The family of Samuel Demarest 1707-1781

 This is the last of I believe 7 posts about the immigrant David Demarest and his descendants.  It's been fun, and sometimes a slog, to see how the original French Huguenots grew their family, and how those families grew.  Although I have only followed the siblings of my family's ancestors for one generation, I know that if those children were traced further, there would be even more interesting stories and tidbits than I have uncovered here.  For at least 150 years, the Demarest family was closely associated with history, only some of which we studied in school.

As a reminder of how we got to this point, Samuel's father is David, whose father is Samuel, whose father is David.  And to make matters interesting, this Samuel decided to use the spelling De Maree, as did at least some of his children.  I'm referring to him as Demarest because, that's easier for me.  David was born in 1707 in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey.  His wife is Lea Demarest, and they are distant cousins.  Lea's line back to immigrant David is Peter, Jean, and then David.  Her parents are Peter and Maretjie Meet Demarest; his are David and Matie DeBaun Demarest.  Samuel died in 1781 near Pleasureville, Henry County, Kentucky.  Lea may have died in 1780 in Hackensack, New Jersey. This couple, like their ancestors, had a large family.  Ten children was normal for the Demarests but of course, not to us.  

Their first known child was a daughter, Antjin, born in 1733 and died in 1810 (some say 1802) in Pleasureville, Henry County, Kentucky.  She married Hendrik or Henry Banta, the son of Hendrick and Geertjie (I've found lots of different spellings, not sure this is the most correct) Terhune Banta.  Their children are Rachel, Samuel, Peter, John, Cornelius, Jacob, Daniel, Mary Polly, Antie, David, Isaac, Anginitje, and Hendrick.  

Marie was born next, in 1735.  She died in 1799 in Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky.  She married Jacobus Westervelt or Westerfield, son of James and C=Debora Van Schyweg Westervelt.  Their children are Jacobus, William, Samuel, Isaac, Leah, Debora, Catrina, William, and Rebecca.  This family has a sad story, known as the Westerfield massacre.  Indigenous people regarded Kentucky as their hunting ground, and were very upset as the first settlers arrived and settled in land they regarded as theirs.  During the Revolutionary War, the natives, aided and abetted by the British, repeatedly attacked settlers to try to force them out of the land they claimed.  One such group was the Westerfield family.  There were about 40 allied people who were headed to the fort at Harrodsburg after learning that their neighbors were being killed and their settlement was next.  They didn't make it to the fort.  Instead, they whole group was ambushed.  All of the men (at least 9) were killed, scalped, and their scalps sold to the British.  Some of the women and children were taken to Detroit and held there for ransom, although I am not sure if any of this immediate family was included in that group.  Only about half of the people who set out for Harrodsburg escaped to tell their story.  I do not know this for a fact, but it seems that Marie may have stayed in Harrodsburg rather than return as a widow to a burned out home. slaughtered animals, and destroyed crops in Pleasureville.

Petrus (Peter) was the first son, born in 1737.  I was unable to find a death date and location, other than "about 1818 in Kentucky", although he is buried in Pleasureville.  He married Mary Allen, or Ellen, and I am not sure who her parents are.  Their children are Samuel, Johannes, Peter, Abraham, David, James, and Mary.  

Elizabeth was born in 1739 and died in 1799 in Conewago, Pennsylvania.  She married Daniel Harris, whom I am unable to further identify.  Their children are Annie, John, Daniel, Samuel, George, Peteer, Eleanor, Lena, and Mary/Polly. 

Sarah was born in 1741 and died sometime after 1800, when she married for the second time.  Her first husband, the father of her children, is Benjamin Slot. who changed his surname to Lock.  He is the son of Jacobus and Maria Demarest Slot (Maria is a descendant of Jean and Jacomina De Ruine Demarest, so this family is interconnected in several ways!). Their children are Samuel, William, John, Gerardia (may well be something else), Peter, Jacob, and possibly Polly.  Her second marriage is to George Erdmayer/Admire in 1800.  It is possible that she died in Henry County, where George lived at the time of their marriage, but I haven't found proof of that.

Rachel was born in 1743 and died in 1811 in Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana.  She first married Gerardus Rycken or Ryker, the son of Johannes and and Gartung Wiltsee Rycken.  Their children are Jacob, John, Leah, Gerardus, Samuel, Peter, Geertje, Rachel, and Deborah.  After her husband's death, she married John Van Cleave, son of Aaron and Rachel Schenck Van Cleave.  Their children are Peter and David.  

John was born in 1745 and died about 1798,  in Shelby County, Kentucky.  He married Nancy, possibly Ramey, whom I can't further identify.  All that is reasonably certain is that his wife's name was Nancy.  Their children are Jacob, John, Peter, Nancy, Phebe and Mary.   

Tryntje or Trintie was born in 1748 and died in 1828 in Hanover, Jefferson County, Indiana.  She married Jacob Smock, the son of John and Leah (maiden name not found) Smock.  Their children are Leah, Samuel, Peter, Abraham, Matthew, John, Mary, Jacob, Katherine, and Sally Ann.   

The last daughter, Lea, was born in 1752.  What little information I can find of her is conflicting.  She probably married Abraham van Buskirk, but who he was I cannot determine.  She is said to have died in 1843 in Jefferson County, Indiana, although the Demarest family book states that she was the only one of her siblings not to have gone west.  I know that some of the van Buskirk families were Loyalists, so it's possible that they went to Canada or another of the British colonies after the Revolutionary War.  Or she may have gone west long after the rest of her family, perhaps as a widow.  Much more research needs to be done for her.  Her children are listed as David, and possibly Peter.  There may have been more.

And finally, there is yet another Samuel Demarest or Demaree.  He was born in 1754 and died in 1826 in Jefferson County, Indiana.  He married Mary Brouwer, the daughter of Daniel and Marie Brouwer.  Their children are Susanna, Daniel, and Mary Ann.  

Some general comments: The Revolutionary War greatly affected this generation.  Some of the family fought on the Patriot side and some on the British side.  There were times when the men were in the same battle, on different sides.  The family moved from their Bergen County, New Jersey home to Conewago, Pennsylvania, on to Berkeley County, Virginia, and then to the area of Shelby/Henry/Mercer County, Kentucky.  Several of the children crossed the Ohio River and settled in Jefferson County, Indiana.  It has been suggested that at least some of them were motivated by anti-slavery beliefs, but it is just as likely that they were looking for more land and economic opportunities.  And of course, when some of the family moved, more joined them.  

This has been a fascinating family to follow, from start to finish.  There is so much history encapsulated in their lives, and we are fortunate that so much of it is available to us.  Their stories should be part of the Beeks family treasury of stories.