Beeks line: Joseph Holley 1605-1647

It's been awhile since I had a Beeks ancestor to write about.  Sometimes I just somehow miss these people, and sometimes the first time I looked for information, I couldn't find enough to write about.  It's also possible that I've relaxed my definition of "enough".  When I started doing these brief sketches, I made it a goal to write 8-10 paragraphs about each ancestor.  Now, I'm willing to write even just a little bit, figuring that something is better than nothing.  With Joseph, I've found enough to give at least some outline of his life, although there are still big question marks, too.

Joseph was born about 1605 possibly in Crewkerne, Somerset, England, although his parents have not yet been identified. We know he was born about 1605 because in a court case in 1640, Joseph stated that he was 35 or thereabouts.  Crewkerne is a very old town, dating back to the time of Alfred the Great.  There is a 15th century church there, which Joseph would probably have attended.  There was also a school at the time that Joseph lived there, but we don't know whether he attended or not.

Joseph married Rose Allen, daughter of George and Katherine (maiden name not certain) Allen, in England.  We know that it was in England becae his son was "of age" when Joseph died in 1647, which means the son must have been at least 18.  That puts his birth date at 1629, so this Joseph likely married in or about 1628.  The couple had at least five children together, a son and then four daughters. 

We don't know for sure when Joseph came to New England but he was in Dorchester as early as 1633 and in Lynn in 1636.  By 1637 he was in Sandwich, in Plymouth Colony, where he is considered one of the 61 original signers and one of just 16 long term settlers.  The church of Sandwich seems to have not been as Puritan as was liked, and they went for ten years without a pastor.  There is some thought that the people of the town, or at least some of them, were early Quaker adherents.

We know Joseph was part of a military band, probably guarding against Indians but we don't know whether he actually fought in any battles.  We know he owned property as early as 1639.   By occupation, he was a millwright, which may explain why he went from place to place for a few years before settling in Sandwich.  He was a freeman in 1643/44constable in 1644, and either he or his son was a surveyor of highways in 1647. 

Sadly. that is the last we hear of Joseph, for he died in 1647 in Sandwich.  We have no information about his cause of death but he was only about 42 years old, so it was likely an illness of some sort.  Fevers and dysentery were relatively common at the time. 

His inventory was valued at about 205 pounds, but the estate wasn't settled for another 18 years, as the youngest of the children finally reached maturity.  Rose remarried after a few months as a widow, to William Newland, and she died in 1694. 

The line of descent is

Joseph Holley-Rose Allen
Mary Holley-Nathaniel FitzRandolph__
Samuel FitzRandolph-Mary Jones
Prudence Fitzrandolph-Shubael Smith
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham=Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: John Rolfe, Immigrant 1634-1681

No, he wasn't that John Rolfe, not the one who was married to Pocahontas, not the one who figured large in the early days of Virginia.  But nevertheless, he is a John Rolfe who is an early immigrant, and who has a story to tell. 

The story starts in England, where John was born or baptized May 10, 1634 in Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England.  Whiteparish is a small town about seven and a half miles southeast of Salisbury, and at the time of John's birth was a sheep raising area, with textile manufacturing in Salisbury providing an outlet for the wool produced there.  His parents were Henry and Honor (Rolfe) Rolfe, and their family tree is quite convoluted.  There are Rolfes on both sides of the family going back to about 1515, but it's not know whether it was the 1515 Rolfes (one apparently unproven) or whether the connection goes further back.  Anyway, it's a lot of Rolfes, and more than one Honor, to keep straight-or not. 

Henry and Honor had at least four children.  They are believed to have been in Massachusetts Bay Colony by about 1638, although no documentation seems to exist for their trip.  John would have been a very young child at the time; Imagine being a three or four year old boy with a ship to explore, and imagine being a young mother, with other children, trying to prevent said boy from going overboard.  All were probably glad when they arrived at their destination. 

The family settled first in Newbury, where John grew to manhood and married Mary Scullard, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Kent Scullard, on December 4, 1656.  Mary was very young, possibly as young as 14, when they married.  They had eleven children together, losing the first one in infancy.  Their first three children were born in Newbury, but they moved on to Nantucket about 1663.

This seems to have much to do with the situation described in "Good Wives" by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.  John was a fisherman, and had just left for a trip to Nantucket, leaving his young wife and children adequately protected and supported, as he supposed.  But by the time he returned from his trip, Mary and been involved in something of a scandal, involving a gentleman from England, a physician, who decided he wished to bed her, never mind that she was nursing her third child.  He was found out, by a neighbor who came in through a window since the door was locked, and rescued Mary, although they agreed to say nothing about it.  Mary told all to her mother and had a witness (who, hard as it is for us to imagine) shared the bed with Mary in order to keep her safe, although it wasn't a very effective protection as it turned out.

The man involved was found guilty and Mary was vindicated, but John decided this was a good time to move to Nantucket, where he would be closer to the fishing grounds.  They stayed in Nantucket for somewhere around ten years.  By this time, John was approaching 40 and may have been looking for an easier way to make a living than fishing.  The family moved to Cambridge, where John purchased and apparently operated a mill.

John died at Newbury on October 1, 1681, perhaps while visiting his brother Benjamin.  It seems to have been a sudden death and the will may have had an oral codicil, as there is no provision in the will for his wife but the additional testimony of women who were there makes clear that he wanted to have his wife cared for also.  Mary was pregnant with their last son when John died.  John's inventory was valued at somewhere around 500 pounds (it's not totaled on the two pages, but I added up to about 485 pounds in my head, plus all the shillings and pence; I'm definitely no expert on that!).  It seems like a pretty good estate for a fisherman or millwright, either one.  He was just 47 when he died and was just in his peak earning years.  He had tools and farm animals, copperware, earthenware, and pewter, and five spinning wheels, so this was not a poor family.  I didn't see any mention of books or of munitions. 

Mary lived about six more years and died in Cambridge.  Most of their children moved to the area of Woodbridge, N.J, and changed the spelling of their name to Rolph, except for their son John.  I didn't find anything that helped me understand John's religion but some of his children may have become Quakers, or at least lived in harmony with them in Woodbridge.  It would be nice to know more about John, but at least we know he was a hard-working man, and one of the few men in the family who fished for any length of time, for a living. 

The line of descent is:

John Rolfe-Mary Scullard
Mary Rolph-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Mary Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Samuel Dunham 1742-1824

I thought I'd break my self imposed rule of writing only about immigrants and proven war veterans in this blog.  Since I'm running out of Beeks names, I'm looking now for people who left enough of a record that we can at least catch a glimpse of them, through the family forest and the mists of time.  Samuel Dunham is such a man.

We don't know as much about Samuel as we'd like to know, of course.  He seems to have been a moderately successful, salt of the earth kind of man, the kind who pays his taxes and raises his family.  There are hints of parts of his life in records, so we'll have to be happy with that until more information is known.

Samuel was born in Woodbridge, N.J. on May 11, 1742.  His parents were Jonathan and Mary Smith Dunham.  He had five siblings, all born between 1738 and 1742, so he wouldn't have lacked for chores to do nor for playmates, if there was time for such a thing.  He don't know whether he could read or write, but it's reasonable to believe he had at least a rudimentary education, and perhaps more than that.  His family was well known in the Woodbridge community.

We have difficulty following Samuel's move to the west, but we know it happened.  He is believed to have married Hannah Ruble, daughter of David and Sarah Malin Ruble, about 1772.  This family lived in Washington County, Pennsylvania and it is likely that Samuel was living or at least working in the vicinity then.  He would have been about 30 years old, give or take, since we don't have an exact marriage date yet.

The Revolutionary War was about to break out, and we don't know how this impacted Samuel.  He is not found on the Tax List for Berkeley County, now West Virginia, in 1777.  He may have been there at least to scout out a future home, but this was a hot area for battles with the native Americans, who were armed and encouraged by the British.  Perhaps they patiently waited in Pennsylvania, or even Maryland, for a chance to move on.  If Samuel did live in the area during this time period, we can wonder what his role was in the War.  I've not been able to find him listed as a soldier either on Fold 3 or the DAR, but that doesn't mean he didn't serve.  He may well have been in a state militia unit, protecting his family and others in a guardhouse or "fort", for there were many such structures and someone his age on the frontier would have been expected to serve.

Between 1778 and 1783 Samuel and his family moved to Back Creek Valley, in what was then Virginia.  Looking at images found on Google, it was and still is a beautiful area, although home and land prices there are higher than in Indiana.  Most of what I've read of this area says that the Scots-Irish and the Germans settled this area, so it would be interesting to find out how and why this part of the country beckoned to Samuel.

I'm showing a total of 11 children for Samuel and Hannah, although other sources list "only" nine.  At any rate, even the oldest children were young when they moved, and several were born in what was then Virginia.  David Dunham has done research, showing that the couple had at least 80 grandchildren, and some of their descendants are still living in the immediate area, to the ninth generation.

Samuel Dunham was a Baptist, and presumably Sarah was, too, or at least that's what she became after her marriage.  I've not found the particular congregation he attended, but there are some churches in the Back Creek area that might have been active during Samuel's life.  Samuel died February 18, 1824 on his 611 acre farm, and Hannah died about two years later, possibly in Butler County, Ohio.

If Samuel left a will, I haven't found it yet.  It isn't known where he was buried.  Many records from this time period were burned during the Civil War, or otherwise destroyed, so we may never be able to answer some of these questions.  Or, the answers may pop up tomorrow, because we never know...

The line of descent is:

Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: John Gurney 1603-1663 Immigrant

It's fun to take a name that's on the family tree and try to place him in time and space, to think for a few minutes about his life and to realize that once again there are more questions than answers.  John Gurney is such a person.  Not much is known about him but I do want to give credit to the RootsWeb World Connect Project called "Genealogies of Families of Brantree, Quincy, Weymouth, Randolph, Holbrook, Mass. & Others".  I'd located maybe 20% of this information on my own, so it would have been slim pickings indeed for a post if I hadn't found this source.

As nearly as is known, John Gurney was born about 1603, since he gave a court deposition in 1652/53 saying he was 50 years old or thereabouts.  There is a John Gurney who was baptized at Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, England on February 21, 1603 and it is likely that this is our John.  If so, his father's name was also John, but that is as much family background as I have at present.  If this John Gurney is ours, then he came from an area identified as "Non-conformist" and he may have been a Puritan.  The church there is very old, dating to the twelfth century, so it is possible that generations on Gurneys worshipped there.  At present, we can't state that with any certainty.

I can't find documentation, but John was supposedly married to a woman named Mary, most likely in England.  He may have been an indentured servant but the dates don't match for the most commonly quoted master.  At any rate, either at home or in Massachusetts he learned the tailor trade.  He is reported as being in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636, but it's possible he arrived earlier.  His children have birth dates of from about 1628 to about 1640, which is puzzling to have so many "abouts" unless the family was moving frequently. 

We know that he was a tenant of rented land owned by Captain William Tyng in Brantree in 1653, which was 45 acres of upland and marsh.  As mentioned ealier, he was a tailer and lived within Braintree, with a house and five acres of land, until he sold it in 1661 to Richard Thayer.

John's wife Mary died September 20, 1661 and just a few weeks later he married Grizell Fletcher Jewell Griggs Kibbee.  It was his second marriage and her fourth.  It's only speculation but perhaps he was already in poor health.  To put a good face on it, Grizell seems to have bettered herself with each marriage, and she would have one final marriage soon after John died.  (I wonder if people then talked, or whispered, about a woman with five marriages.  Two marriages were common, three were somewhat frequent, four were occasional, but five?  Really?)

I've found no record of John being admitted as a freeman, and no record of church or civic involvement.  John may have been a man determined to keep his head down and just to concentrate on raising his family.  When he died, he left an inventory valued at 55 pounds, 14 shillings, and 6 pence.  He also had a long list of debts, so it is likely that there wasn't much left for the widow or his children to inherit.  Son John did get lands in Mendon, which is where our John had intended to move before his last illness.

This is a summary of the information I've been able to locate about John Gurney.  It's the unrecognized people who helped build America, and for that reason, I'm happy to introduce you briefly to John Gurney, immigrant and nation builder.

The line of descent is:

John Gurney-Mary
Mary Gurney-Daniel Shedd
Elizabeth Shedd-Daniel Pierce
Elizabeth Pierce-Samuel Smith
Shubael Smith-Prudence Fitzrandolph
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunnah-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: David Jones 1653-1707, Immigrant

It's possible that I should be writing about Samuel Jones, who may or may not be David's father, and who may or may not have emigrated from Wales to Pennsylvania.  However, I can find a bit of documentation for David and I find nothing for Samuel, so at this point we'll write what we can about David. 

David was born in 1653 in either Pembrokeshire or Carmarthenshire, Wales.  We know nothing at all of his early life until he shows up in 1682 in Langamin, Carmarthen(shire) Wales, marrying Susanna Howell at the Monthly Meeting of Pembroke.  This gives us our first clue-he was a Quaker, and so that may explain some of why he can't be found earlier.  Quakers left few footprints, unless they were jailed for their faith.  So far, records haven't been found that would indicate this.  So he probably lived a very quiet life, and either paid his taxes when due, as some Quakers did, or possibly owed no taxes. He married Susanna Howell, whose parents are believed to be Morgan Howell and Elizabeth Adams, on April 6, 1682.  There are 22 names signed as witnesses on the marriage record, including Saara Jones, who may be a relative, and three people with the last name of Howell. 

Soon after their marriage, David and Susanna came to America, arriving in Pennsylvania in 1682, so probably part of the William Penn group.  Here they found frontier territory to settle, and it appears that they settled in what became Chester County, in what was later termed the "Welsh Tracts".  He and Susanna had at least three children-Susanna, Elizabeth, and Alice.  That is all we know of him until his death 04 Eleventh, 1707 (Quaker usage), or January 4, 1707, as we would know it.  This is noted in the Chester Monthly meeting, and his religion is indicated as "Orthodox" which doesn't seem to have much meaning as applied to this time period in history. 

It appears that his wife Susanna died within just a couple of months of David's death.  Was there an epidemic, or were these two fifty somethings just worn out?  I've seen no hints that there were problems with the native Americans, as the early Quakers did all in their power to treat them peacefully. 

Of course there is so much more we'd like to know.  David undoubtedly did some farming, but was this his principal occupation?  Was he a fur trader, or a merchant of some kind?  With no known sons, it would have been hard to expand his landholdings, if he even owned land.  Did his daughters work for others in order to help support the family, or was David doing well enough by the time they were born that they didn't need to do that?  I'd like to know what land he held, if any, and of course I'd love to know about his life in Wales, and his family further back. 

The line of descent is:

David Jones-Susanna Howell
Elizabeth Jones-Isaac Malin
Isaac Malin-Lydia Booth
Sarah Malin-David Ruble
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Daniel Shed 1620-1708, Immigrant

Daniel Shedd is another in a line of New Englanders of whom little is known.  I often wonder about them.  For instance, was Daniel the kind of man who would have been the life of the party?  Was he a Puritan?  If he was, then he probably wasn't the life of the party, but he may have been a very religious man, or he may have been someone who went through the motions for business reasons.  He may have been a farmer or a tradesman of some sort, but so far I've found nothing to help indicate his occupation, trade, or even education.  That's the bad news.

The good news is that there is a little bit of information about him, anyway. He was born on or before June 25, 1620 in Finchingfield, Braintree, Essex, England, and was baptized on that date as the son of Daniel Shedd and Sarah.   Daniel and Sarah had three girls, and Daniel, that we know of.  Do you think Daniel might possibly have been just a little bit spoiled?  We don't even know for sure when he came to America.  He was here by 1643, when he was an early settler of "Brantrey", but he wasn't given land in the first set of grants so either he was young or he wasn't there when the village was started. He did receive land in 1645. He's not found on any immigration lists that I've found, which means that he may (or may not) have come over as an indentured servant and had just gained his freedom in 1643, at the same time that he went to Braintree.  (This is just my conjecture, but it makes sense to me.)

He was married by 1646, to Mary Gurney, who seems to have been a daughter of John Gurney, and they had seven children together.  Mary died about the time their youngest daughter Sarah was born, in 1658, and Daniel married Elizabeth, maiden name not known, soon after, because the first of four children was born to Daniel and Elizabeth on August 13, 1660.  Daniel had the sad situation of seeing at least three of his children die before he did, as young marrieds in the prime of life.  One son, his namesake,  died of small pox and I've not seen the cause of death of his two daughters. 

In 1658, the year his youngest daughter in the first set of children was born and possibly the year his first wife died, he moved from Braintree to Billerica, where he stayed for the remaining 50 years of his life.  His family was assigned to live in the main garrison there, during King Philip's War. Billerica was on the frontier and considered a possible target of the native Americans.  I'm finding various "alternate facts" about the war, indicating that Billerica did or did not suffer attack, and indicating that the town of about 48 families evacuated to safer locations.  Maybe all of the above are true, at different times during the conflict. 

Daniel lived a long life and died in Billerica July 27, 1708.  Elizabeth survived him.  Although we know little of his life, he surely lived a long life in interesting times.  He came across the Atlantic as a young boy or young man, made a home out of the wilderness not once but twice, raised two families, likely served in the militia and possibly saw duty during King Philip's War. Even though his name does not survive in very many records, we know that he was a pioneer when that word meant something, and he is a man the family can be proud to honor. 

The line of descent is:

Daniel Shedd-Mary Gurney
Eliabeth Shedd-Daniel Pierce
Elizabeth Pierce-Samuel Smith
Shubael Smith-Prudence Fitzrandolph
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: George Jacob, Immigrant 1675-1731

George Jacob is another mystery, although his story begins later in time than some of the other immigrants in the Beeks line.  He was born in the Palatinate, which is the southwestern part of Germany, but an exact location still eludes researchers.  However, knowing that he came from that region tells us that he probably came to the New world with others from his village and of his religious belief. 

He settled with his wife and children in Roxborough (Roxborrow) township, which is now part of Philadelphia but at that time would have been outside of the city.  There he died, in 1731. 

Most of what we know of George comes from his will, actually.  He had married Gerdrew, maiden name unknown, in about 1699.  The will tells us he was a weaver by trade, but we don't know if that's what he did in the Old World, too.  It's believed that the children were born in the Palatinate but once again we refer to the will for information. It names his wife, Gerdrew, and lists his children as Henry, Jacob, Peter, Catherine, Sarah, Jane, and Matthias.  His sons in law were Samuel Kastner, Hans Jerk )Jorg, maybe) Trout, and Uleriah (Ulrich) Rubel.  This is from an abstract only; I don't yet have a copy of the actual will.  It was written November 28, 1731 and proved January 20, 1732, so the actual date of death is somewhere in that time period. 

That is what we know of George Jacob.  We don't know when he came to the New World, how he fared after he arrived here, what religion he was, or any of the other dozens of things we'd like to know.  I don't think it likely that he was one of those who came through England, because most of those people ended up north of Philadelphia, in Berks County.  So he likely made the trip from Rotterdam to Philadelphia, but I'd sure like to find his name on a passenger list! 

George is important to the Beeks family because he is one of the relatively few German ancestors this family has. 

The line of descent is:

George Jacob-Gerdrew
Jane Jacob-Ulrich Ruble
David Ruble-Sarah Malin
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Actually, when you look at this list, several German lines show up.  So maybe George isn't such an anomaly and maybe more can be learned about him!

Beeks line: Samuel Scullard abt 1616-1647 Immigrant

Samuel Scullard is likely from Abbots Ann, Hamphire, England although as yet it seems that no one has pinpointed his birth or christening record.  He is believed to be the son of Richard Scullard, joiner, and his wife, Alice.  Richard died in 1617 when Samuel, his second child, was just a baby, which could possibly explain the lack of baptismal records for Samuel.  Perhaps his wife was just too overwhelmed or ill to arrange for it. 

It appears that Samuel was in New England by 1638, and likely came with Rev. Stephen Bachwiler.  He was in Newbury, Massachusetts by February 24,1637/38, because he was fined for not attending a town meeting at eight o'clock in the morning, after having been warned, so he must have been there at least a few weeks by that time.  He was referred to as yeoman, meaning a farmer who owned his own land, as opposed to a tenant farmer, or a planter, who may not have actually worked the land he owned. He also was a partner in a water (grist) mill in Newbury, and upon his death his widow's second husband purchased that interest.  Newbury is situated at the northeast end of Massachusetts, on the coast, and was also an early site for shipbuilding and tanning, so there was an opportunity to sell to more than just the local farmers.

Samuel married Rebecca Kent, daughter of Richard and Emme Dorothy Shorte in 1641.  Some sites say they married in England but this does not appear to be correct.  The Kents were already in Newbury and doubtless the couple met and married there. They probably had four children, Mary, Rebecca, Sarah and Samuel although only Mary and Sarah are named in his will.  Unfortunately, his will was dated March 27, 1647 and proved July 28, 1647, so Samuel died when he was only about 30 years old.  It was a nuncupative will, indicating that likely his death was sudden.  He may have been injured, or he may have died of one of the fevers that went the rounds so quickly and so often in colonial times. 

His estate was valued at 196 pounds, 4 shillings.  Half went to his wife, who remarried soon after Samuel's death, and the other half went to his two daughters but not until 1670, when the daughters were married and of age.  Rebecca married John Bishop and died sometime before John's death in 1684. 

There is still more research to be done about Samuel.  I don't have a good grasp of the land he owned, or of his church life, or whether he held any church or civic positions.  However, we do know this much and that's more than we knew when we began this post! 

The line of descent is:

Samuel Scullard-Rebecca Kent
Mary Scullard-John Rolfe
Mary Rolfe-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

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! 

Beeks line: The missing John Walter born 1619, immigrant

Maybe the reason I know nothing about this man is that no one has ever looked for him, or at least, not successfully.  I just spent some time looking on my usual databases and very little is showing for him, and that is undocumented.  However, we know the man existed and is in the Beeks family line, so let's get written down what is known about him.  He is an ancestor and deserves to be honored as such, even though his life is well hidden at present. 

John is believed to have been born about 1619, somewhere in Kent, England, and his father is noted as "Thos."  We don't know when he came to America, but it was apparently without his father.  We do know that he married Patience Wooten, possibly the daughter of Thomas Wooten or Wotton).  This couple is often said to be the parents of Joseph Walter, but he was born in 1629 so if the birthdates for John and Patience are correct, he was not their biological child.  Their only known child is Safronia or Safronie, born in 1643 somewhere in Connecticut, presumably.  I show that the couple married in 1640, so Safronia may not have been their first, nor their only, child. 

I haven't been able to find a single reference to either person in any on line document, although admittedly I've only looked for an hour or so.  The only additional information I have is that both persons are believed to have died about 1710, and John, at least, is believed to be buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Marlborough, Connecticut. However, I find this questionable because Marlborough wasn't formed until 1803, and the only Walnut Grove cemetery I can locate is in Meriden, Ct and wasn't founded until about 1840.  So perhaps this couple was never in Connecticut at all.  Their daughter, Safronia, married to Jeffrey Jones, died in Woodbridge, New Jersey.  Perhaps the Walters were also there. 

This is as much as I know about John, and it's certainly frustrating.  I would like to give him parents, a home, a career, and a little bit of a life.  Please, if someone knows more about John, please email me:  happygenealogydancingATgmailDOTcom.  Thanks!

The line of descent is

John Walter-Patience Wooten
Safronia Walter-Jeffrey Jones
Mary Jones-Samuel Fitzrandolph
Prudence Fitzrandolph-Shubael Smith
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight (President Obama's ancestors)
Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Nathaniel Fitzrandolph 1642-1713 From Puritan to Quaker

Nathaniel Fitzrandolph is not an immigrant, as he was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts in 1642 to his parents, Edward Fitzrandolph and Elizabeth Blossom. However, from the records I've found, he is such an interesting man that he deserves his own blog post.  He was one of the early Quakers at Barnstable, and that marks him as a man of courage.  He married for the second time at age 64, and had a child by his second wife, which marks him as a man of interest.  And he was well respected in his time and place, which marks him as a man of honor.

It is hard to pinpoint just when Nathaniel became a Quaker.  He appears to have lived somewhat happily in Barnstable (on Cape Cod) for his early years.  His mother was born in Leyden, Holland and was of a thoroughly Pilgrim family.  The Blossoms had been on the "Speedwell", which was forced to turn back early in the planned voyage with the Mayflower.  Edward Fitzrandolph and his wife came to America in the Winthrop Fleet of 1630, so they were Puritans if not Separatists.  The household Nathaniel grew up in would have been quite religious and he would have listened to or read the Word of God every day.

So was it love that changed Nathaniel's heart?  He married Mary Holley or Holloway in 1662, and her family was Quaker.  Her parents were Joseph Holley and Rose Allen.  One would like to think this was the case, but we also know that several of Nathaniel's siblings became Baptists.  Both groups were persecuted by the government, who required infant baptism, payment of tithes to the church, and other actions objectionable to the Fitzrandolphs.

At any rate, Nathaniel and Mary had seven children, apparently all in Barnstable, before the poor treatment of Quakers caused them to join sibling Fitzrandolph's in Woodbridge, N.J. in 1677-78.  Here they were permitted to practice their religion with more freedom than in Barnstable, although it was still not an easy life.  Nathaniel, however, had respect in the community.  He was an associate justice of Middlesex County for several years, and represented Woodbridge in the Provisional Assembly for three years.  He also served as sheriff and as highway viewer at Woodbridge.

I've seen Nathaniel referred to as a "planter" and as a "gentleman planter".  Usually the term "gentleman planter" infers that slaves were used, but since Quakers abhorred slavery perhaps he employed indentured servants, who would receive their freedom in a stated number of years. 

Starting in about 1704, Nathaniel's home became the meeting place for area Quakers.  This was a year after Mary had died.  One wonders if she objected to opening their home earlier, or was she ill and the home therefore not available, or was it just coincidence that Nathaniel's home was needed at this time.  After Mary died, Nathaniel married Jane Curtis, and had one son by her. 

It is believed that Nathaniel, who died in 1713, and Mary are buried in the Friends Meeting House at Shrewsbury, with no gravestone as that was the Quaker way at the time.

This is the snapshot we have of Nathaniel as husband, father, planter and Quaker. There are of course numerous questions still to be answered, but we see enough to see a strong and gentle figure, and that is reason to honor and respect him.

The line of descent is:

Nathaniel Fitrandolph-Mary Holley
Samuel Fitzrandolph-Mary Jones
Prudence Fitzrandolph-Shubael Smith
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah possibly Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Isaac Malin 1681-1750

A few months ago, I wrote about Randall Malin, Isaac's father.  Since Isaac was born about a year before his family came to America, technically Isaac was also an immigrant, although not "The" immigrant.  It seems that little is known of his life, but here's what I've been able to find out.

Isaac was the son of Randall and Elizabeth Malin and was born in 1681 in Chester, or possibly Cheshire, England.  He had at least two siblings, Jacob and Malin.  This was a Quaker family who responded to William Penn's invitation to come to Pennsylvania, and Randall was one of the first 400 to buy land here.  A year later, the family came to the New World, with Isaac just a "babe in arms."
There is an alternative record of birth, in the Quaker records on Ancestry.com, that show very early births in Pennsylvania, dating from 1681.  Isaac's name is recorded there, so it is possible that he was actually born shortly after the family's arrival here. It's unclear whether the records are intended to show just births that happened in Pennsylvania, or whether this was a summary of children of each of the early Quakers.  So he was born either in England or in Pennsylvania, I guess.

Isaac grew up on his father's farm on Ridley Creek in Upper Providence Township, in what is now Delaware County, near the town, now borough,  of Media.  It is described as being 15 miles west of Philadelphia, but those are probably current day boundaries, so it would have been further to Philadelphia "back in the day." 

On January 1, 1702/03 married Elizabeth Jones, daughter of David and Susanna Howell Jones.  Shortly after this, Randall signed a deed of gift of 150 acres to his son Isaac, part of the family farm. When Randall died, he left Isaac his woolen weaving clothes (cloths?) so it is possible that Randall and then Isaac had been weavers, at least during the winter months.  Isaac and Elizabeth had 7 children together, but sadly, Elizabeth died in 1717, not long after the birth of the seventh child, Randall.  (An earlier son, Randall, had lived only about 23 months). 

Isaac must have mourned deeply, as it appears that he waited almost 10 years to remarry. His second wife was Jane Roberts Pugh, a widow with children of her own.  Isaac and Jane had about 15 years together, but no children were born to them.  Isaac died August 10, 1743 at Malin Hill, Chester, Pennsylvania, still a Quaker and part of Goshen Monthly Meeting.  Since the death location appears to be different from the location in Delaware County, it would be interesting to know whether Isaac had purchased new land there, or whether he was living with a child at this time of his death.

There is more to this story, but for now it is not available.  Still, we remember Isaac as a man of faith, who worked hard to support his family.  He must have wondered at the stories he heard as a small child, about life in England, and then compared them to life on the frontier in Pennsylvania.  And he must have been amazed at the changes in Philadelphia, from a small village to a town growing into a city, at the time of his death.

The line of descent is:

Isaac Malin-Elizabeth Jones
Isaac Malin-Lydia Booth
Sarah Malin-David Ruble
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants 

Beeks line: Richard Kent abt 1590 to 1654, Immigrant

I'm treading lightly with this Beeks ancestor, because there is a lack of information (as in, none documented) about his early years.  He is believed to have been raised in either Nether Wallop or Over Wallop, Hampshire, England, but I've not found the proof for that.  His parents are believed to be Thomas Kent and Ellen Pyle.  If these are his parents, he may have had as many as 8 siblings, so it would have been a lively household. 

There doesn't seem to be much information about his spouse, either.  Most sites list her as Emma, I found one reference to "Emma Mason" and one to Dorothe Short.  Emma is believed to be the mother of his children, and he was married to Emma when he died.

Thomas came to Ipswich, Massachusetts on the Mary and John in 1634 and settled briefly at Ipwich, and then moved to Newbury the very next year.  He is listed on a plaque as being one of the first settlers of the town.  We aren't sure when his family arrived, although I found a reference to daughter Rebecca's arrival in 1638, with Richard's brother Stephen.   She was 16 at the time, which makes one wonder about the birth of John in 1645.  Did both children have the same mother? 

Richard and his family settled in Newbury where Richard acquired land.  He is listed as a "maltster", or someone who produced the malt that was used in beers and vinegar.  We don't find a record of public service, or of military service.  However, during this time period he was doubtless part of whatever training band or loose-knit group of militia that the town had, as every able-bodied man was required to so serve. I've yet to find a record of church membership, which may explain why I've not found mention of him as a freeman, either.  However, his will indicates that one salmon should be given yearly to Mr. Noyes, probably Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, and to Mr. Roggers of Rowley, probably Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley.  So perhaps I just haven't looked hard enough for the records, yet, because obviously he had some Christian convictions.

Little else is known of his life in Newbury.  His son John was born there in 1645. There are a couple of occasions we might wish we didn't know about, both suits brought by John Godfrey.  Richard was sued for slander in 1642, outcome not found, and a year later he was sued for an "unstated infraction" and was to be whipped.  He recovered, and continued to support his family. 

He netted fish with his weir (that's how the salmon were to be acquired) and he farmed.( He had land directly fronting the Parker River, which would explain the reference to the salmon.)
  
 His will proved September 26, 1654 and appraisal showed a value of a little over 233 pounds, including a dwelling house, barn, orchard with 82 bearing trees and a nursery, tillage land, pasture land, meadow, and another parson of land bought of Mr. Rawson.  His estate also included two oxen, 4 cows, one two year old steer and 2 yearlings, 3 calves and six swine, and four stocks of bees.  His other possessions were typical farm and household equipment.  There was no mention of books or a Bible.

He left his wife her choice of ten pounds per year or 30 pounds all at once, and the fruit from "her" apple tree.  I haven't found a death date yet for Emma.  I'd like to know more about Richard, of course Emma or Dorothy or whomever was the mother of Rebecca.

Here's the line of descent:

Richard Kent-Emma or Dorothe
Rebecca Kent-Samuel Scullard
Mary Scullard-John Rolfe
Mary Rolfe-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Fun fact.  Richard Kent, who was whipped for some infraction, was an ancestor of President Barack Obama.  

Beeks and Holbrook lines: John Pers 1588-1661 Immigrant

John Pers is another in a long line of early immigrants to New England in the Beeks family, and also the Holbrook family.  He follows something of the typical mold, if there is such a thing, of coming to New England before the English Civil War, with a family and in his middle age.  John was born April 8, 1588 in Norwich, Norfolk, England, the son of Richard Pers or Pierce and Marguerite Coney.  We don't know much about his early life, except that his occupation in New England was a weaver.  It is probable that he learned this trade at home in Norwich, where the main industry was wool.  Wool made Norwich a wealthy city, and the Wikipedia article is quite interesting as it explains how Norwich welcomed religious refugees in the decades just before John was born.  What we don't know is John's religion, except that his children were baptized in the Anglican church.

John married Elizabeth Trulle or Stoker on April 22, 1610, in Norwich.  (I have seen her name listed as Trulle Stoker and as Stoker Trulle, but as of now I haven't found documentation for either name.  The couple had seven children from 1610 to 1622.  Four of them are documented as having traveled with their parents to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637.  There was also a servant, John Gednay, in their party.  However, this may not have been John's first trip to the New World.  The older children of John were already here, and John was given land in Watertown in 1634.  It is likely that he was here as early as 1633 and then returned to New England for his wife and the rest of his family, to bring them over in 1637. 

The family settled in Watertown where John taught the weaving trade to at least some of his children, and where they were given land as settlers of the town.  John was made a freeman in March of 1638 and took the "oath of fidelity" in 1652.  His name appears as a drummer in the train band (militia) of that year but it's not clear whether this was John the immigrant or John the son.  John the immigrant would have been 64 years old and likely had been excused from the militia by this time, unless he was in exceptionally good health. 

John made his will in 1658 and died September 2, 1661.  His will was proven September 30,1661, and his inventory was valued at just over 217 pounds.  Elizabeth made her will on March 15, 1667 and died within just a few days, as it was proved April 2, 1667.  Her estate was valued at just over 124 pounds, so she must have used her assets wisely. 

Of course I'd like to know more about this couple, but I'm grateful to have located this much information about them.  Here are the lines of descent.

Beeks:

John Pers-Elizabeth Trulle or Stoker
Anthony Pers-Ann
Daniel Pierce-Elizabeth Shedd
Elizabeth Pierce-Samuel Smith
Shubael Smith-Prudence Fitzrandolph
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Holbrook:

John Pers-Elizabeth Trulle or Stoker
Hester Pierce-Joseph Morse
Joseph Morse-Susanna Shattuck
Esther Morse-Nathaniel Joslin
Israel Joslin-Sarah Cleveland
Sarah Joslin-Edward Fay
David Fay-Mary or Mercy Perrin
Euzebia (Luceba) Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Beeks line: Ulrich Ruble 1710-1761 Immigrant

First, a warning.  Not every genealogist or family historian is convinced that Ulrich Ruble belongs in this line.  The point of contention is Hannah, who was married to Samuel Dunham.  Was she, or was she not, a Ruble?  Alternative names, especially Chenoweth, keep popping up for her.  Based on what I have seen on line, I am leaning toward the Ruble line, but I don't consider it proven.  So take this for whatever it's worth.  Ulrich Ruble surely existed, and had descendants, and if he doesn't belong in the Beeks line, he surely belongs to someone.  Someday, someone, somewhere, will find the documents that will prove or disprove this line, and I hope that someone will contact me when they do!

Ulrich was born in either Switzerland or the Palatinate in what is now Germany.  It is likely that his parents, Hans Peter Rubel and Anna Katrina Mueller, emigrated to the Palatinate from somewhere in Switzerland, about the time that Ulrich was born.  We don't know whether the emigration was for economic or for religious reasons.  Many Mennonites and other Anabaptists from Switzerland went to the Palatinate during this time period because of religious persecution, but we don't yet know whether the Rubles could be included in that group. 

Ulrich is believed to have come with his family to Pennsylvania in about 1727, which would mean Ulrich was a teen-ager, or in their society, a young man.  He soon made his own way in the world, and settled in Bucks County,(modern day Lehigh County)  Pa., where he owned land by 1734.  Within a few years, he had decided to sell the land, and moved on to Frederick County, Virginia. He was married by this time to Jane Jacob (not Burson, as is widely reported), but as of yet a marriage date has not been found. 

A fascinating detail noted on the Geni website for Ulrich is that he was a member of the Virginia Militia, and in 1758 voted for Colonel George Washington.  I'm not sure whether this was a military election or a political elections, but since Ulrich was a member of the Virginia militia, it leads to a host of questions.  Was he in the military expeditions that George Washington was a part of, during the French and Indian War?  Did he perhaps serve under the "Colonel?"  The family lived on the Opequon Creek, somewhere between Martinsburg (now WV) and Winchester, so it was definitely frontier county, and Ulrich would have been the right age to be included in the militia. 

Ulrich and Jane had eight children: George, Peter, John, Elizabeth, Samuel, Owen, David, and Susannah.  Ulrich wrote his will on December 20,1759 and it was probated on August 4, 1761. He would have been about 51 years old when he died.  We can speculate that if he served under George Washington on some of those excursions, then he certainly would have suffered hardships that may have caused his somewhat early death.  The stories of what the militia went through in support of the British during that time are hard to read, so we owe men like Ulrich Ruble a huge debt of gratitude.

I've not found an appraisal of his estate although the appraisers were Henry Bowen, Thomas Doster, and William Barrett.  He left everything to his wife Jane until she remarried, and then to his children equally. He apparently owned at least 150 acres of land at his death, and perhaps more.

Once again, here is an immigrant ancestor from Switzerland or the Palatinate to America.  We need to recognize all our brave and hard-working pioneers, whether in Plymouth Colony in 1620 or in Virginia 140 years later, or even in Indiana in the early 1800s.  These folks had what we would consider a hard life, and built America.  We owe the Pilgrims a thank you, but also the many who came after, with different ideals and cultures.

The proposed line of descent is:

Ulrich Ruble-Jane Jacob
David Ruble-Sarah Malin
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Henry Rolfe 1585-1643, Immigrant

Henry Rolfe is another immigrant ancestor in the Beeks line.  He was born before September 5, 1585 in Downton or Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England.  (The two villages are very near each other.  It appears he was christened at Whiteparish but may have lived nearer to Downton.)  Someone on the webpage vault.hanover.edu/~smith/smit.gen.html has done a wonderful job of describing his or her trip to the area, and has wonderful pictures showing the villages and the actual land farmed by John Rolfe, Henry's father.  It is a very peaceful appearing location. The land showed no crops currently being grown, so it's hard to know how the land was used 400 and more years ago.  I've been unable to verify the mother of Henry, except that her name was "Honor." 

"Honor" may have been a popular name for women in that place and time period, for Henry married an "Honor" also, in fact, she was "Honor Rolfe", a first cousin once-removed.  They were married at Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England on May 28, 1621, when Henry was 30 and Honor was about 22 years old.  They seem to have had three children in England, with a fourth, Benjamin, born in Newburyport in 1638.  It isn't known for sure when they immigrated to America but it must have been no later than 1638 since his son was born there.  Henry's will, written in 1642, shows "howse and land" so he had been here long enough to accumulate some land and build a home, anyway.  This was in the town of Newburyport, now known as Newbury.  There is no record that he was ever made a freeman, so possibly he acquired the land shortly before his death. 

His inventory was valued at 153 pounds, 8 shillings, 6 pence, which seems to be farily decent considering that he was in America only a few years.  He owned quite a few animals-6 cows, four oxen, one bull and one steer, 5 "beasts", plus calves, hogs, and bees.  There is mention of a feather bed and a "flock" bed  (a flock bed was filled with wool refuse, left over materials, and the like), and 6 feather pillows.  From this, one suspects that some children slept on the floor.  He also had a musket and fowling pieces, 2 swords and bandoliers, so he was armed in typical fashion for the time. Also there were books, not identified, valued at one pound, so Henry could read.  It would be interesting to know what the books were, because that would give us a window into his mind.  Henry's wife, Honor, died in 1650 or 1653, according to different sources. 

I'd love to know more about Henry.  Was he a Puritan, or was he in America for other reason than to practice his religion?  What were those books in his inventory?  He may have had a final illness of several months, since he wrote his will several months before he died.  What was his cause of death?  Did he ever need to discharge those firearms to protect his family, or his fellow colonists? 

Once again, there are questions, but we do know that he was a brave and hard-working man, to have come to the Massaschusetts Bay Colony and to have been a financial success at his death. 

The line of descent is:

Henry Rolfe-Honor Rolfe
John Rolfe-Mary Scullard
Mary Rolph-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble (or possibly Chenoweth)
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Jeffrey Jones about 1630-December 21,1717

Every genealogist and family historian groans when they find a name like "Smith" or "Jones" in the family tree.  It almost automatically means long years of research trying to trace the family, and when a "Jones" is found early in the New World with no real indication of his roots, it is going to have to wait for someone with a lot of time, money, and luck to actually trace back another generation. Since this is an ancestor in the line of President Barack Obama, and really excellent genealogists were not able to go back any further, for the time being Jeffrey Jones is an "end of the line" ancestor .

So, we don't know who Jeffrey Jones's parents were.  We don't know where he was born, or the circumstances of his family, or their religion. We know of nothing, really, until he shows up  We know of two wives but he is thought to possibly have had as many as four.  It is believed but not proven that he lived in Massachusetts before going to Long Island.  Beginning in 1658, there are land records for "Geoffrey Jones" so it seems he would have been at least 21 at this time.  That is the only real guess we have as to his age. 

He was one of the original land patentees in Southold, Long Island, but there are no clear records as to his residence prior to that time.  However, we do know that his father in law (one of them), Captain Charles Glover, owned a ship building business and that he was noted in a land record in 1664 as being a ship's carpenter.  He sold land likely inherited from his father in law in 1664 and in 1665 was in Elizabethtown, New Jersey.  Southold is toward the northern end of Long Island and Elizabethtown is directly west of the southern edge of Long Island, but from what I have read this journey may not have been as simple as it sounds.  There were all sorts of currents and sea hazards to deal with on this trip. 

Jeffrey (also written as Geoffrey) would live out the rest of his days in Elizabethtown.  He took the oath of allegiance there in 1665 and in 1668 was listed as one on the eighty patentees of the town.  He was at that time, 1668, approved for a license in a whale fishing business, along with John Ogden Sr., Caleb Carwithy, Jacob Moleyn and William Johnson.  The boats were to operate out of Sandy Hook.  He also seems to have had an association with Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ but it's not clear whether he lived there or possibly just owned property there.  He was a landowner with considerable property at one time

We know that he had a son named Edward and daughters Abigail and Mary, who were each mentioned in his will and there were likely other children who died before their father. The will was dated December 21, 1717 and was proved December 31, 1717.  Jeffrey was at least 80 years old when he died, and if the 1630 birth date is correct he may have been as much as 87 years old.

There is so much I would like to know about Jeffrey Jones.  Beyond the obvious questions I've noted above, I'd love to know more about his involvement in the ship building and whaling industries.  Did he ever actually go to sea on a whaling expedition?  Where did the whalers go during the late 17th century?  What kind of whales were they "fishing"?  And if he was strictly a land-lubber, what kind of tools did he use in his job?  What size of ship did he build?

I need to give a huge amount of credit for this blog post to a site I found on-line, In Old New York, at familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/a/c/Dr-ellsworth-J-La-coste/Book.  This researcher has done a phenomenal amount of family research and there is much more information about Jeffrey Jones than I have included here.  Most of the other information I found on line simply included some of the information found at the website I mentioned. 

The line of descent is:

Jeffrey Jones-possibly Safronia Walter
Mary Jones-Samuel Fitzrandolph
Prudence Fitzrandolph-Shubael Smith
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents

Beeks line: Thomas Soole or Soule abt 1567 to 1614

I'm writing about Thomas because he didn't live to come to New England, although I'm thinking he would have wanted to do so.  There isn't much available about him but we do know the basics of his life.  He was born 1567 in Hawkhurst, Kent, England.  This is near the southeast coastline of England, and was known for smuggling activities in the 1700's.  Hawkhurst even now is a small town with a population of 4400, so back then it was probably no more than a village.

Thomas was born to John Soole and Marie Whitfield, most probably.  Records for this have apparently not been found, but it seems that every family history and genealogy state this as fact, and it certainly fits that these were his parents.  If so, he may have had siblings Jane, Miles, Robert, James and Henry.

We don't know what Thomas did for a living, but we know a little about his family.  He married Mary Iddenden  (also seen as Indenden and even Ildenden,) daughter of John Iddenden and Christian Mercer, on October 15, 1598  The church would have been St. Laurence, which has been on the same site since about 1100.  The church today looks much as it would have looked in the time of Thomas.  Just think of how many baptisms, marriages, and deaths this church would have seen! 

Thomas of course was living through the "Golden Age" of Queen Elizabeth I.  She was the queen when he was born, and for the first 36 or so years of his life.  But he was near the coast, so as a young man Thomas may very well have been involved in preparing to fight the army, or the navy, of the Spanish armada.  This may partially explain why he was above the age of 30 when he married.  People in his village may have been Catholic, in a time of great religious turmoil.  I can see why people from Kent would have wanted to have come to the New World.

Thomas died sometime in or after 1614, and didn't get the chance to come to the New World.  His daughter Sarah did, however.  She had married Samuel Hinckley in 1617 in Hawkhurst, Kent, England and they arrived in 1635 on the ship "Hercules". They were accepted into local churches as members so they must have been Puritans. Was Thomas a Puritan also, one wonders?

 Sarah's known siblings were Mary, Thomas, and Anne.  Thomas and Mary may have had other children, because even if Thomas died in 1614, that is sixteen years of marriage, and four children would be a low number for that amount of time. 

If Thomas left a will, it apparently hasn't been identified yet.  I thought it was important to write this post, to remind us of the people "left behind" in England, due to age, infirmities, or lack of desire to come to the New World.  The families just before the Pilgrims and the Great Migration went through a very trying time, too.  That may have given their children the strength and desire to leave and make a home for themselves in the New World.

The line of descent is:

Thomas Soole-Mary Iddenden
Sarah Soole-Samuel Hinckley
Susannah Hinkley-John Smith
Samuel Smith-Elizabeth Pierce
Shubael Smith-Prudence Fitzrandolph
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents

Beeks line: John Smith, 1614-1710 Immigrant.pastor and mill wright, updated

Any family historian groans when his or her path leads to a John Smith.  We have several in our lines, but this John Smith is only moderately challenging.  By that, I mean we do know a few things about him, and they are only slightly confusing.  Naturally, there is much more we'd like to know. 

This particular John Smith was born in 1614 in Brinspitell,(Dorset or possibly Dorchester, England,) according to his own deposition in a court case.  His parents were Thomas and Joan Doan Smith, and it's not known whether he had siblings.

He appears to have come to Plymouth colony as early as 1630. which would have been at a young age indeed.  He may have been one of the first settlers of Barnstable, which was founded on Cape Cod in 1638, under the leadership of Thomas Hull.  We know he was made freeman there in 1640, indicating that he was of age, of good moral character, and owned property.  Rev. John Lathrop was pastor there in October of 1640, when John was admitted to the church.  A  few years later, on June 13, 1643, John Smith married Susanna Hinckley, sister of the future governor of Plymouth Colony, Thomas Hinckley.

In his manhood, we was a member of the militia,and a deputy to the General Court in 1656-1657.  He was part of a negotiating team with the native Americans in 1653 and again in 1657.  In 1659 we was "allowed" with Isaac Robinson to talk to Quakers and possibly even go to their services, in order to determine what was in their hearts.  They recommended that the anti-Quaker laws be repealed, but their recommendations were ignored.  He occasionally preached in Barnstable and was pastor of a Separatist church in 1661-1662, until the church was closed. He may have upset the authorities or he may have been upset by the authorities, because he left Barnstable about this time. Some believe that he first went to Long Island, NY, although I find that the John Smiths there are confusing and there may be some room to question that conclusion. 

It is clear, however, that John and Susannah and family left the Puritan colony and they did settle in New Jersey, whether or not they were first on Long Island.  He received land at Piscataway in 1666 but settled at Woodbridge, N.J. and was quite active there.  He assisted in building the church and supporting the minister, was constable in 1669, was member of the New Jersey Assembly town clerk, and moderator, and eventually, justice.  During this time, his occupation is given as mill wright.  We don't know where he learned that trade, or whether he had been pursuing it in Barnstable or even in Long Island. 

By 1675, the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts was looking for a pastor and called him to fill the spot.  Most pastors were from England and had a college education so I'm a little confused about this, but he was apparently ordained in Sandwich and served the church there until 1688, when his pastorate ended at his own request, at the age of 74.  He may have been feeling the effects of his age, or other infirmities may have set in. 

John and Susannah had 13 children, Samuel, Sarah, Ebenezer (died as an infant), Mary, Dorcas, John (lived two days), Shubael, John, Benjamin, Ichabod, Elizabeth, Thomas and Joseph, born from 1644 to 1667.  I find conflicting death dates for Susannah, of 1667 and 1675.  I hope she lived until 1675, to see her family grow up and to make sure her youngest children would remember her.  John died in 1710, at the age of 96 years, probably in the home of one of his children. 

I'd love to know more about his religious beliefs and what led him to pastor a church when he was already past the age of 60 years old, and the circumstances of his ordination.  I'd love to know what books he had in his library.  I'd love to learn where he learned the skills to be a mill wright, and where he learned the diplomacy to deal with the native Americans.  He was another fascinating man.

The line of descent is:

John Smith-Susannah Hinckley
Samuel Smith-Elizabeth Pierce
Shubael Smith-Prudence Fitzrandolph
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Update:  I've been directed by a wonderful reader (all my readers are wonderful, but my favorites are the ones who point out errors or additional information) to an article in the The American Genealogist from January/April 1985 that has convinced me that we don't know where John Smith came from.  He was certainly close friends with Elder John Chipman, who was from Brinspittle, Dorset, England, but there is no evidence that John Smith was born there, or had even been there.  The search for his origins continues. 

Beeks line: Thomas Conway abt 1654-1689 Irish Quaker Immigrant

We don't know a lot specifically about Thomas Conway.  One paragraph would probably suffice to fill in the known details of his life.  He was born about 1654 to Thomas Conaway and Mariah Tanney in Lisburn, County Armagh, Ireland.  The parents apparently aren't proven but they are believed to be his parents.  He married Mary Hollingsworth, daughter of Valentine Hollingsworth and Ann Ree (last name uncertain) in 1682 in Segoe, Armagh, Ireland, in the Quaker religion.  Two months later, the young Conways emigrated with Mary's father to what became the Brandywine Hundred, in northern Delaware.  (At the time, it was considered part of Pennsylvania.) The couple had three daughters, Mary, Ann, and Sarah, before Thomas died in 1689.  I've found three different death dates for him but all at least agree that he died in 1689.

That is all that I can learn about Thomas, other than a list of witnesses at his wedding.  We don't know whether he was the first Quaker in the family, but it appears his parents didn't attend the wedding.  We don't know when his parents died, or how far the wedding was from the family home, if there was one.

We do know that the Hollingsworth and Conway families emigrated for more than economic reasons.  Yes, the promise of cheap land in William Penn's tract was enticing, but most Irish Quakers emigrated because they were being persecuted, thrown into jail and their land or/and belongings confiscated.  Ireland was no place to try to raise a Quaker family.  We also know that life in the New World was not easy.  Starvation was a possibility and malnutrition a probability, which led to any of numerous diseases and conditions.  We don't know why Thomas died but there is no record of an Indian attack that would account for his death in 1689, so it was either an accident or illness.  He was only about 35 years old when he died. 

His widow, Mary, later married Randall Malin and they had three children.  Mary is said to have died in 1746, when she was about ninety years old. 

The line of descent is:

Thomas Conway-Mary Hollingsworth
Mary Conway-Charles Booth
Lydia Booth-Isaac Malin
Sarah Malin-David Ruble
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents