I've put off writing about John Cole. It's not because I don't like him, but because he is so confusing. Is he one man, or two men, or three? Which set of parents are really his? And there are other questions. So I'm going to proceed here with caution. Please understand that this may not be entirely correct, and it could be entirely wrong. I am following primarily (when I have a question) the work of Robert Barnes, who is a noted genealogist and who is relatively error free. He is also an expert in Baltimore County, Maryland, genealogy. I'm not.
John Cole was born in or about 1669, based on various court testimonies he gave. All the records I have seen list his birth place as Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which was formed from St. Mary's County prior to the time of John's birth. (So his parents may have been found in St Mary's County prior to the division). I've seen several listings for John's parents, some with a bit of reason to them and some not. But Robert Barnes lists his parents as John Cole and Mary Beedle, so we'll go with that while acknowledging that further analysis or new records could result in a different understanding.
We are reasonably sure that John Cole married Johanna Garrett, daughter of Dennis and Barbara (last name not found) Garrett about 1690. He was a witness to and therefore testified in the trial of John Oldton (who is our distant relation as he was married to a Gorsuch), who was charged with the murder of Dennis Garrett.
Sometime within the next 10 years, John moved his family to Baltimore County, in the area of the Gunpowder Meeting, where he owned at least two pieces of land and probably more. There are indications that John was or became a Quaker, or at least that other members of his family were members of the Society of Friends. I haven't been able to verity that. However, it does show that they were in the area and he would have possibly been influenced by their beliefs, even if he did stay a member of the Church of England.
John and Johanna had at least seven and possibly as many as ten children. Barnes lists seven. Johanna died probably about 1715 and John next married Dinah Hawkins, in 1716. He had at least three children with her, so Dinah must have been at least a few years younger than John.
John was a planter. His crops would have included tobacco, so that likely means that he owned slaves, or at the least, had indentured servants. I haven't located records yet that indicate the status of his farm laborers, but he would have needed help and most if not all families had either slaves or indentured servants, or both. Yes, in this time period some Quakers had slaves, too.
John wrote his will in 1745 and it was presented on November 3, 1746. It named his wife, Dinah, and their three, or three surviving, children. His children with Johanna were all adults and presumably he had given them land or other assets earlier, since the will was not contested. The value of his inventory was just short of 100 pounds.
It's a pretty scanty sketch of a man in our ancestry and in our genes, but it is what we have, at the moment. I think it's important to at least mention these men and women who built America, especially since so many of our ancestors were from New England. We have Southern and almost Southern roots, too.
The line of descent is
John Cole-Johanna Garrett
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Lemmon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lemmon. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Holbrook line: John Merryman 1678-1749
I don't have enough information to write a blog post about this ancestor, so this will be more like a placeholder, for now. John Merryman is one of our early Maryland ancestors, he owned land, he married and had children, and that's about most of what I know about him. There are other things we can speculate about.
John Merryman was the son of Charles and Mry Haile Merryman. He was born in either Lancaster County, Virginia, where his parents married, or Baltimore County, Maryland, where they moved about the time of his birth. We don't know why his parents moved but perhaps it was for religious freedom. Also, this was about the time of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia and perhaps they felt safer there.
John married Matha Bowen, daughter of Jonas and Martha Henchman Bowen, on December 30, 1702. He already owned land on the north side of the Patapsco River, because he is taxed there starting in 1699. He was left two parcels of land by his father, and acquired more as he matured. The location of the land and the number of parcels he owned, plus the history of the other families I've reviewed for these posts, makes me speculate that he was a slave-owner. He likely grew tobacco as at least one of his crops, and that depleted soils rapidly so that farms had to be kept in rotation. This land was more or less directly east of what is now Fort McHenry in what is now Baltimore.
John and Martha had at least eight children. Three sons are named in his will, and five daughters are mentioned but not named. It is possible, even probable, that there were other children that didn't live to adulthood. We believe he was Anglican, as some of the family record's are at St Paul's Parish. He wrote his will in 1746 and died July 17, 1749.
That is what I know about John. He is not a man who has been thoroughly researched, but surely there is more to be found about him. I looked diligently for an inventory for John, but either it is misfiled or is lost. I would love to know what his estate was worth, and more particularly, I'd like to settle the question of whether he owned slaves, and how many there were. This family was early and important in the area so there should be more information to be found. If you know where and what it is, please contact me!
The line of descent is
John Merryman-Martha Bowen
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
John Merryman was the son of Charles and Mry Haile Merryman. He was born in either Lancaster County, Virginia, where his parents married, or Baltimore County, Maryland, where they moved about the time of his birth. We don't know why his parents moved but perhaps it was for religious freedom. Also, this was about the time of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia and perhaps they felt safer there.
John married Matha Bowen, daughter of Jonas and Martha Henchman Bowen, on December 30, 1702. He already owned land on the north side of the Patapsco River, because he is taxed there starting in 1699. He was left two parcels of land by his father, and acquired more as he matured. The location of the land and the number of parcels he owned, plus the history of the other families I've reviewed for these posts, makes me speculate that he was a slave-owner. He likely grew tobacco as at least one of his crops, and that depleted soils rapidly so that farms had to be kept in rotation. This land was more or less directly east of what is now Fort McHenry in what is now Baltimore.
John and Martha had at least eight children. Three sons are named in his will, and five daughters are mentioned but not named. It is possible, even probable, that there were other children that didn't live to adulthood. We believe he was Anglican, as some of the family record's are at St Paul's Parish. He wrote his will in 1746 and died July 17, 1749.
That is what I know about John. He is not a man who has been thoroughly researched, but surely there is more to be found about him. I looked diligently for an inventory for John, but either it is misfiled or is lost. I would love to know what his estate was worth, and more particularly, I'd like to settle the question of whether he owned slaves, and how many there were. This family was early and important in the area so there should be more information to be found. If you know where and what it is, please contact me!
The line of descent is
John Merryman-Martha Bowen
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Holbrook line: Alexis Lemmon 1718-1786
We know more about the end of Alexis Lemmon than we do about his beginnings. The birth date I've used above is speculative, apparently based on his age when he is first spotted in Maryland. The family tradition is that he was the son of John and Elizabeth Smith Lemmon, who were from "northern Ireland". I've not found a record that would substantiate this, nor have I found a record of John Lemmon's death, but I've only skimmed the surface in looking for that particular information.
The first we know of Alexis is that he had land, called simply, "Lemon's," 100 acres on July 2, 1741. He acquired more land gradually, called, Lemon's enlargement, Battle Array, and Lemmon's Lot, totaling about 325 acres. Adding new land would fit the typical profile of a tobacco farmer, which was the main crop during the first part of the 18th century. Gradually, though, wheat and corn took over as the main crops in the area.
Alexis married Martha, probably Merryman, in December of 1739. It's thought that Martha was the mother of all eight of their children, but she died in 1776 and Alexis married Rachel Cottrell Jones the following year. Some of Alexis and Martha's children served in the Revolutionary War, so talk abound the table must have been lively. We don't know much of Alexis's political beliefs, although he took the oath of allegiance to the province of Maryland in 1778. In 1768, he had signed a Joppa petition, asking that the county seat be moved from Joppa to Baltimore. He doesn't, however, seem to have been a radical patriot at all.
The subject of this post, Alexis (also seen as Electius) would have been of the right age to serve during the French and Indian War but I've not found any record that he did so. Still, his neighbors very well may have served, and he would have heard stories to tell his children and his children's children.
Alexis died on or before May 30, 1786, probably on his farm in Baltimore County. His inventory reveals that he was a slaveholder, "owning" six slaves at the time of his death. They ranged in age from 33 to 2 months old, and were called Sugar, Harvey, Abraham, Henry, Peter, and Temperance. The total value of these "Negroes", as listed in the inventory, was 270 pounds, out of a total estate of about 440 pounds. The inventory included farm animals, crops, tools and implements, as well as perhaps more household goods than poor people would have had, and old books and spectacles.
I haven't yet found church records for Alexis, but there were several parishes in Baltimore County and not all the records survived. I'd like to know his religion. I'd also like to know whether he served in any kind of militia, in any conflict, and whether he served in public office. Google has a lot of books about Baltimore County listed that are not on line, so a trip to the Allen County Public Library is in order.
The line of descent is
Alexis Lemmon-Martha Merryman
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
May Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The first we know of Alexis is that he had land, called simply, "Lemon's," 100 acres on July 2, 1741. He acquired more land gradually, called, Lemon's enlargement, Battle Array, and Lemmon's Lot, totaling about 325 acres. Adding new land would fit the typical profile of a tobacco farmer, which was the main crop during the first part of the 18th century. Gradually, though, wheat and corn took over as the main crops in the area.
Alexis married Martha, probably Merryman, in December of 1739. It's thought that Martha was the mother of all eight of their children, but she died in 1776 and Alexis married Rachel Cottrell Jones the following year. Some of Alexis and Martha's children served in the Revolutionary War, so talk abound the table must have been lively. We don't know much of Alexis's political beliefs, although he took the oath of allegiance to the province of Maryland in 1778. In 1768, he had signed a Joppa petition, asking that the county seat be moved from Joppa to Baltimore. He doesn't, however, seem to have been a radical patriot at all.
The subject of this post, Alexis (also seen as Electius) would have been of the right age to serve during the French and Indian War but I've not found any record that he did so. Still, his neighbors very well may have served, and he would have heard stories to tell his children and his children's children.
Alexis died on or before May 30, 1786, probably on his farm in Baltimore County. His inventory reveals that he was a slaveholder, "owning" six slaves at the time of his death. They ranged in age from 33 to 2 months old, and were called Sugar, Harvey, Abraham, Henry, Peter, and Temperance. The total value of these "Negroes", as listed in the inventory, was 270 pounds, out of a total estate of about 440 pounds. The inventory included farm animals, crops, tools and implements, as well as perhaps more household goods than poor people would have had, and old books and spectacles.
I haven't yet found church records for Alexis, but there were several parishes in Baltimore County and not all the records survived. I'd like to know his religion. I'd also like to know whether he served in any kind of militia, in any conflict, and whether he served in public office. Google has a lot of books about Baltimore County listed that are not on line, so a trip to the Allen County Public Library is in order.
The line of descent is
Alexis Lemmon-Martha Merryman
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
May Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, January 3, 2020
Holbrook line: Charles Gorsuch Jr. 1687-1747
A funny thing happens on the way to writing a blog post sometimes. I find that I don't trust the information I have, and a little bit of digging shows the reason why. I find conflicting information, or proof that my information is wrong, and sometimes I find a bit of drama in the genealogy world.
I found what I now believe is an error in my information about Charles Gorsuch Jr's marriage(s). But let's start at the beginning. Charles Gorsuch was born in 1686 or 1687 in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Charles and Sarah Cole Gorusch. He was one of at least four children, and he grew up pretty much where Baltimore is now situated. In fact, his father is credited with helping found the town of Baltimore. At the time, of course, it was just a very small village, but the harbor was growing in response to the need of planters to ship their goods, especially tobacco.
Charles grew up and married, possibly about 1712, to a woman associated with the name of Rogers. She may have died in childbirth, leaving Charles with three young children;s John, William and Hannah probably would not remember their mother.
Charles soon married his second wife, Sarah Cole, who was his mother's niece. They had eight children together, so the family was approaching "good-sized", even for that day. Charles seems to have been a planter, also, although there is not a lot of evidence to support that statement. His first seven children with Sarah were baptized at St Paul's Parish, Baltimore County. The last daughter, Rachel, was likely born after Charles and Sarah had moved to Western Run.
Charles died before June 17, 1748, when an inventory was filed by Sarah, showing a personal estate of 314 pounds, 12 shillings, and 6 pence. There is a note in the estate papers that John, William, and Hannah, wife of Thomas Stansbury, had received their share in the life time of the deceased, so this final estate was to be divided between the eight children, after (I'm assuming here, I haven't found the papers to read them myself) taking care of Sarah. His inventory includes one Negro man, one Negro woman, and immediately after that, "a parcel of new goods", all valued about the same. Most of the inventory is for farm animals, implements, and crops. There is one entry for "gunns" but I found nothing for books. The feeling I have is that this was not a rich household, but that there was enough to go around, as far as dishes and furniture go. He had quite a bit of wool and woolen goods, and some tobacco, so this was a working farm.
I need to do some more digging, to figure out what land he still owned when he died, and where it came from. I'd like to verify that he was not a Quaker-there seems to be some confusion about that in the records. His children by Sarah were baptized at St Paul's. She was not a Quaker, then, so it seems that Charles would not have been, either, or he would have been disowned. I'd also like to know whether Charles ever served in the militia, and whether he went on any military expeditions. If he could summarize his life in just two or three sentences, what would he have thought was remarkable about his life? And most of all, I'd like to know who his first wife was. She is our ancestor, after all!
The line of descent is
Charles Gorsuch-unknown
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I found what I now believe is an error in my information about Charles Gorsuch Jr's marriage(s). But let's start at the beginning. Charles Gorsuch was born in 1686 or 1687 in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Charles and Sarah Cole Gorusch. He was one of at least four children, and he grew up pretty much where Baltimore is now situated. In fact, his father is credited with helping found the town of Baltimore. At the time, of course, it was just a very small village, but the harbor was growing in response to the need of planters to ship their goods, especially tobacco.
Charles grew up and married, possibly about 1712, to a woman associated with the name of Rogers. She may have died in childbirth, leaving Charles with three young children;s John, William and Hannah probably would not remember their mother.
Charles soon married his second wife, Sarah Cole, who was his mother's niece. They had eight children together, so the family was approaching "good-sized", even for that day. Charles seems to have been a planter, also, although there is not a lot of evidence to support that statement. His first seven children with Sarah were baptized at St Paul's Parish, Baltimore County. The last daughter, Rachel, was likely born after Charles and Sarah had moved to Western Run.
Charles died before June 17, 1748, when an inventory was filed by Sarah, showing a personal estate of 314 pounds, 12 shillings, and 6 pence. There is a note in the estate papers that John, William, and Hannah, wife of Thomas Stansbury, had received their share in the life time of the deceased, so this final estate was to be divided between the eight children, after (I'm assuming here, I haven't found the papers to read them myself) taking care of Sarah. His inventory includes one Negro man, one Negro woman, and immediately after that, "a parcel of new goods", all valued about the same. Most of the inventory is for farm animals, implements, and crops. There is one entry for "gunns" but I found nothing for books. The feeling I have is that this was not a rich household, but that there was enough to go around, as far as dishes and furniture go. He had quite a bit of wool and woolen goods, and some tobacco, so this was a working farm.
I need to do some more digging, to figure out what land he still owned when he died, and where it came from. I'd like to verify that he was not a Quaker-there seems to be some confusion about that in the records. His children by Sarah were baptized at St Paul's. She was not a Quaker, then, so it seems that Charles would not have been, either, or he would have been disowned. I'd also like to know whether Charles ever served in the militia, and whether he went on any military expeditions. If he could summarize his life in just two or three sentences, what would he have thought was remarkable about his life? And most of all, I'd like to know who his first wife was. She is our ancestor, after all!
The line of descent is
Charles Gorsuch-unknown
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, November 22, 2019
Holbrook line: Thomas Stansbury 1714-1798
Thomas Stansbury is especially important to this family because of the woman he chose to marry. She is a descendant of a gateway ancestor, one of several who connect us in a long line back to royalty, history, and fun. (I love gateway ancestors, only because there are paper trails and it's relatively easy to learn about the connections. I love my plain Jane (or Joe) ancestors, too, but many of them I will never even have names for.)
Thomas is sometimes known as Thomas Stansbury Jr., because his parents were Thomas and Jane Dixon Hayes Stansbury. He was born in Saint Paul's Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland on April 24, 1714, which is now part of the Baltimore Historic District. At the time of the church's founding in 192, it was in a more rural setting, close to the Patapsco River. He was one of at least six children.
Thomas married Hannah Gorsuch, daughter of Charles and Sarah Cole Gorsuch and descendant of Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, the gateway ancestor, on March 2, 1734/35 in St. Paul's, Baltimore. The couple had at least twelve children together, ten of whom are mentioned in Thomas's will. He left nothing to daughter Jane, apparently because she was already wealthy, and one child had died early.
Although Thomas is listed as a patriot on the DAR website, he apparently had some difficulty in making an early decision about which side of the Revolutionary War to support. He was called before a "Committee" on May 19, 1776, because he had been reported as making comments favorable to the British. He was cleared of that suspicion and thanked for his zeal in supporting his country (which would become, but was not yet, the USA). The church the Stansbury family attended was Anglican and these families, as a whole, were more likely to support the British side than, say, our New England ancestors who descended from Puritans. By 1778, Thomas had definitely made up his mind when he took the oath of fidelity and support required by the state of Maryland of all voters and of all office holders.
Thomas was a plantation owner, and had a few slaves listed in his "personal property" inventory. It appears that at one time he had owned a great deal of land but I've not found a will to see whether he distributed the land in his will, or land records to see whether he had disposed of it earlier. Land that he may have owned at one time included "Dixon's Neck" of 450 acres, "Stansbury's Good Luck" of 90 acres, "Father's Care" of 100 acres, "Jerrico" of 700 acres, "Luke's Goodwill" of 111 acres, and 650 acres of "Franklin's Purchase". I haven't done the research to back this up and it's possible that some of these lands belonged to another Thomas Stansbury. Nor do I know whether he owned them all at once, or serially. It does indicate, however, that land perhaps needed to be replenished, perhaps because he was growing a crop like tobacco, which could generally be planted only three years in a row, and then the land needed to rest for ten years or so. It's also possible that he was a wealthy man.
Thomas died June 15, 1798 in Baltimore. I haven't yet found his will, but I did locate his inventory filed on August 6, 1798. Thomas was 84 years old when he died, but he still "owned" 6 Negroes, as they were called. He owned horses and swine, tools, a few crops (17 bushels of corn), and some, but not a lot, furniture and household goods. He also owned a gun, a rifle, and an old sword. Perhaps he was already downsizing and had given some of his property to children or grandchildren. Hannah lived until September of 1800 but I didn't locate her by name in the 1800 census. She was likely living with one of her children.
It's interesting to think about Thomas, about how his life was so very different from ours, and about how he came to change his political beliefs. I'd love to sit and chat with this couple, to absorb a little of their culture and to learn how he treated his slaves. I hope he was as close to being a good master as he could be, given that a master, by definition, would not fit the 21st century meaning of good.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas is sometimes known as Thomas Stansbury Jr., because his parents were Thomas and Jane Dixon Hayes Stansbury. He was born in Saint Paul's Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland on April 24, 1714, which is now part of the Baltimore Historic District. At the time of the church's founding in 192, it was in a more rural setting, close to the Patapsco River. He was one of at least six children.
Thomas married Hannah Gorsuch, daughter of Charles and Sarah Cole Gorsuch and descendant of Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, the gateway ancestor, on March 2, 1734/35 in St. Paul's, Baltimore. The couple had at least twelve children together, ten of whom are mentioned in Thomas's will. He left nothing to daughter Jane, apparently because she was already wealthy, and one child had died early.
Although Thomas is listed as a patriot on the DAR website, he apparently had some difficulty in making an early decision about which side of the Revolutionary War to support. He was called before a "Committee" on May 19, 1776, because he had been reported as making comments favorable to the British. He was cleared of that suspicion and thanked for his zeal in supporting his country (which would become, but was not yet, the USA). The church the Stansbury family attended was Anglican and these families, as a whole, were more likely to support the British side than, say, our New England ancestors who descended from Puritans. By 1778, Thomas had definitely made up his mind when he took the oath of fidelity and support required by the state of Maryland of all voters and of all office holders.
Thomas was a plantation owner, and had a few slaves listed in his "personal property" inventory. It appears that at one time he had owned a great deal of land but I've not found a will to see whether he distributed the land in his will, or land records to see whether he had disposed of it earlier. Land that he may have owned at one time included "Dixon's Neck" of 450 acres, "Stansbury's Good Luck" of 90 acres, "Father's Care" of 100 acres, "Jerrico" of 700 acres, "Luke's Goodwill" of 111 acres, and 650 acres of "Franklin's Purchase". I haven't done the research to back this up and it's possible that some of these lands belonged to another Thomas Stansbury. Nor do I know whether he owned them all at once, or serially. It does indicate, however, that land perhaps needed to be replenished, perhaps because he was growing a crop like tobacco, which could generally be planted only three years in a row, and then the land needed to rest for ten years or so. It's also possible that he was a wealthy man.
Thomas died June 15, 1798 in Baltimore. I haven't yet found his will, but I did locate his inventory filed on August 6, 1798. Thomas was 84 years old when he died, but he still "owned" 6 Negroes, as they were called. He owned horses and swine, tools, a few crops (17 bushels of corn), and some, but not a lot, furniture and household goods. He also owned a gun, a rifle, and an old sword. Perhaps he was already downsizing and had given some of his property to children or grandchildren. Hannah lived until September of 1800 but I didn't locate her by name in the 1800 census. She was likely living with one of her children.
It's interesting to think about Thomas, about how his life was so very different from ours, and about how he came to change his political beliefs. I'd love to sit and chat with this couple, to absorb a little of their culture and to learn how he treated his slaves. I hope he was as close to being a good master as he could be, given that a master, by definition, would not fit the 21st century meaning of good.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, June 14, 2019
Holbrook line: Andreas Zimmerman, Immigrant
Sometimes I have a lot of information to put into a blog polizst, and sometimes, "I got nuttin". The latter is the case today. I'm writing this post mostly in the hopes that someone will help straighten me out, because honestly, I'm not sure that Andreas Zimmerman is our ancestor. Lots of sites say that he is, but I can't find anything that connects Andreas to our known ancestor, Anna Elizabeth Zimmerman, who married Johann Jacob Hetrick. Surely someone has some documentation that connects Anna Elizabeth to Andreas?
In fact, the problems start with Anna Elizabeth's birth or baptism date. When I actually look at the records, the date frequently quoted is the date Anna Margaretha was christened. I can't find such a record for Anna Elisabetha. There is an Anna Elizabetha born two years earlier, in a different place, and her mother's name is given as Anna Margaretha, with a father's name of Zimmerman, but I haven't been able to trace her down.
So all I will say about Andreas is that he was born in or about 1672, and he married Anna Elizabetha Mueller on April 24, 1703, again with no documents to support that statement. He and his wife came to Pennsylvania in 1727 (actually, we're not sure she came with him but it appears likely) and they settled at or near Pine Grove, in what is now Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. This would have been very much frontier country, which is where many of the German immigrants headed. Andreas must have worked very hard there, but I've not found his name in any of the early Pennsylvania land records, so I don't know whether he owned land. I've also not located his name in church records, but this was very early in the settlement of Pennsylvania and records for the frontier are scarce.
The next thing I know about Andreas is that he died in 1733, and his wife died in 1740. I have a list that shows this couple with 10 children, all born in Germany, but I don't know whether or not it is accurate, or complete. I haven't found a will, or a cemetery, or anything that helps me anchor this man to a definite time and place. It's frustrating! Surely someone knows something!
If you can help prove or disprove this line, I would be very glad to hear from you!
The supposed line of descent is:
Andreas Zimmerman-Anna Elisabetha Mueller
Anna Elizabetha Zimmerman-Johan Abraham Hetrick
Johan Jacob Hetrick-Anna Elizabeth Nuss
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
In fact, the problems start with Anna Elizabeth's birth or baptism date. When I actually look at the records, the date frequently quoted is the date Anna Margaretha was christened. I can't find such a record for Anna Elisabetha. There is an Anna Elizabetha born two years earlier, in a different place, and her mother's name is given as Anna Margaretha, with a father's name of Zimmerman, but I haven't been able to trace her down.
So all I will say about Andreas is that he was born in or about 1672, and he married Anna Elizabetha Mueller on April 24, 1703, again with no documents to support that statement. He and his wife came to Pennsylvania in 1727 (actually, we're not sure she came with him but it appears likely) and they settled at or near Pine Grove, in what is now Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. This would have been very much frontier country, which is where many of the German immigrants headed. Andreas must have worked very hard there, but I've not found his name in any of the early Pennsylvania land records, so I don't know whether he owned land. I've also not located his name in church records, but this was very early in the settlement of Pennsylvania and records for the frontier are scarce.
The next thing I know about Andreas is that he died in 1733, and his wife died in 1740. I have a list that shows this couple with 10 children, all born in Germany, but I don't know whether or not it is accurate, or complete. I haven't found a will, or a cemetery, or anything that helps me anchor this man to a definite time and place. It's frustrating! Surely someone knows something!
If you can help prove or disprove this line, I would be very glad to hear from you!
The supposed line of descent is:
Andreas Zimmerman-Anna Elisabetha Mueller
Anna Elizabetha Zimmerman-Johan Abraham Hetrick
Johan Jacob Hetrick-Anna Elizabeth Nuss
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, October 19, 2018
Holbrook line: Thomas Cole, Immigrant
Thomas Cole is believed to be the son of Humphrey Cole and May Mott. Humphrey must have been a person of some means because a son and a son in law were each rectors, and that would probably indicate a certain degree of schooling. Humphrey himself had a BA from Pembroke College (part of Cambridge University) in 1593 and an MA in 1598. The family was oriented toward education.
Thomas Cole was born about 1603 in Essex, England and had arrived in Virginia on July 4, 1635. It's possible that he came in 1632, had returned to England for some reason and then come back to Virginia. Either date would put him in Virginia early. He married a woman named Priscilla, who may or may not be Priscilla Godfrey, the daughter of John Godfrey.
Thomas and Priscilla were in Maryland by 1649, and were acknowledged Quakers a few years later. Perhaps they left Virginia because they felt persecuted there, but that is speculation. In 1666, he was voted 1000 pounds of tobacco in recompense for the loss of his stock, killed or stolen in raids by the native Americans. John owned 550 acres of land, called Cole's Harbor in 1668. This was in what is now the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and even then may have been considered valuable. It may also have been marshy, because we don't know that Thomas and Priscilla actually lived there. He also patented 450 acres called Mayden's Choice in 1674, and a 200 acre tract called Saint Mary Borne in 1675.
They seem to have settled in what is now Anne Arundel County, then called Providence County. Thomas and Priscilla had just one known child, or at least one child who lived to adulthood. There may have been a son, John, but nothing more is known of him. Sarah and her husband, Charles Gorsuch, sold the three Baltimore County tracts on December 8, 1679, Sarah being described as the sole heiress of Thomas Cole. Priscilla therefore must have been gone by then, and Thomas also, although we don't have dates for either of them. They may well have been buried in the early Quaker fashion, which was in unmarked graves, with only a flagstone to indicate the place of burial.
I wish we knew more about Thomas. For instance, during the Indian attack when his stock was stolen, where was he and where was his family? Did the family suffer other losses, or was this a one time thing? As a Quaker, he probably wasn't part of the militia but I'd like to confirm that. Was he a slave owner? Was he educated, or at least literate? (I think yes, because his father and brother were educated, and because his daughter married into an influential family, but I'd like to know for sure). What words of wisdom could he share with us, if we could talk face to face?
The line of descent is :
Thomas Cole-Priscilla
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Charles Gorsuch Jr-Sarah Cole (it appears that these two were cousins)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas Cole was born about 1603 in Essex, England and had arrived in Virginia on July 4, 1635. It's possible that he came in 1632, had returned to England for some reason and then come back to Virginia. Either date would put him in Virginia early. He married a woman named Priscilla, who may or may not be Priscilla Godfrey, the daughter of John Godfrey.
Thomas and Priscilla were in Maryland by 1649, and were acknowledged Quakers a few years later. Perhaps they left Virginia because they felt persecuted there, but that is speculation. In 1666, he was voted 1000 pounds of tobacco in recompense for the loss of his stock, killed or stolen in raids by the native Americans. John owned 550 acres of land, called Cole's Harbor in 1668. This was in what is now the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and even then may have been considered valuable. It may also have been marshy, because we don't know that Thomas and Priscilla actually lived there. He also patented 450 acres called Mayden's Choice in 1674, and a 200 acre tract called Saint Mary Borne in 1675.
They seem to have settled in what is now Anne Arundel County, then called Providence County. Thomas and Priscilla had just one known child, or at least one child who lived to adulthood. There may have been a son, John, but nothing more is known of him. Sarah and her husband, Charles Gorsuch, sold the three Baltimore County tracts on December 8, 1679, Sarah being described as the sole heiress of Thomas Cole. Priscilla therefore must have been gone by then, and Thomas also, although we don't have dates for either of them. They may well have been buried in the early Quaker fashion, which was in unmarked graves, with only a flagstone to indicate the place of burial.
I wish we knew more about Thomas. For instance, during the Indian attack when his stock was stolen, where was he and where was his family? Did the family suffer other losses, or was this a one time thing? As a Quaker, he probably wasn't part of the militia but I'd like to confirm that. Was he a slave owner? Was he educated, or at least literate? (I think yes, because his father and brother were educated, and because his daughter married into an influential family, but I'd like to know for sure). What words of wisdom could he share with us, if we could talk face to face?
The line of descent is :
Thomas Cole-Priscilla
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Charles Gorsuch Jr-Sarah Cole (it appears that these two were cousins)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, October 5, 2018
Holbrook line: John/Johan/Hans Michael Reyer, Immigrant
No one seems to be sure of his first name, which doesn't really matter much because he would have gone by the name of Michael, anyway. Hans Michael Reyer (also various spelling for the last name, such as Reiher) was born in 1686 or 1689 in Schwabbach, Wurtemburg, in what is now Germany. His parents were Johannes Michel Reiher, from Paris, France (or possibly Metz) and Anna Caatharina last name as yet unknown. They married in Wurtemburg.
This man, whom I will refer to as Michael, led a fascinating life. He was a part of the Huguenot movement, the French Protestants who were persecuted by the Catholics in France, if we are to believe what we read. He lived to be about 83 years old, some say 86. He was married three different times, and had 24 children, as reported in "The Perkiomen Region volume 1, printed in 1895). I have found names and approximate birth dates for "only" eleven of them.
I've not found anything yet about his early life, or even his early married life, but he emigrated in 1732 when he gave his age as 45, and arrived at Philadelphia on a ship called the Loyal Judith. Two sons arrived with him but we don't know how many of the rest of his family may have come, or when, except that his wife and at least one daughter arrived here also. They may have traveled on the same ship and simply not been listed, because they were women. At least two and more likely more of the children were born in America. There was a huge age different in the children, with birth years from about 1711 to at least 1752. His first wife, our ancestor, Anna Maria Seeland, died in 1742 in Upper Salford Township, in what is now Montgomery County, Philadelphia.
As of yet, I don't know much about Michael's life here except that he was a member of the Old Goshenhoppen church, which was Lutheran. He was one of the church wardens and as such, along with representatives from the Reformed church, bought jointly thirty eight and a quarter acres for the use of the two congregations in 1737. The first mention I've found of a church building was 1744, so it may have taken a while to raise the funds to erect the building. Micheal is believed to be buried at the cemetery there but I didn't locate records on Find A Grave.
He wrote his will on November 1, 1771 and died January 3, 1772. A son, John, filed a petition that the estate not be probated until another son, Charles, was present. There may be a family dynamic indicated that we don't understand. In the petition, he refers to his father as "yeoman", meaning he owned land. The inventory of personal property was valued at 79 pounds, 18 shillings, and one pence, including a large Bible, several books, and an almanac. He could read, but we don't know whether these were written in English or in German. He must have owned a good deal of land because it sold for 790 pounds, 14 shillings. Michael had done well for his family. This was not a huge estate but it was more than many of his neighbors.
I wonder how many of his children were still living, and were still in the same general area. I wonder how he managed to support such a large family. Did his older children postpone their own marriages and families in order to help raise the younger ones? What sort of problems did this area have with the native Americans during the French and Indian war? Michael was already relatively old when the conflict started. Did he serve? Did he take his family to a safer area, or a fort? What else could Michael tell us about if we could sit down and ask him about his life?
I'd like to do more research about Michael, and if I find more information, I will post updates or a new blog. In the meantime, it's good to know more about this French or German ancestor, who took a big risk in coming to America.
Our line of descent is
Hans Michael Reyer-Anna Maria Seeland
Anna Maria Reyer-Johan Jacob Nuss
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
This man, whom I will refer to as Michael, led a fascinating life. He was a part of the Huguenot movement, the French Protestants who were persecuted by the Catholics in France, if we are to believe what we read. He lived to be about 83 years old, some say 86. He was married three different times, and had 24 children, as reported in "The Perkiomen Region volume 1, printed in 1895). I have found names and approximate birth dates for "only" eleven of them.
I've not found anything yet about his early life, or even his early married life, but he emigrated in 1732 when he gave his age as 45, and arrived at Philadelphia on a ship called the Loyal Judith. Two sons arrived with him but we don't know how many of the rest of his family may have come, or when, except that his wife and at least one daughter arrived here also. They may have traveled on the same ship and simply not been listed, because they were women. At least two and more likely more of the children were born in America. There was a huge age different in the children, with birth years from about 1711 to at least 1752. His first wife, our ancestor, Anna Maria Seeland, died in 1742 in Upper Salford Township, in what is now Montgomery County, Philadelphia.
As of yet, I don't know much about Michael's life here except that he was a member of the Old Goshenhoppen church, which was Lutheran. He was one of the church wardens and as such, along with representatives from the Reformed church, bought jointly thirty eight and a quarter acres for the use of the two congregations in 1737. The first mention I've found of a church building was 1744, so it may have taken a while to raise the funds to erect the building. Micheal is believed to be buried at the cemetery there but I didn't locate records on Find A Grave.
He wrote his will on November 1, 1771 and died January 3, 1772. A son, John, filed a petition that the estate not be probated until another son, Charles, was present. There may be a family dynamic indicated that we don't understand. In the petition, he refers to his father as "yeoman", meaning he owned land. The inventory of personal property was valued at 79 pounds, 18 shillings, and one pence, including a large Bible, several books, and an almanac. He could read, but we don't know whether these were written in English or in German. He must have owned a good deal of land because it sold for 790 pounds, 14 shillings. Michael had done well for his family. This was not a huge estate but it was more than many of his neighbors.
I wonder how many of his children were still living, and were still in the same general area. I wonder how he managed to support such a large family. Did his older children postpone their own marriages and families in order to help raise the younger ones? What sort of problems did this area have with the native Americans during the French and Indian war? Michael was already relatively old when the conflict started. Did he serve? Did he take his family to a safer area, or a fort? What else could Michael tell us about if we could sit down and ask him about his life?
I'd like to do more research about Michael, and if I find more information, I will post updates or a new blog. In the meantime, it's good to know more about this French or German ancestor, who took a big risk in coming to America.
Our line of descent is
Hans Michael Reyer-Anna Maria Seeland
Anna Maria Reyer-Johan Jacob Nuss
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Holbrook line: Dethmarus Sternberg, Immigrant
I've been waiting for several years for the facts about this ancestor to come out. I think I've waited in vain, and it will be some time, if ever, before the origins of this man are determined. We know where he was baptized, and we know his parents' names and when and where they were baptized. But after that, it gets confusing. Was Detmar's father a German count, or a Dutch count, or an Englishman named Stansbury who decided to stay in the area of the Low countries after spending time there during one or another of the many wars those countries had? Was his mother some relation to William of Orange? All these theories are mentioned on various internet sites but no one seems to really have documents that show anything for sure. The one exception is a crude drawing of heraldry, with a 1609 date, and the name Sternberg written on it. It's written in a foreign language so I have no idea what the sketch actually says.
Detmar was the son of Dethmarus and Catherine Morske Sternberge, and was baptized in the Protestant church honoring St. Rainaldi in Dortmund, Prussia in 1628. He was probably born shortly before that. He married Catherine (Renske was her nickname but we don't know her given name) probably about 1650. Their first and perhaps only son was named Tobias. The three of them came to Maryland in 1658 according to Detmar's claim for headrights, and he had also transported a man by the name of John Dowlin. So he had 200 acres, or at least the right to 200 acres.
I wish I knew more about Detmar. He arrived in 1658 and was in 1663 selling land. Why? Did he acquire other land? Did he originally acquire unsuitable land? What crop was he trying to raise? Did he actually work the land, or was that done by servants and slaves? Did he have another trade or way to support himself? What was his religion? We know he was living in 1678 but we don't know when after that he died. And most certainly, I'd love to know more about his origins. Did he find fellow Germans in the area, or Dutch, or English? What was his relationship with his neighbors? Could he speak English at all? Since we don't know the answers to these questions, this post is not a story of his life but just a beginning, hoping to point us toward a fuller understanding of our ancestor with the strange sounding name.
Two generations after Detmar arrived, the family, or at least some of it, changed its name to Stansbury, and that is the name our line is using today.
Here's the line of descent:
Detmar Sternberg-Catherine (renske)
Tobias Starnborough-Sarah Raven
Thomas Stansbury-Jean Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansubry-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Detmar was the son of Dethmarus and Catherine Morske Sternberge, and was baptized in the Protestant church honoring St. Rainaldi in Dortmund, Prussia in 1628. He was probably born shortly before that. He married Catherine (Renske was her nickname but we don't know her given name) probably about 1650. Their first and perhaps only son was named Tobias. The three of them came to Maryland in 1658 according to Detmar's claim for headrights, and he had also transported a man by the name of John Dowlin. So he had 200 acres, or at least the right to 200 acres.
I wish I knew more about Detmar. He arrived in 1658 and was in 1663 selling land. Why? Did he acquire other land? Did he originally acquire unsuitable land? What crop was he trying to raise? Did he actually work the land, or was that done by servants and slaves? Did he have another trade or way to support himself? What was his religion? We know he was living in 1678 but we don't know when after that he died. And most certainly, I'd love to know more about his origins. Did he find fellow Germans in the area, or Dutch, or English? What was his relationship with his neighbors? Could he speak English at all? Since we don't know the answers to these questions, this post is not a story of his life but just a beginning, hoping to point us toward a fuller understanding of our ancestor with the strange sounding name.
Two generations after Detmar arrived, the family, or at least some of it, changed its name to Stansbury, and that is the name our line is using today.
Here's the line of descent:
Detmar Sternberg-Catherine (renske)
Tobias Starnborough-Sarah Raven
Thomas Stansbury-Jean Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansubry-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Holbrook line: Johan Jacob Nuss, Immigrant
Trying to understand someone who died 260 years ago is hard. We can't understand the culture of the times, we can't understand how these people lived and socialized. When our ancestors are not of English extraction, it's harder, because of additional cultural and language differences. That is why I am doing a mild happy genealogy dance today. I've been able to trace down a bit of information with help from other genealogists, AND I've found a will, written in English. Oh, happy day!
It's easy to forget that we have German lines in our family, since so many of the Holbrook lines trace back to New England and then mostly to England. But we do have several lines that are German. One of those is that of Johan Jacob Nuss. His story begins on June 25, 1716, either his birth or christening date, at Heuchelheim bel Frankenthal, Pfalz-Rheinland, Germany. It ended on September 20, 1757 in what is now Upper Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. (At the time, this was known as Goshenhoppen, Lancaster County). In between those dates, his life is not an open book, but we do find glimpses here and there.
Jacob was born to Peter and Anna Margaretha Nuss. He was one of at least six children, but as the youngest of those six, he would have not have been favored financially and probably would have struggled his whole life to make a meager living. His mother had been dead ten years when Jacob made the trip to America in 1736 on board the ship "Marie", which sailed from Rotterdam to Cowes to Philadelphia. Jacob was 20 years old and single when he came to America, a young man with big dreams.
Life apparently started well for Jacob. He married in 1738 to Anna Maria Reiher, daughter of Hans Michael and Anna Maria Seeland Reiher. (Note: this family's surname in America shows up as Reyer, as well as numerous variations). We don't know much about the next 19 years of his life, except that he and Maria had at least six children. Jacob purchased land and built a home, possibly about 1745. He had two hundred and sixty acres plus a dwelling house and out buildings, which were confiscated by the sheriff in March of 1757 to "satisfy a debt of four hundred and forty-two pounds (English), one shilling and six pence, owed by Jacob Nuss to Adam Clampffer, and was bought at public sale by William Clampffer, of Philadelphia, and transferred to him February 28, 1758."
I have some thoughts about this: 442 pounds plus of English money was a lot of money in those days; a calculator shows a rough value of $80,000. How did Jacob accumulate that much debt? Secondly, this was in 1757 in a land that was under the threat of attack by native Americans in connection with the French and Indian war. Did this have anything to do with the debt? Jacob died of "dropsy" (probably heart failure) in September of 1757, still in his early 40's. Jacob may have taken on much debt, not knowing his days were short. He is buried in the Old Goshenhoppen cemetery, near the church he and his family attended for most of the years of their marriage.
As you can imagine, the estate took some time to settle. As nearly as I can determine, there isn't an actual will for Jacob, just an inventory and that is somewhat confusing. As far as items go, he had what seems to be a lot of fabric on hand. Was he a weaver, or a merchant of some kind? He had a Bible, and guns, plus twelve pounds of lead for pouring (bullets?), but no farm animals were noted. The largest amount on the inventory is "Outstanding book debts, notes, and bonds" of 408 pounds. Was this a case of neighbor helping neighbor, or were the "book debts" those due him as a merchant? (I sure wish someone more familiar with the customs and wills of this time and place could help educate me on what I am seeing!) The estate had an original value of almost 381 pounds after all the debts were paid and collected. The last papers in the file are from 1765, when apparently the children were all provided for.
This is what we know of Jacob's life, just glimpses really. There are so many questions that I can't answer, and if I could ask him those questions, there would be a language barrier. But let us know forget to acknowledge that we have Germans in our Holbrook background, and I hope to write more of them in the coming months.
This line of descent is:
Johan Jacob Nuss-Anna Maria Reyer or Reiher
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
It's easy to forget that we have German lines in our family, since so many of the Holbrook lines trace back to New England and then mostly to England. But we do have several lines that are German. One of those is that of Johan Jacob Nuss. His story begins on June 25, 1716, either his birth or christening date, at Heuchelheim bel Frankenthal, Pfalz-Rheinland, Germany. It ended on September 20, 1757 in what is now Upper Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. (At the time, this was known as Goshenhoppen, Lancaster County). In between those dates, his life is not an open book, but we do find glimpses here and there.
Jacob was born to Peter and Anna Margaretha Nuss. He was one of at least six children, but as the youngest of those six, he would have not have been favored financially and probably would have struggled his whole life to make a meager living. His mother had been dead ten years when Jacob made the trip to America in 1736 on board the ship "Marie", which sailed from Rotterdam to Cowes to Philadelphia. Jacob was 20 years old and single when he came to America, a young man with big dreams.
Life apparently started well for Jacob. He married in 1738 to Anna Maria Reiher, daughter of Hans Michael and Anna Maria Seeland Reiher. (Note: this family's surname in America shows up as Reyer, as well as numerous variations). We don't know much about the next 19 years of his life, except that he and Maria had at least six children. Jacob purchased land and built a home, possibly about 1745. He had two hundred and sixty acres plus a dwelling house and out buildings, which were confiscated by the sheriff in March of 1757 to "satisfy a debt of four hundred and forty-two pounds (English), one shilling and six pence, owed by Jacob Nuss to Adam Clampffer, and was bought at public sale by William Clampffer, of Philadelphia, and transferred to him February 28, 1758."
I have some thoughts about this: 442 pounds plus of English money was a lot of money in those days; a calculator shows a rough value of $80,000. How did Jacob accumulate that much debt? Secondly, this was in 1757 in a land that was under the threat of attack by native Americans in connection with the French and Indian war. Did this have anything to do with the debt? Jacob died of "dropsy" (probably heart failure) in September of 1757, still in his early 40's. Jacob may have taken on much debt, not knowing his days were short. He is buried in the Old Goshenhoppen cemetery, near the church he and his family attended for most of the years of their marriage.
As you can imagine, the estate took some time to settle. As nearly as I can determine, there isn't an actual will for Jacob, just an inventory and that is somewhat confusing. As far as items go, he had what seems to be a lot of fabric on hand. Was he a weaver, or a merchant of some kind? He had a Bible, and guns, plus twelve pounds of lead for pouring (bullets?), but no farm animals were noted. The largest amount on the inventory is "Outstanding book debts, notes, and bonds" of 408 pounds. Was this a case of neighbor helping neighbor, or were the "book debts" those due him as a merchant? (I sure wish someone more familiar with the customs and wills of this time and place could help educate me on what I am seeing!) The estate had an original value of almost 381 pounds after all the debts were paid and collected. The last papers in the file are from 1765, when apparently the children were all provided for.
This is what we know of Jacob's life, just glimpses really. There are so many questions that I can't answer, and if I could ask him those questions, there would be a language barrier. But let us know forget to acknowledge that we have Germans in our Holbrook background, and I hope to write more of them in the coming months.
This line of descent is:
Johan Jacob Nuss-Anna Maria Reyer or Reiher
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, June 29, 2018
Holbrook lines: Jonas Bowen, Immigrant
I'm going to play it conservative here and say that the Jonas Bowen I am writing about is an ancestor in the Holbrook line. That much I am relatively (sorry for the pun) certain abouot. I also have seen information that I think says that Jonas is also an Allen ancestor, but that is confusing. In order for these to be one and the same man, he would have had to have been born about 1605 and lived to be about 94 years of age. It's possible, but not probable and definitely not proven, in my opinion. However, he definitely lived in the same area as some of our Allen ancestors, the Corbins and the Wilkinsons.
So we'll still to the apparent facts. Jonas was most likely born in England or Wales, possibly close to the border between the two since the name may have originally been "ap Owen". I have seen various names suggested as being Jonas's father, (John, Nathaniel, Obadiah) but nothing has been proven. We don't know for sure when Jonas appeared in the colonies, or where. However, we do know that he was in Baltimore County, Maryland by 1676 when he was on a tax list. This probably indicates he had actually arrived some time earlier, in order to accumulate the property he was taxed on (I haven't yet seen the mentioned tax list, so can't comment further than that).
Jonas was married to Martha Henchman, daughter of Nathaniel Henchman and possibly Ann. Jonas may have been married earlier, as mentioned above, and he was at least a few years older than Martha, it's believed. (Martha's birth date is given as about 1649). Jonas and Martha had several children together, including Jonas, Benjamin, Martha, John, and Onner (Honor), and possibly Elizabeth.
In "Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783", Peter Coldham Wilson lists four parcels of land owned by Jonas, dating from 1679 to 1695 and totalling 300 acres, all in Baltimore County, and evidently located on the Patapsco River. Of course, he may have sold some parcels as he bought others. He is also known to have had land surveyed in 1673, which indicates that perhaps he lived there even prior to that date, since surveys may not have been requested as soon as the land was occupied.
Jonas may have served in the militia during the 1675-76 troubles with the native Americans, and I saw a mention that he may have been a constable at one time. I'm still looking for more information regarding both of those statements.
Jonas wrote his will March 26, 1699 and was dead by April 13 of that same year, when his will was probated. I have a copy of his will but it's difficult to read. It does have at least 12 "Items" on it, so there was property to dispose of. Some of the children were still underage. His wife Martha died in 1704.
I'd love to know so much more about Jonas. When and where was he born? Did he have a first wife? Who was she? What religion was he? Did he have an occupation other than farming? Did he raise tobacco, and if so, did he have indentured servants, or slaves? What is the connection, if any, that makes him an Allen ancestor?
The line of descent is:
Jonas Bowen-Martha Henchman
Martha Bowen-John Merryman
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
So we'll still to the apparent facts. Jonas was most likely born in England or Wales, possibly close to the border between the two since the name may have originally been "ap Owen". I have seen various names suggested as being Jonas's father, (John, Nathaniel, Obadiah) but nothing has been proven. We don't know for sure when Jonas appeared in the colonies, or where. However, we do know that he was in Baltimore County, Maryland by 1676 when he was on a tax list. This probably indicates he had actually arrived some time earlier, in order to accumulate the property he was taxed on (I haven't yet seen the mentioned tax list, so can't comment further than that).
Jonas was married to Martha Henchman, daughter of Nathaniel Henchman and possibly Ann. Jonas may have been married earlier, as mentioned above, and he was at least a few years older than Martha, it's believed. (Martha's birth date is given as about 1649). Jonas and Martha had several children together, including Jonas, Benjamin, Martha, John, and Onner (Honor), and possibly Elizabeth.
In "Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783", Peter Coldham Wilson lists four parcels of land owned by Jonas, dating from 1679 to 1695 and totalling 300 acres, all in Baltimore County, and evidently located on the Patapsco River. Of course, he may have sold some parcels as he bought others. He is also known to have had land surveyed in 1673, which indicates that perhaps he lived there even prior to that date, since surveys may not have been requested as soon as the land was occupied.
Jonas may have served in the militia during the 1675-76 troubles with the native Americans, and I saw a mention that he may have been a constable at one time. I'm still looking for more information regarding both of those statements.
Jonas wrote his will March 26, 1699 and was dead by April 13 of that same year, when his will was probated. I have a copy of his will but it's difficult to read. It does have at least 12 "Items" on it, so there was property to dispose of. Some of the children were still underage. His wife Martha died in 1704.
I'd love to know so much more about Jonas. When and where was he born? Did he have a first wife? Who was she? What religion was he? Did he have an occupation other than farming? Did he raise tobacco, and if so, did he have indentured servants, or slaves? What is the connection, if any, that makes him an Allen ancestor?
The line of descent is:
Jonas Bowen-Martha Henchman
Martha Bowen-John Merryman
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, June 8, 2018
Holbrook line: Charles Gorsuch, Immigrant
I've written before of Charles's mother, Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, and a bit about his father, John Gorsuch. I wrote about Anne because after all, she is a "gateway" ancestor with ties that go way back into history, and I mentioned John because, even though he didn't live to come to America (killed just after England's Civil War "ended"), he of course had great influence on his family's life.
Now I'd like to look at the life of one of their children, Charles. He was born about August 25, 1642, in Walkern, Hertfordshire, England, where his father was the rector. He was just a wee lad, about five years old, when his father was killed. How unsettling that must have been! Fortunately, his parents were better off financially than many in the area, and there was enough money that the family could immigrate to Virginia. They arrived about 1652, and it may have been that his transportation was paid for by Thomas Hoane, as he claimed headrights, and Charles may actually have served as an indentured servant, unless Thomas paid for the transportation out of the goodness of his heart. At any rate, at age 15 in 1657, he appointed his older brother, Richard, as his guardian, which was legally required for an "infant".
Some of Charles's siblings moved to Maryland but Charles remained in Virginia until about 1660 (note the choosing of his brother as guardian in 1657.) He may have had to stay, if he was indentured, or it may have been his choice. However, he was in Maryland by 1661 when land was surveyed for him in what later became part of Baltimore, Md. In fact, the land makes up part of Fort McHenry, but before the Fort, there was a town called Whetstone Point, founded in 1706, and this is Charles's original land.
Charles was a Quaker, likely converted in Virginia and left for Maryland when the Colony cracked down on religious freedom there. We may be missing records, or Charles may have worked for a long time to both start his home and find a wife. Neither was an easy task in early Maryland. He eventually married Sarah Cole, daughter of Thomas (William?) Cole and Priscilla, who were his neighbors.
There are five more entries in "Settlers of Maryland" by Peter Wilson Coldham, that also appear to be our Charles Gorsuch, all in Baltimore County. If he owned all of these at the same time, he owned about 825 acres at the time of his death. The acquisition of so many acres indicates that he likely was growing tobacco.
Charles and Sarah had four sons together-John, Robert, Thomas, and Charles Jr, not necessarily in that order. Sarah died about 1690 and Charles on June 27, 1716 (may be a court record date?). I found a court record showing an inventory but it is not available on line that I have found. I would certainly love to see it. It might answer some questions, or prove my assumption about tobacco farming to be incorrect. I wonder if he was still a Quaker when he died? And I wonder a lot of other things, too. How educated was he? Did he hold any kind of political office? If he was a Quaker, what was his relation with native Americans? Oh, the mysteries!
The line of descend it:
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole (two different Sarah Cole's, but they may be related)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Now I'd like to look at the life of one of their children, Charles. He was born about August 25, 1642, in Walkern, Hertfordshire, England, where his father was the rector. He was just a wee lad, about five years old, when his father was killed. How unsettling that must have been! Fortunately, his parents were better off financially than many in the area, and there was enough money that the family could immigrate to Virginia. They arrived about 1652, and it may have been that his transportation was paid for by Thomas Hoane, as he claimed headrights, and Charles may actually have served as an indentured servant, unless Thomas paid for the transportation out of the goodness of his heart. At any rate, at age 15 in 1657, he appointed his older brother, Richard, as his guardian, which was legally required for an "infant".
Some of Charles's siblings moved to Maryland but Charles remained in Virginia until about 1660 (note the choosing of his brother as guardian in 1657.) He may have had to stay, if he was indentured, or it may have been his choice. However, he was in Maryland by 1661 when land was surveyed for him in what later became part of Baltimore, Md. In fact, the land makes up part of Fort McHenry, but before the Fort, there was a town called Whetstone Point, founded in 1706, and this is Charles's original land.
Charles was a Quaker, likely converted in Virginia and left for Maryland when the Colony cracked down on religious freedom there. We may be missing records, or Charles may have worked for a long time to both start his home and find a wife. Neither was an easy task in early Maryland. He eventually married Sarah Cole, daughter of Thomas (William?) Cole and Priscilla, who were his neighbors.
There are five more entries in "Settlers of Maryland" by Peter Wilson Coldham, that also appear to be our Charles Gorsuch, all in Baltimore County. If he owned all of these at the same time, he owned about 825 acres at the time of his death. The acquisition of so many acres indicates that he likely was growing tobacco.
Charles and Sarah had four sons together-John, Robert, Thomas, and Charles Jr, not necessarily in that order. Sarah died about 1690 and Charles on June 27, 1716 (may be a court record date?). I found a court record showing an inventory but it is not available on line that I have found. I would certainly love to see it. It might answer some questions, or prove my assumption about tobacco farming to be incorrect. I wonder if he was still a Quaker when he died? And I wonder a lot of other things, too. How educated was he? Did he hold any kind of political office? If he was a Quaker, what was his relation with native Americans? Oh, the mysteries!
The line of descend it:
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole (two different Sarah Cole's, but they may be related)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Holbrook post: Captain Peter Hayes, born about 1571, Immigrant
Folks, we have an adventurer in the family! Not a farmer, at least not at first, not a pastor, not even a merchant, but a real live (at the time) adventurer. He was called Captain for a reason, and it wasn't just to differentiate himself from his son Peter Hayes, "the Envoy". It's always interesting to find someone with a story different from those of most of our ancestors, and Captain Peter Hayes is our man.
The frustrating thing about Peter isn't the lack of knowledge about him, because we actually know quite a bit. The frustrating thing is that I don't know who I should credit for this information. It is freely available on the web, but the closest I got to a source was page 168 and following of an unnamed journal, repeated on many web sites.
Peter was born about 1571 in Great Budworth, CHeshire, England. I've seen his father referred to as "Sir" John Hayes, and his mother was Elizabeth Starkey Hayes. He has a christening date of July 28, 1578 so I wonder if maybe he wasn't the second Peter Hayes in the family. It was not usual to delay a christening for that long. At any rate, he had six brothers and sisters. As the third son, he was not given an inheritance but the family did give him an education, and he eventually apprenticed for his cousin, Edward Hayes, who was a ship captain and owned a ship called "The Golden Hind". (I don't believe this was the ship of Sir Francis Drake, but the ship may have been named in honor of the famous vessel that sailed around the world).
When Peter finished the apprenticeship with his cousin, he married Margaret Davyes Howse, a widow, on September 18, 1591 in London (date supports the 1571 birthdate). Known children are Peter, Elizabeth and Ann, all of whom outlived their father. Shortly after James I came to the throne, he sold the nation's navy, leaving the merchant marines open to piracy from France and Spain, particularly. Soon after that, most British seamen were either unemployed or were working for a foreign country. Peter chose to work for the Dutch. His route was to go from Texel Island (in the Netherlands) to Greenland, where the Dutch had established a colony. His home base was at the town of Edam, not far from Amsterdam.
In 1630 the Dutch West India Company ordered Peter to take a group of Puritans to the Caribbean island of Tortugas. From there he went to Delaware Bay, where again the Dutch wished to establish a colony. Peter liked what he saw in America and when he returned the ship to the company, he terminated his employment also.
He was in Virginia by 1635 and settled on Pagan Point, now called James Creek. He purchased land that was recorded in 1636, 350 acres, although he had likely made the purchase several years before that. He was growing old, though, and in 1641 petitioned the Virginia Assembly to have his taxes abated due to his advanced age. He was successful in this, although he still had to pay the church tithe. This is the last we hear of Peter. His death date is generally given as 1641-1650, but there is no proof ofa specific date.
It's hard to imagine that Peter had an easy life. 350 acres was just the wrong size of land-a little too much for one man to handle, and a little too small to attract tenant workers. It is possible, even probable, that he had native American slaves, given the time period he was living in Virginia. One wonders whether he was glad he'd gone to America, or if he ever wished he had stayed on, sailing for the Dutch.
The line of descent is:
Peter Hayes-Margaret Davyes
Peter Hayes,-Ann possibly Hudson
John Hayes-Abigail Dixon
Jane Dixon Hayes-Thomas Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The frustrating thing about Peter isn't the lack of knowledge about him, because we actually know quite a bit. The frustrating thing is that I don't know who I should credit for this information. It is freely available on the web, but the closest I got to a source was page 168 and following of an unnamed journal, repeated on many web sites.
Peter was born about 1571 in Great Budworth, CHeshire, England. I've seen his father referred to as "Sir" John Hayes, and his mother was Elizabeth Starkey Hayes. He has a christening date of July 28, 1578 so I wonder if maybe he wasn't the second Peter Hayes in the family. It was not usual to delay a christening for that long. At any rate, he had six brothers and sisters. As the third son, he was not given an inheritance but the family did give him an education, and he eventually apprenticed for his cousin, Edward Hayes, who was a ship captain and owned a ship called "The Golden Hind". (I don't believe this was the ship of Sir Francis Drake, but the ship may have been named in honor of the famous vessel that sailed around the world).
When Peter finished the apprenticeship with his cousin, he married Margaret Davyes Howse, a widow, on September 18, 1591 in London (date supports the 1571 birthdate). Known children are Peter, Elizabeth and Ann, all of whom outlived their father. Shortly after James I came to the throne, he sold the nation's navy, leaving the merchant marines open to piracy from France and Spain, particularly. Soon after that, most British seamen were either unemployed or were working for a foreign country. Peter chose to work for the Dutch. His route was to go from Texel Island (in the Netherlands) to Greenland, where the Dutch had established a colony. His home base was at the town of Edam, not far from Amsterdam.
In 1630 the Dutch West India Company ordered Peter to take a group of Puritans to the Caribbean island of Tortugas. From there he went to Delaware Bay, where again the Dutch wished to establish a colony. Peter liked what he saw in America and when he returned the ship to the company, he terminated his employment also.
He was in Virginia by 1635 and settled on Pagan Point, now called James Creek. He purchased land that was recorded in 1636, 350 acres, although he had likely made the purchase several years before that. He was growing old, though, and in 1641 petitioned the Virginia Assembly to have his taxes abated due to his advanced age. He was successful in this, although he still had to pay the church tithe. This is the last we hear of Peter. His death date is generally given as 1641-1650, but there is no proof ofa specific date.
It's hard to imagine that Peter had an easy life. 350 acres was just the wrong size of land-a little too much for one man to handle, and a little too small to attract tenant workers. It is possible, even probable, that he had native American slaves, given the time period he was living in Virginia. One wonders whether he was glad he'd gone to America, or if he ever wished he had stayed on, sailing for the Dutch.
The line of descent is:
Peter Hayes-Margaret Davyes
Peter Hayes,-Ann possibly Hudson
John Hayes-Abigail Dixon
Jane Dixon Hayes-Thomas Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Holbrook line: Johan Jacob Hetrick 1730-1789 Immigrant and patriot
Johan Jacob Hetrick was born in 1736 in Gocklingen, Landau, Germany, which is a village of less than 1000 persons, just a few miles from the border of France. From what little I know of German history, and World War I, and World War II, it is likely that this land has been in contention for centuries. Perhaps even in 1749, when Jacob emigrated to Pennsylvania, it was still recovering from the Thirty Years War of the previous century. Since he was only 19 when he came to America, it may be that he came for economic reasons. His mother, Anna Elizabeth Zimmerman, came either with him or shortly before he came, but died shortly after arriving here. His father, Johan Abraham Hetrick, died in 1743 in Germany, and the whole remaining family may have decided to make a fresh start here. Other Hetricks came to America during the middle years of the 18th century, but I've so far not been able to establish a connection.
Jacob married Anna Elizabeth Nuss, apparently back in Gocklingen although I've not found records for that marriage. If so, he must have gone back to marry a "home town girl" and then brought her back to his home in Pennsylvania. By this time, he may have been settled in Codorus, York County, Pennsylvania, about 1762, where he probably intended to live out an uneventful life. The first challenge to that was his family. He and Elizabeth had at least 9 children. The last six were baptized in Stone's Union (Reformed) Church, Brodbeck, Pa. He became a land owner of 200 acres called "Duck Hill" in 1767, and was constable in 1771 and supervisor for Codorus township in 1774. At about the same time, he obtained a license to sell "beer and cyder." In 1772 he was listed as an innkeeper. This was a family job. Elizabeth would have been the cook and hospitality hostess, and the children would all have been helping from an early age. Jacob is listed on tax records for 1783 and 1787, and when he died he owned land in both Codorus and Manheim townships.
The interesting part of Jacob's story is his involvement, if he was involved, in the Revolutionary War. He was a second lieutenant and then a first lieutenant in the 7th Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia. This unit was made up mostly of Germans who, for reasons of honor or religion, didn't really want to fight. The reason of honor was that they had sworn an oath to Britain when they got off the ship at Philadelphia, and were hesitant to dishonor that. Also many from Germany frowned on military service, as a matter of principle, and of course, there were the normal family reasons for not wanting to serve. However, when Philadelphia was "captured" by the British and used as their headquarters, enough of the militia were willing to fight that the 7th Battalion may have been engaged in battle. It's also possible that they weren't involved at all, or that they served long only long enough to allow other soldiers to take a furlough, or they may have been used to guard British prisoners. I would love to find the answer to this mystery but the sources I've found seem to contradict each other. Jacob is listed as a soldier under the DAR and the Sons of the American Revolution; I just don't know what his exact service was.
Jacob was an immigrant, a pioneer, a successful farmer and businessman, a patriot soldier, and a father. I am proud to be his descendant.
The line of descent is
Johan Jacob Hetrick-Anna Elizabeth Nuss
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Jacob married Anna Elizabeth Nuss, apparently back in Gocklingen although I've not found records for that marriage. If so, he must have gone back to marry a "home town girl" and then brought her back to his home in Pennsylvania. By this time, he may have been settled in Codorus, York County, Pennsylvania, about 1762, where he probably intended to live out an uneventful life. The first challenge to that was his family. He and Elizabeth had at least 9 children. The last six were baptized in Stone's Union (Reformed) Church, Brodbeck, Pa. He became a land owner of 200 acres called "Duck Hill" in 1767, and was constable in 1771 and supervisor for Codorus township in 1774. At about the same time, he obtained a license to sell "beer and cyder." In 1772 he was listed as an innkeeper. This was a family job. Elizabeth would have been the cook and hospitality hostess, and the children would all have been helping from an early age. Jacob is listed on tax records for 1783 and 1787, and when he died he owned land in both Codorus and Manheim townships.
The interesting part of Jacob's story is his involvement, if he was involved, in the Revolutionary War. He was a second lieutenant and then a first lieutenant in the 7th Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia. This unit was made up mostly of Germans who, for reasons of honor or religion, didn't really want to fight. The reason of honor was that they had sworn an oath to Britain when they got off the ship at Philadelphia, and were hesitant to dishonor that. Also many from Germany frowned on military service, as a matter of principle, and of course, there were the normal family reasons for not wanting to serve. However, when Philadelphia was "captured" by the British and used as their headquarters, enough of the militia were willing to fight that the 7th Battalion may have been engaged in battle. It's also possible that they weren't involved at all, or that they served long only long enough to allow other soldiers to take a furlough, or they may have been used to guard British prisoners. I would love to find the answer to this mystery but the sources I've found seem to contradict each other. Jacob is listed as a soldier under the DAR and the Sons of the American Revolution; I just don't know what his exact service was.
Jacob was an immigrant, a pioneer, a successful farmer and businessman, a patriot soldier, and a father. I am proud to be his descendant.
The line of descent is
Johan Jacob Hetrick-Anna Elizabeth Nuss
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, March 2, 2018
Holbrook line: Nicholas Haile, Immigrant
I don't know if I've ever written about an ancestor who had so many purported fathers. I'd love to agree with the family historians who say his father was George Haile, that George was the immigrant, and that Nicholas was in fact born in 1628 in Elizabeth City, Virginia. George arrived in Virginia in 1620 on the "Supply" and was a drummer. Or maybe his father was also Nicholas, and maybe our Nicholas didn't arrive at Elizabeth City until 1645. Possibly, just possibly, his father was Thomas Haile, with no speculation at all as to how Nicholas arrived in Virginia, or when. So take your pick, I guess. If I were working on a hunch, and putting out money to research one or another, I'd start with George,but that is certainly not saying George has been proven. George needs to be proved or disproved. Even if he is not Nicholas's father, he may provide a clue, as someone else in that family may be the father.
So what we know of Nicholas starts in Elizabeth City, Virginia. He has records in both Lancaster and York counties,starting from May 1654, including land on the Corrotoman River. Nicholas was able to purchase several large parcels of land and also was granted head rights in May of 1666 and again in 1669, meaning he earned land because he paid for the passage of several people from England to Virginia. Some of these people would likely have also become his indentured servants, for they were expected to repay whomever paid for their passage. The dates that he acquired new land indicate that his main crop may have been tobacco, because that crop depleted soils quickly and new land was always needed.
I have seen one reference that he was a burgess, but this honor belongs to Nicholas Hill, who doesn't seem to have any connection to this family Our Nicholas owned enough land to be respectable,(and probably also owned slaves) but he doesn't seem to have had a high enough social status to be chosen as burgess.
Nicholas married Mary, who was evidently not the daughter of Raleigh Travers, although many trees have her listed as his daughter. They had at least three children together, George, Mary and Nicholas, who were all listed in his will. Nicholas died September 8, 1669 and Mary, his widow, died in 1672. (It has been suggested that Mary's maiden name was Pollard, but I don't know if there is any documentation to support that idea. The Hailes did have transactions with the Pollard family, but that isn't conclusive proof.)
If Nicholas was born in 1628, he lived a short life. Virginia at that time was not an easy place to live. It was hard work to clear land, supervise plantings, help with early crops, and take care of the livestock. In addition, there was the threat of native uprisings, and diseases (unspecified fevers, malaria, tuberculosis, for starters) were a huge problem. But Nicholas lived long enough to give his children a good start in life, and to help the colony get better established. Hats off to Nicholas Haile!
The line of descent is
Nicholas Haile-Mary possibly Pollard
Mary Haile-Charles Merryman
John Merryman-Maartha Bowen
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
So what we know of Nicholas starts in Elizabeth City, Virginia. He has records in both Lancaster and York counties,starting from May 1654, including land on the Corrotoman River. Nicholas was able to purchase several large parcels of land and also was granted head rights in May of 1666 and again in 1669, meaning he earned land because he paid for the passage of several people from England to Virginia. Some of these people would likely have also become his indentured servants, for they were expected to repay whomever paid for their passage. The dates that he acquired new land indicate that his main crop may have been tobacco, because that crop depleted soils quickly and new land was always needed.
I have seen one reference that he was a burgess, but this honor belongs to Nicholas Hill, who doesn't seem to have any connection to this family Our Nicholas owned enough land to be respectable,(and probably also owned slaves) but he doesn't seem to have had a high enough social status to be chosen as burgess.
Nicholas married Mary, who was evidently not the daughter of Raleigh Travers, although many trees have her listed as his daughter. They had at least three children together, George, Mary and Nicholas, who were all listed in his will. Nicholas died September 8, 1669 and Mary, his widow, died in 1672. (It has been suggested that Mary's maiden name was Pollard, but I don't know if there is any documentation to support that idea. The Hailes did have transactions with the Pollard family, but that isn't conclusive proof.)
If Nicholas was born in 1628, he lived a short life. Virginia at that time was not an easy place to live. It was hard work to clear land, supervise plantings, help with early crops, and take care of the livestock. In addition, there was the threat of native uprisings, and diseases (unspecified fevers, malaria, tuberculosis, for starters) were a huge problem. But Nicholas lived long enough to give his children a good start in life, and to help the colony get better established. Hats off to Nicholas Haile!
The line of descent is
Nicholas Haile-Mary possibly Pollard
Mary Haile-Charles Merryman
John Merryman-Maartha Bowen
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, January 12, 2018
Holbrook line: Nathaniel Henchman, Immigrant
When I started gathering information for this post, all I had was an approximate death date and location, and the name of a daughter. I don't have a lot more information than that now, but it an hour or so of internet searching (also checking a couple of reference books I own), I have more than I started with.
The first thing I learned is that most of the trees showing Nathaniel Henchman born in 1640 in Massachusetts and married in 1693 in Massachusetts, then dying in 1695 in Maryland are not correct. There obviously was a Nathaniel Henchman born in 1640 etc but he is not the one we are still learning about. Our Nathaniel was in Maryland in 1665, according to both Robert W. Barnes and Gust Skordas. . I have only found the references at this tme and haven't seen the actual books that they wrote, but believe me, this will be high on my list for my next library trip.
What I found, that is new to me and apparently to most of those who have posted trees for Nathaniel Henchman, is that he was listed in the taxpayer records of 1692 in Baltimore County, Md. He was listed on both the north and the south side of the Patapsco Hundred, and is denoted by the number one, meaning he was the only taxable person there. This is not absolute proof of his family status, but it likely indicates that there were no other men over the age of 16 living with him. He apparently lived near his son in law, Jonas Bowen Also exciting to me is that the constable on the North side was Nicholas Corbin, who is probably the Nicholas Corbin who is a brick wall on our Allen side.
I was unknowingly either on or very near this land of our ancestors in 1993, when I was in Baltimore on a business trip, because the Patapsco River runs right through Baltimore. Of course, even had I known, I wouldn't have been able to get the feel of the place even by standing on the actual property, but it still would have been a thrill to do so The Patapsco River estuary now forms Baltimore Harbor, and in 1665 the settlers likely would not have been very far upriver from there.
Unfortunately, this is all I know of Nathaniel until we come to his will. I found a copy of it, too, and it would be very readable is I knew how to decipher the old handwriting. It was written in October of 1694 and proved in June of 1695. He left his land and plantation to his grandson, Benjamin Bowen, (will says son of Benjamin but it is believed by others that this was an error and should be son of Jonas Bowen; internal indications of will are that Jonas Bowen, mentioned later, is correct) and other bequests also. There is mention of his wife, who may be either Mary or Margaret, but we don't know if she was the mother of his daughter.
As far as is known, the only child of Nathaniel Henchman and his wife was Martha, although it is possible that a study of land records would show other children also. Martha is believed to have been born about 1661, which would mean Nathaniel was born probably 1640 or earlier. We don't know where Martha was born, either, so that is another of many mysteries still to be solved about this family.
This is as much as I know of Nathaniel, but it is so much more than I knew when I started this that I am indeed thankful to have learned this much. The search will continue, and I'm hopeful, because there are apparently so many cousins out there, that someone will contact me with more information.
The line of descent is:
Nathaniel Henchman-possibly Mary or Margaret
Martha Henchman-Jonas Bowen
Martha Bowen-John Merryman
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis E Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The first thing I learned is that most of the trees showing Nathaniel Henchman born in 1640 in Massachusetts and married in 1693 in Massachusetts, then dying in 1695 in Maryland are not correct. There obviously was a Nathaniel Henchman born in 1640 etc but he is not the one we are still learning about. Our Nathaniel was in Maryland in 1665, according to both Robert W. Barnes and Gust Skordas. . I have only found the references at this tme and haven't seen the actual books that they wrote, but believe me, this will be high on my list for my next library trip.
What I found, that is new to me and apparently to most of those who have posted trees for Nathaniel Henchman, is that he was listed in the taxpayer records of 1692 in Baltimore County, Md. He was listed on both the north and the south side of the Patapsco Hundred, and is denoted by the number one, meaning he was the only taxable person there. This is not absolute proof of his family status, but it likely indicates that there were no other men over the age of 16 living with him. He apparently lived near his son in law, Jonas Bowen Also exciting to me is that the constable on the North side was Nicholas Corbin, who is probably the Nicholas Corbin who is a brick wall on our Allen side.
I was unknowingly either on or very near this land of our ancestors in 1993, when I was in Baltimore on a business trip, because the Patapsco River runs right through Baltimore. Of course, even had I known, I wouldn't have been able to get the feel of the place even by standing on the actual property, but it still would have been a thrill to do so The Patapsco River estuary now forms Baltimore Harbor, and in 1665 the settlers likely would not have been very far upriver from there.
Unfortunately, this is all I know of Nathaniel until we come to his will. I found a copy of it, too, and it would be very readable is I knew how to decipher the old handwriting. It was written in October of 1694 and proved in June of 1695. He left his land and plantation to his grandson, Benjamin Bowen, (will says son of Benjamin but it is believed by others that this was an error and should be son of Jonas Bowen; internal indications of will are that Jonas Bowen, mentioned later, is correct) and other bequests also. There is mention of his wife, who may be either Mary or Margaret, but we don't know if she was the mother of his daughter.
As far as is known, the only child of Nathaniel Henchman and his wife was Martha, although it is possible that a study of land records would show other children also. Martha is believed to have been born about 1661, which would mean Nathaniel was born probably 1640 or earlier. We don't know where Martha was born, either, so that is another of many mysteries still to be solved about this family.
This is as much as I know of Nathaniel, but it is so much more than I knew when I started this that I am indeed thankful to have learned this much. The search will continue, and I'm hopeful, because there are apparently so many cousins out there, that someone will contact me with more information.
The line of descent is:
Nathaniel Henchman-possibly Mary or Margaret
Martha Henchman-Jonas Bowen
Martha Bowen-John Merryman
Martha Merryman-Alexis Lemmon
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis E Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, June 9, 2017
Holbrook line: William Stone, 1603-1660, Immigrant
First, a disclaimer: I am not 100% confident with this ancestor because our connecting link is not listed as his son in some of the trees I've looked at. Also, there are few cources to refer to, which makes sense if you consider the turbulent times of frontier Maryland. But wouldn't someone know for sure who the goernor's children were? Yes, this man was the third governor of Maryland, and his life is intriguing. Most of our Maryland ancestors were not men of "consequence", except to their descendants, so it's fun to find this one.
Well, perhaps "find" is a bit too strong beabeth cause there doesn't seem to be a consensus, or documentation, for exactly when he was born, or for the identification of his parents. He is likely to have been born in or around the London, England area, however, based on the odds. Many of the early settlers of Virginia and Maryland were from the London area. The most common christening date I've seen is October 7,1603 at Twiston, Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. Doubtless a William Stone was baptized there on that day. But was it this William Stone? I need more than this to be reasonably sure of his early years.
I'm also not sure on whether he had one wife, or two. A William Stone married Elizabeth Sprigg, probably in England and probably about the year 1625. The William Stone we are discussing had a wife, Verlinda Cotton, but the approximate wedding date for this couple is 1628-1630. It's believed our ancestor, Thomas, was born about 1628 so I tend to think, at the moment, that he would be the child of William and Elizabeth. I honestly don't think anyone knows for sure, at this moment in time.
What we do know is that he was a man of some substance, or consequence. A daughter married William Calvert, son of Leonard Calvert, first proprietary governor of Maryland, and he would not have married just anyone. The Stone family were "people of quality".
William Stone was in Virginia by 1628, and latter went to Maryland. He had two residences by 1648, one in Charles County and one in St Mary's County. He served Accomack County, Virginia as justice of the piece for several years, was a vestryman, a shefiff, a burgess, and then governor of Maryland. He was later on the governor's Council, a Provincial court justice, and was also a military captain. At his death, he owned 3000 acres of land, indicating that he most likely raised tobacco. Perhaps the thing I like best about him is that he is described as an advocate for religious freedom.
He probably had 6 children and perhaps more. He wrote his will on December 3,1659. It was proved on January 15, 1660, and probated December 21,1660. His will is said to have mentioned his eldest son, Thomas, his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and other children. I have not yet seen a copy of the will myself, and I would love to find a copy on line.
So this is our ancestor-mysterious, important, protector of religious freedom, and governor of Maryland. I need to learn more about him!
The line of descent is:
William Stone-Elizabeth Sprigg (possibly)
Thomas Stone-Christiana Parrish
Barbara Stone-Dennis Garrett
Johanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Well, perhaps "find" is a bit too strong beabeth cause there doesn't seem to be a consensus, or documentation, for exactly when he was born, or for the identification of his parents. He is likely to have been born in or around the London, England area, however, based on the odds. Many of the early settlers of Virginia and Maryland were from the London area. The most common christening date I've seen is October 7,1603 at Twiston, Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. Doubtless a William Stone was baptized there on that day. But was it this William Stone? I need more than this to be reasonably sure of his early years.
I'm also not sure on whether he had one wife, or two. A William Stone married Elizabeth Sprigg, probably in England and probably about the year 1625. The William Stone we are discussing had a wife, Verlinda Cotton, but the approximate wedding date for this couple is 1628-1630. It's believed our ancestor, Thomas, was born about 1628 so I tend to think, at the moment, that he would be the child of William and Elizabeth. I honestly don't think anyone knows for sure, at this moment in time.
What we do know is that he was a man of some substance, or consequence. A daughter married William Calvert, son of Leonard Calvert, first proprietary governor of Maryland, and he would not have married just anyone. The Stone family were "people of quality".
William Stone was in Virginia by 1628, and latter went to Maryland. He had two residences by 1648, one in Charles County and one in St Mary's County. He served Accomack County, Virginia as justice of the piece for several years, was a vestryman, a shefiff, a burgess, and then governor of Maryland. He was later on the governor's Council, a Provincial court justice, and was also a military captain. At his death, he owned 3000 acres of land, indicating that he most likely raised tobacco. Perhaps the thing I like best about him is that he is described as an advocate for religious freedom.
He probably had 6 children and perhaps more. He wrote his will on December 3,1659. It was proved on January 15, 1660, and probated December 21,1660. His will is said to have mentioned his eldest son, Thomas, his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and other children. I have not yet seen a copy of the will myself, and I would love to find a copy on line.
So this is our ancestor-mysterious, important, protector of religious freedom, and governor of Maryland. I need to learn more about him!
The line of descent is:
William Stone-Elizabeth Sprigg (possibly)
Thomas Stone-Christiana Parrish
Barbara Stone-Dennis Garrett
Johanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, April 28, 2017
Holbrook line: Francis Garrett 1610-1691, Immigrant
Francis Garrett is a fun ancestor because he came to Virginia early, in 1635 in the "Thomas and John". He apparently was the son of John Garrett, and possibly Bridget unknown, but documentation is lacking. Some have tied him to the Gerard line that goes back decades is not centuries further, but I wonder if that is just wishful thinking. I consider that unproven at this point-but wouldn't it be fun if it were true? Francis's birthplace is listed as Graesend, Kent, England, and there is a John Garrett who died at Deptford, Kent in 1655, who may be Francis's father, but that is as far as I'm willing to go at this point.
So Francis arrived in 1635 in Virginia and may have married Mary in Northumberland County, Virginia in 1649. His two sons, William and Dennis, were born 1650-1652. Mary's maiden name is often given as Dennis but there is some question, since a single Mary Dennis gave livestock to her daughter in 1664. If this was the same Mary, then she couldn't have been married to Francis since approximately 1668. If there was a divorce and that is why she was single in 1664, no one seems to have found records for that yet. Since some give the birthplace of their children as Baltimore County, Md, maybe they married and went "north" soon after, and the Mary Dennis who gave livestock to her daughter is someone else entirely.
I'm still looking for documentation about his life in either Virginia or Maryland. He seems to have died in 1691, about the time his son Dennis was killed by a neighbor. (Lots of websites call this a murder but it may have been an accident, manslaughter, in our legal terms, but not murder). I hope Francis wasn't alive to see his son wounded and then die a month later from his injuries.
I hope to locate land and probate records for Francis. Perhaps he owned no land and was a merchant, tradesman or sailor, since he's not listed in Peter Wilson Coldham's "Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783. Or perhaps he acquired land earlier than that. I will keep looking for these records, because we have two or three lines of descent from this ancestor. I guess what we know now is that his life was probably different than our New England ancestors, in economics, military history, religion, and government. That's enough to make me want to learn more!
The line of descent is
Francis Garrett-Mary possibly Dennis
Dennis Garrett-Barbara Stone
Joanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
So Francis arrived in 1635 in Virginia and may have married Mary in Northumberland County, Virginia in 1649. His two sons, William and Dennis, were born 1650-1652. Mary's maiden name is often given as Dennis but there is some question, since a single Mary Dennis gave livestock to her daughter in 1664. If this was the same Mary, then she couldn't have been married to Francis since approximately 1668. If there was a divorce and that is why she was single in 1664, no one seems to have found records for that yet. Since some give the birthplace of their children as Baltimore County, Md, maybe they married and went "north" soon after, and the Mary Dennis who gave livestock to her daughter is someone else entirely.
I'm still looking for documentation about his life in either Virginia or Maryland. He seems to have died in 1691, about the time his son Dennis was killed by a neighbor. (Lots of websites call this a murder but it may have been an accident, manslaughter, in our legal terms, but not murder). I hope Francis wasn't alive to see his son wounded and then die a month later from his injuries.
I hope to locate land and probate records for Francis. Perhaps he owned no land and was a merchant, tradesman or sailor, since he's not listed in Peter Wilson Coldham's "Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783. Or perhaps he acquired land earlier than that. I will keep looking for these records, because we have two or three lines of descent from this ancestor. I guess what we know now is that his life was probably different than our New England ancestors, in economics, military history, religion, and government. That's enough to make me want to learn more!
The line of descent is
Francis Garrett-Mary possibly Dennis
Dennis Garrett-Barbara Stone
Joanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Oh, what a happy dance! Field trip to Ohio
Husband and I took a field trip to the area of Richland County, Morrow County, and Knox County Ohio last week. I researched for four wonderful days (while husband watched a lot of movies) and here is a list of the wonderful treasures I brought back with me:
*Death record for Mary Elizabeth Hetrick Black, died Dec.1, 1862 of typhoid fever. The gem? In the remarks section "Truly a pious woman."
*Article "The Mansfield that Was" from the September 28, 1971 News Journal about the town of Bellville, mentioning founder Robert Bell. I think "The Mansfield that Was" was the name of a column.
*Plat of Bellville, Ohio from 1900
*Original Blat of Bellville, plus a brief history of the town, from a 1975 book published by the OSU Department of Architecture.
*A lead on where to fid the actual marriage records of Thomas Knott and Hannah Bell, but time ran out.
*Richland, Ohio, marriage record (not the documents, just the record) for marriage of Mr. Joseph Withers and Miss Ann Montgomery, by Elijah Clark, J.P. on September 23, 1852.
*Map of West Perry Township, Morrow County, Ohio, showing location of land of Abraham Hetrick. Not sure of date.
*Copy of Abraham Hetrick deed to John Wirick,
*Copy of Abrham Hetrick and Mary E Hetrick deed to Hiram Cravin dated December 14, 1859. Need to research this but is likely the son of our Abraham who was married to Sarah Lemmon.
*Abraham Hetrick deed to Levi Lucas Feb. 22,1850
*Record of marriage of March 12, 1839, Isaac Hetrick to Elizabeth Black by L. or S. B. Leiter
*Guardian bonds for Isaac Hetrick (also L.S. and Ezra Hetrick, December 9, 1863 for minors Alice Hetrick and F. Owen Hetrick, per the estate of Peter Black, deceased, of Noble County, Indiana. These were the minor children of Peter and Elizabeth Black Hetrick.
*Copy of Deed of Abraham Hetrick to Isaac Hetrick, March 13, 1856, land in Richland County, sum of $3000 dollars.
*5 pages from the Index of Deeds of Richland County, showing transactions with Robert Bell as grantor of land in Bellville (mostly).
*Copies of original plat of Bellville 1815 and Bell's addition 1826.
*Copy of Deed of John Bell and Hanna Bell to Benjamin Crummell, for $150
*Copy of deed of various Shirk family members to Peter Black, Richland County Ohio, $1000 November 25, 1834.
*Copy of deed for John Carey, Admr to Isaac Hetrick, March 21, 1854 showing order to sell at auction, sold for $1108.50; Then on January 18, 1855 Isaac Hetrick sold the same land to John Carey Junior for $1200.
*Copy of deed from Robert Bell and Hannah his wife to trustees of the M.E. church, for $20, dated January 15,1833 and recorded August 19,1836.
*Copy of deed from Peter Black and wife Martha to Jacob Biddle for $5500; 160 acres, April 4,1853, recorded November 7, 1854. Isaac Hetrick was a witness.
*Copy of Deed from Abraham Hetrick to Justice Frary, August 18, 1849; no mention of wife so hard to know which Abraham this was.
The above were found in Richland County, Ohio court records and a few in Morrow County.
In Knox County, Ohio, where I'd hoped to find more about Joseph and Mary Gearhart Withers, I found only what may or may not be clues:
*Bond of Christopher Mosley with John Ely and John Gearhart as witness, guardian to John and Mary Ann Gearhart, who were the children of Aron Gearhart, deceased. dated October 21, 1845.
*Then just 8 days later, guardian bond of John Higgins, Asher F. Ely and Joseph Shinaberry, as guardians of Aaron Gearhart, Mary Ann Gearhart, and William Gearhart.
*Several pages of estate records for Aron Gerhart, including inventory and sale records. Aron apparently died close to July 10, 1845. He may be a brother or other relation to Mary Gearhart Withers???
And then, from the Ohio Genealogy Society Library at Bellville, Ohio, a wealth of material:
*A chart of the Ulrich Ruble family
*The obituary of Andrew Farmer, who died in Columbia City, Indiana in 1897, mentioning his early years.
*A short history of Johnsonville Community, (Morrow County, Ohio) mentioning Abraham Hetrick as an early resident and as a veteran of the War of 1812.
*A transcription of the will of John Wyatt, who died in 1799 in Franklin County, Va.
*A transcription of a quitclaim deed from Jane Farmer widow of William to Adam Black, September 18, 1839.
* A transcript of the marriage bond for William Farmer and Jane Wyatt, October 21,1799, Franklin County, Va.
*A transcript of a deed from Franklin County, Va. from William Farmer and Jane to Joseph Bolin, June 25, 1813.
*Transcript of the will of Mathew Farmer, written 18 December 1834 and probated October 23,1845 in Miami County, Ohio.
*Copy of Deed for sale of Andrew Farmer's share of Mathew Farmer Estate, September 18, 1839. Various other persons are mentioned and the deed was recorded in Allen County, Indiana and Clark County, Ohio.
*A possible clue to Lemuel Dunn, who may have had a brother James. James was born in Monongahela County, Virginia and came to Brown County, Ohio about 1800.
*From "A History of Summit County, by Perrin, 1881, more than a full page of stories about the Keplers, brothers Andrew and John.
*A copy of the will of Alexis Lemmon, written January 12, 1825 and proved July 15, 1826.
*Copies of the family record section of a Bible purchased by Alexis Lemmon in 1803 in Annapolis, Md, listing his children's births, marriages, and some deaths.
*Copy of the will of Jesse Finch of Belmont County, Ohio, dated February 9,1824 and probated September 8, 1829.
*Pages from "History of Morrow County", by Baskins, 1880, mentioning Abraham Hetrick as a trustee in 1817 in Perry Township, and also mentions Hetrick residing there at the time of Perry's victory on Lake Erie.
*Part of Chancery Court proceedings of April 11,1840, regarding a deed not given to a purchaser, and naming (apparently) all of Robert Bell's living descendants.
*Copy of Washington County, Pennsylvania Deed of Thomas and Hanna Rees to John Brown, land in Frederick County, Md dated January 1, 1793.
*Transcript of deed from Thomas Rees to Jonathan Garber, showing land was warranted to Jonathan Garber February 28, 1805; dated April 7, 1806 and showing Thomas as living in Fairfield County, Ohio as of that date.
*Transcript of deed from Thomas Rees Sr. of Fairfield Co. Ohio to Thomas Rees Jr. of Washington County, Pa. February 23,1810.
*Copy of bond and appraisal papers for Thomas Rees, dated January 30, 1812 in Fairfield County, Ohio.
*Copy of deed of heirs of Thomas Rees (many) to Mathew Ewing, August 29, 1812.
* Copy of Rees names from Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Volume VI, page 425; showing marriage of Thomas Rees son of Morris and Rah, and Margaret Rees, daughter of Thomas and Margaret in 1763, plus many other entries.
*Copies of two letters with information about the (van) Gundy family.
* An article from The Pennsylvania German, no date found, about the Buchtel family, and pages of a passenger list showing Johannes Buchtel's arrival in Philadelphia in 1753.
Obviously, each and every page that I've found needs to be read and analyzed and recorded properly, but do you see why I am doing my happy dance? This was all found in four days, with time out for cemetery visits, a newspaper interview, and serendipitous meetings. I'll write more about all that in my next post!
*Death record for Mary Elizabeth Hetrick Black, died Dec.1, 1862 of typhoid fever. The gem? In the remarks section "Truly a pious woman."
*Article "The Mansfield that Was" from the September 28, 1971 News Journal about the town of Bellville, mentioning founder Robert Bell. I think "The Mansfield that Was" was the name of a column.
*Plat of Bellville, Ohio from 1900
*Original Blat of Bellville, plus a brief history of the town, from a 1975 book published by the OSU Department of Architecture.
*A lead on where to fid the actual marriage records of Thomas Knott and Hannah Bell, but time ran out.
*Richland, Ohio, marriage record (not the documents, just the record) for marriage of Mr. Joseph Withers and Miss Ann Montgomery, by Elijah Clark, J.P. on September 23, 1852.
*Map of West Perry Township, Morrow County, Ohio, showing location of land of Abraham Hetrick. Not sure of date.
*Copy of Abraham Hetrick deed to John Wirick,
*Copy of Abrham Hetrick and Mary E Hetrick deed to Hiram Cravin dated December 14, 1859. Need to research this but is likely the son of our Abraham who was married to Sarah Lemmon.
*Abraham Hetrick deed to Levi Lucas Feb. 22,1850
*Record of marriage of March 12, 1839, Isaac Hetrick to Elizabeth Black by L. or S. B. Leiter
*Guardian bonds for Isaac Hetrick (also L.S. and Ezra Hetrick, December 9, 1863 for minors Alice Hetrick and F. Owen Hetrick, per the estate of Peter Black, deceased, of Noble County, Indiana. These were the minor children of Peter and Elizabeth Black Hetrick.
*Copy of Deed of Abraham Hetrick to Isaac Hetrick, March 13, 1856, land in Richland County, sum of $3000 dollars.
*5 pages from the Index of Deeds of Richland County, showing transactions with Robert Bell as grantor of land in Bellville (mostly).
*Copies of original plat of Bellville 1815 and Bell's addition 1826.
*Copy of Deed of John Bell and Hanna Bell to Benjamin Crummell, for $150
*Copy of deed of various Shirk family members to Peter Black, Richland County Ohio, $1000 November 25, 1834.
*Copy of deed for John Carey, Admr to Isaac Hetrick, March 21, 1854 showing order to sell at auction, sold for $1108.50; Then on January 18, 1855 Isaac Hetrick sold the same land to John Carey Junior for $1200.
*Copy of deed from Robert Bell and Hannah his wife to trustees of the M.E. church, for $20, dated January 15,1833 and recorded August 19,1836.
*Copy of deed from Peter Black and wife Martha to Jacob Biddle for $5500; 160 acres, April 4,1853, recorded November 7, 1854. Isaac Hetrick was a witness.
*Copy of Deed from Abraham Hetrick to Justice Frary, August 18, 1849; no mention of wife so hard to know which Abraham this was.
The above were found in Richland County, Ohio court records and a few in Morrow County.
In Knox County, Ohio, where I'd hoped to find more about Joseph and Mary Gearhart Withers, I found only what may or may not be clues:
*Bond of Christopher Mosley with John Ely and John Gearhart as witness, guardian to John and Mary Ann Gearhart, who were the children of Aron Gearhart, deceased. dated October 21, 1845.
*Then just 8 days later, guardian bond of John Higgins, Asher F. Ely and Joseph Shinaberry, as guardians of Aaron Gearhart, Mary Ann Gearhart, and William Gearhart.
*Several pages of estate records for Aron Gerhart, including inventory and sale records. Aron apparently died close to July 10, 1845. He may be a brother or other relation to Mary Gearhart Withers???
And then, from the Ohio Genealogy Society Library at Bellville, Ohio, a wealth of material:
*A chart of the Ulrich Ruble family
*The obituary of Andrew Farmer, who died in Columbia City, Indiana in 1897, mentioning his early years.
*A short history of Johnsonville Community, (Morrow County, Ohio) mentioning Abraham Hetrick as an early resident and as a veteran of the War of 1812.
*A transcription of the will of John Wyatt, who died in 1799 in Franklin County, Va.
*A transcription of a quitclaim deed from Jane Farmer widow of William to Adam Black, September 18, 1839.
* A transcript of the marriage bond for William Farmer and Jane Wyatt, October 21,1799, Franklin County, Va.
*A transcript of a deed from Franklin County, Va. from William Farmer and Jane to Joseph Bolin, June 25, 1813.
*Transcript of the will of Mathew Farmer, written 18 December 1834 and probated October 23,1845 in Miami County, Ohio.
*Copy of Deed for sale of Andrew Farmer's share of Mathew Farmer Estate, September 18, 1839. Various other persons are mentioned and the deed was recorded in Allen County, Indiana and Clark County, Ohio.
*A possible clue to Lemuel Dunn, who may have had a brother James. James was born in Monongahela County, Virginia and came to Brown County, Ohio about 1800.
*From "A History of Summit County, by Perrin, 1881, more than a full page of stories about the Keplers, brothers Andrew and John.
*A copy of the will of Alexis Lemmon, written January 12, 1825 and proved July 15, 1826.
*Copies of the family record section of a Bible purchased by Alexis Lemmon in 1803 in Annapolis, Md, listing his children's births, marriages, and some deaths.
*Copy of the will of Jesse Finch of Belmont County, Ohio, dated February 9,1824 and probated September 8, 1829.
*Pages from "History of Morrow County", by Baskins, 1880, mentioning Abraham Hetrick as a trustee in 1817 in Perry Township, and also mentions Hetrick residing there at the time of Perry's victory on Lake Erie.
*Part of Chancery Court proceedings of April 11,1840, regarding a deed not given to a purchaser, and naming (apparently) all of Robert Bell's living descendants.
*Copy of Washington County, Pennsylvania Deed of Thomas and Hanna Rees to John Brown, land in Frederick County, Md dated January 1, 1793.
*Transcript of deed from Thomas Rees to Jonathan Garber, showing land was warranted to Jonathan Garber February 28, 1805; dated April 7, 1806 and showing Thomas as living in Fairfield County, Ohio as of that date.
*Transcript of deed from Thomas Rees Sr. of Fairfield Co. Ohio to Thomas Rees Jr. of Washington County, Pa. February 23,1810.
*Copy of bond and appraisal papers for Thomas Rees, dated January 30, 1812 in Fairfield County, Ohio.
*Copy of deed of heirs of Thomas Rees (many) to Mathew Ewing, August 29, 1812.
* Copy of Rees names from Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Volume VI, page 425; showing marriage of Thomas Rees son of Morris and Rah, and Margaret Rees, daughter of Thomas and Margaret in 1763, plus many other entries.
*Copies of two letters with information about the (van) Gundy family.
* An article from The Pennsylvania German, no date found, about the Buchtel family, and pages of a passenger list showing Johannes Buchtel's arrival in Philadelphia in 1753.
Obviously, each and every page that I've found needs to be read and analyzed and recorded properly, but do you see why I am doing my happy dance? This was all found in four days, with time out for cemetery visits, a newspaper interview, and serendipitous meetings. I'll write more about all that in my next post!
Friday, November 4, 2016
Holbrook line: Luke Raven, Immigrant-but when?
It's fun sometimes to pull my head out of New England and go south to our ancestors who came early to Virginia and Maryland. Their stories were different than our New England ancestors, if only because their worship was different. In Virginia, you were a member of the state church, or else. In Maryland, you could be almost anything as long as you were Protestant (except for brief periods when Catholics were in control). So far, I've not learned which religion Luke followed, and there are a lot of other details I don't know, also.
Luke was born about 1630 somewhere in England. John Washington, an ancestor of President George Washington, paid for his passage here in 1662, for which John received 50 acres headright, as well as the services of Luke, either personally or sold to another, as an indentured servant for some period of time. Records showing what happened with Luke are lacking, or at least I haven't found them yet. I found a reference in "Genealogy of some of the descendants of Thomas Dew, to the fact that "Both Robert Gorsuch and Luke Raven of the last two records above were early colonists around Jamestown, who migrated to Northern Neck and after a stay there for a few years migrated again (they and their offspring) to Baltimore County, Maryland". From this, it's not clear whether the author thinks that Raven was here prior to 1662 or not. But we know he was here in 1664, when he was a witness for Thomas Browne of Piankatank River on January 4.
Luke may have married Elizabeth, possibly the daughter of Thomas and Mary Hughes, probably in Virginia. They are believed to have had three children together, Luke, Sarah, and Avarilla. By 1671 and for whatever reason, Luke had moved to what is now Baltimore County, Maryland. There he purchased land and continued practicing his trade of blacksmith. (Smiths were quite needed in the New World and probably had a higher status, and a higher income, than we would think, looking back through our wrong-colored glasses. That may explain how Luke was able to acquire several pieces of land.)
He is believed to have died in 1687, which means he was in Maryland for at least 16 years, long enough to call it home. It seems that his wife, possibly Elizabeth, must have been sick or died early with only three children in the family, but there seems to be no information about her.
I need to keep researching this man, to try to figure out who his parents were (John and Joan Raven, of Northumberland County, have been suggested but there's no proof as far as I know) and to learn more about his story. I'd love to know where he came from, why he decided to come to Virginia, and whether he was glad he'd made that decision. I'd like to know his religion, and whether he had slaves, and so much more about him. That's why genealogy is never done-we always ask more questions!
The line of descent is
Luke Raven-Elizabeth
Sarah Raven-Tobias Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Jane Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Luke was born about 1630 somewhere in England. John Washington, an ancestor of President George Washington, paid for his passage here in 1662, for which John received 50 acres headright, as well as the services of Luke, either personally or sold to another, as an indentured servant for some period of time. Records showing what happened with Luke are lacking, or at least I haven't found them yet. I found a reference in "Genealogy of some of the descendants of Thomas Dew, to the fact that "Both Robert Gorsuch and Luke Raven of the last two records above were early colonists around Jamestown, who migrated to Northern Neck and after a stay there for a few years migrated again (they and their offspring) to Baltimore County, Maryland". From this, it's not clear whether the author thinks that Raven was here prior to 1662 or not. But we know he was here in 1664, when he was a witness for Thomas Browne of Piankatank River on January 4.
Luke may have married Elizabeth, possibly the daughter of Thomas and Mary Hughes, probably in Virginia. They are believed to have had three children together, Luke, Sarah, and Avarilla. By 1671 and for whatever reason, Luke had moved to what is now Baltimore County, Maryland. There he purchased land and continued practicing his trade of blacksmith. (Smiths were quite needed in the New World and probably had a higher status, and a higher income, than we would think, looking back through our wrong-colored glasses. That may explain how Luke was able to acquire several pieces of land.)
He is believed to have died in 1687, which means he was in Maryland for at least 16 years, long enough to call it home. It seems that his wife, possibly Elizabeth, must have been sick or died early with only three children in the family, but there seems to be no information about her.
I need to keep researching this man, to try to figure out who his parents were (John and Joan Raven, of Northumberland County, have been suggested but there's no proof as far as I know) and to learn more about his story. I'd love to know where he came from, why he decided to come to Virginia, and whether he was glad he'd made that decision. I'd like to know his religion, and whether he had slaves, and so much more about him. That's why genealogy is never done-we always ask more questions!
The line of descent is
Luke Raven-Elizabeth
Sarah Raven-Tobias Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Jane Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)