Unfortunately, we don't seem to know for sure when William Greene was born, or where, or the names of his parents, or even when he arrived in New England. If he was born as early as 1591, as some suggest, then his wife, Hannah Carter, would have been significantly younger than he was in order to be starting the family in 1644. So if the 1591 date is correct, he may well have had an earlier wife and an earlier family about whom we know nothing.
What we know of William is that he was "of Charlestown" in 1640 and that year subscribed to the "town orders" for the settlement of Woburn, which basically stated rules to live by, for the town. For instance, no one could have a guest ("inmate"), for more than three days without the express permission of at least four of the town selectmen. He married Hannah Carter, daughter of Thomas Carter, the blacksmith of Charlestown, about 1642, and the young or middle-aged and young, couple went to Woburn to live. He was made a freeman in 1644. I should note that it's possible that Greene never actually moved at all, as Charlestown gave up some of its territory to what became the town of Woburn. Still, the Greenes probably lived a good ways from Hannah's parents, as currently Woburn and Charlestown are about 18 miles distant from each other. William was made a freeman in 1644, meaning he was a member of the church and had property of some sort.
There isn't much more that is known of his life in Woburn. Apparently he stayed out of trouble, paid his taxes, supported the church, and was not much involved in the government of the town. Raising small children and farming probably kept him busy. When he died in 1654, there were at least four small children to raise, and they were apparently taken in by members of Hannah's family. Hannah died just a few years after William, in 1658.
William Greene had an estate of over 200 pounds when he died, probably helped greatly by a gift of half of the lands of his father in law. This was a good sum of money for a man believed to have been in the country only about 14 years when he died.
This sums up the story of William Greene, who came to New England to practice his religion, or for economic gain, or because he wanted an adventure, or some combination of the three. Whatever his reasons, we are glad he came, because he contributed to our gene pool.
The line of descent is
William Greene-Hannah Carter
Mary Greene-John Snow
Zerubabbel Snow-Jemima Cutler
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Carter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carter. Show all posts
Friday, April 5, 2019
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Beeks line: Christopher Beeks, Immigrant
How did I miss writing about Christopher, who as far as we know now is the immigrant ancestor in the Beeks line? If this is a repeat post, I do apologize but neither my hand written list nor my search function is turning up a post about him. Maybe I was waiting to try to pin down more details about him. As it is, there is too much of his life that is still a mystery, but since I am winding down on this process of writing about the immigrants in the Beeks family, it's possibly now or never.
We don't know much about Christopher's early life. He is traditionally given a birth date of 1756 and it's said he lived in either Leicestershire or Lancastershire in England, born of parents yet undiscovered. We don't really know if either of these locations is correct, but the first thing we do know of him is that he was in trouble-big trouble.
Life in England in 1770 was, shall we say, difficult. Jobs were lacking, education was lacking, food was lacking and law enforcement was lacking. George III was already King of England, but he was not a forceful nor a temperate king, and his officials were, for the most part, out to get what they could for themselves, with no compassion at all for the poor. We don't know what Christopher's family situation was, but at 14 he was out on his own, just as many of his contemporaries were. Christopher had the bad luck to be caught, or at least accused and found guilty, of "assault on highway". This was from Manchester, Lancashire, England, but doesn't necessarily mean that's where his home was, as young men (and he was young, just about 14 at this time).
Some say he was sentenced to death by hanging and then reprieved, to be sent to America as an indentured servant, a dumping ground for "criminals" for either 7 or 14 years, again, depending on the source. I have yet to find records of his master, or for that matter, of the ship he came on.
When the Revolutionary War broke out, Christopher was quite happy to side with the American colonists who wanted their freedom. He enlisted in March of 1777 and served for at least three years in various Virginia Regiments, primarily the 8th and then the 12th. There is evidence that the unit he served with went through that hard winter at Valley Forge, and I haven't yet found anything that says he was furloughed during that time (the next winter, 1778, yes, he was furloughed for part of that time, but not the 1777-78 winter). So we can believe that he was there during that difficult winter, that he would have had ample chances to have seen George Washington, and that he survived the winter in good enough shape to continue soldiering.
We know that he served three years because in 1783 he was given a land warrant for 100 acres of land, and that is the amount of land that privates received for three years of service. Christopher didn't hold onto this land, though, because there was some problem with the tax collector not recording the taxes due and so Christopher, along with several others, lost their land. We don't know for sure where he lived when the war started, nor where he settled after the war.
We do know he married Catherine Barnes, who was the daughter of John Barnes and possibly Elizabeth, and we know they lived in western Virginia, variously listed as Augusta and then Berkeley County. They had at least ten children together, with the first known birth date of 1787, so perhaps they married in 1785 or 1786. No record has yet been located of this event, to the best of my knowledge. By 1790, he was running a pub or tavern and was soon in debt. He is found in various counties in Virginia until about 1811, when the family went to Xenia, Greene County, Ohio. His widow remarried in September of 1814 so Christopher had died before then. Catherine's children would have been teenagers and older at this point, so perhaps they no longer lived at home.
This is as much as we know about Christopher. He had a rough start in life and it appears that economically, he suffered for that through most of his life. He struggled to support his ten children, he lost his land and his business, and he may have had life long physical problems because of his time in the service of his new country. It's easy to feel sorry for Christopher. But we should also feel proud. He loved his new country well enough to fight for it for three years, and continued, in other ways, the struggle to give his children a better start in life than he had He must have felt joy that his children would not have to commit crimes in order to eat, and that they had the freedom to go wherever on this continent they wanted to go. Christopher Beeks, thank you for your service and for all the sacrifices you made!
The line of descent is:
Christopher Beeks-Catherine Barnes
William Beeks-Mary Elizabeth Nimerick
John Beeks-Polly Carter
William Beeks-Mary Wise
John Beeks-Elizabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
We don't know much about Christopher's early life. He is traditionally given a birth date of 1756 and it's said he lived in either Leicestershire or Lancastershire in England, born of parents yet undiscovered. We don't really know if either of these locations is correct, but the first thing we do know of him is that he was in trouble-big trouble.
Life in England in 1770 was, shall we say, difficult. Jobs were lacking, education was lacking, food was lacking and law enforcement was lacking. George III was already King of England, but he was not a forceful nor a temperate king, and his officials were, for the most part, out to get what they could for themselves, with no compassion at all for the poor. We don't know what Christopher's family situation was, but at 14 he was out on his own, just as many of his contemporaries were. Christopher had the bad luck to be caught, or at least accused and found guilty, of "assault on highway". This was from Manchester, Lancashire, England, but doesn't necessarily mean that's where his home was, as young men (and he was young, just about 14 at this time).
Some say he was sentenced to death by hanging and then reprieved, to be sent to America as an indentured servant, a dumping ground for "criminals" for either 7 or 14 years, again, depending on the source. I have yet to find records of his master, or for that matter, of the ship he came on.
When the Revolutionary War broke out, Christopher was quite happy to side with the American colonists who wanted their freedom. He enlisted in March of 1777 and served for at least three years in various Virginia Regiments, primarily the 8th and then the 12th. There is evidence that the unit he served with went through that hard winter at Valley Forge, and I haven't yet found anything that says he was furloughed during that time (the next winter, 1778, yes, he was furloughed for part of that time, but not the 1777-78 winter). So we can believe that he was there during that difficult winter, that he would have had ample chances to have seen George Washington, and that he survived the winter in good enough shape to continue soldiering.
We know that he served three years because in 1783 he was given a land warrant for 100 acres of land, and that is the amount of land that privates received for three years of service. Christopher didn't hold onto this land, though, because there was some problem with the tax collector not recording the taxes due and so Christopher, along with several others, lost their land. We don't know for sure where he lived when the war started, nor where he settled after the war.
We do know he married Catherine Barnes, who was the daughter of John Barnes and possibly Elizabeth, and we know they lived in western Virginia, variously listed as Augusta and then Berkeley County. They had at least ten children together, with the first known birth date of 1787, so perhaps they married in 1785 or 1786. No record has yet been located of this event, to the best of my knowledge. By 1790, he was running a pub or tavern and was soon in debt. He is found in various counties in Virginia until about 1811, when the family went to Xenia, Greene County, Ohio. His widow remarried in September of 1814 so Christopher had died before then. Catherine's children would have been teenagers and older at this point, so perhaps they no longer lived at home.
This is as much as we know about Christopher. He had a rough start in life and it appears that economically, he suffered for that through most of his life. He struggled to support his ten children, he lost his land and his business, and he may have had life long physical problems because of his time in the service of his new country. It's easy to feel sorry for Christopher. But we should also feel proud. He loved his new country well enough to fight for it for three years, and continued, in other ways, the struggle to give his children a better start in life than he had He must have felt joy that his children would not have to commit crimes in order to eat, and that they had the freedom to go wherever on this continent they wanted to go. Christopher Beeks, thank you for your service and for all the sacrifices you made!
The line of descent is:
Christopher Beeks-Catherine Barnes
William Beeks-Mary Elizabeth Nimerick
John Beeks-Polly Carter
William Beeks-Mary Wise
John Beeks-Elizabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Beeks line: Done with the Beeks line?
Of course, I'll never be done writing about this family, or at least learning about them. However, I've come to a stopping point and any posts I write now will either be of things I've learned from the Huntington newspaper, or I'll post when I find the story of a new Beeks ancestor. Since some of these people right now are first names only, I don't hold out a lot of hope for locating them, but certainly stranger things have happened. My criteria for including people on this list is that they at least died in this country. Some were probably immigrants and some may have been here for several generations, but I just can't trace them.
Here are the names I'm looking for:
Timothy Martin, born about 1798 died before 1870; married in 1833 in Shelby County, Ohio to
Hannah Tilberry or Tilbury, born about 1810. They may have died in Wabash County, Indiana.
possibly Eva, the wife of George Philip Serfass. She would have been born about 1783, maybe.
Sabina, wife of Frederick Serfass, born about 1760.
Felix Weiss about 1720-1779 died in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, Pa.
Anna Maria van Buskirk, his wife, born about 1726
George Featheringill 1710-1767-died in Frederick County, Va.
possibly Elizabeth Marie Settlemire, his wife
Hannah, wife of William Lehew about 1745-1810, died in wythe County, Va.
Tabitha, widow Underwood, wife of William Hunt, early Virginia
Elizabeth, wife of Hugh Donaghe
Isabel Hamilton, wife of John Donaghe
Thomas Hicklin, 1689-1772
Richard Bodkin 1710-1773
Elizabeth, wife of Richard Bodkin
Barbara, wife of Johan Jacob Bentz
Rebecca Caroline, wife of Christian Funk
Polly Carter 1805-1880, Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, wife of John Beeks
Elizabeth, wife of Johann Gottfried Neimrich
Johann Gottfired Neimrich
possibly John Barnes and his possible wife Elizabeth, parents of Catherine Barnes
As you can see, for most of these people I have little to go on. However, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. They also ask for help, which is what I'm doing now. Can you help me learn the stories of any of these people, and possibly their parents?
Here are the names I'm looking for:
Timothy Martin, born about 1798 died before 1870; married in 1833 in Shelby County, Ohio to
Hannah Tilberry or Tilbury, born about 1810. They may have died in Wabash County, Indiana.
possibly Eva, the wife of George Philip Serfass. She would have been born about 1783, maybe.
Sabina, wife of Frederick Serfass, born about 1760.
Felix Weiss about 1720-1779 died in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, Pa.
Anna Maria van Buskirk, his wife, born about 1726
George Featheringill 1710-1767-died in Frederick County, Va.
possibly Elizabeth Marie Settlemire, his wife
Hannah, wife of William Lehew about 1745-1810, died in wythe County, Va.
Tabitha, widow Underwood, wife of William Hunt, early Virginia
Elizabeth, wife of Hugh Donaghe
Isabel Hamilton, wife of John Donaghe
Thomas Hicklin, 1689-1772
Richard Bodkin 1710-1773
Elizabeth, wife of Richard Bodkin
Barbara, wife of Johan Jacob Bentz
Rebecca Caroline, wife of Christian Funk
Polly Carter 1805-1880, Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, wife of John Beeks
Elizabeth, wife of Johann Gottfried Neimrich
Johann Gottfired Neimrich
possibly John Barnes and his possible wife Elizabeth, parents of Catherine Barnes
As you can see, for most of these people I have little to go on. However, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. They also ask for help, which is what I'm doing now. Can you help me learn the stories of any of these people, and possibly their parents?
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Allen line: Richard Lane, immigrant to paradise?
I've written a little about Richard Lane before, when I wrote about his son, Samuel. But Richard is touching my heart today, because of the manner and location of his death. It makes me wonder more about the circumstances. What really happened, and what were the circumstances? Will we ever know?
To start at the beginning, Richard was born or christened August 7, 1596 in St Peter, Hereford, Hereford, England. His parents were Roger Lane and an as yet unidentified "Beatrix". He was one of at least eight children. Roger is identified as being an "iremonger". I can't identify that unless it is the same as "ironmonger', which would mean he was involved in the manufacture or sale of metal objects commonly found in today's hardware stores, such as pulls, knobs and hinges. At any rate, he made a living for his family until his early death, when Richard was just 10 years old.
Either Roger's family or his mother's family must have stepped in to help raise the eight children, and Richard went to London at the age of 16 where he was apprenticed for seven years to Nathaniel Thornhill, a merchant tailor. At the age of 24, he was admitted a freeman to the Merchant tail company, on February 26, 1620. It took a certain amount of "pull" to be admitted to an apprenticeship and certainly to become a freeman, and Richard took advantage of his opportunities. He married Alice Carter, daughter of Humfrey Carter, on October 27, 1623 in London, and life must have seemed good. Richard had a wife and a successful business. What could go wrong?
Richard Lane also appears to have been a man caught up in the politics and religious dissensions of the early to mid century in England. His religious views may have been not quite orthodox, but perhaps not quite Puritan, either. He was called before the authorities in 1631 and Richard, although not persecuted, must have decided that this was a good time to "get out of Dodge". He got himself appointed as a representative of the Company of Providence Island, a quasi-governmental organization, to go to the West Indies.
He, along with his wife and children, finally arrived at Providence Island in 1635. He spent most of the rest of his life there, introducing a plant called madder, which is used to make red dye. He may have been fairly wealthy, as he was allotted eight servants, later changed to six, to help in his activities. It's not clear whether these were personal servants for his household, or whether they were more like field hands or overseers for the planting operations.
At one point, he and two clergymen were held prisoner and returned to London to be examined for their religious views. By this time, Richard was more like a Puritan, and these beliefs were not acceptable in England. Fortunately, by the time they arrived in England Bishop Laud, who was the source of the "examinations", had died and after a brief interview, the men were freed. There was a bit of political excitement when he was nominated to be Governor of Providence Island, but that was unsuccessful.
Sometime before August 7, 1657, Richard and his son Oziell were drowned. Most sources say this happened at Eleuthera Island, in the Bahamas, but there is one source that indicates the death actually took place on the African coast. That would lead one to wonder whether he was somehow involved in the slave trade, although I've seen no other mention of this.
Providence and Eleuthra are both islands in the Bahamas, which with hurricanes Irma and Jose both threatening the area, is what brought my attention to Richard Lane. Was there bad weather when Richard and his son were drowned? Or were they somehow involved in an encounter with a Spanish ship that was in the area? The Spanish would not have taken lightly to these British posts in "their
territories. It does appear that the days of the "pirates" were later than this time period, so we can probably eliminate that as a potential cause of the drownings.
Alice was left to raise four children. She did receive her husband's back pay and a pension, after petitioning the company, and she is buried in England. I don't yet know when she returned there.
This story interests me because as far as I know now, he is one of only two ancestors we have who lived in the islands of the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans. If I were ever to tour the areas where our ancestors lived, this would be a good place to put on the bucket list!
The line of descent is:
Richard Lane-Alice Carter
Samuel Lane-Margaret Mauldin
Dutton Lane-Pretitia Tydings
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R. Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
To start at the beginning, Richard was born or christened August 7, 1596 in St Peter, Hereford, Hereford, England. His parents were Roger Lane and an as yet unidentified "Beatrix". He was one of at least eight children. Roger is identified as being an "iremonger". I can't identify that unless it is the same as "ironmonger', which would mean he was involved in the manufacture or sale of metal objects commonly found in today's hardware stores, such as pulls, knobs and hinges. At any rate, he made a living for his family until his early death, when Richard was just 10 years old.
Either Roger's family or his mother's family must have stepped in to help raise the eight children, and Richard went to London at the age of 16 where he was apprenticed for seven years to Nathaniel Thornhill, a merchant tailor. At the age of 24, he was admitted a freeman to the Merchant tail company, on February 26, 1620. It took a certain amount of "pull" to be admitted to an apprenticeship and certainly to become a freeman, and Richard took advantage of his opportunities. He married Alice Carter, daughter of Humfrey Carter, on October 27, 1623 in London, and life must have seemed good. Richard had a wife and a successful business. What could go wrong?
Richard Lane also appears to have been a man caught up in the politics and religious dissensions of the early to mid century in England. His religious views may have been not quite orthodox, but perhaps not quite Puritan, either. He was called before the authorities in 1631 and Richard, although not persecuted, must have decided that this was a good time to "get out of Dodge". He got himself appointed as a representative of the Company of Providence Island, a quasi-governmental organization, to go to the West Indies.
He, along with his wife and children, finally arrived at Providence Island in 1635. He spent most of the rest of his life there, introducing a plant called madder, which is used to make red dye. He may have been fairly wealthy, as he was allotted eight servants, later changed to six, to help in his activities. It's not clear whether these were personal servants for his household, or whether they were more like field hands or overseers for the planting operations.
At one point, he and two clergymen were held prisoner and returned to London to be examined for their religious views. By this time, Richard was more like a Puritan, and these beliefs were not acceptable in England. Fortunately, by the time they arrived in England Bishop Laud, who was the source of the "examinations", had died and after a brief interview, the men were freed. There was a bit of political excitement when he was nominated to be Governor of Providence Island, but that was unsuccessful.
Sometime before August 7, 1657, Richard and his son Oziell were drowned. Most sources say this happened at Eleuthera Island, in the Bahamas, but there is one source that indicates the death actually took place on the African coast. That would lead one to wonder whether he was somehow involved in the slave trade, although I've seen no other mention of this.
Providence and Eleuthra are both islands in the Bahamas, which with hurricanes Irma and Jose both threatening the area, is what brought my attention to Richard Lane. Was there bad weather when Richard and his son were drowned? Or were they somehow involved in an encounter with a Spanish ship that was in the area? The Spanish would not have taken lightly to these British posts in "their
territories. It does appear that the days of the "pirates" were later than this time period, so we can probably eliminate that as a potential cause of the drownings.
Alice was left to raise four children. She did receive her husband's back pay and a pension, after petitioning the company, and she is buried in England. I don't yet know when she returned there.
This story interests me because as far as I know now, he is one of only two ancestors we have who lived in the islands of the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans. If I were ever to tour the areas where our ancestors lived, this would be a good place to put on the bucket list!
The line of descent is:
Richard Lane-Alice Carter
Samuel Lane-Margaret Mauldin
Dutton Lane-Pretitia Tydings
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R. Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Beeks line: Johann Gottfried Neimrich Immigrant, Revolutionary War soldier?
This will be a short post. My hope is that by keeping this man's name alive, eventually someone will recognize the name and be able to provide additional facts so we can know more about this ancestor. He is a bit of an anomaly in the Beeks line, because this is the first German family in the direct Beeks line. He is a bit of an anomaly in the traditional German immigration pattern, because he came to America later than most of the Germans we have traced in the Harshbarger (also a few Allen and Holbrook) lines. And he's a mystery because so little is known about him.
The one fact we think we know about Johann Gottfried Neimrich (later changed to Nimerick) is that he came to Pennsylvania sometime in 1773, on a ship from Rotterdam. He was indentured to "Andrew Burkhard and His Assigns" for 4 years and 6 months, for the amount of 28 pounds and 17 shillings. From this, we can guess that he was a young man, perhaps still in his teens, when he arrived in Philadelphia, because older men generally served only three years as indentured servants. We can see that Burkhard is a German/Swiss name, and we can wonder if the two families knew each other "back in the old country." Perhaps Burkhard is even some sort of relative, or perhaps the two met at the dock when Neimrich left his ship for the first time.
At some point Neimrich married Elizabeth, last name unknown, and they had at least three children together, Peter, Jacob, and Mary Elizabeth. There were likely others, but until church records are found we won't know their names. Mary Elizabeth is said to have been born in Virginia in 1787, so if this is correct the family may have moved from Philadelphia.
John G. Neimrich is twice mentioned in the Pennsylvania Archives as having participated in the Revolutionary War, and I think this is Johann Gottfried. He is listed as being part of Von Ottendorff's Corps, in what was known as the "German Regiment," which apparently served from July 12, 1776 to January 1, 1781. He is also listed as being on the roll of Captain Bauer's Company No. 41 but dates are unclear. These records are in Series 2 Volume XI, page 89 and Series 5, volume 3, page 903. (Usually I don't mention sources in my posts, but I've not found these noted in any of the on-line information about our subject. Perhaps I can help someone by pointing this out, and perhaps someone will contact me and say "This isn't our guy and here's why.") Until I hear otherwise, or find new information, I tend to think this is Johann Gottfried, however, and if so, the Beeks family has another Revolutionary War veteran to thank!
I would love to hear from others who are researching this man. Surely someone knows his religion, his occupation, his origin (I did see one internet reference to Prussia, but no documentation), or/and his date of death. All I can say for sure now is that he was probably born before 1760, and died after 1787.
The line of descent is:
Johann Gottfried Neimrich-Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth Nimerick-William Beeks
John Beeks-Polly Carter
William Beeks-Mary Wise
John Beeks-Elizabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
The one fact we think we know about Johann Gottfried Neimrich (later changed to Nimerick) is that he came to Pennsylvania sometime in 1773, on a ship from Rotterdam. He was indentured to "Andrew Burkhard and His Assigns" for 4 years and 6 months, for the amount of 28 pounds and 17 shillings. From this, we can guess that he was a young man, perhaps still in his teens, when he arrived in Philadelphia, because older men generally served only three years as indentured servants. We can see that Burkhard is a German/Swiss name, and we can wonder if the two families knew each other "back in the old country." Perhaps Burkhard is even some sort of relative, or perhaps the two met at the dock when Neimrich left his ship for the first time.
At some point Neimrich married Elizabeth, last name unknown, and they had at least three children together, Peter, Jacob, and Mary Elizabeth. There were likely others, but until church records are found we won't know their names. Mary Elizabeth is said to have been born in Virginia in 1787, so if this is correct the family may have moved from Philadelphia.
John G. Neimrich is twice mentioned in the Pennsylvania Archives as having participated in the Revolutionary War, and I think this is Johann Gottfried. He is listed as being part of Von Ottendorff's Corps, in what was known as the "German Regiment," which apparently served from July 12, 1776 to January 1, 1781. He is also listed as being on the roll of Captain Bauer's Company No. 41 but dates are unclear. These records are in Series 2 Volume XI, page 89 and Series 5, volume 3, page 903. (Usually I don't mention sources in my posts, but I've not found these noted in any of the on-line information about our subject. Perhaps I can help someone by pointing this out, and perhaps someone will contact me and say "This isn't our guy and here's why.") Until I hear otherwise, or find new information, I tend to think this is Johann Gottfried, however, and if so, the Beeks family has another Revolutionary War veteran to thank!
I would love to hear from others who are researching this man. Surely someone knows his religion, his occupation, his origin (I did see one internet reference to Prussia, but no documentation), or/and his date of death. All I can say for sure now is that he was probably born before 1760, and died after 1787.
The line of descent is:
Johann Gottfried Neimrich-Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth Nimerick-William Beeks
John Beeks-Polly Carter
William Beeks-Mary Wise
John Beeks-Elizabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Friday, September 4, 2015
Beeks line: Henry Bowen 1678-1755
It's hard to find information about Henry Bowen. It's even harder to find accurate information about him. The dates I have used here are in dispute, but I believe they are close. It is believed that he was born in Wales, possibly Carmarthen, but I'm not aware of any documentation to that. His parents were Evan ap Owen and Mary McMillan, and he had a much more famous brother, Moses, or Moses John.
It's believed the ap Owen family, hereafter referred to as the Bowen family, came to Pennsylvania before 1700, and possibly as early as 1681 as there is record of a Moses Bowen's arrival in 1681. the family is thought to have been Quaker, and came to Pennsylvania at William Penn's inducement if not in his actual fleet. Nothing more is known of Henry until about 1703, when he married Jane Carter, daughter of Robert Carter and Margaret, at the Brick Meeting House in Bucks County, Pa. (I have found both the 1703 and 1704 dates, which could be calendar confusion, or perhaps one date was the date of their intentions and the other was the date of their marriage.)
Henry and Jane's children appear to have been born in Pennsylvania. Their known children include Henry, William, Jane, Priscilla, Margaret, and Catherine. Henry doesn't seem to have been as successful financially as his brother Moses, who at one time owned 10,000 acres. In fact, I've yet to find evidence of land ownership, although I hope to locate records someday.
We don't know when Henry and Jane moved to Frederick County, Virginia but we know they were there for some years before Henry's death in 1755, and we know he was in New Garden for the wedding of a daughter in 1726. Frederick County would have been somewhere in the northern tip of Virginia, or on west into what is now West Virginia. This was a common location for Quaker families, and was very much frontier country.
We know that he died in 1755, shortly after the outbreak of the French and Indian War. As a Quaker, Henry would not have fought in these or any other battles, but it is interesting to wonder where the family went when battles broke out. Did they ever see George Washington or General Braddock as they were on their way to what turned out to be disasters, fighting the Indians? Or did they see the President as an even younger man, as he was doing land surveys in that part of the country?
Much more research needs to be one about Henry, to locate land records and to locate his will, if any. My tentative picture of him is as a hard working, brave, and peaceful man. I'd like to know more than that!
The line of descent is:
Henry Bowen-Jane Carter
Margaret Bowen-Thomas Rees
Thomas Rees-Hannah Rees
Solomon Rees-Anna
Owen T. Reese-Margaret Ellen Moon
Eliza Reese-Samuel G Dunham
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Fun fact: Henry's parents were the ancestors of former Vice President of the US, Richard Cheney. It's fun to find that the Beeks family has both Republican and Democratic VIPs in their lines.
It's believed the ap Owen family, hereafter referred to as the Bowen family, came to Pennsylvania before 1700, and possibly as early as 1681 as there is record of a Moses Bowen's arrival in 1681. the family is thought to have been Quaker, and came to Pennsylvania at William Penn's inducement if not in his actual fleet. Nothing more is known of Henry until about 1703, when he married Jane Carter, daughter of Robert Carter and Margaret, at the Brick Meeting House in Bucks County, Pa. (I have found both the 1703 and 1704 dates, which could be calendar confusion, or perhaps one date was the date of their intentions and the other was the date of their marriage.)
Henry and Jane's children appear to have been born in Pennsylvania. Their known children include Henry, William, Jane, Priscilla, Margaret, and Catherine. Henry doesn't seem to have been as successful financially as his brother Moses, who at one time owned 10,000 acres. In fact, I've yet to find evidence of land ownership, although I hope to locate records someday.
We don't know when Henry and Jane moved to Frederick County, Virginia but we know they were there for some years before Henry's death in 1755, and we know he was in New Garden for the wedding of a daughter in 1726. Frederick County would have been somewhere in the northern tip of Virginia, or on west into what is now West Virginia. This was a common location for Quaker families, and was very much frontier country.
We know that he died in 1755, shortly after the outbreak of the French and Indian War. As a Quaker, Henry would not have fought in these or any other battles, but it is interesting to wonder where the family went when battles broke out. Did they ever see George Washington or General Braddock as they were on their way to what turned out to be disasters, fighting the Indians? Or did they see the President as an even younger man, as he was doing land surveys in that part of the country?
Much more research needs to be one about Henry, to locate land records and to locate his will, if any. My tentative picture of him is as a hard working, brave, and peaceful man. I'd like to know more than that!
The line of descent is:
Henry Bowen-Jane Carter
Margaret Bowen-Thomas Rees
Thomas Rees-Hannah Rees
Solomon Rees-Anna
Owen T. Reese-Margaret Ellen Moon
Eliza Reese-Samuel G Dunham
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Fun fact: Henry's parents were the ancestors of former Vice President of the US, Richard Cheney. It's fun to find that the Beeks family has both Republican and Democratic VIPs in their lines.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Beeks line: Robert Carter abt 1648-1686, immigrant and mystery
Robert Carter was born most likely in England, about 1648. This is a common name so it's hard to know for sure that family historians have found the right person. However, a boy by that name was christened at St Peter's, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England on February 13, 1650, at the age of two, and the (very extended) family seems to think this is our Robert Carter. If so, then his parents were Thomas and Elizabeth. I've also found reference to his father possibly being William, so let's just say I'm not sold on the either "fact" yet. Bedforshire would surely be worthy of further study, though. A simple search on FamilySearch turns up several candidates of the right age, and there would surely be more scattered all over England.
It is believed that he married a girl named Hannah, likely in England. He was a passenger on the ship "Samuel" which arrived in Philadelphia on September 18, 1682. The "Samuel" was one of the 22 ships that sailed for Pennsylvania with William Penn. Many of the settlers were from Lancashire, but not all of them, and many were Quakers, but again, not all of them. However, Quakers from Lancashire would likely be his neighbors, and at least some of his children were Quakers, so he would have been surrounded by them if not actually a Quaker himself.
Robert apparently had money for he is listed as a landowner in 1684, in "History of Bucks County."
He received a land patent in 1683 in Bucks County, Pa in land which eventually became Middletown Township. Edward Carter, who arrived about the same time but seems to have stayed in Philadelphia, may have been a brother.
Robert and possibly Hannah had at least five children, namely John, Margaret, Joan, Edward, and Jane. Jane at least was an "infant" (under the age of 14) when Robert died in 1686. If the other children were above the age of 14 then Robert would have been fairly young when he married, and the first four children would have been born in England. There are different birthdates proposed for Jane, anywhere from 1678 to 1683, so we don't know where she was born. Jane was placed with Thomas Janney in 1691, which probably means she was at least 6 years old at the time.
Robert Carter is mentioned in "History of Bucks County" as being on the first petit jury of Bucks County in 1685, and as a high-constable later that same year. However, there are also references to Robert Carter in Bucks County in the years following 1686, which can't be our Robert Carter, so it is not a provenfact that our Robert Carter was the one mentioned here.
I don't know anything more about Robert Carter, but I honor him for his bravery in coming to America and for his hard work, which may have contributed to his early death, in making a home for his family. I'd love to know more about him, of course, so if anyone recognizes this name, please contact me.
The line of descent is:
Robert Carter-possibly Hannah
Jane Carter-Henry Bowen
Margaret Bowen-Thomas Rees
Thomas Rees-Hannah Rees
Solomon Rees-Anna possibly McNeal
Owen T Rees-Margaret Moon
Eliza Rees-Samuel Dunham
Margaret C Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harashbarger
Their descendents
It is believed that he married a girl named Hannah, likely in England. He was a passenger on the ship "Samuel" which arrived in Philadelphia on September 18, 1682. The "Samuel" was one of the 22 ships that sailed for Pennsylvania with William Penn. Many of the settlers were from Lancashire, but not all of them, and many were Quakers, but again, not all of them. However, Quakers from Lancashire would likely be his neighbors, and at least some of his children were Quakers, so he would have been surrounded by them if not actually a Quaker himself.
Robert apparently had money for he is listed as a landowner in 1684, in "History of Bucks County."
He received a land patent in 1683 in Bucks County, Pa in land which eventually became Middletown Township. Edward Carter, who arrived about the same time but seems to have stayed in Philadelphia, may have been a brother.
Robert and possibly Hannah had at least five children, namely John, Margaret, Joan, Edward, and Jane. Jane at least was an "infant" (under the age of 14) when Robert died in 1686. If the other children were above the age of 14 then Robert would have been fairly young when he married, and the first four children would have been born in England. There are different birthdates proposed for Jane, anywhere from 1678 to 1683, so we don't know where she was born. Jane was placed with Thomas Janney in 1691, which probably means she was at least 6 years old at the time.
Robert Carter is mentioned in "History of Bucks County" as being on the first petit jury of Bucks County in 1685, and as a high-constable later that same year. However, there are also references to Robert Carter in Bucks County in the years following 1686, which can't be our Robert Carter, so it is not a provenfact that our Robert Carter was the one mentioned here.
I don't know anything more about Robert Carter, but I honor him for his bravery in coming to America and for his hard work, which may have contributed to his early death, in making a home for his family. I'd love to know more about him, of course, so if anyone recognizes this name, please contact me.
The line of descent is:
Robert Carter-possibly Hannah
Jane Carter-Henry Bowen
Margaret Bowen-Thomas Rees
Thomas Rees-Hannah Rees
Solomon Rees-Anna possibly McNeal
Owen T Rees-Margaret Moon
Eliza Rees-Samuel Dunham
Margaret C Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harashbarger
Their descendents
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