The family of Samuel Goodnight 1760-1833

 Samuel Goodnight's life and family are only partially documented, or at least I've not found all that I need to make a definitive post for his family.  However, I'm not sure I will be able to complete the research that is needed so this post is, again, bread crumbs for a future researcher.  

Samuel is the son of Christian and Mary Magdalena Gruenholtz, born in 1760 in Germantown, Pennsylvania.  He would have been of the right age to have been in the Revolutionary War, but I've not located any military records for him in any of the usual sites I utilize.  There is a hint in one registry that says his service must be proven.  He married Magdalena Berkheimer, the daughter of Leonard and Catherine Kerger Berkheimer, in 1785 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  This was likely not far from Germantown, as the county itself was formed in 1784 from part of Philadelphia County.  At least four children were born to Samuel and Magdalena there, and census records indicate there may be children not currently known to us.

Martha is the first known child, born in 1786.  As far as I can tell, she never married, but she is found in 1840 in Fayette County, Ohio, aged 50-59, with another female 20-29 living with her.  Sadly, in 1840 relationships were not stated.  By 1850 she is still in Fayette County, with a five year old male, William Watson, living with her.  He was born in Ohio.  So the question is, who is William Watson, and what was his relationship, if any, to her?  I have no answers at this time.  I have not located any records for Martha after 1850.

Leonard was the next born, possibly in 1788.  He married Martha ("Matty") Fernough.  There are many spellings for this name, but she appears to be the daughter of Johannes or John and Christiana Clover Virnau.  They have a large familly, including, Mary, Christian, John, Hannah, Rosanna, Samuel, Catherine, David, Elizabeth, Ortena, and another Christian.  He died in 1827 in Fayette County, Ohio.  

Christopher is also shown with a 1788 birthdate, but about 10 weeks after Leonard.  I wonder whether these might be baptism dates, and perhaps Leonard was born in 1787.)  He married Jane Mason, the daughter of Andrew and Mary Light Mason.  Their children are Elijah, William, Andrew, Mary, William, Samuel, Matilda, Josephus, Sarah, Aaron, and John.  Christopher died in 1868 in Clinton County, Indiana.  

The last known child is Catherine, born in 1793.  (Note that there is a gap of almost five years here, when it is possible that there were one or more children born to the couple, who perhaps did not survive childhood.) She married Jacob Dunham, the son of Samuel and (probably) Hannah Ruble Dunham.  They have at least six children-Catherine, Jacob, Amos, Samuel, Mary Ellen, and David.  Catherine died in 1870 in Tipton County, Indiana.  Tipton County and Clinton County border each other so it is likely that Christopher and Catherine kept in close touch.

Census records of Samuel in 1810 (Berkeley County, Virginia now West Virginia) show that there were 6 people in his household young enough to be his children.  One may or may not be a Samuel.  There are quite a few Samuel Goodnights in subsequent census records but none I can say is definitely our Samuel, if there is one.  I don't have any clues as to the other male, if indeed he was a son.

It is thought that Magdalena died about 1830 and that Samuel may have gone to Fayette County, Ohio, to live with either Martha or Christopher, until he died about 1833.  

Once again, we have an apparently incomplete family, but perhaps someone reading this will have the answers to our questions, or perhaps this post will help someone else find the answers!  This is my last post on the Goodnight line, as the Beeks family descends through Catherine Goodnight Dunham, but corrections and additions are welcome. 

Beeks line: The family of Christian Gutknecht 1722 -1795

 Yes, there are several German or quasi German lines in the Beeks family history.  Yes, they are easy to get mixed up.  Yes, this line is better documented than some because of its connection to Barack Obama, a couple of generations down line from this one.  Christian is the immigrant ancestor, having been born in Bischwiller, in what is now France.  It was part of the Palatinate-Zweibrucken when Christian was born.  He is the son of Johannes and Anna Barbara Keiffer Gutknecht.  I was surprised to learn that he was a tobacco preparer before he came to America, and that Alsace actually grew their own tobacco at the time.  

Christian married Magdalena Marie Grunholtz, the daughter of Johann Michael and Magdalene Mitscher Grunholtz, in 1746 in Bischwiller, while the War of Austrian Succession was being fought, with negative consequences for the couple.  It became harder and harder to make a living, and in 1749, the couple, along with their first two daughters, migrated to Pennsylvania, where they settled in Germantown, just north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  

Christian and Magdalena are the parents of six known children, although just four are known to have survived to adulthood.  

Their first daughter was Maria Magdalena, born in 1747.  She is thought to have accompanied her parents on the trip to America, but there is no known record of her here and she may have died on the voyage, as was, sadly, not uncommon.

Maria Elisabetha was born in 1748 and married, in 1770, Christopher Henrici or Henritzy, whom I can't further identify.  They had a least one child, Gerhard Christian.  Christopher died in 1790 and in 1794 she married Peter Hartmann.  Elizabeth died in 1822 in Germantown.  I am sure there is more to her story than I have been able to uncover.  There is a high likelihood there were more children born during her first marriage, which lasted 20 years, but she would have been quite old to have had children with Peter.

Christian was their first son, born about 1754 in Germantown.  He married Elizabeth Rittenhouse or Rittenhaus, the daughter of Garret and Mary Bartleson Rittenhouse.  Rather than fight in the Revolutionary War, he chose to provide a substitute, and also paid  a supply tax to the state.  It is interesting to think about what he did as the battle raged around Germantown.  Did he and his family leave town, hide in a basement, or somehow help in or after the battle?  We don't know.  Christian's children are listed as Elizabeth, Deborah, William, Susanna, Christopher, and John. Christian died in 1823.

Samuel was the next son, born about 1761.  He married Magdalena Berkheimer, the daughter of Johann Leonard and Maria Catherine Kerger Berkheimer.  This couple had at least 5 children, all of whom apparently spelled their name as Goodnight.  The children are Martha, Christopher, Leonard, Catherine, and Samuel.  I will write more about this family in my next blog post. 

Catherina was born next, in 1764.  She died in 1767, which was a sad thing but not uncommon.

Finally John Christopher was born in 1769.  I did not locate much information about him.  He may have married Gartraut Freimauer, and later Dianah Watson. He is the only one of the siblings to have left Germantown, settling in what is now West Virginia.  Census records show that he probably had at least five children, but I found names for only two-Mary Magdalena and Sally.  He died about 1842 in Hardie, in what is now West Virginia.  He is noted as being a veteran of the Revolutionary War, which means the birth date I've shown may not be correct.  He was also likely involved in the War of 1812, based on where he lived and the known history of that area and era.    

This family sketch is not nearly as complete as I'd like it to be, but it's a start.  There are more stories to find, hidden in brief clues, and I hope you will share them with me.

The family of Samuel Falley 1780-1871

 I've written of Samuel Falley earlier.  He's the son of Richart and Margaret Hitchcock Falley, the one we know of who went to sea and worked himself up the ladder from cabin boy to second mate before returning home to Westfield, Massachusetts.  I've speculated, based on comments in his biographical sketch that he was an abolitionist, that perhaps whatever he saw of the slave trade became just too much to bear.  Or perhaps he was offered a better opportunity.  He is reported to have set up mercantiles or stores of some sort in Ohio that were owned by his father.  Richard died in 1808 and it appears that Samuel went back to Westfield then, and stayed there and in Montgomery, Hampden County, Massachusetts, for a few years before moving to Granville, Licking County, Ohio.

Samuel married Ruth Root, the daughter of Martin and Ruth Noble Root in 1810, and the couple had at least 11 children together.  The first three were born in Westfield or Montgomery, and the others were born in Granville, Ohio, where both Samuel and Ruth died, she in 1862 and he in 1871.  

Their first born was a daughter, Lois Matilda and known as Matilda, who was born in 1811 and died in 1900 in Granville.  It appears that she never married, but if she was able, she surely would have helped with some of her nephews and nieces. Her occupation was "housekeeper" in her parents' home until Samuel died, and then she went to live with a sister.  She had attended the Granville Female Academy in 1838 and it appears that this was a college level education.  It would be interesting to learn what her story is!

Clarissa was born in 1812 and died in 1875 in Tipton, Iowa.  She married John Havens Starr, the son of John and Elizabeth (Betsey) Havens Starr.  Their children are Myra, Harriet, John, Eunice, Mary, and Frances.  

Richard was the first born son, born in 1813 and died in 1877 in York, Clark County, Illinois.  He married Francis ("Fanny") Scranton, the daughter of Charles and Olivia Sparks Scranton,  Their children are Sarah, Olivia, Louis, George, Charles, and Louisa.  There may have been a Lula, also, but I'm not clear on whether Lula may have been a nickname for one of the girls.  

Charles was born in 1815, in Granville, Ohio and died in 1896 in Bible Grove, Clay County, Illinois.  He was married twice, first to Caroline Richardson, who died within a few years of the marriage, and then to Ann Brackett, the daughter of John and Eunice Clark Brackett.  (I haven't been able to trace John, but would not be surprised to learn that he is a distant relative to the Massachusetts Brackett family we have in our Holbrook line,) It appears that all of the children were born to the second marriage.  They are Charles, Louise, E.A., Richard, and another Charles.  

Samuel was born in 1816 and died in 1850 in Marshall, Clark County, Illinois.  I don't know why he died so young, but he left a widow, Mary Abigail Damon, and five children-Mary, Eliza, Matilda, Julia, and Francis. He was a cabinet maker.   I've not been able to identify Mary Abigail at this point.

Francis was born in 1818 and died in 1893 in Bible Grove, Illinois.  He seems to have never married, and was a farmer all his life.  

Ruth was born in 1819 and died in 1879 in Granville, Ohio.  She married Charles Webster, the son of Elijah and Miriam Mallory Webster.  I have located only two children for them, Helen and Miriam.  

Edmund was born in 1821 and died in 1897 in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas.  His harness store was burned in Quantrill's raid of 1863, when Confederate soldiers burned most of the town and killed many of its residents.  I'd sure like to know how he escaped!  (Finding nuggets of history like this really makes history come alive for me. They are pure gold.)  He married Eliza Montgomery, another person I can't further identify.  Their children are Clara, Laura, James, George and Samuel.

Linus was born in 1822 and died in 1897 in Licking County, Ohio.  He married Elizabeth Haupt, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Runnels Haupt.  Their children are Nancy, an unnamed twin, Lewis, Charles, Mary and Walter.  

Eunice was born in 1824 and died in 1906 in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio.  She married John Seegar, the son of David and Mary, another unidentified woman, Seegar. Their children are Cyrus, Eldora, and Norah. 

The last known child was a daughter, Charlotte.  She was born in 1828 and died in 1901 in Granville, Ohio.  She married late in life, at age 49, to Amos Montonya, and had no known children.  

This list gives Samuel and Ruth 38 grandchildren.  Some of them were likely beyond their reach, in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas, but I'm sure they were never far from their hearts.  This family was strongly Presbyterian in religious affiliation, as far as I can determine.  They were good, solid citizens, and led good lives.  It's another family to take pride in, as we say good-bye to the Falley line.

The family of Richard Falley 1740-1808

 I've written of Richard Falley, Jr. earlier, who participated in the French and Indian War, Fort Edward, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, and Shays' Rebellion, and whose work supported other battles.  There is a biography of him called "General Wasahington's Secret Armory by Robert R. Madison, so he is important not just to our family, but to the success the Patriots finally had in the Revolutionary War.  Today I am going to write about his family.

Richard was born to Richard and Anna Lamb Falley in 1740 in what is now Knox County, Maine, but was part of Massachusetts at the time.  He married Margaret Hitchcock, the daughter of Samuel and Ruth Stebbins Hitchcock, in 1761 in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, when he was already something of a war hero, having been taken prisoner at Fort Edward as a youth and help captive in Quebec until he was ransomed.  Richard, having traveled more than many of his family in the service of his country, died in 1808 in Westfield.  Richard and Margaret had at least 10 children together, but details on some of them are quite sketchy.  

Their first known child was Louisa or Lovisa, born in 1762 and died in 1807.  She married Medad Fowler, the son of Ebenezer and Catherine Root Fowler.  (Catherine was a granddaughter of our ancestors John and Mary, the widow Ashley, Root.  Their children are Bethsina or Bethaina, Sophia, Margaret, Richard, Frederick, Harvey, Josiah, Catherine, and Louisa.  

Frederick was a very young son when he was a fifer in the Revolutionary War, at the battle of Bunker Hill.  He was born in 1765.  He may be the Frederick Falley who asked for compensation from the government after the war of 1812, for loss of a schooner and cargo, but was denied.  There is a Frederick Falley who died in 1828 at Castalia, Erie County, Ohio, but I am not sure this is the same man.  Census searches for him have turned up empty.  Perhaps he died young.

Margaret was born in either 1766 or 1776.  I accept the 1766 date but want to mention that others think it was 1776.  She married William Cleveland, the son of Reverend Aaron and Abiah Hyde Cleveland.  Margaret and William are the grandparents of Stephen Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.  Margaret and William's children are Francis, William, Margaret, Susan, Richard, another Susan, Martha, Jacob, James, Ann, Andrew, and Phebe.  

Richard was born in 1768 and died in 1835 in Castalia, Erie County, Ohio.  He married Amanda Stanley, the daughter of Amos and Zerviah Gray Stanley.  Their children are Amos, Margaret, Zerviah, Amanda, Richard, Orilla (apparently there were two by this name, one having died young), Samuel, a twin to Samuel who did not survive, John, and Francis.  

Russell was born in 1770 and died in 1842 in Perrysburg, Wood County, Ohio.  He married Parmela or Pamela Chapman, the daughter of Benjamin and Abigail Riggs Chapman.  Their children are Clarissa, Eliza, Almira, and Susan.  

Then there is the matter of Daniel.  I have found him born in 1772 and died a little over a month later, in 1773.  Some also give a second Daniel, born about 1773 and died in 1857 in Granby, Oswego County, New York.  Again, I am not sure that he belongs to this family, but am mentioning him as a marker to be researched further, by someone, sometime.  

Ruth was born in 1775 and died in 1826 in New York City.  She married Samuel Allen, the son of Ephraim and Huldah Maynard Allen.  Their surviving children are Lewis, Anthony, and Richard, with a notation that several others died young.  I don't know how Ruth ended up in New York City, or even whether that location is accurate, as I'm not finding records to support that.  

Lewis was born in 1777.  The only other information I've found of him is that he died in Charleston, South Carolina in or before 1810.  I don't know how reliable that is, and I've not found a spouse for him.  He's still a mystery to me.

Samuel was born in 1780 and died in 1871 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio.  He married Ruth Root, the daughter of Martin and Ruth Noble Root, whose ancestry also goes back to John and Mary Root, through two different lines.  Their children are Lois, Clarissa, Richard, Charles, Samuel, Francis, Ruth, Edmund, Linus, and Eunice.  I will follow this family in my next post.  

The last known child was Alexander, who was born and died in 1783, having lived a little over 6 weeks.  Margaret was 42 at the time, and it appears that her child bearing years were over after this.  

I've mentioned many times how proud I am of the contributions our ancestor made to this country, but seldom have I found an ancestor whose life seemed as dedicated to service.  I'm sure some of these children have stories to tell, too, as well as the grandchildren.  They had an example right in front of them.

Allen line: The family of RIchard Falley 1711-1756

I'm not sure who Richard Falley's parents are, but they lived on Guernsey Island, or one of the other islands of Guernsey, where Richard was born, possibly the son of the Richard Falle who was born in 1672.  Our Richard was born in 1711-1712 and supposedly was kidnapped as a young boy and taken to either Massachusetts or Nova Scotia, where he was indentured to pay for his forced passage to America. (The Guernsey Islands were part of Normandy at one time and many of its people were of Norman/French descent, but the islands were apparently under English control when our ancestor was kidnapped.)

We know that he spent several years in Maine, working off his indentureship, and that he married Anna Lamb, the daughter of Richard Lamb (who was from Ireland and died on the way to America).  They married in St. George's River, Maine.  Richard and Anna had at least 8 children, some born in what is now Cushing, Maine, some in Concord, Massachusetts, and some in Ware River (now Ware), Massachusetts.  Richard and Anna both died in Westfield, Massachusetts, which is why some of the names of their children's in-laws, and their grandchildren, are familiar to us.

Their first known son was Richard, born in 1740 and died in 1808 in Westfield.  I have written about him earlier and there is actually a biography of him, because he first served in the Revolutionary War, and then manufactured rifles that were used to arm the soldiers, among other contributions he made.  He married Margaret Hitchcock, the daughter of Samuel and Ruth Stebbins Hitchcock.  Their children are Margaret, Lois, Clarissa, Richard, Charles, Samuel, Francis, Ruth, Edmund, Linus, Eunice and Charlotte, and I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

Rachel was born next, in February of 1742.  She married Daniel Hubbard, the son of Daniel and Naomi Root Hubbard.  (I have not identified Naomi further but she was likely some sort of shirt tail relation through the Root family of Springfield and Westfield, Massachusetts.)  Their children are Daniel, Anna, Naomi, Molly, another Daniel, Thomas, and possibly James.  Rachel died in 1828 in Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth was born in 1743 and died July 22, 1812 in Benson, Vermont.  She married William Ford, the son of Amos and Rebecca Churchill Ford.  Their children are Rebecca, Molly, William, John, Oliver, Betsey, Electa, and Charlotte.

Mary was born in 1744 and died in 1822 in Lewis, New York.  She married Zachariah Bush, the son of Zachariah and Mercy Lewis Bush.  Their children are Oliver, Enoch, Oliver again, Edward, Walter, Charles, Henry, and Polly.

After three daughters, another son, Samuel, was born in 1756.  He married Miriam Root, the daughter of Martin and Eunice Lamb Root.  (Martin and Eunice are also our ancestors. Eunice Lamb does not appear to be related to Anna Lamb Falley.)  Their children are an unnamed daughter who died at or shortly after birth, Anna, Samuel, Miriam, Theodosia, Rachel, and Rhoda.  Samuel died in 1812 in Lenox, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.  It is more than possible that Samuel served in some capacity in the Revolutionary War but I have not found documentation for that yet.  Perhaps he stayed home and worked in his father's factory.

Sarah was born in 1750 and died in 1801 in Westfield.  I have found no further mention of her and no documentation.  It has been stated that she did not marry.  

Frederick was born in 1752 and died the following year.

There may or may not have been a daughter Margaret, born in 1754.  I don't think she is the Margaret Falley who married a Cleveland and was the ancestor of Grover Cleveland, but many sites show this connection.  However, the Margaret Falley who was Grover Cleveland's grandmother was born in 1766, after both Richard and Anna Lamb had died.  Instead, she was the daughter of Richard and Margaret Hitchcock Falley, and a granddaughter of of Richard and Anna Lamb Falley.  If there was a Margaret Falley born in 1754, I have been unable to trace her.

Richard and Anna each came from difficult situations-one kidnapped and sold into indentureship, one orphaned at an early age-but over came their childhoods to raise a family that contributed much to our country.  Certainly they deserve our honor and respect.  It's sad that they died in their middle 40's and didn't get to know their many grandchildren!

The family of Benjamin Amos 1748-1814

 We're going to back up a little here, to the last of the Amos family that I plan to write about.  Benjamin Amos is the brother of Robert Amos, the subject of my post a couple of weeks ago.  Benjamin and Robert (and others) are the sons of James and Hannah Clarke Amos.  Robert's son Robert, the subject of last week's post, married Elizabeth Amos, who is the daughter of the Benjamin Amos I'm following today.  (Robert and Elizabeth are first cousins.) The usual facts of children of one family using the same first names is doubly complicated when the two are from the same family, and I cannot say for certain that I am assigning their children to the correct family.  There are, for instance, multiple uses of the names James, William, Benjamin, John, Joshua, Elizabeth, Ann, and so on throughout the families descending from the immigrant William and his wife Ann.  

Benjamin, as stated, is the son of James and Hannah Clarke Amos and was born in 1748 in Harford County, (then known as Baltimore County), Maryland.  He married Sarah Bussey, the daughter of Edward and Mary (widow Pendergrass, maiden name still uncertain but possibly Hayes) Bussey.  Benjamin died before November of 1814, in Harford County.  He is one who stayed at or near the homeplace his entire life, unless he is the Benjamin who is a soldier in the Revolutionary War.  He was the right age, but there were other Benjamins, also, who would have been cousins to this Benjamin.  We do know that Harford County saw skirmishes and was not far from many of the battles in Pennsylvania, so it is more than possible that our Benjamin was involved.

Benjamin and Sarah had three daughters who are relatively well researched, and two sons who are not.  I'm not sure that the sons are theirs, or that they lived to adulthood, if they are, but I will include whatever brief hints I've found in this post.

Elizabeth was their first born, in 1774.  She married Robert Amos, son of James and Hannah Clarke Amos. Their children are Martha (our ancestor), Sarah, Benjamin, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Ellen, James, Corbin, Anna, and Robert.

Mary is also reported to have been born in 1774, May 24, to be exact.  This is a bit confusing.  I don't have a marriage date for Benjamin and Sarah, other than "about 1772."  So was Elizabeth a twin to Mary, or are these christening dates, and was Elizabeth possibly born a little earlier than 1774?  I'm still looking for records.  At any rate, Mary married John Way, whose parents are still a mystery.  Their children are Sarah, William, John, Hannah, and Robert.  Mary died in 1853 in Harford County.

Ann was born in 1779 and died in 1849 in Harford County.  She married Abel Anderson, the son of Thomas and Hannah Davis Alderson.  Their children are Lucretia, John, Sarah, Benjamin, Jane, James, Abel, Thomas and Elizabeth.  

Now, for the boys.  Note that there is plenty of time between the births of Mary and Ann for a child or even children to have been born.  One son may be James.  If there was a James born to this couple, he may be the James who married Hannah Lee and had children Mary, David, William, Elias and Oliver.  This is a mighty big if" and "may" and needs to be proven or disproven.  

It has also been suggested that there was a son Joshua.  I have no idea when he was born or whether he survived infancy, if in fact this is a child to Benjamin and Sarah.  

We do know, then that Benjamin and Sarah had at least 24 grandchildren.  Although some of the grandchildren stayed in or near Harford County, others moved west as the country grew, as was also true of the grandchildren of Robert and Martha McComas Amos.  Our country, and our heritage, was growing into something William and Ann Mauldin Amos would not have recognized. 

The family of Robert Amos 1771-1826

 William, James, Robert, and now Robert Amos, again.  This is the fourth generation of men in the Amos/Amoss family.  Robert was born in 1771 in Harford County, Maryland, to Robert and Martha McComas Amos.  He died in Harford County in 1826, probably not far from where he was born, or possibly even the old home place.  It sounds like a dull life, but he grew into a young man during the Revolutionary War, and soldiers likely walked or marched near his home.  He was a member of the militia during the War of 1812, and likely went to Baltimore when the British were very close to capturing it.  So his life was interesting, even if somewhat localized.  He married Elizabeth Amos, his first cousin, in 1792.  She is the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Bussey Amos, and I will write my next blog post about that family.

Robert and Elizabeth had 10 children together, most of them fairly well documented.  Some stayed in Harford County, some went a bit west to Greene and Allegheny counties in Pennsylvania, to West Virginia, to Ohio,  and some further west yet, to Illinos and Indiana.  

Martha is the first born, in 1792.  She married Peter Black, whose parentage is not established but may be Frederick or Owen Black, or possibly Ulrich Schwartz.  Their children are Frederick, Owen, Elizabeth, Oliver, Cyrus, Davis, Benjamin, Naomi, Peter, and James.  All of this family except Elizabeth moved to Noble County, Indiana, where Martha died in 1872.  

Sarah was born in 1794 and died in 1864 in Greene County, Pennsylvania.  She married Henry (also seen as Harry) Gilbert, probably the son of James and Mary Johnson Gilbert.  Their known children are Elizabeth, Corbin, and Joshua.  

Benjamin was born in 1796 and died in 1880.  He seems to have moved several times in his lifetime, leaving records in Washington, Monroe, and Licking County, Ohio, before settling for his remaining days in what is now Wood County, West Virginia.  He married Susannah Eaton, the daughter of David and Hannah Mantle Eaton.  Let's stop for a moment and bless Susannah's memory, for she is credited with being the mother of at least 14 children.  They are Elizabeth, Robert, Hannah, Corbin, Frederick, Benjamin, Susanna, Amanda, William, Mary, Nancy, John, Sarah, Martha, and possibly (this would make 15 children) James.  James wasn't born until 1875 and it's possible he was a grandson and not a son of the couple.  Benjamin was also in the Maryland militia, serving in the War of 1812.

Mary Ann was born in 1798 and died in 1864 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  Her first husband was Benjamin Frazier, who died within two years of their marriage.  I've found nothing indicating that they had children together.  She next married John Miller, and they had at least three children-John, Elizabeth, and William.  They may have lived in Rockford, Illinois, where John died in 1840.  Mary didn't remarry after losing her second husband, but lived with son William until her death.  

Elizabeth was born in 1800 and died in 1890 in Baltimore, Maryland.  She married James Logue, who died in 1872 in Baltimore.  I can locate just one child for them, Martha.  I would certainly like to know more about her and her life.  Are we missing some family here?  Were there pregnancies and births we don't know about?

Ellen, sometimes seen as Eleanor, was born in 1806 and died December 4, 1883 in Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois.  Sadly, her death is reported as a suicide caused by insanity.  She first married Elisha Mitchell, and they had a daughter, Eliza.  Elisha died soon after that, and Ellen married William Peters, who was an immigrant from Ireland, possibly the son of Peter Peters.  I have not found any indication that they had children, but he died a year after Ellen, and there is a nice memorial on his grave site in Rockford.  Did they have children who may have contributed to that stone?  I'm not sure Ellen's story is complete.  

James was born in 1808 and died in 1830 in Monroe, Guernsey County, Ohio, or possibly in Monroe County, Ohio.   That is all the information I have found about him.  There are a lot of men named James Amos in the 1830 census and it is possible that one of those men is this James, but I'm not able to state that any of them seem probable.

Corbin was born in 1810 and died in 1883 in Guernsey County, Ohio.  He may have been married twice.  It's confusing because both of the proposed names are Julianna or something close.  His first wife is believed to be Julianna or July McCatherine.  I'm not able to locate any likely families of that name, anywhere Corbin is thought to have lived.  He had at least one child with this wife, Sarah.  In 1864 he married Julia Ann Chalk.  Again, I am unable to find parents for her.  Their children are William and Quintella.  I'd like to know more about his life.

Anna was born in 1816 and died in 1893 in Uniontown, Fayette, Pennsylvania.  She married Thomas B Miller in Boone County, Illinois, but the family was soon in Pennsylvania.  Thomas is the son of John and Rebecca Beeson Miller.  Their children are Mary, Ellen, Eliza, Eva, Julia, Jennie, and possibly Thomas and Anna.  

And finally, there is Robert, who was born in 1818 and died in 1901 in Auglaize County, Ohio.  He married Elizabeth Dye, the daughter of James and Elizabeth (maiden name not known) Dye.  Their children are Amelia, Helen, Francis, Benjamin. Minerva, Elam, James, George, Elizabeth, Corbin, Martha, and Robert.  Some Civil War records show Robert Amos as fighting in the war, but I think this is more likely to be son Robert, although I can't rule this Robert out. He would have been about 44 when the war broke out, and may have volunteered.  

Surely some of the grandchildren of Robert and Elizabeth were in the Civil War.  Perhaps someday someone will be able to research these men more closely, but we can say that this family was a hard working family and mostly lived lengthy lives.  They, too, helped build America as it spread westward. 

The family of Robert Amos 1741-1818

There are a lot of men with the surname Amos or Amoss in Harford County, Maryland.  There may be more than one Robert Amos who lived during the time period noted above.  Consequently, I am not 100% sure that each of these occupations applies to our Robert, but it's possible.  He seems to have been a justice of the peace, and quite possibly a tax collector, and perhaps a sheriff.  In 1790, he held 9 slaves.  We accept as fact that he is the son of James and Hannah Clark/Clarke Amos, and that he was born in what was then Baltimore County, Maryland and died in Harford County, Maryland, which was a daughter county of Baltimore.   

Robert married Martha McComas, the daughter of Daniel and Martha Scott McComas.  Together they have at least 10 children, at least some of whom were Quakers.  Some fought in the War of 1812, and some were slaveholders, so I don't think they all stayed in the Quaker faith.  

Daniel is the first born, in 1768. (There may have been an earlier pregnancy, since this is almost three years after his parents married.)  He married Sarah Johnson, the daughter of John and Ann (maiden name not yet found) Johnson.  Their children are John, Robert, Ann, Martha, Daniel, Sarah, Margaret, and Elizabeth.  He died in 1854 in Harford County.

Robert was the next son, born in 1771.  He married Elizabeth Amos, the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Bussey Amos.  (Some say Benjamin's wife was Sarah Lyon...I'm not yet convinced but want to leave this crumb in case I change my mind.)  Robert and Elizabeth's children are Martha, Sarah, Benjamin, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Ellen, Corbin, and Robert. Robert died in 1826 in Harford County, Maryland.  I'll follow this family in my next blog post.

James was born next, in 1773, and married Sarah Friend Swingley, the daughter of Jacob and Eleanor Prather Friend.  They had at least three children, James, Joshua, and Robert.  Samuel, Rachel, and Barbara appear to be Sarah's children from her first marriage.  James died in 1823 in Washington County, Maryland, having moved west from Harford County.

Aquilla was the next son, born in 1775. and here the trail, if this is the right person, ends.  I show a death date of 1832 for him, with no further details.  This line needs to be researched further.  I am not confident that this was the Aquilla who married Elizabeth Montgomery, but I'll dangle this out here as a possibility.

Martha (finally, a daughter!  How her parents must have rejoiced!) was born in 1778 and married Aquilla McComas, the son of Edward and Sarah Selby McComas.  I have not been able to connect Edward to Martha yet but I have a strong hunch there's a connection, somewhere! Martha and Aquilla had at least two children, Robert and Gabriel.  Martha died in 1858.

Joshua was born in 1780 and was a veteran of the War of 1812.  He married Catherine Hanway, who is a mystery person.  Their children are Martha, Mary, Sarah, Corbin, and Joshua.  Joshua died in 1860 in Harford County.  

Corbin was born in 1784 and died in Baltimore in 1866, having never married.  He was a War of 1812 veteran, and was a physician, having graduated from the University of Maryland College of Medicine in 1812.  He was the last of the siblings to die, and had 24 nephews and nieces, all living at the time of his death.  His estate was valued at $475,000, most of it in personal property rather than real estate.  Was he a collector of some sort?

Benjamin was born in 1786 and died in 1865 in Harford County.  His wife was Sarah Amos, the daughter of Zachariah and Susanna Mitchmer Amos.  Zachariah is a grandson of William Amos, the immigrant, so Benjamin married his second cousin.  Benjamin and Sarah had at least five children-Martha, Zachariah, Robert, Isaac, and James. He was an ensign in the War of 1812, and held slaves as late as 1850.

Gabriel was the next son, born in 1788.  He is another mystery.  I have seen 1818 given as his date of death, and I've found no hint of a marriage record.  Some of the men in this family married in their late twenties so it may well be that he never married.

Elizabeth was born in 1790 and died in 1869, so the information about Corbin being the last of the siblings may not be correct.  She married later in life, at the age of 38, to Ananias Divers, the son of Christopher and Sarah Arnell Divers.  Ananias had at least five children from his previous marriage, but it doesn't appear that Elizabeth had children of her own.  

The number of children I've reported here exceeds the number of nephews and nieces mentioned in Corbin's obituary.  It is possible that the obituary was wrong, and it's also possible that some of the children/grandchildren mentioned here are assigned to the wrong family.  The need for more research continues, but it is evident that the Amos family served their country, raised families, and helped build America in its early years. 

The family of James Amos 1721-1805

Much of the Amos family is well-documented.  Some is not.  Some "facts", in fact, seem to have little basis in reality, or are related to different persons of the same name, but in other generations or branches of the family.  I hope I have picked my way through this misinformation, and apologize profusely if I have made an error.  In that case, I will be happy if someone will correct me.

James Amos is the son of immigrant William and Ann probably Maulden Amos.  He was born in 1721 in Baltimore County, Maryland, and died in 1805 in Harford County, Maryland.  Harford County was carved from Baltimore County in 1774 so he actually lived his entire life at pretty much the same location.  We know he was a slaveholder because his father left him a slave in his will, but we don't know how many other slaves he held.  He married Hannah Clarke, the daughter of Robert and Selina (different spellings) Smith Clark.  Together they had at least seven children.  After Hannah died, James married Elizabeth Standiford.  No children are known from that marriage.

Robert was the first born son, in 1741.  He married Martha McComas, the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Hubbert (also seen as Hibbert) McComas.  Their children are Benjamin, David, James, Corbin and Martha.  I have also seen Joshua and Gabriel mentioned as being born before Benjamin, and Aquilla and Robert as born after Martha.  More research needs to be done to document these potential children.

Elizabeth is the only known daughter of James and Hannah.  She was born in 1743 and died in 1805.  Her husband is Edward Norris, the son of James and Hannah Scott Norris.  Their children are Hannah, John, William, Edward, Elizabeth, Susannah, Oliver, Mary, and Ann.  It is possible that Elizabeth had a second marriage, to a William Bull, but I'm not yet convinced of that.

William is one of the mystery sons of this family.  He was born in 1745 and died in 1816.  He married Elizabeth Hugo or Hugon,  whom I can't further identify.  The only child I've found for them is William. This line needs more research.

James was born in 1747 and died in 1811.  He married Catherine Risteau, the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Raven Risteau.  Their children are Isaac, James, John, David, Abraham, Elizabeth, Susanna, Hannah, Catherine, Sarah, George, William and possibly Joshua.  

A side note here: Of the first four children, we are likely related in some fashion to three of the in-laws mentioned-McComas, Scott, and Raven.  All were early settlers, and we descend from families with each of those surnames in early Baltimore County.  

Benjamin is the next son, born in 1748 and died in or before 1815.  He married Sarah Bussey, the daughter of Edward and Mary (widow Pendergrast) Bussey.  I have seen one tree listing Mary as Mary Hayes, but there was no further information and at this time I can't say that is correct.  Their children are Elizabeth, Ann, James, and Mary.  I will follow this family in my next post.

Mordecai was born in 1753 and died in 1840.  He is a Revolutionary War veteran.  (It's likely that others of these men are also vets, but their are too many men of the same name to be sure.)  He married Martha Richardson, the daughter of William and Mary Davis Richardson.  Their children are Robert, Henry, and John.  

I am including Joshua as a son in this list, because it seems more likely than not that he is the son of James and Hannah.  I am not 100% sure of this, so if there is conflicting information on this Joshua, I'd be glad to consider it.  He was born in 1754 and died about 1800.  His wife's name may or may not be Sarah, and she may or may not be Sarah Bonfield, the daughter of John Bonfield.  Their know children are Joshua and William.

And then, there is the possibility of Ann.  That is all I could find, a name, without even a date of birth.  There are several females named Ann in this family, and it's quite possible that this is actually another Anna, such as the one belonging to Benjamin, above.  At this point, it is only a possibility.  

As far as I could determine, none of these people lived outside of Baltimore/Harford County as they all seem to have died there.  Some are Quakers and some may not be.  But they all stayed close together, and so all these cousins would have known each other, whether close in age or not.  An Amos family reunion would have been enormously fun and enormously confusing! 

 

Holbrook line: The family of William Amos 1690-1759

 For this series of posts, I'll be writing about the Amos (Amoss) family of Harford County, Maryland.  William, the son of John and Mary Singer Eme/Eams/Amos, was born in England about 1690 and died in about 1759. His will was dated September 24, 1757 so it could have been a bit earlier than the 1759 date.  I've not found documentation for the actual date of death.  He married Ann Mauldin,the daughter of Frances and Elizabeth (either Mackall or McGill or Gill) Mauldin in January of 1713 in Joppa, Maryland. Some trees give his wife as Ann McComas, but the dates don't seem to work for that (my opinion; others disagree). I'd sure like to get this question settled!

We don't know much about the early circumstances of William, or whether he arrived in Maryland with money, but he soon started acquiring land (by 1715), and owned more than 1000 acres at the time of his death.  Do you see where this is leading?  Yes, William was a slaveholder.  In his will, he leaves 6 named "negro" men, women and boys to his children.  From what I've read, it is likely that these were "house slaves" rather than "field slaves".  6 people would not have been able to maintain a 1000 acre estate, unless William also had leased others, or indentured servants also.  Field slaves were considered personal property, leased slaves or servants were held by others, and indentured servants were still bound by the terms of their indentureship, so would not have been included in the will.  The Amos families are not the only ones in our families who held slaves, sadly, but we must face what was with what grace we can muster.  

William and Ann had seven or possibly eight children.  There were other Amos families in the area, probably related, and some of the same names are used over and over, so it is possible that one or more of these children are assigned to the wrong parents, although I am reasonably sure of the first six, anyway.  Some of the wives are not traced, but perhaps as I mention them, it will inspire someone to do a little more digging on those families.

Thomas was the first born son, in November of 1713. He lived his entire life in Harford County, which of course was Baltimore County until 1774.  Thomas died in 1763.  His wife was Elizabeth Day, the daughter of Nicholas and Elizabeth Cox Day.  Their children are Thomas, Elizabeth, Nicholas, William, Mordecai, Bethia, Hannah, Christiana, and Harriott.  

Elizabeth, their only known daughter, was born in October of 1715.  It appears that she died in 1727, although some have her married to either a John or a Joseph England.  It looks to me, barring further information, that these supposed marriages are not our Elizabeth.

William was born in March of 1718 and died in 1814. He first married Hannah McComas, the daughter of William and Hannah (possibly Dever or Dover) McComas.  Their children are Ann, Hannah, Mauldin, William, Elizabeth, Martha, Eleanor, Priscilla, Mary, and James.  After Hannah's death, he married Martha Wylie, the daughter of Luke Wiley.  Their children are Luke, Nancy, and Benjamin.  William is an interesting person.  He was an Anglican (sometimes referred to as a pastor but I'm not sure about that), an served in the militia until he apparently had a change of heart and became a Quaker, probably even a Quaker leader.  

James was born in 1721 and died sometime between 1797 (date of will) and 1805, which may be when the will was probated.  He first married Hannah Clark, the daughter of Robert and Selina Smith Clark.  Their children are Robert, Elizabeth, William, James, Benjamin, Mordecai and Joshua.  I have also seen David and Mary listed as their children but I am less sure about those two names.  I'll be following this line in my next post.  His second marriage was to Elizabeth Carlisle Standiford, the daughter of William and Anne Croxton Standiford.  She had eleven children from her first marriage, some of whom were likely on their own by the time she married James in 1778.  James and Elizabeth had no children together.

Benjamin was born in 1724 and married Sarah Lyon, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Harrisson Lyon.  Their children are Benjamin, John, Elijah, Ann, Susanna, Elizabeth and Zachariah.  Benjamin died before May 29, 1775.

Joshua was born October 25, 1725 and died in 1779.  He married Martha Bradford, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Lightbody Bradford.  His son William was born before the wedding, but is listed as being the child of Joshua and Martha.  Their children born after the marriage are Elizabeth, Mordecai, George, Frederick, Martha, Cassandra, and John.  Joshua served in the Revolutionary War.

Mordecai was born February 7, 1727 and died October 10, 1788.  He married Mary Scott, the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Whitaker Scott.  Their children are Mordecai, James, Aquilla, Thomas, and William.  We have another line to this Scott couple; perhaps I will be able to write about them some day.

There may or may not have been a final son, John, born in 1729.  He is not mentioned in his father's will, nor in any documents that I have found, and various trees give a death date of 1732 or 1733.

While not ignoring the blot of slaveholding in this family, we can be proud of them.  They were apparently of some degree of wealth and education, and several served their country as they were needed.  They lived different lives than our New England ancestors, and their accomplishments are to be commended.

The family of William H Withers 1872-1936

 This will be the last post in the short line of the Withers family.  I am still not close to determining the identity of Joseph Withers, the first ancestor I can prove in Pennsylvania.  He had a son William, who married Barbara Cook in Whitley County, Indiana, and William had a son, William, who married Della Kemery, the daughter of Adam and Nancy or Fannie Buchtel Kemery.  

William was born in 1872 and died in 1936 in Whitley County, Indiana. His wife, Della, was born in 1882 and died in 1969, also in Whitley County.  Della is remembered by at least one of her great grandchildren, who recalls that her apartment always smelled of mint.  That was the crop they raised, after the onion market went south.  

William and Della had two known children.  Goldie was born in 1901 and died in 1983 in Andrews, Huntington County, Indiana.  She was married twice. Her first marriage was to Adrian Hawn, the son of Marion and Isabella Bentz Hawn. Adrian served in World War I.  The marriage ran into difficulties and the couple divorced, while Goldie was pregnant with their son Paul.  She married Grover Harshbarger in 1924 and they had one child together, Cleveland.  

Susan, usually seen as Sue or Susie, was born in 1898 and died in 1981.  Her first marriage was to Ward Yant, the son of William and Mary Prosser Yant.  Their children are Ruth, Floyd, and Frederick.  Clarence Yant is sometimes shown as their son, but he was the child of Ward's first marriage.  Sue raised him as her own, but he was a step son.  Warn died in 1941 as a result of septicemia, and Sue then married Charles Mallock, the son of William and Carrie Parrott Mallock. He was also a World War I veteran, and had lived a life of some adventure in the Dakotas.  There were no children born to this marriage.

This gives William and Della a total of five grandchildren, and more great grandchildren, several of whom have grandchildren of their own.  I think they might be pleased with their descendants, who have served in the military and otherwise contributed to their communities.

The family of William A Withers 1840-1912

 Today we're looking at the family of William A Withers, born April 2, 1840 in Richland County, Ohio and died in 1912 in Whitley County, Indiana.  He is the son of Joseph and Mary Gearhart Withers, and a Civil War veteran, having served over three years in some of the most renowned battles of 1862-1864, as a drayman and then an ambulance driver.  His marriage was to Barbara Ellen Cook the daughter of William and Elizabeth Brown Cook, in Whitley County, after the Civil War.  William and Barbara had four known children.  

Wilson was the first born, in 1868.  He died in 1897, before his 29th birthday.  His wife was Catherine Wolfe, the daughter of John and Catherine Eberhard Wolf.  (I'd often wondered, in researching the Whitley County families, if there were connections to the Eberhard family.  Yes, there are.) 

Willie was born next, in 1871. Sadly, that is all the information I can locate about him.  He was apparently deceased by the 1880 census.

William H was born in 1872 and died in 1936.  He married Della Clyde Kemery, the daughter of Adam and Nancy or Fannie Bechtel Kemery.  They had two children, Susan and Goldie.  I will follow this family, briefly, in my next blog post.

Finally, there was Della, born in 1877 and died in 1942.  She married Henry Keiser, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth, known as Bertha, Sell Keiser.  They had two children, Herbert and Archie.

All of these children were born in and died in Whitley County, Indiana.  It is refreshing to find a family that stayed put, for at least two generations!  Unfortunately, they did not leave many records other than census records, but at least we have this much information about one of the hard working families of the time.

 

Harshbarger line: The Joseph Withers family

This is one of the most challenging lines in the Harshbarger family, because the earliest known family head, Joseph Withers, was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania, and so far has not been traced back any further.  There are quite a few trees giving him a birth in England, and a death in England.  I am not at all sure that this is the same Joseph Withers, although I am not totally ruling it out.  But if the birth date and location would happen to be accurate, why is there no parent listed.  Would his birth record, if there is one, not show that?  I have a hunch, which may be totally off the wall, that he somehow belongs in the line of Augustine Withers, whose family line is German.  But proof is lacking, so for now he can perhaps be assumed to have dropped from a space ship into Pennsylvania, which is where the 1850 census shows that he was born.  

His wife, Mary Gearhart, is equally mysterious.  The first record I can find of her, or for that matter, for Joseph, is their 1832 marriage in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  And the mysteries continue.  We know that the family went to Ohio by 1840, when son William was born in Knox County.  We know the names of their children, or at least of their surviving children, from the 1850 census.  But as the family grew up, the children moved on-some apparently back to Ohio (the 1850 census was in Marion, Iowa), some to Allen and Whitley County, Indiana, and some possibly to Missouri.  Others, I am not at all sure about. This is what I think I know:

Joseph and Mary's first child was a daughter, Sarah Jane.  She was born in October of 1833 and died in 1913 in Newark, Licking, Ohio. She married Robert Mills, who may be the son of Robert Mills of Belmont County, Ohio.  Their children are John, Mary, Charles, Catherine, James, Anna or Annabel, Jane, and Harry.  There is a possibility that William and Edward are also their children, but I have not seen their names on a census.

John was the first son, and because of naming patterns, there may be a John in Joseph's family tree, either a father or a grandfather.  He was born about 1836 but I haven't located a death date or location; the last place I can state that he lived was in Whitley County, Indiana in 1880, and then possibly in 1886 in Huntington County.  His wife was Linna or Lena Roberts, who died in 1885.  There is a marriage record for John Withers and Marie Roberts in Huntington County, Indiana, in 1886, and I'm not positive that this is our John Withers.  I don't know whether the two Roberts' women are related, as I can't find information about Lena.  Lena, however, was the mother of John's children, who included Anna, Cleason, Lloyd, Mary, Elza, William, Charles, and Franklin.

Samuel was the next child, born about 1838 in Ohio.  I think he is the Samuel Withers found in 1860 in Perry, Richland County, Ohio, but after that the trail is cold.  There are marriage records and Civil War records for a couple of men by that name in Ohio but I'm not ready to say that either of these men is our Samuel.

William was born in 1840 and died in 1912 in Whitley County, Indiana.  He married Barbara Cook, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Brown Cook.  Their children are Wilson, Willie, William, and Della (why not Willa, I wonder?).  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

Andrew was born about 1842, although some give him a birth date of 1839.  He was married twice, first to Mary Milburn.  Their children are Christopher and Sarah.  His second wife was Sarah Jane Eggbury.  I have not been able to trace either of the wives yet.  Andrew and Sarah's chldren are Mary, Louise, Fannie, Oscar, John, and William.  Andrew served on the Union side in the Civil War, and I would love to trace his service records.  

Mary Ann was born about 1842.  She married twice, first to William Oberlin, son of William and Susanna Gallagher Oberlin.  Their children are Cora, Amy, Hettie, Sarah, and Ida.  Apparently there was a divorce, because William lived until 1921 and in 1978 she married John Hooten, a Civil War veteran.  She had at least one child with him, George, and they moved to Texas. I have not located a death date for her, but it was after the census in 1900.  She may have married again, to a James Garrison, but I am not sure this is the same person.

Joseph was born in 1844 and that is all I know about him.  He is in the 1850 census but I can't find him after that.  Perhaps he died young.

Finally, there is Eliza, born in 1849.  She is yet another mystery.  I have seen several names listed as husbands for her but none make sense, geographically or time wise.  So at the moment, she also goes on our list of unsolved mysteries.

Once again, it is hard to accept that so many people born not so very long ago, at least in a family historian's view, left such few records.  I guess it's another case of the glass being only half full.  But I'm grateful for that half!

 

Beeks family revisited-Christopher Beeks is not ours

 I sure was surprised to get a message from one of the premier Beeks researchers, Dawn Beeks, who advised me that DNA had proven that Christopher Beeks, the Revolutionary War vet and all around interesting character, is not the father of William Beeks, long believed to be his son.  This set me back on my heels a bit, as you can imagine.

DNA seems to point to a man by the name of Hendry as William's father.  This leads to all sorts of speculation as to how William "Beeks" arrived and was raised in the family of Christopher and Catherine Barnes Beeks.  Is Catherine the mother of William?  And if so, was he from a previous marriage, or from a relationship with the Hendry gentleman that is not yet defined?  Affair, one night stand, forceful?  There are so many questions.

As of now, there is not a smoking gun to show who William's father is.  There is an interesting man named William Hendry who had at least three wives, and a relationship (and children) with an enslaved woman.  I have not determined whether the Beeks family and the this Hendry lived in close enough proximity to make this a possibility.  The search continues, but it's going in an entirely different direction now!  

However, we should not forget that William was raised by Christopher, that he would have heard the stories Christopher told, and that his life was influenced by Christopher. 

The family of John W Beeks 1867-1946

 Some of the Beeks men have large families, and some don't.  This is one of the men with a smaller family, and this will be a very short post.  John Beeks was born in Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana to William and Mary Wise Beeks, the subjects of last week's blog post.  John died in 1946 in Andrews, Huntington County, Indiana.  (Lagro and Andrews are about 6 miles apart, so he didn't travel far.)  John's first wife was Elizabeth Wise, the daughter of David and Matilda Martin Wise of Lagro, and she was the mother of his three children. 

Charity, their only daughter, was born in 1890 and died in Andrews in 1956.  She married Howard Humphrey, whom I have not been able to trace further.  This couple had no known children.  

Chester, known to the family as "Bud", was born in 1893 and died in 1973.   He married Myrtle Swindell, daughter of Arthur and Ellen Collins Swindell, and widow of Grover Bullinger.  Although "Grover Lee" is shown as a son on the 1930 census, he was Myrtle's son and Bud's step son.  I have been unable to locate a divorce date for Bud and Myrtle, and it is possible that they didn't divorce.  Myrtle died in 1940 and the 1940 census lists Chester as single.  He was a World War I veteran, serving in France.

Wilbur, the last son, was born in 1895 and died in 1970.  He also stayed close to Andrews for most of his life, except for the time he spent in Russia during World War I as part of the "Michigan" Polar Bears.  He married Gretta Cleo Aldridge, the daughter of Harvey and Margaret Dunham Aldridge, and they had 16 children, 8 of whom died as infants or toddlers.  Charles, Vivian, Kenneth, Eldon, Evelyn, Maxine, Raymond, and Phyllis, sadly, were all in this category.  Those who lived to adulthood are James, Anna Mae, Mary, Norman, Norma, Bonnie, Donald, and one other still living.  All of these had children, but since many of the grandchildren of Wilbur and Cleo are still living, I will not mention any of their names.  (Also, I doubt that I have them all. There were nearly 50 grandchildren.  Some of these grandchildren are now great grandparents themselves.)  Therefore, this is my last post about the Beeks family.

Elizabeth  died in 1922 and five years later, John married Winifred Knight, daughter of William and Elisabeth Boxell Knight.  She had been married twice before, to William Rowland, who died, and to William Gwynn, who filed for divorce in 1918.  Her 1943 obituary refers to only her first marriage, and she died in Dayton, Ohio, so there was possibly another divorce or at least a separation from John.  

John and Elizabeth left only one child who had children, to the best of my knowledge.  But the Beeks family is alive and thriving, many still in Huntington County or nearby, and some in locations such as Florida and Texas.  There have been many sad funerals to attend as age and accidents take their toll, but this is a family that loves and supports each other.  

The family of William Beeks 1833-1888

William Beeks is next in the line of Beeks ancestors.  He was born about 1833, most likely in Greene County, Ohio, where his parents, John and Mary "Polly" Carter Beeks had married in 1830.  By 1850, William was in Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, where he stayed for the rest of his life, except for a brief time when he served in the Civil War in 1865.  

William (I don't know if he had a nickname, I've only seen "William" in recorded documents) was married twice.  His first marriage was to Fannie Dils (also seen as Dilts), the daughter of Isaac and Mary (maiden name unknown) Dils.  They had two children but Fannie died shortly after the birth of the second son.

Elias, born in 1859,  married Anna Enyeart, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Hillegas Enyeart.  The 1910 census reports that Anna had five children, but that none of them were living at the time of the census.  I could find names for only one, Mary.  Drat that missing 1890 census!  Elias died in 1933 in Lagro, Indiana.

Their second son was Isaac, born in 1860 and died in Lagro, Indiana in 1928.  He married Rebecca Enyeart, also the daughter of Joseph and Mary Hillegas Enyeart.  They had quite a large family-Joseph, Charles, Mary, Ida, Bessie, Bertha, Levi, John, Elias, and Fannie. 

After Fannie's death, William married Mary Wise, the (possibly adopted) daughter of Jackson and Charity Botkin Wise, in 1863.  They had 10 children together, per the 1910 census.  I can identify seven of them.  There is a reference in the Wabash Plain Dealer of September 23, 1881, regarding the "Beeks twins" who had died at Lagro, with no mention of the parents names.  It's possible they were Mary's children.  (It's also possible they were the children of Elias and Anna, above, who have missing children also.)  

Jackson was the first born, in 1862.  He lived just a short time, until 1863, but he may have been a reason that William and Mary married when they did.  

Charity was born in 1864 and died sometime after 1884.  I haven't located her in the 1900 census.  She married Henry Stephenson, so far not further identified, and they had two known children.  Glenn was born three months after their marriage, and then a daughter, Mary was born.  

Sarah Beeks was born in 1867 and that is all the information I could find about her.  She probably died young, but I've found no record of that.

John was born in 1867 and died in 1946.  He married Elizabeth Wise, the daughter of David and Matilda Martin Wise.    John and Elizabeth's children are Charity, Chester, and Wilbur.  I will briefly follow this family in my next blog post.  

George was born in 1867 and married Mary Ellen Wise, the daughter of Philip and Elizabeth Grimes Wise.  (David and Philip Wise were brothers, the sons of Andrew and Mary Searfass Wise, so these two wives are cousins.  William's wife Mary was also part of this extended family, but that line goes back a couple more generations to connect).  George and Mary's children are Rosa, Iva, Edith, Gracie, Elmer, Alma, Pauline, and Vern.  George died in 1953 in Wabash, Indiana.

Rachel was born in 1872 and died in 1957 in Lagro.  She married William Ballard, the son of Henry and Minerva Meadows Ballard.  Their known children are William, Sarah, Viva, Freida, John, Sheridan, Glenn, Dale, Margaret, Rachel, and Gordon.  

And finally, there is Martin, who was born in 1875 and died in 1949 in the Wabash County Hospital, Wabash, Indiana.  He also had lived his entire life in Lagro.  He apparently never married, but lived with his mother for many years.  He has no known descendants.

The Lagro cemetery (IOOF) is full of Beeks and related families.  William and Mary's children stayed local, and contributed to the growth, and the stories, of their community. 

The family of John Beeks 1809-1872

We are in for another mystery tour of another Beeks ancestor.  I can identify only two of his children "for certain", and I'm not at all sure about the name of one of those two.  But here is what I think I know as of this point.  

John was born about October, 1809, in or near Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia.  His parents are William and Mary Elizabeth Nimerick Beeks.  He married Mary, known as Polly, Carter in 1830 in Greene County, Ohio.  Her father or relative may be John Carter, who lived in Xenia, Greene County in the 1830 census (taken before John and Polly married) with two females that would have been of marriageable age at that time.  This is not proof, and I'm still looking for proof of the relationship, if any, between John and Mary/Polly.  I haven't located John in the 1840 census, but by 1850 he was in Wabash County, Indiana, with his wife Polly, and son William and daughter Tacy.  He died in 1872 in Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana.

William was their first born child, in 1832.  Some trees show him as William Duane, but I've found no proof that he had this middle name, and there is a William Duane Beeks in Clinton County, Ohio, who was a Civil War veteran.  Our William was a Civil War veteran, also, but for just a few months in 1865.  There were two different William Beeks and we need to keep our eyes on our man.  He was married at least twice.  There was a William Beeks who married a Vellona Moore in 1855 but I'm not sure this is his marriage.  He did marry Fanny/Francis Dils, the daughter of Isaac and Mary (unknown) Dils in 1858.  They had two children, Elias and Isaac.  Francis died soon after Isaac was born.  William then married Mary Wise, the daughter of Jackson and Charity Bodkin Wise.  Their children are Jackson, Charity, John, George, Rachel, Martin, and Sarah.  I will follow William's family in my next post.  

Tacy is the other child I can identify through census and other records.  She married Martin Willis, the son of Fielding and Margaret Crider Willis.  The only child I can identify for this couple is Ida. She died in 1900 in Lagro, Wabash County, Ohio.  

Here is what is confusing about Tacy, or her possible other siblings.  She may have had a sibling, possibly a twin, identified as a male, named Casey.  There is a listing by that name in the 1860 census.  There is also no Tacy in 1860, nor, actually, is there in 1850.  There she shows up as "Lucy".  And she is listed on Find a Grave as "Macy".  I am leaning toward the idea that these are all one and the same, and I am not actually sure what name she answered to.  

There is a "P Beeks" listed in the 1870 census, whom several trees have identified as being Polly Beeks.  I don't know if this identification is correct and I can find no information about a Polly Beeks.

The final mystery is that in 1850, a three year old child named Anna Meadows was living in the John Beeks household.  I cannot identify her, nor can I locate her in a later census.  She may be a niece of either John or Mary/Polly, but that is speculation.  

So even someone who died a little over 150 years ago, and who is buried just a few miles from our home managed to keep some family secrets.  Unless, of course, there is someone out there who knows more than I do at this point?  If you do, please contact me! 

 

 

The family of William Beeks 1786ish to 1864(?)

 I have some answers about William Beeks and his family, and I have more questions, too.  His birth date is not firm, but is thought to be about 1786, in or near Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.  He was the oldest son of Christopher and Catherine Barnes Beeks, and later moved to Greene County, Ohio, near Xenia.  In a letter written by his grand nephew, he is said to have died in 1864 in Worth County, Missouri, killed by a runaway horse.  He would have been about 78 years old at the time.  I have been unable to trace him in the 1840 or later census, unless he is the William "Beach" found in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois in 1840.

His marital history is something of a mystery, also.  He is said to have married a Miss Puckett, a Margaret Baker, and our ancestor, Mary Elizabeth Nimerick.  There is some confusion about which children belong to which wife, but based on the October 27, 1808 marriage date of William and Mary, it looks to me like all the children belong to Mary.  I am as always open to documentation showing otherwise.  

I have seen mention of a George Beeks, born in 1807, who is the son of William.  I have not found anything further about him and am not sure he existed.  If he did, perhaps he was the son of Margaret Baker, and perhaps neither he nor his mother lived long after the birth.  This paragraph is speculation only.

John is the first known son of William and Mary.  He married Mary "Polly" Carter, who possibly was the daughter or other relative of John Carter, who lived near the Beeks family in Greene County, Ohio.  They have four children-William, Casey, Lucy, and Polly.  John died in 1872 in Wabash County, Indiana, and I will follow this family further in my next blog post.

There may have been a daughter, Elizabeth, born about 1813.  There is an Elizabeth Beeks who married Andrew Downing in 1829 in Clinton County, Ohio.  I don't know if this is our Elizabeth, and I can't trace Andrew Downing further.  

Samuel was born in 1814 and died in 1891 in Klickitat County, Washington.  He fought on the Union side in the Civil War in Missouri.  I haven't followed his story particularly, but I do know that there were bitter battles in Missouri between Union and Confederate forces, and he may have also served elsewhere.  He would have been rather old to have served, but that wasn't unheard of.  His wife was Hannah Beal, the daughter of Jacob and Mary Lowrey Beal, whom he married in Greene County, Ohio.  Their children are James, Perry, Isaac, Emma, William, Leander, and Mary.  What stories he could have told to his grandchildren!  

Catherine is still a mystery.  She was born about 1815 and may have married Jacob Bower, or Robert Stoops, or both of them. The Catherine who married Robert Stoops in 1831 seems to have had at least two children, Mary, and John.  I have been unable to locate this family in the 1850 census, so it is possible that Catherine had died by then.  The Catherine who married Jacob Bower was in Randolph County, Indiana, and again, I am not locating information about them.  Perhaps someone reading this can help me.

Sarah was born in 1816 and died in 1893 in Randolph County, Indiana.  She married William Boone, the son of John and Sarah Pierson Boone, apparently not related to the Squire Boone family, although at least John and Sarah were Quakers.  Sarah and William's children are Sarah, Finley, Anna, Susannah, William, Mary, Aseneth (many spellings seen), Joseph, and Lydia. 

William was born in 1818 and died in 1888 in Klickitat County, Washington.  His wife is Christiana Clenny, the daughter of Curtis and Polly Milner Clenny,  Their children are William, Antrim, John, Benjamin, James, Mary, and Levi.  

I know very little about Caroline, born in 1819 and died in 1893 in Brookville, Indiana. She married William Maholm in Greene County, Ohio, and then they both seem to have disappeared from history.  In 1850, I've found a William Maholm of approximate age, but he is married to a Margaret.  Did William and Catherine divorce?  I sure would appreciate information about Caroline's adult life!

Silas, who is often referred to as Jacob, was the last son born. in 1820.  He led an interesting life, having arrived in what became Klickitat County, Washington in 1847, after having traveled the famous Oregon Trail.  He married Mary Ann Beal in 1843 in Clinton County, Missouri, so he was already on the move.  Mary Ann Beal is believed to be the daughter of George and Rosanna Norris Beal, although one family historian says that she is a sister to Hannah Beal who married Samuel Beeks (above), which would make her the daughter of Jacob and Mary Lowrey Beal.  I can't say for certain which is correct.  At any rate, Silas and Mary Ann have children named WIlliam, Philip, Rosanne, Mary Ann, Josephine, Charity, Jacob and Susan.  A year after Mary Ann Beeks died in 1888, Silas married Mary Johnson.  This was a late in life marriage for both of them and no children were born to this marriage.  Silas died in 1902 in North Yakima, Yakima County, Washington.  

And finally, there is Nancy, who was born in 1823 and died in 1900 in Pike County, Illinois.  Nancy had quite a large family, with one or more children from each of her three marriages.  First she married James Knox, the son of John and Nancy Dickson Knox.  James and Nancy's children are Susan, Mary, Jonathan, and James.  She next married Isaac Gentry, the son of "Roaly" (possibly Rollie or Roland? my speculation) Gentry.   Cornelia was the daughter born to this marriage.  Lastly, she married Lewis Parrick, the son of Thomas and Margaret Short Parrick.  Her children by this marriage are Theodore and Ida.  

William and Mary Beeks had at least 44 grandchildren.  Some of them would have been caught up in the Civil War, most likely.  Their children and grandchildren scattered through several states, a long way from what was probably a "holler" in West Virginia.  They saw, and helped, America become a nation of greatness.  

I would be remiss if I did not state that much of the information here is from work done and published by Cathy Gannon.  There are times when I have deviated from her information, or questioned it, or simply added to it, but much of the work, and much of the credit, goes to her. 

The family of Christopher Beeks 1756 ish to 1814

 After years of research and many dollars spent by a Beeks family genealogist, we are still not sure who Christopher's parents are, or exactly where in England he came from.  Fortunately, we do know more about his time in the United States, and have at least some information about his wife and children.  As always, we wish there were more answers but also as always, there is always hope that more records and documents will be found.

Christopher was sent to Virginia with a 14 year indenture in lieu of being hanged for theft in 1770.  He did not serve his full indenture period because when the Revolutionary War started, Christopher had no trouble in choosing sides.  His decision may or may not have been influenced by knowing that if the patriots won, he was released from his indentureship.  I have not located a record of his marriage and find dates ranging from 1778 to 1786.  His first known child was born in 1786 so I tend to lean toward a date at the end of that range.  He married Catherine Barnes, who may be the daughter of Joseph Barnes or possibly John Barnes.  Again, I've not located anything I can be confident about.

However, when we get to the children, they are fairly well documented, although it is always possible that we are missing children who died in infancy.  

William is the first known son, born about 1786 and died in 1864 in Greene County, Ohio. He may have been married as many as three times.  His first wife is reported to be "Miss Puckett".  There are no known children from that marriage.  His second wife is Margaret Baker, whose parents are not yet known.  Their children are Silas, Samuel, William, and George.  His third wife is Mary Nimerick (various spellings), the daughter of Johann Gottfried and Elizabeth (unknown maiden name) Nimerick.  Their children are Nancy, John, Catherine, Sarah, and Caroline.  I will follow this third family in my next blog post.  

Thomas is also reported to have been born about 1786, so take these early dates with a grain of salt.  He died in 1854 in Belmont County, Ohio.  His wife is Nancy Pumphrey, the daughter of Beal and Elizabeth Meek Pumphrey.  Their children are Francis, John, Catherine, Frank, Christopher, Drucilla, Mary, William, Leander and Amanda.  

Nancy, the first daughter was born in 1788 and died in 1843 in Bartholomew County, Indiana.  She married George May, the son of George and Elizabeth King May.  Their children are George, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, Caroline, William, James, Benjamin, Nancy, Sarah, Daniel and David.  

Elizabeth was born in 1790 and died in 1847 in Champaign Couunty, Ohio.  She married Eli Henry Adams, the son of Eli and Sophria Addams Adams. (I'm not sure but the different spellings appear to be two unrelated families, as far as I can determine.) Their children are Christopher, Emerine, William, Eli, Eliza, Jacob, Parker, and James.

Mary was born in 1792 and died in 1869 in Weldon, Illinois.  She married William Powers, and he may have been the son of William and Rhoda Deane Powers.  I'm still trying to sort that out.  Their children are Mary, Arabella, William, James, Martin, Richard, Jane, Eliza, Nancy and Sarah.  There may be a second Richard, also.

John was born about 1793 and died in 1830 in Spalding County, Georgia.  He married Sarah Coker, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Clark Coker.  Their children are John, William, Letitia, James, and possibly Hunter.  

Henry was born about 1796 and died in 1865, in Indian Territory.  His wife was Artemia or Artemisia Choate, the daughter of Jim and perhaps Tlisa Choate.  She may be of Cherokee or Choctaw heritage, as the couple is found on "Indian" enrollment forms.  Their children are David, Henrietta, Sarah, John, and Nancy.  Some trees say that he also married Melvina Kelley Whitsel, but I am not convinced this is the same man.  My mind can be changed by documentation, or course.

Samuel was born about 1798 and died in 1867 in Worthington, Jones County, Iowa.  He married Elizabeth Lambdin, the daughter of James oand Prudence Harrison Lambdin.  Their children are Christopher, Lourvina, William, Mathew, Catherine, Rebecca, Mehemiah, Thomas, James, and Samuel  (Quite possibly I have a couple of these names not quite correct; they seem to be children of Samuel and Elizabeth but the spellings vary considerably.)

And then came Catherine, born in 1801 and died in 1845 in Delaware County, Indiana.  She married George Smith, the son of Abraham and Sarah Crane Smith.  Their children are an unknown infant, Catherine, Nancy, James, John, Sarah, Emarine, William, Margaret, and Matilda.  

Christopher, born in England and transported to Virginia as a punishment, contributed much to the growth of America.  Besides serving faithfully in the Revolutionary War, he fathered at least 9 children, and the list of Christopher and Catherine's grandchildren includes about 80 names.  These grandchildren may have served in the Civil War, or perhaps in the Mexican war.  I would love to have time to research more about these children and grandchildren, for they lived in interesting times, and in several different parts of the country.  Christopher, we're glad you came to what became the United States, regardless of the circumstances!

The family of John Bell 1781-1867

 At last!  Here's a Bell family that is fairly complete, with sources I can find.  It's an interesting family and it was an honor to stand at the grave site of John and his wife, Hannah Finch, a few years ago.  

John is the son of Robert and Mary Yost Bell, and was born in Sussex County, New Jersey in 1781.  He went west with his parents as they settled in Washington County, Pennsylvania, then Belmont County, Ohio, (where he married Hannah Finch, the daughter of Jesse and Hannah (maiden name not known) Finch), then Richland County, Ohio, before finally settling in Huron County, Ohio.  He was likely a veteran of the War of 1812, but it seems to be his uncle John Bell who is listed on public records as a soldier in 1812, from Belmont County.  Records for our John has not been located, but I keep in mind a comment from someone more expert than I that every male between the age of 16 and 60 would have been at least in the local militia during the War of 1812, and John was surely in Ohio then, and of the right age.

John and Hannah had a large family, and most of their children also had large families. This has been a fun family to research and I hope I have cousins from this family who will contact me.  

Robert was the first born son, in 1803. He was married three times.  His first wife was Louisa Fletcher, whom I can't further identify but there is a J.C. Fletcher who I'm trying to trace as a possible father.  Robert and Louisa had one known child, George.  His second marriage was Maria, possibly a daughter or other relative of Benjamin Wooley.  Their children are Catherine, Ezra, John, David, Louisa, and Mary.  Robert's third marriage was to Susan Butler, the daughter of Daniel and Mary Prentiss Butler.  Their children are Daniel, Junius, Charles, Robert, Susan, and an infant whose name I have not located.  Robert died in Steuben County, Indiana in 1871.

Jesse was born in 18047 and died in 1884 in Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri.  He married Alletta Wooley, who may or may not also be related to Benjamin Wooley.  Their children are Emily, Paulina, George, Hannah, Charles, Louisa, Franklin, Rocliff, and Nathan.  

Anna was born in 1807 and died in 1845 in Steuben County, Indiana.  She married John Knott, the son of Joseph and Mary Adams Knott.  Their children are Robert, Hannah, and Mary known as Mollie.  There may or may not be a Thomas; if so, he apparently died young.  

John was born in 1809 and died in 1879 in Huron County, Ohio.  He married Marilda Mead, the daughter of Abraham and Deborah Barker Mead.  Their children include William, Peter, Mary, Enoch, Elizabeth, Milton, Hannah, and Josephine.  

Hannah was born in 1811 and died in 1892 in Tipton, Iowa.  She married Thomas J Knott, who was also the son of Joseph and Mary Adams Knott.  Hannah lived many different places in her life but seems to have thought of Tipton as home.  Their children are Anna, Elzy, John Wilson, Harriet, Thomas, Louisa, Albert Adams, and James.  I hope to write about this family at a future time.

Enoch was born in 1814 and died in 1885 in Morrow County, Ohio, which is just west of Richland County,  His wife was Harriet Wheeler, whom I've not been able to further identify.  They seem to have had no children together, but raised Mary Knott, the daughter of Enoch's sister Anna, above.  

David was the next son, born in 1816 and died in 1906 in Huron County, Ohio.  He first married Emeline Slocum, the daughter of Alonzo and Lavinia Williams Slocum.  Their children are Stephen, David, and John.  His second marriage was to Clarissa Stewart, the daughter of Galbreath and Anne Russel Stewart.  Their children are Cora and Edwin.  

There was a son named Joseph, or possibly two sons named Joseph.  One may have been born in 1817, but I found nothing further about him.  There was a second (?) son Joseph born in 1824 (so he would have been the youngest of the Bell children), who died in 1826.  

Nathaniel  was born in 1819 and died in 1875 in Huron County, Ohio.  He married Nancy Reynolds, the daughter of William and Sarah (maiden name unknown) Reynolds.  Their children are Jesse, William, Harried, John, Sarah, and Hannah.  Nathaniel's second wife was Elizabeth Newman, with no children born to them.  Nathaniel was a Methodist minister.  

Stephen was born in 1821 and died in 1853 in Huron County.  (I should mention that Huron County is just north of Richland County, and John's home was at the south end of the county, about 25 miles from Bellville where Robert and Mary Yost Bell are buried.)  Stephen married Bethiah Rogers, the daughter of Almonzo and Melinda Fuller Rogers.  They had three children before Stephen's death-Anna, Sarah, and Albert.  

This list gives John and Hannah about 49 grandchildren, and though they were scattered, they were surely loved.  We can see that most of the family stayed in Huron or Morrow County, Ohio, with some traveling west to Steuben County, Indiana, one settling in Missouri, and one who lived in several places, mostly Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.  Some of these grandchildren likely fought in the Civil War, or their own children did.  They helped America grow, and I'm proud of my Bell family.

The family of Robert Bell 1753-1837

 At last, I am on firmer ground with Robert Bell and his family.  Although I can't identify his mother, and I'm not sure about one of the children sometimes listed as his, I can more or less trace his life and his journeys, and I've visited his grave in Bellville, Ohio.  I've written about him previously, so now we will follow the family of this Revolutionary War veteran.

Robert was born in 1753 in Sussex County, New Jersey, the son of Isaac Bell and- take your pick of several candidates for mother.  (In my previous blog post, I mentioned several names but I am not sure that any of them are correct.)  Sometime after his children were born, he headed west.  He may have been in Washington County, Pennsylvania for a few years, and then went to Belmont County, Ohio, soon after it seemed "safe" to do so.  After spending a few years there, he purchased land and moved to Richland County, Ohio, where he spent the last 25-30 years of his life.  He married Mary Yost, the daughter of Nicklaus and Eva or Anna Catherine Clason (various spellings) Yost, and she was the mother of his children.

Sarah was born about 1778, and married Josiah Philips, the son of Joseph and Mary Hughes Phillips.  Their children are Mary, David, Joseph, Robert, John, Elizabeth, Sarah, Nancy, and Josiah.  Sarah died in 1820 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  

Catherine was born next, in 1779.  She married Thomas Pyatt (various spellings), the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Dunham Pyatte.  Their children are John, Jacob, Robert, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Nancy, and Thomas.  Mary, or possibly Sarah, or both, used the nickname Polly.  Catherine died in 1830 in Richland County, Ohio.  

John was their first born son, arriving in 1781. He married Hannah Finch, the daughter of Jesse and Hannah (maiden name still a mystery!!) Finch, and died in 1867 in Huron County, Ohio, about 25 miles from Bellville.  Their children are Robert, Jesse, Anna, John, Hannah, Enoch, David, Joseph, Nathaniel, and Stephen.  I will follow this family in my next post.

Jabez/Jabesh is the questionable child.  He was born in 1783 and died in 1851 in Wood County, Ohio.  The reason I question him is that he is not mentioned in his father's will, nor in any of the brother's wills that I have found.  That is not a reason to totally rule him out, but neither is there proof that I know of, that states that his parents are Robert and Mary.  He married Gertrude Nichols, and their children are Abraham, Ann, David, John, William, Abigail, Sally, Permelia, Charlotte, Simon, Susan, Gertrude, Jabesh, Phoebe, and Hulda.  His second maarriage was to Anna King, later in life.

Robert was born in 1785 and died in 1861 in Bellville.  He married Elizabeth Lash, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Yost Last.  (I have not been able to trace Elizabeth, but she may be some sort of relative to Mary.  Research continues.  Their children are John, William, Zephaniah, Sarah, Mary, Peter, Robert, John, and Aaron.

Zephaniah was born in 1785 and died in 1876 in Whitley County, Indiana, as a Methodist minister.  He married Margaret Smith, who is so far not further identified.  Their children are Robert, William, Mary, Jane, Catherine, Elizabeth, Enoch, Nancy, and Ruth Ann.  His second wife is Mary Ann Morrow, and again this was a later in life marriage.Zephaniah served a six month enlistment during the War of 1812, and I suspect the other men from this family also did, as almost every able bodied male in Ohio is said to have been in either the army or the militia.  

Elizabeth was born in 1791 and died in 1847 in Perry County, Illinois.  She married George Yearian, the son of Frederick and Anna Maria Dorn/Thorn Yearian.  Their children are Frederick, Robert, John, Mary, Thomas, George, Sarah, Jacob, Nancy, Joseph, and William.  

I should admit that I am not absolutely sure all of these children are assigned to the correct parents, but those that I could find sources for are correct.  With some of these names being used in the majority of the families listed, separating all the Johns and Roberts and Sarahs and Marys is quite a chore.  I believe I counted 72 grandchildren for Robert and Mary, a large family indeed!

The family of Isaac Bell 1715 or so to 1778

 Here's another family that needs a great amount of work.  For Isaac Bell, who is most likely the son of John and Martha Odell Bell, we have a great number of potential wives and a great number of potential children.  And of course, there's not much information for some of the children, and of course some of the children are not the children of Isaac and any of his supposed wives.  There are very few records for Isaac that are available on line, and a trip to New Jersey may or may not reveal additional information.  

The list of wives that I have for Issac, or potential wives, include Elizabeth Hixon, Deborah Peck, Keziah Corwin, Deborah Hazen, Deborah Roberts, and Rhoda Ayers.  I've had correspondence over the years with someone who has gone through some of the church records, and is convinced that his wife was Rhoda Ayers.  I am sure there was an Isaac Bell married to Rhoda Ayers, but I'm not sure it was this one.  I have not seen any of her documentation, but the dates don't seem to match with the little we know about Isaac.  James Bell  died in 1778 in Sussex County, New Jersey, and his wife at that time was named Deborah.  Son James  refers to his brother in law, Nathaniel Hazen, which would lead one to think that Deborah Hazen is not the right name for Isaac, except that many trees call Isaac "James Isaac" so here we are again. Many trees list Isaac's wife as Keziah Corwin, but when I look at the Corwin family, Keziah is said to have married "a" Bell, with no firm dates but it seems to be a generation off.  On my tree, I have not noted a name for Isaac's wife.

An Isaac Bell was born in 1736, and he is often assigned as a son to our Isaac.  The younger Isaac died in 1813.  His wife may have been Keziah Corwin, or possibly Rhoda Ayers..  The only child I can find for him is Jane or Jean.  

Jesse was born in 1737 and died in 1791.  He married Mary Gray, whom I can't further identify.  Their children include Sarah, Daniel, James, and Mary.

There may have been a daughter, Sarah, born in 1738.  I have not found anything further about her.

Ephraim was born about 1740 and died in 1742.  I found the same information for Joseph, but I am a bit skeptical about him.  I think he may have belonged to another Bell.

James was born in 1741 and died in 1778.  His wife was Deborah Hazen, as mentioned above.  They had children, but are not named in the will and I don't have access to the estate papers, which might tell us more.  

Zephaniah was born in 1743 and died in 1813 in Greene County, Kentucky.  His wife may be Sophia Gunterman, but she may have been a second wife.  There are two marriage dates for this couple, about 30 years apart.  Zephaniah's children are quite numerous-Henry, Peter, Rhoda, Sophia, Zephaniah, Mary, Ester, John, Susanna, Elizabeth, Catherine, Jane, Isaac, and Nancy.

Next came Peter, born in 1745 and died in 1831.  He married Nancy Hull, the daughter of Benjamin and Ann/Anna Duer Hull.  Their children are John, Margaret, Robert, Nancy, Jacob, Sarah, Ester, and Rhoda.  A man named Peter Bell served in the Revolutionary War.

Benjamin was born in 1747 and died in 1820 in Quebec, Canada, if this is the correct Benjamin.  It leads one to wonder whether he might have been a Loyalist in the Revolutionary War, who chose to leave during or after the war, but that is speculation.  He married Elizabeth Pettit, the daughter of Jonathan and Deborah Robins Pettit.  Their children are Anna, Jonathan, Deborah, Dinah, Elizabeth, Mary, Isaac, Nathaniel, Sarah, and Benjamin.  

Henry Bell was born in 1750 and died in 1783.  His wife's name may have been Elizabeth, but I could find nothing further, or firm, about Henry.

John Bell was born in 1752 and died in 1837 in Bellville, Richland County, Ohio.  He married Sarah Hunt, who is so far not identified further.  Their children include Peter, Isabella, and Lewis.  He may be the John Bell who was listed as a soldier in the War of 1812 in Belmont County, Ohio.

Robert was born in 1753 and died shortly before his brother John, in Bellville, Ohio, a town that Robert founded.  His first wife, and the mother of his children, was Mary Yost, the daughter of Nicklaus and Eva Catherina Klason Yost.  Their children are Sarah, Catherine, John, Robert, Zephaniah, Elizabeth, and possibly another Catherine.  His second wife was Hannah Martin Boggs, the daughter of Reuben and Mary Jane Van Buren Martin.  This marriage was in 1827, not long after both Robert and Mary Jane lost their first spouses.  I will follow this family in my next post.

George Bell was probably Isaac's last child, born in 1754 and died in 1791.  There are indications that he may have been married, but I could locate nothing further about him.

Abraham, Rhoda, Sophia, and Sarah can all be seen as children of our Isaac, but I have identified more likely candidates for parents for each of them.  Their birth years range from 1765 to 1782, considerably after the births of the children named above.  

Once again, this is a most unsatisfactory blog post, from a family historian's point of view.  I want to provide complete and completely accurate information, but this is not possible for this family.  Can you provide additional information?

  

Allen line: The Bell family of New Jersey: John and Martha

 I know very little about this family, and am hoping someone can help to verify this information, or myth, whichever it might be.  I am coming up short on documentation and some of what is said here is taken from the undocumented work (or at least not publicly shared work) found on various online sites.

John Bell seems to be the first known Bell family member in America, but that may or may not be correct.  He is thought to have been born about 1695 based on a supposed birthdate of son Isaac of roughly 1715.  Of course, he could have been born earlier than 1695, but probably not much later.  His wife is given as Martha Deal or Odell.  If she is Martha Odell, she may be the daughter of John and Mary Walker Odell, who died in Connecticut.  I am not sure I buy that connection at this point.  How would John and Martha have met?  But it is worth remembering as we continue our search for documents.  

John and his wife may have lived in New York, perhaps on Long Island, for a time, as the last three of his children are said to have been born there.  But they seem to have settled in New Jersey, where at lest some of the children were born.

Their first known child was Isaac, born in 1715, and again, this family is a hot mess.  Isaac has been assigned at least four different wives-Elizabeth Hixon, Elizabeth Dixon, Keziah Corwin, Deborah Peck and Deborah Hazen.  I think I've eliminated Elizabeth Dixon, Keziah Corwin, and Deborah Hazen.  They all seem to have married men surnamed Bell, but none of them are our Isaac.  Elizabeth Dixon and Elizabeth Hixon seem to have much the same information as far as vitals are concerned, so they may well be the same person.  That leaves us Deborah Peck (or possibly Pack), but I've not yet found anything that will definitely include or exclude her as a possibility.  I have notes in my file (also undocumented) that her first name may actually be Sarah, but again, I'm at a dead end there.  At any rate, Isaac is given a very large number of children, and I've been able to tentatively exclude several.  I believe his children are Ephraim, James, Henry, John, Robert, and George.  Other names mentioned, which I think may belong elsewhere, are Jesse, Sarah, Samuel, Zephaniah, Peter, Mary, and Isaac.  I will try to follow this family, or at least some of them, in my next post.

The next child was Jabesh, born in 1721 and died in 1787.  He married Elizabeth Drake, the daughter of Abraham and Deliverance Wooden Drake.  (As an aside, Deliverance is a granddaughter of Edward and Elizabeth Blossom Fitzrandolph, who are ancestors in the Beeks family line.) Their children are Abraham, Hannah, Mehitabel, Unice, Susanna, Elizabeth, Deliverance, Catherine, and Abigail.  That's a lot of girls, who must have looked up to their big brother!

John was the next born, about 1725, and died in 1780.  He married Martha Fancher, the daughter of Richard and Martha Richards Fancher.  Their children are Levi, Easter, John, Jeremiah, Margaret, and Isaac.  

I find a Joseph listed as having been born in 1730 and died in 1789.  Some think he is the same as Jabesh, above, but the birth and death dates are different.  I have not located anything further about Joseph, so he may be a myth. 

The final child was Onesimus, who some refer to as Simeon.  He was born in 1738 and died in 1826 in Clarksville, Greene County, Pennsylvania.  He married Anna Cossart or Cozan, the daughter of Jacob and Anna Cox Cossart.  Their children are Joseph, Nathaniel, Sieon, Elizabeth, Sarah, Anna, Jacob, Aaron, Phoebe, and John.  Onesimus married a second time, late in life, Eleanor "Nellie" Blatchely.  In researching Onseimus, I found indications that he may have been associated with the "Colverites", a religious sect with land near his, that eventually became the Shakers.  I am not sure he ever joined this group, but he did act as a witness on at least one land deed, so they were at least acquaintances.

As I've found time and time again, these early families, who were pioneers in their areas, can be very difficult to research.  Whether new records will eventually come to light or not is of course unknown, but we can hope.  Meanwhile, we can be grateful to the Bells, who contributed to the beginnings of our country.