This is another of those "I don't know much and some of what I do 'know' I don't quite believe" posts. Edward Corbin is our ancestor, however, and so I'm writing about the little I know or suspect, hoping that with these bread crumbs someone will someday be able to pick up his trail. Who knows? I might even learn more, at some point.
Some of our ancestors seem to have stayed beneath the radar for almost their whole lives, poking their heads up just long enough for a quick sighting before again disappearing. Edward Corbin is one of those men. To make matters worse, he named a son Edward, and many trees on line have confused the two. So with very little documentation to back this up, here's a brief summary of Edward.
Edward's parents were Nicholas Corbin and (likely) Alice Bryen or Bryan, He was born probably by 1684, although the year of 1676 is commonly used, with 1678 coming in a close second. We know he was on the tax rolls, and thus 16 or older, in 1701. There are church records for St Paul's Episcopal Church, locally known as Old St Paul's Church, with the births of some of the children of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin. They are believed to have married about 1710. The church mentioned was in a small village at the time, but is now located (different building, but same plot of land) in downtown Baltimore. It's believed that Edward and Jane had at least eight children.
Edward and Jane (daughter of William and Elizabeth Clark Wilkinson) bought and sold land in Baltimore County like it was going out of style. Most of their holdings seem to have been on the north side of the Patapsco River, although some was south of Gunpowder Falls. Based on what I've learned about the economy in this time frame through the stories of other ancestors in this location, it is possible, even likely, that the Corbins had slaves, and it's likely that their main crop was tobacco. I've not yet seen records that would document the slaveholding, and I've only seen one brief mention of tobacco, so don't hold my feet to the fire over this one.
There don't seem to be land records for Edward after 1750, and I've seen a death date of November 30, 1753 for Edward. I have also, much more frequently, seen a death date of November 30, 1770. However, that Edward left a will which survived, and none of the children's names, nor his wife's name, match that of our Edward. Speculation would say this this younger Edward was either the son or the grandson of our Edward.
That is what little we know of Edward. He was a land owner, who apparently turned the 100 acres at Corbin's Hill that he inherited from his father into a much larger estate, not necessarily all in the same location. He was Anglican in religion. We don't know whether he was ever called on to serve in the militia, although it's possible. It's also possible, but pure speculation, that at some point he traveled to England to meet his paternal grandparents or on business, although there is not a shred of evidence to point to that. There is still so much we don't know. We need to keep looking!
The line of descent is:
Edward Corbin-Jane Wilkinson
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Corbin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corbin. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Friday, May 24, 2019
Allen line: Samuel Lane 1700-abt 1779 Father of patriots
Revisiting families and blog posts can bring big dividends I've written earlier about Lambert Lane, who served in the Revolutionary War in battles with the Cherokee Indians. I haven't written about his father and in my mind, I had him located in the wrong state. I also have been looking elsewhere for the family of Lambert's wife, Nancy Anderson. I think I need to back up and look for her family in Virginia and Pennsylvania, not in Tennessee. We'll see about that.
In the meantime, I have learned enough to realize that our Samuel Lane was the father of some remarkable children. He must have been a special man, himself, to have raised such outstanding children. But I digress.
Samuel Lane was the son of Dutton and Pretotia Tydings Lane. His birthdate is given as October 4, 1700 although I haven't seen the documentation for that. There are at least two Samuel Lanes in Maryland at this time and I suspect some of the records for one man are attached to the wrong Samuel Lane, but I am not able to sort them out at this time. Our Samuel Lane was born in Baltimore County, Maryland. It doesn't appear that he is the same man who has records in Anne Arundel County. There are records indicating that our Samuel later lived in Carroll County, Maryland, but that county wasn't formed until later. He may well have lived in the part of Baltimore County that became Carroll County.
Samuel married Jane Corbin January 10, 1735/36. She was the daughter of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin. I'm finding the couple credited with as few as seven and as many as twelve children. Our ancestor, Lambert, was their second son. We need to recognize that the area where the Lanes lived was on the frontier, and subject to repeated Indian raids pretty much from the 1750's onward, if not before that. Realizing this may help explain why there are not always written records, and why deeds may have been recorded after land actually changed hands. It may also explain the dearth of church records that would identify children for certain. The other possible explanation is that there is a family tradition that Lambert and Dutton were born in England, but as far as I know there is no documentation for this.
Another fact that makes researching treacherous is that we don't know for certain what religion Samuel was. Some of his siblings were Quaker, and some sites state that Samuel was, also. Some of his family seems to have been Church of England. And several of his children were fire and brimstone Baptists. Was Samuel a religious man? Did he guide his children into a Baptist faith? Or was he dismayed to see them leave the Church of England, or the Quakers? We may never know.
Samuel's first born son, Samuel, became a Baptist "elder" (pastor) and eventually went to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where he founded a church or churches. Our Samuel seems to have gone with him, so that may indicate a Baptist bent. Lambert's daughter, Nancy Ann Lane, married William McCoy, who was a Baptist minister (among other occupations). So the family was certainly comfortable with Baptist beliefs within a generation of our Samuel.
Samuel's sons Samuel, Lambert, Corbin, and Wilkinson all served in the Revolutionary War. Our Samuel was too old for that war and was probably too old to fight in the French and Indian War but most likely would have been in the militia that protected the settlers from Indian incursions. He and his family could possibly have gone to a nearby fort for protection, or they may have stayed in their home and fought, if necessary, from there.
I'm finding various dates and suppositions for when the Lanes moved to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, probably close to what became the Huntingdon county line. One site says 1743 and one site says by 1773. Samuel was buying and selling land in Maryland in the 1750s but that may not have had anything to do with where the family was actually living. Whether it was Carroll County, Maryland or Bedford County, Pennsylvania, life was probably hard for the Lanes. I've found nothing that makes me think this was a family of wealth, although they may not have needed much money, living in the wilderness as they did.
Jane died in 1773 and Samuel died probably around 1779. He is believed to be buried near his Pennsylvania home. One doesn't become the father of several Revolutionary War soldiers and the father of a mostly Baptist family by sitting around twiddling one's thumbs. Samuel and Jane each had a lot to do with the way their children turned out, and we can be grateful for their service to their country.
The line of descent is:
Samuel Lane-Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anderson
Nancy Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
In the meantime, I have learned enough to realize that our Samuel Lane was the father of some remarkable children. He must have been a special man, himself, to have raised such outstanding children. But I digress.
Samuel Lane was the son of Dutton and Pretotia Tydings Lane. His birthdate is given as October 4, 1700 although I haven't seen the documentation for that. There are at least two Samuel Lanes in Maryland at this time and I suspect some of the records for one man are attached to the wrong Samuel Lane, but I am not able to sort them out at this time. Our Samuel Lane was born in Baltimore County, Maryland. It doesn't appear that he is the same man who has records in Anne Arundel County. There are records indicating that our Samuel later lived in Carroll County, Maryland, but that county wasn't formed until later. He may well have lived in the part of Baltimore County that became Carroll County.
Samuel married Jane Corbin January 10, 1735/36. She was the daughter of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin. I'm finding the couple credited with as few as seven and as many as twelve children. Our ancestor, Lambert, was their second son. We need to recognize that the area where the Lanes lived was on the frontier, and subject to repeated Indian raids pretty much from the 1750's onward, if not before that. Realizing this may help explain why there are not always written records, and why deeds may have been recorded after land actually changed hands. It may also explain the dearth of church records that would identify children for certain. The other possible explanation is that there is a family tradition that Lambert and Dutton were born in England, but as far as I know there is no documentation for this.
Another fact that makes researching treacherous is that we don't know for certain what religion Samuel was. Some of his siblings were Quaker, and some sites state that Samuel was, also. Some of his family seems to have been Church of England. And several of his children were fire and brimstone Baptists. Was Samuel a religious man? Did he guide his children into a Baptist faith? Or was he dismayed to see them leave the Church of England, or the Quakers? We may never know.
Samuel's first born son, Samuel, became a Baptist "elder" (pastor) and eventually went to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where he founded a church or churches. Our Samuel seems to have gone with him, so that may indicate a Baptist bent. Lambert's daughter, Nancy Ann Lane, married William McCoy, who was a Baptist minister (among other occupations). So the family was certainly comfortable with Baptist beliefs within a generation of our Samuel.
Samuel's sons Samuel, Lambert, Corbin, and Wilkinson all served in the Revolutionary War. Our Samuel was too old for that war and was probably too old to fight in the French and Indian War but most likely would have been in the militia that protected the settlers from Indian incursions. He and his family could possibly have gone to a nearby fort for protection, or they may have stayed in their home and fought, if necessary, from there.
I'm finding various dates and suppositions for when the Lanes moved to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, probably close to what became the Huntingdon county line. One site says 1743 and one site says by 1773. Samuel was buying and selling land in Maryland in the 1750s but that may not have had anything to do with where the family was actually living. Whether it was Carroll County, Maryland or Bedford County, Pennsylvania, life was probably hard for the Lanes. I've found nothing that makes me think this was a family of wealth, although they may not have needed much money, living in the wilderness as they did.
Jane died in 1773 and Samuel died probably around 1779. He is believed to be buried near his Pennsylvania home. One doesn't become the father of several Revolutionary War soldiers and the father of a mostly Baptist family by sitting around twiddling one's thumbs. Samuel and Jane each had a lot to do with the way their children turned out, and we can be grateful for their service to their country.
The line of descent is:
Samuel Lane-Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anderson
Nancy Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Allen line: Thomas Sparrow, Immigrant
Thomas Sparrow, immigrant, is another enigma. He has been reported as born in several different locations with several different sets of parents. He undoubtedly came from England, and married Elizabeth Marsh, probably in Virginia. One problem in identifying this immigrant is that he had a son named Thomas, who had a son named Thomas, and they all showed up on records during the same time span.
It appears that Thomas was born probably around 1600, and was in Lower Norfolk Virginia by 1640. I've seen 1625 and 1635 given as dates for his arrival here, but we do know that in 1640 he was granted 300 acres on the Elizabeth River in payment for paying transportation costs from England for 5 people, plus himself presumably. Elizabeth Marsh may have already been here, so she may have been one of the persons he transported. Regardless, this is his ticket to land ownership.
The Sparrows were Puritans, and that was not the correct religion for settlers of Virginia. Puritans were harassed and eventually forced to attend church services of the Anglican church, and to pay tithes to them. When court cases were begun, the Sparrows moved to Maryland in order to practice their faith under a government that practiced religious tolerance. The Sparrows and their servant, John Dennis, moved in 1649. We don't know for sure how many children the Sparrows had, but at least four are attributed to them. The children's birth dates are sketchy so it is likely that there were some born in Virginia and some born in Maryland.
About 1650 Thomas acquired 590 acres on the west side of the Rhodes River in the East River Hundred and called the property Sparrow's Rest. The native Americans were still active in the area and it was only after a 1652 treaty with the Susquehannock Indians that more land became available. Thomas then purchased 600 acres called Sparrow's Rest at the mouth of Broad Creek, and another 200 acres called South Canton. The size of these purchases indicates that he was likely farming tobacco, and that his original land may already have been depleted by the time he purchased the second and third grants.
By 1656, Sparrow and most of his neighbors had heard of a woman named Elizabeth Harris, who was known as the first Quaker missionary. They attended a meeting at the West River Meeting House in 1656 and the whole family converted to the Quaker religion. Shortly after that, Thomas died, probably in early 1659.
I should note that there is a good deal of controversy about whether or not this couple had a daughter Charity, who married Richard Tydings. In general, it seems that there is no real evidence one way or the other. Long, long family traditions have given Charity these parents, but it is still possible that information will be found to disprove the theory that Charity was the child of this couple, or even that she was the child of this couple. There is no mention of her in her purported father's will, but that is not entirely an obstacle as she could have received her share before the death of her father, perhaps as a wedding gift. The jury is still out on this, but for now, I'm including Thomas in our family tree.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Sparrow-Elizabeth Marsh
Charity Sparrow-Richard Tydings
Pretitia Tydings-Dutton Lane
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anne Anderson
Nancy Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
It appears that Thomas was born probably around 1600, and was in Lower Norfolk Virginia by 1640. I've seen 1625 and 1635 given as dates for his arrival here, but we do know that in 1640 he was granted 300 acres on the Elizabeth River in payment for paying transportation costs from England for 5 people, plus himself presumably. Elizabeth Marsh may have already been here, so she may have been one of the persons he transported. Regardless, this is his ticket to land ownership.
The Sparrows were Puritans, and that was not the correct religion for settlers of Virginia. Puritans were harassed and eventually forced to attend church services of the Anglican church, and to pay tithes to them. When court cases were begun, the Sparrows moved to Maryland in order to practice their faith under a government that practiced religious tolerance. The Sparrows and their servant, John Dennis, moved in 1649. We don't know for sure how many children the Sparrows had, but at least four are attributed to them. The children's birth dates are sketchy so it is likely that there were some born in Virginia and some born in Maryland.
About 1650 Thomas acquired 590 acres on the west side of the Rhodes River in the East River Hundred and called the property Sparrow's Rest. The native Americans were still active in the area and it was only after a 1652 treaty with the Susquehannock Indians that more land became available. Thomas then purchased 600 acres called Sparrow's Rest at the mouth of Broad Creek, and another 200 acres called South Canton. The size of these purchases indicates that he was likely farming tobacco, and that his original land may already have been depleted by the time he purchased the second and third grants.
By 1656, Sparrow and most of his neighbors had heard of a woman named Elizabeth Harris, who was known as the first Quaker missionary. They attended a meeting at the West River Meeting House in 1656 and the whole family converted to the Quaker religion. Shortly after that, Thomas died, probably in early 1659.
I should note that there is a good deal of controversy about whether or not this couple had a daughter Charity, who married Richard Tydings. In general, it seems that there is no real evidence one way or the other. Long, long family traditions have given Charity these parents, but it is still possible that information will be found to disprove the theory that Charity was the child of this couple, or even that she was the child of this couple. There is no mention of her in her purported father's will, but that is not entirely an obstacle as she could have received her share before the death of her father, perhaps as a wedding gift. The jury is still out on this, but for now, I'm including Thomas in our family tree.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Sparrow-Elizabeth Marsh
Charity Sparrow-Richard Tydings
Pretitia Tydings-Dutton Lane
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anne Anderson
Nancy Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Allen line: Frances Mauldin Holbrook line: Francis Mauldin 1600-1644
I'm counting this ancestor, my 8th and 9th great grandfather, under the Allen line, simply because I have very few Allen ancestors left to write about However, he is also an ancestor in our Holbrook line, which technically means, I think, that we who have both Allen and Holbrook lines are our own cousins. Hmmm...It's a good thing that's a long way back!
Of course frustratingly little is known of our double ancestor, Francis Mauldin. He is said to have been born in 1600 in London, England, the son of another Francis Mauldin. He emigrated from England to New Norfolk County, Virginia, with his wife, believed to be Katherine Sutton, and their daughter Margaret. Katherine was probably dead by 637 or 1638, and Francis then married Grace Bennett, and had at least one child, grace, with her. There may have been more children with Grace, and the mother of son Francis Mauldin is, as of this writing, not identified, at least not to my satisfaction.
Francis, his wife Katherine and daughter Margaret came to Virginia in 1634. He paid passage for his wife plus six other persons, some or all of whom would have worked for him as indentured servants until their labor paid francis for the cost of the passage, plus completing whatever the other terms of the indentureship were. The length of any indentureship would have depended partly on the age of the men and partly on what skills they brought with them. Francis initially would have had help in settling and farming the 450 acres he received as headrights for his family and the other six men. This land was on the north side of the Nansemod River. .
After the loss of his first wife, he married Grace Bennett and in just a few years, imported two servants, and received headrights for them. It is thought that he also acquired additional land before his death. Given the locations of the land, it is likely that at least one of the crops Mauldin raised was tobacco.
This is what is known of Francis Mauldin, the first of the name in America. His son Francis Mauldin became a carpenter, and his widow went to Maryland about 1649, possibly in search of religious freedom.
Our lines of descent are:
Allen line:
Francis Mauldin-Katherine probably Sutton
Margaret Mauldin-Samuel Lane
Dutton Lane-Pretitia Tydings
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane Nancy 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
The Holbrook line is
Francis Mauldin-Grace Bennett
Francis Mauldin-Elizabeth Mackall
Ann Maulden-William Amos
James Amos-Hannah Clarke
Benjamin Amos-Sarah Bussey
Elizabeth Amos-Robert Amos
Martha Amos-Peter Black
Elizabeth Black-Isaac Hetrick
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Of course frustratingly little is known of our double ancestor, Francis Mauldin. He is said to have been born in 1600 in London, England, the son of another Francis Mauldin. He emigrated from England to New Norfolk County, Virginia, with his wife, believed to be Katherine Sutton, and their daughter Margaret. Katherine was probably dead by 637 or 1638, and Francis then married Grace Bennett, and had at least one child, grace, with her. There may have been more children with Grace, and the mother of son Francis Mauldin is, as of this writing, not identified, at least not to my satisfaction.
Francis, his wife Katherine and daughter Margaret came to Virginia in 1634. He paid passage for his wife plus six other persons, some or all of whom would have worked for him as indentured servants until their labor paid francis for the cost of the passage, plus completing whatever the other terms of the indentureship were. The length of any indentureship would have depended partly on the age of the men and partly on what skills they brought with them. Francis initially would have had help in settling and farming the 450 acres he received as headrights for his family and the other six men. This land was on the north side of the Nansemod River. .
After the loss of his first wife, he married Grace Bennett and in just a few years, imported two servants, and received headrights for them. It is thought that he also acquired additional land before his death. Given the locations of the land, it is likely that at least one of the crops Mauldin raised was tobacco.
This is what is known of Francis Mauldin, the first of the name in America. His son Francis Mauldin became a carpenter, and his widow went to Maryland about 1649, possibly in search of religious freedom.
Our lines of descent are:
Allen line:
Francis Mauldin-Katherine probably Sutton
Margaret Mauldin-Samuel Lane
Dutton Lane-Pretitia Tydings
Samuel Lane-Mary Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane Nancy 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
The Holbrook line is
Francis Mauldin-Grace Bennett
Francis Mauldin-Elizabeth Mackall
Ann Maulden-William Amos
James Amos-Hannah Clarke
Benjamin Amos-Sarah Bussey
Elizabeth Amos-Robert Amos
Martha Amos-Peter Black
Elizabeth Black-Isaac Hetrick
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
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, August 15, 2017
Allen line: John Clark, Immigrant
This is really a love letter and a challenge to a future family historian. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find out more about John Clark. I have one fact I'm reasonably sure of about the man, and a potential marriage date and name of his wife about which I am less sure. And as to his birthdate and place, I am thoroughly confused. So you, someone in the future and whomever you are, are assigned the task of finding out more about this ancestor of ours.
Every tree that I have looked at gives John's birthdate as about 1606, but there are probably many John Clark's in England that fit that broad description. There are several dates and places attached to his various trees on Ancestry, but none of them match any other information in the trees. His wife is believed to have been named Joan. There are several trees listing a 1620 marriage to John, but this could not be our John if he was born in 1606 or thereabouts.
One interesting possibility is a record from Hartpury, Gloucester, England from April 30,162, stating that John Clark married Joane Nelme on that date. I do know that people from Gloucester went to Virginia, so this seems to be a reasonable possibility. However, his son Abraham is believed to have been born in Weathersfield, Essex, England and that is a long way from Gloucester. So maybe the Joane Nelme idea isn't as possible as it seems. We know that John and possible wife Joan had at least two children, Abraham and Ann.
If the time and location of Abraham's birth is correct, then that would mean John left Virginia no earlier than 1639. I've not yet found an immigration record that gave me any confidence that this was our John. The death information I have consistently gives him a death date of 1664 (nothing more specific) in (old) Rappahannock County, Virginia. This would have been on the Rappahannock river or its tributaries, north of the current city of Richmond.
That is all that I have been able to locate about John. There are so many questions, both in England and in Virginia, but I leave them to the future family historian to dig into this untold story, thanking him, her or them in advance. For now, we only know that he is an ancestor and that he was an immigrant at a time when life was not easy in Virginia. That is a good reason to honor him.
The line of descent is:
John Clark-Joan
Abraham Clark-Sarah Kinsey
Elizabeth Clark-William Wilkinson
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
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
Every tree that I have looked at gives John's birthdate as about 1606, but there are probably many John Clark's in England that fit that broad description. There are several dates and places attached to his various trees on Ancestry, but none of them match any other information in the trees. His wife is believed to have been named Joan. There are several trees listing a 1620 marriage to John, but this could not be our John if he was born in 1606 or thereabouts.
One interesting possibility is a record from Hartpury, Gloucester, England from April 30,162, stating that John Clark married Joane Nelme on that date. I do know that people from Gloucester went to Virginia, so this seems to be a reasonable possibility. However, his son Abraham is believed to have been born in Weathersfield, Essex, England and that is a long way from Gloucester. So maybe the Joane Nelme idea isn't as possible as it seems. We know that John and possible wife Joan had at least two children, Abraham and Ann.
If the time and location of Abraham's birth is correct, then that would mean John left Virginia no earlier than 1639. I've not yet found an immigration record that gave me any confidence that this was our John. The death information I have consistently gives him a death date of 1664 (nothing more specific) in (old) Rappahannock County, Virginia. This would have been on the Rappahannock river or its tributaries, north of the current city of Richmond.
That is all that I have been able to locate about John. There are so many questions, both in England and in Virginia, but I leave them to the future family historian to dig into this untold story, thanking him, her or them in advance. For now, we only know that he is an ancestor and that he was an immigrant at a time when life was not easy in Virginia. That is a good reason to honor him.
The line of descent is:
John Clark-Joan
Abraham Clark-Sarah Kinsey
Elizabeth Clark-William Wilkinson
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
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, August 1, 2017
Allen line: Hugh Kinsey 1592-1667
Hugh Kinsey is another one of those "really" ancestors who reminds me that no, I'm not entirely of sturdy New England stock. This line goes back to early Maryland and before that, Virginia, when the land was being newly explored and settled, relations with native Americans were tense, and life was hard, even though the winters may have been milder than those of much of New England.
Hugh was baptized February 16, 1592 at Oldhaugh, Cheshire, England. This is a new location for me, so I tried to Google it and found only other people who were born there. My best guess is that this was a small farming community and that the reason for leaving here may have been economic.
Hugh married Margaret Coulton in England (lots of sources say Margaret Johns but that appears to be incorrect) in 1632 and they had six known children together, (one died young) but not until Hugh was middle aged. Margaret was reportedly baptized in 1611 so Hugh was enough older that he may have had an as yet unlocated first marriage.
Hugh and brother Robert were in Virginia by 1655, settling in Rappahannock and later Lancaster County, Virginia. Hugh was already over 60, and life was hard in the new land. It gets a little complicated here. Hugh inherited from his brother Robert in 1656 and mortgaged those 500 acres, later selling them to the mortgagor in London because he couldn't make the payment. It's not clear why he needed to sell; did he have trouble financially because he had become (or perhaps always was) a Quaker? A group of Quakers from Lancaster county did emigrate together, to the area on the Patapsco River where Hugh settled. He brought two of his children over from England in 1662, and about the same time, acquired 100 acres of land along the river. The 100 acres probably represented headrights, meaning Hugh had paid the transportation costs and brought new settlers in to the area.
Hugh is seen as a witness to various land transactions in the 1650's and 1660's, but seems to have not generated much other paperwork. He did leave a will dated May 6, 1667 in Anne Arundel County, leaving bequests to grandchildren and the estate to his wife, until her death when it was to go to his living children and grandchildren. I've not located anything saying what the value of the estate was.
It's likely that Hugh's estate was not large. As far as we know, he had just the 100 acres, and that was not enough to support a family. If he was a Quaker, he probably had suffered both religious and economic persecution in Virginia. But he was free and had had opportunities in the New World that he would never had had in England, and he may have felt that the opportunity was worth the risk, even for an older person. He contributed to the building of America, and for that I am grateful.
The line of descent is:
Hugh Kinsey-Margaret Coulton
Sarah Kinsey-Abraham Clark
Elizabeth Clark-William Wilkinson
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-William McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants.
Hugh was baptized February 16, 1592 at Oldhaugh, Cheshire, England. This is a new location for me, so I tried to Google it and found only other people who were born there. My best guess is that this was a small farming community and that the reason for leaving here may have been economic.
Hugh married Margaret Coulton in England (lots of sources say Margaret Johns but that appears to be incorrect) in 1632 and they had six known children together, (one died young) but not until Hugh was middle aged. Margaret was reportedly baptized in 1611 so Hugh was enough older that he may have had an as yet unlocated first marriage.
Hugh and brother Robert were in Virginia by 1655, settling in Rappahannock and later Lancaster County, Virginia. Hugh was already over 60, and life was hard in the new land. It gets a little complicated here. Hugh inherited from his brother Robert in 1656 and mortgaged those 500 acres, later selling them to the mortgagor in London because he couldn't make the payment. It's not clear why he needed to sell; did he have trouble financially because he had become (or perhaps always was) a Quaker? A group of Quakers from Lancaster county did emigrate together, to the area on the Patapsco River where Hugh settled. He brought two of his children over from England in 1662, and about the same time, acquired 100 acres of land along the river. The 100 acres probably represented headrights, meaning Hugh had paid the transportation costs and brought new settlers in to the area.
Hugh is seen as a witness to various land transactions in the 1650's and 1660's, but seems to have not generated much other paperwork. He did leave a will dated May 6, 1667 in Anne Arundel County, leaving bequests to grandchildren and the estate to his wife, until her death when it was to go to his living children and grandchildren. I've not located anything saying what the value of the estate was.
It's likely that Hugh's estate was not large. As far as we know, he had just the 100 acres, and that was not enough to support a family. If he was a Quaker, he probably had suffered both religious and economic persecution in Virginia. But he was free and had had opportunities in the New World that he would never had had in England, and he may have felt that the opportunity was worth the risk, even for an older person. He contributed to the building of America, and for that I am grateful.
The line of descent is:
Hugh Kinsey-Margaret Coulton
Sarah Kinsey-Abraham Clark
Elizabeth Clark-William Wilkinson
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-William McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Allen line: Richard Tydings, Immigrant abt 1630-1687
I wish I could find more information about Richard Tydings. I'd love to tell you who his parents were and where he was born, whom he married and when he arrived in the New World. However, there is conflicting information about each of these "facts", and obviously not all of them can be correct. There are no alternate facts in genealogy, but alternate theories abound .
As of now, possible parents for Richard,are John and Ann Willson Tydings, married September 20,1630 at St Saviour church, Southwark, Surrey, (across the Thames River from London). John "Tithings" had a son RIchard baptied March, 1633/4, so this is in the correct time frame to be our Richard. Also Richard named a son John, but both first names are very common so this is not proof, just a suggestion.
We do know that he was in Maryland by 1659, when he demanded 50 acres as a headright. Whether this was for himself or for a family member is not clear. He lived at a "plantation" or farm called Haslenut Ridge", which was on the Rhode River in what is now Anne Arundel County, around Annapolis.
He most likely married in Maryland, and his wife is often claimed to be Charity Sparrow, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Marsh Sparrow. There is some dispute about this in genealogy circles but I think it is likely correct, though I'm sure willing to listen to opposing beliefs, especially if documents are found to prove or disprove this theory
Based on his will, we know that he owned not only Haslenut Ridge, by now 166 acres, but also a tract called Nanjomie in Baltimore County, which was 375 acres, and another tract called "New Year's Purchase" which was on Gunpowder River in Baltimore County and contained 500 acres. Because he owned at least three separate pieces of land at the time of his death in 1687, he was likely raising tobacco, which depleted the land quickly. This could mean he had indentured servants or possibly slaves, although there was no mention of slaves in this will. (This isn't necessarily conclusive, because slaves at the time were considered personal property and it wasn't necessary to list or bequeath them separately).
Other than this, we know only the names of some of his children: John, Charity, Pretitia, Elizabeth, and Mary. There are lists that include other children and it's possible, but these five seem to be the ones everyone agrees on. Richard is indeed a mystery. Why did he come to Maryland, and what ship did he come on when he came to America. Did he disembark at Baltimore, or Virginia? Where is the proof of his wife's name?
The Maryland ancestors we have are fascinating, maybe because they seem mysterious to me. I want to learn more about them both individually, and as a group of people.
The line of descent is:
Richard Tydings-Charity Sparrow
Pretitia or Pretosia Tydings-Dutton Lane
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
As of now, possible parents for Richard,are John and Ann Willson Tydings, married September 20,1630 at St Saviour church, Southwark, Surrey, (across the Thames River from London). John "Tithings" had a son RIchard baptied March, 1633/4, so this is in the correct time frame to be our Richard. Also Richard named a son John, but both first names are very common so this is not proof, just a suggestion.
We do know that he was in Maryland by 1659, when he demanded 50 acres as a headright. Whether this was for himself or for a family member is not clear. He lived at a "plantation" or farm called Haslenut Ridge", which was on the Rhode River in what is now Anne Arundel County, around Annapolis.
He most likely married in Maryland, and his wife is often claimed to be Charity Sparrow, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Marsh Sparrow. There is some dispute about this in genealogy circles but I think it is likely correct, though I'm sure willing to listen to opposing beliefs, especially if documents are found to prove or disprove this theory
Based on his will, we know that he owned not only Haslenut Ridge, by now 166 acres, but also a tract called Nanjomie in Baltimore County, which was 375 acres, and another tract called "New Year's Purchase" which was on Gunpowder River in Baltimore County and contained 500 acres. Because he owned at least three separate pieces of land at the time of his death in 1687, he was likely raising tobacco, which depleted the land quickly. This could mean he had indentured servants or possibly slaves, although there was no mention of slaves in this will. (This isn't necessarily conclusive, because slaves at the time were considered personal property and it wasn't necessary to list or bequeath them separately).
Other than this, we know only the names of some of his children: John, Charity, Pretitia, Elizabeth, and Mary. There are lists that include other children and it's possible, but these five seem to be the ones everyone agrees on. Richard is indeed a mystery. Why did he come to Maryland, and what ship did he come on when he came to America. Did he disembark at Baltimore, or Virginia? Where is the proof of his wife's name?
The Maryland ancestors we have are fascinating, maybe because they seem mysterious to me. I want to learn more about them both individually, and as a group of people.
The line of descent is:
Richard Tydings-Charity Sparrow
Pretitia or Pretosia Tydings-Dutton Lane
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
Friday, August 26, 2016
Allen line: Samuel Lane, Immigrant 1628-1682
There is a lot of information about Samuel Lane on-line, but of course some of it contradicts other information and some is just not very clearly explained. I'll try to pick and choose and leave the contradictory parts out of this post, or at least point out the points of disagreement.
Samuel Lane, immigrant was born about 1628 in probably London, England. I haven't yet found documentation for this, but most sites seem to agree that this is correct. His parents were Richard and Alice Carter Lane. This family is interesting because although they were Puritans, they didn't follow the typical route to New England. They arrived in 1635 at the Island of Providence, which I believe was the main island of the Bahamas. There is another Island of Providence off the coast of Costa Rica, and it could possibly be here that the family settled. However, Richard is reported to have drowned at Eleuthra, another Bahamian Island, so that makes the Bahamas theory more logical. Both islands were initially settled by Puritan families, so at least we know that the family was Puritan and that they were in the Caribbean, more or less. Probably one of the many people who have worked on this family can clear up this mystery.
So Samuel was on the island of Providence by about 1635, as a seven year old boy. He had at least three siblings, two brothers and a sister and it is fun to think of them living in an almost enchanted world, at least for their early years. It would have been a very different world from that of England, with a different diet, a different religious culture and a different way of life. All went well until Richard died in 1657. Samuel was 22 by now and perhaps in England, for he is mentioned as a "clerk" which generally means a cleric, and would mean that he had an education to acquire that title.
In Maryland, he was apparently a man of some importance. In various documents he is called a gentleman, chirurgeon, doctor, doctor of physick, commissioner of Anne Arundel county, justice of Anne Arundel County, gentleman of the quorum (another term for justice), and major. It was his role as major that apparently led to his death. It appears that he may have led or at least participated in some sort of skirmish with the Seneca Indians of New York, who were ranging farther afield in 1682 when Samuel's death occurred. He and his second wife Margaret Mauldin, a wealthy widow, had at least six children, but all would have been minors at the time of Samuel's death. His widow married Job Evans, who apparently helped raise the children.
There are still unanswered questions,of course. What religion did they practice in Maryland? What is the true story of his death? How wealthy was he at his death? I'll bet Samuel would have some interesting stories to tell, if we could talk to him!
The line of descent is:
Samuel Lane-Margaret Maulden
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
Samuel Lane, immigrant was born about 1628 in probably London, England. I haven't yet found documentation for this, but most sites seem to agree that this is correct. His parents were Richard and Alice Carter Lane. This family is interesting because although they were Puritans, they didn't follow the typical route to New England. They arrived in 1635 at the Island of Providence, which I believe was the main island of the Bahamas. There is another Island of Providence off the coast of Costa Rica, and it could possibly be here that the family settled. However, Richard is reported to have drowned at Eleuthra, another Bahamian Island, so that makes the Bahamas theory more logical. Both islands were initially settled by Puritan families, so at least we know that the family was Puritan and that they were in the Caribbean, more or less. Probably one of the many people who have worked on this family can clear up this mystery.
So Samuel was on the island of Providence by about 1635, as a seven year old boy. He had at least three siblings, two brothers and a sister and it is fun to think of them living in an almost enchanted world, at least for their early years. It would have been a very different world from that of England, with a different diet, a different religious culture and a different way of life. All went well until Richard died in 1657. Samuel was 22 by now and perhaps in England, for he is mentioned as a "clerk" which generally means a cleric, and would mean that he had an education to acquire that title.
In Maryland, he was apparently a man of some importance. In various documents he is called a gentleman, chirurgeon, doctor, doctor of physick, commissioner of Anne Arundel county, justice of Anne Arundel County, gentleman of the quorum (another term for justice), and major. It was his role as major that apparently led to his death. It appears that he may have led or at least participated in some sort of skirmish with the Seneca Indians of New York, who were ranging farther afield in 1682 when Samuel's death occurred. He and his second wife Margaret Mauldin, a wealthy widow, had at least six children, but all would have been minors at the time of Samuel's death. His widow married Job Evans, who apparently helped raise the children.
There are still unanswered questions,of course. What religion did they practice in Maryland? What is the true story of his death? How wealthy was he at his death? I'll bet Samuel would have some interesting stories to tell, if we could talk to him!
The line of descent is:
Samuel Lane-Margaret Maulden
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, June 23, 2015
Allen line: William Wilkinson of Maryland, died 1718
What is it with these people? Couldn't they just tell us when/where they were born and who their parents were? It would be so much easier!
William Wilkinson is interesting to me because he was in Maryland early, so would have seen many of the changes that transformed the colony, both religious and cultural, and likely had some encounters with the Native Americans of the area. There are several William Wilkinson's who emigrated to the area between 1650 and 1682, but we don't know which one was William, or whether he came over several times, or whether one of the earlier William's might have been William's father.
Some sources state that his parents were Thomas Wilkinson and Isabella Cutter, but I am not confident that is correct. I'd be glad to see some real evidence to convince me, but at this point I am saying his parents are unknown, as is the date of his arrival in Maryland.
We know that he was in Baltimore County by March 5, 1681, when he surveyed 50 acres called Wilkinson's Spring. The going price of land at that time was 100 pounds of tobacco per 50 acres, so somehow he had acquired enough wealth in the New World to make the purchase, or perhaps he brought enough funds with him to make the purchase. As land goes, it was a modest purchase but it was probably much more than he would have had in England, had he stayed there (assuming he was from England).
William married Elizabeth Clark, daughter or at least heir of Abraham and Sarah Kinsey Clark, by 1694 (some sources say 1684) and they had at least one child together, Jane. In 1693, Martha Cage named William as the father of her child. It seems possible that William was a widow by this time, but that for whatever reason he chose not to marry Martha. Later he married Tamar Love and had at least four children with her.
William doesn't seem to appear in court and official records much, but we know he was made an allowance for accommodating the jury for the laying out of an early Baltimore Town in 1693. He seems to have acquired another tract of land as early as 1694, which may have been called Wilkinson's Folly.
In 1708 William and Tamar conveyed the land known as Wilkinson's Folly to Moses Edwards, so perhaps William was already beginning to wind down his affairs. He wrote his will on April 21, 1718 and died before June 16, 1718. He left his dwelling plantation to son Robert, "Cumberland" to his four daughters, and named his wife as executrix. The estate was inventoried and valued at 162 pounds, 3 shillings, 9 pence. By the time the estate was finally administered in 1725, his widow and remarried.
So between the lines, we read a story of hard work, sorrow, and at least one poor choice. We don't know whether he had slaves but if he did it wouldn't have been a large number, given the size of his properties. He may have had other income than just farming, in order to have an estate of 162 pounds. We don't know why he decided to go to Maryland, or what religion he practiced. Maryland was founded by Roman Catholics and religious toleration was practiced early, but later became Puritan and then finally the Anglican church became more or less official by 1690. So depending on when he came, he could have been of any of those three persuasions, or he could have changed religions based on what seemed best to him. I'd like to know the answer to that question! I'd like to know what trouble there was, or wasn't, with the native Americans. And of course, I'd like to know who his parents are!
The line of descent is:
William Wilkinson-Elizabeth Clark
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anna Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents
William Wilkinson is interesting to me because he was in Maryland early, so would have seen many of the changes that transformed the colony, both religious and cultural, and likely had some encounters with the Native Americans of the area. There are several William Wilkinson's who emigrated to the area between 1650 and 1682, but we don't know which one was William, or whether he came over several times, or whether one of the earlier William's might have been William's father.
Some sources state that his parents were Thomas Wilkinson and Isabella Cutter, but I am not confident that is correct. I'd be glad to see some real evidence to convince me, but at this point I am saying his parents are unknown, as is the date of his arrival in Maryland.
We know that he was in Baltimore County by March 5, 1681, when he surveyed 50 acres called Wilkinson's Spring. The going price of land at that time was 100 pounds of tobacco per 50 acres, so somehow he had acquired enough wealth in the New World to make the purchase, or perhaps he brought enough funds with him to make the purchase. As land goes, it was a modest purchase but it was probably much more than he would have had in England, had he stayed there (assuming he was from England).
William married Elizabeth Clark, daughter or at least heir of Abraham and Sarah Kinsey Clark, by 1694 (some sources say 1684) and they had at least one child together, Jane. In 1693, Martha Cage named William as the father of her child. It seems possible that William was a widow by this time, but that for whatever reason he chose not to marry Martha. Later he married Tamar Love and had at least four children with her.
William doesn't seem to appear in court and official records much, but we know he was made an allowance for accommodating the jury for the laying out of an early Baltimore Town in 1693. He seems to have acquired another tract of land as early as 1694, which may have been called Wilkinson's Folly.
In 1708 William and Tamar conveyed the land known as Wilkinson's Folly to Moses Edwards, so perhaps William was already beginning to wind down his affairs. He wrote his will on April 21, 1718 and died before June 16, 1718. He left his dwelling plantation to son Robert, "Cumberland" to his four daughters, and named his wife as executrix. The estate was inventoried and valued at 162 pounds, 3 shillings, 9 pence. By the time the estate was finally administered in 1725, his widow and remarried.
So between the lines, we read a story of hard work, sorrow, and at least one poor choice. We don't know whether he had slaves but if he did it wouldn't have been a large number, given the size of his properties. He may have had other income than just farming, in order to have an estate of 162 pounds. We don't know why he decided to go to Maryland, or what religion he practiced. Maryland was founded by Roman Catholics and religious toleration was practiced early, but later became Puritan and then finally the Anglican church became more or less official by 1690. So depending on when he came, he could have been of any of those three persuasions, or he could have changed religions based on what seemed best to him. I'd like to know the answer to that question! I'd like to know what trouble there was, or wasn't, with the native Americans. And of course, I'd like to know who his parents are!
The line of descent is:
William Wilkinson-Elizabeth Clark
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anna Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Allen line: Abraham Clarke, abt 1630 to 1676
I'm writing about this Allen line ancestor for a couple of reasons. One is that I think this post will be very short. The other is that he is one of our few Maryland lines. Many of our Allen ancestors came through New England, a few came through Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and New York, and a few came through Maryland.
We know very little about Abraham. His parents were John and Joan Clarke, of Weathersfield, Essex, England. Abraham may have been a single child as the families I have seen on Ancestry and other internet sources do not appear to be correct. I believe Abraham was older than the trees I've found indicate. He immigrated to Maryland and bought land in 1654. This tells us that he would have been at least 18 in order to purchase land, and it tells us he apparently came to the New World with a bit of money in his possession.
Apparently in the New World, he married Sarah Kinsey, daughter of Hugh Kinsey and Margaret Johns in 1667. We have record of only two children, Elizabeth and Mary, who were born to Abraham and Sarah, but there may have been more.
Abraham made several purchases of land and it appears that at one time he may have owned about 650 acres of land. When he died in 1676 his estate was valued at 26, 714 pounds of tobacco. So, he apparently raised tobacco, although it may be that the appraisers valued the inventory in tobacco instead of English monetary values. There is also reference to a court held by Abraham Clark, the attorney of Lancelott Sockwell, but it isn't clear whether this is our Abraham or not.
Abraham is interesting because he came to Maryland with money, since he apparently was never indentured to anyone. He would have worked hard to acquire as much land as he did without asserting headrights, and he was in Maryland for about 13 years before he was married. It looks very much like a picture of a prudent man, based on what we know so far.
I'll keep looking for more information about Abraham. For now, I am picturing a "farmer" or "plantation owner", possibly an attorney, and probably a member of the established Church of England. He was a landowner and would therefore have had voting rights, and was probably taxed as well. There must be more records for him, and I will start searching to fill in the blanks of his life.
The line of descent is
Abraham Clark-Sarah Kinsey
Elizabeth Clark-William Wilkinson
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anderson
Eleanor Lane-Vincent McCoy
Nancy McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard/Edith/Vernon/Corinne/Tessora Allen
Their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
We know very little about Abraham. His parents were John and Joan Clarke, of Weathersfield, Essex, England. Abraham may have been a single child as the families I have seen on Ancestry and other internet sources do not appear to be correct. I believe Abraham was older than the trees I've found indicate. He immigrated to Maryland and bought land in 1654. This tells us that he would have been at least 18 in order to purchase land, and it tells us he apparently came to the New World with a bit of money in his possession.
Apparently in the New World, he married Sarah Kinsey, daughter of Hugh Kinsey and Margaret Johns in 1667. We have record of only two children, Elizabeth and Mary, who were born to Abraham and Sarah, but there may have been more.
Abraham made several purchases of land and it appears that at one time he may have owned about 650 acres of land. When he died in 1676 his estate was valued at 26, 714 pounds of tobacco. So, he apparently raised tobacco, although it may be that the appraisers valued the inventory in tobacco instead of English monetary values. There is also reference to a court held by Abraham Clark, the attorney of Lancelott Sockwell, but it isn't clear whether this is our Abraham or not.
Abraham is interesting because he came to Maryland with money, since he apparently was never indentured to anyone. He would have worked hard to acquire as much land as he did without asserting headrights, and he was in Maryland for about 13 years before he was married. It looks very much like a picture of a prudent man, based on what we know so far.
I'll keep looking for more information about Abraham. For now, I am picturing a "farmer" or "plantation owner", possibly an attorney, and probably a member of the established Church of England. He was a landowner and would therefore have had voting rights, and was probably taxed as well. There must be more records for him, and I will start searching to fill in the blanks of his life.
The line of descent is
Abraham Clark-Sarah Kinsey
Elizabeth Clark-William Wilkinson
Jane Wilkinson-Edward Corbin
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anderson
Eleanor Lane-Vincent McCoy
Nancy McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard/Edith/Vernon/Corinne/Tessora Allen
Their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Allen line: Lambert Lane 1737-1804
To the best of my knowledge at this point, we'd have to go way back to the early Middle Ages to find another ancestor named "Lambert". It was a British name, not particularly common in America. Nevertheless, this is the name that our ancestor was given by his parents, Samuel Lane and Mary Jane Corbin, when he was born in 1737 in Baltimore, Maryland (or possibly England). He was one of 12 children born to this couple, who moved at some point from Maryland to Bedford County, Pa.
There Lambert met his future wife, Nancy Ann Anderson, who was the daughter of James Anderson and Ann Downing. They had been born in England, but I know almost nothing more of their background at this point. What we do know is quite a bit about the wedding of Lambert and Nancy Ann, thanks to the website "Boone County Genealogy: Preserving out Precious Past." A grandson of Lambert and Nancy's, William E Lane, wrote this from his home near Zionsville, In. on October 18, 1886:
"My grandparents, Lambert Lane and Nancy Anderson, were emigrants from England. They were both young when their parents arrived in this country. Their parents settled on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania about fifteen miles north of its mouth, in the wild woods and amongst the Indians. While living there my parents became acquainted and were married in the quaint old style. My grandfather wore a blue cloth coat cut "claw hammer" style, with no lapels, ornamented with large brass buttons which closely buttoned up his coat; his pantaloons were white linen, buckled with a large silver bucle just below the knees to a pair of white silk stockings. His shoes were leather, fastened with another pair of silver buckles. Grandmother wore a white cambric dress, with nice hand embroidery on the skirt. In a few years they moved to Virginia and lived there about four years; then they moved to Tennessee on the Holston River and remained there for a few years, after which they moved to Shelby County, Kentucky, about five miles from Shelbyville."
(As an aside, the rest of this letter is fascinating but is not directly related to our ancestors. I encourage you to go to the Boone County Indiana genweb site and read it, because our family's history is probably not far different than the one related by our distant cousin William.)
I believe William was not correct about Lambert being an emigrant from England. His background seems to be well documented and leads back to several generations of Lanes in Maryland, although it's possible that Lambert's parents had visited family in England and that's where the confusion was. However, I said "seems" and this needs more investigation. Did someone place Lambert Lane in the wrong family? More investigation needs to be done on this.
However, we can trace Lambert Lane, married in Bedford County, Pa about 1762, further. According to his grandson's statements, they lived in Bedford County for a few years, then moved to Virginia, and then to the Holston River Valley in Tennessee for a few years. This is where Lambert earned his recognition from the DAR, participating in the campaign against the Cherokee Indians (who were encouraged by the British, as part of their strategy during the Revolutionary War). This must have been a scary time for the family. It appears that their 13 children were born in Virginia and in the Holston River area, for the most part. The earliest may have been born in Bedford County, Pa.
From the Holston River area, the couple, now approaching 60, moved to Shelby County, Kentucky. This was a common emigration route at the time, and land was more plentiful in Shelby County than it had been in Tennessee or Virginia. There, Lambert died in 1804. His will is on record there, and he trusted his wife enough to make her the executrix of the will, which she accepted.
This is the story as reported on various web sites and in the Maryland books I've consulted. However, I would like to find true primary records rather than relying on secondary records, because I'm not finding documentation that can support the connection to Maryland, nor am I finding documentation to support the English immigrant theory. Does anyone reading this have any further information? I'd like to get this right, even if it turns out that Lambert is not of the illustrious Lane ancestry.
Our line of descent is:
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard/Edith/Corinne/Tessora/Vernon Allen
Their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren
There Lambert met his future wife, Nancy Ann Anderson, who was the daughter of James Anderson and Ann Downing. They had been born in England, but I know almost nothing more of their background at this point. What we do know is quite a bit about the wedding of Lambert and Nancy Ann, thanks to the website "Boone County Genealogy: Preserving out Precious Past." A grandson of Lambert and Nancy's, William E Lane, wrote this from his home near Zionsville, In. on October 18, 1886:
"My grandparents, Lambert Lane and Nancy Anderson, were emigrants from England. They were both young when their parents arrived in this country. Their parents settled on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania about fifteen miles north of its mouth, in the wild woods and amongst the Indians. While living there my parents became acquainted and were married in the quaint old style. My grandfather wore a blue cloth coat cut "claw hammer" style, with no lapels, ornamented with large brass buttons which closely buttoned up his coat; his pantaloons were white linen, buckled with a large silver bucle just below the knees to a pair of white silk stockings. His shoes were leather, fastened with another pair of silver buckles. Grandmother wore a white cambric dress, with nice hand embroidery on the skirt. In a few years they moved to Virginia and lived there about four years; then they moved to Tennessee on the Holston River and remained there for a few years, after which they moved to Shelby County, Kentucky, about five miles from Shelbyville."
(As an aside, the rest of this letter is fascinating but is not directly related to our ancestors. I encourage you to go to the Boone County Indiana genweb site and read it, because our family's history is probably not far different than the one related by our distant cousin William.)
I believe William was not correct about Lambert being an emigrant from England. His background seems to be well documented and leads back to several generations of Lanes in Maryland, although it's possible that Lambert's parents had visited family in England and that's where the confusion was. However, I said "seems" and this needs more investigation. Did someone place Lambert Lane in the wrong family? More investigation needs to be done on this.
However, we can trace Lambert Lane, married in Bedford County, Pa about 1762, further. According to his grandson's statements, they lived in Bedford County for a few years, then moved to Virginia, and then to the Holston River Valley in Tennessee for a few years. This is where Lambert earned his recognition from the DAR, participating in the campaign against the Cherokee Indians (who were encouraged by the British, as part of their strategy during the Revolutionary War). This must have been a scary time for the family. It appears that their 13 children were born in Virginia and in the Holston River area, for the most part. The earliest may have been born in Bedford County, Pa.
From the Holston River area, the couple, now approaching 60, moved to Shelby County, Kentucky. This was a common emigration route at the time, and land was more plentiful in Shelby County than it had been in Tennessee or Virginia. There, Lambert died in 1804. His will is on record there, and he trusted his wife enough to make her the executrix of the will, which she accepted.
This is the story as reported on various web sites and in the Maryland books I've consulted. However, I would like to find true primary records rather than relying on secondary records, because I'm not finding documentation that can support the connection to Maryland, nor am I finding documentation to support the English immigrant theory. Does anyone reading this have any further information? I'd like to get this right, even if it turns out that Lambert is not of the illustrious Lane ancestry.
Our line of descent is:
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard/Edith/Corinne/Tessora/Vernon Allen
Their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Beeks, Allen, Holbrook lines: Our "royaltrees"
Although this blog will focus mainly on our ancestors on this side of the Atlantic, this particular post takes us back to the Tudors, the Plantagenets, the Stuarts, the Capets, and numerous other lines of royalty, mostly in the time period prior to 1550.
Each family mentioned above has numerous connections to royalty. That really doesn't mean much to us in terms of living our everyday lives, since our claims to any throne were long ago extinguished by marriages, the end of the line for male descent, or revolution of one sort or another. Knowing that many of the rulers we study in history books are either ancestors or cousins does make history more interesting, though.
I'm listing here the "gateway immigrant" for each of the main lines I'm tracing. Of course, once we are back a few generations from the "gateway immigrant", the lines all interconnect so that we are all cousins to the other lines. There are more immigrant ancestors through other marriages, but those immigrants would be considered our step grandmothers and grandfathers, so I won't list them here. Also, many in our royal lines were not faithful spouses, so many of our descents are from children born to mistresses.
Allen line: Peter Bulkeley, Jane Allen
Holbrook line: Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, Edward Raynesford
Beeks: Edward Fitzrandolph goes back to William I of Scotland
There are the lines approved by Douglas Richardson (Allen and Holbrook lines) and others who are very learned in this type of genealogy.
There are also lines, either not proven to the experts' satisfaction or not considered royalty. For instance, the Allen and Holbrook lines both include Owain Glendower as an ancestor. He was not technically royalty, but he assumed the role of leader of Wales during the early 1400s. His story is fascinating.
Then there are the "maybes". In the Allen line, Mary Morton Hamilton is shown as the wife of Humphrey Parrish. Since none of the experts have approved this line yet, I'm thinking it is suspect, but I've shown it on our tree anyway. It traces back to James II of Scotland and Maria Guelders, who has a fabulous tree herself. We also have a lot of people with the same surname in the same place at the same time as proven gateway immigrants, but they are not proven. Nicholas Corbin and Elizabeth Kemp (a married couple) are good examples of this. They came to Maryland from England in 1671. Corbin lines and the Kemp lines from Virginia/Maryland both are traced back to royalty, but as far as I can find, no one has proof that Nicholas and Elizabeth actually fit into these families.
So far I have been unable to trace any lines to royalty of any of the Harshbarger lines. If they exist, they would likely go back to German rulers of long, long ago. However, we can be reasonably certain that each of us traces back to Charlemagne, which gives all of us a reason to claim that we are "royal pains".
Each family mentioned above has numerous connections to royalty. That really doesn't mean much to us in terms of living our everyday lives, since our claims to any throne were long ago extinguished by marriages, the end of the line for male descent, or revolution of one sort or another. Knowing that many of the rulers we study in history books are either ancestors or cousins does make history more interesting, though.
I'm listing here the "gateway immigrant" for each of the main lines I'm tracing. Of course, once we are back a few generations from the "gateway immigrant", the lines all interconnect so that we are all cousins to the other lines. There are more immigrant ancestors through other marriages, but those immigrants would be considered our step grandmothers and grandfathers, so I won't list them here. Also, many in our royal lines were not faithful spouses, so many of our descents are from children born to mistresses.
Allen line: Peter Bulkeley, Jane Allen
Holbrook line: Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, Edward Raynesford
Beeks: Edward Fitzrandolph goes back to William I of Scotland
There are the lines approved by Douglas Richardson (Allen and Holbrook lines) and others who are very learned in this type of genealogy.
There are also lines, either not proven to the experts' satisfaction or not considered royalty. For instance, the Allen and Holbrook lines both include Owain Glendower as an ancestor. He was not technically royalty, but he assumed the role of leader of Wales during the early 1400s. His story is fascinating.
Then there are the "maybes". In the Allen line, Mary Morton Hamilton is shown as the wife of Humphrey Parrish. Since none of the experts have approved this line yet, I'm thinking it is suspect, but I've shown it on our tree anyway. It traces back to James II of Scotland and Maria Guelders, who has a fabulous tree herself. We also have a lot of people with the same surname in the same place at the same time as proven gateway immigrants, but they are not proven. Nicholas Corbin and Elizabeth Kemp (a married couple) are good examples of this. They came to Maryland from England in 1671. Corbin lines and the Kemp lines from Virginia/Maryland both are traced back to royalty, but as far as I can find, no one has proof that Nicholas and Elizabeth actually fit into these families.
So far I have been unable to trace any lines to royalty of any of the Harshbarger lines. If they exist, they would likely go back to German rulers of long, long ago. However, we can be reasonably certain that each of us traces back to Charlemagne, which gives all of us a reason to claim that we are "royal pains".
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