The family of Robert Amos 1771-1826

 William, James, Robert, and now Robert Amos, again.  This is the fourth generation of men in the Amos/Amoss family.  Robert was born in 1771 in Harford County, Maryland, to Robert and Martha McComas Amos.  He died in Harford County in 1826, probably not far from where he was born, or possibly even the old home place.  It sounds like a dull life, but he grew into a young man during the Revolutionary War, and soldiers likely walked or marched near his home.  He was a member of the militia during the War of 1812, and likely went to Baltimore when the British were very close to capturing it.  So his life was interesting, even if somewhat localized.  He married Elizabeth Amos, his first cousin, in 1792.  She is the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Bussey Amos, and I will write my next blog post about that family.

Robert and Elizabeth had 10 children together, most of them fairly well documented.  Some stayed in Harford County, some went a bit west to Greene and Allegheny counties in Pennsylvania, to West Virginia, to Ohio,  and some further west yet, to Illinos and Indiana.  

Martha is the first born, in 1792.  She married Peter Black, whose parentage is not established but may be Frederick or Owen Black, or possibly Ulrich Schwartz.  Their children are Frederick, Owen, Elizabeth, Oliver, Cyrus, Davis, Benjamin, Naomi, Peter, and James.  All of this family except Elizabeth moved to Noble County, Indiana, where Martha died in 1872.  

Sarah was born in 1794 and died in 1864 in Greene County, Pennsylvania.  She married Henry (also seen as Harry) Gilbert, probably the son of James and Mary Johnson Gilbert.  Their known children are Elizabeth, Corbin, and Joshua.  

Benjamin was born in 1796 and died in 1880.  He seems to have moved several times in his lifetime, leaving records in Washington, Monroe, and Licking County, Ohio, before settling for his remaining days in what is now Wood County, West Virginia.  He married Susannah Eaton, the daughter of David and Hannah Mantle Eaton.  Let's stop for a moment and bless Susannah's memory, for she is credited with being the mother of at least 14 children.  They are Elizabeth, Robert, Hannah, Corbin, Frederick, Benjamin, Susanna, Amanda, William, Mary, Nancy, John, Sarah, Martha, and possibly (this would make 15 children) James.  James wasn't born until 1875 and it's possible he was a grandson and not a son of the couple.  Benjamin was also in the Maryland militia, serving in the War of 1812.

Mary Ann was born in 1798 and died in 1864 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.  Her first husband was Benjamin Frazier, who died within two years of their marriage.  I've found nothing indicating that they had children together.  She next married John Miller, and they had at least three children-John, Elizabeth, and William.  They may have lived in Rockford, Illinois, where John died in 1840.  Mary didn't remarry after losing her second husband, but lived with son William until her death.  

Elizabeth was born in 1800 and died in 1890 in Baltimore, Maryland.  She married James Logue, who died in 1872 in Baltimore.  I can locate just one child for them, Martha.  I would certainly like to know more about her and her life.  Are we missing some family here?  Were there pregnancies and births we don't know about?

Ellen, sometimes seen as Eleanor, was born in 1806 and died December 4, 1883 in Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois.  Sadly, her death is reported as a suicide caused by insanity.  She first married Elisha Mitchell, and they had a daughter, Eliza.  Elisha died soon after that, and Ellen married William Peters, who was an immigrant from Ireland, possibly the son of Peter Peters.  I have not found any indication that they had children, but he died a year after Ellen, and there is a nice memorial on his grave site in Rockford.  Did they have children who may have contributed to that stone?  I'm not sure Ellen's story is complete.  

James was born in 1808 and died in 1830 in Monroe, Guernsey County, Ohio, or possibly in Monroe County, Ohio.   That is all the information I have found about him.  There are a lot of men named James Amos in the 1830 census and it is possible that one of those men is this James, but I'm not able to state that any of them seem probable.

Corbin was born in 1810 and died in 1883 in Guernsey County, Ohio.  He may have been married twice.  It's confusing because both of the proposed names are Julianna or something close.  His first wife is believed to be Julianna or July McCatherine.  I'm not able to locate any likely families of that name, anywhere Corbin is thought to have lived.  He had at least one child with this wife, Sarah.  In 1864 he married Julia Ann Chalk.  Again, I am unable to find parents for her.  Their children are William and Quintella.  I'd like to know more about his life.

Anna was born in 1816 and died in 1893 in Uniontown, Fayette, Pennsylvania.  She married Thomas B Miller in Boone County, Illinois, but the family was soon in Pennsylvania.  Thomas is the son of John and Rebecca Beeson Miller.  Their children are Mary, Ellen, Eliza, Eva, Julia, Jennie, and possibly Thomas and Anna.  

And finally, there is Robert, who was born in 1818 and died in 1901 in Auglaize County, Ohio.  He married Elizabeth Dye, the daughter of James and Elizabeth (maiden name not known) Dye.  Their children are Amelia, Helen, Francis, Benjamin. Minerva, Elam, James, George, Elizabeth, Corbin, Martha, and Robert.  Some Civil War records show Robert Amos as fighting in the war, but I think this is more likely to be son Robert, although I can't rule this Robert out. He would have been about 44 when the war broke out, and may have volunteered.  

Surely some of the grandchildren of Robert and Elizabeth were in the Civil War.  Perhaps someday someone will be able to research these men more closely, but we can say that this family was a hard working family and mostly lived lengthy lives.  They, too, helped build America as it spread westward. 

The family of Robert Amos 1741-1818

There are a lot of men with the surname Amos or Amoss in Harford County, Maryland.  There may be more than one Robert Amos who lived during the time period noted above.  Consequently, I am not 100% sure that each of these occupations applies to our Robert, but it's possible.  He seems to have been a justice of the peace, and quite possibly a tax collector, and perhaps a sheriff.  In 1790, he held 9 slaves.  We accept as fact that he is the son of James and Hannah Clark/Clarke Amos, and that he was born in what was then Baltimore County, Maryland and died in Harford County, Maryland, which was a daughter county of Baltimore.   

Robert married Martha McComas, the daughter of Daniel and Martha Scott McComas.  Together they have at least 10 children, at least some of whom were Quakers.  Some fought in the War of 1812, and some were slaveholders, so I don't think they all stayed in the Quaker faith.  

Daniel is the first born, in 1768. (There may have been an earlier pregnancy, since this is almost three years after his parents married.)  He married Sarah Johnson, the daughter of John and Ann (maiden name not yet found) Johnson.  Their children are John, Robert, Ann, Martha, Daniel, Sarah, Margaret, and Elizabeth.  He died in 1854 in Harford County.

Robert was the next son, born in 1771.  He married Elizabeth Amos, the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Bussey Amos.  (Some say Benjamin's wife was Sarah Lyon...I'm not yet convinced but want to leave this crumb in case I change my mind.)  Robert and Elizabeth's children are Martha, Sarah, Benjamin, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Ellen, Corbin, and Robert. Robert died in 1826 in Harford County, Maryland.  I'll follow this family in my next blog post.

James was born next, in 1773, and married Sarah Friend Swingley, the daughter of Jacob and Eleanor Prather Friend.  They had at least three children, James, Joshua, and Robert.  Samuel, Rachel, and Barbara appear to be Sarah's children from her first marriage.  James died in 1823 in Washington County, Maryland, having moved west from Harford County.

Aquilla was the next son, born in 1775. and here the trail, if this is the right person, ends.  I show a death date of 1832 for him, with no further details.  This line needs to be researched further.  I am not confident that this was the Aquilla who married Elizabeth Montgomery, but I'll dangle this out here as a possibility.

Martha (finally, a daughter!  How her parents must have rejoiced!) was born in 1778 and married Aquilla McComas, the son of Edward and Sarah Selby McComas.  I have not been able to connect Edward to Martha yet but I have a strong hunch there's a connection, somewhere! Martha and Aquilla had at least two children, Robert and Gabriel.  Martha died in 1858.

Joshua was born in 1780 and was a veteran of the War of 1812.  He married Catherine Hanway, who is a mystery person.  Their children are Martha, Mary, Sarah, Corbin, and Joshua.  Joshua died in 1860 in Harford County.  

Corbin was born in 1784 and died in Baltimore in 1866, having never married.  He was a War of 1812 veteran, and was a physician, having graduated from the University of Maryland College of Medicine in 1812.  He was the last of the siblings to die, and had 24 nephews and nieces, all living at the time of his death.  His estate was valued at $475,000, most of it in personal property rather than real estate.  Was he a collector of some sort?

Benjamin was born in 1786 and died in 1865 in Harford County.  His wife was Sarah Amos, the daughter of Zachariah and Susanna Mitchmer Amos.  Zachariah is a grandson of William Amos, the immigrant, so Benjamin married his second cousin.  Benjamin and Sarah had at least five children-Martha, Zachariah, Robert, Isaac, and James. He was an ensign in the War of 1812, and held slaves as late as 1850.

Gabriel was the next son, born in 1788.  He is another mystery.  I have seen 1818 given as his date of death, and I've found no hint of a marriage record.  Some of the men in this family married in their late twenties so it may well be that he never married.

Elizabeth was born in 1790 and died in 1869, so the information about Corbin being the last of the siblings may not be correct.  She married later in life, at the age of 38, to Ananias Divers, the son of Christopher and Sarah Arnell Divers.  Ananias had at least five children from his previous marriage, but it doesn't appear that Elizabeth had children of her own.  

The number of children I've reported here exceeds the number of nephews and nieces mentioned in Corbin's obituary.  It is possible that the obituary was wrong, and it's also possible that some of the children/grandchildren mentioned here are assigned to the wrong family.  The need for more research continues, but it is evident that the Amos family served their country, raised families, and helped build America in its early years.