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.