Holbrook line: James Amos 1721-1805

At first I was excited to realize I could write a blog post (maybe) about James Amos or Amoss.  I had basic information about him, I've written about his father, and I've stood at the grave of his great granddaughter.  I felt a personal connection to this man, who had Quaker ancestors and family, and was part of what was apparently a well respected family in Harford (then it was Baltimore) county, Maryland.  And when I found that he was recognized as a patriot during the Revolutionary War, I thought there must be more to his story. 

There is indeed more.  Some of it is speculation, there is much I don't yet know, and some of it is cold, hard, hurtful facts.  But it's family history and we need to know about it. 

James Amos was born or baptized February 10, 1721 in Baltimore County, Maryland.  He was the son of William and Ann Mauldin Amoss (not sure exactly when the second "s" got dropped.  I am finding it both ways in records).  He married Hannah Clarke, daughter of Robert and Selina Smith Clarke, on January 22, 1739 at St George's Parish in Baltimore County, Maryland.  This would put him slightly under 18 years old, which makes me think the 1721 birth date might actually be a baptismal or christening date, and he may have been a bit older than that.  Hannah was also just slightly younger than 18 years old at the time of the marriage.  Their first child was born about two years later, and they had seven known children together. 

The family actually lived in what is now Harford County, Maryland, not far from the town of Joppa.  Joppa was established as a "port of entry" city on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay.  When it was founded in 1671, there was a good business there.  Ships came to load tobacco and traded needed goods with the farmers there.  It was actually the capital of Baltimore County until 1768, when the port at Joppa silted over and the advantages of Baltimore's port became more obvious.  Fifty years later, there was almost nothing left of Joppa. 

I think the Amos family lived outside of town, on one of the "plantations" that the area supported.  The area was far enough east that it doesn't appear to have suffered during the French and Indian war, although it's possible that our ancestor, or his brothers, may have served in the militia and would have gone to the frontier to protect against violent incursions from the native Americans. This is my speculation only-I haven't found his name on any list as of yet.  Other than that possibility, the Amos family probably just stayed put and raised their crops. 

Of course, raising crops meant raising tobacco, and raising tobacco meant having either indentured servants or slaves, as labor for the crops.  Sure enough, in the 1790 census Janes has 23 slaves and in the 1800 census he has (possibly) 14.  I'm not sure what that column represents in the census but it seems that 14 represents the number of enslaved people.  It may be that his land had become worn out and he was winding down farm operations by the year 1800.  One wonders what happened to the others: were they sold, or did they die natural deaths, or what happened to them? 

I've seen it noted that James Amos took the Oath of Fidelity required by the Colony of Maryland in 1778, which is the basis for his being listed as a patriot by the Daughters of the American Revolution.  I've not seen the actual documentation for this, so I'm just putting it out there as a possibility. 

The next word we have of him, other than that 1790 census, is also from 1790.  Apparently the Amos family had fallen on hard times, because they were behind on their tax payments. James and two of his sons had sheriff's auctions threatened, which is sort of a good thing because we know a little about James's holdings in 1790.  The Maryland Gazette of September 23, 1790 lists the properties in question as : one tract of land called James's Care, containing 135 acres; one other tract of land called Branston Ridge, containing 95 acres; part of one other tract of land called For Hills; one other trace of land called Shaw's Dependence, containing 12; and one other tract of land called Shaw's Privilege, containing 71 acres.  So James had been acquiring land by bits and pieces, apparently, and now he was in a bit of trouble.  Until I can find land records to review, I have no way of knowing whether he saved the land but my guess is that he did. 

For a death date, I've seen everything from April 1, 1797 to sometime in 1805.  I'm still searching for an accurate source to pin down the death date.  If we take the 1797 date as correct, he was 76 years old when he died, which was old age at that time.  Hannah is believed to have died about 1776, and it is possible that he married again, to a Martha Bradford. 

Obviously there is much to learn about James Amos.  There are stories to be told and and questions to be answered/  I would especially like to find his will or otherwise determine what happened to the slaves.  For now, this is what I know about our ancestor, James Amos.

The line of descent is
James Amos-Hannah Clarke
Robert Amos Martha McComas
Robert Amos-Elizabeth Amos (yes, first cousins)
Martha Amos-Peter Black
Elizabeth Black-Isaac Hetrick
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants