The family of James Amos 1721-1805

Much of the Amos family is well-documented.  Some is not.  Some "facts", in fact, seem to have little basis in reality, or are related to different persons of the same name, but in other generations or branches of the family.  I hope I have picked my way through this misinformation, and apologize profusely if I have made an error.  In that case, I will be happy if someone will correct me.

James Amos is the son of immigrant William and Ann probably Maulden Amos.  He was born in 1721 in Baltimore County, Maryland, and died in 1805 in Harford County, Maryland.  Harford County was carved from Baltimore County in 1774 so he actually lived his entire life at pretty much the same location.  We know he was a slaveholder because his father left him a slave in his will, but we don't know how many other slaves he held.  He married Hannah Clarke, the daughter of Robert and Selina (different spellings) Smith Clark.  Together they had at least seven children.  After Hannah died, James married Elizabeth Standiford.  No children are known from that marriage.

Robert was the first born son, in 1741.  He married Martha McComas, the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Hubbert (also seen as Hibbert) McComas.  Their children are Benjamin, David, James, Corbin and Martha.  I have also seen Joshua and Gabriel mentioned as being born before Benjamin, and Aquilla and Robert as born after Martha.  More research needs to be done to document these potential children.

Elizabeth is the only known daughter of James and Hannah.  She was born in 1743 and died in 1805.  Her husband is Edward Norris, the son of James and Hannah Scott Norris.  Their children are Hannah, John, William, Edward, Elizabeth, Susannah, Oliver, Mary, and Ann.  It is possible that Elizabeth had a second marriage, to a William Bull, but I'm not yet convinced of that.

William is one of the mystery sons of this family.  He was born in 1745 and died in 1816.  He married Elizabeth Hugo or Hugon,  whom I can't further identify.  The only child I've found for them is William. This line needs more research.

James was born in 1747 and died in 1811.  He married Catherine Risteau, the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Raven Risteau.  Their children are Isaac, James, John, David, Abraham, Elizabeth, Susanna, Hannah, Catherine, Sarah, George, William and possibly Joshua.  

A side note here: Of the first four children, we are likely related in some fashion to three of the in-laws mentioned-McComas, Scott, and Raven.  All were early settlers, and we descend from families with each of those surnames in early Baltimore County.  

Benjamin is the next son, born in 1748 and died in or before 1815.  He married Sarah Bussey, the daughter of Edward and Mary (widow Pendergrast) Bussey.  I have seen one tree listing Mary as Mary Hayes, but there was no further information and at this time I can't say that is correct.  Their children are Elizabeth, Ann, James, and Mary.  I will follow this family in my next post.

Mordecai was born in 1753 and died in 1840.  He is a Revolutionary War veteran.  (It's likely that others of these men are also vets, but their are too many men of the same name to be sure.)  He married Martha Richardson, the daughter of William and Mary Davis Richardson.  Their children are Robert, Henry, and John.  

I am including Joshua as a son in this list, because it seems more likely than not that he is the son of James and Hannah.  I am not 100% sure of this, so if there is conflicting information on this Joshua, I'd be glad to consider it.  He was born in 1754 and died about 1800.  His wife's name may or may not be Sarah, and she may or may not be Sarah Bonfield, the daughter of John Bonfield.  Their know children are Joshua and William.

And then, there is the possibility of Ann.  That is all I could find, a name, without even a date of birth.  There are several females named Ann in this family, and it's quite possible that this is actually another Anna, such as the one belonging to Benjamin, above.  At this point, it is only a possibility.  

As far as I could determine, none of these people lived outside of Baltimore/Harford County as they all seem to have died there.  Some are Quakers and some may not be.  But they all stayed close together, and so all these cousins would have known each other, whether close in age or not.  An Amos family reunion would have been enormously fun and enormously confusing!