Holbrook line: Edward Bussey, abt 1705 to about 1786

 We're back in Maryland, in the 1700's, where Edward Bussey was born about 1705 to Edward and Martha Evans Bussey.  As far as is known, Edward was their only child.  His parents had married in 1701 and Edward is reported to have died about 1705, so there was time for at least one other birth, but there seems to be no record of one.  Perhaps there had been one or more failed pregnancies. I've looked for a record of a second marriage for Martha, but have not found one.  So we don't really know how Edward was raised.  (Some trees show Martha as having died in 1705, some show Edward, and some show both.  No records have been found in this search to indicate which, if any, of these are accurate.) 

Edward, the father of this Edward, apparently had roots in Calvert County, which is north of Baltimore County, where we find most of the records for our Edward.  Edward married Mary, the widow of Edward Pendergrass, about 1729, and the couple had at least nine children together.  (Note: Mary is one of my most wanted ancestors, a brick wall at this point. I haven't found any records of her first marriage, and have no clue as to her maiden name.)

The main document I've found for Edward is his will, written August 7, 1786.  It's thought that he lived in Harford County at the time of his death, but the will is found in Baltimore County records, and his widow is found in Baltimore County in 1790, so perhaps the Harford County is just a guess, based on the location of at least one of his sons.  

Edward owned a farm (not described as a plantation, which was a bit of a surprise) with woodlands and "water rights", which he left to his wife Mary for the length of her widowhood.  Mary was probably not much younger than Edward, so she probably wasn't expected to live for long.  However, she can be found on the 1790 census, with a total of 4 females and, yes, 9 slaves in her household.  

In his will, Edward named 19 enslaved persons, whom he devised to his wife, children, and grandchildren, by name.  I have read that usually house slaves were the ones who were named and passed on to heirs, and that generally there were more field slaves than house slaves.  I don't know if that is true in this case, but if it is, Edward's "farm" was quite extensive.  It is also possible that he held some of the slaves but rented them out to others, as field hands, household workers, or general laborers.  This is such a sad part of his story.

The other part of the will that I found fascinating showed the lengths Edward went to to avoid giving anything except one English shilling to his son in law, John James, and two of his children.  Apparently he had no use at all for this man.  He willed slaves to Mary, wife of John James, but if John would not allow her to accept them, then two of his sons in law, Dixon Stansbury and Benjamin Amos, were to pay for hiring the two slaves out to Mary.  He also made it clear that John James was to have no ownership of the house and half the woodfield that he willed to Mary, only "provided that John James have no part of it."  Clearly this part of the family had problems.

The will was probated February 10 or 13, 1787, so Edward had probably died late in 1786 or early 1787.  

Edward would have lived through some interesting times, and he raised a family that was respected.  Some of his children and grandchildren fought in the Revolutionary War.  I have seen "Lt." attached to our Edward's name, but if he fought, it would have been in an earlier conflict.  He would have been 70 years old when the Revolutionary War began.  Perhaps he had at least served in the militia, or perhaps the honor of "Lt." goes to his son Edward.

I know there is more to his story;  I'd just like to find it.  And if anyone can tell me who Mary is, I will be grateful to the end of my days!

The line of descent is 

Edward Bussey-Mary widow Pendergrass

Sarah Bussey-Benjamin Amos

Elizabeth Amos-Robert Amos

Martha Amos-Peter Black

Elizabeth Black-Isaac Hetrick

Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants