtedly helped).  Jesse's papers tell me more about Molly, which only reinforces my original thoughts.  She took care of Jesse during at least the last year of his life, for which the estate paid her $42.  And she also received $47 in funeral and final expenses.  When his personal property was sold, she purchased his great Bible, and his weaving loom.  So Jesse had been a weaver, and I strongly suspect this is how Molly supported herself for the rest of her life, which was another 30 years after Jesse died.  I didn't know I was going to find so much about Molly when I looked at Jesse's estate!

The bond for Jesse's estate was $10,000, indicating that he was considered to be financially well off.  His estate was valued at considerably less than that, but may not have included all of his real estate.  Since he had a Bible and 3 other books, it is reasonable to conclude that he could read and probably write.  I didn't see a mention of firearms in the inventory.  He had mostly household furnishings, including silver spoons, and farming equipment and animals.  Since he hadn't disposed of these earlier, he likely had been farming up until his final decline.  

Jesse Holbrook was a man of integrity, and a patriot, a husband and father and believer and farmer.  I like what I've learned about him!

The line of descent is

Jesse Holbrook-Abigail Thayer

Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright

Nahum Holbrook-Levi Rockwood

Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stamard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

 

Harshbarger line: Benjamin Buchtel 1806-1872

It's relatively easy to write (and read) about ancestors who were fine, upstanding people.  It's harder to read and write about those who perhaps didn't meet life's challenges as well as others did.  Benjamin Buchtel may belong to the second category, although he seems to have stayed out of trouble with the law.  But let's start at the beginning.

Benjamin was born in Rebersburg, Pennsylvania on or before February 4, 1806.  His parents were Solomon and Mary Margaret Reber Buchtel, and 6 of his great grandparents had been born in Germany but had come to America and then settled in Pennsylvania during the middle 1700s (mostly).   Benjamin's parents left Pennsylvania to move to Portage County, Ohio (possibly the part that later became Summit County) sometime in or before 1815, when Solomon first bought land there.  Benjamin would have been a young boy at the time, and the War of 1812 was just concluded when the Buchtel family moved, probably mostly by boat, to Ohio.  

We know nothing of Benjamin's life in Ohio until 1844, when he married Barbara Burkholder Long, a young widow and the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Miller Burkholder.  He was 38 years old at the time, which is quite late for a man to marry for the first time, and she was eighteen.  I have searched for another marriage record for Benjamin (not exhaustively, but I've looked in the usual places) and haven't found one, so that will remain a mystery for now.  Barbara was not yet 18, although the marriage record from June 1844 says she was.  Her birthdate is given in other sources as September 22, 1826.  But Barbara was surely older than her years, for she was a widow and a grieving mother, whose first child, at least, had died at an early age.  

I've not found Benjamin in the 1840 census, which probably means he was a tick mark in someone else's family listing.  In 1850, he and Barbara are listed in Brimfield, Portage County, Ohio, with three children (Joseph, Betsey, and Fanny) and with Susan Long.  Susan was likely some sort of relative to Barbara's first husband, Thomas Long.  Benjamin's occupation that year was listed as "cooper".  

Sometime between 1850 and 1860 the Buchtels moved to Whitley County, Ohio.  Barbara's family was there, and she may have encouraged the move west.  By 1860, Joseph is no longer with the family and there are four new names-Susannah, Margaret, Solomon, and Thomas, who was just six months old.  He is listed as a farmer, but it must have been a small farm, for his real estate is valued at just fifty dollars and his personal property at twenty-five dollars.  An 1860 deed totals his land at just two acres, so he may have been a laborer for someone else, also.  

As of June 1, 1870, (census day), the family was still together, with four children. Thomas must have died, but there is a new name, Evy.  Benjamin is now listed as a day laborer.  The census also notes that he cannot read or write, although Barbara can.  

The census doesn't show us what home life was like for the couple, but we have legal documents, a divorce filing by Barbara in March of 1871, that life at home was miserable.  Benjamin had apparently been an acceptable husband for much of their marriage, but "is now and has been for six or eight years past an habitual drunkard".  The suit goes on to state that he failed to provide for her and the two children still at home, and that when she, Barbara, was able to go out and work among the neighbors, Benjamin would take the money from her by force and threats and use it to buy intoxicating liquors rather than buying food and clothing for his family.  There were also allegations that he beat her, which were supported by a dozen witnesses.  Barbara got her divorce.

The only clue we have as to what changed Benjamin (if in fact he changed but let's hope he did) is that their youngest daughter, Evie, born about 1864, was blind. (She may have had other physical challenges, also, but that is unknown at this time.) This would fit in with the 6-8 years past that Barbara mentioned in the divorce filing.  Benjamin didn't live long after the divorce, the Columbia City Post noting on January 18, 1872, that "Benjamin Buchtel, aged 75 years or more, fell dead last Sunday morning.  He lived near William Tannehill in the township."   

Benjamin did, wittingly or not, do one final good deed.  He didn't change his will after the divorce, so that Barbara inherited land and a small estate from him.  She soon married Daniel Kemery, who was the father in law of two of her daughters, but died herself in 1877.  

It's hard to read this about an ancestor, and easy to find fault with him.  But since we didn't walk in his shoes, or understand what pressures he was under, let's simply acknowledge his faults and also the fact that he is an ancestor, and this family wouldn't have happened without him.

The line of descent is:

Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Burkholder

Fanny Buchtel-Adam Kemery

Della Kemery-William Withers

Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their children

 

Beeks line: Andrew Wise 1796-1868

    Andrew Wise had quite a life.  Because some of it was spent near our current location, it seems like we should be able to just reach out and find him, but that's not the case.  We have bits and pieces and not much more.  

Andrew was born sometime between 1795 and 1800, probably in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, where his parents lived. So far, I haven't found a record of his birth or christening, so his age is based on census records.  His parents were Johan Jacob and Charlotte Raub Weiss, and they came to Shelby County, Ohio by 1819. when Jacob is shown on tax records in Loramie Township.  Andrew had siblings, including Jacob and possibly Peter and Samuel.  

Andrew was a young man when the family arrived in Shelby County, and he soon married Mary Serfass, daughter of George Philip and possibly Eva Servoss (as you can see, there are several spellings for that name) in 1821.  The other tidbit I've found in Shelby County is that he purchased the rifle of his deceased brother, Jacob, when there was an auction of his goods. 

The two settled down in Shelby County and had a family of four sons and at least one daughter.  There are two people listed in the 1840 sentence who could be daughters but we only know the name of one, who is Elizabeth. The second daughter may possibly be Mary Wise who married John Wilson in Wabash County, Indiana in 1854.  I have been unable to trace her further, but the time period fits, and it is quite possible she was named after her mother.  There is quite a bit of room for other children, too, who probably didn't live, because we have a time gap of John born in 1823 to Samuel, who was born in about 1832.  Mary may fit here, and possibly Nancy, or/and Sarah, who also married in Wabash County, Nancy in 1861 to John Roby and Sarah to Ambrose Wright in 1856.  I found no other Wise family other than Andrew in Wabash County in 1850, so there is room for speculation.  Please note that this is speculation!!

Sometime in the early 1840s, the Wise family moved to Wabash County, Indiana.  Andrew had an earmark on file there as of November, 1844.  He received a patent to 43 acres of land dated January 1, 1850, in a certificate with the name of President Zachary Taylor on it.  This indicates he was the first white owner of this land, which was previously owned by Miami Indians, but that is a story for another time. The land was located in Twp 27 N, Range 8E, which was near Lagro. 

Much of the rest of his story is told in the 1860 census.  Here we learn that he was known as "Andy", not Andrew, and we learn that Mary is gone.  I don't have a firm death date for her, but I've seen "about 1844", so she may actually have died before the family moved to Indiana, and that may have been a motivating factor in the move.  We also learn that Andy and his two sons, John and Samuel, were unable to read and write, and the answer for Elizabeth is not noted, perhaps having to do with the fact that the question was to be asked of those over 20 and Elizabeth was just 20.  We can hope that she was literate, because the 1850 census shows Elizabeth, David, and Philip all in school, but we know that David had trouble learning.

The fact that the older men in the family were illiterate perhaps explains the low value assigned to Andy's estate.  His land was valued at 400 dollars and his personal property at 300 dollars.  This is less than many of his neighbors.  During the next few years, Andy's life became more problematic.  At least two of his sons, David and Philip, were drafted toward the end of the Civil War.  I've found Civil War records for John and Samuel, also, but I am not sure they are from Wabash County so at this point, that is a question still to be researched.  We know that David had a hard life, and perhaps the other sons did also.  

It appears that at his death, just before October 27, 1868, the coffin was paid for by the county.  A Samuel Wise, who may have been his son Samuel, died at the County Poor Farm in 1874.  Was this what happened to Andy, also?  His name is not on the list of known burials there, so we can only speculate at this time.  But if the county paid for the coffin, he died a poor man.   

Andy/Andrew may have led a difficult life.  There may be more to his story than we know.  But we know that he lived through the War of 1812, the War with Mexico, and the Civil War, and that he sent sons to the last conflict.  I wonder what he thought of his life.  Was he a bitter man, or resolved, or did he find joy in the4 small things such as watching his animals and his crops grow?  We can be grateful for his life.

The line of descent is:

Andrew Wise-Mary Serfass

David Wise-Matilda Martin

Elizabeth Wise-John W Beeks

Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge

Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Their descendants

Allen line: John FInch born about 1620

 If it seems to you that I've written of John Finch before, well, I have.  But I've not written of this John Finch, who is second in the line of four generations (at least) of men named John Finch.  We have some information, and many questions, about this John.  Most of the information I have is based on information from Donald Lines Jacobus, and from very detailed information on the website "We Relate".  

We don't know the origins of John, other than that he was the son of John Finch and his first wife, name not known at present.  It's believed that both father and son were born in England, but were in New England by 1632.  They were first at Watertown but moved to Stamford, Connecticut in 1642.  John, the subject of this post, lived in a blended family as his mother had died and his father remarried.  However, his half siblings were considerably younger than he was, so it's not known how much influence he had on his siblings, or they on him.  

This John apparently married twice.  His first wife was Ann, and she must have died before having children, or during childbirth.  His second wife was Hannah Marsh, the daughter of John and Grace (possibly Baldwin) Marsh and the widow of Lancelot Fuller.  They were married November 8, 1652 in New Haven, Connecticut.  Hannah seems to have maintained a tie to New Haven and may have visited there for extended periods, as there is reference to her having visited John Winthrop (the younger, I think) for treatment for her lame child (who may have been from her first marriage).  In 1656 she was of Westchester, but had seen Mr. Winthrop for her lame child and was noted at the time as being pregnant.

John led an interesting life and it is hard to track him.  He was in Westchester, New York, then Oyster Bay, then Huntington, and possibly was back in Connecticut at various times also.  He was both a husbandman and a "mariner".  The mariner occupation is not common in our family but it does occur, and every time it does, I wonder : What was the extent of his interest?  Did he actually sail, and if so, where?  Was he a coastal trader, or did he sail to far off ports? Was his interest in ship building itself? Was he a merchant or a factor, or what?  

John ran into some bad luck of some type about the time that Hannah was in New Haven to consult with Winthrop.  In 1656 and 1657 there are several suits against him, and his property was sold at auction, apparently to pay his debts.  If he had an owner's interest in a boat that was lost, for instance, this could explain his inability to pay his debts.  It was a gamble that men took, and sometimes lost.  There seems to be no record of John after that, until 1661.  It has been suggested that John lived in a cave during that time, but by 1661 he signed a covenant as a resident of Oyster Bay, Long Island.  

A little bit of background, for context:  This area was part of what the Dutch claimed as their land, until England took over in 1664.  So there were tensions between the two groups, as well as concerns from time to time of raids from native Americans who also considered the land theirs.  

John was a resident of Huntington on Long Island by 1666 and it looks like he stayed there the rest of his life.  He was increasingly described as a mariner, not as husbandman, during this time period.  There is another reference to Hannah in 1663 in New Haven, "if not out of the jurisdiction of this court", so it's a little puzzling as to where Hannah lived, and when.

I've not found a list of children that I completely trust, perhaps because John moved so often.  It is likely that they had more than one child, perhaps a Sarah and perhaps a Francis, among others.  

It looks like his last years may not have been happy ones.  He was described as "deprived of some measures of his intellectuals" so that the town constable and overseer took control of his assets.  I've also seen a reference that he was a heavy drinker at the end of his life.  John died at Huntington on June 19th, 1685.  His estate was very small, valued at less than three pounds., but he had sold some land earlier and probably given some to his son John, and the overseer and constable had likely used his funds to obtain care for him.  Still, he was left at the end of his days with not much at all.   

I have list of questions about John that is unending. I'd llike to know whether he was involved in any of the military operations, defense of his home from the natives, or sea conflicts during his lifetime.  I'd love to pinpoint what happened in 1656-1657 that caused him to be so heavily in debt.  I'd love to know more about his occupation as a mariner.  I'd like to know why his son John wasn't responsible for his father's upkeep, or whether he had declined to care for him.  What drove him to drink?  And I'd like to know more about his marriage to Hannah, which may have been not a happy household.  

Whatever the truth about John Finch, we can appreciate that life was hard for many colonists in the 1600s.  Not all of them were fine upstanding citizens.  Just as today, some had challenges they were unable to overcome.  Yet, they, too, are part of the story of America and the story of our family.  

The line of descent is:

John Finch-Hannah Marsh

John Finch-Hester Davis

John Finch-Sarah

Nathaniel Finch-Hannah Scofield

Jesse Finch-Hannah

Hannah Finch-John Bell

Hannah Bell-Thomas Knott

John Wilson Knott-Harriet Starr

Edith Knott-Edward Allen

Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants

Holbrook line: William Snow 1708-1774

After struggling with the last couple of blog posts I wrote, it's a great pleasure to find someone who is well-researched and who has something of a story to tell.  For most of the information in this post, I'm relying on facts from "Snow-Estes Ancestry" by Nora Emma Snow, published in 1939.  She did a wonderful job of researching, collecting and organizing information, and relating it in a readable fashion. I have fact checked dates for birth, marriage, and death, and a couple of other items so I feel confident that this is probably as accurate as it is ever going to be.

William Snow was born in Woburn, Massachusetts on January 25, 1708, the son of Zerubabbel and Jemima Cutler Snow.  He was one of at least nine children, the next to the youngest son.  He was raised a Puritan so he would likely have learned to read and write, but as a younger son he received a small inheritance from his father at Zerubabbel's death in 1733.  It appears that this wasn't distributed until at least 1735, and amounted to almost 49 pounds.  (There are 33 pages in his father's estate papers which I haven't yet read in totality, but there were some complications along the way.  I'll be writing a post about Zerubabbel at some point.)

December 10, 1730 was an important date in William's life, for that is when he married Elizabeth Stevens (Stephens in the record), daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Tidd Stevens.  She was born July 27, 1709, in Woburn, so the two would have grown up knowing each other, and each other's family.  Their first of ten children, Phoebe, was born in 1731 in Woburn but the other children, at least nine more, were born in Lunenburg, so the move took place sometime between August 1731 and November of 1733. William and Elizabeth were to spend the rest of their lives in Lunenburg, which is about 45 miles from Woburn.  

I did find a brief mention of their being in, or at least owning land in, Winchendon, which is another 20 miles or so north and west of Lunenburg.  I am still investigating this.  In 1737, however, William was in Lunenburg, where he was selected as a "tithing man" for the town, somewhat like a church deacon, even though he and Elizabeth weren't admitted to full communion of the Lunenburg church until 1744. He held various offices for the town pretty much from that time forward, and was especially active in overseeing construction and operation of schools.  There were at least four schools in town in 1750, and later mention is made of a "Grammar school" in Lunenburg, which would be a step up from primary grade education.  He was selectman in 1752, indicating he had status in the town, and later moderator of the town meeting, and later still one of two town wardens.  It appears this would be similar to a mayor, responsible for the day to day operations of the town although of course this wouldn't have been a full-time job.  

His inventory indicates that he was a farmer, and that when he died on June 3, 1774 his sixty acres of land was valued at 266 pounds.  His household furnishings show that he was probably a frugal person, as there is no evidence of luxury.  I did not see (although some words were hard for me to read, so I could have missed it) any mention of books, or of guns and ammunition.  Perhaps he had already disposed of these items, if he owned them.  

In his will, he makes it clear that his wife is to receive only what is due her by law (1/3 of the estate) and, basically, not a penny more.  He also made sure that his son Silas received just half of the amount the other children would receive, because of what he had already given to Silas.  Silas was the oldest son and would ordinarily have received a double share, so the amount he had received must have been significant. Elizabeth lived until October 31, 1780, also dying in Lunenburg. 

Of course there are remaining questions about William.  There always are.  I have been unable to place him in a military unit, although it seems likely that he would have served in some capacity, as there were various wars going on throughout the time he would have been eligible for service.  The Lunenburg location would have been exposed to various incursions from the conflicts with native Americans and the French, so we can assume he would at least have helped guard his town during these times.  He was probably too old for the Canada expeditions.  (The William Snow found on a list of Colonial Soldiers was a different William Snow, one based in Plymouth and Eastham.)

It's been a pleasure to learn about William.  He apparently stayed out of trouble, contributed wisdom and abilities to his community, raised a family, and helped build our country.  We can be grateful for men like William.

The line of descent is:

William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens

Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore

Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

 

Holbrook line: Robert Eames died 1712 or 1671??

Great and many are the questions about Robert Eames.  He is supposed to have been born about 1629, in Dorset, England, and Anthony Eames and Margery Pierce are supposed to be his parents.  I can't prove the date, the location, or the parents, so I am not claiming any of those "facts".  The Anthony Eames, including most of his known children, were of Plymouth Colony and Robert was of Middlesex County in Massachusetts Bay Colony, so  for that reason alone, there is reason to doubt the connection.  In addition, as far as I can determine there is no birth or christening record listing Robert as a child of Anthony and Margery, although there are records for the other children.  Also, Robert didn't name any of his sons Anthony, which is a bit suspicious as at that time period, family names were used over and over.  

I am also in the dark about who Robert's wife was, when he died, and almost everything else about his life.  Oh, this should be a fun post to write (note the sarcasm!).

After admitting we don't know who his parents were, we're left with the question of when and how he arrived in Massachusetts.  I have seen it stated that he arrived in 1637 with his brother Thomas, which may well be true but I've not seen the record.  He is supposed to have been about five years old at that time.  I don't have any record of Thomas Eames, either, so take that for whatever it's worth.  

We do know that Robert married Elizabeth in (or by) 1653 in Charlestown or Woburn.  I have seen Elizabeth's maiden name given as Hayward but again, I've not seen proof.  So the name of his wife, at this point, is still up in the air.  

We know that Robert was in Charlestown in 1651 and since he is mentioned in the records, we can guess that he was at least 21 at that time.  By 1655 he owned land and owed taxes in Woburn, and this appears to be where his children, 9 of them, were born, starting in August of 1653 and ending in about 1670.  

We have quite a few court records for Robert, while he was in Woburn.  He sued and was sued, mostly for debts.  Once he sued a neighbor because the neighbor's swine got in his crops; this was a common cause for legal suits all over New England at the time.  He served on a jury for an inquest in 1670 but I am not sure I understand what the case was about.  The court cases seem to stop in 1671.

Robert Eames' name is found on a list of soldiers from King Philip's War, but the maker of the list thought this Robert was from Rowley, Massachusetts, which is 31 miles from Woburn, or Chelmsford, for that matter.  Why did I mention Chelmsford?

Well, Chelmsford was formed out of Woburn in 1652, and James Savage, who is usually but not always correct, thought that Robert had died in Chelmsford in 1671.  This would be before King Philip's War.  

And that brings us to the final mysteries about Robert.  When and where did he die?  Was he the Robert who died in Chelmsford, if there was a Robert Eames who died there?  Published records don't show his death.  Or was he the Robert who died July 30, 1712 in Woburn?  Almost all the sites I've looked at give this death date.  However, the Robert who died then is listed as Robert, son of (blank) Eames, and usually this is the wording given for a child.  

Elizabeth's death is given as March 22, 1710, but I've not seen the records for her.  If Robert died in 1671 then Elizabeth would mostly likely have remarried, because she would have had many small mouths to feed at that time.  

I would be most pleased if someone has documentation for any of these questions and is willing to share it.  The few facts we have are these:  He married Elizabeth, they had nine children, and Robert is on some tax lists, in some court records, and was one who received rights to the common lands of Woburn in 1668.  The rest is speculation or hidden history.

Here's the line of descent:

Robert Eames-Elizabeth

John Eames-Abigail Morgan

John Eames-Rachel Comstock

John Eames-Elizabeth Longbottom

Hannah Eames-James Lamphire

Susan Lamphire-Joseph Eddy

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Their descendants

Harshbarger line: Johan George Harter 1778-1844 Not ours!!

 I was all set to write this blog post about Johan George Harter, born August 22, 1778 in Frederick, Maryland, to George and Mary Magdalena Kitterman Harter.  I'm still going to write about him, but more as a plea for help than as a statement of facts.  

I do know a bit about George.  What I don't know is whether the George Harter who married Elizabeth Geiger in Licking County, Ohio in 1825 and went on to Whitley County, Indiana is the son of the George I'm writing about here.  I haven't found proof, I guess, of that father-son relationship.  

Here's what I think I know about the George who was born in 1778.  He was baptized in St Peter's Lutheran Church (now Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church) at Woodsboro, Maryland, and was one of at least 10 children in the home.  He married Mary M Miller on March 13, 1798 in Franklin County, Virginia, and owned bought, and sold land in Franklin County from 1803 to 1806.

By 1810 he and his family were in German Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, where he stayed until his death, which is given as May 13, 1844.  I found a will for a George Harter of Montgomery County but it carries an 1842 date of death.  It mentions several sons but not George who married in Licking County, although it does say he had already given other sons and daughters their share of the estate.  So the question is, was George of Whitley County, Indiana, the son of this George?

George of Whitley County was born September 22, 1795, in Rockingham County, Virginia.  This brings up several questions.  Why was George, born in Maryland, and presumably with a stop in Rockingham County, in Franklin County, which is considerably south of Rockingham?  And equally puzzling, how did George become a father in 1795 when he didn't marry until 1798?  At the very least, we seem to have a wrong mother for George of Whitley County, and possibly a wrong father.  Or is the birth date and loction for George of Whitley County incorrect?

Adding more questions: How did George of Whitley County get to Licking County, where he married his wife Elizabeth Geiger in 1825?  He would have been in his early teenaged years when his parents, if they were his parents, moved to Montgomery County, Ohio, from Virginia, and I don't see a logical migration path where they would have just dropped off their fourteen year old son.  

I thought I had this line pretty well wrapped up but as you can see, I need more.  I need explanations.  I need documents tying the two George's together.  I need help!!

The supposed line of descent, which I'm not at all sure I trust, is:

Johan George Harter-Mary M Miller

George Harter-Elizabeth Geiger

John Harter-Mary Bennett

Clara Ellen Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger

Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants

Update:  Further research is leading me to the conclusion that this is not our line.  I've found undocumented reports that make much more sense, tying the George who married Elizabeth Geiger to George Harter born 1770-1835 Licking County, Ohio, and tying this George to a George who died in Rockingham County, Virginia in 1806.  I'm off to do more research on that line now.

I am going to leave this post up on the off chance it will help someone either avoid the same error I've made, or give a descendant of the George of Montgomery County Ohio and Franklin County Virginia some help.